We are moving closer to the Labor Day Retreat… and revisiting the theme, “Practice, Not Perfect.” This was the same theme that our high school group “Common Ground” explored on their musical tour.
There is no doubt that some believe that being a Christian means striving for perfection. You know, be a really, really good person. Isn’t that what God wants? Yes and no.
Sure, we should want to be decent human beings. If you only watch the news, you would question whether there are any decent people out there. Even if you don’t believe in God, I would hope one wants to be a good citizen, a good neighbor, a good co-worker and so on. I think it is safe to say, that God created us for community. In order for community to “work” we all must contribute in a positive way. So yes, God wants us to be a good person for the sake of the other.
And no. God has zero expectation that you can be a good person…on your own. God knows we are a mess and need help. Jesus came to us- not to tell us to “be good or else.” No! Jesus came to fix the problem of us not being good people. Within the church we call that “sin.”
Let’s face it, we can be pretty selfish. It is easier to think about myself than it is about other people. I am certain that I am not the only one. Yet God offers a refreshing alternative to being selfish…forgiveness. A chance to start over, a chance to go in a new direction and a chance to be self-less. When you fully grasp the fact that Jesus died a brutal death because he loves us so much… it will change you. Jesus didn’t want to leave us a selfish mess! He wanted to provide a way to move forward in life.
This forgiveness can change your entire life! God’s love for me (and you too) inspires me to live beyond myself and be the best version of myself! I want to honor God with my actions even though God knows I can’t do that on my own. I always need help. Thank God for Jesus.
If God is for us, who can be against us?32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:31-39
I feel these words of Saint Paul are some of the most powerful words found in the New Testament. I hope you have portions of scripture that speak good news to you. If you do, I would love to know what they are. The words above are definitely good news for me!
Paul is addressing anyone who is struggling. If you are having a difficult moment, season or year, Paul is talking to you! He reminds us that it is Jesus Christ who gave all of himself for our benefit! As if to say, even if there is someone who is standing against us, have no fear they are no match for God who gave us His Son. Paul is reminding us that God has our proverbial back. When we do face challenges in life, God promises to be there with us in the muckiness.
But Paul is not done! Don’t be concerned when people falsely accuse you things. God is our only judge and it is Christ who justifies (accepts us fully). Don’t let the gossipers and accusers get under your skin! Our only concern should be God who watches over us. How many needless hours of worry have we spent on people who speak ill of us? I know I have. This reminds me to keep my mind fixed on Jesus and not on the naysayers.
Paul asks then greatest rhetorical question of all time: Who (or even what) shall separate us from the love of Christ? Paul then lists a bunch of things that could feel like we’ve been separated from God’s care. This also a subtle acknowledgement that life will have its up and downs. There will be hard times but that doesn’t mean God has abandoned us. It is easy to think God has stopped loving us or walks away from us when life gets ugly.
Paul even quotes Psalm 44:22 in regards to the difficulties of life. Sometimes you feel like a lamb being led to slaughter. Tough stuff, but haven’t you felt that way when everything seems to be falling apart. It is usually at that moment you ask, “What’s next!?!” or “Why God?”
Then we hear one of the oddest phrases in all of scripture. …we are more than conquerors through Christ who loved us.Paul is telling us that even though we will have difficult moments in our lives, Jesus has already won the most difficult battle of all on the cross. We never have to wonder if God is with us in our darkest moment… God will be there. This phases could also be translated, “We win the supreme victory through Christ who loved us.” What is that supreme victory that has been won for us? That sin (or anything else) can separate us from God’s presence.
We are then reminded that no matter what, God will never, ever leave us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. God is good and we are loved!
Who deserves to be lavished with God’s love?
Christians?
Good people?
Kind people?
Many of want to be arbiters of God’s love. We see it as a commodity to be managed and/or dispensed. Last Sunday, I talked about John 3:16-17 which is: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
If you were there you will remember that I said, “We don’t believe those verses.” ( https://benbergren.com/sermon-the-essential-teachings-of-jesus-love/ )All we have to do is look at the way the Christian family is quick to judge if not pronounce eternal damnation on groups of people for a whole bunch of reasons. This judgment often includes other Christians who are practicing their faith in a way we don’t agree with.
It also shows up in a lack of compassion for those who are struggling… as if struggling is a sign of God’s disapproval. If you didn’t know, that is the heresy of works-righteousness. I’ve seen this most recently in the lack of compassion and lack of moral outrage over separating children from their parents at our United States border. No, I am not advocating open borders or a lack of punitive action for those who break the law.
Separating children from parents and incarcerating children is an ugly thing. It shows a lack of care for the well-being of children who are only following their parents. Add to that Judge Dolly Gee ordered the government to obtain consent or a court order before administering any psychotropic medications to migrant children, except in cases of dire emergencies because they have been administrating psychotropic medications to children who have been separated from their parents at the border What??? Why is the church silent? This isn’t about politics. This about how we care (or not care) for children. Does God love these children? God absolutely loves those children as much as God loves our children.
We are not in control of God’s love. We are not in control of God’s judgment either. Any judgment we pronounce is our own and we must not presume to speak for God in such important matters.
Jesus calls us to love others as God loves the world. Maybe we can’t love everyone, but we can be loving. Don’t miss that. I fully acknowledge that because of my brokenness I am not able to love everyone but it is possible to for me to be loving in my all my interactions. Sometimes that includes speaking up on behalf of others. But it always means not pronouncing eternal judgment on others.
By the time you read this, I will be back in the Bay Area! (I hope that brings joy!) I have just spent my 33rdyear at a “camp” called Leadership Lab ( http://leadershiplab.net).
It is joy to equip youth with leadership skills as well as be instrumental in helping them discover the love of Jesus. In some cases, this is the first time they have personally experienced the love of God. As you know it is one thing to be told “God loves you” and it is completely different to experience that love in way that surpasses understanding.
Like authentic Christian community, there is both the love of God and the love of “neighbor”. Without a doubt there is a relational bond that is formed by those who come to Leadership Lab, myself included. I have a deep connection with many on staff that I have known for decades. These are some of my closest friends. I truly understand what it means to be a part of the family of God. I also feel that at Bethel! I love being in a huge extended family of God! It is reassuring to know that people have my back. In return, I have the backs of others.
As I get ready to come home, I want you to know that I have been reminded this past week that love is the most important thing. The love of God is more powerful than hate and more powerful than injustice and more powerful than death.
This has been a good time for me to be reminded of the most important things of our faith.
Guess what? I’ll be talking about love this Sunday.
The pictures are of sidewalk chalk art from our students at Leadership Lab.
Occasionally I read an article that is too good not to share. This is one of those articles. I hope you find it as meaningful as I do.
It is entitled, “What is Cheap Grace? by Andy Gill.
There’s so many different forms of grace: Hyper-grace, free grace, costly grace, and then there’s what we’re discussing here today, cheap grace or, cheapened grace.
What is Cheap Grace? Cheapened grace, similar to cheapening or watering down the gospel is what happens when we water down the message of Christs to make it a bit more “palatable.”
This term is usually attributed to Dietrich Bonhoeffer as many recognize it from his influential book, The Cost of Discipleship.
Bonhoeffer defined “cheap grace” as “the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline. Communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ.”
Bonhoeffer goes on to say, cheap grace is to hear the life of Christ preached as follows: “Of course you have sinned, but now everything is forgiven, so you can stay as you are and enjoy the consolations of forgiveness.”
It takes the teachings of Christ’s and re-accommodates them to fit the comforts and desires of society.
Essentially, it was the birth of a consumeristic version of Christianity.
It’s pseudo spirituality; a lie packaged in the form of the gospel.
It’s the same concept as marketing companies telling you that their fast food chain is healthy;
it’s the same psychological strategies used to manipulate our behaviors in order that we continuously consume their products.
With pharmaceutical companies admitting to knowing their products were addictive to corporations purposely creating products to be addictive (e.g. Starbucks, reward programs, video games, porn, smartphones, etc)… it’s a constant battle against these “powers” to take back control of our own behaviors and to re-infuse meaning into our daily schedules.
If the grace you’re receiving doesn’t lead to a transformation then it’s safe to say that what you received quite possibly may have been cheapened.
The Cost of Cheap Grace… You can’t find meaning if you’re constantly numbing.
We live in a world that seems to be becoming more and more vacant of meaning or significance. Said another way, maybe it’s not that our world is becoming vacant of meaning so much as it’s becoming inundated with so many meaningless things.
In Bonhoeffer’s definition of cheap grace, we see the lack of value and/or meaning being stripped from Christianity [that is without cost]. This leads us into a meaningless faith.
There is no such thing as meaning without cost; similarly, there is no such thing as Christianity without cost.
In the words of writer Stephen Mattson, “Consumerism drives us towards a selfish lifestyle of safety, comfort, and privilege. But Christianity is meant to point us selflessly to the cross, where Jesus was persecuted, publicly humiliated, abandoned by his friends, and tortured to death — penniless, homeless, and apparently defeated.”
Meaninglessness, this is the cost of a cheapened form of grace. We’re so far convinced that this falsified version of Jesus is the answer to all of our problems that we’re lead into a life of complicit laziness.
Cheapened grace, in my opinion, becomes a sociopathic form of grace when we recognized cheapened grace and yet, continued to disregard our call to change.
“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” – Apostle Paul (Romans 6:1-2)
It’s a complete misunderstanding of what salvation is. Salvation is not the avoidance of hell; neither is it the entrance into heaven. Salvation is a transformation in the here and now.
We live in a world in which has completely normalized selfishness. It’s taken unhealthy lifestyles and marketed them as the answer to our problems. We’ve become convinced out of fear that unless we selfishly hoard, save, and protect ourselves by keeping others out and down that we’re in danger of not “living our best life”.
The gospel, in my opinion, is counter-cultural. It’s not driven by fear but it’s lead by love.
If you believe in God, then you know you were created for a purpose. If you don’t believe in God, then there is no purpose or meaning because it is by chance that we are even here at all. It is that simple.
If you believe we are here by some random cosmic roll of the dice, life is what you make of it and then it is all over. If you are lucky, you will find some like-minded people to spend time with that will bring some happiness in the midst of the randomness of your short time here on Earth.
I am not one of those people. I believe that God created everything! Not only that but when God decided to create humanity, God had a purpose. We get a glimpse of that purpose only after humans messed everything up. In Genesis 3:8 we discover an indication of God’s intention for humanity.
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day…
You might be thinking, “What does this have to do with God’s intentions for humanity?” It is simple, actually. When God created us, it was done so that we might be in relationship with Him while simultaneously being in relationship with one another. The story of creation in Genesis points to the fact that God wants to spend time with His creation especially the part of creation that was created “in our (God’s)image”and “in our (God’s)likeness.” (Genesis 1:26).
God created us to be in relationship. Most of you know that humanity chose a different purpose for themselves.
Even Jesus—God in the flesh—reminds us that the most important thing is to love God and love each other (Matthew 22:37-40) but we struggle with that don’t we?
We see God’s intention’s once again in the book of Revelation when we get a glimpse of “heaven.” “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with humanity, and God will live with them.’” Revelation 21:3 God wants to be in a loving relationship with us now and always. The same goes for how we treat others.
Yet the world struggles with this in a mighty way. Children being separated from their parents at the border because they committed a misdemeanor. (FYI—almost all are still separated) Glad the justice system doesn’t do those who speed in their cars since that is also a misdemeanor. I saw on the news of a teenaged black man shot and killed by police in East Pittsburgh because he fled the car at a traffic stop. Add to that, the hate of humanity on display on social media every day.
I wish it would all stop. What if we just loved people instead of wishing harm? What if we helped people instead of thinking, “They get what they deserve”? What if we showed compassion instead of rushing to judgment? What if we walked a mile in someone else’s shoes before we so easily condemn from our recliners?
No, I am not saying everybody gets to do what they want and we just love them. (That is often the counter-argument to love.) What I am saying is that I am not giving into hate. I am not succumbing to cruelty and I most definitely will not judge someone by the color of their skin or nationality.
This is a dangerous business. Jesus talked about love and forgiveness and look what they did to him. They killed him for it.
Thankfully, God knew this would be the result and used that senseless violence to do something most unexpected. God used the murder of Jesus to forgive us. It sounds crazy but it is true. Then God raised him from the dead to show us that hate doesn’t rule the day in God’s Kingdom… love does.
If Jesus can forgive the criminal on the cross next to him why can’t we love our neighbor?
On Monday, May 7th, a decision was made to separate children from their parents at our southern border if they attempt to cross our southern border illegally (which is a misdemeanor).
There is an estimated 2000 children (updated number) being held in facilities along the US-Mexican border.
Some would say that if someone breaks the law, there are consequences. Others would say that this is a deterrent to stop further illegal immigration.
It may be legal to separate families, but it is cruel.
I would ask, do two wrongs make a right? (Families crossing the border illegally + families being separated by law enforcement = a just decision).
There are other ways to handle families who cross the border illegally that does not involve separation. I am not advocating for open borders. I am calling for compassion.
When I reflect on the story in the gospel of Matthew of when Joseph and Mary fled with baby Jesus because of King Herod’s jealousy, I am glad to hear Jesus was not separated from his parents when they arrived at the Egyptian border.
You have heard me cite this verse before because it speaks to this issue clearly.
“Do not oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt.” Exodus 23:9 Also see Leviticus 19:33-34
How do we love our neighbor as ourselves while still having boundaries? I am not convinced separating families is loving or even “tough love.”
Our Presiding Bishop released a statement with other religious leaders regarding this issue. Below is that statement.
Recently, the Administration announced that it will begin separating families and criminally prosecuting all people who enter the U.S. without previous authorization. As religious leaders representing diverse faith perspectives, united in our concern for the wellbeing of vulnerable migrants who cross our borders fleeing from danger and threats to their lives, we are deeply disappointed and pained to hear this news.
We affirm the family as a foundational societal structure to support human community and understand the household as an estate blessed by God. The security of the family provides critical mental, physical and emotional support to the development and wellbeing of children. Our congregations and agencies serve many migrant families that have recently arrived in the United States. Leaving their communities is often the only option they have to provide safety for their children and protect them from harm. Tearing children away from parents who have made a dangerous journey to provide a safe and sufficient life for them is unnecessarily cruel and detrimental to the well-being of parents and children.
As we continue to serve and love our neighbor, we pray for the children and families that will suffer due to this policy and urge the Administration to stop their policy of separating families.
His Eminence Archbishop Vicken Aykazian
Diocesan Legate and Director of the Ecumenical Office
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America
Mr. Azhar Azeez President
Islamic Society of North America
The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera Bishop of Scranton, PA
Chair, Bishops’ Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs
Senior Bishop George E. Battle, Jr.
Presiding Prelate, Piedmont Episcopal District
African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
Bishop H. Kenneth Carter, Jr.
President, Council of Bishops
The United Methodist Church
The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry
Presiding Bishop Episcopal Church (United States)
The Rev. Dr. John C. Dorhauer
General Minister & President
United Church of Christ
The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Rev. David Guthrie
President, Provincial Elders’ Conference
Moravian Church Southern Province
Mr. Glen Guyton
Executive Director
Mennonite Church USA
The Rev. Teresa Hord Owens
General Minister and President
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Rabbi Rick Jacobs
President
Union for Reform Judaism
Mr. Anwar Khan
President
Islamic Relief USA
The Rev. Dr. Betsy Miller
President, Provincial Elders’ Conference
Moravian Church Northern Province
The Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson II
Stated Clerk
Presbyterian Church (USA)
Rabbi Jonah Pesner
Director
Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
The Rev. Don Poest
Interim General Secretary
The Rev. Eddy Alemán
Candidate for General Secretary
Reformed Church in America
Senior Bishop Lawrence Reddick III
Presiding Bishop, The Eighth Episcopal District
Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
The Rev. Phil Tom
Executive Director
International Council of Community Churches
Mr. Jim Winkler
General Secretary & President
National Council of Churches USA
Senior Bishop McKinley Young
Presiding Prelate, Third Episcopal District
African Methodist Episcopal Church
Take a look at the table above (if you can read it). It shows the difference between being an inviting church, an inclusion church and a radical welcome church. These are just labels and have no official designation or meaning but their descriptions found just below in “The Message” line tells us a lot. I think it begs the question, “What kind of church do you want to be?” and “What kind of church are we?”
An “Inviting” church might be very friendly to all, but there is an expectation that any new comers that decide to stay will be assimilated in to the dominant identity (and culture) of that congregation. For many Lutheran churches that is white and of Northern European descent. Lutheran churches that take this approach tend to stay mostly white.
An “Inclusion” church wants to be more diverse. They make an effort to welcome people of differing backgrounds but there is no real change in how the church “does church.” This type of church has good intentions but does not have the capacity to change how it can truly incorporate and value others from differing cultures but of the same faith (Lutheran/Christian). These churches struggle to retain people of differing cultures because value is still placed on the dominant culture of the congregation (white and northern European).
A “Radical Welcome” church not only works toward being more diverse but they also value what the “other” brings to the congregation. As the note says in the table, a Radical Welcome church says, “Bring your culture, your voice, your whole self—we want to engage in true mutual relationship.” This type of church is intentional about incorporating the gifts and values of those who are not of the dominant culture of the congregation.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (of which we are a part of) has been struggling with this for many years. One can look at this issue in many ways. I think it is valuable for us to think about how welcoming we are… after all one of our core values at Bethel is “hospitality.”
If the expectation is, “everyone is welcome but in the end we expect you to be like us” we are going to be more like an “Inviting” church and less like a “Radical Welcome” church. If we are going to connect with people on a deeper level in Silicon Valley with all of its diversity, it may be worth our time to think about how receptive we are to the cultural differences of others (including some of our current members) and how to lift up those differences in a positive, affirming way.
I have zero expectation that everyone should be alike within the Body of Christ. Yes, we all share the same identity as the children of God but how do we also recognize and value those who bring different ways of practicing their faith within the Lutheran expression of Christianity? I don’t have the answer to that today but it is worth asking the question and pondering for a while.
I ran across this phrase and it resonated with me. “It is always easier to fight for ones principles than to live up to them.”
This appears to be true from what I can see. What do you think? There is a war of words going on in our country and compromise is nothing short of a curse word. Carl Bernstein, the Washington Post reporter who brought the Watergate scandal of the Nixon administration to light believes our nation is in (what he terms) a “cold civil war.” It is a war of words and there are two distinct sides. Each side is trying to either tear down the other or win converts. It isn’t working.
Human beings (us) are more concerned about what others are doing than doing the harder work of defining our own principles and striving to live up to them. We are much better at trying to impose our will on others than the hard work of self-reflection and self-discipline.
The issue itself doesn’t really matter, it could be anything. It is the behavior not the issue(s) I am talking about and it is the behavior that I want to address.
It is a fool’s errand to think we can make someone do (or believe) something if they don’t agree. Yet what do we see? People getting louder and louder about something they are passionate about wrongly thinking that if they are more brash than the “other side” they will either give in or give up. In the end, it will only cause further alienation.
The Christian church in America (not just the Lutherans) is declining because many outside the Church views us as being hypocritical in our moral pronouncements on certain issues and people even if we aren’t doing that. This hurts all of us but most of all it hurts the cause and mission of Jesus which is all about love. But it is not just that. The world sees the Church acting poorly as individuals and wonders why we don’t live up to our own moral judgments and/or why we are so full of hate and exclusive.
Even if we aren’t doing those things at Bethel, we are lumped in the churches that do. This is hard to overcome.
Did you ever notice that Jesus never made anybody do anything? He never forced his will on anyone. Sure, Jesus instructed the disciples and even sent them out to share the good news of God’s love but he never, ever forced them to do it. He didn’t make the rich young ruler sell everything he had and give it to the poor so that he could follow Jesus and inherit eternal life. Nope, Jesus let the decision rest in his lap and this man decided to walk away. Jesus understood free will better than we do.
Why is it that the Church (in general) and some Christians tend to act more like Darth Vader of Star Wars in trying to impose their version of Christian moralism on others rather than letting people choose for themselves whether or not they want to experience the life changing love of Jesus? There is a big difference between imposing a moralistic ethic on people and loving on them in Jesus’ Name…I’m just saying.
All I am trying to make clear is this, maybe we should worry more about ourselves as individuals and trying to live up to our own principles than trying to impose our moral framework on others.
Blaise Pascal was quite the human being. Born in 1623, Pascal’s mother died when he was 3, and his father moved the family from Clermont-Ferrand, France, to Paris, where he homeschooled Blaise and his sister.
By age 10, Pascal was doing original experiments in mathematics and physical science. To help his father, who was a tax collector, he invented the first calculating device (some call it the first “computer”).
With this last invention, he had made a name for himself (at age 19!) and began his richly diverse scientific career. He tested the theories of Galileo and Torricelli (who discovered the principles of the barometer), culminating in his famous law of hydraulics.
He wrote important papers on the vacuum (not the cleaning your carpet kind), on the weight and density of air, and the arithmetic triangle. He developed the theory of probability, which is still used today. He invented the syringe, the hydraulic lift, and is credited with inventing the wristwatch and mapping out the first bus route in Paris. See I told you he was quite a person!
Yet he was also a committed Christian (Roman Catholic). He spent many hours studying the Christian faith in the same way he studied the things mentioned above.
It is one thing to be knowledgeable and quite another to know God.
One evening in 1654 he met God and this is what he wrote about the experience…
The year of grace 1654.
Monday, 23 November, . . .
From about half-past ten in the evening until about half past midnight.
He recorded the experience (called the “Mé-morial”) on a piece of parchment, which he carried with him the rest of his life, sewed inside his coat.
Can you imagine? A moment so profound that you write it down and carry that piece of paper with you for the rest of your life. This moment “rocked his world.”
It was not (in his words) a philosophical or intellectual encounter. It was way more than that! It was an intimate, emotional, up close confrontation!!!! Blaise Paschal encountered the God of Pentecost! He experienced the grace, tenderness and power of the Holy Spirit.
On Sunday we will again hear the story of the giving of the Holy Spirit to that small group of believers as found in Acts 2. My hope and prayer for all of you is that you feel the touch of that same Spirit promised to us. It is good to hear the story again but it is better to experience the Holy Spirit in our lives.
When you believed, you were marked in Christ with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1:13b-14
Occasionally I read an article that is too good not to share. This is one of those articles. I hope you find it as meaningful as I do.
