Greetings Dear Readers and Just Curious,
After I posted my reply to Just Curious I received another well thought and polite response. Here is part one of a more lengthy dialogue. I have not edited Just Curious in any way, but have broken up his or her writing with my responses. Anyone who wishes to join the conversation may.
Just Curious: Okay, you shot down most everything that I said. I guess I can see your points about most of that. I certainly didn't say that we need to divide The Church more. I don't see why abandoning the current model implies that we must be less unified. I certainly don't think that I know every right way to go about it, but I'm left feeling pained when I walk in or out of a church. It's not because I don't know that God is real or because I don't have faith in Jesus. It's because of the way that they do things.
Aramis: First let me say that my intent was not to “Shoot down” anything you said. Please forgive me if I came across that way. It was only in my heart to speak the truth in love. I know you did not say that the church needed further division. It is the effect of dividing that keeps me in the Church when I see so much that needs fixing. Abandoning the current model may be the right thing to do, but I do not know if that is the best way to heal the body.
It matters very much to me that interaction with churches pains you. Whatever causes that pain, the only source for healing it or dealing with it is in Christ. I would like to know more specifically about what you mean by “the way they do things.” I see many of the flaws in the Church but I do not know which ones cause you pain, but I am willing to listen and address them. I do not claim to speak for the Church or Christ. That would be foolish.Just Curious: If all of this that you say is true though what do you think ought to be done? Loving people as Christ loves them is wonderful, but how is someone like you actively affecting change in your local church by doing that?I guess I should be more specific about it. How do you suppose that love will change the bad practices that you see? I have my own problems with The Church, and I'm sure that you could take issue with those; but first, how do you see things as changing in The Church as you love them in the correct way or as others do the same?
Aramis: I can only answer this with my understanding of the Bible and with my life experience. I will start with the latter. I have cause, given my life experience to totally reject the traditional church. They shoot their wounded, judge, manipulate, coerce, divide, and do great harm. Throughout history they have murdered, stolen, raped, pillage, and burned. I have been rejected, judged, abandoned when I was failing and needed to be “restored in a spirit of love.” My personal experience also causes me great pain when I go to church. I can only imagine how much more it pained Christ to go to the Temple or his local Synagogue. We see the need for change far less than he did. The only answer I can give with integrity is to say that I attempt in my limited capacity to do what Christ did. I will try to address this specifically over the next couple of days. For now I would only submit that we only have one task, following Christ and his example. I will do my best to build my answers on that alone.
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
21 April 2009
Crooked Sticks
Greetings Beloved Readers,
I sat in the loveliest bent wood rocking chair the other day. I was at one of those rustic country stores. It was comfortable, well crafted, and made completely of bent wooden branches. Its price was beyond my current means or I would have brought it home. I am amazed that someone could look at willow branches and conceive such beauty.
Again though, I should not be so amazed. I have a pastor who often, in the gentlest of terms reminds us that we are all “crooked sticks.” No matter how often I see the faults of others, I am looking at them through eyes that never quite focus properly. I am bent, crooked, full of knotholes, and completely fallen. This is not self-abasement. It is recognition that the flaws in others that I see are the very things that Christ will use to create Masterpieces of art.
None of us can point to another and say, “Look how crooked you are.” We are just as crooked. I have spent many years understanding this but often doing a poor job of applying it. We all fail to see the good in others and rather see the faults and use them to make ourselves feel better. Recently I have been confronted with much of my crookedness by those who know me best. They are right and I need to see the bends and kinks in my character.
What worries me most is what we do with other people who we see a crooked sticks. You see, I gather willow branches in my yard to use as kindling in my fire pit. I never think to weave them into useful beauty. Christ, the eternal carpenter gathers us together and from out combined crookedness weaves us, bends further, and creates useful beauty suited for his purposes. Before we cast others onto the woodpile for burning, perhaps we should consider that we are in need of the Carpenter’s touch just as much as they are. Further, if we will show them the kindness and grace that we need, perhaps we can play a part in the Carpenter’s eternal quest to entwine crooked sticks into works of beauty.
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn, crooked stick
I sat in the loveliest bent wood rocking chair the other day. I was at one of those rustic country stores. It was comfortable, well crafted, and made completely of bent wooden branches. Its price was beyond my current means or I would have brought it home. I am amazed that someone could look at willow branches and conceive such beauty.
Again though, I should not be so amazed. I have a pastor who often, in the gentlest of terms reminds us that we are all “crooked sticks.” No matter how often I see the faults of others, I am looking at them through eyes that never quite focus properly. I am bent, crooked, full of knotholes, and completely fallen. This is not self-abasement. It is recognition that the flaws in others that I see are the very things that Christ will use to create Masterpieces of art.
None of us can point to another and say, “Look how crooked you are.” We are just as crooked. I have spent many years understanding this but often doing a poor job of applying it. We all fail to see the good in others and rather see the faults and use them to make ourselves feel better. Recently I have been confronted with much of my crookedness by those who know me best. They are right and I need to see the bends and kinks in my character.
What worries me most is what we do with other people who we see a crooked sticks. You see, I gather willow branches in my yard to use as kindling in my fire pit. I never think to weave them into useful beauty. Christ, the eternal carpenter gathers us together and from out combined crookedness weaves us, bends further, and creates useful beauty suited for his purposes. Before we cast others onto the woodpile for burning, perhaps we should consider that we are in need of the Carpenter’s touch just as much as they are. Further, if we will show them the kindness and grace that we need, perhaps we can play a part in the Carpenter’s eternal quest to entwine crooked sticks into works of beauty.
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn, crooked stick
20 April 2009
Pagans and Tax Collectors
Greetings Dear Readers,
First I would like to note that I have received another thought provoking post from Just Curious. I am crafting a response to post later this week.
Mat 18:15 – 17 “If a believer does something wrong, go, confront him when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have won back that believer. But if he does not listen, take one or two others with you so that every accusation may be verified by two or three witnesses. If he ignores these witnesses, tell it to the community of believers. If he also ignores the community, deal with him as you would a heathen or a tax collector.
Who are you angry with? Who do you have something against or harbor ill feelings toward? People will wrong us and we will sometimes, though rarely be completely justified about our anger. Even when we are right we must deal with others with the same grace we wish to receive.
We need to be disciplined in how we deal with the faults we see in others. First we must examine whether our anger is justified. Is the offense worth arguing over? It the wrong done to us something we can forgive graciously to the measure that we need forgiveness from the Father? So often we are offended by the very things that we do to others. Have we examined if we are guilty of the very things we find to be wrong?
The wise thing is to live as peaceably as possible. If we are truly wronged Christ gives us a very specific path to follow. We must walk this path in humility and gentleness. We must walk this path with grace and understanding. What we seek must be the restoration of another to proper relationship with Christ. We cannot focus on our offended feelings, the wrong done to us, or the hurt we feel.
Christ is very clear that we are to go to the individual first. We must do this, one on one, in love and humility. I have done this and it has worked. Others have done this with me and I have both listened and failed to listen. We have no right to harbor resentment against another if we have not followed this first step. The second step, so often left out, is to address the offending party with one or two neutral parties. If you are still striving for peace in a spirit of grace and humility this is often as far as one need go. This step is very powerful. It shows the offending party that you are serious about the situation and about the restoration of that individual to faith and fellowship. Only if this does not work do we then bring the situation to a more public forum. Only after the two former attempts do we involve the larger community. It is the failure of this third step that allows a final action.
If the offending party will not hear your plea and you have exhausted all three measure, you are free to treat them, in Christ’s words, “as a heathen or tax collector.” Before you get too excited I would ask you a question. How did Jesus treat heathens and tax collectors? Think about it a moment. One of my greater failings, when I think I am right and others are wrong is that I forget that what they need is to be treated with love and grace. Christ cried out for them to see that he loved them, cared for their needs, and was willing to die without counting the sin to their charge.
The more I realize the depth of my own need for grace and forgiveness the further I see that Christ did not condemn nearly as often as his followers do. Avalon used to always joke about one of her favorite bumper stickers being “Dear God, please protect me from your followers.” There is so much truth in this jest.
I too often see the truth of a situation clearly and fail to see the grace and love required of me in that situation. I have been in the place where I needed loving restoration and instead received a firing squad. Just because we are right, does not give us leave to forgo grace and love in restoring another to the place where they are moving toward Christ and away from themselves. We do not have the right to make them earn it back, guarantee us that they will not fail again, or demand some form of evidence that they may not be able to provide. What we do need to do is love them so purely that they see Christ and not us, our hurt, or our need for them to do anything.
It was the heathens and tax collectors that Jesus spent his time with. He even made one of them an apostle. Before you levy judgment on another for their offense, perhaps you should measure it against how much forgiveness you need. I know that I intend to do so.
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
First I would like to note that I have received another thought provoking post from Just Curious. I am crafting a response to post later this week.
Mat 18:15 – 17 “If a believer does something wrong, go, confront him when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have won back that believer. But if he does not listen, take one or two others with you so that every accusation may be verified by two or three witnesses. If he ignores these witnesses, tell it to the community of believers. If he also ignores the community, deal with him as you would a heathen or a tax collector.
Who are you angry with? Who do you have something against or harbor ill feelings toward? People will wrong us and we will sometimes, though rarely be completely justified about our anger. Even when we are right we must deal with others with the same grace we wish to receive.
We need to be disciplined in how we deal with the faults we see in others. First we must examine whether our anger is justified. Is the offense worth arguing over? It the wrong done to us something we can forgive graciously to the measure that we need forgiveness from the Father? So often we are offended by the very things that we do to others. Have we examined if we are guilty of the very things we find to be wrong?
The wise thing is to live as peaceably as possible. If we are truly wronged Christ gives us a very specific path to follow. We must walk this path in humility and gentleness. We must walk this path with grace and understanding. What we seek must be the restoration of another to proper relationship with Christ. We cannot focus on our offended feelings, the wrong done to us, or the hurt we feel.
Christ is very clear that we are to go to the individual first. We must do this, one on one, in love and humility. I have done this and it has worked. Others have done this with me and I have both listened and failed to listen. We have no right to harbor resentment against another if we have not followed this first step. The second step, so often left out, is to address the offending party with one or two neutral parties. If you are still striving for peace in a spirit of grace and humility this is often as far as one need go. This step is very powerful. It shows the offending party that you are serious about the situation and about the restoration of that individual to faith and fellowship. Only if this does not work do we then bring the situation to a more public forum. Only after the two former attempts do we involve the larger community. It is the failure of this third step that allows a final action.
If the offending party will not hear your plea and you have exhausted all three measure, you are free to treat them, in Christ’s words, “as a heathen or tax collector.” Before you get too excited I would ask you a question. How did Jesus treat heathens and tax collectors? Think about it a moment. One of my greater failings, when I think I am right and others are wrong is that I forget that what they need is to be treated with love and grace. Christ cried out for them to see that he loved them, cared for their needs, and was willing to die without counting the sin to their charge.
The more I realize the depth of my own need for grace and forgiveness the further I see that Christ did not condemn nearly as often as his followers do. Avalon used to always joke about one of her favorite bumper stickers being “Dear God, please protect me from your followers.” There is so much truth in this jest.
I too often see the truth of a situation clearly and fail to see the grace and love required of me in that situation. I have been in the place where I needed loving restoration and instead received a firing squad. Just because we are right, does not give us leave to forgo grace and love in restoring another to the place where they are moving toward Christ and away from themselves. We do not have the right to make them earn it back, guarantee us that they will not fail again, or demand some form of evidence that they may not be able to provide. What we do need to do is love them so purely that they see Christ and not us, our hurt, or our need for them to do anything.
It was the heathens and tax collectors that Jesus spent his time with. He even made one of them an apostle. Before you levy judgment on another for their offense, perhaps you should measure it against how much forgiveness you need. I know that I intend to do so.
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
14 April 2009
April 14, 1974 – 2:00 AM
Greetings Dear Readers,
That was a long time ago or so it seems today. Two events in history happened on that day that are significant to me. The first touched many lives before it touched mine. It is surrounded by controversy and passion. Some guys sitting around chose to improve on a gaming system that became known as Dungeons and Dragons.
I embraced this game in early 1975 and was hooked. I was given a set of the early books as a birthday gift for my 15th birthday. My pen name was actually the name of the Paladin I created that year. The name in my mind is older than that, but it was dear enough to me to be assigned to a Holy Knight and I had not yet adopted it as my nom de plume’. I have played this game off and on since 1975. My Paladin, Aramis turned 34 this past March. He is off trying to rescue someone from something and not feeling his age nearly as much as I am.
This game probably saved my mind. It was great escape when I was young and kept me in friends for many years. The other significant event of April 14, 1974 is also still with me. At times I thought that this other thing would steal away my love of Dungeons and Dragons but instead it has given me cause to see my much loved game as a way to be good to others.
In the wee hours of April 14th so long ago, after arguing, struggling, and much kicking and fussing I gave up my hatred of God for all he had supposedly done to me and accepted what he had done for me. After a long and loving conversation, patiently answering all my prideful questions, a man name Ray asked me if I was ready to quit questioning and simply put my faith in Christ for my salvation and my life. I was so tired from running away from the love of Christ that I said yes.
I had spent years angry at God, running from his love, and using his name for my own purposes. I was taking drugs and my mom did not know. I went away to a weekend retreat with a church group. My intent was to ruin their reputation by taking my own life. I had the drugs and I would take them and begin a long swim on the lake at the camp we attended. I could slip quietly away from my miserable life and not care what happened to me.
Ray saw I was in trouble and on the night I intended to take my dark swim he reached out to me and hung on to me emotionally and mentally until I saw my need for Christ. The road since that early April morning has been rough and smooth, joyful and sorrowful, but the promise Ray made me that night has always been true. He promised me that Christ would always be there for me and he has. Faith is all that sustains me as I mark this year’s spiritual birthday whilst walking in a dark and lonely place. I have been a Christ follower for 35 years now. I feel very tired sometimes but know that following is all that I can do.
The journey has more joy than sorrow and more friends than enemies. Along the way I get to encourage someone every once in a while. Today I was able to reconnect with a fellow traveler I have missed. I did not expect to be walking alone at this point in my life, but Christ is faithful and he allows me time to try and catch up when I get distracted. The journey is real for me and sometimes I think I can just begin to see the lights of home. I will keep walking and close out this milestone with the same thing I always do.
I wish you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn, Paladin and Pilgrim
That was a long time ago or so it seems today. Two events in history happened on that day that are significant to me. The first touched many lives before it touched mine. It is surrounded by controversy and passion. Some guys sitting around chose to improve on a gaming system that became known as Dungeons and Dragons.
I embraced this game in early 1975 and was hooked. I was given a set of the early books as a birthday gift for my 15th birthday. My pen name was actually the name of the Paladin I created that year. The name in my mind is older than that, but it was dear enough to me to be assigned to a Holy Knight and I had not yet adopted it as my nom de plume’. I have played this game off and on since 1975. My Paladin, Aramis turned 34 this past March. He is off trying to rescue someone from something and not feeling his age nearly as much as I am.
This game probably saved my mind. It was great escape when I was young and kept me in friends for many years. The other significant event of April 14, 1974 is also still with me. At times I thought that this other thing would steal away my love of Dungeons and Dragons but instead it has given me cause to see my much loved game as a way to be good to others.
In the wee hours of April 14th so long ago, after arguing, struggling, and much kicking and fussing I gave up my hatred of God for all he had supposedly done to me and accepted what he had done for me. After a long and loving conversation, patiently answering all my prideful questions, a man name Ray asked me if I was ready to quit questioning and simply put my faith in Christ for my salvation and my life. I was so tired from running away from the love of Christ that I said yes.
I had spent years angry at God, running from his love, and using his name for my own purposes. I was taking drugs and my mom did not know. I went away to a weekend retreat with a church group. My intent was to ruin their reputation by taking my own life. I had the drugs and I would take them and begin a long swim on the lake at the camp we attended. I could slip quietly away from my miserable life and not care what happened to me.
Ray saw I was in trouble and on the night I intended to take my dark swim he reached out to me and hung on to me emotionally and mentally until I saw my need for Christ. The road since that early April morning has been rough and smooth, joyful and sorrowful, but the promise Ray made me that night has always been true. He promised me that Christ would always be there for me and he has. Faith is all that sustains me as I mark this year’s spiritual birthday whilst walking in a dark and lonely place. I have been a Christ follower for 35 years now. I feel very tired sometimes but know that following is all that I can do.
The journey has more joy than sorrow and more friends than enemies. Along the way I get to encourage someone every once in a while. Today I was able to reconnect with a fellow traveler I have missed. I did not expect to be walking alone at this point in my life, but Christ is faithful and he allows me time to try and catch up when I get distracted. The journey is real for me and sometimes I think I can just begin to see the lights of home. I will keep walking and close out this milestone with the same thing I always do.
I wish you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn, Paladin and Pilgrim
13 April 2009
A Response to Just Curious
Greetings Dear Readers,
First I wish to thank “Just Curious” for his or her comments. They are honest and heartfelt with intelligent questions that deserve a reflective response from me. What I will try to do is respond in a conversational style without violation of what I perceive to be Just Curious’ context and intent.
Just Curious: Maybe this can open up a good discussion, maybe not.
Aramis: Yes it can. I admit that I am at times a pontificator and pundit but I try to both listen and hear. I always value feedback that is as thoughtful and well crafted as is this.
Just Curious: I just wonder how much Jesus spent time at his place of worship, rather, at the accepted place of worship. The Bible shows him there during the important festivals, but he had a different purpose then than we ever do at church.
Aramis: I would have to agree that Jesus had a different purpose when he was at the Temple than most of us do at church. I do, however, think that we should compare not the Temple but the use of Synagogues to the local church of today. Judaic historians date the rise of the Synagogue to the earliest settling of Israel by the Jews. Realizing that they wanted a local place to worship, the Synagogues were created. People did gather regularly and in many cases it was the center of the local community. It is clear that the Synagogue is not in any way as significant as the temple, but it is very important and was a regular part of Jewish life.
“Synagogues are not consecrated spaces, nor is a synagogue necessary for collective worship. Jewish worship can be carried out wherever ten Jews (a minyan) assemble. A synagogue is not in the strictest sense a temple; it does not replace the true, long-since destroyed, Holy Temple in Jerusalem.” (Wikipedia, synagogue)
Just Curious: He probably went there when he was a boy, and maybe his family insisted that he do this; maybe he chose to. All the same his real mission did not seem to include "going to church", unless you decide that his time with the outcast people in his country was just that. Perhaps he even kept the Sabbath in a divinely correct way, but does The Church do that in a normal service?
Aramis: Although all of this could be true, we have nothing to go on historically about what he did as a boy. We do know that Jesus knew the law and appears several times in the Gospels to acknowledge the gathering of his people. To conjecture that his family made him go is an argument from silence. If Jesus was asked to do something by his parents, he did it. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia points out that after the Babylonian captivity the Synagogues became the focal point of learning and interpretation of the law in local communities. (Zondervan)
It was common practice for all Jews to gather at Synagogue on Sabbath and Feast Days. It is reasonable to think that Jesus did attend Synagogue and was known there. Jesus says that he was in the temple teaching daily (Mark 14:49). The Gospels also point out that it was his custom to go to Synagogue on the Sabbath and that he was an active participant to the point that he was a Reader (Luke 4:16). To be a Reader in the Synagogue one had to be known there and chosen as reader by the minyan (Matthew Henry). We also see several times where Jesus is teaching in the Synagogue. Again to do this he had to be known and respected by the leaders of that Synagogue. I do not think that attendance was ever Christ’s mission but that using the existing tool to minister to others was.
Just Curious: I hear what you're saying about changing it from the inside, but what if the whole business has gone bankrupt and something totally new has to be done? What if the people that could change it from the inside are only hurt by trying to do so and give up totally, or simply volunteer in some small personal setting that lets them feel like a "different" cog without really reaching out to change the whole machine?
Aramis: Again I would look at the example of Christ. It is quite obvious that the Temple in Jerusalem and its leadership fit the definition of “bankrupt.” Jesus drove out the money changers and challenged the leadership but he never abandoned the Temple nor stopped attending Synagogue. We hear Jesus rebuke the Pharisees and Priests. We even hear Paul warn some of the churches how severe their corruption is. What we never hear in the New Testament is an admonishment to abandon the gathering of believers because they are too far gone. The transition from Synagogues to house churches was not because of true Christ followers needing to separate from the Synagogues but because they were driven out of the Synagogues by the leadership.
I can only use my church as an example, but the leadership there works every day in all they do to promote what Christ has called us to do. As to those who are only hurt by trying to work for change I would say that trying to move anyone from wrong to right practices yields some kind of hurt. It is not up to us to not get hurt, rather, we are to carry a cross and follow Christ. If we do what is right we will be hurt, but Christ will carry us through that hurt. Giving up or hiding is a response the Apostles had after the Resurrection. They went back to fishing and Christ had to chase them down and tell them to get back to work. All change involves risk. We must trust that God is good and that as Job said, “Though he slay me, yet will I serve him.”
Just Curious: Is there a reason why we shouldn't be open to a totally new way of doing things? Does it not suffice to gather in our homes with each other, or do we need to be in a traditional church?
Aramis: No there is not, but the wrong approach to a new way of doing things is why there is currently so much division in the universal church. Every division of the church since the first century is a direct result of someone’s hard heart. Someone refused to be humble, or understanding, or yield. Someone decided to separate or divide. Someone thought that they could not stay and work for peace through grace and holiness. I think that it does not suffice to gather in our homes. Jesus did not leave his local “church.” He made it clear that there is a physical touchstone for our gathering and worship. The writer of Hebrews points out that we are not to forsake assembling together and that it is more important as we see the Day of the Lord growing nearer. This gathering is the engine through which we demonstrate our unwavering faith and where we provoke each other to love and good works.
Just Curious: Where you're right that it's important to try to start change from the inside, I wonder, at what point do we say, "This has to stop."?
Aramis: I cannot answer the point at which this should be said. I can say that I would not dare say it to a body of believers without first earning the right to be heard by them. If a body of believers has leadership that we feel works with integrity then we must support what they do and not further divide things. We should speak to them at least before we abandon them. We should first say to them, in love and humility, “This has to stop.” We must also be willing to listen to their reply with teachable hearts yielded to the Holy Spirit.
To conclude, I think that Just Curious is on the mark about a drastic need for change in the way the church does things. I also think that this can be done without creating more separation and division. I have been deeply wounded by local churches. I have caused wounds as well. Some of the wounds on both sides would never have occurred had either or both parties chosen that no one would be outcast or rejected for their differences. Churches need to change. Loving the people in them as Christ loves them will work that change. I would much rather spend my Sunday’s with my children gathered around the Bible and mapping out how to reach a world that so desperately needs what we have in Christ. I am sure, though, that I can impact more people for Christ by getting up and being in a place where I know the pastoral staff at minimum has following Christ as their goal.
Thank you Just Curious for your comments. I hope I have answered well and that you see my love for your passion for right in those answers. I value your response and the continuation of this dialogue.
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
First I wish to thank “Just Curious” for his or her comments. They are honest and heartfelt with intelligent questions that deserve a reflective response from me. What I will try to do is respond in a conversational style without violation of what I perceive to be Just Curious’ context and intent.
Just Curious: Maybe this can open up a good discussion, maybe not.
Aramis: Yes it can. I admit that I am at times a pontificator and pundit but I try to both listen and hear. I always value feedback that is as thoughtful and well crafted as is this.
Just Curious: I just wonder how much Jesus spent time at his place of worship, rather, at the accepted place of worship. The Bible shows him there during the important festivals, but he had a different purpose then than we ever do at church.
Aramis: I would have to agree that Jesus had a different purpose when he was at the Temple than most of us do at church. I do, however, think that we should compare not the Temple but the use of Synagogues to the local church of today. Judaic historians date the rise of the Synagogue to the earliest settling of Israel by the Jews. Realizing that they wanted a local place to worship, the Synagogues were created. People did gather regularly and in many cases it was the center of the local community. It is clear that the Synagogue is not in any way as significant as the temple, but it is very important and was a regular part of Jewish life.
“Synagogues are not consecrated spaces, nor is a synagogue necessary for collective worship. Jewish worship can be carried out wherever ten Jews (a minyan) assemble. A synagogue is not in the strictest sense a temple; it does not replace the true, long-since destroyed, Holy Temple in Jerusalem.” (Wikipedia, synagogue)
Just Curious: He probably went there when he was a boy, and maybe his family insisted that he do this; maybe he chose to. All the same his real mission did not seem to include "going to church", unless you decide that his time with the outcast people in his country was just that. Perhaps he even kept the Sabbath in a divinely correct way, but does The Church do that in a normal service?
Aramis: Although all of this could be true, we have nothing to go on historically about what he did as a boy. We do know that Jesus knew the law and appears several times in the Gospels to acknowledge the gathering of his people. To conjecture that his family made him go is an argument from silence. If Jesus was asked to do something by his parents, he did it. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia points out that after the Babylonian captivity the Synagogues became the focal point of learning and interpretation of the law in local communities. (Zondervan)
It was common practice for all Jews to gather at Synagogue on Sabbath and Feast Days. It is reasonable to think that Jesus did attend Synagogue and was known there. Jesus says that he was in the temple teaching daily (Mark 14:49). The Gospels also point out that it was his custom to go to Synagogue on the Sabbath and that he was an active participant to the point that he was a Reader (Luke 4:16). To be a Reader in the Synagogue one had to be known there and chosen as reader by the minyan (Matthew Henry). We also see several times where Jesus is teaching in the Synagogue. Again to do this he had to be known and respected by the leaders of that Synagogue. I do not think that attendance was ever Christ’s mission but that using the existing tool to minister to others was.
Just Curious: I hear what you're saying about changing it from the inside, but what if the whole business has gone bankrupt and something totally new has to be done? What if the people that could change it from the inside are only hurt by trying to do so and give up totally, or simply volunteer in some small personal setting that lets them feel like a "different" cog without really reaching out to change the whole machine?
Aramis: Again I would look at the example of Christ. It is quite obvious that the Temple in Jerusalem and its leadership fit the definition of “bankrupt.” Jesus drove out the money changers and challenged the leadership but he never abandoned the Temple nor stopped attending Synagogue. We hear Jesus rebuke the Pharisees and Priests. We even hear Paul warn some of the churches how severe their corruption is. What we never hear in the New Testament is an admonishment to abandon the gathering of believers because they are too far gone. The transition from Synagogues to house churches was not because of true Christ followers needing to separate from the Synagogues but because they were driven out of the Synagogues by the leadership.
I can only use my church as an example, but the leadership there works every day in all they do to promote what Christ has called us to do. As to those who are only hurt by trying to work for change I would say that trying to move anyone from wrong to right practices yields some kind of hurt. It is not up to us to not get hurt, rather, we are to carry a cross and follow Christ. If we do what is right we will be hurt, but Christ will carry us through that hurt. Giving up or hiding is a response the Apostles had after the Resurrection. They went back to fishing and Christ had to chase them down and tell them to get back to work. All change involves risk. We must trust that God is good and that as Job said, “Though he slay me, yet will I serve him.”
Just Curious: Is there a reason why we shouldn't be open to a totally new way of doing things? Does it not suffice to gather in our homes with each other, or do we need to be in a traditional church?
Aramis: No there is not, but the wrong approach to a new way of doing things is why there is currently so much division in the universal church. Every division of the church since the first century is a direct result of someone’s hard heart. Someone refused to be humble, or understanding, or yield. Someone decided to separate or divide. Someone thought that they could not stay and work for peace through grace and holiness. I think that it does not suffice to gather in our homes. Jesus did not leave his local “church.” He made it clear that there is a physical touchstone for our gathering and worship. The writer of Hebrews points out that we are not to forsake assembling together and that it is more important as we see the Day of the Lord growing nearer. This gathering is the engine through which we demonstrate our unwavering faith and where we provoke each other to love and good works.
Just Curious: Where you're right that it's important to try to start change from the inside, I wonder, at what point do we say, "This has to stop."?
Aramis: I cannot answer the point at which this should be said. I can say that I would not dare say it to a body of believers without first earning the right to be heard by them. If a body of believers has leadership that we feel works with integrity then we must support what they do and not further divide things. We should speak to them at least before we abandon them. We should first say to them, in love and humility, “This has to stop.” We must also be willing to listen to their reply with teachable hearts yielded to the Holy Spirit.
To conclude, I think that Just Curious is on the mark about a drastic need for change in the way the church does things. I also think that this can be done without creating more separation and division. I have been deeply wounded by local churches. I have caused wounds as well. Some of the wounds on both sides would never have occurred had either or both parties chosen that no one would be outcast or rejected for their differences. Churches need to change. Loving the people in them as Christ loves them will work that change. I would much rather spend my Sunday’s with my children gathered around the Bible and mapping out how to reach a world that so desperately needs what we have in Christ. I am sure, though, that I can impact more people for Christ by getting up and being in a place where I know the pastoral staff at minimum has following Christ as their goal.
Thank you Just Curious for your comments. I hope I have answered well and that you see my love for your passion for right in those answers. I value your response and the continuation of this dialogue.
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
12 April 2009
Holy Week 2009 – Resurrection Sunday – He is risen, he is risen indeed
Greetings Dear Readers,
The sun is not up yet as I write this. It will be shortly. Families will gather today and share a meal. Little kids will hunt for coloured eggs and eat too much candy. Since I found Christ 35 years ago I have always taken Resurrection Sunday seriously. It was my wife Avalon who got me to see the whole week as significant. I miss her terribly this morning. Ironically it was this time last year she told me she was leaving me and that I could do nothing about it.
This has been a year where I have learned much about who I am and who I had become. It is
the moment that is about to be that matters. I have realized just how much of my life was not Christ’s but was my trying to live on what I had learned of Christ in the infancy of my reclamation. I had stopped in the journey toward who Christ calls me to be, trying to maintain something instead of continuing to grow. This has hurt my Sons and likely everyone else around me.
Christmas 2007 I had made a realization about just how stagnant my journey toward Christ had become. People I cared for were withdrawing from me and I was focusing on so many wrong things. My brother-in-law said something that set different thinking in motion in my heart and head. I determined to find a way out the mire I had put myself into. I did not know that Avalon had already begun departing.
Last Resurrection Sunday I was so full of pain that I could barely function. This year is different. I know what a crooked stick I am. I see how much I had forgotten how to show grace to others at the level that I need grace from Christ. I realize how often I fail Christ and shudder when people say they want to be like me. I have begun to build friendships with men who are an example to me. I have remembered just how much the world needs me to disappear because I have focused on Christ enough that they only see him.
I have little hope that Avalon will return. I hope that I can save my relationship with my Sons. I know that I can, because of His grace continue to build my relationship with Christ. The sun will rise shortly reminding me that Christ is risen from the dead. That is my only hope. A risen Christ and his grace is all that I have and the only thing in which I can set my store. So I ask you today to look with me to the empty cross and the empty tomb. I ask you to walk with me not because I am great but because I follow one who is great. I will fail you and he will not. Please take the journey not because I am on it but because he is leading it.
Pilgrims to the City of God – Michael Card
Pilgrims of passion,
We follow the One who holds out a cross and a crown
We travel a dark road that has but one Light
For we have here no lasting town
And sometimes we run by the power of His might
On our own at the best we can plod
What we hopefully look for is just beyond sight
We are pilgrims to the City of God
The stigma of strangers lost in a strange land
In a fallen world that's not our home
But we are not just homeless prodigals here
Because we have some place to go
And sometimes we run by the power of His Light
On our own at the best we can plod
What we hopefully look for is just beyond sight
We are pilgrims to the City of God
Pilgrims to the City of God
Behold, you have come to Mount Zion
To the city of the Great King
To thousands and thousands of angels who come
Assemble to joyfully sing, they sing
And sometimes we run by the power of His might
On our own at the best we can plod
What we hopefully look for is just beyond sight
We are pilgrims to the City of God
And sometimes we run by the power of His might
On our own at the best we can plod
What we hopefully look for is just beyond sight
We are pilgrims to the City of God
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
The sun is not up yet as I write this. It will be shortly. Families will gather today and share a meal. Little kids will hunt for coloured eggs and eat too much candy. Since I found Christ 35 years ago I have always taken Resurrection Sunday seriously. It was my wife Avalon who got me to see the whole week as significant. I miss her terribly this morning. Ironically it was this time last year she told me she was leaving me and that I could do nothing about it.
This has been a year where I have learned much about who I am and who I had become. It is
the moment that is about to be that matters. I have realized just how much of my life was not Christ’s but was my trying to live on what I had learned of Christ in the infancy of my reclamation. I had stopped in the journey toward who Christ calls me to be, trying to maintain something instead of continuing to grow. This has hurt my Sons and likely everyone else around me.Christmas 2007 I had made a realization about just how stagnant my journey toward Christ had become. People I cared for were withdrawing from me and I was focusing on so many wrong things. My brother-in-law said something that set different thinking in motion in my heart and head. I determined to find a way out the mire I had put myself into. I did not know that Avalon had already begun departing.
Last Resurrection Sunday I was so full of pain that I could barely function. This year is different. I know what a crooked stick I am. I see how much I had forgotten how to show grace to others at the level that I need grace from Christ. I realize how often I fail Christ and shudder when people say they want to be like me. I have begun to build friendships with men who are an example to me. I have remembered just how much the world needs me to disappear because I have focused on Christ enough that they only see him.
I have little hope that Avalon will return. I hope that I can save my relationship with my Sons. I know that I can, because of His grace continue to build my relationship with Christ. The sun will rise shortly reminding me that Christ is risen from the dead. That is my only hope. A risen Christ and his grace is all that I have and the only thing in which I can set my store. So I ask you today to look with me to the empty cross and the empty tomb. I ask you to walk with me not because I am great but because I follow one who is great. I will fail you and he will not. Please take the journey not because I am on it but because he is leading it.
Pilgrims to the City of God – Michael Card
Pilgrims of passion,
We follow the One who holds out a cross and a crown
We travel a dark road that has but one Light
For we have here no lasting town
And sometimes we run by the power of His might
On our own at the best we can plod
What we hopefully look for is just beyond sight
We are pilgrims to the City of God
The stigma of strangers lost in a strange land
In a fallen world that's not our home
But we are not just homeless prodigals here
Because we have some place to go
And sometimes we run by the power of His Light
On our own at the best we can plod
What we hopefully look for is just beyond sight
We are pilgrims to the City of God
Pilgrims to the City of God
Behold, you have come to Mount Zion
To the city of the Great King
To thousands and thousands of angels who come
Assemble to joyfully sing, they sing
And sometimes we run by the power of His might
On our own at the best we can plod
What we hopefully look for is just beyond sight
We are pilgrims to the City of God
And sometimes we run by the power of His might
On our own at the best we can plod
What we hopefully look for is just beyond sight
We are pilgrims to the City of God
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
11 April 2009
Holy Week 2009 – Saturday – Watching for a Savior
Greetings Dear Reader
Friday - I’ve let myself be sealed in the tomb with him. The sun has set. The Son is dead. The darkness is complete. I will keep vigil over this body. I look at the hope that was whilst doubt and faith war for my heart. I wait for the scent of decay to come but it does not. I can still smell sweat and blood. The coolness of the tomb is comfortable as I crouch in a corner as far from the body as possible.
The darkness plays with my mind. I have already lost my sense of time. I think that I can make out the silhouette of the body but in truth I cannot even see my hand when waved in front of my face. I wish I had brought some water. I am thirsty.
Jesus said that whilst on the cross. They offered him gall and vinegar but he would not lessen his pain. I am just sitting in a cool tomb and I am more concerned about my thirst than I am the body of my God just a few feet away from me. I try to convince myself that it is because I have faith. It is because I am self centered and selfish.
It must be growing late. I will sleep for a bit.
Saturday – Light. There is light. Let there be light. The tomb is sealed but a single shaft of light has found its way through. I did not realize how much the darkness plagued me. I can make out his body now. My pupils must be dilated to their maximum. The white linen is grey but completely discernable. I am still thirsty and now I am hungry. Again my thoughts are on my own needs. Again I forget where I am for the sake of my own wants.
Time seems to have succumbed to arthritis. The light from the stone is dimmer but still there. I still wrestle with faith and doubt. But the doubt itself is based on my own needs. If I were not sealed in here would I even consider the situation? Would I care?
I am alone in here. The light is gone again. I am hungry and thirsty. Everything was so good just last Sunday. They all worshiped him. We all cheered. Now I am just tired, thirsty, and hungry. I will sleep and maybe tomorrow I can find a way out. What was I thinking, putting my faith in a carpenter from Nazareth?
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
Friday - I’ve let myself be sealed in the tomb with him. The sun has set. The Son is dead. The darkness is complete. I will keep vigil over this body. I look at the hope that was whilst doubt and faith war for my heart. I wait for the scent of decay to come but it does not. I can still smell sweat and blood. The coolness of the tomb is comfortable as I crouch in a corner as far from the body as possible.
The darkness plays with my mind. I have already lost my sense of time. I think that I can make out the silhouette of the body but in truth I cannot even see my hand when waved in front of my face. I wish I had brought some water. I am thirsty.
Jesus said that whilst on the cross. They offered him gall and vinegar but he would not lessen his pain. I am just sitting in a cool tomb and I am more concerned about my thirst than I am the body of my God just a few feet away from me. I try to convince myself that it is because I have faith. It is because I am self centered and selfish.
It must be growing late. I will sleep for a bit.
Saturday – Light. There is light. Let there be light. The tomb is sealed but a single shaft of light has found its way through. I did not realize how much the darkness plagued me. I can make out his body now. My pupils must be dilated to their maximum. The white linen is grey but completely discernable. I am still thirsty and now I am hungry. Again my thoughts are on my own needs. Again I forget where I am for the sake of my own wants.
Time seems to have succumbed to arthritis. The light from the stone is dimmer but still there. I still wrestle with faith and doubt. But the doubt itself is based on my own needs. If I were not sealed in here would I even consider the situation? Would I care?
I am alone in here. The light is gone again. I am hungry and thirsty. Everything was so good just last Sunday. They all worshiped him. We all cheered. Now I am just tired, thirsty, and hungry. I will sleep and maybe tomorrow I can find a way out. What was I thinking, putting my faith in a carpenter from Nazareth?
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
10 April 2009
Holy Week 2009 – Friday – Good Friday
Greetings Dear Readers,
Caves, by their nature are cool places. They are naturally dark. They are places where we take light with us when we venture there. Tombs are caves whose dark beauty is filled with the presence of the dead. The tomb we focus on is the most heinous and beautiful one ever conceived.
A few men and women come to this empty tomb, racing against the setting sun and baring a dreadful burden. It belongs to a wealthy Pharisee but is being given to an itinerant Rabi. There is time only to wrap the body. Properly applying the spices and setting the dead man to rest will need to wait until after Passover. The people who care about this body, this man, need to depart for the Passover and abandon what is left of their hope in a cold tomb.
A Roman guard is set outside the tomb. It is sealed with the mark of the Governor. No one dare approach this place. The man inside is dead. There are some who doubt this but those who killed him are professionals who do their job properly. They were sure enough that he was dead not to break his legs. The man inside this tomb is dead.
What I want to say is simple. I put him that tomb. I killed Christ. It was not the Jews, nor the Romans. It was me. My sin put Christ on the cross. You see the only way to mitigate the debt of sin owed to God is the death of someone sinless. Sin is always a choice. We can talk about original sin and our fallen natures until Sunday but it always comes down to choice.
Even at my youngest those things that I did wrong were by choice. I knew it was wrong when I spread jam on my mother’s bed sheets at age two because I was bored. It is the first sin I can recall, but it is the one that disqualified me. It is the sin that made me unworthy to pay the price. All of us chose our sin. We are all guilty. Had just one of us chosen not to sin we could have died for all the others but God knew.
Before he made the earth that held the dust from which he made Adam he knew what we would choose and that it would cost him his dearest blood. And how do I honor that blood today while that body is in the tomb? I acknowledge that I am a sinner. What we see, the tomb, the seal, the soldiers, the grief, and all that we do not see are my fault. If I dare to believe that God would go so far for MY sin, then I must also believe that it is MY sin that crucified him. I dare not look to anyone else if I dare to claim Christ as my own.
So for now, he is entombed and I am guilty. He gave his life freely but I murdered him just the same. It is a dark painful day and the Son of God is dead….but time moves on.
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
Caves, by their nature are cool places. They are naturally dark. They are places where we take light with us when we venture there. Tombs are caves whose dark beauty is filled with the presence of the dead. The tomb we focus on is the most heinous and beautiful one ever conceived.
A few men and women come to this empty tomb, racing against the setting sun and baring a dreadful burden. It belongs to a wealthy Pharisee but is being given to an itinerant Rabi. There is time only to wrap the body. Properly applying the spices and setting the dead man to rest will need to wait until after Passover. The people who care about this body, this man, need to depart for the Passover and abandon what is left of their hope in a cold tomb.
A Roman guard is set outside the tomb. It is sealed with the mark of the Governor. No one dare approach this place. The man inside is dead. There are some who doubt this but those who killed him are professionals who do their job properly. They were sure enough that he was dead not to break his legs. The man inside this tomb is dead.
What I want to say is simple. I put him that tomb. I killed Christ. It was not the Jews, nor the Romans. It was me. My sin put Christ on the cross. You see the only way to mitigate the debt of sin owed to God is the death of someone sinless. Sin is always a choice. We can talk about original sin and our fallen natures until Sunday but it always comes down to choice.
Even at my youngest those things that I did wrong were by choice. I knew it was wrong when I spread jam on my mother’s bed sheets at age two because I was bored. It is the first sin I can recall, but it is the one that disqualified me. It is the sin that made me unworthy to pay the price. All of us chose our sin. We are all guilty. Had just one of us chosen not to sin we could have died for all the others but God knew.
Before he made the earth that held the dust from which he made Adam he knew what we would choose and that it would cost him his dearest blood. And how do I honor that blood today while that body is in the tomb? I acknowledge that I am a sinner. What we see, the tomb, the seal, the soldiers, the grief, and all that we do not see are my fault. If I dare to believe that God would go so far for MY sin, then I must also believe that it is MY sin that crucified him. I dare not look to anyone else if I dare to claim Christ as my own.
So for now, he is entombed and I am guilty. He gave his life freely but I murdered him just the same. It is a dark painful day and the Son of God is dead….but time moves on.
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
09 April 2009
Holy Week 2009 – Thursday – Maundy Thursday
Greetings Dear Reader,
What really died on Golgotha? Today I would like to offer some perspectives on the events that we commemorate. The witnesses to the crucifixion all had a reason for being on that hill. Some knew Jesus and some did not. Perhaps they have something to say that will teach us how to better view the event.
We will start with the thieves. One of them saw only opportunity. He like so many others would have Christ use his power to remove him from the situation he was in without truly seeing why he was in it or having the change of heart suggested by the consequences. He could only seek to use Christ for his own benefit. The other thief saw who Christ is and responded to that identity. He only asked to be remembered. This simple act of faith, of believing that Christ is so much more than the naked man on the cross guaranteed the thief a place in paradise.
John, arguably Jesus’ best friend was there. Even thought he fled Jesus’ side at the arrest in the garden he was at the cross. Jesus showed the depth of his forgiveness of his friend by entrusting the care of his mother to John. John alone among Jesus friends returned and risked being associated with the condemned Messiah.
Mary, the mother of Christ stood there helplessly watching her Son die. The death that has chased her Son since Bethlehem is at hand. Others had died along the way because he lived. She could see him dying and knew that he had the power to destroy all those hurting him. She KNEW her Son’s identity. She watched as he let mere men beat and destroy his body. Mary witnessed it all from conception to crucifixion. I know what it is to lose a child and this woman amazes me.
I would also like to consider the Roman soldiers. We should first understand that what they did was a regular duty for them. Crucifixion was a common punishment in Jerusalem. These were hard men who dealt in death. They were efficient killers who knew how to stretch a man, drive in the spikes, and when it was time break legs. They were efficient at suffocating men in one of the most painful and shameful ways possible. They had seen everything that men can become when faced with a merciless death. This is the thing that keeps my attention. This is the moment that chills my spirit and forces me to see Christ for who he is.
At the end of it all, when Christ had allowed death to claim him, Longinus speaks. What this hard death dealer says will mark him for the rest of history. His confession, after dealing so much pain and seeing men in their dying moments is one that haunts every doubt I dare to have. He witnessed all that Christ said and did on the cross. He saw him refuse the drugs that would lessen his pain. He heard him forgive his friend by entrusting him with his mother. He heard Christ forgive us all because of ignorance. Longinus saw all this and heard Christ cry out to the Father at the end. His response is one we all need. We all need to echo his words as we view the dead body of God on the cross of Golgotha. “Truly this man was the Son of God.”
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
What really died on Golgotha? Today I would like to offer some perspectives on the events that we commemorate. The witnesses to the crucifixion all had a reason for being on that hill. Some knew Jesus and some did not. Perhaps they have something to say that will teach us how to better view the event.
We will start with the thieves. One of them saw only opportunity. He like so many others would have Christ use his power to remove him from the situation he was in without truly seeing why he was in it or having the change of heart suggested by the consequences. He could only seek to use Christ for his own benefit. The other thief saw who Christ is and responded to that identity. He only asked to be remembered. This simple act of faith, of believing that Christ is so much more than the naked man on the cross guaranteed the thief a place in paradise.
John, arguably Jesus’ best friend was there. Even thought he fled Jesus’ side at the arrest in the garden he was at the cross. Jesus showed the depth of his forgiveness of his friend by entrusting the care of his mother to John. John alone among Jesus friends returned and risked being associated with the condemned Messiah.
Mary, the mother of Christ stood there helplessly watching her Son die. The death that has chased her Son since Bethlehem is at hand. Others had died along the way because he lived. She could see him dying and knew that he had the power to destroy all those hurting him. She KNEW her Son’s identity. She watched as he let mere men beat and destroy his body. Mary witnessed it all from conception to crucifixion. I know what it is to lose a child and this woman amazes me.
I would also like to consider the Roman soldiers. We should first understand that what they did was a regular duty for them. Crucifixion was a common punishment in Jerusalem. These were hard men who dealt in death. They were efficient killers who knew how to stretch a man, drive in the spikes, and when it was time break legs. They were efficient at suffocating men in one of the most painful and shameful ways possible. They had seen everything that men can become when faced with a merciless death. This is the thing that keeps my attention. This is the moment that chills my spirit and forces me to see Christ for who he is.
At the end of it all, when Christ had allowed death to claim him, Longinus speaks. What this hard death dealer says will mark him for the rest of history. His confession, after dealing so much pain and seeing men in their dying moments is one that haunts every doubt I dare to have. He witnessed all that Christ said and did on the cross. He saw him refuse the drugs that would lessen his pain. He heard him forgive his friend by entrusting him with his mother. He heard Christ forgive us all because of ignorance. Longinus saw all this and heard Christ cry out to the Father at the end. His response is one we all need. We all need to echo his words as we view the dead body of God on the cross of Golgotha. “Truly this man was the Son of God.”Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
08 April 2009
Holy Week 2009 – Wednesday – Spy Wednesday
Greeting Dear Readers,
I do not wish for my title to seem humorous. This is an ancient name for this day of Holy Week and is intended as a pejorative at Judas. Of the twelve apostles Judas is the one with whom I would most like to have lunch. I want to ask some very pointed questions. I do not want to condemn him or in any way minimize that he was a thief and that he was disobedient.
I do, however, wish to put forth that from the resources he had, he was a man of faith. It is like that Judas may have believed more strongly than any of the apostles that Jesus was who he claimed to be. We all love a villain in our stories and Judas makes a great one.
The point is that we do not know what the intent of his heart was. For centuries he has been judged and villainized but have we clearly looked at things from his point of view. He saw Jesus heal people, create food, and raise the dead. He heard Jesus teach and lived with him daily. He had the experience that so many of us wish for in that he saw Jesus face to face, spent time with him, and needed no evidence of his deity.
Judas was a Zealot. He also hated Roman occupation. He loved his nation and was willing to use Jesus to free it from Roman rule. It seems that Judas did not intend for Christ to be beaten, scourged, and crucified. He tried to intervene. He attempted to stop the events that unfolded from his actions.
Do we dare to judge Judas? Is our sin less than his? Recently someone, still unwilling to admit the depth of his sin pleaded with me to see it as at least “understandable.” Given where he came from, Judas’ actions were understandable. That makes them no less wrong. There was not a moment where God was not in control.
Perhaps we need to see that Judas was trying to get Jesus to act like God. He knew who Jesus was and put him in the center of the political storm that was Jerusalem’s rulers. He had seen Jesus move through angry crowds untouched and counted on him to do the same. He wanted the conquering King who was promised by the prophets. Judas like so many others wanted Christ to destroy his enemies so others would believe.
Do we dare, so far from the events and with our limited data judge Judas? Should we not instead realize how often we hand Jesus over when confronted with the choice to obey or not to obey? Perhaps we should realize that even though we believe we often try to use Jesus to our own ends and ponder just how close we are to Judas. As Christ goes to the garden to pray are we with the armed crowed coming to take him by force, are we the sleeping apostles, or are we the one who will kiss his cheek and hand him over to his enemies trying to fulfill our own purposes?
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
I do not wish for my title to seem humorous. This is an ancient name for this day of Holy Week and is intended as a pejorative at Judas. Of the twelve apostles Judas is the one with whom I would most like to have lunch. I want to ask some very pointed questions. I do not want to condemn him or in any way minimize that he was a thief and that he was disobedient.
I do, however, wish to put forth that from the resources he had, he was a man of faith. It is like that Judas may have believed more strongly than any of the apostles that Jesus was who he claimed to be. We all love a villain in our stories and Judas makes a great one.
The point is that we do not know what the intent of his heart was. For centuries he has been judged and villainized but have we clearly looked at things from his point of view. He saw Jesus heal people, create food, and raise the dead. He heard Jesus teach and lived with him daily. He had the experience that so many of us wish for in that he saw Jesus face to face, spent time with him, and needed no evidence of his deity.
Judas was a Zealot. He also hated Roman occupation. He loved his nation and was willing to use Jesus to free it from Roman rule. It seems that Judas did not intend for Christ to be beaten, scourged, and crucified. He tried to intervene. He attempted to stop the events that unfolded from his actions.
Do we dare to judge Judas? Is our sin less than his? Recently someone, still unwilling to admit the depth of his sin pleaded with me to see it as at least “understandable.” Given where he came from, Judas’ actions were understandable. That makes them no less wrong. There was not a moment where God was not in control.
Perhaps we need to see that Judas was trying to get Jesus to act like God. He knew who Jesus was and put him in the center of the political storm that was Jerusalem’s rulers. He had seen Jesus move through angry crowds untouched and counted on him to do the same. He wanted the conquering King who was promised by the prophets. Judas like so many others wanted Christ to destroy his enemies so others would believe.
Do we dare, so far from the events and with our limited data judge Judas? Should we not instead realize how often we hand Jesus over when confronted with the choice to obey or not to obey? Perhaps we should realize that even though we believe we often try to use Jesus to our own ends and ponder just how close we are to Judas. As Christ goes to the garden to pray are we with the armed crowed coming to take him by force, are we the sleeping apostles, or are we the one who will kiss his cheek and hand him over to his enemies trying to fulfill our own purposes?
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
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