CRCM-UWO

“The Picture” by Son Volt

Hurricanes in December – earthquakes in the heartland
Bad air index on a flashing warning sign
Bound for trouble - the picture is dirty

We’ll know when we get there
If we’ll find mercy

Flotsam and Jetsam in charge of the agency
Where truth gets twisted in danger of dissolving
When war is profit and profit is war

We’ll know when we get there
If we’ll find mercy

Certified minds exacting a toll
Trying to fit a square block in a round hole
A heart of darkness facing 1000 bloodshot eyes

We’ll know when we get there
If we’ll find mercy

Stuff this week

• GCF: Wednesday @ 9am. We are going to start with an introduction to Hope in Troubled Times.
• Working in Faith: A Panel Discussion About Employment in the Faith-Based Sector. CANCELLED.
• Theology Reading Group: Thursday @ 2pm. We’ll discuss chapters 1 and 2 in Hope in Troubled Times.
• The Connection: Thursday @ 5.30pm.

Word of the Week

Matthew 21.23-32 (ESV)

And when [Jesus] entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, from where did it come From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.”

Those who approach the Bible with suspicion often read the New Testament Gospels and argue that since Jesus doesn’t tell everyone plainly that he’s the Messiah, the Son of God, that must mean he’s not. But of course, at this point in Matthew’s Gospel Jesus’ actions and words (in this chapter and the next) are all about one thing: Jesus’ identity as the Messiah, the Son of God.

It’s sort of like when the Joker is caught and is being interrogated in the Dark Knight (opening tonight at Western Film). They don’t come straight out and ask him: “Did you do it?” No, instead they barrage him with all sorts of questions to get him talking. If they ask him a direct question, they’ll get an indirect response. But they hope that if they get him talking about all sorts of things, he’ll confess.

Same with Jesus here. The authorities don’t ask him directly. They ask him a convoluted question about his authority, thinking this country bumkin from Galilee will get tangled up in it all. Much to their surprise, Jesus’ response leaves the proud, well-educated city-folk floundering in the embarrassment of having to admit that they “don’t know.”

But Jesus presses his point through their posturing for power. The Temple leadership may not think of John the Baptizer as a prophet. But what if he was? What’s the implication then? Well, there were those who looked like rebels but did what John called them to do; and there were those who heard John’s message but ignored it after they walked away.

And then Jesus rubs in it, just to make sure they didn’t miss it. Take the first son who says “No” to his father but then ends up doing it after all. Well, the tax collectors and the prostitutes, in their daily lives, made it look like they were thumbing their noses at God. But in the end, they’re the ones entering the Kingdom at the front of the procession (in other words, they had “repented”). Now look at the second son who says “Yes” to his father but then goes off and lays in the shade all afternoon. Well, the religious authorities were highly capable of maintaining a facade of religiosity, piety, and sacrifice but totally unwilling to listen to John’s message about repentance or Jesus’ message about the Kingdom of God that had come in his very person and presence. Not surprisingly, they didn’t like it. And they plotted to kill Jesus for it.

The challenge of this passage for us today on campus is plain: have we as disciples allowed our piety, our religiosity, our morality to stand in for humble faith, repentance, and service? Have we spent more time keeping up a facade of spiritual enlightenment than truly listening to Jesus and conforming our lives to him? Have we allowed our Bible studies, prayer meetings, leadership positions, or big “Christian” events to take the place of confronting and challenging the powers of this present world with the news of Jesus as the world’s rightful Lord? Which of these two sons are we more like, really?

“The Story” by Brandi Carlile

All of these lines across my face
Tell you the story of who I am
So many stories of where I’ve been
And how I got to where I am
But these stories don’t mean anything
When you’ve got no one to tell them to
It’s true…I was made for you
I climbed across the mountain tops
Swam all across the ocean blue
I crossed all the lines and I broke all the rules
But baby I broke them all for you
Because even when I was flat broke
You made me feel like a million bucks
You do
I was made for you
You see the smile that’s on my mouth
It’s hiding the words that don’t come out
And all of my friends who think that I’m blessed
They don’t know my head is a mess
No, they don’t know who I really am
And they don’t know what 
I’ve been through like you do
And I was made for you…
All of these lines across my face
Tell you the story of who I am
So many stories of where I’ve been
And how I got to where I am
But these stories don’t mean anything
When you’ve got no one to tell them to
It’s true…I was made for you.

Stuff Happening This Week

• Through the Roof: Sunday @ 7pm, The Wave.
• Graduate Christian Fellowship: Wednesday @ 9am.
• Theology Reading Group: Thursday @ 2pm.
• The Connection Community Dinner: Thursday @ 5.30pm.
• Bonhoeffer Reading Group: Friday @ 9am. We’ll start with a discussion of Part 1 of Cost of Discipleship.

Word of the Week

Philippians 1.21-30 (ESV)

“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.”

Paul writes these words from prison. And like most people facing an apparent dead-end in life, Paul begins to wonder whether he’ll survive his present circumstances. He knows that to go on living means being the ambassador of Christ that he’s been; and to die would be to rest with Christ in the unveiled presence of his glory, awaiting the Resurrection. At the same time, Paul is convinced that the world needs compassionate Christians and so his deep desire is to stay the present course for the sake of the Gentiles who have yet to hear the Gospel message.

But Paul seems to have a sober awareness that Christ’s Kingdom doesn’t come on Earth through a magical snap of the fingers. That it very well may involve apparent set-backs, disappointments, and even the death of significant players in the Gospel drama. So in this first paragraph, Paul seems to be alerting his friends to the fact that they may hear about his death but that this news shouldn’t make them worry that God has lost control. In fact, death isn’t the worst thing that can happen to someone and Paul seems confident of this as he writes this letter from prison.

Then Paul shifts. In the second paragraph, Paul emphasizes that Christians – while called to be sober-minded about the terrible realities of the world – should be the kind of people who stand out. Paul doesn’t want his friends to be frightened by their opponents. He wants them to live lives beautifully liberated from the fear that our society and world heaves upon us: whether that be anti-Christian forces in their culture or even personal death. Why? Because Christians follow the Jesus who has been given all authority in heaven and earth, who said that they can kill the body but not the soul. Christians believe God is looking out for them (not necessarily to keep them from any and all harm but to keep them secure until the day of Resurrection when his Kingdom fully comes). The life of a Christian is lived in the belief that Jesus is already at the helm of history. And it’s this conviction that means that Christians live joyfully out of step with the rest of the fallen world, causing misunderstanding, and facing hostility and even persecution at times.

“From the first-century Mediterranean world to the twenty-first century in China, in the Sudan, and in many other places, there have been plenty of people determined to stamp out this Christian nonsense and to use every trick in the book to do so. And in the post-Christian West, today, the forces of skepticism and cynicism within our culture are extremely powerful, not least in newspapers and on television. It’s easy for Christians to feel intimidated; but Paul insists that we mustn’t” (N. T. Wright).

Paul makes an assumption in this text that we would do well to make a bit more explicit in our day: Paul assumes that Christians will live out their faith publicly before the unbelieving world. Paul assumes that non-Christians will see the lives of Christians. Paul doesn’t here assume that Christians will form a sub-culture, ghettoized away from the surrounding culture. And Paul doesn’t assume that Christians’ lives will be indistinguishable from non-Christian lives either. No, he holds both in his mind: that Christians will be identifiable in society and that they’ll stand out for their faith.

This is the Christian struggle: to stand firm in faith, without fear, as a public Christian who hasn’t compromised their belief or their lifestyle to the surrounding culture. To love everyone without allowing one’s self to be co-opted by everyone’s alternative agendas.

What does a “life worthy of the Gospel” look like for you? How can you “stand firm in the faith” while on campus? How is Christ calling you to share in his sufferings as a follower of his? This weekend, take a break from studying (the Church has historically called this a Sabbath) and reflect on your faith. What do you fear? Where do your convictions lie? Where is God calling you to grow as a disciple of Jesus? Where do you still need to be set free in your life from fear and conformity into the peace and celebration of the Kingdom of God?