Christ the divider

This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. (Luke 2:34b-35)

Simeon had waited his whole life to see the promised Messiah. Then one day an unassuming young couple brought their baby into the temple court, and he knew that the moment he had been waiting for had come. This was the child the Holy Spirit had told him about. He was full of joy and thanksgiving.

Yet as he gazed at the baby in Mary’s arms, he also spoke a sombre and prophetic warning. This child would divide people. He would reveal the state of people’s hearts and bring out their real attitude towards God. Those who were truly seeking reconciliation and peace with God would welcome him, but others would hate him and all those who associated with him.

It is worth pondering this through Advent as we look forward to celebrating Christ’s birth at Christmas and wait for his promised return. Christmas has become synonymous with ‘peace and goodwill’. For a few days each year many people seem willing to forget their differences and come together in acts of generosity and kindness. We should rejoice that this is so. 

But speaking the name of Jesus, even at Christmas, still produces animosity and division and shows where people’s hearts are focused. Sometimes Christians provoke a negative response by their own attitude, demanding, for instance, that others “keep Christ in Christmas.” But we should not be surprised that even the most gentle and respectful introduction of Christ’s name produces a mixed response (see 1 Peter 3:15). Simeon’s words are still true and will remain true until Jesus returns. 

For all the saints?

In the church calendar October 31 was traditionally All Hallows Eve, the evening before All Saints Day on November 1. It was a time for remembering the dead, both the saints and martyrs (”the hallowed” or holy ones)and loved ones who had died. It may have been timed to coincide with an older pagan festival which marked the onset of winter, although originally All Saints day was in May.

Many ancient cultures believed that on one day of the year the souls of the dead visit this world. Food and drink would be provided to welcome these visitors. Others believed that the unhappy souls of those who had died wandered the earth, or that evil spirits might try to gate-crash the party, so rituals were devised, such as wearing costumes and masks, to ward them off.

In Europe in the Middle Ages, children would go door to door collecting specially baked “soul cakes” in exchange for saying prayers for the dead. During the Reformation the idea of praying for dead souls was dismissed along with the concept of purgatory, but that did little to dampen popular enthusiasm for ancient practices. In England in the 1960’s, “mummers” with blackened faces still came to the door offering to drive evil spirits from the house by humming, for a small donation. Trick or treat is nothing new!

Many Christians see Halloween as a pagan festival that has more to do with Satan than with Christ. Others reject the commercialism or are concerned about the safety of children, physically or spiritually. But how might we find creative ways to remember and reflect on the lives of those who went before us? Rather than condemning our neighbours for their fascination with death, how might we demonstrate in a positive way that Christ has overcome death and Satan?

Blinded by prejudice

But to this day the LORD has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear.
 (Deuteronomy 29:4)

Two sorts of people never change their mind - those suffering from delusions caused by mental illness, and the prejudiced. Mental illness can often be treated, but prejudice has no treatment. 

A person whose mind is open to the truth may have very strongly held beliefs based on false information, but once they have better information, they are willing to change their beliefs. No amount of new information will change the mind of the prejudiced because they have already “prejudged” whatever they see and hear.

Perhaps this is what scripture is describing when it speaks of God ‘hardening the heart’ of Pharaoh (Exodus 7.3), or blinding the eyes and shutting the ears of those who have rejected the truth (Isaiah 6:10, John 12:38). To us that may sound unfair. Doesn’t God want people to change their minds? Yes, he does.

Their unbelief is not caused by God, that is their own choice. But once someone has made up their minds not to see or hear anything that contradicts what they believe, only God can change that. Nothing else will. God doesn’t literally close their minds, but only he can soften their hearts and open their eyes and ears. In a sense, it becomes his choice.

This has implications for evangelism. When we share the gospel, we also need to pray that God will open our listener’s ears and eyes and hearts. But it also has implications for ourselves. None of us is free of prejudice of some kind. We need to pray that God would show us where we are blind and deaf to the truth, and that he would heal us. 

Blinded by envy

Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him.(John 11:57)

Mark’s gospel tells us that it was out of envy that the religious leaders sought to have Jesus arrested and executed. But what was the cause of their envy?

Perhaps it was that Jesus related freely to God and called him Father, while they were forever anxious about their own righteousness. Jesus spoke with authority, while they could only quote the authority of others. Jesus miraculously fed the hungry, healed the sick and cast out demons, while they, unable to deny that the miracles had taken place, could do no such miracles themselves.

So out of envy they accused him of blasphemy and demanded that he produce witnesses to testify to what he was saying.They accused him of breaking the Sabbath and of using the power of the devil to heal. Envious of his popularity with the crowds, they accused him of consorting with sinners.Their envy not only blinded them to who Jesus was, it blinded them to their own envious attitude towards him.

Envy is like that. It hides itself and blinds us to the bitter attitudes and destructive actions it produces in us.  Unlike coveting, which says simply “I want what you have”,  envy says “I want what you have, and I don’t want you to have it.” At heart envy says “I must have no rivals”. But only God truly has no rival. Envy sets us up against God as well as against other people.

If we frequently find ourselves being critical and judgmental, or find it difficult to rejoice when others succeed, or constantly feel that life isn’t fair, it may be that envy is the underlying cause. Once we recognise and admit that we have a problem with envy, God can start to heal us and teach us it’s antidote, contentment.

Seeing comes from obedience

“The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” John 9:11

Model of old Jerusalem.
Original image by Berthold Werner

The blind man had never seen Jesus. He had only heard him speaking and felt his hands touching his face. But something about Jesus, his willingness to touch a blind beggar, his voice and the way he spoke, made the man willing to do as Jesus told him. Even though it meant leaving his begging bowl and stumbling, still blind, to the pool several streets away, he got up and went to Siloam to wash. And he came back seeing.

Later the man described himself to the Pharisees as a disciple of Jesus, (9:27) though at that stage he was still uncertain about who Jesus was. When Jesus met him again and told him the truth, he instantly recognised Jesus, and fell down in worship. Not only had his physical sight been restored, but his spiritual eyes had been opened.

Not long before this, Jesus had told the Pharisees, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32). In other words, obedience comes before knowing and demonstrates discipleship. Such obedience requires trust in the person of Jesus before we have seen the truth of what he is telling us. The Pharisees refused to trust Jesus. The blind man trusted and through his obedience came to the truth.

To be a disciple of Jesus doesn’t require that we have all the facts about him, or understand every theological proposition about him. We only need to trust him because of what we do know and be willing to do what he tells us. Such trust and obedience will lead us to the truth.

Inspired not condemned

The advertising industry has apparently decided that promoting anxiety about being judged inadequate is just as good for business as creating envy. So women's magazines carry pictures of celebrities with scathing captions mocking the size of their thighs, the colour of their lipstick or their fashion blunders. The message to readers is clear - get this right or you too will be judged. Of course the magazines carry numerous advertisements for products that will help you do just that.

Sadly, some churches seem to work on the same principle. Certain individuals are criticised, openly or subtly, for the way they dress, the frequency of their attendance at church functions, or the way they bring up their children. Sometimes the pulpit is used to condemn not just sin, but sinners. Soon everyone learns to conform, not out of love or respect for each other, but because they fear that they too will be judged.

Fear of condemnation should have no place among Christians. Jesus repeatedly warned his disciples against having a judgmental attitude towards others. He was grieved and angered by the Pharisees’ tendency to judge and condemn those who didn't conform to their own man-made standards. The church that is following Jesus will be a place where people are welcomed as they are, and inspired to do better, rather than being made anxious to conform.

What the Bible has to say about sin must be taught, and taught well. It is sometimes appropriate to privately and lovingly confront someone who is straying from God’s word. But only God knows enough about the circumstances of a person’s life and the motives of their heart to be their judge. If he himself does not condemn us, let us be people who offer encouragement rather than condemnation to each other.

The Pharisees had something right

"Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:16)

The Pharisees knew the scriptures well. They knew that in order to approach a good and holy God, you must live a life of scrupulous obedience to his law. Since no human being could hope to live a perfectly sinless life, a sacrifice was needed to atone for your sins. Then you must have a priest appointed by God to act as your intermediary. Only then was it safe to approach God. Those who encountered him unprepared, like Isaiah, cried out in terror at his presence (Isaiah 6:5).

When a young preacher from Galilee claimed that he was God in human form, it was easy enough to see that his claims were false. He ate and drank with blatant sinners. He let those made unlcean by diseases touch him. He didn't allow his disciples to stop anyone from coming to him. Even gentile sinners were welcome. And he talked to God with the familiarity of a child with his father.

In one sense the Pharisees were right. How could God appear among them and not consume those who approached him carelessly and in sin? Jesus was not even a priest, so how could he pretend to represent God? Were his claims not blasphemous?

What they didn't understand was that Jesus himself was living a sinless life, the only truly sinless life, on behalf of those who came to him. Jesus himself was the ultimate sacrifice for sin that would end all sacrifices. Jesus was the great high priest who would be the eternal intermediary between God and his people.

While the Pharisees’ problem was that they couldn’t imagine a holy God appearing among them, our problem is that we sometimes take it for granted. We “approach the throne of grace” with a confidence that is based on a diminished view of God’s holiness rather than an appreciation of Jesus’ role in making it possible. In an act of sheer grace, our holy and loving God has provided us with all that we need to come to him. Who could imagine that?

Taking our stand

We no longer stand alone

One of the key themes of Paul's letter to the Ephesians - in fact one of the key themes of Paul's theology - is that through the church the wisdom of God is made known to "the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places." (3:8-10) Christ has been raised from the dead and is seated "far above all rule and authority, power and dominion" (1:21). Now we, who once followed "the prince of the power of the air" along with the rest of the world (2:1-2), have been made alive with Christ and united in him and through him. We have "the full armour of God" to help us stand against "the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places"(6:12).

Who or what these "rulers and authorities" are is not spelled out, but clearly they are more than just earthly and human kings and governors. They are in the heavenly places, that is, in the spiritual realm, and they are somehow associated with the "prince of the power of the air." Jesus speaks of Satan as "the ruler of this world" (John 12:31) who he sees (prophetically) falling from heaven (Luke 10:18). Elsewhere in the New Testament Satan is referred to as the "prince of demons" who has a kingdom in this world.

The church is thus reclaimed ground in the great cosmic battle between God and the spiritual powers. Those powers seek to dishonour God by separating us from him and from each other. Their ultimate weapon is death, which separates us permanently. But by defeating death through raising Christ to new life, and uniting what was once disunited through the church, God has declared his wisdom and authority over every other power. 

In the death and resurrection of Jesus the battle has already been won. But for now those powers are still active in the world, spreading disunity, hatred and strife through human sinfulness. We need no reminder of that. So how do we, as ordinary human beings, made extra-ordinary in Christ, take our stand against the "present darkness"? 

Paul's answer is surprising. We do it by striving to keep the unity of the church, and by being submitted to one another. By treating our spouses with courtesy, kindness and respect. By being reliable and hardworking employees, or if we are an employer, by treating our employees with dignity and fairness. By being patient with our children and demonstrating in our own lives the things we are trying to teach them (5:21-6:9). And doing all of these things prayerfully, always relying on the Holy Spirit. 

These are not minor matters. They are the places where spiritual warfare is lost or won in our lives.

Chosen in Christ

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. John 15:16 (NIV)

Image by Ged Carroll via Flickr

Jesus taught his disciples many things in the three years that he was with them. But when he spoke to them for the final time before his death, we can be sure that he didn’t waste words. What he told them over supper in that upstairs room was of utmost importance. And one of the things that he really wanted them to know was that they did not choose him, but he chose them.

Why was that? Three possible reasons come to mind. First, he wanted to ensure that the disciples would never become arrogant about their position. They would never come to believe that God owed them something for having dedicated their lives to him. They were disciples by his choice, not theirs.

Second, he wanted to avoid becoming a commodity or package, something the disciples would sell to others as ‘a good choice in life’. The person who is called by Christ does not make ‘a decision for Christ’ in order to get the spiritual goods. They are already chosen and can only humbly submit to him as Lord. The disciples were called to bear witness to Christ, not to sell Christianity.

Thirdly, he wanted to give the disciples reassurance in those times when they were tempted to believe that they were not committed enough, not dedicated enough, and therefore not acceptable to God. Peter was about to deny Jesus. Thomas would doubt him. All would abandon him. But that didn’t negate the bond between the disciples and Jesus, because he had chosen them. If it was by their own choice that they followed him, their failure could suggest that they had not been sincere enough in their decision. But if he had chosen them, they were secure. 

That is not to say that following Christ doesn't involve a striving to become a better disciple. But knowing that we are Christ's by his choice, not ours, sets us free from constantly questioning our level of commitment based on our performance. We will avoid the trap of frequently dissecting our past motivation while grimly trying to improve on the commitment we made last week, last month, last year. 

When we fall down, it is our reliance on Christ, not our resolution to follow him, that we need to review. "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you." is commitment. (Matthew 26:35) "Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness." is reliance on Christ. (Acts 4:29) We are his, he has chosen us, and he is committed to seeing us bear lasting fruit.