Brian Castelli – With His Heart

Jesus Christ is the public speaker I would have loved to hear in person. We are blessed by having many of his words–both public and private–recorded in the Bible. In my reading this morning I was reminded of just how radical his message was to the Jews he ministered to.

In Matthew chapter 8, a Roman Centurion came to Jesus to ask Him to heal his servant. Upon seeing the faith of this man, a non-Jew and a member of the people who were oppressing the Jews, Jesus says these words:

I assure you: I have not found anyone in Israel with so great a faith! I tell you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Let’s remember who Jesus was speaking to. This was a people, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. These were God’s Chosen People. They thought their birthright was a passage to heaven and that Gentiles (non-Jews) were lost. In this passage Jesus says clearly that salvation has come for the whole world–and that birthright will not be enough! This was a radical message to his audience, no doubt one that did not earn him favor with some of His hearers.

In Acts 10, Peter is preaching to a Gentile household. As he witnesses to them, the Holy Spirit fills his listeners. They become believers in Jesus Christ even though they are not Jews. Verse 45 proves what a radical idea this is:

The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.

The “circumcised believers” here refers to Jews who had come to faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus the Radical. He wasn’t afraid to Speak up!

The old man looked up from his coffee, a pained expression on his face. “I don’t understand why you don’t believe!” he exclaimed, emotion welling up in his voice. “I don’t know,” the younger man seated across from him replied. “I guess I just can’t believe that one religion has it all figured out. I mean, how can we know God–if he’s really there?”

Like the old man, I’ve encountered several people who believe that no religion has God figured out, that there are any paths to God. Some of them have used the “elephant and the blind men” analogy to explain their position. The analogy goes something like this:

Four blind men were asked to describe an elephant. The one who grabbed the trunk said, “An elephant is like a snake.” The one who touched a side said, “An elephant is like a wall.” The one who grabbed a leg said, “An elephant is like a tree.” And the one who grabbed the tail said, “An elephant is like a whip.” None of them had it right because none of them could touch the whole elephant.

This analogy doesn’t hold up when talking about God. The only way we *know* that the blind men have it wrong is that we are observers in a position to see and understand the whole elephant. We can only declare that the blind men have partial knowledge because we have complete knowledge. To make the same claim about God–that no one religion has it right–is to presuppose that we have knowledge of the whole of God. We can only judge that any one religion’s understanding is partial if we have a greater understanding. This is absurd. None of us is in such a position. The argument fails to hold up.

What does hold up is that God revealed the truth to us. One way to God *can* be supported when it was God himself who showed us the way. That is one of the reasons I follow Jesus.

Merry Christmas!

We are Christians. We had to forgive them because they asked for forgiveness.

These are the words of an unidentified Rwandan woman referring to those guilty of genocide in her country–even against her own relatives. She had just heard the confession of one of the killers. Some of his words:

Every Tutsi, you would go to their house and loot everything and then kill them. After killing them, you stripped them naked.

How is such forgiveness possible?

As I wrestled with that question, I read 1 Peter 2:4-5:

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

“We are Christians,” she said. She and others like her are the “living stones” that make up the church, God’s spiritual house. By coming to him (Jesus Christ), Christians are being built up (strengthened) to offer spiritual sacrifices (such as forgiveness) through Jesus Christ. Repeat: Through Jesus Christ.

Jesus is how such forgiveness is possible. Of our own strength, we desire revenge. Empowered by Jesus, we offer forgiveness.

(http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1667689.html)

In the most-recent edition of the Christian Research Institutes’s Journal magazine (www.equip.org), Sean McDowell reviews the book Thank God for Evolution by Michael Dowd. McDowell quotes Dowd’s explanation for his shift from Bible-believing fundamentalism to evolutionary evangelist:

“First, I came to know and trust several students and teachers before learning that they held evolutionary world views.”

Dowd is a smart guy. It seems likely that he has considered the evidence carefully. But what I find particularly compelling in his story is that relationships he built with people who held opposing viewpoints with him ultimately led to his change of heart and mind. My guess is that he came to trust these folks before he was willing to give their viewpoint a fair hearing.

This applies to all of us. When we carry the truth–either to an unbelieving co-worker, a homeless vagabond, or a student at the local high school–we need to show them that we care through our relationship with them.

I’m reminded of the story of the Hall’s relationship with Denver Moore (http://briancastelli.com/?p=211). It was the people who came down to the mission week after week that came to be trusted. As we build our relationships, we must be consistent in the way we spend time with people. Drive-by charity doesn’t build relationships…

I’ve been studying the book of Ephesians. One of the things I’ve noticed about the apostle Paul’s words to the believers in Ephesus is that he gives them the choice to be black or white, alive or dead, slaves or free. He never once urges them to take a middle road. There is no middle ground. Of course, he urges the believers to choose life, to choose Christ. It occurred to me that this is similar to the call made by Jack Bauer, the fictional counter-terrorist character of TV’s 24.

On 24, Jack Bauer is all in. He will do whatever it takes to defend this country. He does not waiver. He does not equivocate. He is on mission and will not be swayed.

We are called to be Jack Bauer’s in the spiritual world. in Ephesians, we are called to take a side, to put on the armor of God, to not delay or debate since the days are  evil. Bauer is successful because he acts swiftly and decisively. When was the last time you acted swiftly and decisively in matters of faith? Did you hold back, failing to speak about Jesus when you had the chance? Have you been decisive for Christ?

We are called to take a stand.

Earlier this week, the Raleigh News & Observer newspaper reported on a new initiative coming to the Raleigh area this year (2009). In an article titled, “In Wake, Nurses Will Aid Families,” Staff Writer Sarah Avery describes the way the new program will impact lives. Avery writes:

The program’s mission is to improve the health of poor children and their mothers by intervening early, while the young women are still pregnant, and sticking with them as their babies grow into toddlers. Established 30 years ago and tested against other interventions to gauge its success, the Nurse Family Partnership has a track record of keeping young mothers off welfare, delaying a second pregnancy and helping women be more attentive and engaged moms.

The bottom line message for you and me: Relationships make a difference. As we attempt to engage the world, it’s getting involved directly in the lives of others that brings about change.

A weird little thing happened this week.

I was browsing at the local game shop on Sunday evening. I found a used copy of Madden 2008, last year’s version of the football franchise game I’ve heard very good things about. $10. I bought it. Of course, the game container I brought to the counter was empty. I guess it’s far too easy to steal a DVD. They keep the DVD’s in a drawer behind the counter. The young man took the container, removed a disk from the drawer, inserted into the container, and handed the container back to me. I paid and went home.

The game sat on the shelf until Tuesday. I loaded the game in my console without giving the disk even a second glance. The logo for Madden 2009 filled my TV screen. Woo-hoo! A $50+ game for only $10! My daughter and I played through one game – Bears (my daughter) vs. Panthers. She crushed me 36-12.

As that first game wore on, I grew increasingly uneasy. I was upset about being beaten, of course, but I was even more upset by my conscience. I didn’t pay for Madden ‘09. I paid for Madden ‘08. The more I thought about it, the less I had to think about it. There was one clearly right path. There were other paths I could have taken, but each of them required some kind of justification or excuse. I took the game back to the store last night.

The guy at the store was impressed. He was clearly surprised by my action. I would have gotten away with it. No one would have blamed me for keeping it. But it wasn’t right. What kind of example should I be for my daughter? The guy who did the right thing or the guy who got away with it?

I didn’t write this post to build myself up or to make you think I’m all righteous and everything. I wrote this post because of my initial reaction. When I discovered the error in my favor, I was all about keeping it. My first, strongest and most natural reaction was to, of course, keep it! Duh! What else would I do? What would you do? In the end, though, it wasn’t *me* who decided to return it. It was really the Holy Spirit of God working through my conscience that drove me to do the right thing. This is yet another example of how following Jesus Christ makes a difference. Not by my power, but by His!