technicalities

Technical Difficulties

/ JJS / Leave a comment

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window): 
Psalms 27; 147:12-20, Genesis 42:29-38, 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, Mark 4:21-34

“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are beneficial.

Paul wrote these words to the Corinthian church because its members were twisting his message. They believed they were permitted to sin with abandon because Christ had paid the price to free them from the law, and Corinth was the place to sin big – think New Orleans during Mardi Gras, minus the restraint. Paul had painted himself into a bit of a theological corner; he couldn’t reprimand the people for breaking the law, but would be remiss to let them off on that technicality. So when the Corinthians claimed “all things are lawful” Paul countered with “not all things are beneficial.” If the driving force in our choices is not Christ, we are lost.

We face the same moral perils if we think of salvation in purely personal terms. Right belief does not excuse wrong behavior, even when that behavior is within the law. Throughout history, many legal but immoral things have been practiced by Christians: spousal abuse, genocide, child exploitation, Jim Crow, reparative therapy, etc. We may try to excuse terrible legalities by claiming they were a product of ignorance and era, but Christ’s teachings are timeless. For example, while neither Paul nor Jesus condemned slavery, both spoke against mistreating slaves, who were equally beloved children of God.

And there’s the key: salvation is not just about me, but about Christ’s love for everyone. I may be within my legal rights to exploit a vulnerable person or community. I may call it good business and pat myself on the back for my savvy. I may even sleep soundly in the blanket of my salvation … but have I served Christ as he has commanded me to? Have I willingly sacrificed my own wealth and comfort to serve those who have less than I do – even those I despise? Have I let civil law excuse vice and suppress virtue?

Christ did not have kind words for people who built their faith around legal technicalities. Let’s concentrate on what we can give, and not what we can get away with.

Comfort: Christ has freed us from the law so we can better love.

Challenge: The golden rule is “Do unto others as you’d have them do unto you.” The platinum rule is “Do unto others as they’d have you do unto them.” Let’s follow the priceless rule: “Do unto others as Christ would have you do unto them.”

Prayers: God of grace, thank you for the priceless gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. Make me strong enough to live beyond the law, and to love as you have asked me. Amen.

Discussion: Have you ever gotten away with something on a technicality? How did it feel?

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!

Heat vs Light

/ JJS / Leave a comment

heatlight

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 122; 149, Numbers 24:12-25, Romans 8:18-25, Matthew 22:23-40

The Sadducees – an aristocratic group of Jewish religious leaders who did not believe in resurrection – were determined to discredit Jesus. They had a vested interest in maintaining the status quo with Rome by squashing this rabble-rousing preacher.  Their attempts to trick him into appearing foolish consistently backfired.

According to Mosaic law, if a married Jewish man died, his brother was to marry his widow. The Sadducees posed a scenario in which a woman was married to seven different brothers, because each had to marry her when another brother died. Which brother, they wanted to know, would be her husband in the resurrection?

At first it may sound like  legitimate question, but it’s actually a pretty juvenile approach, not unlike asking whether Superman could beat up The Hulk, or what would happen if a werewolf and a vampire bit each other at the same time. Sure it might provide hours of heated distraction for people who get geeked over hypothetical situations, but it doesn’t mean anything.

Jesus stopped this whole line of “reasoning” in its tracks by telling the Sadducees they couldn’t even ask the right question. “In the resurrection,” Jesus told them, “they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.”

When the Sadducees retreated, the Pharisees – who were political rivals but united against the common enemy of Jesus – tested him by asking what was the most important commandment. Jesus said:

‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

Some Christians thrive on essentially meaningless debates over technicalities which seem vital to theology wonks, but bruise and break the Body of Christ; we’ve got the evidence of hundreds of denominational scars. When we’re drawn into conversations which are more invested in division than unity, especially with other Christians, let’s remember the two great commandments. They teach us to ask better questions.

Comfort: Nobody has all the answers.

Challenge: Including you.

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

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!