Hearing the Music

The Highest Life?

A fresh blanket of snow this morning has kept a number of kids home from school, perhaps disrupting expectations for the day. But the fresh blanket of snow is also a beautiful picture of the Gospel truth, "though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow." (Isaiah 1:18). 

One of the areas in which humanity finds itself stumbling frequently, and in need of redemption, is in the area of our sexuality. Note I say "one of the areas", meaning it is not the only area nor is it necessarily the most important area of our discipleship, but it is an area that Jesus chooses to address in the sermon we are working through (cf. Matthew 5:27-32). Culture simultaneously debases and exalts our understanding of and practice of sex. It debases it by reducing it to a physiological function, claiming its significance as little more than going to the gym and working out. It exalts it by wrapping our whole identity up with our sexuality and its close cousin, gender expression. Jim Weidenaar of Harvest USA  in an article entitled It Isn't Really About Sex, puts it this way, “The world says that the highest life is attained by your expressing yourself—especially your sex and gender—according to your impulses and desires." Confusing right? On the one hand sex is just a base bodily function; on the other hand it is core to who we are. To put this last cultural notion in biblical terms, it is stating that sex is where we find salvation.

Jesus, on the other hand, helps us see that our understanding about sex is important but is not ultimate. Like anger, our sexual dialogues (both internal and external) are rooted in our hearts. What we believe about sex ultimately flows from what we believe about the world, about God and about ourselves. And our beliefs about sexuality will absolutely impact those around us, for better or for worse. Yet, both Jesus and the rest of the scriptures point out the reality that while our sexuality is important, it is not the most important thing to know. Again Weidenaar, "In biblical Christianity, sex is a picture of the gospel, but it is not the gospel; ...true, abundant, and eternal life is only found by trusting and loving Jesus.” Answering questions about sexuality with reference to the Gospel may seem confusing to you, or irrelevant, or just plain 'ole missing the mark, when in fact it is absolutely crucial. Starting with the belief that Jesus is our salvation, not sex, speaks clearly to issues of identity and points us toward a way of living out our sexuality that will be fulfilling individually and will bless others. Speaking about sexuality through Gospel lens helps us deal with shame that is present for so many as we broach this topic.

These are crucial conversations to have. I am glad that Jesus does not shy away from bringing it to the fore. I look forward to diving in with you this Sunday.

Photo by Gaelle Marcel on Unsplash

Murder He Wrote

I have a confession to make. I am a murderer. I don't say this lightly, but I do know that I am not alone in my guilt. Like Poe's Tell Tale Heart narrator, we all know where the bodies are buried, and their heartbeats haunt us. We all have participated and witnessed hundreds of killings over the course of our lifetimes. In addition to our guilt, we have all felt the plunge of the knife or swallowed the strychnine laced cocktails that our enemies, but even more painfully, our loved ones have served us. I am, of course, talking about the murderous effects of anger.

In our passage for this week, Matthew 5:21–26, Jesus helps us understand one of the easiest, yet also one of the most deadly, tendencies of our hearts, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire." (vv. 21,22).

There is a lot that we can say about anger. For starters, we know that not all anger is bad because Jesus was angry (John 2:14-15; John 11:33), and God is said to be slow to anger (Exodus 34:6). We are even enjoined to be angry but sin not (Ephesians 4:26). Righteous anger is connected to true love. God's anger is always righteous; righteously motivated, righteously focused, etc... And therein lies our problem. Because our loves are disordered, so, more often than not, our anger is as well. In fact, anger is in many respects like a warning light on the dashboard, encouraging us to dig deep and check the loves that are powering us: love of self, love of security or status, or contrastingly a failure to believe that God truly loves us. These all too often are the motivations of our anger... thus the body count. 

But there is hope for those who have been hurt by anger, just as there is hope for the angry person. Jesus is holding out a righteousness that is greater than the scribes and the Pharisees, a righteousness that, when imputed to those of a broken spirit and a contrite heart, takes the sting of unrighteous anger into its sacrificial embrace. It is freedom unlike any other.

Anger is within us and around us. I look forward to going deeper with you this Sunday to find the grace that is greater than all our sin.

Photo by Peter Forster on Unsplash

Power of Story

As this note is received by our community today, I am finishing up some preparation for an evening of dialogue with area young adults on the nature of Biblical love. After all, Valentine's Day is right around the corner. Our culture claims that all love is love; is that really true?

Along with so many other "stories" our culture tells, the current story being told regarding love, sexuality and relationships is having disastrous consequences. Glynn Harrison in his book A Better Story sums up the attitude of so many in our culture:

"For centuries, traditional morality had us – all of us – in its suffocating grip. Year after year the same old rules, chained to the past, heaped shame on ordinary men and women (and boys and girls) whose only crime was being different. ... No more. Change is here. We are breaking free from the shackles of bigotry and removing ourselves from under the dead hand of tradition. Our time has come. A time to be ourselves. A time to be truly who we are. A time to celebrate love wherever we find it. A time for the human spirit to flourish once again. And if you people won’t move out of our way, we are going to push you out of our way." It is a story that has thrived in the vital land of individualism, fertilized by loneliness and a desperate need for connection. But it is ultimately a story that cannot deliver despite its claims. One needs only to be honest with what we see around us to realize that this story is bankrupt.

Which brings us to the Christian story, a story from the heart of the Creator God contained in his revelatory blueprint for humanity. This story is full of beauty and coherence, and is remarkably plausible despite the many claims to the contrary. Unfortunately, Christians find themselves on their heels in the battle of narratives. Again, Harrison is helpful, both in capturing the essence of this more beautiful story and in reminding us to have confidence that the story that the Gospel tells is really good news!

"It’s time to recover our confidence that the Christian vision for sex, marriage and family also conveys social and relational goods that can bring blessing and flourishing to all. We need to be ready to share what we ourselves have found to be true for the sake of children in need, because a culture of strong marriages brings stability to their emotional and psychological development, alleviates poverty and enhances educational outcomes, and to do so for the sake of the poor more generally too, because it is they who bear the brunt of the collapse of marriage. We do it for the sake of women, because the Christian vision of men who love their wives as Christ loves the church condemns outright the abuses of psychological control and aggression, and for the sake of young men, because in the Christian vision their days of being Peter Pan are numbered. And we need to share what we have found, for the sake of all whose lives have been hollowed out by pornography, promiscuity, trafficking, and by the fruitless pursuit of self-fulfilment. We have been given life for the world and we cannot keep it to ourselves."

The idea of sharing a story is certainly in line with the Sermon on the Mount. Last week Pastor Addison expounded for us the importance of being salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16). This week we look at how Christ is the denouement of the story that began in the Old Testament and is now being played out throughout the cosmos (Matthew 5:17-20).  And in case you're wondering, the story is truly good news!

Let's keep telling the story together!