On the Mountainside with Jesus: Lent Reflection 11

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Most people exposed to Christianity for any length of time have heard the ‘salt and light’ refrain in a variety of contexts. There is little doubt in this passage that the Savior calls His followers to be active components in their community. Why then, we reflect this morning, has this passage had so little effect on the development of the Church through the years?

The missional church movement is a response to the insular form that the church of modernity. Movements are good but individual commitment to our individual call is better. Have you lost your saltiness? The Holy Spirit awaits the opportunity to refill the shaker. Has your light been dimmed? The Fire is available eternally and all it takes is for you to reach for a spark.

We meditate through the Lent period on the commitment of Jesus as He proceeds toward the cross. Perhaps we should meditate on our commitment as well.

 

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No god but God by Reza Aslan

In the current discussion surrounding Islam and its adherents, a charitable work that covers the Prophet, the formation and sectarian split of the faith, and its effects on believers is difficult to come by. There are apologists and fundamentalists on the side of the faith that seek to polish or fortify the image against the stream of diatribes published regularly so finding a work of religious history that speaks with a balanced voice is particularly welcome. Such is Reza Aslan’s book No god but God.  

Starting with the polytheistic traditions of the Arab peoples and igniting the story at Kaba (the cubicle containing the deities in Mecca), Aslan begins the story of Muhammad as an orphan dependent upon the largesse of an Uncle for his survival. Before God speaks through him, Muhammad’s reputation is already on the rise as a skilled merchant among the social strata of Mecca. He is able to view firsthand the disparity among the people of the city, some being enriched at the expense of others while poverty is impressed upon others and his mind is occupied with concern over this and the other societal problems brought about by adherence to cultural traditions. 

Islam germinates deeply embedded in this form of Arabian culture when the prophet is seized by the first of the crushing revelations. “Recite” the voice commanded and, as would follow hundreds of times, Muhammad spoke the words that he felt etched on his heart. Collected long after the Prophet’s death, these sayings compose the whole of the Koran. Unlike other sacred texts, the Koran does not present a progressive revelation from start to finish. Instead, we discover that it is the product of the Prophet seeking guidance for addressing specific, timely situations and the revelation he received in response. 

Aslan is a compelling writer and he carries the story of Islam through the Prophet’s life and into the internecine battles that have divided the religion since his passing. The divisions occur along leadership lines (Shiite / Sunni) and belief lines (Suffi). The reader comes to understand much of what the modern world is witnessing in the intra-Muslim violence that is so widespread and we can formulate a response as to why an Islamic reformation is long in coming.  

The latter chapters are especially instructive as Aslan helps us to understand how Islam, in its divided state, combined with imperialist and cultural conditions fomented the radical Muslim so often in the daily news. It is crucial for modern non-Muslims to grasp the intricacies of this religion and its traditions in order to understand its radicalization and Aslan traces these well. Often unknown for example is the hadith, the collected sayings and stories of the Prophet and his early inner circle, that often supplements the surah of the Koran in order to arrive at Islamic positions and beliefs. Were the hadith products of a single author and time with a direct witness relationship to the saying or event? The answer to this and other questions helps us to form a more complete picture of the religion that is front and center on our newspapers every morning.

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On the Mountainside with Jesus: Lent Reflection 10

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

 The notion of being persecuted because our Faith is often foreign to modern American Christians. The Church is so bland and non-threatening that most of us run little risk of being insulted, let alone persecuted. Therein lies the problem.

We have lost the dangerous ways that once made the Church a threat to the empire and the hope of the oppressed and impoverished. The Church was persecuted because it not only protested these social injustices, it moved to eradicate them and shine a light on their source. The Christians were persecuted for their role in restoring justice to the world, and they were blessed for it.

Lent is often a period in which we sacrifice some personal comfort in order to focus our hearts on the ultimate sacrifice at the cross. Perhaps this Lent we might consider sacrificing more than our personal comfort, perhaps we can give up our fear of being uncomfortable and each of can step out against an injustice in the world. Pray for the persecuted church. Cancel Sunday worship and spend the day with the poor of your community. Be dangerous.

 

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Embracing The Real Mary

With many satisfying books that you are hesitant to place in the library, there is a tendency to linger with the volume, realign the jacket perhaps, smile as you recall some especially poignant passage, and maybe scan Amazon for the author’s other works to be added to your wishlist. Such is the case for McKnight’s The Real Mary. His scholarly habits in place, McKnight closes this thin volume with a summary chapter. His heart for God, His Church, and the role that Mary plays in its history wins out and this final chapter becomes a summary call to remembrance and embrace.

The final chapter reads as follows:

“Perhaps on a day dedicated to honoring Mary we could be empowered to dream the Magnificat dream for our society. Perhaps we could be encouraged to let our hearts and minds swell with bigger thoughts for our world. People of courageous faith change the world.”

The evangelical church can and should embrace Mary for her courage and faith. She is a model for us as we struggle to sort out what we ‘know’ about Jesus and what God reveals to us as we shuffle along, growing in our faith. Mary has numerous dimensions that instruct us in how to relate to her Son as His relationship to us transforms through our discipleship. The Mary that we hardly know shows us what it means to answer ‘Yes’ to God when we are unable the scope of the mission but our faith says we must proceed.

Scot McKnight has done a service to both the evangelical and Catholic communities, bridging the deep chasm that divides them by bringing clarity to the truth of the beliefs and traditions surrounding The Virgin. This alone may offer opportunities for dialog that were absent in the past and may foster a more ecumenical future.

Embrace Mary as you comprehend the scope of her role in the ministry of the Savior. Honor her for her faith in the face of danger and rejection. Allow her to touch your own life and feel the sword the pierced her soul. Know the agony of kneeling with her at the foot of the cross. See Jesus through a loving mother’s eyes.

 

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The Real Venerated Mary

 In the final pair of chapters in The Real Mary, McKnight leads Protestants to understand the Roman Catholic traditions regarding The Virgin and the ways in which these beliefs become divisive. Especially in this last chapter, he cautions the evangelical who is uncomfortable at some Catholic practice to differentiate between the Church’s actual teaching and its application. It’s here then that we face the traditions that have formed around Mary that appear to have drifted into the worship of Mary.

The evangelical who investigates the traditions surrounding Mary finds that Catholic tradition is often developed to fill the silences of the Bible. In response to theological question regarding the absence of Original Sin in Jesus, born of the human Mary, Catholicism develops the position of immaculate conception. If one adheres to this position, Mary is sinless and therefore not subject to the ravages of human life like aging, disease, and death. To explain her movement from earth to heaven without suffering death, the tradition of the glorious assumption develops. On both the Bible is silent but theological questions demand answers and the Catholic theologians responded.

Mary as mediatrix is one of the more threatening positions standing between the evangelical and the Catholic. Much of this schism is rooted in a lack of understanding on the part of the Catholic laity who fail to explain their prayers to saints correctly. The Church’s position is founded on a much more active belief in the communion of the Body. The Catholic view enlivens the saints in their heavenly abode and is not hesitant to ask them for prayer, much as the evangelical asks their friends and family for intercession. Mary, being among the saints in heaven, is asked for her intercession.  Nothing more.

To those who spend time constructing and researching things theological, each of these positions that the Roman Catholic church has taken makes sense. The danger in these positions lies in their transference to the laity who don’t take the time to deconstruct and carefully explain the foundations as each becomes tradition. The dangerous precipice of tradition is that it can easily tip into worship and adoration of Mary, elevating her to a fourth position in the Trinity. Teaching says that Mary is not to be worshipped nor adored, tradition often veers otherwise.

As for Mary’s miraculous appearance in a piece of cheese toast? We’ll leave that for another day but ask the same question. Does such an appearance honor the Real Mary, whose words “may it be to me as you have said” inspire us also to live in reverent obedience?

 

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On the Mountainside with Jesus: Lent Reflection 9

Blessed are those who persecuted because of their righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Go along and get along or stand out, and risk drawing the attention of those around you. This age old dilemma narrows our reflection this morning. The question for followers of the Savior is, do you stand out? Is there such a righteousness apparent in your life, in contrast to the world around you, that your shining light threatens to push back the darkness? Or does your candle flicker so feebly that there is little to distinguish you from the crows. Sadly, in the modern era of cheap grace, the lives of many of Christ’s followers are little different from the prevailing culture and they invite little persecution.

The radical Jesus we walk with toward the three crosses of Calvary this Lent desires radical followers. Followers whose righteousness is seen in word and deed, whose holiness is intentional, and whose sacrifice is total. He desires followers who are a threat to the unrighteousness of the dominant society and whose focus is singularly drawn toward the restoration of justice and the extension of mercy. 

Lent is a good measure of how radical your commitment to Christ is. If it is a period in which your sacrifice is something you are probably better off without anyway, would you honestly say that you’ve counted the cost of discipleship? Perhaps in the remaining few weeks of this years observation it would be a good time to pull out your copy of Bonhoeffer’s work of the same name and consider how the radical pull of the Sermon on the Mount enabled him to stand up under persecution and follow the radical Jesus, even to the point of paying the ultimate cost.

 

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