2nd
Quarter 2002
Do you brush your teeth? If so, you could have taken part in a lawsuit if you wanted to. A few years ago a class action lawsuit began to make its way through the court system, where a group of people were suing the makers of toothbrushes, claiming that toothbrushes are unsafe. As a result, those people alleged that they had suffered toothbrush abrasion to their gums and therefore deserved to be compensated for their injuries. In the legal papers that the group filed, they said that toothbrush manufacturers have known since 1949 that their products were dangerous, and they point to the fact that toothbrushes are sold without any warning labels or instructions.
It sort of makes you wonder what kind of instructions those people would want. Are they looking for something like: Hold toothbrush in your hand; put the end with the bristles in your mouth; move brush up and down; stop before you injure yourself? Apparently no one ever taught those people how to brush their teeth, and now they wanted someone to pay for it.
For the most part, we assume that people just know certain things. For instance, we usually assume that people know how to brush their teeth. Likewise, we usually assume everyone knows what it means to be a disciple, to be a Christian. But if there are people out there who don't know how to operate a toothbrush, you have to realize then that there are many more folks out there who don't know what it means to follow Jesus Christ.
Nowadays, when we think about teaching the Christian faith to people, what often comes to mind is Sunday School. We figure: ship the kids off to one hour of Sunday School each week, and they'll be just fine. But think about it. Even if a child attends Sunday School every week all year round from the time they are in first grade, right on through twelfth grade, that would mean that the child would have spent 624 hours in Sunday School. That sounds like a lot of time, doesn't it? But in public schools, 624 hours is the amount of time a child spends in class just to get a little over halfway through the first grade. Unless we're satisfied with producing adults with a first grade religious education, we need something more.
Think of what Jesus did with those first twelve disciples. Did he sit down with them just once a week, tell them a parable, and then have them come back the following week to discuss it? No, what Jesus did was invite those disciples to come with him, to live with him, to spend 24 hours a day with him. And so, as those disciples not only listened to what Jesus had to say but as they also saw what he did, day in and day out, they came to understand what Jesus was all about.
If we're serious today about teaching people to be Christians, then sharing some words and stories with them for one hour a week isn't going to cut it. For instance, children can learn all the Bible stories they can in Sunday School. But if those ideas and teachings are not reinforced at home throughout the entire week, it's practically all for nothing. In Sunday School, kids can learn that it's important to help people. But if during the week they aren't given the opportunity to actually do that, to actually go and help someone, then the words they heard in Sunday School are for naught.
What Jesus commands us to teach people is not just how to get by in the world. Jesus doesn't tell us to teach people about him so that people can be happier or richer or live stress-free lives. No, Jesus tells us to teach people about him so that people can learn how to live in the real world. Usually when we hear the term "the real world," we think of the dog-eat-dog world of jobs and taxes and sickness and sadness. We figure that those are the kinds of things that make up the real world.
But Jesus comes along and tells us that that's not the real world. Rather the real world is the world the way that God wants it to be: a world where there is no more war or famine or crime or disasters. That's the real world. By our teaching, that's the world that we're supposed to help people get ready for.
Jesus reminds us that the world as we presently know it will one day pass away. We might want to pretend that this is the real world and that it's going to continue forever. But it's not. So what our mission is, as followers of Jesus, is to prepare the people of this world for what's coming—to teach them about Jesus and the world that he has in mind, the real world. But as we go forth to do that teaching, we need to remember that our words alone are not going to be enough. Our actions are going to speak so loudly; people aren't going to be able to hear what we're saying.
If a high school health teacher leads a lesson on the dangers of smoking, but then right after class steps outside and lights up a cigarette, which is the more powerful message—the words that the teacher spoke in class, or the actions that the students see? In the church we may talk about peace, yet often churches are the locus of intense controversy. In the church we may talk about forgiveness, yet often grudges are held in abundance. As people look at the church, what lessons are we teaching them?
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A couple years ago there was a professional wrestler who died in an accident during a match. The accidental death, of course, was a definite tragedy. But the next day, the wrestler's family members appeared on one of the morning news programs. The wrestler's brother made the comment that even though his brother wrestled professionally, he often spoke out against violence and wanted to be a good role model for young people. A professional wrestler can speak all the words he wants to against violence, but when he goes into that ring and starts bashing people and body-slamming them, what's the real message that's going to get communicated?
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There is a lot of teaching that takes place on college campuses today that occurs outside the classroom. When many freshman arrive at their campus, they discover coed dorms, and sometimes even coed bathrooms. Amy and Leon Kass, who have taught at the University of Chicago, suggest that the loss of relationship boundaries, such as chaperones and curfews, have left many young people without any guidance of how to relate to the opposite sex in an appropriate way. The Kasses suggest that "there are no socially prescribed forms of conduct that help guide young men and women in the direction of matrimony." People still get married, the Kasses note, but it's almost by accident; they have no compass to direct them. A recent study conducted by the Institute for American Values confirms that traditional courtship rituals have fallen by the wayside in lieu of modern variations. In particular, many college students today involve themselves in "hooking up." A hook-up can involve a range of sexual activities, from kissing to intercourse; it is usually engaged in when one or both parties are drunk or drinking; it may or may not be repeated with the same partner; and it is understood by both parties that there is no emotional commitment involved. Of college women, 40% say they have hooked up at least once, and 10% say they have hooked up more than 6 times. Although such teaching about sexual mores might not be posted in colleges' catalogs, it is a form of teaching that is taking place on campuses across the country. What teaching is the church doing to counteract that trend?
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The principal at a veterinary college in India was attacked when he refused to allow students at the school to cheat on an exam. When school authorities learned that many of the students were planning to cheat on a particular exam, the principal ordered that the students' books and notes be confiscated and that they be required to complete the exam honestly. Apparently the students didn't think too much of that proposal. The students proceeded to attack the head of the school with hockey sticks, knives, revolvers, and gasoline bombs. The assault left the school official with burns to about 30% of his body. Even though the majority of students believed that it was acceptable to cheat, the principal tried his best to teach them what was right. The only problem is that not everyone is interested in being taught to live according to the truth.
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A group was recently founded for the purpose of reducing gossip. The organization, Words Can Heal, is headed by an Orthodox rabbi, and is being supported by a variety of U.S. politicians and movie stars. The group plans to begin its work by displaying posters on buses and subways in the Washington area, reminding people of the power that words have. An opinion poll found that 69% of Americans believe that gossip is a problem in schools; 79% say that gossip is a problem in politics; and 84% say gossip is a problem in news media reporting. Some commentators have ridiculed the group, figuring that they're seeking to change something that is unchangeable about people. But Jesus seems to charge us to avoid settling for the status quo, when the status quo is something less than God intends for us.
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According to a Stanford University study, aggressive behavior can be unlearned. Researchers found that aggressive children become less combative if their exposure to television, videos, and electronic games is reduced. The six-month experiment determined that children who watched 7 hours or less of television per week and stuck with the less-violent videos and games were only half as likely to engage in aggressive behavior, such as taunting and teasing.
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One of the greatest obstacles in teaching is when you encounter people who believe they already know the entire truth about something, when in fact they have only a partial understanding. Robert Farrar Capon, in The Fingerprints of God, writes: "For the essence of heresy isn't a fondness for wrong ideas. It's a preference ("heresy" is from ahirein, "to take," "to select") for one aspect of a truth over the paradoxical wholeness of that truth.
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Jesus leaves his disciples at the end of Matthew's gospel with words of assurance, a commission to spread the good news, and then ascends to heaven. There are similarities and a difference between this and the ending of the delightful comedy Oh God! In this film John Denver's character has been called by God (temporarily looking a lot like George Burns!), sent out to spread the news that despite the mess the world is in, God is still with it, and suffered from lack of belief and ridicule. But in a strange court case, Denver wins out over an hypocritical television preacher, and wins back his skeptical wife who had thought him crazy. God, however, has disappeared through the courtroom doors. As John is driving by a telephone booth, he hears the phone ringing. He stops, picks up the receiver, and hears God talking. He asks if he will see God again, to which the answer is No, but he can get in touch through prayer. God tells him to keep on spreading the good news, and that although he will not talk back to prayers, he will listen. There is no spectacular ascension scene, just the voice of God giving assurance and orders to an apostle to keep witnessing.
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Pure friendship is an image of the original and perfect friendship that belongs to the Trinity, and is the very essence of God. (Simone Weil, Forms of the Implicit Love of God)
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During the busy years of Lockheed Aircraft Company, our large First Baptist Church ministered to some families of Lockheed Executives. One of those men who ranked high on the corporate ladder died of a sudden, massive coronary. His lovely wife was left with several grown children. Her inspired words of writing have stayed in my sermon notes for over 30 years: "Life is such an interesting experience—we must presume that death is also. It is like other mysteries—beyond any comprehension because now we see through a mirror darkly. I am finally beginning to see some meaning breaking out of the whole shattering experience. Some day we shall know the answer from the secret place of our inner heart...Then we shall know if the thoughts and convictions of our earthly life were in tune with Him. Those who have parted the shadows of death and who are now walking in celestial glory and heavenly splendor are aware of our human weakness. They see with eyes of the Spirit and comprehend the mysteries of life and death, which we can only question and wonder...Even in the midst of our frailty we are conscious of His love. All questions are ultimately answered in the wisdom of God."
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While suffering through the funny papers and the latest news from Lake Woebegone our lives were interrupted by the explosion of the World Trade Centers. Trivialities fell away and one was left consider how long should one wait before getting on about the Great Commission.
If not now when? If not here where? If not me who? Could it really save the world to carry Jesus into all the world? One will never know until one does.
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Marching orders...direction for one's life...a dream larger than one lifetime...these are images of the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ. The people striving to give the Bible to every language group in the world in their own language have been captured by this Commission. Those praying for their enemies in Afghanistan and for the terrorists who are without means of expression except violence against innocence have seen a great light. Others who believe that The Bread of Life intends to feed the whole world. Having heard His words, "Go, and see what you have," they seek to abolish hunger. These have caught a vision.
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God has in mind "Good News." Imagine the best world one can imagine. God's future is better. Imagine a land with no night, no cold, no pain, no more tears, and no more death. God has done one better: God has created it. Proclaim it! Hunger to live in it! It is not the night one fears; it is the cold. It is not the darkness that kills, but the frost. God has good news for a cold inhospitable world. Who has heard? Who has believed? Who will go?
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