Which Messiah?

2000 years ago people were given a choice of which messiah they wanted.   Which one they wanted free so they could follow and which they would leave to die.

Jesus or Barabbas? 

Both revolutionaries

Both starting rebellions against opposing kingdoms.

Who will they choose?

Barabbas - coming with strength, with power, with the sword

Jesus - coming with love, with conviction, with peace

Crucify him!

Barabbas – grabbing for power, wrenching it away from their oppressors

Jesus – giving it away freely, serving even the worst of their enemies

Crucify him!

Barabbas - the one who offers respect, security, dominance

Jesus – the one who asks you to give it all up

Crucify him!   

Barabbas – promising you the opportunity to get everything your heart desires

Jesus – wanting to change what your heart desires

Crucify him!

Today, as we remember then man who gave it all up for those he loved we have the same choice.  Which Messiah will we choose?

Barabbas, the one who gives us the best of life on our terms

Jesus, the one who truly knows what is best in life

Barabbas, the one who is made in our image

Jesus, the one who desires us to be reborn in his

Which will we choose?

Which will we follow and which will we choose to crucify?

Crucify him!

Love Wins?

A friend of mine posted on her facebook last night “Sometimes Christians make it really hard for me to be proud to be a Christian... you know?”  I completely understand how she feels.  When I look at Christians in the news, in the media, and even around me I am often embarrassed to wear the name of Christ – not because of Him, but because of how we have made him look.  I’m afraid that if when meeting new people they find out right away that I’m a Christian they’ll have a preconceived notion that I’m hateful, judgemental, narrowminded and boring.  The really unfortunate part is that to me the life of a Christian should be pretty much the opposite of all those things.

                This has been most noticeable to me over the past couple of weeks because of the whole Rob Bell debacle. I’ve read articles, seen videos, and facebook posts of people throwing stone after stone at the guy because he has written a book that disagrees with their specific view of one aspect of the Christian faith.  They call him unbiblical, though he examines every passage hell is mentioned in our English translations.  They call him heretical, though there have been plenty of other Christians within our history who have held similar views.  They call him unchristian, though he has dedicated every aspect of his being to seek out and follow Christ.

As I’ve seen these reactions over the past month it has broken my heart – thinking of this poor man, his wife, his kids – what they must be going through as they must be aware of all of this.  Even in his sermon this past week he alludes to how the encouragement of his church has kept him going because it hasn’t been an easy road.  I think about how he’s been treated and I weep.

For Him

For his family.

And for his greater family –

Us. 

Christians.

Because as I watch all of this, I can’t help but questioning what Rob is so sure of.

Love wins?

Really? It does?  Can it?

Even when the supposed messengers of love seem to be filled with so much anger and hatred?  I’m reminded of the oft said saying – the Christian army is the only army that shoots their wounded – except here it seems we’ll shoot anyone in our own army if they disagree with us.  No wonder so many have decided to go join the other side, it’s safer over there.

Criticize his theology if you disagree, criticize his interpretation, heck, even go so far as to criticize his intelligence if you must.   But Criticize his faith? His heart? His love?

Yes, I am a fan of Rob Bell.  I’ve read his books, I’ve heard him speak live, I listen to his Churches sermons every week.  Do I agree with everything he says?  No.  But he encourages, inspires me and spurs me on in my faith.  And above all else what I can tell you about this man is that he loves God, he loves people and seeks to serve both.  Does he have it all together?  None of us do, but he does have love.  Just look how he has responded to all of these accusations – with peace, patience, and grace.  I doubt I could have done the same.

And to me that is the defining mark of a Christian. 

Someone who loves God and loves others.  As Jesus said, “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” 

It is because of this that when I feel ashamed of the label of Christian that I am not afraid to bear it proudly.  Because though there are those who frustrate me, disappoint me, and break my heart – there are also those who I’ve seen display ridiculous acts of love.  Rob has story after story of people he’s encountered who have been inspired by this message – from the cyclist that yelled love wins at him while he was jogging, to the people who have written/spoke to him to lift him up, to his the president of the Seminary he went to preaching at his church supporting Rob, to graffiti saying ’love wins’ on the wall of the west bank.  There are those out there who are dedicated to Jesus’ message of love and who will proclaim it at all costs.

At the cost of their money

Their time

Their reputation

Even their lives.

Because for some reason, some of the most extreme acts and declarations of love and peace can bring out the worst in people.  Just look at what happened to Jesus.

I’ve been blessed with people who remind me daily that love does win. 

I’ve been blessed by an amazing community of believers – Eucharist Church – that reminds me that there is a third way. 

I’ve been blessed by a God that has given me so much more than eternal life but has given me life to the fullest in the hear and now.

And I thank God every day all of this.

In the end love does win in our lives each and every single day if we allow it to influence how we act, how we talk, how we think.   If we choose to be peacemakers and act out in creative love only to build each other up instead of the tearing down that comes so easily to us.  Then, and only then, will the words of the classic hymn ring true.  They will know we are Christians by our love by our love, they will know we are Christians by our love.

May the love of Christ win in our hearts today.

Kingdom Come?

Matthew 6:10 “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”

A simple line in a simple prayer given to us by Jesus.  At first glance it seems like a nice saying – one full of hope dreaming of the day when things will be made right.

No more pain, no more tears.  Freedom from this painful world.

Don’t get me wrong.  I long for that, I want that.  But if I’m honest, there’s a part of me…some days a large part of me…that’s okay with God’s kingdom not coming, at least not yet.

Your Kingdom come

This is all fine and dandy when it’s somewhere off in the future. But what does this truly mean ?

As I read the Gospels, God’s Kingdom, the empire that Jesus is ushering in, isn’t merely something in the far off future.  It’s something for the here and now.

And if it’s for today, for my every thought, every breath, every deed.

Then asking for Kingdom come is no simple task.

I’m tied up in this empire of the world, we all are.  And though parts of me rage, fight, and seek for ways to redeem what has been broken.  To be a peacemaker in the storms of this world.  Part of me is holding on to this bleak kingdom with every last ounce of strength, because when we look at the Kingdom of Jesus, and actually take it seriously, there’s one thing I’m sure of.

Jesus WILL mess you up.

Love your enemies.

Forgive everyone of all their offences.

Give away your money.

Die to yourself – Carry your cross

We purposely blind ourselves to these commands, explaining them away because we don’t want to fully flesh out what they would mean in our lives.  It’s easier to keep the status quo, this pursuit of life, love, and happiness – not really caring how it affects other’s pursuit of the same things.

We do our best to see no evil – not to keep ourselves pure, but so that we don’t feel obligated to do anything about it.  So we can keep our clean life without having to fight against the injustices all around us, because that would actually cost us something.

Jesus says that in his kingdom blessed will be the poor, the mourning, the outcasts and disregarded – he brings low the rich, the powerful, those who have it all together.

Which scares me

Compared to most people in this world, I’m rich, I’m powerful, I don’t have that much to worry about in the grand scheme of things.

If I ask for His kingdom to come….what does that mean will happen to my life?

Will I have to sacrifice some of the extra amenities of life I’ve grown accustomed to.

Will I have to realize my money, my time, my life are not my own and that they should be used to help others?

Will I have to fight past the selfishness that wants my way?

Will I have to admit that I’m not quite the good and holy person I like to think I am?

I can see why the Pharisees were pissed at Jesus.  He was disrupting the systems that they were engrained in.  The systems that gave them everything they could ever want – after all, isn’t that the American/Canadian dream?  All that, with the blessing of God.

But Jesus had other plans.

Jesus came to open the eyes of the blind – and not just those physically – he caused people to have to open their eyes to the injustices around them, to see the needs and therefore requiring them to make a choice – what will they do?

What will we do?

Do we really want our eyes opened?  Do we want to see how God is working?  To see what he is calling us to, knowing full well what it may entail.

Do I really want Kingdom come?

I’m trying to.