Truth and Freedom

John 8:31-36

Truth is taking a heavy beating these days. In reality it always has but it seems this is especially the case of late. Call it what you want: alternative facts, political spin, disinformation and the list goes on. What they do is work to hide or discredit what is the truth. Call it what you want but a lie is still a lie. If you want to use theological language, a sin is still a sin. The refusal to seek the truth will continue to keep us bound, not free.

Disinformation/political spin/alternative facts are used by the powerful to keep us in the bondage of division, to their advantage. Disinformation/political spin/alternative facts reinforce the suspicions we carry toward others and push us into the heinous acts of hate. Disinformation/political spin/alternative facts convince us that what we know to be good is actually bad. They convince us that what we know to be evil is righteous. Without truth, there is only bondage. Without truth, there is no freedom.

The reading from the gospel of John tells of Jesus and the Jews having a rather sharp debate over the truth about being children of God. We first need to remember that Jesus was also Jewish and so this was more of a “family” argument and they can get nasty. Secondly, verses like these have been used to define Jews as the evil enemy and used as justification for persecution. This is a lie.

Jesus said,

If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.

John 8:31

Those present declared their lineage to be from Abraham and so they have never been in bondage. A preposterous statement since their land was currently under the bondage to Roman authority. Jesus spoke of ‘continuing in his word.’ His word gave an honest definition of the truth regarding justice, peace and sin. Freedom will not come when justice denied is hidden under lies. Peace brought about under the threat of violence is not true peace. This is bondage, not freedom. Sin is more than doing something defined as ‘bad.’ Sin is defiance/rebellion against the ways of justice and peace God calls out for us to live. We won’t have freedom until we truthfully look at how we participate in the injustice and violence of this world.

The truth is taking a beating these days. Disinformation and spin are keeping us in bondage. Jesus calls out for us to continue in his word to learn the ways of God’s rule. The result is we will learn what is justice and peace from God’s perspective. In the end, we’ll know the truth that leads to freedom.

Peace.

God is like a hot-tempered, revenge focused king. Really??

Matthew 22:1-14

God gets compared to a lot of things, most of them are poor comparisons. We like to twist God into being more like us rather than the other way around. So when the parable given by Jesus in Matthew is read, the immediate result might be to cringe in fear. Jesus began by saying that the kingdom of heaven might be compared to a king who held a wedding party for his son. The honored guests snubbed the invitation and didn’t show up. The king obviously was embarrassed and publicly shamed. So, in a vengeful rage, the king lashed out having those guests killed and their cities destroyed. He then invited any who would come and celebrate his son’s wedding. One person arrived inappropriately dressed unsure of the event. The king again lashed out and had the person bound and thrown into a place of utter darkness where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth. The king sounds like a petty, thin-skinned person of power of whom the world is very familiar. But is the kingdom of heaven really like this? Hardly.

Jesus modeled and taught what the kingdom of heaven was like for us to live. The kingdom of heaven is a place where justice is lived out between people. It is a place where truth is shared instead of lies. It is where the hard work of peace is preferred over war. It is where the dignity of the poor is lifted up while the haughty are brought down. The kingdom of heaven is a total contradiction to the behavior of the parable’s king. Comparisons aren’t always used to highlight similarities; they can also be used to highlight contradictions.

So how does the kingdom of heaven compare to a petty king? What they share in common is the reaction of the people to both. The wedding invitees made fun of the king’s invite and put personal business as a higher priority. Jesus has invited us to live out the ways of God’s kingdom and our responses aren’t all that different from the king’s invitees. The response of the people is how the two compare.

Jesus concluded the parable saying, “For many are called, but few are chosen.” The reality is that we are all invited to live lives as part of the kingdom of heaven, but few of us do. The few who do are welcomed as the blessed of God.

Peace

Being Honest is Crucial

Matthew 18:21-35

Honesty isn’t easy but it is crucial. Think of a time you were called to account for what you had done to hurt a friend? Where did the mind go first? An honest assessment of what had been done followed by an apology or did the mind go somewhere else? A whitewash of what was done as not so bad…an effort to discredit the other person’s credibility…how about going on the attack and bludgeon them into silence? In what direction did the mind go?

Honesty isn’t easy but it is crucial. The political world these days is filled with scandal that is unrelenting. The charges are whitewashed with political spin. The opposition is discredited as not being so perfect either. A full blown attack is made to destroy the integrity of all involved. Honesty is lacking. The result is a political realm that simply can’t function in a healthy way.

Honesty isn’t easy but it is crucial. Peter wanted to know from Jesus how many times he was required to forgive someone. There has to be a limit, right? Jesus’ response was for him to stop counting. Then Jesus went on to tell about a slave who had a massive debt. The slave was unable to pay and so begged for mercy which the master granted in full. The slave was given a new lease on life until he saw another who owed him a much smaller debt. This other slave also begged for mercy but none was granted as he was sent to jail until the debt was paid in full. When the master heard the news he rescinded his grant of mercy and tossed the first slave in jail. Jesus then gave this strong warning,

So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.

Matthew 18:35

Honesty isn’t easy but it is crucial. The original slave had every right to collect on a debt. However, he quickly overlooked his own forgiven debt and the amazing mercy received from his master. Such mercy was completely ignored. Peter’s request to know the limits of forgiveness displayed his lack of awareness regarding the depths of the forgiveness and mercy he had already received from God. This is the great challenge for us all. Forgiveness is a word that quickly rolls off the tongue but forgiveness from the heart isn’t so easy. Forgiveness from the depth of our being isn’t possible without honestly comprehending the depth of mercy we have first received from God.

Honesty isn’t easy but it is crucial. An honest assessment of what has been done is the way for friends to reconcile. An honest assessment of what has been done is the only way political leaders can come together for the good of all. An honest assessment of the mercy granted is how we forgive our brother or sister without keeping the score.

Honesty isn’t easy but it is a crucial part of the kingdom of Heaven.

Peace

Is the church really all that different?

Matthew 18:15-20

I wonder what makes the church different from the world. This is especially an important question as the church finds itself drawn into alliances with the political realities of the day. The result so often seems to be that the church takes on the character of the world and not the other way around. If true, it no longer has anything to offer as a witness to the character of God’s kingdom.

I wonder what makes the church different from the world where divide and conquer is the strategy. Harm done to community and nation is secondary to the ultimate goal of winning the power. We have become suspicious and fail to trust each other. We ignore the search for truth if it doesn’t align with political beliefs. Justice is a concept that only sounds nice. What makes the church different from such a world?

In the reading from Matthew, Jesus gave a lesson about the church community. He spoke about forgiveness, reconciliation and community. If another sins against you, go to that person and reconcile. Sounds so simple. Yet, this is hard to do when it would be so much easier to use that sin against them for our own benefit. If your effort to reconcile doesn’t work, then go to the community to witness and to be of help. Jesus set up forgiveness, reconciliation and community as vital for the life of his church.

Jesus also spoke of “binding and setting free…coming together in agreement…his presence when as little as two or three are together in his name.” The use of his “name” is not a tag at the end of a prayer to get what we desire. “Name” is about character or essence. When we gather to live out the character of Jesus, he promised that he will be present. The result will be a community with the ability to set people free as a witness against the anger, division and lies of the world. When the church comes together in the name of Jesus to forgive and reconcile, this is what makes the church community different from the rest of world.

Peace

An Evasive Jesus? John 10:22-30

These days it seems as though nothing is solid and clear answers are illusive. The recent leak regarding the Supreme Court’s possible overturning of Roe v. Wade has thrown the country’s understanding of reproductive health and control into turmoil. What will this mean in practice? How will this affect other areas of life once considered ‘rights?’ The stock market has been riding a wild roller coaster of down…up…and wildly down again. Where is the economy heading? Are we in a recession? Nope. Nothing seems very solid right now. After the past couple years of Covid-19 which doesn’t go away, stability would be greatly appreciated for life to be manageable.

The Gospel of John has the Jews coming to Jesus with what seems a very reasonable question. Is Jesus the long awaited Messiah or isn’t he? The things Jesus was doing are the kind of miraculous actions that only God can do. If Jesus is of God then lets get about the business of creating the kingdom of God on earth (at least what we think it should be). Yet, Jesus seems to defy Scripture by healing a person on the Sabbath (at least our interpretation of Scripture). If Jesus is only a sinner then we had best move on. Come on Jesus, give a clear and solid answer. Unfortunately, Jesus didn’t give one…or did he?

Jesus had already given them the answer they sought but they wouldn’t believe. He started talking about sheep which are acutely in tune with their shepherd’s voice. Jesus has been speaking but we simply haven’t been listening. He wasn’t being evasive. Jesus didn’t fit into the categories being forced upon him then or which we continue to force upon him now. His messiah-ship wasn’t about enhancing corporate profits, investment strategies or about exerting political will over others. The problem is that our hearing is more acutely tuned to the voices that are not of God.

Jesus said that he gives eternal life. We think this means an endless number of days to live but eternal life is so much more than we can imagine. Eternal life is a quality of life, a way of life, that is found in God. Since this life is found in God, it too is endless as God is endless. Jesus gave the assurance that this kind of life won’t be taken away from us.

In these tumultuous days, clear and solid answers would be a welcome relief. The Jews tried to force an answer from Jesus but he didn’t fit either option. We may consider ourselves more sophisticated but forcing an answer from Jesus gives the same result. We have a hearing problem. We are attuned to the world’s voices but Jesus is also speaking. His invitation is to listen to what he said and to listen to the witness of the things he did. In the end, we’ll have an answer that couldn’t be more clear.

Peace.

Jesus and Leadership John 21:1-19

Go to any bookstore or search eBook collections and you’ll discover that there is no shortage of books on the topic of leadership. So you would think that humanity has this leadership stuff figured out. The qualities of great leadership are obvious to each of us when we see it on display, for sure. True leadership is decisive and unwavering. True leadership is strength showing no weakness. Charisma? Absolutely! Yet, when looking at the leadership of this world the headlines show what is deceptive, abuse of power, intimidation, grift, scandal, spin and rallies among adoring followers. Jesus shows a different understanding of leadership for those called to be leaders for his church. The world could learn a thing or two and much more.

The Gospel of John gives us a glimpse of life with the disciples shortly after the resurrection. Peter decided that he was going fishing and several other disciples joined him. They toiled all night but their nets were empty. Jesus on the shoreline told them to fish on the other side of the boat and the nets were so full they couldn’t pull them into the boat. Now, the disciples knew all about fishing. Jesus’ advise for them to try the other side wasn’t about their ignorance regarding fishing. The disciples were only successful when they listened and obeyed Jesus. Yes, we have lots of books about leadership. However leadership in the church is defined by listening and obeying Jesus. The world should again take notice.

The disciples dragged the nets full of fish to the shoreline where Jesus fed them breakfast. Then Jesus confronted Peter. During Jesus’ trial, three times Peter denied knowing and having any association with Jesus. Here Jesus asked Peter if he loved him for each of these three. This had to be agonizing for Peter to be confronted by what he had done. Yet for each declaration of love for Jesus, Peter was given three instructions: feed my lambs, tend my sheep and feed my sheep. Jesus placed Peter into the position of leadership but it wasn’t about being a star with celebrity status or hanging out with the politically powerful to bask in their glory. The role of leadership Jesus gave to Peter was to care for the well being of those entrusted to him.

The reading ends with Jesus telling Peter that one day his hands would be bound with him being led to a place he didn’t want to go. This was a way of telling Peter that he would not have a peaceful death but a violent one. This would be a consequence of the leadership given to him.

Yes, we have lots of books available to read on the topic of leadership but I think it would be safe to say that few envision a leadership dedicated to the caring for the well being of others and being willing to go where we don’t want to be. So lets take a moment to dream. Lets imagine a world where leaders tended solely to the needs of the people and had the courage to go where they didn’t want to be. The world would be a different place. Actually, it would begin to be a reflection of the Kingdom of God.

Peace

The Song of Faith Luke 1:39-55

This season of the year is filled with great music. Yes, we bemoan Christmas music blaring over shopping store speakers in October. Yet the music is in us. We can’t seem to help singing our favorite carols in the privacy of the car. Perhaps we hum a stanza or two at the office desk. This is a great time for the music of Christmas. In tune or not, we sing out unabashedly. We simply can’t help ourselves. The music is in us. All the way to our souls.

This is the Fourth Sunday of Advent. The reading turns to Mary. She is singing what is the song of faith. The words aren’t about Santa, Rudolf or even Little Drummer Boys. The words are about what God has done for her and the implications for the world. These implications aren’t that God will make us great again, or that we will be powerful, or that the world will look to us in awe, or that our cultural preferences will be established as dominate over others. The song of faith Mary sung from the depths of her soul was not about what we deem of value.

Mary’s song of faith was how God had embarrassed the boastful claim of our lie filled wisdom, brought down those walking the marbled halls of power and filled the soul with what corporate tax breaks won’t satisfy. God shunned these to choose her – a young Jewish woman under Roman oppression and from a town not even worthy of a modern day stop sign. The child she would soon give birth would bring salvation which wasn’t some far off event: the day of the Lord when the reign of God is fully established. Salvation is in the here and now whenever the lies and power and wealth are also shunned for what Jesus embodied.

Mary’s song of faith was about what God has done, is currently doing and will yet accomplish in the child she was carrying. The joy empowering her lungs was that the Lord had chosen her, one of the world’s lowly to bring such a blessing.

So much great music this time of year! What song carries the faith that fills the depth of your soul? Sing it loud!

Peace

“Lets go Brandon” and Jesus the King John 18:33-37

“Lets go Brandon,” was chanted by those in attendance at a conference hosted by Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas. If you aren’t familiar with “Lets go Brandon,” it is a vulgar euphemism against President Biden. It should also be noted that Pastor Matt Hagee has since apologized for the church hosting the event.

So what do we make of all of this? The Twitter posts ranged from supporting people expressing their political beliefs to condemnation toward the church for allowing such an event to happen on their property. Division is nothing new to anyone. Unfortunately, division has also become a part of the church. Covid has made the division all the worse as politics has been carried into the pew. We are now vaccinated and anti-vaccination Christians. We are pro-mask and anti-mask Christians. We seem to be driven by politics more than anything else these days. The question still remains of what do we do when the faith becomes driven by politics?

This Sunday is called Christ the King Sunday. The end of the church year has come and Jesus Christ is declared King. Jesus is not shown sitting on a royal throne but is standing before Pilate in judgement. Pilate is interrogating Jesus to find out the truth of him being a rival king and threat to Rome. Jesus’ response was very interesting. He said,

Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” 34Jesus answered, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?” 35Pilate replied, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?” 36Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here. 37Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”

John 18:33-37

If Jesus’ kingdom was from this world his followers would fight. They would also slander, insult, shout out “Lets go Brandon”, argue, bicker, lie, divide, kill and anything else granting them the goal of power. These are the ways of the world’s kingdoms. Jesus’ kingdom is not how the world behaves and his followers are to be different as well.

Jesus also said he came to testify to the truth which isn’t hard to understand. The false accusations, mockery and his unjust crucifixion reveal all we need to know about the world. Listening to his voice, the truth becomes obvious.

Christ the King Sunday has come and Jesus the King is portrayed by John as being judged by the world. However, the powers of the world end up being judged instead and the verdict isn’t kind. Jesus’ kingdom offers a far different reality from the kingdoms of this world. So when we are being divided we need to remember what Jesus came to testify: the truth.

Peace

Jesus and Divorce Mark 10:2-16

This reading is one of those that cause the pastor to enter the pulpit with some fear. The topic involves divorce and adultery. The problem is that quite a few people gathered will be divorced; the pastor might be too. While those having remarried could be fully blessed, the sin of adultery still hangs in the air. So how can we hear good news from this lesson? Especially, since the reading has so often been used as a mallet to hammer down the law.

As usual, we start from the perspective of power. Those days men had the power and women didn’t have it. Children? They had even less. One line of thinking held that a man could simply dismiss his wife with a slip of paper. No valid reason really was needed. The man had the power to do as he willed. The woman was often left destitute. This is how power works. It determines those who win and those who lose.

Jesus was challenged on this thinking about divorce. Really, the goal wasn’t to learn his belief as it was about trying to trick him in his words. Jesus said that Moses gave permission for divorce because of our ‘hardness of heart.’ Hardness of heart is essentially our determination to force life and relationships to fit under our power or control. So we physically abuse, emotionally abuse, withdraw, deny, intimidate, threaten, restrict, etc., in order to have dominion over the other. This struggle over who has the power and the consequences, is not what God had intended from the beginning.

From the beginning, the two are one flesh. They aren’t divided. They aren’t lopsided. They are one. We marry for love. However, we can also marry for power. We marry for lust. We marry for prestige. We marry for wealth. We marry for the ‘trophy’ at our shoulder. These latter reasons leave marriage as a transaction to serve our ‘hardness of heart.’ If we are going to treat marriage as hardly more than a transaction, then what we are doing is little more than adultery.

Jesus said that to enter the kingdom of heaven is to enter it as a child. The kingdom of heaven is the realm and rule of God. Do you want to enter into such a kingdom? Then be like a child. Remember, children were the ones with little or no power. Leave the quest for power and dominion at the door. Want the blessing God had intended for marriage from the beginning? Leave behind the ‘hardness of heart’ to control. Enjoy the oneness God wanted us to have in life.

Peace.

Giving Life Over

Mark 8:27-38

Jesus was tough in this reading. He told Peter to basically, “Shut Up!” He talked about being rejected…suffering…a cross…and death. He will be ashamed of those ashamed of him and his teaching in what Jesus called this “adulterous and sinful generation.” Jesus warned of losing our life – our essence of who we are – in this generation. The warning about losing our life is that once it is lost, how will we get it back? Imagine the cost? Is it even possible? Jesus’ words were hard to hear.

The reading began with Jesus asking the disciples a very simple question about his identity. They gave the various answers that people were wondering about him. Then, Peter blurted out that Jesus was the Messiah. Peter was correct but Jesus wanted his identity to be kept secret – at least for now. When Jesus started to talk about suffering and death, Peter tried to shut him down. There was a strong belief in a coming Messiah. The Messiah would judge the world “adulterous and sinful.” Then, the Messiah would raise up Israel to a place of glory and power. Nobody imagined a Messiah suffering and dying a horrible death on a cross. This was the belief that Peter grew up learning and to which he gave over his life. So when Peter challenged Jesus’ teaching, Jesus shut him down and called Peter’s actions satanic.

A big challenge to being Christian is how the world tries to put us into a category. Are we liberal, conservative, Democrat or Republican Christians? Each category has its own set of priorities and demands placed upon us. Each category seeks to exert its power and reach over others. Each category calls us to hand over our life to further its goals. Peter held to the beliefs of his Jewish upbringing and when he tried to force them upon Jesus, the response was being called satanic. If we traded places with Peter and tried to exert our views upon Jesus, I think he’d respond the same to us. Why? Regardless of political opinions the goal is the same: power. Power as defined by this “adulterous and sinful generation.”

Jesus came with a different understanding. He gave his life over not to the vying powers of that day. He gave his life over for a dying world to live. He gave his life over not to prop up one of the world’s powers but to establish the reign of God.

Jesus words of taking up a cross and following him, call out to us today. The cross isn’t a piece of jewelry. The cross is a dramatic challenge placed upon where we are giving over our lives. The cross for us is telling the world to “Shut Up!” So that we may give our life over to the Lord who alone brings life even through a horrible cross.

Jesus warned about handing over our life to the power of the world. If we do, how will we get our life back? Imagine the cost. Jesus showed the cost by living it out for us.

Peace.