Sticks and stones may . . . . .
Last week I was called a liberal! I have lived a good number of years thinking such a travesty would never occur. It happened during lunch with two business associates. We were having a pleasant time and the conversation worked its way around to politics. One of my lunch companions launched an attack against "those environmental nutcases" that would have done Ann Coulter proud. I did not comment verbally but did raise my eyebrows at one of his outbursts. He was sitting across the table and noticed my expression. He gave me a hard look, but did not comment.
A little later we were talking about the 2008 elections and the various potential candidates. I have some opinions but could not seem to get an opening to share them. These guys were really serious — serious like the election is next month rather than next year. Since I could not talk, I listened intently and found myself thinking I was watching a program on Fox News. I guess I smiled at the thought and one of my friends thought I was offering some "know-it-all grin." Thinking I was in disagreement with the orthodox positions being expressed, he turned and said, "Well, it looks like we have a liberal at the table with us." I was a little stunned at first. Several years ago I would have angrily launched a defense of my conservative credentials. But I just grinned all the more and enjoyed my salad.
I realize the comment about me being a liberal was made primarily to provoke me into discussion and give me an opportunity to prove my fundamentalist Republican pedigree. I was not angry but I could not identify my feelings at the moment. What did trouble me as I reflected later on the exchange is how typical our lunch table discussion has become. I can’t remember a time in the past year when I was involved in a serious conversation in which the individuals disagreed but were willing to calmly debate the issue. I used to have these all the time. What has happened? I’m not exactly sure but I think it has much to do with the proliferation of talk radio/television which has almost destroyed the concept of "friendly disagreement." Even our everyday conversations are peppered with "sound bites" and "labeling." During the lunch conversation mentioned previously, I, and anything I had to say, was effectively neutralized by the label: liberal.
I am beginning to wonder if we are serious when we say things like "I would like to hear the candidates engage in debate on the issues." I’m not sure we would recognize it if it happened.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Friday, April 6, 2007
Infinitely Alone
Several years ago the elders of our (then) church joined with the pastor during Lent preaching on the words of Christ on the cross. I was assigned the passage "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me" (Matt 27:46). I have seen the movie The Passion of the Christ and left the theater physically exhausted. As I prepared for this sermon, I had much the same experience meditating on the most dreadful part of our Lord's suffering: the separation from the Father. This was the inspiration for the title. Jesus, on the cross, went to a place that Psa 139 tells us does not exist - a place where God is not present. Though thoroughly Irish, the muses have not blessed me with the gift of poetic speech. I tried to come up with words to describe this dereliction that caused Jesus to cry out those terrible words. I finally went to my comfort zone:engineering/science. Following is the best I could muster.
The Weight of Sin
Have you considered recently what sin is? Man is God’s prized creation — made in His image. And yet, one sin — one act of rebellion against God was sufficient to cast this prized creation into a state of eternal damnation. We understand that one single sin is enough to sentence us to hell for eternity. But none of us have committed just one sin. Our sins are countless and each one is worthy of eternal damnation. Are we not most foolish when we imagine trying to satisfy or suffer the punishment for all our sins?
Most of you have heard about what scientists call ‘black holes.’ If their theories are correct, a black hole is a star that has collapsed in on itself and it mass has become so concentrated that the gravitational field will not let light escape. The mass is so concentrated that an object made from this material the size of a child’s marble would weigh 800 million tons. If I could hold that marble in my hand and then let it fall, it would not only pass through the floor but it would quickly pass through the dirt and bedrock as it moves rapidly to the center of the earth. Its gravitational pull would be so great that the Mississippi River and the Smokey Mountains would feel the pull and move towards this place we now gather.
If you could some how weigh my sin on a spiritual scale it would be similar to that marble — and so would yours. Jesus has "bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed." 1 Peter 2:24. It is like He has taken these marbles, our sins, strung them together in a necklace, and hung them around his neck. The incredible weight is pulling Him down with such force that it is pulling Him out of the hands of the Father who He loves with an infinite love.
Isaiah 53:5-6
But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.
The physical suffering of Jesus was horrendous and none of us want to dwell on it for any extended time. But the spiritual suffering of having the Father remove His gaze of blessing was much more painful - more than we can ever imagine. It is this suffering that caused Jesus to sweat blood in the garden - and it is this suffering that purchased our redemption.
Truly this is a Good Friday!
Several years ago the elders of our (then) church joined with the pastor during Lent preaching on the words of Christ on the cross. I was assigned the passage "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me" (Matt 27:46). I have seen the movie The Passion of the Christ and left the theater physically exhausted. As I prepared for this sermon, I had much the same experience meditating on the most dreadful part of our Lord's suffering: the separation from the Father. This was the inspiration for the title. Jesus, on the cross, went to a place that Psa 139 tells us does not exist - a place where God is not present. Though thoroughly Irish, the muses have not blessed me with the gift of poetic speech. I tried to come up with words to describe this dereliction that caused Jesus to cry out those terrible words. I finally went to my comfort zone:engineering/science. Following is the best I could muster.
The Weight of Sin
Have you considered recently what sin is? Man is God’s prized creation — made in His image. And yet, one sin — one act of rebellion against God was sufficient to cast this prized creation into a state of eternal damnation. We understand that one single sin is enough to sentence us to hell for eternity. But none of us have committed just one sin. Our sins are countless and each one is worthy of eternal damnation. Are we not most foolish when we imagine trying to satisfy or suffer the punishment for all our sins?
Most of you have heard about what scientists call ‘black holes.’ If their theories are correct, a black hole is a star that has collapsed in on itself and it mass has become so concentrated that the gravitational field will not let light escape. The mass is so concentrated that an object made from this material the size of a child’s marble would weigh 800 million tons. If I could hold that marble in my hand and then let it fall, it would not only pass through the floor but it would quickly pass through the dirt and bedrock as it moves rapidly to the center of the earth. Its gravitational pull would be so great that the Mississippi River and the Smokey Mountains would feel the pull and move towards this place we now gather.
If you could some how weigh my sin on a spiritual scale it would be similar to that marble — and so would yours. Jesus has "bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed." 1 Peter 2:24. It is like He has taken these marbles, our sins, strung them together in a necklace, and hung them around his neck. The incredible weight is pulling Him down with such force that it is pulling Him out of the hands of the Father who He loves with an infinite love.
Isaiah 53:5-6
But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.
The physical suffering of Jesus was horrendous and none of us want to dwell on it for any extended time. But the spiritual suffering of having the Father remove His gaze of blessing was much more painful - more than we can ever imagine. It is this suffering that caused Jesus to sweat blood in the garden - and it is this suffering that purchased our redemption.
Truly this is a Good Friday!
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
I don't like these things - blogs that is. I have successfully avoided them for years and now I find myself creating my own. I'm thinking slippery slope and "how the mighty have fallen" thoughts. My resistance to blogging is reflected in the name I chose for the blog. That name accurately and fairly describes my attitude. But (rising up on my spiritual pedestal) I am willing to sacrifice for the good of the school. So I take the plunge this 3rd day of April in the year of our Lord 2007.
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