This addendum to yesterday’s comments about the testimonies to Jesus as the Christ: We now can add the testimony of the New Testament’s writers and the experience and vitality of first century church…and the world-changing growth of the Christian faith as it became a global movement…and the growing discoveries of archaeology that serve to strengthen the authenticity of the Bible. All taken together, these elements added to the witness cited by Jesus serve to point to the Christian faith as rooted in real events, with real people, supported by the historical witness. Ours is a reasonable faith, worthy of study, able to withstand the assaults of the evil one.
There. Just wanted to add that.
After his confrontation with the Pharisees, Jesus had a chance to throttle back in order to let the conflict die down. He could have faded into the background, or made some sort of peaceful gesture. It would have been the political thing to do. But he didn’t. Instead he escalated the conflict, continuing to call them out by demonstrating their upside down priorities. Luke records this event:“On another Sabbath day, a man with a deformed right hand was in the synagogue while Jesus was teaching. The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath. But Jesus knew their thoughts. He said to the man with the deformed hand, ‘Come and stand in front of everyone.’ So the man came forward. Then Jesus said to his critics, ‘I have a question for you. Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?’ He looked around at them one by one and then said to the man, ‘Hold out your hand.’ So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! At this, the enemies of Jesus were wild with rage and began to discuss what to do with him.”
I just can’t understand this! Had I been there; had I seen a deformed hand instantly restored…I’d have been jumping up and down and wanting more! How can tradition become more important than saving and restoring life?
I got a clue on this issue when I became the youth and music pastor at First Christian Church of Santa Ana, California in 1970. This church was large, rich with history and traditions…and in decline. The church was tradition-bound. People had sat in the same seat in the same pew for decades. The worship service had been essentially the same for that length of time. The events of the church year were known far in advance, because they had been the same for years and years. The staff all wore matching black suits…no colored shirts…solid colored ties. This Is The Way Things Are Done Because This Is The Way Things Have Always Been Done!
When we got there, that church of 1,500 members had no coherent youth program (6 High school kids, no Jr. High) but had just completed a 3 building youth complex. It was first class, with large rooms, a kitchen, and quality furniture throughout. The youth program began to grow rapidly, and in less than a year we were filling up the rooms with busy, energetic kids who WANTED to know more about Christ and learn how to follow him. It was pretty fabulous.
Imagine my shock at a board meeting when a group put forth a motion to close the youth complex because, ‘The children are getting it dirty.’ And imagine my greater shock when the board failed to dismiss the motion out of hand and spent the better part of an hour discussing the decline of responsibility and manners in modern youth. Were they glad for a prosperous youth program, centered on the scripture and ethics of the Christian faith? No. They resented the disorder, noise, and newness of it all.
Then there was the call for my censure because I moved the saying of the Lord’s Prayer from the first part of the service to right after communion…and the loss of a whole family of new people who arrived for their first Sunday with us, only to be told by a member that they must go elsewhere because they had sat in the seat that particular member had sat in for years and years.
I am convinced that if Jesus had showed up there for worship and had healed a man with a deformed hand right in front of everyone that it would have occasioned a call for a special board meeting to make sure things were done correctly and in order.
First Christian Church of Santa Ana continued to decline, refused to change in the face of a changing culture, and died a quiet death about 10 years ago.
If an American church less than 100 years old – a church with a great and admirable history – could get that bound by its traditions, just think of the power of traditions with over a thousand years of history behind them. That’s what Jesus was faced with…and that’s part of the reason he began his ministry with a call to repent, because our traditions become walls to keep us secure within, and to keep new people and new ways out. Traditions tend to be about US, while Jesus calls us to be about HIM. And if history is any clue, there’s no telling what he’s going to do next.
Prayer: “Fascinating Father of all, turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word. Teach me to follow you, and give me understanding so that I might obey your law with all my heart. Direct my path, and fill that path with others so that I do not become centered on myself. Keep me flexible, Father, and ever able to see that you are continually doing a new thing. In Jesus name, Amen.”