Theology of Suffering

I listened to an old podcast I had forgotten about

http://www.imagodeicommunity.com/information/sermons/preacher/celestine-musekura/

I encourage everyone to take the time to listen to it. It reminded me about the cost of discipleship. Celestine talks about receiving beatings for the gospel. Many pastors spent days hiking through swamps, fighting hippos and crocodiles just so they could get to a conference to learn how to better serve their people. A woman named Mary used to get up very early every morning to collect cans alongside the road, so she could sponsor a child. Without that sponsorship Celestine would not be where he is today, and I would not have been reminded so vividly about the cost of discipleship.

Forgive me for Crucifying you

This is why we are able to have hope at funerals. This is why we are able to live unafraid to die. The resurrection of Christ means we can be saved redeemed.

This morning I awoke thinking of all the Christ-followers who have shown me what radical forgiveness looks like. Having experienced it first hand, has changed everything about who I am. The ways in which people have forgiven me, and continued to love me despite my failures astounds me. Radical forgiveness is only possible with love. And to radically forgive strangers is only possible with Christ in us.

With all the court cases on TV and in the paper in this country, and 80% or so of us being Christian, I wonder why we don't hear of more occurrences of radical forgiveness. It was this scandalous grace that resurrected us from the death that was our own sin. And yet when people harm us we scream for vengeance and retribution. This next year I am praying the church will show the world what grace and forgiveness are all about, by practicing what they preach.

Resisting the Empire

The election season is nigh upon us. Lot's of folks are asking what kingdom of God people should do when it comes to elections. Essentially, should we be red or blue?

This is how the world phrases questions for us. Are you for mothers or babies? Are you for workers or immigrants? Do you give the poor jobs or money? The list goes on and on. Jesus got these questions, and he always came up with a radical third way of answering them. What if we said we love mothers and babies. And by love we mean we will take them into our homes, not just try and change their minds. If we look at these situations through the lens of radical love, the solution is neither of the two options presented by the world, it is a radical third way. The catch is it involves huge sacrifice on the part of the lover.

Now what do we do about the upcoming election? Back in the first generation of the church the saying Jesus is Lord was particularly offensive. You see the Romans had a saying too, Caesar is Lord. It was this resistance to the empire that got most of them killed. Before we go any further I am not advocating suicide, but I am advocating resistance.

Imagine if the entire church in America united and said "Jesus is our Leader (president), we will not vote." Already you may have had the thought, "but THEY would win if we did that". I felt it too initially. I suggest this, by refusing to vote we are saying that whoever is elected will not determine how we respond to the world. We respond with radical love to all, because of the love Christ has placed in our hearts. It does not matter if the tax rate goes up or down, we will still give sacrificially. It does not matter what the state says about marriage we will be faithful to our God and spouses, and love homosexuals. It does not matter if the state builds walls between us and Mexico, we will love US workers, Mexican immigrants, Iraqi civilians, US soldiers, and Al Quadi insurgents alike. None are to far gone for God's grace.

I know sometimes I am guilty of saying, "if the government could create this situation, the gospel could advance." We trust in God for protection and guidance. When dramatic situations arise we respond based on what we put in our hearts. If we are filling our hearts with Jesus, it doesn't matter what situation, whether peaceful or dangerous, our response will be one of radical love. When non-Christians see us act with radical love no matter what the situation, the gospel message will go forward. Unfortunately love looks most radical in the midst of suffering.

God Bless the Revolution.

Street Roots and Starbucks

I've been thinking a lot about some very interesting business models. Tom's Shoes, BogoLight, and the like. Tom's Shoes is a for profit company that sells trendy canvas type shoes, and for every shoe that is purchased the give one to a barefooted kid in a third world country. BogoLight is a similar model where you can purchase an amazing LED / Solar charging flashlight, and one gets donated to a kid in Africa. These kids don't have electricity, and need these lights to practice reading at night, and for practical tasks such as walking to the latrine at night.

These things are amazing business models, but we need to support them. I am also thinking about the American church and our addiction to comfort. I think we will "sacrifice" as long as it doesn't infringe on our comfort. But then again isn't infringing on our comfort the definition of sacrifice. I know, at least in the Northwest, we have a coffee addiction. Folks will pay anywhere from 1.50 to 4.00$ everyday to get the cup of joe. Streets Roots is printed twice a month, and costs one dollar. So on average Christians would have to sacrifice one cup of coffee a month to purchase an issue of Street Roots from a vendor, twice monthly. This vendor would then have an income and the dignity associated with a job. One cup of coffee a month seems so small, but why does it also seem so hard.

God: How about death, and then resurrection. I'll go first.

I’ve been thinking about a convergence of forces lately. The debt crisis, obesity, divorce rates. I’m concerned that when it comes to these issues the church looks no different than the American Culture; in fact some argue they are worse.

I've said before that I think the problem we have presenting an Americanized version of the gospel is that it is not radical enough. How is it relevant if it is just another product for us to add to our list of consumables.

In school we are taught a little, and then we practice a little. We learn about adverbs, and then write sentences with adverbs. We learn a little algebra, and then we solve equations. But when it comes to church and bible studies, we learn a little theology, a little philosphy and then close our books and reflect on it for the week. Now I'm not against reflection, but I am for action. I want to be someone who says lets read the words of Jesus, and then see if we can do what he did, this next week.

It's curious how Jesus doesn't say go and convert, he says go and make disciples. Discipleship is basically the same as an apprenticeship. How can someone be an apprentice, by being taught with words only. My dad taught me a lot of wrestling. He could say do this or that, and unless he showed me, and we walked through it together, I never got it. But then I had to practice it. I had to make mistakes and screw it up, but eventually I would get to a point where I didn't even need to think about what I was doing because it became instinct.

Our instincts should be the work of Christ, because that is what we are practicing.

Red-White-And-Blue Lens

Apparently this pictured angered a bunch of folks. Imagine that, the gospel of Jesus making people angry. Maybe thats a clue to the American church, that our gospel doesn't seem to be as radical as Jesus'. I am not trying to imply a message that attacks folks, but when Jesus preached, people had 3 responses, fingers in the ears, trying to kill him, or following him. I think our gospel has become retail merchandise. We live in a culture where we buy products to fix us. Maybe we have bought the gospel for the same reason? What if the gospel is about empowering us, what if the gospel is a radical call to leave yourself. What if the gospel will actually ruin your life (as we know it). I believe Christ's work on the cross forgave sin, reconciled man's brokenness to himself. But Christ didn't stop there, so why do we? Why are we so comfortable that we have hijacked the gospel. Jesus says sell everything and give it to the poor, and we say Oh that's a metaphor, or he was just talking to the ruler who was greedy. But when it comes to inheriting the kingdom in all its splendor, of course he is talking specifically to you and I. When he says to take care of widows and orphans and feed the hungry and clothe the naked, we ignore that. Because we don't want to invite the least of these into our homes or lives. That would be inconvenient and uncomfortable.

My frustration is that I was born American. (Now I like America, and If I was born somewhere else I would be writing about a different set of cultural assumptions.) And everything I see is tainted with this red-white-and-blue lens. I want to follow Jesus in a real and true way. I don't need to follow the path of home ownership and early retirement if its not going to get me closer to God. And if America declares someone an enemy I want them to know Christ still died for you. I think we often forget that Paul was a terrorist too.

Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?

My God My God, Why have you forsaken me? How many times have I asked this very thing. Sometimes at moments of injustice I find myself asking, God where the heck are you. It turns out I'm not the first. God himself, incarnate as the man Jesus asked the very same thing at the world's greatest moment of injustice. Ps 44:24 - Why do you hide Your face and forget our affliction and our oppression? David asked the same question. Why does it seem like when injustice is abounding, God feels so far away. When some preachers/priests are wrecking lives, where was God? When the religious puritans were murdering Native Americans, where was God? I think he was bleeding for us. He was bleeding for me, the Natives, the puritans, the protestants, the catholics, the Muslims and the preachers/priests.

To hear these words of agony we know the suffering Jesus must have felt in this moment. It's not recorded what the father cried, I bet it would be too painful to hear.