tolerance

Cornerstone

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cornerstone

Today’s readings:
Psalms 93; 150, Isaiah 43:8-13, 1 Peter 2:2-10, John 14:1-7

The Apostle Peter wrote the letter we call 1 Peter to encourage the church in times of trouble.  In this letter he quotes the prophet Isaiah to describe Christ as “a cornerstone chosen and precious […] The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner.”

A cornerstone is the first stone that builders set in place. Such a stone must be carefully selected and positioned, as it determines how all the others will line up. As the cornerstone of the church, Christ is the stable foundation upon which it all rests and depends.

A cornerstone sounds like a place where walls meet, but it’s actually a point of departure. As the adjoining walls are constructed, they move farther away from each other. While each stone laid is in some way related to the cornerstone, we can’t see all of them at once. If they all had the same position relative to the cornerstone, simply stacked one atop another, they would topple.

Most denominations in the Christian church have formed from conflict. Each believed itself to be a better representation of Christ than the one(s) before it. Some of us are so far apart we can’t believe the other can call itself Christian.

In more recent decades though, we have become more ecumenical – more unified. A few holdouts still insist on a solitary brand of Christianity (even though none of us much represents church as Christ would have practiced it in his time) but for the most part we have learned to appreciate each other’s differences without having to agree to hold the same position. As long as we are in line with Christ, we are part of the same structure. We even manage to learn from each other. Ecumenism is like walking around the building to see the whole thing.

As the church faces a troubled world, let us not worry so much that we don’t all hold exactly the same positions. Instead let’s embrace the idea that by finding common support on the once rejected cornerstone, we build outward to where we need to be.

Comfort: When we rely on Christ, we fall into place.

Challenge: When you’re distracted by differences, look for commonalities.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for all the ways you are present in the world. Amen.

Discussion: What strategies do you have for handling disagreements?

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No Harm, No Foul

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offense defense

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 5; 145, Proverbs 3:11-20, 1 John 3:18-4:6, Matthew 11:1-6

As Jesus’s ministry was beginning to really take off, John the Baptist was locked up by Herod. Even from prison John heard of the impact Jesus was having, and so he sent his own disciples to find out if this man really was the messiah. They asked Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Rather than answer with a simple yes or no (did Jesus ever answer with yes or no?) Matthew tells us Jesus instructed them to remind John of the signs he was performing, and concluded by saying, “And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”

Does simply lacking offense seem like a pretty low bar for blessings?  Later in Matthew 12 he will say of false prophets: “Those who are not with me are against me,” but in Luke and Mark, when the disciples complain to Jesus about strangers casting out demons in his name, he tells them, “Those who are not against us are for us.” People who look for reasons to draw lines between “us” and “them” may tend to favor the Matthew passage, but Jesus was addressing people prophesying falsely in his name, not neutral or uncommitted parties. Regarding people who aren’t actively condemning Christians, today’s scripture and the Luke/Mark passages seem to say: “no harm, no foul.”

So how is it Christianity has become virtually synonymous with trumped up outrage over things which don’t truly impact us?  Why do some of us insist an inability to impose our brand of doctrine on others is a form of oppression? If we’re going to own accessories branded with “WWJD (What Would Jesus Do)?” we better be prepared to answer “Root out hypocrisy in our own institutions and stop worrying about people who prefer ‘Happy Holidays!'” In some countries Christians are actually silenced, imprisoned, or killed. That is oppression. The local public elementary school celebrating an inclusive “Winter Festival” is peaceful pluralism. Besides, do you really want public schools teaching your children religion? What brand of Christianity would it be – if it were Christian at all?

Jesus and Paul spoke to and taught believers who would were part of a small, oppressed minority. Embracing that persecution mentality in a country where over 70% of the citizens identify as Christian can twist the good news into something scary.

Let’s opt out of outrage culture, and redirect that energy toward Kingdom work: feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, clothing the naked. If we are not for them, we are against them.

Comfort: People are going to disagree with you, and that’s OK.

Challenge: Leave it for God to take care of.

Prayer: Merciful and gracious God, please help me let go of my own ego and insecurity so I may offer a glimpse of Christ’s love to all I meet.

Discussion: Do you ever mistake being persecuted for not being charge, or being censored for being challenged?

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Beyond Tolerance

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abolished law

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 92; 149, Numbers 11:16-17, 24-29, Ephesians 2:11-22, Matthew 7:28-8:4

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians addressed the concerns of a church whose members were divided over the issue of circumcision. Jews practiced circumcision as a sign of the sacred covenant between God and their people. Greeks did not practice it. The church had members of both cultures, but many Jews felt circumcision was a requirement to enter into the faith of a Jewish Jesus. Paul taught them both ways were acceptable, because through Christ they had been made into one humanity.

More than a lesson in tolerance, this is a lesson in the artificiality of boundaries.

One modern parallel is the current division between self-identified liberal and conservative Christians. Another is the structure of denominations. If Paul is right, being one body doesn’t mean “conservative and liberal Christians have equally valid viewpoints” or “Presbyterians are just as Christian as Catholics.” It means those divisions … simply … don’t … exist.

We want them to exist though. We like to be able to point to our “tribe” of like-minded individuals for support and affirmation. While we should certainly stand firm on our principles and beliefs, those principles and beliefs can’t be about creating division within the Body. Nor can they be about bending people to our will. When we let that happen, it’s not long until we think we’re qualified to decide who is “in” and who is “out” of the Body based on tribal affiliations rather than personal commitment to Christ.

Labels exist to divide us. They say, “I am this and you are not,” or “you are that and I am not.” What starts as an objective naming of qualities inevitably devolves into a dangerous, tribalistic mindset that declares: “We are worthy and you are not.” When our allegiance to a label takes priority over our allegiance to the Body (and just look at American politics to see how that plays out), we suffer from a kind of spiritual auto-immunity, attacking parts of our own Body and destroying its health.

Tolerating each other is not the same as loving each other. The first reinforces division, and the second helps to erase it.

Comfort: The existence of other people’s beliefs does not threaten yours.

Challenge: Be sure to recognize the difference between being persecuted for your beliefs, and not being allowed to persecute others for your beliefs.

Prayer: Loving God, help me to love my neighbor as your child, and to remember we are both equally beloved by you. Amen.

Discussion: What social boundaries have decreased or increased in importance for you?

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Chairity

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cafeteria-1441575-1598x1062

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 130; 148, Nehemiah 12:27-31a, 42b-47, Revelation 19:11-16, Matthew 16:13-20

When Jesus asked his disciples who the people thought he was, they answered Elijah, John the Baptist, Jeremiah, and other prophets. He then more pointedly asked them “But who do you say that I am?” Peter quickly answered “the Messiah” and Jesus told him this knowledge came not from flesh and blood, but from God. Then Jesus instructed his disciples to tell no one else.

Who do you think Jesus is?

Like Peter we can answer “the Messiah” because it’s definitely not a secret any more … but what does that mean to us? After the crucifixion and the resurrection, the role of “the Messiah” meant something very different to Peter and the disciples. Christians unite around the idea of Christ as Messiah, yet given the variety in our expression of faith and belief, mostly derived from the same Biblical sources, we don’t all mean the same thing when we say it.

Is there a perfectable understanding of Christ we all strive toward? Plato had a theory of ideal forms. Summarized in a simple example, there exists a metaphysical ideal form of any object, such as a chair, which is the standard by which we recognize other less-than-ideal objects in the physical world as chairs. Is there an ideal form of Christ (which would be, one supposes … Christ himself) which helps us recognize expressions of Christ in this world we presently inhabit?

Chairs can be plush, wooden, yielding, rigid, wheeled, or rocking. They can have various numbers of legs or – in the case of bean bags – no legs at all. Yet in all their variety they hold in common factors which define them as chairs.

If Peter and the disciples who knew Jesus personally underwent a transformation in their understanding of Jesus, let’s not be too quick centuries later to declare one earthly expression the only real thing. This isn’t some wishy-washy excuse to turn Jesus into whatever we’d like him to be. To the contrary, encountering Jesus changes us, never the other way around.

The same Christ can inspire one person to a conservative worldview and another to a progressive worldview. Both probably believe the other to be misguided, but there will be central issues – such as feeding the hungry and caring for the ill – upon which they agree. Why do we find it so much easier to focus on the areas where we disagree, when areas of agreement are where we find Christ?

When it comes to discipleship, we all get some right and some wrong. Moving toward that ideal form of discipleship – that understanding of who Christ is and what he asks of us – is a lifelong endeavor. Let us undertake that journey with humility, love, and mercy. Isn’t that who we say we are?

Comfort: Christ’s love is greater than we imagine.

Challenge: So let’s not limit him to what we can imagine.

Prayer: I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope (Psalm 130:5)

Discussion: What words describe Jesus for you?

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Speaking of Faith

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sentencediagram

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 96; 148, Deuteronomy 31:30-32:14, Romans 14:13-23, Luke 8:40-56

In linguistics “code switching” refers to the practice of moving among different languages in the same conversation. In a sociological sense, it is also a popular term – particularly among African Americans – for trading one’s comfortable, informal manner of speech for a more formal, homogenized one to facilitate communication and acceptance within the dominant group. Some people view code switching as hypocritical, but most of us unconsciously engage in some form of it. For example, children speak differently to their parents than their peers, employers speak differently to their bosses than their co-workers, and those of us who curse like sailors probably curb that @#$% when addressing our pastors.

According to Paul, code switching (while not his term) could even be a sign of respect. He advised Christians who had no issues with eating meat or drinking wine not to become a stumbling block to their brothers and sisters who considered such things sinful. It wasn’t that Paul found these things sinful, rather that he believed “those who have doubts are condemned if they eat, because they do not act from faith; for whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” He asked people to adjust their faith language accordingly.

A person’s vernacular does not define their native intelligence or ability any more than our perception of their piety defines their faith. But here’s the big difference: in the case of code switching for corporate America, the less privileged person is expected to change; Paul was asking the group with more freedom to accommodate the less free. In the world, the first impose on the last. In the Kingdom, the first serve the last.

A faith language has its own grammar. As with any grammar, it is a tool to be used, not a weapon to be wielded. We want to be fluent in it for our own benefit, but we should refrain from correcting (or worse demeaning) other people for failing to meet its exact standards. Let us listen to understand more than to correct, to invite more than to demand. Our God is not about technicalities, but about grace.

Comfort: Even when your “faith grammar” isn’t perfect, God understands.

Challenge: Listen to familiar hymns sung in a language you do not now. Do they say anything new to you?

Prayer: Loving God, may I seek more to understand than to be understood. Amen.

Discussion: People can have complicated relationships with grammar, anything from self-declared grammar police to being intimidated by it entirely. What’s yours?

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Golden Rules

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reflection-1191389-1280x960

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 96; 148, Daniel 3:1-18, 1 John 3:1-10, Luke 3:15-22

Separation of church and state is a very modern idea. In most monarchies throughout history, such as the Babylonian empire led by Nebuchadnezzar, the religion of the king became the religion of the people. Is there a more clear illustration of why this separation is important than when Nebuchadnezzar declared anyone who failed to fall down and worship the giant golden statue he’d built would be thrown into a blazing furnace? When Daniel’s three companions Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to do so, Nebuchadnezzar had them arrested and scheduled for fiery execution.

We can’t imagine such a scenario occurring in a modern democracy, yet some Christians would have the state impose specific Christian beliefs, while others think it already imposes too many. While “worship me or I will kill you” may seem like an abuse of power, it’s more an abuse of weakness. Any king, god-king, or theocrat who punishes disbelief with death does so from a place of deep insecurity. True faith and devotion hinges on an option for disbelief. God can sort it out as God will.

Daniel and his friends were conscripted into service for the empire. This certainly would have required them to participate in things they as Jews would have found distasteful, but they seemed to come to terms with serving as long as it didn’t require them to directly participate in the worship of other gods. How does this compare with the modern United States, where we find a seemingly endless parade of law suits filed over relatively minor issues because people feel religious practices have been either imposed upon or denied to them? In a country where the specifically Christian holiday of Christmas is given national preference over other religious holidays, yet the placement of a nativity scene on the town hall lawn is constitutionally suspect, squabbling is inevitable.

We should pick our cultural battles wisely. Our gospel message is stronger when we talk about how it has transformed us, rather than how it condemns others. Let’s not allow the politically ambitious to exploit our religious tendencies to create unnecessary (and unchristian) division.

Comfort: We don’t have to recreate the state in the image of the church.

Challenge: Read the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Prayer: God of justice, bring us peace. Amen.

Discussion: When have your religious beliefs conflicted with your employment or civic obligations?

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Two by Two

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1476812373362-01.jpeg

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 54; 146, Micah 3:1-8, Revelation 7:9-17, Luke 10:1-16

As Jesus prepared to expand his ministry, he selected 70 disciples to travel in pairs to the places he planned to visit. Today we might call them street teams. Each pair traveled simply; they carried no purse, no sandals, and no bags. They kept to themselves until they reached a destination, then where they were welcomed they stayed to cure the sick and where they were rejected they left promptly. Either way, they let the place know the kingdom of God had come near. If we assume three successful stops per pair, that’s 105 towns along a route of approximately 3,100 miles. Quite a grueling tour schedule when it’s mostly on foot.

How do you suppose Jesus paired people up? He could matched people who were already friends, or maybe they were random assignments, and people had to figure out how to get along with each other on the journey. Assigning people with similar personalities could make things easier or more difficult, depending on the personality. People with complementary personality types or experiences, while surely having to overcome some initial conflict, might be able to bring different strengths: introverts and extroverts; rich and poor; somber and playful; intrepid and cautious; cut-to-the-chase and touchy-feely. Perhaps he used all these criteria and more to build the most effective pairs possible.

On our own Christian journeys, we will find ourselves working alongside all kinds of people. We will like, respect, and enjoy each of them to different degrees. When, by example or intent, they expose our weaknesses, we can embrace an opportunity for growth. When we see them stumble where we stride easily, we can offer a steadying hand. We can hold each other accountable for getting the job done, and for grace. God has drawn us together, and it’s our job to work it out so we can credibly tell people the kingdom of God draws near. How we treat each other is a defining feature of that witness.

We are one body in Christ. A body isn’t walking unless one foot is on the ground and another is in the air.

Comfort: You are an important part of someone else’s journey.

Challenge: Pick a trait of yours that you think could use improvement. Talk to someone who is strong in that area about ways to improve.

Prayer: Thank you, God, for the many people you who support and guide me on my journey. Amen.

Discussion: Without mentioning names, is there a person you don’t particularly like but do respect?

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Learn and Live

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1470433631031.jpg

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 84; 148, Judges 9:1-16, 19-21, Acts 4:13-31, John 2:1-12

Many cultural commentators bemoan the rise of anti-intellectualism in America. While they do raise legitimate concerns, is it possible the underlying problem is not simply that some people distrust higher education and ignore science, but that we succumb to increasing pressure from media, political, and other forces to define ourselves in ever-widening opposition to each other? Once the idea of academic education became strongly associated with liberal values, many conservatives distanced themselves from it and many liberals began to address social conservatism as a cognitive deficit. Yet both the conservative and liberal movements contain intellectual powerhouses as well as people all across the intelligence scale; people of deep integrity and utter con artists; altruists and narcissists. Whether or not one has had the opportunity to choose specific forms of education is no indicator of morality or intelligence.

Of course this isn’t a new phenomenon. When Peter and John taught boldly in the public square, the rulers and elders of Jerusalem were astonished that “they were unschooled, ordinary men.” They were however fishermen, and successful fishermen had business savvy, an understanding of the elements, fluency in two or more languages, and various other knowledge that high priests may not have recognized or valued; moreover, they had qualities that Jesus valued. Because of their first-hand experience as disciples, Peter and John had wisdom to share with the people, and its truth trumped any class structure.

We need people with an education; specifically we need educated people who recognize their knowledge is not a weapon of class warfare, but a tool for service. We also need people whose knowledge and wisdom is grounded in something other than academia; people who have expertise in common sense – and enough common sense not to vilify or ridicule an academic education. Most of all we need people of all stripes who seek and appreciate the wisdom of people different from themselves.

Christ welcomes the noble and the peasant, the strong and the weak, the rich and the poor. He teaches us God values and loves each of God’s children equally. He invites us to do the same.

Comfort: You are not defined by what others have.

Challenge: Pick a topic that you don’t know  much about (and even better one that intimidates you a little) and talk to someone who is knowledgeable about it.

Prayer: God of Wisdom, teach me to see the diversity of your gifts in all people. Amen.

Discussion: When have you learned something from an unexpected source?

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