A Jealous God

When I was in seminary, we used to begin most classes with prayer.  One day, a fellow student (who was about twenty years older than the rest of us) asked for prayer for his family.  His teenaged daughter had been dating a boy who was very possessive and controlling, and the father had forced her to break up with him.  Since that time, the boy had been stalking his daughter.  At night, he would pull his car up to the curb outside her house and just sit there, as if to say, “You can’t get away from me that easily.  I’ll still be here.”  In my youth, I knew several guys like that.  Even at that age, I wondered what drew girls to these kinds of guys.  These were often attractive, otherwise intelligent, promising young women who allowed themselves to become the personal property of loser-stalker teenaged boys.  I have a theory why they do this, which you can ask me about sometime if you’re interested.  For now, let me just say to any young women who happen to be reading this: If a guy becomes obsessed with you, if you see that he is the jealous type, run—don’t walk—away from him.  I know it’s flattering to be the very center of someone else’s universe, to feel like they can’t live without you.  But nothing good will come out of such a relationship.  That boy doesn’t love you.  He wants to own you.  You deserve better.  And young men, when your girlfriend breaks up with you...GET. OVER. IT.  It has happened to all of us, and we survived.  It will happen to you again, probably multiple times.  By the way, that girl’s parents have a much bigger claim on her than you do.  They love her in ways that you cannot possibly comprehend until God blesses you with kids of your own.  You do not want to make them angry.  Trust me on this one.

            Right now, you’re probably wondering where I’m going with this.  All this year, I’m preaching on the attributes of God.  We’ve talked about His holiness. We’ve talked about His incarnation as Jesus, who changed our world forever.  But for the next four weeks, I want to talk about an attribute that we don’t typically pay a lot of attention to: The jealousy of God.  When I think about the term “jealous,” I immediately think of stories like the one I started with.  Is God really like a loser-stalker teenaged boy?  This Sunday, we'll look at Exodus 34:12-14, one of several passages in which God calls Himself a jealous God.  We will see how God's jealousy differs from the kind we often feel.  We'll see, in fact, why we should rejoice in a God who is jealous for us.  And we'll see how the story of my seminary friend and the teenaged stalker ended.  I hope you'll be there. 

He Opened our Eyes

             One summer when I was in college, I worked with a guy named Dave.  Like me, Dave was from a little town.  He had followed his high school girlfriend to UH. She was very pretty, and Dave had his life pretty much planned out.  Sooner or later, they were going to be married.  Right in the middle of the summer, Dave’s girlfriend dumped him.  Most of us have experienced this.  She used very vague language in order to not make Dave feel too terrible. So he was left with the impression that she still cared deeply for him and this was very likely just a “break” instead of a break up.  Still, Dave was devastated.  Those of us who worked with Dave decided to cheer him up, so the very next Saturday, we all went to Astroworld (It’s funny how different you think when you’re 19 years old.  My father in law used to say Astroworld is the place you went if you died without knowing Jesus.  I’m at the age now where I feel that way about theme parks, too. But back then, it was a magical place).  At first, Dave was fairly glum.  But after a few hours of standing in line in tropical heat and getting his brain scrambled on the Texas Cyclone, combined with a gallon of Coca-Cola, he started to really cheer up.  We were the best friends ever!  Then it happened.  We turned a corner and ran right into Dave’s girlfriend…with her new boyfriend…who Dave knew nothing about until that moment.  Our wonderful plan backfired.  For Dave, it was a world-shaking moment.  His life changed forever in that one point in time.  Whatever else would happen from this point forward, Dave wasn’t going to spend the rest of his life with the girl he loved.

            We’ve all experienced moments like that, when suddenly our eyes are opened to a reality that is brand new to us, and from then on, we see the world in a different way.  Some of these experiences are good, thank God.  For example, if you moved away from the place where you grew up, you had a chance to start life fresh, meet new people, discover new things.  The next time you went home, the people you’d grown up with could tell you had changed.  Or perhaps you discovered a talent you never knew you had until that first time you pitched in fast-pitch softball game, or that first time you taught a lesson to a room full of kids, or the first time you worked on an engine, or the first time you helped someone who was injured.  For a lot of us, having a baby was that kind of event.  When our first child was born, it was the only time in my life  I’ve ever cried tears of joy.  And then I saw my wife holding our daughter for the first time, and I knew my world had changed forever.  From then on, I was definitely going to be in second place in her life—at best (depending on how the dog was behaving that day).  My eyes were opened that day to a new reality.  My life would never be the same again, because from that point forward, it wasn’t just about me anymore. 

            Jesus changed the world more than any other person who has ever lived.  For weeks now, we’ve been talking about some of the ways He changed our world—He changed the way we think about compassion, education, success, enemies, religion, sex and marriage...and about who God is.  But this Sunday, I want to talk about the most important and profound way Jesus changed our world.  People who met Him experienced something that no person, no institution, no multi-national force on earth could give them, either then or now.  This Sunday, we’ll look at a story of that happening to two people on the first Easter Sunday. As we do, I want you to ask yourself if you’ve experienced this or not. 

Call Him Father

As the story goes, a Scottish Presbyterian Church had a new pastor who had spent most of his life in the ivory towers of academia, teaching theology to young seminary students.  He loved to pray lofty public prayers, using obscure theological terms.  One day, his head was bowed as he held forth.  Suddenly, there was a tug at the coat of his vestments.  He looked down to see a little Scottish woman in a choir robe standing there.  She said, “Just call ‘im Father and ask ‘im for somethin’.” 

            We all nod our heads in approval at that story.  But where did we get this idea that we could come to God just as we are, without one plea?  Most other religious traditions have very strict rules about who can get close to their god; even if you’re one of the favored few, there’s usually an elaborate set of rituals that one must go through before you speak to God.  Yet most of us in this room think nothing of praying to God in the shower, in the car, lying in bed in the middle of the night, or anywhere else, anytime we have a need, a question, or a fear.  Is it just presumption that makes us think that we deserve that kind of access to an infinitely holy, awesomely powerful God?  For that matter, what makes us think we can call Him Father? 

            The answer to all those questions is Jesus.  Next week, we will finish our series about the amazing impact Jesus has had on this world, and the influence He still has today.  But for now, I want to talk about how Jesus changed the way we relate to God.  Jesus taught us to call God “Father.”  We see it here at the beginning of the Lord’s Prayer.  Now, there are some references in the Old Testament to God as the Father of Israel.  But no Israelite before Jesus would have referred to Yahweh as “Abba.”  That is a word in Aramaic, Jesus’ native language, that means “Father.”  Except linguists will tell you it’s not a formal word like our English word “Father.” It is a word of intimacy.  It’s probably the first word most Jewish babies would have learned.  It’s something like “Papa.”  It’s interesting to look at every time Jesus uses that term, and notice the pronouns He uses.  For instance, when He talks about forgiveness, He says, “Your Father,” which excludes Himself, for He never sinned.  When He talks about His sonship and mission in life, He says “My Father,” which excludes the rest of us.  But here, He teaches us to pray, “Our Father.”  You and I may not have much in common, but we are all adopted sons and daughters of a King who loves us. 

This Sunday, we'll talk more about how this idea of a God of love--who wants to be our Father--changed the world forever...and what that idea requires of us, His children. 

Removing the Stain

Luke 7:36-50

Fair warning: This week's sermon might make you uncomfortable.  We’re talking about sex. And when it comes to that particular subject, we contemporary Americans have a rather peculiar attitude.  On the one hand, we act like Victorian prudes, who get embarrassed at any mention of sex.  On the other hand, we act like perpetually hormonal 13-year-old boys, who find the subject fascinating beyond all reason, who sort of snicker when it comes up.  If a person from some other civilization time-traveled to our day and spent just a few days here, they would notice our obsession with sex.  It’s the subject of most of our humor, our advertising, our movies, music and television.  If you’ve ever read the Bible all the way through, you know that the Bible has a very different outlook on sex.  Its language is very frank.  There are lots of passages that preachers like me find it difficult to preach on; we have to do verbal gymnastics to avoid embarrassing the prudish side of our congregation and titillating to distraction the immature side.  And honestly, there are sections I won’t touch in a sermon, like Ezekiel 23 and big portions of the Song of Solomon.  But this Sunday, I am going to try to speak as frankly as the Bible does.  For the parents out there, I’m going to try to talk about this in a way that won’t steal your children’s innocence—I’m a parent myself, so I get that.  But you may end up having to answer some questions before you were prepared to do so, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. 

We’re in a series about the way Jesus changed our world and continues to influence it.  And here’s an ironic fact: Even though Jesus was a lifelong celibate single person, He changed the way we think about sex and marriage more than any other person who has ever lived.  Today, even though we live in an increasingly irreligious culture, most people still choose to get married in a church; they take vows in the name of Jesus, a man who never married.  Why is that?  And how does Jesus’ sexual ethic still challenge us, whether we are religious or not?  We'll spend some time looking at a story in Luke 7:36-50 that is very revealing.  We'll also look at Matthew 5:27-28. 

My review of "Noah"

What I didn't like about "Noah:"

24 hours after seeing "Noah," I'm still conflicted about this movie.  So here goes...

The filmmakers took a LOT of liberties with the biblical story.  This doesn't surprise me.  After all, it's done with practically every Bible movie ever made, aside from the "Jesus" film.  For one example, think about how in "The Ten Commandments," they work in a character who is Moses' ex-girlfriend and Pharaoh's wife.  Or a really terrible movie from a few years ago, "One Night With the King," which seems more like a bad soap opera than the biblical story of Esther.    Here are some of the things in "Noah" that aren't mentioned in the Bible:

1) The fallen angels who are transformed into "rock monsters" and ally with a group of men.

2) The "sleeping potion" that Noah's family uses to put the animals to sleep on the ark, and other "magical" elements.

3) Noah's inability to decide what God is really calling him to do.

4) Noah's growing mental illness as the storm gets closer.

To be fair, the Bible doesn't rule  any of these things out, either.  It's just that they are such a huge part of the plot of this film (especially numbers 1 and 4), they seem to overshadow the biblical story.

This is a very dark story.  For a significant portion of the film, we don't like Noah very much.  In fact, he's a scary character for a good half hour, at least.  I didn't expect that.  This is a tough movie to watch in many ways; the redemptive ending is a long time in coming.  Speaking of which...

It feels long.  I don't usually complain about long movies, but there were times during "Noah" when I got a little restless.

What I did like about "Noah:"  

This is a really, really well-made movie.  I'm not used to "movies on a biblical theme" being well-made.  Usually, they're thrown together on a shoestring, star some long-forgotten sitcom actor, and look like they're shot on equipment from Radio Shack.  This is a big-time production, with an A-list director, some fantastic actors giving wonderful performances, and first-rate special effects.

 This movie doesn't shy away from the tougher elements of the story: Some Christians expressed skepticism that an atheist director would respect the biblical story.  Well, this much is true: God is a very present and active character in the film (although His audible voice is never heard).  Mankind's sin is on full display.  God's judgment is seen as deserved, and it is shown in all of its wrathful glory.  I can't imagine a "made for Christian audiences" version of this story that would be this honest.

There are some awe-inspiring moments:  When the animals are headed toward the ark; when the view pulls back, and we see from space a planet earth covered in storm clouds; when God shows grace to some characters in unexpected moments...moments like those took my breath away.

This is a thought-provoking movie.  We don't usually think about Noah and his family hearing the screams of people outside the ark. And although the Bible doesn't tell us how Noah felt about his mission, I can imagine he was tormented in many ways.  Again, I didn't enjoy this movie, but it did make me think...and I will be thinking about it for a long time.

So should you go see "Noah?"


Christianity Today film critic Alissa Wilkinson, who I greatly respect, says yes--you can read her review by clicking here.  Frankly, she liked it more than I did. Still, I'm glad I saw the film.  It gave me some stuff to chew on, and some fuel for conversations with my non-Christian friends who see it.  After reading this, you probably know whether or not you'll consider this two and a half hours and ten dollars well-spent. At the very least, it's good to see serious movie makers taking on biblical stories.  I hope we see more in the days to come.     

The Ragtag Armada

The miracle at Dunkirk

If you can forgive me for being the history geek I am, I’d like to share with you one of my favorite stories.  It’s 1940, and the Nazis look unstoppable. They’ve easily conquered France, who at the time had the largest army in Europe.  The Dutch and the Belgians have already surrendered.  The United States isn’t interested in getting into another foreign war, and isn’t ready to fight in the first place.  All that is left between Germany and total domination of the hemisphere is Great Britain.  And right now, the British army is one step from total annihilation.  A quarter million British troops, plus 100,000 allies, are trapped on a beach in a place called Dunkirk.  The German army is on one side, and the waters of the English Channel are on the other.   The Royal Navy has only enough ships to save around 17,000.  Churchill has already told the House of Commons to prepare for “hard and heavy tidings.”  Suddenly, a strange sight appears in the Channel.  Fishing boats, tugboats, sailboats, yachts and ferries, all driven by civilians, have come to the rescue.  Before German commanders can move in for what once looked like an easy victory, 338,000 soldiers are rescued by this ragtag armada.  Quite simply put, when the forces of evil were about to win, ordinary people stepped up and saved the day…and the war.    

Now let me tell you another story; one I like even more than that one.  Jesus Christ is nearing the end of His time on Earth.  He has come to die for the sins of mankind, to defeat sin and death and Hell with one self-sacrificing act of heroic love and unimaginable power.  But dying on the Cross and rising again the third day aren’t the end of His work.  He knows that someone will need to take the message of His love to the world.  Someone will have to show people how to receive this amazing gift, and teach them to follow Him into eternal and abundant life.  To put it in terms of our previous story, humanity was on the verge of annihilation.  We were trapped between the forces of evil and the bondage of our own sin.  Jesus chose a small group of true believers to be the spark that started a movement that would save the world.  This is the story of how that started: Matthew 16:13-19   

We're in a series right now about the amazing impact Jesus made, and continues to make, on this world.  This Sunday, we'll talk about His creation of the Church, and the way that decision changed the world.  This is a famous passage.  Some scholars have called v. 18 the most controversial verse in the entire New Testament.  So come ready to tackle some tough issues and grapple with the plans God has for you in His work. 

Jesus versus Religion

      

         Years ago, I attended a meeting for pastors about reaching our neighborhoods.  The leader did something unusual.  She took us to a mall and dropped us off. She said we should approach 10 random people and ask them if they went to church, and if not, why not.  This was in Pasadena, where there are over 100 Christian churches.  It wasn’t in Montrose or on the campus of Rice, so I expected to meet at least someone who went to church.  I didn’t.  People said, “Churches just want your money.  I believe in God, but I don’t need those people to tell me about him.  Churches are full of hypocrites.”  That’s a word that gets used a lot in reference to Christians these days.  In a book called Unchristian, we learn that 85% of young adults outside the church think that most Christians are hypocrites.  47% of young adults inside the church think the same thing.  I wonder how many of the people who use that word know where it came from. 

            Hypocrite is a Greek word.  It originally referred to actors in a play, who would wear masks so that people in the huge theaters could see the emotion they were trying to convey.  Jesus began using that word to describe religious people.  We’re in a series now about the way Jesus changed the world, and how He is still the most influential person on the planet, 2000 years after He walked the earth.  One way He changed the world was in the way we think about religion.  Before Jesus, it was assumed that religion was purely external.  Just do certain good deeds, avoid certain vices, perform certain rituals, and you would be good with God. After Jesus, most people believe that there needs to be some internal transformation, or else those external rituals are meaningless.

 

            Another way Jesus changed religion is in the way we view God.  The world Jesus was born into was dominated by polytheism, particularly the Greek pantheon of gods.  Most of us remember the stories of Greek mythology we learned in school.  The interesting thing about those gods: They were powerful, but they weren’t good.  Imagine taking a bunch of drunk teenagers at Spring Break, giving them absolute power and immortality, and you’d have the Greek pantheon.  Other cultures were also polytheistic. Their gods weren’t particularly virtuous, either.  Some of them were downright terrifying.  Only the Jews believed that there was one God, and He was good.  The Greeks didn’t believe religion could make you good; if you wanted to become moral, you spoke to the philosophers, not the priests.  You spoke to the priests if you wanted good luck.  Jesus taught that knowing God was the only way to truly become good.  Today, ethical monotheism, or the belief that there is one God, that He is good, and that those who know Him best should behave morally, is the dominant belief system of our culture.  That came from Jesus. 

            But I want to focus the rest of my time on a third way Jesus changed our thinking about religion.  He changed the way we look at those who are outsiders to our faith.  This, more than anything else, is what made people hate Him enough to crucify Him.  This, more than anything else in my opinion, is what still separates Jesus from all religion, even much of what calls itself Christianity today. This Sunday, we will take a look at Luke 13:10-17, one of many stories in the Gospels that shows the stark difference between Jesus and organized religion in terms of how they treated outsiders.  We'll look at the three biggest differences, and ask which one we are more like.