Why Jesus? (4, conclusion)

By Chaplain Mike

I have found Will Willimon’s fine book, Why Jesus?, to be a perfect companion for my Epiphany meditations on Christ’s earthly ministry. Today, we’ll do one final post. Here are a few more of his vivid, memorable descriptions of our Savior.

On Jesus the Magician:
Maybe what we call “natural” is a perversion of what God intended and what we call “supernatural” is the way the world really is. Maybe the miracles, which to our eyes appear “supernatural,” are, to the eyes of God, the most “natural” thing in the world. Though Jesus was accused of turning the world upside down, maybe he was turning the world right side up. (WJ, 61)

On Jesus the Home Wrecker:
But “family values” is not Jesus’ thing. We know all about the prophet Mohammed’s kin; we know next to nothing about the family of Jesus. Though Mark says that Jesus had four brothers and several sisters, Jesus’ family plays a remarkably negligible role in his story. Jesus’ strange paternity made his birth an embarrassment for his would-be father, Joseph. Though Luke says that little Jesus “grew in wisdom and in years,” that does not seem to include the wisdom to cooperate with his parents. “You didn’t know that I would be about my Daddy’s business?” Jesus sassily asked Joseph and Mary when they reprimanded him for making them mad with worry by hanging out at the temple and arguing theology with the experts. Why, Jesus? Why focus on matters about which we couldn’t care less? And why assault those values—like home, parents, and family—that we consider so valuable? (WJ, 69)

On Jesus the Savior:
Just when I settle in and try to reduce Jesus’ love to me and my friends huddled in church, I hear him say to (us) the faithful, “The tax-collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you!” (WJ, 82)

On Jesus the Sovereign:
God’s great rescue operation for a fallen world is Jesus Christ. The great end of that venture is the kingdom of God, that time and place when God, at last, gets what God wants. Many want a better world, a closer, more heightened sense of God’s nearness and God’s rule, but it is one thing to anticipate such a time and place; it is quite another actually to look at this lowly Jew from Nazareth, the Servant, and believe that, in him, the kingdom has come here, now. (WJ, 89)

Transfiguration, Buoninsegna

Internet Monk’s founder, Michael Spencer, urged all of us to pursue a “Jesus-shaped spirituality.” What did he mean by that? Here is a key characteristic, according to Michael:

It is a spirituality that is consciously, exclusively and intentionally Jesus-centered. The center and the boundaries of Jesus shaped spirituality are Jesus himself, as revealed in scripture, especially in the Gospels.

In these days following Epiphany, I encourage us all to contemplate Jesus, not only the most fascinating man who ever lived, but God in the flesh, our Savior and Lord, the beginning and the end. Willimon’s book can be of great help, but the best window of all through which to look at Jesus is the Biblical Gospel as told by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. “You have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you think you’ll find eternal life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. These Scriptures are all about me!” (John 5:39-40, The Message)

May Jesus Christ be praised.

Ranting And Raving

Warning: I am going to rant. I am going to rant and rave and basically have a fit. If you want something more fun and entertaining, I suggest you check out these amusing Nancy and Sluggo covers. Otherwise, proceed at your own risk.

Passion for your house has consumed me, and the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me (Psalm 69:9 NLT).

I am, on the whole, a fairly easy person to get along with. I don’t get too worked up about things–or, at least, I try not to. But this week I’ve had it. I have had it with stuff I have been hearing and reading, and I just don’t care to be nice about it any more. This site has called people out since almost day one, and we have no intent on changing that. Michael Spencer wrote about Joel Osteen’s “gospel” in this manner:

As much as I would like to join those who say that Osteen is a simpleton who doesn’t know what he’s doing, a close examination will show that at every point where there is a choice between being part of the church or departing into heresy, Osteen sticks with the church where there is money to be had and departs from the church where there is a faith to be confessed. He could be called a heretic by some, even if he is a believer, and he communicates a purposefully false trivialization of the person and work of Jesus Christ in favor of a man-centered motivational message of self-improvement.

Again, as I’ve said before, every evangelical leader needs to personally and by name repudiate and separate from Osteen, and call upon him and his followers to come back into the faith that is articulated in the Apostle’s Creed.

Michael continued in a different post about Osteen,

Make no mistake about this: Osteen isn’t confused about Jesus like many of the prosperity preachers you hear on TBN. Osteen is intentionally avoiding irrtiating language about sin because he wants to keep it positive every week. He is not just avoiding mentioning Jesus, the cross and the Gospel just because he is seeker sensitive. Joel Osteen is preaching the no-Gospel, no-Jesus message because it’s filling the church with thousands of people who want to hear it. Osteen will ignore his critics because the common people are voting every week—in book sales, ratings numbers and attendance- for his message.

Continue reading “Ranting And Raving”

Why Jesus? (3)

By Chaplain Mike

As we discussed last week, we are in the time following Epiphany. These are days to contemplate the earthly ministry of Jesus.

Jesus said to Thomas and the other disciples (before the Cross): “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9) If you want to know what God is like, Jesus said, look at me. And we are to look not only at his “finished work” (death, resurrection, ascension, outpouring of the Spirit), but also at the words and works from the days of his earthly ministry. He came to reveal God to us (John 1:18), and during Epiphany, we focus on the vision of God’s glory that emanates from the days when Jesus walked in Galilee and Judea, preaching the Kingdom of heaven, reaching out with compassion and healing power to bring wholeness to people’s lives, and teaching and training his disciples.

Our guide this week has been William H. Willimon. His recent book, Why Jesus?, paints vivid word-pictures to help us appreciate how attractive yet disturbing and perplexing Jesus is. Last time, we discussed Jesus as Vagabond—a man constantly on the move; as Peacemaker—who provokes conflict, bears the brunt of suffering and thereby provides reconciliation; and as Storyteller—who weaves unforgettable yet cryptic tales that get under our skin and challenge our perceptions of God, life and what it’s all about.

Today, he points us to Jesus the Party Person, and Jesus the Preacher.

Continue reading “Why Jesus? (3)”

Why Jesus? (2)

By Chaplain Mike

Will Willimon’s excellent book, Why Jesus?, is an extended meditation on the person and work of Jesus Christ as revealed to us in the Gospels.

Taken together, allowed to speak with their delightful peculiarities, these earliest witnesses to Jesus give us a trustworthy, irreplaceable rendition of him, the most interesting person in the world. We must meet Jesus as presented by his first followers, or we meet him not at all. (WJ, xii)

The author invites us, as Jesus himself did, to “come and see — to take a contemplative journey along the dusty roads of Galilee and Judea with the One who came proclaiming God’s Kingdom and demonstrating its power by his words and actions.

Tonight, let’s consider him whom Willimon calls “Vagabond,” “Peacemaker,” and “Storyteller.”

Continue reading “Why Jesus? (2)”

Why Jesus? (1)

By Chaplain Mike

I’m eagerly diving into a new book by one of America’s great preachers, William Willimon. It’s called Why Jesus? I can’t wait to share with you my reflections as I read. For this morning, here his opening words, which contain enough for a full day’s contemplation:

Why Jesus? Because he is the most fascinating person in the world.

Into my life he came, unsought and uninvited, took over, and refused to go. He led me into dangerous territory. Only later did I learn this is typical. Though he is one with us, he is neither casually nor promptly known, not because he is arcane but because he is so very different from us, so difficult to categorize or to define, because he is also one with God. You can know him for many years, yet never really know him as well as he appears to know you. He manages to be unfathomable, deep, ungraspable, and yet oddly close, intimate, talkative, and relentlessly relational.

• Why Jesus?, ix

Happy Birthday To Our First Lady

Today is Denise Spencer’s birthday. All of us here at the iMonastery want to wish Denise the happiest of days. Not only is she a very good friend to each of us, she is a woman who listens to and follows the Lord in all she does. She sits at the feet of Jesus like Mary, and yet has a heart of service like Martha.

Denise, from all of us here at the Internet Monk, we wish you the happiest of birthdays. May God soak you today with his mercy and grace.

Liturgy Is Not a “Style”

By Chaplain Mike

I hope you will continue to put up with my ongoing journey into understanding the Lutheran way of practicing the Christian faith. In a comment the other day, someone asked if this is now a Lutheran site. Well, no. But since I’m walking on that path, what I’m learning is bound to show up here. I hope I can write about it in a way that is accessible to all my brothers and sisters, and that will help us all grow in our faith in the various places we find ourselves at the moment.

One of the big issues over the past generation in many church traditions has been termed, “The Worship Wars.” You will find plenty of posts in the Internet Monk archives reflecting on these skirmishes fought within the “free churches” of evangelicalism—the non-liturgical churches that do not follow an established order of worship (at least intentionally), that are non-sacramental, and which mainly grow out of the revivalist tradition which follows a pattern of: (1) Preparation, (2) Message, (3) Invitation.

Despite all the bluster, conflict, split churches, new movements, experiments with various methods, and the ongoing frustrations in many evangelical churches, nothing has really changed with regard to the fundamentals of what evangelicals think about worship. The “Worship Wars” have been about style, not substance.

Continue reading “Liturgy Is Not a “Style””

Baptism of Our Lord

The Baptism of Christ, Bening

By Chaplain Mike

Today’s Gospel: Matthew 3:13-17

with each step through jordan
the water parted wide
priests and ark stood on dry ground
where once was swelling tide
safe through its torrents we all passed
in canaan to abide

shamed and naked, in disgrace
our captors led us away
to settle us by exile streams
where foreign gods held sway
sadly, there we hung our harps
and could not sing or play

an odd prophet, desert worn
with thundering voice appeared
and stood again where waters flow
to call for all to hear
that we should take our place once more
in jordan’s midst with tears

and then there came a greater man
to pass through swelling tide
when waters broke a voice was heard
the heavens opened wide
and our new joshua arose
salvation to provide

iMonk Classic: Remembering the Stutterer

Classic iMonk Post
by Michael Spencer
From Jan 3, 2007

Note from CM: If you haven’t had a chance to see the film, “The King’s Speech,” I recommend it to you. It’s the story of England’s King George VI, who came to the throne in the critical days before WWII when his brother Edward abdicated to marry an American socialite. George (also known as “Bertie”) had a debilitating problem with stuttering, and was thought unworthy of the throne. The film tells the story of an unorthodox speech therapist who helped him fulfill his responsibilities of delivering public speeches at a pivotal point in the nation’s history.

In 2007, Michael Spencer wrote a poignant personal post on his own battle with speaking.

When I was a child and a teenager, I stuttered. For several years, quite badly. Those who know me will notice that I can still get into some stuttering patterns when I’m nervous or stressed, but for the most part, my stuttering left me around age 15 when I started preaching regularly.

There are different kinds of stuttering. Mine was a primarily a problem with certain hard sounds. Dad told me that he first noticed I couldn’t say “Alice,” but just froze up on the hard “a” sound. I’ve been avoiding those hard “A’s” ever since. Some of you could compose a sentence to torture me and put it in the comments if you like.

Continue reading “iMonk Classic: Remembering the Stutterer”

Saturday Ramblings 1.8.11

Well, the longest “season” of the year is just about to come to a close. Am I talking about the “holiday season” that seems to stretch from Halloween until Boxing Day? Nope. I’m referring to the college football bowl season. I think there are kids playing in Monday night’s ESPN Invitational Championship Game who weren’t even born when the bowl season kicked off. There is one state out of 50 that sent three teams to bowl games this year and all three came home a winner. What state do you think that is? While you are racking your brains for that answer, why not sit down in your favorite recliner and enjoy a championship helping of Saturday Ramblings.

You will want to keep checking back this week to see the new and improved Internet Monk web site. Joe Stallard is our behind-the-scenes web master who keeps things running. He spent his holidays redesigning our site, and it is almost ready to go. We think you will find it not only more up-to-date, but easier to spend hours and hours at a time reading and commenting. Should you or your business need a new web site, write to me and I will get you in touch with Joe. There is no better friend to the iMonastery, and he does great work as well.

John Piper makes his way back to the pulpit tomorrow after an eight-month voluntary leave-of-absence, but he found time to preach to 22,000 young people at the Passion conference in Atlanta this past week. I do make fun of having a weekly Piper quota here at the iMonk ranch (and this meets it), but I agree with much of what he says and writes. I totally agree with this. Do you think there are many who call themselves Christians who really want nothing to do with Christ?

Continue reading “Saturday Ramblings 1.8.11”