Trinity Sunday, 2021 – Live by the Spirit

The story of Pentecost—the outpouring of God’s Spirit—ushered in a new stage in God’s eternal redemptive purpose. Peter, quoting the prophet Joel, described this new stage as “the last days” (Acts 2:17). In this new stage, life as we have known it gives way to that which is new. Peter, again quoting Joel, used apocalyptic language to describe this moving from, into. “The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood” (Acts 2:19—20). This new stage in God’s eternal redemptive purpose centers in the presence and work of the Spirit.

In this new stage, God—through the Spirit—now dwells in (within) us individually and among us as a spiritual community. Through the Spirit, we as a spiritual community are the temple of God. We as individuals are the on-going incarnation (in-the-flesh embodiment) of God.

In this new stage, we are God’s partners in what God is doing in the world. God works through us—through the empowering presence of the indwelling Spirit within us—to accomplish God’s eternal redemptive purpose. We become—individually and as a spiritual community—the expression of the kingdom on earth, here and now.

This new stage ushers in a different approach to living. To use the words of the Apostle Paul, we walk “according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:4). We live “in the Spirit” (Romans 8:9) and “by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16).

Living in the Spirit stands in contrast to living according to the flesh (Romans 8:1—17; Galatians 5:16—26).

The flesh was Paul’s term for our default human nature. It refers to more than the physical desires of the body. It was Paul’s shorthand term for the self-focused, self-serving spirit that is inherent to our human condition. It refers to our ego-centric nature that drives how we live and governs how we relate to others. This ego-centric nature leads us to unconsciously operate out of a self-indulgent, what’s-in-it-for-me spirit. It is driven by deep-seated anxiety and fear that robs us of joy and peace. It creates conflict in our relationships, resulting in us-them, me-and-mine divisions (see Galatians 5:19—21 where Paul wrote about the works of the flesh). The flesh refers to our old way of living. It is life as we have known it before the outpouring of the Spirit inaugurating the new stage of God’s work.

The way we deal with this default nature and the conflict it creates in relationships is through law. We create standards of behavior that tell us how to live. We adopt a list of do’s and don’ts, codes of right and wrong by which we live … and by which we judge others!

Paul referred to this law-based way of living as “the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). This law-based way of living was inherently flawed. The law told us what to do, but we could not live up to its demands. We could not measure up to “the just requirement of the law” (Romans 8:4). No amount of self-effort—trying harder to do better—was enough. All the law could do was tell us how we should live and, then, point out how we had failed, i.e., sin.

In the new stage inaugurated at Pentecost, life in the Spirit takes the place of the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). The Spirit empowers us to do what we cannot do in our own strength. The Spirit empowers us to move beyond our default, self-serving nature with its practices (Romans 8:13). The Spirit empowers us to love as Jesus loved (Galatians 5:22-23). The Spirit empowers us to live the ways of the kingdom so that the kingdom comes on earth as it is in heaven.  

It seems to me many of us struggle to recognize, much less embrace, this new stage of God’s venture and our role in it. Our old, default nature is still intact even though the Spirit’s work is to engrain the character of Christ in its place. We react out of our anxiety-driven ego-centric nature rather than living out of the mind of Christ. We cling to rules and standards of right-and-wrong, using them to judge and condemn others as a way of avoiding dealing with our own failures (Matthew 7:1—5), even though the Spirit sets us free from that way of living (Romans 8:2; Galatians 5:1, 13—15). We have not embraced the freedom that is ours or the grace in which we stand (Romans 5:1—2). We have not embraced our identity as the beloved children of God (Romans 8:15—17; Galatians 4:4—7) and the boldness it brings. We settle for the mediocrity of the-best-I-can rather than claiming the Spirit’s power to do what we cannot do in our own strength.

The story of Pentecost, followed by Trinity Sunday, invites us again to life in the Spirit. These two emphases call us to turn loose of the way things were and embrace the new, Spirit-centered stage of God’s work—in us and through us. In us, the Spirit is at work to grow us up spiritually into the likeness of Christ. Through us, the Spirit empowers us to use our gifts (1 Corinthians 12:7) in an area of passion to make a difference in the life of another in the name of Jesus, bringing the kingdom into reality on earth as it is in heaven.

Trinity Sunday echoes the story of Pentecost. Paul’s words capture its meaning: “Live by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16). Merciful God, may it be!

 

Pentecost, 2021 - The Empowering Presence of the Indwelling Spirit

 In today’s social media, individuals often share video clips with the admonition, “Wait for it!” They are telling us something unexpected will happen. We will see it if we don’t get impatient and move on. Just wait for it because ...

 As Jesus prepared to ascend back to the Father, he told his disciples: “wait for it!” “Wait for the promise of the Father” (Acts 1:4).

 For the disciples, Jesus’s ascension (Acts 1:9) would have felt like losing him all over again. They believed they had lost him when they saw him die on the cross. But then came Easter Sunday! He was raised from the dead. They never dreamed they would see him again, but there he was, with them, very much alive. Once again, they enjoyed the gift of his presence on those special occasions when he appeared to them. But his ascension back to the Father brought those appearances to an end.

 Telling them to wait, Jesus was telling the disciples his ascension was not the end of the story. There was more to come. God was still at work. And what God was going to do next would be just as unexpected as the resurrection. Through what God was going to do next, he would continue to be with them … and not just on special occasions. 

Pentecost—the outpouring of the Spirit (Acts 2)—was the unexpected thing for which the disciples were told to wait. Pentecost—the outpouring of the Spirit—was the continuation of the ministry of Jesus and the next stage in God’s eternal redemptive purpose.

 The outpouring of the Spirit was experienced as “the rush of a violent wind” and “as fire” (Acts 2:2—3). In the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament), the presence of God was always associated with a storm and/or with fire (e.g., the LORD spoke to Job out of a whirlwind, Job 38:1; God appeared to the people of Israel as a storm on Mt. Sinai, Exodus 19:16; the LORD spoke to Moses out of a burning bush, Exodus 3:2). In describing the wind and fire, the biblical writer was referring to the presence of God. Just as the presence of God filled the Tabernacle once it was completed (Exodus 40:34—38), now the presence of God filled them. Just as Jesus was God-in-the-flesh (John 1:14), now the Spirit of God filled each of the disciples and was in their midst. They were the continuing experience of God-in-the-flesh … as are we! They were (and we are!) the “dwelling place for God” (Ephesians 2:22), a holy temple replacing the physical temple in Jerusalem (Ephesians 2:21). Through the empowering presence of the indwelling Spirit, God now dwells on earth in the lives of the followers of Jesus (us!). (See John 14:17, 23 where Jesus taught the disciples this truth.)

 For the Hebrew people, the festival of Pentecost celebrated the giving of the law to Moses on Mt. Sinai. They viewed the law as God’s supreme gift, telling them how to live. But, as Paul says, the law could not give them the power to do what was commanded (Romans 8:3). The outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost became, alongside the gift of Jesus, God’s supreme gift (Galatians 4:4—7). The Spirit took the place of the law. The Spirit teaches us the ways of God that Jesus taught (John 14:25—26). The Spirit teaches us the heart of God (1 Corinthians 1:12—13) so that we have “the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:16). In addition, the Spirit empowers us to live the ways of God (Romans 8:2—4; Galatians 5:16—18, 22—25).

 Through the empowering presence of the indwelling Spirit, the disciples continued and extended the ministry of Jesus, proclaiming and establishing the kingdom. They did what Jesus did (John 14:12). They were God’s partners in the kingdom … as are we today! The next stage of God’s external redemptive purpose was (is) the ministry of the Spirit indwelling and empowering God’s people to bring the kingdom to completion “on earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

 Jesus instructed his disciples to wait. Wait for it! But with the outpouring of the Spirit, the time of waiting ended. The time for doing began … doing the work of God, continuing and expanding the ministry of Jesus, bringing the kingdom into reality … through the empowering presence of the indwelling Spirit.

 The Easter season leads us to and culminates in Pentecost. Pentecost—the outpouring of the Spirit—empowers us with the power that raised Jesus from the dead (Ephesians 1:19—20) so that we can live as God’s partners, doing the kingdom work that Jesus did.

 May we experience this reality in our lives today! May it be the reality in your life!

The 6th Sunday of Easter, 2021 - Mark 16

Of all the four gospels, Mark’s account of the resurrection is the strangest… so strange that two others wrote different endings for it (Mark 16:8b, 9—20). Two things make Mark’s account of the resurrection strange. Mark’s gospel ends with the women fleeing from the tomb in terror, telling no one about their experience (Mark 16:8). Mark records no post-resurrection appearances of Jesus.

Of course, we want to know why Mark ended his gospel this way. But our wondering only leads to speculation, not truth. We are better served by dealing with what is—the strange ending.

It seems to me Mark is telling us something in the way he ended the gospel. He is inviting us to write our own ending.

In Mark’s gospel, the disciples went through three stages in their understanding of who Jesus was: blind and not seeing, seeing but not clearly, seeing clearly. These three stages are reflected in the healing of the blind man that required a second touch (Mark 8:22—26)—a healing that only Mark records. The healing reflects the outline of his gospel.

In the first half of gospel, the disciples did not understand who Jesus was or his teachings. Their lack of understanding is reflected in their response to Jesus’s stilling the storm: “Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:41). When Jesus walked on the water, “they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened” (Mark 6:51b—52). When the disciples asked him to explain his teaching, he responded “Then do you also fail to understand?” (Mark 7:18). The first half of the gospel ends with him asking, “Do you still not perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear? Do you not understand?” (Mark 8:17—18, 21).

Immediately after this questioning, Mark recorded the miracle that required the second touch.

Following the miracle that required the second touch, Mark recorded the experience at Caesarea Philippi when Jesus asked the disciples “Who do you say that I am?” (Mark 8:29). That’s when Peter said, “You are the Messiah!” (Mark 8:29). The disciples now were able to see, but not clearly—the second stage of the process.

Seeing, but not clearly is the story of the second half of Mark’s gospel. Although they understood Jesus was the Messiah, the disciples struggled to understand his teachings about the suffering and death that he was facing in Jerusalem (see Mark 8:31—33; 9:10; 9:32). Their concept of the messiah as a conquering king blocked their ability to hear Jesus’s teachings about the Suffering Servant. So they argued among themselves, jockeying for positions in the kingdom they expected Jesus to establish (Mark 9:33—37; 10:35—45). They entered Jerusalem, totally unprepared for what they would experience. Consequently, when Jesus was arrested, “all of them deserted him and fled” (Mark14:50).

The gospel ends with the disciples at this stage of the process—seeing, but not clearly. The final stage—seeing clearly—is not recorded. It is foreshadowed in the healing of blind Bartimaeus as Jesus left Jericho on his way to Jerusalem (Mark 10:46—52). When Jesus healed him, Bartimaeus “followed him on the way” (Mark 10:52). Seeing clearly leads to following Jesus as a disciple, understanding, embracing, and living the ways of God Jesus taught. The final stage of seeing clearly is foreshadowed, but not recorded in the gospel.

The gospel ends, leaving us hanging.

Was Jesus’s death and resurrection the second touch that enabled the disciples to finally see clearly? We know it was because of what the other gospels recorded. But Mark’s gospel doesn’t say. It leaves us hanging.

Ending his gospel this way, it’s as though the gospel writer shifted the focus from the disciples to us. The important question was not “did the disciples finally see clearly?” The more important question was “do we see?” Are we disciples who understand, embrace, and follow what Jesus taught?

Mark invites us to write our own ending to his gospel by how we live as the followers of Jesus. 

The 5th Sunday of Easter, 2021 - The Post-resurrection Stories of John

 The gospel of John records Mary Magdalene’s encounter with the risen Christ (John 20:11-18)—the only gospel to do so. The gospel then records three appearances of the risen Christ to his disciples: to the disciples in the upper room on the evening of that first Easter Sunday (John 20:19-25), to the disciples and Thomas a week later (John 20:26-29), and to seven of the disciples in Galilee (John 21:1-23). What was the gospel writer telling us about the resurrection in these three stories?

 The message of the first story is often overlooked because of the absence of Thomas—–which sets up the second story. The first story tells us the resurrection makes peace possible, even in the midst of fear: “the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews” (John 20:19). Two different times, Jesus spoke peace to them. In addition, the resurrection means we are sent to do what Jesus did: “as the Father has sent me, so I send you” (John 20:21). We are sent to reveal the true nature of God—a primary emphasis in the gospel (John 1:14, 18)—by living God’s ways of grace (John 14:16). The heart of this mission is extending God’s forgiveness to others: “if you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (John 20:23). This statement does not mean we choose who is forgiven and who is not. Forgiveness is God’s to give. It is given freely and lavishly to any and all. It is a gift from God. The statement means we have the power to determine if others know and experience that forgiveness. If we are faithful to live out of grace and forgiveness with others, they can know God’s forgiveness for themselves. If we fail to forgive and offer grace, we prevent them from knowing and experiencing God’s grace and forgiveness. The good news is we do not undertake this assignment in our own strength. We are given the Spirit who empowers us to live out of grace, including forgiving the one who has failed.

 It seems to me the Church has a reputation for pointing out sins (judging) and condemning them rather than for forgiving sins. Too often we are known by what we are against rather than for how we reveal the grace-filled, forgiving nature of God.

 The second story is the reason Thomas gets labeled as Doubting Thomas. Thomas wanted physical proof of Jesus’s resurrection: “unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe” (John 20:25). A mentor and friend described Thomas was a realist, not a doubter. (Compare John 11:7—8, 16 and John 14:5.)

 The story about Thomas underscores the gospel’s emphasis on believing. (Compare John 20:31.) In the gospel, believing is more than an intellectual exercise. To believe is to embrace spiritual truth and build our life on it. In particular, believing is to embrace who Jesus revealed God to be—a God of grace and forgiveness. To believe is to integrate God’s ways of grace and forgiveness into the fabric of our lives so that our lives are shaped by who God is. Thomas’s story calls us to see beyond the physical dimension of life to a deeper reality—the spiritual realm. There, in the spiritual realm, is where we experience God’s kind of life—what John’s gospel calls eternal life.

 We live in a Christian era that emphasizes belief. But this belief is not the belief of John’s gospel. The current emphasis upon belief is about affirming certain facts as true: the Bible is the inerrant word of God; Jesus had to die before God would forgive our sins (substitutionary atonement); homosexuality is a sin. I chose these three “beliefs” because they underlie the current division in The UMC. They illustrate how we use a position on an issue to determine how we view and treat another believer. If the other takes the “right” position, i.e., our position, we accept them. If they take the “wrong” position, we condemn, reject, and exclude them. I have had church members attack me because what I proclaimed did not match what they believed while others left the church to find a church more in line with what they believed. A conservative faction in The UMC is in process of withdrawing in order to create a new denomination that reflects their beliefs. My question: do these actions reflect the grace-filled nature of God? Do they proclaim forgiveness? Or are they a way of “retaining sins?”

 The second post-resurrection story validates the grace-filled nature of God revealed in Jesus. It validates the reality of the spiritual realm. It calls us to build our lives around who Jesus revealed God to be and around the grace-based ways of God. It invites us to find life in his name by believing (John 20:31).

 The third and last post-resurrection story focuses on Peter. It details the restoration of Peter after his three-fold denial of Jesus while Jesus was on trial before the Jewish Sanhedrin (John 18:12—18, 25—27). Three times—corresponding to his three denials—Jesus asked Peter “do you love me?” The English does not capture the nuance of the Greek. The first time, Jesus asked Peter “Do you love me with the God-kind of love that is willing to die for me? Do you love me more than these other disciples love me?” (John 21:15). This, after all, was what Peter had adamantly said to Jesus before Jesus was arrested (Matthew 26:33—35). Peter answered Jesus by saying, “Yes, I love you like a friend” (John 21:15). Note the different words for love that each used: loving with a God-kind of love that is willing to die for another versus loving like a friend. A second time Jesus asked, “Do you love me with the God-kind of love that is willing to die for me?” (John 21:16). Again, Peter answered Jesus by saying, “Yes, I love you like a friend” (John 21:16). The third time, Jesus changed his question: “Do you love me like a friend?” (John 21:17). Again Peter responded, “Yes, Lord, I love you like a friend.”  

 This story about Peter proclaims a great truth: God goes beyond forgiving our failures; God redeems them. As we deal honestly with our failures, God transforms them. God used Peter’s experience of failure to mature him spiritually. His experience of failure brought him face-to-face with his self-assured, self-reliant, ego-centric nature. His responses to Jesus’s questions reflect the self-awareness and honesty that are marks of humility. Even more, God used Peter’s experience of failure to equip him to deal compassionately and gently with others. After each interchange, Jesus commanded Peter: “feed my lambs” (John 21:15); “tend my sheep” (John 21:16); “feed my sheep” (John 21:17). Rather than disqualifying him for leadership, Peter’s experience of failure positioned him to guide others on their journey. God did more than forgive Peter’s failure. God redeemed and transformed it.

 The resurrection proclaims the transforming, redeeming power of God’s grace and forgiveness.

 As the followers of Jesus, we are sent—in the power of the Spirit—to proclaim the transforming, redeeming power of God’s grace and forgiveness. We are to do what Jesus did: invite others to embrace God’s grace and forgiveness for themselves so that grace and forgiveness shape their lives—including their failures. 

The 4th Sunday of Easter, 2021 - Luke's Post-resurrection Stories

 All four gospels proclaim the reality of the resurrection. They do so by relating the experience of the women who went to the tomb to anoint Jesus’s body. Three of the gospels then record post-resurrection appearances of Jesus. (The gospel of Mark is the one gospel that ends with the experience of the women at the tomb.) These post-resurrection experiences convey the gospel writers’ understanding of the significance and implication of the resurrection.

 The gospel of Luke records three post-resurrection stories. The primary story is of Jesus’s appearance to the two disciples walking to the village of Emmaus (Luke 24:13—35). When the two finally recognized Jesus, they returned to Jerusalem to tell the other disciples. Jesus appeared to the group—identified as the eleven disciples and companions—as the two reported their encounter with him (Luke 24:36—49). This second story foreshadows the companion to Luke’s gospel—the book of Acts. The final story relates the ascension of Jesus into heaven (Luke 24:50—53).

 The gospel writer repeats two dominant themes in these stories. The first was about Jesus’s death and resurrection; the second was about the disciples’ struggle.

 Both of the first two stories make the point that Jesus’s death and resurrection were the fulfillment of scripture. As Jesus walked with the two disciples toward Emmaus, he showed them how the scriptures taught the necessity of his suffering and death (Luke 24:25—27). When they recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread, they spoke of how he had opened the scriptures to them (Luke 24:32). In the second story, Jesus again spoke of the fulfillment of scripture—“that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44—45). The three parts of the Hebrew Scriptures were the Law of Moses, the prophets, and the writings, which included the psalms. He again opened their minds to understand the scriptures (Luke 24:45) and interpreted what the scriptures said—“thus it is written” (Luke 24:46). 

 For this gospel writer, Jesus’s death and resurrection were a part of a larger story—the climax of the story found in the Hebrew Scriptures. It was the story of God dealing with Israel’s failure to be faithful to the covenant. In spite of their failure, God continued to relate to them out of faithful love. In the person of Jesus, God entered their experience as Isaiah’s suffering servant (Isaiah 53). He took their sin upon himself, redeeming them from its curse. In Jesus, the Kingdom of God (a central theme in Luke’s gospel) became a reality. Repentance and forgiveness could now be proclaimed in his name (Luke 24:46—47). Forgiveness—not condemnation and judgment—is how God deals with human sin. Jesus’s death and resurrection proclaim that reality. The reality of forgiveness calls for repentance—a change in thinking, a turning to God and God’s ways. The call for repentance was a call to embrace the kingdom of God that Jesus made a reality.

 The second emphasis both stories record is the reality of the disciples’ struggle. In the first story, the two disciples did not recognize Jesus even as he walked with them and taught them. Their eyes were opened, that is, they recognized him, as he blessed and broke the bread for the evening meal (Luke 24:30—32). In the second story, the disciples struggled to believe their eyes even as they saw him and interacted with him. Jesus addressed their struggle by inviting them to touch him and by eating a piece of broiled fish (Luke 24:39, 42). As they struggled to understand what he was teaching them, he opened their minds to understand (Luke 24:45).

 These stories instruct us today.

 The disciples’ story is our story. We see our experience in theirs. We are like the two disciples walking to Emmaus. We have our assumptions about God and about what God will do. We read the Bible through the lens of our assumptions and beliefs. We live with disappointment when God doesn’t do what we expect or want. “We had hoped …” (Luke 24:21).

 Struggle is a part of our journey as it was a part of theirs. We struggle to recognize the presence of Jesus. We struggle to understand the ways of God he taught. We struggle to embrace those ways because they are so foreign to how we have been trained to think. We struggle to believe. We struggle to grasp the reality of forgiveness. We struggle to embrace the reality of the Kingdom. We, like them, are dependent upon the Spirit to open our minds and guide our understanding.

 As Jesus, through the Spirit, walks with us, we move beyond our struggle. We move from the blindness caused by our old ways of thinking to seeing (understanding) what Jesus taught. This Spirit-given understanding transforms our lives as we learn to live out of grace and forgiveness. This transformation makes us witnesses to the new reality Jesus proclaimed and made real—God’s forgiveness, God’s way of life known as the Kingdom (Luke 24:48).

 At the heart of this transformation process is learning to read and understand the Bible in the way Jesus taught those first disciples. Jesus is the fulfillment of the story the Bible tells. He is the fullest and final revelation of the heart of God. Thus, our understanding of what the Bible says is to be shaped by what Jesus taught and how he lived. Parts of the Bible—both in the Hebrew Scriptures and in the New Testament—reflect a partial, incomplete understanding of God and the ways of God (see Hebrews 1:1—3). What Jesus taught and how he lived takes precedent over those partial understandings. He is the lens through which we read the Bible. We are to build our lives around what Jesus taught. This Jesus-shaped way of reading and understanding the Bible will result in our lives being shaped by what he taught and how he lived. Rather than proclaiming “the Bible says!” to support what we believe, we proclaim “Jesus said!” 

 Finally, these stories remind us that we are a vital part of the on-going story of Jesus. We, like those first disciples, are witnesses of these things (Luke 24:48). As the followers of Jesus, we are a part of that Kingdom he established and witnesses to it. We proclaim—both with our words and with our lives—the reality of “repentance and the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 24:47). We proclaim God’s forgiveness, inviting people to set aside thinking in terms of deserving, judgment, and condemnation. We call them to embrace a new, grace-based way of thinking and living called the Kingdom of God (repentance). We live our part of the story through the power of the Spirit—“clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49).

 The post-resurrections stories in Luke show how Jesus’s death and resurrection were the fulfillment of the story being told in the Hebrew Scriptures. They anticipate the continuation of that story as the disciples—including us!—live as witnesses to the reality of forgiveness, inviting people of all nations to embrace a new way of thinking and living called the Kingdom of God.