Reclaiming Words - "Salvation"

Salvation
1.  the act of saving or protecting from harm, risk, loss,destruction, etc.
2.  the state of being saved or protected from harm, risk, etc.
3.  a source, cause, or means of being saved or protected from harm, risk, etc.
4.  Theology . deliverance from the power and penalty of sin;redemption.

The idea of salvation often carries with it a tremendous amount of baggage that can cause a great amount of discord and disagreement even among those who come from similar theological traditions.  Salvation has been written about by some of the greatest theological minds our world has known, and yet the disagreements and debates remain.  Therefore, the goal of this blog post (or any of the other posts found on this blog) is not to offer a solution to the disagreements or end the debate once and for all.  The goal is for us to think together, to enter into a dialogue of sorts, and to agree to journey toward an answer knowing that the answer is not necessarily a destination but the journey itself. 

What is salvation?
Each of the definitions above use the preposition "from" to define salvation. Salvation is being saved "from" something in particular.  This is indeed an important part of the Christian understanding of salvation.  However, it is not the entire picture.  If it were, salvation would be nothing more than a selfish and egocentric proposition.  

This is too small.  God's salvation is bigger than that.  God's salvation is all encompassing.  God's salvation extends beyond you and me.  God does not just save us "from" something.  God saves us "for" something.  This idea can be seen throughout the stories, narratives, prophecies, and letters found in scripture.  

Take for example the beginning of the covenant with Abram (who would later be renamed "Abraham," which means "Father of a multitude").  "Now the Lord said to Abram, 'Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.  I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed' " (Genesis 12:1-3 NRSV).  A part of the covenant is that Abram and his offspring shall be a blessing to all of the families of the earth.  Abram was blessed in order to be a blessing.  Salvation did not end with Abram, Sarai, and their offspring.

Consider the story of Zacchaeus. Jesus "entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax-collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way.  When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, 'Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.' So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said, 'He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.' Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, 'Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.' Then Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost'" (Luke 19:1-10 NRSV).  Because of the Jesus' presence and the story of salvation that sprang from his life, actions, and words, Zacchaeus was compelled to act.  He gave of himself and his wealth.  Salvation did not end in Zacchaeus' house but extended throughout his community.


Salvation does not begin and end with being saved from something but extends to being saved for something.  Being saved from is passive.  Being saved for is active.  Salvation is what God has done, is doing, and will continue to do.  Salvation has come for us all, and we are called to be a blessing to all of the families of the earth.  

The author of Micah says it this way, 
   and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:6-8 NRSV)
‘With what shall I come before the Lord,
   and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings,
   with calves a year old? 
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
   with tens of thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
   the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?’  
He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
   and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,

We have not just been saved from something.  
We have been saved for something.

Reclaiming Words - "Worship"

For the next several weeks, we will take a look at some words that seem to have lost a part, if not all, of their meaning in our culture.  We will begin with a quick look at the dictionary definition of the word.  Then we will think through what it might mean to reclaim the word in our lives and as an important part of our journey of faith. We started last week with a look at the word "desire".

This week, let's look at
worship
n.

1. a. The reverent love and devotion accorded a deity, an idol, or a sacred object.

    b. The ceremonies, prayers, or other religious forms by which this love is expressed.

2. Ardent devotion; adoration.

v.tr.

1. To honor and love as a deity.

2. To regard with ardent or adoring esteem or devotion.

v.intr.

1. To participate in religious rites of worship.

2. To perform an act of worship.

Worship has been a huge topic of discussion and debate in churches across the country.  It has even sparked books, articles, and conferences centered around the theme of "worship wars."

Much of the debate has centered around the style of music played during worship.  Will the church have an organ, a choir, and "traditional" music or will the church have drums, guitars, and "contemporary" music?  There are people who lobby earnestly on each side of this music style debate - good people of deep and abiding faith.

In spite of the best intentions of those on both sides of the debate and those somewhere in between, we have lost something.  We have lost the heart and the meaning of worship.

Music is indeed an important and integral part of worship.  Music is to be a part of the prayer and praise offered by the congregation or the individual in worship.  However, music is not the entirety of worship nor should it be the focus of worship.  In fact, John Calvin wrote that everything we do should be an act of worship offered to God.  It is not just the songs we sing.  Worship is as much an attitude of the heart, mind, and spirit as it is the actions of the body and mouth.

In the Book of Order for the Presbyterian Church (USA) we have these words, "Christian worship joyfully ascribes all praise and honor, glory and power to the triune God. In worship the people of God acknowledge God present in the world and in their lives. As they respond to God’s claim and redemptive action in Jesus Christ, believers are transformed and renewed. In worship the faithful offer themselves to God and are equipped for God’s service in the world." (Book of Order, W - 1.1001)

In our long and tiring debate over worship style, we have lost the point that worship has very little to do with us at all.  Worship is about God.  When corporate worship and individual worship is focused on what we get out of it, worship has become nothing more than an empty exercise of ego-centric self improvement.  We might as well be at a Tony Robbins seminar.  Worship is to be about giving "all praise and honor, glory and power to the triune God."  When our worship is rightly focused, style becomes much less important.  All of our vain trappings and stylings come off of the center stage when "the faithful offer themselves to God."

Donald McKim writes, "We gather in the covenant community for praise, petition, and thankfulness for who God is and what God has done...We worship as Christians to give our full attention to the God who is our creator, who redeems us in Jesus Christ, and who is present with us by the Holy Spirit...Worship provides the orientation for our Christian lives" (Presbyterian Beliefs, 104).

The end result is that God is glorified and the people of God are transformed, renewed, and equipped for service to the world.  Let us worship God in all we say and do.

Bigger Than We Imagine, Closer Than We Think

Sermon on Memorial Day – May 29, 2011 - (to view video, click here)
Acts 17:22-31 (click on citation to view text)

The morning was full of excitement and anticipation. No one really knew exactly what to expect, but somehow everyone knew it would be great.

The entire group had been preparing for nine months. They had explored, studied and discovered together. They had thought and dreamt about this very moment. And here they were. They had traveled to a new city, a new country together and had a full day ahead of them. As they walked down the street in the early morning sun, the energy was high and the chatter was lively. This was to be the first day of a ten day journey of faith.

The group was handed their tickets and they began the climb up the magnificent hill. As they took the long walk up the hill the group had no idea what is in store for them when they would finally reach the top. I walked in the front of the group and stopped to face them. I wanted to see the looks on their faces. As each individual made the last turn in the path, they came face to face with the grandeur of the historic acropolis in heart of Athens, Greece. Their eyes widened to take the entire scene in as their breath was momentarily abated. There they stood surrounded by the monumental glory of ancient Athens.

Athens…a city named for Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom; a city filled with memories of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle; a city noted for its fantastic architecture and beautiful Classical Greek art. Located in this city were the Academy of Plato, the Lyceum of Aristotle, and the Areopagus. Ancient Athens was a tribute to the abilities of human hands and a testimony to the wonders of the human mind.

All of the students had seen it in pictures and movies. They had learned about it in history class. But this was different. As they walked through the Propylaea, a magnificent columned gate reaching to the heavens, each was overwhelmed by the majesty of the entire scene. Just inside the gate the students came face to face with the Parthenon in all of its glory! At the top of the hill one could see the entire city laid out at their feet.

After experiencing the acropolis, the group then went to what is affectionately called Mars Hill, the location of Paul’s famous speech to the Areopagus which we read this morning. While there the group of students saw a glimpse of what Paul would have seen in the first century during his visit to Athens. There to the left was the temple of Hephaestus and off in the distance was the famous Stoa, from which Stoics derived their name. This was the site of many great debates and trials in the history of ancient thought. This was the hill of Aristotle and Socrates, the Epicurians and the Stoics. Of the Areopagus, the author of Acts wrote, “Now all the Athenians and the foreigners living there would spend their time in nothing but telling or hearing something new.”

This is the cultural context of our text this morning. In the shadow of the acropolis – the center of the religious life of the Athenians – and just above the bustling agora – the Athenian marketplace – Paul was brought to speak to the Areopagus about this, “new teaching…” As he spoke about his faith, Paul could look down and see the statues and the temples to various gods scattered about the agora.

So who was this God about whom Paul was invited to speak before the learned of Athens? In this famous speech in Acts 17, Paul masterfully speaks of a God that is beyond our imaginings and human ideas of what God might be like yet is simultaneously closer than our own breath. To the Athenians, a very religious people by Paul’s own admission, Paul declares that this God whom they worship as “unknown” can be known and is at the same time both transcendent and immanent.

Paul declares to a people who built wonderful statues and awe inspiring temples to their pantheon of gods that God transcends or is beyond definition, description or category. To the learned of Athens and to our listening ears, Paul proclaims, this unknown god is “the God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything” (Acts 17:24,25 NRSV). God is beyond the creative thoughts of our minds and the artistic creations of our hands. God is beyond. God transcends our understanding of who we imagine God to be. In his Institutes, reformer John Calvin wrote, “God’s infinity ought to make us afraid to try to measure God by our own senses. Indeed, God’s spiritual nature forbids imagining anything earthly of God…as God is incomprehensible” (Calvin 1.1.8.1). There is nothing to which we can compare the glory and majesty of God. God is wholly other than us. God is transcendent.

Yet, God is not, as Aristotle once posited, an “unmoved mover” distant and unengaged in the happenings of the world which God created. The God of Paul, the God of our faith is transcendent, yes, but ALSO immanent. God is closer to us than we are to our very selves. The First Testament prophets and poets understood that God was not only the creator of all things seen and unseen, but this God was also engaged in the world and each in person’s life. It was a psalmist who famously wrote, “Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast…For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother's womb” (Psalm 139:7-10; 13 NRSV). God is present in creation and active within our lives. God is actively engaged in the happenings of the world in which we live and is not simply a distant unmoved deity unconcerned with the ways of the world. And indeed, God’s immanence, God’s proximity is most evident in the mystery of the incarnation, life, death and resurrection of Jesus, the Christ. One commentator wrote, God “is at once transcendent yet personal, sovereign and fully engaged in human life” (Wall 248).

This is a challenge to us as people of faith. Do we have the courage to allow God to be all that we can imagine and then even more still? Will we allow the God of the universe to be closer to us than we are to our very selves? Of this delicate and often difficult balancing act theologian Stanley Grenz wrote, “On the one hand, God is transcendent. God is self-sufficient apart from the world. (God) is above the universe and comes to the world from beyond…On the other hand, God is immanent in the world. This means that God is present to creation. God is active within the universe, involved with the natural processes and in human history…In short, the God we know is immanent and transcendent. (God) is that reality who is present and active within the world process. Yet (God) is not simply to be equated with it, for (God) is at the same time self-sufficient and ‘beyond’ the universe. In conceiving of God, therefore, we dare neither place (God) so far beyond the world that (God) cannot enter into relationship with (God’s) creatures nor collapse (God) so thoroughly into the world processes that (God) cannot stand over the creation which (God) made.” (Grenz 81).

We tend to err on one side or the other. We either conceive of God in such as fashion as to keep God distant and disengaged from the world in which we live or we bring God so near that God becomes equated with our human experience and reality. As people of faith, we must find a way to allow God to be a God who transcends definition and yet is closer than the air we breathe.

In less than two weeks, another group of students from Second Presbyterian Church will walk up to the top of Mars Hill. They will sit together in the shadow of the acropolis and in full view of the agora. They will take their place where the Areopagus once met some 2000 years ago. They will add their names to the list of over 210 young people from Second who have stepped foot on that very hill over the last 11 years. They will hear the words of the Apostle Paul and ponder who this God is about whom Paul is speaking.

What difference does it make that this God is both transcendent and immanent? I think you can find evidence of the importance in the lives of these young people. You see, some of the students who have sat on that hill have lost a parent or a sibling. It is vitally important for them to believe in a God who is bigger than their experience but close enough to walk through it with them. Some of the young people who have sat on that hill struggle with depression or physical illness. There is no question that they long for a God who is beyond their pain and yet familiar with their struggle. Some of the recent high school graduates who have made that trek have walked a path through life that is more difficult than anything I can imagine. Indeed, their belief in a God that is simultaneously transcendent and immanent has sustained them along the way.

And what about you? Through your most difficult moments, unexpected diagnoses, trying treatments, and painful experiences is it not your conviction that God is big enough to be beyond your circumstance and close enough to walk through it with you that allows you to carry on?

A covenantal God must be immanent as well as transcendent. Without God’s immanence, we are left with a God who transcends all things yet is not engaged in lives of God’s people or their world. Without God’s transcendence, we are left with a God who is engaged in the world but not sovereign over all things and events.

“True to the core biblical idea, then, God is transcendent yet personal, vastly superior to some detached deity that consigns humankind to the vicissitudes of fortune. God is not some provincial deity, the God of a few; nor is God unmoved and unconcerned about the struggles of real people in particular places” (Wall 250). This is a God who is truly worthy of worship; a God whose transcendence and immanence are held in tension, held in one God. This is the deepest mystery. God is bigger than we imagine and closer than we think. Amen.

In the Face of Uncertainty

Each and every day we face uncertainty.  It seems to be waiting around every corner and hiding in the darkness of every room.  We fight it with all of our might.  With jaw set and fists clinched, we stress and strain hoping that through our own effort we can turn that uncertainty into certitude making clear all that was once unclear.  At the close of another battle with this unseen foe, we realize that this fight is unending.  It seems that uncertainty will always be there.  Life's edges will always appear hazy and unclear.

Yet, our hearts continue to burn for clarity in life.  We long to know exactly what we will face around life's next bend.  We want to know that our actions today will positively impact tomorrow's outcome.  Therefore, we try to project and plan the unclear and uncertain out of our lives.  We pray that their grip on our mind might finally be broken. 

In his book Ruthless Trust, Brennan Manning tells of a man who went to spend three months working with the sick and dying in Calcutta with Mother Teresa.  On his second morning there, he met Mother Teresa.  She greeted him and asked, "And what can I do for you?"  (Can you imagine that - Mother Teresa asking what she can do for you?) 

The man replied, "You can pray for me." 

She then asked, "And for what should I pray?" 

The man said, "Pray that I might find clarity."

To his astonishment and dismay, Mother Teresa smiled gently and said that she would not do that. 

When he asked her why, she said, "Clarity is the last thing that you cling to that you must let go of."  When he told her that she always seemed to have the clarity he longed to have, she smiled again and replied, "I have never had clarity, but I have always had trust.  I will pray that you trust God."

Life's unquenchable thirst for certainty and clarity satiated not by effort or through planning but with a relentless trust in a sovereign God.

In what we call the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. "So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today" (Matthew 6:31-34 - NRSV).

I pray that none of us receive the clarity for which we long.  Rather I pray that all of us learn to trust in the One who will never leave nor forsake - a relentless trust in a sovereign God.

Freedom for...

As I was saying...

"Freedom is such a HUGE concept.  What it means in one context may not be what it means in another.  What one considers freedom, another may consider an absolute impossibility.  I think this is what makes talking about freedom across cultural lines so difficult.  There appears to be no universal meaning of the word let alone a universal understanding of how freedom should or could be fleshed out" (For the entire discussion, see For Freedom below).

I often get asked this question in a wide variety of ways, "As a Christian, is it okay if I..." (insert anything you want in the place of ellipses - e.g. drink, curse, dance - yes, dance). This question, and others like it, appear to me to be an extension of the discussion on Christian freedom.  "If I have been set free from the bonds of law and sin, then can't I just do whatever I want?  After all, we believe that 'God alone is Lord of the conscience.' " (Taken from the Book of Order of the Presbyterian Church (USA) G-1.0301a)

Indeed, the Presbyterian Church (USA) holds fast to this understanding of Christian liberty.  It has been an important expression of what it means to be Presbyterian for hundreds of years.  Through this understanding, we are guarded against any tyrannical edict designed by the human mind to imprison, enslave or oppress another.  As Christians, we believe that God is indeed the only authority to whom our conscience must bow. 

However, there is another important part to this discussion that must not be missed.  In his letter to the church in Galatia (the passage that was quoted in For Freedom), the Apostle Paul writes, "For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery...For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'" (Galatians 5:1; 13-14 New Revised Standard Version). 

And then in his first letter to the church in Corinth, Paul writes these words in his discussion on whether or not it is right for one who follows Christ to eat food that had been sacrificed to idols, "'All things are lawful,' but not all things are beneficial. 'All things are lawful,' but not all things build up. Do not seek your own advantage, but that of the other..." (1 Corinthians 10:23-24, NRSV).

So where is our liberty limited?  Freedom is limited when it compromises the conscience of another.  Liberty is limited when it becomes an excuse for selfishness or self-absorption.  Independence is limited when it no longer takes into consideration the life and liberty of the other.  If our actions are not loving to our neighbor, then we must reconsider our actions and our decisions.  Our freedom is not simply a freedom to do whatever we wish as if it were something we had earned for ourselves.  Our freedom is a gift that has been given to us by the Author of freedom itself.  The manner in which we live into our freedom is our response.  

We are free to live.  We are free to be in communion with one another.  We are free to love.  We are free to be!  Let us not become enslaved by the "death-dealing ways" that often dominate our world.  May our freedom be a source of life and liberty to all with whom we are blessed to come into contact. 

Dr. King's Challenge

In January of 1955, in a speech titled “A Realistic Approach to Progress in Race Relations” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. boldly declared to an audience that included many clergy, “You must do more than pray and read the Bible” in order to destroy racism and segregation, “you must do something about it."  

He also wrote, "How often are our lives characterized by a high blood pressure of creeds and an anemia of deeds!  We talk eloquently about our commitment to the principles of Christianity, and yet our lives are saturated with the practices of paganism…This strange dichotomy, this agonizing gulf between the ought and the is, represents the tragic theme of man’s earthly pilgrimage" (Strength to Love 40).

Dr. King famously over and over called the church to truly walk in the footsteps of the one whom we claim to follow, Jesus.  He admonished that we must follow his example of extravagant love not only when it is convenient and confortable.  Our lives are to be characterized by this love even when it is difficult and brings great discomfort.  This is the radical call of the Christ. 

As we read in 1 John, "By this we may be sure that we are in him: whoever says, "I abide in him," ought to walk just as he walked. Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word that you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new commandment that is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. Whoever says, "I am in the light," while hating a brother or sister, is still in the darkness. Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light, and in such a person there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates another believer is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not know the way to go, because the darkness has brought on blindness" (1 John 2:5-11).

What would it look like if we were to truly walk in the footsteps of Jesus, the Christ?  What would happen if the the "agonizing gulf between the ought and the is" where closed?

It is a question Dr. King asked long ago and is a question with which we must still wrestle.

Breathing the Divine

Fr. Thomas Keating, Trappist monk, once wrote, "We rarely think of air we breathe, yet it is in us and around us all the time.  In similar fashion, the presence of God penetrates us, is all around us, is always embracing us, and it is delightful."

In Genesis we read these words, "On the day the LORD God made earth and sky - before any wild plants appeared on the earth, and before any field crops grew...the LORD God formed the human from the topsoil of the fertile land and blew life's breath into his nostrils.  The human came to life." (Genesis 2:1-7, Common English Bible) 

We rarely think of the air we breathe.  However, maybe we should.  The Divine breath is in each one of us.  We cannot get away from it.  It permeates the very blood that courses through our veins and the air that fills our lungs.  We cannot flee the presence of God any more than we can run from our own breath. 

Take heart.  God is with you.  God fills every breath you draw. 

Divine Breath

Ceaseless

Ever present

Change of seasons

Passage of time

Simplistic rhythm

Enigmatic process

Filling with life

Purging of death

Ceaseless

Ever present

Rising of the sun

Appearance of the moon

Proximity unnoticed

Necessity irrefutable

Providing life’s essence

Expelling its poison

Ceaseless

Ever present

Air we breathe

Sustenance we need

Intimacy overlooked

Impact undeniable 

Bestowing new life

Conquering sin’s infliction

Ceaseless

Ever present

Beat of life

Power to live

Heart’s desire

Spirit’s yearning

Loving with passion

Living within

                      --- by Brian Shivers

Let me know what you are thinking and DON'T FORGET TO BREATHE.

The Face of Grace

What is grace?  What does it look like?  Does it have a face?

Here is a thought-provoking quote from theologian Paul Tillich about grace.
"Grace strikes us when we are in great pain and restlessness. It strikes us when we walk through the dark valley of a meaningless and empty life. It strikes us when we feel that our separation is deeper than usual, because we have violated another life, a life which we loved, or from which we were estranged. It strikes us when our disgust for our own being, our indifference, our weakness, our hostility, and our lack of direction and composure have become intolerable to us. It strikes us when, year after year, the longed-for perfection of life does not appear, when the old compulsions reign within us as they have for decades, when despair destroys all joy and courage. Sometimes at that moment a wave of light breaks into our darkness, and it is as though a voice were saying: ‘You are accepted. You are accepted, accepted by that which is greater than you, and the name of which you do not know. Do not ask for the name now; perhaps you will find it later. Do not try to do anything now; perhaps later you will do much. Do not seek for anything; do not perform anything; do not intend anything. Simply accept the fact that you are accepted!’ (emphasis added)  If that happens to us, we experience grace. After such an experience we may not be better than before, and we may not believe more than before. But everything is transformed. In that moment, grace conquers sin, and reconciliation bridges the gulf of estrangement. And nothing is demanded of this experience, no religious or moral or intellectual presupposition, nothing but acceptance."

Grace is inexplicable.  Grace is more than what we imagine.  Grace sustains.  Grace exclaims, “You ARE accepted.”

The Apostle Paul wrote, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God – not the result of works, so that no one may boast.”  Ephesians 2:8-9

What or who is the face of grace to you?

Blessings in the peace and grace of God who accepts you for who you are.