On Saturday night, I had the chance to do a reading at Third Church’s Original Works Night! It was so fun to be apart of a night that celebrated the arts, in church… with catered food, coffee, kids running around and a gallery of visual arts on display outside the auditorium, it was a fun environment to participate within.
My friend Brandon Hoch, captured my portion on video, and you’ll find the excerpts fully written out after the jump, below the video. Enjoy!
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I don’t know…
As I delve into scripture I am acutely aware of the vast amount of information and mystery found in the book, and am forced to say, “I don’t know.” a helluva lot more than i want to… Everyone wants concrete answers and are confused when the concrete becomes fractured.
But, there is a good thing that sprouts from our ambiguity… namely humbleness. I am humbled as I tackle questions of truth; like a small voice in a cavern of echoes. I believe there is a lot danger in planting our flags on doctrinal truth, specifically the danger of being wrong. That is why I love to begin theological debates with the definition of theology — “theo” God and “Logos” word… Conversations about God. And then end these “conversations” with a focus on Jesus… of which is the Truth we can be assured in. Bad theology begets ugly christianity, but there is a beautiful theology that begets beautiful christianity… namely one focused on love, based on the words of Jesus, and in these words flow a comfortable mystery… a peace that surpasses all knowledge and understanding. It is in this flow that we can bask in ambiguity and in the answer, “I don’t know.”
The beginning of wisdom is not having all the answers but rather a humble heart and a open mind. So yes, after reading Jesus’ words, I have a lot of unanswered questions, and in the questions I wonder!
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Now some thoughts on love in the context of community.
Love is messy. It has the capacity to stain, smear and smudge. In response to this reality we can do two things: we can help clean-up each other’s mess, or we can go home and do our own laundry. In helping each other we find a brand of love that is the best detergent. Together we can identify spots we were previously blind to, and together we can scrub stubborn stains with collaborative resolution.
Or how about this one… We are piece of broken glass looking for other shards that will compliment our own scathing surface, and when we find all the pieces we become a stained glass window exhibiting the beautiful reflection’s of the sun/son.
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The Empty Cross
If the last word is the cross, the empty cross, the cross that liberates us from sin, reconciles us to God, and saves us from our sinful desires. Then the first word, or the first step on the path to the cross must be a stride of love. Jesus’ life, this incarnation of love, was a model of “how-to”. How-to treat the marginalized, the pride-filled, the self-righteous and the sinner… We too soon preach Christ crucified overshadowing the birth and life of our Saviour, we focus on the end without regard to the means.
Hear what I am not saying. I am not saying we should abandon preaching the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.
But I am saying that in overshadowing the life of Jesus with the crucifixion we miss the forest for the trees…what I mean is that in focusing only on His death, we miss the model of His life – a prophetic announcement, a miraculous birth, an incarnational life, a sacrificial death, a momentous resurrection and His supernatural ascension. So, Yes, He died for our sins, so that we may be made whole (holy). Yes, His sacrifice atoned for our transgressions. Yes, His propitiation made a way for reconciliation. I am not denying His act of atonement. I am saying His act of atonement was driven out of love for His Father, which manifested itself in His love for his neighbor, friends and enemies alike (which is still The Greatest Commandment).
The Gospel Message than is found, is acted out, is incarnated… not in repeating a prayer but in feeding the poor, seeking justice, being a peacemaker, loving God, loving the marginalized, loving the sinner, and loving the righteous alike. This Gospel message is inerrant and found inherently in the Scriptures, prophesied in the Torah, and eye witnessed in the Gospels. The last word is an empty cross and the next word starts anew in our hearts with a response of love.
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*photo by Tom Vander Well, more photos from OWN.
