The Despised Ones

The other day I found myself added to a Facebook group called "The Despised Ones".  Intrigued, I asked what exactly it was, and Morgan Guyton responded with a post about how it began and what it was for.  It is a bloggers collective based on 1 Corinthians 1:28:  God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, [v. 29: so that no one might boast in the presence of God] and was precipitated by this statement by T.C. Moore:

There’s a peculiar tribe of radicals discovering they are not alone. They come from all different traditions and expressions of the church, but they share many common characteristics:

Their message is centered on Jesus the Messiah; their definition of power is the cruciform love of God revealed on the Cross; they proclaim Jesus Lord and King, not Caesar; they won’t bow down to nationalistic idolatry, nor will they be co-opted by any of the powers that be; their Gospel is good news to those on the margins; they live in authentic community in eschatological hope; they embody the life of the age to come; they live as pilgrims and sojourners in this world, because God is building a new city among them; they live in solidarity with the hurting, and celebrate the new covenant with joy; God is using them to renew all things.

They are Jesus-disciples, and they are turning the world upside-down.

I have never really given much thought to 1 Corinthians 1:28, but since I am now a part of this blogging collective, I think I'd better think about it.  

When I read both the verse and Moore's words, something resonated in me, but in a mixed-up kind of way.  I loved the characteristics that Moore described, and feel as if it is those characteristics that I have been exploring for the last few years.  But the description of "despised" made me uncomfortable.  I mean, really, who wants to think of herself as someone despised by others?  For a people-pleaser such as myself, being despised doesn't sit too well with me.

But then I read more of Morgan's explanation:

If we take Paul’s statement at face value without making a moralistic judgment about the ἐξουθενημένους, then what Paul is saying literally is this: “Therefore if you have disputes about daily life, then let the despised ones in your church be the judges.” Recall that 1 Corinthians is the book where Paul exclaims, “Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” (1 Corinthians 1:20).

Now, generally, I come from a place of privilege:  I'm an educated, middle-class, heterosexual, white female.  Being despised--or lowly--is not something I have experienced very much, although it has happened, in the church.  And in those instances, it was because I was a woman, and women were not allowed to be in positions of leadership.    When I think back to conversations I had about the topic of women in leadership and men's and women's roles, I now wonder, what if those in authority in those churches had read this verse?  What then would they say about women in leadership?  Would they deliberately ask the people who are being oppressed and marginalized for their opinions, thoughts, input?  Who do I overlook in the church and in life?

This assessing of what verses like this, or Philippians 2 about humility means, is something that we need to do on a regular basis.  Too often, we think we understand a portion of scripture and move on to the next, never revisiting it to see if there is more to be gleaned. 

Being despised, being lowly, living with humility are probably some of the most difficult things that Christians will face, because they are the exact opposite of what "the world" craves.  The world loves those who are loved, not those who are despised.  The world admires those who make their way to the top, not those who are at the bottom.  The world has a me-first attitude, not one of putting others first.  We see it everywhere, and it is something that even we Christians find ourselves participating in.  

And so, it is a good reminder.  I am despised, but that's ok.  It is not in myself that I should boast about anything I do, but in God.  It is a way to remember that everything I do, everything I live for, should be for Jesus.  And when I think of it that way, I feel a sense of joy welling up inside me, something that tells me that following him is worth being despised, that following him is a better way than the ways of the world in which I live.  And yes, I will fail at times.  I will sometimes not be strong or courageous enough to do what is right, to follow what Jesus calls me to do.  But being despised and practicing humility can teach us to put ourselves all on a level playing field.  Not one of us is better than another.  We are all fighting not to be at the top, but to be at the bottom.  

Everyone Has a Past, But More Importanly, Everyone Has a Future

I was thinking recently about the story in John 8 about the woman caught in adultery.

 ² Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them.  ³ The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them,  ⁴ they said to him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery.  ⁵ Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?"  ⁶ They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.  ⁷ When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her."  ⁸ And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground.  ⁹ When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.  ¹⁰ Jesus straightened up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"  ¹¹ She said, "No one, sir." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again."  --John 8:2-11  

This is a well-known story in the New Testament.  Many people love it because it exemplifies Jesus' grace, shows us that nobody is without sin, and makes us wonder what Jesus is writing in the sand.  

In the Bible, adultery is sex between a man and a married woman--this is different from our definition of adultery today.  Today, we just think of it as sex with someone who is not the person's spouse.  But in the Bible, since multiple wives and concubines were normal for men to have, it's not adultery for a married man to sleep with someone who wasn't his wife (unless she was someone else's wife; then it would be adultery).  The concept of biblical adultery all depends on the woman's marital status.  There are a couple of different penalties for adultery:  a woman who is betrothed and commits adultery the penalty is stoning, and the same goes for the man (Deuteronomy 22:23-24).  A woman who is married and commits adultery would face the penalty of strangulation (this is according to the Mishnah; it is not in the Bible itself.  For further info, please see this article).

Women were essentially property.  When we see the commandment to not commit adultery, we also see in the commandment about coveting that it is forbidden to covet the neighbor's wife.  Coveting the neighbor's sister isn't prohibited.  Coveting the neighbor's daughter isn't prohibited.  Coveting the neighbor's wife is.  (See Exodus 20:14, 17).  

Now that we see those penalties, we now more about the story in John.  This woman was going to be stoned, so therefore, she must have been betrothed to a man, but not yet married to him.  So why was she in this situation?  Was she going to be one of a number of wives to some man who saw it only as a business deal?  Who was the man with whom she was caught?  Was it some kind of set-up?  There are so many unanswered questions.  

I wonder, also, if Jesus' hesitation to condemn this engaged woman had to do with another woman he knew about, another woman who had likely been thought to have committed adultery while engaged, another woman who faced possible divorce from her husband.

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.  Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.--Matthew 1:18-19  

In condemning this woman, would Jesus have also been passing judgment on his own mother?  What did he know of the circumstances of his birth?  Had growing up with questionable origins made him more sensitive to the plight of others?  Had the rumors of his parentage been known to the people who brought him this woman?  Were they testing him, not only to see what he would do regarding punishment, but also regarding the commandment to honor his mother and father?

I also wondered, "what happened next?"  Even though Jesus refused to condemn her, and everyone else had walked away, how was she treated by them after this?  Jesus told her to go and to not sin again.  Let's assume that's what happened.  Let's assume she repented and became a new person.   Did everyone forget about it?  Or was she branded "that woman", ignored, shamed, and treated badly because of one bad decision in her life?  What happened to her husband?  Did he forgive her or did he divorce her?

Was she able to move on with her life, somehow?  Or did this incident rear its ugly head again, maybe even years later?  Was it distorted and exaggerated, made out to be more than it was?  

We just don't know.

But I think, what we can learn from this story, is that when we hear or read about someone's failure, someone's sin, is to be quiet for a time.  Jesus took his time thinking about the situation while everyone else waited to hear what he had to say.  While I think it is an example of Jesus' teaching in the sermon on the mount about not noticing the log in our own eyes when we see the speck in another's eyes (Matthew 7:3-5).   I think it's also an example to realize that in our own lives, there are people we love who may have been in the same situation that we now condemn.  Would we be willing to condemn those closest to us?  Probably not.  When it's personal, we easily come up with grace.  

Jesus loved his mom.  He wouldn't have wanted to see her condemned to death by stoning.  He knew that she went on to be married to Joseph and to raise him and his siblings.  He knew that she had a new life despite the scandal and gossip that must have come along with how he was conceived.  And, today, we think highly of her.  We read the "Magnificat" and think it is a beautiful piece of poetry.  We read where she says "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." (Luke 1:38) and wonder if our own hearts are so open to fully submit to God.

None of us today think badly of Mary, though I suspect we would've been skeptical of her claims then.  None of us today think we would have stoned the woman caught in adultery, but I bet many of us would have been in that group.  We stone people today with our words, with our actions, with how we treat them.  

Jesus looked at the woman caught in adultery as someone who had a future ahead of her, not someone who was going to be defined by her past or even her present.

Shouldn't we do the same for people?

Love God With All Your Soul

This is the third in a series about the commandments to love.  The others are:

The Greatest Commandments

Love God With All Your Heart

When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together,  and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him.   "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"   He said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.'   This is the greatest and first commandment.   And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'   On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."  --Matthew 22:34-40

I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." --John 13:34-35

We talk about the soul a lot.  We talk about saved souls, unsaved souls, someone who was "a good soul".  I've even been told I have an "old soul".  But what is a soul, anyway?  For many of us, the idea of a "soul" is that of something separate from us, something disembodied, something almost ghostlike, floating up to Heaven when we die.

But is that really the image of "soul" that we get from the Bible?

If we look back to the Hebrew Scriptures first, we see the word nefesh (among others, such as neshama and ruach, but we're just looking at nefesh here):

vp,n< n.f. soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, appetite, emotion, and passion -- 1. = that which breathes, the breathing substance or being =yuch,, anima, the soul, the inner being of man  (From BibleWorks)

As always, when it comes to anything to do with the Hebrew Scriptures or language, I consulted my friend Yaakov, an Orthodox Jew, for insight.  He told me that nefesh is the most basic form of the soul that gives the body life and represents the will as well, explaining that if you see the phrase "if you so desire", in Hebrew it reads "im yesh es nafshecha", literally meaning "if it is to your nefesh (will/desire)"

Let's take a look at Genesis 2:7:

"then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being."

I love the translation that Yaakov gave me of this verse.  When God breathed into the nostrils, it's like saying "he blew into his nose his spirit"; "he blew into his nose a neshama of life".  The word at the end of the verse, that is here translated as "living being", has to do with the word nefesh that we are looking at:  linefesh chaya.

So, it looks like what we have here is that God blows a neshama into us through our noses and we become a living nefesh.  God breathes his spirit into us and we become a living soul.  Without that breath from God, what is humankind?

 

This nefesh that humankind becomes with the breath of God is what gives us life.  If this is what animates our bodies and represents our will, then loving God with our soul means loving God with all of who we are, not just with part of who we are.  The soul is not a part of us; it is integral to our identity.  It's not something that we can break off and see as separate; we can't think of our soul as something that is only a part of who we are.

And so, when we ask ourselves, how do we love God with all of our soul, perhaps we should be asking instead

• How do I love God with all that I am?  
• How do I love God with what defines my identity?
• How do I love God with all that I desire or will?
• How do I love God with all that he created me to be?

There's a lot more depth to those questions.  They are not quickly or easily answered.  But the one idea that stands out to me is that the soul is a gift from God, and it is with that gift that we must love him back.  It is the gift of life, and in loving God with our soul, we are loving God with all of our life.

Celebration of Discipline: An Experiment in Fasting

Last month I told you about how I felt as if I failed at the spiritual discipline of prayer.  If I thought I failed then, I failed even worse this past month, with the spiritual discipline of fasting.  I did not fast even once.

The thing is, I don't eat a lot to begin with, so it actually should have been pretty easy.  My husband joked that I pretty much fast on a regular basis anyway.  (Please note:  I do not have any eating disorders or anything like that, I am just generally a very small person with a small appetite.  Except when it comes to certain foods, like a good steak.  Then I just want to keep eating and eating and eating).

When I first read Celebration of Discipline in seminary a number of years ago, I wrote this at the end of the fasting chapter:

"Fasting sounds interesting, but if I try it out of curiosity, am I really doing it for God or for myself?" 

To read the rest, please visit Soul Munchies.

The Church & Mental Illness

There's been a lot of discussion lately about the topic of mental illness and what the church needs to do and can do.  Adrian Warnock has written extensively about it lately, and asked me to write a post with my thoughts.

Like many others, I don't think that the topic of mental illness has ever been addressed in a sermon.  Obviously, I don't remember every sermon I have ever heard, but I just don't think it has been a topic.  There are probably some good reasons for this, one being that there are some things pastors are not qualified to talk about.  If a person has little knowledge and no expertise in an area, it's better to let someone else do the educating.

I remember the church I attended for the longest period of time as an adult had a counseling center.  This was run by an actual psychologist (if I remember correctly), not a pastor who'd just had a counseling class or two in seminary.  While I never thought much about it while I was there, what this told me is that this particular church understood the need for mental health services and understood that there are people specifically trained to provide those services.

In the church I currently attend, there's a pastor who has a degree/background in marriage/family counseling, and while he will offer pastoral care, if it is anything serious, he will refer people to professionals.

Unfortunately, in many churches, this may not be the case.  Too often, mental health issues are seen as only spiritual problems that will go away if one just prays hard enough.  

I don't know why it is so difficult to see mental illness as an illness.  My friend Adrienne, who has a young son who has had numerous problems with mental illness, explained one time that it's so easy for us to understand and seek treatment for any other illness.  We understand when we are physically sick.  We take medications.  We have surgeries.  The physical aspect of our bodies is seen as something that can be broken and can be treated.  Why then, she asked, do we not think the same thing can happen to our brains?

That put it in perspective for me.  Our brains are as much of a part of our bodies as anything else, and if something can go wrong physically, something can also go wrong mentally.  

I would encourage anyone reading this to look at it like that.  It will go a long way in understanding the suffering a person may be experiencing, and if we encourage people to seek treatment for physical illnesses, we must encourage them to seek treatment for mental illnesses as well.  

MOPS Devotional: "Now What?"

Today is the last day of MOPS for the year.  I know that I've enjoyed getting to know many of you since I started coming to MOPS right after I moved here, just over a year ago.

Endings are bittersweet.  We feel somewhat sad when something ends, partly because we've enjoyed it and partly because it is something that has filled our schedule and we are left wondering "now what?"  Now what will we do on Thursday mornings.  Now what will we do with the kids when school is out.

"Now what" is how countless people must have felt:

• When Adam & Eve left the garden, they must've thought, "now what?"
• When Noah & his family were on the ark, they must've thought, "now what?"
• When the Israelites crossed the Red Sea and were free from the Egyptians, they must've thought, "now what?"
• When Israel was exiled, and when they were able to return to their land, they must've thought, "now what?"
• When Jesus was dead, lying in the tomb, the disciples must've thought, "now what?"
• And when Jesus was raised from the dead, but then left again, people must've thought, "now what?"

Do you see the theme?

No matter how normal, ordinary, or average our everyday life is, we are all going to be faced with the question "now what?"

A lot of times, we like to think of the Bible as our go-to answer book.  We look up in a topical index whatever problem we're facing and are given a verse or two to read and assume that is supposed to be the answer to our problem.

But that kind of makes the Bible fall flat, I think.

Instead of looking at it as a place to look up the answers, rather, we should look at it as a place to see the experiences of so many people before us who struggled, who feared, who doubted, who had questions, who lived ordinary lives.  People who also have asked, "now what?"

We can look to it and realize that often, there are not final answers for us, and even if we do get answers, they are not always the same for everyone, and they take a lot of time to come.  And while there are promises in the Bible, they are not exact.  It doesn't tell us exactly what to do with every single step we take in our lives.   For example, when I was in the process of moving here, I had to wonder, "now what?"  God didn't tell me exactly what He wanted me to do here.  He didn't tell me which church I would attend, if I would get a job, or what.  But I firmly believe that opportunities that have opened up--over time--are due to His leading and prompting.   And even though I can't look to the Bible to tell me exactly what I should do, I can look to it for some beautiful and life-giving promises and guidance:

I think of Jesus' words at the end of the gospel of Matthew, assuring people of his presence:  "And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Mt 28:20).  Or Colossians 3:15, in which Paul encourages us to "let the peace of Christ rule in [our] hearts".  Or from the gospel according to John when Jesus explains that even though he is leaving, the "Advocate", the Holy Spirit, is being sent to be with us forever.  And then when Paul explains in Galatians that we will know who has that Holy Spirit guiding his or her life because of the fruit produced:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Too often, we want everything in our lives planned out.  We want lists made and we want to check things off of those lists.

But, as we learned a couple of weeks ago, life gets interrupted.

And when that happens, we can go crazy, or we can still ourselves, quiet ourselves, and ask God, "now what?"  And I believe that God will lead us, even if we can't see where we are going or how all the pieces of our lives may fit together.  

So, as we break for MOPS until next year, I encourage you to ask yourselves, "now what?" regarding your faith.  Is there something you need to surrender to God?  Is there a practice such as prayer or meditation or Bible reading that you want to put into your life?  It's not going to be the same for everyone here.  But it is a question we all can ask, and we all can find an answer to--even if that answer isn't explicitly in the Bible.  It's there through the Spirit, and there through the Spirit working through others. 

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I'm going to leave you with more of Paul's words in his letter to the Colossians, also from chapter 3, in order to encourage you in seeking God's guidance:

1 So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  ² Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth,  ³ for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  ⁴ When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.  ⁵ Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry).  ⁶ On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient.  ⁷ These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life.  ⁸ But now you must get rid of all such things-- anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth.  ⁹ Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices  ¹⁰ and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator.  ¹¹ In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!  ¹² As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.  ¹³ Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.  ¹⁴ Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.  ¹⁵ And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful.  (Colossians 3:1-15)

Book Review: I Am Truly Loved by Cheryl Lashmit

I received a free copy of I Am Truly Loved from the author for this review.

I am usually apprehensive about Christian children's books, but when Ms. Lashmit sent me this book and I read it, I couldn't help but smile.  While often in Christianity, books focus on how much God loves the individual, in this book, Ms. Lashmit goes beyond that to show that God loves all of His creation, and shows how different parts of creation interact with each other.  The repetitive use of "I know I am loved, this  you can truly see" is a great way to reinforce to the children hearing the book how much God loves them and everyone and everything else too.  It is a great reminder of the broader reach of John 3:16, not just that God loves me, but "for God so loved the world."

This book would be a great gift for any child.

Book Review: Prototype by Jonathan Martin

I received a copy of Prototype for free from Tyndale House Publishers for this review.

I'd seen some mentions of this book on Twitter, and I've really enjoyed listening to some of Jonathan Martin's sermons, so when I saw it was available through BookSneeze, I grabbed it.

Prototype is well-written, weaving together stories of people--both Jonathan Martin's own and others--with scripture, in a way to explore what it really means to be like Jesus.  One of the most important statements that Martin makes is in the very first chapter on "Identity", when he writes "what's interesting about believing in Jesus is that it has a whole lot to do with believing like Jesus" (page 19).

Too often, we more interested in making sure we believe the right things that we don't look at how Jesus lived out his own beliefs, especially about his identity as God's son.  We forget to go on the journey of discovering who we are and what our faith means.  This book can help us do that, and help us look at our faith and world and the people with whom we come in contact in a new way.

There are fantastic examples in this book of people being transformed, people who others may have given up on, but Jesus did not.

It's not an easy process, and Martin gives an example of difficulties one may go through--"the wilderness".  It is a place that seems desolate, a place where Satan can attack, yet beyond that, a place where God "draws us back to Himself" (page 52).

This book is a refreshing read, one that can invigorate one's faith, and I'd encourage anyone to read it.

(I don't want to spoil it for you, but if you read this book, you will also read a great anecdote about baptizing kittens.)

Q&A With Jonathan Martin
Chapter 1 of Prototype