Text for the upcoming sermon/conversation: John 9
Well, give Jesus points for using a variety of methods to heal people... but this one is kind of gross! A paste made of dirt and spit? Eeeewwww! Have you ever wondered why Jesus never seemed to deal with anyone in need exactly the same way? Sometimes he would touch them, and other times he would just say the word. Sometimes he was gentle, and at other times he seemed downright rude. Either way the people were healed. But it's almost as if he wants to prevent us from having a formula to follow... cause you know we would if we could, right?
"Isn't this the man who used to sit and beg?" Wow, can you imagine the change that came about in his life? And he wasn't even healed a full day before the Pharisees wanted him to claim it was all just an elaborate hoax. But how could he? Just hours before, the man was reduced to begging, and now he could see the amazing beauty of the Temple. But that's not all he could see... he could see that the Pharisees were a bunch of pompous idiots! “God should get the glory for this, because we know this man Jesus is a sinner.” His response to their stupidity...? Ya, right! (Well, I kind of paraphrased him there). His parents weren't willing to go against the authority figures, but the man born blind could "see" right through their hard hearts.
He tried to answer patiently, but pretty soon he delivered one of the best lines of the whole story: “I told you once. Didn’t you listen? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?” Ouch... ouch... and ouch! By that point, I don't think the man really cared if the Pharisees allowed him inside the temple or not... he had sight for the first time in his life, and he wasn't going to let those clowns take away his remarkable testimony... "I was blind, and now I can see."
Amen. I can see too... but all too often, I become blinded by pride and arrogance. Geez, just when I think I'm so different from the Pharisees... I find myself stumbling around in the darkness wondering who turned out the lights!
Text: John 8
"For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does."
So, you may ask... who was Jesus talking to when he said these not-so-kind words...? Pharisees? (Nope) Experts in the law? (Nope) Gentiles? (Nope) Samaritans? (Nope)... In fact, Jesus was talking to a group of people who believed in him (verse 31)!
Psssst... hey, Jesus, allow me to let you in on a little secret: Dude, you'll never build a Christian ministry that way. I mean, wow, you can't go around and call legitimate believers "children of the devil"... 'cause for one thing, they'll never, ever tithe again! What are you thinkin'????
Quite honestly, I don't think Jesus was terribly worried about losing followers. In fact, in this chapter of John's gospel, it's almost like he's intentionally talking smack to them, just to get a measurement of their spiritual temperature. And based on their collective response, I'd say it was about 105 degrees and rising! But why would he do this? Is he suffering from sleep deprivation? Is he having a bad day? Does he need to chill out and drink a Red Bull? Is he just the world's worst public relations rep? Or is there a method to his madness?
Of course there is. Jesus isn't merely trying to draw a crowd of "believers" who follow him (that is, as long as he can entertain them with magic tricks). Jesus is no sideshow magician. To the contrary, he is God's Messiah, and knew his mission: to feed those who hunger for Living Bread and refresh those who thirst for Living Water. Or, to use the metaphor from this chapter, he was sent to be the Light of the World, illuminating truth to those tired of living in darkness (verse 12).
I had a couple of great conversations today. In both cases, I found myself (somewhat awkwardly) stating that we're not trying to be a church that is all things to all people. As tempting as it may be to try and do whatever it takes to build a big crowd of "believers," our mission not to grow wide, but deep. In fact, our mission is exactly the same as that of Jesus: to feed those who hunger for Living Bread... to refresh those who thirst for Living Water... and to illuminate truth to those living in darkness by sharing the good news of God's salvation.
To put it in another vernacular... we're not merely trying to build another Christian church in town, providing yet another option for professional shoppers of religious services. Nope, we're trying to completely re-imagine church. In so doing, our desire is to allow Christ to shape and mold us to become a redemptive presence in our community that lives locally, thinks globally, gives generously, and follows Christ passionately. Taken seriously, that kind of attitude can get us - and, at times has gotten us - into trouble with "believers" who think we should act more Christian.
So... creatively seeking to be like Christ in our 21st century context - and alienating a few of God's children along the way - may not be the best ministry-building strategy in the world... but then again, hmmmmm, perhaps it is.
What do you think?
Text: John 7
It wasn't looking too good for Jesus. Many disciples had left him after his hard teaching about eating his flesh and drinking his blood in chapter 6. And in the opening verses of chapter 7, even his own brothers didn't believe in him.
But Jesus wasn't dissuaded from his mission one bit... frankly, he wasn't concerned about what people thought of him, because he knew the hearts of men are evil. His brothers may have sarcastically dared him to go to Judea to perform some more miracles (and get the crowds back)... but Jesus only listened to the voice of his Father in heaven. Then, about halfway through the seven day festival, God finally spoke. So Jesus made his way to Jerusalem and began openly teaching at the Temple.
On the last and most important day of the festival - after verbally scuffling with the Pharisees - Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”
Rivers of living water... Hmmm... I don't think there are too many things in the world more beautiful than a mighty river of water cascading down in the form of a waterfall. A long time ago, my family and I went camping with some friends. We went hiking and I carried my son on my shoulders (I told you it was a long time ago!). At one point, the trail went directly under a waterfall. We were all mesmerized by the awesome beauty! Whenever I get the chance, I love to go to the observatory at the top of Snoqualmie Falls and watch the immense volume of water fall violently into a mist-covered pool several hundred feet below... for some reason, it never gets old for me.
In my mind that's what Jesus is saying to his disciples here... that his love is a river... an eternal waterfall of living water that flows through our lives when we accept him as Lord. Not a dripping faucet of tap water... not a leaky tub of bath water... not a filtered bottle of mountain water. No way... more like a massive, violent, continual rush of pure living water... an awesome, breathtaking, heavenly river that free falls into, over and through us... and, quite frankly, threatens to overwhelm our senses.
Let's face it, accepting the life of Christ into your own life is a dangerous thing... not for the faint of heart. Just as water from a waterfall is from above, so too is Jesus from above. Just as a waterfall strikes the pool with violent force, so too is His divine presence dangerously and frighteningly powerful to mere humans. Just as a large waterfall is beautiful, so too is God's love heart-poundingly beautiful. But accepting the life he offers is not like standing under a shower as from a cheap motel... no way. The truth is, when we accept Christ, we risk being struck by the sheer force of God's amazing grace... grace that destroys all gods we desperately try to hang on to, grace that confronts all our suspicions of God, and grace that heals us from self-obsession.
Yes, Jesus was gentle to children... and to the broken-hearted. But he was emphatically in-your-face to the Pharisees and other leaders who were too full of themselves to save any room for God in their lives. I constantly have to ask myself... which one am I?
Note: I'm breaking my own rule... mostly because I can :-) But Sunday's sermon will actually be on the feeding of the 5,000 (John 6:1-15). However, I was so drawn to this passage, I wanted to make this the focus of our online discussion this week. Comments welcome...!
Text: John 6:25-71
"So they asked him, 'What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you?'"
That has to be one of my favorite lines in the Bible. What miraculous sign...? Are you kidding me? Hmmmm, let's see... I just walked on water last night. Not good enough for you...? Okay, yesterday I fed 5,000 people with five loaves of barley and two small fish (John 6). Have you ever done that? A bit earlier in the week, I healed a man at the Pool of Bethesda who hadn't walked a step in 38 years (chapter 5). And before that I turned 150 gallons of water into the finest wine at a wedding in Cana (chapter 2). Oh, and let's not forget the miracle I'm trying to reveal to you stubborn people right now... the fact that I am the Word of God (chapter 1) - sent from heaven - and just like the bread from heaven (manna) that sustained your forefathers in the desert - I too was sent from above to feed and nourish those who hunger for God. But unlike manna that eventually spoils... I am living Bread, and remain eternally fresh and satisfying for those who humble themselves to live by faith.
You want a miracle...? Then try this one on for size... I came to die for you. My body will be violently torn - just like a loaf of fresh bread - to give you the life of God you can't find or create on your own... no matter how hard you try. And my blood will be poured out - just like juice squirts out of a crushed grape - to become the once and for all atoning sacrifice that brings salvation to the whole world. You want a miracle... a sign and wonder that I am indeed sent from the Father...? How about the millions of private miracles that happen all over the world every day when individual lives are transformed out of darkness when they accept the gift of eternal joy that I freely offer them? How many stories have you heard or read about that prove that either (a) my disciples are weak-minded fools who begin to love their neighbor because they are manipulated by my psychological tricks... or (b) they are holistically and completely transformed from inside out by my Spirit... giving them a new identity, a new purpose, and a whole new life in Christ that embraces - and passionately leans toward - the reality of God's amazing grace?
Peter gets a lot of (well deserved) criticism for some of the crazy things he says and does in the gospel accounts... but nevertheless, Peter so beautifully represents most of us in our highly-flawed passion for Jesus, doesn't he? Case in point: When most of the crowd deserted Jesus for this "hard teaching" that sounds like cannibalism, he asks his disciples if they too want to leave. But Peter just oozes with desire for God... He responds to Jesus with this profound statement of faith: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."
Amen, Peter. Amen. May that be our statement too!
