When I got into work yesterday, my Jewish co-worker approached me with that question. Usually, when faced with a 'hard' question, I feel compelled to blurt something out, and then hours later realize what I should have said. The Holy Spirit gave me the wisdom to give a different answer.
J: What is more important, the death of Jesus or the Life of Jesus?
A: Those are not the only possibilities
J: Oh, I guess you are going to say that they are both important.
A: Yes, they are both important, but if it were not for the resurrection, we wouldn't even be having this conversation, because we would never have heard of Jesus.
J: That's right! hundreds of people were crucified, weren't they?
A: Yes. The crucifixion alone did not make Jesus unique. There is a reason that we do not know the names of any of those other people, but we do know about Jesus.
J: Hmmm
The most amazing thing about this conversation is that the Holy Spirit saved me from falling into the conversational trap that was in front of me. It turns out that the context of J's question was concern about anti-Semitism. After all, if the main point is the death of Jesus, then the question of who killed him rises in importance. But if the life, death, and resurrection are viewed as a whole, then the door is opened to see God's willing sacrifice.
Saturday, February 28, 2004
Thursday, February 26, 2004
Anticipation of The Passion
The Passion opened yesterday, and I've never talked so much about a movie I haven't seen.
I've had some interesting conversations with a Jewish co-worker. I've worked with 'J' for a few years and he is one of the few people at work who has been a consistent friend. He is also thoughtful, and surprisingly well-informed about Christianity. He probably is more familiar with the New Testament than many of my Christian friends are. We have a relationship of mutual respect, so we are able to engage in conversations that are not politically correct. Nevertheless, it is touchy talking about something like this. Anyway, a few days ago we gingerly discussed the controversy about the purported anti-Semitism. He said he had rather intentionally avoided reading anything about the movie, since the headlines were enough to make him not want to get involved. I related a fact that I had heard on Primetime, in an interview with Mel Gibson, where he acknowledged that in the crucifixion scene, the hand that we see holding the nail as it is pounded into Jesus, is Mel's own hand, thus symbolizing the fact that we are all guilty of sin. 'J' listened intently and seemed to grasp the significance, that this was an intentional concrete act that speaks against anti-Semitism, or blaming the Jews for Jesus' death.
So instead of settling for the headlines and sound bites by activists on both sides, he searched the web today to read reactions by normal people who saw the movie, and noticed that people with various backgrounds had various reactions. I had read an interesting column that thoughtfully discussed the topic of anti-Semitism, which I mentioned to him, and then sent the link.
Is the Passion of Jesus Anti-Semitic?
He immediately read it, and came over to tell me that he actually agreed with almost everything in it. As you can imagine, I was relieved, because I'm trying to show respect and yet enter into a dialog, which is sometimes a hard dance. And in response, he has now lent me a book about the history of anti-Semitism, called Constantine's Sword. I gather that it is about the power that the Catholic Church has historically had, and the anti-Semitism that has often resulted. I'm interested in keeping the dialog going, but did I mention that the book is over 700 pages long?
It's such a pleasure to talk to him, because he asks very pointed questions, and actually listens to the answers. He was afraid of offending me when he said that he could not accept the concept that a Jew could believe in Jesus and still be called a Jew, because Judaism is rooted in monotheism. So we ended up discussing whether the Trinity can be considered monotheism or not. Which was pretty funny considering the fact that two days ago, in my VLI final, I wrote that one of the three cardinal points of Jewish theology was monotheism -- so it didn't surprise me when it suddenly turned up. Then the conversation turned to the dangers of a hierarchical church structure (because of his fears about the influence of the pope), and I found myself explaining the differences between Dependent, Independent and Interdependent church models. Suddenly, the lectures from the Church Planting class, as well as Pauline literature and theology actually came to life, in a practical forum.
Parenthetically, I can't believe that my mother saw the movie already. This is probably the only time in her life she ever saw a movie within 24 hours of its opening. Her verdict was that she liked Mel in his interview better than she liked his movie.
I've had some interesting conversations with a Jewish co-worker. I've worked with 'J' for a few years and he is one of the few people at work who has been a consistent friend. He is also thoughtful, and surprisingly well-informed about Christianity. He probably is more familiar with the New Testament than many of my Christian friends are. We have a relationship of mutual respect, so we are able to engage in conversations that are not politically correct. Nevertheless, it is touchy talking about something like this. Anyway, a few days ago we gingerly discussed the controversy about the purported anti-Semitism. He said he had rather intentionally avoided reading anything about the movie, since the headlines were enough to make him not want to get involved. I related a fact that I had heard on Primetime, in an interview with Mel Gibson, where he acknowledged that in the crucifixion scene, the hand that we see holding the nail as it is pounded into Jesus, is Mel's own hand, thus symbolizing the fact that we are all guilty of sin. 'J' listened intently and seemed to grasp the significance, that this was an intentional concrete act that speaks against anti-Semitism, or blaming the Jews for Jesus' death.
So instead of settling for the headlines and sound bites by activists on both sides, he searched the web today to read reactions by normal people who saw the movie, and noticed that people with various backgrounds had various reactions. I had read an interesting column that thoughtfully discussed the topic of anti-Semitism, which I mentioned to him, and then sent the link.
Is the Passion of Jesus Anti-Semitic?
He immediately read it, and came over to tell me that he actually agreed with almost everything in it. As you can imagine, I was relieved, because I'm trying to show respect and yet enter into a dialog, which is sometimes a hard dance. And in response, he has now lent me a book about the history of anti-Semitism, called Constantine's Sword. I gather that it is about the power that the Catholic Church has historically had, and the anti-Semitism that has often resulted. I'm interested in keeping the dialog going, but did I mention that the book is over 700 pages long?
It's such a pleasure to talk to him, because he asks very pointed questions, and actually listens to the answers. He was afraid of offending me when he said that he could not accept the concept that a Jew could believe in Jesus and still be called a Jew, because Judaism is rooted in monotheism. So we ended up discussing whether the Trinity can be considered monotheism or not. Which was pretty funny considering the fact that two days ago, in my VLI final, I wrote that one of the three cardinal points of Jewish theology was monotheism -- so it didn't surprise me when it suddenly turned up. Then the conversation turned to the dangers of a hierarchical church structure (because of his fears about the influence of the pope), and I found myself explaining the differences between Dependent, Independent and Interdependent church models. Suddenly, the lectures from the Church Planting class, as well as Pauline literature and theology actually came to life, in a practical forum.
Parenthetically, I can't believe that my mother saw the movie already. This is probably the only time in her life she ever saw a movie within 24 hours of its opening. Her verdict was that she liked Mel in his interview better than she liked his movie.
Ash Wednesday
Yesterday was Ash Wednesday. For the first time in my life, I went and got ashes. It was a day of surprising contrasts, and of observing my own inconsistent attitudes. It was also a day of experiencing God's grace!
I was raised as a non-believer, and then became an evangelical Christian, so I've never attended a church that did ashes. I didn't really think much about it, other than a vague sense that is was a weird ritualistic thing that Catholics do. But a few months ago, in the context of the VLI class on missions, and the Evangelism mentorship, I was meditating on what I could do to communicate with my Indian co-workers, and it suddenly occurred to me that wearing ashes might be a visible act of faith, and a conversation starter, especially since many of them are Hindu, and wear various marks on their foreheads. As the time grew closer, I felt pretty strongly that I was supposed to do this.
So instead of going straight to work, I detoured to Manhattan to go to St Bart's. It didn't really make sense to do this, from a logistic point of view, but it didn't even occur to me that I could probably go to the Catholic cathedral at home, on my way to the train. I had a feeling of connection with St Barts, because that's where I had gone on 9/11, when waiting to find out whether the whole city would burn.
Walking down the aisle at the church yesterday, I was pretty self-conscious. Was I supposed to say or do anything? The actual imposition of the ashes was a little creepy, but within a few seconds I was touched by the Spirit, and actually in tears, filled with the awareness of Jesus's sacrifice for me. A ritual had suddenly turned into a moment of grace, transforming self-consciousness into gratitude. This was a total surprise to me. I felt that I was acting in obedience, but never dreamt that the Spirit would dwell in the ritual.
The next contrast came when I stepped out the door. In an instant switch from the sublime to the ridiculous, I felt totally conspicuous. Did I mention that the style of ashes at St Barts is applied in a HUGE cross that covers your entire forehead? And mine was especially big. And I felt silly carrying my hat in my hand, because I didn't want to pull it down on top of the ash. More self-consciousness.
When I got to work, I noticed that although there are 170 people on my floor at work, 169 were not wearing ashes. Not even the Catholics! More self-consciousness. My Indian co-workers were fascinated and speechless. As each one saw me, they exclaimed "Ann!" and then fell silent, looking worried. So I helped them out by saying "Oh, are you looking at my ashes?" which gave them an opportunity to ask what it was about. So I then was able to explain that the purpose was to remind us of three things: that God created us out of ashes; that we should repent of our sins; and that we should prepare our hearts for the season of Lent, and meditate on the sacrifice of Jesus. Good thing I looked this up on the web beforehand!
My co-workers asked some follow-up questions, especially about the timing of Ash Wednesday, and whether this was just one day. Their punchline: "We get ashes every time we go to the temple. And our ashes are white".
I was raised as a non-believer, and then became an evangelical Christian, so I've never attended a church that did ashes. I didn't really think much about it, other than a vague sense that is was a weird ritualistic thing that Catholics do. But a few months ago, in the context of the VLI class on missions, and the Evangelism mentorship, I was meditating on what I could do to communicate with my Indian co-workers, and it suddenly occurred to me that wearing ashes might be a visible act of faith, and a conversation starter, especially since many of them are Hindu, and wear various marks on their foreheads. As the time grew closer, I felt pretty strongly that I was supposed to do this.
So instead of going straight to work, I detoured to Manhattan to go to St Bart's. It didn't really make sense to do this, from a logistic point of view, but it didn't even occur to me that I could probably go to the Catholic cathedral at home, on my way to the train. I had a feeling of connection with St Barts, because that's where I had gone on 9/11, when waiting to find out whether the whole city would burn.
Walking down the aisle at the church yesterday, I was pretty self-conscious. Was I supposed to say or do anything? The actual imposition of the ashes was a little creepy, but within a few seconds I was touched by the Spirit, and actually in tears, filled with the awareness of Jesus's sacrifice for me. A ritual had suddenly turned into a moment of grace, transforming self-consciousness into gratitude. This was a total surprise to me. I felt that I was acting in obedience, but never dreamt that the Spirit would dwell in the ritual.
The next contrast came when I stepped out the door. In an instant switch from the sublime to the ridiculous, I felt totally conspicuous. Did I mention that the style of ashes at St Barts is applied in a HUGE cross that covers your entire forehead? And mine was especially big. And I felt silly carrying my hat in my hand, because I didn't want to pull it down on top of the ash. More self-consciousness.
When I got to work, I noticed that although there are 170 people on my floor at work, 169 were not wearing ashes. Not even the Catholics! More self-consciousness. My Indian co-workers were fascinated and speechless. As each one saw me, they exclaimed "Ann!" and then fell silent, looking worried. So I helped them out by saying "Oh, are you looking at my ashes?" which gave them an opportunity to ask what it was about. So I then was able to explain that the purpose was to remind us of three things: that God created us out of ashes; that we should repent of our sins; and that we should prepare our hearts for the season of Lent, and meditate on the sacrifice of Jesus. Good thing I looked this up on the web beforehand!
My co-workers asked some follow-up questions, especially about the timing of Ash Wednesday, and whether this was just one day. Their punchline: "We get ashes every time we go to the temple. And our ashes are white".
Sunday, February 22, 2004
The Sermon on the Mount...and on the LIRR
Our latest assignment for VLI was to prepare and deliver a sermon on the Sermon on the Mount. I was so intimidated I could hardly stand it. I had panicked thoughts of a slip of the tongue: "what Jesus was trying to say here..." as if I thought I could help Him out by communicating better. I tried to pray for direction, but got to the point where I really wasn't sure if the ideas in my head were inspiration, or just human thoughts. I chose Matthew 7:24-27.
24"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
So Friday evening, I was on the train coming home from work, reviewing the 4th draft of my sermon. And I started overhearing a conversation in the cluster of seats across the aisle.
[Scene: Rush hour on the Long Island Railroad]
He: well, what kind of a Christian is she? Is she a born-again Christian, or a Catholic Christian?
She: [mumble]
He: well, after [so-and-so] became a born again Christian, all she talked about was God, God, God, God, God. It gave me the heeby-jeebies.
Me: [chuckling]
She: Oh, I hope we are not disturbing you.
Me: [walking over to her and whispering to her]. You're not disturbing me. But I'm trying to write a sermon, and I'm listening to see if I can hear any material.
She: [laughing, turns to him] You won't believe this! She's writing a sermon, and she's looking for material. [turning to me] Can I read it?
Me: [handing her the sermon, which happens to be open to a page with an example about exercise] Sure -- try reading this page.
She: [reading and commenting] Oh, Pilates, I've tried that... [laughing] but you didn't even do it!...Yeah, everybody does that with exercise machines... I've tried a pedometer too... An exercise hypocrite! You actually say that! I can relate to this. What kind of Christian are you?
Me: I'm a born again Christian
He: I hope I didn't offend you.
Me: You didn't offend me, but I'd like to apologize.
He: Apologize? What for? You didn't do anything.
Me: Well, if somebody gave you the heeby jeebies, I'd like to apologize.
He: You don't have to.
Me: Really, I'd like to apologize.
[Now an elderly gentleman suddenly got up and stood in front of me]
Gentleman: I'm sorry dear, I cannot help you.
Me: [confused] you can't?
Gentleman: I can't help you with material for your sermon, because I am a very secular person.
Me: You know, it's very interesting that you say that, because Jesus used a lot of secular examples in his preaching.
Gentleman: What do you mean?
Me: Well, for example, Jesus told an example of a foolish man who built his house on the sand, and the storm came, and the house was washed away, but the wise man build his house on the rock, and the storm came, but the house still stood.
[the train pulled into the station, the doors opened and the 'congregation' exited, waving]
Me: God bless you.
The whole scene was like a really implausible screenplay.
24"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
So Friday evening, I was on the train coming home from work, reviewing the 4th draft of my sermon. And I started overhearing a conversation in the cluster of seats across the aisle.
[Scene: Rush hour on the Long Island Railroad]
He: well, what kind of a Christian is she? Is she a born-again Christian, or a Catholic Christian?
She: [mumble]
He: well, after [so-and-so] became a born again Christian, all she talked about was God, God, God, God, God. It gave me the heeby-jeebies.
Me: [chuckling]
She: Oh, I hope we are not disturbing you.
Me: [walking over to her and whispering to her]. You're not disturbing me. But I'm trying to write a sermon, and I'm listening to see if I can hear any material.
She: [laughing, turns to him] You won't believe this! She's writing a sermon, and she's looking for material. [turning to me] Can I read it?
Me: [handing her the sermon, which happens to be open to a page with an example about exercise] Sure -- try reading this page.
She: [reading and commenting] Oh, Pilates, I've tried that... [laughing] but you didn't even do it!...Yeah, everybody does that with exercise machines... I've tried a pedometer too... An exercise hypocrite! You actually say that! I can relate to this. What kind of Christian are you?
Me: I'm a born again Christian
He: I hope I didn't offend you.
Me: You didn't offend me, but I'd like to apologize.
He: Apologize? What for? You didn't do anything.
Me: Well, if somebody gave you the heeby jeebies, I'd like to apologize.
He: You don't have to.
Me: Really, I'd like to apologize.
[Now an elderly gentleman suddenly got up and stood in front of me]
Gentleman: I'm sorry dear, I cannot help you.
Me: [confused] you can't?
Gentleman: I can't help you with material for your sermon, because I am a very secular person.
Me: You know, it's very interesting that you say that, because Jesus used a lot of secular examples in his preaching.
Gentleman: What do you mean?
Me: Well, for example, Jesus told an example of a foolish man who built his house on the sand, and the storm came, and the house was washed away, but the wise man build his house on the rock, and the storm came, but the house still stood.
[the train pulled into the station, the doors opened and the 'congregation' exited, waving]
Me: God bless you.
The whole scene was like a really implausible screenplay.
Monday, February 16, 2004
Travel
I've been thinking about the travels of Paul. When you look at the map, you can see that he covered an amazing distance, without any of our conveniences. No airplanes. No trains. No automobiles. And while he had boats, he sure didn't have cruiseliners, and had to do it without seasickness medication.
I found an interesting website that will create a map for you of where you have travelled -- either the states of the US, or globally. Here is my global travel map. Notice all the big white spaces? Other than North America and Europe, there are only tiny dots of red showing in Central America, and in Israel. I'm fascinated by the variety with which God created the earth, and I love seeing different landscapes. Someday I hope to get to Asia, and the South Pacific, and South America.
And if you want to see what your map looks like, simply go to the World66 site
I found an interesting website that will create a map for you of where you have travelled -- either the states of the US, or globally. Here is my global travel map. Notice all the big white spaces? Other than North America and Europe, there are only tiny dots of red showing in Central America, and in Israel. I'm fascinated by the variety with which God created the earth, and I love seeing different landscapes. Someday I hope to get to Asia, and the South Pacific, and South America.
And if you want to see what your map looks like, simply go to the World66 site
Saturday, February 14, 2004
I'm feeling grateful
God has blessed me with an amazing gift. I ended up with a huge travel gift certificate. I couldn't believe it at first, but it seems true. So I'll be going to Turkey next Fall. And the most fun thing is that I was able to invite a friend. It's really odd to have the opportunity to be generous when it doesn't cost anything. Somehow, it feels almost illicit, to give something I didn't have to buy. But in any event, I'm so thrilled that 'L' can come.
And now I've developed an obsession to learn about Turkey, and I'm finding that I was rather oblivious to the incredible history, mainly due to the fact that the country only got the name 'Turkey' less than a century ago. I hadn't quite connected the fact that references to Asia Minor are talking about places in Turkey. I'm looking forward to seeing Antioch, and Harran, and Ephasus, and Cappadocia, and Iconium. And to traveling on a traditional Turkish boat. Of course, I'm hoping that I don't get seasick.
But mainly, I'm just thrilled that God has worked this out.
The reaction of my friends is funny. Some are thrilled for me. Some are jealous. And some can't imagine why I want to go.
And now I've developed an obsession to learn about Turkey, and I'm finding that I was rather oblivious to the incredible history, mainly due to the fact that the country only got the name 'Turkey' less than a century ago. I hadn't quite connected the fact that references to Asia Minor are talking about places in Turkey. I'm looking forward to seeing Antioch, and Harran, and Ephasus, and Cappadocia, and Iconium. And to traveling on a traditional Turkish boat. Of course, I'm hoping that I don't get seasick.
But mainly, I'm just thrilled that God has worked this out.
The reaction of my friends is funny. Some are thrilled for me. Some are jealous. And some can't imagine why I want to go.
Monday, February 02, 2004
What do BlogSpeak and the church have in common?
In honor of my friend S.T. (You know who you are), I have fixed the comment functionality on my blog.
After using BlogOut and BlogSpeak, I'm now using HaloScan. Ironically, these services were victims of their own success. Here's what tends to happen. A clever techie guy writes some programs so that visitors to his blog can add their own comments. The code works so well that he shares the comment functionality with his friends, and then puts it on a website to be shared freely with anyone who wants to attach their own blog to it. More and more people use it, until it outgrows the server that runs it. Joe Techie then asks for donations to at least buy a new hard drive, but then runs into time problems because he's the only one supporting it. So finally he has to pull the plug.
And it occurred to me that there are some parallels between this scenario and that of church growth.
From a church growth point of view, if we don't look ahead and plan how we will minister to more people, we won't be ready when God gives the increase.
After using BlogOut and BlogSpeak, I'm now using HaloScan. Ironically, these services were victims of their own success. Here's what tends to happen. A clever techie guy writes some programs so that visitors to his blog can add their own comments. The code works so well that he shares the comment functionality with his friends, and then puts it on a website to be shared freely with anyone who wants to attach their own blog to it. More and more people use it, until it outgrows the server that runs it. Joe Techie then asks for donations to at least buy a new hard drive, but then runs into time problems because he's the only one supporting it. So finally he has to pull the plug.
And it occurred to me that there are some parallels between this scenario and that of church growth.
- If the service is good, people tell their friends about it, and it grows.
- Eventually you run out of space and the people who are benefitting need to donate.
- Regardless of the space problem, you need to plan for how you will service all the people.
From a church growth point of view, if we don't look ahead and plan how we will minister to more people, we won't be ready when God gives the increase.
Sunday, February 01, 2004
More follow-up from our 'special' outreach
OK, I chickened out and didn't put the details in the title of this blog. Ever since I realized that the ads on the top of the page try to match themselves to the topic of the blog, I've been self-conscious about using words that might connect to inappropriate ads. So if you don't know what I'm talking about, check out the November 17 blog concerning cleaning certain familiar porcelain fixtures.
Anyway, feedback continues to come in. It certainly caught people's attention. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I definitely recommend it as an outreach.
Anyway, feedback continues to come in. It certainly caught people's attention. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I definitely recommend it as an outreach.