Jesus' Commandments

 Some have said that Jesus had no new teachings.  Several times in the Gospels, Jesus discusses what the Greatest Commandment is.  When asked, he quotes from Deuteronomy and Leviticus (perhaps giving rise to that assertion of having nothing new).  I have had the odd conversation over what the Bible’s main point is.  While different ones may convict, challenge or disgust each of us, I’d suggest it is disingenuous to not start with Jesus’ answer to the Greatest Commandment.  And Jesus did have one new one (at least), which I save for the end.

Scouring the Gospels, this is what I have come up with as Jesus' Twelve Commandments.  I have tried to stay away from ones specific to a given person, such as “go wash and show yourself to the priest”; and avoid obvious (?) exaggerations such as “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out”; and no suggestions or advice, like “do not worry” or “watch out for false prophets”.  These are not listed in order of how important I believe them to be, except the last one, I do believe is the most important. 

Let me know if I missed one. 

1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.  And Love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two rest all the Law and the Prophets.  MATT 22 

2. So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.  Matt 7 (Sermon on the Mount)

3. But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. LUKE 6:27-28

4. Be Perfect as your Heavenly Father is Perfect.  MATT 5 (Sermon on the Mount)

5. Be Merciful as your Heavenly Father is Merciful.  LUKE 6 (Sermon on the Plains)

6. Take up your Cross and follow me. MARK 8:38

7. Judge not, lest ye be judged. MATT 7

8. Make disciples of all nations.  MATT 28

9. “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.  MATT 7:6

10. You ought to wash one another's’ feet.  JOHN 13

11. For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. MATT 6

12. A new commandment I give you: Love one another as I have loved you.  John 13:34

It is the new commandment (#12) that is the hardest of all, except “be perfect”, which may be the same thing.  This is well beyond “love your neighbor as yourself” or even “love your enemies”.  He goes on to say, “Greater love has no one than he who lays down his life for his friends.”  For my own edification, practically speaking, #10 is how we lay down our life in small acts every day.  We don’t need to literally wash each other’s feet the way they needed to then, with all the dirt, mud and sheep s*** that covered streets and feet in those days.  But there is a myriad of ways we can pour out ourselves in humble offering to those around us.  And none of these are possible to do consistently without the help of the Holy Spirit. Asking for and relying on His guidance is essential to following Christ.

Waiting

 As I write this, it is Holy Saturday, the Easter Vigil.  I wonder, what must Jesus’ disciples have been feeling after he died?  Not just the Twelve, all his followers: the women (who funded his movement), the Pharisees like Nicademas and Joseph of Arimathea, and Lazarus and Bartimeus and Zaccheus and the others he healed and raised and forgave.  Acts 1 says there were 120 disciples in the Upper Room (where they ate the Last Supper) just before Pentecost.  How many were there the day before he rose?  Many of the twelve were, but not all.  I suspect that it was not just “Doubting Thomas” who was absent on Easter Sunday.  Matthew has details in his Gospel that the others miss, implying he was not in that Upper Room, but out in the city.  Likely, Mary Magdalene and the others who were at the Cross and would go to his grave Easter morning were there in between, maybe many of the others too. 

It has always been easy for me to overlook this in-between time because I know the ending.  But all they knew was that Jesus was dead.  Peter, in particular, must have been devastated, having been the leader of the Twelve and the most insistent to Jesus that he would never desert him.  But they must have been reluctant to abandon all hope as they were still there on Easter.  

The Gospels show that Peter and the others did not know who Jesus was, probably until Pentecost. Oh, they knew they had found the Messiah.  They just didn’t know what that meant.  Before going to raise Lazarus, they ask if it is wise to go to Jerusalem when the priests were just trying to kill Jesus.  Thomas says something so brave and misguided: “Let us go, so that we may die with him.”  At the Last Supper, they were arguing which of them would sit at Jesus’ left and right.  I suspect that Peter was probably secretly thrilled when Judas betrayed Jesus, thinking, “Now, at last, the fight comes!  I am ready to die with you, my Lord!”  And he picked up his sword (a long dagger, in the Greek) and cut off poor Malchus’ ear.  It is only Peter who is mentioned committing violence, but I suspect the others were ready to follow, even if they only had two daggers for the twelve of them (Luke 22:38).

However, Jesus stopped Peter in his tracks.  “Peter, put up your sword.”  I am not here for this. Did you not hear what I said at Supper?  “A new commandment I give to you: that you love one another—just as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples—if you have love for one another (John 13:34-35).”  No, Peter was not listening.  His bewilderment was just beginning.  He followed the mob and snuck into the High Priest’s courtyard to hear what would happen.  And there, Jesus’ terrible prophecy about him came true.  Three times denied.  When the cock crowed the second time, Jesus looked intently at him and Peter broke down, realizing what he had done (Luke 23:61).  Peter and the others imagined themselves fighting and defeating the Romans and sitting at King Jesus’ side, or at worst, dying in the attempt, glorious and heroic.  But surrendering without a fight and nailed to a cross like common criminals?  Surely the Messiah was meant for a different fate!

Just before his ascension, they asked yet again if Jesus would finally establish his kingdom.  That is, will you now lead a revolution and destroy the Romans?  No, Peter.  That is not why I came.  You really do not know me yet.  It was only after receiving the Holy Spirit at Pentecost that Peter gives his first sermon.  And he nails it.  (No pun intended.)

But that time in between, did they know He would rise?  With Him dead, it had to dawn on them that they did not know who or what the Messiah was.  That realization must have been devastating.  Was there any hope at all?  Lazarus was there, a living reminder of the hope we all have.  Did they remember Jesus’ promise?  The darkness that Saturday, not knowing if the new day would ever dawn, must have felt like an eternity.  When you know how long the trial will last, when you know the reason why, you can endure most anything.  But there is a Peace that is even better than understanding these things, a Peace that comes only from trusting in Him.  His Kingdom come, His Will be done.  

So I ask myself, do I know Jesus?  Do I truly understand why He came?  What He did on that Cross, why He did it, and what it means?  Do I trust in Him, in His Plan for my life?  Be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect, He commanded in the Sermon on the Mount.  Be merciful, as our Heavenly Father is merciful, He commanded in the Sermon on the Plains.  Love one another as I have loved you, He commanded at the Last Supper.  

Today Jesus’ kingdom is one of paradox: it is and is yet to come at the same time.  We are waiting too, in between, like Peter, Lazarus and Mary were.  Jesus promised he would come again, and that when He returns, He will come and establish his Kingdom.  In a few years, we will be exactly 2000 years to the day since he was crucified, died and rose, but for God “a day is like a thousand years”.  Are you hoping for His return?  Or, like Peter and Thomas and the rest, do you not quite believe it is possible?  How long will the wait be?  The dawn is coming, but it is darkest just before the dawn.

For God, King and Country

 The Kingdom of Israel, through the divided kingdom and down to the conquering of each by Assyria and Babylon respectively, Israel had a separation of Church and State.  The High Priest handled the one side, the King the other.  The King never presumed to speak for God but continually is shown going to the Priest or the Prophet(s) to determine what God’s Will was.  

If the English did not begin the expression “For God, King and Country”, they certainly perfected it.  With an Empire that spanned the globe and covered a quarter of the world’s people at its height, when Henry VIII became head of the Church of England, this was the first fusing of spiritual and temporal power into one person in Judeo-Christian history.  

James I is credited with being the first monarch in any country to assert Divine Right of Kings. He became King of Great Britain in 1603.  His son Charles I lost his head over it, but his grandson, Charles II reasserted it.  If it is not obvious, DROK means that God anointed this person to rule us all by His Authority, and whatever the King says is the Will of God.

DROK fell out of favor when it became apparent that “power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts, absolutely” (Lord Acton 1887).  This was as true for King Saul and the rest as it was for European kings 2500 years later.  The pendulum swung from DROK to Democracy (“the worst form of government, except for all the others” - Winston Churchill) and then to Socialism and Fascism, which, as practiced by the Germans, Soviets and China, looks a lot like DROK but without pretending that God was directing national policy. These fear-based governments say that some of us have the right temperament to free us from the dangers of “those other people” (Communists, Fascists, dog-eaters, as the case may be).  

Today, we believe that a Democratic nation can find the right path, if we all know the issues, vote, and care about the future of our children.  A careful reading of American history shows that has been…elusive.  But more on that in another post.

One of the great struggles I have today is watching criminals get away with so much in the name of Freedom and Democracy.  I used to believe that most people long for Justice.  Unfortunately, it is human nature to want to control others.  How do I know?  Because somewhere in the dark recesses of my soul, I hope I can convince you I am right.  To be fair, I hope I can convince you that God is right.  But that’s where it gets tricky.  As Matthew 4:6 shows, even Satan can quote the Bible, so how do I know I’m reading it right?  

I am convinced that we must take what the Bible says about itself seriously.  Matthew 22:37-40 says the Greatest Commandment is, essentially: Love God and love your neighbor.  On these two commandments rests the entire Bible.  If you are reading any passage that leads you to treat others in a way that is unloving, you are reading it wrong.  

Our duty as Christians, as I read it in the Bible, is to obey the government, provided that the government does not command something contrary to God’s Law.  This applies whether we live in a democracy or totalitarian government.  “Seek Justice, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly with our God (Micah 6:8).”  Justice and Mercy should be opposite sides of the same coin.  Justice without Mercy is too hard.  Mercy without Justice is too soft.  The problem, as CS Lewis noted, is that we all want Justice for others and Mercy for ourselves.  That is where “walking humbly with our God” comes in.  “Do unto others…” “Take the log out of your own eye first.”  See Matthew 22:37-40 for further color. 

Forgiveness (the sequel)

 After last week’s post, a few people mentioned the problem of forgiveness.  CS Lewis put it this way: “Everyone thinks forgiveness is wonderful, until they have something to forgive.”  What do you do when someone hurts you so deeply that you find you cannot forgive them?  Or what do you do if you are the one who has hurt someone who simply will not forgive you?

First, I believe there is a difference between forgiveness and reconciliation.  Reconciliation requires both parties to want to put the past hurts behind them and heal the relationship.  Forgiveness sometimes needs to be one-way. It means to let go of the bitterness and decide not to seek revenge.

Reconciliation, in the Greek, is a boating term used to describe eliminating dangerous leaks between two ribs of the boat, making the ship water-tight.  It requires confession and apology, atonement and repentance.  That is, one must make a costly payment out of one’s own wealth (spiritual, physical or financial) to atone for the damage done.  And then we must change our behavior, go back to the Right Path, so that the other person knows we will not hurt them again.  It is the atonement that is the tricky part.  How do we pay someone back for murder, adultery, betrayal?  How can you make a payment on something that is beyond price?

Corrie Ten Boom described meeting a Nazi guard who had tortured her and her sister at Ravensbruck Concentration Camp.  Her sister died in the camp.  Corrie was released through an “accidental” clerical error (read: “miraculous” - this should never have happened).  Years later, she was speaking on the power of forgiveness and after her talk, the guard approached her and said he had become a Christian.  He believed he had God’s forgiveness and asked if she could forgive him.  She wrote afterward that she did not have any desire to.  This was a man who had been so cruel and vicious.  But in the moment between him asking and her responding, she prayed to God for help and found she was able to raise her arms, and the moment she touched him, forgiveness flowed through and overwhelmed them both.  

What about when the other person is not sorry for what they did?  We must still love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.  Note, Jesus does not command us to treat everyone as a friend.  This command does not give people license to hurt us.  It is giving up the hatred and bitterness, the desire for revenge.  It is remembering the grace and mercy we have been offered knowing we don’t deserve it.  Jesus, God in human form, became our atoning sacrifice so that we might be forgiven.  Thus, we forgive, but we are not told to forget.  God will forget our sins (I think that is figurative, not literal), but we can continue to be wary that this person we are commanded to love may not love us back.

Here is the amazing part.  If you let go of that hatred and forgive, even if the other person is not sorry, you will release the poison that has been coursing through your veins.  

If you cannot forgive someone, ask God to help you forgive.  Sometimes, as Lewis wrote, we must forgive someone 490 times for the same thing.  Be patient with yourself, and keep asking God for help.  And if you cannot get someone to forgive you, be persistent with your kindness, gentleness, humility and love.  

Forgiveness

 Forgiveness and reconciliation - In theory, this is the one thing I think the Catholic Church does better than any other denomination.  The priest takes confession and, ideally, encourages the penitent person to seek out the offended party and make amends.  In the Episcopal Church, where every week, we say a general confession of sin, a truly lovely 400-year-old prayer, followed by a general and total absolution from the minister.  We may or may not think about the words.  Personally, I can say I rarely consider a specific sin I need to confess to someone.  We are careful to ask for forgiveness before receiving communion, as is proper. But are we really asking for forgiveness?

That is the problem with the Book of Common Prayer in the Episcopal Church, or with any prayer that is written down.  It is possible to believe that by saying the printed prayer and receiving the general absolution, you have been forgiven your sins.  But you have not confessed to the person you offended, not offered an apology, not atoned for your mistake and made no change to your behavior (repented).  The BCP is a wonderful tool, if it is used correctly.

Just after the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus says, IF we forgive others, God will forgive us, but if we do not, God will NOT forgive us (Matt 6:14-15).  This makes our salvation seem conditional on works.  But Salvation by God’s Grace alone, through Faith.  I reconcile the two in that our willingness to forgive shows whether we appreciate the Grace that God has given.  To understand the price that Jesus paid on the Cross to pay the penalty that I owe and be unmoved by that is evidence that we do not know Him, and that He will say to us on Judgment Day, “Away from me, evildoer, I never knew you.”  

Do I make it a practice to go and find the person you’ve hurt and ask for forgiveness?  If someone hurts you, do I harbor resentment?  Seek revenge?  Or offer forgiveness?  The fourth option, letting it go, often is really harboring resentment.  Eventually resentment builds to where someone gets an outsized response to a minor infraction.  

In Luke 7, Jesus offered forgiveness to Simon the Leper even though Simon had not only shown no sign of remorse, but had continued to offend Him.  When the soldiers were nailing Him to the Cross, he begged God to forgive them.  If we claim to follow Jesus, this is the example he set.

Forgiveness, letting go of the anger and hurt in our own heart, can be one-sided.  Should the other party hold onto their bitterness, we owe them love, but not friendship.  That is, we must be aware of the fact that they may seek revenge on us.  Justice is good.  Revenge is bad, and it can be tempting to slip from one to the other.  But if we owe a debt, allowing someone to batter us repeatedly can easily go too far.  Jesus said to love our enemies, not to treat everyone like they are friends.  God will "forgive and forget". We only need to forgive.

My point is that many churches, including my own, talk about forgiveness but seem to brush over its practice, when it should be at the very heart of Faith.  I love the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant.  I have been forgiven a debt that I cannot possibly repay in a thousand lifetimes of servitude.  My debt has been completely wiped clean.  If I cannot turn around and offer a little grace to someone who has offended me, then this is what I can expect to hear (Matthew 18:21-45 is the whole parable):  “‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

Behold the Nail

 A brief interlude from my 95 Theses.  I came across this video earlier this week.  You're not going to believe THIS! (Neither did I until I looked it up!)

Here is the summary of that video.  Letters in Hebrew also are words.  The letters that form the word for the name of God, YHWH, are these:  Yod, Heh, Vav, Heh.  

Yod (י) is the tenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, symbolizing a hand, divine presence, humility, and the spark of creation.

Heh has three meanings: The first is “here is,” as in the verse, “Here is seed for you” (heh lachem zera).  The next is “to be disturbed,” as it states in Daniel, “And I Daniel was disturbed....(nih’yeisi).” And the third is “behold” as in “Behold, this is our G‑d...,” (hinei Elokeinu...) which refers to beholding a revelation. 

Vav, a "peg" on which the curtains of the tabernacle were hung.

Thus, YHWH in English letters, is “Behold the hand; Behold the tent stake”.

Of course, the word YHWH means “I AM”.  I stand by CS Lewis’ picture that God is both inside and outside of time, creating time itself in Genesis 1:1.  This does not change that.  But it does suggest rather strongly that God always intended to die on the Cross.  This was not Plan B or a response to things God didn’t see coming.  

Another way to look at this is to consider the Star of Bethlehem.  This video is a brief summary of what Rick Larson discovered when he searched for that.  Star of Bethlehem "8 Minute Star Vision Video"  In 30 words or less, Larson found that several constellations and planets did a “heavenly dance” that matches pretty precisely the rather extensive clues the Gospel of Matthew provides on what the Star was.  Whether or not Jesus was actually born when all that happened, we can state definitively that those stars “danced” just like Larson shows.  I suggest it would be strange if that did NOT announce the birth of Jesus.  

So not only did God make the stars announce his birth, he set them in motion to look that way from the moment of the Big Bang.  The picture that paints of the power and majesty of God staggers my imagination.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” 

A Man For All Seasons

 Let’s move on to the establishment of the Church of England, with my most sincere apologies to all my Episcopalian and Anglican friends reading this.  While it is never easy to have someone criticize something you love, hopefully you’ll hear the heart of love that is intended.  

Whatever follows, I must say that there has been much good done by the Church of England: putting the Bible into and having services in English so that we could pray from our hearts, providing us with an eloquent and Biblically based prayer book (which will be its own post soon enough), the writing of some of the greatest music in the history of the world, and perhaps its greatest triumph, seeing slavery abolished in every country and territory in the Empire, a feat that was then replicated by nearly every civilized nation in the world.  England has produced some of the greatest theologians in history, from Thomas Cranmer to Nicky Gumbel.  

The Church of England began so King Henry VIII could get a divorce.  Henry had been declared the Defender of the Faith on October 11, 1521 by Pope Leo X.  The title was conferred in recognition of Henry's book Defense of the Seven Sacraments, which defended the sacramental nature of marriage and the supremacy of the pope. This was also known as the "Henrician Affirmation" and was seen as an important opposition to the early stages of the Protestant Reformation, especially the ideas of Martin Luther (isn’t it ironic?  Don’t you think?).  

The Oscar-winning film, A Man For All Seasons, is an excellent portrayal of the founding of the Church of England.  As Henry broke from the Catholic Church (1530), Sir Thomas More resigned as Lord Chancellor rather than compromise his integrity.  More refused to take an oath recognizing the King as head of the Church leading to his arrest, imprisonment and interrogation.  More was convicted and executed only when a former acquaintance perjured himself.

The Church of England is so very close in liturgy and practice that it inherited many of the same weaknesses the Catholic Church has: the grand buildings that need to be kept up, the politics of its priests, bishops and its king, the corruption and scandal that so often come at the expense of the laity.

But more than perhaps any other nation, England has used “For God, King and Country” as an inspiration to countless wars and to the foundation of its Empire that encompassed one quarter of the earth.  And while England led the crusade against slavery, it is also responsible for the second-most Africans sold into slavery.  African slaves taken by each nation 1501-1866| Statista.  These two errors, I believe are what Revelation 13:10 may be referring to:  

“‘If anyone is to go into captivity,

    into captivity they will go.

If anyone kills with the sword,

    with the sword they will be killed.’ 

This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.”

The result of this bad foundation: as of 2024, only 12% of people in England attend church regularly (however that is up from 8% in 2018 Faith Survey | Christianity in the UK).  This survey from 2015 predicted that church attendance in 2025 would be 4%, so I might suggest that the Truth is winning out.  It seems that a large percentage of this regrowth may be from “Messy Church”, a movement that started in 2004 with one church and now has over 2800.  It is difficult to find statistics on how many attend Messy Church.  Numbers range from 40 to 400 per church.  One article indicated over half of attendees were previously not attending church.  If you make some reasonable estimates, that could mean over 100,000 people each week, just in England.  The average attendance in the Church of England each week is about 700,000.  

However, it is difficult for any institution, nation or organization to build on a faulty foundation.  With 52% of its population identifying “none” as their religion, maybe Messy Church is actually moving the foundation entirely - away from politics, corruption and scandal, keeping all the best of English faith - the theology, the inspirational music and worshipping from the heart, in community, but returning to the type of church found in the Acts of the Apostles, only now with crayons.

Five More Mistakes

 Another of Constantine’s big mistakes, theologically, was to make the Church a building.  We do it because that’s what we’ve done for centuries.  Yes, some churches are humble and plain.  But many are ornate and beautiful.  And yes, if you go to the Old Testament, you find the building of the Temple, twice, which was magnificent, by all accounts, one of the most beautiful of its age.  

But does God want us to worship him in a building?  Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:16 "Don't you yourselves know that you are God’s temple and that the Spirit of God lives in you?” That is the only book in the Bible where it explicitly says we are God’s Temple. However there are many suggestions that we are not meant to worship in an ornate cathedral:

• Three of Paul’s letters talk about being members of the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians, Ephesians and Colossians).  

• John 15 has the passage about abiding, specifically 15:4 “Abide in me, and I in you.” 

• Acts 2:46, “...breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts”.  

• Even in the OT, starting with the Exodus, the Israelites worshipped God in an elaborate tent, which continued for four hundred years after they conquered the Promised Land.

Obviously, God instructed the Jews to build the Temple, so I can’t say it wasn’t according to His Will.  I do see, however, that it was not the original plan.  The big building requires a staff to keep it up and a staff needs a leader.  The leader, by definition, tells everyone else what to do.  It did not take too much stretching to turn some of Paul’s writings into a system that elevated men and relegated women.  This also created a hierarchy, which became a tool for politics and oppression.  “You’re going to Hell unless you do X (give your money to us, go kill the Muslims, etc).”  From the Middle Ages to the present day, pastors of all denominations angle for higher positions, often at the expense of their flock.

Reason 1B, is wealth.  How can the Church have so much wealth when there is one person in the world who will die from starvation today, much less the 24,000+ who actually will?  (Yes that is a real number How Many People and Children Starve to Death Every Day.)  Over 3 million a year under 5 years old die of hunger.  James 2:16, “If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?”  

Second: despite 1B above, many churches, like mine, now are funded by endowments.  This is the opposite of living on faith.  It is not trusting God to provide.  

Third, the Church as a building negates the message that our very hearts are the place where He resides.  For far too much of my life, I have relegated God to Sunday Morning, content to leave Him in that building and go out into the “real world”, where Faith, Hope and Love often seem far less relevant, but actually matter far more.  

Furthermore, if God resides in my heart, He must also reside in the hearts of all believers.  And every person who does not know Him is still made in His Image and has the potential to have Him abide in them.  Shouldn’t that change how I treat them?  

You may be saying, “why go to church then?”  If so, maybe I overdid it with all this.  For me, church is a largely agreed-upon understanding of who God is and what it means to follow Jesus.  I am sure that without going to Church regularly, I would be lost in my sin.  Probably divorced.  Likely one or more of my kids would be in some kind of trouble, whether with the Law, substance abuse or some other bad track.  And I would not know Jesus as my Savior.  So yes, I think going to Church is important.  But maybe we are doing it wrong.  

Certainly worship is best done in communion with one another and with God.  Some talk about this using the Cross as a metaphor.  Too much emphasis on the “vertical” part makes one “so heavenly minded he’s of no earthly good”.  And too much emphasis on the “horizontal” without vertical and we tend to forget what it’s all about. 

Yay Persecution!

 I wrote last week that one of the great gifts Constantine gave Christians was for believers to no longer fear for their lives because of their faith.  While that allowed Christianity to flourish around the world faster and farther than it had before, and I think it is fair to say that while most Christians truly believed and followed Jesus, the political machine that was built quickly became something else.  But this freedom to worship did come with a cost for everyday believers.

In Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, Kenneth Bailey relates that, when Communism fell in the Soviet republics and Christianity became legal again, the Church had a gating question to new priests: “When were you baptized?”  If it was before the fall of the USSR, they were immediately acceptable.  If it was after, there was a much longer process.  The theory was, if they were willing to risk their lives for their faith, no other questions needed to be asked.  

I’m sure we all know the origin of the “Jesus Fish”, the secret code that helped believers recognize one another.  One person would draw one arc ( and the other would draw the second, ) and between the two, you had a fish.  Anyone not knowing the “secret handshake” was dangerous.  Revealing one’s faith could result in imprisonment and death, as Peter, Paul, James and countless others found.  

In America today, many Christians lament the “oppression” of the Church, as if the corruption, bigotry, sexual assault and myriads of other scandals that pervade it do not warrant some kind of pushback.  But Jesus said “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account (Matthew 5:11-12).”  Emphasis on “falsely”.  

That verse is followed by “rejoice and be glad”.  This is not to say we seek out pain.  Jesus did not revel in being nailed to the Cross.  Hebrews 12:2 says, “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  

Now, many Christians will say that we need to be bold for Christ and welcome persecution that comes.  However, almost without fail, Jesus and his followers shown spreading the Gospel, do so only to people there to hear a sermon.  The two exceptions to this are when Paul gets stoned and nearly dies (twice) because he did not respect the boundaries and expectations of his audience.

Jesus himself warned not to cast pearls before swine, that is, not to insist on spreading the Gospel where it was not welcome.  Paul has that vision in Acts where just after the Holy Spirit prevents him from going to Asia (Turkey), he is called to Macedonia.  The Holy Spirit prevented him from going to preach where he would not be effective.  He greatly desired to get to Spain.  He never did.  “Preach the Gospel always.  When necessary use words” is attributed to Francis of Assisi.  I like 1 Peter 3:15, always be ready to give a reason for the hope you have, but do so with gentleness and respect.  Being ready to give a reason, I believe, means acting in such a loving way that people stop and ask you, “Why are you doing this?”

Persecution, for many American Christians, is that dirty look or harsh word we get when we say “Merry Christmas” instead of “Happy Holidays”; that reprimand we get at work for saying a prayer, including Jesus’ name, in the company meeting, or the public school coach gets fired from his job when he huddles his team up for a prayer.  

So first of all, I think American Christians have no idea what being persecuted for our faith really looks like.  If you want to be persecuted for being bold for Christ, go preach in China.  Second of all, when a coach does get fired, this is not a time to whine and complain that we ought to be a Christian Nation. It is a time to rejoice (see Matt 5:11-12 above).  And third, I suspect that forcing our beliefs on someone without being in a loving relationship with that person is antithetical to what Jesus’ teaching.  1 Corinthians 13:1-3 would seem to agree:  

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to the flames that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.”

The word "ichthys", fish in Greek, was an acronym for Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior. One thing that may be lost in today's world of buying magnetic Jesus Fish is that the symbol itself, the original secret handshake, required two people coming together in community to complete Jesus' name. I know I can do better finding ways to share my faith with my friends who need it. In love. With gentleness and respect.