Perspective: Priority One

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Comments are always welcomed.

Priority One

And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13:13 (NRSV)

When it's all said and done

No one remembers

How far we have run

The only thing that matters

Is how we have loved

From "Blink" by Revive

One day, a religious scholar asks Jesus, "Which commandment is the first of all?"  Scholars like him have counted 613 commandments in the Torah, the books of the Jewish Law, and he wants to know which commandment Jesus thinks is most important.  Jesus answers, "The first is, 'Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.'"¹

Jesus then says, "The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'²  There is no other commandment greater than these."

What strikes me about this story is the fact that, though the scholar only asks Jesus for the most important commandment in the Law, Jesus responds with the most important commandment and the second most important commandment.  Why doesn't Jesus simply give the scholar the information he requested?

I think that maybe Jesus responds with two commandments instead of one because He has to respond with two.  In fact, I'm not so certain that these commandments are necessarily two distinct commandments.  Maybe these two commandments are inextricably linked: maybe a person cannot obey the most important commandment without obeying the second.  In a letter to the early Church, St. John writes, "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.  The commandment we have from Him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also."³

The religious scholar likes Jesus' answer.  He says that obeying these two commandments is "much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."  In Jesus' day and time, people worshiped God by sacrificing livestock at the temple in Jerusalem.  Jesus replies, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."⁴

I recently read part of The Last Week by Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan.  In this book, the authors make a very interesting statement: "God has repeatedly said, 'I reject your worship because of your lack of justice,' but never, ever, ever, 'I reject your justice because of your lack of worship.'"⁵  In this case, justice does not mean ensuring that criminals get what they deserve but rather ensuring that all people are treated as God wants them to be treated.  Borg and Crossan offer a number of examples from the Jewish prophets.

Consider this example:

I hate, I despise your festivals,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
Even though you offer Me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals
I will not look upon.
Take away from Me the noise of your songs;
I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.⁶

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, "When you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift."⁷  Jesus put a higher priority on reconciliation between people who are estranged from each other than on acts of worship.

Nowadays, Christians don't typically worship God by sacrificing livestock; instead, we go to church weekly, pray, study the Bible, and give a portion of our income to the church or to charity.  These actions might be called works of piety.  Such works are important, but if they don't cause us to become more loving toward our neighbors - those who live next door and those who live on the other side of the world - those we like and those we dislike - then maybe our works of piety are all completely worthless.

St. Augustine once posed the question, "What then do I love when I love my God?"  The Bible tells us that humanity was created "in the image of God."⁸  Though we are not able to see God, we are able to see the seven billion people in this world who bear God's image.  When we love God, we love those who are created in the image of God, be they friends or foes.  Brian Zahnd explains it thusly: "The biblical test case for love of God... is love of neighbor...  But the biblical test case for love of neighbor is love of enemy."⁹

One cannot love God without loving other people.  If a person doesn't love, then it doesn't matter how religious, spiritual, pious, or devoted he or she is.  Religion that does not help people to become more loving is utterly worthless.  St. Paul said that, at the end of the day, it all comes down to faith, hope, and love but that the most important of these is love.

Love is our priority one.


Notes:

1. Jesus is quoting Deuteronomy 6:4-5.
2. Jesus is quoting Leviticus 19:18.
3. 1 John 4:20-21 (NRSV)
4. This exchange between the religious scholar and Jesus can be found at Mark 12:28-34 (NRSV).  Alternate versions of the story can be found at Matthew 22:34-40 and Luke 10:25-37.
5. Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan.  The Last Week: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus's Final Days in Jerusalem.  2006, HarperOne.  p. 44
6. Amos 5:21-24 (NRSV).  Borg and Crossan's other examples are Hosea 6:6, Micah 6:6-8, Isaiah 1:11-17.  pp. 44-45
7. Matthew 5:23-24 (NRSV)
8. Genesis 1:26-27
9. Brian Zahnd.  "Going with the Grain of Love."  Word of Life Church Podcast, 03/28/2014.

The photograph featured in this perspective was taken by Willy Horsch and is used under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.  The photographer is in no way affiliated with this blog.

Perspective: A Tempted Church

My charity: water campaign will be open until the end of June.  If you are interested in contributing to this cause, please check out this link:
Clean Water for Tony's Dirty Thirty.

I share these thoughts hoping they are of help to someone else.

Comments are always welcomed.

A Tempted Church

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.

Hebrews 4:15 (NRSV)

You were as I

Tempted and tried

Human

From "Lead Me to the Cross" by Brooke Frasier

Just before Jesus started His ministry as a traveling teacher and healer, He spent many days by himself, fasting in the wilderness.  The devil showed up and tried to bring Him down.  Three times Jesus was tempted, and three times Jesus fought back against temptation.¹  As I recently read this story, I noticed certain phrases in what the devil says to Jesus that highlight certain problems that plague the Church today.  The Church is called to carry on the ministry Jesus started two thousand years ago, so maybe the temptations Jesus faced are some of the same temptations the Church needs to beware.


Since you are...

Jesus has been fasting and wandering the wilderness for many days, so naturally He's very hungry.  The devil shows up and says to Him, "Since You are God’s Son, command this stone to become a loaf of bread."

Is there anything sinful about being hungry?  Of course not.  Is there anything sinful about a person preparing food for himself when he is hungry?  Again, no.  God created us to need food; God created food for us to eat; and God gave us the ability to prepare food for ourselves.  I don't think that this temptation actually has anything to do with food.

Notice that the devil starts his suggestion by saying, "Since You are God's Son..."  Jesus, because He is the Son of God, has a certain power and authority that the rest of us human beings don't have.  Apparently, He has an authority over matter that would allow Him to miraculously transform stone into bread.  The devil is basically saying, "Since You have this ability, why don't You use it to Your advantage?"  I think that this temptation is less about food and more about the misuse of one's position of power for personal gain.

Positions of church leadership, like all positions of authority, can be exploited for personal gain.  For example, according to recent news reports, certain megachurch pastors have used their churches' funds to push the books they authored onto bestseller lists.²  Though it's only logical that someone is more likely to read their books if they are on the New York Times Bestseller List, I cannot help but wonder if, beneath their desire to reach people, there might be a lust for fame.³

Jesus responds to the devil, saying, "It's written, People won't live only by bread."  Jesus is quoting from a part of the Hebrew Scriptures called the Book of Deuteronomy.  In this book, the ancient Israelites have come to the end of their long journey from Egypt and are heading into the land God promised their ancestors.  The Israelites are reminded of their call to be God's representatives in the world by following the Law that God gave them and are reminded of God's provision for them as they traveled through the wilderness.⁴

Jesus, during His own time in the wilderness, remembers that He "didn't come to be served but rather to serve."⁵  An early Christian hymn reminds us that Jesus "did not consider being equal with God something to exploit" but that "He emptied Himself by taking the form of a slave."⁶  If you read the Gospels, you will see that Jesus will indeed put His authority over matter to use.  He will even transform a sack lunch into a feast for thousands of people.  Jesus will perform a number of miracles throughout His ministry, but He will not perform miracles for His own benefit.  He will only perform miracles to serve other people, for He is ever mindful that He has been called to be a servant to the people He came to save.

Likewise, the Church must remember it's calling to serve the world by participating in God's redeeming work.


Worship me

The devil then tries to strike up a Faustian deal with Jesus.  He shows Jesus the kingdoms of the world and says, "I will give You this whole domain and the glory of all these kingdoms.  It's been entrusted to me and I can give it to anyone I want.  Therefore, if You will worship me, it will all be Yours."

The Church has been called to be a light to the world, but, unfortunately, the Church has a long history of getting distracted.  Sometimes Christians take their eyes off of the Triune God and seek after what I like to call "the unholy trinity," namely money, power, and fame.  Ironically, work in the church can actually be a means to obtain these things - just ask Steven Furtick, Mark Driscoll, Joel Osteen, or any other celebrity megachurch pastor.

Jesus responds with another quote from Deuteronomy, "It's written, You will worship the Lord your God and serve only Him."⁷  Though I call money, power, and fame "unholy," they are not actually unholy in and of themselves.  In fact, they can all be used to accomplish good things.  They become problematic when they cease to be mere tools and become gods.  Later on, Jesus will say, "No one can serve two masters.  Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be loyal to the one and have contempt for the other.  You cannot serve God and wealth."⁸  Though Jesus only mentions wealth here, I think His words apply to power, fame, or any other "idol" as well.

Evangelist and theologian John Wesley offered three rules for living, the third of which is to "[attend] upon all the ordinances of God."  Rueben Job rephrases this rule in an interesting way: "Stay in love with God."⁹  For two people to stay in love with each other, they must spend quality time together.  Likewise, to stay in love with God, people must spend quality time with God.  The "ordinances of God" are ways to spend time with God.  Some of these ordinances are worship, studying scripture, Holy Communion, prayer, and fasting.¹⁰

When presented with the ambitions of the world, Jesus keeps His focus on God.  The Church must do the same.


It's written...

The devil then whisks Jesus away to the highest point of the temple in Jerusalem.  He says, "Since You are God's Son, throw Yourself down from here; for it's written: He will command His angels concerning you, to protect you and they will take you up in their hands so that you won't hit your foot on a stone."  The temple is a busy place, so, if Jesus took the devil's advice and jumped off the roof of the temple, many people would see Him.  If angels caught Him, as the devil said they would, then there would be no question that Jesus was indeed on a mission from God.

There are a number of temptations at work here - the temptation to be reckless, the temptation to demand a sign from God, and the temptation to draw attention to oneself, to name a few.  I have no doubt that these temptations are at work in the Church today, but there is another issue I want to address.  The devil notices Jesus' high regard for Scripture, so he tries to trip Jesus up by misusing a passage of Scripture.¹¹

In the past, people have misused Scripture to maintain the status quo and to secure places of privilege in society for certain people.  Scripture has been used to defend slavery, racial segregation, gender inequality, and an unnecessary antagonism toward the scientific community.  Today, some segments of Christianity are trying to use Scripture to counteract society's advancements in gender equality and force women back into "their place."  Just imagine what other ungodly things people are trying to use Scripture to defend today!

The fact that the devil quotes a passage of Scripture proves that it is possible to be knowledgeable about the Bible yet miss the plot entirely.  It has been said that "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing."

Beware the word biblical.  The claim that someone offers a biblical perspective on something - biblical marriage, biblical gender roles, biblical economics, biblical politics, biblical anything - should be a red flag to you.   Often, when Christians offer a "biblical" perspective on a subject, they approach the subject with their own agendas, biases, and preconceived notions.  Consciously or unconsciously, they seek out Scripture passages that seem to support their own beliefs on the matter and use these "proof texts" to pass off their own points of view as God's point of view, ignoring or downplaying any parts of Scripture that might seem to contradict their position.¹²

The devil's suggestion was "biblical": he had Scripture to back it up.

Jesus responds a third time, saying, "It's been said, Don't test the Lord your God."  The devil uses a passage of Scripture out of context in an attempt to pursuade Jesus to do something foolish, and Jesus responds with a third quote from Deuteronomy¹³ which would have called to mind a story in which daring God to act is strongly discouraged.¹⁴

The misuse of Scripture is at work in the Church today, so, to combat this problem, the people of the Church must arm themselves with a thorough knowledge of the Bible coupled with critical thinking skills.  St. Paul writes, "Examine everything carefully and hang on to what is good."¹⁵  The study of Scripture is essential to the life of the Church; however, tradition, reason, and experience are vital tools for studying the Bible.¹⁶  It is also important that, when we study the Scriptures, we keep the bigger picture in mind: the Bible is a story of a loving God's work of redemption in the world.¹⁷  That said, if a passage of Scripture is used in a way that is not loving or in a way that is not redemptive, then that passage needs to be re-examined.

Not only does Jesus know Scripture, He also understands it.  The Church must also strive for knowledge and understanding, and the Church must use Scripture responsibly.

---

If you accused me of being critical of the Church, I would have to admit that you were right.  Please realize that, though I am critical of the Church, I am critical from the inside.  I love the Church, and I want to see the Church do amazing things in the world.  It has been said, "The Church is a whore, but she is our mother."¹⁸  As the Church, we miss the mark repeatedly.  We take our sight of off God and pursue "idols," and we misuse and abuse what God has entrusted to us.  Still, it is through the Church that we learn to love God and learn to love each other.  Though we stray repeatedly, God repeatedly calls us back so that we may be the light God has called us to be.


Notes:

1. In this perspective, I will examine the story of Jesus' temptation in the wilderness as told in Luke 4:1-13.  Quotations from this story are taken from the Common English Bible (CEB) unless otherwise noted.
2. Jeff Bercovici.  "Firm That Helps Authors Buy Their Way Onto Bestseller Lists Goes Into Stealth Mode."  Forbes, 04/18/2014.
3. Not that I would personally know anything about the desire for recognition or popularity.
4. See Deuteronomy 8:1-10.  Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy 8:3.
5. Mark 10:45 (CEB)
6. Philippians 2:6-7 (CEB)
7. Deuteronomy 6:13
8. Matthew 6:24 (CEB)
9. Rueben Job.  Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living.  2007, Abingdon Press. p. 51
10. Rueben Job, p. 53
11. The devil quotes Psalm 91:11-12.
12. Rachel Held Evans.  A Year of Biblical Womanhood.  2012, Thomas Nelson.  introduction
13. Deuteronomy 6:16
14. Exodus 17:1-7
15. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 (CEB)
16. Wikipedia: Wesleyan Quadrilateral
17. See the article "How Can the Bible Be Authoritative" by N.T. Wright.
18. This quote is often attributed to St. Augustine; however, this attribution is disputed.

The Temptation of Christ was painted by Simon Bening in the 16th century.