fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted;

Jude is an aggressive little letter. Basically it says there is a real struggle between those who are devoted to Christ because he is their hope, and those who are "devoted to Christ" for unhealthy reasons.

When I was in seminary I remember a young pastor being taunted at a pastors' breakfast on a Monday morning. He had asked one of the middle aged men (they seemed old to me back then) why they were teaching from a modern book instead of scripture. The laughed at him for 'just preachin' the Word' saying: "you'll grow out of it." That freaked me out.

They were spiritual leaders who had no real hope. Their preaching was sentimental stuff meant to sooth the pain of life with distraction. They didn't have anything better to offer. But why did they bother offering anything? Because that had professional credentials to be pastors, not chiropractors.

Jude warns that this is the constant struggle in the community of faith. We start with good intentions, but honestly, there are waves of challenges and confusion that come along and not everyone comes through them in good shape. For some the disappointment is quite devastating and they openly deny the faith. For many more, the satisfaction of the faith is found to be insufficient and they find a way to use the community of faith to feed their other appetites. Some of those appetites are really weird and wrong; those are the kind that we end up reading about in preachers who have 'fallen'.

Whether things get to the level of sensual obsession that makes people read (while screwing up their faces in contempt as if they didn't want to know these things), the common problem is people drifting into functional unbelief. Verbally faith is still touted, at times even louder than before. It ceases to matter whether it is true or not. Faith is just something the community talks about. Satisfaction is something you have to find on your own. That's seems to be the thinking.

The imagery in Jude is quite flamboyant, but one phrase stood out to me: fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted… This is the opposite of the Psalm 1 man. This is what John the Baptist railed against in Matthew 3, the teachers of the Law being in danger of being hacked down for being useless. It is a picture of religious ambition as a means to status and sensual satisfaction. It is a real temptation.

What brought me to Jude this morning was a quote in a book referring to verse 22. How do people go from enthusiastic belief that trusting the unseen God is the hope of real satisfaction to the hypocrisy of using the faith community for access to short term gratification? People have doubts. How we deal with those doubts can make all the difference.

Jude 1:1-25 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: (2) May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

(3) Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. (4) For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

(5) Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. (6) And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day-- (7) just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. (8) Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones.

(9) But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you." (10) But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively.

(11) Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error and perished in Korah's rebellion. (12) These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted;

(13) wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.

(14) It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, (15) to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him." (16) These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.

(17) But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. (18) They said to you, "In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions." (19) It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.

(20) But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, (21) keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. (22)

And have mercy on those who doubt; (23) save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

(24) Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, (25) to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

Homeless feelings…

A friend gave me John Ortberg's book Faith & Doubt this Sunday. The premise is that most people have a mix of faith and doubt about their beliefs. One of the chapters deals with the experience of desiring 'home' but finding the dynamic in this world inadequate. The limited joys of home we have are saddened by the passing of years and circumstances such that we frequently have a homesickness that seems much deeper than just sorting out which house is the one we most identify with. The question is more about ultimate purpose and meaning. Are we accidents of nature or children made in God's image called to love?

"Are we homesick because we have no home or because we are away from home?"

Hebrews 11:13-16 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. (14) For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. (15) If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. (16) But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

 

Trusting Jesus

What does Jesus say about reality that we should trust? Essentially he says that God is in charge here and now, and that we should live accordingly {1}. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says the blessed life is different than we typically might think {2}. It involves some counter-intuitive choices. Instead of self preservation the way he promotes is be willing to suffer personal loss in lesser matters in order to experience deep personal gain in the most important matters. By trusting that our life only works when it is rooted in God, we can have deep contentment and confidence, and we can survive the inevitable challenges of our mortal lives {4}.

So what do we invite people to do? Do we invite them to trust in our religious formula for being forgiven? Or do we really invite people, by what we say and by how we live, that God really is in charge, right here; right now. The ultimate demonstration of Jesus' trust in the reliability of the Heavenly Father was in his willingness to suffer death at the hands of those who said his trust in God was unfounded. They mocked his perception of reality and put him to the test in a way that was obvious even to criminals being executed around him. "If he really is 'the son of God' let's see his trust pay off now!"

The resurrection was the demonstration that Jesus' trust in the presence and sufficiency of God was valid. There is more to his death and resurrection, but certainly not less than this. And it is quite a thing to say and do: to lay down one's life before God in full confidence.

{1} (Matthew 4:17) From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

repent=rethink thoroughly

kingdom of heaven=God in charge

at hand=here and now

{2} Matthew 5:1-11 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. (2) And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: (3)"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.(4)"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.(5)"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.(6)"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.(7)"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.(8)"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.(9)"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.(10)"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.(11)"Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

{3} Matthew 5:43-48"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'(44)But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,(45)so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.(46)For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?(47)And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?(48)You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

{4} Matthew 7:24-27"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.(25)And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.(26)And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.(27)And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."

MY world

I've been trying to straighten out my world. It gets stressful. I find it difficult to be an expert in cosmology, economics, politics, history and so on. But how else can I live in MY world unless I understand it all?

If a solution is not forthcoming to a problem, maybe the problem is with the problem. Maybe I am trying to answer the wrong questions. What do I do with MY world? The starting point isn't to understand and master it all, the starting point is to realize that I don't have a world. I have a body, mind and spirit, and that's it. My Soul (all of me) is not a world and does not have a world. I live in a world. The world I live in is not my own. I don't need to know how to justify and explain everything that is, I need to know how to be me in this world that is not my own.

God created me and I live in his greater creation. My life is about living wisely in HIS world by knowing Him and choosing how to live wisely in His world.

Psalms 24:1-2 The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, (2) for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.

turn and walk forward

to African friend: "What's the deal with Africa? Noth/South Axis, colonialism, bad luck, a curse…?"

"Nope" said African friend, "in Africa the back is to the future. Problems always seem to be a surprise from mysterious places."

A future worth facing, a hope, changes everything.

not shaped by:

a fear of spirits (what if I don't factor them right?),

or a fear of economics (what if I don't factor them right?),

but are centered on a fear of the LORD (what if I don't factor Him right?)

then there is a promise of a hopeful future. Right will be made complete. Today is a day to look toward the future with hope.

Proverbs 23:15-18

My son, if your heart is wise, my heart too will be glad

My inmost being will exult when your lips speak what is right

Let not your heart envy sinners,

but continue in the fear of the LORD all the day.

Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.

My soul

Proverbs 19:8 Whoever gets sense loves his own soul;

he who keeps understanding will discover good.

I had a chat with a relaxed atheist the other day. He essentially believes that life has no ultimate meaning and we should just try and enjoy our days while we have them. He did concede that if there is only the physical universe, and we are products of it, then free will is an illusion. That was refreshing to have that understood.

But the idea that I can actually choose to act willfully, and that I should be responsible for doing anything kind or cruel as if there is a 'me' that is more than just stuff in motion is too essential. I just know that I really do act willfully, and do act willfully, instead of to play things out necessarily, implies that there is something acting on the physical self. What is that? Whatever it is, it is the most meaningful part of me and I should not neglect it or take it for granted. I should be grateful and intentional.

Proverbs 19:8 Whoever gets sense loves his own soul; he who keeps understanding will discover good.

Wisdom foolishness wisdom

Proverbs 9:1-6 Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn her seven pillars. (2) She has slaughtered her beasts; she has mixed her wine; she has also set her table. (3) She has sent out her young women to call from the highest places in the town, (4) "Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!" To him who lacks sense she says, (5) "Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. (6) Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight."

1 Corinthians 1:21-25 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. (22) For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, (23) but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, (24) but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. (25) For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

The FUN of Folly:short term pleasures and the mystery of misery

Proverbs 9:13-18 The woman Folly is loud; she is seductive and knows nothing. She sits at the door of her house; she takes a seat on the highest places of the town, calling to those who pass by, who are going straight on their way,

"Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!"
And to him who lacks sense she says,
"Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant."
But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

Short term pleasure works when the boundaries of reality are artificially set. By putting bookends to an event one can try and focus on the pleasure of indulgence independently of the consequences. What happens with the negative results of short term pleasure?
A common strategy of those of us who are too often 'simple' is to be confounded at the unfairness of life and the mysteries of misery.
But the truly simple don't waste time pondering the puzzles of anti-pleasure. They just push ahead for the next rush. "yeahhhhhhhhh.... sweet".

photo 1: http://neilbeynon.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/amy-winehouse.jpg
photo 2: http://mockery.deviantart.com/art/Mary-Mary-Quiet-Contrary-71387854

Creation-good: The delight of Wisdom in the children of man

Proverbs 8:22-31 "The LORD possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. (23) Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. (24) When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. (25) Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth, (26) before he had made the earth with its fields, or the first of the dust of the world. (27) When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, (28) when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep, (29) when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, (30) then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, (31) rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man.

There is good. A father loves his children; delights in them living out their lives. Likewise God delighted in Wisdom, working alongside in relationship of delight and diligence. The goodness I experience in seeing my kids work and exercise wisdom has a Source. The wise thing to do is to honor that Source; loving, delighting, rejoicing in God my creator.