SPIRITUAL TECTONIC PLATES!

While sitting in my Sunday School class this morning studying the first chapter of Luke, I had a train of thoughts that rattled my thinking.

The period of the Old Testament prophets ran from approximately 930 – 500 B.C. The Old Testament closes a little over four hundred years before Christ (about 425 BC) with the Jewish people being partially restored to their land, and living under the dominion of the Persian Empire.

Then came four hundred years of silence. During these years, Israel was under the dominion of Persia, Greece, and Rome.  Alexander the Great insisted on Greek as a common language.  Consequently, our New Testament was written in Greek!  The world largely enjoyed a period of peace as the Romans ruled a massive empire from 27 B.C. until 180 A.D. A worldwide system of roads and transportation built by the Romans allowed efficient travel for military, trade, and the populace – including eventually missionaries like Paul, Barnabas, Luke and others.

But spiritually, not much happened and no canonical writings emerged. 

But suddenly, as B.C. was about to be restarted as A.D. the spiritual tectonic plates seemed to begin to shift!

This change was demonstrated in a number of ways:

·         Some scholars – who were especially attuned to the movement of the heavenly bodies – noticed things happening in the eastern sky that indicated to them that a new king was about to be born in the east.  Curious, and driven by God, they embarked on a long and arduous journey from Persia to Bethlehem.

·         A small town priest named Zacharias was drafted to perform a priestly service.  While he was in the Temple doing so, an angel appeared to him to report that his prayer had been heard and his aged wife would become pregnant and bear him a very special son, and he was to name him John.   

·         Shortly after this, an angel appeared to a young woman from Nazareth, named Mary.  He announced that she would soon become pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit and she would eventually bear the Son of God. 

·         Mary immediately travelled to visit her family – Zacharias and Elizabeth - in the hill country of Galilee.  When she arrived, Elizabeth also broke out in a prophetic-like utterance.  She was divinely enabled to know that Mary was pregnant with the Messiah and honored her [Luke 1:42-45]! 

·         Although it is often undervalued, Mary uttered prophetic words that are still considered sacred many years later.  We know her statement as the Magnificat [Luke 1:46-56].

·         Shortly after, Elizabeth gave birth to John.  The Holy Spirit touched Zacharias and he burst forth in an ecstatic utterance with prophetic significance [Luke 1:67-79]!

·         Sometime following, Mary’s husband-to-be, Joseph, also received a visit from an angel who informed him that Mary’s pregnancy was of God and that he should go ahead and take her as his wife!  That angel reappeared to Joseph numerous times over the years to guide him and protect the young child!

·         About two years after Jesus’ birth, the Persian wise men arrived in Bethlehem and visited the young child and His parents.  They bestowed on the young family extravagant gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Then, they were warned in a dream to avoid returning to Herod to report what they had seen and where!

Not much would happen for the next couple of decades while John and Jesus grew up and matured.

However, John – who became known as a fiery wilderness preacher – began to proclaim the coming of the Messiah! His message: “I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” [Mark 1:8].

Then – finally – Mark 1:9,14 records that “In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan…Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’”

To complete our train of thought, we must acknowledge that the three years of Jesus’ public ministry were marked by a massive wave of spiritual activity.  Some was directed through demons and spiritual oppression.  The rest was orchestrated through the political and religious structures of that day! 

THERE WAS NO MORE SILENCE!

GOD ISN'T FINISHED WITH ME YET

I recently re-read a book from my shelves:  THE NEXT CHRISTIANS: How a New Generation is Restoring the Faith, copyright 2010, by Gabe Lyons.  I'm going to deliberately keep it out on my desk for a good while so that I can flip through it and reexamine the many underlined passages.  

The book slowly exposed me in areas that were painful and awakening.  I am deeply challenged by its message and find myself wanting to evolve into a 'Next Christian'.  I have a long way to go and will have to reengage myself regularly if I hope to activate this transformation.

Although I graduated from a seminary that espoused four major branches of theology [Feminist, Calvinist, Progressive, Libertion]. I managed to emerge with my Wesleyan faith-base intact.  I think this was enabled by the fact that the United Methodist Church was sending a lot of their theology students to this school, which created a tolerance for the Wesleyan perspective.  :-)

I emerged from the process as an innovative thinker, cooperative leader, and biblically-based teacher.  Having been raised in the Free Methodist Church, I found it to be a suitable and comfortable base of operation throughout the years, although I currently worship in an evangelical Presbyterian church.  My sources of influence have been eclectic: 

• a Free Methodist college
• a United Methodist seminary
• a liberal Presbyterian seminary
• a charismatic Catholic university
• and a host of friends and associates from a wide variety of Christian-faith-based backgrounds!  

I consequently emerged as a firmly entrenched theological mongrel with a mainstream way of thinking.  I was comfortable and even effective as a result of these processes.

But Gabe Lyons book began to rattle and disturb my comfort zone.  He had a subtle way of showing me that I am judgmental, proud, and ineffective when it comes to engaging those who disagree with my paradigms.  

My activism has often resorted to boycotts, picketing and letter-writing campaigns.  This approach nearly cost my son (Travis) an education at the United States Naval Academy [but that's a story I've told elsewhere].  I was proud of this approach - until I read THE NEXT CHRISTIAN.  This book unpeeled the roots of my exclusivism, anger, and stubbornness!  I'm hopeful that - even at this late stage of my life - I might be able to change my approach to things I don't like or understand.

I want to break the patterns of rigid thinking and express patience, a desire to know and understand and a renewed passion for a restoring impact!  

Unless you've read the book, it's a challenge for me to convey its message in a brief space.  Perhaps a quote from page 75 will suffice [or at least plant a seed].

No one - Christian included - can avoid all contact with potentially corrupting people, systems, and influences.  For everyday followers of Jesus, this tension begs the question: How should Christians react when placed in an environment that celebrates sin, overlooks injustice, or tolerates immorality?

[I think ALL of us would agree that this is a relevant question for our day!] 

Michael Metzger has said, "When confronted with the corruption of our world - Christians ought to be provoked, not offended and withdrawn."

In contrast, classic Separatist Christians (the insiders, culture warriors, and evangelizers) are often offended by corruption.  Characterized by their lifestyle choices, these Christians tend to remove themselves from potentially harmful situations - citing their disgust of immorality or their pursuit of holiness as the reason.  As is consistent with their perspective, they condemn, judge, withdraw, and boycott.  They play the paradoxical role of antagonist instead of the sacrificial pursuer. 

In my copy of this book, you will see the word "OUCH!" penned in my script!

All these years, I've been offended and withdrawn - hoping to punish evil and withdrawing from its presence!  How un-Christ-like of me!  How Pharisaical!  God, help me to change!

Lyons gives many examples of 'Next Christians' working within our culture [and other cultures] to bring a spiritual restoration to situations and environments.  

I reflect on my years of ministry with a mix of pride and remorse.  I'm grateful that due to training, education and excellent role models, I did a lot of things right!  However, I lament that I dropped the ball when it comes to having a restorative impact on the culture!  I will try to do better in the years I have left.  

It's hard to capture the essence of a 200-page book in this brief forum.  If this blog has tickled or unnerved anything within you - perhaps you'd like to get a copy and read it?