Word of Life Church Podcast

Let’s try to evaluate the church in the context of beauty and ask some fearless questions.Instead of contributing to the hateful rhetoric of our ugly age, could the church be a shelter from the storm?Instead of a furrowed brow of disapproval, a clenched fist of anger, a wagging finger of condemnation, could the church present to the world a compassionate countenance of grace?Instead of being sucked into the destructive dualism of reactive people, could the church become a contemplative people seeking to hold all things together in the reconciling love of Christ?Instead of ratcheting up culture war polemics, could the church speak the first words of the risen Christ, “peace be with you”?

As a child Prince Mephibosheth was let down by a loved one; as a result he was crippled, living on the edge of hell. Have you ever been let down by a loved one and the episode left its mark on you? Have you ever been hurt by those who were supposed to help you? Do you limp through life, suffering from old wounds, feeling like you're going through hell? This is Mephibosheth. But it's not the end of the story...

Power as defined as the need to be in control, and to be able to control others, belongs to that part of the world Jesus wants to save us from. We are all addicted to power and we don't even know it. This kind of power is challenged by the gospel. Jesus takes away the sin of power through powerlessness, leaving for us an example to follow. Jesus says those who lose their life will save it. When we experience this kind of powerlessness, we are empowered to become fully healed, fully human, and fully alive.

Simeon Bachos, the Ethiopian eunuch, became the first Gentile convert to Christ. There is a powerful message here, because Simeon Bachos was the ultimate outsider. Excluded by his ethnicity and wounded in his sexuality, Simeon had never belonged, never had a place he could truly call home. But when Philip preached Jesus to him and then baptized him, the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled—the inclusive temple of Christ had been built!

Religion is bad when it fosters and legitimizes violence. Religion is bad when it is infected with hypocrisy. Religion is bad when it becomes a source of spiritual pride. Religion is bad when it becomes in end in itself. Religion is bad when it becomes a means of domination. Religion is bad when it becomes an apparatus of coercive power.But religion can also be good; not only good, but absolutely necessary. Religion is how we pass on the faith from generation to generation. Christian religion is the practices of prayer, worship, scripture, creed, sacrament, and justice that form us into Christ-like people. Christian religion is what binds us to the Christian faith Only by the practices of Christian religion will we survive the tsunami of secularism.

The book of Ruth is a short-story vignette stuck between Judges and Samuel. From Genesis to Judges the Bible's story is dominated by larger than life characters—Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Samson, Gideon. The great heroes of Israel. All of these heroes of faith experienced miracles and were marked by greatness. But at last, with the book of Ruth, we meet some ordinary people. Some people, not like Moses, but more like us. In the story of Ruth there are no miracles, no angels, no tales of daring-do. Yet God is very present in Ruth’s story. At work as God usually is, quietly, behind the scenes.

Bible reading as part of a spiritual formation regiment can be extremely beneficial in helping form disciples of Jesus in Christlikeness. But this isn’t always the case. There are ways of approaching the Bible, reading the Bible, using the Bible that are detrimental to the soul. Because the Bible is such a powerful thing, the misuse of it can be extremely dangerous. So how do we read the Bible so that it's good for us and not bad for us?

God has a face—it’s the face of Jesus. We see the face of God when we see Jesus. The beauty of God is fully seen in the face of Jesus. We see the face of Jesus as it is revealed in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. As we gaze on the face of Jesus, we are gradually transformed into the same image. To be transformed into the image of Jesus is the full work of salvation. The Old Testament said no one could see the face of God and live. The New Testament says it’s only by seeing the face of God in Christ that we live.

How can we live in the midst of a world marked by fear, hatred, and violence, and not be destroyed by it? By becoming aware that our true house is not the house of fear, in which the powers of hatred and violence rule, but the house of love, where God resides. Through the spiritual life we gradually move from the house of fear to the house of love.” –Henry Nouwen, Behold the Beauty of the Lord