|
CYPRESSWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST May 15,
2005 FAMILY CONCERNS: Our
congregation Our nation, military and leaders Various
friends, relatives and co-workers David, Leon and James in the
military SUMMER YOUTH SERIES: June 6 - North Wayside June 20 - Bammel June 13 -
Memorial June 27 - Westbury with Jerome Williams LIVING
WITH EXTREMES "For
whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses
their life for me will find it" (Matthew 16:25). We would
like life to be organized and direct. We have our plans and this is
the way we want them to play out. We will grow up, graduate, marry,
raise children, and grow old. In the process we will have a good job
and a nice house to live in. We want a straight road with no
problems. It is a nice utopian picture but then reality hits, and
hits hard, and we find ourselves living in the extremes. What are
some of those extremes? Just consider some of the oxymorons we live
with today. If you travel, you are familiar with "e-tickets." An
e-ticket is a paperless ticket ordered over the computer internet.
That seems like a good idea until you receive conformation through
the U.S. Post Office with eight pages of ticket. We live in the
digital age and many communicate via the internet, yet many have a
desire for touch and community relationships, so they spend time at
Star Bucks, communicating over the internet. We are told that the
rich are getting richer and the poor poorer. There is Dr. Phil and
Oprah on television during the day and someone named Delilah on late
night radio. Forty-eight percent loved and forty-eight hated George
Bush in the 2004 election. We have conservative talk radio and the
liberal main stream media. The list could be longer if we think
about it. There are
extremes in scripture as well. There is a little interesting text in
Exodus 14 which we need to be careful not to read to much into it.
"And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry
ground" (vs. 22, RSV). "But the people of Israel walked on
dry ground through the sea" (vs. 29, RSV). Maybe it is just
saying the same thing two different ways but it is interesting none
the less. Psalm 69:1-2 states: "Save me, O God, for the waters
have come up to my neck. I sink in the miry depths, where there is
no foothold, I have come into deep waters; the floods engulf me."
The Psalmist goes on to say that he has a parched mouth from calling
out. Extremes are seen in all these texts. In
Revelation, Jesus speaks to the church in Laodicea. This was a group
of people who thought everything was fine and needed nothing. They
were not going to take a risk one way or another. Rather than being
hot or cold, they were lukewarm. What Jesus was saying is that they
made Him sick and He would vomit them out. Strong words here. It is not
uncommon to see extremes in the teachings of Jesus. God is One and
God is three. Jesus is fully human and fully God. To find life, lose
it in Christ. Rejoice in suffering (Romans 5:5). We are pilgrims in
this life (Philippians 3:21). "To live is Christ, to die is gain"
(1:21). Love father and mother but hate father and mother. You want
to have life in abundance, you need to come and die. "Take up
your cross and follow me." And the most extreme example: "And
I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to
myself" (John 12:32). Life, death, and resurrection is seen in
Jesus. The extreme is seen in baptism, dying to live (Romans 6:3-5).
The first shall be last and the last first. The great are those who
serve (see John 13:1-17). Life has
extremes. One way to deal with them is to ignore one side or the
other, which becomes heresy. For instance, some ignore either Jesus'
humanity or deity, leading them to come up with various ideas seen
in ancient Gnosticism and some modern cults. Jesus was just a human,
or God entered Him at the beginning of His ministry and left Him
before the cross. There is mystery in extremes and as rational
people, we have difficulty with extremes; we don't like them. We
want it all figured out. Some people teach that prayer is a command
and whatever happens, happens and nothing we say can change God's
mind. That is one side of an extreme. Those of the health and wealth
gospel see sickness and poverty as weakness or a lack of faith,
ignoring too many texts to mention. It is one side of an extreme.
We could
attempt to bridge the extremes and live with both. Again, this
involves living with mystery. God has revealed to us things about
Himself, but by no means has He revealed all. Job complained about
his situation and suffering and demanded an answer from God. God
answered but never explained his suffering. Job accepted God's
statements with humility and faith. Abraham was told that he and
Sarah would have a child in their old age (100 and 90 respectively).
Jesus speaks to our generation as He did to His when He said that to
find life one must lose it. Many one sided ideas are tried here;
work, play, even religion. People are looking for life in all the
wrong places. We find life in Christ when we humble ourselves and
become servants. The
question is: "Are we willing to live the extremes and enjoy the
mystery?" We do not have all the answers and God hasn't given us all
the answers. He has provide a way to survive and live. There is a
big difference in looking at scripture for all the answers or as a
means of living. Of course, this doesn't mean that everything is a
mystery. There are some things we must understand and be right
about. For instance, we must be right about Jesus being our Savior
and that we are in fellowship with Him His way, that He physically
died and was raised from the dead, and that He has provided a
community in which to live. The question then is, "Do we have to be
right about everything?" There will be disagreements on various
issues and most of these are over opinions and points of view. They
are not salvation issues, though some have attempted to make almost
everything a salvation issue. We must ask some tough questions. Is
it scripture or is it culture? Is it scripture or is it tradition?
Another
idea is that we can be right yet not have to push that in order to
build a relationship. Again, there are some things that we must be
right about. We then must consider that while I am right, or have
the right to be right, or might be right on a subject, does that
mean that I must then break fellowship with those with whom I
differ? A visiting preacher was talking with a local preacher about
his new truck. The visiting preacher loved trucks but because of
where he lived, having one was impractical. As he was looking over
his friend's truck he noticed a big scratch on the back of the cab.
He asked how it got there. The friend said that they had a bad storm
a few weeks back and his neighbor's portable basketball goal fell
over and hit it. The preacher asked if the neighbor was going to pay
for it. He went to the neighbor and asked about that. The neighbor
said that since it was an act of God, he didn't think he should pay
for it. That made the friend a little upset. As he talked to his
wife about it, she said that there is something he should consider.
We like our neighbors, we like their kids, we get along really well,
and we don't want to move, or to lose this relationship. So, she
said, "Would you rather be right or have a relationship with your
neighbor?" I think
that is a lesson we can learn in the church. Instead of seeing
everything as a salvation issue, and there are salvation issues, we
should ask the question, "Would we rather be right or have a
relationship with our brother and/or sister?" Too often, we have
chosen the idea of being right and have broken relationships. When
one thinks of what churches and people have divided over, one can
only weep. Choosing to be right often violates the idea of humility
and service. Singing a certain style of songs might be comfortable
for some, but they should also respect those who have different
tastes. Is it worth dividing over? Using a certain translation over
others is one thing, stating that all should use that same
translation is another. Is it worth dividing over? Having elders who
see their role as a board of directors over an institution,
controlling every aspect of congregational life is one thing,
refusing to be questioned is another. Is it worth dividing over? How
about how we deal with the poor, widows and orphans? Bible classes
and Christian colleges? War and peace? Instrumental music? The role
of women? The role of the preacher? The role of elders? We could
list many other issues, most of which congregations have divided
over. Was it worth it? Some involve conscience, some teaching or
doctrine, some opinion. Discerning becomes difficult when we move
away from humility and service to judgments and name-calling.
Living with
extremes is difficult, and it involves mystery. Finding a way to
bridge those extremes requires patience and humility. It was a
challenge in scripture and it is today. Enjoy the extremes. |