So I will be honest and admit it, I struggle being an American. I have not read many seminal books that discuss issues of global poverty and oppression. I have not really done a whole lot of thinking on the issues. But I have studied the Bible a little bit and have found that many American Christians ignore some of the basic teachings of the gospel in order to satisfy the American dream inside of them.
This past Tuesday in chapel at OCC we had a good message. However, there was one part of the message that made me incredibly angry. If this part were at the end of the message I would have been more angry leaving, instead it was at the beginning and ended up making me stop listening well. The statement was something that I hear a lot from Christians in America. Here it is: "God cares more about a person's soul than anything else. Therefore our primary mission as the church is evangelism and not social justice." This is not an exact quote.
Sounds good right? Well not to me. The Greek word for soul psuke is often translated "life" in the New Testament. This is not saying that the person's life is their soul, rather that a person's whole being is included in the soul. In this sense God does care about the soul more than anything else, because the soul encompasses the whole person. What I am really ticked off about is this subordinating of taking care of the poor and disenfranchised that I see in many white, middle-class, conservative, American Christians. When all of my physical needs are taken care of, then I do not have to worry about anything except my "soul." Keep in mind when most American's think of a soul they are not thinking of the entire life, but some ethereal entity of humanity. I would have to say that the majority of these sayings from us rich American's come out of ignorance, not because we do not know, but because we choose to not know. We choose to think that all God cares about is whether or not someone is going to heaven, and we forget that we are to pray for God's heaven to come to earth. "Our Father in heaven hallowed by your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven..." Ironically, the offering appeal that was taken up after the sermon was for people who are going to Haiti to help out at a Christian school. In the offering appeal it was mentioned that children in Haiti are so poor and malnourished that they eat goat poop. But God cares more about their soul? Please.
Later Tuesday night I dinner at a friend's house and there were some people there with whom I am not as close. Somehow our conversation got awkward. My friend whose house I was at has a friend who is a woman considering plastic surgery, for no other reason than that she thinks she would look better. We were discussing whether this is wrong or not. I began to explain a simple fact that if for one year the people of the US did not buy make up or clothing that the amount of money saved could provide food, water, clothing, education, and medical help for everyone in the world. In the middle of my explanation a person there said, "Don't give me the Bible college guilt trip..." Kids are eating goat crap, and an affluent Christian American woman wants a boob job to look better. What is wrong with us? A Christian woman thinks she needs bigger breasts because our society has told her so. Our society built off of pornography and lust has told her that she needs to conform to a certain man-made image that is not imago dei. We have told a good person that she is not pretty enough and she needs to spend money and becoming more and more pretty so that she can be loved and fulfilled. Children are eating clay because there is not enough food.
The Christian's goal is to bring total and complete humanity back to people. In a critique of an article I wrote for one of my classes I said that the church should hail the cause of social justice. My professor's response was only a question, "Do you really believe this? Shouldn't the church worry about evangelism?" How mad this makes me I cannot describe in kind language. There are over 2,000 verses in the Bible that speak about taking care of the poor. 2,000!!! Yes I believe that the church should preach social justice. Why wouldn't I? I wouldn't if it were to cost me my comfort and my stability. I would if it were to make me seem more "liberal" than what is socially acceptable. Jesus was homeless! Now that my rant is kind of over, I will explain what I think needs to happen.
In creation we were created in the image of God (imago dei) according to Genesis 1:27. We were made like God. The only image of God we have thus far in Genesis is creator/organizer. We were created with a desire to create and to organize. This has been tainted by sin. We have lost our original image and have taken on another. But thanks be to Christ who has made us truly human again. Now that we are truly human, we can create. We can imagine and invent and organize and sort and all sorts of wonderful things. But our task is to help other people get to the point where they can do just that create. Children cannot be children when they have to eat goat crap. What the hell has infiltrated the church to make people think that God doesn't care as much about children eating fecal matter as he does about whether or not they are going to heaven? Our task as Christians is to restore people to God (2 Corinthians 5). Being restored to God is something that encompasses all of existence. It is not just your non-tangible soul, but all of who you are and are meant to be. Yes the church should speak out against human trafficking, yes the church should speak out against poverty (especially here in America where we do not struggle with anything but over eating), yes we should give people a cup of cold water in Jesus' name. Why do have to get defensive when we are confronted with the problems of poverty? Could it be because we have too much and give far too little?
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
A New Name in Glory
Every so often there are events that remind us of our human frailty. These events can either inspire us to live life in a way in which we experience all of the beauty and majesty that is life, or they can darken our days and cause deep inner turmoil.
I have experienced two of these events this past week and am probably failing to live life to its fullest.
Aaron Calderon was one of my coaches. Throughout high school I had quite a few coaches, due largely to the fact that I played three sports. Each coach was a treasure and a joy to have. Someone older (sometimes a lot older) who would invest their time and energy into teaching me and my teammates the joys of working hard and together toward a common goal. Aaron was one of these men. Coach Calderon, as I called him, loved all sports. His heart was intense for competition. Yet his devotions lied in his family and in his faith. What will always stick out to me about Coach Calderon is a conversation I had with him on a trip up to play either North County Christian School, or the school in Cambria we used to play. We were in the blue van that the school used and we were talking about things spiritual. I was sitting, not up front, but in the first row of the back seats. He was seated up in the passenger seat. It was then that he turned around and asked me a question, "When does eternal life start?" I answered quickly and without much thought, "I suppose once we die." He looked at me with a smirk and said, "No, actually eternal life starts the day you become a Christian." The truth of his statement was undeniable and this truth has already had a lasting impact on my ministry. Just this past Tuesday I received news that Coach Calderon had died. He wasn't old at all, his children are all younger than I am. My heart breaks for the family. I look at his life and I see a man who worked hard so that his family could have a better life. He would work a night job and another job, just to support his family. On top of providing for his family, he would spend time coaching and mentoring. I now trust that his life has continued into glory, that he has passed through this life and found Jesus waiting for him. I can imagine him hearing the words from our Father, 'Well done, my faithful servant.' And I can see him saying, "I knew my life was just beginning."
Thursday of this week I had the joy to bless residents at a nursing home. Older people generally don't scare me much anymore. I have preached at a church for nearly 3 years whose congregation is quite a bit older than what I am used to. While at this nursing home I saw people who were succumb to the tortures of loneliness and feelings of uselessness. I saw people whose lives had been full of children, ministry, travel, and hard work brought down to states just a little better than being vegitated. This nursing home is a 'Christian' one and has many saints who have walked the path before me. Many of these people have had influence at OCC and have paved the way for generations to come. Yet I saw what scares us younger people in the eyes of these older ones. We are weak. We spend our lives trying to deny that fact. We grow up and support ourselves to show that we are not weak, but it is a farce. We pretend to be strong in work and in play, but we are just covering up the weaknesses below. All the while in the back of our minds we know that our pseudo-strength is only temporary, we know that we will fall into the hands of time and old age. We know that we can never escape the end that hunts us. We eat healthy to avoid it. We excercise to build up our strength to fight against it. We even have surgeries to hide it when it gets too close for comfort. But it is there, our weakness staring us in the face. When we are confronted with the pains and struggles of old age, our hearts quiver in fear. We cower and flea, hopeing that old age didn't see us, knowing that it did. We are afraid that in our old age we will again be weak. Not just physically, but emotionally. We are afraid that we will lose our importance to the world, our significance to the people we are closest to. So we shy away and hide. We avoid conversations with those who are older to again cover up the fact that we are weak.
But there is beauty to life (especially eternal life). There is vibrancy in color, there is wonder in creation, there is elegence in language, there is joy in people, there is hope. The blood that flowed from Calvary has not left us unchanged, it has not left us only to suffer at the hands of our enemy. We are empowered to live, create, and just be. We can smell the breeze, taste the sunlight, embrace the moonlight, and intake all of the wonderful matchless beauties that are on this earth. We can life like there is no tomorrow, because life is only today. Life is what we are doing at the time. Building a future, reconstructing the past, being in the present life is a gift and a gift that is meant to be used well. May I be inspired to live, may I be challenged to breath in the breath of fresh air and experience life abundant.
I have experienced two of these events this past week and am probably failing to live life to its fullest.
Aaron Calderon was one of my coaches. Throughout high school I had quite a few coaches, due largely to the fact that I played three sports. Each coach was a treasure and a joy to have. Someone older (sometimes a lot older) who would invest their time and energy into teaching me and my teammates the joys of working hard and together toward a common goal. Aaron was one of these men. Coach Calderon, as I called him, loved all sports. His heart was intense for competition. Yet his devotions lied in his family and in his faith. What will always stick out to me about Coach Calderon is a conversation I had with him on a trip up to play either North County Christian School, or the school in Cambria we used to play. We were in the blue van that the school used and we were talking about things spiritual. I was sitting, not up front, but in the first row of the back seats. He was seated up in the passenger seat. It was then that he turned around and asked me a question, "When does eternal life start?" I answered quickly and without much thought, "I suppose once we die." He looked at me with a smirk and said, "No, actually eternal life starts the day you become a Christian." The truth of his statement was undeniable and this truth has already had a lasting impact on my ministry. Just this past Tuesday I received news that Coach Calderon had died. He wasn't old at all, his children are all younger than I am. My heart breaks for the family. I look at his life and I see a man who worked hard so that his family could have a better life. He would work a night job and another job, just to support his family. On top of providing for his family, he would spend time coaching and mentoring. I now trust that his life has continued into glory, that he has passed through this life and found Jesus waiting for him. I can imagine him hearing the words from our Father, 'Well done, my faithful servant.' And I can see him saying, "I knew my life was just beginning."
Thursday of this week I had the joy to bless residents at a nursing home. Older people generally don't scare me much anymore. I have preached at a church for nearly 3 years whose congregation is quite a bit older than what I am used to. While at this nursing home I saw people who were succumb to the tortures of loneliness and feelings of uselessness. I saw people whose lives had been full of children, ministry, travel, and hard work brought down to states just a little better than being vegitated. This nursing home is a 'Christian' one and has many saints who have walked the path before me. Many of these people have had influence at OCC and have paved the way for generations to come. Yet I saw what scares us younger people in the eyes of these older ones. We are weak. We spend our lives trying to deny that fact. We grow up and support ourselves to show that we are not weak, but it is a farce. We pretend to be strong in work and in play, but we are just covering up the weaknesses below. All the while in the back of our minds we know that our pseudo-strength is only temporary, we know that we will fall into the hands of time and old age. We know that we can never escape the end that hunts us. We eat healthy to avoid it. We excercise to build up our strength to fight against it. We even have surgeries to hide it when it gets too close for comfort. But it is there, our weakness staring us in the face. When we are confronted with the pains and struggles of old age, our hearts quiver in fear. We cower and flea, hopeing that old age didn't see us, knowing that it did. We are afraid that in our old age we will again be weak. Not just physically, but emotionally. We are afraid that we will lose our importance to the world, our significance to the people we are closest to. So we shy away and hide. We avoid conversations with those who are older to again cover up the fact that we are weak.
But there is beauty to life (especially eternal life). There is vibrancy in color, there is wonder in creation, there is elegence in language, there is joy in people, there is hope. The blood that flowed from Calvary has not left us unchanged, it has not left us only to suffer at the hands of our enemy. We are empowered to live, create, and just be. We can smell the breeze, taste the sunlight, embrace the moonlight, and intake all of the wonderful matchless beauties that are on this earth. We can life like there is no tomorrow, because life is only today. Life is what we are doing at the time. Building a future, reconstructing the past, being in the present life is a gift and a gift that is meant to be used well. May I be inspired to live, may I be challenged to breath in the breath of fresh air and experience life abundant.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Simpson Orthodoxy
In case you haven't noticed, I won't be updating my reading of the Jesus Way. It is a good book and you should read it. Really you should.
Yesterday, Sunday February 1st of 2009, I had the beautiful privilege of attending a Greek Orthodox (although they would probably just prefer Orthodox) service. The smell of incense was both powerful and a little overwhelming. The music was ancient, not flashy, but beautiful. The homily was, well, a homily not superb and not horrible, it was actually decent, but not spectacular. The melodic chants of the priest were intoxicating. The prayers of the Saints, like John Crysostom (sp?), were far reaching. Yet I left the service, uncomfortable. My thoughts about the liturgy were mixed with praise and sadness. There was still a tribalistic mentality in the liturgical prayers. Prayers for the army of the US, but not for the enemies of Uncle Sam, seemed a little out of place, especially coming from an Orthodox (Eastern European) tradition. I guess the tribalism found in the Orthodox church is not all that surprising, considering the many different tribes of Orthodoxy (Romanian, Russian, Greek, etc.). I wish churches would strive for unity.
What would happen if churches became ecumenical? What if our standard for fellowship was defined by how we view the resurrection of Jesus? So what if someone teaches a false doctrine? Yes I believe that false doctrine is bad, but I believe that Christians should be willing to listen and even agree to disagree with each other, even on some traditionally BIG issues. I believe that if the church were more focused on loving each other, then doctrinal disagreements will not be the only focus. It is as if we have not yet been filled with enough love to care more about other people's hearts than their convictions.
On an awesome sidenote, the priest mentioned something called "triodian (sp?)." This word finally made sense of the Simpson television show character Reverend Lovejoy. In my viewings of the Simpson's I have heard Reverend Lovejoy spout off funny Christian words similar to that of "triodian." Reverend Lovejoy is then the combination of all Christian ministers made into an ecumenical concauction. I truly found this amazing and cool. Not only does Reverend Lovejoy represent baptists and christian churchians, he also represents the Orthodox church and Catholics and others. I am able to look more fondly at the Simpson's because of this event.
Yesterday, Sunday February 1st of 2009, I had the beautiful privilege of attending a Greek Orthodox (although they would probably just prefer Orthodox) service. The smell of incense was both powerful and a little overwhelming. The music was ancient, not flashy, but beautiful. The homily was, well, a homily not superb and not horrible, it was actually decent, but not spectacular. The melodic chants of the priest were intoxicating. The prayers of the Saints, like John Crysostom (sp?), were far reaching. Yet I left the service, uncomfortable. My thoughts about the liturgy were mixed with praise and sadness. There was still a tribalistic mentality in the liturgical prayers. Prayers for the army of the US, but not for the enemies of Uncle Sam, seemed a little out of place, especially coming from an Orthodox (Eastern European) tradition. I guess the tribalism found in the Orthodox church is not all that surprising, considering the many different tribes of Orthodoxy (Romanian, Russian, Greek, etc.). I wish churches would strive for unity.
What would happen if churches became ecumenical? What if our standard for fellowship was defined by how we view the resurrection of Jesus? So what if someone teaches a false doctrine? Yes I believe that false doctrine is bad, but I believe that Christians should be willing to listen and even agree to disagree with each other, even on some traditionally BIG issues. I believe that if the church were more focused on loving each other, then doctrinal disagreements will not be the only focus. It is as if we have not yet been filled with enough love to care more about other people's hearts than their convictions.
On an awesome sidenote, the priest mentioned something called "triodian (sp?)." This word finally made sense of the Simpson television show character Reverend Lovejoy. In my viewings of the Simpson's I have heard Reverend Lovejoy spout off funny Christian words similar to that of "triodian." Reverend Lovejoy is then the combination of all Christian ministers made into an ecumenical concauction. I truly found this amazing and cool. Not only does Reverend Lovejoy represent baptists and christian churchians, he also represents the Orthodox church and Catholics and others. I am able to look more fondly at the Simpson's because of this event.
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