Thoughts on Pope Francis' speech to Congress

There are only a handful of people in our world today who could receive glowing coverage from CNN and Fox News at the same time.  The recent visit of Pope Francis to the United States saw such a confluence of the American political right and left, both of whom see something in Pope Francis that they would like to claim as their own (either through genuine admiration or hope of politically co-opting his popularity), and at the same time, both sides also see things in what he says and does that trouble them, things that they would rather ignore.  In this reaction, cheering for what we already believe and pretending not to hear what we disagree with, I see a microcosm of how Christians too often respond to the claims of the Gospel.  We embrace those portions of it that conform to our own ideas and try to ignore or twist into something they are not those portions that would require us to change.
For example: Republicans cheered when Pope Francis said, "I cannot hide my concern for the family, which is threatened, perhaps as never before, from within and without.  Fundamental relationships are being called into question, as is the very basis of marriage and the family."  Republicans saw this as a criticism of the legalization of gay marriage in America, they cheered, the Democrats were silent.  Elsewhere, however, it was the turn of Democrats to cheer and Republicans to sit on their hands when Pope Francis said about those hoping to travel north to America, "We must not be taken aback by their numbers, but rather view them as persons, seeing their faces and listening to their stories, trying to respond as best we can to their situation.  To respond in a way which is always humane, just, and fraternal."  The same pattern existed, among Congress, and no doubt the audience watching at home, when mention was made of protecting the environment, abolishing the death penalty, halting the arms trade, and having an economy that "seeks to be modern, inclusive, and sustainable."
Politicians are happy to claim the Pope's popularity when it suits them, and just as quick to dismiss his ideas on the economy or social issues when what he says would challenge their political beliefs.  It is not necessary to agree with the solutions offered by Pope Francis to any particular issue, but we must, as Christians, at least be intellectually honest with ourselves by admitting when we too, like the politicians, are only listening to what we want to hear.
The teachings of Jesus Christ do not fit in cozily with the political views of either the Republicans or the Democrats, both of whom have made Faustian political compromises for the sake of expediency, Republicans with business interests at the expense of the poor, and Democrats with the intellectual class at the expense of the unborn, just to name the most obvious failure of each camp to follow the Gospel's declaration of the dignity and brotherhood of all men.  You cannot be an honest follower of Jesus Christ and ignore the need to help the poor.  You also cannot be an honest follower of Jesus Christ and ignore the sanctity of life and marriage.  It is not acceptable for Republicans to dismiss Pope Francis' cry to help the poor against the abuses of Capitalism by calling him a Socialist, and it is not acceptable for Democrats to drown out Pope Francis' plea for the unborn by calling the decision to end that life a "choice" or a "right".
Disagree with Pope Francis' politics if you want, this is America and he is just a man, even if he does have a fancy hat and a cool car, but dismiss the claim that the Gospel has upon you to protect the poor, the vulnerable, and the innocent among us at your own peril.  In the end, I'm glad that Pope Francis made both the Republicans and the Democrats uncomfortable in their turn, for as a representative of the Gospel, speaking to a culture in need of its transformative power, their is plenty in American politics and culture that Pope Francis has rightly diagnosed as being in need of change.

Sermon Video: An offer you should not refuse - Luke 14:15-24

Following his comments about pride and humility as well as one encouraging kindness toward those who cannot return the favor, Jesus responds to a statement about how blessed it will be to eat at the feast in the kingdom of God by telling a parable that highlights two important truths: First, that simply hearing about the invitation to forgiveness from God is not sufficient if one does not respond and accept it, and second, that God will not restrict his offer of salvation to only those on the inside (i.e. Israel in the past, the Church today), but will instead go out and find the marginalized, the overlooked, and the forgotten of society to offer to them his grace through Jesus.  Both of these truths are important for the Church to internalize, the first because it guards against complacency and assuming that just because someone is connected in some way to the Church that they must be a Christian, and the second because it ought to invigorate our evangelism, especially to those segments of society we might otherwise miss.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video: Humble yourself - Luke 14:7-11

In many instances, the teachings of Jesus are counter-cultural, running against the grain of what the religious leadership of his day was teaching the people, but at other times, the problem wasn't a matter of changing minds but of changing hearts.  While at a dinner hosted by a Pharisee, Jesus notices the scramble among the guest for the seats of honor at the table and uses that display of pride to tell a parable about guests at a wedding feast.  The parable itself, and its moral, are both things that previous rabbis had taught, they were not controversial in any way, they just weren't being followed.

Pride is a tricky sin, one we may often miss seeing in ourselves, but one that must be dealt with because pride is at its most basic a form of ingratitude toward God.  Why are we full of pride, because we don't give God adequate thanks as Creator, we don't recognize that our own accomplishment (or accident of birth) is not our greatness but God's grace.  Throughout the Scriptures, God consistently opposes the proud and uplifts the humble, this principle is stated explicitly often enough, as well as being illustrated implicitly in the lives of prominent people in the Bible like Moses or Ruth, who exemplify humility, and Sampson or Nebuchadnezzar who reaps the penalty of pride.

So where are we prideful?  What do we need to do in our lives to set aside pride and embrace humility?  We have been called to be disciples of Jesus, as such we need to take seriously our need to imitate the man who had more cause to be glorified than any other, but was willing to take upon himself the role of the humblest servant for our sake.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video: Resisting the Love of God - Luke 13:34-35

Much has been written, any many a debate and/or argument had, over the issue of how the will of God fits together with the freewill of humanity.  Is God entirely sovereign, and human choice simply an illusion, or has God chosen to allow human choices to truly matter?  In regards to salvation, in particular, what is the key factor, the call of God or the response of man?  Does it have to be an either/or question or can it be a both/and?
This is, of course, a complex topic, involving many Scripture passages, as well as the overall theme of God's Word, and one where you can find references in the Bible that seem to support both God's sovereignty and man's responsibility.  In the end, we won't be able to "solve" this question in this life, but because it is one that the Scriptures dwell upon, so must we.
Here in Luke, Jesus laments the rebellion of Jerusalem and expresses his desire to protect them from themselves, "but you were not willing!"  Regardless of how the rebellion of man fits into your understanding of the issue of God's will and human freewill, the consequences of that rebellion are the same: desolation.  Without God, man is doomed, without redemption, our terminal spiritual sickness will indeed become spiritual death.  Our response, again regardless of how we view the issue, is the same, we must share the Gospel, we must do everything we can to show the Lost the love of Christ and their need for forgiveness.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sinking to a new low

There are certain things that some "Christian pastors" teach, and I don't use those quotation marks lightly, for it is no small thing to doubt the faith of someone who claims to be a Christian, especially when you don't personally know him/her, but there are some beliefs that go so far beyond the boundaries of a Christian-worldview that they call into question anything else that person might say about faith, Jesus, and the Gospel.  Social media and Youtube have given such people a voice, and during the past twenty years we've seen the chaos and hate spawned by the people of Westboro Baptist Church as they protest at the funerals of American service members.  The utter bankruptcy of their willingness to cause pain to the families of those who have given the 'last full measure of devotion" to their country is obvious to all who don't share their fanaticism.  Alongside the people of Westboro belongs the "pastor" of the Faithful Word Baptist Church, Steven Anderson.  I've known of Steven Anderson for some time, his shrill KJV only claims are well known on the Internet, as was his much publicized public prayer that President Obama would die of a brain tumor.  On top of this foolishness is also added the damning title: Holocaust denier.  There is no legitimate reason to deny the Holocaust that is not fueled by anti-semitism.  The documentation of the Holocaust is so massive and exhaustive that to deny it stretches rationalism beyond its breaking point.  There are few things that Islamic Jihadists and White Neo-Nazis agree upon, denial of the Holocaust is one of them, shouldn't that be a frightening group to join.
It pains me that both of these examples are from those calling themselves "baptists".  Please, those of you who don't know the difference between Christian denominations, or who don't know personally any baptists, please, don't think for a moment that the rest of us have anything at all in common with these who are profaning the names of pastor, baptist, and church.  Sad, but true, this is a new low, lower than the last, that anyone calling himself a Christian would deny that millions upon millions of the descendants of Abraham were murdered in WWII, for shame.