For the first time in my life, driving to church on Sunday morning means that I am going to work. This has caused me to wonder: Why do we come together and do the things we do on Sunday morning? What is this thing we call church? It is obviously not merely an institution or a building. What, then, is the church and why do we gather?
It’s common to define the church as “the people.” Although this is true, it is an incomplete definition of the church. If the church is simply “the people,” then bowling leagues are also churches. What differentiates the church from any general gathering of people is the object around which the people gather. Whereas a bowling league comes together to bowl, the church comes together to meet God.
To say that the church is the people who come together to meet God might seem abstract. However, our God makes Himself available to us in very concrete ways. We don’t gather around an abstract concept of God, but around the Word of God. This Word meets us in the reading of Scripture and in the preaching of God’s message.
Furthermore, the Word of God meets us in the meal we celebrate together. Jesus Christ – the incarnate Word of God – gives Himself to us in that meal. He is the One around whom we gather, and His Spirit is the One who makes us the “church” and not just another social club.
Additionally, God meets us in the very presence of the people who gather. Because the church is the body of Christ, the person sitting next to us in the pew on Sunday morning presents to us the very presence of God in bodily form. As Jesus has said, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” (Matthew 18:20)
The church is the gathering of people around Jesus Christ. He is our head, and we are His body. When we come together on Sunday morning, it is to meet Him. We come together to speak with Him in prayer and song, to receive Him in Word and Sacrament, to give thanks to Him as He gives Himself to us, and to love Him by loving the other members of His body. That is why we gather on Sunday morning. It's true that we do these things in small and humble ways, but our boast is not in the things we do but in the Lord for whom we do them. (1 Corinthians 1:31)
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
The Anointed One
The Hebrew word “Messiah” and the Greek equivalent “Christ” literally mean “anointed one.” Thus, when we refer to Jesus as “Messiah” or “Christ,” we are calling him the anointed one. What does this really mean? Throughout the Bible, people are anointed for various reasons. Of those reasons, one was central: to coronate a king. For example, Saul and David, the first two kings of Israel, were anointed by the prophet Samuel. (See 1 Samuel 10:1 and 16:13.) Being anointed with oil was the central act in a king’s coronation.
It is important to note that Jesus, the “Messiah/Christ” or the “anointed one,” was anointed by Mary Magdalene before his crucifixion and burial. Anointing a body for burial was common. Fragrant oil not only masked the stench of the decaying body, but it also showed great respect and care for the deceased person. By anointing Jesus, Mary was preparing him for his impending crucifixion and burial.
What Mary did not know, however, was that Jesus’ crucifixion and burial were aspects of – and would lead to – his coronation as King. Shortly after the anointing, Jesus speaks of his crucifixion thusly: “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” (John 12:31-32) Ultimately, the cross is transformed by Jesus into his throne. The cross is the place from which Jesus drives out "the ruler of this world" and "draw(s) all people to (him)self."
True, the crucifixion of Jesus – when he was “lifted up from the earth” – appears to be merely the rejection of him as king. However, the very rejection of Jesus’ kingship actually brings about his reign. Jesus, the “anointed one,” was not anointed merely for his burial. He was anointed for his coronation, which is realized in his eventual resurrection and ascension to the right hand of God. Because the right hand of God is the place from which the world is ruled, Jesus’ position there means that he is the true and eternal King.
Finally, the question must be asked: What does this have to do with us? Everything. Though we may like to excuse ourselves from responsibility, it is certain that we – the world – are all responsible for rejecting Jesus as our King. It is not merely the Jews, or the Romans, or those we think are “sinners” that have rejected Jesus. No, in our disobedience to (which is a rejection of) God, we have all become culpable. Insofar as we refuse to acknowledge that we are guilty of rejecting the Son of God, then we remain under judgment.
However, insofar as we confess our responsibility, then we join Mary in mourning Jesus’ rejection and death. To join Mary in mourning Jesus’ rejection is to join her in anointing him for his crucifixion and burial. And to join Mary in anointing Jesus for his crucifixion and burial is, ultimately, to anoint Jesus for his coronation and to make him our King.
Mary had “great joy” when she was told the good news of Jesus’ resurrection. (Matthew 28:8) So while we mourn with Mary that He has been rejected, we also rejoice with her that He has risen and is now truly our King. He is truly our “anointed One” whose Spirit reigns within and among us. Abstract? Yes. Fundamentally true about our relation to the Spirit of the risen Jesus? I think so.
It is important to note that Jesus, the “Messiah/Christ” or the “anointed one,” was anointed by Mary Magdalene before his crucifixion and burial. Anointing a body for burial was common. Fragrant oil not only masked the stench of the decaying body, but it also showed great respect and care for the deceased person. By anointing Jesus, Mary was preparing him for his impending crucifixion and burial.
What Mary did not know, however, was that Jesus’ crucifixion and burial were aspects of – and would lead to – his coronation as King. Shortly after the anointing, Jesus speaks of his crucifixion thusly: “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” (John 12:31-32) Ultimately, the cross is transformed by Jesus into his throne. The cross is the place from which Jesus drives out "the ruler of this world" and "draw(s) all people to (him)self."
True, the crucifixion of Jesus – when he was “lifted up from the earth” – appears to be merely the rejection of him as king. However, the very rejection of Jesus’ kingship actually brings about his reign. Jesus, the “anointed one,” was not anointed merely for his burial. He was anointed for his coronation, which is realized in his eventual resurrection and ascension to the right hand of God. Because the right hand of God is the place from which the world is ruled, Jesus’ position there means that he is the true and eternal King.
Finally, the question must be asked: What does this have to do with us? Everything. Though we may like to excuse ourselves from responsibility, it is certain that we – the world – are all responsible for rejecting Jesus as our King. It is not merely the Jews, or the Romans, or those we think are “sinners” that have rejected Jesus. No, in our disobedience to (which is a rejection of) God, we have all become culpable. Insofar as we refuse to acknowledge that we are guilty of rejecting the Son of God, then we remain under judgment.
However, insofar as we confess our responsibility, then we join Mary in mourning Jesus’ rejection and death. To join Mary in mourning Jesus’ rejection is to join her in anointing him for his crucifixion and burial. And to join Mary in anointing Jesus for his crucifixion and burial is, ultimately, to anoint Jesus for his coronation and to make him our King.
Mary had “great joy” when she was told the good news of Jesus’ resurrection. (Matthew 28:8) So while we mourn with Mary that He has been rejected, we also rejoice with her that He has risen and is now truly our King. He is truly our “anointed One” whose Spirit reigns within and among us. Abstract? Yes. Fundamentally true about our relation to the Spirit of the risen Jesus? I think so.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Freedom
There is a lot of confusion about the nature of Christian freedom. Perhaps because the common secular definition of freedom is “doing what you want,” the Christian message frequently gets distorted to fit this framework. This leads non-Christians and Christians alike into thinking that Christian freedom means “do what you want, God loves you anyway.” Popular psychology has had a major influence here, especially Carl Rogers’ recommendation that psychologists express “unconditional positive regard.”
As a result of this influence, God is thought to be a rather fluffy fellow who pats us on the back when we’re feeling down. This is simply not true. Perhaps Paul’s letter to the Romans can correct this thinking: “Note then the kindness and severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness toward you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.” (Romans 11:22)
What, then, is Christian freedom? How can Christians proclaim that they are free while also maintaining that Christ is Lord? Doesn’t one simply cancel out the other? If God reigns, then we can’t be free; and if we’re free, then God can’t reign. To answer these questions and solve this problem, we need to rid ourselves of the definition of freedom as “doing what you want.” In fact, simply doing what we want often leads to progressively deeper bondage. Addicts are well-aware of this fundamental truth.
Christianity offers a different – and infinitely better – definition of freedom than the world’s “doing what you want.” Christian freedom refuses to be equated with autonomy (which literally means “self rule”). Instead of defining freedom as the ability to do what we want, Christianity speaks of being who we were created to be. Of course, this is easily misconstrued. Being who we were created to be often reverts right back into doing what we want.
What must be remembered is that we didn’t create ourselves and that we don’t decide who we were created to be. Rather, God has created us and has decided who we were created to be. Put simply, we were created to be those who (1) love the Lord our God wholeheartedly and (2) love our neighbors as ourselves. (Matthew 22:37-39) So when Christianity defines freedom as “being who you were created to be,” it means the power to love God above all else and to love your neighbor as yourself.
The effort to make anything else our reason for living leads only to bondage. (See John 8:34.) Ultimately, we are made free by the Spirit of God, who comes upon us and writes God’s law on our hearts. This work of the Holy Spirit is explained quite beautifully in II Corinthians 3:1-18, which is one of my favorite passages of Scripture. There Paul writes about the Spirit of God transforming us into the image of Jesus Christ. This transformation is brought about neither by doing what we want nor by trying really hard to be good people. Rather, we are transformed into the image of Christ as we passively yield to the Spirit of God dwelling within us.
Because we were all created to be like Jesus Christ, being transformed by God’s Spirit into his image is true freedom: “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.” (II Corinthians 3:17-18) In comparison, the “do what you want” notion of freedom looks pretty lame. Ultimately, it's a mistake to settle for anything less than the true freedom held out to us by the Spirit of the living God.
As a result of this influence, God is thought to be a rather fluffy fellow who pats us on the back when we’re feeling down. This is simply not true. Perhaps Paul’s letter to the Romans can correct this thinking: “Note then the kindness and severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness toward you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.” (Romans 11:22)
What, then, is Christian freedom? How can Christians proclaim that they are free while also maintaining that Christ is Lord? Doesn’t one simply cancel out the other? If God reigns, then we can’t be free; and if we’re free, then God can’t reign. To answer these questions and solve this problem, we need to rid ourselves of the definition of freedom as “doing what you want.” In fact, simply doing what we want often leads to progressively deeper bondage. Addicts are well-aware of this fundamental truth.
Christianity offers a different – and infinitely better – definition of freedom than the world’s “doing what you want.” Christian freedom refuses to be equated with autonomy (which literally means “self rule”). Instead of defining freedom as the ability to do what we want, Christianity speaks of being who we were created to be. Of course, this is easily misconstrued. Being who we were created to be often reverts right back into doing what we want.
What must be remembered is that we didn’t create ourselves and that we don’t decide who we were created to be. Rather, God has created us and has decided who we were created to be. Put simply, we were created to be those who (1) love the Lord our God wholeheartedly and (2) love our neighbors as ourselves. (Matthew 22:37-39) So when Christianity defines freedom as “being who you were created to be,” it means the power to love God above all else and to love your neighbor as yourself.
The effort to make anything else our reason for living leads only to bondage. (See John 8:34.) Ultimately, we are made free by the Spirit of God, who comes upon us and writes God’s law on our hearts. This work of the Holy Spirit is explained quite beautifully in II Corinthians 3:1-18, which is one of my favorite passages of Scripture. There Paul writes about the Spirit of God transforming us into the image of Jesus Christ. This transformation is brought about neither by doing what we want nor by trying really hard to be good people. Rather, we are transformed into the image of Christ as we passively yield to the Spirit of God dwelling within us.
Because we were all created to be like Jesus Christ, being transformed by God’s Spirit into his image is true freedom: “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.” (II Corinthians 3:17-18) In comparison, the “do what you want” notion of freedom looks pretty lame. Ultimately, it's a mistake to settle for anything less than the true freedom held out to us by the Spirit of the living God.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
No Other Name
Some of the earliest (and probably best) Christian sermons are recorded in the book of Acts. Peter’s sermon in the third chapter of Acts is especially noteworthy, since it is there that he makes the following declaration about Jesus: “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.” (Acts 2:12) Of course, Peter’s declaration is corroborated by Jesus’ own teaching about himself: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
Put simply, Jesus of Nazareth is not merely another good moral teacher or major religious figure. He is the Son of God, not merely a son of God. He is the only one who can promise – and deliver – the Kingdom of God. Because the very definition of the Kingdom of God is that place wherein God reigns, being ruled by some mere man (even the best man ever) does not truly bring about the Kingdom of God. If having Jesus as our King is going to actually usher in the Kingdom of God, then it is essential that Jesus himself be divine.
The preeminence of Jesus is a scandal to most people, and there is an ongoing effort to deny that Jesus was anything more than a great man. However, if the divinity of Jesus is untrue, then the gulf between God and humanity remains. The fact that Jesus is the incarnation of the eternal Word of God is not a matter of dry theological speculation. That the eternal Word is united to human flesh in the person Jesus is essential to our redemption, since it is in this unification that God and humanity are reconciled.
Of course, the declaration that Jesus of Nazareth is the incarnation of the Word of God remains a matter of faith. There are signs (including Jesus’ miracles and teachings) that point to Jesus’ divinity, but it cannot be proven. There is not some “standard of divinity” that we can devise and apply to Jesus. It is by faith in Jesus – by entrusting ourselves to Him – that we know that He is indeed the Son of God who brings about our salvation.
What, then, is the relationship of Jesus to all the great moral teachers and religious figures? This question has been asked since the beginning of Christianity, and Jesus himself was faced with it. Perhaps the greatest religious teacher and contemporary of Jesus was John the Baptist. Despite John’s greatness, it is said of him that “he himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.” (John 1:8)
We can take what is said of John the Baptist and apply it to all great teachers and religious figures. Even the greatest of them serve only to point to the true light, Jesus. Insofar as they fulfill that role, such people are not to be despised. However, they must remain in their proper place. Even Moses, perhaps the greatest man in Jewish history, is subordinate to Jesus. We read in Hebrews 3:3, “Yet Jesus is worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself.”
As Peter said in his sermon, there is salvation in no one but Jesus Christ. This is not some declaration with which Christians are to brow-beat others. The moment we take such a declaration and begin feeling smug about ourselves, we have driven out the Spirit of Christ and forfeited the salvation of which we speak. Nevertheless, the declaration remains true. Jesus Christ – whom we meet in Holy Communion, and whose body is the Church – is the only one in whom we find the joy of salvation. It is in Jesus that humanity is reconciled with God, and it is by Jesus’ reign in our hearts that the Kingdom of God is truly at hand.
Put simply, Jesus of Nazareth is not merely another good moral teacher or major religious figure. He is the Son of God, not merely a son of God. He is the only one who can promise – and deliver – the Kingdom of God. Because the very definition of the Kingdom of God is that place wherein God reigns, being ruled by some mere man (even the best man ever) does not truly bring about the Kingdom of God. If having Jesus as our King is going to actually usher in the Kingdom of God, then it is essential that Jesus himself be divine.
The preeminence of Jesus is a scandal to most people, and there is an ongoing effort to deny that Jesus was anything more than a great man. However, if the divinity of Jesus is untrue, then the gulf between God and humanity remains. The fact that Jesus is the incarnation of the eternal Word of God is not a matter of dry theological speculation. That the eternal Word is united to human flesh in the person Jesus is essential to our redemption, since it is in this unification that God and humanity are reconciled.
Of course, the declaration that Jesus of Nazareth is the incarnation of the Word of God remains a matter of faith. There are signs (including Jesus’ miracles and teachings) that point to Jesus’ divinity, but it cannot be proven. There is not some “standard of divinity” that we can devise and apply to Jesus. It is by faith in Jesus – by entrusting ourselves to Him – that we know that He is indeed the Son of God who brings about our salvation.
What, then, is the relationship of Jesus to all the great moral teachers and religious figures? This question has been asked since the beginning of Christianity, and Jesus himself was faced with it. Perhaps the greatest religious teacher and contemporary of Jesus was John the Baptist. Despite John’s greatness, it is said of him that “he himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.” (John 1:8)
We can take what is said of John the Baptist and apply it to all great teachers and religious figures. Even the greatest of them serve only to point to the true light, Jesus. Insofar as they fulfill that role, such people are not to be despised. However, they must remain in their proper place. Even Moses, perhaps the greatest man in Jewish history, is subordinate to Jesus. We read in Hebrews 3:3, “Yet Jesus is worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself.”
As Peter said in his sermon, there is salvation in no one but Jesus Christ. This is not some declaration with which Christians are to brow-beat others. The moment we take such a declaration and begin feeling smug about ourselves, we have driven out the Spirit of Christ and forfeited the salvation of which we speak. Nevertheless, the declaration remains true. Jesus Christ – whom we meet in Holy Communion, and whose body is the Church – is the only one in whom we find the joy of salvation. It is in Jesus that humanity is reconciled with God, and it is by Jesus’ reign in our hearts that the Kingdom of God is truly at hand.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)