Gospel

A fellow blogger and friend of mine asked a very interesting question on his site the other day; "If we could go back in time and ask the early Christians 'what is the Gospel?' What do you think their answer would be?"
I'm always a sucker for this sort of thing, so I'll give it a shot.

In Greek (the language in which the New Testament was written) the word for gospel is euaggelion. It also means "good news!" It was a term to describe a historic (sometimes earth shattering) event of national importance. In Jesus' day every year there would be an announcement celebrating the birthday of Caesar; the Lord and King of the brutal Roman Empire. They would announce this event proclaiming, "The birth of Caesar is the euaggelion(good news) to the whole world." The Kingdom of Rome considered it great news to remind people who ruled the world.
This becomes fascinating when we see that the angels were doing the same thing when they announced the birth of Jesus;

"The angel said to them 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news (euaggelion!) of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:10-11)

This was an announcement proclaiming the birth of a new King (Jesus) and a new Kingdom; the Kingdom of God! In this historical context, the first Christians would have seen this word "gospel" being used as a rebellion against the Roman Empire and everything it stood for. The Kingdom of God would have been considered by Christians and non-Christians alike as all-out invasion against the current political establishment. An invasion not of political force or violence but of peace, healing, forgiveness, and freedom to all. A Kingdom that expands by loving enemies, praying for persecutors, and dying to ones self. It represents a revolution; a countermovement calling out the injustice of the world, and bringing the love of God's light to all people. Now that's Good News!

A couple days ago I received an e-mail regarding a little 9 year old girl who had been given only six weeks to live. She had been battling cancer for the last year or so and had seen signs of improvement, but just recently her health had dramatically deteriorated. Over the last year she's had an army of people (including my family) fervently praying for a miraculous recovery and the best cancer specialist working around the clock doing everything that they possibly can. And even though there is still a chance of a miraculous recovery (we know that with God all things are possible) I stared at the letter, and my mind started to question why God would let an innocent 9 year old girl go through this ordeal; how could He allow her to show brief signs of hope, only to have her situation be what it is today? I thought about her parents and the indescribable agony they must be going through. I sat there amazed at the seemingly immovable faith of her mom and dad in the face of an unimaginable tragedy. I wondered how I would react if my little girl was in the same situation. And I wondered aloud why God seems to rescue some from harm but not others. As my "why questions" mounted, I slowly realized that no matter how well I know the Bible, or how many seminary courses I take, there are some questions that I will never be able to fully and adequately answer. And to try to act like I have the answer would just be dishonest. Not an easy pill to swallow by any means.
I've heard many people say that the Bible is our "answer book". Just open it up and the answers you are looking for will finally be revealed. But what happens when the Bible doesn't give an answer that frees us from our questions? What happens then? Who is God then?
In Hebrew (the language in which God chose to reveal Himself to the world) the name of the first book of the bible, Genesis, is B'reisheet, which means "Beginning". This is also the first word in the book. Interestingly, just like English, the Hebrew "B" is the second letter in their Alphabet. (see title) The first God followers asked the question "Why would God choose the scriptures to begin with the second letter of the alphabet instead of the first?" Their answer was "To show that the Bible does not always answer every question, and that some knowledge is reserved for God Himself."
They also pointed out that the Hebrew letter "B" is closed on the right side, but open on the left. With the understanding that Hebrew is read from right to left, we can see that the Bible starts with a letter that is open in the direction that is being read, but closed off on the other side. A stark reminder that before anything was in existence - their was God. There is nothing wrong with asking the "why" questions of life. Many times that's what brings us into a closer relationship with our Creator. But we must always remember that God's understanding of the universe is beyond our comprehension. Sometimes we forget that God designed everything from the smallest neutron to the largest galaxies.
I pray that as we struggle with our questions, may we be O.K. with not knowing all of the answers, while resting in the knowledge of what we do know. His love.
As the apostle Paul says,
"I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor ruling spirits, nor things present, nor things to come, nor any powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is Jesus our Lord."

Poster

A group called Heavenly Sanctuary, based in Seattle Washington, hired an artist to paint a depiction of Jesus to use on posters in Seattle shopping malls. No sooner had the posters gone up than angry calls began flooding in. There was such an outcry against this depiction of Jesus that all the malls decided to take the posters down.

So what do you think?
Would Jesus wash the feet of world leaders, including a terrorist like Osama Bin Laden?

Door

A few days ago a gutter salesman showed up at our door. We get these guys so often I've seriously considered putting up a “no soliciting” sign. Now, that particular day was even busier than most days. I just simply did not have time to have a conversation with a door to door salesman. I explained to him that I was extremely busy and now was not a good time to talk about my gutters. (even though they really did need replacing)
I explained all the things I had to do that day. I mentioned the studying I had to do, all my work to get done…
"So, you’re going to school?" He asked.
"Yep." I quickly said, knowing that every question he asked was time away from the important things I had to do that day. "I'm finishing up some seminary courses."
"You're a preacher?" He said in a way that made we wonder if he thought that was a good thing or a bad thing.
"Yeah" I said, "I do some teaching and speaking now and then.”
Shaking his head, he says (almost under his breath) "God is weird.”
Not sure I heard him correctly I asked, "What was that?"
"I'm sorry, I don't mean to offend you" he said, "but God is weird. In the last three days I've talked to three preachers."
Finding that kind of humorous, I joked "Well, maybe God's trying to tell you something."
"Oh, I know he is" he said, "but I'm running from God and I'm not about to run back anytime soon.”
"Really" I said shocked by his openness to a total stranger, "Why are you running from God?"
He went on to tell me that about a year ago he went into business with a man he sincerely trusted. A preacher none the less. This preacherman told him he would be guaranteed to make a lot of money right away. So he quit his job (even though he was a single father with one year old son) and joined this new company. In a year’s time, he made no money. Not a single cent. He was forced to move out of his house and move in with his girlfriend just so he could put food on the table.
"My life was completely ruined” he said, “So right now I don't want anything to do with God."
We talked for over an hour in my front yard. Sometimes I talked, most of the time he did. By the end of the conversation he said he might be willing to give "this whole God thing" another shot. He even asked if I could recommend a church in the area.
My point isn't to show how great I am. Quite the opposite. I initially didn't want to talk to this guy at all. He was totally interfering with my “life”.
In Biblical times, during the festival of Hanukah, the Jewish people would take a moment and stand in their front doorway, representing to God their readiness for anything or anyone He sent their way – no matter how busy their life was. How cool is it that God wants us to be a part of His plan; that at any moment the King of the universe can “show up” and bring us and others closer to Himself.
But only if we’re willing to open up the door.

Q. When was a time when God “showed up” when you least expected it or had little time for it. Or just say whatever you want. Either way it’s cool.

Church

Church.
O.K. now be honest. What's the first thing that comes to mind when you see that word? Does the mere mention of church bring about a positive response or a negative one? Does it bring about feelings of love, acceptance and excitement? Or do you feel a sense of judgment, exclusivity, and ritualistic boredom. When you picture it in your mind, what does it look like? Is it an old building with stained glass windows and wooden pews? Or does it look more like a shopping mall; a one-stop religious shopping experience catering to your every need. Because of our unique experiences, there are very few words in the English language that have the ability to create more emotion and passion (good or bad) than the simple word 'church'.
But what did Jesus want his church to look like. What was the dream that Jesus had for his church? Is it what we have created it to be? Or is his idea of church somehow very different than ours? It's actually surprising how often we forget (or choose to forget) to consider these questions.
In Matthew 16, we see that Jesus is moving closer to the end of his life on earth. He knows that he will soon be arrested, tried, beaten, ridiculed, abandoned, and nailed to a cross to die. Understanding the urgency of each moment, Jesus takes his disciples on a road trip. He leads these young guys (probably teenagers) on a three day journey by foot to the city of Caesarea Philippi. Now, Caesarea Philippi was known around the world for one thing: a rock. But not just any ordinary rock. This rock was a massive sized boulder reaching 15-20 stories tall. Carved out within this massive rock was a natural cave that was filled with water.
Now every year, at a certain time, smoke and steam would pour out of this massive rock from the deep water within. It was believed by the people of Caesarea Philippi that the cave was a doorway or gate to the underground world –the place that we would call Hell. And that the steam was actually the Spirits of the dead traveling back and forth; from hell to earth and back to hell again. Because of this belief, the cave was known as "the Gates of Hell". Every year during the same time, tens of thousands of people would gather around this rock and worship the dead gods of the underworld. Their worship would include such things as human sacrifices (including children) self mutilation, and sexual acts that are just too warped to mention in this blog. All performed to please the dead spirits of Hell. This culture brought about a society filled with depravity, poverty, hunger, injustice and crime. This was obviously an area that no God fearing, self respecting, religious person would ever be caught dead in. And yet this is the place where Jesus chooses to show his disciples what he means when he says ‘church’. With this in mind, let's listen in to the conversation that Jesus has with his disciples in Matthew 16.

When Jesus came to the city of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples,
"Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
"But what about you?" He asked. "Who do you say I am?"
Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God."
Jesus replied, "Blessed are you Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven, and I tell you that you are Peter (which means rock) and on this rock I will build my church and the very Gates of Hell will not overcome it!"

Jesus is saying that his church is not meant to be just a building. It was never meant to be a safe place where we can huddle together, far away from the outside world, spiritually feed ourselves while ignoring the pain, and needs of those around us. Jesus is saying that we need to be the church in a world that, more than ever, desperately longs to experience a Christ-like love. A dangerous love that looks out for the interests of others, instead of ourselves. A love that isn't afraid to get our hands dirty fighting for and caring about the things God cares about. A love that lives out the life of Jesus everyday! When we start becoming the Church that Jesus dreamed it could be, nothing will be able to stop us from changing the world - not even the very Gates of Hell.

Mask

All the worlds a stage, and all the men and women merely players; they have their exists and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts. William Shakespeare.

I was at a party the other night with some friends, and casually but sincerely asked a friend of mine how they were doing. This person responded like most of us respond when asked that question
"I'm doin' great, thanks".
"That's awesome." I said.
As I turned away, I faintly heard them softly say, "That's a lie."
Not sure I heard correctly, I asked this person "I'm sorry what did you say?"
"What I just told you was a lie" they said, "I'm not doing great at all."
At that moment I was impressed by this person's frailty, honesty and openness. It's something that is rarely seen.
A reader the other day made a great comment on how we tend to wear different masks around different groups of people; as if our lives consist of playing one role after another. We wear one mask for the boss, another mask at home, another at church, and still another among friends. Most of our lives are spent trying to impress other people; a life long struggle to get people to like us, make ourselves look good, and to hear the applause. (this is what I have struggled with for most of my life)
Jesus' spent most of his ministry life just a few miles from one of the largest cities in the Roman empire; Sepphoris. Now, Sepphoris’ main attraction was a 30 thousand seat theatre that would entertain audiences with talented actors and extravagant Greek plays. The Greek name for a stage actor was Hypocrite. Sound familiar? Jesus uses this word over and over again when describing the religious leaders of his day. Listen to the words of Jesus in the book of Matthew (6) "When you pray, do not be like the Hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men… And when you fast do not look somber as the hypocrites do for they disfigure and exaggerate their faces so that people will admire them." In Jesus’ day some actors would use masks to effectively show the emotion of a character, while other actors would simply "exaggerate" the muscles in their faces so to be seen by a large audience.
It is believed that Jesus is the first person in recorded history to use the word Hypocrite in this way. It's as if Jesus is saying, “Don’t let their actions fool you, they’re only pretending, they’re only playing a part, they’re simply acting to impress an audience.” Can you see why Jesus was hated by the religious leaders of his day? The ones who claimed to have it all together were now de-masked by the words of Jesus. They were finally found out for who they were; imperfect people just like you and me. Jesus is essentially saying we don’t need to try to impress anyone. We don’t have to play a part or jump through religious hoops to be loved by God. As crazy as it sounds, we are unconditionally loved and accepted for who we are.

Notice

My neighbor has been trying to sell her house for over 2 years now with no luck (I'm sure many of you have had a similar experience). I remember her having people over once in a while, but for the most part she kept to herself. A few months ago, she actually moved out and began living somewhere else. But the other day I noticed a letter posted on her front door. Curiosity got the best of me and I decided to see what it said. It was a notice from a collection agency. This letter went on to tell some of the most personal and private aspects of her life; including she was single, never been married, that she was many months delinquent on her payments and if anyone had any personal and financial information on her that they should contact this collection agency immediately. Definitely not something that she would have wanted the world to see. As I stood in front of her door looking at this notice, I thought "What if all of our lives were put out there in the open for everyone to see? Imagine if all of our thoughts, our words, our actions, our deepest, darkest, ugliest secrets were posted for everyone and anyone to read? A scary thought indeed. It would definitely make it a lot harder for us to find reason to judge others wouldn’t it?
In the book of Matthew we read Jesus teaching that we are to "Love our neighbor as ourselves". It's a radical call to love others (no matter who they are) with the same measure as we love ourselves. Jesus is taking these words from the Old Testament book of Leviticus where God says "You shall not take vengeance, nor keep any grudge against anyone, but you shall love your neighbor like yourself." But many Hebrew biblical scholars have noticed that the word "like" could be as easily read as "who is like". In other words, it can also be interpreted as "Love your neighbor who is like yourself". Love others because, in their frailty, they are just like you. When we see ourselves with the same problems, issues, hang-ups and propensity to run from God as those around us, it becomes harder for us to judge and easier to empathize with their struggles. Let's continue to try to love others the same way we love ourselves, but let's also have compassion for others because they remind us of ourselves.

Represent

A few months ago I was driving down M-59 and I saw a man on the corner of the road wearing a white robe and holding up a sign that read, "Everything is being recorded. All sinners are going to Hell!" (and some bible verse written at the bottom) Now usually when I see something like that I just pass by, but for some reason, this day I had to stop. I pulled into the nearest parking lot, got out of my car and started walking towards the man in the robe. I had no idea what I was going to say to him when I got there or what he would say to me. When I got next to him I said something like "Hey, how ya doing?" (I believe in the power of small talk) He said nothing. So I spoke a little louder (maybe he couldn't hear me over the noise of the cars going by) "HEY! HOW'S IT GOING?!" Still nothing. He obviously thought that if he ignored me long enough I would just go away. "Are you from a local church?" I asked. "Did they tell you to do this?" "Why do you think this is an effective way to tell others about the love of God?" Question after question and still nothing (Once in a while he would give me a really annoyed look as if to say "Stop bothering me. Go find your own corner") Once in a while a car would role down its window and the person would stick his head out and yell some expletive as he zoomed on by. After saying a few more things, I decided to call it a day and head home. I told him that I would pray for him; hoping that one day he would realize that there are better ways of leading people into the loving arms of God. I never got a word out of the man. It's really hard to have a decent conversation with someone when you're the only one talking.

On my way home I start wondering why I stopped. Why did I feel so personally affected by his actions? After all, what he does with his free time is his business, not mine. But I soon realized it was because I knew how many people were driving by and getting a distorted view of God. They weren’t seeing a self-sacrificial, compassionate God, but an unsympathetic God, full of wrath and judgment.The man in the robe was not only making himself look bad, but in the process he was making God look bad. He was misrepresenting the very One that loved us enough to die for us.

Many of us are familiar with the Commandment "Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain". And many of us have spent our lives trying to steer clear from saying certain expletives -not wanting to somehow offend God. But is God's commandment just another way of saying "do not curse"? Or is it deeper than that? Is it something more powerful? In biblical times you're name was everything! Your name represented who you were. It represented you to the world. Your name was the essence of your character. And character was considered everything. To ruin someone’s good name was to ruin his very character. The very worst thing you could do was to speak wrongly or falsely of someone, thereby smashing their reputation in the eyes of others. This is why in Jesus' day rabbi's would consider gossip closer to that of murder than theft. Why? Because a robber can always give back what he has stolen, but a murderer, just like a gossiper can never replace what was taken away; someone's reputation. And so to take God's name in vain, means to show the world a false representation of who God is. Thereby smashing his character in the eyes of other people. I believe this is why so many people, who may have been seeking God at one time have now rejected Him. They have been shown a God that has been misrepresented. They have been shown a picture of God (through someone’s words or deeds) that is not in line with whom He is. You see, if our picture of God looks like anything other than the radical, revolutionary life of Jesus that serves, cares and bleeds for others no matter who they are, than it is a misrepresentation of God to the world - and ultimately taking His name in vain.
So hears my question: How are some of the ways that we misrepresent God? (big or small) And what are some things that we can do that rightfully represent God in a world that is longing to know who he is? Or skip the question and say anything. Let's just keep the conversation going.

Wings

Last Sunday was Fathers Day and to my surprise my wife and my 3 year old daughter brought me breakfast in bed. As we ate, talked and laughed I suddenly got an overwhelming feeling of the rarity of the moment. You ever get that feeling where you just know a moment is rare and special? You see, right now I'm everything to my daughter; she trusts my words, laughs at my jokes, and wants to be just like me. But I know these days will be fading away soon, and before I even realize it she'll have many other things that will preoccupy her life (friends, school, boys, etc.) So realizing the urgency of this special moment, I took the opportunity to take her love and curiosity for butterflies and show her that when we ask Jesus into our life, it's like transforming from a caterpillar into a awe-inspiring butterfly (not an original thought, but what is?). I explained to her, in creative and flowing words, that when we trust Jesus, he gives us wings and enables us to live a life that we never dreamed was possible.
I could tell that my words were sinking in, she was truly moved by what I was saying, I was connecting with my daughter in a way that I never had before (I truly am an amazing dad. No wonder they made me breakfast in bed).
And looking up at me with her adorable brown eyes she says, "Daddy?"
"Yes, sweetie?" I answered.
"You have food stuck in your teeth."

So as I write this post, I'm wondering if the above statement about Jesus and his church truly resonates with anyone. Does anyone actually feel the same way? Am I on the right track? Or do I just have food stuck in my teeth?