"It must surely follow that we be free to preach openly."
"There are limits to what is acceptable. The Romans are a literal people. They take any mention of kings at face value and call it sedition. Saying that Jesus is king endangers the temple."
"Then we will be cautious."
"And you will refrain from saying that he is the Messiah."
"But that is the truth."
"Your truth will offend many and I may not be able to protect you."
"We wish to sit in the temple and win respect--not to offend anyone. But we will not be censored. He is the Messiah."
"And you are not shy in your requests."
"He is the Son of God. He is resurrected, and he will return."
"Well, if you will not be persuaded otherwise."
"I won't."
"Then let it be so. I trust you will remember my generosity in the days to come."
_____________________________________________________________
As I pondered this interchange between James, the brother of Jesus, and Caiaphas early on in the 11th episode of NBC's AD: The Bible Continues, I was reminded of something. The Gospel is offensive.
Think about it. It tells people that they are not good enough, that the status quo of the human condition will not cut it. Furthermore, it tells humanity that we need help...that the solution is external to ourselves. The Gospel judges us, and it does not care about our "intentions" or our "goodness." It tells us that we have fallen short, and it tells us why. And if we are able to put aside our emotions when confronted with such audacious claims--enough to allow the truth to set in and accept a Savior--the Gospel still does not allow us to be content. We can always get closer, renewed a little bit more, sanctified a little more profoundly.
The idea of an offensive faith is counter-cultural. We live in a culture where political correctness drives the masses. Americans are willing to give anyone the benefit of the doubt and not chastise anyone for any lifestyle choice. The lines of morality have long since been blurred, except in instances where someone has the gall to register any sort of definitive statement about the legitimacy of someone's actions or opinions. In a word, the only unforgivable sin in American culture is being perceived as judgmental. Why? Because judgmental people do not understand a person's unique experiences and/or environment. They are hypocritical, not able to recognize the plank in their own eye.
The reality is that the Church is simultaneously inclusive and exclusive. It is inclusive because it beckons all people to come to the cross, irrespective of gender, ethnicity, etc. And it does not care about your past. As Philip said to the Ethiopian in this episode, "What matters is what you choose now to be." On the other hand, the Church is also exclusive. All can come, so long as they are willing to live by an accepted ethos. We see this throughout Scripture. For example, in the closing chapters of Joshua, Israel is settling in the Promised Land. There Joshua tells the community that their future relies upon their ability to put aside their past, with their foreign gods, and adhere to the covenant. The essence of the Pauline Epistles assumes that an ethos, or a standard of living, is essential to being apart of the Church. Consequently, the Church is not a community where anything goes under the guise of "love." No, Scripture tells us that if we love God, then we will do what he commands.
May we not forget or put aside the offensiveness of Christianity. The Gospel's offensiveness helps give us our identity...it helps establish the paradigm that will order our worldview.
"There are limits to what is acceptable. The Romans are a literal people. They take any mention of kings at face value and call it sedition. Saying that Jesus is king endangers the temple."
"Then we will be cautious."
"And you will refrain from saying that he is the Messiah."
"But that is the truth."
"Your truth will offend many and I may not be able to protect you."
"We wish to sit in the temple and win respect--not to offend anyone. But we will not be censored. He is the Messiah."
"And you are not shy in your requests."
"He is the Son of God. He is resurrected, and he will return."
"Well, if you will not be persuaded otherwise."
"I won't."
"Then let it be so. I trust you will remember my generosity in the days to come."
_____________________________________________________________
As I pondered this interchange between James, the brother of Jesus, and Caiaphas early on in the 11th episode of NBC's AD: The Bible Continues, I was reminded of something. The Gospel is offensive.
Think about it. It tells people that they are not good enough, that the status quo of the human condition will not cut it. Furthermore, it tells humanity that we need help...that the solution is external to ourselves. The Gospel judges us, and it does not care about our "intentions" or our "goodness." It tells us that we have fallen short, and it tells us why. And if we are able to put aside our emotions when confronted with such audacious claims--enough to allow the truth to set in and accept a Savior--the Gospel still does not allow us to be content. We can always get closer, renewed a little bit more, sanctified a little more profoundly.The idea of an offensive faith is counter-cultural. We live in a culture where political correctness drives the masses. Americans are willing to give anyone the benefit of the doubt and not chastise anyone for any lifestyle choice. The lines of morality have long since been blurred, except in instances where someone has the gall to register any sort of definitive statement about the legitimacy of someone's actions or opinions. In a word, the only unforgivable sin in American culture is being perceived as judgmental. Why? Because judgmental people do not understand a person's unique experiences and/or environment. They are hypocritical, not able to recognize the plank in their own eye.
The reality is that the Church is simultaneously inclusive and exclusive. It is inclusive because it beckons all people to come to the cross, irrespective of gender, ethnicity, etc. And it does not care about your past. As Philip said to the Ethiopian in this episode, "What matters is what you choose now to be." On the other hand, the Church is also exclusive. All can come, so long as they are willing to live by an accepted ethos. We see this throughout Scripture. For example, in the closing chapters of Joshua, Israel is settling in the Promised Land. There Joshua tells the community that their future relies upon their ability to put aside their past, with their foreign gods, and adhere to the covenant. The essence of the Pauline Epistles assumes that an ethos, or a standard of living, is essential to being apart of the Church. Consequently, the Church is not a community where anything goes under the guise of "love." No, Scripture tells us that if we love God, then we will do what he commands.May we not forget or put aside the offensiveness of Christianity. The Gospel's offensiveness helps give us our identity...it helps establish the paradigm that will order our worldview.
No comments:
Post a Comment