Go Easy

Jude is a letter in the New Testament of the Bible.  It is one chapter.  A brief word.  The twenty-second verse says, “Go easy on those who hesitate in the faith,” (The Message).  The New Revised Standard Version puts it this way, “have mercy on those who are wavering.”

So, dear reader, who doubts.  Who is not sure what to believe.  Who wonders about God.  Or who doesn’t care.  Your hesitation in faith is a mystery to me, even as my own belief is a mystery.  I cannot NOT believe, and I cannot understand why anyone doesn’t believe.  For me the evidence of God is as clear as a gorgeous sunset, or a ruby-throated hummingbird.  How could this be without a Creator?

For me the evidence of God is as tangible as Jesus, who lived among us, as scripture says, “full of grace and truth.”  His life is undeniably unique, and dare I say it – Godly!  How could this be unless he was God in the flesh?

For me the evidence of God is as amazing as the addict who finds sobriety, as mysterious as the compassion of a Mother Theresa, as tender as kindness offered to a stranger.  How could this be unless there is a Spirit hallowing human life?

Still, some of you don’t believe.  Now, that’s the real mystery.  Some will point to the tragic, cruel, even wicked events and persons in the world as a denial of a loving God, but how do you explain goodness, truth, beauty . . . and mercy? 

So, I am dumbfounded by unbelief.  But Jude counsels me to go easy.  God went easy on me for several years.  Indeed, God has been easy on me my whole life.  I suppose I can go easy, too.  Isaiah the prophet said about the Messiah, “a bruised reed he will not break.”  Easy does it.  

Imperfect Spirituality

Churches are not perfect.  And that lack of perfection, of course, hinders our ability to show Christ to the world.  I've often said that most people in our community have no problems with Jesus, it’s the church that bothers them – the hypocrisy that is all too visible in Jesus’ imperfect followers.  My standard answer to those who decry the hypocrisy of Christians is to say that the church always has room for one more.  After all, Christians have not cornered the market on hypocrisy.  How many people in business, in politics, in the marketplace, say one thing yet do another?

But this criticism of the church by outsiders gives me hope that at least those who are not following Jesus are at least paying attention.  If I’m talking about you, then I applaud your ability to see the disconnect between who Jesus is and the failings of church people to be like him.  At least you are seeing the uniqueness of Jesus and that’s a good place to begin in discovering who he really is.

The truth is that followers of Jesus never get it quite right.  This was true with his early disciples, arguing about which one was the greatest among them, wanting places of honor, not grasping the servant heart of Jesus.  Still, what they did get right was that they kept following him.  And, after all, that is what it means to be a disciple --- to be a follower.

Sure, there are plenty of followers who are straggling along at the rear of the pack, getting off the trail sometimes because they barely see Jesus up ahead.  Still, somehow they dust themselves off when they fall, and get back at it, or as I like to think, Jesus picks them up and points them again in the right direction.  These are not sterling examples of Christian discipleship but they are following, and that really is all that Jesus asks.

And then, you have to admit, there are those who seem to follow so closely, who are right on Jesus’ heels, that it is as if we see the heart of Jesus shining in them.  There are the saints recognized around the world, like Mother Theresa.  But there are saints who live in your neighborhood --- the woman who picks flowers and visits the sick every week, the retired man who instead of playing golf every day, spends time at the Christian ministry sorting clothes, or shelving food supplies.  You know who they are.  These folks may not be perfect, but they are further along in living the servant life than most of us.

Yea, given the uniqueness of Jesus, it is hard to explain how some of his followers can be so shabby.  But it is equally hard to explain why there are so many shining lights of goodness out there, and why wouldn’t we want to be like them? 

By the way, part of the appeal of Jesus is that he measures perfection not by any objective standards of moral behavior.  Rather, he measures perfection by our ability to show mercy, as he shows not only to those shabby followers, but perhaps also to those who have never even made the effort.  That’s why church is always a mixed bag collection of people.  We are all following sloppily, and in need of mercy which Jesus offers in abundance.  Come join us.  

We Could All Use a Little Mercy Now

          Mary Gauthier is a recovering alcoholic and a writer of songs.  Her voice has the gravelly earthiness you might expect from someone who has abused herself because of her life choices.  From her experiences, and in recovery, she has much wisdom to share.  Since she has been on the down and out, seamy side of life, she has great empathy for those who are still there.  She does not judge, and through her songs invites us to look at the beaten down with eyes of grace.

          One of my favorite songs she sings is “Mercy Now.”  She sings about her father and the unfairness he has experienced.  She sings about her brother and his demons.  In every verse she ponders the struggles of people, and society in general, as we try to make a way through this world.  And she concludes that “we all could use some mercy now.”

          I stumbled across a local TV broadcast of a nearby preaching service yesterday.  I stayed tuned just long enough to hear the preacher rant and rave against everything and everybody he didn’t agree with and consign them all to hell before I changed the channel.  It took him less than 2 minutes to condemn the world around him. 

I felt the need to apologize to all the non-Christians in the world for this particular preacher’s un-Christ-like demeanor.  I don’t doubt that there is judgment coming.  In some form or fashion, I believe God will set right what is wrong, and perhaps there is some pain and even punishment to come.  But what disturbed me most about this particular preacher was that he didn’t seem the least bit heartbroken about that possibility.  Perhaps he has forgotten what the scripture says, that God takes “no delight in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 18:23; 33:11).”

As I understand Jesus and his crucifixion, his death is to be understood as a mercy for sinners.  “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).”  And as Jesus says further, “Be ye merciful, as your Father in heaven is merciful (Luke 6:36).”  So, if God is merciful, understands our need for mercy, and is willing to offer it in such a costly way, it seems as if God’s messengers (and preachers) should also bathe their words in the waters of mercy as well.

As Mother Teresa has reportedly said, “Be kind, most people are having a hard time.”

We all could use a little mercy now.

                                                                             God’s Peace,

                                                                                   Mark

                                                    

Believing in Love

            Recently there was a ruckus in Charlotte, NC, where the Democratic National Convention is being held.  A national organization of atheists had posted two billboards, which were a slam against Christianity and Mormonism, as a slap in the face of both candidates for President.  I’ll quote only the attack on Christianity that read, “Sadistic God, Useless Savior, 30,000+ versions of ‘Truth,’ Promotes Hate, calls it ‘Love.’” (Their quotation marks let us know they aren’t buying what Christians are selling.)

            The purpose of the billboards was actually a slam against religious belief of any kind, inviting readers to put aside faith in anything.  “Join American Atheists!” it proclaimed.  Of course, as I wrote in my previous article, everyone believes in something so even atheists are expecting people to have “faith.” (I can play with quotation marks, too.)  But what they expect us to have faith in is easily as subjective as any religious belief. 

            A second point I would make is that both billboards are a caricature of religious belief.  They take some distortion of basic Christianity and present it as representative of the faith as a whole.  “Promotes Hate, calls it ‘Love,’” for instance.  Unfortunately, the atheists have taken down their billboard because of threats of violence they have received, thus, they feel they have proved their point.  But I do not concede.  (See my post on Who Speaks for Jesus?)

             There are a minority of renegade “Christians” (note the quotation marks) out there who have so distorted the teachings of Jesus that their actions represent more hate than love.  However, they are a minority who get a lot of media attention, out of proportion to their numbers.  Let’s call them the 1%. I dare say that the billboards may have upset my entire congregation, but none would have threatened anyone as a result; the point being that most Christians truly do seek to have their actions guided by love, as seemingly impossible as this might be to atheist imaginations.

            As opposed to the caricature of Christian belief proclaimed by the billboards, most Christians believe in a God of mercy.  We believe that all of humanity needs help, and thus a Savior is necessary.  We do not have 30,000+ versions of truth.  In fact, most churches of varying stripes have amazing unanimity in belief.  The differences between Christian groups have more to do with what we tend to emphasize rather than disagreement over basic belief.  And we do not promote hate.  We may not love as we ought, but we believe in a Savior who does, and I dare say the 99 % are trying to love in the same way.

            Christians deserve plenty of criticism since we fall short of loving in the way we say we believe.  G. K. Chesterton once wrote, “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and untried.”  In spite of how Christians have fallen short, to love in a self-sacrificial way as Jesus did still seems like something worth believing in.  And it certainly offers me more hope for the human community than anything the atheists are offering.  What do you believe in?            

What the Hell?

If you pay attention to religious news you will have seen some serious controversy over hell. Is it real? Is it literal? Who is going there? Is anyone?

Rob Bell is the pastor of one of those new mega churches and he has written a book that implies that maybe . . . just maybe . . . God is not going to send everyone to eternal punishment. Maybe . . . just maybe . . . God’s love is bigger than we ever imagined.

“What a grievous error!” Shout out some sincere defenders of the faith. The issue is, if we don’t take hell seriously, then we grow slack in our efforts to evangelize the world, and thus the world, as they say, goes to hell (assuming hell is an actual place/existential reality). Point well-taken. We wouldn’t want anyone going to hell because of our theological fuzziness or the complacency of our witness.

A Methodist colleague and student pastor in the eastern part of North Carolina recently was removed from his appointment at the church’s request because, among other things, he agreed with Rob Bell. Obviously, it doesn’t pay to not take hell seriously.

I think Rob Bell has gotten so much attention because of his popularity. He is not saying anything that hasn’t been said before (Phillip Gulley and Robert Mulholland, If God is Love, and If Grace Is True). For that matter, in the early centuries of the church’s history a man named Origen also explored the possibility of universal salvation, and was proclaimed a heretic for his trouble.

Most of us have a vision of hell that is shaped more by Dante’s Inferno, written in the 14th Century, than the hell of scripture. Medieval art gives us vivid images of souls enduring eternal punishment.

Modern sensibility denies such literalism. Jesus did tell parables of judgment, but the argument goes that the images he used were for the purposes of instruction. He used metaphor and hyperbole to make a point. Gehenna, often translated as “hell” was a reference to the Hinnom Valley outside of Jerusalem where everyone took their trash to be burned. You can imagine the smoke always rising from Gehenna, a graphic way to envision an unrepentant life – selfish, sinful, good for nothing but smoke. But did Jesus mean that people were going to literally burn forever in a lake of fire? I find that hard to believe from the same Jesus who in John’s Gospel (3:17) came, “not to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.”

Here’s the heart of the matter for me. It is not for me to decide the nature of hell. I have had experiences that felt like hell, and I know people who seem to be going through hell, so I know that much about the reality of it. I also am not in the position to decide who goes to hell and who doesn’t. The whole point of John 14:6 seems to be that it is Jesus who decides (no one comes to the Father but through me). Will Jesus save everyone? I doubt it. Some people are so stubborn they will bite off their own nose to spite their face.
Evil is real. C.S. Lewis said not to take the devil too seriously, but he also reminds us not to take him too lightly, either.

I believe Jesus doesn’t force himself on anyone. There is no vestige of hyper-Calvinism in me. We are always free to reject or accept – to obey or not. That was true in the Garden of Eden, and I assume it is true eternally. No one is brought into the kingdom against their will. Does that mean they are going to hell? I don’t know. Maybe it means they are already in it. Does that mean they will eventually be saved. I don’t know. Jesus is the one who decides. Meanwhile, I keep sharing the good news about a man who is like no man history has ever known – someone who came not to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved. There is fullness of life in him. I do know that much.

“Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us (Romans 8:34).” Perhaps as long as Jesus is interceding for us there is hope for all of us, come hell or high water.