“Humble submission to Christ’s body, the church”

To say that we are the body of Christ is to say that we are the ones that are inside of him. It is also to say that we are the visible expression of Christ Jesus on the earth. We, the body of Christ, are the conscious expression of Christ in this world.

The word “church” originally meant “called-out ones”. So, to be in the body of Christ means to be called out of the way of life of the world-systems of the kosmokrator and into the body of the Lord Jesus himself. To be his called-out ones, we are called out of …

Darkness
Lies
Hate

… and into …

Light
Truth
Love

By saying that we are submitting ourselves to the body of Christ, we come into complete agreement with God’s plan for the world. A body submits itself to the direction of its head. Likewise, the body of Christ submits itself to the leading of its head, who is the Christ.

And God’s plan for the world is not for millions of individual but separate and disjointed relationships with him. Rather, his yearning is for a fully unified assembly of followers throughout the whole world. Yet this is something much more than a temporary meeting of people from time to time. Rather, it is a living and organic body of followers. It is a state of being where we are in him and he is in us. This is truly what it means to be bodily present.

Ultimately, this mark implies a radical coming-together of the body of Christ in love. This is where perfect love casts out all fear.

A small but growing movement of followers of Christ are beginning to form themselves into discipleship relationships known as spiritual fathers and spiritual sons. With these relationships, more mature men agree for some indefinite period of time to personally mentor and instruct less mature men, and even to provide discipline to them, in a loving and private way. These relationships usually exist outside of officially recognized church or denominational structures or organizations.

Those who favor this movement support it by saying:

1. In the New Testament, the apostle Paul (St. Paul) called himself the father of the believers in Corinth and of Timothy. This was in spite of the fact that he apparently had had no natural children.
2. Collections of spiritual fathers and sons demonstrate a picture (symbol) for the world around us: The relationship between God the Father and his son Jesus Christ. Yes, this can never be a perfect symbol. Yet marriage is also cited as being a symbol of the relationship between Jesus Christ and his bride, the Church. The heart-cry of the world around us is: “Show us the Father”. The invisible God cannot be seen. Yet his goodness and graciousness can be seen through spiritual fathers loving their spiritual sons.
3. Only a trusted mentor (spiritual father) can provide loving discipline and spiritual direction to a protege (spiritual son) in a way that a committee or a formal church leader could not.
4. When Jesus said to “call no man father”, he was only speaking of our ultimate progenitor, God the Father.
5. The greatest issues of the world today all come down to one underlying issue: fatherlessness. What better way to address this issue than by having more mature men mentor younger men in groupings of spiritual fathers and spiritual sons.
6. Spiritual fathers with their spiritual sons most closely matches the discipleship pattern of Jesus with his disciples. With Jesus, discipleship was not a class but a way of life. Jesus instructed his disciples gradually through time and circumstances and by living and traveling with them.
7. Spiritual fathers with their spiritual sons is one of the most common patterns in all of human society, across all times and parts of the world.

Those who oppose or who question this movement as being too hierarchical say (and this is not an exhaustive list, by the way):

1. “The ground is level at the foot of the Cross.”
2. The priesthood of all believers. The New Testament only mentions one high priest, Jesus Christ. There is no ordering of leadership for this priesthood except for the headship of Jesus Christ himself.
3. For Protestant Christians: One of the main things we were protesting about Roman Catholicism at the start of the Reformation was its hierarchy. How could we then countenance going back to anything that looks like a hierarchical system?
4. Also for Protestant Christians: Jesus said to call no man father. So how can we have “spiritual fathers” or anything else like that?
5. For Catholic and Orthodox Christians: We already have officially recognized spiritual fathers and they are our priests. Anyone else who calls themselves a spiritual father is clearly outside the teaching of the true Church.
6. God has already designed natural, intact families for this purpose. Natural fathers should, where appropriate, provide spiritual care in their households for their children. After that, formal church structures should provide a measure of spiritual discipline.
7. Spiritual fathers could abuse their positions of spiritual authority over their spiritual sons.
8. God expresses himself through all of his children. How can any one of them be greater than any other?
9. This movement is, on its face, anti-feminine because it only speaks of the male gender: fathers and sons.
10. We need no earthly spiritual father because God the Father can now deal with each of us directly, including as per disciplinary issues.

Is this a movement that is too hierarchical or is it both a natural expression of human communities and of Christian theology?

I invite your comments.

“Lament for racial divisions within the church and our communities combined with the active pursuit of a just reconciliation.”

It started out so well. The apostle Philip, one of the original followers of Jesus, was traveling down a desert road when he came across an Ethiopian of the royal court. The man was reading the passage from the Hebrew Bible that spoke about a lamb being led to the slaughter. Puzzled over the meaning of this passage, he asked Philip to explain it to him. Philip then began to explain to the Ethiopian the good news about Jesus. Eagerly embracing the water of baptism, the Ethiopian came into the body of Christ that very day. This is story in the New Testament book of Acts is one where a white man, one of Jesus’s personal friends, invited a black man into the worldwide communion of Christ-followers at the specific direction of the Spirit of God.

Jesus is for all peoples, and he clearly told his original followers to go to all of the ethnos (people-groups) of the world. But something happened through the centuries since then: The racial and ethnic divisions of the world around crept into the community of Christ-followers.

Yet even with this, as if by some miracle, Jesus was embraced by some of the ones who oppressed by those who claimed the Name of Jesus. Perhaps one of the greatest witnesses for Christ is that he was embraced so eagerly by the slaves of the colonial period in the United States, in spite of the fact that he was also the savior of their masters. Then, they held faithfully to him during their many years of slavery and about 100 years of segregation and discrimination. Surely the goodness of Jesus is seen in his relationship with this often-oppressed minority group.

Yet racial divisions are not just those that are in the written law but, more importantly, in our hearts. When the world looks at the body of Christ, what does it see? For example, in the United States, the most racially segregated hour of the week is when churches meet on Sunday mornings. Yes, this is beginning to change, but we have a long way to go.

What words that stand out for me here:

1. Lament. This is where mark #4 starts, and it means a period of mournful reflection and careful consideration. Then, a period of tearful consideration gives way to the next stand-out word …

2. Active. Something that is active is not something that is on proverbial “back burner”. It something to be pursued now and continuously until the goal is fully achieved.

Can the body of Christ express true racial reconciliation? If the answer is no, then we are truly without hope on the earth. Yet in our hearts we know that the answer must be yes. With that, we must each take the courage to step towards this just end.

The essay entitled “Bridges for Evangelicals: Journeying into Contemplative Spirituality and Spiritual Direction” by Elsa McInnes discusses five “great divides” that evangelical followers of Christ must cross over in order to enter into a more contemplative spirituality. I offer these here for your review and comments …

1.  Sacred or Secular. The ancient Greek philosophical idea that divides sacred things from secular things is not part of the life of Jesus Christ. With this divide removed, God is then free to express himself to us through his creation, through the arts, music, etc.

2.  Knowing or Feeling, the Head or the Heart, law or love. Evangelicalism stresses knowing God through the mind. Yet knowing about someone is not the same knowing someone personally. As with our close personal relationships with other people, we must not only approach God intellectually but also through our emotions and senses.

3.  Doing or Being, Inner Journey or Outer Service. Evangelicalism stresses visible ministry activities and generally looks down upon any inner spiritual reflection. Yet we are and must be human beings before we can become “human doings”. Who we truly are, spiritually, our true spiritual identity, is just as important (if not more so) than the spiritual or religious ministries we perform.

4.  Individualism or Faith Community. Evangelicalism emphasizes salvation of the individual. Yet evangelicals often find themselves isolated from the rich traditions of other parts of Christianity. It’s only in the whole of the experience of the greater Christian community that someone can find his or her true identity and calling in Christ.

5.  Mastery or Mystery. Evangelicalism tends to want to define the exact meaning of the Bible and the nature of God. Yet those same sacred scriptures say that God’s ways are higher than our ways and his thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Yet even with our close human relationships, there is always an element of discovery and mystery. How much more so with God?

The great monastery complex at Mount Athos of Greece is really a series of self-governing monasteries, as well as sketes and hermitages. Called simply the Holy Mountain in English, Mount Athos is accessible only by sea even though it is a peninsula and not an island. Mount Athos is the second holiest site in Orthodox Christianity. Only men 18 years or older may enter Mount Athos and preference is always given to Orthodox Christians. (Only about 10 non-Orthodox visitors are allowed to visit each day.)

To get to Mount Athos, visitors must obtain a special pass called a diamoneterion. Stamped with the date according to the Julian Calendar, the diamoneterion allows for the enforcement of the strict entrance requirements to Mount Athos. You can see the diamoneterion at:

http://www.macedonian-heritage.gr/Athos/MonasteryImages/DIAFORA/diamonitirion.html

The Greek word diamoneterion has three parts:

1.  The prefix dia, which means across or through;
2.  mone, which means dwelling place or place to stay; and
3.  The suffix terion, which means “place where”.

Putting the three together, diamoneterion means “across to the place where there are dwelling places”.

_________

The Greek word mone is used only twice in the New Testament, both times in the Gospel of John. The first is where Jesus, on the night before his execution, told his disciples that there were many mone (dwelling places) in his father’s house and that he was going to prepare a place for each of them there. This statement by Jesus is well-known to his followers today. It is a statement of anticipation of the heavenly journey at the end of this life (although it should be noted that heaven is not specifically mentioned in this part of the Gospel of John).

The second use of the word mone comes from Jesus on that same night but is less recognized by today’s Christ-followers. Here, Jesus told his followers that if someone loves him and obeys his teaching, his father and him would come and make their mone (dwelling place) inside of him or her. This second and only other use of mone in the NT complements the earlier statement by Jesus. It describes how God wants to work through his followers on earth: By dwelling inside of them and living through them on a daily basis in their day-to-day lives. Rather than allowing the world around us to be blinded by the very brightness of the unveiled light of God, the father lets the world see the “enfleshed shadow” of God living in those who follow after him in his love and in the love of his son. It’s in this way that the world might gently comprehend his goodness.

_________

Also, please see the recent Reuters article about Mount Athos:

http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSTRE4AC3RY20081113

Denver Post article:

http://www.denverpost.com/travel/ci_10441425

Scot McKnight has just published a series of posts called the Kingdom Gospel.

http://blog.beliefnet.com/jesuscreed/2009/05/kingdom-gospel-1.html
http://blog.beliefnet.com/jesuscreed/2009/05/kingdom-gospel-2.html
http://blog.beliefnet.com/jesuscreed/2009/05/kingdom-gospel-3.html
http://blog.beliefnet.com/jesuscreed/2009/05/kingdom-gospel-4.html
http://blog.beliefnet.com/jesuscreed/2009/05/kingdom-gospel-5.html
http://blog.beliefnet.com/jesuscreed/2009/05/kingdom-gospel-6.html
http://blog.beliefnet.com/jesuscreed/2009/05/kingdom-gospel-7.html

I was wondering if anyone else had thoughts about these posts, either agreeing or disagreeing.

In the Bible, mountains are often symbolic of kingdoms. Hills, in turn, are smaller kingdoms or principalities. Islands are symbols of democracies or republics, and the landless sea is a symbol either of outright anarchy or perhaps of tribal rule. Valleys are symbolic places of the weak and disadvantaged in society.

With this in mind, the biblical reader can discern parabolic meanings:

• In stories like Noah and the flood, where the flood is said to have covered even the highest mountains.
• The psalmist lifted up his eyes to the hills (mountains) in Psalm 121 in attempt to find help.
• The hills are said to melt like wax at the presence of the Lord in Psalm 97.
• The promise of the prophet Isaiah that every valley will be lifted up and every hill and mountain be made low.
• The devil tempted Jesus by taking him to “a very high mountain” and showed him all of the kingdoms of the world.
• Jesus’s bold statement about faith, where mountains would be flung into the sea at the command of someone speaking in faith.
• In the end of days, the Book of Revelation speaks of the islands and mountains “running away” and hiding.

But it is to the words of the prophets Micah and Isaiah that I would most like to draw your attention to here:

“And it will come about in the last days: The mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the greatest mountain. It will be raised above the hills, and people will stream to it. Many nations will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.’ For from Zion will go forth the law, even the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he will judge between many peoples and render decisions for mighty and distant nations. Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they train for war.” (a modification of the NASB version)

What is this mountain of the house of the Lord that is somehow associated with the coming of peace on earth? How can something as mighty as a mountain (which is symbolic of a kingdom) be associated with a single house? What would induce all of the nations of the world to stop fighting each other and voluntarily go up to this “house of the Lord”?

We’ll explore more about this in the coming days ahead.

Spiritual shadows and symbols in this world are not always benign or helpful. Sometimes they can be employed for terrible or cruel purposes. I say this not to make anyone afraid or upset. That’s definitely nor my intent here. Rather, I’d like to offer you a simple, cautionary note via this post for your consideration. …

So, with some apologies, I’m starting another post here with a Greek word. Before it was anastasis, and this time it’s kosmokrator. The kosmokrator is what the New Testament calls the god of this world. More specifically, we should say that the kosmokrator is the god of the dehumanizing systems of this world. As opposed to the God of all (the pantakrator), the invisible kosmokrator is said by the NT to be actively involved in “blinding the eyes” of people.

Since it is obviously not our natural eyes that are blinded, it must be another means of sight that we each have that the god of this world is trying to take away. This other, invisible sense of sight that we each have is in our souls.

A soul is a deeply spiritual mystery. It is an invisible essence of ourselves. Anyone who would pretend to understand everything about it is clearly not telling the truth. However, we can examine three broad aspects of our souls that would seem to be plausible: the mind, the will, and the emotions. Given these three characteristics of our souls, we can look at how the kosmokrator might seek to try to attack or “blind” each of us.

1.  Agitation of the Emotions.  Emotions can be critical expressions of our lives and can serve as “leading indicators” for what we should or shouldn’t do. Our emotions are expressed when we say “I feel …”. Yet our emotions can also be agitated into doing things that we later regret, like “fight-or-flight” responses. Agitated emotions may cause us to cling to pride or fear: things that separate us from giving or receiving love.

2.  Propaganda for the Mind.  The mind is the “thinking function” of our souls. It is the interior world of ideas and thoughts. The mind is our complex “mental map”.  The mind is expressed when we say “I think …”. Propaganda is not just something done for whole societies (which is now the usual English language connotation for that word) but also for small groups of people and even individuals. Propaganda is an overall map or system for how we should think. It is an overarching plan for making sense of our thoughts. The kosmokrator seeks to make us see things his way. He doesn’t have control over our thoughts, but he does have the ability to try to provide us with a blueprint (schemata) for how we categorize and make sense of the thoughts in our minds.

(By the way, because agitation and propaganda often come in tandem, they are sometimes called agitprop.)

3.  Coercion of the Will.  The will is the decistion-making function of the soul. Once a decision has been made, the will provides the strength to maintain the position of that decision. The will is expressed when we say “I do …” or “I will …”. If agitprop fails, the final tactic of the god of this world is coercion or at least the thread of it. Coercion is not the classic “the devil made me do it” excuse. Rather, it is the strong threat against our souls that bad consequences will follow if we do not conform our wills to the world systems around us. It is intimidation that may blind us if we let the fear of coercion overtake us.

So, how can the knowledge of these tactics be useful to the spiritual explorer?

If you find that your emotions are being agitated, especially if such agitation is driving you away from loving other people, then please be on the alert. Let peace, calm, and rest enter into your soul instead.

If you find that you are being strongly challenged to think in a certain way: in a way that seems to conform closely to the world systems around you but also in a way that might be unjust to other people, then please be warned: Love is surely the most excellent way.

Finally, if your cause is just and you encounter the forces of corecion and intimidation along the path toward justice, take courage and make you stand.

For those of you who are commemorating Palm Sunday (in Western Christianity, April 5, and in Eastern Christianity, April 12), this is the day where Christians remember the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem a few days before his arrest and crucifixion.

The Gospel of Matthew (Matthew chapter 21) depicts Jesus as riding into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. But Matthew’s account also mentions the presence of a second animal: a colt. The colt (foal) was probably the child of the donkey. As best as we can tell, Jesus was probably riding on the donkey with the colt walking along side of both of them.

Matthew’s story tells us that the disciples of Jesus placed garments on both animals. Yet Jesus, like most of us, would find it difficult if not impossible to ride two different animals at the same time. One possibility is that Jesus switched from riding the donkey to riding the colt at some point in his procession into Jerusalem. Another possibility presents how the young colt was prepared with garments, as was its mother; yet the younger animal was probably not ridden by Jesus or by anyone else on that first Palm Sunday. I would tend to agree with this second interpretation of the story. And with this interpretation comes a possible symbolism.

The two animals, the donkey and her colt, I would contend, are symbols of two generations. The donkey that Jesus was riding on represents what God is doing now. Yet the work of what God is doing now usually find its true fulfillment in the next generation. This is where God works “trans-generationally”: From spiritual fathers to spiritual sons, who in turn become spiritual fathers for a new generation of spiritual children.

What God is doing now (the donkey) will be completed in the next generation (the colt). Something to think about on this Palm Sunday.

Ex anastasis. It’s a phrase used only one time in the Greek New Testament. The word anastasis means “resurrection” and ex means “out”. The two words together mean, literally, “out-resurrection”. It could also be phrased in English as “out from resurrection” or “out of resurrection”. In the middle of the apostle Paul’s first-century letter to the Philippians, Paul mentions this “out-resurrection” as being a goal that he is striving for but also a goal which he had not yet attained. (Please see: http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Phl&c=3&v=1&t=NASB#conc/11)

Anastasis, which means resurrection, has always been a key theme for followers of Christ throughout the world. The word anastasis literally means “to stand again”. (Statis means “to stand” and ana means “again”). Easter, which occurs on April 12 this year in Western Christianity and on April 19 in Eastern Christianity, is the most important traditional Christian holiday. It celebrates the resurrection (anastasis) of Jesus from the dead. The theme of resurrection has been a key and common theme of followers of Christ since the time of Jesus. The word anastasis itself appears 42 times in the Greek New Testament.

Yet this use of a variant of anastasis, placing it with the prefix ex, was deliberate by the apostle Paul. There was something important about this “standing again”. There was something that needed to come out from it: out from each of us towards the world around us.

I would propose that this ex anstasis is seeing things God’s way, from his eternal point of view. It is here that the ascension and resurrection meet. Since Jesus, after his resurrection, ascended to heaven, and since the apostle Paul also mentions in another letter how the followers of Jesus on earth are somehow seated with him in heaven (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%202:6;&version=49;), it is from that eternal place that each of us has the possibility of seeing things how God sees them: with true love, patience, kindness, gentleness, and goodness. To see the possibilities of life where others see only death. To have compassion on those who have been forgotten. To stand again for justice for those in desperate need of it.

———

The phrase ex anastasis (or ek anastasis) is mentioned by Dr. Sam Soleyn in the following teaching series on his web site (http://www.soleyn.org/download_materials.html):

Love and Our Destiny (Program 25)
Seven Spirits of God, Lordship
Seven Spirits of God, Wisdom, Part 1
Seven Spirits of God, Wisdom, Part 2 

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