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?
Jeff,
ReplyDeleteYou keep bringing up these readings that really challenge the picture we commonly see of Jesus with a broad smile, kind eyes, and a loving heart that never grows angry, frustrated, or impatient...well, here we go again...a Jesus that gets frustrated with his own followers because they just don't get it.
Redundantly, Jesus really didn't give "us believers" the easy road we often cling to of simply believing in him, praising him, singing songs to him. The Pharasee's did that to God and we know what Jesus routinely called them. So, how can we get past being called a "brood of vipers"??? I don't think he's telling us it's as easy as praising his name, going to church, being nice to your kids and family, or being an elder/leader at your church. I continue to feel an elusive and frustrated Jesus UNLESS I'm willing to follow him to the poor, the broken, the forgotten. It is there that we find Jesus and where he finds us, not in the Temple, not in the church, not in the company of a "comfortable" Christian community.
Thanks Jeff
It seems to me, and I think to Jesus by His comments, that "doing the acceptable Christian thing" in our society is in direct opposition to being like Jesus. I dont think He cares how many praise songs we know, how often we attend church, or even how many bible verses we can quote (all very like the pharisees), but rather He desires that we "do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with him" into the very places that "good" christians avoid like the plague. When I look at my life I see very little of really following the real Jesus into the places he went and to the people he embraced. I wonder why the cause of injustice doesnt drive me to action or why I sit silently by as the church pushes away the broken and disenfranchised in our society. I long to have a heart that weeps at the things that break God's heart (they arent what most of us thing either) and a will that leads me to show tangible love and acceptance to the very ones the church tends to reject. I saw a bumper sticker that grabbed my attention and has never let go...it simply said "I am for the separation of church and hate" ....I wonder if we really are?
ReplyDeleteYou two strike at the heart of a particularly difficult matter for me... that of attending church. I completely and wholeheartedly agree that "going to church" is not the essence of Christian living. On the other hand, however, I think gathering together in corporate worship is a fundamentally important issue... perhaps especially in our particular culture. To me, the matter isn't if, that is, whether or not we should gather as God's children... the far more important is why. Once that is understood in light of Jesus life, death, and resurrection, I believe then we can begin to understand how we should assemble together in Christian community.
ReplyDeleteThe problems are so complex, it's legion. In our 21st century context, the very structure of "church" has so much to do with outdated, irrelevant, and utterly human tradition... as opposed to the New Testament example of gathering together as followers of Jesus Christ. Also, ancient Palestine was more of a bartering society, whereas America is the champion of free enterprise... that means - whether we like it or not - that the church in our context is necessarily driven in part by commerce and free enterprise. Church at it's essence is nothing more than the simple (yet profound) "one anothers" found throughout the text. However, church in a practical sense means building up the trappings of gathering, i.e., a building that requires paying for, a vocational pastor that is paid a salary, resources for various "ministries" within the gathering community, budgets for missional activities that cost real money, etc. It's so damn complex!
Part of me yearns for simple church... and yet, part of me still believes that we can have a "real" church (with some traditional trappings which help us cross the bridge to our culture)... yet maintain a deeply missional concern for the lost, the poor, the needy, and the sick. But Jeeeeez, it's really hard to maintain the yes/and of missional CHURCH.
WWJD is an old, somewhat irrelevant question... but on the other hand, it is also thought-provoking to ask ourselves... what kind of church would Jesus align himself with if he came to our world (again) incognito? I'd like to think we're attempting to build that kind of church here at The River. In order for that to work, however, we'll have to become a community that believes in corporate gathering for the RIGHT reasons... and believes in commitment, sacrifice, discipline, and the biblical command to assemble often as God's children.