Pastor Judy's Blog

The Gift of Grace and Truth

This week I was part of a conversation where a particular issue divided those who were conversing. The division was predictable with those who took a more conservative view on one side and those who ascribed to a more liberal view on the other. One side accused the other of not hearing the truth of the Word of God and the other lobbed back the insult that grace seemed to be strangely missing from their interpretation of the truth.

In the moments following the conversation the words “grace and truth” continued to stroll around my thoughts and as they were walking through my mind God graciously showed me some truth about myself.

When there is an issue or doubt with which I continue to wrestle I am so grateful when someone speaks grace over it. In the midst of my own struggle with particular sins I find myself so thankful for God’s grace on my behalf, grace that continues to cover all of my sin. However, when there is an issue that I have conquered or a problem that I have never grappled with myself I prefer the undeniable truth to be spoken clearly and I feel drawn to the God of all truth. I like grace for some things and truth for others. I’m not interested in throwing either out but, I do find that I have quite particular preferences about their employment. I like grace for some things and truth for others.

It was after this revelation about my own particularities that I began to wonder if the church at large often struggles with the same tension of how, when and where to apply its two most valuable assets of grace and truth. Perhaps the church which is made up of people, people just like me, also has a tendency to like grace for some things and truth for others? To confirm my suspicions I did an extensive and scientific survey, asking several people about their home congregations, “As a general rule does your church’s teaching lean towards grace or truth?” and “Are there issues that are always offered truth and topics that always given grace?”

Almost everyone stated that their church was good in balancing grace and truth. I am happy to report that no one responded that their church had grace without truth or truth without grace. However, those from churches that fall left of center said their churches were very gracious about people’s issues with personal holiness and very truthful about the need to engage in acts of justice and those from churches that fell to the right of center said their churches tended to emphasize the opposite, being very truthful about all issues of personal holiness and very gracious with those who don’t engage in acts justice.

It seems that churches, like the people who attend them, prefer grace for some things and truth for others. And it appears that where a church falls on the spectrum of left or right has little to do with whether or not one is missing the truth of God and the other missing the grace of God but rather their place on the spectrum is determined by how, when and to what issue that grace and truth is applied.

John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” When God put on skin and came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ it seems that one of the miraculous parts of His ministry was that Jesus was able to offer grace and to tell the truth in the face of any issue or occasion. It seems that Jesus didn’t like grace for some things and truth for others but held grace and truth together around every topic. Perhaps we would all do well to follow his lead.

And so today I invite you to allow God’s truth to speak to the areas of your life which normally prefer his grace and then I invite you to receive God’s grace in the areas of your life that are often only told the truth. Perhaps if we who make up the church humbly admit that we prefer grace for some things and truth for others and perhaps if we begin to let God’s grace and truth penetrate our lives without preference for particular applications, the church at large will follow suit and one day we will find all of our gatherings full of grace and truth no matter what the topic.

The Thoughts That Think Me

I have thoughts that think me. They are thoughts that I don’t consciously conjure up or intentionally inquire after but nonetheless I often find them wandering around in my brain. They wander around until I have some down time or a second of silence which gives me the chance to listen in on what I’m thinking. It’s during these times that I am able to hear the thoughts that are thinking me and if I am truthful I am often horrified by the thoughts that have been wandering around my brain without a chaperone.

These thoughts that think me fall into a few different categories. Some are stereotypes that assume they have refrigerator rights in the home of my head, meaning they are quite familiar and so they no longer think they have to knock or even ask before they rummage around in my fridge. Some thoughts are old scripts that I have read through so often that my brain recites their lines from memory, often playing different roles but with a preference for the villain or the hero. Some thoughts run so rampant in the culture that surrounds me that it’s as if I have caught them like a cold and some are just bad habits that moved in for a time and now won’t seem to leave no matter how many eviction notices they are issued.

I have thoughts that think me, grabby little thoughts that hold onto things that need to be let go, embrace things that have no business being coddled and hang on with such tenacity that I often find it difficult to pry them loose. The thoughts are often involuntary and I find if I don’t make time to listen in on the cacophony the chorus often drowns out the thoughts that I have intentionally invited in for conversation. Like little birds that come to roost these thoughts that think me seem to be able to hold onto the branch of my brain with very little effort. That’s because most birds have a flexor tendon that runs down their leg and into their toes, a flexor tendon that automatically tightens every time they land upon a branch. Did you know birds don’t even have to think about tightening their toes because the response is involuntary and without thought the tendon tightens every time the bird lands upon a branch? In fact the tendon only relaxes when the bird consciously lets go.

The thoughts that think us operate in much the same manner. With very little effort and a near involuntary response our thoughts tighten around particular places and we find we have an almost involuntary attachment to certain ways of thinking. Their tenacity should concern us because the thoughts that think us are often the thoughts that fuel the divisions among us. They are the familiar stereotypes, the scripts that we have rehearsed well, the slogans of our surrounding culture and strongholds that have tightened their toes around particular topics.

Their power to divide is augmented by their power to hide right beneath the surface of the intentional thoughts that we think and because we are often too busy to sit and listen to the conversation beneath the conversation we continue to find we can’t get past the argument, over the insult, or into a brand new way of thinking. And like the little bird that latches onto a branch until we make a conscious decision to let go we too will find ourselves unable to loosen our grip.

The apostle Paul commissions the followers of Jesus to “take every thought captive”. He doesn’t shame us for having thoughts that think us, but he does make it clear that we cannot let them run around our lives without a chaperone. We must listen to the thoughts beneath our thoughts and we must be intentional about which thoughts are invited to stay for tea and which thoughts need to make their way to the door. And we must accept the commission of the Apostle Paul to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5) And so today may you find time today to listen to the thoughts that you think and the thoughts that think you and may you intentionally loosen your grip on the ones that need to fly free.

The Last Chance

I once found myself in a bar called The Last Chance Saloon. It was during the year that I walked across the United States and I was just west of Helena, Montana and was about to cross the Continental Divide. It was well over 90 degrees in the shade, I had already walked for half a day, and I was running short on water when The Last Chance Saloon appeared like an oasis in the desert.

When I walked through the doors I noticed that there was only one bar stool left and it was at the far end of the bar. I made my way to it and sat down and even though I was trying to be discreet I was a spectacle without even trying. I was a stranger in town, I was carrying a 50 pound backpack and I’m pretty sure The Last Chance Saloon had never been listed in a tour guide as a warm and welcoming space for outsiders.

I asked the bartender if she would refill my water bottle and I ordered a soda with lots of ice. “You’re not from around here are you?” she said as if she were clairvoyant and had just offered an incredibly insightful revelation. “No, just walking through. I’m on my way to Helena and I’m hoping to get to the top of the divide by the end of today.” I knew the question that would follow and so I just continued on with the answer, “I’m walking across America because I read in the Bible that anyone who claims to follow Jesus is supposed to walk like Jesus did and I’m just trying to learn."

The guy on the stool next to me said, without looking up from his beer, “That’s so *#@x!?* stupid.” I was a little taken aback but the bartender quickly came to my defense. “Most people who know about God go and help people in other countries and she chooses to stay here with #@*x!? like you, you should be grateful.”

The guy on the stool next to me then went into a detailed list about why he didn’t want to know God, why he didn’t trust Christians and why he disliked the church. It was a sad montage mostly because there were some legitimate griefs included in his list. I listened without being defensive and then in an attempt to move from outsider to insider rather than defend God, Christians or the church, I joined him in his lament. In the conversation that followed I sought to distance myself from other Christians and soon the church became a mutual punching bag for the both of us.

By the end of the conversation and another glass of soda I had convinced this man that Jesus was still worth following even if he didn’t believe his followers were worth much of all. I left The Last Chance Saloon feeling rather proud of my ability to stay in relationship with someone who thought I was *#@x!?* stupid. But within a few steps I knew that God was not amused by my tactics. I don’t know how you hear from God, but occasionally a phrase runs through my head that I know is not my own and there have been times when I am confident that it has been God. The phrase that ran through my head as I walked out the door of the saloon was, “You will never again bring down the church to bring up the good news.”

I know it has become common practice to pick apart the particularities of the church and even after a direct word from God I can still fall into this trap. But I’m wondering what it would look like for us to avoid the bandwagon of bashing the church and allow ourselves to be touched by the fact that Jesus calls the church his bride and his beloved.

About a thousand miles later I was walking through Mitchell, South Dakota and I met a woman who had some serious mental challenges. As she treated me to coffee at the gas station she asked where I was headed and I told her about trying to walk like Jesus. She listened and then said, “Some people don’t like the church because the church has hurt them. When they tell me they hate the church I tell them, “If you and I were the only two people on the earth Jesus would have still come for us and maybe I would have believed first which would make me the church. I’m wondering if you could forgive me since I am the church.”

I wept when she told me this story. I wept because this woman who many would categorize as challenged, challenged me to love the bride of Christ so much that I would take on all of her shortcomings as my own. And on that day I learned a bit more about how to walk like Jesus walked. May God use you to proclaim good news today, no matter what stool you find yourself sitting upon.

Working Through the Green

Several weeks ago a student mentioned to me that they would like pre-marital counseling. Although I do not get status updates because I am not on Facebook I am generally pretty well informed on such issues and I paused because I was not aware that they were even dating anyone. The student soon clarified. They are not currently dating anyone however they want premarital counseling so that they can become a good spouse so that when one arrives they are ready.

I laughed initially, but the more I thought about it the more I realized that cultivating particular attitudes, postures, and relationship skills, prior to actually using them is the way it works the best. In fact believing that on your wedding day that you will suddenly receive all the skills and supernatural power to live with a spouse is simply silly, especially if you didn’t have any of the skills or supernatural power the day before.

Dallas Willard, author of the book Spirit of the Disciplines says this is actually true for the entire life of a follower of Jesus, “We cannot behave “on the spot” as Jesus did….if in the rest of our time we live as everybody else does. The “on the spot” episodes are not the place where we can, even by the grace of God, redirect unChristlike but ingrained tendencies of action toward sudden Christlikeness. Our efforts to take control at that moment will fail so uniformly and so ingloriously that the whole project of following Christ will appear ridiculous to the watching world.”

And so this morning I want to offer to you a bit of relationship advice about how to have a good fight so that when conflict arises in your relationship, as it does in every relationship, that you will have done a bit of preparation before the spot. 1. Don’t rally the troops to your side. 2. There can be no name calling or finger pointing. 3. Don’t say what can’t be unsaid. 4. Don’t argue when you’re tired. 5. Understand that there is no quick fix to a long term problem.6. Commit to staying and abstain from winning.

These are actually good rules for any good fight and perhaps if we as followers of Jesus would do some of this work before the spot when we are put on the spot in a conflict we wouldn’t do quite so much damage to the Bride of Christ, which is what Jesus calls the church and perhaps then the world would have a greater desire to join us in our holy union.

This past Monday morning I gathered with the Chapel Serving Team, a group of students who are currently serving this congregation and learning how to both lead and serve one in the future. This past week we talked about how to remain together when we feel like parting ways. Together we brainstormed a list of everything that divides the community of church and we wrote the list in green marker on a large white board.

The list included things like worship styles, political convictions, race, class, arguments over biblical interpretation, preference for small churches or mega churches, differences in theology and mission, attachment to strong opinions and personal preference. It was a lot of green and a lot of reasons, much of what seemed like legitimate reasons, to divide, to take a walk, to find another church, change denominations or break relationship with those on the other side of the argument.

We then wrote in blue the reasons why we might choose to stay together, to come back, to stick it out, and to remain in relationship with Christians with whom we disagree. Because we’re all God’s children. Because God loves the whole world. Because we’re called to love our enemies. Because staying together is the way the world will know that something miraculous has really happened among us. Because we humbly admit that we only see through a glass dimly. Because we’re One Body, One Family, One Bride and scripture says Jesus doesn’t divorce us and he only has one wife.

We decided that the blue is often considered the easy stuff. Love is considered Christianity light and only half the calories of the real food of the faith. Working together is considered weak and family is considered the fluffy stuff. The green is what is often considered the difficult work. Theological debate, interpretive issues, being right and defending one’s turf is where the real work resides. But I want to share something with you that I shared with our students on Monday. It’s not hard to be right…it’s hard to be together. Being right is easy compared to staying together with someone you think is wrong. Here’s to the good fight.