I Am a Christian! A Radical Confession – A Subversive Claim

Why do we call Jesus King and Lord? Why do we have a Sunday each year in the church calendar that is “Christ the King” Sunday? What does it mean for me to say that I accept Jesus Christ as Lord? These are questions that have haunted me ever since I had to give written answers to theological questions to the Board of Ordained Ministry as part of the review process for ordination as an Elder in the United Methodist Church.

It has only taken about 25 years for me to finally have some sort of reasonable and authentic answer to these questions. It goes to a book we used for the Adult Sunday School class The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary Behind the Church’s Conservative Icon by Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan. In this eye-opening and theological world shaking book I found out something that I either didn’t know or didn’t pay attention to and that is many of the titles we use for Jesus were in Paul’s time titles reserved solely for the Roman Emperor. Borg-Crossan write:
“…almost all the sacred terms and solemn titles that we might think of as Christian creations or even
Pauline inventions were already associated with Caesar Augustus, the first undisputed ruler of the Roman Empire, from 31 BCE to 14 CE.
Augustus was Divine, Son of God, God, and God from God. He was Lord, Liberator, Redeemer, and Savior of the World…Words like “justice” and “peace,” “epiphany” and “gospel,” “grace” and “salvation” were already associated with him. Even “sin” and “atonement” were connected to him as well…All those assertions, terms, and titles were at home within Roman imperial theology and incarnated in Caesar the Augustus before they ever appeared in Pauline Christian theology and were incarnated in Jesus the Christ.” (Pages 93-94)

All of a sudden the titles and terms I have been using all my life for Jesus were being portrayed in a very different light, the light of radical faith and subversive practice. You see Caesar brought about peace through violence. The title “emperor” is actually better understood in the Roman context as the “All-Conquering One” and in the light of a military victor as world conqueror. To be “Son of God” for a Roman Emperor was a title that came after Julius Caesar who was the first divine emperor and therefore every emperor after him would be known as “Son of God.” And just to carry this out further, Caesar was also known as “God Incarnate” which more accurately should be “God Who Is to Be Worshiped.” And the emperor is seen as God when living so therefore God incarnate. This is what is known as Roman imperial theology. One critical thing needs to be mentioned, worship of Caesar was mandatory for all people in the Roman Empire. The only person/God to have the titles of Emperor/Caesar/King was Caesar. They only person/God that could be referred to as “Son of God” and “God incarnate” was Caesar.

So we now know what is meant when we call Caesar Lord, Emperor, God; we mean the one who in Roman imperial theology was the bringer of victory and peace. It was ascension by way of violence. It was the thought process: “worship and sacrifice to the gods; with them on your side, you go to war; from that, of course, comes victory; then, and only then, do you obtain peace.” (Borg-Crossan pages 105-06). Because Caesar won and peace has come Caesar is now our god! This is the way of the world and of every empire, this path of peace through victory. It is the norm of civilization that to have peace one must be the victor and to maintain peace one must have violence or its very real threat.

So to call Jesus “the Lord” or “the Son of God” or “God incarnate” would have been to displace Caesar’s rightful place in life and worship worship and in your loyalty. When Paul greets his congregations in his letters he writes things that are subversive and radical. things like:
“…call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours…” (1 Corinthians 1:2)
“…to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ…” (1 Thessalonians 1:1)

These and many other statements like them are all statements of faith but also confessions of loyalty and acts of subversion. The first Christians were making a radical break with the world around them and defiantly proclaiming that “we have no king but Jesus” as a direct contradiction of the chief priests at Jesus’ trail who proclaim “We have no king but Caesar.” (John 19:15 NRSV) Christianity at its earliest was a faith that proclaimed openly and clearly that they worshiped only God and Christ and that God and Christ had their loyalty and allegiance not Caesar. From the start Christianity has been a faith of subversion.

You see we Christians proclaim a vastly different way for peace in our world. And the foundational difference between Caesar as Lord and Jesus as Lord is found in the difference between how peace comes. With Caesar you get peace through violent victory and with Jesus you get peace through nonviolent justice. As Borg-Crossan wrote:
“Caesar not only proclaims but incarnates peace through violent victory, just as Christ not only proclaims but incarnates peace through non-violent justice. There will be peace on earth, said Roman imperial theology, when all is quiet and orderly. There will be peace on earth, said Pauline Christian theology, when all is fair and just.” (Page 121)

So to confess Jesus as Lord; to call Jesus King; to proclaim Jesus as Son of God, as God incarnate, to confess to the world that you are a partner of Christ is to say that your loyalty and allegiance lay not with a nation, political party or person but with Christ. To confess your partnership with God and Christ is to proclaim to all that there is no king but Jesus. And to partner with God and Christ is to live as a subversive because your goal is peace through nonviolent justice; your slogan is peace on earth when all is fair and just. To be Christian is to be a subversive because you are not loyal to the powers of this earth that want to bring peace through violent victory, maintain peace through violence and injustice. There is not a form of government or an empire or nation that does not believe that security and peace can only come through violence and the threat of violence. To be Christian is to say that they are wrong, that there is another way the way of justice for all; the way of Christ our Lord and King.

From the start we have been subversives, radicals. From the moment Jesus began teaching about loving your neighbor and serving others Christianity has been a faith in opposition to the ways of the world. Every parable Jesus told about the Kingdom of God was a proclamation of what his kingdom would be; a place where justice ruled and all were equal. So on Christ the King Sunday and every day let us remember our radical, subversive roots and confess once again our loyalty and allegiance to Jesus Christ our King, Son of God, God incarnate, our Lord and THE Lord.

There He Goes Again

With Thanksgiving around the corner my thoughts naturally turn to family. Besides I’ve spent part of each of the last three weekends with my father and that will get you thinking about family too. Anyway, when my dad is with a group of family he will start to tell stories. Some are about his family, brothers and sisters and events in their lives. Some of the stories are about me and my brothers growing up. But when he really gets going he tells stories of his high school glory days. My kids have heard them all many times and it seems that over the years the stories have gotten, shall we say, expanded. So nowadays when he begins to launch into one of his glory days stories the kids will turn to me and whisper, “There he goes again!”

I think that this is exactly how the disciples must have felt whenever Jesus would go into a town or travel for a while because he would always find a way to end up in the wrong place with the wrong people. Jesus was a public relations nightmare. No matter where he was, no matter what he had going on, and no matter how many other options were present he seemed to always go with the seedier and despised members of society. He healed on the Sabbath. He touched lepers. He talked with Samaritans. He ate with sinners. He was always with the wrong people, in the wrong places, at the wrong times, doing the wrong things. There is this boundary that is as far as proper society said he should not pass. A line that is as far as the religious institution felt he or any other good Jew should go. Can’t you just hear the disciples saying to each other, “There he goes again.”

This is exactly the scenario we have in the story of Zaccheus. Jesus is traveling through a Jericho. He is attracting a crowd. People of religious and political standing are noticing him and many would be honored to have him for a respite in their homes. But Jesus sees a small man in a tree and he walks up to him and says “Come on. We’re going to your house for lunch.” And those that have been with Jesus begin to cringe. And the voices from the crowd once again rise up “There he goes again, off to be a guest of a tax collector, a sinner.” And Jesus’ reply, “Hear me, salvation has come to this house because this man, this sinner is a son of Abraham and I have come to seek out and to save the lost.” Zaccheus has encountered the divine and he is changed, never to be what he once was again. Whatever kept him from being everything he could be was removed or overcome and Zaccheus changes himself and the world.

So what is it that holds you back from being all that you could be? What keeps you from making the changes you want to see in yourself and the world? What gets in the way of your reaching out? We live in a culture that gets nervous when something unusual happens. People don’t like it when you do the unexpected or when what usually takes place doesn’t. We tend to want things defined, people categorized and our encounters predictable. We want our lives to unfold in ways that keep us from harm and don’t expose us to too much attention by others. Besides, many of us are comfortable with the status quo. Sure things could be better for others and for us but things aren’t that bad now. So long as everyone goes about their business in reasonable ways all is well. But right below the surface we sense that this isn’t really the case. Something lurks there that we know as a hallow place. A hole in ourselves that aches and to admit that it’s there and seek ways to fill it would cause us to mix things up, make life unease, and call attention to ourselves. So we try not to notice it until something unpredictable happens and everything changes.

We talk about these moments as awe-haw moments. Sometimes people speak of them as conversions. Others name them revelations. But what they all are is an encounter with the divine. Moses and the burning bush or Zaccheus with Jesus it doesn’t matter how it happens but it does and when it does everything changes. Another way to talk about this is to talk about engaging the spiritual aspects of life. And you know what, when people encounter the spiritual they hesitate, unsure of what will be revealed. But you cannot keep it from coming out, once you turn to look or climb the tree you can’t go back because you no longer can ignore that the divine is breaking out all around you all the time. And a truth is revealed; no one, not even you, is beyond the reach of God’s seeking love.

I know you’ve encountered the divine in your life. I may be a distant memory. It might be something that you have shoved into the dusty reaches of your mind. You could be something that you haven’t been able to comprehend and therefore have ignored. It might be a moment that caused you such awe and fear that you fight to keep it from resurfacing. The moment may come right before you are sent into harm’s way. Possibly it is the final, loving moments spent with the one you love. It could also be something simple and common place – a moment when the sun reflects on the dew covered leaves while walking the golf course – sitting on the sand late at night and watching the stars – rocking a baby held on your chest – a symphony playing or a country singer signing or a dance company dancing – maybe a painting or the hug of a friend – watching the family laughing and playing together at the cabin – sitting quietly with a cup of tea and a good book. Any and all of these can be times when you experience the holy, have a moment that changes you forever. Each is a moment that changes you forever.

People of faith know when they come into the presence of the holy that the things that once held them back dissolve away. We have experienced the millstone being removed from our necks and the hand extended to lead us forward. We know we are set free from whatever would hold us back from being all that we are created to be. We who are people of faith claim an encounter with God. We claim to be changed. We admit that every bush is burning and that a chance roadside encounter can change a life. We acknowledge that the holy is all around us and that every time we pay attention to it we are affected, altered and we affect, alter the world.

So I ask you, do people say “There he goes again loving others.”? Do they say “There she goes again changing the world.”? What does your life, your day-to-day living show about your life altering encounters with the holy? I think the goal of faithful living need to be to make sure people notice you are changed. Knowing God is to be transformed, altered in such a way that everyone will say “There he goes again” as you seek to bring love and justice to life all around you. Being a partner of God who is transformed by running into the holy you are changed and folks notice and say “There she goes again” as you practice mercy and seek the lost.

Don’t be shy about it; about these brushes with the divine, they are the necessary static spark that is needed to ignite change. Moses saw a bush burning and was changed and changed the world. Zaccheus saw Jesus and was changed and changed the world. You have seen God and you are changed, now change the world.

“Thanks for the Privilege of Being Able to Give”

We all have been told at one time or another “It is better to give than to receive.” When I was growing up this was often around the issue of my taking part of my hard earned allowance and yard care money and giving it to the church, a missionary, or other “noble” cause. It also often came to be spoken when I was trying to buy gifts for others and would complain about the fact that they didn’t give me anything or what they gave me was a lot less expensive then what I was giving. I have to confess that for me as a kid giving was not nearly as good as receiving.

This all changed however when I went on my first mission trip. It was as an associate pastor whose tasks included youth ministry. We decided a youth mission trip was a good thing and set about planning one for Seattle. One of the missions we set up was helping to prepare, serve and clean up a meal for street teens. A part of this experience was sitting with the street youth and eating together. As the kids filed in and got their food one of the kids in my youth group came up to me looking like he had seen a ghost and said, “Tim, I just saw Mike the older brother of my friend. I knew he was gone but didn’t know he was homeless.” I had him point Mike out to me and I went and sat with him and told him we were from Salem. He got a bit nervous but I told him we wouldn’t say anything about finding him if that was what he wanted. After we talked for a while he wrote a note and gave it to me and asked that I get it to his mom. When I called her to ask if I could bring the note by she simply asked me to mail it and I did. I never found out what happened to Mike but this event brought home to me the truth of that old saying, it truly is better to give then to receive. I was able to give Mike some comfort and his mom a connection. I gave my time and effort and didn’t ask for or expect anything in return. Being able to give was a gift.

Steve Goodier, an ordained minister and motivational author and presenter writes: “Money is not the only commodity that is fun to give. We can give time, we can give our expertise, and we can give our love or simply give a smile. What does that cost? The point is, none of us can ever run out of something worthwhile to give.” This is the gift of being able to give or generosity as it is commonly known. Wealth isn’t something that you hold on to, it is something you use and if you are a faithful person, partnering with God to transform lives and the world your wealth is used to bring about this transformation.

So I ask you, have you ever thought about how great a gift it is to give to others? Where have you been generous and why? Where have you withheld your generosity and why? Can you belief that giving is better than receiving, that giving is a gift? In our society we are taught to take, to ask for more and to hoard. We hear the message of take; take, take and we see the images of wealth as having more and more. Can we see in acts of generosity hope for a different way to be? Can we allow giving to be a meaningful gift? Can we see our wealth as a call to give and giving as a gift to us?

The Dalai Lama is often quoted as saying, “Generosity is the most natural outward expression of an inner attitude of compassion and loving-kindness.” We who claim to be children of God, we are to live our lives with an inner attitude of compassion and loving-kindness. We are to take whatever we have and see it as a resource in our ongoing efforts to bring about the commonwealth of God. Faithful people recognize how wealthy they are. Faithful people want to share with others so that everyone has enough. Being able to give is a gift we have been given and one we need to use as faithful partners of God in order to transform our world.

Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:6-8 NRSV). It is a gift to give. And once you realize this then it becomes an amazing thing to offer your treasures, resources, time and talents because you are set free to enjoy the gift of giving. It is never about what you have. It is always about what you do with what you have. It’s that old song “It’s just like a magic penny; hold it tight and you won’t have any. Lend, spend it, and you’ll so many they’ll roll all over the floor.” Or as Kahlil Gibran wrote in The Prophet: “You often say, "I would give, but only to the deserving." The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture. They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.”

We know the simple truth of wealth; it only has meaning and significance if we use it to better the world. Another truth we all know is that everyone in this room is extremely wealthy. We have enough and more than enough even if we don’t have much money we still have riches beyond measure. And the other truth we know, having it isn’t what’s so wonderful, using it is what brings us joy. I’m not trying to justify wealth, what I’m trying to do is say that it is in giving that we are blessed. It is in sharing that we find our true selves. It is the gift that is giving that can be one of the best tools we can use in our labors to transform the world as we join our efforts with God’s. Once we can stop worrying about whether or not we have enough and instead concentrate on living a generous life we will realize that we have all we really need.

So today celebrating the gift of being able to give, thanking God for the generous heart we have and for the many places and opportunities we have to be generous with the gifts God gives us. To be a Christian Steward means being generous with what you have even if you don’t have much. Faithful living includes being generous because giving brings life. I have enough and more than enough. I have been given the gift of giving. As a partner of God I am to give; thank you God for the gift of being able to give.