A common foundation for doctrinal absolutism is the dictum, “God
said it; I believe it; and that settles it.” Too often, the reality is that God
didn’t say it. Some fourth-grade Sunday School teacher or some preacher with
serious control issues said it.
See, here’s the thing: too many of us Christians don’t trust
God to be God and to do the things God does. Too many of us don’t really
believe in Grace as unmerited favor. We
think, in our arrogance, that Grace is dependent upon the inerrancy of our proclamation
and the absolute necessity of our agenda. And so, we bang away at inflicting our
tunnel-vision obsessions about how things “ought” to be, instead of lifting up
Jesus.
Jesus said (my paraphrase) “If I am lifted up, I will draw all
people to me;”[1] but,
we don’t really believe that, so we bang away at abortion and homosexuality and
correct doctrine and social justice, and we debate each other over issues of
individual responsibility versus social responsibility. And we—not God—demand conformity to our understanding
of eternal mysteries. Moreover, much of our babbling is informed more by political
ideology and social prejudices than by the biblical witness!
In the process, our efforts have done more harm than good, and
the result is a shattered Body of Christ. Today’s most visible and verbal manifestations
of Church are driving more people away from Christ than they attract.
Jesus said, “If I am lifted up, I will draw all people to me.”
What therefore is suggested by the fact that more people are fleeing the church
than are uniting in a common extension of Jesus’ life and ministry? Do I need
to spell it out?
In Luke 10:5-9, Jesus sent 70 disciples on
their first mission, giving them specific instructions. While
some would argue that it’s a different version of the same event, all three
Synoptic Gospel report the sending out of the 12, with similar
instructions.[2]
In his parting
instructions in Matthew 28 and in Acts 1, Jesus commissioned his disciples to “Go … and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” (Matthew
28:19-20 NRSV) And “…you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in
all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Luke 1:8 (NRSV)
My point is this: in
every case the instructions were to go [without compensation beyond room and
board; but that’s another issue altogether], to offer peace, to cure the sick, raise
the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons, to proclaim the good news of the
kingdom, and to “make disciples” and “be my witnesses.”
The sum of Jesus’
instructions included serving and ministering to the sick and marginalized people
(“the least of these”[3]) and
proclaiming “good news” related to the kingdom of heaven. There is nothing in
his instructions about judging or condemning. Indeed, he was notorious for hobnobbing
with whores and Publicans, and said those people were more fit than the religious
elite for the kingdom of God. It was about “lifting up,” rather than about “putting
down.” That kind of gospel attracted
followers and created disciples!
When Jesus’ ministry did
involve criticism or condemnation it virtually always was aimed at those whose
priorities elevated power and wealth over compassion and spirituality, who
mistreated the poor, the widows, the lepers and the dispossessed, and who used
religious authority (and/or a fusion of religious and political power) to
benefit themselves and keep dissidents in their place.
Jesus described the
kingdom and his own role in it as sacrificial service. He summed up his first
sermon by saying (my paraphrase again), “Seek first the kingdom of God and God’s
righteousness, and all your other concerns will find their proper place in your
lives.” (Matthew 6:33)
But too many of us don’t
believe that. The “spiritually yearning but institutionally disillusioned
public”[4] avoids
the church because they see us struggling to exert our political/religious
agenda, using whatever ends-justify-the-means strategy necessary to accomplish
the task. That’s what they see; and in too many cases their vision is accurate.
Sadly, like most everyone else, they stereotype all expressions of organized
Christianity on the basis of those impressions. Thus the reality of a
fragmented church trying to minister in a fragmented world.
The most verbal proclaimers
of Christianity don’t truly believe that if we simply point to Jesus, lift him
up and seek first the kingdom, the kingdom will come, “on earth as it is in
heaven.” And the harder they work at lifting up their agendas of condemnation and
coercion, and as long as they insist on conformity to their ideologies and agendas
as prerequisites to grace and inclusion in God’s kingdom, the longer the
kingdom’s coming will be delayed.
That’s the way I see it
through the “Flawed Glass” that is my world view.
Together in the Walk,
Jim
[1] I
understand the context in which Jesus said this and acknowledge that his
intention was much broader than my application here; however, I believe my
understanding is not contrary to the overall teachings and ministry of Jesus. I
am open to discussion on the matter.
[2]
Matthew 10:7-11; Mark 6:8-13; Luke 9:2-6.
[3]
Matthew 25:40, 45
[4] A
term coined and developed by Thomas G. Bandy in Christian Chaos, Kicking Habits, Moving off the Map, Growing Spiritual
Redwoods, et. al.
