This blog serves as an outreach for Pastor Randy Powell of the First Baptist Church of Franklin, PA. Feel free to ask questions or send me an e-mail at pastorpowell@hotmail.com
Have you ever received a Christmas gift that you absolutely hated? One that you can't wait to return, one that you struggle to pretend you're happy for?
Joseph was given a Christmas gift that he didn't ask for, the way he responded to this unexpected gift show why God chose him to be the dad here on earth to the long-awaited Messiah.
Perhaps you've received an amazingly unexpected and wonderful Christmas gift at some point, whatever it was, it can't begin to compare with the one given to Mary
I find Caravaggio's The Incredulity of Saint Thomas to be a fascinating painting. One of the reasons why is that the text of John's Gospel, which is the basis for the moment the painting portrays, never actually says that Thomas touched Jesus' wounds, only that he declared he wouldn't believe that Jesus had risen from the dead without doing so. The painting aside, the episode of Thomas' doubt is deeply illustrative of how God deals with doubt throughout the scriptures. Again and again we see heroes of the faith depicted as having doubt: doubt in themselves, doubt in what they've been told by angels, even doubt after working miracles in God's name. From Abraham's twice invoked "she's really just my sister" routine in Genesis, to Moses' attempt to put the responsibility on his younger brother instead of himself in Exodus, to Gideon's repeated requests for confirmation in Judges, to Elijah's exhaustion because he thinks he's the only one fighting for God in 1 Kings, to Esther's hesitancy to step forward in Esther, and finally Zechariah's doubt while standing in the Temple itself talking to the angel Gabriel in Luke, we see these great men and women who accomplished amazing things by the power of God, expressing their doubt and hesitancy.
And here's the key thing: In none of those instances does God search for the 'smite' key {A reference to one of my favorite Far Side cartoons} and ditch the person expressing how they really feel. Instead, in each case God offers a second chance in the form of reassurance and patience until the person with doubt is able, thanks to this act of grace from God, to overcome it and continue fulfilling their purpose in God's plan. The point is, they were still useful to God.
How does the Church treat doubt? I'm not talking about those who deny the Trinity or the Virgin Birth, for example, thanks to heretical teachings, that's false conviction not doubt, but rather those who have genuine doubts about God, his will or purpose, because the life they've lived has brought these feelings into focus. Too often the Church can feel like the last place you would want to admit that you're struggling with doubt, anxiety, fear, even anger toward God. It feels like a judgmental place, a place where, "nobody has doubts, but me." Why? Not because that's true, not because you're the only person who has been wounded by life, but because for whatever reason we choose to portray faith as an all-or-nothing proposition. In reality, faith is a journey, a commitment, the kind of thing that can take a hit, get knocked down, but then rise once more and continue on, even if the person holding onto it has some scars from the experience. Faith isn't made of glass, it is capable of dealing with reality, looking at difficult questions with humility, and acknowledging when we don't have all the answers. Why? Because faith is primarily a relationship with God, not an intellectual pursuit on our part. Yes, our minds are involved, we need to know and accept who God is and what God has done for us in order to have faith, but that faith is IN God, a person, not a concept or construct, a person (who just so happens to be the Creator of the universe, a key thing faith has going for itself).
If you're having difficulties, if your faith feels battered and bruised, you won't be alone if you go to church, God be merciful on us if those you find there make you think you are, because you're not, they may not be willing to admit it, but a number of the people sitting, singing, and prayer with you know just how you feel because they were there once too, and maybe still are. In the end, God isn't going to give up on you, for each and every person who faith and hope are in Jesus Christ is an adopted child-of-God, we're safe in our Father's arms, especially when we have to ask God to 'hold us tighter'.
In addition to his expected role as Messiah of king, Jesus added that of prophet and priest, but even more remarkably, that of servant as well. As God's chosen savior, a marvel in that because of Jesus' divinity it was in reality God choosing himself, Jesus served here on earth with remarkable self-control and compassion as he worked to establish God's justice on earth, a process that his death and resurrection secured the final victory for, and one that he will conclude when he returns in power and might.
For now, the calling of God's people is to imitate his self-control and compassion as we continue his mission of furthering God's justice on earth.
Luke 22:24-27 New International Version
24 A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. 25 Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. 26 But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. 27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.
Six months before he won the World Heavyweight boxing champion title, Cassius Clay, soon to be known as Muhammad Ali, released an album of poetic verse (a generation before this type of thing would evolve to become rap and hip hop). The album, was entitled I am the Greatest. Ali co-wrote the lyrics with comedy writer Gary Belkin, it sold 500,000 copies and was nominated for a Grammy. In 1977, NBC aired a cartoon entitled, I Am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali that featured the boxer as a global adventurer with a tag-along niece and nephew; it was cancelled after 13 episodes. When you try to think of ego run amok, any number of politicians, athletes, actors, and billionaires may come to mind, the list of famous people with a reputation for self-absorption is sadly long and diverse, but few of them could compete with the persona that Muhammad Ali portrayed to the world during his boxing career.
Here's the thing, setting aside a few mega-church pastors whose popularity and private jets might convince the unwary to think otherwise, the path to effective and God-honoring leadership in the Church of Jesus Christ has always been, and will always be, through humble service. Have there been those in positions of power within the Church, like Cardinal Richelieu (made famous by Dumas' portrayal of him in The Three Musketeers), for whom Church 'service' was a means-to-an-end, a path to self-aggrandizement? Of course there have been, we'd be shocked if a Church made up of people, some redeemed but still flawed, and others only pretending to be true believers, didn't have within its ranks any number of scoundrels. But, and this is key, every such person seeking their own benefit and not the will of God, everyone covered in pride, has been working AGAINST what Jesus created his Church to be.
Which brings us once again to 'Christian' Nationalism. This movement is predicated on the belief that there is only one solution, only one possible path, to cure whatever malady 'Christian' Nationalism decides to wage war upon (sometimes literally), and that one path, or worse yet one and only one leader, just happens to be themselves. Power must be gained, it must be acquired, even through unethical or illegal means, because they alone can bring about the Golden Age that God must bless them with if/when power is fully in their hands to order society to their liking. This egotism run amok neither respects the ways in which power has corrupted the Church in the past, nor does it consider in humility that God is at work all over the world, in every generation, and not just this generation in this land.
The greatest? 'Christian' Nationalism may be willing to hoist someone onto everyone else's shoulders confident that he/she must be a savior, but this cannot be an extension of the Church, or even a partnership of convenience, for it ignores one of the fundamental defining characteristics of the Church: humility and service.
Having brought good news to the exiles of Judah in Babylon, the prophet Isaiah now calls upon them to share that news, shouting it from the mountaintop. Likewise, when the Advent of Jesus brought forth a greater fulfillment of Isaiah's words, the Good News was shared by the shepherds, later by John the Baptist, and eventually by Jesus' disciples following his command to take the message of forgiveness and hope to the ends of the earth.
What is our calling? Take the Good News to everyone who needs to heart it.
Luke 18:9-14 New International Version
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
You're probably wondering right away, how on earth is he getting from the Chicken Dance to the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector? Stay with me, there's a method to the madness.
The Chicken Dance performed at weddings is a glaring example of how idiosyncratic culture can be. The things people wear, say, and do at weddings, and the celebrations afterwards, vary greatly depending on where on the planet and when in history we look. Future generations may look on in horror at the prominence of the Chicken Dance at American weddings and see it not as a whimsical bit of nonsense, but a sign of some deeper disturbance that confirms what they think of our culture from their point-of-view. Personally, I'm not a fan, evidently others love the silliness of this dance. In the end, there probably isn't anyone who thinks of the Chicken Dance as a moral imperative either way, but much of our cultural heritage, the things we hold near and dear to our hearts as THE way they must be done, are just as morally neutral as the Chicken Dance.
The Pharisees that Jesus contends with so often in the Gospels had elevated their own cultural expression, based on Mosaic Law, but still just their own viewpoint as to exactly how that Law should be interpreted and applied, and made it normative for everyone, period. In other words, the Pharisees were so convinced that they were right, about everything, that they scorned the way that fellow Jews worshiped God as something between insufficient and outright sacrilegious. They were far too sure of themselves, and it showed. It takes confidence like that to be militant, to hold that you know exactly what the government, society, or your religion needs and nobody else has a piece of the truth, nobody else can be trusted, they must all be opposed and crushed if they disagree with you.
Here is where 'Christian' Nationalism comes in. It has decided that one particular expression of the Church, from one time and place, should dominate not only all other current expressions of the Church, but the entirety of society as well. It is only our own pride and ignorance that would allow us to think that Anglo-Saxon Protestant Christianity as expressed in America {that's a pretty specific sliver both globally and historically} deserves total power in society over both other variations of orthodox Christianity currently alive America and also over those following other religions, or none at all. If you think that 'Christian' Nationalism can equally embrace all facets of the Church and America today, you don't know how power in this world works, sharing is not in its nature.
Do I think that I'm following God correctly according to the scriptures and the wisdom of Church history? Of course I do, otherwise I wouldn't be an American Baptist I'd be something else. But I am far from being prideful enough to think that there is no possibility that I'm wrong on some aspects of the way that my faith is interpreted from the scriptures and expressed in the life that I'm living. My brothers and sisters in Christ here in America that follow different traditions have things to teach me, not to mention the majority of the Church that isn't American, Protestant, White, or Western.
'Christian' Nationalism doesn't exist without certainty of its own superiority to everything else. Unfortunately, much of that certainty is based upon a particular cultural expression, not timeless truth, and it fails to reckon with God's work not only throughout history, but throughout the world today.
The prophet Isaiah offers a word of hope and comfort to the generation to follow that will experience the destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian Exile: "Comfort, comfort my people, says your God." Why? In the aftermath of tragedy, where does the comfort come from? The Promise of God.
Isaiah was told to encourage them that their exile would mark the extent of God's wrath and that he would soon send forth those to prepare the way to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple.
Matthew calls upon Isaiah's words 500 years after the Exiles took comfort from it to proclaim that John the Baptist had fulfilled the prophecy a second time when he prepared the way for the Messiah, offering a message of repentance prior to the beginning of Jesus' public ministry.
Lastly, in any generation, we live by faith just as our ancestors did, we too take comfort from our knowledge that God keeps his promises, that no matter how we feel about the present or the future, God is working in our world. Our calling is to remain faithful, here and now, knowing that like always God's word will stand.
