Today is called Christmas Eve Eve,
Which comes one day before Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve Eve’s today
Christmas Eve’s Saturday
As we count down the days ’till the day!
There. I hope this helps clarify our unique measure of time. The next 48 hours get a little dicey in their jolliness.
And here we are, only four days away from Christmas of 2016, and I feel meh. For some reason. Whether it’s the Christmas weather forecast (Rain and 40 degrees means looking forward to White Christmas 2017) or the built in pressures of the season (we have to leave now if we’re going to have any joy so get in the car and it doesn’t matter if you have your boots on or not) — the root cause of my meh doesn’t matter as much as the result, which is also meh. I ask myself: where’s the joy? Choose joy! ‘Tis the season… right?
Listen: Our fifth-grade son has wisely selected to write his end of semester WorldChanger essay about Steve Jobs, cofounder of Apple and binary magician whose insight would handily cut through the current narrative which disconnects a huge corporation from its core audience, much like the cutting out of the 3.5mm jack that is meant to be now interpreted as archaic to us mere technical neophytes.
See? I’m feeling meh. But anyway.
Earlier today I held closely to a well populated to-do list that became much less important when Malachi wanted to do some research for his paper by firing up an old Macintosh SE computer that I keep around to celebrate progress over these past 30 years of legitimate personal computing, with our GUI’s and our Desktop Publishing and our Local Area Networks, a relic from an era when ARPANET seemed fascinating but lacked tangible usefulness to the public en masse. Thankfully Netscape and Al Gore changed that for us, mostly Netscape, and that’s why you’re reading this right now. We once used floppy disks (which were oddly not floppy but firm) to transport files from one computer to another, perhaps connected to a dot matrix printer that had so much rumble that the gang at Stanford once measured an ImageWriter II on the Richter. Sure, this fact might be gibberish made up on the spot, but if you’ve ever seen one of those rattletrap printers in action, I bet you believed it enough to want to google it later. Or now. Wait until later, though.
So Malachi wants me to stop what I’m doing and play with old computers as we watch videos of Steve Jobs introducing the Macintosh in 1984 and later the iPhone in 2007. But I have the things. To do. But… meh. So I reformatted my short term goals and aimed to be fully present to the moment, not mentally time shifted to the coming events but all the way here, at our kitchen table, on a Tuesday night at home. The wind blew fierce and the windows shook a little, and it was good to be inside with my family, laughing at how cool 30 year old technology still is. Say what you will, but the Macintosh operating system somehow maintains its charm with age. No, Steve Jobs wasn’t perfect, but he sure did impact our world as we know it. For Malachi, this was recreational homework that led to a completed assignment for school. For me it was a close call where my head was so far up my to do list that I almost missed a golden opportunity to be there.
Someone said it well: what you do for children is never wasted.
I am certainly glad I did that. We had a grand old time and — best of all — nothing caught fire. His paper is excellent, his appreciation for vintage computers is growing, and I am glad I came in handy and that I was fortunate enough to wander into the moment. I take no credit.
Here’s today’s TOP NEWS HEADLINES and spontaneous commentary:
When I hear the word Krelmin, I think to myself “that’s what you get when you mix Kermit the Frog with a Gremlin.” And you’re like “what kind of Gremlin? The AMC vehicle or the 80’s Christmas movie kind?” And I’m like “Yes.”
I get the feeling we’re going to be reading headlines that include the phrase “he once vowed to kill” quite a bit in these coming years.
Wait — so all 25 are summed up in this one movie? And have you heard about how you can tour a house where A Christmas Story was filmed? That’s pretty neat. I’d do that, probably over meeting Will Ferrell. Then again, he is a funny dude. But those Bumpus hounds are pretty wily, too.
The snow started falling yesterday afternoon, transforming a typical gloomy December day into a winter wonderland. Mac and I walked in the snowy evening hour, looking up at the sky until the flakes stung our eyes. He kept saying with wonder that “there’s a ceiling and it’s falling in on me!” It was, as I called it, an optical delusion. Like the snow, the wordplay went right over his head, and why shouldn’t it? He wasn’t wearing his coat, though I pleaded lightly with him to put it back on. “No, I’m good… I want to feel the cold.” I felt the cold with him, sympathetically, under my layers of grownup thinsulate. ‘Tis the season for enjoying life, short-sleeved in a snowglobe, and letting the snow hit ya in the eye. Such is the good life in Southwest Michigan. We all knew it was coming. Might as well bounce around and enjoy with the wisdom and resolve of an 11 year old.
We have a daughter with Down Syndrome and Autism. Every school day begins with a ride on the big yellow bus. She’s been getting onto buses since age 3, although we had to carry her to her seat back then. We wake her up, get her dressed and prepped, and wait for the bus. When it arrives, she knows the drill and heads for the door. I will usually escort her out, which is sometimes as smooth as butter and other times as complex as bathing a cat, but eventually she finds herself ascending the grand BlueBird staircase into the moniker of education-based mass transit. Bus nurse/monitor/facilitator extraordinaire Eileen will lead Lexi to her LexiSeat™ and buckle up for the ride to school. This happens almost every day throughout the year.
Today, though… it almost didn’t happen.
From morning song one, Lexi was as happy as a clam, and a happy clam at that (they’re usually wearing a mask of happiness to hide the frustration of the lost pearl.) Everything in her routine was moving along as expected. In fact, I’d give it a solid 9 on a morning prep scale of 1-10. The bus pulled into position near the end of our driveway and we headed out. Only a few feet from those classic school bus double doors, Lexi decided, like never before, to not get on. She doesn’t use salty language — Lexi’s syntax is certainly her own — but I’m sure that whatever she was saying has English equivalents that would easily get my blog banned. Lexi was unhappy at best and downright angry at worst. This was the fiercest I’ve ever seen her… and I’ve clipped her fingernails before.
The bus driver, an excellent and thoughtful woman who understands Lexi and does everything she can to make the ride a smooth one, was as surprised as I was. The puddles formed by the morning rain became Lexi’s secondary bath as she slammed herself down in protest. Her screams of terror bounced off the houses of the neighborhood. Lexi eventually verbalized an English word that she only busts out in extreme moments of frustration and/or fear: no. She said no. No bus.
Yikes. What in blazes? The lady doth protest too much, methinks.
Eventually she gave in and climbed on, but if it were up to her, the day would’ve gone much differently. Why, Lexi? She cannot answer this question in a way that I am yet capable of understanding.
And that’s when I remember what it’s like to play the board game Clue. Trying to gauge Lexi is sort of like solving a three-dimensional situational puzzle that relies on what is seen, what is assumed, what is eliminated, and pure chance. In times like these, I (and several other awesome family members and caregivers alike) try to get into her head (figuratively) to see all of this from her unique perspective. And then we start adding up details. As for the no bus fiasco that her day began with, here’s what I got for this morning — and, by the way, I’ve been thinking about this off and on for most of the day yet I’m still stumped:
And speaking of personality, she’s totally fine now. Like it never happened. Lexi has no pretense, no shame (at least that we can see) and moves on quicker than anyone else I know. What led to the shenanigans of this morning? I have no idea. Behold the mystery of our daughter. But I face tomorrow undaunted, ready to communicate in the spoken and unspoken, ready to try and think like her and see the hurdles which are so obvious to no one but Lexi, which is due in part to our limitations as mere mortals.
Ask any saint in the history of Christianity and they’ll tell you: God sometimes seems distant. A season of plenty is followed by a season of spiritual drought. We wonder what we’re doing wrong. Sometimes God is distant. Before we get into why that might be, it’s important to make sure some of the basics practices are in place. These are the questions I ask myself when I’m sensing some distance:
Time for prayer and bible intake does have to be forced into our daily schedules. Whether it’s first thing in the morning, sometime during lunch, or at the end of the day, it needs to be made official on our schedules. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve stumbled across extra time in the day and thought “well, I think I’ll spend the next prayerful hour studying Lamentations” (and I’m a pastor.) God speaks through His Word and prayer.
While I need daily private time where it’s just me and the Lord, I also need to be encouraged and prodded along by others who are trying to draw closer, too. Private devotion without communal fellowship is incomplete, like only reading every other word in a novel. God speaks through others.
I’m naturally good at sinning, which means I’m also good at sin management. But God, who is supernatural, calls me to be holy. As you can guess, this means I need to be honest with Him and confess every sin so that there’s no separation. Besides… He already knows about it.
If you can answer a hearty “All Good!” to the above and it still feels like something is missing, read on. Let’s ask some deeper questions:
Who’s calling the shots, anyway? While God is gracious to us and patient with us (especially me), He’s still God and we’re not. When we ask Him to do something, we may get a yes, a maybe, or a no dice. The risk of discipleship is letting the Lord have full control. Not easy. Still, we ask God for the desires of our hearts, followed by the declaration of Jesus before His crucifixion: not my will but yours be done.
We can grow so accustomed to a routine that we mentally check out. I do this while I exercise and have caught myself doing the same in prayer. It’s one thing to run on a treadmill while thinking about, say, graph paper… but a whole different story if we’re going through the motions of being in God’s presence without being fully engaged with Him in that moment.
Pastor and author Bill Hybels writes Ninety-five percent commitment to Christ is five percent short. So true. Instead of pushing God through my day, I need to have Him pull me through it. Instead of asking for help in a few areas, I need to seek His help in being attuned to His will. For me, this is the hardest part of following Jesus.
Abraham Kuyper wrote To be “near” is to be so close to God that your eye sees, your heart is aware of, and your ear hears him, and every curse of separation has been removed…
Could it be that His distance from us is actually a gift that prompts us to go deeper? Peter felt distant from Jesus until he got out of the boat and walked on water. I get busy looking for God’s presence and forget that He’s often calling me to His presence, which is out there… deeper… farther… and much, much better.
Whether we have a tangible spiritual experience or not, the important thing is to keep at it. God works in ways that are beyond our comprehension and sensibilities. To trust, to obey, to, as Brother Lawrence wrote, practice the presence of God. He’s there, speaking in the silence. But it’s not an empty silence… it’s a holy silence.
Press on in the holy silence and be more like Jesus on the other side.
Last Sunday I preached a message about politics and the Kingdom of God. You can read the original message here. During both services I received a number of texts, and following the service a few more questions came to the surface through various mediums.
I figured I’d try to answer them here as best I could.
What would you say to those that say “religion” causes so many wars (The Crusades, ISIS, etc.) These people say that “religion” is bad because of this so they don’t want anything to do with it.
People have claimed the name of Christ while doing all kinds of terrible, terrible things — sometimes even under the direction of religious leaders. It was Pope Urban II who gave the directive to war which unfortunately led to the Crusade. Admittedly, things got waaay out of hand and exceeded the scope of what Urban was trying to accomplish. Nonetheless it is something of a deep blemish on Church history that cannot be easily dismissed. The Just War Theory that emerged by the 16th century was influenced more by Roman Law than it was by Scripture. As author John Ferguson describes: “there is nothing distinctively Christian about it (Just War Theory), yet these are the considerations which have dominated the majority of Christians for most of the history of the church.” Hmm… something to chew on there.
Indeed there have been times and perhaps there would be a time where war is “the answer”, though it was Christ Himself who called not for a violent revolt to His arrest but rather a peaceful humility. Christians are people who go to the greatest lengths to pursue peace. The taking of life is a costly and painful way to accomplish peace, if it could even be accomplished in that way.
The same thing happens in other religions, too, much to the regret of leaders and followers alike. ISIS is an example of an extreme misread and application of what Muslims believe. At its core, Islam truly is a religion of peace. This statement, ironically, infuriates some people 🙂
By our nature, we humans corrupt everything. The church is comprised of humans. Ergo, the church is bound for corruption, except for the purifying and sustaining work of the Holy Spirit.
All that to say this: Their criticism of religion and war is fair yet makes a shaky case for the outright rejection of Christianity. I can’t speak for all religions, but I can speak humbly for my faith in Christ, knowing that His believers have blundered and misrepresented His love and peace to egregious extremes. For some reason He still loves us and offers us grace.
Deciding you individual religious fate based on gross misrepresentations in history is like proclaiming that you won’t ever be treated by a doctor because you heard of a botched routine operation that led to the untimely death of a patient. Well, okay, but… you probably won’t like how your Pneumonia ends.
One of the finest books on the history of Religious war is Charles Kimball’s When Religion Becomes Evi. It helped me understand this issue quite a bit and informed much of what I’ve said above. Credit given, and then some. I highly recommend it.
So Bonhoeffer was wrong for his Nazi opposition?
Bonhoeffer was right. Any follower of Christ would oppose such an evil regime, perhaps even being persecuted for their stance. Respect for authority is the top priority, but the Kingdom of God wins the day.
Bonhoeffer sought to stop the execution of millions by trying to kill Hitler. Is it okay to break a commandment to save lives? Was Bonhoeffer wrong to try? He didn’t succeed in killing Hitler, yet I wish he had. Does that mean I’m wrong?
Hmm… I guess I’d like to ask Bonhoeffer that question.
So should Christians not protest or take a stand?
They should — within the context of federal, state, and local law. Citizens in the US are afforded plentiful opportunities for their voices to be heard. I for one take this for granted. A protest is fine as long as it’s not done to disable the governmental structure. That’s where we get into trouble and squelch our witness to make the wrong point.
Today, millions of Americans are voting. This is a political miracle. Thank God for this and make it count.
As a Christian our first response is to want a moral Christian leader. But what scripture has shown is (that) we should seek a lack of corruption and pure ethics and leave the rest in God’s good and protective hands.
Absolutely true, as long as we aren’t setting up a hierarchy of morality that mimics or replaces the church. The United States of America is a wonderful place to live, and I thank God for the freedoms we have here. But the US is not His chosen land populated by His chosen people. That’s the Kingdom of God. These two are different. At the end of the day, we want to elect the ideal candidate who is able to govern well — and I believe the scripture, in Christ, illustrates what an ideal human should be and do.
I am still not sure how to justify Romans 13 with Pol Pot, Mao, Stalin, Hitler.
Me neither. I am thankful to be a citizen of the Kingdom of God, and that I share this citizenship with brothers and sisters who lived under far more evil regimes than I will ever know. I look forward to meeting them someday.
Message preached on Sunday, November 6, 2016 by Adam Davidson at Portage Free Methodist Church
In this series, we’re asking the BIG questions about God, faith, the church, and Christianity in general. For this Sunday, the questions we’re addressing are about politics and the Kingdom of God. We’ll get to the specific verbatim questions in a moment, but first we need to lay some groundwork. We’ll start in Romans chapter 13 as we seek to establish what is true, in light of the topic of politics and the Kingdom of God.
Does the church participate in politics? Do pastors participate in politics? The answer to both is yes. Next question: should the church and/or pastor take a political stance? That’s where wise caution must be generously used. We are a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization in the state of Michigan, and that standing has with it specific laws that need to be observed in order to keep that standing, which is something we endeavor to do.
According to what I’ve researched, the church can’t:
The church can:
The law of the land is written for our protection and is something we benefit from and commit to uphold. Our aim and intent is to be fair to every candidate in the race and stick to the facts, avoiding opinion and conjecture. This is good for us to say up front because the Church is not about politics but about Jesus. Jesus is about His eternal Kingdom which will supersede this temporary world, including our governmental, economic, and other social systems.
Philippians 3:20 reminds us that Our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. Until He returns, what we live in now is temporary. We live as citizens of a nation, but our final and ultimate identity as followers of Jesus is that we are citizens of heaven — not just whenever we die but here and now. Colossians 3:1 says Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. We live here, work here, exist here, but our minds are on Jesus and whatever his mind is on. This plays out in our lives in how we live day to day — not just while we’re in worship together but every moment of life. In 1 Peter 2:11, we are urged, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against our souls.
Plainly put, this world is not our home.
Followers of Jesus are politically aware, socially active, incarnational citizens of heaven who have their eyes on Jesus, their minds on Jesus, and their lives oriented to the ways of Jesus here and now. We are citizens of heaven who have a dual (albeit lesser) citizenship on earth. I am a citizen of the United States of America, and I’m thankful to be. That’s my penultimate citizenship. My ultimate citizenship is in heaven, under the Lord Jesus Christ. If you Know Christ — not just if you know about Him but actually know Him as your Savior, then your citizenship is in heaven, too. If you don’t know Jesus, then your citizenship goes as far as this world, and this is about as good as it gets. Ever.
Our mission as a church is to help people find, follow, and be like Jesus. Jesus is here — not only here, but available to all who believe that He is Lord. When you follow Him, you follow Him spiritually to the cross, to the tomb, and to the presence of a Holy God. We become made new. Over time, as the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts, we take on the character traits, love, and perspective of Jesus, which means we become like Him, even in our political interactions and participation.
Faith in Christ — this is how Christians grow. Therefore our God-given mission is to make disciples — for people to say no to ungodly living and yes to Christ who is the Way, Truth, and Life. Our prayer, our hope, our reason for existing as a church is for people in Southwest Michigan and around the world to find, follow, and be like Jesus. All that to say — we can talk about politics and even have a place to talk about politics because we want to be active in the world as salt and light. Not better than everyone else, not isolated, but sinners forgiven by the grace of God who live in freedom and tell others about that same Amazing grace.
In The Republic, Plato declares: One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. This implies that whoever runs for President is declaring that they are the smartest person in the nation, which history has often shown to be otherwise.
Today is a politically charged day. We are experiencing the most tumultuous presidential election in the recent history of the US — if not ever. I’m not here to offer commentary on why that is, first because I’m sure you can fill in the blanks as consumers of media and residents of our nation, and second because I don’t wanna talk about sociological theory but about Jesus and how we try to follow Him through this minefield. What is a follower of Christ to do in this era, especially in light of our pending election for president, and for many other offices and issues that will be on the ballot on Tuesday?
It’s fitting to do this today, especially as we’re in this series called Why: Asking the Big Questions and because these questions came from you. I have edited them down just a bit for clarity and space.
Specifically, you asked:
How is one to know how to vote for president?
This is sorta like asking who do I vote for? And my official answer is: I can’t say! Also, you asked:
If the book of Revelation explains the peril of our future world situation, then why do we as Christians try to change our world politically? Does it even matter?
These questions pair nicely — one is “I’m torn on how best to participate” and the other is “I’m frustrated and just don’t want to participate”. People take a break from facebook, can’t they take a break from politics for like 4 or 8 years? It’s tempting to stand back and wait for this dumpster fire to go out.
Onward to Scripture. Let’s pray together as we open the Word of God.
Let’s talk about Emperor Nero.
Nero
Nero was the emperor of Rome from 54-68 A.D., which is a long time ago, which is why the picture is in black and white. Like most political pamphlets, this imagery paints him in the best possible light, though that’s not what history tells us. Nero possessed a protuberant belly, spindly legs, squat neck, and a body that was “pustular and malodorous” (he produced a lot of pus and he stunk) — all according to Roman historians. No worries, because Nero saw himself as a Greek god in both spirit and flesh. He came into power soon after his 17th birthday, and it didn’t take long for all the power to go to the Emperor’s head. He saw himself as the savior of the world, called to bring about the restoration of classical Greek grace, beauty, and artistry. Any respect he seemed to get from his people was motivated by fear of punishment. Nero would give recitals and have his audience locked into the auditorium. People couldn’t leave. History talks about women giving birth, people falling asleep, collapsing, and even dying during his concerts. In fact, dying was the only way to get out.
And that’s not the worst of it. Nero was a bad guy. He murdered his mother because he wanted to see the womb that he, a Greek god came from. He murdered his first wife so he could marry another woman.
Nero’s great plan was to renew the Roman Empire from the ground up by making a utopia that displayed his glory and magnificence. Nero rebuilt roads, and demolished buildings to make room for his new glorious structures, including a palace to his name. Few of the citizens fought back, including the Christians.
Simultaneous to Nero’s political ruling was the brand new, baby church. Jesus was crucified in 33 A.D. but left a bunch of His disciples in charge of the church, empowered by the Holy Spirit. The Christians met together for worship and teaching in the temple courts in Jerusalem and beyond. The church grew and so the movement grew. Their teaching included the gospel of Christ which would save people from God’s fire and judgement. People were getting saved — not just from judgement but from the power of sin and darkness which wages war against our souls. Thousands of people were now following Jesus and becoming more like Him. Because Rome was relatively peaceful and mostly open to this new “Jewish Sect” of Christians, the church was able to grow and multiply with little interference from the Roman Emperor.
Nonetheless, there was some tension. How do people follow Jesus in the context of a politically evil empire, especially led by a seemingly evil person? If Jesus came to cleanse us from sin, yet the world still has a broken political system rife with corruption and disease, shouldn’t we be doing something to stop it? Isn’t Jesus Lord?
Some Zealots — one little piece (sect) of Jewish descent — used that line of reasoning for their attempts at overthrow in the name of God.
That’s when Paul wrote these words: Romans 13:1-5 (NIV2011)
Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgement on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do what is right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from the fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.
Paul writes them to address the believers who believed it was God’s will to destroy all human forms of government (on one hand) and, on (the other hand) to encourage Christians who knew their faith was out of sync with the ways of the world.
So, whether you’re looking for insight on how Christians view politics or you’re looking for reasons not to plot an overthrow, this Word is for you. Consider:
This instruction helps us with at least two challenges of being a Christian in a politicized nation:
Paul wrote these words to Christians who were trying to understand their relationship to the governing authorities of the day, just like we are. The development of the Church & Christianity has always taken place within the context of social, economic, and political struggle. Have you noticed how often the bible acknowledges the political leader during a certain event?
Luke 2:1 – In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.
Luke 3:1 – In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene…
Acts 11:28 – One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.)
Pontious Pilate, Cornelius the Centurion, King Aggripa — all key civil servants in the New Testament account.
One commentator says that one of the reasons the books of Luke & Acts were written was to show Christians that they had nothing to fear from the continuance of the Roman Empire. The same is true for us today.
In Romans 13, Paul is basically saying “okay, everybody — here’s what we’re going to do: we’re going to submit to the authorities, whatever they may be, because we believe that Jesus Christ is truly Lord of all. We’re not going to get spooked when things don’t go our way, we’re not going to feel pressure to fix the world and all its political ills, we’re not going to plot a revolution. We’re going to trust God and watch His Kingdom unfold in this world. Okay? Okay.
Everything was good. The brand new church was finding its footing in the world. God was performing miracles. People were coming to Christ, being baptized, being healed. And every authority fit into the overarching authority of the Kingdom of God. All good, all good. We press on until Christ returns, which could be at any moment!
Then, everything changed. The Christians had their strategy, but, remember, so did Nero. And that’s when the fire broke out — the literal fire. In 64 AD, Nero called for a controlled burn meant to demolish something in the way simply grew out of control. Instead of having it put out, Nero called for the fire to continue to spread, since it helped his cause. The problem is that it was burning the citizen’s homes and material belongings, and even each other. History tells us that there were some people who were putting the fire out, and some people who were adding fuel to the fire in accordance with the order of the emperor.
This did not bode well for Nero’s political career. Finally the citizens of Rome said “This is ridiculous — everything of mine is gone, I’ve literally got nothing to lose — so what’s the deal with this fire, Nero?” As Nero’s approval rating goes down, the social and political pressure goes up, and Nero needs a scapegoat — someone to take the fall. So he deflects and blames: guess who: the Christians. Nero said, in essence, “They’re always talking about God’s burning fire of judgement, and this was their little stunt, and they will pay for it.”
And that is when we start to see persecution. Not critical people who are mean to us, not bad days where faithful people felt a little discouraged, but actual physical painful persecution leading to the horrific deaths of many believers. Besides blaming Christians for Nero’s fire, there was growing concern that the people of the Way were a threat because they didn’t worship the pagan gods. Allegiance to Jesus conflicted with the expected allegiance to Christ. This took persecution clear off the charts.
Hebrews 11:36 – Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning, they were sawed in two, they were killed by the sword. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted, mistreated — the world was not worthy of them.
One historical account I read talked about how they would take Christians and burn their bodies as a source of light in one of the squares. Imagine Paul, under persecution, perhaps being burned alive, and ask yourself: did he regret writing that stuff in the letter to the Romans? Was he having second thoughts? I don’t think so. Indeed the world was not worthy of them.
A few years later — 70 AD — the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. They lost their “center” for the faith. By then, Paul, Peter, and James the brother of Jesus had all been martyred — they died for their faith. And you’re a follower of Christ — you’ve lost the temple in Jerusalem, you’ve lost your key leaders, and you’re wondering if you’re next.
Now what?
We know what they did in light of these struggles. They did their best to make a living as good citizens of whatever nation they were part of. They worshiped, they cared for the needs of the people, they gave what they could. Under threat of persecution for their faith, they kept their allegiance to Christ while at the same time respecting the authority of the rulers on earth, as long as it didn’t require them to completely abandon their faith.
By the 4th century, Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. As the Roman Emperor from 306-337, he experienced a conversion to faith in Christ. The world had a Christian leader at the helm.
Churches and land were given back. Opulent structures were erected, and now the pendulum swung to the complete other side. The church went from being underground to infested. Constantine’s faith was a mixed bag at best — he prayed to “the Supreme God” for assistance in battle and won, seeing the shape of the cross in the sky. But he kept other pagan god structures and symbols in the mix. While it’s not ours to judge, we do know that history suggests that Constantine was more of a religious guru with Christian threads than he was a bona fide follower of Christ.
Now, with a “Christian nation” the threat to the church wasn’t persecution for not worshipping the pagan gods. The threat was Jesus and His call to obedience in light of the temptation to rely on riches and structure instead of Him. In some ways, Constantinianism was good because it launched Christianity into a wider-reaching movement, but in other ways it was bad because it really corrupted the church’s moral integrity.
And here’s what we need to be reminded of today: Anytime someone prays that the United States becomes a Christian Nation, we need to be careful about what, exactly we’re praying will happen. If we were to have a Christian president, would that be a good thing? Maybe in terms of policy, but not if they are a bad witness to the faith. It’s tough to make the case for Christ to a fellow citizen if they say “oh, you mean like that hypocrite, the president?”
In his book Migrations of the Holy, William Cavanaugh writes that The church must be wary of nostalgia for Constantinianism.
In Constantine’s era, Rome could’ve been classified as a Christian nation… and it led to all kinds of issues.
Truth: God hasn’t created the church to intermingle with politics. He has ordained government and authority to carry out certain tasks for our world today, and the church to be the hope of the world. These two are completely different from each other. One is temporary, the other is eternal; one affects structure, the other changes the heart, etc.
Cavanaugh goes on to write: A Christian should feel politically homeless in the current context, and should not regard the dreary choice between Democrats and Republicans, left and right, as the sum total of our political witness.
That gives me a little bit of breathing room today.
Will the United States ever be great? Not as great as the Kingdom of God. Never gonna happen. It’s theologically impossible. To impose legislation or intimidation to achieve a superficial Christian morality” is not our calling.” That’s something I read from John MacArthur, pastor and author, who also wrote Changing the form of government or superficially moralizing it were not Jesus’ goals. He sought to redeem individual souls.”
Church, that’s where the lion share of our attention is to be aimed: Jesus, redeeming the world, one soul at a time.
Until then, we proclaim:
Even though this world is temporary, and, sadly, corrupted by sin, we need to remember that all of us are corrupted by sin — and that those who know Christ are in the process of being sanctified — made uncorrupt. Until then, we here in the US at least, enjoy the privileges of citizenship and carry out the duties. If anything, the corruption and frustration of our broken political system is only a symptom of the human heart, which is twisted by sin — which is a problem that each of us has.
The nation/state exists for mutual protection — we live under a mutual covenant to live by certain laws and relationships. Without these, we are in grave danger.
Besides protection, consider the convenience that a well-governed society offers: electricity, roads, the internet, water, sewage. So much of this is done not at the federal but the state and local level.
I had the privilege of offering the invocation — the opening prayer — at the Portage City council meeting last Tuesday. Mayor Strazdas called the meeting to order, invited me up to pray, a local boy scout troop led us in the Pledge of Allegiance, and then came all the business. One of the items on the agenda included water and how the city of Portage pays for and manages our water system, which, as you might imagine, is a big deal in the state of Michigan right now. It was during that meeting that I learned that Texas Township’s water and sewage service is provided by the City of Portage. Did you know that, at its peak, Texas Township produces 1,000 gallons of sewage per minute? And I thought my house was productive!
The reason this came up is because of a recent pipe breakage last March. This pipe carried all the “goods” from Texas Township to Portage for treatment. The piece that failed wasn’t something you’d get from Home Depot. No, this is a pipe that needed to be custom fabricated. Until the replacement part was installed, water service people had to truck the raw sewage to the treatment plant one load at a time. A potential environmental catastrophe was averted, especially since the pumping station is right next to a creek. Thousands of gallons of sewage could’ve spilled in the very wrong place, which would be gross, unsanitary, terrible for the environment, and damaging to our image as a region. Fortunately, someone caught it, someone else stepped in and took evasive action — and 99.9% of us were unaware. Now that’s something to be thankful for!
After the meeting (I stayed for the whole meeting — it was great sermon prep) I thanked the city servant for their good work. I appreciated what she did. As a citizen, I shared my appreciation. I feel like that’s more the word of instruction for us today. How can we be good citizens, sources of light and not more darkness, sources of good and not evil? How can we make a genuine difference in the political sphere that will honor God and encourage people? How can we show our gratitude, not taking all of these conveniences for granted and seeing them as a blessing?
Then there are the “what if’s:”
But what if we get persecuted? Meh. The church could use some persecution.
But what if they take away our rights? They can’t take away our citizenship in the Kingdom of God.
But what if the person God wants to be president doesn’t get elected? That’s God’s problem, not mine.
The greater risk is that we will look to the United States as the source and sustainer of our faith instead of the Kingdom of God. The greater risk is that we will look to the president as the moral compass and leader of our lives instead of Jesus Christ. The greater risk is that we will give media the place of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The greater risk is that we will get so caught up in temporary politics that we will lose our footing in the eternal.
No overthrow, be it literal or in our hearts (I’ll tell you what I would do if I lived in the White House…)
No resentment, be it obvious resentment or just under the surface (So and so is such a ______)
Do people know more about your political leanings than they do your faith in Christ?
Remember this: no matter who gets elected as President of the United States, Jesus will still be Lord of all.
Until then, we deal. We live, we thrive as citizens of the Kingdom of God who live as citizens of a nation.
In Jeremiah 29:5-7, Jeremiah gives instruction to God’s people, God’s citizens, who live as aliens in a foreign land. God tells them plainly: Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you in exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.
How do we live? As good citizens, planted here to be the light of God at a time when darkness overwhelms. How do we vote? We follow Jesus. We pray, we seek the peace, we participate in joy.
Even if the president should become my enemy, I will still love them. If the president comes to my house and strikes me on the face because of my faith, I’m supposed to turn the other cheek.
They will say of us “the world was not worthy of them.”
Political panic and mudslinging is not worthy of you, citizen of the Kingdom. In 1 Timothy 2:12, Paul urges that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people — for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
There are no qualifiers, no character traits, no expectations of good leadership on our part. No civic leader can or should “earn” our prayer for them. We pray for them because we are told to. Simple as that! I bring this up because I have been told to do so according to Titus 3:1, which says remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.
There we are.
We participate. We pray. We work toward peace.
As a citizen of the Kingdom of God:
These last two questions are related:
Why has Jesus not returned again as Revelation says?
That’s the same question they asked in 64 AD. Until He returns, we wait and we hope, holding on to the Word of Christ in Revelation 22:12-13: Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
With the future looking less sure with each passing day, why aren’t people turning to the good news that Jesus promises?
Same question they asked in 64 AD. Thank God for His grace and patience with all of us, including those who are still lost. 2 Peter 3:9 says The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
Isn’t the United States an amazing place to live!?! We get to vote! We have freedoms and rights that other cultures in the world would never even dream about. It’s hard to comprehend just how easy we have it, not only compared to majority world countries of today but also to world history. This is an important season for the United States, and now is the time for followers of Christ to be active. When you vote, you make it an issue of prayer, participation, peace. Trusting Jesus through it all and remembering your ultimate citizenship. And, by the way, don’t not vote. It’s your civic duty. It’s how we participate as Christians in the world. We can vote! Let’s vote well.
Someday, Christ will return. Someday.
Can you imagine the scene? We get to heaven and meet the Apostle Paul. We talk a little about our lives, our testimony of how we met Jesus, and how awesome it is to be in eternity. Soon the conversation turns to politics. Paul reminisces, saying oh, I remember Nero — terrible guy. He had me burned at the stake. Saw me as a threat to his little kingdom. I was burned alive, right next to Peter and James. It was terrible. I’ve never experienced something so horrible. The worst part was that Emperor Nero was looking me in the eyes as I burned, so the last thing I had to endure on the earth were his beatty little eyes. I can’t believe that guy was in charge. We wondered why Jesus hadn’t returned yet, but it’s all good now. Here we are! So many of our brothers and sisters died so shamefully and with unnecessary pain. The persecution was almost too much. Almost. But Jesus got us through. He is good!
And we say Amen, Paul. But then he asks us: Now… what were you saying about how terrible it was in 2016? What’s an e-mail? Who’s Billy Bush?
Alpha. Omega. Beginning. End. He is Lord of all. Is He your Lord? What a great time for us to be considering our allegiances in light of the Kingdom of God. Submission to the government systems of the world is secondary to submission to Jesus Christ. We must obey Him. He is Lord.
I officially declare (as far as my meager role will allow) the following:
**November 6, 2016 shall be National Fall Back (to Church) Sunday!**
We get busier. Next thing ya know, it’s been 3…4…7 weeks since Sunday worship together. Missed connection with God and others. Missed times of corporate prayer. Missed moments of encouragement as people around you seek the same thing as you.
Even the pastor pulls a planned no-show during vacations and big family events. But most Sundays? AMAP (As Many As Possible)? That seems about right.
Dish Network has a “guilt loop” that they used to broadcast only to people who were using unauthorized equipment. By intercepting the Satellite signals with unregistered equipment, the whole billing process was (ahem) eliminated. A man would show up on screen and say “ya know… this is wrong… ya know…?” Please don’t hear me like that. I’m not here to guilt anybody. That’s the complete opposite of the gospel, btw.
But… I am here as a pastor and a friend.
Even if we don’t think you do… we do. We have been programmed for spirituality, wired for community, and updated with the New Covenant. Nothing replaces worship together. To remember the story of God’s rescue. To lift up the name of Jesus with your brothers and sisters. To listen to the Holy Spirit together, like they did in Acts and throughout Church history.
Are you a Mountain Bike Sunday kinda person? Is your favorite Hymn #3 — as in 3 under par? Do you love the soft, luxurious preaching at Bedside Baptist? I get it. You don’t need to be in a church to connect with God. That’s true. But Father, Son and Spirit have revealed themselves as a community. The scripture forms Christians within the context of community. Think of it this way: even if you don’t need it (you do, but let’s just say you don’t), maybe someone else needs you. Maybe you’re the one who will make eye contact with someone in the back row this Sunday. You might even say “Hello”, which for you is a forgettable five seconds but for them is a reason to go on. Again, no guilt. Just something to think about. Maybe it’s not just about your personal experience.
Why not use the extra hour as a buffer for your family to readjust? Why not make the most of a new month, where things start fresh and new, including the practice of making Sunday Worship a priority of our spiritual formation? Please hear me: the challenge comes from caring, not from guilt. This isn’t about numbers. It’s a shepherd-y thing that we’re called to do.
Yesterday was about costumes, candy, and animatronic skeletons. Pretty nifty. The day after Halloween is also a special day, just with less candy. Nov 1 is All Saints Day, a day to remember that the world has seen countless men and women follow Christ, some as martyrs, some as heroes, and many unknown yet faithful. Following Jesus is never easy, but it’s good to know that, across the globe and through the centuries, we’re not alone.
(R) Adam Davidson 