Category: Religion

The Real Mary: Witness

Mary is the woman who all believers wish they could be because of her enviable status as the Witness. She alone has seen and heard every miraculous proclamation, watched the life take shape in her womb, and now holds the child Jesus in her arms. We believe from a distance rooted in faith; Mary holds the child in her hands.

She has had nine months to contemplate what everything that has happened to her means, and her theology obtains from the old and new alike. Her belief that Jesus will one day reign on the throne in Jerusalem is unassailed because her witness cannot deduce otherwise. Her people have longed for this king and now He is here. A living, breathing, crying king who draws the Magi and shepherds alike to look upon his countenance and add their knowledge to Mary’s understanding of what she has brought into the world.

Her testimony is about to be challenged by the man she encounters in the temple, Simeon. Does her witness grow with addition of new information or she deadlock her belief against it? How do we respond as our faith is challenged by our maturity? Do we maintain the same simple theology we had as newborn Christians or do we allow or even encourage God to reveal more and more about Himself and His plans as our witness ages?

Luke 2:1-20, Matthew 1:18-2:12

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Kindness

My sermon this morning was on the fruit of the Spirit shown in kindness. We suffer a surfeit of kindness in our world, that goes without saying. The saddest truth that came out in the message was that we have allowed the cultural self-sufficiency influence the way that we act toward one another within the body.

This takes countless forms. We refuse help when it offered in kindness from others. We suffer in silence because we do not want to appear weak in the eyes of others. We don’t listen. In the end, we appear little different from the world around us. There is no fruit to harvest.

The spirit nurtures kindness within us because it reflects the character of the One in whose image we are made. God is kind and merciful toward us in our brokenness, taking His tarnished image and cleaning and polishing it so that it can be attractive to others who see it in us. The Spirit moves us then to allow this fruit to be harvested from our lives. As the Father is kind to us, we in turn are to exhibit this same kindness to those within our sphere.

It takes courage to be kind. Ask and you shall receive it in abundance.

(That wonderful sketch is by Kathe Kollwitz)

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Heartbreak Addie

I suppose it was inevitable that  Addie Kubisiak would be begin to be the subject of scorn and derision from many who position themselves above her rather than alongside her. Addie has made a horrible error, one that will affect her for the remainder of her days but we must remember, it is God who will judge the hearts of those who stand before Him. Regardless of the feelings that well up in our souls at our revulsion to her actions our calling to fall into step with her, love and accept her for who she is – a fellow struggler who slipped in a little deeper than we hope ever happens to us- and to walk her the rest of the way home. Pray for her to know the God of forgiveness and restoration and pray for the child who is already home.

 

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Love, Acceptance, & Forgiveness

 Out of the hundreds of books in my library, there are two that I can identify as having profoundly affected the trajectory of my ministry. The first is thee subject of this week’s profile, Love, Acceptance & Forgiveness by Jerry Cook. In this slim volume (128 pages) Cook invites us to see beneath the surface of people to the Imago Dei that might be covered by layers of troubles and poor choices. He rebelled against the Church that chooses judgment, choosing instead to lead his church to practice love and forgiveness in all of their interactions.

Of the many vignettes that fill the book, the one that stands out as the most transformative is the story of the former pastor who is seeking a place to worship. He has divorced and remarried and, because of the adultery that led to this new relationship and the destruction of his previous ministry, he has been denied fellowship from other bodies in town. Cook recounts the heartbreaking conversation and the restoration that followed as fellowship was restored. As the Pastor, Jerry could have elected to practice judgment and barred the man and his family from entry into the body in the name of protecting his flock from their influence but instead, the transformation was ignited by the practice of love, acceptance, and forgiveness.  

This is but one of the numerous examples that Cook uses the emphasize his belief that the Church was not meant to play God in judging others and condemning them for their mistakes and choices. Rather, he correctly declares that the church is to continue the restorative ministry of Jesus Christ, who wades into the world and its problems and offers the one solution that works every time it is tried; the love of Christ, the acceptance of all by Christ, and the forgiveness gained by Christ.

This book has been in print since 1979 and it reads as well today as it did when first printed. This is a book for the pastor and the folks in the pews. Less a how-to than a polemic against the fortress mentality of many churches, Cook’s words may be just the thing that the Spirit will use to move your heart as well. Add this one to your library, you won’t be sorry.

The title of this blog was obviously borrowed from the title of this book. The tagline also comes from an epithet thrown at Cook’s church because of their habit of welcoming into fellowship all the human refuse cast aside by other congregations who are more interested in keeping the carpets clean, the drapes smoke free, and the sheep free of the influence of the fallen than they are in ministering to them. My consistent prayer for our church is to gain the same title – garbage collectors!

 

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The Real Mary: Evangel

 

 As we come to the fourth chapter of Scot’s book, Mary and the message that she carries about Jesus are appropriately tagged as dangerous. She threatens the powers that were by bringing the news of the powers that will be through her Son. The gospel threatens to rend Jewish society and completely upturn the fragile platform from which the Roman empire exercised its authority over God’s people.

Once again, we must confront a Mary who not just a passive human agent for the incarnation but rather, an active participant in the gospel story. McKnight draws our attention to a verse that is simply read over by some or given a less active sense by others. Luke 2:19 says But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. Bock sees Mary silent in receiving the message of the angels while the others around her are amazed. I. Howard Marshall sees a meditative Mary pondering the gravity of the new additions to her already formidable body of knowledge concerning the reality of the child Jesus. She is not thinking with the narrow intent of understanding the latest addition alone but Mary labors to integrate the latest revelation with the gospel already developing in her short history as Blessed.

Mary will not be content to treasure the message in her heart. Her dangerous message is one that she knows must be shared and, despite the threat that she knows it poses to the powers that dictate her condition, she will open her mouth and proclaim what she knows to be true. Mary’s danger should be a part of us today as well. You have a message that threatens the world around you, threatens to bring peace and love and unity where there is only chaos and hatred and division. It is a threat to those who exercise control through the turmoil. Will you be dangerous today?

 

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We Failed Arrested Teen (p2)

I’m just a Pastor but I wonder if the world we’re a part of, the bloggers/myspace/youtube/social-networking/Web 2.0 world that is supposed to ‘connect’ us is doing just the opposite. We are connected through the wires and ‘waves but we don’t connect in life. How does someone in trouble like Addie Kubisiak fall through the cracks? Perhaps the anonynmity of the culture contributed to her ability to hide her troubles from those who could have come alongside her like her friend here. (Be sure to scroll down to the bottom to see the personal note.) 

Peace, Love & Understanding

Jesus didn’t leave the Church behind so that we would form these little fortresses of safety to keep the world at bay until He returns. Our mission was to continue His ministry among those who needed it the most. Let’s take a moment today to think about what it means to ‘be’ the church rather than just belonging to the church. Declan sings about our mission…

Goodbye & Thanks Alan

Alan over at the Gadfly has decided to discontinue posting. If you were not a reader of the blog, he maintained a much less vitriolic tone than some of the other Calvinist forums. His blogroll is also, for me, an invaluable research tool and I’m glad that he has decided to maitain the page for historical purposes. God bless you Alan, on your future endeavors and thanks for all you have done in furthering the discussion of reformed theology.