Monday, March 14, 2011

Confession 171: "Adventures in Missing the Point" Pt. 1

My husband began a new message series for Lent entitled "Adventures in Missing the Point", based on the book of the same name by Tony Campolo and Brian McLaren.  The premise behind the series is that as Christians, sometimes we miss the point of Jesus' teachings.  We get caught up in all of the doctrine and legalism of church and forget the true Gospel message. Hmmmm....sound Pharisee-ish to anyone else?

One of the ways that we as Christians can easily miss the point is in regard to God's nature.  Perhaps the biggest stumbling block for Christians and non-Christians alike is our lack of ability to grasp the sense of unthinkable tragedy.  Often times, our first response is to question God (Why did this happen?) or even to lay blame (Why did YOU let this happen?)  Why would a God who professes to love allow thousands of people to be lost in a moment?  Why would a God who speaks of redemption turn his back when an innocent child is murdered?  It doesn't make sense.  Yet, as Jesus shows us in the following scriptures, these questions miss the point.

Click on the link to read the following scripture: John 9:1-12

In this passage, the church folk see a man in need and, instead of helping, ask Jesus who sinned to bring about his suffering.  Jesus' response?  No one.  This man's suffering was not a fault of his own or anyone else.  "Why" was not the point.  The point was that through this man's suffering God's glory was revealed.

Go with me to one more passage: Luke 13:1-5  Again, the message is similar.  God does not rain down suffering for sin.  Rather, he offered his own son as a sin offering for each of us.  When tragedy strikes, it is not God punishing, but rather it becomes an opportunity for us to live out our faith and to show the love of God to a world in need.

One of the things my husband has heard said often of the reconstruction following Hurricane Katrina is that Christians have re-built the Gulf Coast.  Christian groups, churches and organizations are still re-building down in the Gulf over five years after the destruction from Katrina.  In the midst of great tragedy, God's love has been shown.  And that is our call today, to show the love of God in the midst of the darkness of the world while remembering that in all things God works together with those who love him to bring about what is good. (Romans 8:28)

I know there are many faith-based relief organizations that will be working through the crisis in Japan.  One such organization is the United Methodist Committee On Relief (UMCOR).  UMCOR has the distinction of being one of the first organizations on the ground when tragedy strikes and the last organization to leave.  No money donated to UMCOR goes to overhead costs, like utilities, office space and salary.  Rather, each dollar donated to UMCOR goes directly to helping those in need.  It's one way to make a difference, but there are many others.  Our challenge and purpose, as people who have been redeemed, is to find ways to share that redemption story with others, to look for opportunities to fight the cynicism and pessimism of our society with acts of mercy and hope.  This is what Jesus was talking about when he called us to love--love God, love others.  The first flows freely into the second.  So let me ask you this--who will you love today?

Blessings and Peace,
Sara

5 comments:

  1. Good morning Sara! Thanks so much for posting this - we've had a rough week with our baby girl, and it has been tempting to ask "why??" but we are trying to cling to His grace and see how He will use this for good.

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  2. You have a new regular reader! The questioning of God in times of great loss came up in our Bible study last night, and I think this is a great response to those comments.

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  3. Very good thoughts. I'm sure lots of people are asking God "Why?" in regards to Japan. Yesterday my teenage daughter was pitching a fit about some very minor issue. I said to her that at least 10,000 people died just like that with no warning over the weekend and in light of that her grievance was miniscule and I didn't want to hear it. Good to know about UMCOR. Kudos to them for being efficient and compassionate.

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  4. Hey Aurie,
    I'm so sorry you guys are having such a hard time. I will definitely be keeping your little one in my prayers.

    And Angie, I've been giving myself that same lecture many times over the past few days!! Thank you!

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  5. Really beautiful and poignant.

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