Little Gems: The Light That Shines on All

 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5: 14-16, NIV) Photo: Eric Vogt

The Sermon on the Mount is one of the most central documents in Christianity and is perhaps the most important, detailed discourse of Christ.  The verses cited above follow the famous Beatitudes given to begin Matthew 5, and as we worked through them yesterday in our class with the pastor, they really struck me.

Christians often speak of Christ as the Light of the World, and that's true enough, but here Jesus is doing something different.  He's passing on the responsibility.  He's bringing us in on it.  His message is clear as well, he doesn't only want us to be the light, he doesn't want us to hide it.  The "City on a hill" image has long been used in Christian thought, and has often been linked with the United States. I'm not overly fond of that linkage personally.  However, the image itself holds.  Pastor Gary and several members of our church just returned from a trip to Greece, and he talked about how all the cities had an "acropolis" which means "high point"  These high points not only let people in the city see who or what was coming , but it was a place where all the people in the city could see and perhaps come for refuge.  The acropolis could not be hidden.

The second image is of a personal light, and what one does with it.  In the first century CE people often used small, oil based lights or "lamps" to light their homes in the darkness.  It wouldn't do much good to light one of those and put a bowl over it.  You couldn't see it, and the light wouldn't get out to do what it was intended to.  Instead, one would put it on a lamp stand where it could illuminate as big an area as possible.

So what is it that light is intended to do?  What's the purpose?  One way we use light is as a beacon, like the city on a hill.  The smallest light in the dark will draw people to it.  We're all familiar with lighthouses on the coast being used in this same way.  We also use light to illuminate darkness.  We don't use oil lamps anymore for the most part.  We flip the switch, and the light bulb fires up, dispelling the darkness from all but the darkest corners of a room.

And just what is this light of Christ that we are meant to take forward, that we're meant to be?  For some today, it's the light of judgement.  I saw these verses, and their companion verses about salt, being used to motivate Christians before the elections, their primary purpose being to promote candidates who wish to shoot down marriage equality and benefit the rich powerful over the poor and needy.  

Of course this is the exact opposite of what Christ promotes.  To me the Light of Christ is the light of love, the light of compassion, the light of acceptance to anyone and everyone no matter their circumstances.  To be light of Christ means to help to the poor, not to just wait for someone else to do it or to just tell them to "stop being lazy."  To be the light of Christ is recognize that none of us are perfect, not others, not ourselves.  To be the light of Christ is to meet others where they are in life, and minister to them in love and compassion and allow them to minister to us in return.  To be the light of Christ is to love everyone, including your enemies and those who disagree with you.

Perhaps the most important aspect of light is this: it shines on everything.  It is not selective.  The light of Christ is meant to be for all: regardless of gender, age, sexual orientation, race, or creed.  The idea isn't to go to people of other faiths, or people of no faith, and tell them to accept the light or burn in hell.  The idea is to live your life as an example of things that Christ valued and invite others to join you.  Love and compassion are still love and compassion whether they are exhibited by a Christian, Jew, Muslim, atheist, or anyone else.  

This light also means justice and equality for all.  This includes extending social justice and civic benefits to everyone.  Period.  Love everyone and treat them as equal and as people of value.  Plain and simple.

Whether you're religious or not, Christian or not, how can you be this kind of light, the light of love and acceptance in the world around you?  We're coming into a season that will be full of joy and abundance for many, but also full of desperation and heartache for so many others.  I encourage all of you to join me in trying to be a light to these people.  It just might make somebody's day or even save a life.

Little Gems: The New Commandment

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another.  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:34-35 (ESV)

What makes a Christian a Christian?  I suppose that you might get different answers depending on who you ask.  Perhaps a more interesting question is: how would you know a Christian if you saw one?  Some folks wear cross necklaces or crucifixes.  Some people wear shirts or clothing emblazoned with Bible verses or images of Jesus (or at least images of what American Christianity perceives Jesus).

How do you think a person who isn't a Christian identifies Christians?  What's the first thing that pops into their heads when they think "Christian?"  Let me tell you, it's often not pretty.  Perusing social media, the internet, or just getting out on the street and talking to people paints an unflattering picture of how non-Christians view Christians.  Some adjectives you'll often see or hear: intolerant, stuck up, haughty, judgmental, angry, hypocritical, resentful, old fashioned, boring...the list goes on.  If you're a Christian reading this, do you really want to be associated with these words?  Well, some of you probably do because these adjectives are a result of the way modern, American Christianity has sought to set itself not only apart from, but above the world around us.  This yields two consequences.  First it gives "us" a massive superiority complex.  Second, it makes "them" skeptical and elicits the descriptors listed above.

Well, in the Gospel of John, Jesus has a very plain idea of how we should be identifiable both to non-Christians and other Christians alike.  "A new commandment I give you, that you love one another, just as I have loved you."  There's a couple of things to notice here.  First off, this isn't a mere suggestion that Jesus is passing on.  The Greek word used here for "commandment" is "ἐντολὴν" which not only suggests a single new religious principle, but can also contain the entire essence of religious principle.  In short, this new commandment isn't "a big deal," it's "THE big deal."  The kind of love Christ then commands us to give one another is the kind of love that he showed us, the example that he set as he lived here among us.

Think about that for a minute.  What was the love that Christ showed?  How we do see that in his actions?  The love of Christ saved an adulteress from being executed.  The love of Christ healed the servant of a Roman soldier, which the local population could not have been thrilled about.  The love of Christ compelled him to hang about with dirty fishermen, working men and women, tax collectors, and prostitutes.  The love of Christ was given to the poor, the prisoners, and the marginalized of society. It wasn't reserved for those of a particular race, gender, or creed.  

If Jesus were to walk among us today and exhibit this love, do you think people would use those words above (intolerant, stuck up, angry etc) to describe him?  Not likely.  So what does that say about us as Christians?   Are we getting it all wrong?

I think we often get it wrong.  I know I do.  Following Christ isn't about sitting in your pew every Sunday.  Following Christ isn't about making sure you check off all the correct boxes on the orthodoxy checklist.  It's certainly not about enforcing your particular view of issues and orthodoxy on other people.  Following Christ is about being ALIVE in the same kind of love that he showed toward us, in gratitude for the love and the grace that he gave us.  Being alive in His love means doing the same as He did.  We should be out helping others, and not just others who agree with us or who are in the same economic/social class that we are.  We shouldn't be wanting to avoid others who are less fortunate.  Sometimes we do this because it makes us uncomfortable.  Sometimes we do it because we buy into some warped version of reality that suggests that anyone who needs help, is hungry, or is less fortunate is that way because they're lazy.  That's not true nearly as often as you think it might is, and if it is, are we not called to love them and be an example of Christ to them as well?

Loving others as Christ has loved us isn't easy. It's not always comfortable.  Christ challenges us to deal with some of our most deeply held prejudices.  Rooting out, exposing, and ridding ourselves of these prejudices not only brings us closer to the example that Christ set for us, but it can really make the world a better place.

In the end the goal is to have people describe us Christians as "loving, accepting, serving, and giving."  Jesus says that by exhibiting this love, people will know that we are his disciples.  Christ is for us, and for everyone.  His love is for all, and ours should be as well.  Being alive in this love is a process, but I believe it's a process worth going through.  Join me in starting small.  Think of a couple of ways that you can give to others, show love and acceptance to others.  If Christians rededicated themselves to this, then the power of Christ through us, his hands and feet, can transform the world. Let's try it out!

I Was Just Like Them: The Power of Love and Grace

"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."--Philippians 1:6 (ESV)

In my last entry I talked about how our church helped out with Stop Hunger Now.  Well, I made an observation that night that seemed just nostalgic and meaningless at the time.  However, the more I thought about it, the more important that observation became to me.  The more I thought about it, the more I came to an understanding.  This understanding really led to me to truly encounter Christ for the first time in over ten years.  I'd like to share it with you now, if you don't mind.

As we were finishing up with the meal packaging process, my table shut down and I engaged in one my favorite hobbies: people watching.  Of particular interest to me were a pair of teenagers, a boy and a girl.  I don't know their names, but I suspect that they're probably late high school age.  I admired them for taking a night out of their week to come serve.  I admired the zeal they had for service.  I admired how much fun they were having doing it!

As I watched them, an observation came to my mind.  I used to be just like them.  When I was in high school and my early college years, I was heavily involved in church, and for the most part, I enjoyed it!   I went to youth group every week.  I started playing my trumpet and singing in church during junior high school.  By the time I graduated and went to college, I was not only one of the worship leaders and liturgists at our church, but I was also a cantor at the biggest Catholic Church in Ogden.  I loved it!  I spent parts of two summers working at an orphanage in Sonora, Mexico, doing things like repairing swamp coolers, installing septic systems, and preparing meals for the kids.  I majored in Psychology and decided I wanted to enter the clergy.

Then it all went to hell.

The reasons that it went to hell aren't all that important.  Well, I guess they're still important to me, but I'm not going to go into great detail.  We'll suffice it to say that once I got a first hand look at inner-church politics, I wasn't impressed with what I saw.  One thing led to another, and our church ended up closing.  Hurt feelings abounded for many people, but me in particular.  I felt betrayed.  I was angry.  I was bitter.  I wasn't sure how God could let what was happening happen.  My desire to enter the ministry evaporated.

At this point, I started to ask a lot of questions about God, faith, and the world around us.  These questions were all asked while I carried a tremendous chip on my shoulder.  The answers I seemed to find made it impossible for me to reconcile being a Christian with what I had come to believe about the world in general.

I left the church, I left it all.  Not only did I leave it, but I came inherently hostile to anything that smacked of religion in general and Christianity in particular.  I openly espoused this viewpoint to anyone would listen and to a lot of folks who really didn't want to listen, which just made me even more angry.

There were a few times over the years where my stance softened for awhile.  When my wife and I got married, we were married in the Catholic church, and as I had already been exposed to that, I tried that out.  I was drawn to the liturgy and use of music that sounded contemporary without being a "praise chorus." Some more things happened, some significant, some not so much.  I had trouble in my marriage and started to watch everything I had fall away from me: again.  After that, my bitterness and anger reached it's tipping point, paralyzing my life.  I went out of my way to alienate anyone and everyone who tried to get close to me.  My wounds ran deep.

However, over the last year things started to change.  I had interactions with some people who showed me that not all Christians were Pharisees.  I came into contact with a new perspective that said that Christianity wasn't about judging, but that it was about love, love for everyone, love that Jesus lived. I also decided to take my parents up on their offer to come to church with them and hear their new pastor.  I immediately liked him and what he had to say.

Within a couple of weeks he knew my name.  Other people in the church made me feel welcome. These are people who have been praying for me for years.  They were familiar with my struggles, because my parents had been asking them to pray for me.  They didn't look at me as a weirdo or a newbie, they looked at me as part of their community. It's meant a lot to me.

Pastor Gary and these people have given me a place to heal.

I can't adequately express how much this means to me.  As I said earlier, my wounds run deep.  You might say I've lost a lot of spiritual blood.  To be certain, some of these wounds will scar over and always be with me in some way.  They'll always be a part of me, a part of my experience.

I've come to this realization though.  God's not done with me.  He never was.  I went from super-Christian teen, to ministry candidate, to militant atheist that openly denied everything I once believed, but I see now that God was always there waiting, working in the background waiting for this prodigal son to come home.  I had to get to the point where I wanted to come home. Once I was there, he put the path in place for me to do so.

And you know what?  Jesus doesn't care if we're broken and scarred when we come to him, or in my case, come back to him.  He's a specialist in dealing with people with scars because he bares scars of his own.  One of his followers betrayed him with a kiss.  As he was being tried and persecuted, his best friend denied that he even knew him, not once, but three times.  He was tortured and killed even though he didn't deserve it.

It's this Jesus who says to me.  "It's ok.  Don't be afraid, I always loved you, even when you denied me and cursed me.  Come home now, it's time to heal and forgive."  It all hit me this morning as I sang:

          I, the Lord of snow and rain,
          I have borne my peoples pain.
          I have wept for love of them, They turn away.
          I will break their hearts of stone,
          Give them hearts for love alone.
          I will speak My word to them,
         Whom shall I send?

And I wept, just a little, managing to hold most of it in.  I wept because I'm home and I'm loved.  I wept because God's not done, I believe he has a special place and a purpose for those with the most terrible scars.

This all started watching two young people serve others.  I was just like them once, and then life happened.  However now I know that God can live in me and work through me as he did with Peter, even after he denied him.

And for that grace I'm thankful beyond words.

Little Gems: Micah 6:8 "Do Justice, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly"

"He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"  

--Micah 6:8 (English Standard Version).

Pastor Gary talked about the verse above last Sunday morning in his sermon.  He brought it back to my mind and made me really consider it.  I can't tell you how many times I've read this verse or sung it as either a Cantor in the Catholic Church or as a worship leader in protestant churches, but for some reason it never clicked with me.  The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to write about it. The more I wanted to write about it, I started thinking about other verses that either were favorites of mine or some that maybe I hadn't really noticed before.  So I've decided that I'll do some entries about verses in both of those categories and call it "Little Gems."  This is the first of those entries.

The Book of Micah is one of those "out of the way" books in the Bible.  As one of the 12 books of the minor prophets, it doesn't get the consideration the major prophetical books like Isaiah, Ezekiel, or Daniel do.  It also isn't one of the big weighty books like Leviticus.  It's a pity, because Micah has a lot to say about what today we would call "social justice."  Perhaps that's why it doesn't get much play in conservative evangelical circles.

The verse above actually comes from a section (chapter 6) where God is indicting the people of Israel.  Basically God is saying " I brought you out of Egypt.  I've sent all of these upright men and women to you to serve as examples, but you don't still don't seem to have figured out what I want you to do."

Starting in verse 6, God talks about what he wants.  As it turns out, he doesn't want ritual sacrifices. He doesn't want lavish buildings with all the expensive accessories.  He doesn't want you to sacrifice your kids to redeem your soul (that's a good thing!)

Then we get to verse 8.  The prophet says "Hey, God has told you what is good before,  What more does he want of you but to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with him?"  To me, this is the message of Christianity, the message of Jesus in a nutshell.  Let's take just a moment to consider these things.

First the prophet says we are to "do justice."  Some translations have it as to "seek justice."  What does that mean?  Keep in mind the social justice context.  Several times in the book Micah levels accusations at the rich, the people who control the resources and yet covet more and more of them. Just a few verses after the one above, God says:

"Shall I acquit the man with wicked scales and with a bag of deceitful weights?  Your rich men are full of violence; your inhabitants speak lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.  Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow, making you desolate because of your sins."

God wants us to do economic justice.  He wants us to seek to end the way people lord and horde countless riches while so many others can't even get by.  He wants people to get paid fairly for the work they do.

The second thing is to "love kindness" or some translations have it as "love mercy."  This is every bit as subversive as the first idea. Kindness and mercy equal forgiveness.  They equal respect for everyone despite their circumstances.  They equal second chances for everyone, whether they deserve it or not.

This is another radical concept in today's world.  Christianity seems to stand for judgment and sin avoidance.  So many of us love to preach about "God's Law" at other people without realizing that none of us measure up either. Showing kindness and mercy toward those who might have committed an offense against us, or what we perceive to be an offense to our beliefs is difficult, but it is an absolutely essential element of Christianity.  How easily we forget that.

Finally the prophet says that we are to walk humbly with our God.  Think about the literal act of walking with someone and imagine walking humbly with them. You're talking to them, listening to them, interacting with them.  If you're walking humbly, chances are you're not walking around with your chest puffed out trying to get people to look at you. I mean, hey, you're walking with God!  You're a super Christian. You don't smoke, drink, swear, watch rated R movies or date girls who do!  Walking humbly means being quiet and, well HUMBLE.  It doesn't mean walking by other folks and shouting at them, thumping them over the head with the Bible because you think that they're doing something wrong.

When we do these things: seek justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God, we become an example to others.  We show what walking with Jesus can really bring about in one's life.  We show that despite the trappings of modern Christianity, there are people out there who are dedicated to bringing the justice, mercy, and humility of the God who became man in a stable into the world and try to make it a better place for everyone.

It's worth trying.  I know it is.