Grace to a Sinner

On that dark day at Calvary, Jesus was crucified alongside two criminals. In Luke 23:39-43, one of the criminals is indignant. He yells at Jesus, saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!"

The second criminal rebukes him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? ⁴¹And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong."

There are times when I wonder who I am in this account. Am I the bitter criminal hurling insults at God? Or am I the man who knows that I am rightfully condemned and have no one to blame but myself?

I will admit there are times when I am bitter. I get angry at God. I feel abandoned when things don't go right; when it feels the entire universe is conspiring against me. And so I scream to the heavens and demand an answer and compensation. I feel that God owes me something and is denying me the good that I deserve. After all, how many tests am I supposed to silently suffer through before I can ask when it will all pay off?

It's about this time that I remember how much I am like the second man on the cross that day. When I look at my life, I am often ashamed of what I see. I have the capacity to be a very un-Christian person. I am judgmental, lazy, cruel, selfish, hateful, lustful, and gluttonous. I don't consider others before myself. I put earthly gains over spiritual pursuits. I'm not just a sinner, I'm a repeat offender — taking forgiveness and then slipping back into my old ways. There is evidence to put me away. I'm guilty and I know it.

The criminal understands that he belongs up on a cross, dying slowly and painfully for his crimes. He takes a chance in what he says next: "Jesus, remember me when you come into^* your kingdom."

Surprisingly, Jesus' words to this man are not words of judgment or condemnation. He doesn't call down fire and brimstone, but instead offers words of comfort and grace. "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

We don't know what this man did to deserve his punishment. Jesus doesn't ask and it really doesn't matter whether he participated in a rebellion against the Empire or committed a murder — because he's us. Yet, Jesus is merciful to everyone, even those of us who count ourselves among the worst of sinners. That grace is something I don't fully understand. My sentence is just, yet Jesus says that I will be with him in Paradise.

I don't feel like I deserve it. I feel terrible, like I'm taking advantage of the system. But grace is a free gift, given to sinners like me. It's a promise that even when the world appears to be crashing down — when I'm condemned — God is with me, suffering with me. Even when I curse his name, he loves me. His grace truly is amazing.

Love is the Solution

Communities are dynamic things. They grow and they shrink, they flourish and wither. Communities are alive and need to be cared for, or they will not survive. I like to think of the community I belong to as being like a garden. It can't be left to the elements; it must be watered and tended to. It requires love and any community that doesn't have love is dead.

In Mark 12:28-34, we are told that a teacher of the law came to Jesus and asked him what was the greatest commandment. Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these."

My dear friend and roommate, Amy, recently asked me, "How do you love God?" The question is trickier than it appears. How do we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength? I'm not entirely sure, and I've been struggling with it for a while, but the closest answer I can come to is this: loving your neighbor is the first step toward loving God.

In Hebrews 13:2, we hear, "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it." So, if loving God is loving others, then it's pretty important that we go out of our way to express that love, because we never know when there might be angels in our midst.

I am an active member of Lutheran Campus Ministry at Northern Arizona University and I love that community dearly. It has seen more than its share of change. Leadership has changed, new people have entered the group and old friends have moved on to other things. Change is the reality of campus ministry, and in many ways the world as a whole. We must not be afraid of change, even when it is scary.

It always makes me sad when someone in a group feels left out or unhappy. As a people person, my instinct is to please everyone. However, it is not my place to tell anyone what they can or cannot feel and passing judgment is God's job, not mine. All I can do is be with people in love.

There are those who aren't happy with our community. They have chosen to leave. I will miss them. And while I may not agree with their decision (because I feel that problems with the community are solved by dedicating more time to tending to our growth, not by leaving), I will continue to love them.

My spiritual experience at LCM centers very much around the annual Dinner Musical production and late-night theological discussions. Recently, though, I have had a lot of trouble enjoying these activities (especially the musical) because of the drama that has erupted within the group. I'm not blaming anyone. I don't care why it's happening, I just want a peaceful solution. What is the solution? What do we do when our community is shaken? The solution is love. I'm not here to play egos against each other. I'm not here to fight. I'm here to learn how to love, and every obstacle to that end is just another test of my commitment to the path I have chosen — the path that Jesus walked.

Love conquers all, and I hope the troubles our community is facing now will pass and we will all emerge from it stronger in our faith. When things are hard and we just want to lash out, point fingers, and make accusations, we're forgetting why we're here. We're here to love each other and if we can remember that, then we can solve all of our problems together.

Great Emergence

This past March, I had the opportunity to attend the Re-Emergence Conference in Belfast, Northern Ireland. About 60 people were squeezed into the little building in a residential area of the city to hear the keynote speakers and engage in meaningful discussion about the Great Emergence.

But what is the Emergence? Honestly, I don't know if there's a clear answer, but I'll try to give you the definition Phyllis Tickle gave in one of her presentations.

She defines the Emergence as a movement within the Christian church toward a non-hierarchical, de-institutionalized structure. It is, essentially, a new Reformation, and one that's definitely overdue.

Phyllis has a theory that every 500 years, the Church has a big rummage sale to get rid of all of it's old baggage and outdated ideas. Go back 500 years and you'll find the Reformation and the establishment of the Protestant tradition. 500 years before that, you'll find the Great Schism and the division between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. 500 years before that and we see the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. 500 years before that brings us to the time of Christ. So, if we really are on a 500-year cycle, it's time for us to make some changes.

Our society is radically different than it was even 50 years ago. We live in a global world connected at the speed of light to every point on the planet and many people are leaving the church because it no longer serves their needs and addresses the issues that effect them. What do we need to change and how? There are lots of ideas, but very few answers at this point.

I am not qualified and I don't know if I'm called, but I am excited to be alive now as we try to hash out what the Emergence is and determine its direction. Where do we go from here? We question, we probe, and we try to interpret God's will for us. It should be an amazing journey.