Alpha-Omega

Dependence or Independence

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Yesterday, I started co-teaching a 10-week Disciple Bible Study on the book of Genesis. As one might expect, we spent some time discussing one of the foundational texts of all of Scripture: the story of “the fall” in Genesis 3.

One member of the class, Jay Cantrell, noted that this passage made more sense to him now that he had kids and grandkids. He said it reminded him of what has happened with his kids as they left the “age of innocence” and went out on their own. They had to realize that being on their own meant having to have a job to pay the bills, similar to Adam being told “. . . in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground . . .” (Genesis 3:17-19, NRSV). Daddy isn’t going to do everything for you now!

This made me realize something. As much as we equate this passage with “sin,” it is really a passage about our desire for independence as human beings. Our “problem” is that we want to be independent of God and other people. We want to show or to prove that we can do it on our own without the help of others. Don’t we all go through this to some extent as we “leave home?” We want to survive, even thrive, without the help of our parents. This is the story of Adam and Eve. They want to be independent like God, having wisdom.

The next interesting point is that Jesus taught just the opposite of this:

  • He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:17, NRSV)

Jesus, in essence, is teaching that independence is not the goal. The goal is to learn to (and accept to) be dependent on God and other people! We cannot do it alone! May we have the strength to be dependent on God and other people – and allow others to be dependent on us and EVEN allow God to be dependent on us! When God calls us into serving others, God is, in a sense depending on us. It is a mutual relationship!

(Originally posted at http://theology-of-t-roy.blogspot.com/2006/09/dependence-or-independence.html on September 18, 2006)

What’s Love Got to Do With It? – A Sermon

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It was Youth Sunday, August 22, 2010 when I preached this sermon at First United Methodist of Wichita Falls, Texas. Although I was not the youth director, the youth director had asked permission for me to preach on that Sunday. As it turned out, our Senior Pastor was going to be gone, so it worked out well.

This sermon uses two passages of Scripture for inspiration:

  • Mark 8:34-35 – 34 Jesus called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.
  • 1 John 4:16-21 – 16 So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. 17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. 21 The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.

In Case of Rapture, This Car Will Be Unmanned?

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I used to think that bumper sticker was pretty funny. Several years ago, I even thought about getting one for my car. Luckily, I’ve done quite a bit of study since then.

First, do you realize that the term “rapture” is nowhere in Scripture, even though many would have you think it is? Some, of course, will counter and say that there are many useful theological terms that are not in the Bible. True, but is the concept of those terms there? In terms of “rapture,” I do not believe so, based on my study of Scripture.

Let me start with a recent revelation from Luke 17:22-37:

20 Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; 21 nor will they say, “Look, here it is!’ or “There it is!’ For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.”

22 Then he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 They will say to you, “Look there!’ or “Look here!’ Do not go, do not set off in pursuit. 24 For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. 25 But first he must endure much suffering and be rejected by this generation. 26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so too it will be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 They were eating and drinking, and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed all of them. 28 Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, 29 but on the day that Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and sulfur from heaven and destroyed all of them 30 —it will be like that on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day, anyone on the housetop who has belongings in the house must not come down to take them away; and likewise anyone in the field must not turn back. 32 Remember Lot’s wife. 33 Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it. 34 I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. 35 There will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken and the other left. 36 Two will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.” 37 Then they asked him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.” (NRSV)

Based upon what we usually hear from, for instance, the “Left Behind” series, we better make sure we are not one of those that are “left behind.” We must make sure we are taken. Look at the above text, though. Only Noah and his family were saved, and they weren’t raptured. Only Lot and his family (minus his wife) were saved, and they weren’t raptured. Notice, in vss. 34-36, Jesus says that people will be taken, and we have always assumed they were “raptured up to heaven.” But look: the disciples ask, “Where, Lord, [were they taken]?” Look at Jesus’ response: “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.” Do we really think that we want to be “raptured” to a place where the vultures will gather – where the dead are?

Why then would we want to stay here? For Luke, the answer is in vs. 21 – the Kingdom of God is ALREADY among us. Why would we want to leave that? The problem is that we usually live and act as if we aren’t already there!

Others, then, will point to 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18:

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died. 15 For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died. 16 For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words. (NRSV)

Doesn’t that talk about the “rapture?” Maybe, but, as we see in Luke, there is another idea about what could happen at the end. Plus, there may also be a better interpretation of this passage. Here is what New Testament biblical scholars M. Eugene Boring and Fred Craddock have to say about the matter:

4:17 We who are alive: Paul expected the return of Christ to occur during his own lifetime. . . . Caught up in the clouds: Taken into God’s presence. The clouds were originally related to the storm god, imagery adopted by Israel from the nature religion of Canaan to speak of the presence and power of God (e.g., Exod. 19:16-25; Pss. 29; 97:2) and then applied to the return of Jesus as the Son of Man (Mark 13:26; Matt. 26:64). Theology, not meteorology, is the content (as though Paul thought Jesus would not return on a cloudy day). To meet the Lord in the air: So also “the air” is not the atmosphere, but as in Eph. 2:2 the realm between the heavenly world of God and the earthly human world, the dwelling place of supernatural powers that separate this world and the transcendant world. Like the word “parousia,” to meet the Lord is part of the semitechnical language used for the arrival of a monarch. A delegation of his or her subjects went out to meet the king or queen and ushered them back into the city. The picture is thus not of a “rapture” in the sense of modern dispensational interpretation, in which believers meet Jesus in the sky and are taken to heaven. Rather, Jesus is pictured as returning to earth as its rightful sovereign, and Christian believers – those already dead and those still alive – going together to lead him in a triumphal parade back to earth. These words and pictures utilize common apocalyptic imagery . . . that seems strange to modern eyes and ears – as they did to most of the Thessalonians, who had no previous exposure to such Jewish ways of thinking. Modern readers need not take them literally, but must take them seriously.

We will be with the Lord forever: Salvation is finally not a matter of place, but of relationship. . . . Being with the Lord is the fulfillment of the relationship to God already begun in this life.
[from The People’s New Testament Commentary (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004), 645].

Notice what Boring & Craddock say about “meeting the Lord,” or the Greek term, “parousia.”  Paul’s image is not to meet the Lord in the air and then go to heaven.  As in the 1st century Greek usage, the idea is to go out as a “greeting party” to escort the dignitary into your town, not go to the dignitary’s town!  This is an image of showing respect to the “Lord,” the dignitary.

I think it is important to realize how Jesus teaches us to pray in the Lord’s prayer.  There is nothing there that says, “God, get us out this place.  Take us to heaven.”  Rather, we pray that God’s will be done and God’s kingdom come on earth as it already is in heaven.  The idea is not to get off the earth but to transform the earth.  We often overlook it when many mainline denominations sing the “Gloria Patri” every Sunday:  “World without end.  Amen.  Amen!”  In addition, as the author of Revelation puts it, God will not make all new things, God will make all things new (Revelation 21:5).  That is transformation; that is not rapture.

Let us “leave behind” the silly concept of the rapture!

(except for the 2nd & 3rd to the last paragraphs, all of the above was written December 5, 2007
by Troy Sims and posted on http://theology-of-troy.blogspot.com)

Don’t Tell Me How to Pray. . .

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For quite a few years, there has been much ink, e-mails, and hot air spread about the issue of prayer in schools. Many people are all in an uproar that, “The government won’t let my child pray in school.” This, however, is actually NOT the case.

There is NOTHING, according to the law, that prevents a child from praying in school – so long as it does not disturb the necessary goings on at a school. How do I know this? Have you ever attended a “Meet You at the Pole” rally at a public school? You see, prayer DOES happen at school!

You see, the issue is that a public school employee, which is ultimately a government employee that represents the government (even teachers fall into this category), cannot lead a prayer for the students of the school. Why? It is quite simple. By doing so, the employee is implying that the government promotes a certain “type” or “brand” of religion, which goes against the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution that reads, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. . . .”

Now, I find it interesting that the majority of the people that I know who get all in an uproar about this issue (all of which are Christians) would “have a cow” if their child’s teacher was a Muslim and led a Muslim prayer in class! Yet, without the current laws, this could happen!

Frankly, there are many “Christians” that I would not want to model prayer for my child. In fact, I’d prefer many Jews or Muslims to some Christians! But here’s the deal: I believe it is MY job to teach my child to pray with the help of my local church – not the public school system!

I’m reminded that many of the “Christians” that I indicted above for being sticklers for this issue often want to take Scripture very literally. I say to these people to read this passage of Scripture:

1 “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 “So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

5 “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 6 But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 7 “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (Matthew 6, NRSV)

The above words are, according to Matthew, from the mouth of Jesus. Jesus says that we should pray in secret – not in front of everybody. Yet, some people have temper tantrums saying they want their child to do EXACTLY what Jesus as explicitly said not to do. It seems even literalists / fundamentalists pick and choose what they want out of Scripture, too!

Looking at Matthew 6, I am reminded that most of the time that I pray, I do so silently – often with others present, but they never know it. Nobody, then, can prevent me from praying – especially if I do it silently! Therefore, if there is not prayer in schools, it is ONLY because WE (parents and church leaders) have not taught our children how to pray. Are we expecting the public school and government to do it?

(Originally posted at http://theology-of-t-roy.blogspot.com/2005/07/dont-tell-me-how-to-pray.html on July 2, 2005)

God Bless America?

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I’ll probably never forget a few years ago when members of the U.S. Congress stood outside and sang together the song “God Bless America.” At the time I was filled with a great sense of patriotism for our country. However, as I have thought about this over the past few years, I have come to believe that this was a bit narrow-minded.

I recall the passage from Acts 3:25 in which Peter, speaking to an assembly of Israelites, recalls the covenant that God made with Abraham:

You are the descendants of the prophets and of the covenant that God gave to your ancestors, saying to Abraham, “And in your descendants all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ (NRSV)

“Families” in this context means “nations.” Therefore, Peter is reminding his hearers and us that God promises to bless not only Israel or America but ALL nations of the earth.

Some would say that some nations of this world do not “deserve” God’s blessings, and I couldn’t disagree more. These nations that we deem to not “deserve” God’s blessings need God’s blessings as much or more than we do in order to help them become the people God would have them (and us) to be. That is the wonderful story of grace – getting what we DON’T deserve. Plus, if we say that WE, as citizens of the United States, DO deserve God’s blessings, aren’t we being a bit prideful? Aren’t we tooting our own horns? Aren’t we being like the Pharisees who felt that WHAT we do determines whether or not we receive God’s blessings?

How powerful it would be for our nation to stand together and sing a song to the world that has the line GOD BLESS THE WORLD! Let us all join together to sing and pray for God’s blessings on all the nations of the earth. If need be, maybe we can strive to be channels of God’s grace, taking God’s blessings to the world!

(Originally posted at http://theology-of-t-roy.blogspot.com/2005/07/god-bless-america.html on July 2, 2005)

What’s In a Name?

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I am of the belief (as are others) that God is so big and unimaginable that there is absolutely NO way in which we are able to fully define or describe God. We do not have the knowledge of God OR the vocabulary to do so. Of course, we are human beings, so we try. In fact, we need to in order to:

  • Speak to others about God;
  • Learn more about God;
  • Think about God; and
  • Even talk to God.

Try as we may, however, we cannot fully describe God.

Many people want to confine God to only the image of “Father,” forgetting the many images of God in Scripture that compare God to a mother or a woman. In addition, we disregard the fact that the Hebrew word(s) that we see translated as “compassion” or “compassionate” actually mean that God is “womb-like.”

Often, we get hung up on limiting God to the words that we TRY to describe God with. We, therefore, limit our understanding of God and how God works. I find that very limiting on us as humans as well. We are, according to Scripture, created in God’s image. To limit our understanding of God is also to limit our understanding of who WE can be as well.

Often, well meaning Christians will agree with the statement of the first paragraph of this post. Then, in the next breath, they will say that people who call God, “Allah” don’t worship the “same” God that we do. More often than not, these people don’t realize that even Christians who speak the Arabic language ALSO call God, “Allah.” That’s just the Arabic word for God.

Some people will concede that Muslims do worship the same God, but those “Buddhists” and other religions who don’t explicitly worship a personified God do not worship God. I find this troubling. Often, these religions refuse to personify God. Yet, they talk about a “sacred more” – something that is beyond us that is sacred. For these religions, the goal is for us to live more purposefully and wholly in this sacred “more” or “other.” I see a great sense of awe and “worshipfullness” in these people. They understand that God cannot fully be described and to try to describe God can be limiting. This can create a false sense of who and how God is.

The issue and difference is ultimately a difference in how we define God. If you think about it, one’s name is really just a “metaphor” or a way to “define” the person. Similarly, the word, “God,” is just a “metaphor” or a way we try to “define” God. Let us be careful not to limit God with our mere words.

(Originally posted at http://theology-of-t-roy.blogspot.com/2005/06/whats-in-name.html on June 20, 2005)