Stephen W. Hiemstra's Blog, page 40

Risen Prayer

By Stephen W. Hiemstra

Almighty Father,

All praise and honor, power and dominion, truth and justice are yours, because you sent Jesus of Nazareth to live, die, and be resurrected so that our sins might be forgiven and we can experience eternal life.

Forgive our willful personalities, our unwillingness to listen, and our outright rejection of salvation.

Thank you for the gift of forgiveness, the atonement for sin, and our redemption from Satan’s grasp.

In the power of your Holy Spirit, remain with us in spite of our selfishness. Draw us to yourself. Open our hearts, illumine our thoughts, strengthen our hands in your service.

In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

Risen Prayer
Also see:
The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:



Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com

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The Risen Christ

Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? 

He said to him, Yes, Lord; you know that I love you. 

He said to him, Feed my lambs.

(John 21:15)

By Stephen W. Hiemstra

The resurrection of Jesus is the only reason that we even know who he was. What is the image of God that we get from the Risen Christ?

Faith, Evangelism, and Salvation

Mary Magdalene discovered the empty tomb. After everyone had a look and left, it was Mary who stayed behind by the tomb and wept (John 20:1-10).

All four Gospels report that the Risen Christ appeared first to Mary Magdalene (e.g. Mark. 16:9). Jesus said: “Woman, why are you weeping?” She does not recognize him so he asks a second time. Still, she does not recognize him so he calls her by name—Mary, which gets her attention (John 20:13-16). Jesus then cautions her not to cling to him and asks her to report to the disciples. 

That evening, Jesus appears to the disciples. After convincing them of who he was, he commissioned them:

“Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” (John 20:21-23)

Note the compassion that Jesus shows in these encounters. Jesus has physical scars, but not the emotional scars that one might expect for someone having been `recently tortured.

Mark’s account is more abbreviated:

“Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. And he said to them, Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.“ (Mark 16:14-16)

Note the phrase: “He rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart.” This sounds like he was agitated because they did not believe Mary’s account of the resurrection.

In Luke’s account, two disciples traveling to Emmaus encounter Jesus on the road. They recount the events of Jesus’ arrest, trial, and execution to him unaware of his identity. Jesus then “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27) They only recognize him in the breaking of bread (Luke 24:30-31). Note the seriousness that Jesus displays in discussing scripture.

The Thomas Incident

Thomas is listed as disciple in each of the Gospels, but it is primarily in John’s Gospel that we learn of his character. Thomas follows Jesus to Jerusalem knowing that he may die (John 11:16). Despite his courage, he seeks to follow Jesus more fully (John 14:5). When Thomas missed Jesus’ first appearance to the disciples, Jesus returns primarily to satisfy Thomas’ desire to have proof of the resurrection:

“We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” (John 20:25)

When Thomas sees Jesus, he forgets about the proof and declares: “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28

The image of God that Thomas’ relationship with Jesus reveals is of a God unwilling to leave anyone behind, much like a Good Shepherd (John 10:11). Thomas’ faith is first-hand, not inherited, courageous, not untested, genuine, not superficial, and Jesus meets him where he is at.

Not Seen in Resurrection

Jesus’ mental state in resurrection is theologically important. Jesus was tortured to death only days prior to the resurrection—emotional scars are expected. Consider what happened when King Saul had the witch of Endor conjure up the Prophet Samuel—Samuel became disturbed at Saul’s audacity and prophesied his impending death (1 Sam 28). The only prophecy that Jesus makes is during his restoration of Peter (John 21:18-19).

Theologically speaking, what if Jesus held a grudge against his disciples, especially Peter, for abandoning him in his hour of need? How would you feel about appearing before a judge that displayed such a grudge? Jesus’ restoration of Peter in John 21 is an unexpected act of forgiveness, consistent with Jesus’ prior teaching on forgiveness and reminiscent of Joseph’s attitude towards his brothers, who had sold him into slavery (Gen 50:20).

If Jesus, like Joseph, needed time to sort through his thoughts before reconciling with his disciples, then this might explain why he met with Mary Magdalene first. Jesus’ relationship with Mary was qualitatively different from that of other disciples even if we don’t know the nature of that relationship and Jesus never actually shared his thoughts with her.

Also not seen in the resurrection accounts is any indication of dementia. One patient that I worked with in the Alzheimer’s unit suffered severe dementia after her heart stopped for only eight minutes. Resurrection was clearly a recreation, not resuscitation, event because Jesus suffered no loss of mental capacity.

Continuity

In each of these encounters with the Risen Christ, Jesus displays humility, compassion, and concern about salvation with those he meets. Jesus’ pre-and post-resurrection teaching displays surprisingly continuity.

This continuity is displayed in Jesus’ focus on  evangelism. Each of the Gospels has an equivalent statement to John’s cite: “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” (John 20:21; also: Mark 16:15; Luke 24:47; Matt 28:19) But to those that would redact these statements from the Gospels, consider the healing of the demoniac found living in a graveyard, a kind of resurrection account. When the man is healed and begs to follow Jesus, Jesus tells him: “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” (Mark 5:19; Luke 8:39) In effect, Jesus sends him on an evangelic journey, much like the Risen Christ sends us.

The Risen Christ

Also see:

The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:



Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com


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Vance Chronicles White Poverty

J.D. Vance.2018. Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis. New York: Harper.

Review by Stephen W. Hiemstra

In the middle of the Second World War in 1944 a group of world leaders met in Breton Woods, New Hampshire to craft a monetary agreement that would come into effect after the war. In the agreement, the United States pegged the dollar to gold at a price of $26 per ounce. That agreement came to an end in 1971 when the United States announced that it could no longer defend the value of the dollar with gold. From that point forward, the rock-solid U.S. economy has been in transition.

Many people that took the opportunity to educate themselves and invest their money wisely during those prosperous years after the war pulled themselves out of poverty; others did not. In this latter case, J.D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy sees “a culture that increasingly encourages social decay instead of counteracting it.” (7) Ironically, he sees his own struggle with dysfunctionality paralleling that of other minority groups in America that have not moved ahead in spite of ample opportunity.

Introduction

Hillbilly Elegy is the memoir of one man who defied a legacy of isolation, poverty, and a dysfunctional family culture to become educated and gainfully employed. Of his background, Vance writes:

“I may be white, but I do not identify with the WASPs of the Northeast. Instead, I identify with the millions of working-class white Americans of Scots-Irish descent who have no college degree … Americans call them hillbillies, rednecks, or white trash. I call them neighbors, friends, and family.”(3)

In his description, Vance goes on to cite social isolation:

“Our religion has changed—built around churches heavy on emotional rhetoric but light on the kind of social support necessary to enable poor kids to do well. Many of us have dropped out of the labor force or have chosen not to relocate for better opportunities. Our men suffer from a peculiar crisis of masculinity in which some of the very traits that our culture inculcates make it difficult to succeed in a changing world.”(4-5)

Unfortunately, he does not elaborate on the changes that churches have undergone to reinforce this dysfunctional culture. He does, however, emphasize the oasis offered by his grandparents—in spite of their own obvious dysfunctions—that allowed him to graduate from high school and the encouragement they gave to his higher education (e.g. 253).

Detailed Dysfunction

Vance calls his grandparents Mamaw and Papaw, terminology used exclusively by his hillbilly community (23). Mamaw and Papaw grew up in Jackson, Kentucky but moved to Middletown, Ohio for fairly sketchy reasons—Bonnie was 16 and pregnant and James feared that her family would shoot him. Ohio offered the opportunity to find industrial work at Armco and join the middle class. Ironically, the pregnancy that prompted the move died in infancy (26-27).

Vance‘s mother was a nurse whose life was torn between an addiction and a never-ending rotation of men. Once he realized early in high school that the instability in his home life would never change, he moved in with his grandmother. He writes:

“Mamaw [a pistol-packing hillbilly] would kill anyone who tried to keep me from her. This worked for us because Mamaw was a lunatic and our entire family feared her.”(243)

Protected by his lunatic grandmother, Vance found stability in his high school years that allowed him to focus on his studies. He later joined the Marines which “taught me how to live like an adult”and enabled him to apply for Ohio State (174-77).

Ironically, he kept his relationship with his grandmother a secret, even from his close friends, because child protective services would not have honored this relationship and would probably have placed him in foster-care. He writes:

“Part of the problem is how state laws define the family. For families like mine—and for many black and Hispanic families—grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles play an outsize role.”(243)

This outsize role arises because even in dysfunctional families there is often someone willing to look out for a child at risk and function as a surrogate parent.

Assessment

J.D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy is a memoir of a young man who grew up in hillbilly family and found his way to Ohio State University and Yale Law school despite all odds against him. The craziness of his life and family make this an interesting read. At the time of publication in 2016 the media made this book a cult classic because it seemed—quite unfairly—to epitomize the typical Donald Trump voter in a manner like “Joe Six-pack”or the “Silent Majority”used to describe poor white voters, forgotten by the media and mainstream politicians between elections. Nevertheless, Hillbilly Elegyis likely to become and remain a classic study of cultural dysfunction.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._D._V....

Vance Chronicles White Poverty
Also See:
Brooks Introduces the Bobos
The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:



Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com

Newsletter at: https://bit.ly/Tr_Jun24, Signup
 

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Final Hours: Monday Monologues (podcast), July 15, 2024

 By Stephen W. Hiemstra

This morning I will share a prayer and reflect on Jesus’ Final Hours. After listening, please click here to take a brief listener survey (10 questions).

To listen, click on this link.

Hear the words; Walk the steps; Experience the joy!

Final Hours: Monday Monologues (podcast), July 15, 2024
Also see:
The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:



Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com





Newsletter at: https://bit.ly/Tr_Jun24, Signup
 

 

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Final Hours Prayer

By Stephen W. Hiemstra

Beloved Savior.

All praises and honor, power and dominion, truth and justice are yours, because you modeled a life of service and celebrated sober leadership. Be ever near.

Forgive us when we cut in line and try to get ahead of others, ignoring your humble example. Help us to do better.

Thank you for the example of life unswayed by personal ambition, malice, or pain killers.

In the power of the Holy Spirit, draw us to yourself. Open our hearts, illumine our thoughts, strengthen our hands in your service. Keep your example ever in front of us.

In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

Final Hours Prayer
Also see:
The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:



Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com

Newsletter at: https://bit.ly/Tr_Jun24, Signup

 

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Jesus’ Final Hours

So he asked them again, Whom do you seek?

 And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, 

I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.

 (John 18:7-8)

By Stephen W. Hiemstra

The Apostle’s Creed summarizes Jesus’ last days as: “He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.” Yet, the Gospels devote as much as third of their entire length to this narrow slice of Jesus’ life. This is odd for an obituary because many funerals say nothing at all about a person’s final days and death. What do these final days say about the person of Jesus that can serve as a template for us?

Transitions

Luke’s Gospel commends much for us to remember about Jesus. What stands out about Jesus’ trip to Jerusalem is the importance—even under threat of death—that he placed on celebrating the Passover with friends (Luke 22:15). Many take seriously Jesus’ abstinence from alcohol (Luke 22:18). We all remember the words of institution:

“And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” (Luke 22:19-20)

Communion is an act of remembrance, but it also marks a transition—the end of Jesus’ ministry and the beginning of his suffering. Marking such transitions is an important communication device, both for us and for those around us, that something significant has changed.

Passover marks a three-way transition for the people of Israel: The exodus from Egypt, the desert wanderings, and the entrance into the Promised Land (Bridges 2003, 43). A hospital visit transitions from crisis and treatment to the question—what comes next? The treatment is formational; the question is inherently spiritual. Marking transitions gives us permission to speak into people’s lives when they are truly listening.

Ad Hominem Attacks

Mark’s description of Jesus’ arrest, trial, and execution is well-known. One pericope in this narrative stands out:

“And Pilate asked him, Are you the King of the Jews? And he answered him, You have said so. And the chief priests accused him of many things. And Pilate again asked him, Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you. But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.” (Mark 15:2-5)

Most commentaries on this snippet focus on Pilate’s question—Are you the King of the Jews? Jesus simply responds to Pilate with Pilate own assertion. After the chief priests badgered him with questions, Jesus makes no response and Pilate is amazed.

The principle behind Jesus’ silence is that one cannot succeed in a defense against an ad hominem attack—an attack on your integrity. This is why it is normally foolish to have a defendant defend himself or even offer evidence in court. Pilate gets it and his is surprised that Jesus also gets it. A point-by-point rebuttal assumes that someone is listening and impartial, which is not the case here. Jesus is smart enough to be silent (Matt 5:38-39).

While Jesus’ silence may seen like a footnote in the story of his trial, it poses insight into our own witnessing. We cannot afford to be passive observers when good people are falsely accused. Part of our witnessing is defending those among us being subjected to unfair ad hominem attacks. It is simple justice and an effective form of witnessing where none is expected. Do you think someone you helped will remember?

Straight Up

Each of the Gospel accounts of the crucifixion states that Jesus was offered sour wine. Only the Matthew amount offers more detail: “They offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it.” (Matt 27:34) Jesus is offered the wine a second time in the Matthew account that enabled him to utter his final words (Matt 27:48-50). The composition of the gall is in dispute, but the context suggests that it was offered as a sedative to dull the pain of crucifixion.

Jesus’ refusal of the sour wine and gall suggests that he wanted to retain a clear head. Gall is mentioned twice in the Old Testament (Job 16:13; Lam 3:19) where its presence is indication that a painful death is imminent. The only other mention of gall in the New Testament arises when Peter curses Simon the Magician who attempted to buy the Holy Spirit with money (Acts 8:23).

If Jesus sought to retain a clear head even on the cross, then we should endeavor to live daily life straight up.

Servant Leadership

The Gospel of John spends more time than the Synoptic Gospels on Jesus’ last hours. Interestingly, John’s account does not include the Last Supper communion account found in the others, but Jesus performs miracles of wine and bread that I have always taken as a communion substitute, not for insiders but for outsiders. Also, only in John do we read:

“He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” (John 13:4-5)

By washing his disciples’ feet, Jesus acted out his own humble teaching: “The greatest among you shall be your servant.” (Matt 23:11)

When Jesus was arrested, he left quietly so that he disciples might go free (John 18:7-8). If we are to emulate the image of God that we see in Jesus, servant leadership is a good place to start.

References

Bridges, William. 2003. Managing Transition: Making the Most of Change (Orig pub 1991). Cambridge: Da Capo Press.

Jesus’ Final Hours

Also see:

The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:



Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com

Newsletter at: https://bit.ly/Tr_Jun24, Signup
 

 

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VanHoozer and Strachan Argue for Pastor-Theologian

Kevin J. Vanhoozer and Owen Strachan. 2015. The Pastor as Public Theologian: Reclaiming a Lost Vision. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.

Review by Stephen W. Hiemstra

Amid periods of rapid social and philosophical change, tension in the church often revolves around our interpretation of the identity of Christ which, in turn, informs our sense of identity as Christians and other things, like worship. Worship and identity are practical applications of our theology because one of the primary tasks of theology is interpreting both the Bible and our world. Hence, theologian Karl Barth’s comment that pastors should preach with a Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other clearly assumes that at the heart of the pastor’s role is applying theology.

In their new book, The Pastor as Public Theologian, Kevin J. Vanhoozer and Owen Strachan start with a harsh assessment:

“Societies become secular not when they dispense with religion altogether, but when they are no longer especially agitated by it. The church, the society of Jesus, is similarly in danger of becoming secular and in the very place where we would least expect it: its understanding of the clergy. This not because churches are dispensing with the pastorate, but because they no longer find its theological character particularly exciting or intelligible.” (1)

Their objective in writing is to “reclaim the theological pedigree of the world’s boldest profession” with three groups in mind—pastors, churches, and seminaries (2)—and against competing visions, such as the pastor as therapist, the pastor as political activist, the pastor as story-teller, the pastor as professional XYZ, and the pastor as manager (7-10). Against these competing visions, the author’s caution: “Without a biblical vision of the pastor, the people of God may indeed perish: they will certainly fail to prosper.” (15) In order to prosper, they write: “Success in ministry is determined not by numbers (e.g., people, programs, dollars) but by the increase of people’s knowledge and love of God.” (22)

Organization

In expanding our knowledge of the pastoral office, Kevin J. Vanhoozer and Owen Strachan collaborate with a number of pastors to write a series of 4 chapters, including:

Preface

Introduction:  Pastors, Theologians, and Other Public Figures

PART 1: Biblical Theology and Historical Theology

Of Prophets, Priests, and Kings: A Brief Biblical Theology of the Pastorate
Of Scholars and Saints: A Brief History of the Pastorate

PART 2: Systematic Theology and Practical Theology

In the Evangelical Mood: The Purpose of the Pastor-Theologian
Artisans in the House of God: The Practice of the Pastor-Theologian

Conclusion: Fifty-Five Summary Theses on the Pastor as Public Theologian

Notes

Contributors

Scriptural Index

Subject Index

The introduction and each of the four chapters includes short “pastoral perspectives” written by working pastors.

Gerald Hiestand

One of these pastor perspectives, written by Gerald Hiestand, offered some practical advice for would-be pastoral theologians in the form of 6 steps:

Hire staff with the vision to overcome isolation.
Network with like-minded pastors through Skype, ETS or blogging.
Make study-time a priority in the weekly schedule.
Get buy-in from your leadership.
Remember that theology serves the church, not vice versa.
You do your work in a “study”, not an “office”—Bureaucrats work in offices while theologians have studies (29-31).

Personally, my study time in the morning minimally includes journaling, studying, reading, and praying for 30 to 60 minutes before wandering out to swim laps, but as a writer I spend more time in my “study” than would be typical for pastors.

In the Old Testament, three anointed offices are described—priest, prophet, and king (40)—which today describe different aspects of the role of Christ in the New Testament. Concerning these anointed offices, the authors write: “The priest was a man set apart by the Lord to be an on-the-ground mediator of holiness between God and the people.” (4) “The prophets exercised the ministry of truth-telling.” (44) The king personified divine wisdom (46). These three anointed offices do not readily transfer to the role of pastor, as the authors observe:

“Priestly ministry was centered around the teaching and performance of the law. Pastoral ministry is centered around the person and work of Christ” (49).

Still, aspects of these three anointed offices inform the role of a pastor and the interpretation of each of the roles differs among denominations, ethnic communities, and age groups, as is frequently observed.

An important observation repeated throughout the book is that throughout church history the best theology was often written by pastors, not academics, as the authors observe:

“…it is easy to forget that Jonathan Edwards spent little time in the ivory tower. He was never a professor in the modern sense. Edwards composed many of his treatises in the middle of a demanding pastorate, at the largest church in New England, outside of Boston. Later he wrote soaring theological works on the Massachusetts frontier while serving as a missionary.” (82-83)

This observation remains a valid point today as many of my own influences—Barth, Bonhoeffer, Ortberg, Sproul, Lucado, Peterson, Keller—are better known as pastors than academics, even if they have freely moved between the academy and the church.

Clearly, a lot more could be said about this book.

Kevin Vanhoozer and Owen Strachan’s The Pastor as Public Theologian is timely resource on where pastors ought rightly to be spending their time, which is unfortunately much needed by some of my best friends who are pastors. Pastoral burnout is a huge problem for the church, not only because of the loss of great talent, but also because “pastor as dervish” is a poor model for a church that, presumably, glorifies the “Lord of the Sabbath”. A better model is the pastor-theologian presented in this book—buy it; enjoy It; share it in a group study.

References

Barth, Karl. 1991. Homelitics. Louisville: Westminister John Knox Press.

Footnotes

Barth’s comment, which is widely cited by his students, appears nowhere in his writing. Instead, we read: “theology as a church discipline ought in all its branches to be nothing other than sermon preparation in the broadest sense.” (Barth 1991,17).

Vanhoozer is a research professor of systemic theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Chicago and the author of numerous books (http://divinity.tiu.edu/academics/fac...).

Strachan is a professor of Christian Theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and the author of numerous books (http://www.mbts.edu/about/faculty/owe...).

I am currently studying First Samuel which has been surprisingly fruitful.

Sample review: Bonhoeffer’s Nachfolge:  Following After Christ (http://wp.me/p3Xeut-y9),

Review: Ortberg Sharpens and Freshens Jesus (http://wp.me/p3Xeut-138).

Review: Lucado Calls Out Fear; Instills Peace (http://wp.me/p3Xeut-99).

Sample review: Keller Argues the Case for God (http://wp.me/p3Xeut-Sr).

VanHoozer and Strachan Argue for Pastor-Theologian
Also see:
Vanhoozer: How Do We Understand the Bible? Part 1 
The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:



Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com

Newsletter at: https://bit.ly/Tr_Jun24, Signup
 

 

The post VanHoozer and Strachan Argue for Pastor-Theologian appeared first on T2Pneuma.net.

Gethsemane: Monday Monologues (podcast), July 8, 2024

 By Stephen W. Hiemstra

This morning I will share a prayer and reflect on Gethsemane. After listening, please click here to take a brief listener survey (10 questions).

To listen, click on this link.

Hear the words; Walk the steps; Experience the joy!

Gethsemane: Monday Monologues (podcast), July 8, 2024
Also see:
The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:



Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com





Newsletter at: https://bit.ly/Tr_Jun24, Signup
 

 

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Gethsemane Prayer

By Stephen W. Hiemstra

Beloved Lord Jesus,

All praise and honor, power and dominion, truth and justice are yours, because you are strong enough to bear our infirmities, pains, and addictions for us when we ask. Be ever near.

Forgive us when we fail to reach out to you in our darkest hours. Be ever near.

Thank you for the witness that you gave to us during your time among us. Be near us now.

In the power of your Holy Spirit, draw us to yourself. Open our hearts, illumine our thoughts, strengthen our hands in your service.

For your name’s sake, Amen.

Gethsemane Prayer
Also see:
The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:



Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com

Newsletter at: https://bit.ly/Tr_Jun24, Signup
 

 

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Gethsemane

Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, 

not as I will, but as you will. 

(Matt 26:39)

By Stephen W. Hiemstra

Holding God as first priority in all things great and small is impossible. The temptations are too great, the time too short, and our energy too constraining. The Apostle Paul remarked: “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. (1 Cor 13:12) The image of God is our guide, but we can neither fully comprehend it nor fully reflect it. Yet, Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane offers us a guide on how to proceed faithfully.

Life is filled with pains great and small that confront us with a decision. Do we turn into the pain and hold a private pity party or do we turn to God and give it over to him? Jesus answered this question at Gethsemane: “Not as I will, but as you will.” In this manner, we surrender our lives to God, raising the priority of God in our lives, one step at a time.

The Nature of Faith

Gethsemane reveals an important view of faith that is seldom discussed. Faith is not once and for all, set and forget; it is contextual. The Apostle Paul alludes to this view of faith in Philippians:

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Phil 2:12-13)

Each painful experience in life gives us a choice—move toward God or away from him. These choices establish our priorities. Is God our first priority or not? On sunny days, such choices are easy, but it’s the painful choices that form our identity.

Holding the image of God before us is terribly important, much like the photograph of your family on your office desk, because it reminds us who we love and why we work.

This context of faith implies that it is relational. We are willing to suffer for those we love, even if only out of duty, because our love gives life meaning. These faithful decisions are not market trades or investments in a heavenly future. We simply trust God to protect us, to remain with us, and to shelter us from fear in the midst of such pain. After the pain has passed, we appear faithful or not. And God’s grace resides with the fact that we do not always make good decisions. With each new painful decision, we remember God’s faithfulness in the past. Our relationship with God is always a work in progress, as Paul suggests.

The Nature of Personality and Culture

Our personalities, our cultures are formed by the answer to this daily question because pain leaves an indelible mark on our souls. As human beings, we have a special relationship with pain. The behavioral response, psychologists tell us, is to do more of what brings joy and less of what causes pain. Our memories form a litany of answers to this question shaping our personalities and cultures into the image of God.

In my own experience, it was relatively easy to accept Jesus as my savior. We all love to receive gifts. It was much harder to accept him as Lord of my life. We humans are a stubborn, willful race. We value our freedom, even if it means addiction, enslavement, and death. This is why faith is so difficult, even for lifelong believers.

In this narcissistic era, we all have family members and friends that simply cannot let go of their selfishness. This is why so many people die young from preventable illnesses, self-inflict wounds, and addictions. Why else would life expectancy, fertility rates, and standards of living fall? These trends are more a measure of our spiritual health than our material wealth.

In turning to God in our pain and giving it over to him, we break the cycle of dysfunctional personalty and dysfunctional culture. Why? We are prone to becoming addicted to things that bring momentary joy. Money, drugs, sex, and power all have the potential to trap us in dysfunction, when they become our first priority. Giving our pains over to God allows the Holy Spirit to work in our lives to restore balance.

Image of God

How does this work? The image of God is a reference point in responding to pain. The question—what would Jesus do?—is not a trivial question. Balance allows us to learn the right lessons from our experiences, neither discounting our failures nor ignoring them. The church provides an important forum for the work of the Holy Spirit in our daily struggles, offering us the support to learning the right lessons and moving beyond our pain. 

Over time, this process molds our personalities and changes our culture in the image of God. At Gethsemane, Jesus accepted the cross to die for our sins.

Gethsemane

Also see:

The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:



Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com

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