The Devil on My Shoulder

For the past few weeks I have been reading a novel regarded as an American classic by an author whose writing skill is unquestionable.  It is on everyone's "should read" list so I decided it was time.  Three hundred pages into the six hundred page journey, I laid it down, closed it, and decided I could read no more.  It was a strange decision since it was a real page burner.  I could not lay it down, but then I came to a place where I had to put it aside.   

The reason may seem strange to some.  One of the primary characters, was in the book described as a monster, and the evil unleashed by this character finally became too much.  I came to a place where I felt like the devil was sitting on my shoulder.  I was so caught up in the unfolding tale that I was carrying the book with me.  I was picking it up in the morning before the Scripture.  I felt the evil depicted by this evil character was becoming a part of me.  My spiritual life was drying up and the inspiration for writing my blog was slipping away.  I realized last night at three o'clock when I woke up and grabbed the book that it had too much of a hold on me and maybe the same could be said of Satan.  So, the book is closed for the last time.  

I do not name it lest I encourage someone with curiosity to check it out.  Maybe it would not effect anyone like it has me, but I know the subtle power of Satan is using it to get a hold of a heart that I want to be controlled and influenced by the Holy Spirit.  I want to do my part to make the heart He seeks to use for the good of Christ completely available to Him.  "Discipline yourself, keep alert.  Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around looking for someone to devour.  Resist him." 

The Place of the Spirit

The heart of the church is the Holy Spirit which is why I declare "The church is a spiritual community centered on Jesus and empowered by the Holy Spirit."  The second chapter of Acts makes it clear that it was the Holy Spirit who energized and gave life to those men and women gathered in Jerusalem transforming their fear filled and uncertain community into a spiritual power that not only touched the whole world but has continued to do so some 2000 years later.  The church is not a static community or institution though it often seems to be headed that way; instead, it is the incarnate presence of Christ in the world.    

The Spirit is the heart of that spiritual community.  The Spirit birthed the church and it has sustained it through the centuries.  Even as our body depends on a beating heart so does the church depend on the heart which gives it life and sustains it.  The church cannot function without the Holy Spirit.  Certainly, there have been times in its history when it has seemed that the work of the Spirit was forgotten by those who gave leadership to the church.  

The church may have great leaders, but none can provide the spiritual energy the spiritual community of the church needs to be the church it was created to be.  Anyone who has witnessed the Holy Spirit bursting through the structures of the institutional church knows that it is the Spirit and the Spirit alone which is needed for the life of the community we call the church.  Without that holy empowerment the church is no church at all.  It is instead a gathering of people who are only making a difference in their own minds. 

Fleshing out the Definition

A personal definition of the church is:  "The church is a spiritual community centered on Jesus and empowered by the Holy Spirit."  We are a part of many communities.  Young families find community on ball fields where their children chase soccer balls, run with footballs, and hit balls with sticks.  There are other communities associated with membership in civic clubs and the nine to five work world.  Some are related to family and there are even some which come about as a result of church involvement.  

What is unfortunately true is that some churches do not really meet the criteria of this personal definition.  For some members of churches the business connections or the social status is the reason for being present.  It has nothing to do with seeking a spiritual community centered on Jesus.  It is also true that today's contemporary church is often more focused on politics, gender issues, and social activism.  In such places Jesus is not the center, but someone who lives out on the fringe.  

Strangely enough there are some gatherings known as churches where the name of Jesus is not really mentioned with any regularity and when He is mentioned, it is as One who stands alongside leaders of other religious communities.  Any gathering which calls itself a church and is not centered on Jesus is little more than a pretend Christian community.  It may do many thing in service to individuals and the community, but those thing not done in the name of Jesus do not make it a spiritual community centered on Jesus, or a church.

A Definition

An old definition of the church came back to me in these recent days.  It is not one I found in a book on church growth, nor does it have the polish of a theological statement.  It was one I wrote during the days when giving leadership to the church was mine to do.  For some reason it came back to me a day or so ago.  It is simple rather than profound.  "The church is a spiritual community centered on Jesus and empowered by the Holy Spirit."  It served me well back then and, as I recall, it found its way to the front of the church bulletin.   

It is important to remember that the church is a spiritual community.  Obviously, it is not a building, but more importantly the definition declares that the church is not what it has become in many places.  In many places the church has lost its sense of being a spiritual community and has, instead, become a religious institution which gives lip service to service while institutional maintenance and survival is its main business.  

Like the Kingdom of God the church as a spiritual community is both here and not yet here.  It is visible and yet also lives in an invisible realm still to be seen fully.  The word "community" has always seemed to be an appropriate way to speak of the body of Christ in the world.  The place of belonging which we seek is best experienced in this spiritual community which is described in the New Testament word "koinonia."  We may be members of many communities, but none can provide for the needs of our soul as does the spiritual community in which we experience a oneness with God.

The Wrestling Match

When reading the parables of Jesus in the book of Matthew, I had no intention of getting hung up on the Parable of the Wedding Banquet (Matthew 22:1-14), but I did.  Actually, I have been wresting with it all week.  This Kingdom of Heaven parable seems easy enough to figure out.  The King plans a wedding banquet for His son, but those who had a heads up on the invitation decided not to come so in their absence he invites the whoevers from the streets.  The chosen had no interest in coming, are judged as unworthy, and the least of the streets were invited.    

The wrestling match came in the final verses of the parable with a single uninvited guest showing up midst the celebration.  The King notices him because he is not wearing a wedding robe which had apparently been given to all the invited guests.  As I wrestled with his presence in the parable I kept asking "Who is he?  Why did he come?  Why did he make no attempt to hide his uninvited presence?"  None of my questions resulted in answers.  Finally, after several days of struggling with his presence in the parable, I came to a conclusion.  

It may not be the scholar's conclusion.  It may not even be the right one, but it is mine and so I will claim it.  The guy who shows up in verse 11 is a man who sings, "I did it my way." He is the man who sees himself as the exception. He is the one who does as he pleases with no regard for the consequences.  It sounds like a description of a person who has no regard for the ways of God which is what we all are expressing when we choose disobedience over obedience, sin over righteousness.  I started seeing myself as I saw him.  And I started thanking God for grace instead of separation from Him.  

Without Expectations

At first I thought maybe I had heard something that was not being said so I listened more intently to the one in the pulpit.  "Every grace comes with an expectation."  The theme of the sermon was spoken too many times to be ignored which, of course, was the intent of the one preaching.  I kept listening not really believing what I was hearing and then as the sermon reached its conclusion, he said, "God invests in us and He has expectations."  

My problem comes because of a definition of grace.  My statement about grace would be, "Grace comes with no expectations."  I have come to be who I am believing that God's grace requires nothing from us.  It does not require a certain moral lifestyle.  It does not require a disciplined spiritual life.  It does not require any act of service.  It does require expectations.  Grace comes with no strings.  No expectations.  It is freely and unconditionally given.  What I do, or do not do, or what I promise to do has no bearing on the grace of God.  

Grace is not about one gift being given with the expectation that one will be given in return.  It is true that the cross where Jesus died speaks of a gift of love from our Father God, but it also speaks about the grace in His heart which He gives to us.  Jesus' death upon the cross requires nothing from us to be a means of salvation.  Through our faith, that salvation may be experienced, but should we choose not to respond in faith, it would not change what God has done for us.  Because of His love and grace, a way has been made for us to be at one with Him again.  The choosing may be up to us, but the giving has always been His to do. 

The Practice of Exclusion

This past Sunday I worshipped at a Roman Catholic Church.  While I could never be a card carrying member of the Catholic Church, there are things about it which I wish could be found in my own denomination.  The church is not afraid of the Scripture which is to say readings are offered from the Psalms, both New Testaments, and the Epistles.  Any Methodist preacher who read that much Scripture in worship would be run out of town on a rail!  I also like the reverent attention given to the Holy Sacrament.  It is not a hurried addendum to worship, but the central part of it.  

What would forever keep me away from Catholicism is the practice of exclusion at the Table.  Of course, this practice of exclusion is not just a Catholic thing.  Other churches require denominational membership, or confirmation, or membership in the particular church the Communion is being offered.  While there are many things which trouble me about the church which ordained me, I am grateful for its practice of the open Table.  Anyone who shows up is welcome.  I have offered the Sacrament to the dying who claimed no church membership and to the young children whom folks said could not understand.  My only comment is that neither can I.   

The Table does not belong to a church, or to a pastor or priest, or to a set of requirements allowing for some and excluding others.  It belongs to Jesus.  Men and women may officiate at the Table but it is the Table of the Lord.  Long ago Jesus sat at a Table with His disciples, broke the bread, handed them the cup, and said "Do this in remembrance of Me."  Judas Iscariot was there waiting to be served.  If Jesus would serve the one who was to betray Him, how can anyone be turned aside?