Reflecting on the Law of Christ

It amuses me that some Evangelical Christians get so upset over the removal of the Ten Commandments from public spaces such as courthouses, government buildings, or public schools. 

 

According to the Apostle Paul, a respected authority on the relationship between Jewish law and the Christian faith: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here” (2 Corinthians 5:17)! 

 

“The old has gone!” “The new is here!” Pretty straightforward, right? Well, apparently it isn’t for many Christians.

 

Truth is, we Christians are not obliged, nor are we required to live under the old covenant of Jewish Law. Christ ushered in a brand-new covenant far superior to the old one. Fact is, the Jewish Law is not for us, it was for the Jews! Was then and is now!

 

In fact, Mark tells us that a teacher of Jewish Law asked Jesus straight up: “Of all the commandments, which is the most important” (Mark 12:28). You will notice that Jesus did not say: “Well, the newest revision of the Old Law!” Nor did he say: “The latest updated version of the Law of Moses!”

 

Nope! He said that the most important commandment of all is brand new! Not revised nor updated, but brand spanking new! He replied to the teacher’s question by saying: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:30-31).

 

Most New Testament scholars believe this to be what Paul called the “Law of Christ!” A brand-new commandment that replaces the Ten Commandments and all the other Old Testament laws that were so many and so burdensome. Just two commandments: Love God with all you have and love one another as you love yourself. 

 

Perhaps we need reminding that Christians are not obligated to live under the Old Testament Law (laws) that clearly were intended for the Jews and not Christians. The Ten Commandments were not intended for the followers of Jesus. They are good laws and served a good purpose for a particular people at a specific time. But Jesus ushered in a New Law and a New Age.

Should we get upset over the removal of the Ten Commandments from public spaces as mentioned above? 

 

Absolutely not, because we Christians are obliged to follow the Law of Christ and not the Law of Moses. I would ask: “Why isn’t the Law of Christ on display in our public spaces?”

Reflecting on God-Inspired Politics

Mention the word “politics” today and immediately folks begin thinking in terms of partisan loyalties and party policies and platforms. The word “politics” evokes a great deal of emotion and of late seems to bring the worst out of us (I’m not immune to blood pressure increases when the topic of politics is raised within my hearing). 

 

The hard truth is we can’t avoid thinking about politics today given the constant bombardment of the 24-hour cable news networks, numerous political blogs and publications, and exposure to social media platforms on which folks love to air their political views. But, for Christians I think it is important that we think and talk about politics in much a healthier and different way.

 

I have been told more times than I can count that there is no place in the pulpit for politics and that I should be silent on the subject in my sermons. Agreed! If we are talking “partisan” politics. 

 

According to Mark’s Gospel Jesus first preached the emergence of the “Kingdom of God”  (1:15). Now, unless I’m wrong, the kingdom of God (rule of God) is what the  world would look like if God was in charge. So, from the outset Jesus preached a form of politics that wasn’t partisan (as we would think of it today) but rather was a God-inspired form of politics.

 

In a recent Facebook post (there are some good ones now and again) pastor Josh Scott reminded us that the resurrection indeed had political implications. Scott points out that the word “resurrection” actually means “to be raised up” rather than just being resuscitated back into a flesh and blood existence. In other words, Easter represents a God-instigated “uprising” in order to push Jesus’ vision of God’s reign on earth forward (“Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”). 

 

Easter represents an uprising of significant importance for the whole world. It far exceeds and transcends all worldly politics that is so power-driven, partisan-based, and so divisive. God raised up Jesus following the world’s rejection (crucifixion) of His kingdom here on earth and His vision of a peaceful, just, and egalitarian world order.

 

The dye has been cast and it began on that first Easter Morning! So when I hear the word “politics” this is what is triggered in my faith-driven imagination. This is why I believe the topic of a God-inspired politics cannot be totally eliminated in my writing nor in my preaching.  

 

When I hear the word “politics” today I hear “the empire of God” in a world that is so divided, so torn apart by conflict and war, so unjust both socially and economically, and so short-sighted by worldly partisan politics and imperfect political ideologies. When I hear the word “politics” I envision a new Empire, the Empire of God rather than an imperialistic empire driven by economic greed, militaristic chest-thumping, and unjust social structures, all powered ironically by the thirst for power itself. 

 

When I hear the word “politics” I am reminded that God operates from a platform of abundance as opposed to one of scarcity (which characterizes much of partisan politics today).

 

Peace be with you!

Reflecting on Pearls, Pigs and Dogs

“Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them underfoot and turn and maul you” (Matthew 7:6).

The metaphor of throwing pearls before swine or holy things before dogs was Jesus’s way of warning his disciples against imposing certain Gospel values upon the world at large. You see, some of Jesus’ teachings that Christians honor and hold dear make absolutely no sense to the general public. They may be good people and many of them are in fact, but the pearls of wisdom that animate the Christian life are not so widely accepted or believed by society-at-large. 

 

When Jesus told his followers to “turn the other cheek” or to “pray for those who offend you” or to “Love your enemy” he was providing a kind of wisdom understood only by those who follow and are committed to the Way (the designator for those who followed Jesus before they became known as “Christians”). Can you imagine Jesus offering these pearls of wisdom at a Pentagon war briefing?

 

So here is what I think Jesus is saying by using this metaphor: There are those teachings of Jesus that contain pearls of wisdom intended specifically for his followers rather than for the world-at-large. It would be awesome if the world at large accepted these pearls of wisdom, but the hard truth is, it most often does not. 

 

There are certain values of the Gospel that are intended to be life strategies for his followers. Casting such pearls of wisdom before those who do not share the same Gospel values would be a foolish exercise in futility. 

 

For What It's Worth : Reflecting on Lost Love

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Reflections on War and Peace

 A headline in a USA Today article caught my attention this past week. It read: “Hiroshima Bombing Turns 75.” 

Two bombs totaling 240,000 fatalities, 110,000 of which were killed instantly, and another 130,000 deaths due to radiation exposure illnesses over the next few years. Let that sink in for a moment. Even after the war ended humans suffered then died from radiation-related illnesses. It’s really difficult for me to get my brain wrapped around such death and destruction. 

Thank God these were the last two nuclear bombs used in wartime.

One of my favorite Seinfeld episodes features Elaine (Julia Dreyfus) making the claim that Tolstoy’s classic novel, War and Peace was originally entitled War, What’s It Good For? In fact, Elaine claims that Tolstoy’s girlfriend suggested the original title.

Well, as silly as this episode was there is truth in the question, War, What’s it Good for? Especially when we consider the death statistics attributed to the dropping of the only two atomic bombs in history. Then when you consider the total death toll of World War II (est. 70-85 million humans), not to mention all other wars in history, one gets the sense that war is not the best way for humans to behave.

War is a human problem. It’s caused by human agency alone. I believe it is a sad mistake to attribute the practice of war to God, or to God’s will. Doing so creates an unsolvable theological dilemma for those who remain faithful to the Prince of Peace. The dilemma is this: “Whose side is God on in any war?” Worse yet, when we believe that “God is on our side” the violence of war often intensifies as a result. 

Consider the American Civil War. Was God on the side of the Confederacy or the Union? Who did God want to win that bloody war, which claimed over 618,222 lives? 

When we co-op God, or his will, into our wars, believing that we are acting on his behalf, it then becomes easier to justify how far we will go to win (because we are winning on God’s behalf). I have come to believe that this is wrong-headed thinking and surely does not represent the best Christian witness as followers of the Prince of Peace.

Remember, it was Jesus himself who said: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9). So, what should the Christian attitude be toward war? 

I think we should approach the reality of war with deep humility and a sense of confession and repentance. War should cause us tremendous grief and sorrow over the lives it claims, as well as the long-term effects of war once it is over (for the time being). We should never glorify war, let alone claim that God has chosen sides in our favor.  

I leave you with the stunning words of the Hebrew prophet Isaiah who sheds light on God’s attitude towards war:

He shall judge between the nations,

   and shall arbitrate for many peoples;

they shall beat their swords into plowshares,

    and their spears into pruning hooks;

nation shall not lift up sword against nation,

    neither shall they learn war anymore (2:4).

A Sickness Unto Death

Americans will file into their places of worship this morning to worship the god of their chosen tradition. American Christians will worship their God and pay homage to the Prince of Peace (a.k.a. Jesus Christ).

They will sing hymns, offer prayers, and listen to sermons, all the while hoping that things will change for the better or that the next mass shooting will not occur in their town or village or city or community.

But it just may, and this is the reality in which we all live.

Our country is becoming more and more dangerous in which to live and work. Fathers go to work each day not really knowing if it’s the day they will be shot and killed. 

Mothers will take their little children to schools or to the bus stop not knowing if this is the day another Sandy Hook will occur.

Americans will go to malls or shopping centers or even Walmart not knowing if this will be their last shopping trip. 

All the while unstable and angry shooters are plotting and planning their next attack. It’s frightening. It’s alarming to be sure.

America is undergoing a spiritual crisis not seen in many years. 

It is indeed a "sickness unto death."

America is devolving into a moral and spiritual sickness devoid of any serious Gospel influence. The values so clearly taught by Jesus are either ignored or reinterpreted to fit into a particular political platform or an ideological point of view.

My prayer this morning is that as Americans file into their places of worship they will encounter the God of grace and the Lord of peace, joy, and love. They will encounter the life-changing values of the Gospel contained, for example, in the Sermon on the Mount and make them their standard-bearing platform upon which to live their lives.

Maybe, in the words of author Gregory Boyd, it's time to "crucify the Warrior God" image of popular imagination.

Otherwise, I am afraid, we are all doomed!

Choose to be Kind!

Okay, I get it!

I get it that you believe that homosexuality is a sin. I get it that you base your belief on your interpretation of a few passages of Scripture known as the “clobber texts” (there are six of them in both the Old and New Testaments).

Especially the text in Romans 1:26-27 that seems to give you the greatest sense of certainty in your stand against LGBT people. Believe it or not, I understand how you can read this text, out of context, as an indictment of all homosexual people. 

I get it that you are a product of a brand of Christianity that vilifies homosexuals and brands them as “unrepentant sinners."

I don’t agree with you, but I get it.

But what I don’t get is why you stopped reading Paul’s words concluding Romans 1 and why you didn’t at least read all the way through 2:1. His words shout out to us:

“Therefore you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things.”

A pastor in Saint Augustine, Florida recently refused to leave his restaurant server a tip the guy was gay just might be a good candidate for reading Romans 2:1. Okay, the pastor can read and interpret the Bible as he sees fit but this does not give him the liberty to treat someone unkindly or disrespectfully just because of the person’s sexual orientation. 

Look, your view on homosexuality is yours to own. I may not agree with it but can we agree to be kind to LGBT folks, simply because it is the fitting thing to do. 

The most effective witness we Christians have at our disposal is the way we treat others who are unlike us (even our enemies). Otherwise, our verbal testimony to what we believe becomes nothing more than “a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” Hollow words that impress no one.

Treat all people kindly and you will discover a change in the texture of your heart. You may even come to love homosexuals regardless of how you read the Bible. 

Be kind!