I’m taking a bit of a break from blogging. Life has intruded, and made it difficult to find the time to write or even think about what to write. Nothing bad, just very, very busy. Things should slow down here in a while, and I’ll be back.
Repost: Mustard Seeds
This was first published on June 4, 2009.
In the Gospels, Jesus likens the Kingdom of God to a mustard plant. I had always understood that story as meaning that the Kingdom starts out small, but then grows into something great to which everyone will eventually pledge allegiance (this all would happen during the future millennial kingdom). Evidently, Jesus had something different in mind.
To the Jews of the first century, mustard was a managed weed. It could be useful, but needed to be tightly controlled. Evidently it was against Jewish law to plant mustard in a garden. If managed well it grew into a large shrub, but not anything we would call a tree. The Jewish concept of the Kingdom of God was something that was big and powerful, like the cedar tree. It was something that would come with a bang, and everyone would know it was here. When Messiah came, he would restore the throne of David to its former glory. Israel would take its rightful place as the premier nation. Jesus turned that upside down. He stated that the kingdom would be something that started small and worked its way along like a mustard plant, like a weed that grew in places where it was unexpected, and unwanted. It would be a large shrub, not a majestic cedar. The common fowls would flock to it, not the majestic birds like the eagle.
The Kingdom of God is not out there in front. It is not found in human glory or national pride. Many times it is invisible, as it works its way through society. It is found in unexpected places, inside the four walls of a church, and outside where people live their lives. Too often we miss it. Regardless of how small the kingdom may appear, it is powerful. It breaks down barriers as it works into the cracks. It flavors life for its subjects and those they encounter. It cannot be contained in our neat little gardens, sometimes it can’t even be found there.
The Kingdom of God is open to all who wish to enter, even those who are at the bottom of the ladder. Many who are looking for a kingdom that arrives with power and glory may stand in danger of missing the true King. As Jesus told Pilate, his kingdom is not of this world.
Follow this King and enter his kingdom. Be part of the mustard plant.
Come As You Are, Bring What You Can
A few weeks ago a friend was talking with us about how she felt a little self conscious about bringing food to dinners and other gatherings because she didn’t cook, and because she didn’t shop at the same grocery stores as a lot of the other people. It’s an understandable feeling. In today’s culture we are bombarded with the message that what you wear, what car you drive, where you shop, and what you eat determines your worth. Unfortunately, this can even be the case within the church. In his first letter to the church in Corinth, Paul addresses the problem of some eating the food that they had brought without sharing with those who had none, and getting drunk while others had nothing to drink. There were evidently wealthy individuals in the church who refused to share with those who were less well off. James writes about Christians who were showing favoritism to rich folks (possibly to get their tithes? 🙂 ), while treating the poor among them like dirt.
Apparently, the early church hadn’t moved far from the attitude of the Pharisees and those who gave and attended dinners to enhance their social standing. Of course, we here in the enlightened 21st century have moved beyond such attitudes, right? Right? *crickets* In a post titled, Accepting a Seat At the Table, Craig at Throwing Bricks writes this:
It’s strange but I often find Christians who are hesitant to fellowship with other followers of Christ who don’t share their particular set of doctrinal beliefs, political affiliations, worship preferences, social / economic status, race, age or perceived level of maturity. They are more concerned with being proved right than being with Jesus. It’s as though we are still abiding by the old rules of table fellowship. I have some old friends that border on fundamentalism and though we all believe in Jesus and strive to follow his teachings we remain distant due to certain interpretations of scripture. What gets me is that I have no problem calling them brother and sister but I’m not sure they would reciprocate that sentiment and it sucks.
Evidently, accepting others is an ongoing problem in the church. Sometimes we reject others due to different interpretations of Scripture, sometimes because of social standing. We still seem to have a hard time accepting those whom Jesus has already accepted. Craig also writes:
Jesus didn’t discriminate based on any of these factors but rather invited anyone to come. To respond to Jesus’ invitation and accept a seat at the table is to accept Jesus himself and everyone else at the table regardless of personal differences.
Our Rabbi, the one we are called to follow, invited everyone to come and accepted all who came. Should we do less.
To finish the story, I assured our friend that I knew that the folks in her group wouldn’t care where her food came from, who had cooked it, or what bag she carried it in. She is fortunate because she is part of a community of faith that loves her for who she is, not for any standard of “worth” the culture might try to put on her.
Weekend Wanderings
After a few days of almost Indian Summer type temperatures, fall has returned to the sunny South. I spent the day yesterday at the local camp and retreat center where Jan and I work from time to time. They needed someone to fill in at the high ropes course zip line and to drive the bus to pick up a couple of groups of kayackers. I love being on the island where the camp is located. To me, it’s one of those thin places where the presence of God is palpable.
I’ve gotten behind in my blog reading this week, so the selection of links will be a bit shorter. I hope you enjoy.
A funny from Eric Carpenter.
Kansas Bob on friends.
It’s time to party!
M. Morford on fall.
How much does God give us?
The harder life.
Alan Knox on learning to trust.
Arthur Sido asks a very good question.
Donald Trump and the Gospel.
Good reminder for all of us.
I hope you have a blessed week!
World Vision Wednesday
“Mabvuto was forced to drop out of school because he had nothing to wear but tattered clothes and routinely suffered from preventable illness. Access to basic clothing and medication could make a world of difference for children like him.”
Check this out to find out more.
Weekend Wanderings Correction
Thanks to Sara for catching a mistaken link in yesterday’s post. The link to Dan Edelen’s post on a characteristic of great Christians was to another post. The correct link is here.
Weekend Wanderings
Fall is making its presence felt here in the sunny South. It has been sunny and cool during the day, and at night it’s cool enough to sleep with some cover. My volleyball team started off with three wins in a row, then played like a different team and lost the next one. I guess that’s too be expected when dealing with eighth grade girls. It’s okay. Coaching is still the best part of my work day. There’s just over a month left in the election season. I, for one, will be glad when I don’t have to read or watch any more of the political ads for a while.
On to the links:
Good question.
The Merry Monk has a fable for the candidates.
Innocent or relevant?
Zack Hunt on the new Joel Osteen book.
When truth can be a lie.
Think you’re having a bad day?
Living community.
Arthur Sido on church and tax breaks.
Vessel.
iMonk classic.
Doctrinal differences.
Brant Hansen on Rich Mullins.
Lessons learned in the chemo lab.
Dan Edelen on a characteristic of great Christians.
God hidden.
Keith Giles on sacrificial love.
Seven habits of a lifeless church.
Richard Brand on a married Jesus.
The family of God in Ephesians.
Were there early Christian soldiers?
Have a blessed week!
Peace
Today is International Peace Day. All over the world, people are thinking about peace, talking about peace, and working for peace. One of the goals of the day is that there be a day where there is no fighting anywhere in the world. Sort of a global cease fire. In the school where I work, students and teachers were asked what “peace” meant to them. Most of the answers including things like not fighting, no conflict, or treating others kindly. It is all of those things, but peace is also so much more. There is something which underlies all of those ideas. It is the idea of shalom.
The Hebrew word shalom means peace. It is also used as a greeting and a farewell. Shalom means more than just “peace,” more than just the absences of conflict. The word means wholeness, health, completeness, rest, and harmony. It is a concept that most don’t really understand because there is so little wholeness, health, rest or harmony in the world. Every day there is news of conflict somewhere in the world, or crimes committed against property or persons. Much of what passes for political speech is nothing more than arguing and trying to prove how evil the other side is. Even in churches, there is not the shalom that should be there.
Jesus is described in Scripture as the Sar shalom, Prince of Peace. It is in Jesus that true shalom is found. He is the one who brings wholeness, who gives health. It is Jesus who completes us, who gives us rest. Only Jesus brings harmony as he reconciles us with God, and reconciles us with each other. Unfortunately, the world looks at those who claim to follow the Prince of Peace and sees division, arguing and fighting, and sometimes hatred. This should not be. We are told in 1 Peter 3:15 to be always ready to give an answer to those who want to know about the hope we have in us. I believe that means more than just telling people how they can go to heaven when they die. A large part of that hope is the shalom that we have in Jesus. We have something that the world is desperate for. Our problem is that we don’t realize what we have. We don’t realize that in Christ we are whole, we are complete, we are at rest, we are reconciled. If we can grasp that truth and let the Spirit form Christ in us, we can live in shalom. We can live in a way that is truly counter-cultural. We can exhibit the kind of hope that causes others to ask.
“May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26 NLT)
World Vision Wednesday
On September 29, the Global Festival will be held in Central Park in New York City. A number of artists will be performing, including Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Foo Fighters, the Black Keys, and Band of Horses. World Vision is partnering with globalcitizen.org to increase awareness of the issues of global poverty and things that can be done to help the least of these.
Repost: The Presence of God
Sorry there was no Weekend Wanderings post this week. The weekend turned out to be crazy busy. This post was first published January 26, 2009. I hope you enjoy it.
Have you ever been in a church service and heard someone pray and thank God for the chance to come into his house and worship in his presence? Or maybe you’ve prayed that yourself? I have. Or maybe you’ve sung the hymn, “In the Garden.” You know, the one that talks about meeting Jesus in a particular place at a particular time and then going out on your own into the world outside the “garden.” I think songs like “In the Garden,” and prayers that speak of “coming into” God’s presence have unwittingly helped foster a dualistic way of looking at the world.
Growing up, I was always taught that it was important to have a time and place set aside to “meet with God”, to spend some time reading the Bible and praying in order to be able to face the challenges of the day. We were told that first thing in the morning was the best. On top of that we should attend church services on Sunday morning and Sunday night to be prepared for the week ahead, and also show up on Wednesday night in order to refresh your faith for the second half of the week. Behind it all was the idea that if you weren’t in church three or more times a week and having your own devotional time, you weren’t spending enough time with God.
Don’t misunderstand me. I am NOT saying that setting aside a regular amount of time to read Scripture and pray is a bad thing. I am NOT saying that a time of corporate worship and instruction is a bad thing. I AM saying that we fall short of the life that Jesus came to give us when we act as if those are the only times we are in the presence of God.
I see this in the theology that teaches that salvation is only spiritual and guarantees that one day we will escape this old world of sin and misery and go to our home in heaven. I believe that if we see heaven as “somewhere beyond the blue”, it makes sense to believe that God isn’t really with us in our day-to-day, and that it is essential that we go to church a lot and carve out a special time to “meet” with God. While folks may protest that they don’t believe that, I think the evidence in their lives shows that they really do. Having said that, I know that there are people who use the words of this theology because that is what they grew up with, yet live as if they are always in the presence of God.
If we believe that God fills all of creation and that he is not limited to a particular place, then we can realize that heaven is all around us and that God is making all things new right now, and will finally restore his creation when Jesus returns. If we really believe that, then while we may set aside a certain time and place to focus on the Father, we will live in our day-to-day aware that we are continually in God’s presence and don’t have to rely on whether or not we had our “devotions” that morning. We have the Spirit in us to guide us and reveal to us what God wants us to know and do.
Yes, we need to read and know the Bible. Yes, we need to pray. But we should never think that a certain time of the day or day of the week is the only time we are in God’s presence. As the Psalmist asked, where can we go where God is not there?