I often find myself out of step in many conversations about difficult decisions.   Other people seem much more impressed with the wisdom that can be found in experience or in experts.  Or they are very confident in the wisdom they will gain from the subjective experience they will have as a result of prayer. I am not.  They may be right and I may be wrong, but for me the only authority that carries much weight is the Bible.

This is why I devote so much of my energy to learning how to wisely and faithfully interpret the Bible and apply it to our lives.  As the old line goes, it is our only rule for faith and practice.  That doesn’t merely mean that it is the best one, it means what it says, it is the only one.

Consequently although I am not a biblicist, the Bible is where I will start for any major investigation of what the church is called to believe and how the church is called to live.  So long before I consider what we can know about God through the post-biblical language of the trinity, I am going to consider what we can learn about God from scripture. And long before I consider what I can learn from the traditions of church worship and programming that I have inherited in my life of faith, I want to return to scripture, to ask, “What is the church doing?”

So I am not a biblicist.  I know that God has continued to guide the church and we must learn from the wisdom of all of church history.

But as my rule for faith and practice there is one source.  The Bible.

So that is where we will turn for our foundation of the core events of the church.

on the walk

-Ethan

There are some Christian circles in which this is not a radical suggestion, but I grew up in a tradition and I minister in a tradition in which biblicism is easy to find.  In fact a major family of this movement of churches goes by the name acapella Churches of Christ.  They will not use instruments in worship.  This is because in the new Testament there is no record of instruments being used in a worship service.  Some other Christians insist that women where head coverings. This is biblicism.  This view holds that every post-biblical innovation is an innapropriate Christian practice.

If this view had a motto it would be “If it is not in the Bible, I won’t do it.”

You may be thinking to yourself, “that sounds like a great motto.”  I agree.  It does sound like a great motto, but believe me, it isn’t.   It turns out that Christians have thought of lots of good things that aren’t in the Bible.  Now of course because they are not in the Bible that means that we can’t pretend they are essential, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t good things.

Here are a few things that are not in the bible,(or at least not in the same way we have them today.)

• Church Buildings
• Offering Trays
• Projectors
• Christmas
• Easter
• Sunday School
• Seminaries
• Heated Baptisteries
• “Quiet Time”
• Church Calendar
• Daily Office
• The Trinity
• Alter calls
• and lots of other stuff why don’t you help me add to my list.

See that is all good stuff.  I wish that it was as easy as being a biblicist.  INstead we have to ask the much more difficult question.  Is this practice or teaching that is not in scripture still faithful to scripture.  Does it exprtess what scripture teaches without going further than scritpure does?

That takes discernment and the wisdom of the whole church guided by the Spirit and that is why I am not a biblicist.

(tune in to my next post for the big BUT…)

And this matters for our conversation about church events.  It won’t be as simple as asking what are the 3 or ten or fifty types of events that the church in Acts had.  Just because they had an event doesn’t mean that we must and just because they didn’t doesn’t mean we shouldn’t.  As we ponder the core evens of the church we will need submit fully to the authority of scripture but to do that we must do more than just copy the church in Jerusalem or Phillipi or Corinth (please don’t copy the church in Corinth).
on the walk

-Ethan

It was a great message. Seth focused on focus. His best sentence was, “If you want to live an unsinkable life, even through storms, then focus on Jesus.” In that way it was a very similar point to my previous post in this series. It was a powerful reminder that life has storms and following Jesus offers no assurance of a life without them. It does however assure us that we need not sink, and if we do, Christ is there to pull us up. (You can read Phil 4:10-13 for Paul’s take on this promise.)
There was another detail from the story that captured my imagination. If you haven’t read it recently, you can find the whole event in context in Matt 14. In the middle of the encounter, Matthew records this exchange.

When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

“Come,” Jesus said.

What captured my thoughts was Peter’s request. He apparently doubts that this is Jesus. Perhaps he still thinks it is a ghost trying to trick them. Jesus response offers no proof; “Don’t worry, it’s me.” Isn’t that exactly what a tricky evil spirit would say? So Peter, searching for a way to test this spirit says, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.”

Couldn’t he think of a better proof that that? Here are a few right off the top of my head.

1. Lord, if it is you, come over here where I am so I can get a better look.
2. Lord, if it is you, please calm the storm and send us a nice breeze so we can sail where we want to go.
3. Lord, if it is you, please create a bridge between us so that I can walk over to you.
4. Lord, if it is you, please do that trick with the bread again because we are hungry from all this rowing.
5. Lord, if it is you, tell me who sat next to you at our last lamb roast.

But instead Peter asks, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.” Now we have to be careful about following Peter’s example in anything, because he often gets things wrong. But in this case, Jesus seems to approve of his request. Apparently Jesus thought that this was a pretty good way to test the identity of this strange apparition. I suppose the worst that could happen is that Peter gets a good soaking, and one can assume he was a pretty good swimmer.

Maybe instead of waiting for God to make the way clear, or “open the door,” I need to be more like Peter and call out. “If that is you God, out there in the stormy see, then tell me to come be with you, out there, in the storm, with the wind. If that is you, tell me to get out of the boat.”

Hey Jesus if that is you out there, please tell me to come to be with you (even on the water.)

on the walk

-Ethan

The flip side of these access issues is the issue of faith. Jesus credit the women’s faith as instrumental in her healing. Then when the bad news comes for Jairus, he challenges, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.” Just believe. Just do faith. This is the new access card. Trust Jesus. Faith in Jesus is all that a leprous woman needs. Faith in Jesus is all that a desperate father needs.

I often find that I have little faith. If I were Jairus I would be afraid. However, as I reflect on access to God, on faith, and on my doubt I am grateful of one thing. (In fact grateful doesn’t begin to describe the depth of my gratitude) The key ingredient of faith is not that it be great, (although that is surely an advantage). The key ingredient is that it is well directed.

In case the power of that simple point is lost, I will repeat it. One of these things that this miracle( and so many like it) teaches is that faith in Jesus is a catalytic ingredient to access to God. And what Jesus teaches directly and with great clarity is that well-placed faith, even though it may be small, is enough.

So I hope that you pray for great faith. But more importantly keep your faith squarely placed in Jesus. He has made a way for you to God, and nothing, not sickness, or ritual uncleaness, or social station or wealth, or even death can now separate you from God.

on the walk

-Ethan

I think that one of the profound issues simmering in this story, is the issue of access. Luke introduces us to to characters. Each needs access to Jesus. Jairus is the kind of person who is used to access. He has access to the halls of social power. He has access to the synagogue. He has access to the temple. He has access to political leadership, and he clearly comes to Jesus expecting access. He approaches this access with great humility(as he would his access to the temple) but nevertheless he falls and pleads his case directly with Jesus.

In contrast, the woman had no access. Ben does a good job describing how her disease would render her permanently unclean and cut her off from her family and from her faith. We are so used to being able to pray to God and study scripture on our own it is hard for us to understand that impact that her physical state would have on her access to God. But the simplest way to think about it is that because of her illness she would not be able to worship God. She would not be able to offer sacrifice for her sin. She would be cut off from the blessing of forgiveness. She had no access and she knows it. She does not confront Jesus and present a request. Instead she comes up from behind and in secret touches him.  Clearly it was her plan to sneak away without comment.  She had no access and she knew it.  She has no access and she knows it.

And yet, Christ gives her access.  Notice how the event itself interprets and highlights the significance of the miracle.  Her encounter begins by sneaking up behind Jesus to touch and sneak away, and now she is called to his face.  She is called to him.  Can you picture the crowd parting, just as it must have for Jairus?  She is named daughter.  Who has more access than a child.  This is what this healing has done for her.  this transformation is a picture of what Christ has done for her.  Imagine her glee; in seven days, she will be declared clean and able to worship God.  She will be able to bring her sacrifice into the temple and declare God’s praise.

There is more to learn from this encounter, but this one truth is enough.  The rules of the universe have changed.  In Christ, all people have access to God. That is good news.

on the walk

-Ethan

Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.

Take a look at the verbs in bold. I don’t know hoe much comment the progression needs but I’ll give a little.

Jesus went. None of this would have happened if Jesus had stayed in Capernaum. If Jesus had not been on the move to begin with the whole story would have been over.

Jesus drew near. In his travels, he got close enough to make a difference. He could have passed by, or gone on, or walked past, or went around. He drew near. I wonder why he was going there. Was he going to meet this group of this ministry that happened as he was going?

Jesus saw. Already this is more than I do sometimes. I am well trained not to see. I am so good at not seeing. Jesus could have busied himself with whatever he had been saying. A funeral procession was not a sight one had to see. In this midst of that commotion he need not see the grieving widow. He need not have noticed the youth of the boy and lostness of the widow. There was plenty else to see.

Jesus had compassion. Ben mentioned this word. It is the word for the moving of your innards when you connect with the situation of another person. It is not the same as pity. Pity can happen without action. Pity can be a form of pride. Compassion calls us to act, and break our pride because we recognize our shared humanity and our shared grief. Did Jesus in his compassion get a first glimpse at the eyes of his own mother?
Jesus came up. It is hard to remember sometimes that these actions represent choices. As Luke records the story we may forget that Jesus choose once again to draw close to this crisis that he has seen. Just as he chose to go out, and to draw near, now he comes right up to the woman and her lifeless boy.
Jesus touched. Against every law and every taboo, Jesus touches. Do not miss this. No respectable person would have done what Jesus did or appreciate what he was doing. The tears of the crowds would have become gasps at this bold defiance of God’s law and cultural custom. But Jesus have seen, and felt compassion now comforts.
Jesus spoke. Jesus words have a power that mine do not, but I do have access to the words of grace which have a resurrection power as real as the words of Christ. If I fail to speak them…. If I hold back the words I know, what use is it for me to have a tongue.
Jesus gave. having entered her life, he leaves, giving her all that he can leave with her. Christ is glorified in this encounter but it is not for that reason that he acts. Rather it is driven by his compassion.

This list has power because this list is a model for Christian service today.

We are called to go - out of our Christian ghetto and into the world.
We are called to draw near – to all those places lost in pain and grief. Our going is not a tour, it is a mission. and so we must draw near to the fields so that we are close enough to answer the next call.
We are called to see - We can no longer excuse our blindness and pretend we didn’t know. The pain and suffering of the world is all around us. We are called to see.
We are called to have compassion - Do you share humanity with Aid mother in Africa? Do you share humanity with the broken family across the highway or the block? Do you share humanity with the man at work whose wife is sick or whose kids is rebelling? Do your guts rise up in your throat and compel you to act.
We are called to go up - All the way to their door. All the way into their life. Let your compassion carry you into their brokenness.
We are called to touch and speak and give - And then give what you can. Can you touch or speak or heal, or cry? I don’t know but I know that you have received and so you have something to give.

This story is flow chart of Christian service. And at every point there is a choice to be made.

Choose well.

on the walk

-Ethan

The text today was taken from Luke seven, and describes the encounter that Jesus has with a widow from Nain. In that encounter Jesus raises her son from the dead. There is a lot to learn from this text. I hope to have a follow up post to talk about how we can learn to live in this way. But first, whenever we encounter a miracle we have to ask, “If it is a sign, where is it pointing?”

Firstly, it points to Christ’s identity. This encounter concludes with the people’s praise, “God has come to help his people.” Now they probably didn’t know how literally true this was, but they are being directed toward that truth. God is the giver of life, and so Christ’s ability to return life points to something about his identity. Is he a prophet of God? Is he God?

Secondly it points to God’s radical plan for recovering creation. God’s plan for recovering creation is resurrection, and of course before that plan can be put into action we must die. Ben mentioned Christ’s teaching about seeds from John 12:23-25, “Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”

C.S. Lewis discusses the consequences of this redemption strategy in his book The Great Divorce.

Nothing, not even the best and noblest, can go on as it now is. Nothing, not even what is lowest and most bestial, will not be raised again if it submits to death. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. Flesh and blood cannot come to the Mountains. Not because they are too rank, but because they are too weak.

This is a deep reality, that we will discuss again as we look at the signs of Christ. But it is enough to start ruminating on them now. Nothing from the present creation can enter the new creation except that it dies and is recreated. And everything (and everyone) that submits to death and receives resurrection is made fit for the new creation by that resurrection.

There is more to this story that I hope to discuss soon, but first we must be sure that we look past the sign to see that it is pointing us to something world-changing.

on the walk

-Ethan

This is a perfect story to examine as we try to understand the signifying nature of miracles.

In this story, Jesus starts with the main point, “Friend your sins are forgiven.” Because this main point is challenged, Jesus stages a sign (a miracle). However good it may be for the man to walk, it is not for the sake of his walking that he is healed. Instead he is healed to demonstrate Jesus’ power to forgive. In fact, this whole section is designed to connect Jesus ministry of physical healing with his ministry of spiritual wholeness.

As Ben mentioned in his sermon, the single Greek word ’sodzo’ can be translated both in a theological sense as “save” and in a medical sense as “heal.” This isn’t necessarily because the word meant both things but rather that both these things were viewed as a holistic pair. To ’sodzo’ something is to make it whole, to rescue from harm and to fix what is broken. You can see how this one concept could be used in both ways. (In fact it almost a shame that we don’t have very good language for talking about this concept in a holistic way because we miss that when Jesus promises to save us, he is making not just a spiritual promise but a promise that will make whole all of our person.)

So when Luke tells us that Jesus shows up with power to “sodzo” he leaves us in suspense. (This suspense is hard to show in an English translators where we are forced to choose between “heal” and “save.”) We don’t know exactly what Jesus has come with power to do except to make people whole. Then we meat a paralytic and we relax, “Ah Jesus has come to heal.” But then to our surprise (and probably to the surprise of the paralytic) Jesus does not address his physical needs but he spiritual needs.

Then he does heal as a proof of his power to forgive. The physical sodzo is a proof of the spiritual sodzo. The miracle that can be seen and known is a sign that points to the validity of the miracle that cannot be seen and known.

This interplay of physical and spiritual wholeness come full circle in the next story. Jesus is hanging out with a group that is physically fine but spiritual very diseased and then defends his action with a metaphor drawn from the medical world.

Jesus is here to save, and he will save some physically as a sign that he offers different kind of salvation to all.

Keep on the lookout for signs

on the walk

-Ethan

But this isn’t a post about ping-pong. Instead it is a post about signs. The student ministry has just started a series called Miraculous and are spending the next few weeks studying several of the miracles of Jesus. It is gonna be a lot of fun. I got to preach on John 2 and Jesus turning water into wine. In the gospel of John, you will notice a curious thing about the miracles of Jesus. They are called signs. When I finally encountered this language and contemplated what it means, it transformed my understanding of miracles.I used to wonder. If miracles were for the sake of healing the sick, why not heal everyone? If miracles were for the sake of feeding the hungry, then why not feed people everywhere? If miracles were for the sake of reversing death, why not raise everyone who dies? By what criterion does Jesus choose? Why after so many miracles will Jesus refuse to perform one more for Herod?

John’s use of the word sign holds the answer. Miracles are not deeds of power that exist for there own sake. They are even miraculous responses to the needs of the people. Even the miracles of healing are not ultimately about sickness. All of these are signs.

With the students, we discussed that a sign is something that get your attention and then points to something else. To stand around admiring a sign and never look to see what it identified or follow where it pointed, would be to miss the whole purpose of a sign.

In the same way, miracles are signs that point to something beyond themselves. However impressive the sign may be it only exists to direct us to something even more important.

Over the next few weeks, I hope to talk about a few of these signs and try to figure out what they are telling us. If you have any you especially want to discuss, don’t be shy.

I’ll start tomorrow with some reflections on Sunday’s sermon discussing the healing of a paralytic.

on the walk

-Ethan

I posted about gun barrels a few days back. I can’t stop thinking about this issue but the metaphor doesn’t sing for me.

First a few more thoughts on the issue. I easily can get drawn into an institution growth mindset. I love the church. I love Bible studies, and pot lucks. I love softball games and theological debates. I love weddings, and choirs. I love cantatas and seminaries. But in that love there is a great danger. I might be so excited to be in the church that I lose sight of God’s purpose for me.
Take a look at this little snippet from the apostle Paul. He is writing to the church in Corinth.

5:14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

16From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, that one is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

We are called to be not just reconciled but to be agents of reconciliation. As we become the church at all levels we must live out this purpose. Not just to be a reconciled people but to be reconciling others. I sometimes plan events for the whole church. Do they meet this test? Do they function in a way that further our purpose as reconciling people? If you lead small group and all of your institutional energy is focused on maintaining the group and building internal relationship, then you are being reconciled but you have lost track of the “what for”.

What image for the church can remind of this call. I experimented with a gun barrel. Do our programs and services focus, direct and launch people into the world? But Paul’s ambassador language makes me think of an embassy. An embassy is a little bit of one country planted in another. On that little piece of land different laws are in effect and life is lived under a different order. But the embassy’s purpose is not just to be their but to go out as ambassadors in a foreign land on behalf of their true kingdom.

At whatever level you participate in the church, are you helping to build an embassy – a piece of God’s kingdom, established in a foreign land, not stuck behind a gate, but going forth into the world?

on the walk

-Ethan

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