Longing for things to be made right

For the past month, I've found myself saying these words more and more often.

It's been 285 days since we've had measurable snowfall in Chicago. It's not right.

It's getting harder and harder to find foods in the form in which God made them. It's not right.

Two of my good friends are struggling under the weight of chronic illness which, among other sadnesses, compromises their ability to care for their children.  It's not right.

A little boy, less than six months old, has a near brush with death because of a brain tumor. It's not right.

Twenty children die in an elementary school shooting. It's not right.

The world is broken. Creation is unraveling. Things are not the way they are supposed to be.

Repay evil with evil or overcome evil with good? Seek vengeance or forgiveness? Doubt everything and everyone or trust? Come to terms with what is or seek change? Preserve and protect or let go? Save or give? Despair or hope? These are the tensions that we live into every day. Since the dawn of time, human hearts have been conflicted.

Recently, my kids are getting to the age when they're asking the perennial questions of evil. "God can control the weather, so why doesn't He stop hurricanes? Why doesn't God wipe out the mosquitoes that cause malaria? Ordinary mosquitoes are bad enough! Why do we have to get the flu? Why do people shoot each other?" Different clothes on the same question body... "Why are things so broken?" It's not right.

And my heart aches... because it's true. Things are so broken. The world is not the way it's supposed to be. It's not right.

Just by speaking, God made everything! In the beginning, everything was good. Adam and Eve were happy to be made in God's own image. God was glad, because when He looked at His world, He saw that everything was right... Adam and Eve trusted God's strong and powerful words.

Satan crept into the garden, looking like a snake. Satan hated God. Satan wanted to BE God and would do whatever it took to turn God's people away from God. And so he asked questions... about God's goodness, about God's word, and about God's good rule. Adam and Eve had a very important choice. They could choose to listen to the strong and powerful words of their good King, or they could listen to Satan. Adam and Eve were very confused... was God good? Did He want their best? What would it be like to rule over themselves? And so they took the fruit...

What an incredibly sad day... Their relationship with their good King had been broken. Adam and Eve blamed each other and grew distant. Because of their sin, all of creation began to unravel... sickness... sadness... pain... death. The world that had been right and good was now broken and terribly wrong.

Disease, hunger, violence, pain, arguments, war, fear, hate... it's not right.

But on this incredibly sad day, God also had good news. God promised that one day, He would send Someone who would come and crush Satan and break his power over God's people.

As we remember Advent, we remember the fulfillment of that promise.  A light shines into the darkness and the darkness has not, cannot, and will not overcome it. There is peace again between God's people. And our relationship with our good King has been restored.

But even in the midst of these promises that have already been fulfilled. We know that there's still more to come.

One day, all of creation will be made right again. There will be no more sickness, no more sadness, no more pain, no more death. At His second Advent, there will once again be a special place where God dwells among His people... when we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He truly is. God Himself will be our King and will live among us and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

And so even as we live in the midst of the already and await the not yet, we can proclaim that Christ is coming to make everything right... to make all things new... Christ IS overcoming pain and sadness and sickness and death... and we CAN hope, because Christ is coming back to make all things right!

Lord Jesus, I long for the world to be made right. Come, Lord Jesus, in your mercy.

Christ Hidden in the Unworthy, Part 2

In the aftermath of yesterday's election, I see us lamenting what we see as the sorting systems of political parties... deciding who's worthy and who's not worthy of tax dollars, protection, and initiatives (the elderly / unborn, the poor / the wealthy, the unemployed / corporations, the uninsured / health industry).  And I wonder if there is anything to be learned from Matthew 25.

We see a description of an event that will take place at the last judgment.  All the nations are being gathered before Christ, who has come in glory with all his angels.  As all nations are there before Him, Christ begins a sorting process of His own.

And so Jesus begins this process of putting some people on his right hand and putting the rest on his left.  When all the people are sorted and divided, he speaks to the people on each side and explains that they will be judged according to how they have treated the least of these… how they have sorted the people in their lives.  Those who fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, welcomed the stranger, clothed the naked, cared for the sick, and visited those in prison are the ones who will be called righteous and will inherit the kingdom.  Those who ignored the needs of the least will be cast away. 

The thing that is so telling about this picture is that neither the sheep nor the goats, the righteous nor the unrighteous, had any idea that Christ was involved in these actions or lack of these actions.  And so we get the idea that the sheep were living their lives in such a way that they were feeding, clothing, and visiting because they saw value in those activities that had nothing to do with gaining righteousness.  They didn’t do any of these things to please God, to gain recognition, or to raise their reputation. And they didn't rely on government programs to do these things for them.

Instead, they fed because people were hungry and they were unwilling to let people go hungry.  They clothed others because they were not OK with people having no clothing. They visited the forgotten because they were not content to let others be starved for affection.  And so we see these sheep feeding, clothing, and visiting in a very unself-conscious way… for no personal gain or reward.  These were people who lived according to the rule of compassion… the rule of love.  They were attentive to the people around them and were willing to take the time and give resources to see to the well-being of others. And they weren't willing to wait for a congress that would pass laws to make it happen.

And these sheep discovered that

Christ hides himself in the unworthy.

On the other hand, we see the goats being upset because if they had only known that Christ was somehow present in these people they probably would have done everything they could to minister to Christ.  Instead, they hadn’t seen any reason to give their time, attention, or resources to such lowly and unworthy people.  They had gone through their sorting process and had put the least of these into a category to be ignored.  They had decided who was worthy and who was not.  Rather than making these decisions according to compassion or love, they probably used a very different set of priorities. We accuse political parties of goat-like behavior... but in actuality, are we, as individuals, any less goat-ish than the party we oppose? 

What things do we find in our daily lives taking precedence over love and compassion? And who do we expect to do the loving and compassionate thing when we believe we are too busy or unwilling?

If Jesus suddenly became obviously clear in the presence of the people we’ve dismissed as not worth our time and energy, we would probably rush to serve him…

We can relate to the goats. We can imagine ourselves saying… “well, Jesus, if I had known that you were present in... I would have... If I had known… if only I had known…"

Christ hides himself in the unworthy.

I'm not suggesting that we don't ever concern ourselves with politics... and I'm not saying that all social problems would be solved if we would just be better neighbors (although I think it would help)... but I am wondering if part of our frustration with the failings of political systems might be better pointed at our own expectations that the government should somehow do what we, as followers of Christ, have been called to do.  I know there's a lot to argue with here... and I know I'm naive... and I have so much to learn.  Admittedly, I don't live in a neighborhood that has been prey to systemic injustice and so I haven't experienced, firsthand, the same need for systemic intervention... but I know the need is real. Historically, the biggest positive differences in this world have come through the love, sacrifice and courage of individuals and communities resisting systems long before a system ever shifted. And so I simply ask the question, "are we doing our part?' And I guess I'm being honest in saying that I have no hope that our government is going to do much good in the years to come.

Christ, Hidden in the Unworthy: Part 1

A few weeks ago, I flew to Richmond, VA for a meeting.  I flew out of O’Hare, through Charlotte, and into Richmond.  Along the way, I had plans.  I was going to do some study for an upcoming sermon, plan a lesson for my homeschool coop, do some journaling, and read part of a book that we’re reading together as pastors.  So as I was figuring out where to sit while waiting at the airport, I was sorting… because there are a few major groups of people who travel through airports.

There are the folks who are using their travel time to get things done and are not at all interested in interacting with anybody… and there are the folks who use their travel time as leisure time and are reading fiction, listening to music, or watching movies or tv shows on their ipads and phones and don’t want to be interrupted… and then there are the folks that want to talk.  They want to tell you all about why they’re traveling, where they’ve been, what they did or what they’re going to do, and they want to ask you all the same questions.

This last group is the group I was doing my best to avoid. I immediately spotted a few of them and strategically placed myself as far from them as I could in the waiting area.  And so when I got on the plane and found that the people I was seated next to on both flights were in one of the first two categories, I was relieved… thankful… and I got a lot done.

I had decided, without articulating or even recognizing my decision, that everyone in the airport and everyone I was flying with was not worth my time or my attention.  I was basically staying in my own little ‘bubble’ and hoping no one would intrude.  I was simply not paying attention to anyone but myself.

I wonder how many of us engage in sorting processes like I did.  I wonder how quickly we decide who is and who is not worthy of our time, attention, and resources.  Do we sort people based on their politics? Their efficiency and productivity – what they contribute to the world or to our life? How funny they are? Do we sort people who aren’t in the same life stage as we are? What kinds of categories do we have for our coworkers?  For neighbors on our street?  For family members?  What about when we encounter strangers? How do we decide who is worthy of our time and who isn’t?  And how quickly do we make those decisions?  And how do those sorting processes… those categories we set up… affect us and the world around us?  Do they affect Christ?

What are your thoughts?