A passing thought

One of the most sobering images in the New Testament is when Paul publicly rebukes Peter in front of the entire church because of hypocrisy.  An account of it is reported in Galatians 2:11-21, reproduced here:

11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.12 For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision.13 The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.

14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews? 

15 “We are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles;16 nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.17 “But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be!18 “For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor.19 “For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God.20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.21 “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”

Interesting to see the man who has undoubtedly received the holy spirit from Christ caught in his own sin.  The man who is the rock of the Church and the same St. Peter who keeps the keys of heaven!  What a sobering image of Peter, however anyone reading through the Gospels will see that Peter is the disciple who did everything wrong first, but did it boldly.  He still has to learn and grow from his mistakes, just like everyone else.  Just like us.

However, that is an aside to my main contemplation:  What Paul rebuked him about, hypocrisy.  It's that very same word that plagues churches today.  If we, who live like the world, demand that others become Christians, perhaps we too are guilty of hypocrisy?  I don't believe those inside the church are allowed to pass judgment on the lifestyles and behaviors of those outside the church.  Perhaps that is expecting the gentiles to live like Jews when we ourselves live like gentiles?

I am not saying living like a gentile is wrong, but on the contrary it is necessary so that we might become all things to all people that we might save some.  Christians still sin, as evidenced by Peter.  The only difference is that their sin doesn't even matter when met with the atoning work of Christ on the Cross, and yet Paul said Peter stood condemned, despite there being no condemnation in Christ.  I've got a few hypotheses of what could be going on here, but it would require further investigation to prove them.  Something to think about.

Getting back to the point, I don't think imposing Christian morals through law has ever been a good idea.  Prohibition failed and if abortion is ever banned, it will fail too.  Don't get me wrong, I am 100% against abortions, but I am also 100% against banning them.  I value highly freedom as one who has been set free by Christ.  God loves us enough not to interfere with our free will, even if it may end up hurting ourselves and each other.  We should love each other enough as to not impose our wills on other people.  Morality which forces itself upon others is not moral at all.

There is a really shallow brand of Christianity thats been going around which measures faith by conversion rates.  "How many people did you bring to Christ and pray the prayer with?"  Rubbish and utter nonsense.  It cares nothing for loving actual people and more about loving what those people could be: notches on a Holy bed post.  I never knew love could be packaged and sold in bite sized manageable tracts.  I've heard people tell me that they can't completely write off "turn or burn" preaching or tracts because some people do get saved by them.  More nonsense.  No one is saved like this, but only more people who think that they are and worse, may do the same thing to another.  Without love, evangelism is dead and those who preach it are murderers.  Such shallow conversions with no spiritual depth evaporate quickly in the fire.

There is also the argument that the greatest act of love you can do for somebody is to save them and tell them about Christ and "save them from their doom".  I really don't think this is true.  The greatest act of love ever done happened 2000 years ago when a man named Jesus of Nazereth was brutally nailed to a cross.  He says it best himself "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends".  If you want to love someone, for the love of God don't start trying to save them.  Be a living sacrifice, for as the Good Shepherd lays down his life for his sheep, so too must we serve our brothers and sisters in Christ AND more so non-Christians.  The romans were astounded by what Christians were doing.  They said to themselves "They take care of their poor and our own poor as well!  Who are they?"

When we as Christians accepted the call of Christ, we accepted death, that much I am certain.  Our old lives no longer existed, but as Paul says above "“For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God."  We don't control our own lives anymore.  We don't call any of the shots.  We don't get to decide a thing, not because we can't, but because we want to lay down our life for those one that we love, Christ Jesus, and the ones that He loves, us.  We are free to do whatever we wish, but we give up this freedom as our Holy offering to God!  How I wish I truly understood this that I might live it as well instead of this sad pathetic creature I am now.  Again, I know I fall short of every expectation ever asked of me, but the beauty of grace is that what I am is enough somehow.  Again, we show that grace to those who don't know it, and we say to them "What you are is enough.  Come and eat while we get you ready to meet a wondrous God who would like to meet you!"

What Love Feels like

So I am heartbroken.

Today after the soup kitchen, I was waiting for the rest of my friends from church to get to the Shelter so we could pray and go in. While I was waiting, I met a man outside the shelter who was wondering if he was in the right place. I told him to just go on inside and they would let him in. However, he soon came back out and told me ,"They said they are full."

My heart dropped. Partly because I told him that they would let him in, and partly because I was looking at a man who had no place to rest his head for the night.

"God, help me figure out what to do!"

I struck up a conversation with him, and learned his name: Rainville. He was a Vietnam Era War Vet and ex-Middle School English teacher. He didn't say much and sometimes repeated the same questions, but I couldn't help but immediately like him. He was on his way into Boston so he would live and work at the Veterans Shelter there and just needed a place to spend the night. The only thing I had on me of any use to him was my car, so I offered him a ride to the nearest Shelter, or even to Boston if I had to. One problem: I have no idea where the nearest shelter is.

When Bob and the others arrived, I asked if they knew of any place. The closest one was in Salem, so we went inside LES and had Janet call the other shelter to see if they had room. Indeed they did. So it was off to Salem.

For most of the car ride over he commented on how nice my car was, and how cars back in the day weren't so nice. I really enjoyed his company. I even got lost a bit on the way there, but I didn't mind so much. Talking with Mr. Rainville was pretty relaxing.

When we got to where the shelter was, we couldn't quite find it. We stopped into Salem House of Pizza to ask if they knew where it was. I thought, "As long as we are here, let's get some pizza!" (to be honest, the food at the soup kitchen wasn't that great today so I really didn't eat much of it). It was only $3.87 for a small cheese pizza, which was more than enough for the two of us :) I said grace, and we ate. Not much was said, but I enjoyed the company. He used the bathroom after we finished and then we were on our way across the street.

I dropped him off at the shelter, and after making sure he had enough fare for the Bus into Boston and that there was bus station nearby, I left him to the care of the Salem Shelter. They didn't have a bed for him, but they had a chair and at least he was out of the cold. I really wanted more for him, but this was all they could do. I told him that I was really bad with goodbyes, and bid him farewell. He thanked me and I went out the door.

And then it hit me. My heart sank, but this time because I really missed him! My heart didn't want to leave him! I couldn't believe it, in the short hour I spent with him, my heart grew close to him. It felt as if I was leaving a very very close friend, knowing I wouldn't see him again. In one hour, he became my special friend who I looked after.  I couldn't bear the thought of leaving him nor could I turn turn back, else I would've never left. That is why I said I am heartbroken. I really miss Mr. Rainville.

Perhaps, then, this is what love feels like. Perhaps this is what it means to love someone.

Street People and Banquets

This past weekend, I have been meditating on this parable:

1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying:2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
4 “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
5 “But they paid no attention and went off–one to his field, another to his business.6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them.7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come.9 Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes.12 ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless.
13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:1-14 NIV)

The parable seems rather straightforward until it gets to verse 11. It's about the history of God's relationship with Israel and Israel's betrayal. I had a hard time comprehending what 11-14 could mean. I'm sitting with a happy picture of God who wants to throw the best party ever for Jesus, his Son and instantly confronted with the picture of a God who casts out one who did decide to come! When I read it, I asked myself in disbelief "No way... Why would God do that? What could this possibly mean?" It doesn't seem fair for God to not invite people, change his mind and invite everyone when he realizes the people he originally wanted to come ditched him, an then afford to be picky about who does show up! You'd think he'd be grateful anyone showed up at all! I prayed, "God! Of course he was dressed like that! HE WAS ON THE STREET! You told your servants to bring people in from every street corner and alleyway, and you expect them in wedding clothes? Isn't this a little unreasonable, Lord?"

I wrestled with God here (a very good practice! Ask Jacob aka Israel). I asked him to reveal to me his intent so I could reconcile my beliefs about and abundant and benevolent God with what I just read. Through meditation and prayer, this is what I've discerned:

Starting with God's question in Verse 12: Notice the word of address: Friend. Friend! How did you get in here? I get the feeling, though, that this isn't one of his "friends", rather he's using this term because he doesn't know this man's name. We do the same thing: "Watch it, pal!", "Hey buddy, could you move over?" "Listen, friend, I don't know who you think you are but..." God then asks the question, How did you get here without wedding clothes? Obviously he knows how he got there, he sent his servants to get him.

However, the man's response in verse 12 is very telling: He is speechless. Completely taken off guard and dumbfounded and at a loss for words, He had absolutely NO IDEA he was even supposed to be in wedding clothes! Perhaps he was only told that there was a great big party in heaven and all he had to do was come. It is clear he was misinformed about the nature of the banquet. He didn't know he had to be prepared.

Therefore, two things need to happen before one can attend and take part in the Kingdom of Heaven: 1) You must accept the invitation to come 2) You better get ready to go! Even in our weddings today, who just shows up to a wedding without the proper attire?

Now God sent out his servants to be his invitations for his Son's wedding. We who are called to serve God are God's invitations. We are responsible for making sure people know what they are being invited to. If we want every single person we can find singing, dancing, and celebrating before God because of his Son, we must do everything in our power to prepare them. These men and women on the street corners who have nothing. They have no wedding clothes, they are not prepared, they are not mature. When I talked of inheritance earlier and what it means to receive the kingdom like a child, it was this very meaning. To receive as a child receives inheritance is to be mature enough to handle it. You don't give estates to 5 year olds.

We are to be the Good Shepherds, laying down our lives for God's sheep. Using every single resource we have available to us, we make sure they are dressed and ready to be at that Wedding! I am reminded of 1 Corinthians 3:13-15 (not that I memorize scripture, but that I know this was in Corinthians somewhere and has to look it up):

"his work will be shown for what it is because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built up survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames." (1 Cor 3:11-15 NIV)

Paul is talking about laying foundations for a church, and no not as in a building, but rather as in the body of Christ. If your body is a temple where God dwells, it needs to be built and renovated. Someone must come and lay the foundation!Everyone needs a mentor, and no mentor should disciple without having first his own mentor. It is of the utmost importance you do not lie to someone about the kingdom just to get them to accept the invite! I don't know, but I feel like getting into the Kingdom as one only just escaping the flames seems like a good deal to me. Not only that, but all of the work you've done on Earth was for naught as you watch it burn. And we're not talking about buildings, we're talking about PEOPLE.

As Verse 13 states, those who are unprepared, yet accept the invite have in a way the worse fate. They know what they are missing. They thought they were going to be there, but in the end, there was weeping and gnashing of teeth. It sucks to be kicked out of the party because you had no idea what the rules for attending were. Apparently the invite wasn't all too clear or the servant who brought him didn't care too much that he wasn't in wedding attire. That is not a good Shepard, that is a hired hand.

So there you have it. That's what I have discerned about Matthew 22:11-14. Jesus ends the parable with this statement in verse 14: "For many are invited, but few are chosen". This strikes fear into my heart, and should for yours. Some have used this line to argue for divine election, but that is just ridiculous. Being a Christian is not like submitting an application to a country club and hoping you'd get in. That is hope that there is hope of salvation. We have hope of salvation! We can work it out in fear and trembling, maturing as he is mature (perfect), getting ready to go to what's bound to be the best celebration in all of eternity! If we can do these things in community and with the Holy Spirit as our guide, salvation is assuredly ours! Learning to love is a lifelong goal, always with room for improvement.

This is my prayer:

Heavenly Father,

I pray that it is our vision to see those who are so broken down in poverty dressed up in the finest gowns and lavish tuxedos, dancing and praising before God. What a glorious sight that would be, Lord! To see people go from rags to riches with absolute joy because they were invited and attended your banquet! I pray that people from every corner and alley would come and dance before you, dressed in your grace and elegance! Oh, that we would go and make disciples of all nations instead of just trying to persuade them that they need to become Christians! Lord, you will expose the works of our hands. You will show if we ever really cared for those that you love so much, for your sheep! Help us to be like Good Shepherds, willing to be interrupted for our sheep, willing to sacrifice everything for them so that we may know you, O God! What a privilege and an honor it is to be called by you and to serve you! I pray that we learn to invite and prepare for the biggest event in all of eternity!

In communion with all the angels and saints,

Amen.

Prayer and response

I've been greatly blessed today. GCTS has been doing this prayer revival movement for the entire week. It's going to continue throughout the weekend, but this morning as I was taking part in prayer, I was moved to write one down. I would like to share it with you:

Christ,

If you would have me

I would like to be with you

If you would welcome me

I would like to be laid down

If you would accept me

I would like to be like you

If you would know my name

I would like to be known by yours

For wherever exactly it is you are

I wish eternally there I might be

In communion with all the angels and saints

Praise be to you forever and ever

Amen

After I wrote this down, I felt that I needed to write more. This is what was written:

I've crucified my hands for you

so that yours could do my work

I've crucified my feet

so that yours could come home

I've pierced my side

so that you may have a drink

and crowned my head

so that yours could know my Father

My back has endured whips for you

so that your burdens I could carry

and my eyes have bled tears

to light yours to seal away your darkness

Because they have seen what you have done

and still I'll die for you

Because it does not matter who you are

for I've done everything for you

I did everything for you

Suddenly, I heard a woman weep across the room. Something told me that I should share what was written here. Her name was Suzanne. As she spoke with me, she told me of how profound it was that I would come and speak to her at that moment, and with this writing no less. We talked for a good while and got to know each other's histories, as I shared with her my testimony, she did likewise.As she read the response out loud back to me, she added the final line impromptu:

And I will continue to do everything for you, my bride.

Hearing it again and read out loud, I realized that the second part that was written in response to my prayer. I believe Christ himself wrote me a response to that prayer I wrote down. It was my hand that moved the entire time, but I am afraid that is all the credit due to me. I was no more than a pencil, but I feel blessed. Blessed because of this I met so many great people who prayed over me and with me and even anointing me with oil! Blessed because I felt the Holy Spirit alive in me.

I also feel blessed because Suzanne wants to have it read by one of the speakers of this Prayer revival (apparently she is well connected). She apparently reads much poetry and has won national competitions, so it was an honor for her to call this poem "a Rembrandt". I certainly do not feel like any great artist, but I am glad to have made something so filled with the Spirit. This is why I wanted to share it with you, not for the mere sake of sharing my work for the glory of my name, but rather to share the story behind it to the glory of the Father.

I am proud of my talents as a writer because I know just where they've come from. It is a talent given so that I may use it for the One who gives so freely until the day He returns! To think, I could've spent the morning sleeping instead! I am one happy man right now, fortunate enough to be called a Son.

In communion with all the angels and saints,

Hosanna! Hosanna in the Highest!

-John

Adventures in Homelessness

I want to share a little story of something that happened today.

I often frequent My Brother's Table, a Soup kitchen catering to the poor and homeless in downtown Lynn, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This is my Mentored Ministry, but it's become more than that. These are some friends of mine that I hang out with on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Today, after a rather productive day in getting around and talking to a lot of people at dinner, I didn't think it could get any better... until I met Paul.

Paul caught me on my way to the other side of the building where the Lynn Emergency Shelter (at least that's what I think LES means) is. He asked me if I could spare any change so he could get something to eat. The soup kitchen just closed, so I gave him my last 6 dollars. Now generally, it's not a good idea to give people money because of the general distrust of homeless people (they will spend it on booze or drugs, etc.), but I acted on impulse to what I felt led to do at that moment. Call me a sucker or naive, but I believed him. He thanked me and went on his way...

Or so I thought. He turns around and says to me, "I want to sing you a song." and with that came up to me and started singing Psalms 23 (The Lord is my Shepard, I shall not want...). Now, keep in mind, he was incredibly close to me, face to face, so I could smell what was on his breath. He was drunk :) His handshake was calloused, but firm. He asked my name a few times and told me his twice as well. He asked me to help him sing the Psalm and finish the words, as he couldn't quite remember them all, so I did (though I wasn't much better!). Two of us standing in the middle of the sidewalk, trying to figure out the words to Psalms 23; it was quite a scene!

He asked me what church I went to, which I thought was strange because I never brought it up. I told him about ECIC and that it was right down the street. Soon, his tone became more sullen and his voice full of longing. He said to me, "I want to go Home. I want to go Home. Can I go Home with you?" I soon figured out what he meant: He wanted to come to church with me. He wanted to come home to His Father. I told him about Pastor Kurt's sermon this Easter Sunday about how God misses us, and he commented that he's been away for a while. He said he would come next Sunday at 11, which is when I said service was.

Do you think this is real? Did he mean what he said? Was all this just drunk talk? Will he even remember meeting me? Only God knows, but I am excited to see what will happen next Sunday! I'm praying that I will see him again, either on the streets or in church, although something tells me he isn't going to forget my name. At this point, I could care less even if he did use those 6 dollars I gave him to buy beer. It's his money and he can use it how he likes, but it's amazing to think that 6 dollars started a conversation and perhaps even a friendship. I am glad.