Today is an important day in the Christian church, Palm Sunday, the beginning of the week of Easter. Easter is the time to remember the sacrifice and victory of Christ, but today on Palm Sunday we get a view of the catalyst that started the story, really the events that sealed the fate of Jesus. When I read about the moment of the triumphal entry I cant help to continually be impressed by the courage of Jesus.
But I am also drawn to the correlation between spiritual and religious thought and politics and law, which in the gospels are inseparable. Living in the 21st Century in the West we have clear separation between the state and the church. Law and religion are separate. In the worldview of Jesus this wasn’t’ the case – the bible was the law, it was political
Jesus had come to the gates of Jerusalem, with the message that had been the basis of his life’s ministry, that of The Kingdom of God. This was what Jesus had lived for, and ultimately what he came to Jerusalem to die for.
I am going to look at a couple aspects of the triumphal entry which Rachel read earlier. Firstly, what was the significance of Christ’s entry into Jerusalem and what happened after he got off the colt. Next I will look briefly at a prophecy that Jesus speaks that is often overlooked or misunderstood and what this means to us today.
Luke 19:28-44
28After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29As he approached Bethpage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30"Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it.' "
32Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, "Why are you untying the colt?"
34They replied, "The Lord needs it."
Background: Jesus had not been to Jerusalem for a few years up to this point. He had been forced to leave the city and teach and heal in towns around it. This was because of the controversy his work had caused in the past had meant he had to keep away from the centre of power – which is what Jerusalem was, the political, religious centre of that part of the world.
The act of sending his two disciples was the fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy which pointed to the arrival of the Messiah. All Jewish people would have understood the symbolism of this act.
35They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.
37When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
38"Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!"[b]
"Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"
39Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!"
40"I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."
This time of year was the Passover, which is the celebration of the time when the Angel of God passed over the Jewish slaves houses in Egypt. It is a special time of celebration for them, and was the time Jesus had deliberately chosen to make his way into Jerusalem. The Roman Empire, which was the occupier of Israel and was aware of the importance of this celebration for the Jewish people and the potential for violent uprising. So at about the same time Jesus entered the city, on the opposite side, a different procession was taking place. The Romans would send Imperial Cavalry and foot soldiers adorned with banners, as a show of force, with the Governor – Pontius Pilate leading the Army.This was a deliberate act by Jesus to once again emphasize that his mission was different. On one side of the city, the world empire, the political power of the time was entering the city prepared for war. Jesus came into the city on a donkey – which was the traditional way a king would arrive in times of peace. Jesus was while signaling to the Jewish people he was the Messiah, also in effect putting on a political demonstration. The message he gave was clear – it was a message that he continuously spoke about in his ministry – that of The Kingdom of God - a choice between the Kingdom of Man, or the Kingdom of God. Understanding that when Jesus spoke about the Kingdom of Heaven, referred to in Matthew, that he was in fact talking about the Kingdom of God on earth.
What is the Kingdom of God: in Luke 17 – it says20Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, 21nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you./among you"
This Kingdom is both the present reality and the future Hope. Jesus brought the message of the Kingdom of God as a way of life in the here and now. Not something that can be attained through religious zeal or practice, but something that starts within us, through application of the message of Jesus. It is this Kingdom that must be begun on earth to be continued into eternity, so that we are recognizing the reign of God on earth. Recognizing that this is His Kingdom and we will act in accordance with the principles of this Kingdom, building through the power of the Spirit until the time when the earth is made new. He offered a choice between two ways of life – two visions of how life could be on earth. The Kingdom of God, the way of peace, love and sacrifice or The Kingdom of Imperial Domination – The Kingdom of Man, a life of death, fear, war and upheaval – The Empire of Rome was included in this, but so too was the Religious system of the time – the Temple, which was the centre of Judaism, was a much a part of the Kingdom of Man as was Rome.
Jesus followed up his assault on these institutions, particularly the Temple, in the next few days by causing more disturbances. We must remember that all these events weren’t random, on the spot type actions. They were very deliberate, thought out actions taken by Jesus. Reading Mark – which has the most accurate chronological order of events of all the gospels – Jesus cleared the Temple of money changers and had tipped over tables. Jesus’ act was an indictment of the Temple and in essence of the entire religion of Judaism. It was at this point that the desire to kill Jesus was at its height – the priests and Pharisees had to address the issue by eliminating Him or by embracing Him. The next day – Jesus has several verbal battles with the authorities. These took place in the Temple courtyard, which at the time of the Passover would have had thousands of people coming in and out. These encounters would have drawn a crowd and as Jesus had the best of these exchanges the animosity would have grown. Jesus knew what would happen to Him, but he had to give the people the opportunity to see what the Kingdom of God was about, and give them another chance. The courage Jesus showed by these acts are incredible. He had preached the Kingdom of God his whole ministry and knew they wouldn’t join Him in building it, which led to the next part of the scripture – and the realization by Jesus of the tremendous suffering Israel had ahead of it.
The next passage is an unusual and often misunderstood piece of scripture. In each of the gospels, there is a section on what is called variously ‘signs of the end of the age’. In Luke we have the image of Jesus looking over Jerusalem and uttering this prophetic word. It has been often thought of as a prophetic word about the end of the world, but its actually referring to something that happened about 40 years after Jesus had been crucified. Jerusalem revolted against the Roman rulers in about AD 66, and fought a war that lasted about 4 years. This war happened around the time most of the books of the bible were written and heavily impacted the early Christian church. Revelations has its development in this time period and conflict. Jesus elaborated on this in other passages, but for today lets look at what he said:
41As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you."
Josephus Account of sack of Jerusalem AD 70
This was the account recounted by the famous Jewish Historian Josephus.
Most of the slain were peaceful citizens, weak and unarmed, and they were butchered where they were caught. The heap of corpses mounted higher and higher about the altar; a stream of blood flowed down the Temple’s steps, and the bodies of those slain at the top slipped to the bottom.
When Caesar failed to restrain the fury of his frenzied soldiers, and the fire could not be checked, he entered the building with his generals and looked at the holy place of the sanctuary and all its furnishings, which exceeded by far the accounts current in foreign lands and fully justified their splendid repute in our own.
As the flames had not yet penetrated to the inner sanctum, but were consuming the chambers that surrounded the sanctuary, Caesar assumed correctly that there was still time to save the structure.
Then, when the flames suddenly shot up from the interior, Caesar and his generals withdrew, and no one was left to prevent those outside from kindling the blaze. Thus, in defiance of Caesar’s wishes, the Temple was set on fire.
While the Temple was ablaze, the attackers plundered it, and countless people who were caught by them were slaughtered. There was no pity for age and no regard was accorded rank; children and old men, laymen and priests, alike were butchered; every class was pursued and crushed in the grip of war, whether they cried out for mercy or offered resistance.
Through the roar of the flames streaming far and wide, the groans of the falling victims were heard; such was the height of the hill and the magnitude of the blazing pile that the entire city seemed to be ablaze; and the noise – nothing more deafening and frightening could be imagined.
There were the war cries of the Roman legions as they swept onwards en masse, the yells of the rebels encircled by fire and sword, the panic of the people who, cut off above, fled into the arms of the enemy, and their shrieks as they met their fate. The cries on the hill blended with those of the multitudes in the city below; and now many people who were exhausted and tongue-tied as a result of hunger, when they beheld the Temple on fire, found strength once more to lament and wail.
The Temple Mount, everywhere enveloped in flames, seemed to be boiling over from its base; yet the blood seemed more abundant than the flames and the numbers of the slain greater than those of the slayers. The soldiers climbed over heaps of bodies as they chased the fugitives.”
Jesus had seen this future, and knew that although he was bringing a way of avoiding this path, by people embracing the Kingdom of God, the life of peace, love, service and sacrifice – that they would reject his message and embrace a violent path, the Kingdom of Man. They wouldn’t recognize Him as the Messiah and that the outcome would be what it was…And he wept.
The fact that Jesus said they have the chance for peace but they don’t see it indicates that this outcome didn’t have to take place. If they had embraced Jesus’ message and begun to join with Him to build the Kingdom of God, Israel would have been on the path ordained by God once again, and perhaps the world would be a different place. The Kingdom message is the message of loving God with all our hearts, mind and soul and loving others as we love ourselves. Do to others as we want done to us. It is the Kingdom of love, hope and faith. A commitment to peace and justice. A life of service and sacrifice – of taking up our cross and being like Jesus. Taking the life and words of Jesus to heart every day we are alive. This is the Kingdom of God. It is not something that is far away, or distant and airy fairy. But it can be felt today. Jesus was offering it to Israel, as an alternative to the destruction that fell Jerusalem. The Kingdom of God is here , within us, around us and amongst us– if we are committed to living our lives with it as our great aim and purpose. This message today, is quite heavy in a lot of ways and it has many layers. Its an important message though, as it speaks to the beginning of the last days of Christ. Really a last ditch effort by Christ to bring his Kingdom message to fruition and acceptance. It’s a message that’s still valid today, we have the choice between following The Kingdom of God, the way of peace, love and sacrifice or The Kingdom of Man, a life of death, fear, war and upheaval.
As Christians we have to take seriously Christ’s call to be the Kingdom of God, to build the Kingdom of God. Palm Sunday reminds us of the fact that despite the danger that Jesus knew awaited Him, The Kingdom message was too important not to sacrifice himself for. Palm Sunday is a wake up call for us as Christians that have placed anything ahead of being and building the kingdom of God. Our bibles must not sit idle on our bookcases or by our beds. Prayer must not be something that is reserved for special occasions. For it is in these acts that we draw the strength and courage to be the message of Jesus, to start the work of the kingdom in our lives. Easter defines Christianity as a movement of sacrifice, its not easy, but as Jerusalem discovered, the alternatives are far worse. Christianity isn’t a passive movement. It is organic and fluid and alive. The kingdom of God is amongst us, here at Berwick. Lets build and create it further in our lives and the lives of our community. Lets make a commitment to Gods Kingdom.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
The Pursuit of Happiness
‘I only want my children to be happy’. This is a common statement made by parents, well intentioned and full of love. Yet most parents would say if they are happy there living a good life, a life of being and doing good – for their family and those around them. This is not necessarily the case. Bad people can be very happy.
Comics show us that the villains are usually ecstatically happy, the riddler, the joker etc… Yet the superheroes are tormented souls who are hardly ever happy. In the real world, our saints such as mother Theresa, Martin Luther King and Gandhi were all troubled souls. Many very rich and corrupt people are very happy. Why is it that bad people can be happy?? This doesn’t make fit with our natural sense of justice.
The reason this has happened is that we connect happiness with pleasure, and not with goodness. Obesity is a growing epidemic throughout the western world, not because we eat too much and don’t exercise. Its because we eat what gives us pleasure – what makes us happy! Sugar and fat taste much nicer then broccoli and tofu. We can all learn to like healthy foods, but it takes time, whereas the gratification of chocolate is instant. Exercise is far less appealing to kids then playing Xbox and Playstation. We have lost sight of the truth that says real happiness or Joy is usually the result of doing hard, but good things over and over. Whether this is exercise, healthy diet, reading our bible, praying or living a life of sacrificial Christianity, Joy will be the by product, and life will be far more satisfying because of it.
The pursuit of happiness is consider such an important ideal that the American declaration of Independence has given it special prominence. "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". These are considered in this document as absolute human rights. If happiness then is associated with pleasure then the pursuit of pleasure becomes very important. This is reflected by the fact that we can associate a good meal, a holiday and our footy team winning with our happiness. Conversely if we have a bad meal, can’t afford a vacation and our footy team is losing then we are unhappy.
More extremely the pursuit of happiness as pleasure is a key cause of addiction – whether that be alcohol, drugs, gambling or sex – the first encounter with these things can bring great pleasure, and subsequently people begin to ‘chase’ that pleasurable experience. Interestingly, our bodies are created to adapt, so the more pleasure we give ourselves, the less appreciative our brains become. Therefore addicts need more and more of the action which brings pleasure to reach the high they received originally. While it does a job, that same experience that is attained when first using is never reached again. Eventually, the brain needs the pleasure experience to feel normal, so the act of addiction becomes about the person just trying to feel normal.
Don’t get me wrong, pleasure is important for us to experience, but it becomes damaging when we associate our sense of wellbeing and happiness with the amount of pleasure we are receiving.
It is not just people who struggle with addictions that the distorted view of happiness affects – the consumer culture we live in thrives on orienting pleasure with happiness.
Consider this advert in the Westifeld shopping centre in Bondi ‘If it makes you happy, it’s a bargain…..Its not your fault you love everything, your just a positive person. In fact we have so many pro-purchasing customers at Westfield that we’ve created hands free shopping. You can now shop, shop, shop without carrying a single bag….
Our houses are bigger then ever, with less people living in them. Our children are wearing designer clothes before they can read, we spend more on pet products per year then the entire expenditure of Australia’s overseas aid. We have bought into this concept of pleasure as happiness.
Happiness in our culture is pleasure, and pleasure is inherently selfish. Joy is goodness and goodness transcends. Pleasure points us inwards, while joy points us to others and God.
So in an age where happiness is associated with pleasure, how can we find true Joy? Joy is not a state of being, but a vital activity. It is a feeling, but more importantly it is a transcended way of living – an action. Joy is not someone who comfortably enjoys the possessions they have, content with the riches, success or even the type of family we have. Joy is an activity where an individual with his heart, mind and soul is oriented towards something that is greater then ourselves. This is a life of self cultivation, of study and discipline.
The word Joy in its translation from the Greek in the bible has several derivatives. One of these is the word Blessed. There is an obvious passage of scripture that uses this word very frequently – the beatitudes:
Matthew 5:1-12 (New International Version)
1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying:
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Taking a bit of writing and theological license I will now break down the beatitudes to reveal a sort of how-to guide for having Joy – remembering that Joy is an action not just a feeling:
Joy comes to those who side with, and give love and service to the marginalized, persecuted and outcast or our society.
Joy comes to those who can feel sadness for the tragedy and pain that strikes your neighbor and all humanity.
Joy comes to those who are restrained and calm, like a powerful horse who has been tamed, when adversity comes – confronting problems head on without resorting to anger or violence.
Joy comes to those who hate injustice and work towards bringing Gods justice to this world.
Joy comes to those who show grace and mercy to others who harm them.
Joy comes to those who only want good to come to everyone they meet, and strive to do good to everyone they can.
Joy comes to those who create – and reject the idea of inflicting war, violence and destruction – both through word and action on anyone.
Joy comes to those who are attacked but do not attack back because they love peace.
Joy comes to those who love God and follow Christ, despite the pressures of this world.
This life we live is so short. How we want to live it remains up to us. You see there’s a price to pay, literally for pursuing happiness as pleasure. To afford the things we need to keep us happy requires us to work long and hard, often neglecting family and friends, just so we can be happy. With this comes stress and worry. Jesus tells us to put this aside, not to worry about anything. We can only do this if we realize that our happiness, our joy, is centered on Christ and is a joy that is beyond pleasure – but is about goodness. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit, because it must be produced over time. But as all the fruit of the Spirit, once we have it – the transformation it brings is unmistakable.
Occasionally we have decisions that inform our lives, and how we decided where happiness comes from is one of these decisions. Will it come from pursuing pleasure or will it come from pursuing Goodness.
Comics show us that the villains are usually ecstatically happy, the riddler, the joker etc… Yet the superheroes are tormented souls who are hardly ever happy. In the real world, our saints such as mother Theresa, Martin Luther King and Gandhi were all troubled souls. Many very rich and corrupt people are very happy. Why is it that bad people can be happy?? This doesn’t make fit with our natural sense of justice.
The reason this has happened is that we connect happiness with pleasure, and not with goodness. Obesity is a growing epidemic throughout the western world, not because we eat too much and don’t exercise. Its because we eat what gives us pleasure – what makes us happy! Sugar and fat taste much nicer then broccoli and tofu. We can all learn to like healthy foods, but it takes time, whereas the gratification of chocolate is instant. Exercise is far less appealing to kids then playing Xbox and Playstation. We have lost sight of the truth that says real happiness or Joy is usually the result of doing hard, but good things over and over. Whether this is exercise, healthy diet, reading our bible, praying or living a life of sacrificial Christianity, Joy will be the by product, and life will be far more satisfying because of it.
The pursuit of happiness is consider such an important ideal that the American declaration of Independence has given it special prominence. "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". These are considered in this document as absolute human rights. If happiness then is associated with pleasure then the pursuit of pleasure becomes very important. This is reflected by the fact that we can associate a good meal, a holiday and our footy team winning with our happiness. Conversely if we have a bad meal, can’t afford a vacation and our footy team is losing then we are unhappy.
More extremely the pursuit of happiness as pleasure is a key cause of addiction – whether that be alcohol, drugs, gambling or sex – the first encounter with these things can bring great pleasure, and subsequently people begin to ‘chase’ that pleasurable experience. Interestingly, our bodies are created to adapt, so the more pleasure we give ourselves, the less appreciative our brains become. Therefore addicts need more and more of the action which brings pleasure to reach the high they received originally. While it does a job, that same experience that is attained when first using is never reached again. Eventually, the brain needs the pleasure experience to feel normal, so the act of addiction becomes about the person just trying to feel normal.
Don’t get me wrong, pleasure is important for us to experience, but it becomes damaging when we associate our sense of wellbeing and happiness with the amount of pleasure we are receiving.
It is not just people who struggle with addictions that the distorted view of happiness affects – the consumer culture we live in thrives on orienting pleasure with happiness.
Consider this advert in the Westifeld shopping centre in Bondi ‘If it makes you happy, it’s a bargain…..Its not your fault you love everything, your just a positive person. In fact we have so many pro-purchasing customers at Westfield that we’ve created hands free shopping. You can now shop, shop, shop without carrying a single bag….
Our houses are bigger then ever, with less people living in them. Our children are wearing designer clothes before they can read, we spend more on pet products per year then the entire expenditure of Australia’s overseas aid. We have bought into this concept of pleasure as happiness.
Happiness in our culture is pleasure, and pleasure is inherently selfish. Joy is goodness and goodness transcends. Pleasure points us inwards, while joy points us to others and God.
So in an age where happiness is associated with pleasure, how can we find true Joy? Joy is not a state of being, but a vital activity. It is a feeling, but more importantly it is a transcended way of living – an action. Joy is not someone who comfortably enjoys the possessions they have, content with the riches, success or even the type of family we have. Joy is an activity where an individual with his heart, mind and soul is oriented towards something that is greater then ourselves. This is a life of self cultivation, of study and discipline.
The word Joy in its translation from the Greek in the bible has several derivatives. One of these is the word Blessed. There is an obvious passage of scripture that uses this word very frequently – the beatitudes:
Matthew 5:1-12 (New International Version)
1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying:
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Taking a bit of writing and theological license I will now break down the beatitudes to reveal a sort of how-to guide for having Joy – remembering that Joy is an action not just a feeling:
Joy comes to those who side with, and give love and service to the marginalized, persecuted and outcast or our society.
Joy comes to those who can feel sadness for the tragedy and pain that strikes your neighbor and all humanity.
Joy comes to those who are restrained and calm, like a powerful horse who has been tamed, when adversity comes – confronting problems head on without resorting to anger or violence.
Joy comes to those who hate injustice and work towards bringing Gods justice to this world.
Joy comes to those who show grace and mercy to others who harm them.
Joy comes to those who only want good to come to everyone they meet, and strive to do good to everyone they can.
Joy comes to those who create – and reject the idea of inflicting war, violence and destruction – both through word and action on anyone.
Joy comes to those who are attacked but do not attack back because they love peace.
Joy comes to those who love God and follow Christ, despite the pressures of this world.
This life we live is so short. How we want to live it remains up to us. You see there’s a price to pay, literally for pursuing happiness as pleasure. To afford the things we need to keep us happy requires us to work long and hard, often neglecting family and friends, just so we can be happy. With this comes stress and worry. Jesus tells us to put this aside, not to worry about anything. We can only do this if we realize that our happiness, our joy, is centered on Christ and is a joy that is beyond pleasure – but is about goodness. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit, because it must be produced over time. But as all the fruit of the Spirit, once we have it – the transformation it brings is unmistakable.
Occasionally we have decisions that inform our lives, and how we decided where happiness comes from is one of these decisions. Will it come from pursuing pleasure or will it come from pursuing Goodness.
Monday, March 8, 2010
The Problem of Holiness
Holiness is a complicated concept and as such is open to misinterpretation. It is this misinterpretation that can lead to problems within our lives and the life of the community we worship in. You see holiness when not understood within the context of our humanity can lead to hypocrisy and at worse it can lead to pride and arrogance. We dearly want to avoid this because holiness can be the centre point of our faith if applied well.
Rather then ignoring it, we must remember that the bible says that we are to be Holy as God is Holy. Its an important part of being a follower of Christ, so regardless of its complexities we must try to understand it.
The Salvation Army believes "holiness" is justification worked out in the daily life of the believer. It is a divine work for wholeness that requires human response, in a lifelong process that includes crisis. Basically its what you do as a Christian day to day.
As soon as holiness begins to be talked about, our minds can wander to imagine people of great spiritual depth and saints such as mother Theresa or William booth etc. Yet holiness is a matter which according to the scriptures has been given to us from God and as followers of Christ can have access to. It is hard to imagine that as human as we are, that we can be Holy. This is due to the misconception of what holiness is.
This has been taken to extremes through various enthusiastic believers activities to be Holy. Monks lived in the desert starving themselves trying to remove every earthly desire so as to be holy. In the medieval age flagellation was very popular as a means to be holy. These are outcomes of genuine people trying to be true to their understanding of what holiness is, but probably have lost the plot a little…
It sounds odd, but pursuing holiness can lead us to sin. When we read the scripture the word sin has several different meanings – but the vast majority of its use has the meaning of missing the point – the Hebrew word refers to an archer who takes aim but misses the desired target. So when we sin and when the bible talks about this sin, it is about us missing the point.
It is quite common begin to have a list of ‘don’ts’ as our holiness check list: don’t swear, don’t smoke, don’t drink, don’t be rude, don’t wear a unironed shirt on Sunday…. It is the beginning of morality rather then holiness. And while morals are not necessarily a bad thing, they can move us away from true holiness and make us miss the point. It is very easy to mistake morality for holiness. God operates outside of morals. The Spirit of God is not limited by any boundary - which is the Hebrew definition of Holiness – Living without bounds….If we live with the spirit we do not need a list of things to do or not to do, because the spirit of God is within us, guiding us and directing us, as indviduals within our own context.
As uniform wearing Salvationists, we can fall into the appearing Holy trap. We don’t drink, smoke – but if these were pre-requisites for holiness then most catholic and Anglican priests could never be holy, as they are able to do both. There is a reason we don’t drink and smoke etc. but it is not about our holiness or our standing with God. Understand what I am saying – I’m not saying that we should not have a personal standard of living – but holiness is more then these things.
When we become pre-occupied with what we think we see and what is presented as holiness we can miss the truth when we see it.
There are people who go to church on Sunday, do the obligatory church based activities during the week, pray loud and long, don’t swear, give their tithe and can’t wait to grab someone to gossip about whoever is their target that week. Not only friendly banter gossip, which is at best unhelpful, but real ugly and severe tearing people down gossip. The kind of talk that can rot communities. The words – you will know them by their love for each other certainly doesn’t apply in these cases. And unfortunately holiness is used as a cover for this viciousness.
Transformation comes from the inside out, not the outside in. Holiness is complete transformation within ourselves and resulting in action. The fruit of the Spirit is the revelation of the Holy life - "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." (Galatians 5:22).
We are all humans. We make mistakes, we fall, we hurt people. That is part of who we are. Yet through Christ, that is not all we have to be. We can share love and peace, bring hope and kindness, show patience and self-control in tough times, faithfulness and goodness to others who are hurting. Joy when there is none. This is what holiness is. Holiness is not the denial of our humanity, in many ways it’s the embracing of it – remember Jesus was called a drunkard and glutton, and wept when he had to leave this life. Being human is more then ok – it is good. Our experiences of being human shapes who we are and how we treat others and understand God. It is vital that we stay connected to our humanity. But we can be more. Too often we think to be holy we need to deny our humanity – this is what many monks have done for hundreds of years. But if we embrace our humanity and the spirit which works in us, we can be Holy people of God, despite the fact that we will fall, all the while showing the fruit of the Spirit and the transformation Jesus has brought about in us.
So what is Holiness…Holiness is who we are in Christ day to day. The real you – transformed by the power of Christ into someone who produces fruit. Holy people are people who create, build and give love. Holiness is giving love and service despite the mess that surrounds us.
Rather then ignoring it, we must remember that the bible says that we are to be Holy as God is Holy. Its an important part of being a follower of Christ, so regardless of its complexities we must try to understand it.
The Salvation Army believes "holiness" is justification worked out in the daily life of the believer. It is a divine work for wholeness that requires human response, in a lifelong process that includes crisis. Basically its what you do as a Christian day to day.
As soon as holiness begins to be talked about, our minds can wander to imagine people of great spiritual depth and saints such as mother Theresa or William booth etc. Yet holiness is a matter which according to the scriptures has been given to us from God and as followers of Christ can have access to. It is hard to imagine that as human as we are, that we can be Holy. This is due to the misconception of what holiness is.
This has been taken to extremes through various enthusiastic believers activities to be Holy. Monks lived in the desert starving themselves trying to remove every earthly desire so as to be holy. In the medieval age flagellation was very popular as a means to be holy. These are outcomes of genuine people trying to be true to their understanding of what holiness is, but probably have lost the plot a little…
It sounds odd, but pursuing holiness can lead us to sin. When we read the scripture the word sin has several different meanings – but the vast majority of its use has the meaning of missing the point – the Hebrew word refers to an archer who takes aim but misses the desired target. So when we sin and when the bible talks about this sin, it is about us missing the point.
It is quite common begin to have a list of ‘don’ts’ as our holiness check list: don’t swear, don’t smoke, don’t drink, don’t be rude, don’t wear a unironed shirt on Sunday…. It is the beginning of morality rather then holiness. And while morals are not necessarily a bad thing, they can move us away from true holiness and make us miss the point. It is very easy to mistake morality for holiness. God operates outside of morals. The Spirit of God is not limited by any boundary - which is the Hebrew definition of Holiness – Living without bounds….If we live with the spirit we do not need a list of things to do or not to do, because the spirit of God is within us, guiding us and directing us, as indviduals within our own context.
As uniform wearing Salvationists, we can fall into the appearing Holy trap. We don’t drink, smoke – but if these were pre-requisites for holiness then most catholic and Anglican priests could never be holy, as they are able to do both. There is a reason we don’t drink and smoke etc. but it is not about our holiness or our standing with God. Understand what I am saying – I’m not saying that we should not have a personal standard of living – but holiness is more then these things.
When we become pre-occupied with what we think we see and what is presented as holiness we can miss the truth when we see it.
There are people who go to church on Sunday, do the obligatory church based activities during the week, pray loud and long, don’t swear, give their tithe and can’t wait to grab someone to gossip about whoever is their target that week. Not only friendly banter gossip, which is at best unhelpful, but real ugly and severe tearing people down gossip. The kind of talk that can rot communities. The words – you will know them by their love for each other certainly doesn’t apply in these cases. And unfortunately holiness is used as a cover for this viciousness.
Transformation comes from the inside out, not the outside in. Holiness is complete transformation within ourselves and resulting in action. The fruit of the Spirit is the revelation of the Holy life - "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." (Galatians 5:22).
We are all humans. We make mistakes, we fall, we hurt people. That is part of who we are. Yet through Christ, that is not all we have to be. We can share love and peace, bring hope and kindness, show patience and self-control in tough times, faithfulness and goodness to others who are hurting. Joy when there is none. This is what holiness is. Holiness is not the denial of our humanity, in many ways it’s the embracing of it – remember Jesus was called a drunkard and glutton, and wept when he had to leave this life. Being human is more then ok – it is good. Our experiences of being human shapes who we are and how we treat others and understand God. It is vital that we stay connected to our humanity. But we can be more. Too often we think to be holy we need to deny our humanity – this is what many monks have done for hundreds of years. But if we embrace our humanity and the spirit which works in us, we can be Holy people of God, despite the fact that we will fall, all the while showing the fruit of the Spirit and the transformation Jesus has brought about in us.
So what is Holiness…Holiness is who we are in Christ day to day. The real you – transformed by the power of Christ into someone who produces fruit. Holy people are people who create, build and give love. Holiness is giving love and service despite the mess that surrounds us.
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