The Marketplace of Ideas and Reality

In a marketplace of ideas, diverse points of view are competing for attention and acceptance. People compete to promote their views. The best ideas are supposed to win most followers. We love the concept! We also see that marketplace producing specialists in selling ideas, shaping opinion, lobbying those in power. Those with most resources often win. That’s life.

“Paul in Athens” doesn’t turn out right. To be effective, shouldn’t it be a story of success? But we see few converts. Here, Paul doesn’t win the competition of ideas. Why tell the story? Paul comes to the famous heart of Greek civilization. He goes both to the Synagogue and into the Agora, center of civic and cultural life. He talks to anyone, but advocates of famous philosophies challenge him: Stoics and Epicureans, both schools more than 300 yrs old with complex teachings. Paul is superficial talking about new divinities, Jesus and the Rising. Aeschylus long ago told that Apollo instructed the Areopagus that there’s no Rising after death. They take him to the Areopagus.

Do Philosophers (or Secular Friends) Need God?

Stoics and Epicureans didn’t need a Gospel. They had their own: how to live well, in undisturbed calm in a troubled world. They had dealt with popular “gods,” incorporating them into a philosophical system. The Stoics with a kind of pantheism: a single web of material nature, guided from within by reason (logos). Don’t fight it. Be free from passion. Epicureans: Gods are far away and happy, not interested in us. Death is annihilation with nothing to fear. Withdraw from trouble and find peace in a quiet garden with friends.

Paul doesn’t dispute that they live well. He had said as much to crowds in Lystra. They surround themselves with piety. But they have no God worthy of their philosophies.

The Heart of Reality Seen in a Person

Paul tells of God as exalted, transcendent and also more earthy than they can grasp. God shows his reality in a specific person and event. God is not against philosophy as it feels after God. But God’s unexpected reality breaks through in an event – rising from death.

The marketplace of ideas does not produce the unique event of “a man” dying and raised, who is the expression of God’s judgment setting the whole world right by resurrection. Some mock. Some believe. The event becomes the starting point for philosophy and ethics.

The Spirit Poured Out by a Crucified Messiah

The Gospel is the announcement of what happened in Jesus! But the event of Jesus goes on! The disciples were told to wait – this is God’s work. God comes as the Spirit’s poured out.

The waiting Peter speaks: Scripture, Jesus with Cross, Resurrection, Enthronement, and Spirit. All are surprised, captured, even Disciples. But it’s Good News even for the crucifiers.

All are called to changed thinking and practice. Jesus is the Anointed One. Plunge in! God’s Spirit is given to you as never before. People respond from everywhere. 3,000 baptized.

The Spirit shapes a new community. Thousands of stories, lives to change. Devotion to several things: Teaching, learning, realizing the breadth and depth of what God has done. Shared life, a new community beginning to cross all boundaries. Breaking bread: Jesus death and life in shared meals. Prayers, a renewed relation with Abba, new hopes, needs. They realize a oneness and new reality that sees possessions in a new way, as resources to share. They flood the temple as a united group and share intimacy in scores of homes.

A Focused Unity and an Amazing Variety

As that Spirit Community spread, the Spirit broke down boundaries people hadn’t envisioned. The common tendency of people is to divide over differences. Paul urges the Corinthians to celebrate variety brought together by One God known in Three. The unity is not sameness inside a boundary, but Jesus as center who unites divisions that divide the world. Even Greeks and slaves drink the Spirit of God that shared creation and inspired Prophets.

The Spirit values even individual diversity as he empowers people. He wants a body of diverse parts working together to create a life that embodies the love of the Messiah Jesus.

Growing into the Maturity of Jesus

The community created by the Spirit has its distinct character because of its Center in the Good News of Jesus. The self-giving love of Jesus, the heart of God, shown in the Cross and Resurrection draws the community toward a challenging character that carries every member through growth toward Jesus. The start is simple but transformation goes on.

Growing into life that embodies the Good News of Jesus is true worship. It’s learned and practiced in Community. Jesus gives us a variety of helpers, but they’re growing too as part of the whole. Learning and practice create a body that’s changing, growing to match its head. A body building itself with muscles, ligaments, neurons of His Love.

The Spirit’s Surprise in the Spreading Good News

Jesus sent the Apostles out to make disciples of all nations (Mt 28:18-20). On Pentecost, Jews from many nations/languages were gathered in Jerusalem when the Spirit came. Acts unfolds the story as these diverse Jews respond, and God creates new community.

But there’s irony as the Apostles stay in Jerusalem when persecution comes. Greek-speaking leaders go out. The great story of the inclusion of Gentiles is Acts 10: Cornelius and Peter. We see that Peter never intended to go to foreigners, till pushed by God’s Spirit. He has to learn that God shows no partiality. God’s Spirit comes unexpectedly and pushes him.

But even earlier, Acts tells of Philip, a leader among Greek-speaking Jews. Under persecution he goes out to Samaritans alienated from Jews. People respond with joy. But surprisingly the Spirit doesn’t come. There needs to be unity across old wounds and prejudices. The Spirit waits till apostles come from Jerusalem. Jews and Samaritans are united in Jesus.

Good News that Breaks Barriers – in a Single Person

Acts pushes us to see where God’s work is going by including the story of an Ethiopian eunuch. Dt. 23:1 rules that no eunuch can be part of God’s people. But Isa 56 held out great hope. The Spirit sends Philip to find a particular person, to show God’s intentions.

The event inserts the Good News into the ancient debate between exclusion and embrace. Was Israel an exclusive, pure community? Or could a foreigner like the Moabite Ruth be included?

A different ethnic identity. A rejected sexual condition. A powerful part of a pagan court. But drawn to God enough to travel to Jerusalem to worship. Reading Isaiah 53: the “Suffering Servant” –with questions. Philip realizes from the Spirit that this man, on the other side of a whole series of barriers, can receive the good news of Jesus, be part of Israel’s Messiah.

The Ethiopian eunuch – two words that excluded him – sees the challenge of God’s servant who dies for the deep sin, brokenness, and alienation of God’s people and all others. Jesus turns indescribable humiliation into Good News that includes even him. “What’s to stop me...?” The Greek-speaking Jew and the Ethiopian join in his baptism into Jesus. Joy breaks out.

Just How Far Does the Good News Go?

Paul had been a Pharisee, bearers of the pure community, exclusivist side of the debate. But now he preached among ethnic Gauls living in Asia Minor, strangely tempted by exclusion.

Because God works in Jesus’ faithfulness in the Gospel event, everything changes for everyone. Ethnic barriers, slave/free, even gender, all fall as each becomes part of God’s life in Jesus.

The Mystery at the Heart of Everything

We’re exploring how the Gospel works. How God works shining into hearts in the face of Jesus. But there’s a problem. 1 Cor. reflects it. Gospel isn’t guidance, wisdom, morality. It’s a complex event that’s being announced. Something already done that changes everything. It puts you in a new place. Trust it! But what events! Crucifixion, Resurrection!

Paul knows Jesus’ cross is offensive, foolish. But it embodies God’s power, wisdom. The basics are simple, impossible things, except by God’s action, drawing humans into them. The Messiah died; for our sins, fitting scripture. He was raised, scripture, he appeared. Things unexpected, humanly impossible, vast purposes for us, new reading of scripture! Yet Paul watches the power of the event in others and experiences that power himself.

The Event that Refuses to Become a Theory

When Paul reflects on the announcement in Rom. 3, it’s not so much about us or even Jesus, it’s about God, his faithfulness to his promises, the whole story of scripture.

The best center of reflection is the Exodus. In grace God comes for a people who are both enslaved and sinful. He delivers them from slavery and brings them into a right relation to himself by covenant in spite of sin. He creates a place of meeting between them and himself, a mercy-seat, a place of forgiveness (Day of Atonement).

The cross is like that, complex, multisided, no one atonement theory. It fulfills promises, establishes kingdom, engages death, brings sinners into forgiveness, delivers captives from slavery, forms a new people, creates a meeting place between God and humans. It’s Jesus’ whole story of faithfulness – human and God – loving service and death/blood.

What is Happening Here?

When Gospels like Mark describe the event, the narrative has its own unexpected character addressed to us. A crucifixion was grisly, awful! Mk doesn’t emphasize the pain, horror, thudding nails, torn flesh. He doesn’t play on our emotions to build pity and pathos.

He trust us to hear the echoes of scripture pointed to by Jesus’ cry from Ps. 22:1. But he has also trained us through the Gospel to know that this cry is unthinkable. Jesus, Messiah, Son of God who was transfigured, commanded storms, healed lepers! Yes, others abandon him, but not God. But there it is, the mysterious foreign cry! Why?

Mk stresses what people see. People scoff. Priests and insurrectionists both insult him. The question is, What do you see? What’s happening here? Surface is obvious: The end. Can I see more: God dies my human death. Faithful. “...who loved me and gave himself for me!”

Proclaiming the Gospel and Doing Worship

What’s the relation between Gospel and worship? A “gospel sermon” moves people to decision: invitation song, coming forward. Worship is the music, various roles, meditative, stirring.

But the “Gospel” isn’t a simple plan of salvation: sin, atonement, decision. It’s the Great Announcement that an Event has happened that changes everything. God has come among us showing himself in the human life of Jesus, fulfilling all his purposes and promises since creation and through the life of Israel. In love, He’s taken our sin and alienation on himself in Jesus’ crucifixion, He’s defeated the power of death and created resurrection life in Jesus. He’s opened Israel’s story and His grace to all the world, giving us humans his own Spirit as our first experience of his immortal, creative life.

Worship is the celebration of what God has done and is doing. It’s plunging ourselves into that reality in music, prayer, communion, opening the scriptures, fellowship, etc.

Worship and Seeing Reality

Worship is enacted Gospel. A challenge because, like NT times, we live in a world that treats God as our pet philosophy, self-help, private opinion. Real power is in politics, science, entertainment, money. Worship was and is crucial to refocus life on a reality larger than our human structures. We’re invited into a total makeover of life as we become disciples.

Hebrews: persecuted, discouraged believers. They’re called to see beyond their limited community, across nations, time, heaven and earth. Mt Sinai was awesome and fearsome. The Gospel reaches beyond, in a community of heaven and earth, Jesus’ blood gives grace.

Every time they/we worship we are in that vast assembly, on Zion, with angels, part of the assembly of God’s firstborn, receiving the power of what Jesus has done. Don’t miss it!

The Practice of Life in Worship

The whole of worship proclaims the Gospel: the announcement of what God has done. In Luke and Acts, look at Emmaus and Pentecost: breaking bread and opening Word lead to new vision, way of life, community, sharing life, prayer (Retreat).

Colossians is like Hebrews but different images. Realize what God has done and “dress” accordingly. All reflect what God shows us in Jesus. We even give grace. Let peace rule.

Worship works to let the Gospel “dwell” in us “richly”! The whole story, reality shapes life. The Spirit especially uses our songs – poetry made powerful by music – to work into our whole being. Use psalms, sing new songs, chant traditional hymns. God uses them for us.

The whole worship of the church becomes a proclamation bringing God’s Good News into life.

Why do We have Gospels?

For some the “Gospels” are a puzzle or problem. The first “Gospel” sermon was Pentecost. The Gospel is “You’re a sinner but God loves you. Receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. Pray.” Everything is focused on a moment of decision: The “born-again” experience. The Gospels seem like preamble or back-story. Acts has conversion moments, but also long teaching.

Pagans and Jews were brought into new life, not by a minimal formula, but by encountering Jesus in stories told by teachers – God shining in our hearts in the face of Jesus.

Our Gospels reflect a process, the experience of the first generations of believers. During Jesus’ ministry, and especially after his crucifixion they told about Jesus. To remember and understand for themselves and explain to others – teaching, celebration. They discovered people transformed by the vision of God and his Kingdom in these stories.

The NT embodies this process: Jesus whole ministry happens, death (end), resurrection (reverse)! Telling the story (Acts), transformation and community (Letters). Telling the story again (Gospels). The Gospels are the voice of the whole community who had lives transformed by these accounts and told them a thousand times. What’s not here: authors, authorities and documentation. No biographical curiosity: appearance, childhood.

Four Gospels have two basic patterns Mark (with Matthew and Luke) and John. All recount situations in Jesus’ ministry but focus on Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.

Books of Encounter with Jesus, God’s Kingdom, and God

The Gospels all have elements of history, biography, colorful narration, and useful wisdom, but exact narration isn’t what they’re about. (Mt and Lk change events and wording in Mark.)

The Gospels were written for all of us outside the experience of Jesus’ first disciples. They help us at a distance to experience something of the fascination and delight Jesus brought to followers, but also the disorientation and challenge. The devastation of his crucifixion and explosion of his resurrection. His teaching is seen in the light of it all. They guide us to a complex, transforming encounter with Jesus for ourselves: Learners.

God shines through Jesus’ face in four Gospels – diverse, unranked. We each have to read, learn, see Jesus for ourselves together – both individual and community. Jesus is the event of God, experienced anew, interpreted, powerful, transforming in every culture. God uses these narratives in an unending disciple-making process. We participate with others.and

Taking a Step Back to Look

In our Retreat we experienced on many levels the richness of what it means to follow Jesus. Sense of unity across miles. Entering each other’s needs and aspirations through prayer. Exploring many physical and spiritual practices that can express the presence of God. Sharing joy in baptism. Lament and love in separation. Growing in Oneness in Jesus.

How does this happen? How does the Gospel work? What’s going on? The question’s been impressed on me in our class on 2 Cor. and series Faith and Works. The Corinthians challenge Paul for his lack of power and glory. It leads him to call their attention to what he’s doing, what’s irritating them. He’s intent on life that embodies the Gospel, the cross and resurrection of Jesus. He shows them God’s work: Creation, promises, incarnation in Christ/Messiah/Anointed King. A long story brought to a climax in an astonishing way. An unfolding future of the whole world. We live in the middle of that.

God knows what he’s doing! Our world’s moving from Christendom to be more like Paul’s time. Nominal Christians become “nones.” Faith grows in Africa, Asia, S. America. We’re aware of the sins of the church. Many of us have struggled with narrow, controlling ideas of religion. We breathe the air of a secular age. But we also know the amazing love of a diverse community like this. This is no accident. How do we share this with others?

God’s Work and Our Participation

We’re heirs of a long tradition in America that led to focus on personal, individual decision, a trust in Christ’s atoning suffering in our place to avert God’s wrath and reach heaven. Gospel 2 steps: believe, pray. 5 steps: hear, believe, repent, confess, be baptized.

What is remarkable in Paul’s description of the Good News is how God-focused it is. Yes, there’s personal response of faith, but within a great story of God’s grace and love announcing Good News of God’s Kingdom. Jesus, Anointed King, doesn’t block God’s wrath but embodies God’s love. This is all God’s work, not ours. We get the privilege of participating in significant ways. The light shines into us; we’re changed, used by God.

Life Transformation – Being Disciples – as Gospel

Paul speaks of clay jars. Our principal challenge is really to live the new creation so that God’s light can shine through us. The light is knowledge, experience of the new reality to be shared. Its very nature excludes coercion, deception. “Open presentation” of truth.

It’s also sharing in the character of Jesus’ life: loving, serving, even suffering for others. Becoming learners of Jesus ourselves. God uses the transformed life to do His work.

and

Julie Short, one of the Elders at Manhattan Church of Christ, preaches on Ephesians 3:14-21 and John 14:12-14.

God the Surprising Worker of Grace

Place side by side: “We’re God’s work of art, created in Christ Jesus for good works.” And Jesus’ portrayal of his judgment on the whole world: “I was hungry and you gave me....”

The relation of Faith to Works is often seen as a problem. What gets us to heaven? “Just believe, pray, that’s it!” or “Believe, confess, be baptized.” or Bap., Confirm., Sacraments. We seek a minimal formula. What do I have to do for God to give me salvation? Enough.

God’s work is bigger since the human problem is bigger. In Ephesians, Paul speaks to Gentiles: “You were dead....” Your sins were walking with the times, the breath/spirit breathed by everyone. Paul soon shifts to “we” – Jews like himself are included. “We were all dead...” but didn’t know it. Living out wrath of our own choices. God’s response is mercy, love.

God did all the work, what no one could imagine, creating life in Jesus for all of us: Grace. We could not have done it by anything we did! God did it! But that love and grace sets the direction of real life for us. As we share Jesus’ story, we’re newly created for works that embody that good grace and love: Loving God, loving neighbor. God is the doer, the creator. We are the creatures – with purpose. We live his love toward all around us.

Our works are not right beliefs, sacraments. These are God’s gifts creating transformation. The good works are the beautiful life of love and service, as God loved and died for us.

The Whole World before Israel’s King

Think about Jesus’ final teaching in Matthew’s Gospel. Jesus draws on the well-known vision of the “Son of Man” receiving the kingdom in Daniel 7. But with some striking differences. In Daniel, nations are marked as empires, fierce beasts: lion, bear, leopard, monster. They threaten, attack God’s people, and are ultimately destroyed. The drama is viewed from the top: kings and empires, battles and conquest. Kingdom against kingdom.

Jesus is about to do a “work” beyond all human capacity: Crucifixion, Resurrection. Taking on God’s-self all the sin, brokenness, violence, injustice of humanity in order to create Life. As King he sees nations not as fierce beasts but as people – like sheep and goats before their shepherd. What will he do? Destroy the beasts? No. He completes a process he has long been working at. Their king has been among them in “the least ones” his “brothers and sisters.” They’ve been choosing love or wrath, life or death, all along. He reveals judgment.

In Jesus’ work that week, he makes possible what he gives to Gentiles in Ephesus, to Jews like Paul, and to people in New York: Beautiful Life created in Jesus for Good Works.

Living out Faith in a Broken Society

We began with Faith and Works in James 2: “works” as actions of generosity, reconciliation and justice, embodying faith and God’s love. (Not “works of law” marking out pure community.)

Isaiah of the Return from Babylon (ch 56-66), 500+ years earlier, is a major source of reflection for Jesus, Paul, and James. Israel’s hopes are challenged. David’s kingdom is lost. Political identity is as province of Persia. Exile brought focus on religious identity. Rebuilding temple and ruins. Faith as regular practice: sacrifice and fasting for restoration.

Isaiah points to the irony of shared / personal religious practice that’s misdirected. The problem is Yahweh – a distinct, personal God of covenant and intention. God is not an object of general personal religious aspiration. God calls people to respond to and embody his own distinct character of self-giving love in costly, self-giving actions. A demanding regimen of personal piety is not the same as genuinely serving those in need.

“The Fast that I Choose...”

The people had faith in God and found religious discipline of humble fasting to express their grief at loss and suffering. But God failed to respond. God says, They show a humility, but act self-serving and create hurt. They haven’t been transformed by God’s character.

For God, a fast isn’t defined by abstinence or asceticism, but by eating bread with the poor, breaking yokes of debt slavery, oppression, injustice. They couldn’t control Persian policy but they could change their own practices in their society. In the NT, they create a community across ethnic boundaries, slave / free, and gender divisions. God’s world.

Real Healing and Faithful Practice

Isaiah’s prophecy points to real transformation from God. Exodus renewed. Old wounds healed. Past devastation restored. God’s character of justice, love, service, that bears our burdens, makes a great difference when embodied in life. Light shines. Nourishment satisfies. Loving, diverse community. Self-focus limits life. God-focus creates life.

God urges them to shift from a focus on fasting because of pain, to giving themselves and their workers Sabbath rest. Though the world of Persian empire was distorted, they could find their way into delight in Yahweh shared with a whole and healing community.