Trinitarian Soundings - The God of Relationship

#love #trinity #jesus #holyspirit #father #newwine #nwnws #trinitarian #epiphany 

Theology, the Trinity... Where do we even start? The discussion this morning flows from the truth of theology, specifically, Trinitarian theology. How does a Trinitarian, Christ-centered theology play out in how we see the “other”? Where the body of Christ gets it right and where it does not.

As the Christian Scriptures reveal, the human is created in the image of the Trinity – A Godhead that does not remain absent or quiet throughout the course of history. We are not talking about a God hidden behind divine revelation. Rather, God is for us fully revealed and fully concealed in His self-disclosure.

The Christian Scriptures calls the reader into transformation –conversion—which is not a static event, something that happens once in a lifetime, but a continual process of turning toward the Son, who leads us, in union with the Holy Spirit, into an ever-deepening relationship with the Father. Thus, we are brought into the very life of the Trinity, that communion of love without end. 

The Trinity is the paradigm by which we are to live. It is dynamic in relation; thus, God's being is His eternal, intrinsic communion. So what then of today? Are we relationally wired by the God of  creation or have we become machines programmed by our own hands?

 

Recorded live on Fridays at 10am (pst) New Wine UnCorked seeks to step into culture with a heart bent towards engagement, reconciliation, and relationship. 

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What's So Funny about Peace, Love & Understanding

Elvis Costello asks, "What's so funny about peace, love, and understanding?" How do we answer such a question? Seems like today all three are quite comical. Peace - laughable. Love - yeah who really knows what it means to love. Understanding - only if you take my truth to be the ultimate foundation of understanding.

What really do peace, love and understanding mean? And who even cares whether or not we have peace or if we understand one another, let alone love each other? The one people that should care...the Church.

What if the Christian church stepped into God's radical, insane love? Maybe the world would come to recognize the profound need for peace, love, and understanding. And in doing so, the world just might be a better place to live.

Now in Farlowesque performance, what if I push the envelop just a little further...What if I throw in the reality of hell? That is, any comprehension of love, peace and understanding should seek to incorporate the realities of heaven and hell - if a Christian answer is to be rendered.

Now you might be asking, "What does a discussion about truth, love, peace, understanding, have to do with hell or heaven for that matter?" In some ways I think everything. I think any discussion that deals with love, with peace, with understanding, must, from a Christian standpoint, delve into the realms of heaven and hell as both represent the reality of eternity. And then we must ask, where are heaven and hell? Who will see heaven and who will see hell? Might it be true that in the end, God's love wins and and all will be saved?

In talking about hell I am reminded of the play No Exit, written by Jean-Paul Sartre with its depiction of hell as three self-consumed individuals locked up in a room with no escape, and whose eyelids cannot shut. As one of these three damned souls from the play exclaims, "hell is other people."

Today in a very real sense, heaven and hell are heart issues. Heaven abounds in hearts bent on loving God and loving the other. Hell resides in hearts and lives that are turned inward, consumed in self-love as opposed to being drenched in Savior love. The predominance of our self-love mindset today makes it very difficult to see how diabolical this orientation is, and blinds us from seeing that by turning inward we close ourselves off from making our exit and entering into true freedom.

It is a self-centered heart's orientation that continues to attempt to step beyond the performance of Christ, or simply say ‘no’ to His invitation. But this does not have to be the last word or society's final act. Through the church's incorporation into Christ’s reconciliatory performance we not only encounter our salvation, but through the leading of the Spirit, can bring this hope to the ends of the earth, thereby assisting in the mass exit of hell. We can, through a performance drenched in love, bring peace and understanding by giving people heaven now. I guess then, the answer to Costello's question is "What are you doing to close the gates of hell?" And in closing these gates we elevate the truth and reality of love, peace and understanding - nothing funny about that!

Fake Plastic Bobble Head Jesus

Cops killing cops, Blizzards of unprecedented strength, 26 shot dead in an elementary school, elementary children taken hostage...from Syria to the climate to the "post-Gangnam" era, the looming question beckons: What do we really have to hope in?

The news of today makes me wonder, has the darkness of the world made us lose sight of  "Carpe Diem." How can one be blamed if they do not see the hope of humanity. Rather than living for, let alone thinking of the "other," people today live as though seizing the moment or the day means acquiring more stuff for themselves. "Love your neighbor" is nothing more than a statement given by pastors before the "sacred" offering of our money. We are living out purgatory...


Tell me something I don't know Dr Farlow. Okay, let's get rid of our fake plastic bobble head Jesus religion. The Christian life does not suggest there might be tough roads ahead - it explicitly shouts at us - the roads ahead will most assuredly be bumpy! The problem arises when those that call themselves "Christian" tell us that faith does not require sacrifice. This type of thinking leads to what Dietrich Bonhoeffer called "cheap grace." 

Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.

Jesus does not tell us that life is all about comfortability. In fact, the writer of Hebrews makes the audacious claim that Jesus, "the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God," (Heb 12.2). Following Jesus means living sacrificially and in so doing you will receive generously the joy of life! 

Generosity and self-giving  are so often thought of materially. But theologically they should be thought of relationally. C.S. Lewis in the Weight of Glory, wrote: 

Next to the blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest thing presented to your senses.

Selfless living and self-centered living are not opposites, they are enemies that are in competition for your heart. 

A relational church is a self-giving church, it is, a Eucharistic church. The church is what William Cavanaugh calls the Eucharistic community. It is the community who “participates in the life of the triune God, who is the only good that can be common to all. Its reality is global and eternal, anticipating the heavenly polity on earth.” A Eucharistic church is a missional church.

The difference between being missional and being static in expressing the good news of the Kingdom is this: A church that evangelizes from a static paradigm creates space for those who seek it out, and politely leaves the side door open for those who don’t fit its categories (or target market). A church acting missionally forever redefines itself,  “extending its hand”, sacrificially, to draw boundaries of loving inclusion around all who enter its province.

 The Gospel of the kingdom is the person of Jesus Christ himself and the church is his body on earth (Col 1.28, 1Cor 12.27). Emanating from his hands is the sweet smelling balm of social injustice made whole, brokenness mended, the lost being found; resounding from his mouth is the message of reconciliation (2Cor 2.14 & 5.19), and we, the church, are called to live out this performance.

The reality of today: the world is in need of selfless, generous churches. Newsflash - it is not about butts in the seats or making the church or the gospel relevant! Its about our heart - about the souls of those lost. Is the purpose of the church today the pursuit of the consumer crown or the pursuit of the crucified crown? Does that which breaks Jesus' heart break ours?

Living out heaven here and now on earth cannot occur through isolated lives, nor can it occur through lives bent towards the trajectory of loving only that which is like. Life is meant to be lived out in authentic community as it is in and through such community that authentic living occurs. A missional church emulates her Savior and His sacrificial life. Anything other than this is the worship of a fake plastic bobble head Jesus.We worship a King who dramatically entered into the mess of life (remember He was born amid the stench of donkey doo!) so as to re-orient humanity thereby generously offering us the abundant life! The question remains, are we, His church, willing to participate in this act? Tomorrow is no guarantee - but right now is! Live the crazy insane life of love right now!

The Greatest Show on Earth

"Touchdown Jesus" nickname given
to the large mural that overlooks
Notre Dame Stadium 

The Greatest Show on Earth: The Superbowl?

Is this true? Is the Super Bowl the "greatest show on earth?" Do we really believe that Jesus cares about football (cross reference "Touchdown Jesus"). Does it really matter if Beyonce lip-synched or really sang during the halftime show? Should the Christian church by into the hype? And if I question it, am I a "negative nancy," a "downer," a "joy-drainer?" Why? I wonder if the lights going out at the Super Bowl is not the greatest of all metaphors - you can hype up materialism, consumerism and humanism all you want, but eventually, the lights are going to go out.

Should the Church play such earthly games? That is, should we buy into the hype of a game or some type of societal event (Grammy's, Sport's championships, Oscars, 4th of July, etc). I mean think about it, millions huddled around a glowing object with a group of dudes moving all around the green carpet. People from all over the nation shouting at a flat screen as if those on the inside of that screen can actually hear your shouts - and if they could, would they really care? Sure, the lights eventually will and do come on, but what does the light illuminate?

Don't get me wrong, I dig sports - I participated all the way through college and even attempted to go for the Olympics (wrestling), so I am not one who doesn't appreciate the art of competition. I just wonder why all the hype on this weekend (Superbowl weekend)?

What is the super bowl all about anyway? Commercials controversy, materialism, etc...See unfortunately, the numbers accounted for over the weekend of those participating in super bowl parties far exceeds the numbers of those taking in communion, a sermon and worshiping the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Instead of folks from the church huddling around a screen that presents images of people in Africa, Oakland, China, Canada, witnessing about the life-changing message of Jesus, the millions we speak about are huddled about a glowing screen that illuminates the finer points of capitalism. Over the next few days, Facebook will blow up with people putting in their 2 cents as to the best commercial. These type of events and situations always seem to get me wondering the same thing Jesus did, when "the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?" (Lk 18.8)

Again, I know many will balk at my argument, but I wonder why? What am I saying or presenting that is not true? Truth is, we live in a world bent towards materialism. A post-modern world that tells us we are the center of the universe. We are the masters of our own fate. Today's prescription of happiness (as defined by society) is subtly blurring our vision such that the church and the world are becoming one right before our eyes.


Stop and think, what if you and I, the church, spent as much time, hype and money on the "least of these" as we did this last weekend on our super bowl parties? Concerning the pursuit of the material world C.S. Lewis wrote:

As long as this deliberate refusal to understand things from above, even where such understanding is possible, continues, it is idle to talk of any final victory over materialism.

Whether we like it or not, we Americans are programmed to be consumers. Even when hard-pressed financially, we are pressured by our culture to forget our situation (in the betterment of the whole) and maintain our rate of consumption. This is our identity. We have become sewer pawns to the system of materialism. It is better to be an optimist or positive thinker than a critical thinker in today's post-modern, post-christian society.

Let us not attempt to engage culture within the context defined by culture, but instead, let us stand up and live the life deemed crazy and insane according to the standards of society. Indeed, the break from mainstream thought and consumption will be a struggle, but it is a struggle we must joyfully accept (Heb 12.1-2). Our perspective on life cannot continue to be defined through the consumer mentality prevalent today. We, the body of Christ, must have a Trinitarian perspective if we hope to engage the situation of today.

We have to understand the gospel is relational. Christ comes to earth and draws a circle around himself and He says everybody outside this circle is broken—you are all equal—you are broken, but behold, here is your hope...marry Me, marry Me. So what is our response? Are we willing to walk down the aisle with the Savior of the world, or would we rather climb in bed with the world? Truth is, you can't do both.

Let us not continue to be consumers of society for the good of society but instead, be consumed by the crazy insane love of Jesus for the good of society. Then, in our insanity we truly can give the world the "greatest show on earth" - the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. A show that does not simply remain a show because instead of seeking to be observed, Christ's performance invites the world to participate in this act of love so as to reorient and re-humanize the whole of humanity. Are you ready for the role of a lifetime in the greatest show on earth?

Are you elevating the "Ought" of humanity?

I find it hard to show mercy when I feel as though I have been wronged, what about you? I wonder how God feels? This coming Monday (Jan 21) we will celebrate a brilliant character in God's drama; a man who reminds us of the beauty of grace and mercy in the midst of pursuing peace and justice.

Yesterday (Jan 15) marked what would have been the 84th birthday of Dr Martin Luther King Jr. And while King was a man in search of justice and peace, most importantly, he was in search of the man from Nazareth - the Prince of Peace, the Crucified King.

On April 15, 1967 Dr King discussed justice and our pursuit of communal peace. As King said, "There are people who have come to see the moral imperative of equality, but who cannot yet see the moral imperative of world brotherhood. " Justice and peace are only possible when we see the other and their needs before we push our own wants and desires to the front. We have to elevate the "ought" of humanity.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said it like this:

You remember one day a man came to Jesus and he raised some significant questions. Finally he got around to the question, "Who is my neighbor?" This could easily have been a very abstract question left in midair. But Jesus immediately pulled that question out of midair and placed it one a dangerous curve between Jerusalem and Jericho. He talked about a certain man who fell among thieves. Three men passed; two of them on the other side. And finally another man came and helped the injured man on the ground. He is known as the Good Samaritan. Jesus says in substance that this is a great man. He was great because he could project the "I" into the "thou." He was great because he could surround the length of life with the breadth of life . . . . May it not be that the problem in the world today is that individuals as well as nations have been overly concerned with the length of their individual lives and concerns, devoid of the breadth? But there is still something to remind us that we are interdependent, that we are all somehow caught in an inescapable network of mutuality. Therefore whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. As long as there is poverty in the world I can never be rich, even if I have a million dollars. As long as diseases are rampant and millions of people in this world cannot expect to live more than twenty-eight or thirty years, I can never be totally healthy even if I just got a good checkup at May clinic. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the way our world is made. No individual or nation can stand out boasting of being independent. We are interdependent.

Peace and Justice are brought about by and through our faith-filled acts. See for Dr. King, peace and justice on earth are in themselves evidence of the eternal peace which Christ on the cross establishes between God and humanity. For the Christian, therefore, a plea for justice is a plea to God himself. When the church becomes a witness to God’s performance, in Christ through the Spirit, it points beyond itself and into the communion of love. In so doing we become active participants in the revealing of and living out of the Kingdom of God here and now.

Christian love is rooted in the overflowing love of the Father, Son, and Spirit, who have poured out this very love into the hearts of the body of Christ. It is only in this love that the church finds the ability to pour itself out into the lives of the "other," bearing witness to Christ so as to bear witness to the abundance of life. In this faithful performance of love, mercy and grace, we raise the "ought" of humanity to the realm of reality. We live out the hope of tomorrow today when we elevate the other to be what they ought to be so that we can all live out the "ought" of humanity. Amen Jesus!

The Drama of Salvation

"The world is neither just nor unjust, it just is" so sings Robert Smith (lead singer of the Cure).  I wonder if Robert Smith loved Jesus and followed Him would he sing the same lyrics?

If God is just then isn't His creation just?  And if we, His creation are not just, then what does that say about God?  In Matthew 25 Jesus tells us the story commonly known as The Sheep and the Goats.  The point Jesus is trying to make is not to give us a nice warm and cozy story that we can all nod our heads to and say "yeah you know I should be kinder and nicer to everyone."  No, Matthew 25 is not meant to be simply heard, it is meant to be entered into, justice doesn't happen without us (the Church) acting.  

Jesus doesn't impose salvation as a solution; he dramatically narrates salvation into being through conversation, intimate personal relationships, compassionate responses, passionate prayer, and sacrificial living (and death).  The truth and point is, we don't walk casually away from the drama of salvation!  It should disrupt our comfort to know that people in our very lives are "goats" and will remain so if we remain silent and mute with our story of hope!  The main character of God's drama remains absent from so many as long as we remain silent.

What are you going to do today with the drama of salvation?

On the Third Day...the world changed forever

On the Third Day Jesus rose from the dead 

Why not raise awareness to one of, if not the biggest, events of history with my first blog post of the new year?!

If the Christian faith is true, that is, if through the tragic event of the cross followed by the act of resurrection and ascension, God’s only Son, Jesus, not only introduces God’s new creation, but through the Holy Spirit re-humanizes humanity, then any idea of the good, the true or the beautiful should go through the One who has changed the course and foundation of history more than any one person or event. God’s dramatic in-breaking revealed in the Bible cannot simply be observed. It requires participation. God invites all of the actors of the world’s stage to participate in the Trinitarian life of God. The elevation of the human to the beauty of its imago Trinitatis is accomplished through the performative expression of God in Christ. Thus, the beauty and profundity of God’s descent to humanity is witnessed in His elevation of the human through the ascension of the Son. As Hans Urs von Balthasar notes, "Christ, God’s greatest work of art, is in the unity of God and man the expression both of God’s absolute divinity and sovereignty and of the perfect creature."

The performance of Christ—His incarnation, life, death, and resurrection—is, according to Dorothy Sayers, “the greatest drama ever staged.” The Biblical script communicates the relational reality of faith that, as Sayers wrote, is “the most exciting drama that ever staggered the imagination of man.” If this is true, and I believe it to be, then how should God’s drama, as revealed in Christ through the Holy Spirit, influence and guide the way we are church?

Might this be the year the world witnesses the profound performance of the church of Christ as we live out the reality of the Third Day? And in so doing, change the world forever...