Month: August 2017

“… but I liked Jesus before he was popular.”

/ JJS / Leave a comment

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 88; 148, 2 Samuel 5:1-12, Acts 17:1-15, Mark 7:24-37

There’s a feeling you get when you’re in on something special before it really takes off. Like an amazing band who still plays venues small enough for its members to linger over a beer or two with fans after the show. There’s a tension between wanting to share it with the world so it can get the attention and success it deserves,  and relishing the intimate experience of enjoying it with the secret club of people who appreciate it right now.

As a narrative, the Gospel of Mark races. Jesus goes from novelty act to cult favorite to budding superstar rather quickly. By the time he travels through Sidon and heals a man of deafness and a speech impediment, he’s finding it almost impossible to make time for himself. He still has his inner circle, but spends most of his time among the crowds who flock to him. It’s under these circumstances that he asks the man not to speak of the healing, but like everyone else this man who couldn’t speak suddenly couldn’t shut up about Jesus.

When something becomes popular, some early fans inevitably grow resentful. They mock later fans, imply the quality has declined, and start tossing around ideas like “selling out.” Some of that may be true – no one is prepared for the difference between hoping to cover the cost of traveling to a gig and selling out stadiums, and it has an effect. But by Good Friday, the chants of fans devolved into calls for an execution without so much as a farewell tour.

Sometimes the core of what we love stays the same, and it’s our perception that’s changed by all the hype and backlash. The core message of the Gospel is both personal and universal. We share it because we love it. When people use it to make a ton of money and move a lot of merch, we may become disillusioned – or we may be caught up in the frenzy – but that’s not the Gospel. Every once in a while, we need to unplug to rediscover the basics which originally moved us.

Additional Reading:
For more thoughts on today’s passage from Mark, see Whom do you Trust, The Truth About Crumbs and Dogs, and Generosity and Grace.

Comfort: When pop-culture-Christianity drags you down, you can always revisit the original material for renewal.

Challenge: Talk with some friends about what elements of modern Christian culture seem authentic to the Gospel, and which seem more about marketing it.

Prayer: Hear my prayer, O LORD; give ear to my supplications in your faithfulness; answer me in your righteousness. (Psalm 143:1)

Discussion: What’s something you liked before it was popular?

Join the discussion! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to join an extended discussion as part of the C+C Facebook group. You’ll be notified of new posts through FB, and have the opportunity to share your thoughts with some lovely people. Or feel free to comment here on WordPress, or even re-blog – the more the merrier!

Dual Citizenship

/ JJS / Leave a comment

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 143; 147:12-20, 2 Samuel 4:1-12, Acts 16:25-40, Mark 7:1-23

Paul had the uncommon fortune of being both a Roman citizen and a Jew. When his jailers and the magistrates above them realized he was a citizen, they immediately regretted the public beatings and unfair imprisonment they had heaped upon him, as it was illegal to treat citizens that way.

What if Paul hadn’t been a citizen? Would we feel differently about the injustice of his treatment? Should we feel differently? If it was wrong for him, how could it be less wrong for someone who didn’t share the same accident of birth? After all, the Jewish people didn’t set up camp inside Roman territory; the avalanche of empire left them aliens in their own homes. They weren’t immigrants; they were immigrated upon.

Immigration and citizenship continue to be thorny issues. Many nations, the United States included, have different sets of laws for citizens and non-citizens. Yet in our formation, we too spread like the Roman empire, alienating , dislocating, and slaughtering native peoples. Their story is not so different from the story of Paul’s people, yet because it’s now our territory and we’ve established our laws we don’t think of it the same way at all. Do we believe God is persuaded to accept this double standard by the lines we draw (and redraw) on His borderless globe?

We convince ourselves of our own compassion by saying the “good” immigrants follow the law, but the rules for entering – or staying in – a nation change a lot once the inhabitants decide they are civilized enough to lock the doors, even with someone else’s belongings still in their living room. Immigration regulations are often no more than a matter of timing – of our current cultural prejudices codified into law.

Christians don’t have to agree on how to handle something as complex as immigration and citizenship, but our views should be shaped more by the teachings of Christ than by nationalism, fear, or politics. The law cannot become our refuge from inconvenient mercy. None of us are born or even naturalized to the Kingdom of Heaven; we are admitted by God’s grace.

Additional Reading:
Read more about today’s scripture from Acts in Surrender.
For thoughts on today’s passage from Mark, see Not the heart but the stomach.

Comfort: No matter where we go, willingly or unwilling, we are home in Christ.

Challenge: Read about the history of immigration in America. Chances are you belong to some group that was once considered undesirable.

Prayer: O LORD, God of my salvation, when, at night, I cry out in your presence, let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry. (Psalm 88:1-2)

Discussion: Immigration is a very politicized topic. Is your faith ever at odds with your politics?

Join the discussion! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to join an extended discussion as part of the C+C Facebook group. You’ll be notified of new posts through FB, and have the opportunity to share your thoughts with some lovely people. Or feel free to comment here on WordPress, or even re-blog – the more the merrier!

Doubly Free

/ JJS / Leave a comment

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 65; 147:1-11, 2 Samuel 3:22-39, Acts 16:16-24, Mark 6:47-56

Slaves were common throughout the Roman empire, but one day Paul and company encountered an extraordinary slave girl: she was possessed by a demon who told the future, which made her owners a lot of money. For days she followed the disciples, declaring “These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation.” When an annoyed Paul cast out the spirit in the name of Christ, her owners – furious about the loss of their treasure – accused the disciples of unlawful practices. Silas and Barnabas were beaten and jailed.

We don’t know the fate of the slave girl, but she is a potent symbol of what it means to find freedom in Christ. At the most basic level she was freed from the spirit which possessed her, much like we find freedom from our old lives through the miracle of grace.

She was also freed from that which made her exploitable. When we embrace what it means to be forgiven and loved by God, we release those things which the world can use to take advantage of us. The world is always ready to exploit our guilt, fear, anger, and weaknesses.  When instead we offer it repentance, a love which casts out fear, forgiveness, and a strength derived from Christ, the world no longer knows what to do with us. If it can’t use us for ill-gotten gains of power and wealth – and if it suspects we are spreading the good news that no one else has to be enslaved by greed and violence either – it will do its best to discredit and silence us.

When we don’t fear what the world fears, the world fears us.

Like the slave girl, we are doubly free … but that doesn’t guarantee our physical safety or freedom. To the contrary it may put both in danger. Yet Paul and the disciples who knew Christ couldn’t imagine choosing anything but that dangerous freedom.

Can we?

When we can’t be exploited, and we love too much to exploit others, we are living in the Kingdom and confounding the world.

Additional Reading:
Read about today’s scripture from Mark in Riding Out The Storms.

Comfort: In Christ we find true freedom.

Challenge: We’ve done this challenge before, but human trafficking is a huge problem that needs more awareness. Find out if there are an resources in your community to combat human trafficking. You may want to start at traffickingresourcecenter.org .

Prayer: Do good, O LORD, to those who are good, and to those who are upright in their hearts. (Psalm 125:4)

Discussion: Which of your fears or weaknesses do you feel are particularly vulnerable to exploitation by the media, advertisers, or people seeking power?

Join the discussion! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to join an extended discussion as part of the C+C Facebook group. You’ll be notified of new posts through FB, and have the opportunity to share your thoughts with some lovely people. Or feel free to comment here on WordPress, or even re-blog – the more the merrier!

Hero Worship

/ JJS / Leave a comment

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 54; 146, 2 Samuel 3:6-21, Acts 16:6-15, Mark 6:30-46

In recent years one trend among churches and pastors trying to stay relevant is developing a sermon series around a piece of current pop culture. Movie franchises like The Matrix and The Hunger Games, with their philosophical, theological, and social commentary, inspired church posters and promotions bordering on copyright infringement. As we move through the story of David, doesn’t it really lend itself to the Game of Thrones treatment? With their convoluted revenge schemes, magical elements, epic battles to unite a kingdom, and elements of lust and treachery, 1 and 2 Samuel sometimes seem only a dragon away from the high fantasy saga.

One reason for GoT’s popularity is its realistic portrayal of good versus evil. Few if any characters are solidly one or the other, but a mix of both. The heroes have moral flaws, the villains have redeeming traits, and good doesn’t just fail to win the day, it literally goes up in flames We still have a general sense of who the heroes and villains are, but also a sense that could change any time.

David is certainly the hero of his story, but as he approaches his seat on the throne of Israel, he has done terrible things and will do more. Anointed by God he may be, but so were the man he replaced, and the man who replaced him. Heroes – whether Biblical, athletic, financial, or fantastic – are tricky things. Because we admire them so, and often because they are the embodiment of our tribe, we tend to give them a lot of credit and cut them a lot of slack where it is not due. That’s how we end up with tragic situations like the one at Penn State, where its football heroes were so untouchable they were allowed to ruin the lives of young men.

Heroes are fine, but hero-worship … not so much. Whether it’s David, Jon Snow, or Joe Paterno we don’t do ourselves – or them – any favors by overlooking their flaws. Rather than search for excuses to justify their shortcomings, let’s find reasons not to make the same mistakes ourselves.

Additional Reading:
Read reflections on today’s scripture from Mark in You Feed Them! and No Excuses.

Comfort: We do have a true hero in the person of Jesus Christ.

Challenge: Be as objective about people you admire as people you mistrust.

Prayer: O save your people, and bless your heritage; be their shepherd, and carry them forever (Psalm 28:9)

Discussion: Who is one of your heroes, and why?

Join the discussion! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to join an extended discussion as part of the C+C Facebook group. You’ll be notified of new posts through FB, and have the opportunity to share your thoughts with some lovely people. Or feel free to comment here on WordPress, or even re-blog – the more the merrier!