The Churches Christ Attends

  • June 1, 2018
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  • John Tillman

Scripture: Revelation 3.19-20
Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

Reflection: The Churches Christ Attends
By John Tillman

Recently a reader returning from a trip to Southeast Asia emailed me describing some of the amazingly humble leaders of the churches there.

These are men and women operating quietly under the threat of being disappeared by the government. They will never grace the stage of a pastor’s conference in the West. They will never promote a book on a talk show. They will never teach a church growth seminar at a conference. Yet they are leading megachurch sized ministries that are growing and thriving under true oppression.

I needed the encouragement because my mood was dark as I read about pastors (and prominent Christians) here in the West tripping over their own feet amidst scandals and petty arguments. We (I) need the humbling realization that the Western church is not the center of God’s universe, and like Elijah in the cave, we are not alone in serving God.

Frustrations with the church are nothing new and have been a chief reason given for those exiting the church.

But there are no safe spaces or perfect churches in the New Testament or on earth. Everywhere you go there is correction and conflict. Most of the New Testament is letters filled with corrective, confrontational language.

We may not wish to attend scandalous, imperfect churches, but Jesus does. Revelation 3:20 is often used as a scripture about individual salvation, but in context it is Christ knocking on the door of a sinful church, wishing to sit with them.

Christ longs to feed us from the tree of life, to heal blindness with salve, to clothe nakedness with mercy, to dress us in white, to give us a new name, and to seat us on his throne. These are not promises made to the “perfect” churches, but to the failures.

In Christ there is radical, loving confrontation and a passionate pursuit of reconciliation all wrapped up together. This is a mixture that our culture can’t stomach—we prefer excoriation to redemption.

No church is perfect or stands alone. Dysfunctional and broken churches are an opportunity for Christ to bring redemption, if we will but listen. Christ confronts and comforts in the same breath. If we cannot find it in our hearts to do so, we can find it in his.

Prayer: A Reading
Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them,… “Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so am I sending you.” After this he breathed on them and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven; if you retain anyone’s sins, they are retained.” — John 20:19-23

– Prayer from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Full prayer available online and in print.

Today’s Readings
Isaiah 33 (Listen – 3:45)
Revelation 3 (Listen – 3:53)

This Weekend’s Readings
Isaiah 34 (Listen – 2:59) Revelation 4 (Listen – 2:09)
Isaiah 35 (Listen – 1:43) Revelation 5 (Listen – 2:39)

To the Worst Churches in the Bible

  • May 31, 2018
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  • John Tillman

Scripture: Revelation 2.7
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches…

Reflection: To the Worst Churches in the Bible
By John Tillman

There are many strange and unfamiliar images in Revelation that we have no context for and do not easily understand. But one that has a very familiar ring is the description of scandal-filled churches.

In many recent articles, such as The Fall of the Village, by Jake Meador and The Wrath of God Poured Out, by Albert Mohler, Christian writers have been agonizing over recent revelations of sins from the past as well as current scandals.

In an article on moral failings, Ed Stetzer noted that of the leaders who spoke with him at a conference in 2010, half had stepped down for some kind of moral failing.

At a time when Evangelicals have changed their minds about whether leadership requires a moral private life (they no longer think it does) most still say a church leader’s private life should be morally upright. And Christians all over are justifiably upset both at the sins that had been covered up (or ignored) and the attrition of leaders and churches falling to scandal.

For those who picture themselves in the role of prophet, this can seem like a cause for celebration.

Down with the hypocrites. Down with the failures. Let rise the greater and wiser leaders of a more humble and sacrificial church. But this is just new idolatry to replace the old.

It is notable that the first things revealed to John in the book of Revelation are not heavenly wonders, but earthly sins. But the more shocking revelation is that Jesus loves and cares for sinful and dysfunctional churches and their leaders.

Despite the deep brokenness of most of the churches in Revelation, Jesus finds positive things to say about each of them. Not one is he willing to give up on without a fight.

He does not merely threaten them with punishment, but gives them a purpose, a path to redemption, and a reward for obedience.

Make no mistake. The redemption described is primarily for the church as a whole. Individual redemption from sin, does not require a restoration of position, power, or influence. Those individuals who have harmed others should not be back in the pulpit.

But if Christ can speak lovingly and redemptively of churches as corrupt as these, why can’t we?

When defending people from harm, may we intercede with the strength of Christ and his sword of truth.

But may we also not shirk from Christ’s call to reach out in redemption to even that most vile of sinners, the fallen leader.

Prayer: The Call to Prayer
Sing to the Lord and bless his Name; proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations and his wonders among all peoples.
For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; he is more to be feared than all gods. — Psalm 96.2-4

– Prayer from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Full prayer available online and in print.

Today’s Readings
Isaiah 32 (Listen – 2:46)
Revelation 2 (Listen – 4:59)

Angelic Visions Require Childlike Faith

  • May 30, 2018
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  • John Tillman

Scripture: Revelation 1.1-2
The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Reflection: Angelic Visions Require Childlike Faith
By John Tillman

As a writer of what today might be called “Fantasy Sci/Fi” novels, Madeleine L’Engle was often perplexed at the tendency of scholarly Christians to hold at arm’s length the angels and miracles of the Bible.

Cherubim, seraphim, all the angelic host as they are described in scripture, have a wild and radiant power that often takes us by surprise. They are not always gentle. They bar the entrance to Eden, so that we may never return home. They send plagues upon the Egyptians. They are messengers of God. They are winds. They are flames of fire. They are young men dressed in white.

Encounters with angels in the Bible are always moments of great importance and have always attracted a great deal of scholarly attention.

The faith of intellectualism is interested in explaining away the angel. Intellectual assent wants to dissect the angels’ particulars and clarify their place in the great chain of being.

This can become analogous to pondering whether the composition of a stop sign is steel, fiberglass, or aluminium, as you roll past it into the intersection.

To take angels seriously, L’Engle insists that we must have a bit more childlike faith.

Three of them come to Abraham to be his guests. One wrestles all night long with Jacob. They minister to Jesus after the temptations in the wilderness. They are God come to tell us something, and in the Old Testament it is obvious that God’s people understand that angels are voices and appearances of the Master of the Universe himself.

To be visited by an angel is to be visited by God. To be touched by an angel is to be touched by God, and it is a terrifying experience. When the angel smote him on the thigh, Jacob limped forever after. Daniel, who had braved lions, trembled and fainted at the appearance of the Lord’s angel. And John, on the Isle of Patmos, fell down as though dead.

If we read the Bible, and if what we read has anything to do with what we believe, then we have no choice but to take angels seriously; and most artists do, from Milton to Doré to Shakespeare…

The artist, if he is not to forget how to listen, must retain the vision which includes angels and dragons and unicorns, and all the lovely creatures which our world would put in a box marked Children Only.

May we read the Bible (especially the upcoming chapters of Revelation) with a child’s faith and a child’s imagination, guided and spurred by the Holy Spirit.

*Quotations from Walking on Water, by Madeleine L’Engle

Prayer: The Request for Presence
Show us the light of your countenance, O God, and come to us. — Psalm 67.1

– Prayer from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Full prayer available online and in print.

Today’s Readings
Isaiah 31 (Listen – 1:49)
Revelation 1 (Listen – 3:43)

How to Read Prophetic Judgment

  • May 29, 2018
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  • John Tillman

Scripture: Jude 5
Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord at one time delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe.

Reflection: How to Read Prophetic Judgment
By John Tillman

There are many passages in the prophecies of the Old and New Testaments that are meant to comfort us. But the more typical function of prophecy is to cause us discomfort.

Examples of both comforting and afflicting passages occur in our readings today—both in Jude and in Isaiah.

Comforting:
Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;
therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.
For the Lord is a God of justice.
Blessed are all who wait for him! — Isaiah 30.18

But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. — Jude 20-21

Afflicting:
“Because you have rejected this message,
relied on oppression
and depended on deceit,
this sin will become for you
like a high wall, cracked and bulging,
that collapses suddenly, in an instant. — Isaiah 30.12-13

Yet these people slander whatever they do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct—as irrational animals do—will destroy them. Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion. — Jude 10-11

When we read prophecy in the Old or New Testament, we often try to identify ourselves with one of the groups mentioned. Are we the prophet? Are we the Israelites? Are we Balaam? Are we the Gentile nations?

This can be an interesting intellectual exercise, but is often a waste of time. One reason is it is unhelpful is that when we do this we take it easy on ourselves.

We tend to identify ourselves as the Israelites when prophets are saying comforting things to Israel, but when the prophet is condemning Israel, we imagine ourselves as the righteous prophet and our evil government or evil culture as the target.

In the end, it doesn’t matter that much if we understand who is analogous to the nation of Israel or who is analogous to the nation of Babylon. It matters far more to understand why God is angry, what he requires of us, and what he wants to do through us if we return to him.

Prophecy can spur us on to love and good deeds, to mark a clear path of repentance and clarify the consequences of disobedience. But we blunt the point of prophecy’s spurs when we avoid the probability that we are the ones a prophecy is about. We miss the point of prophecy entirely when we weaponize it to attack others.

The best way to read prophecy is to imagine yourself not as the speaker, but as the spoken to. Judgment-filled prophecy is one case in scripture where it is safer to assume it’s about you than others. Once you do this, you can take whatever steps of grace-filled repentance the Holy Spirit directs you to.

Following this approach we will be far more uncomfortable reading prophecy, but our discomfort will lead to a more richly flourishing faith.

Prayer: The Request for Presence
Open my eyes, that I may see the wonders of your law. — Psalm 119.18

– Prayer from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Full prayer available online and in print.

Today’s Readings
Isaiah 30 (Listen – 5:52)
Jude 1 (Listen – 4:12)

Realizing the Power of Love

  • May 25, 2018
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  • John Tillman

Scripture: 1 John 4.7-8
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Reflection: Realizing the Power of Love
By John Tillman

It is not too often that the full text of a sermon will be printed in the New York Times. But at culturally significant moments sometimes the Good News is deemed news “fit to print.”

This past weekend’s sermon by Bishop Michael Curry at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was one such moment. Among many scriptures on love which he referenced, Bishop Curry expanded on 1 John 4, which we read today.

The New Testament says it this way, “beloved, let us love one another because love is of God and those who love are born of God and know God, those who do not love do not know God.” Why? For God is love. There’s power in love. There’s power in love to help and heal when nothing else can. There’s power in love to lift up and liberate when nothing else will. There’s power in love to show us the way to live.

Bishop Curry, did not merely address the power of love for a young couple in marriage, but the power of love as a force for changing the world for the better:

Jesus began the most revolutionary movement in all of human history, a movement grounded in the unconditional love of God for the world. A movement mandating people to live that love. And in so doing, to change not only their lives but the very life of the world itself.

I’m talking about some power, real power. Power to change the world. If you don’t believe me, well, there were some old slaves in America’s antebellum south who explained the dynamic power of love and why it has the power to transform. They explained it this way. They sang a spiritual, even in the midst of their captivity, it’s one that says there’s a balm in Gilead. A healing balm, something that can makes things right.

There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole. There is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul. One of the stanzas actually explains why: they said, If you cannot preach like Peter and you cannot pray like Paul, you just tell the love of Jesus how he died to save us all.

The Balm of Gilead and the healing it brings is not only across the Jordan. It’s here now. Available to us through the power of the Holy Spirit.

As John writes, “In this world, we are like Jesus.” The selflessness of God’s love in us, and the actions that should flourish from it have the power, with the Holy Spirit, to change our world.

Think and imagine a world where love is the way. Imagine our homes and families when love is the way. Imagine neighborhoods and communities where love is the way. Imagine governments and nations where love is the way. Imagine business and commerce when love is the way. Imagine this tired old world when love is the way, unselfish, sacrificial redemptive.

Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
Blessed are they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. — Matthew 5.6

– Prayer from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Full prayer available online and in print.

Today’s Readings
Isaiah 26 (Listen – 2:58)
1 John 4 (Listen – 2:58)

This Weekend’s Readings
Isaiah 27 (Listen – 2:16) 1 John 5 (Listen – 3:00)
Isaiah 28 (Listen – 4:49) 2 John 1 (Listen – 1:50)