Is Christ an Avenger?

With all the buzz about the latest Marvel Avengers film about, I recently noticed a meme in my social media feed that portrayed Jesus as an avenger.  It even had him dressed in a superhero costume. I'm sure this is all just some good clean fun!   However, until archaeologists dig up said costume, I will assume Jesus didn't really have one.  The verse quoted in the meme is:

 that no one wrong or exploit a brother or sister in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things,1 Thessalonians 4:6 (NRSV)

This is the only time that Paul or any other New Testament writer calls Christ an avenger.  Jesus never speaks of himself using this term.

An a avenger is one who brings vengeance, and the Bible has much to say on this topic. For example St. Paul writes:

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:19-21 (NRSV)

So vengeance is the province of God and does not belong to us.  So one can speak of God and Jesus as avengers only in the sense that ultimate justice is determined by God.  Looking at some of the other ways we describe Christ might help us see why the term may not really explain who Christ really is. 

The first confession of the early followers of Christ was to call him "Lord". This was the confession that Christ is sovereign and one with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.   Avengers are reactive. They are responding to the actions of others.  When we confess Jesus as Lord, we are confessing that God is in control.   The outcome is assured. God is acting first for the salvation of all and we are the one's responding to events initiated by God.  In superhero movies like the Avengers series, they are never in control of events they are reacting and surviving.

The followers of Christ, shortly after his resurrection began to call Jesus "Savior." Jesus doesn't merely avenge,  Christ saves. Salvation looks very different than vengeance.  Vengeance is temporary and cyclical, it only lasts until the next slight.   Salvation is permanent and eternal; it breaks the cycle of sin and retribution.  Vengeance is about hurting the perpetrator back and causing wounds as payback.  Salvation is healing and making whole.  Vengeance is filled with anxiety while salvation is peace in every sense of the word. Vengeance kills, but salvation gives life.

So the central witness of Scripture shows that Christ is God's Son who is sovereign and wills that all who believe will be saved.   God jealously holds on to vengeance because of its destructiveness, while Christ offers salvation freely because it renews, redeems and restores people and things.  Scripture teaches us that God is Justice and God determines what Justice is.   While vengeance may be a tool in bringing about Justice, it is rough and incomplete one.   It can only get one so far.

This is clearly seen in the only instance I could find where God was called an avenger in the Old Testament.  The verse is in Psalm 99.

O Lord our God, you answered them;
you were a forgiving God to them,but an avenger of their wrongdoings. Psalms 99:8 (NRSV)

The psalmist is describing God as the King who loves and is committed to Justice.  In this psalm the avenger is also the forgiver.   God drives out the evil but restores the relationship with the evil doer.  The psalmist then advocates that our appropriate response to this is worship.   This theme is picked up in the last book of the Bible, the Revelation of St.John.   In your Bible you may notice that Christ is called that "Almighty'.   This is the English translation of the Greek term ὁ παντοκράτωρ which really means ruler of all.  The Bible concludes with a picture of God's promised salvation in the new heaven and earth that requires no sequel.

So, is Christ an avenger? Well, yes he is, but He is so much more. I pray that you may nurture your faith by seeking out God through your interaction with Scripture.   This way your picture of God will be defined by the Word of God Himself and not merely the culture.  For we have a Lord and we have a Savior for whom a costume is not necessary.

Be blessed

Worship: Are you Experienced?

I noticed that lots of churches today are calling their Sunday gatherings an “experience” rather than a “service”. Changing the names of doing things Christians have done for centuries is a peculiar characteristic of the American Protestant branch of Christianity.  It is one thing that unites both liberal and conservative Christians in this country. It probably has to do with the fact that the United States religious landscape is characterized by competition and we are all trying to get an edge to help our congregations grow.  I understand that changing the descriptor of worship from service to experience is usually done for evangelistic reasons.  The idea of having an experience may seem less threatening than performing a service to people who have demands on their time coming from all directions.

However, worship is the primary action of the Christian community, so we should really take a step back and ask ourselves, is this a good thing?  Does the word experience communicate what we are seeking have happen in our worship?  We should also ask the same question of service.  I would start by taking a looking at our sources and see what they say about what our worship should be. 

St. Paul gave a quick model for worship in his dialog with the Christians in Corinth: What should be done then, my friends? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. 1 Corinthians 14:26 (NRSV)  So, is this experience, service or something different?

To the Christians in Rome Paul would describe worship in the following way: I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  Romans 12:1 (NRSV) This one seems move us in the direction of service.   One doesn’t just attend worship but presents oneself as a sacrifice.  But still I think there is more than service going on.

In John 4, Jesus has a dialog about worship with a woman at well in Samaria: But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”  John 4:23-24 (NRSV) Do the words experience or service capture what Jesus is trying to communicate to this woman who was need of acceptance and healing?

If you asked me which term is more biblical overall, it would be the word “service”.  Forms of the Greek verb λειτουργια are used about 15 times in the New Testament and it can be translated as “to serve” or “offer service” and used on several occasions to describe worship.  The English word “liturgy” which traditional churches use to describe worship, is the loan word derived from this New Testament term.

Words that can translated to the English word experience occur 10 times in the New Revised Standard Version.  The King James only uses them 4 times.  No Bible translation uses the word to describe worship.  So, calling worship “an experience” is obviously a modern innovation.  That need not be deal breaker if we keep to the core of what our worship should be but does it?

My gut reaction to using the word experience to describe worship is a negative one.  The word is too passive.   It has connotations of entertainment and its goal seems selfish and unfulfilling.  It is too much like going to a concert or watching a movie and worship should be more.  Yet, I must admit that as a pastor one of the blessings in my current ministry is “experiencing” the ministry of our worship leader and team he has assembled to lead our congregation in song.  On countless Sundays over the years I have had to drag myself out of bed wondering how I could face the congregation I serve, only to have the worship inspire and encourage me to give. So yeah, part of great worship is the experience.

Even though the word service has a Biblical basis, I think it also is lacking.   Worship is not just about what I can bring to God, it is what God can do with, for, and to me.  If it is only about what we do, then worship can become drudgery.   Unfortunately, I have witnessed this happen when we in the church make too many demands of those who attend.   In summary, I suppose we should be careful about limiting the phenomenon of worship to the words we use to describe it or qualify it.

My choice for the congregation I currently serve is to let the word “worship” stand alone. I no longer use words like traditional or contemporary to qualify it.   Keeping it simple helps preserve the idea of majesty and even mystery.  For worship in Spirit and Truth that Christ describes will always be more majestic than our words.   Worship should be “an experience”, but remember we are saved for a purpose which means it should be a “service” to live out our call.   In all its unfathomable majesty worship should encourage, challenge, stimulate, comfort, heal, and all kinds of other things.   For indeed our best worship is when we meet and come face to face with the unfathomable God.

As we come into the church’s great season of worship, I pray that worship in your congregation may be so wonderful as to be indescribable.

Be blessed,
Pastor Knecht




 

Have You Suffered Yet?

Perhaps if I told you of the things that cause me to suffer you would dismiss me, saying by what right do you have to bother us with this?  Perhaps you would point out my race, my class, my gender, my education level, my citizenship and marital status and label me as someone just trying to justify a sense of entitlement.  Indeed, you could point out that I have a variety of privileges, and you would be right.  I am privileged in many ways.  I am able to live with things and do things that others are not able to do.  However, just because I am privileged doesn't mean that I do not suffer, I do.   You can minimize my suffering all you want and I can minimize yours, but it will not change the fact the suffering exists in all of our lives to one degree or another.  For to suffer is to be human.

One of the signposts to Jesus being fully human in traditional Christian thought is the simple fact that Jesus suffered.  One hundred and one years ago the world suffered the Spanish Flu pandemic, it respected no boundaries of gender, race, class, or ethnic affiliation.  If you were infected you suffered or maybe even died.  The existence of suffering in our lives is evidence of our belonging to a single common humanity. The spiritual question of suffering is not so much about whether one suffers or not, but rather what does someone do when they suffer.  In our church we read the following verses from Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians at funerals:

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NRSV) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God.

There are two things going on in this short passage, which will cause problems for those with simplistic world views.  The first is that suffering represents a spiritual opportunity.   The God of all consolation named by St. Paul consoles us in our suffering.   Suffering is an opportunity to rely on  God.  Many people will stop me here and complain, so what?  The answer to this is that until one suffers, the person doesn't really know who his or her friends are.  Those who stick by you in suffering show their love for you.   If they walk away, they don't love you.   Paul tells the community in Corinth that because of the cross and resurrection we have proof that God sticks with us.  We know that we are loved by God, and that can change things.

The second point that Paul makes is particularly relevant for today.  Paul sees the purpose of one's suffering as opening the heart to the other.  The spiritually mature person is called to use their suffering to direct her or himself toward empathy, compassion and acts of consolation.   Our suffering should be directed to find common ground with others who suffer.  It is a call to transform the bad that happens in our lives to good by connecting with someone who has something bad going on in their life.

This Christ-like attitude of using one's suffering to connect to another person has been used by countless of the faithful to promote the healing and well-being of others.  For example, during his imprisonment by the Gestapo, Dietrich Bonhoeffer befriended, prayed for, and offered spiritual care to his guards.   Additionally, one of the most meaningful books written by acclaimed author Henri Nouwen, The Inner Voice of Love was gleaned from his journals while he was hospitalized for depression.   The book had a profound impact on me, and helped me find some healing while going through a difficult time in my own life.  This is exactly the type of thing that Paul was alluding to when he wrote the Corinthians so long ago.

As you are probably aware, this is not always how people respond to suffering.  Some of those suffering may act out of their pain and condemn others because they are envious of people they perceive as having an easier life.  Others may fall into despair and give up life all together.   Some may lash out at those whom they blame rightly or wrongly for their afflictions.   These negative responses to suffering are indeed understandable in some cases, but are never very healthy in the end.   Those who respond with envy end up in prison of bitterness.  Those who respond in despair end up in a prison of meaninglessness.  Those who respond with revenge end up in a prison of violence.

The only way out of these traps is to choose life over death. This is done through the twin spiritual gifts of compassion and forgiveness.   This is the core message contained in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Forgiveness given in love transforms the suffering afflicted upon God's son into love for our world.  God's response to Christ's suffering was resurrection and reconciliation. To forgive frees the sufferer from control of the perpetrator of the suffering.   Compassion transforms what was once a detriment into an asset bring hope and healing to others.

Please understand I am not wishing suffering upon anyone.   Any person who has suffered and has compassion for others could never do that.   What I am saying,
is that if suffering comes your way, we have a God who is more powerful than anything that causes us to suffer.   This God is able to take the evil of our suffering and transform it for good.  This essay is to written to give you strength and encouragement today and in the future.   It is a call to rely on the one who has suffered for us, Jesus Christ Our Lord.

Be blessed
Pastor Knecht

Our Lighthouse

As I picked up my son at Cross Roads Camp last week they opened worship with a catchy song called "My Lighthouse."  The refrain goes:

My lighthouse, my lighthouse
Shining in the darkness, I will follow You
My lighthouse, my lighthouse
I will trust the promise
You will carry me safe to shore+

The National Park Service states in its educational materials for school children: The two main purposes of a lighthouse are to serve as a navigational aid and to warn boats of dangerous areas. It is like a traffic sign on the sea.*  These two purposes can be used to describe the role of a living faith in Jesus Christ quite effectively.   Christ as our lighthouse can warn of us the dangers of living in a world bound to sin and death so that we do not crash upon its rocks and reefs.  Christ can also provide direction for our life by giving us fixed point to point our rudders to.   When the waves of our culture and the winds work to disorient us, the lighthouse stands firm to illuminate the way home.  The lighthouse is a wonderful metaphor of how Christ can help us live a better life.

As we move into the fall, we will be working in our worship with the texts in Mark's Gospel that describe the ministry of Jesus as he approaches the cross. The actions of Jesus in these texts work like the lighthouse; they warn us of the rocks and they also point our lives in a direction of well being. 

One my favorite texts, which comes up in October, is the short account of the healing of a blind man named Bartimaeus. His encounter with Jesus corresponds to our theme.   Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way. Mark 10:51-52 (NRSV)  According to Jesus, it was Bartimaeus's faith that saved him, it did so by helping him see and giving him a direction to go.

Regular Bible readers may bring up the point that the lighthouse is not an image directly mentioned in the original biblical texts, and they are right.  Both in the Old Testament and the Gospels, herding, desert and agricultural images predominate.  This should not stop us from using this imagery, especially if it helps someone understand the grace of God. There are indeed some maritime images in the Psalms, the letters of Paul, the Acts of the Apostles, and of course the book of Jonah, but a lighthouse is never mentioned anywhere in the original texts.  A quick search in my Bible software application brought up only one instance where the word "lighthouse" was used any biblical translation.   It was used in Eugene Peterson's The Message.   

"I am God. I have called you to live right and well.
I have taken responsibility for you, kept you safe.
I have set you among my people to bind them to me,
and provided you as a lighthouse to the nations, Isaiah 42:6 (MSG)

Using the word lighthouse in this context is really profound.   Isaiah 42 is one of the passages that describes Israel as the servant of God who is the light to the nations.  Christians have long seen the work of Jesus Christ in its words.  Jesus suffering and death serves to show the world how far God will go to show that we are loved.  What I like about Peterson's use of lighthouse in this context is that when Isaiah first wrote these words, he wanted to show how the people of Israel together could be the light to the nations.   They were called to show people the way to God.  If Jesus is my lighthouse and together with my fellow Christians we are the Body of Christ, then we can be the lighthouse.  We can warn of the dangers and show the way home.  This is the work of the church. 

Yes, we have at times failed in this work.  Current headlines remind us of those who used what should be lighthouse to the nations for their own demonic ends.  Between sexual predators and con-artist prosperity preachers it can at times the church is more of black hole than a lighthouse, but we should not give up or give in.  God's call is clear and the light of Christ shines to show us the way to a better shore.  Just because others chose not to steer toward the light and were wrecked in the dark, doesn't mean that the light is not there.   The lives of faithful Christians inspired by the Holy Spirit have helped me and others countless times to avoid obstacles and find the right way to go.  So I invite you to let Jesus be your lighthouse, and that by living as he guides us we can be a lighthouse for others.

Be blessed,

Pastor Knecht

*https://www.nps.gov/apis/learn/kidsyouth/upload/LightCurrA.pdf

+Songwriters: Gareth Gilkeson / Chris Llewellyn My Lighthouse lyrics © Capitol Christian Music Group

Easter: the Victory of Faith

For whatever is born of God conquers the world.  And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith! 1 John 5:4 

The Devil the World and Eroded Trust

If I would only look at the news,  I  would conclude simply that we live in a skeptical age. Seeing is believing we say, and even if we do see it, someone will question what it is we actually saw.   In our world today truth is said to be all in the numbers: poll numbers in politics, balance sheets in businesses (and yes sadly churches!) SAT or PARC scores in our schools.  Yet others will heap doubt upon those very numbers challenging that they don't really represent anything at all. 

Different camps will have different truths.  The savvy manipulator can go shopping for facts.  Institutions no longer have the credibility to mediate differing ideas and form consensus. The pressures of our current times have led us to doubt many things, if not most things.  If one goes with the flow of our culture there is little hope left in our world today.  Everything has an explanation, nothing is good or bad.  All is relative. Value neutral judgments rule from classroom to boardroom.  Unlike our ancestors who formed common ideas of virtue and vice, all has become utilitarian.   The left, right and center groups of culture are no different from each other in this regard.   All morality has devolved into self justification.   We are reliving the fall of Adam and Eve over and over again.  The serpents skeptical push rings in our ears, TV sets, and social media feeds.  If all become nihilists, the devil wins. 

The Real Alternative: Faith 

How different this is from what we are called to be by God in the witness of the Bible and through the moving of the Holy Spirit. We are reborn to be set apart from the wider world. It is not only OK to be different it is necessary.

Christians are called to be optimistic and hold certain virtues dearly.  Life matters from womb to tomb.  Each life has dignity,  We pay special attention to the lives of those beaten down by the world, and yes, even our enemies.  We are called to witness our faith in Christ, which as Christ modeled to us himself, means listening as much as speaking.  We hold that all are created good, even in the face of evil.

Our optimism is not the pie in the sky variety held used by marketers and prosperity preachers to get us to open our wallets or click the "buy it now" button.  It is the steadfast variety confirmed by scripture and witness, that the God who rescued Israel sent Jesus to redeem our world.  Our worldview starts with the premise that Christ and the good will ultimately triumph.  Indeed some will call us naive, but better to be pure of heart in the service of virtue and building things that last, than wise or worldly to merely satisfy our transient lusts.  When your life on earth is done, what side do you want to be on?  We indeed like Christ, may be called to pay a price, but that price will always be worth paying. The struggle may be long, arduous, and not all sugar coated, but the outcome is sure. Life will win! 

Easter Victory! 

How can we have the confidence to be optimistic in world so full or strife? Simple, listen to the Word of God that has upheld the faithful since Abraham.  In short, it says that God acts for good in our world at all times.  For us who follow Christ it specifically means that God sent his son born into this world just like we were so that we might be redeemed.  This redemption was done for us by Christ's sacrifice on the cross.  Three days after Jesus was put to death, he rose from the dead, destroying our last enemy and binding Satan underfoot.  This witness has been seen and handed down through the generations of the faithful.  Billions have experienced this truth in their lives and shared it with others. 

For us Christians, the watchword is faith,  the trust that God’s promises are actually for us.  This is grounded in the hope of resurrection. Our trust in Christ leads us to view our world differently than those who are skeptical or nihilistic.  For the faithful, the world is full of hope, as we see God working in all situations.  It is full of wonder, when the unexpected good comes along. It is realistic in the midst of crisis, but active in the midst of need.  It is humble when examining the potential of ourselves, but expectant when seeing God at work in the lives of others.  Our faith values love, justice and the intrinsic value of all life because we know that the only source of good is the God of life.  This we remember every Easter when we contemplate the empty tomb.

No, we have not conquered the old skeptical Adam within ourselves just yet, but by clinging to Christ we will not let the darker side of ourselves have supremacy.  So as Christians, we hold fast to our faith and the promise delivered at Easter.  May God strengthen your faith that you may always believe and have life in Christ's name. For he is risen indeed!

Blessed Easter 

Pastor Knecht 

The Rule of Grace

Where Do You See God's Grace? 

This entire year throughout the world people have remembered, celebrated, and discussed the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.   The central tenet of the movement was a renewed understanding of God's saving grace.  Simply put, God acts first to bring us to him.  We don't act first to approach God.   This truth is revealed in the letter of Paul to the Ephesians "he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth." (Ephesians 1:9-11 NRSV) The reformers asked the tough question; are our church's practices consistent with the person and work of Jesus Christ.   This is the critical question for our time today.   Are our actions reflecting the love shown to us in the life, death, resurrection and love of Jesus Christ.

A couple of key points to remember are:

1. God decided to love us by sending Christ, we had no choice in the matter. 

2.  Christ did the work of cross and resurrection without our help.

3.  God asks us to be gracious to others in the same way God has been gracious to us.

These points are summed up in Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.... For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, (NRSV)  

The Rule of Grace 

Intentional Christian communities often live by a rule.  The most well known being the Rule of St. Benedict.  The monastic rule is less a series of commands than a formula.   It is a way of going through the day in which one encounters God.  Time is measured through prayer and worship.  The time is allotted for meaningful work, meditation, tending relationships and rest.   It is through following this rule that communities hope to walk with God and be a blessing to their neighbors.  Like one would expect living in a mixed up world with mixed up people, sometimes this worked and sometimes it did not.   The times it did work was when the communities were guided by the higher rule (or as Paul would say the more excellent way).  This higher rule is one that binds all Christians.  We are to follow the Rule of Grace; we are to be a gift for the world, giving gifts to the world.

Using the above definition of the Rule of Grace, I would like you to think about applying it in three ways.   First, as challenge or command to be a person who is gracious in his or her dealings.   We are called to be people who understand that God's grace is not limited to spiritual things.  The material blessings we have, home, food, leisure, job, community and the natural beauty of this world are all evidence of a gracious God's provision.

Second, that we use the Rule of Grace as formula to guide how we should look at things, solve problems and contribute to the life of our community, country, and world.  When dealing with an issue we ask how does this stand in the light of God's grace.

Finally, we let the Rule of Grace rule our hearts and minds.  We approach God in prayer and understand that though we may try to earn, build or work grace, that is not what gives us dignity and salvation.  That has been already given by God through the person and work of Jesus Christ.   Being people of grace we humbly understand that it is our Lord who ultimately in control.  We are therefore freed from fear of sin, death, and rejection, because we know that God is good and God loves us. 

The World Needs People of Grace 

One things that seems to unite all sides in the debates raging in society today is a lack of graciousness. Partisans from all political, social and religious groups  have decided that demonization and judgement of their opponents (or convenient targets) is the only way to achieve goals.   Our Lord did not act like this, God gave grace precisely when it was not deserved or earned.  This changed the world.   Being people of grace is good news not just for us alone but for those who interact with us on a daily basis.  This is not just about us.  Grace is God's gift to the world.   So I am asking you to live by the Rule of Grace and let grace rule your life.

Be blessed
Pastor Knecht

Re-Making God's People: Back to the Sources

When I walk into a library I head straight to the new book section and look for the latest history books.   One of the ways that I can tell if  book is worth my time, is checking to see if there are notes in the back or at the end of the chapters.   Any non-fiction book without recorded sources is worthless.   If you don't know the sources, how can you be sure that the author isn't  just making stuff up?   By examining the sources one can also find clues about the presuppositions and possible agenda of the author.   All of this together can help the reader discern whether or not the history portrayed in the work is a plausible explanation of what happened.

A concern for good sources was at the heart of the Protestant Reformation.   Luther did not come to advocate for change in the church just because he felt like it.  He examined what was going on in the church in his day and then compared it to his study of Scripture and the writings of the church fathers and arrived at an informed conclusion that the church had strayed from God's intention for it   Much of what Luther argued for was simply that people ground their faith life in the good sources that God provides for us to live a full life of faith.   So rather than merely celebrating the past why don't we learn from it?  The Reformation taught us that they only way the church can truly meet the needs of the people today is if it stays grounded in the sources revealed by God throughout the history of God's people. 

Scripture Alone 

We come to know God's Word through the gift of the Scriptures contained in the Bible.  It is the primary source document of the faith.   Luther translated the Bible into German so more people could read it for themselves.   The reformers argued that the Bible should be read so that people can search for Christ.  In the scripture we find both Law and Gospel.   We learn about where we need God in our life and how we might amend our ways.  We then come to know the love and grace of God to help bring us to a place of healing and reconciliation.   Scripture helps us discern between what is God's Word and what is our witness (or opinion).  While our witness is vital and many Christians should give witness to God more than they do, it is of secondary importance to the Word of God which brings life. Scripture is an objective source to gauge our life of faith.  So the lesson of the Reformation is to take Scripture seriously, read it daily, pay attention to the context of section you are reading, and don't use little snippets of it to merely prove your argument.  The Word is not Bible trivia; it is life and death. Read it and live. 

Faith Alone 

Our well being will not be determined by what we do, but by whom we trust.  Disciples of Jesus Christ really don't believe in self-help,  they believe in the God of grace who provides help.  Our customs, practices, responsibilities, and actions find their true value only when they open our eyes to faith.   Our trust that God's promises are truly for us, is the only outcome that Grace requires.  While we may want this thing or that thing to happen in our lives, or we might want to change the world, in the end what will matter will be who we are walking with in trust.  We do not find our center in an identity, organization, religion, country, political party, clique, club, or the achievements we place on our resume, but in the loving arms of God.  Salvation is more than mere self-esteem; it is a trusting relationship with God and neighbor.  Therefore the Reformation teaches us to tend to our faith life, to move forward in trust, and to look for God's work in the world. 

Grace Alone

We have not been given life, hope and salvation because we have earned it in any conceivable way. Jesus did not die for me because I am such a great guy.  We are all good and bad mixed up, simultaneously saint and sinner, virtuous one day and deplorable the next.  God chose to send the Son because God loves the world.   If we deserved it, it would not be Grace.   There is no double entry accounting Excel sheet in the sky with my sins in one column and and brownie points in the other. God knows us way better than that and God has chosen to love us through Jesus Christ.   Our preferences tastes are often confused with the means of Grace; we feel that people need to worship the way we like it, read the things we think are important, act the way we want in church, and increasingly these days hold the political views that make us comfortable.  Grace has little to do with a world's concept of happiness, prosperity, or acceptance.   It is a validation and verification of our God given identity as beloved children of God created in God's image, often in spite of the culture's rejection of us.

Christ Alone

The Gospel of the Incarnation, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ is our story.   It is not merely a series of facts; it is the life giving hope that informs every aspect of our life.   We called by the Holy Spirit to live a life "in Christ".  It is in Jesus that we move and have our being. How are our actions, beliefs and emotions seen in the shadow of the cross? Can we look at others the way Christ looks at us?   When we look to Christ we see the fullness of God and the truth about our world both good and bad.  Christ will at times challenge us (Law) and other times  uphold us (Gospel) but as the Resurrection reminds us, Christ will never abandon us.  The actions of our church, Word and Sacrament are given so that we can come and meet (commune with) Christ and our sisters and brothers.   Christ is the mediator and bridge between the divine and human, and often the bridge between divided human beings.

These four, Scripture, Faith, Grace and Christ are the sources of our common Christian life.  The history of the faithful is a story of a dance between wandering away from the sources and through the work of the Spirit, finding our way back to them.  My prayer for you is that your ideas find their true source in the Word of God, that your life is lived while drinking from the source of Faith, that your dignity and worth is watered from the source of Grace, and that you find God through Jesus Christ.

Keep the Faith.
Pastor Knecht 

Dave's 95 Theses

A Devotional Exercise

The 500th anniversary of the reformation is this October 31st.   On that date in 1517, Martin Luther posted 95 theses for an academic debate discussing the fundraising practice of granting indulgences used by the Roman church at the time.    The issue he raised in this debate was the spark that enabled the Reformation of the church to quickly spread throughout Europe and transform the theological, historical, political, sociological, economic, cultural and artistic landscape of western civilization.  

As my way of commemorating this milestone, I decided to come up with my own 95 theses.   (A word of warning, mine are a lot more random and less focused than Luther's) Basically, I tried to say 95 things about my faith.   Each one is sourced with a biblical reference to show that the statements I made spring from up from the wellspring our faith and are not my mere opinions.   I would not call them facts either, because other people of faith will read these verses and come up with different conclusions than I have.  What they are is my humble attempt at a witness to the work of our Lord Jesus Christ and the challenges he calls us to consider. This was harder than I thought it was going to be, and I hope that by sharing it can be a blessing to you. 



1. Since Jesus is the way the truth and the life, Christians are called to act as if Jesus meant what he said and that his words truly matter. John 14:6

2. Jesus doesn’t belong to me; I belong to Jesus. John 10:11-18


3. Jesus understands me because he is human. Galatians 4:4-5


4. Jesus can save me because he is God. Colossians 1:15-16

5. Jesus’ humanity means that God can identify with anyone’s life situation, classification or identification. Jesus’ divinity means that these things can be transcended. Colossians 3:11

6. God wills that we can rejoice in the life given to us no matter what happens. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18


7. God is acting in today's world. Psalm 121:4


8. We are called to love God above all and to love all people as we love ourselves. Matthew 22: 27-40.


9. Consuming religious services or products is no way to be confused with actual discipleship of Jesus Christ. Mark 8:34


10. There is a single common humanity created in the image of God. Upon this fact all teaching about salvation rests. Genesis 2:27


11. Religious, political, cultural, gender and racial classifications do not affect anyone’s value in God’s eyes. Galatians 3:28

12. Diversity is a tangible expression of God’s good creation. Colossians 1:16-17


13. Monocultures lead to destruction. Genesis 11:6


14. Those who equate a political, cultural, gender, religious or other humanly created identity with actual faith in Jesus Christ betray the Gospel, divide the body of Christ and torture the consciences of the faithful. Revelation 7:9



15. Those who hold a different political, cultural, religious or other identity than ourselves are to be treated with love, dignity, and respect. Matthew 5:43-48


16. Using degrading or abusive language to put down or gain advantage over a person of different political, cultural, gender, religious or racial identity is in all circumstances sin. Matthew 5:21-26


17. Followers of Jesus are called to love, care for, and provide acts of mercy for those of different, religious, political, cultural, gender and racial classifications than themselves. Luke 10:37


18. The church should care for its own as well as serving others. James 5:13


19. We are to witness Jesus Christ to all people without exclusion. Matthew 28:18-20


20. God understands your fears and will not discount them 1 Peter 5:7


21. People are always good and bad mixed up. Every individual has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23


22. There is no such thing as a completely pure or innocent person. Psalm 51:5


23. If we claim to be followers of Jesus Christ, we must learn to forgive others as God has forgiven us. Matthew 18:21-35

24. If we are truly followers of Jesus Christ we must commit to living a life where we do not continue to sin. Romans 6:1-4

25. When we sin, followers of Jesus Christ are not to hide the truth, but bring our situation to God and other people for healing and forgiveness. 1 John 2:1-2

26. We are called not to kill because life belongs to God. When we make allowances for killing for any reason we subvert God’s will. Leviticus 17:10-12 & Exodus 20:13

27. War, capital punishment and abortion are always expressions of humanity’s bondage to sin. Christians should work to minimize their occurrences while demonstrating love, forgiveness and mercy to both those who commit and are affected by these actions. Matthew 5:38-42

28. A commitment to God means providing for others in need at every stage of their lives. Luke 6:27-36


29. A commitment to God means a commitment to the poor. Galatians 2:10


30. A commitment to God means a commitment to the sick. Matthew 25:35


31. A commitment to God means a commitment to the hungry. Matthew 25:35


32. A commitment to God means a commitment to the homeless. Isaiah 58:7


33. A commitment to God means a commitment to the imprisoned. Matthew 25:36


34. A commitment to God means a commitment to the refugee. Leviticus 19:9-10


35. A commitment to God means a commitment to the immigrant. Deuteronomy 26:5


36. If you give to others to make yourself look better; you may be doing more harm than good. Matthew 6:2-4


37. No one is entitled to grace; it is always a gift. Ephesians 2:4-6


38. Good works do not make good people. Galatians 3:10


39. People are created to do good works. Ephesians 2:10


40. People don’t get credit from God, only grace. Romans 3:21-26


41. Debts to God are not satisfied but forgiven. Colossians 2:12-15


42. In the end, love and justice will amount to the same thing. Galatians 5:13-15


43. In the end, Christ is the only judge who matters. Revelation 20:11-15


44. Good works may not save us, but they reflect our faith, spread the Gospel and let our neighbors know that they are loved. James 2:14-17

45. God is completely free to act in any way that God chooses. Isaiah 45:7


46. God is not subject to any theology, interpretation, expectation or abstract concept. Isaiah 45:7


47. Collective human actions stand under God’s judgement as much as individual actions do. Amos 2:6-8


48. Only God decides what justice ultimately is. Isaiah 28:17


49. Worship without a commitment to justice is not worship at all. Isaiah 58:6

50. How our actions affect the most vulnerable in our society is the most important criteria for making moral decisions.. Isaiah 10:1-2


51. Worldly prosperity or success is not necessarily a mark of genuine discipleship, evidence of faithfulness or of God’s special favor. Matthew 5:1-12


52. Our weaknesses, hurts and faults make room for God in our lives. 2 Corinthians 12:9


53. No individual has the exact same spiritual gifts as another. 1 Corinthians 12: 4-6


54. Exploiting the work, bodies or assets of others violates the will of God. Isaiah 65.25


55. Those who rejoice in the troubles of others damage their relationship with God. Proverbs 17:5


56. Suffering for remaining faithful to the teaching of Jesus Christ is a mark of genuine discipleship and evidence of faithfulness. 1 Peter 3:13-16


57. Our practices of faith are virtuous when they seek communion with God and hope for our world. Matthew 6:1-16


58. Our faith practices are required to be understandable to all and welcoming to everyone so that each person we encounter has an opportunity to hear the Gospel. 1 Corinthians 14:21-25


59. Our houses of worship are to be called be houses of prayer and not market based institutions. John 2:16

60. A genuine life of faith is lived in community with other people. 1 Corinthians 12:27


61. Disciples of Jesus Christ are called to be a blessing to the local communities where they live. Jeremiah 29:7


62. Leadership in the body of Christ should be focused on service rather than power. Luke 14:10



63. Leadership in the body of Christ is to be shared among all the faithful. 1 Peter 2:9-11



64. Leadership in the body of Christ requires exemplary conduct. 1 Timothy 3:1-12


65. Leaders of the body of Christ should expect to be called to pray for others at any time. James 5:14


66. Where your ultimate concern lies, there is your god, no matter whom you may confess to worshiping. Matthew 5:19-23


67. Like individuals, the church is both good and bad mixed up. Acts 15:1-11


68. A complete Christian life includes worship, community, education, and service to those in need. Acts 2:42-47


69. Faith belongs in the home just as much as the church. Acts 2:46-47


70. Government led prayer is not sanctioned by Jesus. John 18:36


71. Praying for our government is commanded by scripture. 1 Peter 2:11-17


72. A disciple of Jesus is to be part of the public life of his or her country. Romans 13:7


73. Demons cut off people from the rest of the people of God. Mark 5:2-5


74. Healing requires social inclusion. Mark 5:19


75. Sexuality should be expressed within a boundaried relationship 1 Corinthians 7:9,36


76. Every follower of Christ is a priest. 1 Peter 2:9


77. Jesus was a victim of mob violence. Mark 15: 11-15


78. Jesus was killed with the help of the law of the land. John 18:30


79. The Holy Family were refugees Matthew 2:13-15


80. The Holy Family was homeless. Luke 2: 7


81. The Word of God is much more than Bible trivia. Hebrews 4:12-13


82. If it has to be proven, it can’t be faith. Hebrews 11:1


83. Jesus was killed because people who knew better did not stand up for justice. Luke 23:24


84. Jesus did not go to the cross because we were good; he went because we are loved. Romans 5:6-11


85. Compassion that leads to physical and tangible acts of assistance to the vulnerable and rejected is the norm for expressing our faith. Matthew 25:45


86. Persecution is not an excuse for withdrawing compassion, if it were, then Christ would not have died for us. 1 Peter 2:21-25


87. One can’t love God without loving other people. 1 John 4:20-21


88. No one can count the number of all who are saved. Revelation 4:11-14


89. Those inside the church need to hear the Gospel just as much as those outside of it. Revelation 22:16


90. Of course divorce is a sin, which means it can be forgiven. Matthew 19: 7-9


91. Renewal through Christ is not a one time event, but a lifelong process. 2 Corinthians 4:16


92. Being wealthy is not evidence of competence or superiority. James 5:1-6


93. Neglecting to address the physical and tangible needs of the vulnerable and focusing exclusively on the spiritual is sin. James 2:14-17


94.The best prayers are when we pray from our inner voice. Matthew 6:5-6


95.Jesus is inviting you to be in relationship with him. Revelation 22:16-17

When God Gets in the Way

The Dream of Babel 

Recently I while in prayer I was thinking about some dreams that I held when I was younger that didn't pan out the way I had hoped.  These were both personal and professional; for some of them, I worked hard and dedicated myself diligently to bring them to fruition.  However, as I reflected on the family, friends, and life situation I actually have today, I thanked God that these dreams were dashed. The implications of their fulfillment would have been disastrous for me and those I love. By standing in the way of my dreams God actually saved me.

Normally, we don't like to think about God this way.   Many times we pray for God to give us the things we ask for.  We hope for the god who will give us what we want and we think it will be for the best, but this god as candyman theology may not work out so well in the end.

Provocatively, the Bible also shows us that this God who stands in the way, deals not only with our individual wants, but also the collective wishes of our culture.   In Genesis 11, creation is just getting back on track after the flood and the people gather in Mesopotamia to say “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis 11:4 NRSV)

With all due respect to my Sunday School teacher back in the day, the problem with the dream of Babel really wasn't that the tower would reach heaven.  There are actually two problems revealed in the text.   The first is the self promotion "make a name for ourselves" the second is the fear of being scattered upon the earth.  I know that it might be hard for us to see these as problems at first, one may ask what is wrong with making a name for oneself?   Or, shouldn't we try to keep everyone together?

Perhaps some of the excesses in our culture can help us see the problem with our dreams of Babel.   In our current age, self-promotion is regarded as a crowning virtue, our political leaders,business executives, celebrities and sadly even some church leaders who we look up to embrace these values. However the extreme cost of self promotion lies at the heart of many of our ills.   Our leaders in government, business and society can often put their privilege before their responsibilities of service to others.  There are those who use their positions in government or business to create systems that are self-perpetuating and do nothing for society at large.

The left fears inequality and the right fears moral decline, but both are driven by the engine of self promotion. Consider the teenager trying to be cool and get more likes on whatever social media platform is hip these days.   They may be willing to risk bodily injury, sexual humiliation, or emotional shame to be popular.  Others will indeed look to perpetuate these evils on thier peers to show how worthy they are of clicks, likes, and attention, thus the vulnerable are exploited for the amusement of the cruel.

The second problem of Babel, the fear of being scattered upon the earth, actually contradicts God's command at creation and after the flood, where people are called to fill the earth. It manifests itself today in the suppression of genuine diversity.   By this I do not mean the pop-liberalism of the Pepsi generation but the actual hard work of working toward the dignity of those who are genuinely different than us.  The dream of Babel, of everyone speaking the same language, working on only one goal to say "hey we're great" is actually the nightmare of the monoculture.  Biologists will tell you that the weakest ecosystems are those that are monocultural. They have little resilience and are prey to disease and even slight environmental changes.  

No wonder God looked down at Babel and said  “Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. (Genesis 11:6 NRSV) So God confuses the languages thus multiplying them.   This creates a diversity of humanity that is able then to multiply and fill the earth.  God stops the dream of Babel dead in it's tracks for the good of all. Humanity is richer, more resilient, and a heck of a lot more interesting.

The Promise of Abraham 

In the narrative of Genesis, the tower of Babel shows how human sin will continue its destructive path thorugh history unless God intervenes. It is the final universal origin story. It sets up God's salvation plan for all which begins in the very next chapter with God focusing on a particular family, the family of Abraham. We read in Genesis 12:3 "I will bless those who bless you... and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (NRSV)

The contrasts with the dream of Babel are informative.   Abraham will be made great by God, he will not do it alone.  His greatness will not be an end in itself but given in order that others may be blessed.  God will work his plan through Abraham's and his descendant's failures perhaps even more than their successes.  What God prevents will be as important as what God empowers. Abraham will mess up often but still walk with God.  It communicates this simple truth; who we really are is not defined by ourselves alone, it is also defined by who we are in relationship with.  It is God's work through Abraham that will create the blessing.   Genesis demonstrates futility of self-promotion at Babel with the fruitfulness and blessing of God-promotion through the life of Abraham and his family.  

It is a call for all of us to tend to our relationship with God and resist the temptation of trying to go it alone.  The Apostle Paul would write in Romans 4:16 "For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham, for he is the father of all of us, (NRSV) The Bible teaches us that those who we walk with are more important than our dreams and fantasies and that if we walk with God and those God put in our life well, we too will be blessed.

Keep the Faith,
Pastor Knecht

Serving Christ in Polarized Times

It is a sad fact that often the church can become bogged down in the political movements of the times.   The reason for this is certain, churches are made up of people and people are political animals.   One recent trend reported by sociologist Robert Putnam is that when there is a conflict between one's politics and the teaching of their religious community, most people will resolve the tension in favor of their political views.  They will leave their congregation and find one where their personal political views can be affirmed.

As one who loves theology and talking about the faith, the fact that for this generation, politics seems to trump theology is distressing.   Yet, looking at how people are coming together these days it is not surprising.   We are all retreating into our bubbles where we all agree that the problems of world are someone else's fault.   There seem to be few of us who want to learn why do other people think differently than us.   Everyone seems to want to talk, prove and sell their point; few want to listen, learn, and change.   Don't get me wrong there are people doing this but they seem not get much press.

Some will advocate that the church follow a hands off rule and never speak of politics ever and attempt to spiritualize everything.  While I certainly understand the impulse, there are two problems with this.   The first is a very practical one, by not speaking up one affirms the status quo.   Now this certainly alright if the status quo is something you feel God is calling you to help maintain.   However, if it comes merely from a wish to avoid any of the hard work of dialog or difficult conversation, one may be actually shut oneself off from where God is calling us all to be.

The second problem is that we are confessing that the Word of God has nothing to say about politics right or wrong.  This reasoning ultimately confesses that God is about the world to come and not about the world we live in now.   This is not what Scripture teaches us,  God's Word speaks to our lives now, it has something to say about our world today. So how do we navigate these polarized times? We do what we always do; look to Jesus.

Historians know that the lists of the names of Jesus's disciples reveal a diverse group of people who likely held opposing political views.  Judas Iscariot and Simon the Zealot may have been part of groups seeking the violent overthrow of the Roman occupation.  Matthew was a tax collector working to uphold same said Romans.  Phillip had a Greek name so may have been from a cultural accommodationist family.  Johanna the wife of one Herod Antipas' (a Roman puppet ruler) court functionaries helped provide resources for Jesus's ministry in Galilee.  Peter Andrew, James & John were working class fishermen. What brought this diverse group of people together was Jesus and the promise that the kingdom was near.

As we enter into Holy Week and read the accounts of Jesus' last days politics are everywhere in texts. The council wants to get rid of Jesus out of fear of the crowd on one hand, and the Romans on the other.  The Roman governor wants to appease the mob at their town hall meeting.  The Pharisees and the Sadducees try to make Jesus a pawn in their fight for supremacy over each other.   Jesus ends up rising above their pathetic petty power plays to reveal the truth about the love of God.

When Jesus enters into Jerusalem he is at first hailed as a political messiah and then condemned as a political sacrifice to appease the Romans, with an ironic political insult nailed on a sign above his head. But notice how many people Jesus ministers too along the way.  He teaches in the temple about the true nature of God,  he reminds the disciples on the last supper they will never be alone.  He heals the ear of a man sent to arrest him,  he makes sure John and his mother Mary have each other to rely on.

Jesus calls us not so much to rise above human politics as to move beyond them with love.  The heart of the witness Christ is to help reconcile our relationships with God and each other.    This politics can never do, because in the end it will be all about a competition for resources, power, or fame.   In the end we serve Christ in polarized times by holding to proper priorities.   We hold to our relationship with God in prayer, we show love to those who differ from us, and we work to protect the vulnerable.   This can be done by conservatives, as well as liberals, progressives, and libertarians.

As a pastor I can only advise that if your politics are grounded in prayer, thoughtfulness, respect for others, and love, it doesn't matter so much where you come out.  It is the process the counts.   If we have healthy ways of discernment, we can hold together a diversity of political views and identities under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.   The reason for this is if we are connected to Christ we will be humble, because Christ is humble.   If we are humble then we are open,  and if we are open, we may see the solutions God has for us staring us right in the face.

Be blessed
Pastor Knecht

Why I Give: A Witness

Giving is spiritual act,  it is also a deeply personal one.   How and why we give is a critical part of how we relate to God and the world.   People give for a variety of reasons. Sometimes I need to ask people to give, so think it is important for those whom I ask to know a couple of things about me.

First, is that I give, a Christian congregation is a community and as a servant leader I am called to do my part.   Since our capital campaign Mei and I have been giving approximately 12% of our income to Holy Cross for the work of  the ministry.  We also help out in the wider community and give to causes and ministries outside the church.

Second, is why I give.  This is helpful because we can all learn from each other when we share our stories and motivations for giving.   So the following are some heartfelt reasons why I give.

1. To Learn to Trust God 

The most important reason I give is to remind myself that God is good, and that God will provide for me and my family when I take the risk to give.   My witness is that so far God has proven faithful.  While I would always want more financial security, more opportunities, and yes even more stuff, God has always met every actual need we have actually had.   Often we have been surprised by a timely gift or opportunity that met a need we were worried about.   It has not always been easy, a giving lifestyle means making intentional choices every day.   My witness can also tell you that making these hard choices is not so bad in the long run.   So what if my kids don't have smart phones and tablets, they read books, play sports, make art, and do well in school.   Yes my cars are getting old, but they still work just fine.  No we don't go out to eat much, but we like home cooking better anyway.  Being able to give has deepened my relationship with Christ and I have had tangible signs that God is walking with me through both the good and bad of life.

2. To Lead the Community 

A key part of what I do is help people examine how to live a life in relationship to Jesus Christ.   Giving financially has been a key discipleship practice since the formation of the first Christian community as recounted in the book of Acts in the Bible.  In order to really teach something one must know how to do it.   One of the things that helps lead and teach others is my own experience of giving.   Over the years I have given in many different ways,  these help remind me and show to others that everyone has a different situation.  You may need to give in a different way than I do.  I give financially in at least three ways:  direct withdrawals from my bank account monthly,  in kind gifts of things the church needs, and occasional extra contributions.  You may need to give weekly, monthly or yearly and that is OK.  The most important aspect of giving that I teach is that it be done in prayer.   Lots of people have told me they do not electronically give because writing the check has become a prayerful act for them, and that is a beautiful thing.  Financial giving should not be done in isolation but in combination with our other faith practices.

 
3. To Live Faithfully  

I don't know about you, but I have trouble asking people to give if I am not willing to do so myself.  I would feel awful if I was merely taking from the community without contributing to it.   I see the contributions of many faithful people at Holy Cross and I am inspired to serve.   I am blessed to be part of community that is so generous, and I do not want to take that for granted.   My giving makes me more of a part of the congregation because I have a stake in it.   My giving also helps me take my faith life more seriously.   I am more likely to pray, serve the poor, worship regularly, talk about my faith because I give.   My desire to give comes from my faith, but it also reinforces it as well.  God gives us the chance to give because it can strengthen faith and people can find joy and peace in doing it.

There will be times when we can not give financially, and it is important to remember that giving is not a goal in itself, the goal is a strengthened relationship with Jesus Christ, and that it will be blessing for us and the world. If giving gets in the way of this then one should pray about giving in different way. St Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 9:7-8:

Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. (NRSV)

Faithful giving is motivated by a desire to be a blessing to others.  Like the perfect love of God described in 1 Corinthians 13 it never demands repayment.   It is not an investment that demands return,  it is grace given freely.  The model is God's own son Jesus Christ who gave it all for the sake of the world.  This is something we are unable to give back, but that we are able to pass on.

So my only request is that you prayerfully consider your own financial giving so that you can bless others the way God has blessed you.  We at Holy Cross will be asking people to support our work, but we hope that by doing so you can deepen your own discipleship walk with Jesus.

Be blessed

Pastor Knecht

Who Bears My Cross?

Who bears my cross?  How we answer this question will reveal much about what we think about God,  the world and our own selves.  Perhaps you have an obvious answer or you struggle to figure it out. maybe you have never even thought about it.  This Holy Week and Easter I would like to wrestle with this question and see how different answers lead us in different directions.

Answer 1: Jesus Bears My Cross

Perhaps if God has gotten you through a tough time in your life recently this is your answer.   One looks at a situation that seemed impossible to overcome and yet by God's grace that person is still standing.  One realizes his or her limitations and relies on the power of God to make up for one's weakness.  The strength of this answer is that it can lead one to a powerful, daily, and living relationship with God.  

The problem with this answer is that Jesus specifically excludes it. 

Anyone who won't shoulder his own cross and follow behind me can't be my disciple. Luke 14:27(Message)

The way of Jesus Christ demands that we carry our cross behind him. In fact Jesus never tells us that he will bear our cross, he promises life eternal, forgiveness, healing, and hope, but not an escape.   There is a way that the statement "Jesus bears my cross" can be used to justify not living out one's faith at all.  One simply states "Jesus is my Lord and Savior" and "he took all my sins upon the cross" to justify a lack of transformation in one's life.   Then that one can go on living the way they always have.  

This answer can lead to a narcissistic focus on the self.  Jesus becomes our personal servant to bear any on the hard spiritual work we should actually be doing.  In this picture Jesus becomes "the help" and one barely knows his name and certainly little about what he is actually doing.   

Unfortunately, using the answer that Jesus bears my cross is good business.   It can be used to market a consumer friendly version of the gospel that makes no demands on life of the believer.   Just accept a few words as true and drop a few bucks in the plate is all they will ask.   This is what Diettrich Bonhoeffer called cheap grace,  grace bought and sold on a religious marketplace.  Seeing this picture in all its gory detail leads me to ask did Jesus really die for this? 

Answer 2: I Bear it by Myself

This answer seems to correspond to Jesus' call carry one's own cross in discipleship and follows the pattern Jesus himself set.   Jesus carried his own cross after all. 

Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus; and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. John 19:17-18 (NRSV)

The strength of this answer is that it does place accountability for the spiritual life back onto the shoulders of the believer.   One is taking up the cross head on.  One is making the changes in his or her life that should lead to transformation.  It confirms the truth of the the saying "we all have our cross to bear." It also recognizes the truth that Jesus' cross is different than mine. Jesus bore the sin of the world, I only bear an image of what he did.   

However,  as tempting to see this as the final answer it also has some serious weaknesses. If one focuses too much on our bearing the cross on one's own, one crowds out God.   Bearing the cross on one's own becomes a path to self righteousness.  It is all about what I do and not what God does. It also is over focussed on the self; the struggles of others have little meaning. This leads me to ask along with St. Paul the question "if I bear it myself then why did Jesus have to die?"  (Galatians 2:21) 

Answer 3: I Bear it with Help 

The simple fact of the matter is that when Jesus bore the cross he did not make it all the way on his own.   

As they led him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus. Luke 23:26 (NRSV)

Jesus the human couldn't do it all on his own, he needed the power of the Father and the help of others to carry the cross. This was all part of  God's plan to show us the way of salvation and peace.  A clue can be found on the night in which Jesus was betrayed when he gave a new commandment 

I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. John 13:34 (NRSV) 

We are limited sinful human beings we can not always bear our cross on our own.  One centered in the Gospel of Jesus Christ realizes that while one is accountable to carry one's cross and follow Jesus, we are not always able to do it, and sometimes we will even rebel from doing so.   I have noticed in the churches I have served over these 20+ years that often when I ask for a deeper commitment to Christ or the congregation someone will not able able to make it. 

Jesus realizes this and that is why he gave us the gift of church.  By this I do not mean the institution but the Christ centered Spirit filled organic community that is the Body of Christ.   We are called to help each other bear our crosses.  Yes we all have our cross to bear, but that does not mean that can't help each other carry them.   An individual can never separate his or her personal discipleship from the rest of the body of Christ.  We are connected to each other. 

When we focus exclusively on Jesus bearing the cross for us, or it's opposite, our carrying exclusively it on our own, we individualize and spiritualize the gospel.   When we realize that we are called to not only carry our own cross but to help each other along the way the gospel becomes more tangible.   My personal cross to bear has spiritual, physical, emotional, intellectual, and political hang ups.   When we bear each other's cross we get involved in the reality of our world because we get involved in the reality of our fellow children of God's actual lives.  

So this Holy Week and Easter I ask that we follow the advice of St. Paul: 

Bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2(NRSV)

Be blessed, 

Pastor Knecht 

Fight Terrorism: Teach Generosity

Waking Up to the Same Nightmare

Terrorism is nothing new.  It has been around my whole life.   In my childhood, headlines reported acts by the IRA, FALN and the Weathermen. Europe had the Bade-Meinhoff gang and Red Army Faction.  Israel has suffered terrorist attacks its entire existence as a modern state.  In the 90's Timothy McVeigh attacked Oklahoma City, a cult poured sarin gas into the Tokyo Subway. Then we lived through the rise of  Al Qaeda with the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, 9-11 and the London and Madrid attacks.  Now we have ISIS. While much press is always given how we can prevent future attacks, surprisingly little is given to how do prepare to respond when attacks occur.  Given the reality of human history this point should not be overlooked.

So I would like for us to think about how we can prepare spiritually for when attacks come. Terrorists like ISIS not only attack physical and human targets they intentionally target the spirit of the community in their cross hairs.   By examining what Jesus teaches us, we will have the tools to strengthen and protect our own spirits and the the spirit of the community we serve.

The Terrorist's' True Target: Goodwill

The primary goal of a terrorist attack is to disrupt the target society by instilling fear.  Part of achieving this plan is to disrupt those who work for a civil society, destroy goodwill, so people will feel they have nowhere to turn and are cowed into submission. For example, ISIS wants the flow of refugees to stop, just like the Communists did when they built the Iron Curtain   ISIS needs people to kick around, children to conscript into its army, people with skills to keep the water running, the lights on, and most of all to sell crude oil.   When people leave the conflict zones, ISIS loses human capital to continue its struggle for domination in the Middle East.  Our goodwill starves ISIS of resources. Their goal: instil fear to stop generosity.   Our fight: stand up for our identity as disciples of Jesus Christ and remain gracious.

The Jesus Way

People forget, but the scholarship is clear; Jesus lived in a time when terrorism was rife. On Epiphany we will read how Mary, Joseph and Jesus fled the state sponsored terror of Herod.  Two of Jesus' own disciples may have been identified with groups that may have engaged in acts of terror, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot. Jesus was killed using a Roman method to intentionally inspire terror.  So when you read the words of Jesus below, remember that he was no pie in the sky dreamer, but a person who lived and served in a very violent society.

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. ' But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.

 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. ' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:38-48 NRSV)

Refuse to Submit

For ordinary folks like us, the Way of Jesus Christ may seem hard,  but I will ask you to pray and think deeply, and hopefully see the grace in it.    When we succumb to fear and take revenge for ourselves in contradiction to biblical teaching, we play by the terrorists' rules.   The core of radical fundamentalist Islamic teaching is that Allah needs the terrorists to take revenge on the infidel  (btw doesn't that really say their god is weak?).  When we seek out revenge, we will only give them new motivation for further acts of their revenge. We will also be submitting to the scenario they wanted all along.

Countless Christian Martyrs and the the great peace leaders of the 20th century such as Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr. realized the gift of Jesus' teaching.  They understood it for what it precisely is, a courageous, comprehensive, and effective strategy to stop evil. They would not submit to an unjust system.  When we stand with them, we are refusing to submit, and standing up to evil.  As Paul wrote when we are gracious, it is as if we are pouring hot coals over their heads.  This is because by being gracious and generous we are disrupting their agenda of violence.

This struggle we have is not just with groups like ISIS, Al Qaeda, the KKK, Neo Nazi's or Anarchists.  It is is spiritual struggle against powers at work within our very communities and homes. These powers are calling us to become hard hearted and fearful. If we submit to them we lose, not just to them, but indeed we lose our very selves.

When humanity killed God's only Son, God did not take revenge.  He refused to submit and raised Jesus to new life.  God refused to submit to death and stood for life. Countless Christians will continue to to do the same, by serving and helping those who the world says should be their enemies. When we aid the Syrian refugee, we are fighting evil, When we clothe and feed the homeless, we are fighting evil.  When we greet and welcome the neighbor from the county we can't find on the map, we are fighting evil.  When we affirm human dignity of every person, we refuse to submit to the world's agenda.  If the headlines have shocked you lately, maybe it is just the time to stand with Jesus and be generous.

Be blessed,

Pastor Knecht