Category Archives: Wrestling With Scripture

Discipleship, Ethos, Ministry, Tragedy, Wrestling With Scripture

Frustrations

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In the current issue of the Christian Chronicle, there is a two-page advertisement concerning a cappella music. The ad is presented by a group who identifies themselves as “younger ministers under the age of 55” who are concerned about the growing threat of instrumental music in the Churches of Christ.

I have so much to say about this ad but I think Mike Cope says it best when he writes,

“The world is disoriented, hurting, and lost. God is seeking to restore and repair what’s been broken. And someone is paying for a two-page ad in the Chronicle for this?”

My thoughts exactly.

As a youth minister I’m dealing with students who are disoriented and confused about who they are and struggle with questions and doubts about whether or not God really cares about them. I meet students and families who are hurting because of loss or because of sin. Turn on the news and watch as students are harassed or monks are shot dead in the street or entire ethnic groups are obliterated and you don’t even get a glimpse at just how lost this world is.

We are desperate for God’s healing and grace and yet… this ad.

I am not saying that this issue shouldn’t be discussed. I’m not dismissing deeply held beliefs on either side of the aisle.

I just want us to put as much time and energy in promulgating the gospel message of Jesus Christ as we do in pointing our fingers at each other and devouring one another.

I am not ashamed of the gospel. However, I am more than a little ashamed of that ad.

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Discipleship, Ethos, Hope, Leadership, Ministry, Wrestling With Scripture

It All Comes Down To Risk

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Thanks to everyone who weighed in on the first Wrestling With Scripture post. Hopefully we can do this every week.

I think that the reason that I have spent so much time on this passage is because I marvel at the risks that Jesus took in his ministry. They pale in comparison to the risks that we take today.

In fact the only time I hear people discussing risk is when it comes to money. For shame!

Philippians 2 reminds us that Jesus risked leaving an exalted seat in heaven for the life of an itinerant preacher who was obedient to a criminal’s death even though he was innocent of any and every crime. Matthew tells us that Jesus risked leaving his ministry to fishermen and unskilled, ordinary men and women. the Gospels point out that Jesus risked giving glory to God and bringing life to the marginalized and broken even though his methods lay outside the box of tradition.

Part of me is just enamored and challenged that Jesus might have risked being labeled as an outcast by touching and healing the leper.

That is where I want my faith to be. Am I risking it all to remain faithful to the things that God is calling me toward? Do I care more about my safety, my status, my reputation, my tradition than I do about seeking after the glory of God?

It all comes down to risk.

Discipleship, Ministry, Wrestling With Scripture

Wrestling With Scripture

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Early Christians knew nothing of personal Bible studies. They wrestled with scripture together publicly in the context of synagogues and of the church body. In an effort to continue that tradition here at Kicking at the Darkness I want to begin a weekly discussion of passages in scripture that are difficult or that are thought-provoking. Hopefully the handful of you that read this site can benefit from healthy discussions and insights that we share with one another.

I’ll offer up the first passage for us to talk about.

I have been on Mark 1:38-45 for quite some time.

“Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!”

Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.

Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”

Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.”

Here is something I’ve been thinking about. For most of my life I assumed that the reason Jesus was unable to enter towns again was because the man blabbed and that the authorities were angry with Jesus for healing (as they often were). Obviously there is an element of “now the secret is out” but I wonder if my modern day understanding of celebrity has colored that way I envision people mobbing Jesus for attention. I think that there is another reason why Jesus was unable to enter public areas besides ruling authorities and rushing crowds.

I am now wondering if it was assumed that Jesus was now infected with leprosy because he touched the man in order to heal him and that is why he was relegated to “the lonely places.” Lepers were not able to live or even enter into cities.

It is the phrase “lonely places” that has driven me to this conclusion. The Greek word is “eremos” meaning solitary, desolate, lonely, wilderness, unpopulated. This would definitely describe the areas where lepers were forced to live.

If this is correct, what impact does it have on us in 2007? If Jesus was identified with the very people he rescued what does that mean for our reputations with the world?

Discuss.