BLOGGING TOWARD SUNDAY…

As Mack continues his conversation with Jesus, there is an interesting and unexpected turn in the dialogue.  As they talk, Mack is taken aback by the beauty of the scenery, a “visual symphony.”  Mack tells Jesus that he (Jesus) does great work, and Jesus replies:

And can you imagine if the earth was not at war, striving so hard just to survive?

The first time I read that sentence, I misunderstood its meaning.  I thought it meant that the world would be a much more beautiful place were it not for the wars that rage all over it.  But upon further examination, it became clear to me that Jesus was saying that the earth is at war with human beings, whose selfishness and thoughtlessness threaten its very existence.  Jesus goes on to clarify:

Some have attempted to help her, but most have simply tried to use her.  Humans, who have been given the task to lovingly steer the world, instead plunder her with no consideration, other than their immediate needs.  And they give little thought for their own children who will inherit their lack of love.  So they use her and abuse her with little consideration, and then when she shudders or blows her breath, they are offended and raise their fist at God.”

“You’re an ecologist?” Mack said, half as an accusation.

“Well, this blue-green ball in black space belongs to me,” Jesus stated emphatically. (The Shack, p.144).

That, dear readers, is very scriptural.  One of the primary tasks given by God to human beings is to “rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground (Genesis 1:26-27).  That means that we are to be caretakers of all creation, no exceptions.

Conservative Christians have had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the environmental movement,  due to their core belief in the imminent Second Coming of Christ.  Their guiding philosophy has pretty much been that the earth’s resources are there for us to use up, and that we won’t be residents here long enough to worry about exhausting them.  Thank goodness, many conservatives are finally moving away from that view, and have moved toward a much “greener” position. 

Jesus will be happy about that.�

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My favorite portions of the book are the ones in which Mack is in conversation with Jesus, represented as a homely carpenter in overalls. One of the best parts of the book is the one in which Jesus says to Mack:

Have you noticed that even though you call me Lord and King, I have never really acted in that capacity with you?  I’ve never taken control of your choices or forced you to do anything, even when what you were about to do was destructive or hurtful to youself and others.

Mack responds:  I would have preferred that you did take control at times.  It would have saved me and people I care about a lot of pain.

To force my will on you, Jesus repies, is exactly what love does not do.  Genuine relationships are marked by submission even when your choices are not helpful or healthy.

Why would the God of the universe want to be submitted to me?

Because we want you to join us in our circle of relationship. I don’t want slaves to my will; I want brothers and sisters who will share life with me.  (The Shack, pages 145-146).

Over and over while reading this book, I found myself struck by the book’s insistence that what God really wants of us is to be in relationship with Him/Her.  Our faith is not about doctrine, or believing 10 unbelievable things before breakfast every morning.  It is about being in relationship to the one who made us and desires communion with us.

If we were more concerned about keeping that  relationship vital and energizing, we’d find that the vertical relationship naturally spills over into our horizontal ones, and we’d be a lot more like Jesus…which is, to me, what it’s all about.

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When Mack has his first face-to-face encounter with God the Father (Papa, portrayed as a big, affable African-American woman), the first person of the Trinity points out some basic problems with the way Mack has approached life.

Mackenzie, you really don’t understand yet.  You try to make sense of the world…based on a very small and incomplete picture of reality…like looking at a parade through the tiny knothole of hurt, pain, self-centeredness, and power, and believing you are on your own and insignificant.  The real underlying flaw in your life, Mackenzie, is that you don’t think I am good.  If you knew I was good and that everything — the means, the ends, and all the processes of individual lives–is all covered by my goodness, then while you might not always understand what I am doing, you would trust me.  But you don’t. (The Shack, p. 126.  Windblown Media, 2008).

For me, that is the nucleus of the problem with nearly all of us.  J.B. Phillips, author of the Phillips Translation of the New Testament, warned us almost 50 years ago that our God is too small.  Not only too small, but too narrow, too bigoted, and often too much like us in every way.  Paul Tillich informed us that the best definition of God might be “Wholly Other,” totally beyond our understanding and comprehension.

What we fail to remember is that for Christians, God is just like Jesus.  If we could ever get that through our thick heads, many of our misunderstandings about God would disappear.  The God who is just like Jesus is love, perfect love, and so can be trusted, because Love can never act in ways contrary to what is best for us.

In the words of a contemporary Christian song, “when you can’t see God’s hand, trust his heart.”

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I had promised to write a series of reflections on lessons learned from reading The Shack.  As so often happens with our best intentions, life has a way of throwing something at us that can cause us to reorder our priorities.  i had such an experience last night.

Our church hosted the North Carolina United Methodist All-State Youth Choir for its second performance of this year’s tour.  The music was fantastic, and that is probably an understatement.  My wife and I have heard this group for the last ten years of its existence, and we both agree that this particular edition of the choir is one of the best ever. 

Their repertoire was varied, including a well-balanced mixture of classical, contemporary, and spirituals, truly something for every taste.   During several of the pieces, I found myself deeply moved, not only by the excellence of the performance and the beauty of the music, but also by the dedication and enthusiasm of the young singers who made up the choir.  I have said before that I gauge the beauty of a musical performance by the chill-bump factor, and last night I found myself very chilly during many of the songs.

Here’s the rub, though.  After advertising the performance in our bulletins, newsletter, and even in the newspaper, fewer than half of our active congregation chose to attend.  The church was nearly full, thank goodness, but less than half of those present were from my church.  That, for the life  of me, I cannot understand.  Opportunities to hear such wonderful musical performances in our area are rare, and why anyone would choose to stay home completely dumbfounds me.

The church sanctuary should have been “standing room only,” with the majority being from our own congregation.  If not for the music, then for the young performers at least.  If I sound ticked-off, it’s because I am.  Every preacher has the right to be…when it’s justified.

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Last week I mentioned the new book by William P. Young, entitled The Shack.  I am just about finished reading it, and the rest of this week I want to share with you some of the insights I have gathered from my reading.  Let me say first that I do not agree with all the theology contained in the book, but most of it is well-considered and, I believe, accurate.  As when reading any book, we pick and choose what strikes our fancy.

The book is a story about a man named Mack, at least a nominal Christian, who experiences the tragic murder of his 6-year old daughter, Missy, by a vagrant who is never brought to justice, and Missy’s body is never found.  Traces of her blood and her clothing are found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness.  Four years later, Mack receives a mysterious note, apparently from God, inviting him to come to the shack for a weekend.  At the shack, he meets the 3 members of the Trinity:  Papa, who is God the Father and is represented by a large African-American woman; Jesus, portrayed as a homely carpenter in overalls; and the Holy Spirit, called Sarayu, which means “wind.”

The conversations between Mack and the various members of the BIG 3 are both poignant and thought-provoking, attempting to help Mack come to terms with the loss of Missy, as well as deal with the question of where is God in the midst of unspeakable pain. 

Beginning tomorrow, I’ll be quoting some short passages for your reflection.  I think you’ll find it worthwhile, and by the way, I definitely recommend the book.  Blessings…

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In my devotional reading this morning, I was taken aback by a passage from Thomas Merton.  Merton, you may remember, was a Trappist monk, author, and peace activist, up until his death in 1968.  His writings continue to have a profound influence upon me.  Here’s what I read this morning:

What is the use of postmarking our mail with exhortations to “pray for peace” and then spending billions of dollars on atomic submarines, thermonuclear weapons, and ballistic missiles?  This, I would think, would certainly  be what the New Testament calls “mocking God” — and mocking Him far more effectively than the atheists do.  The culminating horror of the joke is that we are piling up these weapons to protect ourselves against atheists who, quite frankly, believe there is no God and are convinced that one has to rely on bombs and missiles since nothing else offers any real security.  Is it then because we have so much trust in the power of God that we are intent upon utterly destroying these people before they can destroy us?  Even at the risk of destroying ourselves at the same time?  (from A Thomas Merton Reader, edited by Thomas P. McDonnell, published by Doubleday, 1989.)

John Dominic Crossan calls this “the normalcy of civilization,” while pointing out that, while it may be our human norm, it is not the way of Christ.  Jesus was known for turning the other cheek, going the extra mile, and loving those who deemed themselves his enemies.  It’s a shame most of us who claim his name are not thought of in such a way, even though our continued existence as human beings may well depend upon our willingness to follow that way. 

Perhaps one day we can live up to the words we so often sing from “O God Our Help in Ages Past”: 

Sufficient is thine arm alone, and our defense is sure. 

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I wish that all of you could have experienced the pure joy of this past weekend.  In addition to Sunday being Fathers’ Day, it was also my parents’ 60th wedding anniversary.  Mom and dad had refused to allow us to have a formal reception of any kind, because that’s the kind of people they are.  But, we, their 4 children, being the kind of people we are, could not just let such a momentous occasion slide by without some kind of recognition.

My brother, sisters, and I came up with a plan.  We contacted the pastor of their church, Trinity Baptist, and asked him if the Kirby family could form the choir on the 15th.  Pastor Brant Hoots graciously said yes, and also invited me to preach the Fathers’ Day sermon.  So the Kirbys got together and started practicing, choosing a jazzy rendition of Gimme that Old Time Religion which we knew our parents would love.  It was my pleasure to direct the Kirby choir, and I’ll have to say, what a choir it was!  Sightreading and sound par excellence!

We were able to keep our secret, and when mom and dad arrived for Sunday School and saw 34 of us in the sanctuary waiting for them, they were just overwhelmed!  We had a group picture taken by a professional photographer, and when 11:00 am came, we were ready to go. 

The choir did an excellent job, I preached a pretty good sermon on the home, and my dad sniffled most of the way through it!  After church, the whole family (38) of us, gathered at my sister Kelli’s home, for a great covered dish lunch and then swimming in her pool.  Mom and dad were both beaming at having us all together, and I was in seventh heaven swimming with my 4 grandsons and trying to teach them to dive.

The weekend impressed upon me the importance of family, and what a joy it is to see all us together under the Lordship of Christ, and all deeply involved in our respective churches.  Life is indeed good, and families help to make it that way.Â

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One final word on the matter of hell and I will let it rest.  In my research on the subject, the very best comments I read were from Martin Marty of the Chicago Divinity School, and an author with whom I frequently find myself in agreement.

Marty said in the June 3 edition of the Christian Century:

The question of hell relates to themes of divine judgment, “the wrath of God,” the calling to account and the like.  Loading up those themes with this glamorous, colorful, mythosymbolic, ever-changing (also with the scriptures) envisioning, so subject to caricature and so useful for terrifying children, does not advance belief in the God revealed as a God of love.  Does it advance morality?  I prefer the piety of the St. Bernard tradition.  In a vision, an angel announces that she is going to torch the pleasures of heaven and quench the fires of hell, so people will start loving God for God’s own sake.

When I read those words, I thought immediately of the closing lines of my favorite choir anthem, Jane Marshall’s My Eternal King:

Not with the hope of gaining aught, not seeking a reward, but as thyself hast loved me, O ever loving Lord, e’en so I love thee, and will love, and in thy praise will sing, solely because thou art my God, and my eternal king.

So here is my last word on hell:  we cannot and must not try to scare people into heaven.  We can only love them there.Â

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Not too long ago, I had a member who decided to withdraw from my church because of her perception that I do not believe in hell. Nothing could be further from the truth, but she never asked for any clarification from me on the subject.

The truth is that I do believe in hell, for not only have I seen it, I have also occasionally experienced it. The difference between this woman and me is that I understand hell as a condition rather than a destination. Thomas Merton, speaking on the subject of atheism, said, “There are atheists who fight God and atheists who claim to believe in Him: what they both have in common is hatred of life, the fear of the unpredictable, the dread of grace, and the refusal of every spiritual gift.” A better definition of hell I have not come across.

Merton went on to point out the evil in all of us, calling it a blindness with which we must never cease to struggle. Hell, for me, is experienced by those who give up that struggle, then impose their resulting  struggle on the whole human race.

I have met a few such people, but even they are not beyond the mercy of God. Their hell, like all hells, is self-imposed, but even for them, the final word will be God’s, and it will be grace.

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The current issue of The Christian Century features a symposium on the subject of hell.  In it, eight renowned theologians deal with the question:  How should we think and talk about hell?  A few representative statements for you:

Hell is a non-negotiable item of Christian vocabulary. It has scriptural roots, it is there in the earliest creed, and it has been a staple of Christian preaching and art since almost the beginning.  It’s worth noting that Christian tradition….has been chaste in formulating doctrine about hell…. The Catholic Church has very little developed hell-doctrine, teaching almost nothing…about who is in hell, whether anyone is, what it’s like to be there and so on.  This is a good thing….    Paul Griffiths of Duke Divinity School

From the place that it was, hell became a trope (figure of speech) to describe a condition of utter despondency where hope is no longer a companion….a place of no return, of no re-collection….  From a place of condemnation it becomes a place of closure from where there is neither retrieval nor redressing.  Yet, in a paradoxical way, for the Christian there is a hope against all hope.  As it is confessed in the Apostles’  Creed, God in Christ descended into hell.  That nothing is out of God’s reach, even the depths of hell, is what affords hope, the promise of life.  All hope has indeed been abandoned.  But this hope that defies all hope becomes the gateway to heaven.  Vitor Westhelle, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago

Hell is an integral part of the Good News.  If there wasn’t something to be saved from, why would we need a savior?   Alyssa Pitstick, Hope College

I have a test, when pressed.  Take the presser to dinner, see to it that a candle is lit, and ask the guest to put his or her finger in the tiny flame for ten seconds.  “Are you crazy?”  No, just testing.  Now picture your whole body in it for ten seconds and then forever.  If you still want to press me, I’ll say: “If you believe that torment will happen to unreached Hindus and your friendly neighborhood unbeliever or lapsed Catholic, why are you so inhumane, so selfish, that you are spending an extra hour beyond necessity to eat or chat?  Get out of here.  Pass out tracts, board planes to reach the heathen.  Don’t tell me that you have dealt with the physical pain of that hell and can keep your sanity.

Hellfire and brimstone preachers can’t digest their own message.  Those who really want to save souls or spread divine love — even those who use belief in hell as the orthodoxy test — are the ones who teach us to love God for God’s own sake.   Martin Marty, Professor Emeritus, University of Chicago Divinity School.

That’s what some of our leading scholars say about hell.  What do you say?  Let’s get a dialogue going, and then I’ll tell you what I think, and why.  It’s worth talking about.

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