Who? Me?

Here's the audio of Sunday's sermon "Who? Me?" based on Luke 16:19-31.

Infomercial Jesus

Donald Miller has quite a way with words. These, in particular, caught my attention this morning as I was finishing his latest page-turner, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life:

Growing up in church, we were taught that Jesus was the answer to all our problems.... But the idea that Jesus will make everything better is a lie. It's basically biblical theology translated into the language of infomercials. The truth is, the apostles never really promise Jesus is going to make everything better here on earth. Can you imagine an infomercial with Paul, testifying to the amazing product of Jesus, saying that he once had power and authority, and since he tried Jesus he's been moved from prison to prison, beaten, and routinely bitten by snakes? I don't think many people would be buying that product. Peter couldn't do any better. He was crucified upside down, by some reports. Stephen was stoned outside the city gates. John, supposedly, was boiled in oil. It's hard to imagine how a religion steeped in so much pain and sacrifice turned into a promise for earthly euphoria. (203-204)

It's one thing to recognize the truthfulness of these words. It's quite another to allow them to critique our own expressions of faith and practice of ministry.

• How do we honor this truth when ease and comfort are among society's ultimate values?
• How do we honor the true Christ when the primary hope of many Christians for future generations is that they be excited about church or Jesus, thus leading to the praise and exaltation of Infomercial Jesus?
• How do we honor the Servant who prays "Not my will but yours" in a made-to-order world in which we've made Jesus into a product pitch-person selling a customizable, made-to-order version of himself?

Surely our attentiveness to the stories of Jesus about the good Samaritan, a selfish older brother, a persistent and dedicated gardener, and others has helped us see that one of these things just doesn't belong here: ThighMaster, Salad Shooter, Awesome Auger, ShamWow!, Jesus.

May the Holy Spirit root out any desire we have for Infomercial Jesus and draw us nearer to the One who willingly lays down his life for others!

Urgent!

Here's the audio of yesterday's sermon, "Urgent," based on Luke 16:1-9.

A Common Vocation

One of the challenges we face as people of faith is not disconnecting faith from life. In Christianity Beyond Belief: Following Jesus for the Sake of Others, Todd Hunter observes the tendency we have of associating the notion of vocation solely with whatever it is we do with our lives, especially our career or job. In my experience Christians often seem to have been left with the impression that whatever they do in their various everyday roles has little or nothing to do with their faith. The ability to live out faith is thus restricted to one's private devotional life or one's participation in the activities of the community of faith. While these are certainly appropriate ways of living out one's faith, I think these words from Hunter are a helpful reminder that we can live out faith by doing whatever we do all in the name of the Lord Jesus:

Vocation or calling is about much more than what we do. It is one person--God--calling to another person--me. Cooperating with God, growing in him for the sake of others, is our singular vocation, no matter what we do to get a paycheck. We are principally called to God and his purposes. Fix this in your imagination--following Jesus is our special function--and the rest will fall into place. It becomes our self-conscious identity. We can live this vision out as school teachers, police officers, business partners, actors, managers or construction workers. Life suddenly pops with meaning, power and adventure. This--cooperating with God--is why we were created. (53)

In your roles as teachers or accountants, truck drivers or doctors, stay-at-home parents or retirees, how does your faith give meaning to your ordinary routines and activities?

Jesus the Storyteller

These words jumped out at me this afternoon as I re-read portions of Eugene Peterson's outstanding book Tell It Slant: A Conversation on the Language of Jesus in His Stories and Prayers:

Storytellers invite participation. Storytellers make us aware of the way things are, not just aware as spectators but aware so that we can get in on this world of wonders.... Jesus does not tell stories in order to illustrate large 'truths' about God and salvation, the devil and damnation.... Jesus tells stories, not to inform or explain or define, but to get us actively in on the ways and will of God in the homes and neighborhoods and workplaces where we spend our time.

Nothing is more rudely dismissive of Jesus than to treat him as a Sunday school teacher who shows up on Sundays to teach us about God and how to stay out of trouble. If that is the role we assign to Jesus, we will badly misunderstand who he is and what he is about. He is calling us to follow and join him in the work of salvation's eternal life being carried out right now.... (134-135)

What might happen if we were to take seriously Jesus the storyteller, who calls us into involvement in the unfolding story of God's work in the world?