Among us and within us

One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, at three o’clock in the afternoon. And a man lame from birth was being carried in. People would lay him daily at the gate of the temple called the Beautiful Gate so that he could ask for alms from those entering the temple. When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked them for alms.

Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But 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.” And he took him by the right hand and raised him up; and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.

Jumping up, he stood and began to walk, and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. All the people saw him walking and praising God, and they recognized him as the one who used to sit and ask for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Acts 3:1-10 (NRSV)

Are we called to feed the poor? Absolutely. But from a Christian standpoint, alms or welfare are simply not good enough. The Beloved Community happens only when each and every child of God is attended to as a person, and empowered to truly belong: the infirm, recognized as a contributor to shared life. The outcast, as an infinitely worthy denizen of the Kingdom.

A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. But [Jesus] said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves. 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.

You are those who have stood by me in my trials; and I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom, 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."

Luke 22:24-30 (NRSV)

The Kingdom is here insofar as God is always with us. In being simple and humble--authentic and not so darn self-absorbed--our eyes are opened to this reality.

The Kingdom is not here insofar as we don't see and taste this grace: and we do evil out of despair, grasping vainly at the chimera of greatness.  

The old and the new being

The king gave a command, and those who had accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the den of lions—they, their children, and their wives. Before they reached the bottom of the den the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces.

Daniel 6:24 (NRSV)

We all are Old Testament people at heart. We instinctively believe in revenge and vindication, conquering and slaying, wrath and reward. Which is why it is so important to read the Bible: as a mirror held up to our faces, among many other things.

And this is why the Gospel message is so world-turning, so foundation-shaking. The pinnacle of faithfulness is not to expect things to be made right for us, but to take the imbalances and the crookedness of the world upon ourselves in Christ's spirit. 

In doing so, we add a tiny piece of ground to the Kingdom.

The cross and the glory of life

From crucifixion...

They cried out, "Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!" Pilate asked them, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but the emperor." 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. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them.

John 19:15-18 (NRSV)

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?

Psalm 22:1 (NRSV) 

But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.

By a perversion of justice he was taken away. Who could have imagined his future? For he was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people.

Isaiah 53:5, 8 (NRSV)

...to resurrection.

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?" When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you."

Mark 16:1-7 (NRSV)

On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.

And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever.

Isaiah 25:6-7 (NRSV)

The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.

This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.

 This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:22-24 (NRSV)

Conservative Christians view the crucifixion as a sacrifice made on our behalf to cleanse us from the evil in our hearts. Progressive Christians read it as the ultimate act of resistance to the powers that be, the empires of violence and exclusion.

Neither view is entirely incorrect, but held in isolation, both fall short. For both fail to grasp the actual event: the salvific and redemptive love that takes on evil to reveal it as finite.

Yes, there is darkness in our hearts. And yet, this darkness is not who we truly are. When it crumbles in waves of love, we realize that the core of our being is always fed by the Divine Source. Our sin is but scum on the Living Waters.

In the same way, our institutions are fraught with ills, and yet, they nourish and protect us even as they perpetrate injustice. Which is exactly what we do to ourselves. Their brokenness is but ours.

The real victory of Christ is this: in taking on evil and suffering, darkness and injustice, he exposes them as limited in power, inferior to truth and love. No matter how great the pain, healing is always possible. No matter how deep the dark, it can barely conceal the spacious light of day.

To uncover this reality, however, we must take on ourselves that which obscures it. In facing our personal and public darknesses, over and over again, we discover the light that is hidden within them.

In dying to what is, we find a joy more lasting and more nourishing than the fleeting pains and pleasures of the world.

Holy week paradox

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

his steadfast love endures forever!

Psalm 118:1 (NRSV)

At three o'clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Mark 15:34 (NRSV)

To be a Christian is to hold the contradictions of life in our heart. That is the meaning of the cross.

This is never more clear than during Holy Week, when we commemorate Jesus' path from triumphal entry to torture and crucifixion, from death to resurrection. God's steadfast love does endure forever: but sometimes, the way to that insight leads through the abyss of despair. 

Beyond despair, there is the Living Water in which the paradoxes of the world dissolve.

I preached a little sermon on the topic; it can be found here.

Love and righteousness

But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

Jeremiah 31:33-34 (NRSV)

Have mercy on me, O God,

according to your steadfast love;

according to your abundant mercy

blot out my transgressions.

You desire truth in the inward being;

therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.

Psalm 51:1, 6, (NRSV)

With my whole heart I seek you;

do not let me stray from your commandments.

Psalm 119:10 (NRSV)

As long as you believe that God’s love is bound by conditions of faith or conduct, it is worldly love you believe in, not divine love. Make no mistake: in competing for that kind of love, there is hardly a difference between a guy showing off his Ferrari and a Christian showing off his righteousness.

We strive to lead righteous lives, not to make God love us but to open ourselves up to the love that is already here. Sin is not a matter of trespassing rules and regulations. It is a condition of inability to receive and give love.