Gifted

The scriptures referred to are Romans 12:1-8.

The rule seems to be that one person or creative team comes up with the basic premise of a story and its characters and later interpreters create new twists on the same material. Bram Stoker's Dracula is creepy. He's pale, with prominent teeth, pointed ears, hairy palms and a mustache. But in later retellings, especially in the movies, Dracula is sexy, tragic and, unlike in the original novel, is destroyed by sunlight. Sherlock Holmes didn't have the deep psychological reasons for what he did in the original stories. That seems to have started when Nicholas Meyers, in his book and film The Seven Percent Solution, gave the detective a childhood trauma to explain his distrust of women, his use of cocaine and his need to avenge wrongs. Similarly characters like Doctor Who and the Marvel superheroes are now in the hands of writers and directors who were fans from childhood and they are adding new details to their personalities and backstories.

One creator broke the rules about leaving it to later generations to revise and change the basics of his story. The original premise for Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer was that into each generation only one girl is born with the power to fight demons. Other girls in the slayer lineage are merely potentials until the current slayer dies and then only one receives the power to succeed her. That remained true until the very last episode. Facing an army of vampires, Buffy, the Chosen One, comes up with a novel strategy: she has her magical friend Willow unlock the power of all the potentials. At a crucial point of the last battle, Buffy's disciples, as well as unsuspecting girls all over the globe, suddenly become stronger, more agile, and quicker to heal. The horde of demons are thrown back into the hellmouth, which is sealed. The irony is that only by ceasing to be the sole hero, by giving up her unique power, can Buffy save the day.

Though an atheist, Whedon acknowledged his fascination with Christian themes. Whether consciously or unconsciously, the last episode of Buffy echoes Pentecost. On that day, God broke the rule that only one chosen prophet should be his spokesperson and poured out his Holy Spirit upon all his disciples, empowering them to carry on Christ's mission to spread the good news. And it falls to each generation of the church to continue to proclaim the love of God in Christ by our words and actions. But in what way do we have God's power and how do we know what to do with it?

In today's passage from his letter to the Romans, Paul gives us the answer. “Do not be conformed to this world...” he starts out. Christianity is not concerned with what other religions tend to do in society: that is, show you how you fit into the order of how things are. Most religions bless the status quo. They tell you what your role is, often based on the sex or the social caste into which you are born. They emphasize loyalty to the spiritual and governmental authorities. Being good means preserving things as they are, regardless of whether those things are good for everyone.

Jesus didn't take on the role prescribed by the authorities of his day. He didn't come to fulfill the expectations of others, not even his own followers. This week we read of Peter telling Jesus that he recognizes him as the Messiah. Next week we will see Peter correcting Jesus and telling him what he's supposed to do and not do. The Messiah was supposed to be a warrior-king like David liberating his people from their oppressors. Jesus saw himself as the Lamb of God, whose sacrificial death liberates all people from what really causes the problems in this world: our sins.

But that doesn't mean that we can just go on as we have been, albeit grateful to Jesus for what he did. We are to be changed by uniting with Jesus. And so Paul continues “...be transformed by the renewing of your minds...” If, as Jesus said in Matthew 15:10-20, evil comes from within us, that is where true change starts: with a change of mind, a new perspective, a new way of thinking, activated by the Spirit who pours God's love into our hearts. (Romans 5:5) The world sees putting your desires first as worthwhile, even healthy. But God invites us to see this self-centeredness as an inevitably fatal path. (Matthew 16:25) The world tends to see helping out those who fall short as a waste of time. But God invites us to see the redemption of any person as a matter of supreme importance. (Luke 15:7) The world sees reconciling with one's enemies as virtually impossible. But God invites us to see this as difficult but well worth the hard work and sacrifice. (Matthew 5:44-45) In Jesus we see that how you go about doing something might be more important than getting the result you want. That's why even though a person might be inconvenient or even evil, the Christian solution is never to kill that person. In Jesus we see that people are always more important than things. That's why, no matter how badly we need or want something, the Christian solution is never to harm or exploit people to get it. As Dumbledore tells Harry Potter, we often must choose between what is easy and what is right.

This inner transformation is important, says Paul, “...so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.” When we see the world as God does, we see what he wants us to do about it. But that doesn't mean we all go about it in the same way. Being a Christian doesn't mean being exactly like every other Christian.

Just as different parts of the body have different abilities and different functions, so do the individuals who make up the body of Christ, the church. And Paul gives us a list of some of the gifts of the Spirit, which is by no means exhaustive.

Notice that no gift is absolute but is proportionate to the grace of God gives us. Not every singer is Taylor Swift. Not every physicist is Einstein. Not every writer is Shakespeare. Nor need they be. It is the same with Christians. We don't all get to be Mother Teresa or Billy Graham or Desmond Tutu. God made us who we are and put us where we are because we are what he wants at that place and time. We need not compare to others and feel inferior or envious. Rather we should think about what God has given us and figure out how to develop and use those gifts.

In this list Paul mentions prophesy first. He doesn't mean predicting the future. He means proclaiming the Word of God. That's what the Hebrew word for prophet means: a spokesperson. And Paul is not talking exclusively about professional preachers but about any Christian who can translate the gospel into terms people understand, which includes women. (1 Corinthians 11:5) And it is especially important to proclaim God's word when it is unpopular and goes against what the world proclaims, as Jeremiah did.

Next Paul mentions ministry. William Barclay translates this as “practical service,” based on the fact that the Greek word is the same one from which we get the word “deacon.” Barclay also notes how high Paul puts this on the list. Again the world often neglects to honor those who act as servants but as the ancient Stoics said, “Do you suppose it is only a general who makes a good soldier?” Indeed, can an army exist if it is made up only of generals? People who cannot be brought to Jesus through preaching are often drawn to him by those who humbly minister to the needs of others in his name.

Notice how open this gift is. There are many ways to be of practical service. When a friend of mine was brought home with terminal cancer, all of us, her friends, found ways to help—by sharing nursing skills, legal knowledge, making copies of forms, washing her hair, buying supplies, sitting with her, and bringing food. All of us had different gifts; all were necessary and appreciated.

Next Paul mentions teachers. This is different than preaching. Teaching involves explaining and offering background and depth to the gospel. It can give us perspectives on certain issues by looking at how Christians have dealt with the same or similar matters throughout history. Teaching equips us to, as it says in 1^st Peter, give an answer to those who want a reason for the hope within us. (1 Peter 3:15) Again teaching is a gift. It cannot be conferred merely by giving someone a degree. A degree can help but we have all suffered under professional teachers who may know their subject but cannot seem to communicate it to others very well. On the other hand, some of the most effective teachers we've encountered have been just regular people in our lives who imparted wisdom when we needed it.

The Greek word for exhortation can be translated invitation or encouragement. If you think about it, encouragement is an unappreciated talent. Society forgets how important it is to have people who are able to lift spirits, offer comfort, and cheer people on. It's easier to do something when you're working with or for someone who brings out the best in you. Often the difference between a person who accomplishes his goals and one who doesn't is a matter of receiving encouragement. Notice, too, that the word “courage” is embedded in the middle of encouragement. The ability to raise the courage in others is a major one. We all need those with the gift of exhortation.

Next Paul lists the gift of being a giver. The Greek word here means both simplicity and generosity. Paul is not talking about those who give in order to get praise but those who give for the joy of giving. And I don't think we need limit this to money. There are people who gladly give of their time or of their talents. They find pleasure not in accumulating things but in giving others what they need. Like encouragement, this is a vital gift, without which any community suffers.

It is interesting that Paul says the leader should exercise his gift in proportion to his diligence. The Greek work implies eagerness. The ability to lead is a gift but like all gifts it can be used for good or for evil. It can also be done lazily. There are charismatic bosses, team leaders and politicians who coast on their ability to attract allegiance. They let others do the hard work and enjoy the perks. I always cringe whenever our congressmen say they must vote to give themselves handsome salaries so as to attract the best people for the job. I'm not saying they should work for minimum wage but do we want people who will only run for office if it's personally profitable? Whatever happened to a sense of civic duty? God's leaders need to be diligent. They should become leaders because they can do it and they want it to do it well. And not all Christian leaders have to be ordained clergy. Many church and charitable organizations, committees, companies and other positions need Christian leaders. Sadly, conscientious Christian leaders are at a premium. They need to beware of the temptations of power.

Finally, Paul lists the gift of being compassionate or showing mercy. But again he pairs it with something unexpected: cheerfulness. Barclay feels that Paul is making a contrast with the kind of forgiveness that is offered with condescension. To be sure we need those who are compassionate and who weep with those who weep, which Paul realizes is appropriate. (Romans 12:15) But that can take a toll on the compassionate person. It is important to have a cheerful heart. After all God doesn't offer us mercy begrudgingly or in anger but out of his overflowing love. We need people who can correct others without crushing their spirit, who can help the fallen without looking down on them.

There are other gifts. Most of us have more than one. Some of yours may still be developing. And if we don't recognize them in ourselves, those who know us probably do. Our job and our joy is to find these gifts, hone them and offer them to God. Blessed are those who discover that what the world needs and what they can do and what they enjoy doing are one and the same, and who find in that oneness the unique way in which they were meant to reflect the glory of the incarnate God who shares his life and his power with us. 

From Prisoner to Prince

The scriptures referred to are Genesis chapters 37, 39-45.

At the heart of the film Signs is a speech in which a widowed priest lays out 2 ways of looking at events. As he and his brother watch news events of uncanny sightings worldwide, the Reverend Hess says, “People break down into two groups when they experience something lucky. Group one sees it as more than luck, more than coincidence. They see it as a sign, evidence that someone is up there, watching over them. Group two sees it as pure luck, a happy turn of chance.” The freak accident that deprived Hess of his wife and his children of their mother has convinced the former clergyman that life is random. But his family will soon find itself in some dire situations that will push them to choose between the two ways of viewing existence. And their choices will mean life or death.

In today's reading of Genesis we have jumped to the end of the story of Joseph. Just last week we read the beginning of Joseph's woes. I wish those who selected the lectionary passages had given us more of the story, stretched over several weeks. To make sense of this tale, just as with the movie Signs, you need to know just how bad things got for the main character.

Joseph is the first son of Jacob's favorite wife, Rachel. For years she was barren. Then she conceives and bears Joseph and later, Benjamin. She dies in childbirth and this makes her sons even more precious to Jacob, who is also called Israel by this time. But Joseph is a tattletale and has dreams in which everyone bows down to him. This does not endear him to his brothers. Furthermore, Jacob gives Joseph a special robe, either expensively dyed with many colors or with long sleeves, depending on how you translate it, but both are inappropriate for doing manual labor. It's the kind of thing a clan leader would wear. And since Joseph is the second youngest of twelve, this cements his brothers' hatred of him.

Joseph is wearing this robe when he is sent to seek out and report on his brothers, who are grazing the flocks. Seeing him approach in his lordly attire, some of his brothers want to kill him. The oldest, Reuben, persuades the others to simply throw him into an empty cistern. Reuben plans to pull Joseph out later and return him to Jacob. But in the interim, Judah talks his other brothers into selling him to a passing caravan. To explain his absence, they smear his fancy coat with goat's blood, letting their father think he was devoured by some beast.

Joseph is sold to an Egyptian, Potiphar, captain of Pharaoh's guard. Joseph proves to be smart and hard-working and so he does well, rising to be in charge of the household. We are told periodically that “the Lord was with Joseph.” But that doesn't mean Joseph didn't have troubles. Potiphar's wife is attracted to Joseph. When he refuses her advances, she sets him up and charges him with attempted rape. Joseph is thrown into prison.

Joseph becomes a trustee and eventually is running the prison for the warden. Still it's a prison and a foreign one at that. Though he prospers in every position in which he's found himself, Joseph is still a slave and now a prisoner. He hasn't seen or heard from his family in years. Did he know his brothers faked his death? Did one of them maliciously tell him what they were going to do? Did he lay there at night imagining how his father and his younger brother Benjamin took the news? This also meant no one would be looking for him. There must have been times when Joseph wondered what God was doing, letting all this misfortune happen to him.

Then two high-profile prisoners are thrown in jail with Joseph. The Pharaoh's chief cupbearer and head baker have fallen out of favor. Each man then has a dream. In a culture that sees dreams as prophetic, the two men want to know what their dreams mean. Saying, “Don't interpretations belong to God?” Joseph asks each man his dream and interprets them. The baker will be hanged but the cupbearer will be forgiven. Joseph asks the cupbearer to remember him. But the cupbearer forgets Joseph when his fortune changes. For 2 more years, Joseph languishes in what he describes as a dungeon on false charges.

What finally jogs the cupbearer's memory is a hard-to-interpret dream that Pharaoh has. When none of his advisors are able to give Pharaoh a satisfactory answer, the cupbearer suggests Joseph be called. Joseph not only gives the interpretation of the dream—7 years of bumper crops followed by 7 years of famine—but as someone who organized a wealthy household and a prison, Joseph suggests a way to weather the coming catastrophe. And Pharaoh thinks Joseph is just the person to administer the plan. Joseph rises from prisoner to second-in-command of Egypt.

When the famine comes, it spreads to the land of Canaan. Jacob sends his sons to Egypt to buy grain. But he keeps his youngest, Benjamin, his last reminder of Rachel, at his side.

Joseph spots his brothers among those who have come to buy grain from the surplus Egypt stored during the good years. He accuses them of being spies and has them thrown into prison unjustly, as he had been. They tell him they are just a starving family with a father and younger brother waiting for them at home. What Joseph does next seems cruel, if justified. He will release the sons of Israel if they bring back the youngest son. And to make sure they cooperate he keeps Simeon. Lastly, he has his servants secretly return his brother's money to their packs, so when they leave Egypt it looks like they've stolen the grain. This makes them very reluctant to return to Egypt. As I said, it looks cruel but Joseph is testing his brothers to see if they still put other things before the welfare of their family members. And at first it seems they do. They only return when they have run through the grain.

But first they must convince Jacob to let Benjamin go with them as Joseph stipulated. Only when Judah personally guarantees Benjamin's safety does Jacob relent. Unknown to Jacob, Judah is the one who came up with the idea of selling Joseph into slavery rather than killing him.

When they return to Egypt, the brothers apologize, bring a gift and double payment for the grain. Joseph appears to be magnanimous but this time he has a valuable chalice planted in Benjamin's pack. When it is discovered, Joseph decrees that for this offense Benjamin will remain in Egypt as his slave. In a moving speech, Judah says that such a turn of events will kill their father and he offers himself to be Joseph's slave in Benjamin's place.

This is too much for Joseph. He has wept before during these encounters with his brothers but has managed to hide it. Now he sends his servants from the room and reveals himself to his brothers. They have a hard time recognizing him at first. When they last saw him, Joseph was a Hebrew boy of 17. Now he is a man of 39, dressed in fine Egyptian clothing and clean shaven. He is also a man of authority to whom all bow, as foretold in his dreams.

But what is amazing is Joseph's attitude. He should be bitter. But, no, he says, “Do not be distressed or angry with yourselves for selling me here, for God sent me ahead of you to save lives...So it was not you who sent me here but God.” (Genesis 45:5,8) Later when their father dies and the brothers are worried that Joseph will now feel free to punish them, instead he says, “Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant to harm me, but God intended it for a good purpose, so he could preserve the lives of many people, as you can see this day.” (Genesis 50:19-20) Joseph is able to look beyond the emotions and motivations of the people who did these things to him and see instead the hand of God behind it all. That's real faith.

You could say, “Well, sure, now that he's rich and powerful, he can forgive and forget.” But people usually don't. We tend to brood on old wounds and slights. We keep injustices alive in our minds. And if we achieve success, the temptation is to use our new power and wealth get to some payback. And while some of Joseph's actions do seem to smack of that, as we saw, they seem more calculated to find out if his brothers have changed and are not willing to let one another come to harm. He also wants them to bring his brother and father to see him. He doesn't get pleasure out of his brothers' distress but feels it acutely himself.

What's remarkable is that Joseph can see the big picture. He sees how God was putting everything in place so that Joseph can save thousands of lives, including those of his family. Had he not been sold into slavery, he would never have gone to Egypt. Had he not been sold to a high official and then been accused of rape, he wouldn't have been sent to a prison where he met other high officials in disgrace. If he hadn't interpreted the dream of the cupbearer, he never would have come to Pharaoh's attention. The good Joseph was doing, rather than just being a lucky outcome after his misadventures, was the purpose of them all along. God used the jealousy, equivocation, lust and anger of others to put the right person in the right place at the right time.

It's a good exercise to look back at your life in good times and see how much of what you have achieved is dependent on things outside of your control. The opportunities open to you, the people who help you, any social status that gives you an advantage, and even your inborn talents are all gifts from God. To claim that all you have and all you are has come from your own efforts alone is not only untrue but arrogant. You may have played the cards you were dealt well but who dealt you those cards? And who created those cards in the first place?

Yet as remarkable as it is to be able to look back and see God's loving purpose behind the hard times of the past, it is even more amazing to be able to trust that God is working for good at the same time we are actually undergoing those difficulties. Even during his hardships, Joseph was aware that God's hand was at work in his life and he gave God credit. When he had a chance to make points with Pharaoh and was asked if he could interpret the dream, Joseph said, “Not I! God will answer for Pharaoh's benefit.” (Genesis 41:16) Humility and faith that God is working in one's life go together. The fact is that we don't always see how God is making all things work together for good for those who love him. (Romans 8:28) We simply have to trust that he is.

So how do we live while waiting for God's plan to come together? By doing those things he has commanded us to do—to love him and love our neighbors as ourselves. (Mark 12:29-31) Love our enemy. (Matthew 5:44) Spread the good news. (Matthew 28:19-20) Be respectful of authority but always remember we obey God first. (Romans 13:1-7; Acts 5:29) Live in peace as much as it is in our power. (Romans 12:18) Forgive. (Matthew 6:14) Be honest. Be just. Be chaste. (Philippians 4:8) Be hard working. (Colossians 3:23) Just like Joseph. He never lost his integrity. He could have had an affair with Potiphar's wife and had a cushy life as steward of the household, figuring this was now his lot and he ought to make the best of it. When in prison he could have used his position as chief trustee to squeeze favors out of his fellow prisoners and benefit from the underground economy that often thrives in such places. But he remained faithful to God and his ways. He remained a person of integrity.

When everything seems to go wrong, when we are unjustly accused, when people attack us out of jealousy or anger or greed or fear, or when disease or misfortune seem to follow us, it is hard to see what God is doing in our lives. That is why we must continue to have faith in him. We must trust that he is good and just and that he loves us. We must trust that he has taken what we and other people have given him to work with—the bad emotions and negative motives and the ignorant, stupid and evil choices we and they have made—and that he is fashioning something supremely good out of them. We have to take the long view. From the time Joseph was enslaved until the time he was elevated by Pharaoh was a period of 13 years. And at any time of those 156 months, those 4745 days, he could have given up. He could have said, “This is it. This is my life from now on. I will always be a slave. I will always be a prisoner. I will never see my family again. Why continue to serve God? Why act as if what I do and what happens to me has any greater meaning or purpose?” No doubt he had times when despair seemed simpler than believing in God, like the 2 years when the cupbearer forgot about Joseph. But he held on. He continued to trust that God had a purpose for him, even though he, the son of a nomadic shepherd, could never have imagined that he would be the second most powerful man in the greatest empire of his time. Contrary to all expectations, God took Joseph from prisoner to prince so that Joseph might save thousands of lives, including those of his brothers who had wanted him dead.

In the movie Signs the Reverend Hess concludes: “What you have to ask yourself is what kind of person are you? Are you the kind who sees signs, sees miracles? Or do you believe that people just get lucky? Or look at the question this way: is it possible that there are no coincidences?”

What would Joseph say? 

Seekers Past and Present

From the sermon suggestion box.

Long ago my family learned the way to block me from always winning Trivial Pursuit was to ask me the sports questions. It's one area of pop culture that I'm really not into. So I rarely watch things like the Olympics. But my wife and I do enjoy the gymnastics and some of the skating events. That's because these sports are not so much about things you can measure, like if someone's the fastest, or the highest, or the strongest, or the most accurate, or the first. But gymnastics and skating are also about grace. Because of that they are notoriously the hardest to judge. Certainly there are rules and standards for judging the techniques displayed. A misplaced foot, a hesitation, or some imprecision will cost an athlete. But there is room for the intangibles that really count, like a certain spirit or elegance that distinguishes the merely competent from the extraordinary. So a lot depends on the judges. You don't want them favoring people merely because of their nationality or what team they are on. You want the judges to be both perceptive and impartial.

Speaking of judging people, “What happens to the people that died in B.C. [?] Will they not go to heaven?” The question from our sermon suggestion box touches on what seems to be a problem if salvation comes only through trusting in Christ. In today's passage from Romans, Paul says, “If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Using that standard alone, how can those who lived before Jesus possibly make it to heaven? Remember: that includes not just pagans but the faithful in the Old Testament.

A lot of people say that it doesn't matter what you believe so long as you are sincere. Really? According to his letters to the San Francisco police, the Zodiac killer believed that the people he killed would be his slaves in the afterlife. So if he was sincere about that, then he's saved? Sincerity is important but the content of your belief is crucial. When you switch from religious beliefs to political beliefs this becomes obvious. We would never say that a sincere communist was interchangeable with a sincere Republican. We would never equate a sincere belief in the principles of Nazism with a sincere belief in the principles of libertarianism. Going back to religion, a sincere Quaker would not wear a ceremonial dagger though a sincere Sikh would. Nor would the traditional treatment of untouchables in Hinduism find a place in the Unitarian Universalist faith.

Obviously sincerity is an asset. There are a lot of people who call themselves Christian who show little or no evidence that their so-called beliefs affect their actual behavior. Their sincerity is doubtful. On the other hand it's undeniable that the extremists who flew planes into buildings on 9/11 were sincere. However, had they been mainstream Muslims, who sincerely followed the Quran's prohibitions against killing non-combatants, they would not have committed terrorism in the first place. So what's important is people who are sincere about the right beliefs.

But if the belief in Christ is the right one, how can those who lived before his incarnation be saved? For much of my discussion of this matter, I am indebted to Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli and their Handbook of Christian Apologetics. Kreeft and Tacelli point out that Christ existed before being born around 4 to 6 B.C. He is the second person of the Trinity, the eternally begotten Son of God. Through him, everything was created. (John 1:1-3) So when you are dealing with the one true God, you are dealing with Christ. That's how the Old Testament believers were saved. They trusted in the same God, though if you asked them if they trusted in Jesus, they'd say, “Who?”

There is a scene in the movie The List of Adrian Messenger that illustrates how this would work. A British detective and a French witness make a startling discovery. During the Second World War, one was in British Intelligence and the other was in the French Resistance. The British supported the French Resistance in fighting the Nazis. It turns out these two men had spoken to each other frequently over the radio but at the time each used a codename. When the title mystery throws them together, they realize they had in fact worked together for the same cause during the war. They simply didn't know each other's true names. In the same way, the prophets in the Old Testament were serving Christ, though they did not know him by that name. They do now, of course.

However there are some who object to this, saying the name of Jesus Christ is vital to salvation. In Acts 4:12, it says, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.” Putting aside the fact that Jesus is the anglicized version of the Greek version of a Hebrew name, we know that the mere name of Jesus Christ is not magical. In Acts 19:13-16, some non-Christian exorcists trying driving out evil spirits invoking the name of “Jesus whom Paul preaches.” One demon says, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” Then the possessed man beats up his would-be exorcists. So the name doesn't work if you don't trust in the person who happens to have that name.

Let's consider a hypothetical case of the opposite situation. Let's say a deaf man in a foreign country sees a film about Jesus. He doesn't know the name of the person he is watching but he gets enough sense of the what the film is about so that he decides to trust the divine person the film is about. Could this man be saved, even though he cannot find out the name of his savior nor say it with his lips? Most theologians would say “Yes” because the man's faith is in the person of Christ and it is the person, not the name, who saves us. In Genesis 32, nowhere is the person who wrestles with Jacob explicitly called God. That person refuses to name himself. Nevertheless Jacob is renamed and blessed. The person, not what we call him, is the source of the power. (In fact every time in the Bible you see the word LORD all in capital letters it is following the Jewish tradition of not using the divine name lest you violate the commandment about using God's name wrongly. What's more we are not entirely sure the exact pronunciation of that name because the Hebrew text just had the consonants:YHWH.)

So those who believed in the true God were saved by Christ even before he was born as Jesus of Nazareth. Now what about the pagans who lived before Jesus was born? Kreeft and Tacelli point out that there are 3 things necessary to salvation: a person must seek God; that person must repent of their sins; and that person must put their trust in God. Can these be applied to pre-Christian pagans?

In the first chapter of Romans, Paul says that God's power and divine nature can be seen in creation. (Romans 1:20) And sure enough, you would have to look really hard to find any society that didn't believe in a creator God until very recently. But accepting the existence of God is not enough. We've already pointed out that a lot of people call themselves Christians who don't seem to let it make much difference in their lifestyles.

So a person must actively seek God. Jesus said, “Seek and you will find.” (Matthew 7:7) But how do we know the seeker won't find something other than Christ? In John 1:9, Christ is called the light who enlightens everyone. That's because he is not a God but the God. So whether they know it or not, Christ is the ultimate truth who is sought by all seekers, provided they aren't actually looking for comfort or novelty or personal vindication instead. If a person truly seeks God, they will find him. Or rather, they will be found by him. God is not an abstraction that can only be deduced but a person who can respond to us. He doesn't force himself on anyone but he does come to those who really seek him.

So why hasn't every person who sought him come up with something recognizable as Christ by whatever name they called him? I think it is human pride. Not only is the creator God's existence obvious so is the puzzling fact that the world he created is not perfect. The typical explanations most religions give is that evil is an illusion or ignorance or a consequence of our being finite or that evil is a necessary part of the cosmic balance. People tend to blame the state of the world on anything but their own sins.

We find it hard to accept that we fall short of the divine splendor mostly because of our deliberate choices. And it is difficult for us to accept that it is necessary for us to repent and turn our lives completely around. But that is an essential step. If you truly seek and find God, it should result in humility, a realistic appraisal of yourself. And if you aren't appalled by some of the things you notice about yourself, you aren't being honest with yourself. Yes, some of the harm we do is through ignorance or stupidity but most is done with full knowledge that we are violating a universal moral rule: that we are doing something to others we would not want done to ourselves. We put our own welfare ahead of others' wellbeing. We don't make sacrifices for the greater good if we can possibly avoid it. We judge others on the results of what they do rather than on their intentions. (We do the reverse when it comes to ourselves: “Don't blame me! I didn't mean to do that!') Sadly, a lot of churches and so-called Christians are trying to cut out the concept of repenting and having to change your life. So it's not so surprising that repenting doesn't figure into most pagan belief systems.

The pre-Christian pagan who truly sought God and repented would then have to put their whole trust in God's justice and mercy, according to the knowledge he possessed. Again, in Romans, Paul says people are judged according to their response to their own knowledge of God. (Romans 2:14-16) And while a pre-Christian pagan would not know everything about God, what he did know would be sufficient for him to seek God, repent and trust in God. He might wonder how God could undo all the damage sinful humanity has done. He might wonder on what basis God could possibly forgive him. He might, like the early Hebrews, have only a shadowy idea of the afterlife. In these areas he would have to live in hope, the future tense of faith.

There are those who object to the idea of the possibility of anyone being saved without explicit knowledge of Jesus Christ. But as we said, the faithful of the Old Testament were. (Hebrews 11:1-2, 13) If God is just, he won't condemn those who had no chance of hearing of Jesus and being saved. He will provide a way. Kreeft and Tacelli propose one possibility. But another one is based on a curious comment in 1^st Peter. It says that Christ “was put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, through whom he also went and preached to the spirits in prison, who disobeyed long ago when God patiently waited in the days of Noah as the ark was being built.” (1 Peter 3:18-20) While Bible scholars and theologians have different ideas about exactly what that means, it does seem that the gospel was preached to the spirits of those who died before Christ's birth.

In the end, just like in the Olympics, it comes down to the judge. If we trust in God's goodness, then we can count on him to be just in his judgment. But more than that, we can trust him to be merciful. The Bible tell us that God searches and judges the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7; Jeremiah 17:10) Nothing escapes his gaze. That's why an attitude of trust and humility are essential. (Micah 6:8) And that is where we must leave this question of what happens to those who died before Jesus' birth: in God's just and merciful hands.

But what about people today? If God judges people based on their response to their knowledge of him, then the fuller knowledge of Jesus Christ now available must be factored in. Aside from some very remote tribes, the knowledge of Jesus and the clearer picture of God's incredible love and forgiveness and transformation available though his Spirit has spread throughout the world. True, in some countries such knowledge might be harder to come by but it is available for those who seek it. It can be found on radio, TV, the internet and through people's phones in countless videos and free Bible apps. And, sure enough, some people in tightly controlled Muslim or Hindu countries do become Christians, even though they may risk their earthly lives to do so. Although a tame official Christian church exists in China, underground home churches are burgeoning. For God all things are possible.

The rules are the same. People must seek God, repent and put their trust in him. It's just that in Jesus they can see what the God who is love is really like. Which should spur us on to keep spreading the good news of Jesus Christ. And part of our task is to correct the distortions that some people have transmitted about the gospel. One time I had a patient who was refusing his pain meds because he thought his illness was a punishment from God. Going all the way back to the book of Job, the Bible refutes that narrow interpretation of sickness and misfortune. So I shared some powerful verses about God's forgiveness. The whole purpose of Jesus' suffering on the cross for our sins was so that we don't have to suffer that punishment. It was encouraging to see the good news of God's forgiveness in Jesus Christ free this man from his sense of guilt and self-loathing.

Paul said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes...” (Romans 1:16) Our job is not to pass final verdicts on people. (Matthew 7:1-2) Our mission is to make available the power of the good news to those seeking God. As Kreeft and Tacelli point out, the true divide is between those seeking God and those who aren't. There's little anyone can do for those who refuse to seek God. For the rest, we can help by pointing the way to God not only with our lips but with our lives. Not all of us can be eloquent or explain every nuance of the gospel. But all of us can tell others how God has helped us and changed our lives. We can say, “Taste and see that the Lord is good. Join me as we follow Jesus together.” (Psalm 34:8)

God's Will Hunting

From the sermon suggestion box.

One of the fun aspects of our sermon suggestion box is being forced to consider some aspect of the faith that I hadn't really contemplated in depth. And I enjoy the challenge of paring down what I discover in my research and any consequent thoughts I had into a quarter of an hour's meditation which covers the essentials and has some practical application. Today's question is deceptively straightforward: “How do we truly know we are doing God's will and not our own?” The problem is that the subject of God's will is a huge area to cover. Many long and complicated theological and philosophical works have been written on the topic. But this is a sermon, not a lecture series, so let's see if we can't narrow our focus.

The question itself helps. First it sets up a contrast. We are not talking about God's will in general but God's will as distinct from our own will. Secondly, we are not talking about God's will in every aspect of life but rather the part over which we have some control: “doing God's will.” Finally the question is asking for a degree of certainty, signified by use of the word “truly.” In other words, the question is “How can we know with certainty that what we are doing is what God wants us to do and not just what we want to do?” An excellent question and one which I wish more Christians asked themselves. This is not to say that answering the question will always be easy. The difficulty comes with the part about certainty.

Let's deal with what we do know for sure. God's general will is made clear for us is scripture. Talking about the day of judgment, 2 Peter 3:9 tells us that “the Lord is not slow about his promise, as some consider slowness, but is patient with you, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” The Greek word translated “willing” means “to plan.” It is not God's plan that anyone should come to destruction; his plan is that all should have , literally, “a change of mind.” God wants us to change our minds and hearts and turn from evil to him. This will or plan of God is expressed throughout the Bible. God is more intent on forgiving and restoring sinners than in destroying them. He makes ample opportunity for people to change their self-destructive ways before the consequences of their sins overtake them. Every second you live is a second chance.

One of the clearest examples of this is the book of Jonah. Nineveh was the capitol of the Assyrian empire which oppressed many peoples including Israel. God sends Jonah, whose name means “dove,” to preach repentance to them. Jonah famously does everything he can to avoid doing God's will for him. He eventually does obey God but he is disappointed when the city repents. He knew that God's will was to give them a chance to turn their lives around. In this story, God is more loving than his prophet, who hates the people he preaches to.

If God loves everyone then it is obvious that it is not his will that we harm anyone. That means he does not sanction torture, drug dealing, trafficking in sex slaves, death squads, nor loan sharking, even if those who do it profess to be Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus or atheists. Anybody whose primary job is based on causing unnecessary injury or harm to others should not believe that he or she is acting in God's will.

This is not to say that God doesn't recruit people from the ranks of those who exploit others. He does so that they may repent and use their experiences to help others, the way recovering alcoholics in AA help others. God often transforms what is evil in order to make something better. This doesn't mean he condones evil. God is like a chess grandmaster who is able to take our choices or those of others that affect us and incorporate them into his plan to redeem the world. I don't think that Jesus dying was God's Plan A for the world. But when the creatures he created in his image and pronounced good began to misuse and abuse and neglect all the good gifts he made, God knew what he had to do. And he made sure that the ultimate harm would fall upon himself.

But if harm is forbidden, can a person be a police officer or a soldier and be in God's will? When soldiers came to John the Baptist and asked how they should behave, Luke says he told them not to extort money from anyone by threats of violence or false accusations and to be content with their pay. In other words, don't abuse your power or use it for personal gain. Unfortunately, there was no independent police force then dedicated to protecting everyone's rights. Soldiers were the only police and their primary job was to keep the peace for the sake of the smooth running of the empire. While serving the powerful, soldiers nevertheless did maintain order and that is better than anarchy. (Ask anyone in a country involved in a civil war or where there is no law but the will of local warlords or competing drug cartels.) As long as a soldier or law enforcement officer is maintaining the peace and not abusing his power with violence and threats, he can do it with a clear conscience.

But what should a soldier or officer do if a superior orders him or her to do something immoral? As a Christian they must follow what Peter said to the Sanhedrin when they ordered the apostles to stop preaching about Jesus: “We must obey God rather than men.” And according to the U.S. Military code, soldiers may disobey illegal orders. Similarly, according to the official policies of our Sheriff's office, officers should not engage in illegal behavior, even if ordered to. Our police forces are supposed to have the welfare of everyone in mind, not just the powerful. In any job or position, the moral person must do what is right even if his superiors tell him to lie or cheat or cover up or extort or torture or kill unjustly. He must also do what's right even if his peers oppose him. Morality is not decided by the majority.

But what about a situation in which a soldier or police officer is confronting someone committing violence? Can a Christian resort to violence to stop violence? At first sight, the matter seems clear. Jesus said to turn the other cheek. (Matthew 5:39) He also told Peter that those who live by the sword will die by the sword. (Matthew 26:52) Looking at these two verses, it seems that Christians must be total pacifists.

But in the first case, Jesus is talking about reacting to violence directed at oneself. But if we are not to harm others, we also cannot stand by and let them be harmed. Jesus doesn't say we should not react to someone committing violence on another person. I think he would have us intervene, at first using words. Police are taught to to to diffuse situations with words. And that usually works, since, unlike in TV and movies, the majority of cops never draw their weapons during their careers. Only if they fail to diffuse the situation with words are they supposed to move to the next step. And from what Jesus did to the moneychangers (whom he saw as thieves, imposing outrageous exchange rates on pilgrims) we see that he did not rule out using force in every situation. (Although please note that he only overturned their tables—Matthew 21:12-13—and he used a whip to drive out the sheep and oxen—John 2:15—which got their owners out as they chased after the animals.) So if it is the last resort, and the only, and I mean only, way to stop a violent person from harming others is with the use of force, then it is the lesser of two evils.

But surely in the second case, Peter is doing just that, protecting Jesus from arrest and harm. Why did Jesus stop him? Probably because Jesus knew he must go to the cross. Jesus was therefore turning the other cheek and telling Peter to respect that. And Jesus protecting the disciples. In John's account, Jesus says to the soldiers, “If you are looking for me, then let these men go.” (John 18:8) Jesus knew his fate. And he knew the future of the gospel rested on the disciples. He saved them from violence by interposing himself.

Jesus was the person towards whom the force was directed and he could tell his followers not to intervene. And by restoring the severed ear of the high priest's servant, Jesus undoes the permanent effect of Peter's sword wielding. (Luke 22:51) Right there, in his healing one of those who came to have him killed, in choosing to be the only one who suffers in this event, we see the whole gospel, the good news that God revealed his self-sacrificial, reconciling love in Jesus, his son.

And that is one way to realize that you are following God's will and not your own: is sacrifice involved? People do not naturally seek paths in life that require giving things up. The reason that we have chronic shortages of people entering the helping professions—nursing, teaching, social work, the ministry—is because they are hard, not glamorous and don't pay as well as other kinds of work. That's why so many want to become music idols, or movie stars, or supermodels, or internet influencers. It's not that you can't be a Christian and be one of those things. But in a world where 773 million people are illiterate, where 50 million people are enslaved, where 560,000 people die violently each year, where more children die each day from lack of clean water and sanitation than from war-related violence, where a child dies every 10 seconds from starvation and poor nutrition, you have to ask if it's really God's will that you become rich and famous. You may be able to use your talents in a less glamorous, less profitable but more morally justifiable way.

The best way to do God's will is to do those things which reveal his loving will to the world. Like teaching children, tending the sick, feeding the poor, making sure that laws are just, enforcing those laws, repairing what's broken, restoring what's lost, maintaining what's good, confronting abuse, raising a family, helping a stranger, extending the boundaries of medicine, exploring the principles of the universe and creating beauty. Those are all ways of doing God's will. If you are making the world better, if you are not merely abstaining from harming others but helping them, building them up, treating them as Jesus' brothers and sisters, proclaiming the gospel in your works as well as your words, you are doing God's will. It may not be dramatic. It needn't be. Jesus said just giving someone a drink of cold water in his name was worthy of reward. (Matthew 10:42) Often the most vital people are the most overlooked. Who would be missed first at your job, the boss or the workers? Leadership is essential but without people to lead, it's useless. Jesus understood that true leadership meant taking care of your followers. That's why he saved them. That's why he died for you. You are one of his messengers.

But even if you aren't harming others or allowing them to be harmed, even if you are treating the poor, hungry, thirsty, vulnerable, sick, imprisoned or immigrant as you would him, even if it costs you in time, talent and treasure, even if you are giving up your privileges to help others, can you be absolutely certain that you are doing God's will? Not always. Obviously a person a person living like that is doing God's will for everyone. But if you mean are you doing exactly what his will is for you personally, then you need to ask yourself additional questions: Do I want to change what I am doing because I am bored or tired? Maybe you need to take a rest. Are you observing a weekly Sabbath? God made taking a day of rest a commandment. Or perhaps you should ask yourself if there is something else that's morally right to which you are being called? Or perhaps there is something that others are telling you that you should try because they see that it suits your God-given talents and interests?

And don't forget that God may want us to do different things at different times. What we are doing now may be his will for the present as well as preparation for something different he will have us do in the future. We do not know. That's why we have to trust him. That's why it's important to read his word and put what we read into practice and pray and interact with others who are following Jesus. Even so, you may only know it was God's will when you look back on your life as Joseph did. (Genesis 50:20) When you are far enough up the mountain to look around and see things from a distance, then you will be able to marvel at the way God made all things work together for good for you and for the lives you touched and for those who touched you. 

Separation Anxiety

The scriptures referred to are Romans 8:26-39.

There are certain universal fears: death, of course, but also pain, falling, public speaking, losing control and separation. We see the fear of separation in small children. Mom and Dad are leaving and the child is inconsolable. He may cling to his parents or simply cry. They are going away and as far as he knows he will never see them again. Even if he knows they will eventually return, he fears what may happen while they are gone. The presence of Mom and Dad is comforting. It instills a sense of security. Mom and Dad are the strongest, smartest, most powerful people a child knows. And if he is lucky, they are the most loving.

We are born powerless and that memory stays with us all our life. No matter how old or how powerful we become, we remember that once we weren't. If we're smart, we realize that someday we will be weak again. And if we're wise, we will realize that we aren't as powerful now as we think we are.

Sometimes that realization is thrust upon us. We get sick or have an accident or are assaulted or get caught in some natural disaster and we are forcibly reminded that we are not invincible. When I was a private duty nurse, I was struck by how many powerful men (the only ones who could afford private duty nurses) simply gave up when struck by some chronic disease or disability. When faced with something that could not be outsmarted, bribed, bullied or bypassed, they caved. They resented being powerless once more. I think we all react like that to an extent. But for these men, the contrast between their formerly dominant lives and their present diminished ones was so complete that they went into despair.

When enduring one of life's reversals, we often feel that God has abandoned us. Not so, says Paul. And he was talking from personal experience. In today's climactic passage from Romans chapter 8, Paul asks, “Who will separate us from the love of Christ?” And then he lists a number of adversities that he himself had undergone.

Will hardship separate us from the love of Christ? The Greek word literally means “pressure.” We know what it's like to feel pressure. It may be the pressure to get things done. It may be financial pressure. It may be peer pressure. Paul knew all of those. Paul was called to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. But the central beliefs—that God became a human being, that he was murdered for our sins and that he rose from the dead—were looked upon as nonsense by many pagans and infuriated his fellow Jews. He must have felt tremendous pressure to modify his message, to make it more palatable to popular tastes. He must have been told that if he preached something more upbeat, more in line with current thinking, he'd have more success.

But Paul preached the truth, Christ crucified, and let the chips fall where they may. And as it turned out, he was ultimately right. It may not have been what people wanted to hear but it was what people needed to hear. And eventually they responded.

Again Paul must have felt financial pressure. He was traveling and supported himself by making tents, his trade. (Acts 18:3) That's a very labor intensive job. It must have been hard to juggle that and his evangelism. He couldn't just knock off at 5 and let the next shift take over. Nor could he cut corners because as Jesus' apostle, he represented God. Plus he had to periodically pull up stakes, move to another town and reestablish himself. That had to hurt his business. We know he had lean times but he learned to be content in them. (Philippians 4:11-13) He learned to make do. He was so devoted to his calling that he subordinated everything else to it.

Finally he got pressure from his peers. Some felt he was watering down the law of Moses to make Gentile converts to the gospel. He wasn't holding them to the kosher laws. He wasn't even circumcising them. Paul had to travel to Jerusalem to defend his ministry. It must have been hard to face the original believers as well as James, Jesus' brother, and tell them that he, a latecomer to the faith, was right and they were wrong. But Paul stood firm and was vindicated. (Acts 15) So he knew about pressure.

Will distress separate us from the love of Christ? The Greek word means a “narrowing of room.” Paul must have felt hemmed in at times. His enemies had so many weapons to use against him. They could accuse him of disrespect for the gods, essentially treason to the empire. (Acts 19:23-41) They could haul him before the authorities as a disturber of the peace. (Acts 16:19-24) They could even use violence against him. (Acts 14:19-20) All that he could use in response was the gospel and love. He must have wished that he could get back at his enemies but he couldn't. He had to remain true to the Spirit of Christ. Paul knew about distress.

Will persecution separate us from the love of Christ? Christianity wasn't a legal religion for almost 300 years. At first the Romans just thought of it as another school of Judaism. But even Jews objected to Paul's teachings and eventually, the Roman authorities caught on to the difference. Paul was a Roman citizen and it must have been tempting to pass as just one of the crowd. But that would be a betrayal of God's commission to preach the good news to all. So Paul couldn't hide his allegiance to Jesus just to save himself trouble. Paul knew persecution.

What about famine? There was no refrigeration in Paul's day, no freeze-dried or dehydrated foods. We enjoy such an abundance of food it is hard to image what it could be like. But then as now, if your crops were destroyed by a drought or a hailstorm or a cloud of locusts, people will starve, at least locally. Have several years in a row like that and the whole empire is affected. At one point Paul took aid to the Christians in Judea who were facing a famine. (Acts 11:28-30) So he knew about famine.

Will nakedness separate us from the love of Christ? It sounds weird today but don't think of it as nudity so much as vulnerability. We rarely see the poor and homeless go naked these days. But in Paul's time, there were no governmental Department of Welfare, no United Way, no Salvation Army, no Goodwill. For that matter there were no department stores. Your wife or your mother made all your clothes. And unless you were rich you didn't even have a change of clothing. So if your wife or mother had no loom, or died, and if you didn't have relatives to help out, you were vulnerable to outgrowing your clothes or having them fall apart with wear. The naked poor must have been a common sight in Jesus' day because in his parable of the sheep and goats he says, “I was naked and you clothed me.” Even today in the cold of winter homeless people die for not having enough or proper winter clothes. In many parts of the country people are dying from the heat because they have no shelter. Imagine what it would be like if they have no clothes to protect them from the sun. Paul knew about vulnerability to the elements.

What about peril or the sword? Think of a world with no Geneva conventions, no United Nations, no World Court, no radio, TV or internet to bring you the news. In the ancient world you literally never knew if the next day an enemy hoard would invade your town, burn your houses, kill your men, rape your women and take your children into slavery. At the time Paul lived the one good thing about the empire was that it brought peace...to those who complied. But if your area revolted the Romans would burn your town, crucify your men, rape your women and take your children into slavery. Less than a decade after Paul's death the Romans put down a Jewish revolt and destroyed Jerusalem.

The early Christians lived in a very uncertain world. Disasters, natural or man-made, were all around them. And when they were suffering it was tempting to think that God had turned his back on them, that he was punishing them, that they had failed him and he had left them to suffer the consequences.

Paul says, No! God is not a human being. He is not fickle. He doesn't give up on us. God loves us with a steadfast love. Mere circumstance cannot make him abandon us. Therefore we are not defeated. We may look like lambs being led to the slaughter but so did his son. By evening on Good Friday, Jesus looked to all the world like just another failed visionary. He had suffered pressure from family and friends to stop teaching. (Mark 3:21; John 7:5) He was persecuted. He was whipped, beaten, nailed to a cross, naked and thirsty, and impaled with a spear. And yet in the light of Easter, what should have been defeat was seen as a triumph. The ultimate victim became the ultimate victor. He took the worst that anyone could throw at him, including death, and he came back stronger.

So Paul says, “We are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” In Christ the conventional way of reckoning winners and losers doesn't apply. Unlike the saying, he who has the most toys does not win and he most definitively isn't given first place. Nor does he who has the most land or armies or followers win. The winner is he who gives the most and helps the most. By this measure Jesus is first because he gave all to help all. If we take up our cross and follow him, we also will triumph.

But this is hard to remember when trouble strikes. It is hard to feel victorious when you are writhing in pain, or bent over in nausea, or fighting deep-in-the-bones fatigue. It is hard to feel triumphant when you are just trying to survive some major or personal catastrophe. It's hard to feel like a winner when everyone says you're not.

That is why we need faith. We need to trust that God's way of seeing things is the right way because, quite frankly, the deceivers are pretty convincing. The world is always telling us that what matters is things: money, popularity, good looks, sex and power. We have to keep reminding ourselves that what is really important is people and their wellbeing. We have to keep remembering that the first commandment is not “look out for number 1” but “Love God with all your being.” And the second commandment isn't “do right by those who can do you some good” but “Love others—family, friends, neighbors, strangers and even enemies—as you should love yourself.” For we are all created in God's image. It's that simple to grasp and that hard to do.

Daily we must affirm that nothing separates us from the all-encompassing love of God. Nothing except ourselves. He will not turn his back on us but we can turn our back on him. He will not give up on us but we can give up on him. He will not abandon us but we can run from him. Why? Because he gave us free will. We are free to choose his love or not. He will not force himself on us. He will only woo us. And only we can keep his love at bay.

People keep God at arm's length because they don't want to give themselves up to his love. They are afraid they will change, become someone different, be less cool, be less themselves. Well, they will change but they won't be less than they are; they will become more.

Look at Paul. He was a brilliant and zealous rabbi with a very logical and narrow view of the world: if all the Jews obeyed the Torah, God would end the present evil age and inaugurate his kingdom, where the Gentiles would be either servants of Israel or fuel for the fires of hell. But then God changed him into the foremost proclaimer of his grace, the apostle to the Gentiles. He saw the kingdom starting in his lifetime in the spread of the good news of God's love and forgiveness which includes everyone, male and female, slave and free, Jew and Gentile. Paul changed, all right. He became a bigger person than he had been. He had a bigger vision of life and he did more than he would have before. And he realized that no thing—not death, nor the demands and desires of life, nor supernatural powers, nor fallen angels, nor stars in their ascension and decline, nor anything present nor in the future—could stop what God was bringing about in us. No thing ever can.

I wish to close by quoting the last sermon that the Rev. Paul Rasmus ever preached as Dean of the Keys. And I will quote it in its entirety. He said, “God loves you. And there's nothing you can do about that.” I just want to make one addition to that: Yes, you can. You can accept God's love. And if you do, there is no power in the universe that can take you from him. Not now, not ever.