Hard Sayings XVI: Put Your Hand to The Plough

Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62

I've chosen to address this passage briefly because it is actually a follow-up of Hard Sayings XV: Let The Zombies Bury The Dead since it is immediately after the passage addressed in that post Luke 9:60. This is the third saying in a series of three right at the end of Luke chapter 9 that address the cost of being Jesus' disciple and the rigorousness of that demand. Whereas the first two are also found in Matthew 18:19-22, this one is only found here in Luke.

This imagery is directly reminecent of Elijah and Elisha. When Elijah called and summoned Elisha to come with him he was in the field plowing. When Elijah put his cloak upon Elisha, Elisha asked to say goodbye to his parents as he knew he would not come back that way.

^"So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him. And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, "Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you." And he said to him, "Go back again, for what have I done to you?" And he returned from following him and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him. ~1 Kings 19:19-21

Where Elijah as a human deemed this acceptable since he himself was only a man, Jesus as God with a better understanding of what the Kingdom is deems the request too much and says so. To follow Jesus requires one to virtually sever one's self from the world (flesh). A person literally needs to die to self. The person must sever his new self from the old self. There can be no compromise with the world at the risk of loosing everything you might have gained in Christ.

When addressing this as a form of symbolic action we must realize that a man ploughing a field must devote all of his attention to keeping his animals walking forward and keeping the furrow in a straight line. Otherwise the rows will be all over the place crossing over one another. If a farmer turns around all bets are off. In Jesus' discipleship there is no "multi-tasking". He knows that any additional tasks one takes on are a distraction to the main task of planting seeds in fertile soil-preaching the Kingdom...preaching the Gospel.

We are called to complete devotion and all the requirements of this demand. We can give Jesus nothing less than everything we have to give. We are to make ourselves living sacrifices (Romans 12). Here Jesus speaks of the one that is willing to look back, the one that still has one foot in the past in their old life-a sinful life. Meanwhile, because they are not paying attention they could potentially be messing up the future life too. You cannot live in the past and in the present or future at the same time. It causes a conflict of interest. Nostalgia can be and often is deadly because it keeps us locked in the past. We never do see what happens to these men. Jesus rejected none of them but did put stringent demands on them. We must never enter into something that requires everything we have without first measuring the cost. In this case we must deny all we know. Like Jesus we must stay focused on our purpose in this life. Jesus focused on His task with absolute perfection and stayed perfectly obedient to the Father. He didn't do what He wanted but rather will of the Father.

Yes, the demands are great but the reward is greater still. The loss of the reward is permanent and amounts to separation from God for eternity. When seen in this perspective and the possiblity of loosing Jesus forever, the demands do not seem so extreme.

"Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." John 14:12

"Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” ~John 14:21

“You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me. “Come now; let us leave. ~John 14:28-31

Hard Sayings XV: Let The Zombies Bury Your Dad

Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:60

Here Jesus calls on a man to "follow me" and the man's response is the opposite of Matthew's which was to drop everything and follow Jesus. Instead this unnamed man says, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father". This is not a stretch in terms of a request as even I can attest to having just lost and buried my own father a few months ago...and perhaps that is why I chose to write this. Burial of your father in the 1st century would immediately follow his death (think stink) and at most we are talking a few days in our time. In Jesus' time it would've been done the same day so that the body could be interred so scavengers wouldn't make your loved one into dinner or so it wouldn't begin to get a funky death odor sitting out in the Mediterranean sun like Bernie Lomax (think Weekend At Bernie’s).

As we have seen from other rigorous demands from Jesus, He is consistently asking us to raise the level of our faith and devotion to a higher level. It is not surprising that Jesus would say that we are to forsake all (like Matthew) to follow Him - even our dead relatives since they don’t know what’s going on anyway. The strange part of this saying is the first “dead” of the two deads noted. Another way of saying what Jesus says here is, “let the dead bury the deceased”. The first question is how can any dead bury anything if they are dead too? Who are these enigmatic “dead” and why do they need to do the burying of the other smelly dead? Is Jesus making cloaked zombie references here? Does Jesus mean to leave the dead body to the undertaker? If so why is he calling undertakers “the dead”. This cannot be the case because it detracts from the overall picture that Jesus has continued to teach of rigorous demands to follow Him and His teaching at all cost to self and family. Are there any special nuances in the Greek to clue us in?

Ἄφες τοὺς νεκροὺς θάψαι τοὺς ἑαυτῶν νεκρούς
Aphes tous nekrous thapto tous eautov nekrous
Let-the-dead [ones]-entomb-the-of them-dead [ones]

Nope. The Greek literally says what is says in English. Then what do we make of this? We need to look closely at the surrounding context. This is a unit that measures the cost of following Jesus. This passage in particular is the first of two passages where the people were willing to follow Jesus…conditionally. I will follow you or I would follow you but…Jesus is saying “NO BUTS”. Now! Drop what you are doing and come! If you are not willing to follow me now regardless of circumstance…then you are not ready to follow at all! Jesus doesn’t want part of you, He wants all of you.

He will not accept a partial commitment. That would be like only committing yourself halfway to a marriage. You get married and then immediately run out the door. Suppose you do fully commit here at this point and leave you dad to the vultures. Who is left behind to bury the dead if you leave with Jesus to proclaim the Kingdom/Gospel? What if you decide not to put hand to the plow and look back? Who…or perhaps I should ask what type of people would be left behind in a town that Jesus has already passed through looking for disciples or more believers? The type of person you would expect to remain in a town like this after the Son of God has passed through is people who have rejected Jesus, the non-believers or the dead. In a way, Jesus was referring to zombies in this passage- the spiritual kind. Did someone say Brains! Apparently not, at least not in this group of unbelievers. They were animated and gave the appearance of being alive but they were really dead--spiritually dead.

So let’s look at the passage again knowing this and re-read it. Let the [spiritually] dead bury their own [physical] dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” This seems to make more sense. The implication here also is it would be the spiritually dead who would be burying their own. Perhaps this is reference to the idea that there would be spiritually dead left behind in this unnamed man’s very own family that would be able to bury their father? Scary…but this fits the overall pattern of Scripture and other allusions to division within families on account of Jesus.

They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law." Luke 12:53

There are plenty that can deal with this routine task of burying the bodies of the dead that have already moved on. Those that have been insensitive to the call or just failed to heed it are more than capable of these tasks but those that are alive in Christ must give their time to the supremely important task of trying to take the message to those that are still physically alive but do not know Christ in other places. The questions I pose to you are these: Which are you, the living man/woman or the spiritual zombie? Which is more important, burying your dead or proclaiming Him having risen from the dead?

The dead feel no pain, it is only those that are left behind that hurt. It is better that we as believers tell and teach others of the glory that lies beyond the grave to help get us out of the funk we can easily slip into after the death of a parent or loved one. If we truly believe as we say we do as Christians, we will see our fathers again anyway. So by following Jesus we are assuring this will happen. Why look back to the dead when we can search the imponderables or incommunicable attributes of the "Living God" who will raise all of us on the last day anyway? When He returns we will all be called up into the sky together. Glorious! δόξα!

"...in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" ~1 Corinthians 15:52-55

Knowing this, doesn't it make sense to drop everything like Matthew and just follow the Master who can bring them all (father-mother-grandfather-grandmother-son-daughter-friend) back again anyway or would you rather sulk and cry over your loss and lose the only actual possiblity of seeing them again anyway? Looks like a no-brainer to me folks (pun intended).

[Right about now I should be hearing material things clank and plop on the ground as they fall from people's hands]

Addendum: Having looked at this again there might be another view to take here. Although a little far-fetched, it is concievable that this man's father hadn't even died yet and this man was asking to remain until his father passed away. This being said it would make this demand a bit more reasonable and less stringent. It would then be a little bit more reasonable to our sensibilities that Jesus would require that he leave behind his father. He was still alive and there is no body to bury. It is possible though that the father (like) mine was ill or advanced in age and death might have been eminent. In this situation he may have not wished to abandon is father in this state. Then again the ante is upped. Either way, we are to follow Jesus regardless.

Hard Sayings XIV: You Are Peter

“And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:18-19

This verse is one of the foundations for the Roman Catholic Church’s Petrine doctrine to Papal primacy and authority and it is the supposed Petrine Guarantee. The Vatican Council I on June 29, 1868 defined the primacy of the bishop of Rome over the whole Catholic Church as an essential institution of the Church that can never be relinquished. The Papacy or authority of the Pope is "the system of centralized government in the Church exercised by him [the Pope], along with the claim that by Divine appointment he has universal authority over Christendom. According to Roman Catholic doctrine, St. Peter was the first Bishop of Rome, and the Pope is not only his lineal successor in that office, but also inherits the unique commission given him by Christ. The Papal Primacy is just another name for Apostolic Succession.

It is too bad it that it is based on a flawed and presumptuous interpretation of this passage and therefore in error. I have elucidated my position on this in my post: A Post I Was Hoping to Avoid: On Roman Catholicism. As I have said before this is not biblical and when any human or human institution makes a claim that they are the “only” lineal successor of Peter uniquely commission by Jesus, we know unequivocally that said institution or person has claimed more authority than they have been allowed by the Bible. The exact phrase, “authority over Christendom” is only given to Christ Himself as the head of the Church. All others are equals under Christ. Period. Go read your Bible again in case you missed it.

There are other puzzling idioms and statements in this passage such as “the gates of Hades” (in reference to Caesarea Philippi being a hotbed of worship to the Greek God Pan) but my primary focus of why this is a hard saying is because of the fact the it has been misused to perpetuate what I believe has been nearly two millennium of control over the true church of Christ by an impostor that is a hybrid of true Christianity and a form of Romanized Christianity after Constantine (or thereabouts). The sheer power and voluminous expanse of the Roman Catholic Church is staggering. Although much good came from them much bad did also. To have laid claim to such a huge portion of Christian history based on such scant evidence and so few verses (Matthew 16:18-19 and loosely John 21:17) in the Bible to validate their claim is scary. For the Roman Catholic Church to have laid claim to the entirety of Christendom and to practically demand the authority to do so based on the claim of what they “think” is in this verse alone is imprudent. To allow a religious empire of humanity to revolve around an isolated single saying (or two sayings) of Jesus and to make a claim to authority of an entire faith, based on what appear to be poor hermeneutics of said statements from Christ…well I do not agree with the Roman Catholic Church or their hermeneutics. Sorry.

I will state clearly that there is nothing in the text in Greek or otherwise based in its context that would lead me to believe that it is giving totalitarian control of the Church to either Peter or Rome. This statement is made (in all the Gospels) in the area of Caesarea Philippi which was one of the northernmost reach of Jesus’ actual ministry before His Crucifixion. All of the Gospels put this account in the context of Jesus’ interaction with His disciples Him asking them what the people were saying about Him. Their reply shows the confusion or ambivalence of “the people”. But Jesus, knowing that it would be those closest to Him that would be the ones who carried on is message in the immediate and most profound manner queried them directly, “Who do you say that I am?” We then get Peter’s clear and succinct answer acting as the spokesperson of the group, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God”. We then receive Jesus’ response, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Jesus then strictly forbids them from telling anyone this information because His time (kairos) had not yet come.

It is well known that “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church” involves a word play in the Greek. In Greek Peter is Petros (masculine) and “rock” is petra (feminine). The only difference is that “os” is the masculine form and “a” is the feminine. Aramaic was the language common to the day and is in high probability the language Jesus spoke when He said these words. There were not these types of grammatical and syntactic distinctions in Aramaic speech. So it is likely Jesus said something to the nature of “You are kepha, and upon this kepha I will build my church”. This version of Peter is still seen in many modern versions of the Bible as Cephas (John 1:42). Kepha means “rock”. A Hebrew form of it kepha is used in Jeremiah 4:29. Many languages such as French can reproduce the exact intended word play like Pierre. This cannot be done in English. If the word play is to be brought out in English it requires transposing of the name or Proper noun with the inanimate object rock.

Jesus has now found (since he solicited the question) at least one that is prepared to confess the truth about Jesus' true identity. It has finally been revealed to Peter, by God the Father, through the Holy Spirit who Jesus is. God has finally deemed it the proper time (kairos) to reveal the true identity of Jesus through the Spirit. The very person of the Trinity that will indwell the believer as Jesus' replacement after Pentecost. Ironic? We must remember it is paramount that Jesus’ true identity was not revealed until the absolute perfect exact time as determined by God or the kairos / καιρός time (as opposed to chronos / χρόνος), which we will see unfold in John 12’s:

“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” John 12:23

It is through Peter’s confession in the presence of the other disciples by the work of God through the Spirit that we see the truth given. Peter’s confession acts as a signpost in the road: NOW IS THE TIME for the disciples to understand. It is the time to understand what? It is the time that Jesus’ true identity and true purpose is revealed. It is no wonder we then hear Jesus’ prophetic response about His death immediately after this pronouncement by Peter. Peter is the foundation in time, faith and belief for Jesus to begin building His church. I do not think it is any accident that Jesus then immediate draws attention to His work (not Peter’s) when he predicts His own death. Jesus finally has in the form of Peter and his confession a basis for the church He had come to build as revealed by the Father through the Spirit, not Jesus' Himself. It is also probably not a surprise that Jesus really begins intensive training of the 12 disciples not long after. They too will launch Jesus' teaching into the surrounding Roman territories because they too believe the same thing Peter does (minus Judas). Everyone else up to this point except for a very rare few were trying to cram Jesus into a ready-made stereotypical mold like Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman, his own disciples, etc. Peter changed this. Instead of trying to fit Jesus into a box of his own making (like we do even today), Peter accepted Jesus as He was (not the military leader everyone expected) and still recognized Jesus as the Messiah, Son of the Living God. This was revelatory and a major turning point in Jesus’ ministry. Jesus ups this scenario one more notch by mentioning His death as the Suffering Servant and it is at this point Peter must draw the line. It is too much for even Him to bear...and Jesus soundly rebukes Peter "Get behind me Satan!" Poor Peter...so close yet so far away.

It is at this point, in Caesarea Philippi, Jesus and His disciples literally and physically turn and will now make the long trek southward towards Jerusalem and Jesus’ miscarriage of justice called a trial, scourging, Crucifixion and Resurrection. Of course it would be Jesus’ most intimate companions the disciples that would bear witness to this shift, His death and eventually His Resurrection.

Peter reveals something profound here and Jesus responds to it. Peter reveals Jesus true identity and by doing as much reveals what Jesus’s true purpose is. Having stated this in the presence of witnesses Jesus knows it is time to turn and head down to his death.

He is Messiah…that revelation and what He will soon do because of the fact He is the Messiah is the basis for His Church.

If we believe it we become part of the Body of Christ-His Church. Thereby we build His Church. In reality though, it is not our work that builds Jesus’ Church, it is the work that He will do for Peter, work that He did for all that believe that He is Messiah, the Son of the Living God.

To bolster and back-up this idea we then see immediate reference to His work of atonement and the purpose for taking on his human attribute…death…nailed to a cross. Immediately after this we see a conversation between Jesus and the sole representatives of the Old Testament Laws and Prophets in the form of Moses and Elijah. All of them pointing to Jesus…the Law, the Prophets, Moses and Elijah. Coincidence? Hardly. Planned? Absolutely.

I guess what really matters here is the condition of the heart that confessed this truth or will confess this truth in the future. A rock-solid faith to build a church upon. It means the condition of the heart is fertile for acceptance of this truth. This truth is ready to take hold and bloom. Where one confesses that “Jesus is the Messiah the Son of the Living God”…is where Jesus’ Church resides…not just in Peter…but in all of us.

"You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God"


In the end even Peter himself reveals that he is not the Petra or "Living Rock" that Jesus was referring to. It only takes a little Bible literacy and comprehension of Scripture as a whole.

^“For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and, “A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.”

Spiritually Severed

Content Warning: Graphic analogy or literary illustrations...and I mean it folks, this one is really hard to read and will be hard to stomach. I'm trying to raise the bar here without being overtly/fradulently legalistic or unnecessarily illustrative but still try and get the impact of my point across.

No matter how many telecommunications companies market cellphones to keep people "connected", the farther away and more disconnected people are growing from other people. No matter how many ethereal Internet connections we have access to, America and the world at large is becoming exponentially impersonal and disengaged from people and their surroundings. This is the paradox of the world we currently live in. We now live in 2011 and have more points of contact at our disposal than at any time and history...and we couldn't be farther apart. Separated at a time when we are desperately in need of others for our well-being and/or survival. Neighbors we live next to for years are complete strangers. In many cases some of us have had more words with our enemies rather than a next door neighbor.

Here's a scenario: We sit in conversation with people face-to-face. Someone gets texted or the cellphone rings and the owner answers. The phone owner then disengages from the present conversation and proceeds with his own distant conversation yet physically is still sitting across from me...yet a 1000 miles away. People cannot even focus on those physical things that are directly adjacent to them yet the duty of the evangelist and the preacher of the Word needs to engage them with a God they cannot see. A God that is most readily seen through other people. Some of the very people they ignore. To prove a point, how many stories have we heard about someone driving while either talking on the cellphone or texting only to end up as a rear bumper ornament on the car in front of them or as an extra limb on a tree through sheer kinetic force? If we cannot apply ourselves to the immediate task at hand, how can we possibly expect to concentrate on a God that expects our undivided attention when having a relationship with Him? God wants our focused attention and we have whittled ours down to approximately 10-15 second blips. How do you have a relationship with anyone in 15 second windows.

People are over busy and over-stimulated. Sometimes hurrying around to do absolutely nothing. We are some of the busiest people in history that have nothing to do in terms of necessity. It is something I have referred to as neurotic self-importance. We work insanely hard to sit around and do nothing. We work so we can be payed to have time off. We are totally jacked visually, sexually, audibly, mentally and so on. It is an pandemic of disconnection because of tools that allow us to connect. We create humanless networks that have no life and neglect and ignore those within a close proximity physically. Strange. God has told us to do just the opposite when companionship is available to us.

Hebrews 10:25 "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

Psalm 133:1 "A song of ascents. Of David. "How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!"

The idea of unity is embedded in Christianity and in the Trinity as the two are inseparable. It is reflected in a happy marriage. Studies show that happily married couples generally live longer lives. When dealing with stress or trauma, these situations are easier dealt with in groups than individually. What may sink one doesn't necessarily sink a couple or group. In God's math their is definitely strength in numbers. Today's technology and the way it is being used is blowing God's pattern asunder and Christians, of all people, need to recognize this and deal or address it properly. We need to realize that (1) we are not that important that we need to have our cellphones or electronic gadgets on all the time. (2) Yes it is possible a loved one may be trying to contact you in an emergency but the possibility that it will be every day all day long is highly unlikely. What happened to consideration for those that are right in front of you? What happened to having relationships, families and friendships? Why can't people turn the toys off? Why can't they at least set it to vibrate mode and ignore it when it goes off? If it absolutely has to be answered tell them you will call them back. It wasn't more than ten years ago that I did not even have a cellphone or Internet connection. Even now my cellphone is a $9.99 pay as you go from Dollar General and everyone I have given the number to know it is only for emergencies. I rarely ever answer it, I usually let it ring out and then take down the number to use on a land line. 

Some people's phones are now literal handheld computers that appear to have been surgically implanted into the end of their arm. These toys have driven a wedge between people through cognitive dissonance....they're totally distracted from immediate tasks. Always turning your attention away from someone used to be considered blatantly ignorant. Now even some of the nicest people including pastors do it. I don't get it. Nor will I ever. I cannot believe at 42 I have become thoroughly old-fashioned. Called me insane but when I am not studying or researching I am usually quite happy to be completely disconnect from the technology and connected to people in the real world. I am generally oblivious to WIFI and enjoy speaking with people eye-to-eye and face to face.

When we fail to make the personal connection and instead do it in an informal manner through cellular technology we begin to breakdown and destroy a basic need of humanity which is close relation and interaction..in some cases the visual communication of body language and for intimates the communication of a touch. We see prolific communication in places like Jesus and the Trinity. We see it with Jesus and His disciples. They walked together, ate together, talked together and even fought and argued together...but at least they interacted. Today we have literally (and in some case inadvertently) embodied Timothy Leary's drug induced mantra: "Turn on, tune in, drop out". Sadly, what Leary was talking about was inherently selfish and ungodly. The statement that led to this manta actually went like this:

"Like every great religion of the past we seek to find the divinity within and to express this revelation in a life of glorification and the worship of God. These ancient goals we define in the metaphor of the present — turn on, tune in, drop out"

Leary was speaking of and condoning a form of pantheistic and syncretistic self-worship fueled by drugs. Leary said we need to turn within. This is a thoroughly eastern philosophy. Christianity tells us to turn outwards to find diversity and divinity. This mantra to "tune out" is inherently unbibical. Yet, because of our technology and how it has become ubiquitous in our culture it has subconsciously crept into our everyday behavior (minus the drugs, unless of course you consider addiction to electronic toys a drug) and soceity has effectively "dropped out" in most cases. We focus on the technology and it takes away from gathering together with others. Hebrews 10:25 specifically calls us to be together to worship God...not answer our phones or fidget with "toys" during services. I have seen this happen. Someone will whip out their iPhone4 with the NIV in it and subsequently get distracted and start tinkering with another application---during the service! That ain't right people! We need to consciously recognize this unbiblical behavior. Unbiblical actions because of unconscious behavior is still sin...albeit a sin of omission in many cases...it is still sin!

We have people right in front of us and we are omitting them from our lives when we are called to unite with them as Christian. To purposely detach a piece of the a body (a person) like a hand, foot, eye, ear from the body as a whole (the Church) is to effectively perform an amputation. I believe we are seeing a misappropriation of grace here. Technology when used for good purposes is a Godly thing but to use technology for disobedience is sin, I don't care how many free minutes you get. I am literally raising the level of expectation with this post. If you do not have to...don't, tell them you'll get back to them. Talk to the people that are right in front of you. If you do take a call you may still be there physically but mentally you are cognitively dissonant. The truth is mentally...you really are not there...regardless of what you say. This amounts to separation from others. We really need to see how commands from 2000+ years ago still apply in light of a rapidly expanding plethora of technological advances. We need to determine what the implications of the text in the Bible are. I didn't say contemporize the authors intent or take God's intent out of context, I said figure out how the statues and the commands of the Bible still apply today without being legalistic now that this technology has arrived.

How about if I take these thoughts up one more level? What happens if you have turned the phone to vibrate and it vibrates in you pocket but you decide to continue to focus on the sermon, fellowship, Bible study or what-have-you? Can you focus on the teaching at hand? Do you really end up focusing on what the people are saying or doing or is your attention or focus on the phone in your pocket and who might have been on the other end? This too is congnitive dissonence if only for a few minutes. It is time that could've or should've been spent meditating on God's network not Verizon's or AT&T's network. If it gets to this point it literally becomes a tempation to distract you from your worship, fellowship or meditation on God which should be priority.

In the end we need to realize severing anything from the body for an extented period of time separates that unit or appendage from the very things it needs to stay alive and exist: the heart, the mind and the soul. Anything separated from the body (God, Church) that needs to be attached to the body whether it be a heart, mind and soul will eventually die physically, mentally and spiritually if it is kept seperated. When we do it to ourselves volitionally it is considered suicide.

It is up to God and you to determine how much is too much. What I do know is that many flirt with being over the line or are over the line by being on the line all the time.

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. ~1 Corinthians 10:13

I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. Psalm 119:15

"...a time to be silent and a time to speak" ~Ecclesiastes 3:7

There is a time to have your toys on but there is definitely a time to turn your toys off too. There is nothing that important that requires that you have your gadgets on all the time. Please tune back in...there is a lot of your life that you are missing if you continue to bury your head in an impersonal dehumanized cube or flatscreen. Its like talking to or staring at a brick when others/Others directly in your presence would like to fellowship with you.

Hard Sayings XIII: Not Peace But A Sword: Causa Causans

“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” ~Matthew 10:34

Ah yes, the verse that Liberation Theology advocates cling onto tighter that a Titanic survivor clings to a flotation device. They cling to it tightly because they believe it advocates the use of political activism or even force to bring the Kingdom in power. Its main significance is that it is often offered as evidence that Jesus advocated violence or at least social upheaval or unrest (i.e: protests and resistence against "The Man"). The adherents of this theology believe these activist methods are the only way to free people from the oppressiveness of the “system” and sin. It is often used by groups of people that have had a history of oppression and subjugation by others as it appeals to the sensibilities of people that have been “kept down” and abused by others. The emphasis of their “ministry” is to bring justice to the poor and oppressed, particularly through political activism. Its theologians consider sin the root source of poverty, the sin nearly always is exploited by the capitalistic system and class warfare by the bourgeoisie against the proletariat. Liberation theologians use political theory, primarily Marxism, to help understand how to combat poverty. The religion proper is a breakaway of the Roman Catholic Church after Vatican II and should be regarded as a form of Christian socialism and Christian syncretism. This theory gained a stranglehold in South and Central America in the 1960’s and subsequently migrated northward to be adhered to by folks in the Mexico, USA, and then spread beyond. The most important person in this movement was Friar Gustavo Gutiérrez and his 1972 book, A Theology of Liberation, where he wrote about a combination of Marxism and the social-Catholic teachings contributing to a socialist current in the Church in Peru. It then quickly branched out.

Liberation Theology condones fighting poverty by suppressing what it believes to be its source, which is sin. In so doing, it bonds a relationship between Christian theology and political activism, especially when it comes to social justice, poverty, and human rights. The danger of this theology is that it (1) is not biblical since it condones working subversively against the power structures we are called to obey in Romans 13 and (2) it often does not draw a distinction between how much is too much and occasionally adherents become over-zealous to the point of being riotous or outright violent. Liberation theologians base their social action upon the Bible scriptures describing the mission of Jesus Christ, as bringing a sword (social unrest). Extreme adherents view the sword as literal and sometimes take up arms against their oppressors. Passages quoted by these adherents always reference Matthew 10:34 and also Isaiah 61:1, Luke 22:35-38 Matthew 26:51-52 — and not as bringing peace (social order) but just the opposite. This Biblical interpretation by Liberation Theologians and Liberal Theology adherents view these verses as a "call to arms". They believe they have the power within their own hands to bring Jesus Christ's mission of justice into the world now through force (figuratively and literally). Understood this way their theology includes socialist and Marxist philosophies that believe in maintaining class struggles and open class warfare and they also believe it is through their activism or work that the improvement of mankind will come about ushering in the Kingdom. That my good friend…is ridiculous and unbiblical. Correctly interpreted we know that this will not happen until Christ returns.

We know unequivocally that it is not through man’s violent or politically activist works that the Kingdom of God comes to the earth. If that was the case, then why didn’t Jesus use this means to overthrow Rome 2000 years ago. No, this premise is a misinterpretation of the passage and has been Shanghai-ed from the Bible and its original context by people with an agenda. It is an agenda that is often used to manipulate and brainwash people towards purposeful agitation. These followers of this theology are being manipulate by their religious leaders through the very same means they accuse the “powers that be” are using. Thereby they “steer” these adherents by their emotions to resist the people they claim their oppressors when in reality, their very own church leadership is manipulating them in a vastly worse manner (through their belief in God). I sense an element of hypocrisy in the leadership of this movement. I may have oversimplified Liberation Theology’s position but you have grasped some of the main ideas from it. As such I can now use it as a contrast to the truth of the Gospel as it was intended by Jesus and written by the disciples.

So what does the passage really mean if it does not mean that Jesus advocated taking up a sword and politically or physically resisting one’s oppressor? To help us understand we should also quote this verse’s companion in Luke 12:51. Both writers, Matthew and Luke also add statements to the nature of “For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law-a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.” What we see is there will be division but this division is not to purposely come from the Christian and Jesus does not advocate conflict. If anything Jesus taught disciples non-retaliation in the form of turning the other cheek or blessed are the peacemakers. People that wish to reflect Christ are peaceful not politically agitating, subversive to the government or violent. Christianity was going to be a system of reconciliation in Christ (Philemon) and its members would be peaceful not rebellious dissidents and revolutionaries. Any belief system that sows more discord than peace cannot possibly be adhering to the Bible and be a true Christianity.

In this verse Jesus is speaking of a tension (conflict) between those of the light that understand what Jesus was truly about and those of the darkness that did not.

“The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.” ~John 1:9-10

Some of these disparities would be contained even within singular families. Some are believers like me, my wife, parents and some aunts and uncles. Within my own family there are also non-believers like my brother, cousins, aunts and uncles. We can even look at Jesus' very own family and we see the discordance or division.

“Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” ~Mark 3:20-21

Do we see that this division was purposely caused by God or Jesus in these situations, either mine or Jesus’ family? No, Jesus would never purposely cause conflict in this manner nor should a faithful follower of Jesus. So what the heck is going on? If Jesus did not cause this division then what did? We are not to be the causes of the division any more than Jesus.

The sword is symbolic for division but not a division caused by Jesus directly, his disciples or followers (like us). It is a division caused by the effect of Jesus’ presence or His teaching, whether that teaching is audible or internalized in the behavior of a believer through their actions. The division or sword would be the ripple-effect of Jesus’ coming...in the form of rejecting Him. With Jesus now having been in the world you have to make a choice: You either accept Him or you reject Him. What you cannot do is not make choice because by making a decision not to decide...you have rejected Jesus anyway! 

So what we see in this passage is believers are being warned that their relationship with Christ would cause conflict and division, not that they would be urged to cause it. It would be divisions that would take place even within their own households. A division that would not have its inception in Christian actions of following Christ but rather Non-Christian’s reactions caused by their rejection of the fact of Jesus having come into the world, taught and embodied the Gospel. Let’s face it folks, some people were just not meant to be part of the Kingdom. I firmly believe that some (like Judas) were predestined to condemnation. If you are not of the light you are of the darkness. There is no middle ground or room for oscillation or ambivelence. Being a good person doesn’t get you to Heaven, Jesus Christ does. Which is it for you? Light or Dark? Righteousness or Evil, Salvation or damnation...an action for Christ or reaction against Him?

Like it or not, you have to decide. Now would be a good time to do so because you may die tomorrow...or maybe even tonight.

Addendum: As an additional thought I should state this and it is directed at us as Christians. Purposed hostility is not the only action that could be the cause of division. There are divisions we can cause ourselves as Christians that aren't necessarily Christian actions. Arrogant piousness or the proverbial Pharisaic attitude. This will cause division quicker than swinging a machette...and there is no room for this behavior in a Christian's life...because it really ain't Christian now is it?.

Cells

White Blood Cell

Often I have reflected on the paradox of the amoeba and its mirror image, the white cell. The amoeba, a self-contained organism, alone performs all the basic functions of life, depending on other cells only when it ingests them as food. The white cell, although similar in construction and makeup, in a sense is far less free.

A larger organism determines its duties, and it must sometimes sacrifice its life for the sake of that organism. Although more limited in self-expression, the white cell performs a singularly vital function. The amoeba flees danger; the white cell moves toward it. A white cell can keep alive a person like Beethoven or Newton or Einstein...or you and me.

I sometimes think of the human body as a community, and then of its individual cells such as the white cell. The cell is the basic unit of an organism; it can live for itself, or it can help form and sustain the larger organism. I recall the apostle Paul's use of analogy in 1 Corinthians 12 where he compares the church of Christ to the human body.

[Brand then goes on to make the following analogy which is a clever parallel to Pauls run down of how members of the Body of Christ all have their unique gifts and utility]

The body is one unit, though it is made up of many cells, and though all its cells are many, they form one body... If the white cell should say, because I am not a brain cell, I do not belong to the body, it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the muscle cell should say to the optic nerve cell, because I am not an optic nerve, I do not belong to the body, it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an optic nerve cell, where would be the ability to walk? If the whole body were an auditory nerve, where would be the sense of sight? But in fact God has arranged the cells in the body, everyone of them, just as he wanted them to be. If all cells were the same, where would the body be? As it is, there are many cells, but one body.

That analogy conveys a more precise meaning to me because though a hand or foot or ear cannot have a life separate from the body, a cell does have that potential. It can be part of the body as a loyalist, or it can cling to its own life. Some cells do choose to live in the body, sharing its benefits while maintaining complete independence - they become parasites or cancer cells.

~Dr Paul Brand- In The Likeness Of God (p. 35-36)

Showdown

Another battle in a line of battles

Another battle that ends today

Jesus will make things right

With Christ I'm ready

Another showdown with my sin

Another showdown with the Devil

The Lord goes out to fight for me

Justice delivered by God's gavel

“No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from me,” says the Lord."

Isaiah 54:17

"Therefore understand today the Lord your God is He who goes before you as a consuming fire. He will destroy them and bring them down before you; so you shall drive them out and destroy them quickly, as the Lord has said to you.” Deuteronomy 9:3

“… For I will contend with him who contends with you.” Isaiah 49:25

“The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms; He will thrust out the enemy from before you, and will say, ‘Destroy!’ ” Deuteronomy 33:27

“Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth; yet they have not prevailed against me … The Lord is righteous; He has cut in pieces the cords of the wicked.” Psalm 129:2

“It is God who avenges me, and subdues the peoples under me; He delivers me from my enemies. You also lift me up above those who rise against me; You have delivered me from the violent man.” Psalm 18:47

“When my enemies turn back, they shall fall and perish at your presence. For You have maintained my right and my cause; You sat on the throne judging in righteousness.” Psalm 9:3

“When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.” Isaiah 59:19

“Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord. Jeremiah 1:8

Hard Sayings XII: Hater

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple" ~Luke 14:26

As hard as something like this saying would be to reconcile with what most understand about Jesus, in its most literal sense according to the original language...it is true. When Jesus says here seems to fly directly in the face of natural order and what the Bible tells us but in reality it does not. It goes against the idea of honoring one's parents, loving one's neighbor and being respectful to those aged and full of wisdom (πρεσβύτερος - presbuteros)

So what is Jesus really saying here, or did He say exactly what He meant? I really needed to think about what this meant to Andy when writing this post and when I came to my conclusion rather quickly. Anything that comes between God and myself is a detriment to my relationship with the most important thing in my existence-God. More important than my parents, wife or even my children. Without my salvation I will not have any of them in eternity anyway. If I cannot maintain God in my life and behave and reflect a benevolent and gracious demeanor like Jesus I risk losing my parent, wife or children to the world anyway. Ephesians passage about the structure of the family from Ephesians 5:21-6:4 is clear. The way to harmony in a family, spouse to spouse, parent to child and child to parent is "in Christ". There is no other way. Christ comes first...NO EXCEPTIONS. If something comes before Jesus, your priorities are screwed-up.

So why does Jesus tell us to hate mom and pop? Well, let us look at the word hate more closely first. The connotation in our society when the word hate is mentioned is a picture of a relationship that has an absolute absence of love. Hate in our 2011 understanding is not what the word  μισεῖ / misei means. Misei is actually a biblical idiom that has its roots in the Old Testament Hebrew שנאתי of Malachi 1:3. The Greek  μισεῖ / misei thought more properly captures the intent whereas the Hebrew שנאתי often literally meant to hate someone utterly and absolutely. A more proper understanding of this word μισεῖ is to be "loving less". Overall it is not that far removed from the Old Testament example of Jacob and Esau once the idiom is understood correctly...

“Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated" ~Malachi 1:2-3

God didn't hate Esau literally He just showed Esau less favor than Jacob. Nor does Jesus expect you to hate your parents before pulling up stakes an following Him. What he does expect is that nothing, and I mean nothing, comes between Him and you. Ironically, it is for your own good too. We sort of see this reflected again in the Gospel of Matthew also.

“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." ~Matthew 10:37

Your parents, children, relatives or those closest to you cannot give you eternal life. When it comes time for you to enter through the narrow gate...you're going alone, not with mommy and daddy. The gate is more narrow than I think many will ever guess. One at a time folks. No one gets pushy or they get sent to the back of the line (the first last and the last first). Everybody knows or at least realizes riches and things of the world can come between us and God. Few though understand the depth of the relationship required to enter through the narrow gate and have Jesus tell us, "well done" instead of, "I never knew you". Some of that depth is revealed here in this verse and others like it. Not even mom and pop are to impede your love and relation with the Lord. If you place Jesus first these other relationships sort themselves out as I can attest to. If you are truly putting God first, loving your wife, honoring of your mother and father and loving your children is the fruit of this relationship with God and the immediate fallout of the correct mindset.

If you truly love Jesus first...you wouldn't be able to truly hate your parents, children or siblings anyway. Common sense should've told you that. Don't be silly folks. Of course Jesus would want you to love them. Love them to your grave. But....but....BUT!!!...If  God ever calls you to forsake it all (and He might), you need to be prepared to let it all go to obey His divine will, just as Abraham did (Isaac and a knife ring any bells for ya?) or as Matthew did when Jesus said to him, "Follow me,” and he got up, left everything and followed him. It is here in these nuances of behavior and language where we see the true righteousness of God reside. Of course if you are the only provider of provisions for your family I find it highly unlikely that God would call you to abandon that responsibility without a plan to continue to help provide for the dependants in your life like children or a wife.

Yes this saying appears a little tough at first but in reality, if we are seeing it through God goggles, it really isn't. Love God first and everything else logically falls out from the relationship making things easier than you might think.