I wrote this out of inspirations gathered in thought with the stereo turned off in the car(as I like it) from Henri Nouwen's; Compassion and Ken Wilson's teaching on; The Quest for The Radical Center.
We Christ-Followers are so very much like pilgrims.
One thing is the fact that pilgrims come toward a common destination. It is not where we have come from but where we are going that unites us or at least helps us to tolerate each other(Ken Wilson) until our love will be perfected when the day comes when we collide head on with the City of the Great King. A Kingdom which runs parallel with the kingdoms of Earth and it has no end and is not swayed nor is it shaken. The common destination isn't necessarily about our departure from the world but it is about the arrival of the dwelling of God with us forever!
This is the kind of pilgrimage that tells us that we are not at home but we are headed there but what makes it stand out is that we are not in some kind of "waiting room" mode but we are participants of the Kingdom at hand. We are participants in building what is and is to come.
Revelations 21.1-5 describes what that common destination looks like:
"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."
This vision ultimately guides us from all of our separate and distinct places in the body of Christ and leads us on the journey that demands us to rely on one another through the work of the greatest gift of all- love. It is described here in Revelation 21 in order to give us vision for our journey. Because our arrival from our journey will break us into a clear-cut humble state of being and the work of our hands, feet, hearts and minds will be forever in perfect peace, rest and celebration. Wahoo!
How is it that we know this place is real? I mean even as a Christian we have these doubts - do we not? We see that this vision of the not-yet-but-almost-here is a confirmation thrown back at us from the future. It's a strong seed of hope that has been gently placed into our hearts and each and every day it seeks to root itself deeper and work towards that bursting action that leads outward into a full bloom of hopefulness that aides in the rescuing of those around us.
We can't describe it like the back of our hands but only with the eyes of our hearts. So what does that look like? We know this place, this common destination, by a citizenship that has been given to us here and now for the here and now and also for the not yet. We know this because we yearn for it. We breathe because of it. We long for it. We hope for it. We run to it and we run for it and when we run from it His grace seeks to be in pursuit of us even if it must chase us into our darkest corners.
How do we identify with this Kingdom at hand and this Kingdom yet to come?
It is revealed to us each time strangers are welcomed into our lives
and into our communities of faith,
each time the naked are clothed,
each time the sick and the prisoners are visited,
and each time oppression is overcome.
We realize we are more and more a part of this identity when we begin to approach this vision that guides us with a sense of wonder and anticipation and humility. A sense of ownership over us by our Creator King thrusts our hearts into the depths of sacrifice and a desire to live in Him occupies our every waking thought. We see His majesty when a newborn takes it's first breath of air and we praise Him. We see His care for us in the people that invade our lives with friendship and great acceptance. We begin to echo His lavishing upon us as we purposefully seek to give our own selves away towards the needs of others. This is how we know the vision that guides us is truly guiding us!
A couple thousand years ago a discussion began with two very confused and discouraged followers of Jesus. They were leaving Jerusalem heartbroken because their leader had been savagely beaten and killed. They were on a road to Emmaus which was another place that most assuredly had experienced the devastating effects of oppression that the Roman Empire had weighed down upon it. Crushed hope paved this road to and from Emmaus.
Who shows up GENTLY to comfort them and walk with them and listen to their DOUBTS? Who shows up to delve into the great history of the children of God and give vision and purpose and revelation?
Jesus.
He moves in subtly with care like a surgeon at work.
He goes on to be with them and even have dinner and
teach perhaps the most personal and incredible Bible study
ever recorded in all of history and then He leaves humbly and quietly.
Stay focused on this occurrence. Jesus began a conversation with these two. That conversation is still being carried out today by you and I. It is NOT a conversation meant only for the business driven and institutionalized church or the intellectual gospel bearer.
It is not just meant for the elite.
It is not meant for only pastors to dialogue with other pastors about it as if they own it.
It is a conversation that invites every single one of us into the discussion.
Let's see... I don't recall Jesus giving job interviews or checking applications in order for any of us to be of any use or even demanding that we be strong in our theology in order to represent Him. In fact, it seems that Jesus always confounds us by using the least of these. We have been asked to respond to His calling. We have not been forced to respond to Jesus nor have we been given the right to demand from others what we don't practice ourselves.
[Insert confessional time here.]
Take for instance the whole plan of a Crucified Messiah. It certainly does not mesh very well with the Western world view of "powering up" in order to take over. We so often think that the Jews were incredibly stupid for not knowing who Jesus really was when we have our Bible studies and discussions as we plagiarize the opinions of writers that fit our arguments. How is it that the poor get poorer and the Church in America seeks refuge in presidential elections, popular opinion polls and craves for media attention like a heroine addict seeks a fix? How is it that churches spend tens of thousands of dollars on marketing campaigns that embrace the culture of cool in order to "power up" when poverty is crushing our neighborhoods?
Dorothy Day said it well when she said, "I wonder: Have we even begun to be Christians yet?"
The vision that guides us is a lot to consider with our hearts and minds. It's a vision that changes everything about the world we've been surrounded by since birth. It's a vision that redeems here and now and provides us with incredible capability to be heart-wrenchingly involved in the restoration of all things.
That vision:
A crucified king alive and forever enthroned who reigns over a Kingdom that is here and now and not-yet and it is like the mustard seed that expands and spreads out and houses even the unwanted and it's law is love.
We Christ-Followers are so very much like pilgrims.
One thing is the fact that pilgrims come toward a common destination. It is not where we have come from but where we are going that unites us or at least helps us to tolerate each other(Ken Wilson) until our love will be perfected when the day comes when we collide head on with the City of the Great King. A Kingdom which runs parallel with the kingdoms of Earth and it has no end and is not swayed nor is it shaken. The common destination isn't necessarily about our departure from the world but it is about the arrival of the dwelling of God with us forever!
This is the kind of pilgrimage that tells us that we are not at home but we are headed there but what makes it stand out is that we are not in some kind of "waiting room" mode but we are participants of the Kingdom at hand. We are participants in building what is and is to come.
Revelations 21.1-5 describes what that common destination looks like:
"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."
This vision ultimately guides us from all of our separate and distinct places in the body of Christ and leads us on the journey that demands us to rely on one another through the work of the greatest gift of all- love. It is described here in Revelation 21 in order to give us vision for our journey. Because our arrival from our journey will break us into a clear-cut humble state of being and the work of our hands, feet, hearts and minds will be forever in perfect peace, rest and celebration. Wahoo!
How is it that we know this place is real? I mean even as a Christian we have these doubts - do we not? We see that this vision of the not-yet-but-almost-here is a confirmation thrown back at us from the future. It's a strong seed of hope that has been gently placed into our hearts and each and every day it seeks to root itself deeper and work towards that bursting action that leads outward into a full bloom of hopefulness that aides in the rescuing of those around us.
We can't describe it like the back of our hands but only with the eyes of our hearts. So what does that look like? We know this place, this common destination, by a citizenship that has been given to us here and now for the here and now and also for the not yet. We know this because we yearn for it. We breathe because of it. We long for it. We hope for it. We run to it and we run for it and when we run from it His grace seeks to be in pursuit of us even if it must chase us into our darkest corners.
How do we identify with this Kingdom at hand and this Kingdom yet to come?
It is revealed to us each time strangers are welcomed into our lives
and into our communities of faith,
each time the naked are clothed,
each time the sick and the prisoners are visited,
and each time oppression is overcome.
We realize we are more and more a part of this identity when we begin to approach this vision that guides us with a sense of wonder and anticipation and humility. A sense of ownership over us by our Creator King thrusts our hearts into the depths of sacrifice and a desire to live in Him occupies our every waking thought. We see His majesty when a newborn takes it's first breath of air and we praise Him. We see His care for us in the people that invade our lives with friendship and great acceptance. We begin to echo His lavishing upon us as we purposefully seek to give our own selves away towards the needs of others. This is how we know the vision that guides us is truly guiding us!
A couple thousand years ago a discussion began with two very confused and discouraged followers of Jesus. They were leaving Jerusalem heartbroken because their leader had been savagely beaten and killed. They were on a road to Emmaus which was another place that most assuredly had experienced the devastating effects of oppression that the Roman Empire had weighed down upon it. Crushed hope paved this road to and from Emmaus.
Who shows up GENTLY to comfort them and walk with them and listen to their DOUBTS? Who shows up to delve into the great history of the children of God and give vision and purpose and revelation?
Jesus.
He moves in subtly with care like a surgeon at work.
He goes on to be with them and even have dinner and
teach perhaps the most personal and incredible Bible study
ever recorded in all of history and then He leaves humbly and quietly.
Stay focused on this occurrence. Jesus began a conversation with these two. That conversation is still being carried out today by you and I. It is NOT a conversation meant only for the business driven and institutionalized church or the intellectual gospel bearer.
It is not just meant for the elite.
It is not meant for only pastors to dialogue with other pastors about it as if they own it.
It is a conversation that invites every single one of us into the discussion.
Let's see... I don't recall Jesus giving job interviews or checking applications in order for any of us to be of any use or even demanding that we be strong in our theology in order to represent Him. In fact, it seems that Jesus always confounds us by using the least of these. We have been asked to respond to His calling. We have not been forced to respond to Jesus nor have we been given the right to demand from others what we don't practice ourselves.
[Insert confessional time here.]
Take for instance the whole plan of a Crucified Messiah. It certainly does not mesh very well with the Western world view of "powering up" in order to take over. We so often think that the Jews were incredibly stupid for not knowing who Jesus really was when we have our Bible studies and discussions as we plagiarize the opinions of writers that fit our arguments. How is it that the poor get poorer and the Church in America seeks refuge in presidential elections, popular opinion polls and craves for media attention like a heroine addict seeks a fix? How is it that churches spend tens of thousands of dollars on marketing campaigns that embrace the culture of cool in order to "power up" when poverty is crushing our neighborhoods?
Dorothy Day said it well when she said, "I wonder: Have we even begun to be Christians yet?"
The vision that guides us is a lot to consider with our hearts and minds. It's a vision that changes everything about the world we've been surrounded by since birth. It's a vision that redeems here and now and provides us with incredible capability to be heart-wrenchingly involved in the restoration of all things.
That vision:
A crucified king alive and forever enthroned who reigns over a Kingdom that is here and now and not-yet and it is like the mustard seed that expands and spreads out and houses even the unwanted and it's law is love.
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