Tag Archives: faithfulness

Jeremiah 29 (NKGCV)

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(The following is my own modified translation from Jeremiah 29, following closely the NRSV. NKGCV => New Ken G Crawford Version)

This text, I believe, is both central to our understanding of God’s call upon the church, and terribly misunderstood by congregations and especially when applied to individual lives. I invite you to read the text, and then I’ll explain why I think this is true.

4 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. 8 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let the prophets and the diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, 9 for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, says the Lord. 10 For thus says the Lord: Only when Babylon’s seventy years are completed will I visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.

11 For surely I know the dreams I dream for you, says the Lord,
dreams for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.

12 Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. 13 When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, 14 I will let you find me, says the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

Again, v 11 “For surely I know the dreams I dream for you, says the Lord,dreams for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” Those familiar with this passage typically know it with the word “plans” where I have translated “dreams.” The Hebrew is “Machashabah”  (thought, device, plan, purpose,invention) from “Chashab” which can mean “to plan” but also means imagine, consider, think upon, recon, and esteem. “Plan” is an unfortunate and limiting translation because of it’s concrete and specific connotations in our modern culture. We think of building plans, schematics, of a plan for a trip or event, that has every detail clarified and managed. By implication, then, this would suggest that God’s intentions toward us are similarly concrete, specific and managed town to the last detail. Two problems with this, biblically speaking: 1) The text is about “The People of God”, not about an individual or individuals; and 2) the scripture simply does not support the notion that God has every detail thought out in advance. If that were true, then our task would be to discern and follow every micro step in our journey. At any point in time there would be one and only one right and perfect place and way to be in the world, everything else would put us outside of God’s perfect will and plan for us.

Certainly there are times when the Spirit does seem to have a concrete and specific intention in mind for us, individually and collectively. Those moments appear in scripture as well – and they are the exponential exception, not the rule. Take the story of David, for example. We have dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of days accounted for in his life. This leaves the vast majority of days unaccounted for. This does not mean God was absent (“Where can I flee from your presence?” Ps 139:7) but rather that God’s presence is more like the wind that blows, as Jesus suggests (John 3:8). Some will counter with “All our steps are ordered by the Lord” (Prov 20:24). I would submit that we hear Proverbs in light of Psalms “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a Light to my path” (Ps 119:105) and understand that God’s Word and Spirit are leading and guiding us in the way of righteousness, but not micromanaging our choices along that way. Each day may present us with multiple good and right options for living our lives. Righteousness comes in fidelity to God’s spirit i the choosing, and in our commitment to the choices we have made, recognizing that each “Yes” also brings multiple “No”s. My yes to my wife means my no to that kind of intimacy with all other people. My yes to my children means my no to pursuing my own interests (and even what call I think God may have placed on my life) at their expense.

What of these dream then? How and when do they come? The context gives us those answers. God says, “Bloom where you are planted. Bless those around you, even if you see them as your enemies. For your blessing hangs directly on your willingness and actions to bless others.” So, while I am waiting for God’s dream to be revealed and fulfilled in my own life, I am to be faithful to the call of this larger context from Jeremiah 29. I am to to as Micah 6:8 direccts “Do justice together with God. Love mercy together with God. Walk humbly together with God. This is the whole of what God requires of you.” (NKGCV)

All authority is given to me…Go therefore…

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Sermon notes for 05132012 – Matthew 28:16-20

All authority is given to me…        Go therefore…

The “Great Commission” as it is called is based in our acceptance of Jesus’ authority from the Father.

In Matthew 10 Jesus gives authority to the Apostles and sends them out with a similar mission: 7 As you go, proclaim the good news, “The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.” Here the mission is dependent on Jesus’ sending with authority. They are to go as he goes. Jesus goes in power and in humility – not an easy combination for us humans. We either shy away from power and fall into self-loathing and incapacity, or we embrace power and fall into self-glorification and go on an ego trip – either low self-esteem and impotence or grandiosity and aggressive abuse of power. Only when power is held in humility can it be held in faith and integrity by God’s children.

Just what is this authority?

In the first story (MT 10) they have authority to preach, cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. They have power over situations and powers, not over people. Jesus never exercises power over people. In fact, he contrasts in Luke 22 the power exercised by the Gentiles with the model his own disciples are to follow: 23 Then they began to ask one another which one of them it could be who would do this. 24 A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. 25 But he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. 26 But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves. 27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. 28 “You are those who have stood by me in my trials; 29 and I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom, 30 so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. The one in power must assume the posture and attitude, must treat the others, as if he were the youngest. The leader of the group must relate to others as though she were a servant. This is power held with great humility, for it is not our power, it is God’s power.

And notice again that it is not power over, but power for, people. The power is over situations, over spiritual forces and natural forces, not over people but on their behalf, and for the glory of God.

When Jesus gives this commission in MT 10, perhaps we are missing some punctuation as well. Perhaps it should read: As you go, proclaim the good news, “The kingdom of heaven has come near.’: Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.” What if “cure…raise…cleanse…cast out…” are expressions and illustrations of “proclaim the good news” – they are proclamations of the fact that the Kingdom of Heaven has come near?” The authority is over illness, death, social ostracization and demons – for the sake of proclaiming the gospel of the coming kingdom.

That authority still rests with the church to this day.

Prayer is an interesting and complex phenomena. People of all religions and no religion pray. It seems built into our DNA even if a uniform belief in God is not. And what people believe is accomplished in prayer varies as much as the people who hold those beliefs. I personally believe, from my study of scripture and Christian teaching, and from observation and personal experience, that prayer does not change God or get God to do something God was not going to do anyway. When we pray for healing for someone, we are not praying that God would heal them, as though we think God’s will or action depends upon our prayers. That is not what scripture teaches – certainly not the New Testament. When Jesus prayed for healing, he either spoke to the person, or to the sickness or demon, not to God. Jesus never said, “Father, please remove this sickness/demon from this woman.” He said, “Be well!” or “Come out!” and they were made well and set free. Jesus power and authority were over the sickness and over the spirits of possession on behalf of those who were troubled. And this is what we see Peter, Paul and others doing. They speak to people to rise above their illness, and to demons to depart. Acts 3:6 is the first instance of this after the birth of the church at Pentecost: Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.” This miracle gave Peter and John opportunity to preach to the Jews, and even to the authorities who had them arrested. There was a discussion of where they got the power or authority (by what name?) to do this. With authority comes power – power to do the work of the one in whose name the authority rests. Jesus received authority from the father – all authority in heaven and on earth – and bestowed power and authority upon the church in Jesus’ name, as Peter rightly states. This is the pattern followed by all the rest of the miracles in the New Testament.

Remember there was an instance when Jesus’ disciples attempted to use the power and authority given them to heal an epileptic boy but were unsuccessful. After Jesus healed him they asked, why they could not. His answer: “This kind comes out only by prayer.” (Mark 9:29) This is preceded by Jesus saying, “O unbelieving generation.” And “Everything is possible for him who believes.” To which the boy’s father replies, “LORD I believe! Help my unbelief.” The father misunderstands. The issue is not the faith of the father or the boy – rather it is a lack of faith on the part of the apostles, faith in their own authority to do that which Jesus has called them to do. Do they lack faith in themselves or in Jesus/God? Or is it simply that because their prayer is insufficient, they are not strong enough in the spirit to channel the spiritual power required to accomplish this miracle? By contrast, Jesus does have faith in his ability to do these things because he KNOWS that he has received power and authority (or authority with power) to heal. Remember his self-affirmation in Luke 4 in Nazareth: “18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” This came after he hear the Father say, “You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased,” and after he had overcome the three temptations of Man – to self-preservation, self-glorification, and self-salvation. Because Jesus had experience of success in overcoming evil, and because he knew confidently who he was, he was able to live fully the authority and power that were his.

Jesus states that “everything is possible for him who believes,” (Mk 9:23) and “with God all things are possible,” (Mk 10:27) and “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Mt 17:20) This is certainly not our experience. There are ways of understanding Jesus’s statements as metaphor or hyperbole that let us off the hook and take the power out of these pronouncements. Jesus seems to believe what he says, and the writers seem to believe it, and the early church seemed to believe it at face value. So what is amiss? Again, we are up against a question of power and authority, its use, abuse, and absence or failure.

What is it that we lack in our lives so that we might live this authority and power in the world?

  1. We have to accept that our worth rests in God’s opinion, not our own or that of others.
  2. We have to release any attempt to cling to our own life as a personal possession.
  3. We have to resist evil with the promises of Faith
  4. We have to dwell in God as Jesus did. God already dwells in and around us – it is our lack of being fully present in response that hinders our experience of God.
  5. We have to pursue only God’s kingdom and God’s righteous justice for ourselves and for those we can impact.

We were talking about the Great Commission, remember. Jesus says, “All authority is given to me…therefore go…” We are being sent under Jesus’ authority with Jesus’ authority to “make disciples…baptize…teach…remember.” All of this is based, again, on the nature of the authority and power that come to us from/through Jesus by our faith.

We are to think of this work as an extension of the former discussion from Matthew 10 – it’s about proclaiming the kingdom of God, and now building the kingdom of God. And we have Jesus’ authority and power to do it. Remember, though, that this power and authority are not over others, but over the systems of destruction that work in the lives of those around us. We have no right to begin to try to speak to those principalities and powers until we have spent considerable time addressing the ones that seek to rule us. And once we do that, we move into the world as a servant to others – a slave to those we seek to set free. What would our ministry be, what shape would it take, if our lives were formed in this way? If we moved into the world with the full confidence and faith in the power and authority of Jesus at work in our lives to proclaim and build the kingdom, and then engaged with our neighbors as their humble servants.

What would we do? What would we say? What would we not?

What strongholds would we come against on behalf of others, but as their servants, being sure that nothing we say or do causes injury or harm to the very ones we are trying to help? If someone in your life is overcome by a destructive force, that person is not your enemy. They are you master and you are their slave, but this is in the authority and power of Jesus over the thing that is destroying them – the attitude, habit, thought pattern, addiction, belief, illness, injury, system, or spiritual force.

What kind of person would you be? What kind of church would we be, if we related to the people who drive us nuts in this way? If we related to the people we find it difficult to respect in this way? If we related to the people who are hurtful and hateful toward us in this way? If we related to the vulnerable and frail, to those who can’t help themselves, to those who should be able to (we think) but don’t (for reasons we can’t comprehend)? What if we related to others the way God relates to us. When we could do nothing to save ourselves, and when we couldn’t even look God in the eye because we were too busy looking ourselves in the mirror, God came to save us from ourselves and from all the destructive lies and myths that we tell ourselves and one another. What if we go to others as servants in the same way that Jesus came to us as a servant? What if that is our approach to making disciples? The very one that Jesus took from the beginning? What might happen then?

Learning to serve the poor

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When I was in college I was fortunate to serve as Mission Intern at a big-steeple downtown church. When people came to the door seeking financial support, I was their liaison with the church. I had afternoon office hours and a monthly budget – I always exceeded both. Each month my supervisor would meet with me, show me the budget and how much I had given away, point out the overage and grimace in a way that expressed compassionately, “This can’t happen next month.” “I know,” I’d smile back, both of us recognizing that it probably would, and it did. I also coordinated the church’s running of a Saturday Soup kitchen, using the model known as Second Helpings – where restaurant food is collected, deep frozen, and reserved to those in need. A small group of us from a campus ministry, full of the idealism and indefatigable spirit of the young, cornered the senior pastor of the above mentioned church and said, “We’re going to start a soup kitchen, and we’d love it if you all help.” Without missing a beat the pastor responded, “We’ll do it at our place!” and sure enough, over time that’s exactly what happened.

These experiences, along with time spent as a volunteer coordinator for a Habitat for Humanity chapter, left me frustrated. I kept feeling like we were putting on band-aids, doing triage, but not helping people to address their foundational issues that put and kept them in need of help. I wrote my senior thesis on “The Socialization of the Homeless: A Call for Change” wherein I argued that the homeless in general, and the poor more broadly considered, need more than for someone to hand them resources; they (like all of us) need to participate in a community of support where transformation can occur and inner capacities can be discovered and developed to their fullest capacity. This is also the argument made by Robert D. Lupton in TOXIC CHARITY: How churches and charities hurt those they help (and how to reverse it).

Dignity is a key theme for Lupton – he emphasizes maintaining and even enhancing the dignity of the poor through all policies, programs and practices intended to help alleviate poverty. This also results in heightened dignity-with-humility for those who serve – doing for is dehumanizing for those with power as well as those without. This focus on dignity then leads to numerous shifts or outright reversals. from “doing for” to “doing with”; from focus on need to focus on relationship; from emergency assistance to development assistance; from focus on meeting our needs to meeting the needs of those being served; from “charity to parity”; from “going on tourist mission trips” that displace local labor and leave little long term change to sending skilled community developers; from food pantry to food coop; from gentrification to re-neighboring; from “experts” leading to community leaders leading with “experts” (i.e. people with knowledge, skills, resources and networks) serving in support capacities. All of these shifts result in heightened dignity for all involved.

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions”, a phrase oft used in literature and perhaps originating with Bernard of Clairvaux, certainly applies in this present context. Churches and charities (and governments and individuals) mean well. We need to look at the unintended consequences of our actions before we take them. We need to act in partnership and community with those being served. We need to develop opportunities for reciprocity wherever possible. We need to build on strengths while filling asset gaps.

I am also now fortunate to serve in a community where some people understand these premises and are seeking to develop community awareness while enacting policy and developing program. We have much to learn. Jesus called the adults around him to learn from the children; I think a parallel principle applies here – the poor have much to teach those who would want to help them. Needing help does not make one helpless – meeting needs unilaterally does.