Part 1 – The Image of God in the Word of God

Recently, we began a conversation at Hope Reformed Church regarding justice. Turning through the pages of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament, we sought to find a definition of justice that was theological rather ideological; a definition that was faithful to God’s hope for the world. As a pastor I learned a lot in the time it took to study and put the outlines together. These posts will serve not only as a reference for the congregation, but as a reference for me. I hope to summarize over various posts what was covered in the class. The Bible was my main source, but here are some others that were especially helpful:

Old Testament – THE LIBERATING IMAGE, by J. Richard Middleton; THE PROPHETS, by Abraham J. Heschel; THE PROPHETIC IMAGINATION, by Walter Brueggemann.

New Testament – ENGAGING THE POWERS, by Walter Wink; THE WORD ON THE STREET, by Stanley Saunders & Charles Campbell; CALVIN’S FIRST CATECHISM, by I. John Hesselink; THE UNAFFORDABLE NATION, by Jeffrey D. Jones

It’s always helpful to begin any conversation about “what the Bible says about…” at the beginning of the Bible. The conversation concerning justice is no different. In fact, much of what the Bible means about justice is rooted in creation and, more specifically, in the image of God. At Genesis 1:26-28, we find God saying, “‘Let us make humankind in our image…So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said, ‘Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion.’ Whatever the image of God is, it is applied only to human beings in a way that sets them apart from the rest of creation. There are very few references in the rest of the Hebrew Bible that offer much more help to understanding what God means and how it informs justice.

The next reference is in Genesis 5:1-2 where the descendants of Adam are being introduced. “When God created humankind, he made them in the likeness of God. Male and female he created them, and he blessed them.” We find repeated here a connection of the image to “male and female.” It could be said that the image has something to do with the interaction of both genders (more on this later). A further reference is found in Genesis 9:6-7, “Whoever sheds the blood of a human, by a human shall that person’s blood be shed; for in his own image God made humankind. And you, be fruitful and multiply, abound on the earth and multiply in it.” As in Genesis 1, this passage highlights God’s command to “be fruitful and multiply,” offering further clues as to what it might mean to say that humans are made in the image of God. The context of this verse is important in understanding more of its meaning, but we’ll return to that later as well.

Another reference in the Hebrew Bible is found in Psalm 8 where the Psalmists speaks of God making humanity “a little lower than the gods,” crowning them with “glory and honor,” and giving them “dominion.” We find here a very high view of humanity and, as in Genesis 1, the notion that God has given humans dominion over the animals of the land and sea. So, from these few references we have some clues as to what it means to be made in the image of God. First, it is somehow connected to “male and female.” Second, the image of God is related to the command “be fruitful and multiply.” Finally, the image of God sets humanity apart from creation and gives them “dominion.” The Christian tradition has done much with the image of God, but not all of it has been helpful.

More often than not, the image of God has been taken to mean that we share some sort of substance or inner quality with God. Whether it be conscience, reason, immortality, or a soul, many Christians have offered this possibility. St. Augustine, for example, considered God in Trinitarian form and related the human capacities for memory, intellect, and will to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Helpful as these ideas are, many of them are overly influenced by philosophy and take little consideration of the Bible itself. Many of them also neglect the role that our bodies play in the image of God. Beginning with the Reformation, some theologians began considering the image as human behavior or as our capacity for relationship. Still, while more faithful to our bodies, they still lack connection to the creation story itself.

In his book THE LIBERATING IMAGE, J. Richard Middleton, defines the image of God as designating “the royal office or calling of human beings as God’s representatives and agents in the world, granted authorized power to share in God’s rule or administration of the earth’s resources and creatures.” In other words, the image of God has to do with our function here on earth, the reason that God has placed us in this creation. If God created the world by ordering the chaos and bringing forth beauty on the earth, we are called to join him by continuing that creation. It turns out that God has put us here, “male and female”, to act as his representatives by “being fruitful and multiplying” in the earth, to have “dominion” by bringing order and beauty to the earth. When compared with competing notions of humanity’s place in the world it turns out to be a revolutionary revelation of justice. But that’s for another post.

Give Us What You Want – 9/28/08

I want to talk to you about a law. It’s not like any law that’s written down in the Bible or in the Constitution. It’s more like the laws of nature or physics. It’s more like a general rule of thumb that governs the workings of the universe. The law I’m speaking of is the law of unintended consequences. It’s the law that says when good people try to do good things without thinking them through or looking at them from every angle, there are likely to be consequences that they didn’t intend. Unintended consequences occur when one makes decisions based on a narrow world view. They are often the result of someone making a decision based on a rigid ideology rather than careful thought and problem-solving. Unintended consequences are all around us.

It was my thought this week to agitate you by describing some of the unintended consequences of the recent financial downturns: the home foreclosures, the bank…bankruptcies, the struggle of small business, and other things of that nature. But just a day or two ago, I read about some unintended consequences that are much more agitating if not infuriating. It has to do with the Safe Haven Law that is on the books for just about all 50 states. It’s a law that says if you have a child and decide that you can’t handle it, you can bring them to a hospital or other safe haven and drop them off. As long as they are under 1, there are no questions asked and someone else will step in to care for the child.

That’s pretty much how the law was written in all 50 states except one: Nebraska. Nebraska was one of the last states to pass such a law. Again, good people are trying to do good things. They don’t want babies to be put in dumpsters. They don’t want children to be abused or neglected. So, they say, why not allow parents to hand their child to someone who will care for them and love them. What makes Nebraska’s law different than the rest is that they couldn’t agree on a specific timeframe for the law. Whereas California’s law say 72 hours and most others say 1 year, Nebraska decided that the word “child” would suffice. Most people have taken that to mean anyone who is a minor or under the age of 19.

Between 5pm and 9pm this past Wednesday 3 fathers walked into two hospitals in Omaha and handed over their children. One man left 9 children between the ages of 1 and 17 years old. The week prior a 13 year old girl was left and the week before that two boys were turned in. All told, 6 families have turned over 14 children to different medical centers. Thankfully, none of the children have shown any signs of abuse. But that leaves us to wonder why parents are abandoning their children. The first few incidents suggested a difficulty in handling their behavior. The man who left 9 children had just lost his wife and his job and felt he could no longer handle the burden.

“This was never the intent of the bill,” one of the lawmakers said. He said that he only wanted to make sure that infants were safe, but the way the law was written has led to all sorts of unintended consequences. The head of Nebraska’s Department of Health and Human Services said that most of the parents were just tired of being parents. They had decided to have children and raise a family, but when things got tough, Nebraska’s law allowed them to leave their children behind without any questions asked. When parenting turned out to be something different than they expected or something harder than they imagined, they gave up and the state allowed them to do it. It seems that if the parents couldn’t get what they wanted, they would simply give up like some people do on cars that no longer work or buildings that fall into disrepair.

In our world of consumption that’s what we do with things that we don’t like or don’t want. We get rid of them and go get something that promises to be better. Clothes, cell phones, computers, TV’s, food, and now it seems that even children are items of consumption. As long as you like them, you keep them, if not, you don’t. Like the law of unintended consequences, there is a law of consumerism that governs the way we make a lot of decisions these days. Basically, it says that we should be able to get what we want, when we want it, how we want it, and where we want it. Then, if what we get isn’t what we wanted, we can go get something else. It’s seems that the law of consumerism was seeping into the minds of some of the disciples.

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we want.” They sound like children, don’t they? “Mom, if I ask you to do something, will you promise to say yes?” James and John want to make sure that they get in on the Jesus movement at just the right time. They’ve seen the crowds following Jesus. They’ve how they look at him. They admire his power and his ability to influence. He has them marching on a straight line to Jerusalem and they can only imagine that Jesus will be taking the throne when they get there. Yes, they’ve heard him talk about mocking and spitting and flogging, but it’s a small price to pay to be king they figure. They have no idea of the cost.

You can almost hear the frustration in Jesus’ reply, “What is it you want me to do for you?” Perhaps in unison they say, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” They wanted glory. They wanted Jesus’ glory. They wanted crowds to follow them. They wanted power and influence. Jesus knows that they have no idea what they’re asking him to do. He asks them, “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They replied, “Yeah, yeah, sure, sure, Jesus, whatever you say. Now can we have our glory please?” They are certain that they are able to follow Jesus. If they will be repaid with high authority, they’ll go anywhere. That’s consumerism at its best: the more we want something, the greater the price we are willing to pay.

Almost in code, Jesus goes on to say, “The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” Jesus, of course, is referring to his mission, to his reason for being. He was baptized in the Jordan River, anointed by the Holy Spirit to bring good news to the poor, recovery of sight to the blind, to let captives go, and set the oppressed free from their misery. This was not an easy road to travel and it was not a road that led to the kind of throne or the kind of crown that James and John expected. The cup was a cup of suffering and it would be poured out, finally, on a cross. James and John couldn’t see this yet.

What they could see was the other disciples gathering around with stern looks on their faces and probably some questions of their own. What makes you think you get those seats? Do you think you’re better than the rest of us? The close cousin of consumerism is competition. If James and John want something and some of the other disciples want the same thing, they’ll have to compete to get it. Like with a lot of things we buy, the other disciples may not have even known that they wanted or needed that glory. But since James and John brought it up, glory sure sounded good to them as well. Maybe they should have this glory. If the disciples would have taken a minute or two to consider the fine print, they may have thought twice about pursuing this goal.

The disciples were well aware of what their Scriptures said. It wouldn’t have been so long before the disciple’s time that their country was a place of glory. Their land was one filled with silver and gold and it seemed as if there was no end to their treasure. It was a land filled with horses and there was no end to their chariots. In other words, it was a land of great wealth and great power. Some would look at such wealth and power and see a land that was filled with glory. But for every chariot, there was an idol. For all the gold and silver was shaped into false images of God and the people bowed down to the works of their hands. It seems that they would pursue great wealth and great power and the expense of their God.

As a result, God would not look so kindly on their glory. “The haughty eyes of the people shall be brought low, and the pride of everyone humbled; and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day. For the Lord of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is high and lifted up. The haughtiness of people shall be humbled, and the pride of everyone shall be brought low; and the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.” The disciples were well aware of the power and wealth that surrounded them. It frustrated them that their land was in the hands of others and they were eager to grasp it for themselves. They saw Jesus as their chance. The disciples imagined that Jesus would be the Lord who was exalted when all of the proud and haughty were brought low. They wanted to be exalted with him. But here’s where the fine print comes in. Jesus says that their glory is not going to be like the glory that they see all around them.

“You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus had just turned the whole idea of glory on it’s head. While in the kingdoms of this world those who are great have a lot of servants, in God’s kingdom the greatest will be those who serve. While in the kingdoms of this world those who are great have command of many people, can tell them where to go and what to do, in God’s kingdom those who are first in line will put themselves at the service of others.

God’s kingdom was different than the kingdoms of this world and Jesus would be a different king than the kings of this world. Rather than lord his power over his followers, he would love them. Rather than be a tyrant, Jesus would be a servant. Jesus had come to serve rather than be served. Instead of owning slaves who would do his bidding, he paid the great price to set slaves free. Both his baptism and the cup of suffering from which he drank pointed him in that direction. His crucifixion showed us the lengths he would go and his resurrection showed us the hope that awaits all those who will follow. This is the good news that Jesus brought with him and with that good news a new reality broke into the world, a new way of life was born.

Each of us who has been baptized in the church and each time we gather around the Lord’s Table we are professing to be different as Jesus was different. However, like James and John, disciples of Jesus can act more like consumers of Jesus. They look to Jesus to get what they want from him. The laws of consumption are at play in the church these days too. It’s easy enough to forget that our offerings are meant to be seeds that we plant to grow God’s kingdom. But with so many churches these days it can go unnoticed when Christians begin imagining that their offerings are payments for services and programs. It happens then, when they don’t like the services or programs that they’re paying for that Christians begin shopping around for churches. In a sense, they go from church to church saying, “We want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”

Unintended consequences occur when one makes decisions based on a narrow world view. They are often the result of someone making a decision based on a rigid ideology rather than careful thought and problem-solving. When the world view becomes so narrow that only “me” is visible, children get left off at hospitals. When the rigid ideology that governs our life is the law of consumption, houses are foreclosed on, banks go bankrupt, and small businesses disappear. As we witnessed again this last week, we live in a world of teenage suicide and teenage homicide both of which happened very close to this church. These stories agitate us and frustrate us, anger us and sadden us. They remind us that injustice is around every corner. These stories are all the more reason to take Jesus at his word.

When we join in Jesus’ baptism and drink at Jesus’ table, we enter into Jesus’ covenant. When we gather here, we receive every promise that Jesus has ever made; promises of forgiveness, of welcome, of meaning, and of life, even eternal life. But a covenant is not a one-sided promise. It is a marriage of two parties. In that same covenant, we promise not to use others for our own purposes, but to make serving others our primary purpose. We promise not to compete with others for scarce resources, but to use the resources we have to cooperate and build one another up. God sent his son into the world to save the world from our unintended consequences; to save the world from pride and haughtiness, from idolatry and injustice, to do away with tyrants and create more servants. Jesus has paid the ransom and shown us the way.

Clearly, Jesus would have been happier to hear James and John say, “Teacher, we want to do whatever you ask of us.” Rather than imply “give us what we want” Jesus would have been happy to hear, “Lord, give us what you want.” If the kingdoms of this world are plagued by unintended consequences and governed by consumption and competition, God’s kingdom is governed by “c” words of its own. If we are ever to do justice on this corner and in this world our lives must be ruled by the cross more than consumption, by a covenant more than competition. If consumption is a way of life that insists on its own way, the way of the cross is one of humility, one that looks first to the interests of others. If competition is a way that is envious and arrogant and boastful and rude, a covenant is a way that believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, and bears all things. It is a way that never ends simply because we want a better deal or more comfort or something new and shiny.

What we’re talking about is the way of love. As Solomon’s song reminds us, it is only love that can overcome death, only love that is fierce as the grave. Love, real love, rages like a fire and no amount of water can put it out. No amount of wealth can compensate for love. Love is what drove Jesus to Jerusalem to pay the ransom to set people free. Love is what sent him to the cross. Love is what raised him from the grave. Love is the only law by which disciples of Jesus are called to live. Amen.

Justice Norms – 9/21/08

Teenagers are so rude! At least that’s what a recent study suggested. It took a look at 40,000 teenagers over the course of the last 40 years and found that teenagers today are less concerned with social approval and societies standards. There’s a new book about all of this called Generation Me and it finds that young people don’t care as much about making a good impression or displaying common courtesy. They are not as careful in the way they dress as they used to be. They don’t worry as much about saying “please” or “thank you” as they used to be. On the other hand, the study found that they are much more likely to insist on their own way or be irritated at doing a favor for someone.

Go to a college campus and watch how they dress if you want an example. Students are better dressed for weekend parties than they are for class where the usual attire is plaid pajama bottoms, flip-flops and t-shirts. Apparently, a lot of controversy was stirred up when a champion lacrosse team went to go visit the president in the White House. On their feet were flip-flops like those you see at the beach. The older generation was in an uproar, complaining about the disrespect of kids these days. They didn’t understand how the young people could be so unaware. The younger generation was confused because flip-flops are so cool and they can go with anything. They didn’t understand how the older people could be so upset.

What we’re talking about here are social norms or social conventions. They are behaviors that we all know to follow but have never seen written down anywhere. They are unspoken rules we follow when we become part of a group. If you see a little, old lady standing on a bus you should offer your seat to hear. Holding doors open, getting in line at the back of the line, and what shoes are worn to the White House are all social conventions that have been established over time and become expectations for proper behavior. We go about all of our days operating under these norms and usually only realize it when someone else is not following them. People who don’t follow social norms are rude and arrogant and disrespectful.

Yesterday, Julie and I went to a party to spend some time with some friends. We had to leave early because Josh was getting tired. As I followed social conventions by cleaning up our trash, I noticed a great cake sitting on the table inside. But it was time to go so I would have to pass it up. As we got in the car, Julie asked if I had seen the cake that people started eating. After I wiped my chin I told her I did. For a moment, we contemplated going back in to get a piece of cake; maybe take a couple with us for the road. Of course, we didn’t because, we thought, that we be rude for one and also very weird. Obviously, there is no law against going back to get the cake. And, I’m sure that the hosts and other guest would have been happy to give us some. But, social convention prevented us from enjoying any.

Perhaps there is no other place so full of social norms than church. Go to any church, in any part of the country and you will see social norms at work. What kind of clothes are the people wearing? There isn’t any dress code written down in the by-laws. Can you chew gum during communion? How about if you’re serving communion? When they sing songs, can they raise their hands? Can they dance? Are people allowed to move around during the service; perhaps to go get a cup of coffee? When they pass the peace is it done with a hand shake, a hug or a kiss? Again, there isn’t anything written down about any of this. It’s just kind of generally accepted behavior. There is generally some wiggle room, but there is always a line that is not to be crossed. When that line is crossed eyebrows are furled, lips are curled, and heads shake. Looks of disgust flash across faces and there is a general dismay at the state of the world.

It’s quite possible that the first people to hear the story of the Prodigal Son responded with such disgust and dismay. It is a story that is filled with social conventions and norms. The primary one ties together birth order and inheritance. The oldest son is the one who gets a majority of the father’s property and is in charge of taking over the father’s house. Subsequent children will get to divide up the rest and have lesser duties. As with Jacob and Esau, the story of the Prodigal Son ruffles some feather because it is the younger son who gets more than he deserves; basically taking what some of the older son deserves according to social norms and then using it for his own purposes. As far as the Prodigal Son is concerned, that wouldn’t be the only social line he crosses.

The story begins with a rude, arrogant, disrespectful son approaching his father and requesting his inheritance. Generally, that happens after the father has died. It was meant to meet the needs of the family once the father had gone. The younger son saying, in effect, “I no longer appreciate the care you give me. I’d prefer my inheritance. You mind as well be dead.” Without batting an eye, the father divides his inheritance. It’s certainly an offensive move that the son makes, but at least the property is still in the family. At least, he’ll still be around to fulfill the duty of the younger son and take care of his father in his old age. That is until he goes off to a distant country and squanders it in dissolute living.

Everything that his father had given him was lost. Just to be clear, that meant that some other family would now own that portion of his father’s land. All of the harvest, all of the housing that was on that property now belonged to someone else and from another country no less. The younger son had just piled a whole heap of shame on an already burdened family. What kind of son is this that would be so disrespectful of his father and his father’s property? What kind of father would allow his son to do this without reprimand? As far as social conventions are concerned, it only gets worse. Not only did the son decide to go squander all of his money in an unclean country, when the money ran out he decided to work with unclean animals.

At least, he’s taking responsibility for himself. At least he’s working, some might say. But for many others of the day working for a foreigner and working in a pig pen would be socially unacceptable. He had sold his father’s property. Now, he has sold himself. It’s at that point that he finally realizes that something hasn’t gone quite right. This is not how he imagined his life working out when he left his father’s house. He begins to imagine what it would be like to go back. Imagine the nerve it would take. While you were away, some foreigners had come to claim land from your father. You responsibilities in the house and in the field and been passed on to someone else. You had ruined your families name with illicit behavior. No you want to go back?!

So, he set off and went to his Father’s house. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw and ran to him. I’m sure there was a grocery list of socially acceptable ways to punish a son for all of this disgrace. Many of the people who first heard the story would have expected that I’m sure. We have come to expect something different; something not always so socially acceptable. The father is filled with compassion, embraces him, and kisses him. He sends for a robe, and sandals (flip-flops maybe). He kills the fatted calf and throws a party. All of this he does to the dismay of the older brother. While the father rejoices that his son is found again, is alive again, the older brother stews out in the field. He is rooted in the usual social practices of the day. His younger brother has broken more social norms than he can count and brought more shame than he can bear. How is it that he’s welcomed home with such joy and celebration?

Clearly, the father is more concerned with the health and well-being of his son than he is with social conventions. The father is more focused on the reconciliation of his family than he is on the shame his son might have brought on them. If we interpret this story in the usual way, we understand that the father in the story represents God, our father in heaven. We understand the prodigal son to represent us in our sin. And, we understand the warm embrace to be what God offers to those who will return to him. If that’s all true, then we might also say that God is not as concerned with social norms and social conventions as we are. In fact, we might even say that God intentionally upsets social norms to keep us off guard.

The same social norms we have in the story of the Prodigal Son, we also have in the story of Jacob and Esau. This time the younger son does not squander his own inheritance in dissolute living. In this story, Jacob cheats his brother, lies to his father, and steals an inheritance that does not rightly belong to him. At least not according to the normal social practices of the day. The oldest son is to receive the blessing and the birthright. Well, earlier in the story Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of soup. Now, he’s about to lose his blessing to Jacob as he tricks their father. Jacob goes to great lengths to disguise himself and take advantage of his father’s ill condition. As you heard this morning, Jacob is successful in his plot and receives something that wasn’t supposed to be his.

Perhaps that strangest part of the story for us is that God honors all of this. Granted, impulsive and earthy Esau may not have been the right person with whom to carry out God’s plan, but to allow Jacob to lie and cheat his way to it seems to cross the line. But it’s not up to us. It’s up to God and God seems to have more important things in mind than social norms and conventions. If we thought about it for a moment, we might realize that God has a point. We have a tendency to confuse our social norms with some kind of law. It’s hard for us to get passed the fact that social conventions are just that, conventions. It’s easier to realize when you consider those of other cultures.

For example, if what I read is correct, when you go to Japan or China, you might find men peeing in public. Obviously, we would find that to be really offensive if someone did that here. It makes perfect sense to us that that should not be allowed. But if you went to Japan someone might warn you that you should never sneeze or blow your nose in public. It is seen as very rude and offensive. Well, that’s just silly, right? Why can’t we sneeze or blow our nose in public? We’re likely to conclude that people in Japan are weird to be offended by someone blowing their nose and we are much more normal to see peeing in public as rude. In the end, pee is much cleaner than snot, but those people in Japan are strange, right? That’s the nature of social conventions. It’s difficult to know why they exist and they don’t always make sense. Sometimes social norms serve some people to the exclusion of others.

If you need to wear a suit coat to job interviews to be considered, but the only one you can afford is from the Salvation Army, you might not be taken as seriously. If you need to be on time every day for work, but are dependent on public transportation to get there, you might be looked at as lazy or slow. If you believe that mowing the lawn is a waste of natural resources and bad for the environment, your neighbors might wish you lived somewhere else. For some reason, property values depend on the length of a blade of grass. The reason is because people in society have determined that it’s normal to cut your lawn once or twice a week. Why? Because it looks nice. Who says? Me. So, we complain when young people do things their own way, but in the end it’s because they’re not doing them our way.

As it turns out, God might not do things our way either. In this season of justice, it is quite clear that God is much more concerned with things like forgiveness and reconciliation that he is with social conventions or appearing normal. This can be very disruptive to our way of life because we’ve come to depend on some of these conventions for order and decency in the world. As far as the Bible goes, it seems that social conventions distract us from what is really important. In trying to be normal, we can lose sight of what it means to be faithful. Rarely, does faith have anything to do with being normal and everything to do with justice and reconciliation. More than social norms, we need justice norms. We need to be just as concerned with peace and reconciliation as we are with “please” and “thank-yous.” We need to make justice such a part of our life that we operate in it without even thinking; so that we lift the poor out of poverty as easily as we drive on the right side of the road; so that we’re as annoyed by the racial divide as we are by people who cut in line; so that we’re as upset by injustice as we are by the solicitor who calls at dinnertime. Justice norms, not social norms, is what God is looking for from us. Again, church is a great example.

Some of you might know that in 2003 the RCA formed Our Call. It is a 10-year goal to start new churches and to revitalize old ones. Just recently, the denomination added to that call a multi-cultural component. Over the past five years it’s become quite popular to reach out to the community, to become missional, and now to also be multi-cultural. We might say that it’s become normal to pursue these things. Time will tell how far this movement goes. But if being missional is simply a convention, if multi-cultural becomes the social norm for churches, we may not have gotten as far as we think. It’s one thing to worship with people of different races in the same sanctuary, it’s another to reconcile different races in society. God would have us do the first in a way that results in the second.

Maybe, then, we can learn something from teenagers who are thought to be so rude these days. Maybe we can take a cue from them in their lack of concern for what other people think. Perhaps, they have something to teach us about the dangers of being normal. To be clear, we’re not talking about rebellion but about reconciliation, about the restoration relationships in Christ Jesus where all are one despite any opposing social conventions. And, we’re not talking about being different just for fun, but for the sake of justice; for equality and opportunity and freedom. We’re not talking about insisting on our own way, but insisting on the ways of God. We’re not talking about being irritated at doing a favor for others, but excited by doing justice for others. It is difficult to put aside social norms and social conventions, especially in church. We often think that God prefers what we prefer; that our ways of doing things are God’s ways. We’re not often right.

As the prophet Isaiah declared, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Thus says the Lord: Maintain justice, and do what is right, for soon my salvation will come, and my deliverance will be revealed.” Amen.

Let Yourselves Be Built – 9/14/08

Every morning Julie and I wake up to a strange, panting sound. No, it’s not a dog. And, no, it’s not some animal that lives outside our bedroom window. It’s Josh. No, he’s not short of breath. And, no, he isn’t having a rash of infant nightmares. While the panting might sound like something to be concerned about, we’ve learned that it’s only the sound that Josh makes when he wants milk. I think he’s learned how to make it especially panicked and urgent so that we run to his aid, but I haven’t been able to prove that yet. Every morning Julie and I hear that sound and when we hear it, we know that there’s only one way to make it stop: milk. About three times a day, Josh is overwhelmed by the desperate need for the pure, sweet milk that only his mother can give him.

When Julie was pregnant with Wil, we had to go to the hospital for a class on breastfeeding. We were there with a number of other couples and all of us were feeling a little awkward to be talking about the subject (perhaps like many of you), but there was a point to it. To illustrate that point, the nurse showed us a video. It came out of Germany and it was a video of the first hours of life for a newborn baby. Once born, the nurses laid the child on the mother and then everyone just watched. The thought was that breastfeeding was almost a genetic predisposition; that it was natural for the baby to seek out milk without being taught. Sure enough the baby inched up, squirmed around, and strained forward with one goal in mind: milk.

Having watched two boys now, I know what the nurse was talking about. And, Josh, with his panting, makes it especially clear. He’s nine months old now. According to the chart the doctor gave us he can start having cow’s milk, he can have yogurt, cereal, some kinds of meat, certain fruits. He eats waffles, pasta, and cheese as well. It’s my thinking that such variety would make for a more interesting meal time. Josh doesn’t always seem to think so. In fact, most foods produce a look of disgust and dissatisfaction that let us know that what he’s getting is not his first choice. There is nothing that satisfies Josh like pure, sweet milk. Of course, this is not a sermon on breastfeeding.

What I want to draw your attention to is Josh’s desire for breastfeeding and the milk it produces. I don’t know that there is anything I want so urgently as Josh wants milk. Especially when he wakes in the morning, he seems consumed by the desire for one thing and one thing alone. I have a million different thoughts running through my head and then drown them out with some morning news. There is not one thing that captures my attention and imagination day after day as it seems Josh; especially not things having to do with my spiritual life. Golfing life, perhaps, spiritual life, not likely. There are bills to pay, things to fix, calls to make, e-mails to reply to, meetings to schedule, shopping to be done, laundry to be folded. Life is not set up in such a way that we can be so focused as Josh is when he wakes up in the morning. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.

It seems that the apostle Peter was familiar with some babies of his own. Whether they were part of his family or part of his congregation, we don’t know. What we do know is that the longing of newborn infants for milk made an impression on him; so much so that the image found its way into his first letter. “Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up into salvation – if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.” Peter, it seems, was impressed by a newborn’s pursuit of milk. When he considered the pursuit of the Christian life, it seemed to be an appropriate metaphor. Assuming, that is, that what we have tasted so far has been good; that our spiritual taste buds have responded positively to their encounter with the Lord.

Last week we began our conversation about doing justice with some reflections on God our Father. It was said that God’s justice is not one that flows out of wrath, but one that flows out of love. While God might discipline, he does not punish. While God might turn us away, it’s only so that we will come back. Justice, for God, is not to condemn us in our sin, but to save us from our sin; not to take life from us, but to lead us down the path that will guide us to a more fruitful and holy life. As the Psalmist said, “As a Father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.” There is a deep and faithful love that drives God to do justice and, as far as I’m concerned, that tastes pretty good. Being introduced to God as father, as parent, as one who watches over us with love, is like the first taste of a new food. But just one bite isn’t going to do much for us day after day.

The assurance and comfort we get knowing that we are God’s children is the right and satisfying place to start our Christian life. But we can’t stay children our whole life. Peter wants us to long for more so that we can grow up into salvation. That may sound like an odd phrase to a great number of Christians these days. Peter didn’t write grow up in salvation as if salvation was something to carry with us through life. Salvation is not a membership card that we can pull out of our back pocket as we grow up in our own way. Instead, salvation is more like a model for us to attain. Salvation is something we look to as we grow so that we grow up in God’s way. Peter’s whole point here is that, yes, you are God’s children. But now you have to grow up and be God’s people. You don’t just get to sit at home on the couch and watch TV in the safety of your Father’s house. The safety of your Father’s house is to prepare you for your Father’s work.

“Let yourselves be built,” Peter writes. Since you have tasted that God is good, let God use you in the building project he started with Jesus Christ. Jesus was the first stone laid in this new building. It’s almost as if Jesus was a stone that God had carried around until he found just the right time and just the right place. He was the chosen and precious stone. Of course, not everyone agreed. There would be those who would reject that cornerstone. There would be those who would trip and fall over it. But those who believed in that that stone was chosen and precious, those who believed that Jesus Christ was the cornerstone everyone had been waiting for, would be built up. They would let themselves be built into a spiritual house for God. More than once, Peter refers to this spiritual house as a holy priesthood.

Those two words connect us with our other passage this morning. In the Exodus, God says, “Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation.” These are the words that God spoke to the Israelites as he called them to be his people. Of course, before he could call them he had to save them. We heard the beginning of that story this morning. Before God called the Israelites to follow, he called Moses to lead them. He had heard the cries of his people in Egypt. Out of their slavery, a cry for help rose up to God and God heard their cries. “I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a god and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey.” In other words, God was going to do justice. He was going to call Moses to carry out his plan.

“The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” We shouldn’t forget that this is no small task. Imagine going to Darfur in Sudan to save the people there from their misery. You wouldn’t go with United Nations protection. You wouldn’t go with the United State military backing you up. You would go and stand against a government bent on oppression. You would go. Just you. I don’t think any of us would. We can understand, then, why Moses would question God’s decision. “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” Who am I, a lowly shepherd, that I should go face the most powerful ruler in the most powerful nation backed by the most powerful god of the day? Who am I?

This is the most fascinating part of the passage. God could have said, “Well, Moses, you grew up there. You have a familiarity with the landscape and the workings of government. You’ve been close to the Pharaoh’s relatives. For the last 40 years you’ve grown in wisdom as you’ve led this flock of sheep. Now I want you to lead my people. Who better than you?” God could have lifted up Moses, stoked his ego, and reasoned with him. God didn’t do that. The answer to Moses’ question, “Who am I?” was “I Am.” In other words, God was saying, “Moses, it has nothing to do with who you are and everything to do with who I am. You may feel ill-equipped in every way, but that doesn’t matter because I will be with you.” So, Moses would go. God would act. The Israelites would be set free. Justice would be done.

From there, God would call all the Israelites to join him. The Israelites would be set apart as a priestly kingdom and a holy nation to do justice with God. God would set them apart to be a nation different from Egypt and all the other nations, one without oppression and corruption. Peter, it seems, has all of this in mind when he writes, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the might acts of him who called your out of darkness into his marvelous light.” Because you have been chosen by God, because you have been set apart by God, because you have tasted that the Lord is good, let yourselves be built.

Let yourselves be built into the kind of place that sets people free. Let yourselves be molded into the kind of people that hears cries for help and answers them. Let yourselves be shaped into a good and broad land flowing with milk, with pure, spiritual milk that will help others grow up into salvation. In other words, do justice. Growing up into salvation ourselves means that eventually we start offering salvation to others. We start proclaiming the mighty acts of God that set us free from our own slavery so that others might find their way out of darkness and into God’s marvelous. I imagine, however, it won’t be any easier for us than it was for Moses.

I continue to think about what seems to be such a obvious ministry for this church: to reach out to the dozens of Ottawa Hills High Schools students who walk by this church every day after school. I also continue to think about all the reasons that couldn’t work. Most of this congregation is white, much of it is Dutch, and a good portion of it is retired. Most of the students who walk by the church are black, young, and I doubt any of them are Dutch. What could we offer to them that they could possibly want? Who are we that we should reach out to them? Well, Hope Reformed Church, it’s not about who you are. It’s about I AM. You may feel ill-equipped for such a task, but I am will be with you.

If statistics are any guide, a good number of those students would appreciate a safe place to hangout after school. A good number more of them could use some help with their homework, especially with math and science. And, a majority of them could benefit from hearing the good news about a God who wants to set them free and lead them to a more promising land through Jesus Christ. We have the place. We have some very smart people in different subjects who could tutor, others who could teach painting or music or carpentry. We all have a story and know the ways which God has touched our lives. In other words, we have all the pieces. Now all we have to do is let ourselves be built into the kind of spiritual house that God wants us to be. All we have to do is grow up into our own salvation to the point where we can offer that same salvation to others. Growing up into salvation is nothing more than realizing that it’s not about who we are, but about who God is. Our skin color, our educational background, our age, none of it matters. Growing up into salvation is realizing more and more that it’s not about who we are, but about who God is. Growing up into salvation is nothing more than trusting that God will be with us and that’s all that matters, no matter how big the task.

I’m sure that all of you aren’t convinced yet. So, let me remind you of Josh one more time. He is desperate every morning for milk. Nothing else will satisfy him. But he has to drink it. It fills him up, it brings him joy, and gets him ready for the day. It’s like the milk has set him free. I think that is the promise that Peter would make to us. Peter wants us to have a desperate longing for God and God’s ways, not just because we have a job to do, but because that’s where we find our salvation. Despite what we hear, our salvation is not in wealth or health, fame or fortune, drugs or sex or alcohol. Our salvation is found in God and joining God in doing justice. God has come down in Jesus Christ to set us free and lead us to a good and broad land. But we have to follow. We grow up into that salvation as we share that salvation with others. God might be calling us to what seems like a difficult task, but it is in that task that we will be filled up, that we will be brought to joy and others with us.

We might not be able to be so single-minded as Josh is every morning, but we should be able to be so single-minded when we gather in this place; desperate for God, hungering for justice, thirsting for righteousness, longing for pure, spiritual milk. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the desires of the flesh that wage war against your soul. Conduct yourselves honorably in the world so that others may see your honorable deeds and glorify God when he comes to save us. Amen.

Weary of Wrath, Long on Love – 9/07/08

My son, Wil, is growing up. He’s going to be 3 in November and is already looking forward to a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheeses. 3 sounds so little, but there are times when he seems so big. There are some obvious reasons for that. He’s learned how to walk and run. I’d like to think I’ve played a part in that, holding his hands, picking him up when he fell, and encouraging him to try it again. While messy, he knows how to eat with utensils. I’d like to think that I played a part in that too, feeding him myself, showing him how to hold a spoon, and guiding his hands while he tries to cut with a knife. Going to the bathroom on the potty, brushing his teeth, washing his hands, those are all things that Wil has, for the most part figured out. He’s a pretty good kid too.

I watch him play with Josh and he’s often very gentle and kind. He tells Josh that he loves him and gives him a hug every morning. Wil’s cousin came over last night for dinner and when he walked in the door, Wil gave him a hug too. On Thursday I watched him as he played with a little girl on the playground and, aside from the roaring, they played very nicely together. Like all of the little daily tasks, I’d like to thing that I played a role in this development as well. Julie and I tell Wil what kind of behavior to expect. We remind him to say please and thank you and post rules that remind him to share all of his toys and be nice. After almost three years of work, I’d have to say that we’re pretty proud of the boy he’s become.

Of course, he’s no angel. There remain the occasional tantrums. He can still be awfully selfish with his toys. He doesn’t always want to pick them up after he’s thrown them all over the house. He has this stubborn streak in him that he gets from his mother…oops, I mean from me. Generally, it comes out in the words, “No, daddy, I do it myself.” When I know it’s time to go potty and suggest he go, “No, daddy, I do it myself.” When I’m trying to help him hit a golf ball or baseball, “No, daddy, I do it myself.” Riding his bike or eating slippery food, “No, daddy, I do it myself.” He’s becoming a pretty independent boy and that means that he tries things and goes places that he’s not ready to tackle.

The big one, these days, is the street. He’s been riding his bike with us as we go for walks and, it seems, the sidewalk isn’t good enough for him. He sees all of the big kids in the street, he should be able to go too. Sometimes he’ll ride way ahead and I know what he’s thinking. So, I’ll start calling him back by saying his name. He keeps going. So, I yell his name. He keeps going. So, I shout his name. He keeps going. I’ve learned a little trick, though. If I shout, “Watch out!” he’ll stop. Even if no one is in sight and no car is nearby, if I yell out “Watch out!” he puts on the breaks. “Pastor Peter, how do you keep Wil in line on your walks?” “Oh I lie and scare him by threatening bodily injury.” It sounds a little cruel, but I have to scare Wil to get him to listen and to come back. After reading the passage from Hosea this week, I don’t feel so bad about that anymore.

It turns out that God is planning on scaring Israel back into line. Hosea said of God’s people, “They will follow the Lord; he will roar like a lion. When he roars, his children will come trembling from the west. They will come trembling like birds from Egypt, like doves from Assyria.” It seems that God’s people have gone away. He’s called their name, but they won’t come back so now God is turning to more drastic measures. In fact, the more that God called them the more they went away. He saved them from slavery in Egypt, but they wanted to go back. He held them by the arms and taught them to walk through the wilderness, but they looked to a golden calf for help. “It was I who taught Israel to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them. I led them with cords of kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from neck and bent down to feed them.”

Needless to say, God is angry. He has put a lot of time and energy into raising this child of his and how do they repay him? They sacrificed to the gods and they burned incense to images. God’s first reaction is to let them go. If they like those other gods so much, fine, let them have those other gods. “Will they return to Egypt and will not Assyria rule over them because they refuse to repent? Swords will flash in their cities, will destroy the bars of their gates and put an end to their plans. My people are determined to turn from me. Even if they call to the Most High, he will by no means exalt them.” God is angry about Israel’s sin and he’s going to do something about it. The Bible has a word for that: wrath.

A few weeks ago you received a letter reminding you that our theme for the year is this: Embrace Hope, do justice. Over the course of the next few months we’re going to take a look at what the Bible has to say about justice and attempt to translate that into practical things that we can do to join God in doing justice in the world. It’s important that we get off on the right foot. One of the things that comes to mind when Christians think about justice in the Bible is wrath. In other words, God does justice when he gives people what they deserve for the bad things that they have done. There are plenty of passages in most of the prophets that remind us of God’s wrath and threaten the people with terrible punishment if they do not return. It makes God seem pretty angry.

That doesn’t always seem fair to us. The Bible says, “Be slow to anger.” But then we read through it and find God to be angry quite often. Shouldn’t God at least live up to the same requirements that he gives us? We don’t often like to hear about God’s wrath or anger. However, I think that has more to do with us than with God. Quite frankly, we humans have a problem with anger. It’s in our anger that we sin. I would imagine that I’m not alone in this. It’s when we’re angry that we call people names that they don’t deserve. It’s when we’re angry that we say things that are meant to hurt or offend. It’s when we’re angry that we abuse or neglect even the people we love. It’s in our anger that we sin.

The thing is our anger is often misdirected. After a hard day at work, when the boss was especially rude, we come home and take it out on our children or spouse. We’re really angry at the boss, but he’s not around and you can’t really take it out on him anyway. At least the kids can’t fire you. When we’re tired, when we’re hungry, when we’re lonely, we often get angry and take it out on whomever is closest. What’s more is that we can get angry over some pretty small stuff. People around the world are starving to death and we get angry because the cable guy didn’t come in time for us to see Seinfeld reruns over dinner. Our anger has a tendency to be a tad misdirected and out of proportion.

Most disheartening of all, there are times that we seem to like it. We like to hold our anger over people’s heads. We want to watch them grovel and work for forgiveness because we like the power. There are some people that just thrive on anger. If there isn’t something to angry about they just don’t feel alive. Happy is for wimps some people seem to say. Angry, that’s the way to get through life. Our anger, it turns out, is often times a very unjust anger. God forbid that God would punish us because he’s really angry at someone else or that God would get a bad night’s sleep and decide to take out a city. God forbid that God would get angry like we do. Thankfully, God doesn’t. Far from being unjust, God’s anger is a kind of righteous indignation. Through Hosea, God says, “For I am God and not human – the Holy one among you.” What does that mean?

It means, as the Psalmist sang, that his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may last for a might, but joy comes in the morning. In other words, God is long on love, but gets weary of wrath. Moments after God considered the notion of flashing swords and putting an end to their plans, God reconsiders and asks himself, “How can I give you up Israel? How can I hand you over? My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused. I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I turn and devastate Israel. For I am God and not man – the Holy one among you. I will not come in wrath.” It turns out that God does not often act out of anger and God certainly never overreacts. God is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, but even when God gets angry his compassion is there. God is like parents with their children.

It is a joy to raise them up, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Still, you want what’s best for them. You give them what you think they need. In fact, you give them the best of what you have to offer. It’s a rather vulnerable experience. You share everything you have and want the best for them, but they can take it or leave it. It’s when they leave it that parents get angry. “Oh, I could just…” Parents, for the most part, go to great lengths to create a healthy and happy life for their kids, but those same kids decide to go off and pursue all the things that they’ve been told to stay away from. Of course, parents get angry, but it’s an anger that flows from a deep love and great concern. The same is true for God and his child Israel.

The Bible says that Israel was an especially stubborn and rebellious child. He was always going after idols, always full of injustice. That meant that God was often very angry, but always full of love. God would act, but not to punish. Like any parent who has to kick a child out of the house knows, it’s not to get rid of them, but their real hope is that the child will come back. When God sent Israel away into exile, it wasn’t to get punish them, but to restore them. Punishment flows out of anger. God always acts out of love. That’s important to remember as we have a conversation about justice this year. God’s justice is not meting out his wrath on sinners, but restoring people to a covenant relationship. Justice, for God, is not wrath, it’s reconciliation. God made a promise to his child Israel to always be their God. They could kick and scream and run away, but God would keep his promise not matter what. God would not let his child go because, more than anything God wants to love and be loved.

In fact, God wants that so much that even though he already had a stubborn and rebellious child, God decided to adopt some more. You are all children of God through the faith of Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ, God wasn’t meting out his wrath on a sinful world, God was doing justice. God was reconciling the world to himself. God was doing what it took to restore all of us to a loving relationship with him. It doesn’t matter what race you come from. It doesn’t matter what social class you walk in. It doesn’t matter what gender you belong to either. If you belong to Christ then you are part of God’s family and will inherit all that God has promised. Far from punishing us for our sins, God saved us from them. Far from handing us over to death, God conquered it and gave us new life. Far from treating us like slaves, God has made us his children.

Because you are children, God sent the Spirit of the Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” As you may have heard before, it’s a word that could be translated “daddy.” As in, “No, daddy, I do it myself.” There are things that Wil can’t do. There are things that Wil shouldn’t do. That will be true at 3, at 13, at 23, and at all the other 3’s in his life. “No, daddy, I do it myself,” he will say. Yesterday, Wil and I were putting together our new composter. All the pieces clicked together, but you had to push pretty hard. I thought we could push together. “No, daddy, I do it myself.” He pushed and pushed and the thing wouldn’t move. I’ll help. “No, daddy, I do it myself.” He pushed and pushed, errrrgghhhh. “Daddy?” Yes, Wil? “You help me?”

As we consider what it is to do justice in this world, as we consider the Holy One among as a God of justice, we will do well to remember that the just judge is first and foremost a father. We will do well to remember that, while God’s anger at our sin is great, his love is greater. While God might discipline us, it is always so that we might become disciple. While God might send us away, it’s always so that we’ll come running back. Whether we’re talking about prison reform, inner city education, farming or food or family, we will do well to start with the notion that God wants everyone involved to be a part of the family and that doing justice is finding the ways to help them enter in.

Finally, we will do well to ask for help. “No, daddy, I do it myself” is not going to get us very far in our pursuit of justice. Nobody ever does anything all by themselves; especially justice. We will be pushing against powers to great for us to move on our own. But our Father is always happy to help us push. Relying on God’s Word and Spirit, looking to our Father’s Son, is our way of saying, “Daddy, you help me?” In doing justice, in restoring people to a full relationship with God, we will do well to ask for help. It will be hard work. But we will be with God and God will be with us because he is our Father and we are his children. We can take Hosea’s words for Israel as our own, “It is I, says the Lord, who will teach you to walk. It is I who will heal you. I will lead you with cords of kindness, with ties of love. I will lift the yoke from your neck and I will bend down to feed you. It is I, says the Lord, who will settle you in your homes.” Amen.

This Little Light of Mine – 8/31/08

She was born as the youngest of 20 children on October 17^th, 1917. She lived deep in the Mississippi Delta and, as the granddaughter of slaves, was one in a family of sharecroppers. Her family did well enough to send her to school, but not for very long. By the time she was 12 years old she had to stop her education to help support her family. She had learned enough to read, which is more than can be said for a number of people of her day and place. From there she would grow up like most others. She would be married when she was 25, adopt two kids, and work on a plantation to earn her keep. However, as the civil rights movement began gathering steam, so did her life.

She would attend a number of annual conferences that highlighted black speakers and leaders. But it was after a sermon in 1962 that her life would begin taking a different path. Rev. James Bevel preached a sermon that touched her heart and he followed that sermon with a call to register to vote. That would be no light thing for her in her day. She would have heard or known people who lost their jobs, were beaten, or even killed for it. Still, she would be the first volunteer. Eight days later she would get on a bus with others and do the thing that she had promised to do. Along the way she would sing hymns to keep everyone’s courage up. Word spread and she became known as “the lady who sings hymns.”

The next day she would lose her job, lose her dog, and receive a death threat. But that wouldn’t be the last time she was first in line. In 1964, she would attend the Democratic National Convention to protest the Mississippi delegation. Despite that fact that the state and a large percentage of black people, its delegations to the conventions were all-white. Again, it was her singing that drew people’s attention to their cause and the whole nation would hear her speak. Despite efforts by the President to draw attention away from her, news stations played the whole thing. At the end of the day, the convention adopted a clause that demanded equality of participation from each delegation for the next convention.

“The lady who sings hymns” is Fannie Lou Hamer, one of the female civil rights leaders. She felt she was taking part in a very spiritual struggle. That’s the reason for the hymns. One of the hymns that she sang was “This Little Light of Mine.” It’s a song that started out and has remained a children’s song with big, bold hand signs. All the years that I sang it, however, I don’t remember anyone ever telling me where it came from or what it was about. I didn’t really know what that little light was. Sure, it had something to do with Jesus but, for all I knew, it meant I was supposed to smile or be happy at church.

I get the sense that many people in our evangelical, Christian culture take it to mean sharing the good news. That is, we let our light shine when we tell others about Jesus and his salvation from sin. I imagine that there’s some truth to that. There are others, I’m sure, who feel that there light shines by just being a Christian. That is, we let our light shine when we go to church Sunday morning and Sunday school afterward, when we say our prayers and read our devotions. There would be some truth to that as well. There are some others, as well, who say that the light is an inward thing. They say that there is an inner light, a light of God, which all people have that speaks to us if we will be quiet enough to listen.

You might guess that that last group is the Quakers. I bring them to your attention because someone brought them to my attention. The last Stump the Pastor question for the summer wondered about the Quaker notion of the inner light and its Reformed equivalent. Basically, the question goes like this: Quaker theology talks about an inner light. What does that mean? And, what would it mean in the Reformed tradition? I thought those would be relatively easy questions to answer, but it was a little more complicated than I thought. All I really knew of Quakers was the oatmeal I ate for breakfast so many mornings growing up.

The easiest way to describe the Quakers is to say that they take the Reformation to its logical conclusion. In other words, if the Reformers wanted to do away with icons and extravagant rituals in worship, the Quakers got rid of everything; including the last two sacraments. If the Reformers wanted to do away with church hierarchy, the Quakers wanted to do away with professional ministry of every kind. If the Reformers wanted to take authority from the church and put it back in the Bible for each person to read, Quakers took authority from the Bible and said it is found in each person. This is the inner light.

George Fox, the founder of the Quakers, struggled with religion until he dispensed with all outward attachments and started looking within. That’s where he found God and when he shared the good news of Jesus Christ, that’s where he told people to look to find it. For the Quaker, information about God found in books or the church is far less important than a personal experience of God. You don’t have to look any further than their worship to see an example of this. Their meetings are silent gatherings as each person quiets themselves so that they might get in touch with their inner light or with God within them. They are after an experience. It often took the form of some kind of quaking or shaking. Hence, the name.

Quakers also believe that God gives a portion of himself, this inner light, to everyone. This is what makes it difficult to find a Reformed equivalent to the Quaker’s inner light. Reformed theology is open to an experience of God. We believe that God is within us in the Holy Spirit. But, while Reformed theology says that everyone is made in the image of God, it says that God chooses those who will receive the Holy Spirit of God. In other words, there are the elect whom God has chosen before the foundation of the world and with whom God will reside. And, there are others who have not been chosen. So, at a theological level it’s difficult to find an exact match. However, our best bet is to go with our experience of the Holy Spirit.

In fact, John Calvin writes often about the internal witness of the Holy Spirit. He’ll even go so far as to say that it’s the internal witness of the Spirit that tells us the Bible is true. In other words, we can’t prove to ourselves or others through reason that the Bible is true. Calvin says we know that the Bible is true because the Holy Spirit affirms it in our hearts. In this way, Calvin shares some things in common with Quaker thought. Calvin would probably encourage us to look at our encounter with the Bible not as an intellectual exercise, but as a personal experience with God. He would probably encourage Reformed people to be a little slower to speak and a little quicker to listen.

Silence is not something we experience very often in our world anymore. I know my habit often lead me to turn on the TV or radio just for background noise. Even when we try silence in church, you can hear the discomfort in the air as feet shuffle and papers get moved around. A psychologist would say that all that noise is meant to cover up the voices we don’t want to hear or prevent us from facing the things we don’t want to face. A spiritual director might say that encountering even a loving God is a terrifying thing and we use noise and busyness to stay away from God. While Calvin would say that intellect and the spoken word deserve a prominent place in our worship, he would join the Quakers in lifting up silence and experience as legitimate ways to commune with God and discover our inner light.

Now, there is often a knock on this examination of the inner life or seeking God within. The criticism is that it leads to self-centeredness. People become so focused on finding the light within them that they close their eyes to the world around them. However, we can take a cue from the Quakers here as well. There is no hermit or monastery in the Quaker tradition. In fact, Quaker history is filled with people who worked for social equality, equality of the sexes, and equality of the races. When William Penn settled Pennsylvania, he was one of the first to tolerate all denominations and signed a treaty with native Americans because of his same religious convictions. They promoted prison reform and care for the poor. Human rights agencies like Amnesty International and Oxfam were started by Quakers. Environmental groups like Greenpeace find their beginnings in Quakers who follow their inward light to outward action.

After all, in John’s gospel we find that in the beginning was the Word and the Word became flesh and in that word was life and that life was the light of all people. It goes without saying that life is more than just filling our minds with information. Life encompasses all the feelings of our hearts, all the thoughts of our minds, and all the actions of our bodies. The Word came to shine light on and drive darkness out of all of them. In short, life is an experience and the Word took on flesh so that God would become part of it and so that God’s light would shine through it. Unfortunately, we tend to confuse God’s light for our own. At least, that’s what Isaiah seems to be saying.

Isaiah 58 is one of many Old Testament passages that criticize religious people for being, well, religious. The chapter opens with a description of a group of people who are seeking after God and doing it fervently. Day after day they show up to worship. Day after day they gather to hear more words spoken of God and God’s ways. Day after day they seek God’s judgments and smile as they delight in God’s presence. But over time they smiles turn into frowns as it seems that God is not sharing in their delight. “Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice? As far as the people were concerned, they were doing the things that God prescribed, but they could not find God.

Perhaps we could say that they were seeking after their inner light, but God’s light would not shine. They may have sought God in the silence, but all they found was silence. They quieted themselves so that they could hear God’s voice, but God would not speak. Or, perhaps we could say, they were going to church every Sunday, they would say their prayers before every meal and go through their devotions every morning. They would do everything they could think of to seek God, but God could not be found. It turns out God was hiding because he couldn’t bear their rituals because their congregation was filled with quarreling and fighting. Unexpectedly, it seems God’s voice bursts forth out of the silence. I’m sure the people were startled by what they heard.

“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own family? If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. Then, the Lord will continually guide you and satisfy your needs in parched places.” This is little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.

This past week Barack Obama stood on the stage at the Democratic National Convention to accept the nomination for President. I bet “the lady who sings hymns” was lifting a joyful noise in heaven on that day. Because Fannie Lou Hamer let her light shine, the darkness of racism was pushed back. I share that with you to say that if we want to pave the way for the next generations, we must take that inner light and let it shine. If we want our children to hear God’s voice, we cannot hide it under a bushel, no!, we must let our light shine. If we want our grandchildren to experience God’s presence within them, we cannot let Satan blow it out. Whether Quaker or Reformed, whether black or white, we must let our light shine. But let’s not mistake the fuel for the fire. Come to church, read your Bible, say your prayers, certainly, so that there will be fuel for the fire. The Bible is clear that the flicker turns into a flame, that the glory of God bursts forth, when justice is done, when the hungry are fed, when the naked are clothed, when families are reconciled.

Jesus said, “Let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” We might take that to mean this: God has placed his light within you. His voice is there to be heard, his presence there to be experienced. So, let your light shine in ways that leads others to experience the life that God brought into being in Jesus Christ; a life that darkness cannot overcome. Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and God will say to you, Here I am. Amen.