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Christmas II January 2, 2011 Jer 31; Eph. 1; John 1:1-14 Tony Campolo on mega-churches: "This kind of Christianity has provided personal salvation for millions of people who found no solace within ordinary churches and have kept millions from giving up on god. However, this kind of religion will not bring about social change.... As a matter of fact, these preachers will leave the young, upwardly mobile professionals in their congregations quite content with their BMW's, Reebock sneakers, and expensive ski weekends. They certainly will not proclaim an alternative vision for the future that might lead Americans to abandon their comfortable lifestyles to participate in creating another kind of world. The prophets of the Bible would be hard on the super churches. They would claim that such churches only help people to become better adjusted to our consumer-oriented society instead of calling them to reject it. They would argue that these churches are part of the problem, because they strive to make people comfortable in a society that has gone mad." Tony Campolo once again: "I spoke at the Southern Baptism Convention a couple of years ago and I opened up by saying, 'I don't know why you're worrying so much about inerrancy of scripture; after you prove that it's inerrant, you're not going to do what it says anyway.' It's true. If you're supposed to be a pacifist, if you're supposed to give money to the poor-you're not going to do all this stuff. Wouldn't it be better if you agreed that the Bible didn't speak the truth all the time, and then maybe you could get out of some of these obligations?" I like Tony because there are times when he has caught me living a life that is distant from the faith I confess. There are times when he has taken my breath away. I thought of Tony when I read these three texts for this first Sunday of 2011. I asked myself....can we take these texts seriously? Can we take the bible seriously for this new year.....or can I just take the parts that I agree with? Hear the word of the Lord, O Nations and declare it to coastlands far away...sing aloud from the heights of Zion.... Do you mean I am called to share this with others...to proclaim God's presence in life? In the letter to the Ephesians Paul outlines an invitation to grow more deeply into faith....to become a disciple of mature commitment and faithfulness. In a way it is a manual for followers. The purpose is that we will ultimately give glory to God through our lives. But then there is the question, Do you mean I must live for the praise of his Glory... actually live a life that is congruent with my words with faith in Jesus Christ at the center?
Do you mean my flesh....my flesh that hurts with arthritis and grieves a friend's death, that moves into the market place, the work place, the intimacy of marriage and the joy of parenthood, friendships, politics ....that flesh? I have two things for us to think about as we begin 2011. First, yes the Word did become flesh.
Rebecca and I read a devotion together when we are actually living under the same roof. We have been working our way through Eugene Peterson's book, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places. One day he observed.... we are not human beings having a Spiritual experience but rather we are Spiritual Beings having a human experience. Think about that for a moment... you are a Spiritual Being having a Human experience and the best way to live in the journey of that experience is for Jesus...to be fleshed out in your life. The Second thing comes from Jeremiah this morning.... Hear the Word of the Lord, O nations and declare it in the coastlands far away. This Lord's Word, this Lord's presence in our lives is worth our sharing. As the spiritual says, How can I keep from singing....... How can I keep from telling others about this Jesus and his vision for creation. I have thought about all the things I am willing to share:
This Jesus is the one where I leave the deepest hopes and dreams for my loved ones. This Jesus who holds Iraq and Afghanistan, what we do to mess up the planet; and what we do to hurt and help each other. This Jesus receives it with love and compassion. This Jesus is worth sharing. So, 2011 comes with an invitation to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with someone who is close to you. Tony Campolo usually gets my attention because it appears to me that he dares to listen to texts like our texts today and then he asks the question..... what does this have to do with my life? He dares to listen. So the question.... do we dare to listen? When we listen...... just think of what God may actually do through us. Amen Lutheran Church of the Cross, Nisswa, Minnesota |
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