Category: Politics

Op-ed in Greenwich Time

It’s been a blistering couple weeks.  Aside from being hit by Hurricane Sandy ourselves, we’ve been responding to those in more desperate situations by offering supplies and relief.  My church’s generosity has been tremendous and inspiring.

In the midst of it all, I was interviewed on CBS radio about our relief efforts and published an op-ed in the local paper.  I wrote the op-ed before the storm had formed in the tropics, so it may seem a bit irrelevant at this point.  In any case, here it is:

THE MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION OF OUR LIVES

Some of my neighbors have recently placed new blue signs in their yards. At least one of them says “Obama” and at least one other says “Romney.” My yard, on the other hand, is decorated only by the fallen leaves, two orange pumpkins, and some pink mums. It’s not that I’m against political yard signs or a citizen’s right to free speech; it’s that on most days my thoughts are on a different kind of citizenship. It’s true, I pay my taxes and vote in the U.S.A., but I am also a citizen of God’s eternal Kingdom.  [Keep Reading]

Teaching: The Gateway Church

Lesson 6 of 7.  The Seven Churches of Revelation.

Revelation 3:7-13:

“To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:

These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.

I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

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Teaching: Generous Justice (Chs 7&8)

Part 4 of 4 in a series of teachings on the book Generous Justice: How God’s Grace Makes Us Just, by Tim Keller.  Featuring Mark Gornik.

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Teaching: Generous Justice (Chs 5&6) Q&A

Q&A Portion: Part 3 of 4 in a series of teachings on the book Generous Justice: How God’s Grace Makes Us Just, by Tim Keller.

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Teaching: Generous Justice (Chs 5&6)

Part 3 of 4 in a series of teachings on the book Generous Justice: How God’s Grace Makes Us Just, by Tim Keller.

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Teaching: Generous Justice (Chs 1&2)

Part 1 of 4 in a series of teachings on the book Generous Justice: How God’s Grace Makes Us Just, by Tim Keller.

 

 

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“The American Dream” – A Sermon by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

MLK delivered a powerful sermon on July 4, 1965 entitled The American Dream.  It included this paragraph:

You see, the founding fathers were really influenced by the Bible. The whole concept of the imago dei, as it is expressed in Latin, the “image of God,” is the idea that all men have something within them that God injected. Not that they have substantial unity with God, but that every man has a capacity to have fellowship with God. And this gives him a uniqueness, it gives him worth, it gives him dignity. And we must never forget this as a nation: there are no gradations in the image of God. Every man from a treble white to a bass black is significant on God’s keyboard, precisely because every man is made in the image of God. One day we will learn that. (Yes) We will know one day that God made us to live together as brothers and to respect the dignity and worth of every man.

He concluded the sermon with this plea:

We open the doors of the church now. If someone needs to accept Christ, (Yes, sir) this is a marvelous opportunity, a great moment to make a decision. And as we sing together, we bid you come at this time by Christian experience, baptism, watch care. But come at this moment, become a part of this great Christian fellowship and accept Christ (Yes, sir) as your personal savior.

I especially like the sentence “we open the doors of the church now” in the final paragraph.  He was probably speaking logistically.  But to me it is a connection between his imago dei-based rights argument and the way that in Jesus there is unity.

Entire sermon manuscript
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Jesus Loves Rich People

A few observations from the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus in Luke 19:

Zacchaeus Was Rich.  “[Jesus] entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich.” (v.1-2)

Zacchaeus Was An Overachieving, Type-A, Busy-body.  Observe him in action as he demonstrates his ability to outpace the competition: “And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.” (v.3-4)

Jesus Knew How To Communicate With An Overachiever Like Zacchaeus.  Listen as Jesus talks to Zacchaeus in the pace he was already in: “And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.” (v.5-6)

Jesus Loved Zacchaeus.  Even though everyone else seems to avoid Zacchaeus, Jesus said, “I must stay at your house today.” (v.5)

People Didn’t Approve of the Fact That Jesus Loved Zacchaeus.  We might say “rightly so” to the fact that everyone hated Zacchaeus, but it is worth noting that the crowd also disapproved of someone showing him compassion: “And when they saw it, they all grumbled, ‘He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.’” (v.7)

Zacchaeus Was Changed By Jesus’ Love.  Notice that Jesus did not command Zacchaeus to change his despicable ways.  Instead Zacchaeus, upon receiving Jesus’ unconditional love, was motivated toward righteousness and just treatment of the poor: “And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, ‘Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.’” (v.8)

Implications for Our Present Context
What can we learn from this ancient story?  I can’t help but think about our present cultural discourse.  Like the crowd in Jericho, many of us despise the Zacchaeuses of our day, whether they be “the one percent” (angering the left) or “the tax collectors” (angering the right).  In both cases, we can easily add our angry voices to the grumbling crowd and maybe even expect that our protest will motivate them to change.

But Jesus simply loves them.  True, we can find many, many passages in Scripture where Jesus is on the side of the poor, the lost, the outcast, the blind and lame.  But here we see that Jesus considers rich people to be “lost” as well.

And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (v.9-10)

Today, we can choose to remain among the grumbling crowd, angrily decrying the unjust actions of the rich.  Or, we can follow Jesus as he unconditionally loves rich (i.e. lost) people.  Who knows, one day our love might motivate them toward justice and righteousness.