Wednesday, January 30, 2019

WEEKLY COMMENTARY: When Tragedy Strikes ---- Where Is God?


Many years ago, I took my family on a winter vacation to the Saranac Lake area in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York.  It was during the school break between Christmas and New Year's.

In the mid-1930's, the nearby Village of Lake Placid had been the site of a Winter Olympics, so today there remain Olympic ice rinks. toboggan runs and other Olympic facilities open to the public.

We were joined by six Summit families, and we shared a large rented house with a grand fireplace and a good supply of firewood.  So, in the early evenings, when the wives and kids headed off to bed, the dads would relax by the fire and chat over a glass of wine or beer.

One dad was newly returned from an overseas business trip.  By chance he had been to a country which had just suffered an earthquake.  He was quite consumed by the devastation he has seen.  Buildings had collapsed, falling on occupants and passersby, and some 23 people had been killed.  Of course, there had also been the loss of electric power and clean water, and the streets were filled with rubble.

"Why did this tragedy happen," he asked us, "Where was God?"

          ---- Theory #1After a moment or two, one of the dads suggested that God has his reasons for making this happen, and that we are in no position to judge God.  The dad said there was some purpose in this suffering, but that it was beyond our ability to understand.  Furthermore, if God initiated this tragedy, who were we to now ask God for help in our prayers?  So, if God is so powerful, He doesn't have to be fair!

          ---- Theory #2:   A second dad had a different thought:  Tragedy in our lives is for our own good, he said.  It teaches us to be strong.  Perhaps God does painful things to us as His way of helping us, shaping us up ---- like a drill sergeant in the Marine Corps.  Can't suffering be educational?  Can't it cure some of our faults and make us better people?  Just as a parent sometimes must punish a child?"

          ---- Theory #3:  But dad #3 had a negative reaction to this.  "To explain suffering by saying it is attempting to "cure" our faults, suggests that tragedy is a remedy.  If God is really just testing us, he must know by now that many of us will fail the test.  If He is only giving us burdens we can bear, we have seen His miscalculations far too often.
          "Also, why does there seem to be an unfair distribution of suffering in the world?  Does God really give everyone just what they deserve and need?  Why do totally unselfish people suffer, people who never did anything wrong?"
          "And, what about when a friend tells a sufferer that the suffering has a purpose?   It really does not help the sufferer or explain the suffering.  It is meant primarily to defend God, to use words and ideas to transform bad into good, pain into privilege.  Such answers are thought up by people who believe that God is a loving parent who controls all that happens to us,  and on the basis of that belief they adjust and interpret the facts to fit their assumptions."

          ---- Theory #4:  Dad #4 had a very different opinion.  "God is not doing this to us.  Our  God is a god of justice and not of power.  Thus, he can still be on our side when bad things happen to us.  He can know that we are good and honest people who deserve better.  Our misfortunes are none of His doing, and so we can turn to him for help.
          "Regardless of how our tragedies are caused," he continued, "God stands ready to help us cope with the tragedies, if we can only get beyond the feelings of guilt and anger that separate us from Him.  Could it be that, 'How could God do this to me?' is the wrong question for us to ask?  We should ask, 'God, see what is happening to me?  Can you help me?'  We should therefore turn to God, not to be judged or forgiven, not to be rewarded or punished, but to be strengthened and comforted." 

          ---- Theory #5:  Dad #5 had yet a different approach:  "Assume that God is the cause of our suffering.  But our God is a god of justice and righteousness.  Our God is all-powerful and causes everything that happens in the world.  Our God is also just and fair.  He stands up for people so they get what they deserve.  The good prosper and the wicked are punished.  He gives people exactly what they deserve.  In a time of tragedy people should think it is the victim who should be blamed, not God ---- then, the tragedy doesn't seem quite so irrational and threatening.  Because God punishes people for their sins, it is our misdeeds, they can say, that cause our misfortunes."
          "However, people may feel guilty as they assume they were somehow responsible for their misfortune.  They may wonder which of their actions caused the suffering, as they review what may have been said, done or not done.  Others will ask if pointless suffering for some unspecified sin is a contribution to the improvement of mankind?  But, blaming the victim does help fortunate people believe their good fortune is deserved, rather than being a matter of chance.

          ---- Theory #6:  "Could it be that things happen to people for no reason ---- that God has lost touch with the world, and nobody is in the driver's seat?  If God is not in charge of all things, then who is?  Worse yet, could it be that God does not care what happens to us?
          "Although bad things do sometimes happen to good people, it may be that they are not willed by God.  For example, could it be that God doesn't decide which families will give birth to a handicapped child?  Perhaps God would like people to get what they deserve in life, but He cannot always arrange it.  Are we forced to choose between a good God who is not totally powerful, or a powerful God who is not totally good?  Perhaps we should choose to believe in God's goodness."
          "When we were children, we came to realize that our parents were not all-powerful, and that a beloved broken toy had to be thrown out if our parents could not fix it, but not because they did not want to fix it.  Likewise, there may be some things God would like to fix, but He does not control them.  The Bible speaks repeatedly of God as the special protector of the poor, the widow and the orphan, without raising the question of how it happened that they became poor, widowed or orphaned in the first place."

It was getting late, but next it was my turn.  "It is hard to follow so much sincere wisdom, spoken by you guys," I said.  "But I confess that my simple human brain cannot reconcile these many conflicting perspectives on the nature of God.  I always seem to return to what a beloved Bible scholar has said many times ---- "It is a mystery!"
___________________________________________________________________________
These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage you to pursue some personal spiritual growth this winter at CPC.
___________________________________________________________________________

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

WEEKLY COMMENTARY: Do You Know Any Evangelical Christians?


Several months ago I drove to Western Pennsylvania with my two daughters for a family reunion.  We spent several days near the Ohio border.  There was plenty to eat and drink as we progressed through a delightful three-day weekend.  But perhaps more memorable were some of my conversations with other guests.

In particular, I had a long chat with my cousin Peter whom I had not seen for 30 years.  He is a few years younger than me, and works in some capacity as a medical researcher.

At one point, I remarked to Peter how beautiful was the little church that I had passed on my way to that night's family gathering.  Peter agreed, but added that as he saw religious faith, it was not about beautiful buildings and ritual ---- it was about strict adherence to some basic Gospel principles.  He explained that he was an evangelical Christian, and to him salvation by faith was all about the sin-atoning death of Jesus Christ, which he had come to believe in through personal conversion, meaning that he believed that his life had needed to be changed.  Equally important to him, he said, was the authority of Scripture, and the importance of sharing the Christian message, as contrasted with mere church ritual.

At that point, I had to sit down.  Peter was a bit wound up now, so I thought I had better ask him some questions about evangelical Christianity.  He told me that "evangelicals" do not form a distinct denomination ---- it is an umbrella term applicable in varying degrees, across many Protestant denominations.

Peter explained that American evangelism has had two core convictions: (1.) that a personal encounter with the risen Christ is necessary for our salvation ---- the change in our lives that leads us to reject sinful acts and thoughts, substituting a more holy daily life.  (2.) that Scripture offers a trustworthy guide to God's will for humankind.  All evangelicals believe in biblical inspiration, he said, though they disagree over how this inspiration should be defined.  However, they believe that their interpretation of Scripture is incapable of error.

Peter told me that ever since American evangelism broke with the mainline Protestant  churches more than 100 years ago, the hallmark of evangelical theology was a vision of modern society as a sinking ship, sliding toward depravity and sin.  He said that for evangelicals, the call of the church altar was the only life raft ---- the chance to accept Jesus Christ, and thus rebirth and salvation.

I was glad he had brought our conversation back to the centrality of Jesus Christ.  So, I asked him what he meant by "a personal encounter with the risen Christ"?  Did Jesus appear to Peter in a dream, was there a distinct voice in the darkness of night, or did something happen on a mountain top?  How did he know that there had been a "personal encounter" with the risen Christ, in Peter's life?

Peter said he had read the Gospels over and over, so he already had an intellectual understanding about Jesus Christ, even though it left some questions unanswered.  But at some point, he said, he had begun to feel an emotional attachment to Jesus.  He continued, "This analogy is quite simplistic, but it was a bit like my courtship with the girl I eventually married.  When we were dating, initially I learned much about her interests, friends and life experiences.  She learned many factual things about me.  At some point I began to have feelings for her, as well as factual knowledge.  On an emotional level we began to have sort of a 'personal encounter'.  I thought about her a lot, even when we were not together."

"I continued to have some of my old impulses and appetites," Peter continued, "but I could see myself moving closer to her impulses and her way of seeing the world.  Then, whenever we were together, we felt really close.  I think a 'personal encounter' with Jesus is somewhat like that.  It is a process, over time.  When people say they have been 'born again,' I believe that they are simply saying that they have now progressed to the point in a long-term process where they know they are in love with each other.  And my 'personal encounter' with Jesus Christ was like that."

"These days," said Peter, "many younger evangelicals take a less fatalistic view.  For them, the 'born again' experience of accepting Jesus is just the beginning.  What follows" he said "is the long-term process of 'spiritual formation' which involves applying the teachings of Jesus in the here and now.  Modern evangelicals do not see society as a sinking ship.  They talk more about the biblical imperative to repair the ship by contributing to the betterment of their communities and the world."

Peter noted that modern evangelicals support traditional charities, but also public policies that address health care, racial equality, poverty and the environment.  Beginning in the 1970's, he said, emphasis seems to have shifted from just winning souls, to also saving bodies ---- evangelical mission became as much about making the world a better place as it was about populating heaven.

Peter went on to say, " We shouldn't allow a child to live under a bridge or on the back seat of a car.  We shouldn't be satisfied if elderly people are being abused or neglected, even though they are living in a nursing home."  Peter the evangelist, really resonated with me when he said, "You can't just say 'respect life' and mean it exclusively for unborn babies."

Quoting evangelical pastor Rick Warren, Peter suggested that if more Christians worked to alleviate needs in their local communities, the church would become known more for the love it shows, than what it is against.

At the end of the evening, I thanked cousin Peter for sharing so frankly his approach to faith.  At first, I had been a little overwhelmed, but Peter had left me with much to think about.  I especially remember his closing comment about today's evangelicals.  "People in my age group are much more attracted to participatory theology," he had said, "and are resistant to being told what to think or do."

As my daughters and I drove back to New Jersey the next day, I recalled my conversation with Peter and wondered ---- are there not some members of CPC who would be very happy embracing some of the modern evangelical theology?  Perhaps I am one of them!
____________________________________________________________________________
These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage some personal spiritual growth for you this winter at CPC.
____________________________________________________________________________

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

WEEKLY COMMENTARY: Should Central Church Be Merely A Voluntary Religious Association of Like-Minded Individuals?


When I was in high school, my parents encouraged me to participate in a local Presbyterian church.  This particular church was where my mother had grown up, and her parents had been active, long-time members, as well.

My father had grown up in New York City, and had become a member of an Episcopal church there.  But, upon marrying my mother and moving to Rochester, he willingly attended my mother's Presbyterian church.

In my sophomore year, soon after a new minister was installed, the peaceful tempo of the Rochester church was upset within the congregation.  Within a few months, the new pastor had begun revealing some of his ideas for the future direction of this tradition-bound church.  He seemed determined to transform us into an outward-looking church actively seeking social justice.

It started with grumbling and whispered talk in the church parking lot, after worship.  Before long, there was open discussion, and some Elders were protesting our new church direction at meetings of the Session.  Increasingly, the congregation was divided into two opposing sides.

Meanwhile at home, I found that my parents were not in agreement on the "social justice" direction sought by the new pastor.  My mom and her parents liked things the way they were.  My father was more in sympathy with the direction the new pastor wanted the church to take.  I would hear them debating the issue as they washed up the dishes after dinner.

My mother and many of her friends who had grown up in the church, were firmly set on emphasizing evangelism, not social justice.  They were active in Bible study and could quote Scripture for almost any occasion.  Mom insisted that this was how she kept on a straight path ---- by regularly reinforcing her Christian values through repeated reading and appreciation of Scripture.

My father, on the other hand, had come from a different style of religion, and from the more worldly environment of New York City.  He was very aware of the social and economic disparities in society and wanted to do something about them.  He became a supporter of the new pastor's initiatives.

As time passed, each side in this church-wide "debate" became more and more convinced they had the right answer.  There was little interest in compromise, and soon members of the traditional/evangelical faction, began to leave the church.

I think about this now, years later, and wish I could go back and change a few things for them.  But, that church situation was not unique.  Arguably more blood has been spilled and more hearts broken around church schisms than any other issue in the Presbyterian Church.

The Biblical understanding of the church as "the body of Christ" was as revolutionary 2000 years ago as it is today.  Imagine how some of the original Disciples must have rolled their eyes when Jesus introduced Simon the Zealot and Levi the tax collector into their fellowship.  Zealots were Jewish resistance fighters sworn to overthrow the occupying Roman army.  Tax collectors then were not the same as the county officials we know today ---- they were collaborators with the Roman occupation who sold out their people for a cut of the tax revenues.

But, notice this ---- it was not the Disciples themselves choosing to affiliate with one another.  They were all chosen by Jesus.  Only Christ, only the call of Christ, brought these people together as Disciples. Jesus' free claim on them was what they had in common.

Paul's Scriptural message shows this insight ---- that hands and feet don't join a body because they see the world the same way.  Ribs do not affiliate with ears because they share similar beliefs.  Organs of the body are formed and knitted together by the creative love of God.  What God hath joined together, let no one break apart.

When the Apostle Paul speaks of the church as "the body of Christ," he reminds us of a far more basic reality than the narrow interests of affiliation groups and our endless debates about whose values and beliefs are better or more pious.  Our unity does not lie in our points of member agreement, but alone in our belief in Jesus Christ.  We are united, not because we have found a secret to consensus, but because Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit unites us in and through and to Himself.

When a condition of "schism" occurs in the congregation of a church, or they split into "groups" because people want to bond with folks sharing identical values, it fosters a kind of self-righteousness that runs counter to the spirit Christ seeks.

Our unity as a church is not based on conditional contracts that hold only so long as we agree with one another, but on the basis of our covenant with God sealed in Christ.  Our church unity is the act of God, not of ourselves.

C.S. Lewis once observed that "the church is that body in which all members, however different, must share the common life, complimenting and helping one another precisely through their differences."

So, is CPC merely a voluntary religious association of like-minded individuals?  Would it not be more accurate to say that our church is not a movement or a mood or a direction, but the balance of many movements and moods.  Thus, the members of our church seek and accept an arbitration which ultimately strikes a balance focused on our Heavenly Father, and not upon ourselves.
____________________________________________________________________________
These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage you to pursue some personal spiritual growth this winter at CPC.
____________________________________________________________________________

Monday, January 7, 2019

WEEKLY COMMENTARY: Do You Begin the New Year Thankful For What You Have Been Given ----- Or, Do You Just Ask God For More ?

    The Book of Luke (17:11 - 19) tells this story about Jesus.  He was on his way to Jerusalem and passed through a village on the border of Samaria and Galilee.  At the edge of that village ten men who had leprosy met him.  They stood at a distance and called out in loud voices, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!"

Leprosy was a disfiguring disease.  Lepers were considered "unclean" and were required to keep a distance from others.  Only after bring declared healed and "clean" by a priest could a leper re-enter society.

When he saw them, Jesus said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests."  And as they went, they were cleansed.

One of the lepers, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice.  He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him ---- and he was a Samaritan !  This was surprising because Jews at the time generally despised Samaritans as ethnic and religious half-breeds.

Jesus asked, "Were not all ten lepers cleansed?  Where are the other nine?  Are none of them to return and give praise to God, except this foreigner?  Then Jesus said to the Samaritan, "Rise and go;  your faith has made you well."

Suppose you were one of the "other nine" ?  How have you rationalized not going back to Jesus to say "Thanks"?  Perhaps you couldn't  find Jesus.  Or, you weren't grateful enough to make the effort.  Maybe, now that you have what you wanted you simply moved on to other things?  Or, were you too busy being united with family and friends?  Were you interested only in the miracle, not in the one providing it?

At the start of this new year, how do we express our gratitude to God for the daily unearned miracles of our lives?  Are we one of those who is more interested in what God can do for us than in God himself?  You probably don't neglect thanking your friends and family for things they have done for you !

Do you see that Jesus has healed or "cleansed" you at times in the past?  How might you need "cleansing" now?  Perhaps it is time to thank God for entering our lives ---- not just through the birth of Jesus, which was the essence of Christmas.  What about the daily gifts we receive from God?   If we forget to thank God for these gifts large and small, whom do we thank?
___________________________________________________________________________
These thoughts have been brought to you by the CPC Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage your spiritual growth this season.
___________________________________________________________________________


   

Wednesday, January 2, 2019

WEEKLY COMMENTARY: Now That Christmas Festivities Are Over, Can You Recall Why We Celebrate the Birth of Jesus?


December 25 each year for centuries has been thought by many people to be the birth date of Jesus Christ.  Christians think of it as the anniversary of the day that God placed his only son in the midst of humankind, thus attempting to show His love for us by teaching an improved approach to our mortal life.

Of course, some of us have found the rituals of purchasing and giving gifts, sending Christmas cards and meeting with friends and neighbors at holiday parties, a frantic effort to stay on a tight schedule.  So, we might have blurred the religious side of Christmas in our minds and hearts.

Well-known Pastor Rick Warren, with a church in California, offers some helpful ideas on how we can recover our focus on the deeper meaning of Christmas.  He explains why we need on-going gratitude for the birth of Jesus, and to not limit our gratitude to one day of the year.

Pastor Warren says the first purpose of Christmas is to celebrate.  Do you realize---- God loves you!  Not based on what you do, but based on who God is.  Our good works do not buy God's favor.  This is so different from the rewards of the secular world!

Secondly, Warren says, God is with you and will never abandon you.  Sometimes, you may not feel like He is near, but that means you are not tuned-in.  Therefore, the gift to humankind of God's only son Jesus, is a priceless gift to you.

But, there is more!

There is something called "Salvation."  Rick Warren believes that most people recognize their need for somebody or some thing greater than themselves.  This would help them through a problem, rescue them from a tight spot, and ultimately save them from something they can't solve on their own.  They realize the need for somehow being saved ---- salvation !

Warren believes that Salvation is three-dimensional.  You are saved FROM something ---- yourself.  We all have a pride problem; an unfortunate attitude.  We call the problem sinfulness.  We sin by acting out or saying:  "I want to be my own boss ---- I don't need God."  The problem with sin is that it separates us from God.  Jesus came to free us from sin.  Is there  truly something from which we need to be set free?  We need to be set free from ourselves.  We need a Savior!

In addition, Pastor Warren believes Jesus came to save us FOR  a purpose.  It's in Christ, he says, that we find out who we are and what we are living for.  But, Warren believes we will never be completely satisfied with mere "success" in some secular sense.  We were not made for "mere" success.  We were made for a higher level of significance.  Significance that comes from knowing God, His purpose for our lives, and then for us to fulfill it.

Thirdly, Rick Warren reminds us that Jesus came to save us BY grace.  Grace is when God gives us what we need, and not what we deserve.  Grace is when God says, "I'm going to take your problem and make it my problem."  God comes to save us from our hurts, our habits and our hang-ups.

So far, God and Jesus have done all the work.  What role do we play at Christmas time, if any?  Rick Warren sees a very difficult but important role for us!  In a word, it is Reconciliation ---- when a broken relationship is restored.  Perhaps it starts with our relationship with God ---- but it does not end there.

Pastor Warren sees three varieties of Reconciliation:

     ----- First, if you are trying to live without God, then you are at war with God and you need a peace treaty.  How do we make peace with God?  You don't do it by promising to be good.  We don't do it by trying to be perfect.  You don't do it by never sinning.  You will sin.  You make peace with God, the Bible says, by developing faith ---- trust in God's grace, believing that God's grace will be accorded to you. 

     ----- Second, you've got two choices in life.  In every circumstance, you can pray or panic.  You can worship or worry.  If you pray as much as you worry, you will have a whole lot less to worry about.  The peace of God happens in your heart when you have made peace with God.

     ----- Third, God has given us both a ministry and a message about Reconciliation ---- to help other people find peace with God and peace with each other.

With whom did you need to rebuild a broken relationship this Christmas?  Just remember that you will need to let Jesus Christ fill you with his love so you can love other people the way he does.  And, you will need to let him fill you with his forgiveness.  Until you let God in, and feel truly forgiven, you don't have the ability to meaningfully forgive others.

So, we have a range of gifts to acknowledge, but not just at Christmas.  There could be some material gifts you received or gave at Christmas, like new golf clubs, or special gifts for the children in our lives.  At the same time, we should count on a priceless gift from God, as evidenced by the birth of Jesus.  But, one of the most precious gifts we could give might simply be the gift of forgiveness to someone who caused us pain in the year that is now behind us, just as God's grace has already forgiven us of our repeated sinning.  We can give this gift any time of the year ---- not just at Christmas time!
___________________________________________________________________________
These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage you to pursue some personal spiritual growth this winter at CPC.
___________________________________________________________________________