inclusive Christianity

… but she’s my mother.

/ JJS / Leave a comment

009Florence03

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 103; 150, 1 Samuel 17:50-18:4, Romans 10:4-17, Matthew 23:29-39

As Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem, he had harsh words for its citizens, especially religious leaders. He called them a brood of vipers. While they claimed they would never have mistreated the prophets as did their ancestors, he condemned their hypocrisy by saying they were “the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!”

Angry words, but also born of love. God often described Israel as his faithless bride, and Jerusalem was the heart of her rejection. Prophets and sages, though they spoke grim words of correction, were sent to save the people … a people whose behavior demonstrated they weren’t interested in saving themselves. Jesus wasn’t angered with Romans, Samaritans, or Egyptians because they had never followed God in the the first place, so hadn’t turned away; we aren’t pained when someone else’s spouse is unfaithful. Our hearts are not broken by strangers. Maybe that is why we react so strongly when the church we trust betrays us.

Augustine is credited with saying, “The church is a whore, but she’s my mother.”

Unfortunate sexist overtones aside, that’s an apt description for a complicated relationship. We can love someone or something and still be deeply troubled by it. When the church and her leaders act from a place of corruption, greed, protectionism, or prejudice our hearts are grievously injured. We can respond with denial, departure, or a third, more difficult option. Denial only lets things fester. Departure lacks resolution; a Christian who never steps foot in another church still has indissoluble bonds to the body of Christ. Remaining in covenant to love our church through her indiscretions but insisting on better, as Christ did, heals us both.

We can become discouraged. The mechanics of conception and prostitution are virtually identical, so we have to do the hard work of sorting intentions and motivations, work that leaves everyone involved feeling vulnerable. Yet as Jesus loves us despite our flaws to help us realize our potential in the Lord’s grace, so must we help the church transcend her sins to be who she claims to be.

Additional Reading:
For more on today’s passage from Matthew, see Give ’em a break… and Love Anyway.

Comfort: No one is beyond redemption if they are willing to accept it.

Challenge: Meditate on what struggles you have with the church, and how you choose to handle them.

Prayer: Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. (Psalm 139:23)

Discussion: What attracts you to the church or a congregation?

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!

Fighting Fire with Marshmallows

/ JJS / Leave a comment

1500157053704

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 63; 149, 1 Samuel 17:31-49, Acts 11:1-18, Mark 1:14-28

The outcome of the battle between David and Goliath is such a famous tale of victory for the plucky underdog that it doesn’t need retelling. What happened before, during David’s preparation for the battle, gets less press but has some good lessons for us.

When King Saul realized the young farm boy was determined to face off against the Philistine giant, he put David in his own armor and gave him his own sword to use. David, unused to the armor, couldn’t even walk in it, so he took it off to face Goliath with his staff, some stones, and a sling. To Goliath – and no doubt to seasoned warriors on both sides – this looked like foolishness.

David was smart. He knew he couldn’t survive by engaging on his opponent’s terms, and refused to be lured into them. Whether our battlefield is physical or intellectual, let’s be equally smart. For example, some segments of Christianity seem to be at war with science, and also seem to think the path to victory is to reinvent the the Bible as scientifically accurate. That’s not what it’s for, and trying to prove otherwise is a losing venture which only undermines its real value and purpose. There are no GMO fruits of the Spirit, so let’s trust what we grow is good enough.

David was also wise enough not to feel pressured into using the tactics of his allies when they didn’t fit the situation. It’s not that he wasn’t willing to listen; he did try on the armor before deciding it was a bad fit. He just knew from past experience what skills served him best. Sometimes people on our side of a divide think they need to employ the tactics of our adversaries to keep up or pay them back. That’s why fake news, name calling, and ridiculously broad generalizations are not the exclusive domain of any single political party … and why they result in so little progress.

Like our young shepherd-turned-hero, let’s trust in the strengths God has given us, the ones that come not from fear, but from faith.

Additional Reading:
For additional readings from today’s passage from Mark, see Fool Me or Evangelize vs. Evange-lies.
For more thoughts on today’s passage from Acts, see Astounding Gifts.

Comfort: With God’s help, no obstacle is too large.

Challenge: When you are engaged in conflict, especially if you have time to pre-plan, think about whether your responses lead to resolution or further conflict.

Prayer: Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the work of our hands. (Psalm 90:17)

Discussion: When have you beat the odds?

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!

Angels in the Wilderness

/ JJS / Leave a comment

drought-1345678_1920

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 84; 148, 1 Samuel 17:17-30, Acts 10:34-48, Mark 1:1-13

Imagine that on your first day of work the boss introduces you to everyone by proclaiming how proud he is of you. Then he immediately assigns you to an extended gig at a remote branch to square off against a disgruntled former employee who now runs the competition. Per the opening chapter of Mark, that pretty much summed up Jesus’s first day on the job: John baptized him, God announced his favor from the heavens, “and the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness” where he spent forty days grappling with Satan.

That’s the way life goes though. Just as we screw up the courage to make that change, or earn that promotion, or have that baby, we discover it comes with a new set of problems we weren’t anticipating. We start to ask if we weren’t better off before we got what we wanted. It doesn’t seem fair that doing everything right leads to more work. But if Jesus – in whom God was “well pleased” – was sent to suffer temptation in the wilderness, maybe we should realign our expectations and definition of success.

Doing good work – especially God’s work – does not guarantee ease. To the contrary, the Jews as God’s chosen people suffered tremendously, and Christian history is filled with martyrs. Our own callings vary, but all are real and we must engage with them. Accepting accountability – to our boss, our children, ourselves, or God – enlightens us to the brokenness in the world, and how much of it we are called to heal, prevent, or bear witness to.

The Spirit didn’t send Jesus into the wilderness alone: angels waited on him. We too have support available in our fellow Christians who share the same accountability. When times are tough, we remind each other why what we do is important. We help carry each other’s burdens. We listen. We cry. We are angels to each other.

Faithfulness doesn’t create suffering, but it does put us in touch with suffering that already exists. We can count on our God – and our angels – to see us through it.

Additional Reading:
For more on today’s opening chapter of Mark, see Many Waters, One God or Intersections.
For more thoughts on today’s passage from Acts, see Astounding Gifts.

Comfort: Even in life’s wilderness, you are not alone.

Challenge: Write a thank you note to one or more “angels” who have helped you through difficult times.

Prayer: To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul. (Psalm 25:1)

Discussion: What’s the worst job experience that someone helped you get through?

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!

Finding Jesus

/ JJS / Leave a comment

charity-1708176_1920

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 116; 147:12-20, 1 Samuel 16:14-17:11, Acts 10:17-33, Luke 24:36-53

After his resurrection, nobody seemed to recognize Jesus. Mary visited his tomb, and until he called her by name she thought he was the gardener. Cleopas and his wife walked and talked quite a way down the road with him and invited him to dinner, yet didn’t realize who he was until he blessed and broke the bread. He stood among the gathered disciples, who were in the middle of talking about him yet did not see him, then startled them by saying, “Peace be with you.” After rising from the dead, the Word-Made-Flesh seemed far more recognizable by his words than by his flesh. While we might expect a resurrected savior to virtually shine in glory and triumph, it seems Jesus was almost … unremarkable. His body still carried the scars of the cross, but it no longer bore the burden, the weight of the world’s salvation lifted from his shoulders.

That’s often how it is with Christ. Someone unremarkable – socially invisible perhaps – escapes our notice until Christ says, “I am here. See me. Break bread with me. Share peace with me.” Only then do we realize Christ is among us and waits to be served in a food pantry, visited in the hospital, invited to Bible study, welcomed as a refugee, or loved through a bout of mental illness. When Christ says whatever we do for the least of his brothers and sisters we do for him, he’s not speaking metaphorically.

We worship Christ. Write many beautiful songs about him. Raise extravagant monuments and cathedrals. Conquer nations and claim to do it in the glory of his name.

But that’s not what he asked us to do. That’s all us.

Christ can be seen in the beauty of God’s creation, but his word echoes among the suffering and the needy, the lost and the lonely, the broken and the bullied. It echoes among the merciful and the humble and the generous and the kind. Let’s listen for his voice, because he’s not always going to be where we’re looking. He calls us to look where he is waiting.

Additional Reading:
For thoughts on today’s passage from Acts, see A Bigger Pan.

Comfort: Christ is in the ordinary as well as the extraordinary.

Challenge: Make a list of the things Christ asked us to do. At the end of each day for the next week, see how many you’ve done.

Prayer: O LORD I am your servant. Amen.

Discussion: In what unexpected places have you encountered Christ?

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!

Learning to See

/ JJS / Leave a comment

alone-971122_1920

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 96; 147:1-11, 1 Samuel 16:1-13, Acts 10:1-16, Luke 24:13-35

“[F]or the LORD does not see as mortals see;
they look on the outward appearance,
but the LORD looks on the heart.”
– 1 Samuel 16:7b

An entire movie genre features attractive yet shallow young people learning to appreciate the inner beauty of their less attractive peers. The beautiful person usually doesn’t admit to themselves how they have fallen in love with someone who is – by Hollywood standards – not quite as beautiful (and very likely someone they have previously tormented) until after a dramatic makeover montage reveals hitherto concealed physical beauty.

What would happen without the makeover? Would the handsome jock remain in denial about his feelings for the nerdy writer who never discovered the right conditioner for her split ends? Would the popular cheerleader continue to friend-zone the bespectacled mathlete who otherwise won her heart?

Not that beautiful people deserve all the blame. The plain Janes and Jims in these movies aren’t falling over themselves to date average looking people. It’s still a real statement for a film to explore romance between two ordinary-looking (or – gasp! – slightly unattractive) people. And it’s not limited to romance. Action, science fiction, and horror movies often use the shorthand of physical appearance to indicate who the heroes and villains are.

As a culture we buy into these ideas. When we don’t like someone, we are much more likely to comment negatively on their looks or the way they dress – especially if they’re women – though it’s entirely irrelevant. Conversely, when we feel kindly toward someone, we are disposed to more favorably rate their appearance.

How do we learn to see as God sees? Maybe the trick is to love first, and see second. Psalm 139 says God knit and loved our inmost selves in the womb. Is it possible for us, limited by mortal understanding as we are, to decide to love people before we meet or even see them? First impressions may be visual, but we can control our first expressions toward someone. When the holy in us deliberately chooses to greet the holy in others, the scales of judgment fall from our eyes.

Additional Reading:
For thoughts on today’s passage from Acts, see Double Vision.
For more on Luke’s resurrection story, see Risen and Recognized.

Comfort: God knows your inmost self.

Challenge: The next time you are tempted to comment on someone’s appearance, ask yourself why you think it would appropriate to do so.

Prayer: Bless me, O LORD, maker of heaven and earth, of body and soul. Amen.

Discussion: How does getting to know someone’s inner life affect how you perceive their outer appearance?

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!

Clothes Encounters

/ JJS / Leave a comment

shirt-1902602_1920

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 12; 146, 1 Samuel 15:24-35, Acts 9:32-43, Luke 23:56b-24:11 (12)

Clothing plays a role in all three of today’s scripture passages.

In Samuel, King Saul tries to detain the prophet Samuel by grabbing at his robe and accidentally tears a strip off. Samuel, angry that Saul has not been following God’s instructions to annihilate the Amalekites and their property (and like any good prophet not one to pass up a symbolic moment), declares: “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this very day, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.”

In Acts, Peter visits the home of Tabitha, a good and charitable woman who had recently died. Some widows were gathered and reminiscing over garments she had made while among them. Peter clears the room, prays, and says “Tabitha, get up” – which she does.

And in Luke, a Peter who has not yet experienced the power of the resurrection is with the eleven remaining apostles when Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Joanna, and other women tell them about meeting two angels at the open and empty tomb of Jesus. The disciples dismiss this tale, but Peter investigates for himself. At the tomb he finds the discarded burial shroud.

After someone loses a loved one, it may be quite a while before they can bring themselves to dispose of the deceased person’s clothes. Clothing carries the color, the scent, the shape of our existence. What does a trip through our wardrobe say about us? Does it tell a story of hard work? Of impeccable style? Perhaps a lifelong struggle with body image? Wealth or poverty? Our tendencies toward conformity or rebellion? A barometer of our sense of adventure? When we are gone, what memories will our closet contain?

In the end, we hope to tailor stories of loving God with all our hearts, and our neighbors as ourselves.

Trouser knees worn thin and shiny from time in prayer. Jacket elbows patched because we gave the second coat away. Cuffs and collars pressed for our Sunday best. What we wear will be remembered for how we loved while wearing it.

Additional Reading:
For more thoughts on today’s passage from Luke and the empty tomb, see Idol Tales.

Comfort: How you will be remembered is largely up to you.

Challenge: Take a look at your closet. Does it tell the story you hope people will remember?

Prayer: I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness, and sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High. (Psalm 7:17)

Discussion: What’s your favorite article of clothing 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!

Minority Report

/ JJS / Leave a comment

1499743114647

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 62; 145, 1 Samuel 15:1-3, 7-23, Acts 9:19b-31, Luke 23:44-56a

When a Supreme Court decision is split, the justices in the minority may offer a dissenting opinion. While this opinion is not legally binding, it is more than protest or rebuke. It may be used persuasively in future arguments to limit or overturn the majority opinion.

Joseph of Arimathea offered his own form of dissenting opinion. A member of the council that accused and condemned Jesus, he “had not agreed to their plan and action.” Rather, he asked Pilate for Christ’s body for proper burial. This was a bold request, as victims of crucifixion – especially those accused of sedition as Jesus was – were usually left on the cross for several days as a warning to others.

After Joseph laid Jesus in the tomb, the women who’d been following Jesus since Galilee prepared the spices and ointments for his body, then finished their Sabbath preparations.

Imagine the feelings of loss. Of hopelessness. Yet in doing what needed to be done, they defied despair. Burying Jesus was at once unremarkable – Jewish people died and were buried every day – and extraordinary because their messiah was brutally taken from them.

Did they have any inkling how bold they were to carry on? In the face of death and oppression, their ordinary acts declared, “We still have faith. We are still God’s people. We still obey God’s ordinances. This was not what we hoped for, but you have not destroyed us.” They may have felt confused and crushed but they persisted. They remained present. Like dissenting justices, from defeat they wrung an investment in the future.

None of them fully understood that God was at work, unseen and unheard, turning death upside down and inside out. Also like justices, they had no idea when or if their commitment would pay off.

What defeats are you suffering? What tempts you to despair? Remember the Spirit moves in ways not yet known to you. Persevering in small acts of faith will sustain you until they are known. Today you may not be able to see past the tomb of defeat, but unimaginable resurrection is around the corner.

Additional Reading:
For thoughts on today’s passage from Acts, see If Paul could do it….

Comfort: God is not idle.

Challenge: Meditate on how your habits change when you are distressed. Do these changes help or hinder you?

Prayer: For God alone my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation (Psalm 62:1)

Discussion: In hindsight are you able to see times God was delivering you without your being aware of it??

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!

No Promises

/ JJS / Leave a comment

pinky-swear-329329_1280

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 108; 150, 1 Samuel 14:36-45, Romans 5:1-11, Matthew 22:1-14

“I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant’s faithful one-hundred percent!”
– Dr. Seuss, Horton Hatches the Egg

Several Biblical characters suffer the consequences of an unwise – and unsolicited – oath to God. Saul dedicated his troops by offering an oath that cursed any of them who ate before evening fell and their enemy was vanquished. Saul’s son Jonathan didn’t know about the oath and ate a bite of honey from the ground. As a result, God withdrew from Saul for a time. Unaware of the all the facts, Saul said he would kill whoever had sinned – even if it was his own son.

Once the truth came out, Saul and Jonathan were willing to accept the consequences, but the people spoke up on Jonathan’s behalf and said his victories were proof God was with him. They ransomed Jonathan (possibly by substituting some sort of animal sacrifice) and “he did not die.”

In the heat of battle – military, political, or personal – leaders can make rash promises, often in the absence of facts, to attain victory. We’re not just talking government, but also business, church, and even family. When that happens, clean-up duty falls to the rest of us. Like the Israelites, we have to decide whether to be hardliners who insist the promise be kept or to allow for alternatives. If we supported the promise, we may be tempted to take the hard line out of pride or spite. Frequently our decision is swayed when we hear the story of someone we care for who will be personally affected, like the Jonathan to our Israel.

We don’t have to be leaders to make rash promises. When we do, we are cornered into choosing between keeping our word and doing the right thing, and it feels wrong to sacrifice either. Jesus and James advise us to avoid swearing oaths in the first place. Why create unnecessary potential for letting down others, ourselves, or God?

God knows our hearts and our weaknesses. It’s enough to lay them down at the cross and humbly commit to doing our best.

Additional Reading:
For more about today’s passage from Romans, see Endurance Training.
For thoughts on today’s parable from Matthew, see Come to the Banquet.

Comfort: Let your yes mean yes, and your no mean no.

Challenge: Pay attention to the promises people make you. Ask yourself if they seem realistic – or necessary.

Prayer: Let everything that breathes praise The LORD. Praise The LORD! (Psalm 150:6)

Discussion: Have you ever suffered the consequences of a poorly made promise?

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!

Forgive and Remember

/ JJS / Leave a comment

1499570977017

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 122; 149, 1 Samuel 14:16-30, Acts 9:10-19a, Luke 23:32-43

We don’t think we’re like other people. It’s cliché for someone in rehab to claim “I’m not an addict like the rest of them.” When someone else gets fired, they were lazy or inept; when we get fired the boss is a jerk. When a group we don’t belong to reacts to oppression, they are snowflakes; when we feel oppressed (despite possibly being in the majority) we’re standing up for what’s right. Even a thief hanging on a cross can find a reason to mock the savior hanging next to him.

Yet that same savior asked God to forgive his executioners. What’s the difference (besides not being Jesus)? Empathy.

Empathy is an ability to relate to the emotions and circumstances of others. It’s inseparable from forgiveness. To forgive we must understand what it means to be forgiven. To feel forgiven, we must first accept responsibility for the things we’ve done which need forgiving (not as popular a choice as maybe it should be) and then trust Christ to do what he said. If on some level we can’t accept Christ’s forgiveness (and it takes a real ego to think we’re the one person he can’t forgive), can what we call and offer as forgiveness be the real deal?

As long as we insist we would have been better, stronger, kinder, etc. having experienced the exact same life as someone else, true forgiveness eludes us. We don’t have to excuse misbehavior or abandon accountability, but neither of those is required to forgive. Actually, if we did, what exactly would we be forgiving?

When the Lord asked Ananias to attend to Saul, Ananias answered: “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem.” Yet in the end he trusted the Lord to make a great evangelist of this villain. Is there any doubt Ananias knew the forgiveness of Christ?

Psalm 51 tells us God will not despise a broken spirit and a contrite heart. When we are willing to admit to our brokenness and receive forgiveness, our ability to forgive blossoms.

Comfort: God will forgive you.

Challenge: It’s up to you to accept that forgiveness.

Prayer: Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.. (Psalm 51:10)

Discussion: What are some examples of the difference between empathy and sympathy? Why is it important to know the difference?

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!

Twists and Turns

/ JJS / 1 Comment

rosesthorns

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 88; 148, 1 Samuel 13:19-14:15, Acts 9:1-9, Luke 23:26-31

Trying to cleanly divide the world into good and evil is like untying  a pretzel: it turns out to be inseparable unless you break it. Most of us think we make good choices, or at least justifiable ones. We rarely have time to take a mental step back and evaluate all the circumstances which have shaped what we consider to be “good” before making our day-to-day choices – let alone apply that level of critical thinking to other people’s choices. Therefore, we easily slip into thinking people who believe or choose differently than we would are bad decision-makers or even bad people. Yet circumstance is sometimes all that divides us.

Simon of Cyrene is thought of favorably by much of the Christian church – but why? He was a man the Romans forced to help Jesus carry the cross. We think it’s good that for a time he relieved some of Jesus’s burden, but we can’t separate that from the truth that he participated in also helping along the crucifixion. Who is to say what we would have done under similar circumstances? Resisted? Carried it even further? The influence of the empire – be it ancient Roman or modern American – drives our actions (for good, ill, and both) more than we care to admit.

And then there’s Saul on the road to Damascus. His conversion, while incredible, was not voluntary. Saul wasn’t convinced by the apostles; he was in the business of arresting them because he believed he was doing the right thing by defending his faith. The resurrected Christ spoke to him personally and struck him blind. Who could be an unbeliever after that?

But here’s the thing. No matter what road we’re on, be it to Golgotha, Damascus, or the convenience store around the corner, Christ travels with us. We are both flawed and trying to do the right thing, our lives a tangled braid of delights and disappointments to him, and he loves us through all of it. We don’t understand ourselves well enough to judge anyone else. And Jesus frees us from feeling like we should or have to.

Additional Reading:
For more about today’s passage from Acts, see Staring at the Son.
For thoughts on Psalm 88, see A Thing of Horror?

Comfort: Whatever road you’re on, Christ travels with you.

Challenge: The next time you make negative assumptions about someone, put in the effort to make some positive ones and note how hit impacts your perception of them.

Prayer: Turn, O LORD, save my life; deliver me for the sake of your steadfast love. (Psalm 6:4)

Discussion: Do you ever take time to ask yourself why you believe what you do?

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!