Idols

So what is a false God? 7th and 8th graders began their confirmation year by looking at the first commandment the other night. I've been trying to meditate on it all week.

"You shall have no other gods."

What does this mean?

"You should fear, love, and trust in God above all things."

Luther pointed out that a false god or idol is anything in which you put your faith and trust apart from the one true God made known to us in Christ. It's a pretty humbling experience to sit down and really think about the places where you put your faith and trust. I mean seriously, if I asked you to search your heart and think about the things that bring you security, the things that you've put your faith in in this world, wouldn't the list start with things like the savings you've put away in case something goes wrong, or the insurance policies you have, or the stability of your job, or maybe something like the support of your family, which although less blatantly idolatrous still isn't quite in keeping with the command?

Of course when pushed on the subject we tend to come back to God, right. I mean we have faith in all of these things, but then we want to be able to say that we do have an ultimate faith in God and we acknowledge that he is the one who has blessed us with said job, insurance policies, nest egg, etc. But the question isn't whether we can cognitively trace blessings back to God, the question is where does our heart really put it's faith and trust? I have to admit that my faith and trust tends to go with the items that our society is selling me: namely, insurance policies, proper savings and retirement accounts, etc. and it's bumming me out to think about this. Not because I didn't know that I was sinful. As it says in Romans, "all sin and fall short of the glory of God," right? It bums me out because I know that God wants more for me than to put my trust in things that can give no true security.

It's important, when we look at any of the ten commandments to think about how God begins speaking these words to the people of Israel and to us. The verse where the ten commandments are given in the book of Exodus goes like this:

"I am the Lord your God who brought you out

of the land of Egypt, out of slavery. You shall

have no other God's before me."

This doesn't seem all that significant at first blush, just sounds like standard Bible-talk, right? But notice what God is doing, He's reminding the Israelites who they are and who He is as their God. He's essentially saying:

"Hey, don't forget who I am. I'm the one who loves you and showed it to you by freeing you from slavery, and you are people who were lost without me. So knowing that I love you and that you are free, now I'm going to tell you a thing or two about how to best get along with living your life... First of all, don't put you trust in other people or things because they won't do what I can do. I'm the one who has already freed you..."

And God can say the exact same thing to us today:

"Hey, baptized child of mine. I've freed you from your sins and from all the things that hold you back here on this earth. You are mine and I love you on account of my son, Jesus. In fact, when I look at you I see nothing but him, and I am well pleased. But just to help you along in life, let me tell you a couple of things. First of all, don't put your faith in things like stock markets, and retirement accounts, or even jobs and family, because these things are not perfect and cannot do what I can do. Remember who I am, remember who you are, and put your faith in that..."

You see? God wants us to be free, and has in fact already freed us. Ultimately we are His, but we don't always live like it and therefore don't receive the full benefits of being his children here and now. This is what bums me out. God has given me His full and complete love and security, yet I still fret over things like stocks and bonds... What's up with that?

Programs vs. Ministry

Earlier this evening I (Joe) told our newest confirmation class and their parents that confirmation is not a program but that it is a ministry. I told them that confirmation is how we minister to 6th, 7th, and 8th graders and their families. I also told them that unlike most "programs" that we encounter in life, like weight lifting programs, diet programs, debt relief programs, etc. that a ministry (and therefore confirmation) is not about specific steps that lead to a designated goal. But rather, ministry is about relationships. It is about being the church together or being the body of Christ. Most simply put, it is about "doing life together." Doing life together within the context of our shared Christian beliefs, which means that we don't necessarily know where it is going to lead. It's about struggling together, laughing together, working together, and playing together.

I'm not sure what the group got out of my talk. Maybe not a whole lot. It can seem like mere semantics at first. But the more I think about it, the more I want to take it even further. You see, not only is something like confirmation in danger of being seen as a mere program and not a ministry, but church, itself, can also be in such danger.

Here's what I mean. I went on to say this evening that depending on what you expect to get out of confirmation, you will get different results. If a family and a child look at confirmation as a program of study to get through in order to reach the day of confirmation in which one affirms their baptism, then that is exactly what they will get. There will, no doubt, be hoops through which to jump along the way. These can be jumped, checked off, and left behind. But, if a family and their child look at confirmation as an opportunity to get to know other people better and explore the Christian life together with them, then that is what they will get. They will be engaged in the life of the body of Christ by coming together with others. They will find friendships. They will find meaning. They will find life. Not in the tasks completed, but in the journey together.

Similarly, for those who approach church as something of a program, something to do on a Sunday morning, part of a devotional regimen, perhaps, or merely a religious component of a larger life, then that is exactly what they shall get. They will get some religion in their life. They will get some of the Christian religion. But, if they engage church as something more, if they engage it as being about relationships--with, first and foremost, Christ, but also with one another as the body of Christ--and put effort into nurturing those relationships, then that person will get so much more. That person will get not just some religion in their life, but life of a whole new sort. They will receive the sort of life that Christ talked about and that he came to share. You see, this is no small difference, as if the second person merely has a greater share than the first. No, the second is getting what Christ actually came to bring--Life in him--while the first gets something of a completely different nature--mere participation in an institution, mere program...

So what would you like? Some religion in your life or some true life out of your religion?

Sharing The Experience

We're preparing to leave for New Orleans and the National Youth Gathering. It’s always exciting to leave home, but it has changed some over the years. Now, along with the excitement comes a little fear and regret that I will be away from Kristin and the kids for over a week. I just know that when I return, Nick, our one-year-old, and maybe even Libby, our three-year-old, will look a little different. They will have changed while I was away. And, in fact, I will have changed too. I will come back having experienced things that I will attempt to share with my wife, but I won’t be able to share the experience of New Orleans and the Gathering with her in mere words. No matter how much I try to set the stage and explain all that happened while away, my words will not capture the excitement of being in a different place and the impact that a spiritual experience like a youth gathering will have on me.
I’m sure you have all experienced the sort of thing that I’m talking about. Something happens to you and you want to share it with others, but when it comes time to relay the experience and the impact of it on your life, you just can’t communicate the fullness of it, you can’t bring another person into the experience with you.
Isn’t this how it is with our faith? As much as we would like to communicate it to others and to give them the same sort of peace that we feel because of the experiences that we have had as we’ve come to know God and his Son, we can’t always bring others along for the ride as we would like—especially not with mere words. But like when we return home from a trip a changed person, what we can do is live in a way that shows others how we have been changed. As Christians, we let our lives tell the tale of our faith and use our words as mere support and explaination.

Catechism Time!

So we're going to be looking at Luther's Small Catechism during our Coffee and Conversations time this summer. Now I know that for some of you the mere mention of the catechism probably brings back memories of a dull room, a droning pastor, and tedious memorization. But I'd like you to keep those memories safely repressed for another few months, because we are not going to be teaching the catechism as you remember it. In fact, we're not going to be teaching it at all.

What we are going to do is to use the Small Catechism as a way of getting into the topics that Luther thought were important for everyday life. So, we will look at what Luther put into it and what he had to say about his topics as a way of beginning our conversation about such things as the Ten Commandments, the Apostle's Creed, and the Lord's Prayer.

And, with hope, we might just replace some of those repressed memories with new memories of interesting conversation about what Luther was interested in and up to when he wrote the small catechism. Because maybe he wasn't simply interested in the torture of middle-school-aged children. Maybe there is something more...

The Shack -- The Problem of Evil

In some respects, The Shack is the story of Mack's struggle with the problem of evil, or theodicy. He can't understand how a good God could have allowed his daughter to suffer in such a terrible way. He can't justify it. Ultimately, The Shack doesn't allow Mack or the reader to get caught in the trap of theodicy. Mack is continually told that although God is all powerful and all loving and that it is not God's intention for people to suffer, that evil still exists.

Having stepped into the world of this story along with Mack, was it difficult for you to swallow God's explanation that although evil is not His intention or doing, that it is allowed to exist?

The Shack -- The Mysterious Trinity

Last night, I mentioned how I appreciated the way that The Shack examined yet upheld the mysterious nature of the trinity. We also spoke about how much we enjoyed Young's depiction of the relationship between Papa, Jesus, and Sarayu. But some have pointed out that Young's depiction could be confusing.

Did this book help or hinder your understanding of the trinity? If so, how?

The Shack -- in relation to the N.T. canon

I know that Judie had some thoughts on this topic, so here begins the conversation. Take it away, Judie... (or anyone)...