(Outline/manuscript of my message at church on 11/12/16)

Intro: If you’ve been watching the news or checking your social media feed, or just generally alive, you’ve probably noticed that this week has been a time of great unrest and uncertainty. Every four years, about half the nation is upset about the results of the election. But I’ve never seen this kind of fear and division before. This is especially upsetting as Americans because, at least at the surface we have perceived this country as a place of relative safety. The reality of discrimination and oppression that have been going on since Europeans first arrived in this country is another story. Racism, at least, has been a part of our story since day one. Still, many of us are not accustomed to the kind of division and fear that most of the rest of the world knows, and, for that matter, that most of the rest of people in history have lived with all their lives.

I’m not interested in blaming any political party. But I think it is clear that, as a country, we have a problem, from the common man on the street all the way up to the top of our government.

This puts us in an interesting position as both Americans and Christians. When it comes to our response, it is helpful to take a step back and look at the whole of human history. It is helpful to realize that the people of God have almost always lived under the rule of corrupt men.

Jesus himself was born under the rule of Herod the Great, who slaughtered innocent children in Bethlehem. And Jesus was crucified under the rule of Herod Antipas, who stole another man’s wife and later had John the Baptist executed because of the request of a woman who danced impressively for his friends.

The early Church grew and expanded under the rule of terrible men like Nero (who blamed Christians for the Great Fire of Rome, which, supposedly, he himself ordered), and others like Domitian and Trajan who brutally persecuted the church.

And looking further back in the Old Testament, God’s people lived under the rule of countless corrupt men. From the wicked kings of Israel to enslavement under Egypt to exile in Babylon, the rule of thumb is that God’s people have lived under the rule of corruption and oppression. And yet even under the kingdoms of corrupt men, the kingdom of God continues on. There is a certain comfort in knowing that our mission as a church has not changed in the last two-thousand years, or the last two hundred, or since last week. So today I want to take a brief look at the question of “How then do we live?” How do we continue to live as children of the kingdom of heaven while living in a kingdom of earth? How do we live as children of God under the rule of men?

1. Grieve

It is okay to be angry, to be sorrowful. Injustice breaks God’s heart too. Emotion is a natural response to brokenness in the world. What matters is how we respond to that emotion. But feeling it is good; if you saw or experienced injustice and felt nothing, it’s probably a sign you’re growing desensitized to suffering, which can feel safer but is actually more concerning. If injustice or tragedy occurs, as Christians it is natural to feel and express the weight of that brokenness.

So I want to take a look first at God’s view of injustice, about those he repeatedly says to take care of in society, and why.

Jeremiah 22:3

Deuteronomy 10:17-19

Zechariah 7:8-12

Ezekiel 22:6-7

Malachi 3:5

Jeremiah 7:5-8

Psalm 146

Again and again, this is God’s stance: protect the foreigners, the fatherless, and the widows. Stand up for those who are in need. These are the people who were vulnerable in society. Especially in the agricultural, patriarchal society of the Old Testament, the fatherless and widows had no way to take care of themselves without a family or property; foreigners, too, often were without land of their own and were often treated unfairly and with disdain. (Think of the story of Ruth and how rare it was that Boaz treated her, a foreigner, with such generosity).

The parallels to our current society are obvious, and it is interesting to note that, unfortunately, what we’re experiencing is nothing new. It is also interesting to note what the beginning of Psalm 146 says: “Do not put your trust in nobles, in man, who cannot save.” If the current government wants to work in cooperation to help the poor and marginalized in society, then great, but if not, that doesn’t change our mission as a church. Our hope is not in government or human leaders. Our hope, instead, is with God and with what he calls his church to do on earth.

2. Stand up for the weak and vulnerable

God cares for the weak and the vulnerable; for the marginalized and the minorities in society. If these are things which matter to God, what are what are we going to do about it?

James 1:27. Pure and faultless religion: take care of the vulnerable and don’t be corrupted by the world. This is, according to James, the practical living out of our religion.

James 2. The first half of chapter is about living in a just and fair manner; about not discriminating against people based on what they can offer us. But he goes further. He says it isn’t enough to just believe these things. It isn’t enough to just talk about loving one another. It has to be connected to action.

James 2:15-17. We can't just say "Good luck, I hope things turn out ok for you." A stationary, intellectual concern for another's well-being is no concern at all; true compassion is active. In the same way, faith that does not reach out and take hold of the gift of salvation from God is as good as dead.

So James is saying that we live out the mission of the church by caring for the vulnerable and that caring for them means more than nice words. This means taking a stand with them and for them through both our words and actions. It is our responsibility as Christians to stand up for those who are outnumbered, for those who are vulnerable, for those who are being discriminated against.

I believe this also means standing up for both those you agree with and those you may not agree with. The story of the Good Samaritan is not a story about one Christian helping another who completely agrees with him. It is the story of caring for someone you disagree with. The Jews and Samaritans had distinctly different views of what it meant to follow God. It means putting your life at risk to stop and help someone in a dangerous position; also putting your money out there to support them. We are called to come and stand beside those in our society who are discriminated against and who are afraid – regardless of whether we agree with them or not.

This means we stand up for the Muslims. We stand up for the poor. We stand up for immigrants. We stand up for women. We stand up for blacks. We stand up for the LGBTQ community. We stand up for and with all these children of God. If we really believe, as our vision statement says, that this church is a place where ALL people can encounter Jesus, that means that we must do more than speak these words, we must show them to be true in our actions, in who we welcome into our doors and how we treat people in the streets.

And we must go further than this. Because God calls us to love our enemies – even the oppressors of the weak and vulnerable we’re trying to protect.  It doesn’t mean you have to support them, but because we know that our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers of darkness, we recognize that even the oppressors are also children of God. And that means that we fight with love – a love that listens and seeks to understand and that calls them towards justice. We love the oppressor, not by letting them do whatever they want, but by opposing them in firm but non-violent ways, and by seeking their good, even as we seek to protect the oppressed.

3. Proclaim a message of justice and hope

But if we’re honest, and if this world is all we have, in the end, there is one oppressor we cannot protect people from, and that is death.  

We do our best to make this world good, but we also recognize that it will one day end. For me, this doesn’t take away the urgency and importance of the cause of justice in our world, but it does remove some of the unbearable weight of despair that comes from looking at the impossibility of resolving every case of injustice we face. There is hope, not just that God will one day return, but that in the Second Coming of Jesus, he will bring an end to the rule of men and all the corruption therein.

This is what we proclaim as Adventists. Contained within the Three Angels’ Messages are promises of justice. These are proclamations of hope. Promises of the good God is about to accomplish.

Revelation 14:7 “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come.” A promise! The God who is a defender of the weak, of the fatherless, widows, and foreigners is coming to judge and to bring about justice. (We are sometimes uncomfortable with God as judge; yet we also look at suffering and complain that God isn’t doing anything. God will do something as judge once and for all when he returns, and until then you and I are his hands and feet for justice).

Revelation 14:8 “Babylon is fallen!” A promise! That corrupt religious systems will fall. That systems which do not show and live the true love of God’s gospel will come to an end. I was asked this week why some people don’t seem open to the hope of the Second Coming even in light of these times. So much religious rhetoric has been used to justify injustice, it can be hard for people to see the good in religion. Why would they look forward to the return of a God who is represented by many of his people as hating and seeking their destruction? Jesus promises that these false portrayals of him will soon be judged, removed, and forgotten. Only the truth will remain. Until then, it is our responsibility to keep proclaiming the truest view of a God of love and justice we know.

Revelation 14:9-10 “Anyone who worships the beast and his image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand” will be destroyed. A promise! Not just religious systems, but all who are workers of oppression and injustice (which is the outworking of false religious systems and false portrayals of the character of God) will fall. God will one day bring about total justice and peace.

We get to decide now, before that day comes, if we want to be a part of that world or not. This is why God calls out to us in Revelation 18:4 “Come out of her, my people…” A promise! And an invitation. God calls his people out of corruption into freedom. He calls us into relationship with him, and promises to bring about everlasting peace. We don’t have to place our hopes in false religious and worldly systems; we can place our hope in God.

Conclusion: God is calling you to stand up. He is calling for you to grieve over what grieves him. He is calling you to stand up for the oppressed. He is calling you to tell the world about his promises for justice in his return, and invite them into a relationship with the only true and fair judge who is coming to bring unending peace to this world. Will you stand with the God who stands for you?

We have an unfortunate tendency to equate success with approval and validation from God. This is even (especially?) true when it comes to ministry. As if faithfulness to God can be quantified in numbers - churches with growing attendance, evangelistic series with more baptisms, colporteurs with a lot of book sales. Let’s be honest: we like immediate results.

I noticed something interesting regarding this in Acts 7. Stephen had just been accused of speaking against the sanctuary, the law, and Moses. In a rather brilliant speech, he turns the tables on the Sanhedrin and, using their own history, points out that they are actually the ones speaking against the sanctuary, the law, and Moses.

Nonetheless, things didn’t go so well for Stephen. The Jews were so enraged that they murdered him on the spot. Not only that, but Stephen’s speech prompts such bloodthirsty fury in the Jews that simply killing him isn’t enough – now they want to kill all the Christians! “On that day a severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem” (Acts 8:1). Now those are some immediate results, for sure, but not quite the kind I was talking about.

Let’s back up a few chapters. Acts 2 contains another famous speech in the early history of the church. This one, given by Peter, is not too dissimilar from the one Stephen gave, and yet it had drastically different results: over 3,000 people were baptized!

So Peter’s preaching results in thousands who are converted and baptized.

And Stephen’s preaching results in not only his death, but severe persecution for the entire church.

Huh.

Is anyone ready to suggest that Stephen was less faithful than Peter? That his lack of immediate numerical results is somehow a sign of failure on his part? I think not. Both were faithful. Both served God in the moment to which he had called them.

It would do us well to remember that God is more patient than we are. And that he has the big picture in mind, while we often only focus on what is right in front of our faces.

Let us also remember that faithfulness to God is not measured in numbers. God has called us each to different places, different roles, different purposes. Set your heart to the task God has set before you, and leave the results in his hands.

Last week we talked about how the church is not a building or an event; the church is people. Which makes me wonder… how did we get here? When did we start having church buildings? When did we start sitting in pews? Preaching from pulpits?

Did you know…?

• ·         The first church building archaeologists have discovered is from the 240s AD – it was a house that was remodeled by tearing out the wall between two rooms to form a larger meeting room, with a third room used for a baptistery.[1]
• ·         Church buildings were not common until Constantine recognized Christianity as a legal religion in the 4^th century.
• ·         Even when Christians began meeting in buildings, there was no seating for the fir 1,300 years – except for “stone benches along the back wall for the elderly or infirmed.”[2]
• ·         It is only since the 16^th and 17^th century that fixed pews became the standard seating arrangement in church buildings.
• ·         The sermon, more or less as we know it today, didn’t exist as the primary focus of church gatherings until the Protestant Reformation. This was in contrast to the Roman Catholic liturgy, which placed the Eucharist as the high point of the “worship service.”

So in the history of the Christian church, the way we do things now – the order of service with the sermon or mass as the high point, with all of us sitting in pews facing the same direction towards a person or small group of persons leading the service – is relatively new. It hasn’t always been this way.

Photo by Matt Jiggins from Toronto, Canada (Church Pews)
[CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

What, then, was it like back in the New Testament? What did it look like when the early church met together?

First, we know that it was Jesus’ practice (as well as that of His disciples after He ascended) to go to the synagogue on the Sabbath (Mark 1:21, 6:2; Luke 4:16, 6:6, 13:10; Acts 13:14, 42-44, 17:2, 18:4). During this time, believers would gather together for “prayer, song, reading, and exposition of the Scripture,”[3] as well as other ceremonial or ritualistic acts.

While the primary purpose of the Sabbath is not gatherings, but rather rest from work, it seems that early Christians continued their custom of gathering together to celebrate/worship their Creator and Savior, to fellowship with each other, and to teach/learn from the Scriptures. There is evidence that they met together in large public places, such as the outer court of the temple, as well as many examples of church gatherings in the houses of believers.

Second, we have a handful of passages that give us insight into what their gatherings were like (Acts 2:42-46; 1 Corinthians 11:17-26, 14:26-33; Ephesians 5:18-21; Colossians 3:16, 4:16; 1 Timothy 4:13; Hebrews 10:24-25). When we combine all the pieces together, we get the following picture of church gatherings.

1. 1.       Met house to house (or public space), ate together
2. 2.       Met to admonish (caution or reprove gently), exhort (comfort, encourage, urge), edify (build up, strengthen)
3. 3.       All could/did participate, sharing through:

a.       Psalms, hymns, spiritual songs

b.      Gratitude/thanksgiving

c.       Reading

d.      Teaching

e.      Prayer

f.        Giving to those in need

g.       Communion

The key difference between then and how most church gatherings take place now is that they came together, not as an audience or spectator, but as participants. They met as the family of God and everyone shared with each other for the good of each other.

It is important how we gather together :

·         In such a place that encourages everyone to participate

·         In such a manner that gives everyone an opportunity to participate

·         In such a size/quantity that allows for everyone to participate

We are all the church; when there is only one person or a small group of people “up front” leading out, the idea develops that they are the church, that they are supposed to feed us spiritually. In reality, each of us must daily go to Jesus to be fed spiritually, and then when we meet together, we come to share from the nourishment we have been receiving from Jesus.

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[1] http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/asktheexpert/ask_churchbuildings.html

[2] http://www.patheos.com/blogs/nadiabolzweber/2012/01/the-problem-with-pews/

[3] Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church

I’ve been thinking about church lately. What does it mean to have a church? Be a church? What is church?

A brief trip through the concordance brought something clearly to view: our modern concept of church as a building or a weekly event is absent from the New Testament. If you asked one of the first believers, “Where is your church?” or “Are you going to church this weekend?” they would look at you in puzzlement.

Instead, the word “church” is used in the Bible to refer to a group of people. These people, in quantities varying from those meeting in someone’s home (Romans 16:5, 1 Corinthians 16:19, Colossians 4:15, Philemon 2) to all those in a city or region (Acts 8:1, 11:22, 13:1; Romans 16:1; 1 Corinthians 1:2, Revelation 2-3 ) to the worldwide church as a whole (Acts 20:28), are distinct because they are believers in and followers of Jesus.[1]

To be sure, there are instances when the church – this group of people – gather together for a specific purpose, sometimes in a building, but the event or physical structure is not the church; the church is people.

Why does this matter? Very simply: it changes the nature of the questions we ask about what it means to be a church. The important questions are no longer centered around the architecture and location of a building, nor the content and order of the weekly “worship service.” Instead, we have to start asking questions about what it means for us to live our lives together as followers of Jesus. This means we focus our questions around two foundational issues:

1) what is important to Jesus and how can we join Him in His ongoing ministry, and
2) how can we do this better together?

We see this truth in the metaphors used to represent the church, such as the bride of Christ(Ephesians 5), or the family of God (1 Timothy 3:15; Romans 8:12-17). Even when using the metaphor of a temple, we are described as living stones and Christ is described as the cornerstone (1 Peter 2:4-7). But this truth is especially exemplified in the metaphor of the church as the body of Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1:18-20; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31).

As the body of Christ, Jesus is the head. We follow wherever the head is looking or wants to go. We are made up of many parts, each important and unique. As we follow Jesus and move throughout the earth, we are His representatives, His hands and feet doing good to those around us. 

Again, the concept of the church as a group of people rather than a building or event is important here.  If church is a weekly (or even bi-weekly) event that takes place at a specific address, then the church is very small. But the truth is much bigger! When you walk out of the doors after the sermon, you’re not leaving church; church is leaving the building. The church is the all of us following Jesus every day of the week wherever we go, at home, at work, at the gym, at restaurants, etc. The church is everywhere and has the chance to impact anyone, anywhere, rather than being limited to a specific time and place.

It also means that every single person is important and crucial to the ministry of the church. The health and vitality of the church depends on each and every one of us doing our part with the gifts God has given us – whenever, wherever we are. This is exciting to me because it means that God wants each one of us to be a part of His work in this world. He wants us by His side every step of the way.

And what is it that He is doing and wants us to join Him in doing? What are the things that are important to Jesus? Well, that is something this blog is dedicated to exploring. But for right now, we will take a look at two passages which outline the primary mission of the church.

Matthew 28:16-20 – inviting others to also be baptized, born into, adopted into the family of God, to become part of the body of Christ, to follow Jesus and learn the things He taught were important.

Acts 2:41-47 – very practical here… they continued the Great Commission, learning about the things Jesus taught; they fellowshipped – koinonia “a having in common, partnership”… basically: togetherness, unity in shared experiences; eating together; praying together. Also, taking care of those in need around them.

We sell ourselves short when we limit the concept of church to being a building or event (or even a series of events, like evangelistic meetings). If the church is really people, then we cannot expect church to really happen while we sit around in pews, staring at the back of each other's heads. True church is a lifestyle. True church means being in our community and, like Jesus and the early church, helping those around us with both their immediate and eternal needs.

This is one of my favorite quotes that sums up this idea of being the people of Jesus in our community:

“Christ's method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Saviour mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them, 'Follow Me.'

There is need of coming close to the people by personal effort. If less time were given to sermonizing, and more time were spent in personal ministry, greater results would be seen. The poor are to be relieved, the sick cared for, the sorrowing and the bereaved comforted, the ignorant instructed, the inexperienced counseled. We are to weep with those that weep, and rejoice with those that rejoice. Accompanied by the power of persuasion, the power of prayer, the power of the love of God, this work will not, cannot, be without fruit.” (Ministry of Healing, p. 143-144)

When we look at the life of Jesus, we see that He cared about and took care of people’s immediate, physical needs. He loved them enough to take care of their temporal troubles, but He also loved them enough to bid them, “Follow Me,” knowing that a good lifetime is not enough if it ends in death – only a life that overflows into eternity can truly satisfy the longing of our souls. Jesus showed true love by caring about and providing for both immediate and eternal needs.

I believe this is what Jesus cares about and what we should care about as His followers. Jesus is calling us to koinonia, to togetherness as we live in our communities, reaching out to those around us and dedicating our lives to meeting their immediate and eternal needs in the name of Jesus.

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[1] This concept is even found in the linguistics of the Greek word for church, ekklesia, which means “a calling out.” This signifies that the church is a group of people called out or set aside for a specific purpose.