A Hard Truth ...

Is hate systemic?  If so, must it then be found in each of us?  Oh no, we recoil, not in me, surely not in me.  I do not hate any man or woman.  But then, how do I treat any man or woman?  Do I offer more than I expect.  Do I offer anything without expectation.  In times of great personal stress, do I put away my own feelings, and tend to the feelings of others?  Or as is considered normal, do I look to my own house before looking anywhere outside.  Do I focus on the needs of myself, and my family, before I ever consider the needs of another.  And in so doing, my lack of concern, whether based in apathy, or dislike, begins to show in how I treat another.  Not long ago, a man died in our country.  Not because there was need.  But because there was a lack of concern for him as a person.  Reckless apathy.  Blind apathy.  And though these events took place in public, no one else stepped in to intercede.  Think about that for a moment.  Other well-trained police officers who all knew this was wrong in real time did not intervene, and change the outcome for our brother.  But then, the public gathered there, chose to film this, instead of putting themselves in harm’s way to change the outcome as well.  Film over risk.  Words over deeds.  Then descends the endless parade of high-profile attorneys, and media consultants, who claim they only seek justice for George – when underneath, they seek a percentage of massive law suits against the wrong doers.  And the family who has suffered unspeakable loss, is now in the care of those who prolong that loss, feed off of it, put it in the public’s eye, and take their cut of what follows.  So those who suffer most, suffer longest.

Enter the news media.  CNN moves from a daily coverage of the worst pandemic in modern history, to a non-stop barrage of the injustice of what happened to George.  They claim only to want justice and change, but that is an empty claim when measured against ratings.  And when those in our society who crave attention, and themselves care little for George or his family, see what they might be able to do, they insert themselves in peaceful demonstrations and create violence where none should exist.  Looting starts, and the desire for change is now corrupted by those who care little for anything more than themselves under a masquerade of “no justice, no peace”.  And the media covers every detail of the violence as if that is all that matters.  They show it live.  They interview everyone.  They bring in opinion personalities, to talk about it.  And in the end, they do nothing but stoke it.  For violence brings even greater ratings than injustice.  And no network is immune.  And a family who looks for the comfort of change, becomes mired in the outbreak of violence, as if they ever wanted any association with violence.  Still the call for change continues.

But here is where a hard truth begins to emerge; what must change is not the behavior of others, but how I love others.  What must change is not the Minnesota police department, that is but a drop in the bucket.  All the police officers in this country are but a drop in the bucket.  What needs to change are the hearts of the people of this country, and of every country.  Hearts that would hold out one race over another; one sex, or orientation over another; one religion or creed over another.  It is not “white” supremacy that needs to be abolished in our thinking – it is “supremacy” – period.  There are none of us superior or inferior to any other human on the planet.  Money does not tip the scale.  Intelligence does not tip it.  Even an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ does not make us better than anyone else, in fact it teaches us to be the servants of everyone else; them first, us last.  This truth is hard, because in ways we don’t like to talk about, we all like to feel superior.  And inevitably that superiority makes us separate from the others we then look down upon.  Even Christians are far from servants, instead holding themselves out to be different, but with hearts that have never met Jesus, and never submitted to His changing Love.  But our problem is not just a racial divide, it is an internal war for the soul of who we are to be.

The end of that war within us can only begin with repentance.  Jesus spoke to this very idea.  And do not justify yourself because the deeds of another seem worse to you.  Do not think that the greater sins of that policeman in Minnesota wash your heart and hands clean, from the apathy you maintain, from the superiority you continue to feel, or from the treatment you show to any man or woman.  The self you hold highest in your own estimation, who stares back at you from the mirrors in your home, is what needs most in this nation and time of need to change completely.  The goal of this transformation is not to make you clean in my eyes, or the eyes of any man, even you.  But to cleanse you, and change you, according to the good will of God the Father, through Jesus Christ, enabled by the Holy Spirit.  Your suffering will not be relieved by lawyers, or news media, or even the sympathy of protestors.  Your own suffering can only be relieved by the Jesus who knows your pain, and can make it less, and take it away.  Jesus can keep you from making your own suffering worse.  Only Jesus can do that.  Luke opens his thirteenth chapter with these very ideas.

Picking up in verse 1 it begins … “There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.”  Talk about governmental over-reach.  Talk about the degradation to which superiority complexes and absolute power can take us to.  Governor Pilate, a Roman, thought it of no consequence, to slaughter Jewish people, and mix their own blood in with traditional Jewish sacrifices performed at the Temple.  And there were no demonstrations, or riots, held in protest.  There was only silent anger in response.  Because the power of Rome was absolute, and to protest would find your own blood mixed in there next.  There was also no respect for the God of the Jews, who considered human sacrifice an abomination above all others.  Yet their traditions and their God was to be mocked by Pilate openly in defiance of they as a people.  Jews thought themselves better than Romans because of their God.  But Romans were sure they were better than dirty Jews.  And a hatred is born that carries forward all the way in to modern times.  Until in Germany that hatred is amplified and propelled even further into the modern age.

Luke continues in verse 2 saying … “And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? [verse 3] I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. [verse 4] Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? [verse 5] I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”  The thinking in the time of Christ, was that only the worst of sinners found themselves the victims of such heinous crimes, or horrible accidents.  The thinking was that these crimes and accidents and tragedies were all punishments from an angry God.  But by that logic, it is Pilate that should have been punished.  He wasn’t.  Or the Romans at large who were decidedly pagan and had little interest in the God of the Jews.  They were not punished by God, instead they were the conquerors of the entire then known world.  And they stayed that way for centuries.  So if God was the one doling out the punishments for our sins, they would have been first in line.  They were not.

But Jesus does more than bust the myth that our God is up in heaven angry with our misdeeds, and handing out our punishments.  He takes it further.  Jesus says to all listening; unless you repent, you will all suffer a horrific death that none can escape.  Now some will argue, that not everybody listening was going to wind up being slaughtered by Pilate and having their blood mixed in with sacrifices.  Or for that matter being crushed by a tower that collapsed in the city of Jerusalem.  But horrific death does not have only two forms of expression.  George proves that, watch the video, if you can stomach it.  That was horrific.  All death is in fact horrific.  And the second death which will be the only real death that God will hand out, will happen with fire, at the end of all things, when nothing touched by evil will remain in the world to come.  That death above all others is horrific.  And without repentance will come as inevitably as the punishments we inflict on ourselves from our own sin comes today. 

But that is the point, there is no one group of sinners worse than another.  In sin, as in life, we are all equals.  The porn-addicted masturbaters, are the same as the adulterers, are the same as the pedophiles, are the same as animal abusers, are the same as the homosexuals in the eyes of God – all perverting the gift of intimate sexual expression, into a me first – everyone else last, point of view.  And for those within the modern church, there are a ton more sexual sins than just the focus on homosexuality as if it were the only one.  But that is the point, not one over another, but all equal with each other.  And all in need of the healing, restoration, and change only submission to Jesus can ever bring about.  It is not left for us to judge each other, or anyone else.  It is left for us to find healing through a constant focus on Jesus Christ.  It is up to Jesus what to do with my sinning brother or sister, not up to me.  It is my job only to love them, and lift them up in prayer, as I hope they lift me up in prayer as well.  And it may be that it takes heaven itself to purge me of my sin, if so, I trust Jesus in that as well.  But it is only in looking to Jesus that my salvation will ever come.  For there are a great deal more sins, and self-love expressed, than just within the topical boundaries of sex.  George proves that as well.  We murder when we care so little for others.

Luke continues in verse 6 saying … “He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. [verse 7] Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? [verse 8] And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: [verse 9] And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.”  We are the fig tree.  Jesus is the gardener.  Society is the owner of this vineyard.  Society comes looking for what it is owed.  When it does not get it.  It become impatient and wants to cut the loss, and get rid of us.  But Jesus says, no, lets wait and let Me tend to the tree.  Let Me fertilize it, and trim it, prune it, and tend to it, for just another year.  If after that, it still bears no fruit, then you can cut it down.  Jesus hopes to save that fig tree.  The Father God delays His second coming, just so that there may be time to yet save that fig tree (which is you and I).  But time is not without end.  And fruit matters.  If we refuse to allow Jesus to change who we are from the inside out, we are then only varying degrees of the police officer who refuses to hear the pleas of a dying man.

But the point of this parable was not for us to foresee our own doom, it was for us to accept the way of salvation from that doom.  Jesus looks to rid us of our sin in the here and now.  Not just forgive it, but take it away.  Change the motives within us that drive us to it.  Change our desires.  Change who we are.  And ultimately change how we love others, and put aside ourselves.  It is that where salvation is ultimately based.  The question remains, will you accept it?  Or will you keep pushing it away?  There are so many of us, even Christians, who believe we are already “good enough”.  We believe our association with Jesus makes us “good enough”.  But then we find ourselves with our own knee on the figurative neck of another and we are deaf to their pleas, blind to their need, and willing to stay put until all their cries are silenced forever.  I would be willing to bet, that police officer thought himself as well to be “good enough”.  But the loss of George proves that to be in error.  George now rests in the Lord.  But it is not too late for the policeman, as it is not too late for you, or for me.  What will we do with the invitation of our Lord?  Will we ignore it as we so often have done or will we let Jesus overcome us, until the world can barely recognize who we are, and see only the imprint of Jesus in our hearts that so desperately need change.  I will never be “good enough” until my Lord can safely say welcome home.  I want my heart to look just like His

 

The Wolves of Racism [part two] ...

So how do we rid ourselves of the wolves who would gladly destroy the flock?  The first step, is to look in the mirror, pick up the wool overcoat, and make sure “we” are not actually the wolves we are talking about.  Hatred, and its little brother - a lack of forgiveness, come in a variety of packages disguised as only “fair”; but the net result is the consumption of sheep, with only the remains of a wolf left in its place.  And the damage left behind does not only hit us, but has the ripple effects of every sin, extending outwards from us, first hitting those we love.  Then those same ripples of pain, begin to hit our church, our community, our country.  We may wonder how racism, bigotry, prejudice, or baggage could negatively impact our nation; but it can and it does.  Imagine the pain and damage done when hiring decisions are made purely from a point of prejudice of any kind.  Perhaps I don’t like bankers, or even former bankers, so I don’t offer this job to that candidate simply because he/she worked in an industry I have bad feelings about since the fall of that sector.  And because of my feelings, an otherwise fully qualified candidate is discarded because of what I feel about it. 

The same thing can happen when I let beliefs about age result in similar decisions.  In this age of technical proficiency how easy it is to decline the application of the clearly older candidate in favor of the young and up-and-coming because I believe inherently the young will adapt much faster than the old to change.  Of course this perspective usually occurs more often in the young, who have not yet experienced change the way the older folks have.  Just as hiring a former banker might give a qualified candidate a chance at something new, without the baggage of the past.  Prejudice can be subtle, it does not always have to be overt, and about black / white race relations.  Underlying it all is the fear, that at some point in the future, damage will happen to us (again) based on our past experiences, how we were raised, and what we choose to focus on in our news venues.  This fear begins to drive hate in us.  And instead of adopting a spirit of forgiveness, we adopt a spirit of what we call “justice”.  We begin to seek fairness above all things.  But fairness, justice, and equality sound objective, when in reality are anything but.  They are based on the perspectives we hold.  Ask yourself, is it “fair” for you to be rejected for a job opportunity, when another person of another race gets the job, particularly if race was the main reason they did?  Nearly ALL of us would say that it is not fair, unless “we” got it, then maybe we justify it as fair somehow (even if done for the same reasons).

Ironically, it is this spirit of justice, that makes us wolf, not sheep.  The sheep realizes they themselves are far from perfect, have done many wrongs to others, and thus crave forgiveness above all else.  And if we crave forgiveness, then we must be willing to offer it as well.  The world is unjust.  You can survive in it as wolf, or as sheep.  Case in point.  Matthew resumes the stories of Jesus in chapter eighteen of his gospel to the Hebrews.  He resumes picking up in verse 21 saying … “Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?”  This was Peter attempting to blend justice with forgiveness.  Most people, whether they know it or not, tend to have a three strikes rule.  You wrong me, and ask forgiveness, and I grant it – especially the first time.  The second time, I am a little more reluctant or cautious, but I still try to grant it.  By the third time, I pretty much no longer believe you mean what you say.  At this point, it is really hard to convince me you want genuine forgiveness.  It looks more to me like you are establishing a pattern of causing me harm, and then attempting to white wash yourself, so that you can simply do it again. (Imagine how God feels).

Peter however, was trying to be more generous than this, and was going the extra mile of offering 7 full times at forgiveness (despite how hard it would be to do this following the third declining shot).  Now translate that to us and the prejudice we develop over time regarding nearly anything.  Where prejudice remains, forgiveness is by definition, pushed out.  We fear damage more than we embrace a spirit of forgiveness.  This is how prejudice is fed, off our fears.  Lose the fear, it is then possible to lose a state of constantly prejudging what others will do, and why they would do those things.  Then people become just a series of one-on-one individual encounters.  I do not tally the sins of the last person (based on some characteristic I fear), with the new person who may also commit similar wrongdoings to me.  Instead the new person starts with a clean slate, because fear does not keep me holding on to a tally, that forgiveness would have otherwise reset.

But Jesus has a startling response picking up in verse 22 saying … “Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.”  It might as well be infinity.  Imagine being slapped in the face by someone who then asks forgiveness.  You grant it.  Then they find occasion to slap you in the face once again.  For 490 times?  If you can get past the third time, you are doing better than me.  If you can get past the seventh time you are doing better than our generous Peter proposed.  And when this pattern repeats for the 146^th time, and you are still able to grant genuine forgiveness on your part.  A few things will emerge.  Your concrete ability to share the forgiveness your God has granted you (monkey see, monkey do, in a great way).  It likely means your ideas about how to love, have become fully in harmony with your God’s ideas.  And I expect that at occasion #491, your mercy will not cut off, it will probably be there forever (as your God’s is).  The infectious, liberating nature of forgiveness will have taken over completely.  The sad part of this scenario however, is on the part of the wrongdoer.  It also likely means they are doomed to a life of inflicting pain, unable to stop, unable to control themselves, unwilling to allow Jesus to transform this behavior, ending it, so that no more forgiveness from you is needed.  Their path is the one of far greater sadness, even if yours must endure the pain in your cheeks on multiple occasions.

Forgiveness is supposed to be contagious.  Jesus then continues picking up with a story in verse 23 saying … “Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. [verse 24] And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.”  The story opens with the authority of a king, something the folks in His day and age, would have appreciated.  Everyone knew if Caesar decreed it, it was going to happen, whether for mercy, or for great evil.  It moves forward with a reckoning of the king’s servants (not strangers mind you, but folks assigned to serve the king, likely in a financial capacity (perhaps tax collectors)).  And one of the servants is discovered to owe the king 10-thousand talents.  This debt might as well have been infinity.  A single talent was a thing of great wealth.  With ten thousand of them, you could fund your own kingdom.  And no servant would ever “make” that much money on their own.

Jesus continues in verse 25 saying … “But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. [verse 26] The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.”  Here is where we must read carefully.  Because the servant could not pay, his life, was the thing he would have to offer of value.  Because he was the head of his home, what he did, would also cause great impact on the life of his wife, and his children as well.  What we do is never in a vacuum, it has repercussions.  And beyond the most precious things he had (the lives of his family), everything else he may have accumulated he was going to lose.  So he begs.  But for the wrong thing.  He begs for an extension of time, in order to pay back everything that is owed.  This was an exercise in futility.  If he lost this kind of sum of money, he could never pay it back (or he already would have).  How often do we line up beside this man, and ask God for a little more time and patience with us, so that we can conquer our sin?  We will stop swearing, or stealing, or lusting – if we just have a little more time to get it done.  But we fail, because we rely upon our own strength to succeed.

Jesus continues in verse 27 saying … “Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.”  Again pay close attention.  What the servant asked for was an extension of time to pay back what was owed.  What God offers him, is simply to forgive his debt completely.  God is looking to transform the life of the servant.  To take the pressure and the fear off of him, from spending every moment looking for a penny he can add to pay back to the debt.  And instead to enjoy his life (have a real one), and impact the lives of his wife, and his children in a positive way.  To use his belongings with a sense of gratitude, for they all belonged to the king.  But the king has returned them, given them back, given them in the first place, to the man in this story.  How often do we line up beside this man, and treat our families, and our goods as if they belong to us – not as though they were ALL gifts from our King, who has erased a debt of ours we could never pay back.

This was all designed to change the heart of the servant.  To change how he lives, how he loves, and make the rest of his life so much better.  But alas, one must be willing to have a heart changed.  Jesus continues in verse 28 saying … “But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. [verse 29] And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.”  Instead of love and forgiveness, the man given so much of these, holds none of them in his heart.  He turns around and immediately seeks out a fellow servant who owes him only 100 pennies (less than one talent).  He does not mercifully ask or remind him of the small debt, but instead grabs the fellow servant by the throat.  There is violence in this.  For without love in a heart, violence has much room to grow.  What his fellow servant does, is the same thing he did only moments ago.  His fellow servant uses the same words.  And while it would have been impossible to pay back 10 thousand talents with time, paying back 100 pennies is actually plausible.  This debt was a much smaller thing.

Jesus continues in verse 30 saying … “And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. [verse 31] So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.”  Despite the dejavu, the man forgiven everything, the man offered a new life by the king, does not have the mercy in him to show even the smallest mercy to the man who owed him so little.  Debtors prison is the fate for the one who owes only 100 pennies.  His wife and his children must now find a way to pay back this small debt, but without their primary bread winner.  This may will be a degenerating condition, that impacts the fellow servant, and his family, and his possessions in a way he never recovers from.  No mercy.  No forgiveness.  No change of heart.  Only an expression of that heart, that impacts the witnesses and breaks their hearts when they see it.  They take it to the king, so that perhaps the one in prison might be released, but there is greater justice to be outlayed if justice is the course we choose for our lives.

Jesus continues in verse 32 saying … “Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: [verse 33] Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?”  Pay close attention once again; Jesus says “O thou wicked servant”.  He speaks not in parable anymore, but in plain English to us, to you, to me.  We have been forgiven everything.  Yet we would cling to our fear, and drive out the freedom embracing forgiveness might offer us.  For the brother who has wronged us, who refused to hear us, whether in private, in the company of witnesses, or even as a matter of prayer for the church – is it not possible to forgive that man?  Why do we make it a matter of attempting to punish a wrong doer, rather than a matter of forgiveness between family under the same church umbrella?  Why would I look at groups of people who share some characteristic, and develop baggage, or prejudice, or racist hate – expelling all the forgiveness I have been offered; and instead of being changed by that gift, harbor all the hatred that dwarfed my heart and ability to love by clinging to it.  Wolves hunt for justice.  Sheep rely on the mercy of the Shepherd to keep them alive, they rely on the closeness of the flock, not on subdividing it along every line of prejudice they can imagine.

Jesus concludes the story picking up in verse 34 saying … “And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. [verse 35] So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.”  If we are determined to be wolves, determined to reject the forgiveness of our king, determined not to let it change us, and how we love.  We are wolves, left to no other fate, than the hunger of wolves for a justice they will never believe is fully satisfied.  Instead of being made free, we hold to the bondage of what we call justice and fairness.  We are left to the tormentors, others like us, who also seek justice and fairness.  But whose ideas of that justice and fairness conflict with our own.  Their justice steps upon our justice.  Their fairness does not line up with our fairness.  So we call them wrong, as they call us the same.  And we torment each other, each believing we are right.  And the tormenting of sin will not let us go, because we will not let it go.

Forgiveness is designed to free us from the burden, and the torment, of holding on to pain.  While the “fact” that we were wronged may never be in question.  Justice and further pain do not release us from our own, they remind us of it.  But forgiveness frees us from it.  We release our pain to the wind, think of it no more, and are free to cherish the one who may have hurt us.  To seek out the love that is possible between us.  Imagine if our Father God, who has a perfect memory, were to remember our slights, and our wrongdoings, that must have hurt Him deeply.  How could He love us, holding on to that pain.  Forgiveness is a part of love we required Him to invent, if He were to choose to love us still.  Forgiveness does not need a measure of justice first, it needs only a matter of choice to love first.  Forgiveness does not set all our wrongdoings right – we still did them.  But genuine forgiveness sets the tally to zero once again, and lets our relationship continue and grow.  The goal is not to use this mechanism as a means to continue inflicting pain, but rather as a means to change how we love, and over time need it less, until through Christ we need it no more.  Transformation will see to that.

Let us then, become sheep, blissfully absorbed in the love of our shepherd, looking to hunt no more in packs for a justice that can never be, but wander in flocks behind a Shepherd whose love transforms our ideas, and our actions on that very topic …

The Wolves of Racism [part one] ...

Prejudice begins at home.  A young mind witnesses what its role-model is willing to embrace, and imperceptibly opens to the same ideas, both for good, and for evil.  And the influence of the home, is not engrained only in a moment, but over long periods of time, where infectious ideas work there way deeper and deeper into the psyche of developing minds until the acorn and the tree are hard to tell apart.  While this may be the main way it happens; it is not the only way.  What happens “to” us; can also have profound impacts “on” us, in terms of our prejudices.  We “pre-judge” the motives of others, and predict their actions based on our assumed judgment of their motives; perhaps in part, because we have seen these scenarios before.  This is not just a white / black thing; this is a rich / poor thing, a cop / criminal thing, even a doctor / patient thing.  Anywhere there are relationships between people, it is possible for us to pre-judge and predict outcomes based on the accumulated experiences of our past (or the short word for it, baggage).  We carry our emotional or mental baggage with us into new relationships, and sometimes poison them with things that never belonged there in the first place.  But hurt a person a few times in the same way, by the same type of experience, and baggage is nearly certain to develop out of fear if nothing else.

The problem with our prejudices, and even our baggage, is that if left unchecked, it becomes a hatred in us against things or people we believe will in some way cause damage to us.  We begin to categorize individuals into groups of like characteristics, no longer seeing the person, only seeing the “type” of personage they belong to.  Our judgments begin to extend not just to those we have great knowledge of personally, but to those we hardly know, then finally to those we do not know at all.  All of this because they belong to a group with a characteristic, we know to have hurt us in the past, and now we fear will hurt us in the future.  Over time, individuals lumped in to the groups we define as threats, can rarely if ever “work” their way out of these mental classifications, into a “normal” relationship with us.  They start at the deficit of their group, and must exert proof positive to exit it.  Keep in mind these negative connotations to groups can happen based merely on their occupations, or religions, having nothing to do with race. 

Take a look at your feelings about bankers for a moment; it is no longer just their cushy jobs of 9 to 5 that click in your mind.  After the big collapse, where many Americans lost everything they had, can you still “trust” these people with your money.  You may keep your money in a bank (because the mattress theory is nearly a certainty of greater loss), but do you feel good about it, or not.  Examine how you feel about Catholics for a moment.  The people now are great folks, but the church persecuted those who felt differently for nearly 1200 years.  For a long time in this country there was bigotry against Catholics or having Catholics ever sit in any governmental seats of power, because of what their church did, without apology, for centuries when they had influence in the past.  Take a look at cops.  Are they your public defenders or does that word conjure up fear of over-reaction where you might wind up dead in some mistaken exchange gone awry? 

Lastly, take a look at the “undocumented” in our country.  How they came here was a crime, no two ways about it.  That makes them criminals, at least originally.  But not all criminals are created equally.  Those who hid Jews in German controlled territories were once guilty of a “capital” offense, not just a passport infraction.  Today we would call those “criminals” of WW2 heroes for what they did.  Seeking hope, pursuing a dream, and doing something illegal to get it, either for you, or for your kids, hardly seems like the worst criminal activity one could embrace.  And does only that singular crime, truly label you a criminal forever?  But the fear does not end because the border was porous.  Now the fear extends to those who may lose jobs to those who will work for less (many abused in the process).  And the fear continues that “legal” tax payers will be paying for public services for those here illegally, in terms of education, medical help, and drivers licenses.  If your mind conjures up many negative things associated with the “undocumented”, ask yourself how deep your fear runs, or how dispassionate you truly are.

At the end of these things, the common denominator of our prejudice, our racism, even our baggage is fear of what damage may come to us.  That fear then drives us to hate.  And in that hatred, forgiveness is nearly completely lost sight of.  This is the polar opposite of how heaven works.  Take a case in point found in the gospel of Matthew to the Hebrews chapter eighteen.  Matthew records the words of Jesus as Jesus begins to address these topics from the view of heaven itself.  It picks up in verse 12 saying … “How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?”  To begin, nearly every Christian who reads this passage, in the back of their minds, believes “they” would have been part of the ninety-nine.  Oh sure at one point we were the lost sheep, but now … not us.  Though a closer examination of any one of our lives, might reveal we have still found a way to get outside the sheep fold, and right back into the danger we were saved from yesterday.

But a second look at that same story’s beginning, might offer a different point of view.  Looking at this story through the lens of heaven, earth itself may have been the “one” sheep who “went astray” while all the other created worlds and beings in the kingdom of God’s universe did not.  Satan tempted all of them, tried to get all of them to fall, but none did.  All chose to keep trust with God.  All that is, except our world.  From this point of view, each and every one of us is the sheep who “went astray”.  And while our current condition is lost.  We did not get there by accident.  There was some “going” involved in why we are now where we are.  We are, to be exact, “gone astray”.  It was our choice to go.  It was our feet that carried us away.  And as a result, we are now lost, with no idea how to get home.

Jesus continues in verse 13 saying … “And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.”  Pay close attention to the wording at the start of this verse.  Jesus begins with “and if so be that he find it”.  This represents risk.  There is a risk that the shepherd may not find the sheep.  After all, there are wolves in the world.  Wolves that consume a sheep before he even knows he has been hunted and eaten.  There is a risk that the sheep does not want to be found.  Our heavenly Shepherd recognizes the risk involved with the pursuit of the lost.  It is perhaps the overcoming of this risk, that is the reason why there is so much joy.  For the sheep must lose his fear of the Shepherd for this to work.  The sheep, namely us, must allow the Shepherd to do with us what He wills.  We may think we want nice long wool, a coat of wool we have spent what seems like a lifetime growing and nurturing.  Then along comes our Shepherd with a set of shears and trims us down to nearly naked.  That looks daunting at first, but feels absolutely liberating once we let Him do it to us.  And it is much better than allowing our fears, to become the wolves, that consume us, and keep us long, woolly, and lost.

Jesus continues in verse 14 saying … “Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.”  Jesus reminds us of many things in this story.  Even though it is we who have chosen to go astray, it is our Shepherd (Him), who chases after us to find us.  And this is not just the “Jesus Act”, this is the will of the Father who is in heaven.  We were created with freedom of choice, in order that we might love freely, and choose to love freely.  We chose badly, but were created even with God knowing we would make an initial bad choice.  That choice need not label us criminals forever, as our Shepherd would do what it takes to bring us home.  We could simply not accomplish that, sheep are great at getting lost, or going astray, worthless at finding home.  Jesus refers back to the 2-year-old He has put in front of Him to teach the disciples an object lesson about greatness, and heaven.  And He reminds them, that the Father is not willing to lose even one of these little ones.

We are that little one.  Our heavenly Father, and in His home, is no embrace of fear, or hatred – but instead a fervent embrace of forgiveness that will forget what we did to Him, and allow Him to love us in spite of what we did to Him.  We ask, He forgives.  No more holding it against us.  No more putting it in our faces.  Jesus continues this theme in verse 15 saying … “Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.”  Jesus here provides a way for us to address the injustices that happen in our world.  He begins with calling our attention to the fact that one who has done us harm, is no stranger in the Kingdom of heaven.  He is our brother.  He is family.  Before you pursue enumerating the long list of slights you believe have been done to you, consider “who” you are talking to, is family, your family.  You should be loving them that way, like Jesus loves you.  Once you love that way, then perhaps you will be ready to speak to your brother.  And your goal, is not the destruction of your brother, but the reclamation of your brother.  All you are looking for here, is for your brother to hear you.  The Holy Spirit will do whatever conviction of wrongdoing is needed, both on the side of your brother, or on yours. 

If you are not there to reclaim your brother, don’t go.  If your words of confrontation will not have the effect of reclaiming your brother, don’t say them.  You will ultimately hold yourself more accountable in this interchange than will the brother who may have offended you.  Jesus continues in verse 16 saying … “But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.”  The goal remains to have your brother “hear” you, nothing more.  The witnesses you bring, are only there to “establish” what is said – that is, they listen to you, and record what it is you said, and how you said it.  The goal remains to have your brother hear you.  If you are there to teach your brother a lesson, don’t go, don’t bring anybody.  Lessons in pain, are very rarely the lessons you or anyone else will learn from.  The idea that you still care about your brother, to try to reach him, and now you are bringing help to do so, is supposed to be the motive behind why you bring others to his doorstep once again.  You are doing the pursuing in this scenario, not like the wolf, but like the Shepherd.  To destroy the sheep and make him your prey, is clearly not the goal.

Jesus continues in verse 17 saying … “And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. [verse 18] Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”  Here is where an even closer second look is warranted.  The next step in trying to reach a family member (your brother) who may have wronged you, is to take the matter to the church.  Why?  So you can light up torches, gather pitchforks, and go burn down his house?  No!!  So that as a matter of prayer, and awareness, the entire church can attempt to bring your brother before the Lord, to have the Lord find a way to reclaim him.  Keep in mind the earlier text right above us, it is the Father’s will that not one of these little ones should be lost.  Jesus came here to save that which was lost.  Those texts did not go away in this context.  They are amplified here.  What you bind or loose on earth or have it echoed in heaven, is not the giving up on your brother, it is the continuation of working for your brother.

What your brother may have done to wrong you, may give you the occasion to talk to him.  But the reclamation of him continually remains your goal.  Jesus says if he refuses to hear even the entire church, then to treat him like a heathen or a publican.  HOW DID JESUS TREAT THEM?  He dined in the home of publicans and sinners and drove church leadership crazy over it.  He turned none of them away.  Cast none of them out based on any kind of judgment, for while the second coming has not yet happened, there is still time enough for reclamation, and even more time to love.  For the need of our love is greatest now, while so much pain exists.  We are not to fear our brother, even if he has slid all the way down to equality with heathens and publicans.  We are to love our brother still.  That is not a statement about our brother, it is a definition of how we love, and a witness to why we love.  Then comes the home run.

Jesus continues in verse 19 saying … “Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. [verse 20] For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”  Church is now something totally different than it has been up to now.  Church happens when two of us agree on earth as touching any thing – say perhaps the reclamation of our stubborn brother who refuses to hear us on a matter we hoped would reclaim him.  There need not be a formal building we enter, even on the special day He set aside to hang out with us on.  We need not call ONLY that church.  Church is made up of us coming together, even in small flocks, flocks as small as two, to unite in the reclamation of our brother who we sincerely love.  We love our brother like Jesus does, and because Jesus does.  And while our efforts are far from what is needed, our Father God will do what we have asked of Him, for the salvation of another.  That my friends is a powerful prayer.  It superseded prayers for wealth, or power, or even health, or spiritual understanding.  Prayers for the salvation of another are the greatest of all prayers.  They are stronger still when asked not in isolation, but asked as the flock of Jesus, where at least a few sheep are present.

But the lesson was not over yet, there was still the pesky matter of what to do with wolves …

 

Race, Culture, & Religion (part 3 of 3) ...

We have talked about getting past the differences that keep us apart from our history.  But we have failed to address the differences we inherit in gender, and in age.  To become one, we must begin to examine what influence our cultures and traditions have had on the roles of men and women, as well as, young and old within our churches.  This is the last great divide we face as people before true unity can be achieved.

Women’s work.  It is an old expression generally applied to traditional home-maker tasks like cooking, cleaning and raising children.  We are quick to condemn it but fail to look at how it originated.  A mere hundred plus years ago our entire economy was still largely based on agriculture.  Family farms far outnumbered city slickers though the trend was beginning to change even then.  Under an agriculturally dominated economy, a farm requires many people to tend it.  Entire families were effectively partners in maintaining the family enterprise. 

Children helped out during the summers (which is why schools let out for this 3 months period of time), and wives maintained the entire household (a full and equal partner with an equal share of the work) while husbands and sons tended the flocks and fields.  This was no small effort on anyone’s part.  Women of that day may be looked at now through feminist eyes and thought less of, but in point of fact, they were equal partners then, and they are equal partners now.  Wives and daughters benefited from the family incomes of the successful farms, and shared the hardships when success was elusive.  The same is true today.

What has changed in an industrial followed by a services based / knowledge based economy is our immense ability travel and variety in task types.  Services now exist as entire industries such as accounting, consulting, and marketing that could not have survived a mere hundred plus years ago (at least on this scale).  This variety and this mobility changes the options both men and women have in supporting a family.  It creates a new ‘partnership’ required for success.  The old expression ‘women’s work’ now applies to every known form of generating income, nearly even the presidency of the United States (go Hillary).

Women are every bit as capable as men, every bit as smart, cunning, honorable or treacherous.  They have a few unique inherent strengths, and weaknesses as do men.  But most every job a man can do today, a woman can also do.  So why do we cling to segregation of roles within the body of the church?  It begins with historical biases founded on sexual differences.  We picture the typical women as ‘mom’ meaning, more nurturing, more protective, more consoling, than a man.  We picture the typical man as ‘dad’ meaning, a natural leader, the final authority in a argument, aggressive, risk takers, etc..  Our images of humans based on sexual gender plainly ignore the strengths of the individual. 

There are some men who are anything but aggressive, alpha male, leaders, who regularly take risks, hunt and conquer.  That does not make them any less than other men (though popular convention may disagree).  It merely makes them different.  I know a few men who are very sensitive, artistic, consoling, and nurturing and no, they are not all gay.  I know a few women who are natural leaders, fighters, thinkers, and conquerors (go Hillary) and that does not make them gay, or less than other more feminine supportive types either.  Just different.  Each person containing a unique set of strengths and weaknesses, some influenced by gender and hormones, some completely independent of tradition thinking or stereotypes. 

Because of our traditional thinking we have assigned tasks to men and to women based on gender rather than based on their spiritual gifts and abilities.  Any person who can speak well in public, inspire enthusiasm of an audience, demand attention to each word from careful articulation and excellent delivery – may well be qualified to preach.  Note I did not say any man, I said any person.  I also did not say, any straight heterosexual person, I said any person.  Sexual orientation outside of the ‘norm’ may be considered a lifelong struggle, but should be looked at no differently than the person or preacher who struggles with pride, or other forms of sexual misconduct. 

We all struggle.  No sin is different.  Men and women struggle with similar things – evil.  So who are we to limit who can preach based on our own perceptions of gender appropriate, or sexual preference?  Do we not deny God in this way, effectively rejecting HIS gifts of the Spirit to be able to preach?  There is no perfect preacher in this world.  Every one of them struggle with sins.  It is not up to us to judge their sins, but the content of the words they proclaim.  Do they preach forgiveness, hope, unconditional love, and the repentance of sins?  Or do they espouse lies for truth, evil for good, judgment from the pulpit and comparison with others?  By their fruits you shall know them, meaning, by their lives and acts of love and kindness it is easy to see who knows God and who does not.  Yourself included.

Duties within the body of Christ (the church) should be assigned based on the skills and abilities and willingness of the worshipper to serve.  The Gifts of the Spirit are to be cherished.  They are to be valued.  They are given for the edification of the church.  They are Christ’s parting gifts to us as He ascended to His Father.  We should relish what the Holy Spirit does in the life of anyone who is willing to serve.  We should not judge others based on our own foolish historical bias, but we should instead embrace others and cherish the gifts they choose to share with us.  No one who wishes to serve should be turned away.  Not ever.  I do not care how long they have been a Christian, whether it be 5 minutes, or 5 decades, those who wish to serve should serve.  To deny the Holy Spirit His work is to embrace sin that may not be forgiven.  It is dangerous ground to offend the vehicle of our Salvation by rejecting the work He does within us and those around us.

But to fully embrace this concept we must also overcome our historical prejudices about age and wisdom.  It is true that older people have the benefit of experience, and the wisdom (or sorrow) that comes from seeing many things.  It is also true that youth have more energy, tend to seek truth and ignore lies, and want to understand everything at a deeper level than they do today.  Youth question everything.  To assign roles within the body based on age, is to AGAIN ignore the work of the Holy Spirit.  It may be that a prophet is raised up within the body who is a mere teenager (anyone ever heard of Ellen G. White in the 1800’s, or perhaps Samuel of the old testament Israel).  They were mere children when first receiving the call, but the call was real, and work that followed is a testament to itself.  Youth is no barrier to service.  Nor is old age.

For us to assume leadership does not belong in the hands of the youth because they are young is to deny the very words of Christ himself who said … “let the children come unto me” and “you must become like little children in order to be saved”.  Note the absolute dependence little children have to exist and their complete comfort with this concept.  For protection they run to dad, for love to mom, for fun to each other.  So should we run to God for protection, for love, and for fun.  Christ did not say wait until they grow up before they come close to me.  He welcomed them immediately.  He did not say to them you need to grow up and become more adult like.  He said to adults to surrender their will and become more child like.  To exclude children from service paying no mind to their spiritual gifts is yet another apostasy.

We are limited by our bodies.  We are limited by our illness’s be they physical or spiritual.  We are limited by our pride.  Don’t we have enough limitations we self impose without adding to them gender bias, age bias, racial bias, and judgment of others?  Despite our infirmities, the Holy Spirit is gracious enough to place gifts within us.  Talents, skills, aptitudes, and abilities that are purely gifts from God – like all things we can choose to misuse them, use them for selfish gain and ignore service to others – or we could employ them for the benefit of man.  Choose to serve.  And reject no man, woman, child, or elderly statesperson who wishes to serve.  There is room for all.  And there is NEED of ALL.  The body is incomplete if you choose not to serve your portion.  The work is not left to others, but to everyone.  The work is not reserved for adults.  It is for everyone.  It is for you.  It is for me. 

Let us find a way to change our thinking.  Let us find a way to embrace those differences between us and value them rather than judge them.  Let us find a way to serve and accept the service of ALL who embrace it.  This is the pure will of the Father.  This is how true UNITY can be achieved, and perhaps in no other way…

Race, Culture, & Religion (part 2 of 3) ...

Embracing diversity seems like an easy enough answer to develop unity within the Christian community, so why hasn’t it happened already?  Why does it continue to be so elusive?  Are we really so enslaved to our cultural preferences that we are incapable of learning new behavior, or appreciating something outside of our norms?  Why does voluntary segregation persist when mandatory segregation has been outlawed so long ago?

Separate but equal?  How do I equate the value of one worship style to another.  What is it about worship that reaches the core of who you are and blesses you.  This is where differences really begin to matter.  To say that all “black” churches are alike is every bit as foolish as assuming all “white” churches worship the same way.  There are degrees of variation along common themes.  But these little variations are enough to segregate membership by choice. 

For instance, there are many churches who enjoy the practice of “worship” music.  This sub-genre of Christian music tends to have repetitive verses, simple themes, and is usually sung with many instruments including guitars, drums, sometimes a saxophone or two.  It is generally lively, heartfelt, and has become so common, many professional Christian recording artists release a “worship” album even if this is not their natural style.  You know it when you see it.  However, there still exist today, more culturally conservative churches that “frown” on contemporary music.  For them, only hymns or classical offerings are preferred.  Drums or electric guitars are not even permitted in the building, let alone tolerated in the forefront of a service.  A person visiting both of these styles of churches would walk away with radically different experiences (in style).

But what is important to the worshipper?  Is it the style?  What if one of these churches was filled with people who genuinely loved you.  I am not talking about Jesus-freaks that pledge their love to you on a whim, and follow it up with only more empty words.  Nor am I talking about people screaming out messages of “love” to those contemplating abortion outside of a clinic or two.  I am talking about genuine Christians who are really connected with Christ.  People who are able to overlook your imperfections and love you right where you are, right how you are.  People who will not participate in your sin, nor will they judge you for it.  They simply care about you, pray for you, talk to you, and be there for you consistently.  The kind of crowd you could ask to help you move apartments, and 50 people would show up without a second request.  Yup, those kind of people, REAL Christians.  What if this is what you encountered when walking through the doors of the sanctuary?  Would it change your perceptions about the value of style?

And in truth, are not we all seeking to find this group of people?  Don’t we long to hang out with them?  And isn’t it sad that we cannot find them.  Might be that because we don’t see them in the mirror, we don’t see them in the aisles and on the pews.  But Love is the base common denominator of all churches purporting to follow Christ.  And isn’t it interesting that no worship “style” has yet to produce a congregation of our mythical lofty aspirations.  There may be a church like this somewhere, but I doubt “worship” music or traditional “hymns” are the reason it flourishes.  No, it is the Love that is distinct.  The sermons become incidental, as the life of its members do the testifying.  The music is silent, when it is unconditional Love that reaches out to each human heart, bonds us, brings us before the throne in humility.  When REAL worship is present, style matters almost for nothing at all.

So why has style kept us so separate for so long, when in truth it is so unimportant?  Distraction.  Evil diverts our minds from truth and substance by focusing our attention on delivery, wording, and sour notes.  We fail to exhibit the unconditional Love we seek, because we are too distracted by the clapping of hands, stomping of feet, or tone of the preacher.  We sit sedate in our pews, being quiet, when we should be weeping aloud for the pain of the neighbor who sits immediately to our right.  But we hold our tears and our tongues, and fail to even take interest in our neighbor’s pain.  Or we get so wrapped up in the joy of the Spirit that we forget not only our own troubles, but those of our neighbor who for the moment seems to have forgotten his.  In either case, through unbridled expressions of joy, or quiet (and therefore “reverent”) complacent disinterest, we ignore completely the life of our neighbor to our immediate right. 

Congregations grow large and impersonal.  We are able to safely mask our pain, and hide in the vast numbers of those who sit near us in church.  And in so doing style helps us not at all.  Ambivalence has replaced Love as our common denominator.  Self interest has replaced self-less-ness in service.  And the delivery method holds all of our attention, rather than the content of what is being delivered.  We begin to cling to cherished traditions ignoring completely the true “temperature” of our church and ourselves.  It is we who are the problem.  It is we who hold our wisdom of choices, and preferences in the style of worship in such high regard that we have no NEED to seek out anything different – especially in ourselves.  It is we who choose this pattern.  It is we.

I am white.  But I yearn for; no, even stronger stated; I am in desperate NEED of, the emotional commitment of my black brothers and sisters in the faith who fear not to show the world what they feel about their Lord.  I must learn to open my mouth and let His praise flow out.  I must follow the example of my brothers of another culture and learn to be Loud for the Lord.  I have come to truly enjoy the music of every Christian culture, ethnicity, genre, and background.  I must take what I have found in music, and apply it to preaching, teaching, and service. 

I am white.  But I yearn for, and desire more than I can communicate, the sense of community that my Hispanic brothers and sisters in the faith have developed.  That sense of family that is SO gracious to accept me, and my lack of language skills, and treat me as if I were born of their blood line, not just as the adopted child I truly am.  I must unlearn my sense of independence and self-reliance and instead begin to look at my brothers and sisters as the family they have truly chosen to be, my family.  I must honor their choice and acceptance by returning it completely without pause, hesitation, or self-consideration.

I am white.  But I long to find myself the simple humble servant that many of my Asian brothers and sisters set so wonderful an example of in my journey.  I must learn to keep my need for recognition and gratitude completely subjected, and allow my service for others to be its own reward.  I must learn NOT to seek attention, but be content with honorable service and performance of even the simplest of the tasks set in front of me.  I aspire to become more than I am, and my Asian brothers and sisters have helped me along the way.  I see the differences in me through them, and I realize how far from the Kingdom I truly am.

When you stop looking and focusing so much on the style, and start searching for the meaning in the differences, it does not take long to learn to appreciate your brethren of other cultures.  When you are able to forego the notion of cultural superiority and adopt the truth of cultural humility you can begin to see truth all around you.  It is evil that keeps us so focused on differences as being the source of problems, rather than a method of finding truth.  It is evil that raises the idea that everything you need to know, can be found in one church, in one congregation, in one style of worship.  God is bigger than that.  God is better than that.  He can be found outside the walls you erect to separate you from others.  He can be found in the basic expression of unconditional Love for another.  He can be found in every “black” church in America, or the world.  He can be found in every “white” church, every “Hispanic” church, every “Asian” church.  It is not the buildings that contain our God.  It is the hearts of His believers.

If we, are the reason for the voluntary segregation of our religious culture and style of worship, then “we” must end the problem in ourselves first.  We must take our pride, our traditions, and our preferences themselves to God and in humility accept His changes in us.  We will be better off because of it.  But it begins with a recognition that this problem is not in the hearts of others so much as it lays in our own hearts.  We must ask God to begin by changing us, not others.  And only then can we begin to see over our differences, and become one church united under the banner of Christ.