A Woman's Heart. 6-24-12

The Relationship Series: A woman's heart.

Week after week, we’ve been discovering that God is the God of relationships. 

Relationships?  Yes.

God himself is a community of self-giving lovers demonstrated in the way the Trinity is intertwined with the richness of koinonia (fellowship) – being one yet three and three yet one.  But this koinonia doesn’t stop with God; he created mankind in His image – to be in relationship with Him as well as each other.  This kind of koinonia was the way it was supposed to be – shalom.  We’ve been invigorated by the sophistication of our relationship with God and those around us.  We’ve been striving for this kind of shalom, and as we do, we’re realizing that our perfect pattern/exemplifier/demonstrator is found in the person of Jesus – the Christ.

Last week, we saturated ourselves in a story about greed, manipulation, lust, murder, conspiracy, power, and truth.  As we looked at this passage (Mark 6:14-29), we examined some of the appetites God has instilled in men.  We recognized that God made men with appetites for truth, beauty and reputation.  This week, we’ll be examining some ambitions God has inducted in the heart women. 

As my wife and I sat down and engaged our imaginations to the imagery of this story (Herod/Herodias/the Baptizer), we made a few observations in regards to these three relational attributes that women seem to be wired with: nurture, emotion, and beauty.

Nurture

Herodias was nurturing King Herod, a man other than her husband.  What is it in a woman that craves to nurture?  Whether nurture comes in the form of motherhood, being a daughter, being a friend, or being a wife; women have an innate desire to nurture the people around them.  King David said that God weaves us together in our mother’s womb – nurture.  In Genesis, God makes women as a suitable helper for men – nurture.  Over and over again throughout the Biblical narrative, women have a God-given desire to take care of people.  As we see with Herodias, the ambition to nurture can bring life or death to relationships depending on whether it preserves or vandalizes shalom.

Emotion

Herodias snapped.  How dare the Baptizer call her out on her sin!  And her grudge was held inside, deep within, until the opportune time arose to strike with revenge.  We all know that men and women handle emotions differently.  Men seem to compartmentalize emotions while women seem to ball theirs into a jumbled mess.  At any time, a woman’s emotions can leak into relationships with a toxic-like effect.  This can be dangerous.  We must realize that a woman’s emotion is a wonderful gift when shalom is preserved.  When shalom gets vandalized, look out…she’s on a warpath!

Beauty

Herodias’ daughter danced for King Herod and his guests.  She pleased the men at the party with her seductive movements; she knew exactly what she was doing.  What is it about a woman that produces the desire to be beautiful?  Why does this desire often become cheap, shallow, and distorted?  When beauty only penetrates skin deep, beware.  Like nurture and emotion, God created women to be beautiful, but when outside of shalom, beauty becomes ugly. 

Irony.  The way of Herod & Herodias bring death to John the Baptizer - the one who prepared the way for Jesus.  The way of Jesus is the way of shalom, the way of life that is truly Life, the way things are supposed to be.  And in this small story, we have the ways of Herod & Herodias vs. the ways of Jesus. 

God has created men and women with certain appetites, ambitions, and characteristics.  As we live our day-to-day, may we realize the responsibility we carry.  May we recognize that we have the ability to introduce life or death into our relationships, all hinging on whether we preserve or vandalize shalom.  May Jesus continue to show us shalom.  May Christ direct us to the way things are supposed to be.  

Vandalism of Shalom

A theologian who lives around me once defined shalom as, "The way things are supposed to be."  Click here for more on this.  I like this definition because I find truth in it.  God created the world to function a certain way - Adam and Eve sinned (the Fall) and the result was a world functioning much differently than God intended.

The Fall distorted God's intent for creation,
things aren't the way they're supposed to be,
everything doesn't happen for a reason,
something broke,
shalom was vandalized.

The little boy who is beaten by his drunken dad.  The homeless person asking for money to buy food but rejects the sandwich given to him.  The way it felt when we found out he died.  The breaking of trust.  What it feels like when we get left out.  Perhaps we know stories, have heard stories, or have been involved in stories which exemplify the brokenness of creation.

Things aren't the way they're supposed to be.
Shalom has become vandalized.
Something isn't right.

And this brings up tension,
we don't like tension.
We want tension to be resolved,
don't we?

That's why many of us are fascinated and obsessed with who Jesus was/is.  Because of the vandalism of shalom, there's an unresolved tension that needs to be alleviated and we believe Jesus is the alleviator.  And we've felt it!  We've felt the overbearing and oppressive weight taken off our shoulders by Christ.  We once felt heavy and burdened, now we feel light and free and restful.  That tension is fully resolved in the person of Jesus; he fixes shalom when it gets vandalized.  Even more, Jesus not only died for the vandalism of shalom, he taught about the kingdom of shalom.  He doesn't simply lift the weight, he teaches the way.  In Jesus we find relief from the tension and learn the way of this shalom!

It hurts
but it can get better.

There's tension
but you can have resolve.

In Christ
the vandalism of shalom is washed away and make clean.

A Man's Heart: June 17th, 2012

In Mark’s narrative of Jesus’ life, we find a fascinating story that is soaked with curiosity, deceit, mystery, adultery, charm, manipulation, passion, and murder.  And no, we’re not talking about the newest NBC drama; we’re talking about a story found in the Bible. 

Read it.  Mark 6:14-29

Let’s observe three elements from the above story that seem to be embedded in the genetic make-up of men.  Call them ambitions, appetites, hungers, yearnings; they’re descriptive of how God has wired guys. 

Truth.     Jeremiah 31:33 and Romans 1:18-32

What was it in Herod that made him respect John the Baptizer?  Why did Herod like to listen to this prophet?  There’s something inside of men that draws them to truth.  We like someone that “says it how it is.”  We enjoy honesty, logic, and ideas that make sense.  Give us the truth and we’ll be happy, but not too much truth, right?  Herod put the Baptizer in jail when he spoke too much truth.  When John told Herod to stop having an affair, Herod put him in prison.  This is the “too much truth” part.  Guys are ambitious for truth, but sometimes, truth hurts.  Truth has a way of messing with a man’s ego.  Herod appreciated the Baptizer’s truth until it got personal - real truth always seems to have a way of getting personal.  Like Herod, a man’s ambition for truth can be a powerful tool, if he allows it.  Truth can liberate to bring life, but it also can devastate and bring chaos.

Beauty.    Proverbs 6:20-29 and Psalm 27:4

What was it in Herod that made him offer a dancing girl half his kingdom?  What was it about this girl’s beauty that caused Herod to make such a stupid decision?  Apparently, it was Herod’s birthday and he gave a banquette to guests of high esteem.  When a woman came out and danced for him (this woman was the daughter of the woman he was having an affair with), he impulsively told her she could have half of his kingdom.  Men have an appetite for beauty, but this appetite can become warped.  A man’s acknowledgement of beauty can produce beauty in itself, but a man’s unhealthy acknowledgement of beauty can produce a ripple effect of destruction.  For Herod, a moment of unhealthy lust led to the Baptizer’s death.  In a moment of weakness or a time of lust, a man’s ambition for beauty can be the difference between life and death. 

Reputation.    Esther 9:4 and 1 Timothy 3:7 and Revelation 3:1

What was it in Herod that made him behead a man he listened to and respected?  Why did Herod value his reputation more than John’s life?  After Herod offered half his kingdom to the girl, she conspired with her mother as to what she should ask.  Her mother, still harboring bitterness towards the Baptizers truthfulness, asked for John’s head on a platter.  When the girl returned to Herod, she presented her request in front of his friends.  Wanting to keep the reputation of his word, Herod accomplished her request.  Men are created with a drive to have a reputation.  Like truth and beauty, the quality of this reputation can be the difference between life and death. 

Something interesting happens in this story.  These three hungers were about to be perfectly illustrated in the person of Jesus, all the while the prophet who was introducing (paving the way for) Jesus as the messiah was killed by Herod's distortion of these three hungers.  What?  Yes.  Herod's warped hunger for truth, beauty, and reputation killed John the Baptizer, and John the Baptizer was doing the intro for Jesus, the one who demonstrated truth, beauty, and reputation perfectly - beautiful irony all wrapped up and bundled into one little story.  Herod's dysmorphic hungers lead to death while Jesus' holy hungers lead to life.  

As we celebrate Father’s Day, may we recognize the tension men live among.  Between the ways of Herod and the ways of Jesus, the fathers among us need our prayers, encouragement, and support now more than ever.  May we appreciate what our father’s do (and have done).  May we learn to recognize the weight they carry and may we do everything we can to love them and inspire them with an agape kind of love.  Today, tomorrow and the next, may our fathers be inspired (“may they continue to breathe”).

what it is to us isn't always what it was to them

Relationship Series (Week #1)


A phenomenon transpires when the words "Spirit-filled" get thrown around.  

I'm a people watcher, I've always been.  I enjoy going to public places in observation of the differences among people - it's entertaining and even humorous at times.  

Did I just see a guy wearing that shirt with those pants?  There goes the Red Hat Society.  That kid is sagging his pants down to his knees!  Why have the big/dark/thick rimmed glasses become popular again?    And when it comes to glasses, why do all these kids wear the same LMFAO sunglasses?  Oh, and what's the tattoo on that guys arm say?  

I've always found it amusing to note the different reactions displayed when the words, "Spirit-filled" is said.  This is an incredibly fascinating phenomenon.

Eyebrows become raised with suspicious concerns as people think, "Uh oh, you're one of those people."  Nods grow with exaggeration when people want you to know they're Spirit-filled.  Eyes glaze over and drift off into the mid to far distance which lets you know that this person has no idea what you're talking about.  A look of anticipation comes over people's faces as they sit on the edge of their seats waiting to hear exactly what you mean.

So many looks, so many understandings.

Spirit-filled - a phrase that brings up all sorts of ideological and experiential baggage.

What is it and what does it do?

In the book of Acts, we see that Jesus tells his disciples to "wait for the gift my Father promised."  He said, "John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."

"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you…"

And then one day, as the disciples all met in one place to celebrate Pentecost (a Jewish holiday recognizing God giving the Law to the Israelites on Mt. Sinai), they became Spirit-filled.  Luke, the author of Acts, explained it like this, "Suddenly a sound like a blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.  They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them."  All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in their native languages as the Spirit enabled them.  Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Egypt,  Arabs, and others were able to hear "the wonders of God" in their own languages.  

The early church became Spirit-filled.  And not long after, 3000 people accepted Jesus to be the Anointed one from God (the Messiah, the Christ).  

Acts 2:42 characterizes this Spirit-filled community (church) and what it devoted itself to in these four ways:

1.  The apostles' teaching.  

The apostles had just finished spending close to three years with Jesus.  Many of them left their jobs, homes, and families to learn under this rabbi (Jesus was a rabbi in early Judaism).  When Luke says "apostles' teaching," we must recognize that the apostles were teaching what they learned from Jesus, and that Jesus spend much of his time teaching what is now known as our Old Testament.  And Jesus didn't stop at the Old Testament, he came proclaiming the inauguration of the kingdom of God.  Those that were Spirit-filled devoted themselves to learning from Jesus.  

2.  Fellowship.

The Greek word here is koinonia.  This word has meanings conveying community, oneness, communion, united participation, partnership, union, being of one mind, and so on.  Imagine 3000+ people devoted to koinonia.  The thing is, koinonia wasn't just explicatory of their relationship to one another, it was also explicatory of their devotion to following Jesus' teachings on the kingdom of God.  They became devoted to one another as their ultimate priority was the kingdom.  Those that were Spirit-filled devoted themselves to fellowship (koinonia).

3.  Breaking of Bread.

The early church made eating together one of the things they devoted themselves to.  Eating together was a way to share their time, their homes, their lives and their love.  Breaking of bread also has indications of the Lord's Supper.  Not only did they eat together, when they did, they took time to pause and reflect on what their Christ had done through the work of the Cross.  Furthermore, they celebrated the fact that Jesus was now with them in Spirit.  Those that were Spirit-filled devoted themselves to the breaking of bread.

4.  Prayer

For the early church, prayer wasn't simply a private/personal act; prayer had a communal element as well.  Praying together bonded the community as one as they conversed with the Lord.  Jesus instructed his disciples on how to pray (not necessarily what to pray).  It is important to note that the early church's devotion to Jesus' teachings would have included the Lord's prayer.  Those what were Spirit-filled devoted themselves to prayer.  

As noted by Luke, the book of Acts portrays the "fruit of the Spirit" in the context of the church.  They were filled with the Spirit, not only individually, but as a community as well.  As they became Spirit-filled, they devoted themselves to the apostles' teachings and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  This was the fruit of the Spirit for the church.   

Have many of us misunderstood the meaning of "Spirit-filled?"  Possibly.

Before we throw the baby out with the bathwater, may we remember what the Spirit did to the church.  May we realize that it had implications for the community - far greater and not limited to personal spiritual experiences.    May we allow the Spirit in our churches and may we see its fruit.