progressive christianity

That’s it?

/ JJS / Leave a comment

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 123; 146, Job 40:1, 41:1-11, Acts 16:6-15, John 12:9-19

It’s here! The climactic chapter of the book of Job, wherein God will conclude his explanation of all Job’s suffering – and maybe the explanation of all our suffering. He’s told us about the majesty and wonder of creation that he alone is capable of. He’s made it clear we as mortals can never be righteous or wise enough to comprehend all he has seen and done. His final words of wisdom to Job and those present …

… are thirty-four verses about what may or may not be a super-hippo. Huh?

That’s it, folks. That’s all the author(s) of Job had to offer. Perhaps, in the end, the subject matter was beyond anyone’s ability to address. Maybe there simply is no good justification for a God who allows the slaughter of a man’s family to win a wager. Maybe God is an all-powerful jerk who couldn’t just say “Sorry, that was a rotten but necessary thing to do to you.” No matter what the explanation, we can’t help feeling God just sidestepped the whole issue.

And some of us may be asking, “Did I just waste my time? Why is this book in the Bible anyway?” Well, we haven’t wasted anything. We’ve spent weeks pondering the human condition. We’ve been appropriately outraged about injustice, and equally outraged by inadequate – even unloving – efforts to explain it away. We have inquired into the nature of God, and found the conveniently packaged answers lacking. In other words, we’ve done what serious Old Testament scholars have done for centuries: wrestled with our faith. With its lack of a satisfying resolution, Job may seem like the world’s earliest piece of post-modern literature, but – intentionally or not – it does its job (no pun intended) by leaving us with more questions than answers.

We will always seek meaning in our lives. Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, Elihu, Job, and even God represent points of view we work through in our search. Like Job, the best answer we get in life may be: “It’s a God thing – you wouldn’t understand.” And we’ll keep searching, because the search alone holds meaning.

Comfort: The mystery of God is worth exploring our whole lives.

Challenge: Write your own response to Job’s questions.

Prayer: Compassionate God, thank you for your comfort when I suffer. Amen.

Discussion: What questions do you really wish you had answers to?

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It’s complementary, my dear Christian.

/ JJS / 1 Comment

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 135; 145, Job 40:1-24, Acts 15:36-16:5, John 11:55-12:8

A friend of mine volunteers a lot of her time working with feral cats. It’s not uncommon for people to dismissively ask why she wastes her efforts on stray animals instead of humans. Besides making unfounded assumptions, these questions rise from an attitude of scarcity which assumes one person’s priorities must be robbing resources from another’s.

Paul and Barnabas successfully worked together to build up the church in Antioch. After a while, Paul suggested they take a journey to visit the cities where they had previously spread the gospel. Barnabas wanted to take along Mark, but Paul objected because earlier Mark had deserted them to return to Jerusalem. They couldn’t come to an agreement, and parted company. Paul took Silas to Syria and Cilicia, and Barnabas took Mark with him to Cyprus, and twice as much ground was covered. We hear a lot more from and about Paul, but reliable information about Barnabas is lost to history. Paul does mention Barnabas and Mark in his letters, and his words suggest they maintained a respectful, possibly friendly, relationship.

They continued to be successful on their separate paths because they realized a disagreement does not mean the work comes to a standstill until one side gets its way. They didn’t interfere with or sabotage each other. To the contrary, they allowed the Spirit room to work. Often in our faith communities, leaders have different visions for the future of the community. For example, some leaders are inwardly focused on spiritual development and sanctuary, while others are more naturally drawn to externally focused work, such as mission and social justice projects. Scarcity-minded leaders assume these visions are competing. Because they feel threatened, they hoard what they see as limited resources and even undermine the “competition.” Grace-minded leaders try to understand how these visions might be complementary, and make room in the community for both – or more.

All good work is good work. Food pantries are not the natural enemy of building fund drives. Be grateful for the work God has called you to do, and be gracious about the work He’s given others.

Comfort: Your work is valuable on its own.

Challenge: Avoid comparisons.

Prayer: Gracious and giving God, thank you for the abundance that allows all your children to do the work of your kingdom. Amen.

Discussion: Have you ever been unnecessarily competitive?

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Holy Indifference

/ JJS / Leave a comment

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 81; 150,Job 38:1, 18-41, Revelation 18:1-8, Matthew 5:21-26

 “The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference… The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.”
– Elie Wiesel

When disaster strikes, some preachers can’t wait to blame the tragedy on their favorite – or would that be least favorite? – group of sinners. Never mind that disaster falls on the righteous and unrighteous alike, and any given hurricane or shooting may completely miss God’s alleged target; they can always blame America’s general decline into sin. Once they’ve drummed up sufficient guilt and fear in their listeners, they graciously offer an opportunity to relieve said guilt and fear in the form of donations to their own righteous organization.

Except … according to Psalm 81 and other scriptures, God’s worst reaction might not be punishment, but indifference. Our own life experiences tell us God is not some petty bureaucrat handing out punishments for every moral misdemeanor. Neither is God a tin-pot dictator forcibly bending us to his will. He invites us to love and obey Him, and acceptance of that invitation is not without obligation, but if we decline, the consequences – at least in this life – seem to be God’s withdrawal from our lives. The psalmist warned Israel they were suffering because they were bowing to foreign gods so the Lord had left them to the counsel of their own stubborn hearts. In Romans 1, Paul tells us about people who traded God for idols, and how “God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the degrading of their bodies among themselves.” When a people stopped listening to God, he let them go. The bed they made was their own to lie in.

The good news is that no matter how badly we’ve screwed up our own lives by rejecting God, He will always accept an invitation back into that life. Whatever false idols we’ve been worshiping, God waits with the open arms of a father welcoming home a runaway child. Whether we’ve abandoned that home for an hour or a lifetime, God will be there.

For further reading on today’s reading from Matthew, see Pass the Peace.

Comfort: No matter how badly you’ve screwed up, someone who’s done worse has turned their life around.

Challenge: Be diligent about discerning between your own voice and God’s.

Prayer: God of mercy, forgive me for the times I choose my own counsel over yours. Thank you for leading me home to you again. Amen.

Discussion: What consequences have you suffered as a result of relying on your own counsel instead of God’s?

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Truth and Consequences

/ JJS / 1 Comment

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 104; 149, Job 38:1-17, Acts 15:22-35, John 11:45-54

For decades Judea was a fairly independent kingdom, but shortly after Jesus’s birth it fell directly under Roman administration. The Romans, aware of many Jews dissatisfied with the increasing restrictions, clamped down ruthlessly on any sign of insurrection. When a messianic, rabble-rousing Jesus grew yet more influential after raising Lazarus, the political climate had Jewish leaders worrying “the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation.”

We might be quick to judge the Pharisees (aren’t we always?), but the responsibility of protecting a nation against a threatening force strains ideals to the breaking point. Since the desires to keep people safe and to maintain personal power are not mutually exclusive, motivations become murky. This does not excuse the plot to kill Jesus, but it does put it into context. However, despite the Pharisee’s best efforts to appease both the Jews and the Romans, a Jewish revolt in 66 AD ended with the destruction of Jerusalem and her temple.

The Pharisees illustrate a valuable lesson: how we defend a thing can be as important – maybe more so – than the thing itself. If our methods to defend a family, institution, or nation fundamentally alter its character – for example, covering up a scandal to avoid exposure rather than practicing the integrity we preach – we are left with a diminished thing that may no longer even be worth defending. How hard do we have to search for churches that have undermined their own moral authority, democracies that respond to threats by restricting personal liberties, and businesses which trade ethics for the bottom line? Not far enough. And in almost all cases, leaders somehow justified to at least themselves and often their people that survival was worth the cost.

Yes, the world demands compromise, but Jesus teaches us to face the consequences of integrity. He tells us it’s better to show up to heaven missing eyes and hands rather than let them cause us to sin. That goes for wallets, titles, and flags as well. Jesus paid the ultimate price for our eternal life; don’t sell him short out of fear.

Comfort: Integrity costs us a lot because it’s worth it.

Challenge: See above.

Prayer: God of all humankind, may my decisions be a reflection of your love for me and all people. Amen.

Discussion: What are you willing to sacrifice for survival?

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Jesus Wept

/ JJS / Leave a comment

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 51; 148, Job 29:1, 31:24-40, Acts 15:12-21, John 11:30-44

Anyone who grew up attending Sunday school has almost certainly been asked, at some point, to select and memorize a favorite Bible verse to share with the class. If the teacher isn’t savvy enough to exclude it, there’s always the one kid who picks John 11:35. In many (most?) translations, it’s the shortest verse in the Bible: “Jesus wept.”

When did Jesus weep? He wept when his friends were mourning the death of Lazarus. They kept insisting that he would have survived if Jesus had only gotten to Bethany sooner. Why did Jesus weep? We could suppose it was because Lazarus was his friend too, but Jesus had known for days that Lazarus was dead – and that he would bring him back from the grave. The story might suggest he was weeping in solidarity with his friends, but when the scripture says Jesus “was disturbed and greatly moved,” the original Greek points not to sadness but to indignation. Could it be that Jesus wept because he was frustrated and infuriated that after all the time he’d spent with them, those closest to him still understood neither who he was nor the life God offered through him? A Jesus who weeps because he grieves with us is a comforting image, but in this case it just isn’t so.

The weeping of an angry Jesus may at first seem disappointing or even unsettling. On reflection, what seemed like a humanizing, relatable moment may begin to feel like condemnation. Upon further consideration though, how can we not be touched by the idea that God deeply desires a relationship with us on a level that is so primal our inability to conceive of it frustrates Christ to tears? At one time or another all of us have been frustrated, also sometimes to tears, by a loved one who just seems lost. We want them to be whole and well. Christ loves us so much that he doesn’t just want to cry with us, but to help us understand how God’s love can lift us from this vale of tears to a place of peace.

Comfort: God’s love for you – for each of us – is beyond measure.

Challenge: Sometimes it is also beyond understanding.

Prayer: Merciful and Gracious God, thank you for the love you give me. Even when it is greater than I can understand – greater than I can believe I deserve – I remain grateful. Amen.

Discussion: Even death could not separate Lazarus from the love of Christ. Do you ever feel like you’ve stepped outside the boundaries of God’s love?

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The Future is Now

/ JJS / 4 Comments

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 97; 147:12-20, Job 29:1, 31:1-23, Acts 15:1-11, John 11:17-29

“The future is now.”

That’s what Jesus was trying to tell his friend Martha when she was grieving for her brother Lazarus. If only he had arrived earlier, she believed Jesus would have saved his life. When Jesus told her “Your brother will rise again,” she assumed he was referring to the resurrection in a distant future. Even after he said “I am the resurrection and the life,” she still didn’t quite get it: Jesus had every intention of bringing Lazarus back from the grave.

Christians spend a lot of time focusing on the afterlife. A lot. Of time. In many ways it makes sense – eternity is a long time and we don’t want to mess it up. But like Martha, we can lose sight of the here and now. It’s not just our faith that lives in the future; we spend a lot of time dismissing the present. We’ll start a diet “after the holidays” even if that holiday is Arbor Day. We’ll schedule that long vacation after our careers slow down a little. We’ll join that Bible study after we get our lives in order. That kind of thinking is a trap, because we train ourselves to believe nothing starts today.

Martha wouldn’t understand the resurrection was standing next to her until Lazarus crawled out of his tomb.  We should know better, but the promise of eternal life in the present moment can seem too good to be true. Jesus says otherwise. Do we think we need to improve ourselves before God can bless us? Before God can use us? If we believe that all good things come from God, why do we think we need to put Him off until we’ve laid all the groundwork? Aren’t we actually telling God … not yet?

The future really is now. Christ is among us. You are being called to rise up from underneath all that is burying you. You may have to shake off the dirt, but take that first step. Breathe the fresh air. Step into the life God has ready for you; Christ has already delivered your future.

For more thoughts on today’s passage from John 11, see It Takes a Village to Raise a Lazarus
For more thoughts on today’s passage from Acts 15, see Entrance Exams

Comfort: God is ready for you.

Challenge: Believe you are ready for God.

Prayer: Eternal God, teach me to find new life in the present, and to trust you with my future. Amen.

Discussion: What have you been putting off?

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Welcome to the Disreputable Brood

/ JJS / 4 Comments

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 119:49-72, Job 30:1–31, Acts 14:19-28. John 11:1-16

While describing his miserable lot, Job says the children of men he “would have disdained to set with the dogs” of his flock are now mocking him. He calls them a “senseless, disreputable brood” and offers as evidence the difficult lives they have led since being “driven out from society.” However, despite his own struggles, he does not seem to empathize with them. He claims to have “wept for those in trouble” and “grieved for the poor,” but his sympathies have definite limits. If irony were money his wealth would have been restored.

We can be a lot like Job. When bad things happen to us, we call it unfair. When bad things happen to other people, especially because of their own choices, part of us wants to believe things would have been different for us. Job’s friends insist he must be guilty of something partly because they are terrified to contemplate a world where they might suffer the same lot. In a less obvious way even young Elihu, who does not find Job guilty of anything, separates himself from Job by claiming Job’s suffering must be meant to instruct him in some special way. Not one of them accepts that fortune and misfortune are blind to virtue.

We don’t like to admit virtue is largely a matter of circumstance. While there are a few people of extraordinary character who rise above terrible experiences, and a few who are evil despite almost ideal upbringings, most of us are in large part who we were raised to be. We can’t honestly claim we are good (or better) in and of ourselves. A universe that favored the virtuous would actually be a universe that favored the lucky. God loves us all equally – lucky and unlucky, righteous and unrighteous – whether we are Job or the disreputable brood.

Why strive to be virtuous at all then? Because we seek a right relationship with God at all times. Not to earn God’s love or grace which are given freely, but to experience the eternal life – even in times of suffering – promised to us by Jesus.

Comfort: God understands and loves us all.

Challenge: Share a meal or cup of coffee with someone who is going through a bad time. Do not pity or advise them – just be there.

Prayer: God of earth and seed, plant empathy in my heart. Amen.

Discussion: Have you ever gotten into a debate that generated a lot of heat and little or no light?

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Right Thinking / Wrong Headed

/ JJS / Leave a comment

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 42; 146, Job 29:1-20, Acts 14:1-18, John 10:31-42

Jesus replied, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these are you going to stone me?” The Jews answered, “It is not a good work for which we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy.”
– John 10:32-33

No matter what power Jesus displayed, it was his words the Jewish leaders feared most. Maybe this was because their own power depended on strict adherence to the letter of the law, and not its spirit. They could handle transgressions against the specific rules, but a revolution in thinking was a serious threat to their power. Unfortunately, this attitude survives in some of our churches even today.

While the two great commandments are simply to love God and our neighbors, some churches more strongly emphasize specific beliefs, or right thinking. An insistence on right thinking is another form of legalism which betrays God’s command to love. Over the centuries Christians have been forced to accepted certain creeds or face rejection by the church. Many schisms – and denominations – are directly attributable to differences in theological opinions that have little if anything to do with loving God and our neighbors. Trinitarian vs. Unitarian; transubstantiation vs. consubstantiation; predestination vs. election; the list goes on and on. Christianity might be easier if we all thought alike, but we don’t – and aren’t required to!

Schisms are less common today – as we have already been divided along some pretty fine lines – but we still struggle with problems caused by an insistence on right thinking. When we don’t like the way another church thinks, we can be quick to dismiss the good it may do. We may withhold support from worthwhile projects because we don’t like a church’s liberal or conservative stance. This temptation is understandable, but who really pays the price for our stand, no matter how principled we believe it to be? Even when differences in thought result in persecution and enmity, we must remember we are called to love our enemies. We all naturally believe our own thinking is right, but none of us is as right as Christ.

Comfort: Grace doesn’t depend on being right.

Challenge: Consider what types of thinking keep you from loving.

Prayer: God of sky and waters, wash away divisions among your people. Amen.

Discussion: What creeds or doctrines have you questioned or challenged?

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Shaking the Dust

/ JJS / 1 Comment

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 5; 145,Job 32:1-10, 32:19-33:1, 33:19-28, Acts 13:44-52, John 10:19-30

One of the toughest parts of being a Christian is knowing when to quit. Not quitting Christianity of course, but quitting the things we think Good Christians™ are supposed to do.

Christ teaches us to turn the other cheek, forgive someone seventy-times-seven times, loan money without expectation of repayment, and give away our extra coat to someone in need. How tempting it is to rationalize away these instructions, and quit them too soon for “her own good” or “holding him accountable.” This attitude puts a burden of worthiness on the recipient of our mercies, and mercies that cost us nothing – neither pride nor wealth – are no real mercy.

Or we can become Good Christian™ doormats and allow others to exploit our intention to follow Christ. We quit too late, and what we thought was mercy is revealed to be enabling behavior, or perhaps someone’s insistence we be kind (“I thought you were a Christian”) shames us into being dupes.

Being “wise as serpents and innocent as doves” is a difficult balancing act.

Paul and Barnabas provide a solid example of establishing proper boundaries. When the Jews in Antioch rejected them, the Apostles left town and shook the dust from their shoes – a symbolic gesture for giving up on a place and its people. They’d done as Christ asked, but weren’t about to waste time banging their heads (or feet) against a wall.

We are called to be servants to one another, but not the kind of servants who hand the master a glass of milk they know has gone sour just because he insists on it. Rather, we are called to be servants who know when to tell the truth even if it’s difficult, and when to put the needs of others ahead of our own. Sacrificial love is not self-destructive love: we give away the extra coat no matter how much we want it, but Christ did not ask us to give away our only coat and freeze to death. When we lay down our lives for our friends, we do not die for them, but live for them.

Comfort: Do what you can, not what you can’t.

Challenge: Few of us are social workers, so it can sometimes be hard to determine how much help is the right amount. Develop a list of trusted people you can call on to help you through such times.

Prayer: God of mercy, may my heart and actions be a reflection of your love. Amen.

Discussion: When have you felt good about serving someone?

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!

Plea Bargain

/ JJS / 3 Comments

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 103; 150, Job 25:1-6, Job 27:1-6, Revelation 14:1-7, 13, Matthew 5:13-20

Plea bargaining is a common but controversial practice. On one hand, it increases efficiency in an overburdened criminal justice system, and results in convictions that otherwise might not happen. On the other, many people believe plea bargaining results in unfair sentencing, an erosion of constitutional rights, and coerced confessions of (sometimes innocent) people who are too frightened and/or poor to demand a fair trial with adequate representation. Plea bargaining is a balance between getting things done, and getting things right. It forces us to ask whether an increased conviction rate is worth a decrease in fairness – or the right measure at all.

Job’s friend Bildad wanted him to plea bargain with God. Essentially he said: “Everybody’s guilty of something. Just admit your wrongdoing and this will all go away.” Job, rightly convinced of his own innocence, wasn’t having it: “[M]y lips will not speak falsehood, and my tongue will not utter deceit. Far be it from me to say that you are right; until I die I will not put away my integrity from me.” In the end, Job is justified; he is badly abused, but his righteousness remains unblemished.

When Jesus said he came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it, he was preparing for the ultimate plea bargain. Guilty of nothing, he knowingly and willingly took our sin to the cross. Not just some of our sin – all of it. If we are willing to yoke our fate to his, to follow him through both destruction and glory, and to recognize our freedom is not of our own doing, the law no longer has power over us.

Very often God’s justice is an upside-down reflection of human justice. Rather than increasing the conviction rate, Christ’s sacrificial plea bargain reduced it to zero. Efficiency was measured not in condemnations, but in salvation. Unlike Job, we are all guilty of something. Let’s honor Christ’s sacrifice by admitting to every bit of it, by wringing out every drop of forgiveness and new life he offers. Let us beat our swords into plowshares, and prison bars into gates of welcome.

(for additional thoughts on today’s text from Matthew 5, see Lightly Salted)

Comfort: Jesus has already paid the price for your freedom.

Challenge: Forgiveness and freedom are meant to be passed along. Take some action to help address injustices in your own community.

Prayer: Lord of Heaven and Earth, I love you with all my heart, mind, and soul. Give me strength to love my neighbor as myself, and to love myself well. Amen.

Discussion: Watch this video on plea bargaining. What are your thoughts?

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!