Tag: Jesus

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The Big 10: Murder Most Foul!

C’mon, preacher. I’ve never killed anyone. I’ve got the 6th commandment down – piece of cake!

“You shall not murder.”

I don’t think anyone would disagree that murder is not cool. Whatever you’re feelings are about justifiable homicide, war, etc. – everyone seems to agree that murder is not okay. So we’re not going to spend a lot of time on this one. It’s just that one little line. Instead, we’re going to jump right to the New Testament:

MATTHEW 5:21-24 ~ 21 “You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, Do not murder, and whoever murders will be subject to judgment. 22 But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Fool!’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But whoever says, ‘You moron!’ will be subject to hellfire. 23 So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Jesus takes the Old Testament idea of the action (murder) and converts it to a matter of the heart (anger). We can’t get away with avoiding behavior any more. We are confronted with the attitude and heart that underlies the behavior.

This is a problem for me. I could avoid killing people all day long. Getting angry? That’s a whole ‘nother matter! anger-794699_1280Jesus is saying that what’s on the inside can separate us from God. We can’t hate each other on the inside and then go pretend that everything is okay. But we do it all the time. Something happens and fills us with anger. Then we walk into church and we put on a happy face and say, “Praise Jesus – God is good!” We’re two-faced liars who would rather be passive-aggressive towards people than to be open and upfront.

Jesus says, “I CALL SHENANIGANS!”

He calls us out and says that the things we have between us can get between us and God. Don’t try to get right with God when you’re not right with everyone else. Let’s be honest – we do it all the time. We come to worship while harboring anger towards other people. And how often are we intentional about reconciling that anger before we worship? It almost NEVER happens.

Anger by itself is not wrong. We see examples in the Bible of God getting angry. We see Jesus getting angry. It’s not wrong – it’s part of the character of God. And if it’s part of the character of God it’s part of how we are wired. No, anger is not wrong.

How we DEAL with anger is where we go wrong.

Ephesians 4:26 ~ Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger, and don’t give the Devil an opportunity.

Anger is not bad – it’s part of who we are. Paul seems to believe that we can be angry and not sin. Anger is an attribute of God. God’s anger is a right reaction to moral evil and injustice. It’s not about personal insult or hurt. When God sees moral evil and injustice, God gets angry. What God gets angry about; we can get angry about in a righteous way. We can spot injustice and be righteously angry. When we get angry about our personal causes and offenses is where we run the risk of getting into sin.

Anger in and of itself is not wrong. The question is simply, “What are we angry about?”

What we get angry about and how we deal with that anger are the important things here! Anger can stir up trouble and have harmful consequences.

There are 3 Primary Causes of Anger:

  1. Injustice – We can get angry about the things that God gets angry about – when it’s about faith, righteousness, and justice.
  2. Frustration – something blocks us from our desired goal/outcome.

upset-534103_1920Frustration can cause anger. It’s NORMAL to respond in anger to frustration. If my desired outcome is to get all of my kids out of the door and into the van by a certain time and they fail to comply, my children are being roadblocks to my desired outcome. They are preventing me from my plan. And I get steamed – I become angry. It’s an easy anger, but it’s not a good anger.

  1. Threat/hurt – injury, insult, attack, etc.

Any time we’re injured, see an injury coming, or perceive any kind of threat (physical, emotional, etc.) our normal response is to get angry. Have you ever whacked your thumb with a hammer? We respond in anger. Did the nail do anything wrong? Nope. How about the hammer? Nu-uh. Yet we get angry over the hurt.

The same thing happens in relationships. When we see someone flirting with our significant other and we feel some sort of threat we respond in anger. We might call that type of anger jealousy, but it’s still an anger response.

It’s normal.

But just because anger responses are normal in these situations does NOT mean it’s okay to hold on to our anger. That’s why Jesus comes along and says, “Your anger is keeping you from your relationship with God.” Just from a physical point of view, holding on to our anger can cause real health problems. Living in freedom from anger can heal our souls AND our bodies.

But it often easier said than done. My dad’s side of the family is Scottish. My mom’s side is Irish. People often joke that I’m genetically bred to be angry. But there is no DNA excuse – we can’t skate by simply because of where we’re from. So here are some practical steps to letting go of the anger.

  1. Acknowledge/identify the anger – Who am I angry at? What am I angry for?

Confess to God. Confess to the person you have an issue with. Stuffing your feelings deep down inside is only going to make you sick. Tackle it head on (lovingly, if you confess to the person you have an issue with).

  1. Restrain your outbursts – no matter how mad you get it’s not gonna change the past. How you handle your anger IS gonna change your future.

I remember a classic Disney cartoon in which Donald Duck was taking an anger management class (via a record player). The voice on the record told him to try 10 second countdown timer – when he felt himself getting hot under the collar he was supposed to count down from 10 to zero. Whatever it takes for you, find a way to practice restraining your outbursts. Give yourself time to cool down.

  1. Let compassion replace resentment – get a different perspective; is there ANY other way to look at what’s happening?

When it comes to our anger towards other people, we can go a long way in letting go if we try to see the situation from another point of view. From my shoes I’ve been wronged, sure. What would happen if I tried to see it from an outsider’s vantage point? What about from the vantage point of the person with whom I’m angry? Find compassion for what they’re going through rather than focusing on your own sense of indignity.

  1. Resist ruminating – the 10 second replay button has to GO!

Going over and over and over and over situations that make us angry do nothing to help us cool down. In fact, they usually keep the fire stoked. If we’re serious about keeping our anger under control, we need to stop replaying the situation in our heads. Find something positive and lovely to think about instead. I’m not saying to ignore the situation and sweep it under the rug. I’m saying that we don’t have to re-live it day after day and hour after hour.

  1. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE do not take your anger out to the general public (like Facebook).

It only serves to escalate the problem and doesn’t allow you to forgive. The public route is merely an attempt to justify your anger. If you have to talk about it, talk to the person you’re angry at and not the entire community.

So What?

Jesus calls us to right relationships – to reconcile conflict as best we can (sometimes that’s not going to be possible – it is a two-way street) It’s time to let go of the anger we’ve been holding on to and time to move forward.

 Questions for Reflection

  • Who am I angry at?
  • Have I tried to work through the anger or am I holding on to it?
  • What would happen if I let go of the anger?
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That’s How You Picked Your Baby’s Name? Really?

baby-84552_1920Sometimes we just look at the culture around us and shake our heads. Like last week when I heard about the top trending baby names for 2015. While some old names like Noah and Eleanor are making a comeback, there is a disturbing trend. Not disturbing theologically – just in terms of stupidity. People are naming their babies after the names of Instagram filters.iphone-1055371_1920

For those of you who are not familiar with Instagram, it’s an app that allows you to edit photos and apply different effects (filters) to your pictures.

Yes, this is how people are naming their infants. Names like Lux, Valencia, Willow, and Ludwig. And those who aren’t using a picture editing app are using teen fiction. Um…wow.

Call me a stick in the mud, but I think that names are important; to important to leave up to something silly to name a baby (if you’re named after something silly, I mean no offense – you’re a wonderful person). I like my name and it’s meaning. My wife and I put thought into naming our children. Names are important. This is especially true in the Bible. From the beginning of creation, humanity was given the task of naming.

Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. ~ Genesis 2:19

Names are important.

A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold. ~ Proverbs 22:1

God himself has a thing with names. When God tells Moses to return to Egypt in order to free the enslaved Israelites, he has a naming discussion.

Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” ~ Exodus 3:13

The New Testament continues this understanding of the importance of names – especially the name of Jesus. Peter famously preaches:

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” ~ Acts 4:12

xmas-1021208_1920As we’re now in the holiday season you’ll find a lot of Christians get bent out of shape when people remove the name of Christ from Christmas and replace it with an X. While there is no need to be upset (X is the Greek letter that has been used to abbreviate the name Christ since the beginning of the faith), it’s obvious that people CARE about names.

Names set us apart and give us identity. In a world that is constantly vying for our attention and is trying to assign us identities, it’s important that we choose our “names” carefully. Sometimes we get caught up in worldly names: Democrat, Republican, American, European, Male, Female…the list goes on and on.

But the only name that really matters is one that is given to us through faith: Christian.

How about you? What name do you want to be known by?

 

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Dear Christian, Can You Be More Bigoted Please?

Look up any single word in a dozen dictionaries and you may find a dozen varying definitions. IntoleranceThe other day I saw someone on social media calling Christians bigots.

It made me want to look up the word to see the variations. While you will find definitions that fit the way liberals use the term against Christians, dictionary.com had this:

big-ot [big-uh t]

noun

1. a person who is utterly intolerant of any differing creed, belief, or opinion.

In some sense, then, I believe that Christians SHOULD be bigoted.

Yes, we need to be utterly intolerant to a different creed, belief, or opinion. In Acts 4:12 we see the Apostle Peter preaching:

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

Peter is merely reflecting the words of Jesus in John 3:18:

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

There is no room for allowing other creeds to coexist along side of the Christian creed. Jesus is not A way to God.

Jesus is THE way to God.

So yes, call me a bigot. I won’t waver in my belief that the Christian way is right and any other way is wrong.

Where Christians and non-Christians get confused, though, is understanding that we can treat people well in spite of religious differences. I can believe that my way is the only way and still treat people decently. A difference of beliefs does not necessitate anger and animosity towards those who differ.

Liberals tend to see this as a cop out. I’ve been told if Christians really treated people decently we’d allow people to believe what they want to believe (ironically, they are refusing to allow me to believe what I want to believe).

Conservatives tend to see this as a sell-out.Sellout If we hold firm to our beliefs then we will separate from the world around us and shun evil. This is why so many Christians are up in arms about selling wedding supplies to gay couples. This is why Christian doctors are refusing to treat infants of gay couples.

I will be blunt: THIS IS NOT TREATING PEOPLE WELL!

We can disagree theologically and still be decent human beings. So I will do my best to treat people well.

But don’t ask me to cave on my belief about salvation just because you feel excluded. 🙂

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I welcome all discussion, just keep it civil and polite. If this post resonates with you in any way, please share it on Facebook, Twitter, or email!

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Are Gay Little Monsters Destroying Your Way of Life?

Gizmo

It seems Gizmo is out of the closet and he’s bent on destroying the conservative Christian way of life.

Well, not Gizmo, actually – all homosexuals.

Last week, Congressional Candidate Anthony Culler was railing against same-sex couples and posted a video in which he called such couples “Gremlins” who “want to destroy traditional marriage and our way of life.”

Personally, I believe that God designed marriage to be between a man and a woman. I don’t have a disagreement with that concept. My problem is with this man’s mouth. There is no excuse for derogatory name-calling. In fact, it seems to fly in the face of biblical principles MORE than the behavior Mr. Culler is railing against.

There’s more in the Bible about controlling your tongue and using words than there is about gay marriage. Yet we often find it excusable to engage in put-downs when we disagree with someone’s beliefs or behavior.

Not cool.

But Chris, what about Jesus? He called the Pharisees a “Brood of Vipers.” (an argument I’ve actually heard)

Here’s the thing – Jesus was addressing the people who were supposed to be religious leaders. He wasn’t addressing people who disagreed with him on morality. In many ways, Jesus and the Pharisees came from the same perspective. This isn’t the case with conservative Christians and the LGBT community. In every case Jesus came into contact with someone who he would have considered a sinner or unrighteous person he always used his words to speak grace and love into people’s lives.

I get the Mr. Culler was trying to stoke conservative ire in order to get votes. I get it. But don’t trash the reputation of Christianity for the sake of appealing to your base.

Words can heal.

Words can hurt.

As Christians we have a holy obligation to make sure that we are speaking words of life to this world. That doesn’t mean we agree with everyone or ignore immoral behavior. But we can have conversations in such a way where we make our position crystal clear without ever being derogatory and denigrating.

Speak life.

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I welcome all discussion, just keep it civil and polite. If this post resonates with you in any way, please share it on Facebook, Twitter, or email!

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She’s Baaaaaack! Look Out, Here Comes Monica Lewinsky

Lewinsky

So it seems dear ol’ Monica Lewinsky is back in the public eye. This time she’s on a mission, setting out to single-handedly finish off cyber-bullying once and for all.

But she’ll never be able to move on. She’ll never leave her past behind and ever be a “normal” public figure (still, are any of us normal?).

It’s not that Ms. Lewinsky wants to stay stuck in her past. She doesn’t. Here’s the problem:

We won’t let her.

She’s going to be the brunt of jokes and off-color remarks for the rest of her life because we, as a society, are going to keep reminding her (and each other) of her past sins and mistakes.

I don’t condone her past behavior, and sometimes the off-color jokes come quickly to us, but I’m pretty sure that’s not the way it’s supposed to be. Jesus was a big guy on giving people a new lease on life. He met up with a woman once who had been married multiple times and was living with a man to whom she wasn’t married. Jesus didn’t condemn her but used her as an instrument to tell the rest of her town about him.

Another time some religious leaders brought a woman caught in adultery before Jesus. This is the famous, “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone” story of the Bible. Jesus didn’t condemn this woman either. Instead, he sent her on her way with a new lease on life and told her to leave her past behind her.

If we are to take our cue from Jesus, we ought to be in the business of helping people move beyond their past failures and sins and move into a new life where grace and forgiveness abound.

Seriously, who HASN’T done something stupid you wish you had never done in the first place? Yet our humanity likes to force people to wallow in their past failures.

Jesus doesn’t let people wallow. He ushers us into a new tomorrow where the past is forgiven and we get a new chance to be. So, to Ms. Lewinsky and the rest of us who have ever screwed up:

Here’s to forgiven yesterdays and new tomorrows.

If this post resonated with you in any way, please share it. Post it, tweet it, email it – just send it out there somehow.

Thx! 🙂

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The Gospel According to @Twitter

Easter

Many Christians are familiar with the Easter Story from the Bible. We hear it at least once a year. But too often the stories in the Bible are too far removed from our present reality. They remain “other than” rather than being an integral part of our contemporary story.

For that reason, I asked a group to join me in retelling the Easter Story as it could have unfolded had the characters in the story had Twitter accounts. Since Twitter only gives you 140 characters, we had to be succinct in telling the story. Taking up additional character space, we also needed to identify the character and include #EasterStory.

Other than that, no holds barred. Twitter has a funny way of bringing out sentiment and thought in short, pithy statements. Some of our contributors were brilliant. Some were silly. But it put a great new spin on a centuries old story of grace, forgiveness, and redemption.

So here you go:

There you have it – the Easter Story in a nutshell. No, it’s not Scripture, but every once in while it might do us some good to try to see a story through someone else’s eyes. It can bring us to new insight and understanding on the most powerful and significant story in history.

Happy Easter!

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Our Heathen President

seal

I am calling upon all Christians everywhere (well, at least in God’s special promised land of America) to fire up the Christian Outrage Machine.

Let’s be honest, we were a little concerned what we’d be outraged about once A&E brought Phil back to filming Duck Dynasty. But never fear, new outrage is here!

It goes back to the religious practices (or lack thereof) of the Commander in Chief, President Obama. You see, people who really care about such things have discovered that he’s only been to church 18 times since taking office!

Only 18 times!

That averages almost 4 times a year.

Can you believe that guy? How can he claim to be a Christian and “forsake the fellowship of believers”? You would think that a true Christian president would be in church every Sunday. You would think that a true Christian president wouldn’t act like the majority of Christians in America, who all attend church services fewer than 12 times a year (less than once a month).

No, a Christian president should be better than us. He should be in church more than we are. He should pray more frequently than we do. He should read his Bible daily and have a good chunk of it memorized.

It’s almost as though he has forgotten the righteousness received from the Holy Sanctuary and would rather live a Romans 3:21-26 kind of life ~

But now, apart from the law, God’s righteousness has been revealed—attested by the Law and the Prophets —that is, God’s righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ, to all who believe, since there is no distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of theglory of God. They are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God presented Him as a propitiation through faith in His blood, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. God presented Him to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be righteous and declare righteous the one who has faith in Jesus.

Oh, well. I guess he’ll learn on Judgment Day when God checks his church attendance record. As a Christian Nation we need to rise up against this president’s mentality. We need to show him and teach him a lesson. So, in order to make our statement loud and clear, let’s be in church every Sunday in 2014.

That’ll teach our heathen president a lesson. So I’ll see you Sunday.

Right…?

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The Idol of Celebrity Christianity

Today’s post comes from guest blogger and pastor Jeff Stephens.

The incredibly awesome Jeff Stephens!
The incredibly awesome Jeff Stephens!

Jeff is still a Christian even though he graduated from Fuller Seminary and Vanguard University. He’s also a children’s pastor at Oak Valley Church, loves his big family, and is engaged to Claire Browning. Take it away, Jeff!

I know, I know. I’m beating a dead duck.

I started this blog, a vague post about celebrity Christianity, last week. I wrote about how, in America, we’ve baptized the marks of celebrity culture (exorbitant riches, notoriety, ease, good or interesting looks), and turned them into markers of the “blessed” Christian life. I addressed how fame has become a noble pursuit, and how we plebes long to be “great” too.  I wanted to say that we’ve bought into the tabloid culture of American celebrity, FREAKING OUT (!!!!!) about everything before bothering to check the facts.

Oh, there’s more.

I wanted to talk about how we even make local celebrities out of pastors, “platform” ministers, and other church leaders (like myself), and how damaging that can be to church leaders (like myself) and to the body of Christ. I wanted to prove that celebrity Christianity is an ineffective means for evangelism, that it hurts our witness in the world, and how it destroys our prophetic voice. Finally I wanted to discuss how we put our pet celebrity Christians on pedestals, to the point where our adoration becomes idolatry. I would use a certain reality TV family as an example.

Image courtesy of James Barker at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Image courtesy of James Barker at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Of course, I would exegete the scriptures in such a way that every reader would have a blown mind and a changed heart. I would show that our obsession with celebrity makes us covetous and ignorant of many of the things that Jesus cared most about. I would illuminate how Jesus didn’t try to keep up with Kardashians, but rejected celebrity and earthly riches at every turn. I would explain the type of Christ the world needs to see in use. I would steal information (indeed, I already have) from a much better Christian blog. The reader would therefore see that I was worthy of the pedestal upon which I’ve been placed. All in 1,200 words or less.

And then something magical happened. You might even say it was my own personal Christmas miracle. Or that I can see into the future.

One of the most visible, uncompromising Christian celebrities in America got temporarily suspended from his TV program. As expected, the so-called Christian Outrage Machine (as coined by a prestigious blogger) came out in full force.

This got my wheels spinning. I said to myself, “Self, what if I can manipulate that blog-in-progress and make it about this current event? Then my blog won’t seem like it was conjured out of thin air, but rather was written in response to something going on in the real world!”

This was a blogger’s dream: writer’s passion meets controversy everybody is talking about! Now I could make my mark in the world, perhaps even have ten minutes of fame.

Upon further investigation, however, I realized that my blog and this controversy had nothing to do with each other. Nobody was putting Phil on a pedestal. If that were the case, tons of people would be changing their Facebook profile pictures, offering their unwavering support for Phil.

Oh wait…

Of course, I’m being facetious. I don’t mean to judge anyone’s motives or heart. And while it’s obvious that this debate is very complex, it is my opinion that, for Christians, celebrity is at the core of the issue. More specifically, it’s about worship.

When we worship, we place someone or something on a pedestal, hopefully for all to see. We show complete adoration and support, even to the point that someone or something is beyond reproach.

The same can be said about celebrity. Celebrity is about celebrating.

Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

So this past week has screamed of worship to me. We’ve placed a man, a network, a cause, an organization, a country, a doctrine, or ourselves on a pedestal. We’ve worshipped them.

Most obviously, we’ve worshipped the Robertsons, putting them in the spotlight. Today they’re probably more celebrated by their fans than they’ve ever been. You may think this is a good thing, for they’ll have a larger platform. I, however, am of the opinion that God doesn’t need them to have a larger platform. I believe that you can’t increase God’s fame and a man’s at the same time. Instead, it would be better to have the attitude of John the Baptist: Christ must become greater. I must become less! (John 3:30)

We’ve also worshipped the Robertsons by acting as if Phil doesn’t make mistakes. We’ve been unwilling to even hint at the possibility that some of his comments could have been reminiscent of the language of oppressors, or maybe a bit insensitive, or even just naïve. In all of this, we’ve made little gods out of them. We’ve made them shining examples of what it means to be Christian. We’ve acted as if questioning Phil is akin to questioning the bible or even Christ himself. We’ve made them out to be greater than they are. We’ve acted as if a temporary suspension from a tiny reality show (that is watched by .001% of the world’s population) is directly tied to the fortunes of the Kingdom of God. We’ve acted as if the gospel message cannot survive in a world where Duck Dynasty products are not sold at Cracker Barrel.

Instead of pointing people to the righteousness of God, we’ve pointed them to the righteousness of Phil. We’re bent on insisting that Phil is righteous. Yet scripture says that our righteousness is like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), that no one is righteous (Romans 3:11). With this in mind, is it possible that, instead of emphasizing our opinion that Phil hadn’t sinned, we should have emphasized the fact that all have sinned (Romans 3:23)? Would it have been better to admit that he did screw up in some way, yet Christ died for him anyway?

I’m not saying we should vilify the man, but these simple acts of humility would have done much to spread the message of Christ.

We’ve also pedestaled those things the Robertsons represent, some of the greatest celebrities of our day: oldendays America, the American dream, shootin’ stuff, and (the granddaddies of them all) the founding fathers and the constitution. Once again, we’ve acted as if those American deities are infallible, and we’ve treated the constitution as if it were scripture.

Don’t get me wrong. I believe freedom of speech is a great thing, and it must be protected. But demanding our rights only calls attention to that most timeless (and American) idol of all: ourselves. Demanding our rights is a way of shouting to the world, “Look at ME!” But Christ calls us to lose our lives for his sake (Matthew 10:39, 16:25//Luke 9:24).

I also believe that we cannot advance God’s mission while demanding our rights. Instead, we must lay down our rights, becoming the servant of all. We must be like Christ, who refused to demand his rights as God. Instead, he took the form of a slave and humbled himself, even to death on a cross. That act of humility and love made him exalted above every other name (Read Philippians 2:1-11).

So what are we to do? Even if celebrity and this issue are unrelated, stories like this give us an opportunity for self-reflection. We can pause to check the planks in our own eyes (Matthew 7:23) instead of acting as if we have specks of sawdust and they have redwoods. We can be humble and admit our own sins, pointing people to the God who saves us in spite of ourselves.

That last point really has nothing to do with Christian celebrity, but I thought I’d throw it in there. I hope your minds are blown and your lives are changed. In 1,300 words or less.

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A Little Scandal This Christmas

For many years I always thought about the Christmas story from Mary’s perspective. She is, after all, the parent in the Holy Family that gets the most screen time…er –page time?

And then my son was born.

He wasn’t my first child, but he was my son. My little dude. Me: Part II. Please hold off on the feminist rage – this isn’t about gender equality. I’m simply saying that there was a change in my perception when my son was born. Especially when it came to the Christmas story.

All the love and emotion I felt about this little guy is perfectly normal. But how would I have felt if I knew the child wasn’t mine? This is the scandal of the Christmas story. Joseph is saddled with raising a boy that is not his son.

Who wants to be married to a tramp? A slut? A whore? Yes, it offends our sensibilities to think of HOLY VIRGIN MARY in these terms. How would you feel about your fiancée getting knocked up by someone else? Joseph only saw one way out:

After His mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. So her husband Joseph, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly. (Matthew 1:18-19)

Dude was ready to cut and run. The Bible says that he was thinking about Mary’s disgrace, but Joseph was only human. Part of him HAD to be thinking about himself. He was probably hurt. Feeling wounded. Betrayed.

Fortunately the story doesn’t end there. God had to step in and have a “come to Jesus meeting” – literally 🙂

But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.” Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name Him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.” When Joseph got up from sleeping, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her but did not know her intimately until she gave birth to a son.And he named Him Jesus. (Matthew 1:20-25)

After the birth of Jesus Joseph sort of fades out of the story. We never see him as part of Jesus’ adult life the way we see Mary. This leads some people to conclude that Joseph might have died before Jesus began his adult ministry. It’s possible.

But for a brief moment in time, when most normal people would have thrown in the towel and said, “I am not going to be a part of this,” Joseph stepped up. He gave Jesus his name – the kid probably would have been called Yeshua Bar Yosef (Joshua Josephson). He gave the kid his genealogy – the house and line of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and King David.

Joseph, though minimal in how many words are written about him, is crucial to the Christmas story. Without him it’s just another pregnant teen scandal. But he steps up and loves Mary and Jesus in a very practical way that no one else could – he gives them himself, and thus his credibility.

This Christmas think about the scandals in our lives – the ways we bring shame or disgrace upon ourselves. God loves us with the kind of love that pushes our scandals to the side. He gives us His name. He calls us His own. He loves us in a practical way that no one else could – he gives us himself.

This is Christmas.

I think I’ve gotta wrap this up because I’m starting to get emotional and well up with tears thinking about the love a Father can have for his kids.

This is how God loves you.

Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people He favors!

Merry Christmas

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Why Jesus Must Be White

Ain't Nobody Like This Buddy
Ain’t Nobody Like This Buddy

So there’s a minor kerfuffle going on with Megyn Kelly of Fox News. The other night she was talking about an author who wanted to do away with the idea of a white Santa. Ms. Kelly found the idea to be ludicrous and insisted that there are some people whose ethnicity you cannot touch. Jesus, for example, was a white guy – you can’t change what it is.

Here it is…

Now, here’s the thing. There have been a lot of people making fun of Ms. Kelly. I’ve even cracked a few jokes like:

Of COURSE Jesus was white. Who on earth would want to worship a middle eastern Jew?

Please understand that the previous sentence is a joke – I’m not serious. The simple fact of the matter is that Jesus was a middle eastern Jew. There’s a good chance he looked like a lot of cab drivers in New York.

In the midst of the discussion about Ms. Kelly’s goof there have been some accusations of racism. We need to be careful about the words we use, because I don’t think racism is at play here.

Racism is treating people as inferior because of their race.

What happened on Fox News the other night was not about inferiority. It wasn’t racism. It was racial bias but not racism. And racial bias is normal. It is a normal human trait to imagine stories from our own perspectives. When we read our imaginations usually make the characters look like us. Even when the author is clear about a character’s description we will often overlook that description in our heads.

There were many fans of The Hunger Games who were upset when the character Rue was cast as a little black girl. They failed to recognize the description the author provided and filled in their own gaps from their own perspectives….

The story of Jesus is no different. We don’t have any photos of the man, so we are left to use our imaginations to see him. Left to ourselves, we fill in the blank spots from our own experiences, culture, and background.

Megyn Kelly wasn’t being racist. Ignorant, sure, but not racist (and honestly, it’s hard not to see Jesus as white when the majority of sacred art we’re exposed to is European…).

One of my most prized possessions is a book called “The Life of Jesus” (1978, Buechner and Boltin). I don’t think it’s in print any more, but you can get it used on Amazon.

It’s the story of Jesus combined with sacred art from around the world. Let me show you some famous art of Jesus…

Christ Crowned with Thorns. Wood. Philippines, 20th Century
Christ Crowned with Thorns. Wood. Philippines, 20th Century
Virgin and Child. Oil on Canvas. Uruguay, 20th Century.
Virgin and Child. Oil on Canvas. Uruguay, 20th Century.
The Last Supper. Crayon on Paper. U.S.A., Contemporary.
The Last Supper. Crayon on Paper. U.S.A., Contemporary.
Mother of Divine Grace. Textile. Japan, Contemporary.
Mother of Divine Grace. Textile. Japan, Contemporary.
Crucifixion. Bronze. Italy, 1933.
Crucifixion. Bronze. Italy, 1933.
Adoration of the Magi. Rome, circa 200.
Adoration of the Magi. Rome, circa 200.
The Holy Family. Painting on Silk. Japan, 20th Century.
The Holy Family. Painting on Silk. Japan, 20th Century.

We all tend to fashion the Bible from our own background. Is it wrong to see Jesus as a white guy? As Japanese? As African? Historically, sure – he was a middle eastern Jew. But the whole point of the Incarnation is that Christ is WITH us. God is not far away and removed – He is one of us. So the God who left heaven to be like me might look like me. What other god ever bothered to become like us?

The mystery and magnificence of YAHWEH is the Incarnation. His name is Emmanuel, which means: God with us.

Ms. Kelly might want to apologize for her cultural bias and ignorance but I don’t fault her for seeing Jesus from her background and heritage. I don’t really expect my blog will ever cross her path, but if you do know her send her the link, okay? 😉

This Christmas season take some time to reflect on the idea that God cares enough for us to become like us. To feel like us. To suffer like us. To die like us.

Yes, even to look like us.