Her blog introduced me to Brooke Fraser‘s, song, “Albertine.” While I had heard Brooke Fraser sing songs that she had done with Hillsong United (like “Lord of lords”), I did not know this side of her. I was both excited and felt a sense of companionship, and yet challenged by the words. Even though my heart is for the people of Africa, I am challenged by the words…

“Now that I have seen, I am responsible
Faith without deeds is dead
now that I have held you in my own arms, I cannot let go till you are”

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Romans 13:8-14: Love, for the Day is Near

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

“]

* Henry Peach Robinson * British (Ludlow, England, 1830 - 1901, Royal Tunbridge Wells, England) [Courtesy of SFMOMA

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MAIN POINTS:

///  I. The Kerygma (a New Creation)

“The hour has come to wake up from your slumber!…The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.“

This is an apocalyptic statement, straight from the Kerygma (κήρυγμα) of the gospels;

it is the message that sums up the entirety of the ministry of Jesus,[1] in just the way that Jesus taught that the entirety of the Law could be summed up in the basics of the Sh’ma and the Golden Rule: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind…[and] love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matt 22:36-40)

The Kingdom of God has come on earth, a kingdom of peace and righteousness, a kingdom that is under the authority of God alone and is dominated by his decree… to love each other.

“No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” (1 John 4:12).

• We have all been created in God’s image. The way we treat each other shows what we think about God.

If we are quick to judge, God will be quick to judge us. Whatever it is that we see in Jesus, that is what we should strive for others to see in us. This is what it means to “put on” Jesus.

Some people have tended to use the idea of “truth” to justify there actions. People are willing to die for the “truth.” It is as if seeking the “truth” is what the Gospel is all about. Yet, here we see that Jesus puts even the “truths” of the Law as being subservient to our relationships. We “shall know the truth, and the truth shall make us free,” and yet, that truth is summed up in the “Law that brings freedom”, which is the law of love. (James 1:25;2:12) As James tells us, “mercy triumphs over judgement“. because we are not going to be judged based on what we know about the truth, we are going to be judged based on how the truth is lived out in us. Let us not be those who find ourselves “disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:27) because we failed to remember that “judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful.” (James 2:13)

God’s Kingdom has come and is still yet coming. JJesus is the author of the salvation that has come, and is coming for all creation. If we really believe this, we must act on it now.

///  II. Wake Up!

“]

Henry Peach Robinson [Courtesy of the American Museum of Photography

1) This kind of love (agape love) is unconditional love. To “love your neighbor as yourself” is a good rule of thumb. It has been preached all around the globe by leaders throughout history; even before the time of Jesus. It shows us that our morality should be based on our ability to be empathetical, to see others’ situation as if it were our own. Yet, the difference here is that we are not just doing this when it is beneficial to us, or when we want to.The glory of God is shown in us when we live out the forgiveness he has shown on us. As Jesus explains, the difference between the holiness that God requires and the “practicality of morality” shown in the pagan cultures is this: God’s love is unconditional; God’s love is forgiving; God’s love is not in order to build himself up, but for the benefit of others (especially those who curse us). We must love the way God loves us. We must!  As Paul says, “Bless those who hurt you; bless and do not curse!” (Romans 12:14).

2) But all this assumes that we are only out to love those whom bless us or curse us, we have left out a huge section of God’s Kingdom that he desires us to be a part of: The needy! If we are going to identify with Jesus, we have to be willing to identify with those whom he identified with …the outcasts, the persecuted, the lowly. Jesus, though we was God, was born in a humble family, among the common people who could not even afford the sacrifice to be made at the temple at the time of his birth (Luke 2:24; Lev 12:8).

When the crucified Jesus is called the ‘image of the invisible God’, the meaning is that this is God, and God is like this. God is not greater than he is in this humiliation. God is not more glorious than he is in this self-surrender. God is not more powerful than he is in this helplessness. God is not more divine than he is in this humanity.[2]

This means that, when we “put on” Jesus Christ, we are acting as his presence in the world. This means we must be led by HIS SPIRIT. We must become sensitive to his leading. We must be willing to submit ourselves to searching out and finding those whom God has called us to intercede for, to be his hands to, to bring hope to.

///  III. Put asside the deads of Darkness

Paul exhorts us that there will come a day when “God, through Jesus the Messiah will judge our secret thoughts” (Romans 2:16).  As Jesus said, “There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, and there is nothing secret that will not become known and come to light.” (Luke 8:17) Therefore, we must “wake up” from our slumber and live as if we are already in the daylight. Some day, we will “fully know, just as we are fully known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12) We cannot go around living life anymore as if we are not accountable.

• “Our character is determined by who we are when no one is looking.”[3]
  

We must come to see ourselves as if everything we do matters, not just for our own selves, but for the entire world. We are all inter-connected. Every thought, every deed, every action, every bit of anger, every bit of confusion, every time we give up intstead of persevering, we do it together.

We know now that, not only does “deads of Darkness” refer to those things that we do that God is disaprroving of, but it necessarily refers to those things that we think we will get away with because they do not matter. Our successes and failures are achieved and failed together. We must change not only the way we act, but the way we think.

Soon, we will have no choice. We can not look back later and say, “I wish I would have.” There is no future and there is no past. There is only right now, and the choices we make together to be the people God has called us to be at this moment.

Christian Perfection \\

Perhaps you this as a desire for a kind of spiritual perfection. To love God with all my might! To love my neighbor as a means of worship to God…yes, I guess it is. As John Wesley put it: 

• • `Love is the fulfilling of the law, the end of the commandment.’ It is not only `the first and great’ command, but all the commandments in one. `Whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise,’ they are all comprised in this one word, love. In this is perfection, and glory, and happiness: The royal law of heaven and earth is this, `Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.’ The one perfect good shall be your one ultimate end. One thing shall ye desire for its own sake, — the fruition of Him who is all in all. One happiness shall ye propose to your souls, even an union with Him that made them, the having `fellowship with the Father and the Son,’ the being `joined to the Lord in one spirit.’ One design ye are to pursue to the end of time, — the enjoyment of God in time and in eternity. Desire other things so far as they tend to this; love the creature, as it leads to the Creator. But in every step you take, be this the glorious point that terminates your view. Let every affection, and thought and word, and action, be subordinate to this. Whatever ye desire or fear, whatever ye seek or shun, whatever ye think speak, or do, be it in order to your happiness in God, the sole end, as well as source, of your being. — John Wesley, “The Circumcision of the Heart,” Sermon 17

We cannot change the things we have done. Thank God that his love for us is not dependant on what we have or will do. We cannot change the past. We can only resolve to be better. Jesus says, “If you want to be perfect” (Matthew 19:21) then you are going to have to give up everything that is not used for the purpose of obeying…we must learn to listen and follow God.  Jesus says, “Be perfect, as your Father in Heaven is Perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)

Christian Perfection means loving those who love you, loving those who curse you, and loving those you yet know nothing about, but loving them simply because we are led by the spirit to love, identifying with the outcast and the downtrodden, and living as though our lives were open for the world to see all we have done. This is the obedience of faith that Paul struggles so hard to get accross to us in Romans. We obey as a result of faith, because of our Love for God, and our Love for each other.

 [1] Rudolf Karl Bultmann, Jesus Christ and Mythology (New York: Scribner, 1958), 84. See also Rudolf Karl Bultmann, Kerygma and Myth (New York: Harper, 1961), 211.

 [2] Jürgen Moltmann, The Crucified God: The Cross of Christ As the Foundation and Criticism of Christian Theology, (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993), 205.

[3] Bill Hybels and LaVonne Neff. Who You Are When No One’s Looking: Choosing Consistency, Resisting Compromise. Downers Grove, Ill: InterVarsity Press, 1987.

“I weren’t expecting no rainbows.”
Noah told them cackling hens.
“I weren’t considered no sailor
and i hope that i don’t have to do this again
how many times can you fly out
and leave me with an open empty hand
this time will be the last time
I send that little bird to find land
for days it just kept raining
oh the rain just kept coming on down
i thoudt i’d never get a sign
and i thought for sure that I was gonna drown
then yonder her she come then flying
until that day i couldn’t sing a note
it’s hard to wait for information
and i can’t wait to dock this old boat

if I ever get to heaven
i’ll admit i doubted some
i’ll tell them everything that happened
and ask them why it took so long
and if they find my tools and timber
that I used to build her strong
i hope the fools that do remember…
how on a sea of hope and faith
we drifted home

“I’m pretty sure that someone will be there to meet us.”
Noah told them chickens to their face.
And as he looked out from the mountain
he could see what time would do to this old place.
“Is everybody coming with me?”
It’ll take a little time to settle in.
I hope everyone forgives me
because this took a little longer than I planned
y’all hold on to one another
and you make damn sure that you don’t drift apart
then we’ll truck on down this mountain
and we’ll find a level place to make a brand new start.
Then the sun just kind of peeked out
it was juts enough to make them feel assured
and the only thing that noah kept repeating
was that he sure was glad to see that little bird.

hello… it’s good to see you
it’s been a long long time.

—–”Noah’s Ark,” Lyrics by Jeff Black. From the album “Birmingham Road”. Lotos Nile Music BMI

As I spend this week fasting and praying about all the new changes taking place in my life at the moment, I took a step back just now to read my blog entries from this past winter , “In Every Matter.” It was my New Year’s post, reminding myself and the world in a prayer to God that I wanted to be faithful with what he was doing in my life, and yet acknowledging the fact that I was finding it very difficult to be patient.  I said…

I just hope that, in the end, those kids in Africa who need help will be able to understand when I stand next to them in heaven and have to explain to them why it took me so long to give of myself.

Back to the present moment. I am starting as a part-time pastor in a church near here. It is a small church and I am less nervous about the people there and more about the confusion in trying to watch what God is doing and pay attention to it.

In the past post I mentioned that I was thinking about working on an MBA or doing a PhD in Economics. That is because I feel deep about doing something practical and real in the world of the needy and hurting (and economical realities are some of the easiest and most important to make an impact).

I caught myself, while washing the dishes a few minutes ago, thinking about just dropping everything and going into pastoring full-time. Some of my struggles about God’s direction might be dealt with. It really would make a lot more financial sense. It would give me a bit more motivation to speed up my MA in Theology (which would then have to change to be an MDiv instead). I might be able to get a parsonage and have some of my education (or all of it) paid for or at least helped with. But…

But the problem is that I have this burning in my gut for Africa. My motivations to work inside a congregational ministry should be rooted in following God to be a part of the transformation of God’s people and focusing my attention there. I would do good with that. I am sure!! Yet, how would that help me do something real and moving in the world of the needy?

For one, I am in Eastern Kentucky, a place of great need and confusion. Perhaps I could minister to families and help them deal with some of the issues in their lives by praying for them and leading them to follow God’s direction. Yet, I think I would rather be praying with and for the Government officials, the magistrates, economic development agencies, the State Representatives, the Senators and the like, helping them to see how messed up the system has made things for the people in Eastern Kentucky…helping them to see how important education is to the future of the region, helping them to send in more development and jobs to these families.

Part of my problem is that my heart sees these struggles as a spiritual battle. Everything is spiritual for me. I remember that, having grown up in and around a rather confused Charismatic surrounding, my mom reminding me to be weary of the teaching that made us be afraid that their were demons after us and around every corner. Yet, I do see these demons. Perhaps these demons aren’t the ones imagined, yet in this area they are very real. Spiritual warfare, as I see it, is an active (not passive) thing. It requires me to be engaged, not just in my prayer life with my door shut (that is so that God will hear me when I am trying to get his attention rather than that of men), but in my active living life…with my eyes open and my mind on the problems and my hand to the plow.

How long?

Well, not too soon if it means being unprepared. Yet, not too long? Please Lord, not too long!

I dreamed of Africa;

I saw her rise up out of the ashes.

As I looked into her bright white eyes

she spoke to me with dry, cracked lips

“How long brother? How long?”

And I said,

God, for the sake of your faithfulness you have called us into your marvelous light and opened our eyes to these things that our blinded hearts once could not see. How long, oh Lord? How long?

______________________________________

Just an update on what is going on with me this summer…

• Yesterday: Hiked a 9 mile loop at Cave Run (thought about 1 Corinthians and how much creation must really be waiting for us to let God restore us) and tried to imagine how much more beautiful creation might be in the new creation. Wow! Hard to imagine it being better.
• Reading: I just finished “A Peculiar People” by Rodney Clapp. Almost finished now with N. T. Wright’s new book, “Surprised by Hope” (great!)

• Thinking: I have been thinking a lot about studying Economics. Today, with so much of my heart and attention on problems in Energy, on the struggles of the people in Eastern Kentucky, on the Medical needs (along with so many others) of Africa, I wonder if God might have me serve in the future as an Economic researcher of adviser in government somewhere/somehow. Recently I heard part of a lecture and read a little of a book by Jeremy Rifkin on the future of energy. Perhaps I will move more in that direction in the future. Maybe a class on Economics in the fall.

• My classes at MSU are going great. The Summer Success Academy (the program I am teaching a math class as a part of this summer) seems to be off to a great start.
• Books I have read this summer so far:

(only the first few chapters – had to finish other books instead)

• Listening: I just bought an album by an acoustic guitarist named Andy McKee. It is great! A bit of smooth jazz…though there seems to be a bit of traditional folk melody that makes its way in sometimes (or maybe it is just that I like it so much it seems that way). 4 stars.

You can check it out for yourself…

• Articles of Interest: A few of the things that I have read that have really caught my attention.

TIME: The Great Wall of America

(This photo comes from Time Magazine’s news article about border crossing.)

I wonder what God’s take is on nation-states. As we change and reshape the borders of the world to keep people out and keep others in, I wonder if God is pleased or disgusted with the way we seek to build up our own economy at the cost of keeping out others who are just as willing to work. I wonder how much of these immigration problems are really problems with immigration rather than the immigrants.

Read the article here:http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1816488,00.html

National Geographic: Who Murdered the Virunga Gorillas?

In a recent article on the Virunga Gorilla murdering of last year, it is amazing to see how much the conservation of wildlife, the poor of Africa, the racism and hate that is so prevalent among the people groups of that part of Africa, corruption and violence are all so interrelated. It seems the murdering of one of the greatest and most prized of the world’s animals is due to the greed of (and confusion too) those involved in the illegal transporting of charcoal – outlawed because it of conservation of the jungle there.

See more here: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/07/virunga/jenkins-text

]]> http://tocastpearls.wordpress.com/2008/06/25/creations-longing/feed/ 3 Michael Hiking Cave Run The Church As Culture in a Post-Christian Society Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church The Hydrogen Economy Rediscovering Who Jesus Was and Is Innovation and Mission for the 21 Century Church The Sociology of Religion //img.timeinc.net/time/photoessays/2008/fence_suau/fence_suau_04.jpg” cannot be displayed, because it contains errors. Gallery http://tocastpearls.wordpress.com/2008/06/24/what-comes-out-of-the-mouth/ http://tocastpearls.wordpress.com/2008/06/24/what-comes-out-of-the-mouth/#comments Tue, 24 Jun 2008 19:28:04 +0000 mahoward01 http://tocastpearls.wordpress.com/?p=69 ]]>

Then Jesus called to the crowds and said “Listen to what I say and try to understand. You are not defiled by what you eat; you are defiled by what you say and do (i.e. what comes out of the mouth defiles you.)” (Matthew 15:10-11, NLT)

Far too often this passage has been misunderstood and interpreted to mean that Jesus may have in someway by it denied the Kosher dietary laws. This is clearly not the case, as can be seen by looking at it in context. Yet, surely too often we ‘religious’ put our religious actions (being zealous for the law, for the Church, in “worship,” etc.) in a place that we assume by it we have done our religious duties and are sure we have our place with God in his coming Kingdom. When Jesus says, “You are not defiled by what you eat,” there is a much heavier weight to it than at first appears. If by simply following the list of legal codes developed by the religious elite in a system of “traditional” and acceptable behavior gives us the right to think we are somehow of the hook religiously, it seems to be a good assumption that those who do not follow these codes are still in danger of fail.

In Jesus’ day, this amounts to being one of the individuals that hinder Israel from seeing the coming of the real Messiah and the salvation of the entirety of Israel. The teaching of the Pharisees and the belief of much of the extremely Torah observant Jewish culture had come to believe that, not only their exile into Babylon was caused by their failure to follow the Torah laws given by God to Moses in the story of Exodus, but they also believed that only by being carefully observant would God be willing to forgive them of their sins (corporately) and God’s glory would once again reside in Jerusalem.

Jesus shows this assumption false. Surely God does love a heart that is for him who diligently seeks him among those who proclaim him, but the honest seeker of God will soon find himself either noticing the emptiness of more tradition (which is not bad in and of itself) or find himself seeking something other than God. Jesus says this is like “the blind leading the blind.” If our ‘religion’ does not produce in us an honest heart, a desperation to see God act in the world, a deeper love for our families and the needy; if our own needy hearts are not changed, we will be working for ourselves and loose sight of God and his message!

One of the main things I have been struggling with in the last few years is seeking God to show me how to do something from my heart in a way that honors him and really loves my neighbors. God has, in more than one way through more than a few people, convinced me that loving him and loving my neighbor are not separate commands, but really both the same.

There is no spiritual vs. physical, supernatural vs. natural, theoretical vs. practical separation for God’s creation. What we do is spiritual because we are spiritual beings, gifted with the Holy Spirit and called to be God’s interaction in the world he has created (and especially among other spiritual beings created in God’s image). God’s miracles happen to us, in us and through us. God has given us our mind to know and love him, to know and love each other, and to enjoy and be responsible in the world he has created us in.

It seems, and I know this is an oversimplification of some serious and important stuff, that conservatives tend to drift to the more highly spiritual (its all about God – forget about creation because it will all burn, and forget about caring for others because caring is only good when others get saved) and liberals tend to drift in the other, very natural side (its all about this world – God, if though he is nothing more than some spiritual and personal event, has not and will not do anything unique in the world….it is up to us). Yet, God and the Scriptural (Platonic free interpretation) says that this is not an issue. Loving God and loving others is not only a necessity. Jesus said the most important commandment and the second are alike. John said clearly that saying you love God and hating your neighbor at the same time is really like lying.

So what is my part…What can I do?

Be responsible with what I am given. Do my best with my giftings and let God use them to mold me into the person he sees me to be. Don’t give up when it is hard. Worship God in Spirit (with my whole heart) and truth (lived out in the world around me).

more on this later…

Soon, hopefully, I will be able to post a reading list and a little summary (and soon even a blogroll) so that those who would like to join in on the missional conversation will have somewhere to begin. 

Without further delay, here is Reggie McNeal…

The image on the left is the huge volcanic mountain (Hallasan – Halla Mountain) that stands in the center of the island. The hike took a total of about 8 hours, leaving us all with blisters on our feet (as well as our arms, necks and faces - note to self: Don’t forget the sunscreen next time.)

This trip I also was able to get a chance to learn a bit more about the shape of Buddhism and Shamanism in South Korea. In some places you can see a clear overlap, where shamanistic practices have made their way into the major Buddhist culture. Perhaps later I can post a bit more in depth on the folk religion in Korea and the differences that I have noticed in comparing the farming and fishing communities.

Since this is my first post, I can only mention that eventually I plan to set this blog-site up into a multi-layered blog, with blogs separated based on life, travels and experiences; personal growth and ministry; and finally, a blog on random anthropology notes I want to share about the places and people I have encountered throughout the world. For now, shall I simply say stay tuned…