“Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees you’ll not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”—Jesus
In a culture being lulled to sleep by mediocrity, passivity, acceptance, political correctness, moderation and tolerance Jesus would be considered an intolerant radical fanatic:
He ran the money changers out with a whip – "Intolerant, rage-aholic!"
In essence, He told the rich ruler, “My way or the highway.” – "Narrow. Extremist."
“I am THE way, THE truth, THE life..” – "Who does He think He is!? God?"
“You have sins and I’ll forgive them.” – "Holier-than-thou. Judgemental."
“If you don’t repent ,you’ll not be forgiven” – "Militant, hateful bigot!"
“If anyone wants to follow me he must deny himself” – "Radical right-wing conservative."
“You preachers are in it for yourselves.” (Matthew 11:45ff) – "Meddler!"
“Don’t worry about the bills, refuse to cook the books and trust God.” (Matthew 12) – "Naïve. Idealistic."
He said, “God gave one man 5 talents and another he only gave 1 talent.” – "Republican!"
He said, “God gave talents.” – "Democrat!"
He said, “God.” – "Christian!!"
If not literally, then essentially, Jesus would have been “nailed” today for his positions.
Watching over 6000 Christians come through our place during the past ten years, I’ve been saddened and actually become somewhat worried. I'm especially worried about the youth.
The majority lack the independent spirit of Jesus. They follow the crowd, stay in the pack, do what everyone else is doing, take their bottles of spiritual milk and go play church. They lack holy defiance. They lack vision. There is little or no personal motivation, much conformity.
They’ve settled for goodness when they should have sought fire. They have a fondness for Christ, not passion. Though spiritually well-fed they have no strength. They are surrounded with God-stuff yet self remains at the center. They are polite, but not pure. They are acceptable not radical. There is knowledge, but no resolve; an eagerness to serve the poor, but little sense of man’s lostness. I do not see Christ formed or forming in them; instead, I see the righteousness of the Pharisees. I wish I saw more of that intolerant, fanatical, raging Meddler who went against the tide, died for it, and shook the world awake.
Monday, July 03, 2006
Is Anybody Listening?
I was completely blown away when a Swiss journal for feminist Biblical studies asked me to submit my article on the Rape of Dinah (Genesis 34) this Spring. I was also struck when a representative of the Attourney General's Sexual Assault Task Force asked me Thursday to join the committee. God pushes, but I never knew it would be this hard.
Ever since my first sermon on domestic violence (in 1995) my wife and I have been on a roller-coaster ride. We have both been immersed in ministry to a dark world of pain, injustice, suffering, and fear. Yet God shines in the darkness and has brought healing to many women and children suffering alone. We see the power of God in the lives of many, only to be proded to tell others about the secret things of the dark world of abuse, sexual violence, and human trafficking. Then God sends us back not only to listen but to tell those in the darkness that their voices and screams are heard.
It makes me wonder, and you can wonder too, if God is the only one listening. How often have we been silent on this issue? How often have we heard a sermon or class on sexual violence? Even worse, since we have about 5 Biblical texts that address this, how often have we heard them taught? In Genesis 34 Dinah never says a word. Neither does her father Jacob (at least not until the end). Why doesn't she scream? Why doesn't he call for justice?
What do you think?
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