It would seem that i can't get away from this theme.
"I will betroth you to Me forever;
Yes, I will betroth you to Me
In righteousness and justice,
In lovingkindess and mercy;
I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness,
And you shall know the LORD" Hosea 2:19-20
A couple things. First, I can't handle the book of Hosea. I can't handle God telling his people over and over that yes there is punishment for unfaithfulness but He'll still love them. For instance, at the very moment I don't feel very spiritual. It's probably because i didn't listen to Hillsongs today or something like that. Bless the LORD though...my feeling unspiritual doesn't change the fact that I have been betrothed. It's a good thing that God isn't like our family court system. God knows people are getting divorced for things less than the sins that I've committed. I guess that's what a it means to be betrothed in faithfulness. By its very nature, the relationship is one of faithfulness- forever.
By no means am I a Hebrew scholar but i went to what we Dr. Bodner students like to call 'the masoretic text' to discover a couple of things of value (props to Darryl Silvestri as i left my Hebrew Bible at school). First, let me point out that the word Hesed is used. This is a special word used only to describe this thing about God that we don't really know how to describe. It means something like lovingkindess or loyalty, devotion, steadfastness or something like that but we don't really know what it means... kind of like Yahweh, it means something bigger than we can comprehend. And so, we've got this thing that God has betrothed us to him in...hesed...something that transcends 'i do' into something with a value like 'i am and i always will', your feelings might change but my faithfulness will not. I think that (in the west at least) society doesn't know how to be faithful. We aren't loyal to anything, let alone covenantally faithful. If I went downtown, said to the most vile prostitute that I chose you to be my wife and i will remain faithful to you forever, how hard would that be? That is what God is saying. You have been filth but I will marry you.
This brings me to my next interesting find, which may be a stretch but i think it fits. A lot of times in the book of Ezekiel and the OT in general, God says "and you will know that I am the LORD", here the author says, "and you shall know the LORD". The hebrew word used her is yada. It's pretty common in the OT. However, this phrase sticks out for the very reason that the bride does not know about the LORD, but knows the LORD. I'm going to suggest that this phrase, in the context of this entire passage is similar to Gen. 4:1 when Adam knew Eve...same word. Of course I don't fully comprehend the magnitude of this, but i think the point is not sexual but experiential. In a way that Adam experienced all of Eve- physically, emotionally, spiritually- we experience God. The relationship is bound in intimacy and involves two parties- one that has betrothed and one who plays the harlot, yet God says, "How can I give you up...My heart churns within Me...I will not again destroy Ephraim for I am God and not man. The Holy One in your midst...They shall come trembling like a bird from Egypt...like a dove from the land of Assyria".-- the unfaithful will look at Him with tears in her eyes, ashamed of where she's been, of what she's done- trembling- like a helpless creature with no where to go and nothing of value...to hear God say something like...
Hey unfaithful I will teach you
To be stronger
To be stronger
Hey unloving
I will love you
I will love you
I will love you
And Jesus, I’m ready to come home
Jesus, I’m ready
I’m ready to come
oh home oh
I'm ready to come home
Hey unfaithful
Hey ungraceful
Hey unloving
I will love you
Hey unloving
I will love you
Sunday, April 10, 2005
Friday, April 01, 2005
denominational jargon
I was raised in the small town church atmosphere with dress pants, Sunday school and church picnics. Growing up I had this idea that anyone who believed anything different than what my church says is grossly misinformed. That was then.
Lately, I’ve been wondering about the church, its future and how exactly Christ would live in this body of his. I guess I'm starting to think differently about the church and about truth in general. I used to be a pretty big fan of absolutism, as in it’s either: Arminian or Calvinism, infant or immersion, tongues or not, men or men and women--that sort of thing. Now, I don't want to say that I have given up on all of these issues and thrown them out the window in favor some sort of hyper- relativist understanding of doctrine because I haven’t. It's just that we, (the western church in general) have these discrepancies that has broken the body into these little pieces that are disconnected from the rest of the body. Everywhere I look we’ve split over matters of doctrine and different interpretations of Scripture and the question I’m left with is; is it worth it? Is my correct understanding of Revelation 20 grounds for separation from those who also abide in Christ?
This is not to say that I have no opinion or think that two positions can be equally correct. It is only to say that I would rather enjoy the company my potentially charismatic female pastor friend, than say, 'you are wrong and i am right' because when it comes down to it, I don't know. What I do know is that I don't think the church will grow by separating. I’d like to ask the apostle Paul what he thinks about thousands of different sections of the church that generally act independent of one another. He’d probably say something like, ‘why have you turned the church into a corporation?’. I’d like to ask Jesus what he thinks about the parts of his body intentionally divided against itself. He’d probably say something like a house divided against itself can not stand.
Is the church too far gone? If we've seen the establishment of thousands of denominations in the last fifty years, where will we be in another fifty years? If, among other things, interpretation has destroyed the body of Christ, how will this trend be stopped?
I think we are scared. Scared that either we'll be wrong about our doctrine and so we cling to it, or afraid that God is different that we thought he was. Similarly, I think we're too ignorant to acknowledge our fallibility so we cling to the idea of doctrinal absolutes and then surround ourselves with people who are likeminded, all the while thinking that if Christ came back he'd give our church a gold star for Biblical interpretation. This is wrong.
Maybe one day we'll find out that someone was right, or maybe the Lamb won't be interested in handing out gold stars for interpretation As it turns out he may be more concerned with other pressing matters such as the poor, widow, the hurting. Our focus is misplaced. We have exalted doctrine and forgotten Christ.
I don’t suggest that we all start thinking this way and make our own little church that thinks this way; that would be too easy and too much like the west. Instead we value what Christ would value, love what he would love and act like he would. If this were the case the church would actually be the one body of Christ.
Lately, I’ve been wondering about the church, its future and how exactly Christ would live in this body of his. I guess I'm starting to think differently about the church and about truth in general. I used to be a pretty big fan of absolutism, as in it’s either: Arminian or Calvinism, infant or immersion, tongues or not, men or men and women--that sort of thing. Now, I don't want to say that I have given up on all of these issues and thrown them out the window in favor some sort of hyper- relativist understanding of doctrine because I haven’t. It's just that we, (the western church in general) have these discrepancies that has broken the body into these little pieces that are disconnected from the rest of the body. Everywhere I look we’ve split over matters of doctrine and different interpretations of Scripture and the question I’m left with is; is it worth it? Is my correct understanding of Revelation 20 grounds for separation from those who also abide in Christ?
This is not to say that I have no opinion or think that two positions can be equally correct. It is only to say that I would rather enjoy the company my potentially charismatic female pastor friend, than say, 'you are wrong and i am right' because when it comes down to it, I don't know. What I do know is that I don't think the church will grow by separating. I’d like to ask the apostle Paul what he thinks about thousands of different sections of the church that generally act independent of one another. He’d probably say something like, ‘why have you turned the church into a corporation?’. I’d like to ask Jesus what he thinks about the parts of his body intentionally divided against itself. He’d probably say something like a house divided against itself can not stand.
Is the church too far gone? If we've seen the establishment of thousands of denominations in the last fifty years, where will we be in another fifty years? If, among other things, interpretation has destroyed the body of Christ, how will this trend be stopped?
I think we are scared. Scared that either we'll be wrong about our doctrine and so we cling to it, or afraid that God is different that we thought he was. Similarly, I think we're too ignorant to acknowledge our fallibility so we cling to the idea of doctrinal absolutes and then surround ourselves with people who are likeminded, all the while thinking that if Christ came back he'd give our church a gold star for Biblical interpretation. This is wrong.
Maybe one day we'll find out that someone was right, or maybe the Lamb won't be interested in handing out gold stars for interpretation As it turns out he may be more concerned with other pressing matters such as the poor, widow, the hurting. Our focus is misplaced. We have exalted doctrine and forgotten Christ.
I don’t suggest that we all start thinking this way and make our own little church that thinks this way; that would be too easy and too much like the west. Instead we value what Christ would value, love what he would love and act like he would. If this were the case the church would actually be the one body of Christ.
Sunday, March 20, 2005
the bride.
I really like this Derek Webb song, especially in conjunction with the video from Donald Miller's website (bluelikejazz.com).
if you could love me as a wife
and for my wedding gift, your life
should that be all i’ll ever need
or is there more i’m looking for
and should i read between the lines
and look for blessings in disguise
to make me handsome, rich, and wise
is that really what you want
i am a whore i do confess
but i put you on just like a wedding dress
and i run down the aisle
i’m a prodigal with no way home
but i put you on just like a ring of gold
and i run down the aisle to you
so could you love this bastard child
though i don’t trust you to provide
with one hand in a pot of gold
and with the other in your side
i am so easily satisfied
by the call of lovers less wild
that i would take a little cash
over your very flesh and blood
because money cannot buy
a husband’s jealous eye
when you have knowingly deceived his wife
Wow. So wait, the church is the bride of Christ but dang girl, if we're not whoring around before the honeymoon has started. I used to think that biblical imagery that had me in a dress was kind of weird... but i suppose that the church is asexual and that the imagery isn't about gender. Rather biblical language is just descriptive of the most intimate relationship we're aware of. Miller describes it like this; Jesus invites us to come to him and says, "take my righteousness, take my name and marry me... marry me". I used to make fun of people who spoke like this...probably because, as a sexually frustrated (as in...not having it) 22 year old male...i think that marriage = sex and Lord knows that is not what i think about when it comes to Jesus. So i rejected all this lovey, bride and marriage imagery until it finally clicked when this large white man said it. Those words made me want to take his name and enter this covenant relationship immediatley when i realized that i already had. And so, i've decided to drop the hyphen in my last name from Lewis-Jesus to just Jesus. Only his name. All of this to say that now i understand the allegory, after all... i am a whore i do confess but i put you on just like a wedding dress and i run down the aisle.
if you could love me as a wife
and for my wedding gift, your life
should that be all i’ll ever need
or is there more i’m looking for
and should i read between the lines
and look for blessings in disguise
to make me handsome, rich, and wise
is that really what you want
i am a whore i do confess
but i put you on just like a wedding dress
and i run down the aisle
i’m a prodigal with no way home
but i put you on just like a ring of gold
and i run down the aisle to you
so could you love this bastard child
though i don’t trust you to provide
with one hand in a pot of gold
and with the other in your side
i am so easily satisfied
by the call of lovers less wild
that i would take a little cash
over your very flesh and blood
because money cannot buy
a husband’s jealous eye
when you have knowingly deceived his wife
Wow. So wait, the church is the bride of Christ but dang girl, if we're not whoring around before the honeymoon has started. I used to think that biblical imagery that had me in a dress was kind of weird... but i suppose that the church is asexual and that the imagery isn't about gender. Rather biblical language is just descriptive of the most intimate relationship we're aware of. Miller describes it like this; Jesus invites us to come to him and says, "take my righteousness, take my name and marry me... marry me". I used to make fun of people who spoke like this...probably because, as a sexually frustrated (as in...not having it) 22 year old male...i think that marriage = sex and Lord knows that is not what i think about when it comes to Jesus. So i rejected all this lovey, bride and marriage imagery until it finally clicked when this large white man said it. Those words made me want to take his name and enter this covenant relationship immediatley when i realized that i already had. And so, i've decided to drop the hyphen in my last name from Lewis-Jesus to just Jesus. Only his name. All of this to say that now i understand the allegory, after all... i am a whore i do confess but i put you on just like a wedding dress and i run down the aisle.
Friday, March 18, 2005
a night on the town...
A couple of days ago I went to a club downtown with a bunch of people from school. After about an hour of doing the whole club scene, I sat down at our table and began to contemplate what exactly was happening here. Admittedly, I am unfamiliar with this scene but as I was watching the hundreds of 'beer in hand 20 somethings' get down to 'you shook me all night long' I started to wonder if this is a religion. Let's think about this for a second. A place where people congregate regularly that promotes community, consistent attendance, friendship and dare I say worship? It occurred to me (as a couple who had decided to join me at my table started making out) that things I had heard about worship before became very real. All of us worship something. That's about as cliche as look both ways before you cross the street, but I actually learned this from my clubbing experience.
I think clubbing attempts to answer these questions and the way they do this is through a worshipping community. What they worship is debatable,--themselves I think would be a place to start, each other, the opposite sex, sex, alcohol, materialism...it seemed like the whole place was consumed by these matters. If that is the case, and I think it was, are we surprised that clubs exist and are in fact thriving when churches are empty? No, because people like to worship these things because there is nothing else. But if people understood why they desire for these type of needs to be fulfilled we'd have a revolution on our hands...
Anyway, just a little rant on why I think that right now thousands of people are dancing and drinking the night away...because they desire something God has put in them but misplaced their means of fulfillment. If that's the case, how will they know?...
I think clubbing attempts to answer these questions and the way they do this is through a worshipping community. What they worship is debatable,--themselves I think would be a place to start, each other, the opposite sex, sex, alcohol, materialism...it seemed like the whole place was consumed by these matters. If that is the case, and I think it was, are we surprised that clubs exist and are in fact thriving when churches are empty? No, because people like to worship these things because there is nothing else. But if people understood why they desire for these type of needs to be fulfilled we'd have a revolution on our hands...
Anyway, just a little rant on why I think that right now thousands of people are dancing and drinking the night away...because they desire something God has put in them but misplaced their means of fulfillment. If that's the case, how will they know?...
Thursday, February 24, 2005
almost famous
I was on the go-train last week, heading back to Toronto after returning the old family van. It’s blue. I needed it for the Donald Miller week. From the second floor of the train I started thinking that I probably won’t make the cut for Don’s next book unless for some reason he thinks of me as his son, which I’m not convinced that he does. After he left I realized a couple of things. I think that I wanted to meet Don and suddenly we’d become best friends and then I’d be known as Lewis-the beat poet president in his next book and we’d exchange witty, meaningful conversation about penguin sex or something like that. Here’s the thing: it didn’t happen. Don’t get me wrong, I think we had some good chats here and there. I suppose we thought each other was funny and shared some good stories, but in terms of life-changing conversations— it didn’t happen.
Over the course of Donald Miller week I realized that life changing, meaningful, conversations generally don’t happen with strangers very often, if ever. I imagine that’s the point of friendships. One night last week was one of those times I was thankful that I have some people to talk about life with and expect honest responses. It was just a couple of guys sitting around talking about feelings without thinking thatone of us must be gay. I guess it all comes down to this: being associated with someone famous doesn’t make anyone more valuable—being famous doesn’t make anyone more valuable. Yet we see someone who has been on CNN and say, “ah crap, where should I bow down?” when really, they’re as depraved as I am. Anyway, all of this to say that I think we need to value our friends, maybe even our enemies on the same level that we think of Miller, Mclaren, Lebron James or Brian Stiller. They’re all the same. Some are more popular than others but that has nothing to do with the intrinsic value of each individual. I should know this by now. I guess that’s all I wanted to say; that we shouldn’t expect to bond with famous people and have that meeting fill some void for popularity that is waiting to be filled in our lives. No, the desire to be valued is filled in Christ and is perpetuated in our communities- our friendships- anything else is a lie. However, if Don Miller was part of my community…
Over the course of Donald Miller week I realized that life changing, meaningful, conversations generally don’t happen with strangers very often, if ever. I imagine that’s the point of friendships. One night last week was one of those times I was thankful that I have some people to talk about life with and expect honest responses. It was just a couple of guys sitting around talking about feelings without thinking thatone of us must be gay. I guess it all comes down to this: being associated with someone famous doesn’t make anyone more valuable—being famous doesn’t make anyone more valuable. Yet we see someone who has been on CNN and say, “ah crap, where should I bow down?” when really, they’re as depraved as I am. Anyway, all of this to say that I think we need to value our friends, maybe even our enemies on the same level that we think of Miller, Mclaren, Lebron James or Brian Stiller. They’re all the same. Some are more popular than others but that has nothing to do with the intrinsic value of each individual. I should know this by now. I guess that’s all I wanted to say; that we shouldn’t expect to bond with famous people and have that meeting fill some void for popularity that is waiting to be filled in our lives. No, the desire to be valued is filled in Christ and is perpetuated in our communities- our friendships- anything else is a lie. However, if Don Miller was part of my community…
Monday, February 14, 2005
More.
Do you love me more than these? This guy named Don spoke at chapel about how the question addressed to Peter by Jesus was a reference not to the other disciples but of his career as a fisherman- (see John 21:1-13) It was his life, even after all the years of teaching Jesus had given him, Peter returns to fishing after Jesus death-- back to the way things were I suppose. But Jesus appears to him and asks, do you love me more than these? More than this lifestyle? More than this life? Do you love me enough to take care of me sheep, feed my sheep, nurture them, discipline them, love them? Then I started to think.
Do I do whatever it is that I do because it is my attempt to feed the sheep or am I farming my own little herd of lamas? Seriously though. Am I concerned with the body of Christ on the earth-- the means by which God has left humanity to accomplish his purposes, or am I concerned with the lamas? The lamas would include hundreds of meaningless conversations about nothing. Maybe sports, maybe the weather, maybe classes or profs or meetings. Like a never ending Seinfeld episode; it’s entertaining but ultimately unfulfilling.
Feed my sheep. I’m pretty sure God doesn’t care about sports. He’s probably not a Leafs fan even if the guy on the Fan 590 says so… if they were they probably wouldn’t be in a 37 year drought…although the 40th year is just around the corner, maybe they’re just wandering in the wilderness and about to enter the promised land.
All of this is to say that I enjoyed what I heard. Maybe it’s because was someone that I really like so my mind is biased to what I heard. He probably could have preached against the inerrancy of Scripture and I would have said, “you know, that’s a good point”. But I think there was some truth to what was said. “Peter, do you love me more than the fish? Prove it. Here’s how—feed my sheep. Jesus wanted Peter to know that in this life--His life-- you’ve got to love him more or it won’t work. If you serve or whatever because you were trained to in the synagogue you probably won’t last and you’ll end up taking a sabbatical in your 3rd year of bar mitzvah’s or have an affair and sell real estate in Samaria. No, I think Jesus meant this is something bigger than you’ve ever experienced and it needs to be motivated by your love for me. --Love me more, that’s it...that’s everything.
Do I do whatever it is that I do because it is my attempt to feed the sheep or am I farming my own little herd of lamas? Seriously though. Am I concerned with the body of Christ on the earth-- the means by which God has left humanity to accomplish his purposes, or am I concerned with the lamas? The lamas would include hundreds of meaningless conversations about nothing. Maybe sports, maybe the weather, maybe classes or profs or meetings. Like a never ending Seinfeld episode; it’s entertaining but ultimately unfulfilling.
Feed my sheep. I’m pretty sure God doesn’t care about sports. He’s probably not a Leafs fan even if the guy on the Fan 590 says so… if they were they probably wouldn’t be in a 37 year drought…although the 40th year is just around the corner, maybe they’re just wandering in the wilderness and about to enter the promised land.
All of this is to say that I enjoyed what I heard. Maybe it’s because was someone that I really like so my mind is biased to what I heard. He probably could have preached against the inerrancy of Scripture and I would have said, “you know, that’s a good point”. But I think there was some truth to what was said. “Peter, do you love me more than the fish? Prove it. Here’s how—feed my sheep. Jesus wanted Peter to know that in this life--His life-- you’ve got to love him more or it won’t work. If you serve or whatever because you were trained to in the synagogue you probably won’t last and you’ll end up taking a sabbatical in your 3rd year of bar mitzvah’s or have an affair and sell real estate in Samaria. No, I think Jesus meant this is something bigger than you’ve ever experienced and it needs to be motivated by your love for me. --Love me more, that’s it...that’s everything.
Sunday, February 06, 2005
its about time.
Finally, I've joined the sub-culture of bloggers I didn't know existed until recently. I feel the way I did the day I found out that you're supposed to flash your lights at oncoming traffic if you see that police have set up a speed trap-- its like a secret world. Well, I have a feeling this could get addictive. Maybe one day i'll have something intelligent to say on here but for now i'm out.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
