Category Archives: Jesus Money Materialism Reflection

Bastards, two dads, unplanned pregnancies: the Birth story of Jesus

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What a crock! Have any of you paid attention to the lyrics to “Away in a Manger”? Really? Jesus didn’t cry as a baby? Have you ever bucked hay before? Try sleeping in it! You ever see a baby that never cries? That song is just one example of how we have romanticized and thus taken away some of the power of Jesus’ birth story.

How cool is it that Jesus was the bastard child of an unwed teen mom? How cool is it that Jesus has two daddies? How strange is it that Jesus was poor? That he grew up as an illegal alien? That he spent his formative years in the ghetto? That he pooped his pants as a baby. That Jesus had to be potty trained. Potty trained!

The story of Jesus’ birth is not a romantic pretty story of God coming to meet his subjects. No, it is a story that completely captures the experience of humanity in so many ways. When we dull it over we ruin the reality of the story. We miss the beauty of the gift.

Here’s the Christian birth narrative–

A divorced God* decides the only way to bring hope and restoration back to humanity is to work within it. So he sends himself in Jesus as an unplanned pregnancy to a poor teenage mom. He was a child who had to not only hold the tension of having that stigma but he also held the tension of having two dads, one was Joseph and the other was Yahweh–both fathers, both real, both belonging to him. He was born in a barn ’cause apparently daddy number two wasn’t on good speaking terms with his family in Bethlehem. Their impoverished family soon had to flee to Egypt where he grew up as an illegal alien until he was able to return back home to Nazareth–a place that you NEVER want to live and always want to be leaving. It’s the ghetto, it’s Detroit (sorry Detroit).

We’ve missed the story and I think we’ve missed out because of it. Christmas season should propel us to reorient our lives not only around the ideals of the Kingdom of God but around the manner in which that Kingdom was brought to earth. Single moms in our neighborhoods must be cared for! We can’t give them the ugly eye when their kids act up with the store, we must extend grace! The ghetto can’t be avoided as a place too dangerous for us in the burbs (or wherever you live) because Jesus grew up there. That’s his hood…and I  if I were you I’d try to go where Jesus goes ’cause I think he was on to something. Whatever we think about gay marriage maybe we should have space to honor any two individuals regardless of gender who want to love on a child–Jesus seemed to do alright. Maybe we should be gentle with those who come across our border because like Jesus it’s quite possible they’re running from hell on the other side. Maybe the Christmas story is even more than just a season of giving (though that’s pretty frickin’ important and totally fits the story too) but it’s also a season of reorienting our view of humanity because of how Jesus chose to redeem all of it…even Detroit.

 

* All throughout the Bible a metaphor is used referring to God as a jilted lover. As someone who has given his bride (us) everything only to have us turn our backs on him and demand a divorce. Even though he repeatedly says that he hates divorce (’cause divorce so often sucks. We know that) he, in fact, within the metaphor (and everything when talking about God is in fact a metaphor isn’t it?) is a divorced and hurt groom still waiting for things to be made right. God totally gets divorce and thinks that it sucks.

Creating Meaning from Creation

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Many people believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible’s creation story. There are whole conferences and lectures dedicated to defending this point of view. My position right now is that I don’t care.

Regardless of whether you take the Adam and Eve story literally, the point of the narrative is to create meaning. How would Christianity–or better yet, how would our neighborhoods look different if they embraced some of the significant meaning communicated in this story? How would things be different if we understood that…

  • …we were intended to be at peace with the earth, with plants, animals, and each other. The Garden of Eden was a space where all the creatures lived in a mutually beneficial peaceful existence. Adam was even created from the dust of the earth! Essentially the story communicates that if it weren’t for the earth we could not/would not exist! How different would our world be if we tried to lean into this intended reality?
  • …man and woman cannot be separated. I’m not making an “Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve” play here. What I am saying is that according to the story woman cannot exist apart from man (it took one of his ribs to make her) and man cannot be complete apart from woman (missing that damn rib). In a world filled with broken relationships would it change anything to know that apart from others we are incomplete? We were not created for isolation or complete individualism! The whole man-woman thing is not at all tied to superiority or control, rather it is about connectedness. We are forever and completely connected to each other.
  • …we are partners with God. God invited the humans to name the animals, he invited them to be a part of the creation process by actually giving the animal kingdom some of its identity. How would things change if we viewed ourselves as partners with God in the continued identity-giving process of life?
  • …not only were we intended to be at peace with the world around us, but originally there was a peace and casual relationship between the creator and his creation. It was normal for Adam and Eve to walk together with God in the dew of the morning! How would life be different if we knew that we were intended to be at peace and in relationship with God?
  • …Adam and Eve were naked…and I’m pretty sure they were dead sexy (though probably a bit freakish looking without a belly button). I don’t think this necessarily invites us all to come to a place where we can all be naked together (though some could argue that). Rather I think this reminds us of our intended innocence. We were intended for purity, innocence, and simplicity (don’t clothes bring heaps of complexity to our lives?!). What would our world look like if we embraced our original calling to simple, pure, and innocent living? Jesus invited his followers to be like children…seems strangely similar.
  • …we are good. God looked at his creation over and over again and mused to himself “wow, this is pretty good!” and regarding you and I he even thought “Wow, this is really ridiculously good!” So often Christians start the story with brokenness and sinfulness but the reality is that the story starts with goodness. How would our world be different if when we looked at people around us we saw (and believed) their inherent goodness. It’s not that we’re all good or that given the opportunity we’ll all make good choices, rather its that our starting place, our origin, or beginning is in perfect goodness…what a better place to find our identity than in our brokenness!
  • …destructive things are only bastardizations of the good stuff. The devil came in the form of a snake and tempted the humans to eat the fruit. What I love is that early on in the story we’re reminded that the best that evil can do is bastardize good things. Snakes aren’t evil, they’re kind of awesome. But the devil used it to bring about broken relationship. If we look at most everything that is destructive in our world it turns out to be a bastardization of something that was originally good. Evil doesn’t create. How would like and Christianity be different if we had the courage to own everything good?
  • …work is a gift from God. Work isn’t something we HAVE to do, it’s something we GET to do. God didn’t place humanity in a box, in an empty field, on a cement pad, or in a spa resort. He placed them in a garden with plants and animals to take care of. Work was part of the beauty of their existence–how would life be different if we understood labor as a beautiful part of being human? How would we choose our jobs differently? Hmm…I wonder.
There are so many other bullet points that could be included here! Again, regardless of whether you take this story literally or not the reality is that it is the the defining start to the Jesus-narrative. And I think we have a great opportunity to be shaped by the meaning that this story seeks to bring into our world. Peace, communion, relationship, enjoyable labor, partnership, goodness…this is who we are and what we were intended for…what if we tried to live THAT out?

Are you IN love with Jesus? Awkward…

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Lets get this out of the way right up front: I love Jesus. I do. I love worshiping Jesus. I think its good to tell him that I love him. I think its good to remind myself that he loves me too. I do.

But can we be honest for a second and admit that the last ten years of worship music are kind of…awkward. Southpark might be right in saying that all we do is sing love songs to Jesus. I love the moment in that Southpark episode when record label executives try to ask Cartman whether he is actually in love with Jesus.

Music is powerful. It speaks to our soul, it captures our heart, and it captures moments in time and imortalizes them in our collective memories. With regard to worship, however, I think we’ve lost some of its potency. Rarely does it capture us up into a grand narrative, a story bigger than ourselves. Rarely does it inculcate us with the truth of Scripture, rarelycalling us into community or propelling us toward loving our neighbors more fully…what our worship music does is remind us how much we love Jesus.

Too much of a good thing is not good. Maybe we should stop just talking about how much we love Jesus and capture some of our story in song, capture some of our ancient historical story in song, capture truths about God in song, sing songs that invite us to live differently and more graciously in our world…instead…we just tell Jesus that we love him…a lot…

Too much of a good thing? I say yes, and awkwardly so!

Compacting Again

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A few years ago Jessica and I joined “The Compact” which essentially means that for one full year we do not buy anything new.* It was a transformational year, a difficult year, and a year that changed the course of our future choices. We’ve recently decided to do it again. I will do my best to keep you updated along the way, but I also want to invite you to join in. You have no idea the amazing blessings that await you when you commit to doing this (especially in community with others!). You’ll find that you have more time (you’re not shopping at Target anymore), you’ll find that you’ve got more money (not buying quite as many pairs of jeans), you’ll find that you no longer have to worry about whether your children’s clothes were made by children (and other similar human rights violations), you’ll find that stuff becomes less important, and I’m sure you’d discover your own sets of fascinating and exciting things.

Want to play?

*We chose to include a couple specific exemptions. Shoes, underwear, shampoo, and a few others.

Why Atheism Makes Sense

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“Its your fault.”

Nobody likes to hear those words. When they’re true words they sting terribly. When they’re inaccurate words they can infuriate or confuse. I don’t know what is more difficult, saying “It’s my fault” or hearing someone else say “it’s your fault”.

For those who are following Jesus we have chosen to freely say “it’s my fault” haven’t we? Should we take great freedom in owning our mistakes, our screw ups, and our baggage? Doesn’t integrity, purity, and humility require it?

It’s way past time for Christians to take full ownership of the baggage that we’ve created, of the crap that trails behind us because of our choices. We cannot hold onto the beautiful Christlike figures such as Mother Teresa from our past while at the same time completely disowning the negative stories of our past. Our past is our past. It’s ours whether we like it or not. We might (and should) vehemently disagree with stuff done in our past, but that doesn’t change the fact that its a part of my story. When I look at my family history I can identify some pretty hefty baggage that I would love to disown. But to disown it is to allow it to continue to control my present and future reality. By taking a permanent marker to whole sentences, paragraphs, or scenes of my families history I am allowing those moments to hide under the cloak of darkness–I am allowing them to fester, infect, and secretly inform my reality. The same is true of our churches.

I am tired of Christians not owning up to the crap that has happened in our past (sadly it’s often a much more present reality than it is a past event). When Christians were in power during medieval times we were not the salt of the earth, we were not bearers of light, hope, peace, and love. We did not do well when we had power. If I were less politically ignorant I am certain there could be similar statements made to the power that the church has possessed in America as well. The way that Christians have treated single mothers, gay and lesbians, and our enemies (think: liberals or Arabs) is something to be ashamed of. Even if you completely abhor the way Christians have been abusive toward our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters, you must also be humble enough to in some way say “it’s my fault” or at the very least “i’m sorry” for what my people have done. We’ve got to take ownership of our baggage! Anything less is to stay in darkness, anything less is to push humility, graciousness, kindness, and purity to the margins of our beliefs and practices in preference of holding onto what seems to me as some form of pride.

Regardless of your philosophy, theology, etc. I believe we can recognize that atheism has some solid footing doesn’t it? If Christianity worked it would be much harder to question it–let me clarify that statement. When a snapshot of Christian movement reveals a bevy of “one man, one woman” stickers, giant churches with giant budgets that are spent on giant screens and giant espresso machines, pastors whose major pursuit is to become some form of preaching rockstar, Christians who primarily talk about “whether they’re getting something out of it (church)”…I’m digging myself a ditch aren’t I? Oh well, when a snapshot of how Christianity “works” produces that…I can understand atheism (or any other form of rejection of a loving God) completely. Why would I want to believe in that? If, however, a snapshot of Christianity produced something that was more in tune with the life and ministry of Jesus…I wonder how things would be different.

So lets take ownership of the screwy things we’ve done in the past, the present, and the things we’ll do in the future. If we’re willing to own it then we’re able to truly pursue genuine forgiveness, reconciliation, and partnership. Lets better cultivate a culture of humility, brokenness, honesty, peace, and love!

I know that often times we can use grace language to avoid this type of discussion. We talk about how we’re all screwed up, how even Christians make terrible mistakes and all that jazz and that we can celebrate that we’re saved by God’s grace alone. But it’s exactly for those reasons that we should immediately be ready to live out of a place of humility–willing to ask for forgiveness and take ownership of our (epic) failures.

Christians are responsible for many wonderful and beautiful things throughout history. I hope that you don’t think that this blog represents my whole opinion of the church or of Christian history. Rather I see a problem with our willingness to respond to our baggage and it is out of this observation that I write this post. As I always attempt to do, I speak first to myself. I admit that I am being judgmental toward certain parties but am willing to err on judging one side of people a little too much than to err on the side of defending those who victimize the oppressed. And I see the act of celebrating and protecting the status quo as an act of supporting the victimization of the oppressed.

So to all of you single mothers who have not found church to be a safe place to find support both for you as a woman and for your child who might be missing out on a healthy father figure…I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I’ve found it easier to ignore you than to come beside you. I’m sorry that you’ve had to be alone in that deeply difficult journey of paying bills, working a job, and raising kids all by yourself.

To all of you of the GLBT community I’m sorry. I’m sorry that you have not been welcome to the conversation of faith. I’m sorry that for much of my life I spoke about you rather than with you. I’m sorry that I have been more concerned with being right than being nice. I’m sorry I chose not to listen to you and therefore not value you as a beautiful creation of God.

To all of you who have been affected by war I am sorry. I’m sorry that I am so addicted to my lifestyle that I am a part of the system that demands oil. I’m sorry that we’ve sent you who are soldiers across the world and ask you to do things that damage your heart and your future. I’m sorry to those of you who have lived in a place ravaged by war, who have seen your homes and neighborhoods destroyed by it. I’m sorry that at one point in my life easily justified war as if the victims did not have families, the soldiers did not experience hell, and it was a good thing.

To all of you who think differently than me about faith, Christianity, the Bible, how to do church…I’m sorry. I’m sorry that this blog might come across as offensive to you. I’m sorry if I wrote this poorly or did not communicate my thoughts and my heart graciously. I love people and I wouldn’t intentionally be offensive if you were sitting here in my living room.

I’ve said enough already. peace.