Orthodox Dilemma - Part 2

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Tuesday, March 5, 2019

So Peter invited the men to stay for the night.  The next day he went with them, accompanied by some of the brothers from Joppa.  They arrived in Caesarea the following day.  Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends.  As Peter entered his home, Cornelius fell at his feet and worshiped him.  But Peter pulled him up and said, “Stand up!  I’m a human being just like you!”  So they talked together and went inside, where many others were assembled.  Peter told them, “You know it is against our laws for a Jewish man to enter a Gentile home like this or to associate with you.  But God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean.  So I came without objection as soon as I was sent for.  Now tell me why you sent for me.”  Cornelius replied, “Four days ago I was praying in my house about this same time, three o’clock in the afternoon.  Suddenly, a man in dazzling clothes was standing in front of me.  He told me, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your gifts to the poor have been noticed by God!   Now send messengers to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter.  He is staying in the home of Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore.’  So I sent for you at once, and it was good of you to come.  Now we are all here, waiting before God to hear the message the Lord has given you.”  Acts 10:23-33(NLT)

We left Peter yesterday receiving impure, untouchable, undesirable Gentiles into his home; now we find Peter at the door of a Gentile’s home, telling the humble God-fearing Gentile Cornelius that God said Peter’s thinking was what was undesirable.  The question I often had – and get questioned about as a Pastor is:  Why did God label Gentiles impure in the first place, and then change His mind?

The whole issue centers in one word:  CHOICE.

Consider these few basic assumptions about our relationship with God:

1.     All humans are created in the image of God (we don’t choose humanity), and therefore are endowed-with (given) intrinsic worth.

2.     All humans sin, and therefore choose to disfigure (sin-away) that image and our relationship with God; we choose our impurity.

3.     Everything follows the pattern of the first two and needs restoration.

Returning to the Methodist fracas du jour for the moment as an example, God never ordained, never said a single word in favor of today’s aberrant sexual depravity, but has much strong condemnation of it.  Setting aside the argument of genetic predisposition – being born a woman in a man’s body, or vice-versa[ii], homosexuality, bi-sexuality, trans-sexuality, as opposed to heterosexuality is largely a matter of choice of behavior.  We act how we choose to act.

Sin is very much that way, a matter of choice.  People are not impure or unclean in God’s eyes (and neither should they be in ours) because of birth, genetics, race, or defect or any kind.  We make ourselves unclean with sin by rebelling against the bond of relationship with God.  Rebellion in sexual matters is no different for a homosexual or any of the other aberrations, as it is for a heterosexual who violates fidelity in marriage, or abstinence in singleness.  Heart rebellion is the center of the issue; when we choose to separate ourselves from God’s will, our free will accomplishes the task…and we know it.  Our eyes are no less opened by our sin than Adam and Eve’s eyes were opened when they rebelled.

So, why did Peter tell Cornelius he’d concluded that he should not think of any man as impure or unclean?  Simple; Peter had watched a woman brought to Jesus for condemnation because she was caught in the act.  Jesus told her accusers, ok, stone this sinner…whoever among you doesn’t have any sin on his card, step forward and throw the first stone.[iii]  They all slinked away.  It’s not a question of if we’re all guilty; we just can’t be proud of the fact that we might be less-guilty than the next guy.  We’re all sinners!

For You Today

Ash Wednesday is tomorrow; it’s a great time to put pride where it belongs.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[i] Title Image:   By Illustrator of Henry Davenport Northrop's 'Treasures of the Bible', 1894 Public Domain

[ii] I do not set this aside entirely; gender is not an identity, it is chromosomal; and that from conception.  Anything less is subjective science digging for excuses.

[iii] John 8:1-11

Orthodox Dilemma

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Monday, March 4, 2019

The next day as Cornelius’s messengers were nearing the town, Peter went up on the flat roof to pray.  It was about noon,  and he was hungry.  But while a meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance.  He saw the sky open, and something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners.  In the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds.  Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.”  “No, Lord,” Peter declared.  “I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure and unclean.”  But the voice spoke again:  “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.” The same vision was repeated three times.  Then the sheet was suddenly pulled up to heaven.  Peter was very perplexed.  What could the vision mean? Just then the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house.  Standing outside the gate, they asked if a man named Simon Peter was staying there.  Meanwhile, as Peter was puzzling over the vision, the Holy Spirit said to him, “Three men have come looking for you.  Get up, go downstairs, and go with them without hesitation.  Don’t worry, for I have sent them.”  So Peter went down and said, “I’m the man you are looking for.  Why have you come?”  They said, “We were sent by Cornelius, a Roman officer.  He is a devout and God-fearing man, well respected by all the Jews.  A holy angel instructed him to summon you to his house so that he can hear your message.”  So Peter invited the men to stay for the night.  The next day he went with them, accompanied by some of the brothers from Joppa.  Acts 10:9-23(NLT)

Peter had his world rocked more than a few times because he was a follower of Jesus Christ.  Often Christian disciples tend to read Scripture, especially parts that contain Jewish tradition, as if it doesn’t apply to us, here in the 21^st century. 

We forget that Peter was a Jew, and here, a very orthodox Jew.  In this account his orthodox menu is challenged by a vision of everything he was forbidden to eat.  It says Peter was puzzling over what he’d just experienced when an invitation showed up at the front door from Cornelius, a Gentile Roman Officer, to come to his home and preach the Gospel message. 

The fact that Peter responded at all is evidence that the message from Heaven’s sheet full of meat was becoming clear to Peter.  If God is in something, you get on board with it.  In Peter’s case it is clear he got it right away, because he invited the messengers to stay the night with him.  In Peter’s orthodoxy it was forbidden to enter a Gentile’s residence, and it would have been a severe offense to have them stay in your home. 

It is dangerous to assume that every whim of change that floats around in the culture is God telling us what’s happening is a new direction for the church, or for individual discipleship.  On the other hand, we cannot, because of settled orthodoxy, summarily dismiss the possibilities.  Therefore, we listen to others before going to war over differences of opinion.  Culture wars are not always about right and wrong; sometimes they’re just attempts to get traction on approval for a new way to sin.

In many cases the development of civilization has meant throwing-out old ways, in favor of something more beneficial.  Slavery, Racism, Sexual abuse, and many more such evils, have been targeted as monstrous, intolerable by godly and civilized humanity. 

We must be ready to listen to those who claim victimization.  At the same time, we must listen closely; not all that glitters is gold, and not all that demands space must be accommodated. 

For You Today

For those who are serious about following Christ with pure motives and heart, even a direct message, let down in a sheet from Heaven must be a puzzling dilemma.  But a genuine move of God can never be orchestrated by demonstration, demeaning, manipulation, or false witness. 

That kind of agenda-driving is not let-down from Heaven, it’s brought-up from below, and it smells like smoke.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[i] Title Image:   By Illustrator of Henry Davenport Northrop's 'Treasures of the Bible', 1894 Public Domain

What About You? Part 2

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Thursday, September 13, 2018

Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”  Peter replied, “You are the Messiah.”  But Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.  Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law.  He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead.  As he talked about this openly with his disciples, Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things.  Jesus turned around and looked at his disciples, then reprimanded Peter. “Get away from me, Satan!” he said.  “You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”  Mark 8:29-33(NLT)

We are preparing for this weekend’s worship (using the Lectionary Gospel text).  As we saw in yesterday’s devotion, there was an overwhelming response to the ministry of teaching, healing, and proclaiming the Kingdom of God.  Jesus had sent out the disciples to spread the word, and they came back incredibly hyped over all that was happening.

Then He popped a rather innocuous little question on them … tell me, what do the people think; WHO do they think I am?  Some thought Jesus was the return of Elijah or John the Baptist come back from the dead, God’s deliverer, a supernatural Messiah Who arrives on Heaven’s mission to save us all.  Those answers prompted the final question, a real bomb:  How about YOU; who do YOU think I am?  Let’s look at the right answer and the wrong attitude disciples have been carrying around ever since Jesus asked the question.

The Right Answer

Peter, ever the impetuous quick-to-talk-slow-to-think leader of the band got it right.  He got an “A” for recognizing that Jesus was Emmanuel, God with us. 

But then Jesus began dropping the rest of the story on the disciples about how He would suffer rejection by the rulers and be killed, yet three days later resurrected from the dead.  It was too much for Peter; he took Jesus aside and asked him to tone it down.

The Wrong Attitude

This moment of Peter’s wrong attitude in his brash attempt to control Jesus brought about a harsh response; Jesus called his disciple Satan.  Now, it’s not that Peter opted for the red suit, pitchfork, and growing horns; the word means “adversary”.  Peter was coming crossways to Jesus’ mission, and the Lord had to correct him quickly.

This is a moment all disciples experience sooner or later.  It is that moment when you awaken to the reality that actually living the life of your will surrendered to Christ’s is not going to be what you thought it would be, and certainly not as easy as it seemed.  Jesus teaches us he is not our personal vending machine; you just cannot pop-in a nickel’s-worth of prayer and, voila, out pops your answer.

Jesus’ answer to Peter’s (OCD), control-freak management was simple and painfully dead-on the mark … Simon, you just don’t know what you’re saying; you’re looking at it in human wisdom; I’m trying to teach you to see with Godly eyes. 

And this sets the stage for all of us to understand that the basis for becoming a follower of Jesus is the same for living that life – we sing the song:  I surrender all!  Being a Christian disciple means learning from Christ, not instructing God how things ought to be.

For You Today

In preparing to worship this weekend, what is it that you hope will come of the worship service…revival?  People saved?  Lives changed?  Perhaps some miracle to make your life easier?

Here’s a thought: 

If your prayers end with anything other than not my will, but Thine be done, it’s time to get a new way of praying.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image: Photo Courtesy of Pixabay.com

What About YOU? Part 1

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Wednesday, September 12, 2018

A Note of Explanation:  Most churches will have a reading of God’s Word as part of the worship services.   Depending on how many people are there, if you made a list of how people understood the Scripture, you would find many different interpretations, and just as many (if not more) questions than answers.  I did a simple Google search on John 3:16, and I found on one site over a thousand sermons (even three of mine).  there is so much that can be said about every Bible text that you must do more than consider the Scriptures casually; they demand further investigation!onsidering that reality I have opted for the last three days of this week to focus on this Sunday’s lectionary text as a means of getting ready for Sunday – which, by the way, is a very important part of devotional life, preparing the heart to worship.  Here is part one of the text:

Jesus and his disciples left Galilee and went up to the villages near Caesarea Philippi. As they were walking along, he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”  “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other prophets.”  Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”  Mark 8:27-29(NLT)

The questions Jesus asked were very interesting, sometimes disconcerting, and always to-the-point.  This question, copied-down by the Gospel writer, Mark, is the mother of all opinion polls.  It asks the most important question, and demands an answer.  What is at back of this question forms another vitally-important question, which demands just as vital and eternal answer:  who are YOU?

Jesus and the Disciples were having an overwhelming response to the Lord’s ministry of teaching, healing, and proclaiming the Kingdom of God.  Jesus had sent out the disciples to spread the word, and they came back incredibly hyped over all that was happening.

Then He dropped a rather innocuous little question on them … tell me, what do the people think; WHO do they think I am?  Nielsen ratings, opinion polls, and Survey Monkey questionnaires couldn’t have stirred a more active response.  And much of it wasn’t far off.  Prophet – check!  Elijah – check!  John the Baptist back from the dead?  All these answers focused-on God’s promises to send a deliverer, a supernatural Messiah Who arrives on Heaven’s mission to save us all.

Those answers prompted the final question, a real bomb:  How about YOU; who do YOU think I am?

There are many opinion polls which gather volumes of answers of the multitudes, and are fed into computers that average, leverage, classify, modify, and codify all the supposed empirical data into tools a politician, business, or group of whatever kind can use to push their product or agenda.  But in that entire mix there are only two opinions that really matter to an individual – that individual’s answer, and what God thinks of that individual’s answer!

This question, what about YOU, demands an answer, and even a silent response, one of those I’ll think about it later responses, is an answer.  The demand of this question isn’t put-aside by our personal free will; it only intensifies the importance of it.  If we didn’t have free will there would be no question; God would have placed the answer inside us, and we wouldn’t be able to resist it. 

But God gave us a choice, and that presupposes there will be challenges to which way we will go.  Therefore, you must make up your mind about this question, because there are (as C.S. Lewis pointed-out) only three possible answers:  Jesus is LIAR, LUNATIC, or LORD! 

For You Today

Tomorrow we will look at the answers; today would be a great start on preparing to talk about this text this Sunday in church…you ARE going, aren’t you?

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image: Photo Courtesy of Pixabay.com

A Deep Division of Opinion

Friday, September 5, 2014

Then they took the man who had been blind to the Pharisees, because it was on the Sabbath that Jesus had made the mud and healed him.  The Pharisees asked the man all about it.  So he told them, “He put the mud over my eyes, and when I washed it away, I could see!”  Some of the Pharisees said, “This man Jesus is not from God, for he is working on the Sabbath.”  Others said, “But how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?”  So there was a deep division of opinion among them.     John 9:13-16 (NLT)

A man, who in his entire life had never seen so much as his own thumbs, was given 20/20 sight by Jesus, and the first words out of the mouth of a religious bystander was criticism for Jesus.  There was no celebration that a blind man had been healed; there was only indignation that a miracle was performed on a holy day. 

It’s hard to miss the irony there.

Some of the Pharisees wanted to defend Jesus’ motives.  At least they recognized a miracle as being from God.  And so the skeptics and seers were off to the debate; divided again; a deep division between sides….again!

Divided Again

Among the things that never change are misunderstanding and division; these are as constant in human relationships as breathing in and out.

Calvinists and Arminians, Republicans and Democrats, Progressives and Conservatives, Georgia Bulldog and Crimson Tide fans – shall there ever be consensus?

Well, of course not!  We’re human beings; we divide ourselves into camps, dig our heels in the sand and debate how many angels can sit on the head of a pin, defending our “side” with the last drop of self-righteous blood in our bodies.

I’ve recently had to confess to the congregations I serve that I join the fight at times.  It’s rather obscene, really. 

I’m talking about Facebook™.  There are these Pharisee – er…Clergy Facebook pages.  

Someone always posts something politically left or right, or religiously progressive or conservative; the next thing you know there are snarky comments slinging-in from both sides.  

It can get pretty foul.

Nothing is ever settled; no one is ever happy; Christ is rarely glorified; and seldom is the blind man ever welcomed.  But we feel better for having vented our spleen in full view of the electronic world.  

We even do it on the Sabbath!

For You, Today…

If you’re a “Facebook-er” before you boot up that app, take a moment to ask God for the mind of Christ today.

Whatever conversation you join, make sure you’re holding the blind man’s hand.  Jesus is holding the Pharisee’s hand and wants to bring everybody back to the Father.

P.S.

It’s ok to heal on the Sabbath…Jesus said so!