Dream a little dream of Me
Posted on: December 6, 2012
Ps. 6: 7, 8 “I bless the LORD Who gives me counsel; in the night, my heart also instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”
Do you dream in color? In one way, that’s a trick question because a lot of people don’t even remember dreaming at all. I do dream in color, and I often remember vivid snippets of dreams. The other night, I had a dream wherein I thought of a new word, that, in the context of the dream, was somehow earth-shatteringly clever and important : “impossihossibility”. Explain it now I cannot, but I think it had something to do with horses. I play the piano beautifully in my dreams, too. If only! Jillian remembers whole dreams – book, chapter, and verse.
Modern psychology, of course, explains dreams as the subconscious “working out”, or making sense, of events of the day or fears of the future – and most of the time, it’s not hard to interpret our dreams that way. A dream of falling? We’re usually feeling that something in our life is out of control. A dream of being out in public and suddenly realizing we are dressed only in our underwear? We’re feeling vulnerable. The Bible, though, records many instances of God using dreams to give very specific instruction.
It’s interesting in the Christmas story that two of the principle players, Mary and Zechariah get face-to-face visits from Gabriel, Elizabeth gets her news second-hand from her hubby, and Joseph gets his visit while he’s catching zzz’s. Twice, in fact – when he gets the news about Mary’s baby, and when he’s warned to take mother and Child to Egypt. God always mixes things up. Just because He does a thing one way one time doesn’t mean He’ll repeat himself.
Joseph was obviously a man of amazing character. Men generally didn’t marry until they were established in life, so he would probably have been at least 30. That’s a long time to dream about being married, a long time to ponder on the Song of Songs and to look forward the delights of married life. Finally a young bride is chosen and the betrothal is entered into. Then, before the actual marriage takes place…. “Uh, Joe, dear, I’m pregnant.” In Jesus’ day, it wasn’t uncommon for young unwed pregnant girls to claim “Honestly, I didn’t even have sex!”, and according to some historians, it was even fairly common for girls to claim to be carrying the Messiah. Hey, you could hardly be accused of sexual sin under those circumstances, right? The Bible doesn’t tell us whether Mary told anyone about Gabriel’s visit at the time, or whether she tried to convince Joe about what was going on. I think she would have – but it wouldn’t have been any wonder that he didn’t believe her if she did.
Most men, upon finding that their intended was pregnant, and knowing it wasn’t THEIR baby, would be mightily offended in pride. Mortified. Humiliated. The tendency would be to lash back. But Scripture tells us that Joseph was a “just man”, and had no such desire. He was unwilling to put her to shame. He wasn’t willing to MARRY her under the circumstances, but he wasn’t going to make a public spectacle of her in the divorce, either. Yet, he “considered these things.” He didn’t act rashly or hastily. It was during this time of consideration that the angel of the LORD dropped in on his dream to either confirm what Mary had already told him, or to break the news if she hadn’t tried.
Zechariah got a face-to-face visit from Gabriel, and still had the audacity to ask, “Oh, yeah? Really?” Joseph had a dream, and it was ‘nuff said. Matthew says Joe “woke from his sleep and took Mary as his wife”. Talk about immediate obedience! Joseph was obviously a man looking to the LORD for counsel, and anxious to follow it. Because of that, he had no qualms about his course of action, no matter what anyone else might have thought.
May we be as ready to act on the LORD’s guidance, no matter when the marching orders come through!
White, Wheat or Rye?
Posted on: December 4, 2012
Psalm 14: 1, 4 “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, … Have they no knowledge, all the evil doers who eat up my people like bread and do not call on the name of the LORD?”
I love bread rather passionately. Crusty honey-whole wheat from my bread machine. Tomato basil from Panera. Artisanal from Safeway. I’ve met very few breads I didn’t like. I could just about LIVE on bread. (As long as I also had chocolate!) Bread is sooooo easy to eat. Pull that loaf out of the bread machine, let it cool just enough to be cut without mooshing down, and I could eat the whole loaf, slice by slice, some with butter melting in, some with honey, some with apple mint jelly. Generally, though, bread isn’t “special”; it’s not the main dish, just something to fill out the plate. Most of us eat bread in some form at least once a day, if not for every meal.
Bread was a staple of Biblical times, too, from Genesis through the Lord’s Supper. Any Jew would certainly have been able to relate to the imagery, because Israel had no shortage of experience with bad guys who “ate them up like bread.” By the time the Psalm was written, they’d already enjoyed the hospitality of the Egyptians in Egypt, and after winning their homeland, were beset by Midianites, Philistines, and others from the region. Within a few generations of David, there came the Persians and Babylonians, followed by Alexander the Great and his Macedonians, then the Seleucids. Of that latter group, the most horrendous was Antiochus Epiphanes, who performed such abominations that it led to the Maccabean Revolution. But Israel didn’t stay free, and by the time of Christ’s arrival, they were under Herod’s thumb as part of the Roman Empire. The names changed, but it was always pretty much the same story. Throughout their history, the Jews were on the bread plate for every would-be world conqueror.
Herod certainly fit the profile for this Psalm – a fool (in the Biblical sense of the word), corrupt, doing abominable deeds. Instead of joining Magi in worshiping the Child they spoke of, he set out to slaughter Him. He never knew (in this life) that his slaughter didn’t achieve its purpose. He made the mistake of thinking there was no God to notice or to care.
How ironic is it that in EATING God’s people like bread, he actually missed MEETING the Living Bread? Herod may have eaten up God’s people like bread, but he himself was toast!
Psalm 13:1, 5, 6 “How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? …. But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD because He has dealt bountifully with me.”
I have fibromyalgia syndrome, often shortened to just “fibro”. One of the aspects of that condition is a brain issue known as “fibrofog” that functions something like early stage Alzheimers. We can forget things very easily, or get easily confused. I read one woman’s account that she could get “lost” in her one bedroom apartment! Mine was never that bad, and since I found treatment about five years ago, has been much better than it used to be, but I still have occasional issues. For example, if you look at my big planning calendar, you can find days with the same event entered twice. The exact same wording neatly written one under the other. Good grief.
In the early years of the condition, one of my biggest problems was simply forgetting things. It wasn’t enough to write it on the calendar (even twice). I had to write it on the calendar, on the white board, on several sticky notes, AND I’d tell my kids to remind me as well. Even then things sometimes still “snuck up” on me! Worst, though, were the many, many times that I told my kids I’d do something for them… and then forgot. “Mom, did you get my jeans mended? You said you’d get them done before I needed them for the party!” “Mom, did you get more milk? You said you’d get more when you were at Freddy’s.” “Mom, you said you’d come read me a book after you finished that email. It’s been three HOURS!” They knew it wasn’t exactly my “fault”, but still, it was so painful for me to see that frustration in their eyes when I had let them down, again.
God had promised to be with His people, but sometimes it didn’t feel like He was there. David starts this Psalm with a cry of frustration, feeling forgotten. It didn’t LOOK like God was fulfilling His end of the bargain at the moment. Yet David ends the Psalm on a different note. BUT. It doesn’t look like You’re doing what You said You would, but you know, I know You HAVEN’T forgotten me! In fact, He’s been awfully good to me!
By the time Gabriel showed up at Mary’s place, it had been some 400 years since there had been a prophetic voice in Israel. Talk about a long time to wait! That’s a lot of generations to feel forgotten. “How long, O LORD?” must have been a pretty popular theme song. Some singing it were probably angry. Some, though, must have been like David. I think Mary must have been in that category because when she got the good word of what was going to happen, once she got over the shock of the fact that SHE was to be the instrument, what was her response? Her Magnificat when she visited Elizabeth echoes David’s sentiment in this Psalm as she rejoices in God her Savior and praises Him for His goodness to her and to all who fear Him, affirming “He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
Mary recognized in the Messiah’s arrival the fulfillment of God’s promises. God never forgets. However long in the fulfillment, what He said WILL be accomplished. Since we, too, are offspring of Abraham, those promises are to US as well!
Come into my parlor
Posted on: December 2, 2012
Psalm 12: 2, 7 “Everyone lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak. … You, O LORD, will keep them. You will guard us from this generation forever.”
Ever get frustrated watching a show where it’s obvious to the viewer just who the bad guy is, yet the hero seems totally clueless? Maybe it’s because he can’t hear the ominous music. Maybe he just didn’t read the whole script. Whatever the reason, on he goes, treating the bad guy like a pal, going along with his every suggestion. Around here, you’d likely hear one of us using the old quote, with evil grin and twitching eyebrows, “’Come into my parlor,’ said the spider to the fly!”
I wonder what it was like for the Magi. They knew they were searching for one born to be King of the Jews. I would think the first place to ask about that would be the residence of the current king, but that’s not where they went. Maybe they stopped at the Tourist Bureau first and found out there hadn’t been a son born at the palace in the last two years, so figured it wouldn’t be worth pursuing their inquiries there and turned to other sources. But after the Wise Men’s question reached the ear of Herod through the grapevine, HE sent for them – privately. He told the travelers to go find the child they were seeking, then send word back to him, “so that I may come worship him, too”. How cool is that? I mean, here’s the current king telling you HE’s as big a fan of this new up-and-comer as you are! HE wants to come hang out in the mosh pit with you, just let him know where the party is. It’s all good!
Did the Wise Men hear that ominous music in the background? Was there ANYTHING in that flattering, double-hearted liar’s speech that made them the least bit suspicious? What explanation did he give them for keeping all this a secret from the rest of his court? Didn’t any of it seem even just slightly odd? Scripture doesn’t indicate that they had any qualms. All we know for sure is that they took Herod’s advice of going to Bethlehem, and were able to once again follow the star, this time all the way to the Child. If things had gone according to the rest of Herod’s plan, and they’d returned to give him word of the Child’s exact location, I’m pretty sure they’d never have made it further. Since he’d gone to pains to keep their first visit a secret, he wouldn’t have risked their news spreading any further. He could then have sent a targeted squad after the Child. No muss, no fuss, just another day in the life of Rome.
But God kept the Wise Men and guarded them. He warned them in a dream that they needed to recalculate their route home and give Herod the slip. They listened to God’s leading, and lived. Herod’s flattering lips might have deceived the Wise Men, but they couldn’t deceive the Only Wise God.
His face
Posted on: December 1, 2012
I am going to attempt to write one Advent/Christmas thought a day through Epiphany, based on the Psalm I am reading that day. (I know Advent doesn’t start till tomorrow, but this will make up for an invariable miss.) We’ll see how it goes! I have a laptop now, though, so I can sit right at the dining table and do it as part of my devotions, so that should help. (If I go to my desk, I’m tempted to check email, Facebook, and oh, there’s that note to check the asiflex account, and… I’m lost!) Here goes!
Psalm 11:7 “For the LORD is righteous; He loves righteous deeds; the upright shall see His face.”
Our first four kids were pretty much bald when they were born. Stayed that way for quite a while, too. So, when our fifth one was born, it’s no wonder that the first trait we noticed was that she had HAIR. Not a thick mop, but definitely much more than her siblings had been graced with. Her face, though, was very like her siblings – definitely an Aasen baby!
I think most moms spend those months of pregnancy thinking about their baby’s face. Will he have my nose? Your chin? Grandpas’s dimples? PLEASE not Uncle Humperdink’s nose! Nowadays, of course, we have ultrasound in HD, and are able to see Baby’s face and profile in utero with astonishing clarity, but, even so, it’s not the same as that first amazing gaze into those precious little eyes, that awed poring over every line of that little face. I’m sure it was no different for Mary.
Gabriel told her that she had “found favor with God”, and that she was to bear a son, the Messiah, the very Son of God. I wonder if she ever thought of that verse from the Psalm and how literally it was to be true for her? When “the Babe, the world’s Redeemer, first revealed His sacred face”, she was privileged to be the first, with Joseph, to gaze upon that face in all its beautiful, bloody birth mess. The upright did, indeed, see His face.
Giving Thanks
Posted on: November 22, 2012
Ah, Thanksgiving! Don’t you love the decorations for this season? All the lovely leaves, and pumpkins, and bounty of the harvest, the turkey, the corn. And, of course, the pilgrims. There they stand, Ma and Pa Pilgrim, looking fresh and clean, collar and cap snowy white, all neat as a pin, round and rosy. Pictures of The First Thanksgiving nearly invariably show a collection of such pilgrims, with a few smiling, boisterous children running around, all happy and satisfied with an overflowing abundance of bounty piled around. Gives ya the “warm fuzzies” all over, doesn’t it?
Only problem is, it’s fake. The real story isn’t picturesque. Most of us remember from our school days that the pilgrims came over on the Mayflower, but do you know how big the ship actually was? We think “ship” and imagine an “ocean liner”, or at least a small cruise ship. Try one hundred feet long and twenty-five feet wide! In other words, you could fit EIGHTEEN of them on a football field. And those are the outside dimensions, not the actual floor space in the hold where the passengers lived. There were one hundred and two passengers (and thirty crew members) on that tiny vessel. That many people in that little space? Ugh. The journey actually had a couple of false starts, as there were originally to be TWO ships going. They finally had to give up on the other ship being fixed, and set out with just the one, much later than anticipated. The crossing took two months, the first not too bad, but the second full of nearly continual Atlantic storms. No Carnival cruise! The damp and the stench would have been overwhelming and the food was miserable.
But all journey come to an end, right? So did this one. They arrived on the East coast in on November 11, but it took time to find a suitable settlement spot. They landed at what became the Plymouth Colony on Dec. 6. (Some of the passengers had now been on board for SIX months!) Great time to start a new colony, right at the beginning of winter, huh? They began building the settlement, but inclement weather and the generally poor condition of the immigrants meant that only seven of the intended nineteen buildings got done. One hundred people (two died in the crossing) in seven buildings.
With poor shelter and poor diet, in the teeth of a ferocious Northern winter, it’s no wonder that starvation and illness took a heavy toll. By spring, only fifty-three of the original passengers were still alive. That’s just over half – only four of which were adult women, and many were children. That’s just “alive”, too, not necessarily healthy enough to do the work of building or planting – or perhaps to survive another winter. The Mayflower had sailed for England in April; they had no way of knowing when – or, indeed, even IF – other settlers and supplies would be coming.
Think about all this! They left England sure of God’s leading, convinced of the necessity of the voyage, with visions of a new land where they could be free from the Church of England’s rule. (They came for the freedom to establish their OWN “religiocracy”, of course, not “freedom of religion” as so often taught. But I digress…) Think about how it must have felt, then, to have all these things go so terribly “wrong”. Ever been there? “God, I followed your leading, and look what a mess You’ve gotten me into!”
Yet, they chose to celebrate that first harvest the next October. They were undoubtedly a motley looking crew. Many probably still were somewhat haggard or bore the marks of their great suffering. The state of wear of the clothing was likely pretty shabby. For all, it would have been a bitter-sweet celebration as they thought of all those who hadn’t made it that far and all the dreams that hadn’t come true. There was no way for them to be sure the crop would be sufficient for the coming winter if that winter was even worse than the previous. They didn’t know how many of them would still be alive by the next harvest. Maybe because death and hardship were just so much a part of life then, maybe because their entire religious outlook was different and they expected life to be a “vale of tears”, or simply because their faith was strong, in the face of horrendous suffering, they were still thankful for what God had given them in that harvest.
I wonder if we modern American Christians, put in the same circumstances, would be thankful. It’s easy to celebrate and give thanks when our lives look like that stereotypical Thanksgiving tableau. When we have more than we need, and life is good, and everyone’s happy, and the sun is shining, it’s easy to be thankful. That’s where the rubber meets the road, though, isn’t it? We are to give thanks in all circumstances. When the harvest is bountiful, and when the crops fail. When our loved ones are gathered around us, and when there are empty chairs at the table. When events have turned out just as great as we envisioned, and when all our dreams turn to dust.
No matter what your circumstances are this day, I hope that you are able to give thanks. God is still good. He is still faithful. He will never leave us or forsake us. This world is not our home. As Mark Driscoll put it in a sermon, this world is as close to Hell as a Christian will ever get – and here, we STILL have God’s presence with us. If that is not a cause for giving thanks, I don’t know what is!
A blessed Thanksgiving to you all!
Facial Recognition
Posted on: November 18, 2012
I am not always too good when it comes to noticing changes in people. “Say, did you get a haircut?” “Um, no, I got contacts.” “Aw, you shaved your beard off!” “Um, yeah. Three months ago.” Oops. I also have trouble recognizing people when I see them outside the context in which I normally see them. That is, if I met you at church on Sunday, then see you at the grocery store next Friday, it is possible that I will kinda sorta have a feeling that you look vaguely familiar, yet not remember at all who you are or where we met. Embarrassing.
This morning, in a sermon related to seeking God, our pastor told of a version of Hide and Seek that he used to play with a youth group years ago. The kids would be taken to a big mall nearby and tasked with seeking all the youth leaders who were “hiding” in various places inside. The trick? The leaders could be in any section of any store, and didn’t necessarily look quite like themselves. One year, Pastor Brian (a tall guy) sat in a wheelchair, wearing a white, old-lady wig, with a blanket around his shoulders! Took a loooong time for the kids to find him that time. Had I been there, I might still be looking. I have a bad enough time recognizing people under normal circumstances, but in a context where I don’t usually see them, and in disguise? Yikes!
In the familiar story in Matthew 25 of the great sorting of the sheep and the goats at the Judgment, the Son of Man tells the sheep, on His right, blessed of His Father, to inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world. He tells the goats, on His left, cursed, to depart to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. The sifting factor? Their service to Jesus. Both sheep and goats express great surprise at Jesus’ commendation/condemnation for their services rendered to Him. The sheep just sound befuddled. “Well, yeah, ok, we served the ones You served as You served, but we certainly didn’t see YOU there.” The goats? You can just hear the indignation! “Well, I would have been perfectly willing to serve You, if I’d only seen You, but since I DIDN’T, how is it MY fault that I didn’t serve You?” In the end, of course, Jesus identifies Himself with those who were served. What we do (or don’t do) to the “least of these”, we do (or don’t do) to Him. I can just see the sheep’s brows unfurrow with an “Ohhhhh. Now I get it. I had no idea!”
Since we have this story of the sheep to instruct us, however, we don’t have to be like ignorant sheep! Just as the kids in the youth group finally recognized Pastor Brian’s face in that of an “old woman” in a wheelchair, so, too, we can learn to recognize the face of Jesus in the faces of the “least” around us. That homeless beggar on the corner? The young man in the wheelchair, with that vacant stare in his eyes and drool down his chin? That kid at school who others call names and make fun of? See the face of Jesus there? That old woman fumbling for change at the check-out when you’re in a hurry? That scruffy-looking guy with the tattoos who has to check the “yes” box to the question “Have you ever been convicted of a felony?”? The old church member in that awful nursing home where the halls stink of urine? Wherever we see the faces of the poor, the sick, the oppressed, the lonely – we can see the face of Jesus.
How well is your facial recognition software working?
And the winner is….
Posted on: November 6, 2012
The election is over. Here are the results:
God is still reigning.
God is not surprised at who got elected.
The kings of the earth are still less than nothing.
There is still no authority but what has been instituted by God.
There is still no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord.
God is still, in all things, working for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
There are still no laws against love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, or self-control.
The Great Commission has not been repealed.
The poor still need feeding.
The blind still need sight.
The oppressed still need deliverance.
Jesus is still with us.
No matter who was elected, we are the elect of God!
Celebrate‼‼‼
In a few days, “come Hell or high water” as the saying goes – with the latter being pretty literally true back East – we will have yet another Election Day. Here in Washington State, as in, I think, three others across our country, there is much agitation over the possibility of homosexual marriage becoming legal, not by jurisprudential fiat, but by popular vote. It was passed by our legislature last spring, but now faces ratification by the people in the form of a referendum to either confirm or reject it. I hope it will be rejected, but I fully expect to see it approved – if not this time, then next.
While I do believe that homosexual sex is as wrong as any sex outside of the Genesis definition of marriage, I often find myself more uncomfortable with most of the Christians writing letter to the editor, ranting on the radio, and carrying snarky signs at protest rallies than I do with the majority of people advocating for homosexual marriage. I expect the World to be the World, to act on its own (lack of absolute) values, to follow its leader, the Prince of Darkness. But how is the Church responding? Consider.
First, how are we reasoning? If a Muslim came to me and began to rant at me over the fact that I do not cover my head because IT SAYS SO IN THE Q’URAN, I would not care. No matter how many verses of that book he could quote at me, it would be futile, because the Q’uran means nothing to me since I do not accept it as valid. Yet I constantly see Christians using the Bible to argue with non-Christians! “This verse SAYS YOU ARE WRONG!”, shooting verses like bullets, attempting to slay the others’ arguments. Non-Christians do not accept the Bible as Truth, so why expect them to respect arguments based on it? (Even if someone is a Christian, but is rejecting clear Scriptural teaching, beating them over the head with a Bible is seldom persuasive.) The fact that the Bible says homosexual sex is a sin is not a cogent argument for the World as to why they should not legalize it.
Some Christians object to the idea of children being raised by married homosexual parents, but children have been being raised by long-term homosexual couples for years now. I have yet to see any documented evidence cited that being raised by homosexual parents results in general mental health damage. No study so far has shown any greater likelihood of children growing up to be homosexuals themselves. Obviously, such children share their parents’ convictions as to the propriety of the relationship, but if we are going to deny marriage based on the immorality of the parents’ beliefs, we sure better broaden the category, because the children of heterosexual couples who support homosexual marriage share that same viewpoint.
The concern is raised of businesses being sued for not accommodating homosexual marriages, honeymoons, etc. This argument against homosexual marriage only sort-of flies because such discrimination is already illegal. All states have “sexual orientation” listed in their non-discrimination laws. (Check out what suits have been filed, and you will find that there are very, very few, and of those that have been filed, only one or two are in states with legalized homosexual marriage – and even in those, the suit isn’t related to the legality of homosexual marriage.) That Christian adoption agencies could be forced to not take into consideration the sexual orientation of a couple seeking to adopt a child is an issue of the agency being free to operate according to its own moral beliefs, but is not an issue of the legality of homosexual marriage in and of itself. (And if an agency is trying to have it both ways, following its own principles, but wanting State funding to do so, then the agency has no claim. What the State pays for, the State sets the rules for.)
I’ve heard some Christians charge that homosexuals who want to marry want to do so in order to destroy the institution of marriage. I gotta admit, the logic of THIS entirely escapes me. On the contrary, I can entirely understand why they would want TO marry. From an emotional point of view, marriage is the ultimate commitment. Looked at from a legal point of view, marriage is the instant passport to an astonishing array of legal benefits. (Over 200, I think I saw cited.) It is possible to take legal steps to acquire many of those benefits through other means, but it is very expensive and time-consuming – and there are some benefits that CANNOT be achieved through any other means. Speaking strictly from the world’s point of view, which, remember, has no moral absolute, I can fully understand why homosexuals would want to be able to legally marry.
And that IS what is at stake. LEGAL marriage, not God-created Marriage. God defined marriage in Genesis: a man leaves his father and mother and cleaves to his wife and the two become one flesh. In the creation of Eve, the original one flesh of Adam became two. In the sexual union of Adam/male and Eve/female, the oneness of the original creation is restored. No male-male or female-female union can accomplish this reunification. God further details what He intended for marriage in His instructions through Paul, culminating in the revelation that marriage is a picture of the union between Christ and His bride, the Church. Now, the Genesis definition certainly applies universally and requires a relationship only between man and wife, but Marriage as a reflection of Christ and His bride is only possible where there is a covenant between a believing man and woman and the Lord. This is Covenantal Marriage.
In LEGAL terms, however, a State marriage license simply creates a contract between two people and the State. It makes no requirement of a “till death do us part” commitment; the contract is binding only so long as both parties continue to agree to it. The contract makes no requirement of emotional commitment; the State doesn’t care if the two parties even LIKE each other. The contract has nothing to do with sexual activity, either; sex is not required for a marriage to be “valid”. (A marriage license is not “permission to have sex”, either, since the only sex illegal in the U.S. is prostitution or with a minor.) In the State’s eyes, the legal contract called marriage is simply for the purpose of ensuring stability within society, and providing an established line for inheritance. (It used to have to do with providing for the care of children produced, but that has changed with welfare, DNA testing and child support laws.) For the State’s purpose, then, the gender of the parties involved really has no bearing. Since legal marriage is a contract with the State, then what the State sanctions, it has the right to dictate the terms of. It is up to the State to determine who may perform a legal marriage; who may enter a legal marriage; under what conditions a legal marriage may take place or what requirements may be placed upon those seeking to enter into the legal contract; what benefits may accrue to those parties; and what obligations are incurred by entering into the contract. The State can do whatever it likes with the contract marriage under its purview. It cannot destroy, redefine or change Covenantal Marriage. The two should never be confused, even though the same term is used.
Many Christians fear that if homosexual marriage is legalized that pastors would end up forced to officiate for homosexual couples. Nope. Well, possibly, but only under one condition. Remember when the pastor says, “And now, by the power invested in me by God and the State of X, I now pronounce you husband and wife”? Most pastors have chosen to act as agents of the State, which means that in performing the wedding they are serving in the capacity of a civil servant who is licensed to perform the ceremony and sign the State marriage license. But it is not REQUIRED that they serve in this capacity. If the State were to remove a conscience clause so that any pastor acting as an agent of the State would be required to marry any and all couples so requesting, then I expect most Christian pastors would get out of the legal end of it, performing only church ceremonies, which, as strictly a religious function of the church, would be out of the State’s control. Christian couples desiring a legal marriage would have two ceremonies – one civil, one religious.
The day may come when Christians will have to choose between identifying themselves with the State and obtaining LEGAL marriages that are the same as any other marriage approved by the State, or foregoing the State’s benefits and choosing to participate only in a Covenantal Marriage. We will have to decide how to deal with the fact that our children, if they attend a State school, will be taught that homosexual marriage is normal. (They’re already being taught that homosexuality itself is normal.) We may face penalties for speaking our belief. Pastors and churches could face tax implications or other legal sanctions. Is this really something new? Hasn’t the Church always suffered for its refusal to bow to Caesar? Do we suppose that our alleged “Christian” heritage, and our “freedom of religion” somehow exempt the Church in America from facing such persecution? All political systems belong to the Enemy (when Satan tempted Jesus, he wasn’t lying when he claimed that all kingdoms were his), and the Enemy is dead set against the children of the Light and against everything that is Good and True. As citizens, certainly we should take advantage of political means to fight the erosion of our political “rights”, but as Christians, we should not be surprised at the World being the World and should be prepared for the inevitable consequences.
Above all, we must be sure that we are keeping our witness like Jesus. No one can accuse Jesus of being “soft” on sin. His Sermon on the Mount ratcheted the definition of sin up to whole new levels, in fact. So much so that no matter how good we might be at not doing forbidden actions such as murder, we all know we’re hopeless when it comes to not even harboring attitudes that we’re not supposed to, such as slanderous rage. Yet one thing we don’t see in Scripture is Jesus haranguing the “sinners”. We don’t have seven “Woe to you!” condemnations about sins being committed by the World. In the account of the woman caught in adultery in John 8, the Pharisees wanted to show that Jesus was “soft” on moral issues and wasn’t ‘upholding’ the Law. Jesus didn’t back off the Law a bit. He simply made clear that her accusers were just as accountable to it. When Jesus said, “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone”, guess what? HE was that one. Jesus is the only one without sin. HE had the legitimate right to throw that stone. But He didn’t. When her self-righteous accusers had slunk away, Jesus said, “Hey, where’d they go? Isn’t anyone left to condemn you?” She says, “Nope, nobody.” What does Jesus say? “Neither do I condemn you.” Why didn’t Jesus condemn her? There’s no indication this was a case of false accusation; she was apparently caught in the very act. Jesus had every right to condemn her, except that that wasn’t why He came. John 3:17, 18 “For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world MIGHT BE SAVED through Him. For whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe in Him is condemned already….” Jesus didn’t need to condemn the woman for her adultery. She already stood condemned. His hope was for her salvation – “Go and sin no more.” Such mercy! Such grace! What must that woman have thought of the Man Who saved her from certain death, Who spoke so gently to her, Who refused to condemn her, Who gave her a second chance at life and a new direction for that life?
Are we being like Jesus? Prostitutes, tax collectors and all manner of sinners flocked to Jesus, but I don’t see that happening with His Church today. Too many Christians, in fighting against things such as legalization of homosexual marriage, demonize the other side as The Enemy rather than recognizing them simply as fellow sinners like us. We make judgments about others’ intentions, as if we could divine their hearts, ascribing to them all the deliberate evil of the Enemy. We come across as self-appointed self-righteous guardians of purity, yet stay silent, or merely whisper, about the extra-marital sex rate in the Church, the divorce rate in the Church, the rate of pornography use in the Church, domestic violence in the Church. Where is our humility? The Church itself has been doing plenty on its own to devalue Covenantal Marriage and distort the picture it is supposed to present to the world. We have no right to be throwing stones‼
What about preaching Truth? Yes, we do have that duty – but we are to preach the Truth IN LOVE. Truth without love tells another he has to go walk barefoot on a gravelly path while Truth wears its thick-soled, steel-toed boots and wonders why the other complains that the way is hard. Truth in Love tells the person he has to walk that gravelly path, but goes barefoot itself so that it may feel full sympathy for the other’s difficulty. To simply tell homosexuals that they are damned (literally) sinners, and that “tough cookies” if they want to marry, is not speaking the Truth in Love. To stereotype them all as drag queens in the Gay Pride Parade who are out to deliberately “rub our face” in their homosexuality is not Truth in Love. To dehumanize them and refuse to recognize our own faces in theirs is not Truth in Love. Truth in Love does not compromise the Truth, but it sympathizes with the pain and struggle that are the consequences of that Truth. Truth in Love stands firm on the Biblical Truth that homosexual sex is a sin, but fully recognizes the worth and dignity of each homosexual as a person for whom Christ died. Truth in Love makes no judgment on the heart of any other, knowing that WE cannot see it, and recognizes that we do not fight against “flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness , against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Homosexuals are not our enemy – not even the ones who think they are, not even the ones pushing for legislation we find abhorrent. Even if we think of them as our enemy, then guess what? Our Lord commanded us to pray for our enemies, and He set us the example. He blessed those who cursed Him, even as they nailed Him to the cross. He forgave them, even as they crucified Him.
As I said, I hope the referendum fails. Believing homosexual sex to be sin, I cannot endorse it. But whether we wake up on November 7th to a “brave new world”, or the same old one we had before, Jesus’ call to follow Him and be like Him will still be the same. Those who have rejected the Lord will STILL be headed to Hell. Are we more concerned that they’re going to Hell, or that some of them may go there legally married?
Rethinking Reformation
Posted on: October 31, 2012
On this day in 1517, the monk Martin Luther nailed a notice on the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany, challenging all comers to a debate on 95 theses, or points of debate, regarding specific questions regarding practices of the Roman Catholic Church. (His was not the only notice so nailed; this was the standard method of setting up debates. He wasn’t defacing the church!) This moment is generally considered to be the start of the historical movement known as the Protestant Reformation, one of the most influential movements in shaping the history of Western civilization.
Christianity became the State religion of the Roman Empire under Theodosius I in 380 A.D. Catholic simply means “universal”, and apart from isolated, small pockets and individuals who resisted her rule and dictates, the Roman Catholic Church ruled supreme from that point until the Reformation. At the time when he nailed those theses to the door, Luther had no idea of the role his challenge would play. He was not seeking to divide the Catholic church, simply to purify it of what he recognized to be unscriptural practices, but as his understanding of Scripture grew, and as the Roman church entrenched itself in its positions, it became inevitable that there would be a split. When it came, it was shattering, for Luther was not the only reformer. Once the grip of the Roman church was broken, numerous other denominations formed to follow their respective leaders. The roots of every Western church – which is to say, virtually every mainline denomination and “non-denominational” Christian church that is not Roman Catholic – lie in the Reformation.
I grew up in the Southern Baptist church, which does not celebrate Reformation Day. (I was taught that the Baptists can trace their lineage all the way back to the Gospels entirely apart from the Roman Catholic church, and thus are not “Protestant”, but in study since, have not found historic support for that assertion.) I married a Missouri Synod Lutheran (Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, or LCMS). In that church, of course, Reformation Sunday (the Sunday preceding October 31st) is one of the High Festival Days of the year. As I learned the history of the Martin Luther’s struggle and the birth of the Reformation, and having rejected the celebration of Halloween as detailed in my last post, I, too, began celebrating Reformation Day and the break from Roman Catholicism.
In the last couple of years, however, I have been doing some rethinking of the ramifications of the Reformation. Setting aside the political power issues, and even much of the doctrinal ones, what I am struck by is a sense of sadness at the fracturing of the witness of the Church. Now, I don’t agree with the Roman church’s teachings, and I don’t believe that all Christians should pretend to agree on all points just for the sake of presenting a “united front”. Yet, I cannot escape the fact that I do grieve the loss of the sense of unity in the Church.
The early Church didn’t have the New Testament. They had Jesus, His word, His deeds, His death and His resurrection. Christ and Him crucified. That’s it. The multitudes that formed the early Church didn’t have to pass a catechism class, memorize a creed, agree with a thick book of doctrine, sign a 10 page Statement of Faith. They didn’t have to give an explanation to the last jot and tittle the precise meaning of the Trinity, baptism, or communion. They didn’t have to sign on to a specific timeline of the Last Days, the Tribulation, the Rapture, etc. They believed, were baptized, and were “added to the number of those being saved.” Pretty simple.
Of course, it didn’t take long for divisions to start coming in, people being what we are. Remember First Corinthians? “I follow Paul.” “So what? I follow Apollos.” “Oh, yeah? I follow Peter, so there.” “Well, I follow CHRIST, neiner neiner neiner.” OK, I’m paraphrasing with dramatic emphasis. But I can just hear it that way because that’s what’s going on in the Church today!
Too many denominations place as much or more emphasis on maintaining their unique brand of Christianity than they do on preaching Christ and Him crucified. (And “non -denoms” can be just as prideful of being NOT a “denomination”!) They insist, of course, that He is what they are preaching – but they will assert that it is only THEIR brand that truly preaches Him “right”, only THEIR interpretation that is correct, pure, and God-pleasing. I fear that for many in our churches, their beliefs about God have taken the place OF God. Jesus said that the world would know us by our love for one another, but what the world sees in far too much of the Christian church is not love for each other, but division, strife, arrogance, elitism, isolation, and a sense of superiority to other Christians. Paul said there is neither Greek nor Jew, slave nor free, barbarian, Scythian – but in America, there certainly is Baptist vs. Lutheran vs. Episcopalian vs. Presbyterian vs. non-denom, “Spirit-filled” vs. “unfilled”, liturgical vs. non-liturgical, and on and on we could list! Some denominations openly question the spiritual parentage of anyone claiming to be Christian who doesn’t belong to their group. Other denominations acknowledge that all Christians are God’s children, but, well, really, ALL Christians would belong to OUR church if they REALLY understood Scripture properly. (It’s a good thing we no longer burn those who disagree with us. There would be an awful lot of fires!)
I spent most of my first 40 years of life being absolutely sure of a great many things. In the last 12, I have been gaining greater wisdom. On more and more things, I have come to a position of saying, “I really don’t know.” Not only do I not know – on many issues, I no longer care! Or maybe better said, I no longer feel a need to set myself up as arbiter of The Correct Interpretation. Why argue about what God has not made crystal clear, using that as a line by which to divide us from our brothers and sisters in the Lord, when we could be united about all He HAS made clear? How much more good could the Church be doing in the world if we stopped fighting among ourselves, living in our own isolated little worlds, guarding our own little denominational borders, and concentrated instead on living out the Kingdom and doing what Jesus did?
I have a feeling that when we get to heaven, every one of us is going to find out we were wrong on some things. Some of us may be wrong on a lot of things! But we are not saved because we have cornered the correct interpretation of every Scripture. We are not saved because we believe all the right doctrines – teachings about God. We are not saved because we can recite a creed, confession, or catechism. We are saved by faith in the person of Jesus Christ, nothing else, and nothing less.
Maybe it’s time for another Reformation.
the susie solution 