Mudshot Eyes

History is crucial for understanding not only the life of Jesus, but also the entire biblical message. A good deal of the Old Testament is historical narrative. The Bible tells the story of God’s revelation in the life and history of the people of God. Without that story, it is impossible to know that revelation.

- from The Story of Christianity, by Justo L. González

The history of the church isn’t much different than our lives. Its story is made up of people who regularly made horrible mistakes, got depressed, doubted God, and found every way under the sun to misrepresent the love of God. However, these same people had big dreams and they discovered redemption through their frailty and faith as they met Christ.

We have a lot in common with those who have gone before us.

Over the next few posts, I’m going to highlight five interesting and influential Christian thinkers from throughout the history of the church. This is not intended to be a list of the 5 most influential people. I have simply chosen to highlight five persons in church history who have intrigued me and inspired me:

- Saint Augustine
- Saint Anselm
- Thomas Aquinas
- Martin Luther
- Saint Teresa of Avila

The Mighty One, God the LORD,
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
~ Psalm 50:1

Most people remember Jonah as the one who was swallowed by a whale and then burped up like a bad yam. But there is a fascinating scene at the end of the story where Jonah finds a nice spot to rest for a while under the shade of a tree, protected from the hot sun. Overnight, God decides to send a worm to bore into its trunk and cause it to wither by morning.

This left Jonah in the sweltering heat, cooking his temperament to the boiling point. I CAN RELATE. In the lower right hand corner of my computer screen I have the current forecast: “Tue: 98° F”, followed by the ominous red thermometer icon. Sorry for being such a wuss, but I hate this weather! Typically, have glowing reviews of nature’s ability to point us to the glory and character of God, but I have to say that I struggle with that when we are knocking on the 100-degree mark.

However, God’s words to Jonah bring me back to center:

The sun came up and God sent a hot, blistering wind from the east. The sun beat down on Jonah’s head and he started to faint. He prayed to die: “I’m better off dead!”

Then God said to Jonah, “What right do you have to get angry about this shade tree?”

Jonah said, “Plenty of right. It’s made me angry enough to die!”

GOD said, “What’s this? How is it that you can change your feelings from pleasure to anger overnight about a mere shade tree that you did nothing to get? You neither planted nor watered it. It grew up one night and died the next night.”

Even though it’s not the main point of this passage, I am reminded that God is the One who lit the fire of the sun when it first came into being. It is a picture of God’s untamed power, even when it is hot as hell (perhaps especially then).

Before I run and hide into my air conditioned office tomorrow, I’m going to try and pause my grumblings to see God’s character through the sweat. It may be just the relief I need from the heat.

“We didn’t feel the nature of the atonement was one of those things you could agree to disagree over.”

- Pod Bhogal
Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF)

What Pod is really saying is this: people couldn’t possibly view the atonement in any other way than the way HE and his group sees it.

It is sad that we have so much effort in the church to squelch theological conversation.

UPDATE: See comments (7/17/2008)

Do you remember the song from Sunday School about the story of Zacchaeus? It went something like this…

Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he
He climbed up in the sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see

What would it do to your faith to find out that Zacceaus was not actually WEE little, but was just your average short man? Or that Zacchaeus was not in the tree trying to see the Lord Jesus, as the song reports, but was actually trying to retrieve a frisbee, but then heard his name being called by the Son of God?

When I attended seminary, one of the discussions we used to have was about whether or not the Bible was inerrant, or infallible. In other words, is it possible that there are factual “errors” in the Bible when it refers to times, places, peoples, and events? No other topic stirred up more emotion than this one.

I think these discussions miss the point. I just started reading Introduction to the Old Testament by Walter Brueggemann in which he explains that modern tests of reliability are wrongheaded when it comes to the Bible, because it “asks of the texts what they do not intend to deliver.” The Bible is not primarily a book of history or science facts, even though it contains historically and scientifically verifiable information. The Bible “is a world of meaning that has as its key character YHWH, the God of Israel, who operates in the narratives and songs of Israel that are taken as reliable renderings of reality.”

The Bible never fails to do exactly what it intends: to deliver the story of God’s redemptive work within humanity, thus bringing people into relationship with Him.

I use the word “infallible” occasionally to describe the Scriptures, but I would prefer to use the phrase that the Bible uses to describe itself: breathed-out by God.

2 Timothy 3:16 says that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” Why did it say “breathed-out by God,” and not “spoken” by God? Breath implies vitality, life, and intimacy. The Bible was not dictated or spoken to the writers from afar, leaving them only to put the words down on paper. They recorded the story of their lives using their imagination and memory, within the context of a relationship with God. The life story of humanity is wrapped up in the life of God on the pages of Scripture.

I’ve never read a book of facts that felt alive, that pierced and divided my heart, and that brought me into the intentions and will of the author. It’s the breath of God which differentiates the Bible from other books. And when we argue about dates, times, distances, names, and places, we are missing the voice of God calling us into closer relationship with him.

Jesus shared the meaning of the Kingdom by using parables. Ever wonder why Jesus didn’t just come out and say it? Why hide the message in stories that sometimes leave us with more questions than answers?

McLaren’s insight into Jesus’ parables helps those of us who have wished that Jesus would have just come out and said what he meant. The benefit of a parable, he says, is that they “entice their hearers into new territory.” He explains further:

With a clear and easy explanation, hearers can listen and achieve understanding and then go on their way, independent of the teacher. But when a parable confounds them, it invites them to ask questions, so they continue to depend on the teacher himself, not just their independent understanding of his words (pg. 45-46).

One of the most important points of this book is that the message of Jesus is hidden, not only in his parables, but also within those of us who follow him, no matter our denominational or political background. It can be easy to assume that my perspective is the only one in which the truth can be found. However, the gospel is hidden in all who are being transformed by the Spirit, even Democrats, Republicans, Catholics, Southern Baptists and Episcopals; each one of us a living parable, full of God’s message of transformation.

So Jesus told about his message with parables, demonstrated it with miracles, and then validated it with his death and resurrection. Is it any wonder that he described discipleship as a narrow, difficult way? I can’t calculate or figure out Jesus’ message completely, but once I accept it, I am brought close to him as my Teacher, my Friend, and my Lord.

————

Though it is a little longer than I think was necessary, I recommend The Secret Message of Jesus. It will challenge your assumptions and put the gospel close in front of you for a very personal examination, leaving you with a desire to let Jesus initiate radical change in your everyday life.

Use this link to buy it at Amazon.com.

The following is what I am calling the take-home from the book. This doesn’t cover his every point, but these are the things that hit home the most with me.

It sounds obvious to say it, but the message of Jesus was revolutionary in every conceivable way. Why?

First, it presented not just a potential future reality, but a present reality. The gospel was good news for the first hearers because it meant a new way of living, immediately. For those who followed Jesus, ideas about God’s radical new kingdom were quickly turned into decisions that altered the way they did things, not just the way they thought about things. If it was an immediate message for them, then it is most certainly the same for us. Jesus’ message invites us to be transformed now, not just in the someday hereafter.

Second, it was inclusive of people who had not yet received it, a point made obvious by the fact that Jesus often ate dinner and interacted with prostitutes, social outcasts, and other “sinners.” What this means for me is that I am looking at people differently. I’m exploring my social-isms, and have found that they are many. For example, Jesus’ message of inclusion means that God may choose to use me to show the gospel to the segment of society that I loathe the most, whoever that may be. This will require a transformation within me that only God can accomplish (with my participation, of course).

Finally, the social and political backdrop of the gospels reveals that Jesus’ intended not only personal implications, but also implications for our social and political decisions. McLaren says it well in this passage from chapter 2:

“. . . This carpenter’s son from Galilee challenges every existing political movement to a radical rethinking and dares everyone to imagine and consider his revolutionary alternative.” That alternative is the kingdom of God, and “if you’re part of this kingdom, you won’t be blindly patriotic and compliant, . . . instead you’ll be willing to confront injustice, even at the cost of your life. You won’t nestle snugly into the status quo, but you’ll seek to undermine the way things are to welcome the way things could and should be” (p. 17-18).

Secret Message placed the message of Jesus uncomfortably close to my real life. I was reminded again that the gospel isn’t a museum where we look at what is presented and say “ooo” and “ahhh.” Instead, it is a living word, moving through our veins to transform us.

(Part 3 of 3 coming on Sunday…)