The Ancient Future Church

Isaiah 55:3-9

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Slow should we be in ascribing our thoughts and feelings to God. We do it all the time. Goth people annoy me. They must annoy God. Skateboarders need a life. God wants me to reach them and given them one. Rich people don’t care about the poor. Gods wants them to be more generous.

If we believe we are generally godly, then our thoughts must be consistent with His. Big mistake! Honestly, we can quite petty. And God is not petty.

Recently some people dear to me made decisions on behalf of thousands including me. The outcome has been disastrous. It has been rejected by many of their closest friends and uniformly by people on the outside looking in. Fundamental to the flawed decision was ascribing their feelings and thoughts to God. In the process they abandoned something they have always articulated well. “God speaks to His people through His people.” Problem is in this case they didn’t check with His people, not once.

It is a cautionary tale. There are some things that are non-negotiable. Creation, fall/sin, redemption, sanctification, believing community (aka church) that have been abundantly revealed. After that, significant discernment is required. Years ago one one of my classmates said he had heard from God and a seminary prof asked “How do you know it wasn’t indigestion?” I didn’t’ like it when he said it but it means something these days.

The chasm between heaven and earth is grand, so wide it can only be bridged by the outstretched hands of a merciful savior. Humility dictates that we be slow to ascribe to the former (heaven) what we have concluded upon the latter (earth). To be sure God’s will for us can be known and discerned but danger lies ahead without the requisite humility.

Colossians 2:8-23

“These have indeed the appearance of wisdom . . . but are of no value in checking the indulgences of the flesh.”

Religious activity, things like observing holy days and seasons, fasting, self-denial, and even observing the Sabbath are good things when held in proper perspective. One, the limits of religious activity must be readily acknowledged. And two, religious activities can never be made a law, that is imposed upon the Church or Christians.

One, there are limits. Going to church does not make one a Christian any more than sitting in a library makes you a book or sitting in McDonald’s makes you a hamburger. Christianity is always a matter of the heart and lots of people practice religion without ever experiencing a change of heart. We take communion because we are in communion with God not because taking communion will create communion that otherwise does not exist. And no amount of religious activity will “check” our sinful desires and indulgences of the flesh. Going to church weekly does not prevent one from abusing his spouse or children every Sunday afternoon. In fact the abuse may be as religiously observed as attending worship.

This is not to say religious activity is never good. It is often good, very good. But its power and witness are always diminished when it does not reflect a transformation already going on within us. The church promotes an appearance of unity when it does things together when in reality its relationships are filled with strife. The onlooker sneers and says “No surprise. Exactly what I expected.”

Two, religious activities can never be made law. Paul asks, “Why do you submit to regulations, “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch?” Ours is a faith of obedience but not to religious activity or even church rules. Our obedience is to Jesus, who said “love your neighbor as yourself” but never said “abstain from meat on Friday.” Electing to abstain is one thing. Having to abstain is another. I fasted often as a missionary in Bolivia because I wanted to grapple with the deprivation people endured. I did not fast in concert with other religious people because the church said I must. Personal devotions of my own choosing are within my freedom for obedience. Devotions as a rule not so much!

So does our religious activity reflect real change within us or are we just going through the motions and/or following the rules? Do we understand the lack of power within the activity to produce what it purports to represent? Finally do we stand firm when the church imposes upon us law when it was freedom for obedience we were granted by Christ? If not, how will people ever understand Grace and Gospel?

Colossians 1:24-2:7

“Him we proclaim, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man mature in Christ.”

“Dear is Plato. Dearer still is truth.” So said Aristotle of his mentor. It is the hubris of man to abandon the one who “brung” him. But it is often the case that we abandon our teachers, even the faith of the home in which we were raised. We do it to cast off restraint. We are not bound by simplicity. We are enlightened and evermore pursuing more of it.

On the other hand, Mark Twain once said that he was amazed at how little his dad knew when Mark went off to college and how much his dad had learned by the time Mark graduated. Twain’s father did not know more. Twain just realized he knew some. Maturity realizes the truth present in those we’ve cast off or just pushed aside.

Paul heralds and teaches Him, Jesus, that we (the church, the called out people) might “present every man mature in Christ.” It is through Jesus and understanding him that we become mature (under the power of the Holy Spirit). If we want to grow up, we follow Jesus, not run ahead.

Mature, to be sure, includes the sense of older and wiser (at least becoming sophomores, wise fools, knowing now, in spite of what we do know, the vastness of what we don’t). But mature or teleion in Greek also means to reach the purpose for which we are designed, to reach our end. And our end is? We were created in the image of God. And the Holy Spirit is sanctifying us (back) into the likeness of the Son (to know the son is to know the Father – John 8:12-19). So the highest order of being human is found in Jesus. It is found in following, not leading. It is found in being taught, not teaching.

Are you maturing, getting wiser and reaching your end? When was the last time you let God change your mind? Do you have a teachable spirit? Do you care more or less today for the widowed and orphaned than you did yesterday? The answer to that one may well reveal your trajectory.

Jesus is looking for sponges, folks who will sit at his feet. He is looking for those who will dance with the one who “brung” them. After all, he paid for the carnation.

Revelation 21:22-27

“And the city had no need of sun or moon to shine upon it, . .”

How great that would be, to live in a place so illuminated by the Light of the World such that we no longer need to rely on the conventional ways of seeing. We need no sun. We need no moon. We need no power plants or generators. His brilliance is sufficient.

This is the place being prepared for us. Nothing unclean will be allowed to enter it nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood. But those of us who believe, those who have their names etched in the Lamb’s book of life, will enter.

Even better news – we need not wait. We can enter now. It is the already of the “already and not yet.” That Light came into the world at Christmas. We have the Epiphany! Our present darkness can be obliterated such that there is no dark night of the soul. We need not despair. And the darkness cannot understand our light, comprehend it, or overcome it.

Where is the darkness for you that can be immediately undone? I am fascinated with elections. I am a bit of a political junky. But elections reveal for me just how dark the “present darkness” is. It doesn’t even require cynicism to say elections are mostly about getting or retaining power. No longer are they about truth. In them we wage war against men (literally going for the jugular of our opponent, all of whom have feet of clay – so the winner is simply the person who best keeps his baggage hid) rather than contending for truth and the supremacy of good over evil.

I could easily slip into a funk. Who couldn’t? But I put my head down at night knowing this present darkness does not define me, now or in the future. My world is defined by a Light that darkness cannot get its hands around. For me the light is so brilliant that not only does it scatter darkness. So all- encompassing is this light that it even eliminates the possibility of shadow.

Ephesian 6:10-20

“For we are not contending against flesh and blood, . . “

So often we choose to battle man, flesh and blood, rather than take on the real culprit. For example, often we want and we do battle with the person who is withholding what we want or preventing us from getting what we want, rather than taking on the “wiles of the devil,” that which creates the want in the first place. Like old man Potter in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” we are too often galled when we can’t get our hands on the building and loan.

Let me make this simple. Sometimes we need give up the “battle to get” and abandon the “want” altogether. Has it ever occurred to us consider that the want has been inspired by the forces of this present darkness and the resistance is actually from God. The principalities and powers are often inspiring us to covet by creating a felt need for something we don’t have.

Look around you? Make a mental list of what you have out of need and what you have out of want. It became so apparent to me when I moved to Bolivia for a year. Storing what I owned but didn’t need there was quite expensive. And what I did need fit into two liner feet of closet space and couple of drawers. Amazing!

To this day I succumb to the temptation all the time but I am much more sensitive  now to the wiles of the devil and his desire for me to covet things I don’t need. So the next time you feel the resistance consider it may be a greater spiritual force looking out for you, to keep you from acquiring something that only the devil wants you to have.

John 9:1-12, 35-38

“It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be made manifest in him.”

Beware of judging or allowing yourself to be judged by appearances. It is rather commonplace in charismatic Christian circles these days to associate one’s misfortune with either a deficit of faith or unrepented sin or some combination of the two. To be sure unrepented sin is a problem. For some it is outward rebellion, just won’t give it up. For others, they are totally clueless. They hear Nathan say to David, “you the man” and they get all puffed up with bravado rather falling to their knees in shame for their infidelity. And, of course, with the helpless father of the possessed son we can always say “I believe. Help my unbelief.”

But misfortune is not necessarily the consequence of either. Sometimes we are dealing with the consequences of repented sin. Repenting of stealing doesn’t eliminate the investigation, trial or sentence. Sometimes we are dealing with the consequences of other people’s sin. We are collateral damage. How many spouses find themselves bankrupt following a divorce precipitated by the other’s adultery? Sometimes we are dealing with the consequences of sin generally as in the fall of man. I for one believe some cancer emanates from the fall when everything was fractured and ceased to work as designed. So cells no longer always divide in the right way. My illness may be due to sin but not any of which I can repent personally.

So Lord, deliver us from presumption. Don’t let us fall into the trap of measuring outward appearances without any knowledge of the heart. Remind us that we will be judged with the measure with which we judge others.

Too Lord, deliver us from pain heaped upon us by the presumptuous. Cause us to repent when we should but guard us from guilt and shame for things over which we have no control. Open the eyes of those who would so carelessly presume.

Ephesians 4:17-32

“Put off . . . and put on . . .”

Are you reluctant to toss out old clothes? I have some favorites I can’t seem to release to the heap. One is Hard Rock Café t-shirt which is really a play on an Army base canteen at Eagle Base in Bosnia. I bought it while there on an Air Force goodwill tour in 2001. It was a once in a lifetime kind of trip and the t is a wonderful reminder of it. Ten years later it is pit stained and coming apart at the seams. But I still wear it. Sure it has been reduced to running and beach/lake attire but I can’t give it up! I have several other such garments, some that go back 25 years. You?

Such reluctance to “put off” can play itself out in our spiritual journey. Like comfort food or clothing, some vices make us feel quite at home. We’ve worn them so long we would rather not give them up.

The Apostle Paul recognized that in us. When we become a follower of the Way and the author of it, we are to put off some things and put on others. We put off “all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander” along with malice. That’s a rather extensive list and probably includes for each of us at least one old garment that needs to go.

Are you holding on to any of those clothes? Are they tattered and discolored. Is it time to throw them out?

Once stripped of our old clothes, we are meant to put on new ones (kindness, tenderheartedness, forgiveness). We can be reluctant to do that as well. I have a Christmas gift that seems a little trendy. I am not sure if it is my style. I’ve never worn anything like it so it doesn’t feel quite right. But that is a thought for another day. First we need to get naked. Let us begin with an inventory of what needs to go. Open up the closet and let the inventory begin.

Ephesians 4:1-16

“Rather, speaking the truth in love, . . “

Often the Apostle Paul is quoted when one wants to justify a harsh statement he or she wants to make to you personally. Like, “John you need to hear this. It is for your own good. I am just speaking the truth in love.” Right! I am all for speaking the truth in love. We are accountable to one another and should lead transparent lives that are subject to scrutiny by those with whom we live in community. However, rarely in my experience is it spoken by someone who loves or even someone who knows the truth. It is spoken by someone who wants to control you or manipulate you. And in this case, their ignorance is revealed in using it as the warrant is misappropriated.

Speaking the truth in love in this case is a much bigger truth. We might call it big T truth. It is spoken in this case that people might not be tossed to and fro from bad teaching or doctrine. It is spoken that people (not individuals), specifically the people of God redeemed or the Body of Christ, might mature in “every way into him who is the head, the Christ.”

Speaking the truth in love has to do with things like the particularity of Jesus. In Acts 4 we read, “For there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” This is an important first principle. Otherwise you might be lead astray thinking salvation is found in some other, a rogue trying to exalt himself, or some personal act (reading your bible or being kind, however much these are to be commended).

Speaking the truth in love has to do with other first principles, like the humility necessary to being Christian. Within Ephesians and this passage in particular, humility in the way of Jesus promotes unity. It eschews division. The reader, especially those entrusted with the building up of the Body, should hear indictment for any act that divides and pits one Christian against another or church against church. Humility almost always means walking away from the need to win, or even keep score!!!

Confront and allow yourself to be confronted. As a general rule, however, the confrontation should be over something that applies to all people equally and universally especially if it spoken in love.

John 2:1-11

“Do whatever he tells you.”

The miracle at Cana is full of wonder. It has perfect timing. The wine was just about to give out. Quite a supply was made, as much 120 to 180 gallons. With that you could start a catering business. And it was not ordinary wine. The best was served last.

Much time is spent trying to figure out the meaning of all the details. The passage has been subjected to extraordinary scrutiny. Why would Jesus be so curt with his mother? Wouldn’t so much wine inspire excess?  So much so have we ponder the details that the great reformer Martin Luther once said in regard to this passage, we often study the sign but never follow the road.

It seems on the face of it, we should do as Jesus says for, at least mother knows, he has the power to overcome this social debacle. This sign “manifested his glory.” It is fairly obvious that we should be on notice that the best things (Jesus) have been withheld until now. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the good wine being served now tops that which came before it. All else is part of a vehicle (a very real miracle) to communicate these profound truths. Dwelling on them should not prevent us from doing as he says.

Are we doing as he says? Loving God? Loving neighbor? Forgiving an infinite number of times? Doing unto the least of them? Following the narrow way? Or are we presenting a thousand insignificant questions to delay our getting on with it.

Matthew 1:18-25

“And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.”

So ordinary was the environment in which Jesus was conceived and born, that Matthew records Joseph’s resolve to divorce Mary quietly. No one could blame Joseph. He had not “known” his betrothed in the biblical sense, so why marry someone seemingly unfaithful. I mean how did she get pregnant? So why not do what anyone would do and end the engagement. It is what anyone would do, a common thing. Add fields, shepherds, stables and a manger and you have quite modest and extraordinarily ordinary surroundings for the birth of King of kings and Lord of lord. Then again, he was a Savior that would rescue people from their sins. He never cared much for thrones while on earth.

The traditional Christmas pageant always reminds me of the simplicity of it all. It did today. That God would roll up His sleeves and enter into our ordinary and mucky world is quite astounding. We have no referent for understanding love so grand. Our best effort doesn’t come close. After all, it is His nature.

The simplicity could be lost in church. There is so much pomp and circumstance to our celebrations and every once a while it’s accompanied by some business (as it was today with an appeal for generous giving to cover the 2011 deficit which equates to the present median price of a home in the mid-west).

But the pageant could easily take place in a barn. Wait. It did!

In the middle of it all, let us remember the gift is for the masses, those who believe in their heart and profess with their lips Jesus is Lord. It is for the poor as much as it is for anyone else. It is for the ordinary. It’s for you. It’s for me.