Does Jesus need someone to take care of him?

Ken Kamp wrote an insightful article, click to read and see the pictures of this powerful article The Faces of Hunger and Poverty, for the Baptist Standard (10-14-05 issue). He reflected upon how Katrina brought national attention to the many in the US that live in impoverished elements. He quoted Joe Haag (Baptist General Convention of Texas Life Commission’s world hunger emphasis:

"One out of 10 children under 12 years of age in Texas is hungry. Nearly a third of Texas' children are hungry or at risk of hunger," he said. "These children miss meals, eat too little, have low-quality diets, or live in households which regularly seek emergency food assistance because they do not have the money to purchase the food they need . . . No state has a higher percentage of families experiencing hunger and food insecurity than Texas, Haag added . . . Nearly one out of six Texans lives in poverty, and Texans in poverty constitute just under one-tenth of the nation's entire poverty population "

Sometimes some Christians quote out of context (innocently or defensively) Matthew 26.11: "The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me." Upon a careful broader contextual reading of the passage one quickly realizes that Jesus’ focus was not to detract from aiding the poor, but rather to honor the devoted worship from the woman (Mary) with the alabaster jar of expensive perfume.

Also, consider the parallel Gospel accounts of the same incident: In Luke 7.37-39, the pharisees were concerned with Jesus associating with the sinful women and not the neglecting of the poor; and in John 12.1-6 we learn that Judas was not concerned about the poor, but was only selfishly interested in the "waste" of the expensive gift (John 12.6).

How did Jesus really feel about the poor? "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, and to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor." (Luke 4.18-19)

There are so many other passages that deal with God’s love and concern for the poor. With a good concordance and an open heart to the Holy Spirit, you’ll have no problem seeing the concern and compassion that God has for his impoverished and marginalized creation.

What can we do as a church to share in God’s burden for the whole person caught in poverty? Certainly we start with God’s message of forgiveness and purpose for conforming his children into his Son’s image. Do we stop there? The hungry need a full stomach before they can hear the message of Christ. The homeless and inner-city need community and acceptance from the Body of Christ so that they can truly know the community and love of the Trinity.

Is this just another version of the social gospel or a sincere interpretation of "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me." (Matthew 25.35-36)

What can Dellview Baptist do in our inner-city community and fellowship to feed, minister to, and love Jesus in the face of the poor, individuals with special needs and marginalized? How can we take care of Jesus by taking care of the marginalyzed?

The Way of Anger or The Way of Love?

Have you ever heard of the saying, "Don’t be so open minded that your brains fall out."? The reverse logic is "Don’t be so close minded that Christ can’t penetrate your heart." Surely for reasonable people the place to be is somewhere in the middle. We need to be open to the mystery, awe of God and that which is outside of our limited knowledge and we need to be faithful to what the Holy Spirit reveals to us during our individual daily devotional diligent pursuit of "true light" (John 1.9).

The more I learn, especially in the Scriptures, the more I realize how much I don’t know. So in Holy trepidation I daily draw near to and confess my inadequacy to My Lord Jesus.

Being committed to studying the Bible and earnestly seeking out its original meaning is tough stuff. It is so much easier to simply follow "party lines" and not think for oneself. So I daily wrestle with Scripture and its meaning and implication for my faith. In this way I begin to partly glimpse what Paul might have meant in Philippians 2.12.

In these wrestling matches I have come away with deep insight and bruised hips and joints. Faith is not easy because God only "rewards those who earnestly seek him" (Hebrews 11.6). Yes grace freely brings us to him, but then we must die to ourselves (Romans 12.1). Nothing about self sacrifice is easy, but it’s the way of love.

Jesus demonstrated the way Christians must go. If you choose the way of Christ you must pick up a cross for crucifixion (Mt 10.38,39).

Dying to self is a hard business so many choose the way of anger instead of the way of love. The way of anger points the finger and looks for a scapegoat. The way of anger is a life of frustration and anxiety lunging for control.

Those who choose the way of love find peace, contentment, rest, and forgiveness. The way of love provides an endless flow of love towards life.
Those who choose the way of anger seek out control and elimination of what they don’t understand. The way of anger is darkness, "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (John 1.5).

Most of the Pharisees during the time of Jesus chose the way of anger over the way of love. They sought to eliminate the way of love, Jesus. Such Pharisees have a kindred that still survives today. There exists a modern pharisaical type today, the fundamentalist. The fundamentalist sets out a list of propositional truths (a strict party line) in an effort to maintain control.

Fundamentalists are not necessarily another name for conservatives. Fundamentalists come in all kinds of packages, liberal and conservative. The earmark for a fundamentalists is that they are intolerable of any person different than themselves. Jesus was the way of love and the fundamentalist Pharisee was the way of anger. Jesus was the true light and the fundamentalist Pharisee chose darkness.

Fundamentalists choose the way of hate, fear, gossip, and political maneuvering to seek control and elimination of that which they fear. Here’s a vivid description of a fundamentalist’s way:

"Fundamentalism's method is confrontation and its fuel is anger. There can be no dialogue and no mutual respect. There will only be winners and losers. They are right. You are wrong. End of discussion." Click here for this full quote and source.

I seek to preach and teach with humility and boldness at the same time. I preach with the light I humbly have and dare not impose my limited understanding on another. Every knee that bows does so before Christ alone and not his messenger. Also, at the same time, I preach with boldness knowing that the Spirit of Christ can move through a simple vessel that has chosen the way of love.

Those who know me best know where I stand and those who have listened with open ears and hearts know my message and doctrine. I will not debate with another, but will choose the way of love and genuine dialogue for the sake of Christ.

Free To Dance

Watch her dance,
see her simplicity and innocence

Listen to her melody,
hear her little feet

She freely risks love’s chance,
she glides with passionate diligence

She embraces harmony,
she seeks joy to meet

She dances with God,
and God dances with her