When Americans hear that a Muslim extremist somewhere in the Middle East has driven a car laden with explosives into a crowded marketplace and detonated it, we are shocked and amazed that someone could claim to commit such a brazen act of destruction in the name of God, and we're right to do so. God is not the author of violence, does not advocate murder, and does not condone acts of wanton destruction. All who claim devotion to God through such acts prove by their actions that they are really followers of a false god. It's easy to recognize the illegitimacy of such devotion to God in people whose beliefs differ from ours, but it's not always so easy to recognize those aspects of our own dominant culture, peopled by those who claim allegiance to Christianity, that are contrary to the will of God. We live in a land in which devotion to God is often equated with patriotism, or conservatism, or even outright xenophobia, racism, and sexism. Today's reading from Isaiah can be an eye-opener for those whose idiosyncratic version of Christianity has led them far afield from what God expects from people of faith. "If you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted," God will bless. There's nothing here about rounding up all the undocumented people, who came to this country to escape hunger and affliction, and sending them back to Mexico, Haiti, Liberia, China, or whatever their country of origin. There's nothing in this passage about diverting tax dollars from programs to combat rural poverty or educate inner-city preschoolers so that we can wage war on a country whose oil we covet. There's nothing in the passage about spending priorities that benefit big business while condemning the poor to die of treatable conditions because they can't afford medical care. It's time for Christians to turn a critical eye inward, on ourselves and on our own nation, and ask whether we are fulfilling the most basic requirements of God. If we fail to make the necessary changes in our national behavior, we may find that we match the description that the prophet used to describe his own nation, earlier in the same chapter: "Day after day they seek me and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness" (Isa 58:2).
One version of an evangelism program that I'm familiar with has people
ask their neighbors, "If you were to die tonight, where would you spend
eternity?" The correct answer is "With God in heaven." If the person
says anything like, "I don't know," or "I hope I will go to heaven,"
that's a clue that the person answering the question hasn't yet fully
bought into the questioner's version of theology. According to the
theology that informs this sort of evangelism, we can attain absolute
certainty about our eternal status here in this life. We can rejoice now
because we know that we have been saved from the penalty of hell and will
spend the afterlife in heaven. What if there were no certainty of heaven?
What if there were not even any possibility of heaven? Would this sort of
theology sustain us? Does our own theology, whatever it is, give us the
strength to live joyous lives? The psalmist had a worldview that gave
little thought to the afterlife. In fact, the common view of the
afterlife in that time was rather bleak. The fate of all, good and bad
alike, was at best a shadowy existence in the underworld, not a place of
torment, but not a place of joy, either. Despite this view of the
afterlife, however, the psalmist urges people to rejoice. "Bless the
Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me!" Why? Because God forgives
sin, heals diseases, and delivers the faithful from death time and again.
Yes, eventually all will succumb to the common fate of humankind, but
that's all the more reason to rejoice now. The life of joy and praise
that the psalmist advocates is based not on an assurance of a glorious
afterlife but on the conviction that life in the here and now can be
something special. If our theology leads us to focus on the afterlife
rather than on the present life, it is inadequate. If we so anticipate
the glories of heaven that we overlook the glories of God's good creation,
we are missing something tremendous. Life can be difficult, and sorrow
will come our way, but there's incredible beauty and joy here as well, in
this life, if we will just learn to see it.
Hebrews 12:18-29 (first
published 22 August 2004)
For decades the U.S. Forest Service had firefighters on standby to
fight recurring summer forest fires. A fire would start, perhaps caused
by a lightning strike or by an unattended campfire, and firefighters would
be called in to squelch the blaze. Over the years, however, Forest
Service officials noticed that the fires got worse and worse, and
eventually there were too many fires of large magnitude to handle
properly, the results of which were serious property damage and often loss
of life. Only in the past few years have resource managers realized that
not all fires are bad. In fact, some fires are essential to the health of
forests. Fires clear away the underbrush and allow certain types of seeds
to germinate. They also rid forests of dead trees, clearing space for new
growth. The author of Hebrews describes God as "a consuming fire."
That's not necessarily the way we like to think of God. We'd rather think
of God as a loving parent, a strong rock, or a shelter in a time of storm
than a consuming fire, unless we're calling on God to consume our enemies!
We don't want the scorching heat of God's fire to get too close to us.
Yet, like the overgrown forest, we sometimes require God's cleansing fire
in our lives. What habits have you developed over the past few years that
are detrimental to your spiritual growth? Do you spend your time in ways
that are ultimately counterproductive to your mission in life? Is your
faith wavering from lack of use? There are many reasons why we might need
God's fire to blaze through our lives from time to time. The hymn writer
asks God to send the Pentecostal fire on the people of God, as well as on
unbelievers. Evangelistic revival meetings are far less common today than
in past days, and that's not necessarily a bad thing, since many of those
I personally witnessed focused too much on emotion and guilt and not
enough on real change in people's lives, believers as well as unbelievers.
However, even if we set aside evangelistic revival meetings, we shouldn't
set aside the idea of regular repentance and divine cleansing, because we
all need it. Some Christian groups, such as the Catholics with their
sacrament of penance, integrate confession and repentance into the fabric
of the Christian life in ways that keep the need for God's cleansing ever
at the forefront of people's minds. Others weave the need for confession
and cleansing into the liturgy of the church, and still others have times
of special emphasis on repentance. All of these ecclesiastical attempts
to remind believers of the importance of confession and cleansing are
good, but none is sufficient in and of itself. As individuals, we must
each recognize the need for cleansing and must willingly submit ourselves
to the divine fire on a regular basis. Only by doing so will we continue
to be effective in our Christian lives.
Luke 13:10-17 (first published 22 August
2004)
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