I’m trying to think through this Franklin Graham situation that’s been filling my news feed and has been on mind for about a week now. In response to his comments was this Open Letter to Graham and now there’s reaction. I too, have a reaction.  And I hope it’s Christian, charitable and best-case, adds perspective and is on the side of peace-making.

In short, I feel that Graham missed an opportunity to contribute positively and for many, he worsened an already troubled situation. He is such a recognized figure in evangelical Christianity and I feel the need to begin at the obvious but still needs to be said, his Facebook statement is not a sufficient representation of all evangelicals, like me and many I know.

At the same time, I am not trying to throw Franklin Graham under the bus. What he said was not scandalous; it was short on mercy. When considering the scope of his platform and our cultural tension, it’s fair to say this lacked the necessary discernment and consideration. In addition to what Franklin said is the social media reaction of supporting Graham. Among them are those I regard as friends and/or have respect for. Again, I’m not looking for Graham to be punished or vilified, nor am I [Read more…]

Summarizing previously we cannot say we are people of mercy and allow our enemies/oppressors to persecute the defenseless. Can one really use force and mercy simultaneously? Is there really a such thing as “merciful force?” What would that really be? A punch that doesn’t hurt too much? Sounds ineffective. More on that in a little bit. But first, I want to continue processing this idea of mercy for our enemies and mercy for our friends.

Most of my thinking has centered on the Farewell Discourse (Jn. 13-17) and shortly after is this really amazing (and somewhat comical) scene in Matthew’s Gospel when Peter pulls out his sword and swings wildly and ends up slicing off an ear of one of the high priest’s servants. Just before Jesus heals the ear of the servant, he tells Peter, to put the sword away, “As those who live by the sword, die by the sword” (Slightly different response in John’s Gospel).

Though I am not a pacifist, I respect and admire many of them. I really do. In the big picture, they are a welcomed conscience. While I do believe there is a place for force, I do not believe that force will ultimately give the victory. But this verse is often cited tritely as a Jesus slam dunk stating that force is never to be used. After all, those who live by the sword, die by the sword.

Like with any position, there are various degrees and nuances to be found; pacifism would be an obvious example. “My frustration with “live by the sword, die by the sword” is the claim if we don’t use force, we’ll have peace. It’s just not true.” Even in this case, Peter puts down his sword. Later he will still be executed by “the sword” (church history tells us he was crucified).

Is Jesus wrong? It seems that those who live by the sword, die by the sword and those that do not live by the sword, still die by the sword.

A few things here. Though Jesus is likely implying that this is a macro-truth, he is speaking into a very specific situation. Further, it is very likely that he is saving Peter’s life that night. Thus Peter is saved in different ways that weekend. And lastly, Jesus knows he must be arrested that night. As John describes it, this is the cup he must drink from. 

But Jesus is not promising Peter any type of safety. Nor is this any basis for any foreign policy, or a Jedi-mind trick (“They let you live if you put that away”). If anything it’s a confirmation of the coming persecution and the tradition of martyrdom. But what Jesus is also telling Peter (and to all those that believe in the power of might/force) is that there is a power greater than the sword. Jesus conquering the grave and being raised to life again will demonstrate that. It’s almost like you can hear him saying “You have heard it said, that he who has the most swords has the control but I tell you, in me, there is a power greater than any sword.”

And here’s where I think some of my pacifist friends and I can agree. The themes of this power include peace, love, mercy, restraint, and forgiveness. Where we might differ is that I still believe there is a place for force, or at least the demonstration of the potential of it. And in the next post, I’d like to make the case that Jesus thinks so too.

My word this Lent is mercy (context is in previous post) and I’ve been trying to process what that means.

In doing so, the logical place to begin is to consider how mercy has been shown to me (and you). But I don’t feel like starting there. Perhaps the second worthy thought would be to consider who around us needs to be shown mercy. I’m drawn to that, confident I’ll get there soon but I’d really like to cut straight to the chase and ask, how do we show mercy to those, to say it politely, we’d rather not? To remove the etiquette – How do we show mercy to those that hate us, despise us, work towards our pain and destruction? Or as it’s often put, how do we show mercy to our enemies?

The problem of Isis and Boko Haram and the countless others who mean harm to you, me, countless others needs [Read more…]

Many of us at Grace Chapel have been connecting with different aspects of our Lenten series “At the Table” which is a look at the Farewell Discourse of Jesus from John 13-17. As part of this year’s Lent, we’ve encouraged everyone to gather and process this together for 5 consecutive weeks. As in give up isolation and schedule and add community and friendship. I’ll be the first to admit that it’s hard to gather for 5 consecutive weeks but it’s often at or during the third one, you start experiencing the fruit of such an effort.

We’ve created some short in-house videos to take a look at aspects of respective chapters and serve as a conversation starter. Last week’s teacher was Dana Baker, who is our East Lexington Campus Pastor. She took us through what Jesus was saying about abiding and how Jesus prepares a place for you. Then towards the conclusion, she encouraged us to discern what one word was coming to mind in all this. Dana mentioned that one of our former pastors, Cynthia Fantasia, would keep a word and mediate on it for the year. And so, Dana’s word this year is “trust.” A very good one. I nodded my head.

The next thought I had after nodding my head was “Only one word for a year??” Are you kidding? I’d be content [Read more…]

I still have not found the words to post on the brutal deaths of the 21 Coptic Christians (I literally have 4 lengthy drafts that have been emotionally cathartic, way too angry, and hardly appropriate for sharing).

I find myself angry that people are killed, profiled, or treated unfairly based on ideology, ethnicity, or some other arbitrary reason. The persecutor may use justifications from religion, some type of national/tribal history, or draw from a certain set of their own felt persecutions that they believe allows them to act in vengeance. I’m over-symplyfing but the main reason for their evil action is to either create or maintain power.

Last year, my Lent was informed by the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370. To me, that incident represents the tragic nature of life that we cannot control. Despite our advancements, humanity will always be limited and vulnerable to death. Processing that last year also included the nature of disease, the victims of the evil-doers who traffic, manipulate, attack, conceal and murder and all who grieve the loss of life, love or freedom. I believe Jesus came to end all this and give us something better. 

This Lent, I am processing these 21 Copts, the nature of persecution and the different types of martyrs in [Read more…]

I recently finished reading Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places by Eugene Peterson and I find myself with the same feeling after watching one of the Lord of the Rings films, “That was bigger than I thought it could be.” I’ll get to why in a moment but a bit about the author. Eugene Peterson is regarded as one of our modern day church fathers (I’d add N.T. Wright, Dallas Willard and Richard Rohr to that conversation but that’s for another day).

A quick overview from the publisher:

Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places reunites spirituality and theology in a cultural context where these two vital facets of Christian faith have been rent asunder. Lamenting the vacuous, often pagan nature of contemporary American spirituality, Eugene Peterson here firmly grounds spirituality once more in Trinitarian theology and offers a clear, practical statement of what it means to actually live out the Christian life. Writing in the conversational style that he is well known for, Peterson boldly sweeps out the misunderstandings that clutter conversations on spiritual theology and refurnishes the subject only with what is essential. As Peterson shows, spiritual theology, in order to be at once biblical and meaningful, must remain sensitive to ordinary life, present the Christian gospel, follow the narrative of Scripture, and be rooted in the fear of the Lord – in short, spiritual theology must be about God and not about us. The foundational book in a five-volume series on spiritual theology emerging from Petersons pen, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places provides the conceptual and directional help we all need to live the Christian gospel well and maturely in the conditions that prevail in the church and world today.

What makes Peterson special? Great writers have a way of making difficult concepts relatable. Peterson, who gave us “The Message” translation, may be among the best at this. I would not say that Peterson makes things simple, but instead relatable. He brings you in, invites you to sit down, encourages you to take a bite, asks you “What do you think?” You probably haven’t thought of it in this way before.  [Read more…]