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Category: Following Jesus

American Pie: Christian Style

Published by mhelbert on April 12, 2012

I am always on the lookout for pieces that help to put cultural hermeneutics in some kind of proper perspective. I have learned over the past few years that much of what I had thought true is actually a view that has been skewed by my position as a white male in North America. Not only is the view of this dominant culture biased in the extreme, it is wrong in more places than I can get to in a short blog. Thankfully, there are a multitude of others who see this as a problem and are discussing it in books, blogs, seminaries, colleges, and even some churches. The link I have posted here leads to one view that I think is important for Christ followers to ruminate on. Enjoy!
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/emergentvillage/2012/04/strange-christianity-made-in-america-part-iii-by-randy-woodley/#more-1228

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Just a thought…

Published by mhelbert on April 5, 2012

The story of the Father and the prodigal is one of my favorite stories in Scripture. It reveals the relentless love that our Abba has for humanity. This love, lavished on us, reveals that Yahweh also desires our love. Desires it so much that Jesus, the one and only Son of God, was ‘sent’ to make it possible for all of us to become the adopted daughters and sons of God. I don’t know about anyone else, but I find this amazing. Especially, as I look back over the train wrecks that I have left in my wake. God, the Creator and Sustainer of all things, not only still puts up with me, but LOVES me!
And, not only me. The Scripture also speaks about rain falling on the just and the unjust. Luke 6:35 even takes it a step further. “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.” Yahweh is kind to those who would be enemies. How cool is that?
The text is clear at this point. We, as Christ followers, should emulate our Abba, even as Jesus did. It’s easy to say, “Oh, yeah, I love my enemy.” But, it’s the doing of the love that we sometimes lack.

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Devotional

Published by mhelbert on April 1, 2012
One of the things I enjoy is to read excerpts from various devotional materials as part of my daily preparation. Presently, I am using Devotional Classics: Revised Edition: Selected Readings for Individuals and Groups. This morning’s was taken from the writings of E. Stanley Jones. Jones worked in the early 20th century among high-caste Indians and Muslims in India. His practical insights into living a ‘converted’ life were pretty profound. He, I think properly, linked lifestyle and virtue to evidence of one’s conversion. For him it was not simply a matter of propositional truth, but one of lived reality. The gospel message was not something that someone could understand intellectually, but absolutely needed to be lived and experienced in practice.
With that being said, one thing that jumped out at me today was his clear understanding of our unity as humans in the world. In a time when prejudice and race/class separation were the norm, Jones’ voice was prophetic. He wrote, “A little girl was kneeling on her father’s lap and was telling him how much she loved him, but she was looking over her father’s shoulder and making faces at her little brother. The mother saw it and said: ‘You little hypocrite, you telling your father you love him and then making faces and sticking out your tongue at your little brother.’ Christians who hold race prejudices do just that. They tell God the Father they love him and then look over his shoulder and tell his other children they despise them. How can we love God whom we have not seen unless we love his children whom we do see?” (Pp. 284-285).
Today, those of us in the predominant culture in the West tend to think that such things as racial prejudice and separation have been dealt with and we must move on. We are, of course, seriously deluded if we think this. Race, class, and gender prejudices are a reality and a curse now, in our time. The evidence is overwhelming when we consider the current political competition in the U.S. We are being asked to continue to accept white patriarchy in the person of Mitt Romney. We become activists for a ‘godly’ agenda that negates the actual presence and activity of God. Henri Nouwen wrote in Turn My Mourning into Dancing, “Activism comes from an unbelief that insists that God does not or cannot move and act; it wants to replace God’s supposed slowness or inaction with our activity.” How many Christians with good intentions have become activists against the LGBT community? Against President Obama? Against Muslims? I think that Nouwen was correct.
We, as Christ followers, are called to something else. We are called to a relationship with Yahweh that includes Yahweh’s good creation and the humanity that inhabits it. We are called love God and the God’s children who we can see.
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Jesus Christ, Kurios

Published by mhelbert on March 30, 2012

One of the neat things I learned at seminary was how the writers of the New Testament began to proclaim Jesus as Lord. While we, sitting some 2,000 years hence tend to simply accept the title in a manner that we would accept any other title, i.e., Doctor, etc., this was not so simple in 1st century Rome. Then there was one lord and his name was Caesar. To dispute this was a one-way ticket to crucifixion. Read the gospels. Jesus was convicted of claiming to be a king. Not something one wanted to do if one had hopes of living a long time.
Another thing that came from the idea of Jesus’ lordship was that worship was directed to Yahweh through Jesus alone. In a pantheistic culture this was somewhat of an anomaly. To add to this, one of the deities to be worshiped and sacrificed to was none other than the lord Caesar. For the apostles and the early church, then, worshiping One God and proclaiming Jesus the Messiah as Lord created a double-whammy of perceived apostasy and treachery. Paul, Peter and James encouraged the churches that they wrote to with a message of perseverance in the face of cultural pressures to ‘return to the fold.’ The gospel writers, also, seemed to present their narratives with encouragements to the respective audiences they wrote for.
The people who chose to follow The Way were persecuted for being contrary to the accepted system. The Pax Romana was a big part of that system. Of course, it was peace at the tip of a sword, but it worked. We can read how Paul got in trouble because he ‘made waves’ that could have brought the weight of the Pax down on the heads of the locals. He taught things that were unlawful for Roman citizens. Things like a God other than the accepted gods; a Lord other than Caesar. No more idols.
And the result? A world turned upside down. Culture changing acts of political defiance.
What does any of this mean for us today? I think more than can be discussed in a blog post. But, we can take a moment to reflect on what idols and gods we have accepted. Perhaps, that green guy George? What about American exceptionalism? For sure the triune god of our age; “Me, Myself and I.”
The message that the apostles proclaimed directly confronted the gods of their age. It proceeded with power. Power to transform lives and culture. Does the message we bring have that power? Do our attempts to argue  and explain things like justification and sanctification make any real difference to those who are pressed down and broken by the gods of our time? Where is the power that goes along with the proclamation? I think that we have become disconnected from our Source. In order to see the light of the Gospel chase the darkness of culture that light needs to shine into the deep darkness of our souls and our churches. It’s hard work. It’s dangerous work, just ask Jesus. But, it”s necessary work.

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No Fear

Published by mhelbert on March 14, 2012

Henri Nouwen wrote in Turn My Mourning into Dancing about how people are many times driven by fear of losing something that they have. We fear burglary, so we spend thousands on home security. We fear losing status, so we try to paint a face on ourselves that elevates our standing. We fear this and that, so we focus on taking whatever measures we deem necessary to protect and hang onto these things. The scripture teaches that God is not a God of fear. Yahweh is all about love and security. Nouwen’s argument leads us to try and simplify our lives by letting go of things. When we realize that we cannot hang onto them anyhow, where is the sense in tenaciously clinging to stuff that is going to pass away? Jim Elliot wrote, “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” True words.
I’d like to take this idea a step further. There are many people in the U.S. who make the argument that this country was built on “Christian” ideals and principles. This allows them to equate anything patriotic with the “Judeo/Christian ethic.” (Whatever that is.) This includes the concept of Manifest Destiny, unfettered capitalism, white patriarchy, and American Exceptionalism. It also creates an environment where we need to have the biggest, baddest military and economic system so that we can protect what is perceived to be ‘ours.’ And, whatever is ‘ours’ is our right to claim as Americans. We live in constant fear that some country or power or terrorist organization will try to take what is ‘ours.’ We justify these actions by quoting some scripture taken out of context.
When I read the scriptures, however, I find a different view on things. I see what Nouwen wrote about. I find Jesus as a servant calling others to service. I find that detachment from stuff is the road to happiness and contentment. I find a rich guy who was told that he lacked one thing. He should go and sell his stuff and give to the poor. Then, follow Jesus. Perhaps if the U.S. was to actually take a Judeo/Christian view and, say, forgive the crippling debts of developing countries, particularly in Africa that we could, as a nation, make a positive impact in the world. Maybe, if we took Jesus’ words to forgive and pray for our enemies Iran and others would not consider us the Great Satan. We could become a true expression of Jesus’ love for the whole world. This was evidenced by his obedience to the Father in laying down his life for the world. What better example of “letting go” is there?

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In Obama’s own words…

Published by mhelbert on March 12, 2012

I found this interesting. So many of us are quick to pass judgment on others based on what we, fallible tho we are, think is correct. We hold ourselves up as the standard of virtue and propriety, and anyone who does not measure up to our expectations automatically becomes “other.”
In the current political races, some are quick to hold up their own morals and piety as that standard. They then proceed to castigate those who are somehow ‘less’ moral and pious. President Obama has been the target of much derision from the so-called ‘religious right.’ But, what does Obama have to say? I haven’t yet heard him engage in the same spiritual vitriol, but I could have simply missed it. What he has stated, or testified, can be read here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/president-obamas-theology-in-his-own-words/2012/02/21/gIQAUbqqRR_print.html

We are called to follow Christ. It is Jesus, alone, who can make the valid claim that “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.” This authority is not shared. It is exclusive. Jesus is the ONLY one who is able to judge a person’s heart. Certainly not politicians.

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Slow Learner

Published by mhelbert on March 8, 2012

One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that it can take me awhile to wrap my head around some things. In seminary, especially, this was true. I could read a text or hear a lecture and it may have been days later, after reading and re-reading, ruminating and otherwise pondering that the light would turn on and I would ‘get it.’ This has been the process for understanding a question that has bothered me about some folks’ understanding of the new heaven and new earth mentioned in Scripture.
Let me offer some background. I began following Christ a long time ago. Over the years I have been involved with faith communities that are pretty much fundamentalist in their approach to Scripture. As a result, much of their ‘gospelling’ has been to state that we should not be concerned about ecology or economics, (unless it’s conservative), but, rather we should get people saved so as to populate some disembodied heaven of the future. After all, the physical realm is going to burn up and pass away. Now, I have to say that this never really resonated with me. There seemed to be a disconnect between this mindset and what Jesus actually did and said. But, there was a certain logic to the idea that if this cosmos is going to be, at the very least, replaced, why should we concern ourselves with running out of fossil fuels or holes in the ozone layer.
After reading N. T. Wright’s Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church 3 times, (I said I was slow), something clicked. In the book Wright mentioned that people should be involved in bringing justice and wise stewardship to this world, now, in anticipation of that new creation. If humans are to be stewards and co-regents with God in the care and oversight of the new creation, then we should be about that business today, in this world. Not that it’s a practice run, but Paul wrote that nothing that is done in this life will be lost on the next in the resurrection. We can, therefore, justify social justice and ecological justice here and now without diminishing the importance of the kerygma of the Gospel.

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The Vineyard revisited

Published by mhelbert on March 2, 2012

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I was thinking about this text this A.M. Jesus spoke the parable in the context of being questioned by the religious leaders at the temple. They wanted to know who had given him the authority to speak and teach as he did. We know that Jesus threw the question right back at them by asking about John’s baptism. When they would not reply, Jesus proceeded:
Luk 20:9 He went on to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time.
Luk 20:10 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
Luk 20:11 He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed.
Luk 20:12 He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out.
Luk 20:13 “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.’
Luk 20:14 “But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’
Luk 20:15  So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. “What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?
Luk 20:16 He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”
We know that Jesus directed this to the leaders. Luke wrote in verse 19, “The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them.”
One of the things that modern evangelicals in particular like to do is appropriate scripture and try to apply a literalist interpretation to the world and culture today. In the case of this text, I’ve heard preachers and teachers state that the tenants can be represented today by those who are outside of the church, as they understand it. This would equate to the government, gays and lesbians, pro-choice advocates, or any other person or organization that they choose to anathematize. But, in the parable Jesus was addressing the religious leaders. Those who had set up their religious sensibilities to exclude anyone who believed, practiced, or tried to understand Torah in any way other than their particular party line. 
I think that a refreshing way to look at this text would be to challenge the so-called religious leaders to see that Jesus was seeking justice and righteousness in them. That the marginalized in our culture are not who he is speaking to. He is speaking to the people who dismiss and disregard the poor, hungry, homeless, gays and lesbians, handicapped, and I could go on listing others. Jesus came a redefined who is accepted…and who should be accepted by God. Who are called to take on Jesus’ yoke. Who have no voice of their own.
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The Bible…really, The Bible

Published by mhelbert on February 28, 2012

There are a couple blogs that I follow pretty closely. Some are listed to the right. One of them, Allan Bevere’s, had a link to an interesting CNN blog by Steven James. In it he points out that the Bible is really a text that is “Very raw. Very real.” I agree with much of what he has to say. The church has tended to make the Scriptures some high and hallowed thing that the average person cannot hope to reach or touch. Many others, like James, have attempted to strip away the religious veneer that obscures this real and living compilation of inspired words.
There is the danger, however, that we push the humanity too far and neglect the calling that these words place on us. We are called to move beyond “partying with Jesus” into a real, living, vibrant relationship with him. Yes, that means to go to the wedding at Cana and party down. It also means to climb the rocky path to Calvary and lay down our lives with him.
James’ piece is good and necessary, but it is not the final word.
Here is a link:
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/25/my-take-stop-sugarcoating-the-bible/

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The Second Garden

Published by mhelbert on February 28, 2012

The other morning I was meditating on Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. Much ink has been spilled on what took place that night as Jesus prayed and the disciples napped. Jesus asked the Father to let the cup pass. Why? What cup? Some think that it was the cup of God’s wrath that Jesus was asked to drink to the very dregs. These people say that Jesus was aware of what was coming that night and the next day. He would be tortured and killed. Some, if not most, believe that Jesus was also aware of the purpose for this. He was to be the sacrifice, the ἱλαστήριον;  the means and the place where forgiveness, or atonement was offered. I’m not convinced that he was aware of this. But, that’s a topic for another day.
One thing that I am sure of was that Jesus was convinced that he was being faithfully obedient to the Father. Paul made this clear in Philippians 2. It was the Father’s will that Jesus move forward to the cross. 
I think that there was something else happening that night that sometimes gets overlooked in the search for theological truth. That thing was the grief that Jesus felt about leaving this life. Although, he knew that something far better was coming, I think that he experienced a sense of loss, too. From what I can see in the gospels, Jesus enjoyed life. He was accused of hanging with drunkards and gluttons because he “came eating and drinking.” He was a prophet who enjoyed working with the outcast and marginalized. I’m sure he had joy in healing people and restoring lost family members. Children seemed to hold a special place in his heart. And, we must not forget his parting words to his most intimate associates. “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you” John 15:15 NASB. These were important relationships that had been forged over 3 years of living, eating, drinking…being together. He was leaving Peter, James, John and the rest. Did he know that they would respond favorably to his absence and the Spirit’s presence? He may have had his doubts, especially if we take Mark’s portrayal of the twelve. Jesus had experienced joy and laughter; testing and fulfillment; everything that life in Palestine at that time could offer a person. I think we should consider these things. Jesus was, after all, human. He can relate to our concerns about loss. And, we must learn to identify with his faithfulness in order to move forward in our own lives.

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