Word of Life Church Podcast

We speak of Peter as making the first formal confession that Jesus is the Messiah, and it’s appropriate that we do so; it’s our tradition and Peter was pre-eminent among the disciples. But… A year and a half before Peter’s confession (and upon just meeting Jesus) Nathanael calls Jesus the “Son of God” and the “King of Israel." Both are titles for Messiah. And Nathanael does this all because Jesus saw him under the fig tree. What’s going on? I suspect it’s more than just Jesus’ minor miracle of a word of knowledge about Nathanael’s whereabouts. It’s not just that Jesus knew where Nathanael was when Philip found him, but what Nathanael was doing when he was under the fig tree in Bethsaida.

We all want to be loved and feel like we belong. This is a common human experience. Those who experience love and belonging are those with a sense of worthiness which is connected to how a person responds to the love of God. If we respond to the love of God with open-armed acceptance, we experience the life of God. If we respond to the love of God with rejection, we experience what could be called the "wrath of God." God loves and is love. He invites us to respond to his love with love and find ourselves becoming people of cruciform love.

The symbolism of the dove in Jesus’ baptism stands in stark contrast to the eagle, a powerful emblem of the Roman Empire. This highlights the subversive nature of Jesus' message. The podcast delves into the theological implications of a sinless Jesus seeking baptism and encourages listeners to reflect on the significance of this act. Contemporary views on sin are challenged, emphasizing both personal and systemic dimensions of repentance. It also underscores the transformative journey from accusation to advocacy, advocating for humility and genuine connections with others.

We live in a secular age. Secularism as a way of ordering society (pioneered by Hume, Voltaire, Paine, and Jefferson) has prevailed in Europe and North America. Secularism carries the sense that nothing is truly sacred; heaven, if it exists, is far away; God, if God exists, should be restricted to the private realm; religion (or spirituality) should be an expression of private individualism. So how do we rebel against the secular spirit of the age? Not through anger, protest, or confrontation, but through an emphasis on Christian Prayer, Story, and Sacrament.

"And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way." -Matthew 2:12After the Magi found and worshiped Jesus, they returned to their own country by another way; not the way they came.A real encounter with Christ will not leave us unchallenged or unchanged. Once we see Jesus as the true King, we have to journey through life BY ANOTHER WAY. We cannot remain the same.

As I sat in openness with the Spirit I felt three things about Word of Life Church in the coming year.A Coming together.A fresh sense of community.A move toward the contemplative.The final move away from consumer Christianity.A willingness to be radically other.Because accommodation to Babylon is no longer an option.To sum it up in three words, we're trying to be Cohesive, Contemplative, Alternative.

One of the boldest claims a Christian can make is that Jesus is the light of the world. Christians don't mean this as a cheap religious cliche or as a bit of bumper sticker evangelism. There's nothing tame or docile about asserting that Jesus is the light of the world. It's the audacious claim that all of history and all humanity are informed and interpreted by the light that comes from the life of Jesus of Nazareth.

"All the kitsch to be found in Christian life and Christian art arises from a failure to take the Incarnation seriously." -Hans Urs von Balthasar(kitsch: mass produced art in poor taste; often characterized by an excessive sentimentality)If we think of Christmas as God donning a human costume to playact as a person, we treat the Incarnation as kitsch. If we think of Jesus being born just so he can grow up and can die for our sins, we treat the Incarnation as kitsch. If we think of Jesus as Superman flying around being God all over the place, we treat the Incarnation as kitsch. And if we have a kitschy view of the Incarnation, we will have a kitschy and cartoonish, cheap, and sentimental Christian life. But if we can approach the mystery of the Incarnation as the greatest wonder of all, we can find the door to the substantive faith that is the object of our deepest longing.

What C.S. Lewis told us about Aslan, is true about Jesus: He's not tame or safe, but he is very good. Once we find out that Jesus will be good to whoever he wants to be good to—regardless of race, religion, nationality, politics, or whatever—that’s when we discover that Jesus is neither tame nor safe…he’s just good. Very good! But we’ll never know these things if we stay in the cramped little confines of our assumptions and certitude. We’ll only know these beautiful things if we heed the call to come further up and further in.

If we learn the lesson of Mary's Song we make this revolutionary discovery: Jesus isn't going to meet us in the penthouse of our prosperity, but in the garbage dump of our pain and poverty.