In 2019 I had an opportunity to study the synoptic gospels at Trinity College in Evansville IN. One assignment had us read Eric Barreto’s article, “A Gospel on the Move: Practice, Proclamation, and Place in Luke-Acts.” Unfortunately I can’t re-post his article here, but want to share some thoughts about it. Here’s my response from that time:

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The problem of immigration is a difficult one, and too often we may see the radical teaching and actions of Jesus and say to ourselves, “well, it wouldn’t really apply in this situation.”  We have become numb to how good the good news is, and how wide and how inclusive is the net that is cast by the gospel.  Barreto’s article forces us to look at the message of Jesus and consider how he might behave were he in our shoes.  Using the movement of the good news of Christianity within the context of Luke and Acts, the author examines the role of meals, the various contexts of proclamation, and the places where the gospel is delivered as a means to disrupt our complacency about the functional love of God in our world. 

I was intrigued at Barreto’s view of the word “sinners” which has almost become a fashionable method of referring to oneself in contemporary Christianity as in, “I’m just a sinner saved by grace.”  But in Jesus’ time, sinner was a derogatory term of identity for the truly outcast.  While we take on “sinner saved by grace” as a badge of honor or even an identity statement as a Christian, this was not the sense of the word for Luke.  This person for Luke is a person that we wouldn’t want anything to do with, that we would view as an outcast, and that we certainly would not want to have a meal with.  But again and again in Luke, we see Jesus eating with exactly the person we would not eat with.  There is a transference of acceptance and belonging that happens at this abundant table with Jesus.

Wherever Jesus goes, whoever he encounters, any place he finds himself is fertile ground for the spreading of the seed of love and belonging.  Eating together becomes a place of connection, to be known and received at this abundant and accepting table with Jesus. We see that this is the most natural thing, as evidenced when the two friends on the road to Emmaus invite Jesus into have a meal with them.  They recognize him at last, when he does what he always did, breaking bread with them and welcoming them to his table. 

When we come to the issue of immigration and our current affairs, the article does not necessarily recommend a specific program for resolution.  Rather Barreto calls us to consider the profound availability and inclusiveness of Jesus’ love for all people, regardless of social class, economic means, ethnicity, citizenship or status.  Again, it is easy for us to say this, that we agree that the gospel is for all, but the truth will be seen in the way we put our love into action, and who we truly consider to be our neighbor as we welcome refugees and immigrants. 

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If you’ve made it this far and want to read the article, I can share it one on one. Just contact me at cspicka at gmail dot com.

 

I’m reading Matthew 11:28 through 30 this morning and really looking at these three words: come, take, learn.

Jesus is talking directly to those of us in a religious system that is not working.

I remind you of the profound enjoyment and affection that Jesus has for you. You are his favorite. He has such honor for you. He’s not gonna push or barge his way deeper into your life.

I would say also he has such compassion with the struggle that for you, you might consider to be a defining thing between him and you.

It’s not.

His call to you to be with him, to follow him, to learn how to do life with him, I think that’s much more the kind of thing that is on his mind.

He has separated your sin from you as far as the east is from the west, and frankly, he’s not talking about it anymore. It’s been dealt with, everything in the past, everything in the present, everything in the future handled, under the blood, resolved forgiven, expunged.

So maybe here’s something to ask him. If he’s no longer talking about your sin, what is he interested in talking to you about?

In two of the meetings I had today, I had the opportunity to share a difficult personal situation. Both of my friends were supportive and understanding, listening to me without jumping to fix me (as we men often do to one another). One of these guys has been my friend for about 20 years, the other, it is just our second meeting.

I’ve held back talking about this, for a number of what I’ve thought were excellent reasons, but when it comes down to it, it was all about self-protection: how I would look and what people would think of me. What I’m finding as I selectively open up is that the burden is lighter. It’s still hard, for sure. And I have no answers. But I feel less alone and less weighted by all of it.

Vulnerability carries such risk. You want to be smart about who you talk to, the quality of the relationship and the level of trust. While hiding it all away can seem like the safe bet, I think you’ll find processing out loud can take some of the sting and the shame out of it.

I’m grateful for good friends.

I’m teaching tonight at New Wine, it’s the 2nd Sunday of Advent, and I’m thinking about why Jesus came here.

A hint from John 10:10 —

“A thief has only one thing in mind—he wants to steal, slaughter, and destroy. But I have come to give you everything in abundance, more than you expect —life in its fullness until you overflow!”
‭‭John‬ ‭10‬:‭10‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Other translations say abundant life, or life to the full. And what is that life? Another clue from John 17:3 —

“Eternal life means to know and experience you as the only true God, and to know and experience Jesus Christ, as the Son whom you have sent.”
‭‭John‬ ‭17‬:‭3‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Life to the full, then, is relational connectedness with Jesus. And that’s at least one of the reasons he came. Actually, to know you and for you to know him — that’s why.

… Or, for that matter, your truth, her truth, our truth, their truth. It’s just the truth. It’s separate from each of us, outside of us, discernible for those who will look for it. When it becomes personal, when it becomes “mine”, it’s more correctly thought of as my opinion, my belief, my position, etc.

When it becomes my truth instead of the truth, it often just masks judgment, arrogance, and condemnation. It becomes a wall to hide behind of supposed tolerance that is no longer tolerant at all. The truth however, invites debate and discourse, and as we’ve all heard, will ultimately set us free.

In popular writing, you will often hear this order: body, soul, spirit. Notice the order in the following passage —

“Now, may the God of peace and harmony set you apart, making you completely holy. And may your entire being—spirit, soul, and body—be kept completely flawless in the appearing of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One. The one who calls you by name is trustworthy and will thoroughly complete his work in you.”
‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭23‬-‭24‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Questions:

– how can I support and enable my spirit to lead my soul and my body?

– in what ways do I consistently giving into the demands of my body like, I’m hungry, I’m tired, I don’t want to, waaah?

– what would it mean to see my soul as the integration between my spirit and body, that I am an incarnation, a three part person?

The most important skill anyone could gain while on this planet would be to hear God for themselves, to trust what they’re hearing, and to take action in response. Like any skill, it can be learned, and beyond that, deliberately cultivated and developed. To begin is to say, this is a God who speaks and wants me to hear him more than even I want to hear him. To begin is to discard the limiting statement, “I don’t hear his voice.”

A great way to start is to find a place and time away from the noise of your daily life, and simply ask him a question. One good question for him would be, “what’s your word for me, for this coming year, or for this season of my life?”

On January 22, 2022, he gave me the phrase “free & clear”. That’s lead to, among other things: a job change after 10 years, the sale of my wife’s family home, the sale of a vacation property, the sale of our home in Knoxville, a relocation to Florida. The expression became a filter for my wife and I as we evaluated opportunities and decisions. I shared what I had heard with friends, and received other coaching on what God might be saying to me and how I could dig into what he was saying further.

Why not begin, in these next 100 days, to ask God to help you hear him. He’s already speaking to you all the time. Perhaps it could begin with a word for the coming year for you, or for the season that you’re in?

Most Sunday mornings I take my dog Simone for a walk around a local high school less than a mile from my house. She loves to run in the grass and the parking lots with no one around, and I get time to just pray and think and talk to the Lord while we’re walking.

Today on our walk around Bearden, I found a memorial garden where most of the ages that on the gravestones are 15, 16 and 17. I don’t know how these kids died, but we’d all agree a child ought not die before their parents. That’s just how things are supposed to be.

I thought about each of these parents connected to each of the roughly 25 stones that I saw. Would talking to them about a conversation between Evodious and Augustine mean anything to them? My answer to the problem of evil, sin, and suffering must reach people in a real world of tragedy, loss and pain. It is insufficient to throw Christian platitudes at people and tell them that all this happened just so we could freely choose God and love him.

“Trust and wait for what is still unseen” (from Romans 8:24) is the sign on the church across the street where I stopped to jot this note down. God give us grace to have real answers for a world in pain. And God give us grace to make the effort that will be required to push into this. I want the empathy, connection, and love that Jesus would have with these parents, if he were sitting down with each of them.