Ought too....

The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked. -1 John 2:6

I used this verse Sunday in my message on Jesus, healing the man who had leprosy...I thought Mr. Chan, handled it in a particularly poignant way.

The Temptations of Christ....

I've had a number of really good conversations with people after the message I preached on Sunday about "Temptation" and particularly the issues surrounding "sexual temptation". An issue that is extremely practical...just since Sunday, i've talked to Christians that are wrestling with pornography addiction, temptations to cheat on their spouses and this issue: Just How tempted was Jesus, in the area of sexuality?

The movie, "The Last Temptation of Christ" tried to deal with this theological conundrum..."Just how human was He"....and the cultural melee that ensued reflects the deep issues we have with this mystery.

The early church formulated it's theological understanding of this mystery in the Chalcedonian Creed, A.D. 451...based on its own times wrestling with the issue. It produced one of the most complete statements of this doctrine. It reads:

Therefore, following the holy fathers, we all with one accord teach men to acknowledge one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man, consisting also of a reasonable soul and body; of one substance with the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one substance with us as regards his manhood; like us in all respects, apart from sin; as regards his Godhead, begotten of the Father before the ages, but yet as regards his manhood begotten, for us men and for our salvation, of Mary the Virgin, the God-bearer; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one person and subsistence, not as parted or separated into two persons, but one and the same Son and Only-begotten God the Word, Lord Jesus Christ; even as the prophets from earliest times spoke of him, and our Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the creed of the fathers has handed down to us.


It's an issue that many people have a hard time working through....what do verses like this really mean?

This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.-Heb 4:15

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
-2 Corinthians 5:21

Some honestly ask: "Can someone be tempted in the same way we are if you do not have a sinful nature?" Seems like saying that someone could be tempted to eat who has no appetite or stomach.

The bible seems to describe sin as something that is outside us:

Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." -Genesis 4:6-7

James 1:14-15 “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”

And from within us:

And He said, "What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, "thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. "All these evil things come from within and defile a man." -Mark 7:20-23

How does this relate to the experience of the temptations of Jesus...was it within or without or both?

The bible doesn't seem to address the issue of Jesus and sexuality. He was surrounded by women, served with them, empowered them, had women disciples. John 11: 5 says: "Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus."...but obviously, that love was a type of love that could be expressed to both man and woman. So...in the cannon there isnt much to point us to in understanding our own sexuality and temptations as it relates to Jesus as man.

But in the Gnostic gospels, the alternative papers of the time period; there was a bit of speculation and story telling going on, like in the Gospel of Philip:

"And the companion of [the saviour was Mar]y Ma[gda]lene. [Christ loved] M[ary] more than [all] the disci[ples, and used to] kiss her [often] on her [mouth]. The rest of [the disciples were offended by it and expressed disapproval]. They said to him "Why do you love her more than all of us?" The Saviour answered and said to them, "Why do I not love you like her?"

And in the Gospel of Mary which is usually dated to about the same period as that of the Gospel of Philip. The Gospel was first discovered in 1896, the Gospel is missing six pages from the beginning and four in the middle.

The identity of "Mary" appearing as the main character in the Gospel is sometimes disputed, but she is generally regarded to be Mary Magdalene. In the Gospel, Mary, presented here as one of the disciples, has seen a private vision from the resurrected Jesus and describes it to other disciples.

Peter said to Mary, "Sister we know that the Savior loved you more than the rest of woman. Tell us the words of the Savior which you remember which you know, but we do not, nor have we heard them." Mary answered and said, "What is hidden from you I will proclaim to you." And she began to speak to them these words: "I, she said, I saw the Lord in a vision and I said to Him, Lord I saw you today in a vision." Unfortunately, almost all of Mary's vision is within the lost pages.

Mary is then confronted by Andrew and Peter, who do not want to take it for granted what she says, because she is a woman:
"Did he then speak secretly with a woman, in preference to us, and not openly? Are we to turn back and all listen to her? Did he prefer her to us?" Then Mary grieved and said to Peter, "My brother Peter, what do you think? Do you think that I thought this up myself in my heart or that I am lying concerning the Savior?"

Mary is however defended by Levi:
"But if the Savior made her worthy, who are you to reject her? Surely the Savior knew her very well. For this reason he loved her more than us."

The repeated reference in the Gnostic texts of Mary as being loved by Jesus more than the others has been seen supporting the theory that the Beloved Disciple in the canonical Gospel of John was originally Mary Magdalene, before a later redactor made changes in the Gospel." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Magdalene)

So you can see, there have been Christians speculating on the issue for centuries. Is it a sin for Jesus to have potentially kissed Mary? Personally, I dont think so...it makes the above verses about Jesus knowing my struggles, seem more substantive, than hollow....but the Bible doesn't actually say much on the subject.

In the end, the Bible does say:

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." -1 Corinthians 10:13

and

"The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation..."-2 Peter 2:9

So, no matter what we are struggling with...God is able and willing to help us...in any temptation we face...which is comforting to me and provides a promise of hope for any struggling with temptations to sin.

Show us the Father....

"The biblical story, is a story with direction...whose central story is the story of Jesus."

"In the Old Testament God twice reigned down fire from heaven in judgment on various individuals and groups. Yet, when John and James wanted to do this same thing in the New Testament, Jesus rebuked them (Lk 9:52-55). It violated the spirit of the Kingdom Jesus came to establish to want God to act the way he did in the Old Testament! In some ancient manuscripts of Luke, Jesus rebuked John and James by saying, “you don’t know what sort of spirit you are of” (vs. 55).

The reason is that the New Testament presents Jesus as the final, definitive, perfect revelation of God. This is what is meant when John calls Jesus the “Word” (logos) of God. When God speaks or thinks, John is saying, it looks like Jesus (Jn 1:1). So too, Paul calls Jesus the “form” of God and the “image” of God, which means that the infinite God has made himself finite and visible in Jesus (Phil. 2:6; Col.1:15). While no one has seen God as he is in himself, the Gospel of John says, the “one and only Son, who is himself God…has made him known” (Jn 1:18). This is why Jesus responded to Philip's request to see the Father by saying, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn 14:9, emphasis added). We behold the glory of God himself in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor 3:18-4:6; I Jn 1:1-3) which is why we are always to fix our spiritual eyes on him, and on him alone (Heb 12:2; Col.3:5).

The author of Hebrews sums up the matter nicely when he writes:
"In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven (Heb 1:1-3).

The author is saying that while God revealed himself in a variety of ways in the past, in these “last days” (meaning simply, in this last epoch of history), God has superseded all these by revealing himself through his own Son. Unlike all previous written and spoken revelations, the Son radiates God’s glory and is “the exact representation of his being.” He is, in fact, the one through whom and for whom everything exists (Col 1:15-17).

In other words, Jesus is the point of everything – including the point of all the previous revelations (see Jn 5:39-40, 46). While others spoke and wrote about God, Jesus is God (I Jn 1:1; Rom. 9:5; Tit. 2:13). Indeed, "in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form" (Col. 2:9). Think about this! All (not some) the fullness (not an aspect) of the Deity (God himself-- not a lesser being) lives in bodily form (in the incarnate Son of God).
-Greg Boyd

Go ahead...act like Jesus....

1. Get baptized by the craziest guy in town.

2. Say and do things that are guaranteed to make religious people want to kill you. Repeat again, and again, and again, and again, and again and don’t stop unless forced.

3. Do amazing things for people and ask them to not tell anyone.

4. Hang out with the most despised, marginalized, looked down upon, and shunned people you can find.

5. When possible, forgive and restore people, even if they betrayed you.

6. Live in a way that provokes gossip.

7. Win the most grace competition.

8. Keep the party going.

9. Serve people (note: nose plugs may be required).

10. If you’re sad cry.

11. Empower people to do the extraordinary.

12. Act like a rock star in a "hotel" temple.

13. Radically simplify theology.

14. Break human-made religious laws. Repeat consistently.

15. Prioritize the most important over the important.

16. Let women with questionable backgrounds pay your bills.

From GraceRules

The Unknown, known Christ...

"While Jesus was praying, the appearance of His face became different and His clothing became white and gleaming...While Peter was saying things he didn't understand...a cloud formed and began to overshadow them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud...and a voice came out of the cloud and said this is my My Son, My chosen One, listen to Him!...and when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone and they kept silent and reported to no one in those days, any of the things which they had seen. " -Luke 9:28-36

Sometimes the God that never changes...changes His appearance, right in front of us...and it's usually in the midst of a prayerful life. It's often with others and involves many arduous paths up to private places of solitude.

When the Lord unveils Himself in these life altering and profoundly transforming ways; the results are the same...it opens your eyes and shuts your mouth. Clouds form before...His form is only seen.

God descends onto mountain tops still...He calls us to journey up together, then isolates us in the moment of sight blinding revelation...falling tongues of fire always seem to divide and separate onto individual minds...and yet ultimately unify...all in a rush of mysterious God storms.

When God unveils Himself...there is always a Voice.

Sometimes it's languages that you understand...but the speakers don't...sometimes it's mysteries that envelope you and hold you in a creative, sustaining visitation of communication...your sprit prays...but your mind is clueless. In the beginning is always the Word....but the Word doesn't always come in the tongues of men...often its angelic. Shouldn't the restoration of earth...include the languages of earth and heaven?

Jesus still comes in parables...the upper room was filled with parable tongues...Mary thought he was the gardener at the empty tomb...Paul was blinded by His coming and could only ask: "Who are You?"...The disciples stood on the shore as risen Jesus cooked breakfast and whispered to one another about not asking if it was Jesus...the two traveling conversationalists hiking back to Emmaus talked to walking Jesus for miles and not until He broke bread, did they see Him...but then He vanished.

John saw Him as a lamb covered in all seeing eyes, as a bloody and slain sacrifice, star holding tattooed one, slaying the earth with poetic words that kill before they ever bring to life; He who all of the eternal bards compose songs for and the One who is a baby flying in the air amdist women with wings and dragons that drink the waters of the earth.

He is still Mystery to me....and in His darkness...I am seeing more and more light.

The emotions and the experience,
the gratitude or the terror,
associated with transformation
are very different from
what transformation actually is.
-Robert Kegan

(Excerpts from yesterdays Sunday messages)

How we get there...

"So when Jesus came, He found that he (Lazarus) had been in the tomb four days." -John 11:17

Jesus was slow.

In fact, one of the "ways" Jesus got things done in His ministry life was by "walking". Strange choice of transportation. You would think that the Messiah would have a 1 century Pope-Mobile or something. Wasn't there places to go, people to see, citiies to evangelize? What kind of admin assistants did He have for dead and dying people's sake?

Didn't he know that "night was coming" and "the time to work was almost gone?" Was walking really the best way to "maximize his ministry"? Are you telling me there wasn't a host of fine, Arabian horses around Palestine that He and his disciples could have used to gallop through Galilee, Judea and Samaria on a city reaching tour? Didn't He know that walking was really slow and not an efficient use of the really small amount of time He had on Earth. Was it really necessary to spread the kingdom via hitchhiking, boating and sightseeing?

Instead of strolling on lakes and riding donkeys and meandering along beaches, instead of hanging out in the country, mountain climbing and camping in the desert...couldn't He have travelled faster, farther and to more places along the famous Roman roads? The very roads that connected the then known world with unparalleled ease?

Walking isn't 'How" you should spread the good news of the Kingdom...not many people will hear it or be able to experience the ministry God gave Him to accomplish.

But to God walking is the means by which we get most things of value done. To God "how" we do something is more important than "what" we get done. It was the same then as today, the how isn't really important to most people...we just want to get something done. The means are justified, if the end is accomplished. We are less concerned about "who" we are, than "what" we do.

I think this is the message of Christ in walking, more than anything. I'm not saying we shouldn't do anything...I think we all long to accomplish much in this age and justice calls for it in the streets. But how we choose to engage that work in the streets is critical to the formation of our soul and the kind of community of faith we become. Jesus heard the call in the streets but according to his disciples He didn't even raise His voice in the streets. He chose to hide more than reveal, He spoke in parables instead of writing out His teaching in clear and concise pamphlets. He told people not to tell others about their miracles instead of sending them off on a "Go and Tell" evangelism campaign.

Yes, He walked...and sometimes people died because He took so long getting there.

His ways are so...not like ours.

I remember taking this picture on one of my canoe trips. I also remember the ski boats whizzing past me in a surge of water and ear splitting noise. I am sure it was fun...but I will never regret the steady, slow, meandering pace of my time in Upper Priest Lake. It was much slower for sure...but in that pace, I experienced life in a way that could only be felt. I came alive because I went slow.

I think less people would stay dead if more people walked like Jesus walked.

Slow is needed today...more than ever.