The Anointing at Bethany

Text:  Mark 14:3-9

And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head.  There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that?  For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her.  But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.  For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me.  She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial.  And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”

The Anointing at Bethany

            This may sound strange, but I believe Jesus was a socialite.  Do you remember the stories of Jesus attending weddings, dining with the wild guys, or fishing with his friends?  Certainly Jesus took time to pray and go to church - things we expect to find Jesus doing, but I think Jesus also liked to socialize.  We might be more comfortable with the term “fellowship”, but it’s the same thing really.

            In this morning’s passage from the book of Mark, we find Jesus at one of these social gatherings.  He is in the home of a friend in a place called Bethany.  We see him there, reclining at the table, perhaps enjoying a meal or engaging in conversation with those around him.  It is nothing out of the ordinary, simply Jesus socializing with his friends.  But in the midst of this social gathering, a woman comes and does something very strange.  She takes a flask of very expensive ointment, breaks the flask, and dumps it on Jesus’ head!  You see the ointment rolling down Jesus’ hair, covering his face, and spilling out onto his clothes. 

            Now I have never had something like this happen to me, but I can’t imagine I would be too enthused.  “What was that for”, I might ask.  “I hope you plan on paying for my dry cleaning!”  I don’t think this gesture would have set very well with me at all.  I don’t think I could possibly understand why anyone in his or her right mind would do such a thing.

            And I would not be alone.  Those gathered there with Jesus voice their objections.  They are not so much concerned with Jesus’ attire as I might have been, but they are nonetheless at a loss as to why just a gesture was necessary.  “What are you doing?  That ointment cost a fortune!  Aren’t we supposed to be caring for the poor, and here you are wasting valuable ointment!”  Like I imagine I would have responded, these observers are angry.  They are confused.  None of this makes sense.

But Jesus understands.  He knows this isn’t some wild expression of uncontrolled enthusiasm.  The woman isn’t engaging in some out of control party gesture.  She isn’t popping champagne like she won a championship game.  She is anointing Jesus body. 

Just before this text, in the first verses of chapter 14, we are told that it is around the time of the Passover.  Like a good gospel author, Mark is informing us that the climax of Jesus’ ministry is near.  Soon, Jesus will be tried, beaten, crucified, and buried.  Ultimately this is where the gospel is leading us.  So when we see the ointment poured out, we must hear Jesus explain, “she has anointed my body before the burial.”  Death is looming, and our initial anger, frustration, and confusion is met with the piercing recognition that Jesus is about to die. 

So is this story simply a foreshadowing of Jesus’ burial?  In a way yes, but I think there is more.  Why is it that there is so much objection?  Why is it that the woman’s act is met with hostility and anger?  Why does no one in the room seem to have a clue what has just happened, except for Jesus, and this woman? 

Remember how I said Jesus was a socialite?  Well, these parties and meals and conversations that Jesus was having, they weren’t always with the most affluent.  You might have seen Jesus at the country club, but you would have been far more likely to see him at the bar, or the homeless shelter, or the drug clinic.  Jesus has a strange affinity towards the outcast.  Keep in mind, all of this is happening in the home of a leper! 

This woman, is the only one who gets it.  How scandalous!  The only one who understands what Jesus’ ministry is leading to, is an outcast.  But so it is with Jesus.  The preachers, and the CEOs, and the attorneys are not likely to be the heroes of Jesus’ ministry.  He prefers the lepers, the women, and the outcasts.  And I think Jesus prefers these, because he recognizes what the world does not.  He sees those who have been neglected, rejected, ridiculed, and thrown to the curb.  But he does not look on these as we often do.  He looks on them with mercy and compassion.  Jesus looks on the outcast with love and affection, so much so that it is these that find themselves in Jesus’ inner circle, close enough to the Master to fully comprehend what is about to come.

  “You always have the poor with you.”  We still have the poor with us.  We still have the outcasts, and the ostracized, and the unwanted and the insignificant with us.  But how much different do we consider these when we recognize that Jesus made them his friends?  That these are the ones who get it?  

Fact or Fiction?

Delivered September 8, 2013

Text:  The Book of Jonah

            Matthew 12:40

For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Fascinated with the Improbable

            I don’t know if I am alone in this regard, but I have always been fascinated with the improbable.  Things that elicit responses like, “That can’t be true.”  “How could you possibly believe that?”  “There’s no way it really happened like that!”  Stories like George Washington tossing a coin across the Potomac or cutting down his father’s favorite cherry tree and then refusing to lie about it.  Or the story of the Trojan Horse, in which an army enters a city inside of a hollowed out statue of a horse and proceeds to take the city.  These kinds of stories excite me.  They are not so much impossible, but they are certainly improbable.  It is unlikely that these events occurred in the fashion that they are remembered.  They are what we call legends or myths, and they hold enormous depths of truth if we move past the simple question of fact or fiction.  I mention these types of stories, because oft times readers of the Holy Scriptures apply the same degree of skepticism to the Bible.

            Events like the creation story in Genesis.  People say things like, “You can’t possibly believe God created the entire world in only seven days.”  Well, maybe, maybe not, and if you were paying attention, He did it in six.  Or how about the miraculous accounts in Exodus.  “Do you seriously mean to tell me that God split the Red Sea in half so that the Israelites could walk across it?”  The Bible is full of these kinds of stories.  But the one I want to focus on this morning is that of Jonah and the Great Fish.  Amongst the stories of the Bible, there is not one that has received more attention, or more skepticism, than that of Jonah.  You can go into any children’s wing of any church and see a mural, or a quilt, or some sort of decorative hanging depicting Jonah and his whale friend.  We like to tell that story.  We are fascinated by such amazing stories. 

            At the same time, there are skeptics.  Many in the church even who would suggest that it just couldn’t have really happened that way.  It is far too miraculous to be true.  I have always found it interesting that this is the part of the story that we get hung up on.  Remember, Jonah goes to Nineveh, preaches a seven-word sermon, and before he has made it a third of the way across the city, word reaches the king and the entire city repents.  That’s a miracle!  A group a pagan sailors experience a great storm and through it turn in prayer, sacrifice, and repentance to the God if the Israelites.  That’s a miracle!  A fig tree pops up over night and is then struck down the following day.  That’s a miracle too.  And have we forgotten that in the midst of all of this Jonah and the Creator of the Universe are having a conversation like old buddies gathered around the dinner table?  The whole book is full of miracles.  So what is all this business about a fish?  Well, as much as I would like to draw our attention away from what I consider only a partial component of the overall masterpiece that is the book of Jonah, I have neither the energy nor the ability to alter the thinking of the masses.  Jonah is, in the minds of many, the story about the guy and the whale, and so that is where we will focus our attention this morning.  Let’s look at the question everyone asks when they think of this text, “Jonah and the Great Fish:  Fact or Fiction?”

Historical Context

            Now Jonah is a prophet.  We know this for two reasons.  One, his book is located within a section of the Hebrew Bible that is called the “Minor Prophets”.  The second reason, and one of the reasons the book is placed in this section, is a reference we have from 2 Kings 14:25:  He (Jeroboam II) restored the border of Israel from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath-hepher.  That’s just about all we know about Jonah.  He was a prophet, he prophesied around the 8^th century B.C., and he was apparently from a place called Gath-hepher.  His name, in Hebrew, means “dove”, and he apparently doesn’t want to go to Nineveh.  And there is a very good reason Jonah doesn’t want to go to Nineveh.  Remember this is the 8^th century B.C. we are talking about here.  The Northern Kingdom of Israel has been over thrown by the Ninevites, and in 701 Jerusalem is sieged by the Assyrian king Sennacherib.  Why does all of that matter?  Well, Nineveh is the capital city of Assyria.  What God just asked Jonah to do is go into the capital city of the nation his people are at war with and tell them how miserable they are being.  No one is volunteering to go into Kabul, Afghanistan and tell the people they need to repent from their wickedness.  But that is what Jonah is asked to do.  And he runs.  He runs, perhaps out of fear, but as we discover in the final chapter, more out of his disdain for the Ninevites.  Jonah knows God is going to spare those who repent, and if he doesn’t go, then they can’t repent.   

            So Jonah flees to Joppa, and sets sail for Tarshish, a city located on the western tip of modern day Spain.  In that time it was the end of the know world.  Jonah literally plans to go to the ends of the earth to avoid preaching in Nineveh.  But God isn’t going to let him off the hook that easy.  When the ship gets out to sea, God tosses a great wind into the seas and a storm ensues.  The people begin frantically tossing their belongings overboard, but to no avail.  Finally, after being awoken from a nap of all things and having his sin exposed through the casting of lots, Jonah explains the situation and asks to be tossed into the sea.  With no other options, the sailors oblige, and Jonah falls to a watery grave.  Miraculously, this is all it takes to calm the storm, and the sailors are spared.  And then comes the great fish.

Rethinking the Whale

            It’s kind of like that scene out of Pinocchio, where Geppetto, and Figaro the cat, and Cleo the fish have all set up shop in the belly of Monstro the whale.  It’s not a good life, but they get by.  For so long that was the image that I had in my head when I heard or read the story of Jonah.  But when you read chapter two, the prayer that Jonah screams from the belly of that great fish, things appear a little different.  He doesn’t speak of the belly of the fish, but the belly of Sheol.  That is, the land of the dead.  Jonah was dead for all practical purposes, both in the sea and in the belly of the fish.  It is only when the great fish spits Jonah out onto the land that he receives his salvation.  Did you know, that in ancient times, the understanding was that, after death, it was a three days journey to Sheol, or the final resting place of the dead?  Interesting then that Jonah spends three days in the belly of the great fish.  We might think of the great fish as a sort of shuttle between life and death rather than some life saving device.  The great fish, is Jonah’s grave, and it is only when he repents and turns to God that he is resurrected from this underwater tomb.

The Rest of the Story

And the story continues.  Jonah gets up from his projectile travel and makes his way to Nineveh.  He finally does as he is called to do, and he has the most successful prophetic career in all of Scripture.  You remember Jeremiah and Isaiah, prophesying on and on with little or no response.  Then here comes Jonah, the most reluctant of Biblical heroes, and all he says is "In forty days Nineveh shall be overthrown."  What happens?  One third of the way into his sermon the entire city has already repented.  God has a sense of humor. 

            Amazingly, Jonah is not happy with God’s forgiving of the Ninevites, and he expresses this disatisfaction by saying that it would be better to die than to see the Ninevites repent.  Strong words for a man who was days before standing at the gates of the underworld.  He then exits the city, storming off I imagine, and takes a seat to the east.  Here he waits to see if God will change His mind.  As he sits, the suns beams down, and Jonah experiences a certain discomfort.  So, to ease his burden, God causes a plant to grow and shade the prophet.  Jonah is comfortable now, and kicks back to see what happens.  Maybe he is still holding out that God will bring destruction.  But then the dawn comes, and God sends a worm to eat the plant and thus remove the relief of the shade.  Again, Jonah prays that death would come, for it would be better to die than to live in this discomfort.      

            God then asks Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry?”  Jonah responds, “Yes, I am so angry I wish I were dead!”  The prophet has lost his cool.   But God pushes further.  “You are going to get this upset because I have destroyed your plant, but you have no problems with the destruction of an entire city and all of its people?”  And there the story ends, with a profound question from a loving and compassionate God to a reluctant and ornery prophet.  We are left to answer the question, and I think we all know the answer.  When you choose to forgive, you are never far from the heart of God.

Theological Implications

            A story like this is a pastor’s dream.  You could preach a million and a half sermons on these four chapters.  For example, we could talk about the human tendency to follow God on our own terms, or the downward spiral that comes when we fail to answer God’s call in our lives.  We could speak of repentance, as the sailors, the Ninevites, and Jonah himself experience God’s grace when they confess and repent.  There is God’s grace to be considered, and the extension of that grace to all who accept it.  So, with all of this, why is it that we become so fixated on the giant fish?  Surely there is more to this text than a giant fish!

            When we explore a Biblical text, it is vital that we draw out every component, focusing on the plethora of theological dynamics at play.  What does the text say about God?  What does the text say about us?  What does the text say about the relationship between the two?  There is a great deal to be discovered.  But if we wish to focus solely on the fish, or prioritize this event or dynamic above all others in the text, let us do so for the right reasons.  Earlier I posed the question of “fact or fiction?”  I spoke of my own fascination with the improbable and the prominence that the Jonah story holds in our own Old Testament canons.  This is all well and good, but for relevance in my life, I turn to another Prophet, one far greater than Jonah.  I turn to Jesus.

            Did you know that Jesus preached on the book of Jonah?  His sermon was short, and no one who heard it understood, but we can understand.  Jesus is responding to a Pharisee who demands a sign, and He tells him, “An evil and adulterous generation seeketh a sign, and no sign shall be given unto it but the sign of the prophet Jonas.”  He goes on to say that like Jonah in the giant fish, the Son of man shall spend three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  Remember what we learned about the giant fish?  It isn’t a lifeboat, it’s a grave.  And after three days and three nights Jonah is thrown from that grave back onto the earth.  The giant fish is important, because it points us to Jesus.  It points us to the tomb. 

            In seminary, we are often taught that the incident with the giant fish is a minor detail, and that it isn’t really vital to the overall story of the book.  And, if we were reading this text completely independent of Christ, I would have to agree.  But if we take Christ with us, and if we trust His teaching and His prophecy, then what He preaches, so must we.  What He focuses on, so must we. 

            The problem with out prioritizing the giant fish is not in the prioritization itself, but in the reasoning behind it.  If we read Jonah because we are excited by the improbably, or because we want to answer the questions of historical fact or literary fiction, we have missed the point.  For a Christian to read the story of Jonah and not hear the words of Jesus in our ears, “three days and three nights”, is to miss the greatest prophecy Jonah ever shared.

            To conclude, I would like to read a quote from Dr. M.R. DeHann, who wrote extensively on the book of Jonah.  He writes, “Jonah was dead for three days and three nights, and then was resurrected and sent forth to preach.  This is the miracle in Jonah, as a perfect picture of the Gospel of the Death and Resurrection of Christ.  And so all the discussions about the story of Jonah, and the attempts to prove the narrative only obscure the central message of the book – the Gospel of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus.”

            I hope you will read Jonah.  I hope you will read the Old Testament.  And I hope in its pages you will see our Lord and Savior.  The questions we ask about history and genre have their place, but may they never distract us from the One who fulfilled all that is contained there in, and the One we take with us as we explore those ancient pages.        

            

Sermon Delivered March 31, 2013

Scripture:  John 13:1-14

Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father.  Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.  The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him.  And during the supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself.  Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him.  He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”  Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”  Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.”  Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.”  Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!”  Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean.  And you are clean, though not all of you.”  For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”  After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you?  You call me Teacher and Lord---and you are right, for that is what I am.  So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 

Sermon:  The Hour

What is the Hour?

            Our text this morning begins with the acknowledgement that Jesus knew his hour had come.  This terminology, the hour, is an important one to the gospel writer, and we have already seen it mentioned several times throughout the book of John.  At the wedding of Cana, for example, we recall that Jesus tells his mother that his hour has not yet come.  Likewise, when Jesus claims to have come from the Father, we are told that the people of Jerusalem attempt to arrest Jesus and are prevented from doing so because his hour has not yet come.  What John is doing by scattering this terminology throughout the gospel, is building anticipation for what is to come.   The hour, referring to Jesus’ death and glorification, is the climax of the gospel story, and the series of events to which all others point.  By the time we get to chapter 13, the reader knows that this highly anticipated hour has come at last.

            Of course we should be, by now, quite familiar with this approach of building anticipation for what is to come.  For the past 40 days or so, we have been walking together through the season of Lent.  For some of us Lent has been defined by the additional mid week service we attend on Wednesdays at noon.  For others, it may have been a time of fasting from a particular food or giving something up in order to focus more energy towards God.  But for all of us, if we have truly understood the season, Lent is a time, which prepares us for the hour that is to come. 

            Tomorrow we will stand and watch as Jesus is tried, and then gather at the cross where Jesus will be crucified.  On Saturday we will wait with anxiety, as Jesus lies in the tomb, seemingly defeated by the powers of the world.  And then, on that magnificent Sunday, we will join with all Christians around the world to celebrate His glorious resurrection.  This is the hour, of Jesus’ death and glorification, that John has been pointing to and that we have been preparing for.  

            But, lest we get ahead of ourselves, before all of that we find ourselves in Jerusalem, in an upper room perhaps, around the time of the Jewish celebration of the Passover.  And while John wants to draw our attention to the connection between the Passover and Jesus, it is the hour that we should be concerned with here.  It is important to recognize that the intention of the author is not to cultivate anticipation for the Passover, but for what Jesus is about to accomplish on the Passover.

            And of course we cannot over emphasize the tension present in that upper room.  Perhaps the disciples were unaware of the events to come, but verse one tells us that Jesus’ knew that his hour had come.   This hour, though highly anticipated, will not proceed in a manner that anyone was expecting.  What is to come is betrayal, a trial, and a cross.  This is the hour that has come, and of this Jesus is perfectly aware.  And so it is, with all of that is about to happen weighing heavy on the heart and mind, with all of the tension and anticipation bubbling up inside, Jesus determines to inaugurate His final meeting with His closest friends, by washing their feet.

How Jesus Initiates the Hour

Washing feet.  That’s a strange thing I think.  It’s not a practice I’m very familiar with at all, and I can’t say that I have ever washed anyone’s feet, other than my own.  I can’t imagine it would be too much fun.  And while I can’t speak to the art of foot washing first hand, I do know a thing or two about washing cars.  You see when I was younger I used to spend my Saturday afternoons in Powell, Tennessee with my grandfather, washing the family cars.  I would take the sponge, dip it in the bucket, and begin to wash the body of the car.  He would come behind after me and rinse off the soap with a garden hose, and then we would take rags and dry the car before the sun could create water marks.  To be honest, I had a lot of fun washing cars.  It wasn’t too much work, and I enjoyed the time I got to spend with my grandfather.  But there was always one part that I really dreaded.  Once the body of the car had been washed, rinsed, and dried, it was time to clean the wheels.  Now wheels are an entirely different beast.  You have to get down on your knees, in the soapy water, and scrub as hard as you can to chip away the dirt and dust that has accumulated in between the spokes of the wheel.  And of course, a simple sponge won’t do.  If you really want to clean a tire you have to take a tooth brush, preferably one that is ready for retirement, and you take it and you scrub the wheel until it shines.    

            I think, in a way, feet are kind of like that.  They are the wheels of the human body if you will.  They are the quickest to get dirty, and perhaps the most difficult to clean.  I imagine a simple rinse would not have been sufficient.  No, to wash the feet would have required scrubbing the soles, getting in between the toes, getting down on the hands and the knees and washing feet.  It seems quite uncomfortable don’t you think? 

Well, while the task of washing feet would not have been very glamorous in Jesus’ day, it was not so uncommon as we might think.  In a culture where folks reclined to eat, that is laid down in a lowly position, the feet could be very prominent.  And, if you have to have someone’s feet next to your food, you would probably want to make sure that the feet had been cleaned.  The amazing part about this scene is not what’s being done, but who’s doing it.    

In Jesus’ day, the task of washing feet would have been reserved for servants.  The word, in the Greek is doulos, and it can mean servant or even slave.  With the way we tend to romanticize the “servant” role in our culture, I don’t think the later definition, slave, is at all inappropriate to imagine.  Jesus is placing Himself in the position of a slave.  So, when we find objection from the voice of Peter, I don’t think we should be at all surprised.  This is a radical thing the Master is doing, reversing roles in His final hour.  Perhaps a better question to ask might be why Peter is the only one objecting!

Who Jesus Spends the Hour With

            But if taking on the role of a slave was not enough, I want us to think for a moment about who Jesus decides to begin this final hour with.  There is of course Peter, reluctant, and then almost comical in his objection and enhancement, having to be reassured by Jesus that all of this serves a purpose.  We see James and John arguing over who is to have cleaner feet in the Kingdom of God.  There’s Thomas, probably not certain he wants to even go through with having his feet washed.  And then, possibly emerging from the corner of the room, comes Judas.  Reluctantly he makes his way over to the chair where Jesus will wash his feet, avoiding eye contact, perhaps even in tears, knowing what he is about to do.  Did you catch that?   It is not until Jesus has shared the bread and foretold of His betrayal that Judas exits the scene, so we can be certain that the man who is to betray the Lord is present and accounted for as Jesus washes the feet of the twelve.  Isn’t that something.  The man who is responsible for the betrayal, the event that is to precipitate the trial, beating, and crucifixion of our Lord, has his feet washed by the very One whom he is about to betray. 

In Dante Alighieri’s epic poem, The Inferno, he writes that the deepest pits of hell are reserved for the treacherous, for the betrayers.  And while Dante’s poem is fictitious of course, his priority of betrayal, as the worst of sins, reflects the piercing sting imposed by such a grievous deed.  There is no worse pain than that of betrayal.  This is not an enemy we encounter in Judas, but a beloved friend who is about to inflict the worst kind of pain upon Jesus.  And yet all the while, there’s Jesus, kneeling and washing his feet.  This is the scene that John paints for us.  Of Jesus, in his most difficult hour, taking on the role of a slave despite being the Master and Lord of all, and washing the feet of both His friends and of the one who is responsible for the betrayal that is to come.

What Are We to Do During Our Own Hour?

            And as the disciples stand there, taking in all that has just transpired, Jesus turns to them and says, “You also ought to wash one another’s feet.  You should do exactly as I have done.” 

With a very vivid example, Jesus is telling the disciples that they must love one another in the same way that Jesus has loved them.  In John Calvin’s commentary on these verses he suggests that Jesus is, “laying down a rule of love, for love does not exist without the voluntary subjection to serve one another.” 

            We have all gathered here this morning to recognize the Christian celebration of Maundy Thursday and, as is the case with all religious holidays, the intent is not to simply recall the stories of old, but to remind ourselves of why they matter.  Here in John, in a book that is shrouded in mystery and suspense, Jesus gives us the most blatant example of Christian living in all of scripture.  On the night before He is to die, Jesus is telling us how we are to live.

            We are, I think, quite happy to imitate the Jesus of Easter, the Jesus who stands triumphant, having won the victory over sin, death, and the powers of the world.  But I think we are far more reluctant to imitate the Jesus we find here in John 13.  The example Jesus gives us here is far more taxing.  There is no triumphant victory as of yet, only humility and love.  There is no glowing messenger, only clumsy disciples and a dark betrayer.  The work is not glamorous, but the task of a common slave.  And yet this example is one that we are capable of embodying each and every day.

            During this time of the year we tend to look forward to Sunday.  You undoubtedly have plans for Good Friday and certainly for Easter, and for good reason.  No matter what the season, our eyes should always be focused on both the cross and the empty tomb.  Our final destination, like Jesus, is with the Father in glory and we anxiously await the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection on Easter for we look forward to the day when we join Him.  But before the resurrection must come the cross, and before the cross comes this example. 

            Most of us will not have the opportunity to lay down our lives in any literal fashion today, nor will we be granted the glorious resurrection we so eagerly await, but there is not a one of us in this room who will not have the opportunity to wash the feet of our brothers and sisters this very hour.  Every single one of us will have the opportunity to make ethical and moral decisions that, though they might compromise our own comfort, will bring glory to the Christ we celebrate this season.  Every single one of us will have the opportunity to smile at a stranger, even if smiling is the last thing we feel like doing on this somber day.  We have the opportunity to apologize when we are wrong, to take the time to call a friend, to practice patience, to speak honestly, and to serve others even at our own expense.  It is in the mundane, ordinary, day-to-day activities that we live for Christ, and if we wish to follow His example, we must be diligent to take every opportunity to humble ourselves and serve one another. 

The hour of Jesus’ glorification is upon us, and as we walk with Him through His final moments on earth, let us seek that courage and humility to follow His example, to wash the feet of those in our midst, and to reflect the love of the Master who, at his darkest hour, took on the role of a slave that we might learn to do the same.  In just a few days the world will watch as Christians everywhere celebrate Easter Sunday.  And as they do, might they see those of us who have taken on the title of His followers, embracing not only His victory, but the road that He took to get there and the example He left us to follow along the way.  

Venezuela Evangelism Seminar

Introduction

During the first week of August 2013, students and faculty from Emory University participated in the Venezuela Regional Evangelism Seminar sponsored by the World Methodist Evangelism Institute.  After months of study and preparation, our team from Emory, accompanied by several pastors from across the southeast, arrived at the Wesleyan Seminary in the city of Barquisimeto ready to lead a weeklong seminar on evangelism.  Yet despite our best efforts to anticipate how the week would go, nothing could have prepared us for what we experienced over those eight days.  As strangers in a foreign land, our group experienced Christian community at its finest, as more than eighty Venezuelan Christians welcomed us as brothers and sisters in Christ.  There was a clear movement of the Holy Spirit in ways that were new to me personally, and the spiritual disciplines of prayer and fasting were employed in an effort to prepare ourselves for the work God might do through us. 

When the seminar had finally concluded, I was left with an increased motivation and optimism about the power of holistic evangelism.  Not only have I grown to see evangelism as an indisputable imperative from Christ Jesus, but also a joyous opportunity for participation in the work of God through the announcement of the coming Kingdom.  Evangelism has the power to change both the one who preaches and the one who hears.  Through the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit, Christians have the joy of telling the story of God through Christ Jesus and participating as that story impacts a world that is in desperate need of “good news”. 

Christian Community

Prior to our departure, Dr. de Souza’s class was asked to read, Announcing the Reign of God, by Mortimer Arias.  In chapter two of the text Arias writes, “The announcement of the kingdom in Jesus came not only as a restoration of life and of relationships with God through forgiveness of sins, but also as a restoration of community.”[1] Arias goes on to talk about Jesus’ habit of sharing meals and fellowship with the community in which He found Himself, and suggests that community is a vital component of the Kingdom of God.  For me, this has always been a difficult component, as I tend to be very closed off, particularly concerning matters of faith.  Fortunately in Venezuela I did not have this option.

Prior to our arrival in Venezuela, the group from the United States had already begun to grow closer.  We were to spend the next eight days in very case proximity to one another, and our mutual interests in evangelism had begun to lay the foundation for a communal environment.  However, this community would grow exponentially upon our arrival at Semenario de Wesleyano.  The Venezuelan people greeted us with great enthusiasm, and eagerly engaged in conversations concerning theology, evangelism, and a variety of other topics.  We worshipped together, both at the seminary and at various churches across the city of Barquisimeto, and there were late nights spent playing baseball (or a variation thereof).  As conversations were had early into the morning hours, our community began to feel more and more like family.  This family also capitalized on the practice of Jesus by sharing meals together in the form of the Eucharist, common meals, and a celebratory final meal. 

Of course it should not be surprising that a group that spent so much time together began to grow in community, but it is the source of this new community that I find so special.  With language barriers, cultural differences, and a variety of ages and occupations, the one common denominator was Jesus Christ.  Our smiles, hugs, farewells and good byes were not significant because of identical life experiences, but because we were brothers and sisters in Christ.  This was reiterated time and time again as the emphasis of Christian family was acknowledged, at times through scripture or lectures, and at other times as a sort of organic movement of the Holy Spirit.  Not only did we know that we were supposed to be family, but through the time we spent together we realized that we already were.

If Mortimer Arias is correct, that the Kingdom of God takes place in community, then the experience shared in Venezuela provides evidence that such community already exists.  Of course this community must continue to grow, as Christians spread the good news of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth, but it is reassuring to know that to some degree the Church is already practicing such community.  My prayer is that I might retain this sense of community here in the United States, and that I might see my fellow Christians here as brothers and sisters, not simply members of a common congregation.

The Power of the Holy Spirit

            It often seems as if the Holy Spirit is the forgotten Person of the Holy Trinity.  I myself tend to prioritize the Father and Son, unfortunately often at the expense of the Spirit.  In Venezuela however, it became quite clear that the Holy Spirit was had not exited the scene, even if I myself had forgotten.  Eddie Fox and George Morris are well aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit, and insist upon the dependence of the faith sharer upon the Spirit in their book, Faith-Sharing.  Perhaps I missed this component in my initial reading, but after our time in Venezuela, the emphasis upon the Holy Spirit is impossible to miss as I reread the text of Faith-Sharing.  Offering sound advice, the authors urge, “…endeavor to be sensitive and alert to the movement of the Spirit.”[2] Seeing such movement in Venezuela affirms not only the continued presence of the Holy Spirit in Christian communities, but also the vital need for such presence if evangelism is to be accomplished.

            Quite early in the seminar, I was introduced to what I initially considered “strange things”[3].  A lecture by Dr. Worrell on speaking in tongues had my skepticism aroused early into our trip.  Sunday morning, when I witnessed people being “slain in the Spirit” for the first time, I started asking a lot of questions.  These questions were asked internally, employing my own logic and reason, as well as externally as I enquired with others as to the meaning and theology behind these practices.  Most importantly however, I began to ask questions to God through prayer.  It was revealed to me that there was nothing that I had experienced to suggest that any of our colleagues from the seminary were anything but honest and genuine.  Why would they fake such things?  My conclusion through diligent prayer and consideration is that the Holy Spirit moves in many ways, and I was privileged to be able to witness such movement in a new way.

             At the same time, it does not take charismatic actions and utterances to detect the Holy Spirit in our midst.  As Fox and Morris note, the Holy Spirit is a foundational component of Christian faith, and the “Advocate”[4] Jesus mentioned is said to testify concerning Christ.  The question then becomes, “What does this testimony look like?”  I think it looks a lot like what I saw in Venezuela.  It looks like family members coming together for worship and fellowship, where shouts of joy are coupled with tears of lament and cultural and national divisions are completely incorporated into one family unit.  What we experienced in Venezuela would have been impossibly without the power of the Holy Spirit.  Furthermore, I don’t think it unlikely that the trip itself would never have occurred without the power of the Holy Spirit through our planning, preparation, and even travel.  As I return to my own congregation, I will be returning with a new awareness of the Holy Spirit.  Not only have my eyes been opened to the presence of the Spirit, but also to the power of the Spirit to move in great ways through those called to be disciples of Jesus Christ.

Preparation

            Finally, it is important to recognize the vitality of preparation for endeavors of evangelism.  Commenting on charismatic worship, Dr. James Abbington is fond of saying, “The Holy Spirit never denies good planning”[5], and his insight affirms the importance of proper planning and preparation.  In Venezuela, this preparation was not only witnessed, but it was also encouraged.  Whether it be the preparation of scheduling and event planning, or the reparation of the heart through prayer and fasting.  Without preparation, Christian ministry is severely handicapped.

            In Venezuela, the value of preparation was most clearly illustrated through the efficiency with which the seminar was executed.  Long before the trip began, plans were made, schedules were set, and the seminar was framed.  While a certain degree of flexibility has to be granted, particularly considering “Venezuelan time”, the seminar was a great success, in large part because of the planning and preparation that went in to it.  For the group from the United States, preparation was required for the planning of our cultural night, our morning prayers, and other activities that was helped organize.  Roles were delegated to various members, and responsibilities were voluntarily taken upon the individual members to engage and contribute according to our prospective strengths.           

            These examples of preparation illustrate a commitment to excellence, and the dedication that Christians joyously offer to the work of Christ Jesus.  However, there is another preparation that deserves mention here.  The previous examples all involve the logistics of the seminar and its various activities and presentation.  These are important, but what is even more important is the preparation that occurs before this preparation.  By this I am referring to prayer and fasting.  Prayer is a discipline that I have attempted to exercise for a long time, and each morning I begin with at least one half hour of prayer.  Fortunately, I was able to continue this discipline in Venezuela, and I know that I was strengthened because of this exercise in spiritual discipline.  At the same time, I was reminded of another form of preparation that I had either forgotten, or perhaps simply chose to neglect.

            Fasting in the style of John Wesley was a wonderful experience that I was blessed to have on our trip.  Our fast began with a communal prayer for the world, and additional prayers were to be offered the evening our fast began, the following morning, and during the afternoon prior to breaking our fast.  The fast itself was a great reminder of our humanity, and by drawing attention to physical desire and need, I was able to consider my own spiritual need as well.  When Jesus speaks of being the “bread of life”[6], He is acknowledging a hunger that food cannot satisfy.  Denying our own physical desires was a wonderful way to draw more attention and focus to this spiritual need.

            In addition, the exercise of fasting was a wonderful way of bringing the community together.  Our prayers were said in community, and we all knew that this was an endeavor we were entering into together.  As I return to the United States and attempt to implement this practice into my walk with Christ, I am joyfully aware that many of my Methodist brothers and sisters are engaging in the same practice at the same time, not the least of which are my new family members in Venezuela.        

            It may seem obvious, but preparation is vital to ministry.  As Christians, we must go to great lengths to prepare, while at the same time leaving room for the Holy Spirit to freely move.  God’s plans are not always our plans, but that doesn’t negate the necessity to prepare.  In fact, Christians ought to prepare for any possible situation, knowing that if we make ourselves available God will use us.  This preparation concerns logistics, but more importantly concerns the heart.  As we prepare our hearts, we are inviting the Holy Spirit to enter into our lives and use us for the glory of Christ Jesus and God the Father.  Our time in Venezuela was clear evidence of such preparation, and encouraged me to focus on this foundational component of Christian life and ministry.

Conclusion

            In a short composition it is difficult to capture the depths of the blessings we received in Venezuela.  Furthermore, I find it inconceivable that the English language, or Spanish for that matter, could even begin to do justice to all that we learned and shared with our new family.  Facebook messages, emails, and fond memories affirm that the people we said good-bye to in Venezuela were brothers and sisters in the family of Christ.  I return to the United States with a new understanding of the importance of the Holy Spirit, and the need for preparation, both than and now, was made evident by our time at the seminar. 

            Yet in conclusion I wish not to offer a reflection of the past, but a vision for the future.  All that was gleaned from our trip to Venezuela will be for naught if it does not alter the way we do business in our churches here in the United States.  Evangelism is a term that is often laughed at, dismissed, or relegated to the fundamentalist fringes of an antiquated religion.  Unfortunately, Christians do not chose to be evangelists; Christians are evangelists.  By sharing God’s story in our own lives, and pointing people to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we not only fulfill Jesus’ command to spread the good news, but validate the invaluable gifts of the Christian life.  Our community, our connection with God through His Spirit, and our dedication to prepare to be of service to God, are all fruits of the transformed life offered by Christ Jesus.  These fruits must not only be celebrated, but also shared.  There is nothing about Christian faith that encourages the hording of God’s gifts to His children.  Rather, we must be eager and willing to share these gifts with others through both word and deed.

            As I return to my own church in Gainesville, Georgia, I am eager to share God’s story in my life.  God has been active in my life for darn near twenty-six years now, and He was certainly at work through my experience in Venezuela.  Perhaps now I understand the importance of sharing this experience, of sharing the struggles that my brothers and sisters and I experience, and of sharing the hope and assurance that can only be found in Jesus Christ.  Christianity cannot be divorced from evangelism, and our ministries must be focused on sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with a lost and dying world.  Fortunately, we know that we have brothers and sisters in Venezuela and elsewhere, willing to go to great lengths and suffer greatly so that the story of Jesus Christ might be told and that the Kingdom of God might be proclaimed. 

Bibliography

Abbington, James.  Conversation with author.  13 May  2013.

Arias, Mortimer.  Announcing the Reign of God.  Philadelphia:  Fortress Press, 1984.

Chilcote, W. Paul and Laceye C. Warner.  The Study of Evangelism:  Exploring a Missional

Practice of the Church.  Grand Rapids:  Will B. Eerdman’s Publishing Company, 2008.

Fox, Eddie H. and George E. Morris.  Faith Sharing:  Dynamic Christian Witnessing by

Invitation.  Nashville:  Discipleship Resources Nashville, 1986.

Roberts, Kristofer.  Author’s Journal.  Aug. 2013.

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[1] Mortimer Arias, Announcing The Reign of God (Philadelphia:  Fortress Press, 1984), 23.

[2] H. Eddie Fox and George E. Morris, Faith Sharing:  Dynamic Christian Witnessing by Invitation (Nashville:  Discipleship Resources, 1986), 104.

[3] Kristofer Roberts, author’s journal, Aug. 2013.

[4] Jn. 15:26 (NRSV).

[5]James Abbington, conversation with author, 13 May 2013.

[6] Jn. 6:35 (NRSV).

Theology of Truth

Introduction:  Why Truth Matters

            In a world that drifts towards relativism at an ever-accelerating speed, it is vital for religious communities to understand what beliefs we claim and why we claim these beliefs.  Of the major religions throughout human history, Hinduism alone allows for complete relativism.  Still, the reality of every other religious community is that each community makes truth claims and, to some degree at least, all religious claims cannot exist harmoniously, without contradicting one another.  Particular truth claims allow a religious community to define itself, and therefore understanding and seeking truth is of primary importance to all religious communities and, in our case, particularly relevant to the Christian faith.

            When the Church claims Jesus as Creator and Lord, it is making a truth claim that is unique and at odds with most other religions throughout human history.  From the beginning of the Christian Church, the phrase “I believe” has been incorporated into initiation and liturgy.  In the same way that the early neophyte entered into the Christian community with phrases like, “I believe in God the Father Almighty”, so have believers throughout the centuries employed truth claims to distinguish what they believe.  The assertion of particular beliefs reflects the truths behind Christianity.  Therefore, when a Christian announces, “I believe”, what he or she is really saying is, “This is what I believe to be true”.  Consequently, for Christianity to exists as a particular belief system, particular truths must be acknowledged and pursued. 

What Do We Mean by “Truth”?

            Speaking from a pluralistic position, Catherine Keller argues, “To speak of truth is to speak of some kind of knowing” (Keller 28).  For Keller, truth is not the product of a particular process, but the process itself.  In a similar vein, his Holiness Pope Benedict XVI presents belief as, “an adventurous break or leap” (Ratzinger 52), reflecting the inquisitive and explorative nature of persons and faiths seeking truth.  Here we see that, at both ends of the spectrum, theologians agree that the “process” of truth is paramount to the acquisition of truth.  In both cases, truth is not simply an absolute claim without inquiry, or a “blind faith” that professes belief based upon arbitrary sources and authorities, but the product of extensive thought, inquiry, and questioning.  Furthermore, for theologians like Keller, the process is in fact the truth that we seek.

            One must also note that truth is not the exclusive property of a particular community.  An initial reading of James Cone’s, God of the Oppressed, may result in the improper assumption that truth is the exclusive property of the black community.  However, as Cone presents most clearly, truth, for him, is found within communities of the oppressed.  Consequently, truth is alien to communities of oppressors, but such a claim is not to say that a single group has monopolized truth.  A poor example of this assumed ownership is present in what Keller describes as “Christian Shibboleths”.  Christianity is plagued with a history of exclusivism and intolerance, defended by the improper interpretation of Scripture, and “make(s) a no exit where there was a way (Keller 35).  While truth claims validate religious communities, to argue that all other belief systems are void of truth is improper, divisive, arrogant, and destructive.

            Despite the significance of the pursuit, and the danger of absolute claims resulting in intolerance and arrogance, truth is nonetheless an object that we seek to understand and attain.  Wolfhart Pannenberg argues that people abandon themselves in exchange for the object of belief (Pannenberg 5).  This object of faith is the truth that the person of faith seeks.  According to Christian theology, this truth, which we strive after, is found in Jesus Christ, the personification of God’s truth to humanity.  Therefore, while the process is of the utmost importance, and the absolutes do have disastrous consequences, the Christian faith nonetheless claims Jesus Christ as truth, and on that truth rests the Church.

How Do We Attain Truth?

            After establishing what truth is, the task of attaining that truth must be discussed.  In order to receive or attain truth, one must pursue the proper sources.  Traditionally, “revelation” has served as a major source of Divine knowledge, or, the ultimate truth.  Throughout the centuries however, revelation has taken on many forms and shapes, from prophetic speeches; to divinely inspired words and texts; to visions and first hand encounters.   Furthermore, each theologian in our discussion would agree that in Jesus Christ the truth has been revealed.  For theologians like Keller, Christ exemplified the process that is truth, whereas Cone would argue that Christ represents truth in His identification with the oppressed.  In any case, truth as revelation is a truth that is revealed to humanity from a higher power.  Considering the Christian belief in God this is not a difficult stance to hold, however, there are still other sources that must be pursued.

            Experience serves as another source of truth for theologians.  Theologies are developed out of experience, and thus what people believe to be true about God is a product of the context from which people emerge.  Pannenberg sums this belief up when he writes, “God proves himself to be God in our experience of existence” (Pannenberg 35).  For example, the disciples knew Christ to be true out of their experiences with him.  At the same time, black communities identified with the God of the Exodus by their own lived experiences.  Therefore truth is not simply based upon revelation at a given point, but as an understanding and knowledge developed over the course of life.

            Finally, reason can serve as a vital and dependable source of truth.  Pannenberg argues that faith is the product of trust and that trust must find a counterpart.  Reasonably, Pannenberg presents that humanity cannot help but trust.  Following this reasoning, one must have a counterpart or object of trust, and here, Pannenberg reasonably turns to the Christian faith.  This formula is not to suggest that the use of reason results in the same belief, only that belief, and faith, and truth may be the products of intellectual exercise and reason.  Again, we may turn to Ratzinger, who describes faith as an adventurous leap.  If truth were simply a revelation or experience that needed no intellectual exercise, the leap would not be adventurous at all.  In fact, reason often counters the absolute truth claims and Christian Shibboleths which we have discussed.  Therefore, when utilized as a tool for encountering and interpreting truth, reason serves as a vital necessity with which to discern truth appropriately.   

How Do We Interact With Truth

            Having established what truth is and how truth is attained, we must then turn to and apply an appropriate interaction with truth.  To begin, truth is something that exists in a particular context.  As Ratzinger argues, Christianity is positioned at a particular point on the plane of history.  For an example of this location, we might look to the black community depicted by Cone, that is both positioned in and formed by the oppression of black Americans.  It is the proper acceptance and recognition of context that validates the truth claims of this community.  As white theology has proven throughout years of slavery and segregation, to ignore or encourage the unjust realities of the present is to undermine the truth claims of an entire community.

            Religious communities must also recognize the necessity of community in the pursuit of truth.  When exercised appropriately, truth is revealed in community.  Pannenberg notes that the Apostles Creed, or the truth claims of the Christian church, serves to unite all of Christianity.  Therefore, as truth claims unite a community, the pursuit of this truth must be accomplished in the same community.  Additionally, if experiences reveal truth, and humankind experiences life in community, then logically the pursuit of truth would most naturally be accomplished in the same fashion.

            Finally, any interaction with truth must be met with the realities of human existence.  Terms like “mystery” and “faith” imply something greater than the humanity that seeks to attain them.  Using the example of the Divine Name, Keller argues that even claiming specific truth jeopardizes the credibility of that truth (Keller 18).  Can the name God, the product of linguistic limitation, really appropriately describe a supreme deity?  As the Church moves forward in her search for truth, she must do so while recognizing the limitation of her own human position.  Here we turn to the guidance of a greater power, the example of Truth incarnate, and the work of God through our communities and experiences to reveal the truth to us.

Conclusion

            As Christian theologians across the board agree, truth is vital to the establishment and success of religious communities.  Truth not only defines the community, but also serves to unite and advance communities of faith.  While the road to discerning truth is not easy, the object of this journey is nonetheless paramount to the very idea of religion.  Without truth claims, particular communities are impossible to define.  What we believe is what makes us a community.

            Yet, in our pursuit of truth, we must exercise great wisdom.  How we define, attain, and interact with truth are opportunities to build strong religious communities, but also may threaten to destroy and divide.  Recognizing the limitations of human understanding of divine truth may serve us in this endeavor.  Seeing humanity in light of absolute truth is a humbling reminder that, though we seek truth, we may never fully attain it.        

Bibliography

Cone, James H.  God of the Oppressed.  Maryknoll, NY:  Orbis Books, 1997.

Keller, Catherine.  On the Mystery.  Minneapolis,MN:  Fortress Press, 2008.

Pannenberg, Wolfhart.  The Apostles’ Creed:  in Light of Today’s Questions. 

Eugene,OR:  Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2000.

Ratzinger, Joseph Cardinal.  Introduction to Christianity.  San Fransisco, CA:  Ignatius

Press, 2004.