Wolterstorff on Isaiah 63:9

"Speaking of Israel and of God the writer says: 'In all their affliction, he was afflicted.' In our affliction, God is afflicted. Over our sufferings, God suffers. Over our mourning, God mourns. Over our weeping, God weeps. I suggest that what the believer sees in beholding the suffering of the world -- the thought makes us tremble, I admit -- is no less than the suffering of God. What the believer sees when beholding the rabbi from Nazareth on the cross is not only human blood from sword and thorn and nail, but the tears of the God over the wounds of the world" (Wolterstorff, "Trumpets, Ashes, and Tears," 21).

Grace to you,
Matt

Chesterton on Patriotism

"My country, right or wrong," no patriot would think of saying.... It is like saying "My mother, drunk or sober." No doubt if a decent man's mother took to drink he would share her troubles to the last; but to talk as if he would be in a state of gay indifference as to whether his mother took to drink or not is certainly not the language of men who know the great mystery."

G.K. Chesterton, The Defendant

Standing at the Edge: Deuteronomy 4:1-14

A Chapel Homily

Austin Graduate School of Theology

September 12, 2011

A few years ago, Lauren and I worked in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, a small resort community, as youth interns for a summer. Being in Colorado in the mountains, it seems that everybody is adventurous. There were those who went hiking and trail running up the sides of the mountains, those who went mountain biking, those who were river rats and took on the rapids from the recently melted snow, and those who frequently went 4-wheeling down trails and across passes and mountain ridges. Lucky for us as the new people in the church, we got to experience every single one of these (and some of them not as willingly as others). One of our trips was to Rabbit Valley on the border of Colorado and Utah at which we climbed aboard an ATV and went 4-wheeling. At one point along the trail we came to a cliff with a tiny little trail winding down the side just wide enough for our ATV. I assumed we were turning around – I was wrong. The family we were with, the more experienced riders, told us we were headed to the trails at the bottom of the cliff. In order to get there, there were a few instructions we needed to follow if we were to make it. We were told, “On the way down, don’t hit the brakes. That’ll cause you to topple over the front. Just let it coast down the incline, make the turn about midway, keep coasting…by this point you’ll be moving pretty fast so keep a steady grip on the handle bars.” (As if I were planning to let go…) “Do all of this and you’ll be fine.” Of course, in the back of my mind I knew that really meant, “Don’t do this and you’re probably toast!” Standing at the edge, even though my heart was pounding, somewhat with excitement, mostly with fear, I was thankful they had provided the instruction for our safety and protection.

In our passage today, the people of Israel are standing at the edge of the wilderness and the Promised Land. Their time of suffering in the wilderness has finally come to a close, and Moses has just recalled to them how God has remained faithful, how he has led them to this point through their suffering, continuously providing for them. Now, as they stand at the boundary, not yet in the land but ready to take it, they are reminded of a few things.

First, they are instructed to hear and follow that which has already been given. Patrick Miller calls this an “implication of their past history with God and the necessity for their future life with God.” If they are to cross into the land, they must be a faithful, obedient people. And it is not for their sake alone that they are to be obedient but that they might display true wisdom and true understanding to the nations.

I am reminded of Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 1. Paul calls the church at Corinth out of worldly wisdom, that which has been defeated by Christ, and into true wisdom, that which has been displayed by Christ’s self-giving love on the cross. He says that this act of true wisdom was a stumbling block to Jews – after all, the Messiah can’t die! He’s supposed to be the king! It was foolishness to Gentiles – what power is there in a dead God? But this act of the cross was, indeed, no act of foolishness. It was true, Godly wisdom, wisdom that stands out in the world, wisdom that stands against the world. Paul calls the Corinthians to live as a contrast society in true wisdom, but long before that, Moses is commanding the same of Israel. He’s calling them out of the world, out of their previous disobedience and idolatry, out of the life and the kind of people they had been before and into true wisdom to be displayed before the nations. He calls them to live in the law that had been given – the law that commanded undivided love of God. It commanded holy living before God and in the world. It commanded love for one’s neighbor. It beckoned one to care for others, to care for the poor, the orphan, and the widow. The law called one into a community that would live over and against the ways of the surrounding world. As a contrast society, as a people who lived out true wisdom before the rest of the world, God’s nearness to Israel would be evident to the nations. Israel is reminded to hear and follow.

They are also prompted to remain steadfast and committed to the covenant just as God has remained committed. This will take teaching and passing down the word that was given to them. It will take a recollection of the covenant before their children, the covenant given to Abraham (the promise of descendents and land) and the covenant given at Sinai (“I will be your God and you will be my people”). Through the passing down of this word, the children of Israel will also hear and follow. Through word, the people of Israel will be drawn back to join in the assembly of generations before. Through word, not form, Israel will hear the voice of the Lord. Through word, Israel will hear and follow the commandments, those written in stone, completed, finished. And in hearing and following what has been handed down to them, in obedience, they will possess the land. The God who was near to Abraham and was near to Israel at Sinai and through the wilderness is still near to them at the boundary and will continue to be near to them as they enter the land.

Today, for us, our circumstances are quite similar. We too find ourselves at the edge of the wilderness and the Promise. Our time in the wilderness is quickly coming to a close. God has continued to remain faithful. Now, as we stand at the boundary, not yet in the land but being prepared for it, the message for us is much the same.

First, we are called to hear and follow. We are called to remain as God’s faithful and obedient people. It is an implication of our past and a necessity for our future with God. And it is not for our sake alone but that the world might witness and come to gain true wisdom and true understanding. The wisdom of the world still stands in stark contrast to true wisdom. The world speaks vengeance (an eye for an eye) while true wisdom speaks mercy and forgiveness. The wisdom of the world tells us to eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die. True wisdom speaks of self-control and hope of the resurrection. The wisdom of the world speaks greed and immediate satisfaction (we must get what we want and we must get it now) while true wisdom speaks patience. The world views love as ultimately being fulfilled through sexual satisfaction. True wisdom understands love to be self-giving and sacrificial for the sake of the other. The wisdom of the world teaches self-centeredness, individuality, and that we’re alone, fending for ourselves. True wisdom declares that there is a God, YHWH, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, who was near to his people at Mt. Sinai, was near to the praying psalmist, was near to his son, Jesus, as he prayed in the garden, and is still near to us today. We are called to remain obedient to this God as we stand at the boundary.

We are also called to remain steadfast and committed to the covenant just as God has remained committed. This not only requires hearing and following but also teaching and passing down the faith to our children and their children. In a world in which images are so prevalent, we must remember that it is through word that our children will hear and follow. It is through word that we are drawn back to the generations before us. It is through word that we hear the voice of the Lord, the same voice that still speaks truth to us today, still guides us, and is still near to us. We remember our covenant & recommit ourselves to it at the Table. There, we are joined with those who have gone before us, those who heard and followed, those who, themselves, remained committed in the wilderness, and those who taught us when we were children. There, we are drawn back to the cross as we witness the Word, now in form, as it is perfected, completed, finished.

This is the message for us today. It is not unlike the one spoken to the people of Israel as they stood at the edge of the wilderness ready to take possession of the land that had been promised: “Hear and follow; remember the covenant.” May we hear and follow the word today and faithfully commit ourselves to it as we, once again, stand at the edge, preparing for the one who is to come.

Grace to you,

Matt

Let Not Death Win the Day: 2 Timothy 4:9-18

A Chapel Homily at the Austin Graduate School of Theology

April 25, 2011

I was prepared today to definitively make the case once and for all that Paul, without a doubt, was a librarian. Only a librarian, nearing the end of his life, would ask for his books to be brought to him. Furthermore, only a librarian would know that books are best preserved at a cooler temperature; thus, he also asks for his coat. I was prepared to make this case today, but, perhaps, there are more important matters to which we must attend.

Growing up I always thought it was unfair that I had to wake up early, go to school to think and learn and work hard, and then come home and most of the time do much of the same in order to complete hours of homework. And our school system even assigned readings and papers over the summer to be due on the first day of school! At the time it seemed I never got a break! And the unfair part was that I thought my parents had it easy. All they had to do, after all, was go to work and come home. They didn’t have to bring work home with them. As far as I was concerned, their day ended at 5:00 and relaxation began at 5:01. They could go to work, come home, and be finished with it for the rest of the night. That’s what I thought—and then a couple of years ago I got married and began working full time while attending school, and I had what I like to call a “great awakening.” This is something many of you are realizing at this point in the semester. At the end of the day, there is still work to be done.

I do not think my “great awakening” was an idea that was foreign to Paul. Throughout this letter, it appears that Paul is preparing to pass the torch to Timothy. Just prior to this passage, he writes, “I am already on the point of being sacrificed; the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Paul certainly believes himself to be nearing the end of his life. In these few verses, Paul writes to Timothy on a few personal matters and recalls how he has been left alone and, at times, totally betrayed. Some near to him have moved on, some have turned to the ways of the world. Others have sought to cause him great harm. At one point he says that all deserted him. And we know of the many sufferings Paul has already faced in his life from other letters; arrest, imprisonment, beatings. Still, in the midst of suffering, betrayal, and even death, Paul asks for his coat and books. I may be speculating, but I believe Paul knew that there was still work to be accomplished.

However, Paul is not the first to realize this. We can read of followers prior to Paul who knew this to be true and whose end of life appears similar to Paul’s situation. In Acts 6 and 7, Stephen is approached because of his preaching about Christ. In the face of certain death, he stands and proclaims the story, and with his last breath he says, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” Knowing the end has come, his work continues to his final breath. And we know that Paul was present, witnessing and even taking part in this event.

We look back a little further and see Jesus himself, having just been betrayed by those closest to him, now facing death on the cross. As he hangs looking out at the crowd, with the betrayers, mockers, and executioners present, he says, “Father, forgive them.” Even to the very end, he knew there was work to be accomplished.

We return to Paul’s words in 2 Timothy as he says of those who have deserted him in, perhaps, his most desperate time, “May it not be charged against them.” Then he continues in proclaiming the good news that God is faithful in his promise. He reminds Timothy of how God has been with him and how he has given him strength to continue proclaiming the message even through the betrayal, through the suffering, in order that the mission may be fulfilled. Just as he has been rescued before because of God’s faithfulness, he can say without a doubt that God will remain faithful. He will deliver him from evil and into his presence.

This is not a pretty or clean image, but it is certainly an honest picture of ministry and the work of a disciple. Ministry is often made out to sound romantic. After all, we get to help people and serve the poor and hold little orphans as they fall asleep. We get to stand and proclaim the good news of Christ. It really seems beautiful, mysterious, and adventurous, and perhaps it is. However, when dealing with real people facing real life head-on while facing trials of our own, perhaps even betrayal, one begins to relate to responses like Moses’ “Who am I,” Jeremiah’s “I’m too young,” and Isaiah’s “Woe is me! I am ruined!” I sometimes wonder at what point reality hit the apostles; when did the cost of the great victory that had been promised come to a complete realization? Do you suppose at times they reflected upon Jesus’ words, “Take up your cross,” and thought that it would’ve been nice to have understood the full meaning of this much sooner! And, yet, that is part of the message of the gospel. God came in Christ to face the cross, and in being called to discipleship, one is being called to “Come and die.”

Still, we know, just as Paul knew, that the cross is only part of the story. The story does not end in death but in Christ’s victory over death. And so Paul can say, and so we must also continue proclaiming, “To God be the glory.” At the end of the day, in the midst of trial, betrayal, and death itself, there is still work to be done.

Ministry is a daunting task, and, yet, day after day, God continues to choose to work through the lives of humans for the sake of humans and all of his kingdom! Let us not give up the mission and the call to ministry, though it is difficult. Let us not give up proclaiming the gospel of Christ. Let not death win the day. There is still work to be done. To God be the glory forever and ever.

Grace to you,

Matt

“Who am I?”

By Dietrich Bonhoeffer (March 4, 1945)

Who am I? They often tell me
I would step from my cell’s confinement
calmly, cheerfully, firmly,
like a squire from his country-house.

Who am I? They often tell me
I would talk to my warders
freely and friendly and clearly,
as though it were mine to command.

Who am I? They also tell me
I would bear the days of misfortune
equably, smilingly, proudly,
like one accustomed to win.

Am I then really all that which other men tell of?
Or am I only what I know of myself?
restless and longing and sick, like a bird in a cage,
struggling for breath, as though hands were
compressing my throat,
yearning for colours, for flowers, for the voices of birds,
thirsting for words of kindness, for neighborliness,
trembling in expectation of great events,
powerlessly trembling for friends at an infinite distance,
weary and empty at praying, at thinking, at making,
faint, and ready to say farewell to it all?

Who am I? This or the other?
Am I one person today, and tomorrow another?
Am I both at once? A hypocrite before others,
and before myself a contemptibly woebegone weakling?
Or is something within me still like a beaten army,
fleeing in disorder from victory already achieved?

Who am I? They mock me, these lonely questions of mine.
Whoever I am, Thou knowest, O God, I am Thine.

–Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “Who am I?” in Letters & Papers From Prison (New York: Touchstone, 1953/1997), 347-8.

YHWH & His People: A Response to R.W.L. Moberly

In Exodus 32:7-10, God announces to Moses that he is going to “consume” the people of Israel because of their idolatry (just prior to this account Aaron and the people build and worship a golden calf). In v. 7, he tells Moses, “Go down; for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves….” With this, YHWH disowns Israel and completely denies all association with them.

However, in v. 11, Moses faithfully reminds YHWH that the people of Israel are his (YHWH’s) chosen people. He responds, “…why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a might hand?” The passage closes with YHWH’s relenting “of the disaster which he thought to do to his people,” indicating, as Moberly writes, “Yahweh’s acceptance of Moses’ plea. Yahweh accepts that Israel is his people and so not to be destroyed or cast off” (Moberly, 50).

As has been stated in previous posts, YHWH allowed for this change of mind by making his judgment dependent upon Moses’ response. In 32:10, YHWH makes a promise to Moses that is almost identical to his promise with Abraham in Genesis 12:3. Yet again, Moses hears and faithfully responds by recalling YHWH’s covenant with Israel (notice he uses the name “Israel” rather than “Jacob”). Moberly writes, “Yahweh’s faithfulness to his promise, to which Moses appeals in v. 13, becomes the reason why Yahweh spares the people…” (50). Furthermore, “It is God’s faithfulness alone which is the basis for forgiveness; and yet this faithfulness is only revealed and made actual when Moses’ bold intercession calls it forth” (51). Therefore, it is both Moses and YHWH together who act as the responsible agents for the future of Israel as YHWH’s people.

Throughout history, God has chosen, at times, to act alone; however, more commonly, as Scripture reveals, God chooses to act in the world through human beings. From the beginning of creation with Adam and Eve to the establishment of God’s covenant with Abraham to the deliverance of God’s people out of slavery in Egypt through Moses to the warnings of judgment and unveiling of mercy through the prophets to YHWH entering the world in the life of a man, God chooses to act, revealing his kingdom and his will to all of creation, through the life of his people. This revelation continues today through the joining of YHWH’s perfect faithfulness alongside the faithful response of YHWH’s people, the church. May the church continue to reveal the faithfulness of YWHW through its faithful response to his kingdom, his will, and his calling into relationship.

• Moberly, R.W.L. At the Mountain of God: Story and Theology in Exodus 32-34. England: JSOT Press, 1983.

Grace to you,
Matt

From Creation to Re-Creation in Exodus

Continuing with the water motif in Exodus 1-15...

Some have claimed that the plagues are representative of YHWH showing his power over the gods of Egypt (though I think this is a stretch for some of them!). My OT professor, Dr. Shipp, makes the case that the plagues are actually an overturning of creation as YHWH does cosmic battle with Pharaoh (who claims to be a god himself). I think he makes a convincing argument. There are references throughout the first 15 chapters not only to water but back to Genesis and back to creation and chaos. As Dr. Shipp says, "This is what happens when God is at war!"

If it is the case - and I think it is - that the plague narratives are an overturning of creation because of the cosmic battle between YHWH and Pharaoh, then the water motif, culminating at the event of the sea, deals the final crushing blow. It is at the sea where the evil oppressor (represented as Egypt) is swallowed up while God's chosen people (Israel) are delivered and redeemed. The plagues serve as an overturning of creation, culminating in the return to and destruction of "evil" in the waters of chaos. Following YHWH's victory at the final scene of the Exodus, he then restores creation through the redeemed of Israel, culminating in the establishment of the Temple, the meeting place (coming together) of Heaven and Earth.

Looking at the events of the cross, we see a similar pattern. The great theophany takes place as God battles evil one final time, facing death head on. Through the death and resurrection of Christ, he deals the final crushing blow, gaining victory over evil and redeeming his people. Through the redemption of his people in the resurrection of his son, YHWH is restoring all of creation which will culminate in the final coming together of the new heaven and new earth and the swallowing up of evil (see Rev. 21) . This overcoming of evil, restoration of creation, and coming together of the new heaven and earth has already begun and is taking place in the life of the church today.

Grace to you,
Matt

Water in Exodus 1-15

In the early chapters of Exodus, there is this ongoing "water motif."

· Pharaoh orders the killing of all male Hebrew babies in the Nile (Exodus 1)

· Moses is placed in an ark and hidden in reeds in the Nile (Exodus 2)

· Hebrew form of “Moses” (Moshe) means “drawn out” (of the water)

· Water from the Nile will turn to blood as a sign (Exodus 4)

· Nile is turned to blood as one of the plagues (Exodus 7)

· Israelites are rescued through the sea (Exodus 14)

· Egyptians army is swallowed up by the sea (Exodus 14)

In ancient times, water is associated with chaos (see Genesis 1:2; Genesis 7). Ironically, every time water is linked with the Israelites, it is also linked with redemption (Moses saved in the Nile; name of Moses; Israelites rescued through the sea). When water is connected with the Egyptians, it becomes associated with death (Killing male babies in Nile; Nile to blood plague; Egyptian army drowned in the sea).

This becomes important pastorally: through chaos, God brings redemption to his people; in chaos, God's enemies are swallowed up.

Grace to you,

Matt

God’s Holiness, God’s Mercy

When the people of Israel create and worship an idol at the foot of Sinai while waiting for Moses to return, God announces to Moses that he has had enough. He states, “…let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them.” However, Moses does not leave him alone. Rather, Moses responds appropriately in faithful reverence recalling God’s great power and mighty hand in delivering his people out of Egypt. Furthermore, he remembers the original covenant made with the patriarchs of faith. Thus, God relented of the disaster he was going to bring upon the people.

Throughout scripture it appears that when one recognizes and responds in faithful reverence to God’s holiness, God responds in mercy (see Isaiah 6, Ezekiel 1 & 2, Matthew 8:5-13, Matthew 9:27-31, Luke 23:39-43, Revelation 1). How could this be displayed in the life, and more specifically in the assembly, of the church today?

Grace to you,

Matt

Divine Evil?: More on Exodus 32:14

The RSV translates Exodus 32:14 “And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do to his people.” We have already addressed “divine repentance,” stating that a more proper English translation of NHM is “to relent” or “to change one’s mind,” but what are we to do with the word “evil” (Hebrew – ra’; Greek – kakias)? Though there is no need for God to repent, was there a need for him to “change his mind” about the evil he was going to bring upon the Hebrew people?

Perhaps “evil” is a harsh translation for today’s common use of this term. While kakias can be translated “evil; wickedness” (1 Cor. 5:8; 14:20; Acts 8:22), when associated with God it is better translated “a difficult circumstance; trouble” or even “harm.” It appears that earlier English translations (RSV, ASV, KJV) prefer to use “evil,” perhaps due to a dual understanding of the term. Thus, when read in such translations, one should not associate “evil” with “moral evil” as is the common understanding today, but rather, it should be understood, as more recent translations (ESV, NIV, NRSV, etc.) prefer, as “trouble” or “disaster.”

A different form of the same word is used in Exodus 5:22 when Moses asks, “Lord, why have you brought ekakosas (trouble or evil?) on this people?” after Pharaoh forced the people to find their own straw for making bricks while continuing to produce the same amount. Yet again, it appears that earlier translations prefer to use “evil” while later translations prefer “trouble.” Following in 5:23, Moses speaks of the “trouble” or “harm” that Pharaoh has brought on the people. Contextually, “trouble” is the preferable translation in both cases.

In conclusion, to provide a better understanding for the church today, a more recent translation is preferred in Exodus 32:14. God did not “repent of the evil which he thought to do to his people;” rather, he “relented of the disaster he was going to bring upon his people.” Through God’s unchanging faithfulness and Moses’ faithful response, God’s mercy was revealed.

• Danker, Frederick W. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3d ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.

The Reality of Ministry

Ministry sounds romantic. It’s like an ongoing mission trip—seems wonderful! However, when dealing with real people facing real life head-on, one begins to relate to the response of those like Moses (“Who am I?”), Jeremiah (“I’m too young.”), and Isaiah (“Woe is me! I am ruined!”). I sometimes wonder at what point reality hit the apostles; when did the cost of the great victory that had been promised come to a complete realization? Do you suppose at times they reflected upon Jesus’ words, “Take up your cross,” and thought that it would’ve been nice to have understood the full meaning of this much sooner! After all, in being called to discipleship, one is being called to “Come and die.” Still, with this knowledge, together they went out with a greater understanding that evil had been defeated, and they continued to overcome it with good.

Ministry is a daunting task, and, yet, day after day, God continues to choose to work through the lives of humans for the sake of humans (and all of his kingdom!). May we not give up on one another but continue in the way of sacrificial love, serving one another that we may better serve him. And may we faithfully and courageously answer the call to come and die—“Here I am. Send me.”

Grace to you,
Matt

Divine Relenting: Decree vs. Announcement

In Robert Chisholm’s article “Does God ‘Change His Mind’?” the author addresses the function of the Hebrew verb necham (NHM) as found in Exodus 32:14. Though often translated “to repent” (i.e. RSV, ASV), a more appropriate translation in this context is “to relent or change one’s mind.” Frequently, particularly among evangelical thinking, it is believed that because of God’s “unchanging” quality, he also does not change his mind. To say this, however, is to also believe that God never allows human decision to alter the course of things. When viewed scripturally, this theory is proven invalid. As is shown with God’s relenting in Exodus 32 (along with many other passages, including Amos 7, passages in Jeremiah, Joel and Jonah), at times, God chooses to not exercise meticulous control over the universe.

The criterion that must be considered when evaluating God’s response is whether God’s stated action is a decree or an announcement. Chisholm describes a decree as an “unconditional declaration.” Most often, an oath has been made that a particular course of action will be taken (see Numbers 23, 1 Samuel 15, Psalm 110; also keep in mind God’s covenants with his people). On the other hand, an announcement is conditional, allowing for interaction and a response from the recipient. In the case of Exodus 32, God had not declared that he was going to destroy Israel for their idolatrous behavior; rather, he announced his anger with the people to Moses and stated that, if Moses did not intervene, he would consume them in his wrath. However, in faith, Moses did not “leave him alone” as he recalled the faith of the patriarchs and God’s covenant with them. Through God’s unchanging faithfulness and Moses’ faithful response, God relented.

• Chisholm, Robert, "Does God 'Change His Mind'?" Bibliotheca Sacra 152 (October-December 1995) 387-99
  

Bonhoeffer

"In a word, live together in the forgiveness of your sins, for without it no human fellowship, least of all a marriage, can survive. Don't insist on your right, don't blame each other, don't judge or condemn each other, don't find fault with each other, but accept each other as you are, and forgive each other every day from the bottom of your heart..."
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison

Chesterton

"All the towering materialism which dominates the modern mind rests ultimately upon one assumption; a false assumption. It is supposed that if a thing goes on repeating itself it is probably dead; a piece of clockwork. People feel that if the universe was personal it would vary; if the sun were alive it would dance. This is a fallacy even in relation to known fact. For the variation in human affairs is generally brought into them, not by life, but by death; by the dying down or breaking off of their strength or desire. A man varies his movements because of some slight element of failure or fatigue. He gets into an omnibus because he is tired of walked; or he walks because he is tired of sitting still. But if his life and joy were so gigantic that he never tired of going to Islington, he might go to Islington as regularly as the Thames goes to Sheerness. The very speed and ecstasy of his life would have the stillness of death. The sun rises every morning. I do not rise every morning; but the variation is due not to my activity, but to my inaction. Now, to put the matter in a popular phrase, it might be true that the sun rises regularly because he never gets tired of rising. His routine might be due, not to a lifelessness, but to a rush of life. The thing I mean can be seen, for instance in children, when they find some game or joke that they specially enjoy. A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They alway say, "Do it again"; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we."
G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

Cox Family Adoption

Go to http://coxragamuffins.blogspot.com to support the Cox family's adoption and to find out how to get your name into a drawing for a free photography session! Also, don't forget to buy a "Go. Seek. Love." shirt before the end of the month and all proceeds will go directly toward the adoption.

A Great Contrast - Chapel Homily at Austin Grad (9.27.2010)

Amos 4:11-13

As it has been stated in here before, this is a text that we do not like to read. This word of judgment can be, perhaps, frightening; yet, it is often misunderstood. Make no mistake; it is a serious matter. God had passed by numerous times in warning, as we read, but now he would return punish the people for their injustice.

This text, however, not only reveals God’s judgment, but it also shows a stark contrast between the covenant God, Yahweh, and the covenant people, Israel. We see God as the creator (“He who forms the mountains, creates the wind…”). We see the God who guides the day and night and is above all of creation (“…he turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth…”). And, yet, it is revealed that this Creator God steps down to deal patiently and mercifully with his people like a parent guiding a child. As the Psalmist writes, “But with you there is forgiveness…” (Ps 130). Though the people reject God time after time, turning to idols, God remains patient in warning. Earlier in the chapter, the people are reminded of how God sent famine, drought, destruction of crops, disease, and the sword to warn the people of their destructive pattern of life. He beckons them to return to their faithful, covenant God, but they do not. The people remain in their sin. The God who created all things, called the people of Israel his own, and always remained faithful in his covenant stands in great contrast to the faithless, greedy, self-centered people of Israel for they sought only the spotlight for themselves through fame and fortune using the poor and needy as a pedestal upon which to stand. The beginning of chapter 4 speaks against those who oppress the poor and crush the needy. Yet, we witness a God who delivered the Hebrews out of bondage in Egypt and now, once again, has heard the cry of the oppressed. He warned his people in the desert against such acts of oppression, but they refused to hear. Now, finally, enough is enough. Judgment is upon the people.

As I considered this text and the contrast that is revealed between God and Israel, I was reminded of the great contrast that, without a doubt, still exists.

Commonly, I see pictures and hear stories of picketers holding signs in front of clinics not speaking the message of truth in love but rather in condemnation and hatred, and then I remember the story of Jesus eating with sinners, responding graciously to a fragile people.

I recently heard the story of Christopher Hitchens, an outspoken atheist who has now been diagnosed with a terminal form of cancer. In an interview, he mentions that there are many people praying for him. Though some pray for his health, both physical and spiritual, there are others praying for his demise, and I hear the words begin to echo, “Forgive them for they know not what they do.”

I am reminded of many who still seek the American Dream of fame and fortune, often running the competition into the ground in order to make a name for themselves; then I read Paul speak of a God who stepped down from his throne to become a servant, who came not to crush but to be crushed. And I can’t help but wonder when will enough be enough?

There is, however, another contrast that comes to mind. It is one of great importance. This is the contrast between Israel in the time of Amos and us, the New Israel for, today, Christ has come, and praise be to God who, in the death and resurrection of Jesus, set us free from the bondage of sin and from our destructive pattern of life! As the new covenant people of God, let us not be like the faithless Israel who never learned and never changed. As Paul writes, we have been called out of the old life and into the new, kingdom life, the life that was intended for us from the very beginning. We do have a choice in the matter.

I recall a family in Athens, Texas who, though they could afford a life of great extravagance living in a mansion with many servants, they have chosen a reserved, modest life, using their resources to help others. Instead of choosing to run their business displaying earthly power, they, instead, run it at great risk (by earthly standards) often hiring ex-cons and others who have been turned away by society to give them a useful place. They lower themselves in the interest of others. I am reminded of Jesus calling his disciples who had once, perhaps, been rejected.

I think of a man who had the good life here in America. He had the life many dream of obtaining with an education, a successful business, and great wealth. He was headed for the top; yet, he gave it up to serve an orphanage.

As the people chosen, this is the life we too must choose, one that appears upside-down to the world but is, in actuality, right side up, one that doesn’t strive to make us a god but, rather, reflects the image of God and stands in great contrast to the ways of the surrounding world. We are called to be Christ’s body in the world, carrying the message of the kingdom to the world, displaying sacrificial love, the very image of Christ. We, like Christ who came not to be served but to serve, are to give wholly of ourselves for the betterment of others; yet, so often I find myself not too far beyond Amos, seeking not the kingdom but using whatever means necessary to seek the spotlight. Today, may we, as the people of God in the world, hear the words of Amos. Let us not remain in the life we once lived, like the Israelites, but return to our creator, be transformed by his word, and faithfully seek not our own glory but the glory of the one who was and is and is to come, Christ Jesus our Lord.

Grace to you,
Matt

Between Sundays

It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last.

For Jesus’ disciples, confusion and hopelessness had set in. Surely throughout the trials and crucifixion they wondered why he didn’t bring himself down, and now, he was gone. And from a phrase we’ve heard so often, it was Friday, their darkest moment, but little did they know Sunday was coming. However, Sunday came, and news of Jesus’ resurrection spread, news that ought to bring them back to the times when they walked alongside Jesus as they served together. It was news that should have excited and inspired them to carry on this mission; it should have restored their hope for Jesus had defeated death and conquered evil as promised. He was the true Messiah, but instead, Peter went fishing. Friday was over, Sunday had come, and Peter went fishing. I sometimes wonder today, as Sunday has now come and gone, though the news of Jesus’ resurrection has spread, have we too gone fishing. Do we understand what the resurrection of Christ means for us today?

Scripture tells us that, because of Jesus’ victory over death, we too may share in that victory. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul writes that if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ was raised.

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

As the firstfruit, Jesus is the first of all to receive the fully transformed and imperishable resurrection body (spoken of later in 1 Corinthians 15). Through his resurrection, we have been granted the same gift.

Since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.

It has been said, “He became like us so that we may become like him.” This is our gift of salvation, our hope. Though Sunday has come and gone, we’re promised a second Sunday, but still, what does this mean for us today?

In this week between the Sundays how should we live? Scripture speaks to this as well; in fact, this was Jesus’ ministry. It wasn’t a teaching about a far away land “somewhere beyond the azure blue” known as heaven. It wasn’t about “doing good” today so that, when Jesus returns to destroy the Earth, he will take us to this place floating in the clouds. N.T. Wright says, “Heaven is important, but it’s not the end of the world.”

Jesus’ ministry taught others how to live today in the coming kingdom. We see examples of this in his prayer, “Your kingdom come, your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven.” Paul writes to the Philippians that their citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we await our savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He also urges them to exercise their citizenship. Gordon Fee writes that they are to “…live out their heavenly citizenship in Philippi in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” Our kingdom citizenship has already begun, and today we must participate in the gospel wherever we are and in whatever situation we find ourselves, joining together alongside the early disciples, alongside Paul, and once again alongside Jesus, continuing to bring about God’s will and God’s kingdom on Earth as in heaven. At the cross, the kingdom was ushered in, and we must do our part today through the work of the Spirit to spread this kingdom until Christ returns to fully bring about the kingdom, restoring, renewing, and transforming all of creation to its original intent and purpose.

Jesus’ life and death show us how, and it is through our sharing in his death, humbling ourselves to become slaves, that we do so. As we share in his death, he promises to share with us his resurrection, life.

In his new book, Virtue Reborn, Wright discusses the idea of Christian virtue, what it looks like to live in the kingdom today. He says that, though it is tedious, through much focused study and faithful practice of the tedious, virtue becomes second nature. Though we have turned the world upside down with evil, through Christ’s death and resurrection and now, through his Spirit working in his people, he is turning the world to rights. Over the coming weeks, we will discuss several of these virtues and how we can transform our lives so that we may participate in transforming the world.

Though Peter first went fishing, after witnessing the resurrected Lord, he laid his nets aside and picked up the cross. Let us be a witness to the resurrected Christ today and take up the cross.

Grace to you,
Matt

Seven Stanzas at Easter by John Updike

Make no mistake: if He rose at all
it was as His body;
if the cells' dissolution did not reverse, the molecules
reknit, the amino acids rekindle,
the Church will fall.

It was not as the flowers, each soft Spring recurrent;
it was not as His Spirit in the mouths and fuddled
eyes of the eleven apostles;
it was as His Flesh: ours.

The same hinged thumbs and toes,
the same valved heart
that — pierced — died, withered, paused, and then
regathered out of enduring Might
new strength to enclose.

Let us not mock God with metaphor,
analogy, sidestepping transcendence;
making of the event a parable, a sign painted in the
faded credulity of earlier ages:
let us walk through the door.

The stone is rolled back, not papier-mache,
not a stone in a story,
but the vast rock of materiality that in the slow
grinding of time will eclipse for each of us
the wide light of day.

And if we will have an angel at the tomb,
make it a real angel,
weighty with Max Planck's quanta, vivid with hair,
opaque in the dawn light, robed in real linen
spun on a definite loom.

Let us not seek to make it less monstrous,
for our own convenience, our own sense of beauty,
lest, awakened in one unthinkable hour, we are
embarrassed by the miracle,
and crushed by remonstrance.

Telephone Poles and Other Poems © 1961 by John Updike
as reprinted at http://www.edow.org/spirituality/updike.html

Grace to you,
Matt

Reach

Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and knife. So the two of them walked on together. Isaac said to his father Abraham, “Father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “The fire and the wood are here but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”

Upon Isaac’s confusion as he is unknowingly being led to be sacrificed, his father, Abraham, faithfully reminds him that Yahweh will provide the sacrificial lamb himself. Nearly 2000 years ago, as he cried, “Father, forgive them…” Yahweh provided the lamb, himself. Yet, here we stand today, and one cannot help but wonder at times, do these words still reach us today? With such evil clearly visible in the world today, greed, hatred, vengeance, terror, war, does the death and resurrection of this one man have the ultimate victory?

Surely, just as these words reached back to cover the sin of James and John as they argued in greed and pride over who would be the greatest and as they forgave Judas of his betrayal and Peter of his recent denials…

Certainly, just as his words immediately reached the crowd as they mocked him in hatred and revenge, as the soldiers pounded in the nails from above like bombs dropped in shock and awe upon innocent lives and thrust the spear into his side like a plane forcefully thrust into the side of a building…

Undoubtedly, the words of Christ, “Father, forgive them,” still reach us today for the sacrificial lamb is not still dead but has risen and lives. Let us remain assured in faith, steadfast in hope, and increasing in love as we stand covered by the blood of the one who was, is, and is to come.

Grace to you,
Matt

*I owe much credit to N.T. Wright for terminology and influence of ideas presented in this post.

The Hook

In today’s society, it is common to find churches that look like the surrounding culture. Rather than offering an alternative culture to the surrounding world, it seems the church is being overcome by the world. Instead of practicing good, wholesome theology, it’s offering a social club in which to simply play games. Fellowship has become playing games with Christians, and evangelism has become playing games with non-Christians. We do live in the entertainment age, though; what better way to draw in the world than by entertaining them, right? I recently heard a fellow Christian say, “We need to have a hook to draw people in, and then we can teach them the right thing.” This is evangelism in the modern church!

When we look at the early church, I find it intriguing that we see no evidence of mass conversion efforts, and there was very little preaching to the masses. Essentially, there was no institutionalized form of evangelism. Worship and the Christian life were certainly not attractive. If this is the case, what were the early Christian evangelism efforts? What caused our movement to grow so rapidly?

This growth ultimately is due to one factor which we will divide into three more detailed categories.

(1) The church was a community that dearly loved and shared with each other. They took up a collection, similar to the one many churches gather even today but for much different purposes. This was not an offering made to be placed into an annual budget or to throw numerous parties. In this offering, the rich of the faith community gave to the poor of the faith community. The collection was intended for the church to provide for each other and others as God had provided for them, to help those who were suffering and in need.

(2) The church was a community that dearly loved others. Jesus taught in Matthew 5 to love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you (which ought to still be greatly significant today as Christianity is still the only religion to do this). Perhaps this is somewhat difficult to understand in the American culture where persecution is less visible than in the first century (or even in places like India today) and blindly following the country into war against the enemy is merely “defense” and considered patriotic. There are numerous stories of Christians in the early church on their way to a torturous execution giving each other a holy kiss and turning to faithfully face their death. They would not take up the sword against their persecutors or enemies, but they instead prayed for peace for those who were killing them, laying down their sword and picking up their cross.

(3) Finally, the church was a community who built loving relationships with their neighbors, those they came in contact with daily. They often prayed for their neighbors, and, when they could, they would help them financially, yet another reason for the collection. Occasionally the spoke of their faith. It was not so much what they said but what they did, how they lived.

It was not large parties, loud music, the smell of gourmet coffee, attractive worship, or an attractive lifestyle that drew in the crowds but simply love. What is done together in our worship assembly does not even matter if we do not love each other. In fact, in Jeremiah we read of God speaking to a people who are engaged in some of the most exciting worship to date but living in hatred and sin. He asks, “Will you continue to come into my house and say, ‘I am delivered,’ only to go on doing such abominations?” And he calls them to change their ways.

Isn’t it fascinating that this was evangelism in the early church, loving as Christ loved daily? The hook we have been searching for is this:

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us (1 John 4:7-12).

Grace to you,
Matt