Socks and Sympathy

Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?

I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” - Luke 13:1-5

This past weekend Missy’s family gathered all together at Fort Boonesborough State Park in Winchester, Kentucky. This is something they have done for years during the Labor Day weekend - and boy, is camping “labor!”

I (Steve) drove back to North Carolina on Saturday for worship on Sunday. Sunday, I turned right around and drove back to a wet and muddy Kentucky.

Along the way I drove through far Eastern Kentucky and parts of the Appalachian Mountains. The drive took me through Wolfe, Lee, Breathitt, Perry and Letcher counties. These were a few of the counties utterly devastated by recent flooding.

One of the horrific images which shall be forever lodged in my mind as I was driving by Lost Creek on Ky 15 - just a few miles outside of Jackson - was the sight of bedding and clothing…15-25 ft in the air clinging to the branches of trees.

The creek, which has subsided, was gently rolling along next to the road - all while sheets, blankets, shirts and even socks were hanging from the branches directly above.

Homes, which had been removed from their foundations, were wrapped around trees, some even upside down; cars were littered across the creek. Still mourning and homeless families were standing silently or picking through rubbish trying to salvage anything from a life which no longer exists for them.

It left you feeling helpless. It made you ask, “God, where were you when this happened?”

In our scripture today we see where Jesus brings up two horrific and unfortunate events. Some had apparently been blaming the victims for what happened to them. Sound familiar?

Yet, the truth is this: things just sometimes happen. Life happens.

There is no explaining it. There is no comfort. There is only brokenness.

It is at this point that a lot of Christians - including those who serve as ministers or are in leadership positions - give only pat answers like, “I am praying for you.” Or, even worse - in the case of those impacted by the floods - “Well, they shouldn’t live by a creek…”

At best, we know that people say these things only because they don’t know what else to say. They are at a loss for words. At worst, they actually think that way and consider themselves better people than others.

Jesus, who we are called to follow, gives us a couple of questions to consider before we begin pronouncing judgment on people who are or have experienced a horrible life moment:“Do you think that these…were worse sinners? Do you think they were more guilty than all the others?”

Of course, in our feeble and self-preserving ways, we are constantly comparing ourselves with others - you know, trying to place ourselves in a better light. What better way to do that than to think others are “worse” than us.

Perhaps no one truly understood this better than Saul/Paul of Tarsus. I Timothy 1:15 has him openly declaring, “I am the chief of sinners.” The NET version pounds it home: “I am the worst of them!”

If each of us viewed ourselves from this lens there would be no need to judge another. No need to blame someone else. No necessity laid upon us to compare ourselves with anyone.

Perhaps the next time we witness something terrible befall someone the first response we should have is one of empathy. Of understanding. Of a broken heart that immediately goes to God in prayer for that person and that situation.

British statesman and financier Cecil Rhodes, whose fortune was used to endow the world-famous Rhodes Scholarships, was a stickler for correct dress--but apparently not at the expense of someone else's feelings.

A young man invited to dine with Rhodes arrived by train and had to go directly to Rhodes's home in his travel-stained clothes. Once there he was appalled to find the other guests already assembled, wearing full evening dress.

After what seemed a long time Rhodes appeared, in a shabby old blue suit. Later the young man learned that his host had been dressed in evening clothes, but put on the old suit when he heard of his young guest's dilemma.

What about you? Is there anyone you know who needs your empathy? Your sympathy? Your understanding? Your compassion?

After all, isn’t that what Jesus gave us when “While we were still sinning Christ died for us”?

Homo Unius Libri

To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds… - Daniel 1:17

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth… - 2 Timothy 2:15

Show me your ways, LORD, teach me your paths… - Psalm 25:4

Someone has said something along the following lines: Learning usually passes through three stages. In the beginning you learn the right answers. In the second stage you learn the right questions. In the third and final stage you learn which questions are worth asking.

Learning is primary to everything we do and know. A lot of our learning and growth comes from reading. As John Wesley once wrote: “Reading Christians are growing Christians. When Christians cease to read, they cease to grow.”

Missy and I love to read. Books! Books! Books! As a matter of fact if I (Steve) receive an honorarium for a wedding or funeral I always make sure to purchase a new book…keeps the library expanding! Yard sales, Salvation Army and Goodwill for books!

Recently, while reading a book by Ed Stetzer, who will be the keynote speaker at our General Conference this week, he recommended another book that I immediately found cheap on Ebay…all while being at the beach! Never stop reading!

But, you may ask, why? Why read? Why learn?

Well, there are many reasons for reading, learning and gaining wisdom. But, rather than dwell on those, I want to take some time this week to share from the 6 different books I am reading right now. I would like to invite you to “read” what I am reading and see if it kindles a fire in your soul as it has mine.

Here is a list of quotes from those 6 books along with the bibliography so if you would like, you can go to your favorite online book depository and order it! So, without further ado…

“Pre-evangelization is a noble theory constructed by theologians, according to which it is stated that not all peoples are ready for the gospel, and somehow must be made ready for it. In its arrogant cultural assumption, pre-evangelization may be the most vicious system of thought and action ever invented by missiological theologians.”
- Vincent Donovan, Christianity Rediscovered, SCMPress, 1978, p. 51.

“...every systematic theology, no matter how coherent or logical, eventually meets some passage of Scripture or passage of life that refuses to fit into it. Such passages have to be bent, twisted, and forced to fit the system. Why is this? It’s because Christ is too immense, too imponderable, and too alive to be tied into any immovable system of thought constructed by finite humans.”
- Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola, Jesus Manifesto, Thomas Nelson Publishing, 2010, p.89.

“The good news is that everybody should know by now that things are not thriving in North America. The church is not advancing, and the gospel is not gaining ground. For us to cling to the current model (what some call the Constantinian model) of pastor + building = church, when it is not working, is silly at best and negligent at worst. For us to eschew models that are ‘relational’ and ‘small,’ when that is exactly what the New Testament described, is absurd.”
- Ed Stetzer, Planting Missional Churches, B&H Publishing, 2006, pp.155-156.

“One of the central elements of the Christian story is the claim that the paradox of laughter and tears, woven as it is deep into the heart of all human experience, is woven also deep into the heart of God.”
- N.T.Wright, Simply Christian, HarperCollins Publishers, 2006, p. 38.

“Jesus is not bound by any culture or structure. His life and ways transcend all cultures. His body (the wineskin) is not to be culture-bound. Jesus calls his followers to undergo a systemic shift that goes to the root of our identity-one that questions all the assumptions of the Christendom model. What we really need are people living the life of Jesus in community, drinking the new wine of the Spirit and living as fresh wineskins in the world.”
- Jonathan and Jennifer Campbell, The Way of Jesus: A Journey of Freedom for Pilgrims and Wanderers, Jossey-Bass Publishers, 2005, p. 107.

“The Church can only be credible as the place and home of the new freedom if it constantly shows to people of good will and people of good faith its light and freedom rather than its darkness and unfreedom…The dividing line between freedom and unfreedom does not run between the Church and the world, but through the heart of each individual. And yet, for that very reason, the Church must continually demonstrate that it is what it claims to be: the fellowship of free people, a Church of freedom…”
- Hans Kung, The Church (Die Kirche), Burns and Oates Ltd., 1967, p. 214.

I hope that every one of these quotes will cause you to think, consider, ponder, study - learn. And, thank you for taking the time to read this. It means more to Missy and I than you could ever know.

Now, put down the remote. Shove your phone to the side. Grab a book - and let’s read…but above all, take time to read God’s word. In the words of John Wesley, “God Himself has condescended to teach the way; for this very end He came from heaven. He hath written it down in a book. O give me that book! At any price, give me the book of God! I have it: here is knowledge enough for me. Let me be ‘homo unius libri.’" As for that last Latin phrase, well, you will have to look that up on your own and read it…

Little Red (read) Words in a Big Black Book

The blind and the lame came to Him at the temple, and He healed them. But the chief priests and scribes were indignant when they saw the wonders He performed and the children shouting in the temple courts, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" 

"Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked. 

“Yes,” Jesus answered. “Have you never read: ‘From the mouths of children and infants You have ordained praise?’”

Matthew 21:15&16

Leonard Blair, a Senior writer at The Christian Post, recently wrote the following:

While biblical literalism has long been held as the most dominant method of interpreting Scripture among Evangelicals, results of a new poll released by Gallup show that fewer than half of Evangelicals and born-again Christians believe the Bible should be taken literally…“except in places where the text is obviously allegorical, poetic or figurative…”

The poll…with a random sample of 1,007 adults, found that just 40% of respondents who identify as Evangelical or born-again view the Bible as the “actual word of God,” while 51% see the Bible as the “inspired word of God…”

In general, among all U.S. adults, only 20% say the Bible is the literal word of God, which is a historic low according to Gallup. A record 29% of Americans say the Bible is a collection of "fables, legends, history and moral precepts recorded by (humans)..."

The data from the Gallup poll comes less than a year after a study from Arizona Christian University found that of an estimated 176 million American adults who identify as Christian, just 6% or 15 million of them actually hold a biblical worldview.

The study found, in general, that while a majority of America’s self-identified Christians, including many who identify as Evangelical, believe that God is all-powerful, all-knowing and is the Creator of the universe, more than half reject a number of biblical teaching and principles, including the existence of the Holy Spirit.

Strong majorities also…believe that all religious faiths are of equal value, people are basically good and that people can use acts of goodness to earn their way into Heaven. The study further showed that majorities don’t believe in moral absolutes; consider feelings, experience, or the input of friends and family as their most trusted sources of moral guidance…

https://www.christianpost.com/news/fewer-than-half-of-evangelicals-believe-bible-is-literally-true.html

Now, we copied quite a bit there but we feel it is vitally important information.

Even though this is a small sampling, Gallup polls are trustworthy. They’ve been on the cutting edge of Christian surveys for a few decades now. The numbers are both startling and telling.

Of all the consequences which arise from a lack of trust in God’s word as God’s word, perhaps this is the most destructive: "all religious faiths are of equal value, people are basically good and that people can use acts of goodness to earn their way into Heaven….majorities don’t believe in moral absolutes; (and) consider feelings, experience, or the input of friends and family as their most trusted sources of moral guidance…"

So, how did we get to this point?

It’s important to remember that for thousands of years, both the Old and New Testaments of the Judeo-Christian Bible have been proven reliable sources of history, poetry, prophecy, geography and ethics. (That's not to begin to describe its eternal impact upon the soul). It was not until the late 1800’s when German theologians came along offering theological liberalism and higher biblical criticism under the guise of modern Biblical scholarship that people began to doubt what they believed to be true and trustworthy.

This, in turn, led to other movements which produced profoundly negative impacts. Among these have been the social gospel, Feminist Theology, Liberation Theology, Process Theology, and even the Jesus Seminar. One particular outcome of these movements is the heretical Myth of Christian Origins which denies the divinity of Christ and disavows the authority of scripture.

Since its invasion into Christianity, a lack of faith in God’s word as truly being the Word of God has had but one single aim - to delegitimize and destroy the authority of God. 

 After all, if you don’t believe “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1) how in the world are you going to believe in the end? “And the One seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ Then He said, ‘Write this down, for these words are faithful and true.’ And He told me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give freely from the spring of the water of life. The one who overcomes will inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son. But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.’”

You see, what you believe about God’s word is as important as taking your next breath. It dictates what you believe about everything else...

This incomparable collection of books tells us, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son” (John 3:16). And, from the same resource: “When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” He added, “Now go. Learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners” (Matthew 9:12&13).

Do you know if you’re a sinner or not? 

Do you know if you need healing? 

If you were reading and believing the Bible (God’s word) you would know…

Ah, those little red (read) words in that big black book…