Feb
26
El Caballo out to pasture
Filed Under Culture, Current Events, Missions | Leave a Comment
Ailing Cuban dictator Fidel Castro has stepped down and handed over power to his brother Raul, and now seems ready to fade into history. The ‘revolution’ was nearly ten years old when I was born, so I know nothing of the Cuba of an older generation, who could travel there and speak first-hand of the beauty of its land and people–the Cuba of Ricky Ricardo and the delectable (albeit now illicit) cigars. The Cuba of my lifetime has been the Cuba of refugees clinging to flimsy boats off the coast of the Florida Keys, of the Soviet communist foothold in the Western Hemisphere, of Elian Gonzalez, of oppression–in short, the Cuba of El Comandante, the bearded supremo in the green fatigues. [Did you know that Forbes estimates that Castro's personal wealth is about twice that of Queen Elizabeth II?]
In 1996 I met a Cuban pastor at a ministers’ conference in Pennsylvania and gained new insight into the condition of the Church in Cuba. In his first two years in power, Castro ordered a confiscation of Bibles that the Cuban government claims resulted in the destruction of more than 100,000 copies. Hundreds of Protestant ministers were imprisoned and shot, and Protestant churches were bricked up or burned down under the pretense that they were CIA “front” organizations. Pope John XXIII excommunicated Castro in 1962.
However, in 1992 Castro eased restrictions on religious practices and welcomed a papal
visit in 1998, even ending a 30-year ban on the celebration of Christmas. Since 1992, there seems to be something of an accordion policy toward religious freedom in Cuba, with restrictions easing then tightening when the government fears that Christianity is flourishing too much, especially in the rural areas, where tens of thousands of house churches continue to thrive and grow.
For years Castro sympathizers have praised the high literacy rate in the Cuba (in reality, it seems to be no higher than it was prior to the 1959 revolution). But that literacy was and is now intended to be a literacy that enables the citizens to read what Castro wants them to read and know. A leading Roman Catholic prelate in Santiago recently commented, “Life in Cuba continues without the greater transformations.” And that is part of the beauty of the gospel. It does not require a particular form of government in order to prosper. It transcends cultural boundaries–and it transforms cultures.
Of course, that has always been part of the rub. The Roman Empire of the 1st century was quite willing to allow the existence of a Jewish reform movement that some were calling ‘The Way.’ Its adherents could say ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and there was no problem. The problem came when those folks would not say, ‘Caesar is Lord’ too. Then they were viewed as rebels who disrupted the unity of the state. For Rome, the goal of any true morality and piety was subordination of all things to the State. The Christian faith presented an alternative order and law and ultimate allegiance that quickly became interpreted as a treasonable faith and a menace to social and political order.
Joe recently reminded us in his opening sermon on 1 Thessalonians that we are on a mission of world conquest, make no mistake about it. It’s just that we are not doing so by force but by the death of discipleship, not for our own utopian dreams but for the worship of Christ Jesus, who is Lord of all, whom we acknowledge and serve everywhere at all times.
On one level, the oppression of the Church in Cuba seems ridiculous. And if Jesus is Lord in some, abstract, upper-story (as Francis Schaeffer would say), ‘religious’ sense, then persecution is silly. But at another, more fundamental level, Castro and dozens of others like him get it right. Cuban Christians confront Havana with the inflexible claim of Christ’s imperial authority. Jesus is God’s only-begotten Son; he is God; he is King; he is Savior. ‘Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him‘ [Psalm 2:10-12].
Back in the 18th century, John Howie wrote The Scots Worthies, a collection of biographical sketches of stalwart Scottish heroes of the Reformation and ‘the killing times’ of the late 17th century. The edition which the Banner of Truth Trust has reprinted does not include part of Howie’s original edition. The omitted section included sketches of some of the chief persecutors and enemies of the gospel, focusing on what painful and shameful deaths they suffered (how wonderfully Celtic!). Will Castro fade out quietly and peacefully, rather than brutally and violently? It does not matter. Will Cuba soon see ‘the greater transformations’? Who knows? There are thousands there who worship Christ and live for him daily. They are our brothers and sisters. They are more than conquerors through Christ. I’ll light a cigar to that, even if it’s ‘just’ a Dominican.
Feb
21
Because Jesus prayed–not what I will…
Filed Under Bible, Christian Living, Prayer | Leave a Comment
And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.” And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” And he came and found them sleeping… [Mark 14:32-37]
This scene is not comfortable. Jesus is not cool here. The God-man, glorious in power, who commands the wind and waves, who can heal diseases, who has walked steadfastly to his Jerusalem date with death, lies on the ground in Gethsemane, and he is weak and overwhelmed, trembling and crushed with anguish at what lies ahead. He wants out, pleading with God to let this hour pass from him.
Let me say again how remarkable it is that Jesus prayed. There is no greater indicator of his humanity—or as Principal Donald Macleod puts it, ‘his own dependentness,’ than this. Christ the God-man simply couldn’t handle the situation that was unfolding before him. The darkness gathering around him and over him made him ‘fall apart’ emotionally. Again Principal Macleod:
“I think we must drive it and ram it home to the depths of our own consciousness that dependentness is not the sign of sinfulness. It is in fact a sign of createdness; it is a sign of humanness. It’s a reminder to us that if Jesus felt that he couldn’t bear his load, or climb the mountain, or cross the river, or overcome the temptation except in the strong crying and tears which he offered to God then how before God can we hope to go through life day by day and say to God, ‘Father, it’s OK. We can handle it.’? We have to come before God in this crushing sense of our own sheer weakness, because when Christ is praying he is saying in the most eloquent fashion possible, ‘There is no way that in my naked and unaided humanness I can carry this load; nor finish this work, nor bear this burden, nor emerge from this trial.’ That is why we have a praying Christ. He is the incarnation of the living power of God. He is the enfleshment of all the ability of God’s grace, and yet he is praying.”
Good theology reminds us that this scene is, in a critical sense, unique. Jesus is hauling a load that I cannot haul. He was becoming sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him. He was forsaken that we might be welcomed. We are not called to “do” Gethsemane and Calvary. However, Jesus does call us to deny elf, take up a cross and follow him. And thus we know something of the collision of our will and God’s. Most of us have faced circumstances which have made us cry out, ‘Lord, what are doing to me? Don’t you know what’s happening to me? Why do I have to go through this experience? Haven’t I always loved you and served you? Where is your comforting presence? Is this how you treat your friends, your children? This makes no sense!’ If you haven’t, then let me comfort you by saying that you will.
Martin Luther would say things like this: “I am too busy not to pray.” I have always admired that, but found myself imitating it far too little. But this scene helps get in on that belief about prayer. It suggests to me that regardless of my office as a pastor, regardless of my gifts, knowledge and experience, there is no situation I face in which I can claim spiritual independence or competence. Every load is too heavy, every obligation too great, every temptation too powerful and every privilege too tempting. Here is Christ—holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, filled above measure with the Holy Spirit, beloved of his Father, with every right to claim independent confidence—and here is Christ laid out on the ground, broken and crying to God.
When I pray, I usually do so out of habit or because I see it as a helping resource in times of testing or conflict. But why was Jesus praying here? For Jesus, prayer ends up being the battle itself. Have you ever noticed that once the Judas-led mob of officials arrive to arrest him, Jesus is ‘cool’ again–he is strong and courageous again? Once the writhing, tears and loud cries of Gethsemane had realigned him with the Father’s will, there was no turning back. He sweat great drops of blood not in the praetorium before Pilate, not before Caiaphas, not on the road to Golgotha, but in Gethsemane. There he ‘offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death’ (Hebrews 5:7). Haddon Robinson observes something about Gethsemane that I had never considered:
Had I been there and witnessed that struggle, I would have worried about the future. ‘If he is so broken up when all he is doing is praying,’ I might have said, ‘what will he do when he faces a real crisis? Why can’t he approach this ordeal with calm confidence of his three sleeping friends?’ Yet, when the rest came, Jesus walked to the cross with courage, and his three friends fell apart and fell away. [quoted in Philip Yancey, Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?, p.86]
Did Jesus embrace the mission? Absolutely (after all, he was in on the drafting of the plan at its beginning!). Had Jesus speak repeatedly and plainly to his disciples about the mission? Indeed he did. But how painful and unappealing it appeared, how extreme it felt to him that night in Gethsemane. And so he prayed and is praying for us now. Prayer is humbling ourselves to talk openly and candidly to our great sympathetic high priest, who himself writhed on the ground and said to his God and Father, Yet not what I will, but what you will.
Feb
20
Bespangled with Gracious Promises
Filed Under Puritans | Leave a Comment
“Blessed be God for the revelation of the covenant of grace, wherein life and salvation is freely provided and offered to fallen man through the obedience and satisfaction of the second Adam. Well may it be called a covenant of grace: for it came from the rich and free grace of God, as its true spring; it is all bespangled with gracious promises, as the heavens are with stars; and all the blessings contained in it are gratuitous and free, such as men cannot plead any right or title unto by any merit or works of their own.”
-Thomas Boston, The Complete Works of the Late Rev. Thomas Boston (1853; repr., Tentmaker Publications: Stokes-on-Trent, 2002), 1:241.
Feb
11
A Savior not satisfied
Filed Under Bible, Christian Living, Holiness | Leave a Comment
He shall see the labor of his soul, and be satisfied. [Isaiah 53:11].
The first sermon I ever preached was on Isaiah 53, and I think I have destroyed all recordings. Ever since, I have been captivated by that statement in v.11. Isaiah portrays Messiah as stricken, smitten and afflicted, led as a lamb to be butchered. BUT, he shall see the labor of his soul and be satisfied. His suffering was not purposeless and ineffectual. There is no need to pity Jesus the Suffering Servant. There is a joy set before him–the joy of bearing and removing the sin of his people and making intercession for them. He did what he set out to do. He cried from the cross, ‘It is finished!’ He fulfilled the righteous requirements of the law.
But Isaiah speaks of the satisfaction as future, not past or present. In a sense, Jesus is not yet satisfied. We will sing this coming Lord’s Day in public worship, ‘Jesus who died shall be satisfied, and earth and heaven be one.’ God is at work. Redemption accomplished is not yet fully applied. The full number of the elect has not yet come in. There are others whom Jesus wants to put in our pews as worshipers. I am thankful that I am not what I once was, but I am just as thankful that it has not yet been revealed what I shall be either!
Today I found a similar meditation on Paul Tripp’s blog, and think it’s worth sharing with you…
The One on whom we wait is a dissatisfied Messiah. He will not relent, he will not quit, he will not rest until every promise he has made been fully delivered. He will not turn from his work until every one of his children has been totally transformed. He will continue to fight until the last enemy is under his feet. He will reign until his kingdom has fully come. As long as sin exists, he will shower us with forgiving, empowering, and delivering grace. He will defend us against attack and attack the enemy on our behalf. He will be faithful to convict, rebuke, encourage, and comfort. He will continue to open the warehouse of his wisdom and unfold for us the glorious mysteries of his truth. He will stand with us through the darkness and the light. He will guide us on a path we could never have discovered or would never have been wise enough to choose. He will supply for us every good thing that we need to be what he’s called us to be and to do what he’s called us to do in the place where he’s put us. And he will not rest from his work until every last microbe of sin has been completely eradicated from every heart of each of his children!
Feb
8
Back from Belize
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Belize was great. I’m finally digging out from being gone for four days. Right now I’m wishing that life had a pause button so that I could catch my breath. But I know our God gives us exactly enough time to do what he wants us to do. So this list of highlights will serve as my mission report.
- The lady at the airline desk who thought Belize was a city in Brazil
- Sitting next to a woman who thought I was absolutely insane to believe that the Bible spoke of only one way to God
- Participating in a new members class of 20 women and children
- Learning how to say “What are you doing?” in Creole–it sounded something like, “Da widi gowan”
- Getting bear hugged 20 times over the course of the weekend by Ernest–a gregarious seminary student
- Spending the weekend catching up with an old seminary friend
- Catching tropical fish off of the second biggest reef in the world using a hand line while listening to our guide talk about the benefits of smoking pot
- Sharing the gospel with said guide
- Lecturing for six hours on 1 and 2 Peter–Peter’s letters have to be some of my favorite material in the whole Bible
- Hearing that Hallie was at home with four children sick with an upper respiratory infection
- Coming down with a said respiratory infection 48 hours into the trip
- Teaching a Sunday School class on the person and work of Jesus Christ
- Almost missing my connection in Atlanta after spending 20 minutes on the runway
- Hearing the flight attendant announce the Giants’ victory when we landed in Jackson
- Finding out they didn’t have the type of rental car I had rented and being given a Ford Mustang convertible instead
- Being humbled by the Christ exalting work of God in missions
- Seeing Hallie and children again after missing them terribly for four days
It really was a great trip. These highlights don’t do it justice. If you have read this far, pray for Belize and all those who are ministering the gospel there. Pray especially that God would raise up a generation of pastors to shepherd the sheep of Jesus in that country.
Feb
6
Bruce Cockburn-revisited
Filed Under Christmas, Music, Poetry | 4 Comments
Now that ‘The Sweet Dropper’ has more readers than I can count on one hand, it’s time to give props to Canadian singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn [pronounced co-burn with a long "o"], whose music has been a big part of my life since I first heard If I Had a Rocket Launcher in Paul Case’s car in the parking lot of Christ United Methodist Church in Jackson, MS in 1984. Miss Judy and I saw Bruce in concert at Holy Communion Episcopal Church in Memphis back in June–best concert I’ve attended since…well, since Paul Case and I saw Bruce at the Moonshadow in Atlanta in 1986!
Cockburn, whose guitar skills make amateurs like myself contemplate smashing their fingers with a hammer, is held in highest regard in his “home and native land” for his career of more than 40 years. He has released 29 albums, is a member of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, and is truly ‘a musician’s musician.’
Cockburn gained initial recognition in 1969 as a last-minute replacement for Neil Young as headliner at the Mariposa Folk Festival. His first solo album was recorded the following year. For the next decade, Cockburn developed a sound that combined folk, rock and jazz, and also distinguished himself with lyrics expressing a new-found Christian faith and a gentle introspection. This phase of his career peaked with 1979’s Dancing In the Dragon’s Jaws, which featured his first U.S. Top 40 hit, “Wondering Where the Lions Are.”
On 1980’s Humans–which I and many other fans consider one of his best–Cockburn emerges as a keen observer of the global scene and an eloquent commentator on his own private struggles. Humans resonates with world-beat influences and darker, more politically aware lyrics. Throughout the ’80s his music took on a more electric sound and gave eloquent voice to angry left-wing politics.
From the mid-’90s to the present Cockburn’s music has gathered up the earlier phases of
his career and mellowed them into a spiritually sensitive, politically astute, and refreshingly honest body of work–now more jazz and acoustic than the electric “protest” music of the ’80s. His lyrics are more thought-provoking than ever, and his musicianship still amazes.
If you want to sample Cockburn’s music, let me offer a few recommendations:
- Joy Will Find a Way [1975] and In the Falling Dark [1976-many of the tracks chronicle his emerging Christian faith]
- Dancing in the Dragon’s Jaws [1979-the peak of Cockburn's folk/acoustic period],
- Humans [1980-brilliant transition album from contemplative Cockburn to angry Cockburn],
- Stealing Fire [1984-peak of Cockburn's politically-charged electric sound]
- Christmas [1993-if I can keep only one CD of Christmas music, I'd keep this one!],
- The Charity of the Night [1997] and Breakfast in New Orleans, Dinner in Timbuktu [1999-both of which exhibit his full artistic and emotional range],
- Speechless [2005 compilation of his best instrumental pieces--a must for guitar enthusiasts],
- Life Short Call Now [2006-his most recent release].
All of these are available from Amazon and most from iTunes.