Dear Paul: I'm getting married . . .

Chapter 7 in I Corinthians reads rather like a modern advice column. Paul gives his advice, believing a lot of it is just his opinion, on the complexities and complications of marriage in the culturally diverse and confusing environment in Corinth.

We were, once again, impressed by Paul's thoughtfulness, gentleness, and even-handedness in treating a sensitive topic. He seems to be speaking here not just to men, but with an awareness of the feelings of women. It is clear he is speaking kindly to people in the Corinthian church who have questions about how to conduct themselves in marital relationships where culture and custom clash.

In Paul's view, love and marriage are complicated for a Christian, not just because of the distracting heat of sexual passion but because of the risks and work required to be married and raise a family. He himself seems thankful and content with the relative simplicity of being single, and though he would wish this state upon others, he concedes that celibacy is not for everyone. "Better to marry than to burn"!

He is also sensitive and gracious concerning questions about marriage between Christians and non-Christians, unions which, perhaps, were even then becoming more common in an increasingly pluralistic world. Rather than taking a hard line and prohibiting people with different beliefs from marrying, he suggests that the Christian in the relationship provides a blessing to his or her mate and children.

Throughout his discussion we assume a rather modern dynamic: that spouses and children are free to make their own choices about their beliefs, rather than being bound to those of the husband and father.

Paul is also clear in this discussion about his belief in a coming radical change in the world. "the time is short", he says -- "this world in its present form is passing away." I hear an echo of Jesus' teaching about marriage -- how in the kingdom of heaven people will neither marry nor be given in marriage.

Questions remain for me. I like being married, and all that it entails. The blessed complications are part of the richness of my life. I'm glad to think that Paul would say I have not sinned. : )

Next Sunday, February 13, we will read Chapter 8, with a view toward moving quickly through the rest of I Corinthians in the next few weeks.

-- Pastor Dan

I Corinthians Chapter 5

Paul pens tough words in this chapter, in the end referencing the Law to "expel the wicked man from among you". Deuteronomy 17:7 instructs that someone worshipping another God, contrary to the requirements of the Law, be more than expelled, but completely eliminated -- stoned to death to "purge the evil" that is among the people. So one could say that Paul's solution to a bad influence is quite softened by grace. His desire is two-fold: that the body of Christ be preserved, and that, perhaps, the one expelled may change his ways and, ultimately, be restored to the congregation.

Our class enjoyed a spirited discussion about boundaries for congregational life. Some questions: are modern congregations too tolerant of behavior that contradicts a group's distinctively Christian values? What is the role of the pastor in the contemporary church in calling congregations to account and responsibility for healthy community? In what contexts would "tolerance" be a Christian virtue; or a compromise to culture and practices that are out of sync with Christianity?

My take -- hey I'm writing the blog -- : ) is to notice ALL of what Paul is saying in the context. Besides expressing dismay about the congregation's tolerance of a man's inappropriate relationship with "his father's wife", he lists "brothers" who are sexually immoral or greedy (interesting to put these in the same breath), idolaters (see Deuteronomy 17 above) or slanderers, drunkards or swindlers, as men who must be excluded from the intimate fellowship of eating together. Worth noting, always, is the patriarchal nature of the culture of the time, and how even the church back then took this for granted -- something most of us in our congregation would challenge, on Christian principle.

I think Paul's perception of the context matters a lot, as it seems to me contradictory to Jesus' own practices of welcoming "sinners" and yes eating with them. He is concerned about the health of the Corinthian church, and their slackness in paying mind to who they are. I believe forming and maintaining a healthy congregation is hard work, and the Corinthians are being, as a friend of mine puts it, "lazy thinkers".

So I conclude that Paul is not being judgmental in a self-righteous way, but rather realistic and evaluative in a way that reminds us that there must be healthy boundaries in community. And I do think that modern churches get lazy, too, and can do better at both: offering grace-based acceptance to everyone, but also keeping high expectations regarding behaviors that affect and influence everyone.

We continue our study of I Corinthians this Sunday, January 30 -- hope to see you all there!

Pastor Dan

I Corinthians Wisdom and Intelligence

New Testament Made Easy class is now beginning an overview of Paul's letters to the Corinthian church.

Last Sunday we shared conversation, experiences and insight relative to this passage:

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.' Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength."
(I Cor. 1:18-25)

As I listened to our class discuss "wisdom" and "intelligence" I am gleaning a few insights for myself that I think are worth having and sharing.

-- A person can have high "intelligence" as a human being, achieve a high level of education and success because of this, and still be a person of humility and faith.
-- Human intellect, though, can be a stumbling block to faith, if that intellect is so insistently logical that mystery (accepting that an experience or idea is "true" though it cannot be explained in human terms) cannot be embraced.
-- Our human interpretation of facts will vary from individual to individual; but one fact we can accept in one another is that we each have a unique relationship with God. Related to this is the important observation that "fact" and "truth" are really not the same thing.

Now for a factual story, that may be true, as well . . . a man with a very logical bent set out one chilly day to determine what the temperature was. Using a high-tech thermometer he took many readings, most of them different even though the data came from the air temperature in the same immediate vicinity. Confused by the facts, he sat down in tense frustration because he could not know the "right" temperature reading. A member of his family tried to explain that the truth of the matter was simply that IT WAS COLD. I thought this anecdote has some bearing on our discussion of matters of faith. Even the details in the Bible vary; the facts as presented need to be interpreted; but the Truth remains: "Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God".

We meet again this Sunday, January 9, 10:00 a.m., everyone is welcome.

-- Pastor Dan

Concluding Romans Study: Exercising Faith

For the last few weeks we have read and discussed chapters 12, 13, 14, and 15 in Romans, a section we summarized by the subtitle "Exercising Faith". This seems an appropriate summary in light of the the Apostle Paul's very physical, athletic sense of himself and the imagery he employs in his Epistles.

If the first part of the book dealt mainly with human relationships with God, these chapters are most practical in their application to human relationships in light of our standing with God. A principal theme is that judgment of others in any form is God's territory and out of bounds for us. Yet we have new boundaries to explore. In Christ we need to go beyond our comfort zone of mere non-condemnation to an expansive, active acceptance and sacrificial love toward others.

Paul's gracious tone is wonderful to discover in this book. Many of us have felt beaten about the brain and heart by quotations from Romans employed mainly to sort out, judge, control, and condemn others. My view of this book is changed and renewed by our study together. I will always be deeply grateful for this growth and change in my perception of Paul.

Though much of Romans remains quotable in terms of basic Christian beliefs and practices, I have a new favorite passage which I commend to you:

"May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God."
-- Romans 15:5-7

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Next up: Introduction to I and II Corinthians, Sunday December 12.

-- Pastor Dan

Romans chapter 8

We continue our progress through Paul's magnificent letter to the church in Rome.

Sunday we focused on this passage, chapter 8:18-25:

"I consider that the present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."

We shared, then, some of our experiences of suffering in life. Some thought first of physical suffering; others, emotional and spiritual pain; still others, social miseries. We could add to the categories intellectual and economic suffering. No doubt it's there. A question to consider is how these sufferings relate us to Jesus; as Paul says earlier, we are "heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." (7:17)

Who likes to suffer? Since it is pain none of us do. Yet we realize that following Christ, taking up our cross as it were, is a choice to work hard and to bear burdens that are meaningful. We observed that churches have often failed to make this point -- in the effort to make church palatable, it has been presented as entertainment, easy, happy, and effortless. How can we get a better view across to seekers -- that church is real community, challenging, joyful in a deep way, and work worth investing in?

An aside -- have you noticed, now, a couple of times Paul has used feminine images to describe Christian ideas and experience -- to the MEN he is no doubt writing to ?(women were generally illiterate in his time). In this passage he expects men to understand having birth pangs (we groan inwardly), and to give birth (we have the firstfruits of the Spirit). Perhaps this is another way to see that Paul is grasping what he says in another place: that in Christ there is now neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female -- but all are one in Christ Jesus.

Blessings to you all & see you this Sunday for a quick scan of chapters 9-11 and to focus on chapter 12.

Romans chapters 6-8

Hi Class!

This week we'll continue plowing through Romans; I'd like to spend another week in section III, touching down in chapters 7 and 8.

Thanks for the wonderful and very personal sharing about your faith journeys last week; especially the baptism stories. I think you are living in the meaning of the ritual; your various perspectives are a blessing to us all. I'm amazed by how much more I can always learn.

This week I especially appreciated Paul's metaphor associating baptism with Christ's death and resurrection -- the promise to all of us that the old sinful self can be seen as dead and buried, and our new self, responsive to the Holy Spirit, alive and well . . . and this, in spite of our continuing wrestling with our sinful nature, the way we can think of ourselves. Oops I'm "Pauling" again.

I also enjoy connecting the dots of ideas -- when we wondered why some churches have abandoned full immersion, I thought of an article I read recently about how dangerous contact with water was during the middle ages and early part of the industrial revolution in Europe. Folks had to be absolutely desperate to chance washing with water . . . which makes sense now, as horrible diseases were water-borne in that time of non-existent sanitation as we know it. No wonder the church may have used as little water as possible for baptism, especially in the blessing and baptism of infants. To me this also implies that we may in time see a return to full immersion as the preferred liturgical practice in main line churches, since dirty water is no longer a significant obstacle. I'd be glad for this to happen. Personally I'm blessed by being dunked, and needed this more than dripping. But it's all good.

FYI United Methodists accept any baptism which was administered in the name of Jesus Christ, regardless of how much or how little water was used. And we're flexible in how we administer it, as well. I have applied sprinkling, pouring, and full immersion as a pastor. Best one ever was on a freezing day in a hot tub. Also a story of the most amazing transformation of a life, ever.

I'm also remembering how an American Baptist pastor friend of mine once said, "There's nothing wrong with a United Methodist that 40 inches of water won't cure." : )

See you Sunday!

Pastor Dan and Laura

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By the way we're still looking forward to having co-teacher Laura back with us. Still battling post-surgery infections and such, but she's a fighter & with your prayers and new meds we're hopeful she'll be back up and operational soon.

Romans 1:18-5:21

Hi Class!

I've enjoyed our sharing and conversations immensely the last few weeks. Thanks for being so faithful to come and so energetic in your participation. I find it a joyful thing to be in a group of diverse minds whose hearts are warmed and unified by Christ's love.

Here's a nutshell review of the last two weeks:

October 10

We focused on section I in our Romans outline, "The Sinfulness of All People", 1:18-3:20. Paul makes the case that the fundamental sin all people are liable to commit is idolatry, which leads human beings to distorted lives. Idolatry is more than worship of a statue of something -- it is the worshipping of something created, instead of the creator. Paul speaks at some length of sexuality as an example -- in it's appropriate place a wonderful gift from God, but set above everything becomes a force of destruction in human life. His point is that no one is immune to breaking even the first and most obvious commandment; his conclusion is that "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." Further, there is no distinction -- Jews who supposedly know better because they have the specific laws of God are no different in this respect from Gentiles (everyone else!) who supposedly know nothing. Indeed, no one has any excuse if we would simply observe the beauty of creation, which testifies to God's nature and glory and beckons us to worship correctly.

October 17

Section II presents Paul's thinking about God's solution for human sin: salvation in Jesus Christ. Since no one can achieve righteousness (justification) because of our sinfulness, God provided, at the perfect time, the free gift of salvation in Christ. The law, which is a handbook for righteous behavior, is not nullified; but now, in Christ, righteousness is imputed through faith. Rather than living a life of guilt in which we are always failing to live up to God's standards, we are free to grow, with hope and joy, through trial and suffering, toward godliness, while we are accepted unconditionally. I think I'm starting to ramble on like Paul.

This week, October 24, we move to section III, "Salvation Brings Freedom and a New Way of Life", Romans 6-8.

Have a wonderful week. Laura and I appreciate you very much and look forward to our upcoming class.

God bless!

Pastor Dan

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P.S. Please keep Nicole Beebe's family in your prayers, as her grandfather passed away this weekend after a long illness. Laura too will appreciate your prayers for continuing recovery from her surgery.