Beyond the physical issues that Covid has brought, less talked about spiritual, psychological, and social effects have also emerged.

While I would love to address all of these at length, I merely want to address one aspect right now. One of the psychological effects is that we often feel like we’re intruding, particularly when approaching someone we don’t know. We assume others see us as potential vectors of transmission—dangerous and hostile forces entering into their sphere.

At times this may be true, but people still yearn for kindness and relationships.

We say this, because while our church has historically been known for being welcoming, friendly and hospitable, we’ve noticed many new faces are being left alone as they enter our church. Outside of a greeting team, they can be isolated from the congregation. 

Practical tips:

• Be friendly, but respectful-Watch for the other person’s social cues. If their body language says they’re uncomfortable, don’t push it. However, if they seem eager to talk with someone, go for it!

• Approach but maintain distance-Allow our guests to reveal their own level of concern. Even more cautious individuals won’t mind being greeted by a masked person from a few feet away. 

• You may be bringing Life, not Death-Statistics have shown that with all the struggles brought by 2020, many are suffering with anxiety, depression, and loneliness. Amazingly, weekly churchgoers are the only group whose mental health has improved this year. The media can make us feel like our socializing is bringing death, we may also be bringing life to someone’s dark and lonely world. 

• Be giving-Because of how isolated our lives have become, we’re often eager to meet old friends once again at church. This is amazing, but take time for new faces as well. Search them out, for they may have no one. 

With every challenge comes certain obstacles but also opportunities. We have an opportunity to be sources of life, kindness, and love while the world becomes more dark and isolated. These coming Sundays, let’s be sure we’re loving our neighbor.

As we read the Scriptures, we face temptation to make Jesus fit our intentions. For some, we like to read Jesus as a neo-Marxist liberator, who frees sinners from the punishment of oppressive structures. He challenges the authorities upholding standards—Pharisees, Sadducees, religious and political leaders receive his sharpest rebuke while the oppressed (Samaritans, sinners, tax collectors) find themselves welcomed. 

For others, we see Jesus as the one calling for absolute righteousness and holiness before God. He welcomes the sinner but points to greater righteousness rather than less. He tells the adulterous woman to “go and sin no more” (Jn. 8:11). He calls people to “be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt. 5:48). Rather than free people from traditional forms of righteousness, he deepens their call (e.g. “You have heard it said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery…” Mt. 5:27-28).

First century world knew Jews for their righteousness. Many coming from a pagan background found the pursuit of righteous living at odds with their Greco-Roman culture attractive.

As the Jews culturally pursued righteousness, they socially enforced these ideas. The unrighteous and the sinners were cast out from society. Tax collectors, prostitutes, and many other sinners were welcomed by Jesus. 

This isn’t to suggest that Jesus cared little about righteousness. To the contrary, he demanded a greater righteousness than the Pharisees of the day (Mt 5:20) to enter the kingdom. 

Shame Culture

Abdu Murray recently wrote for the Gospel Coalition how we’re seeing an Eastern understanding of honor/shame culture moving into the West.

A more communal understanding is arising, where sins are culturally enforced. Old Tweets or bad behavior are resurrected to “cancel” somebody. Meaning, if your sins (at least particular sins) are found out, a mob of people may harass your employers until you’re fired and cast out of polite society. 

What employer will risk the wrath of the mob to hire someone so tainted by these sins? The internet never forgets, so the scarlet letter perpetually hangs on the neck of every sinner. 

How do we see the enforcement of such shame culture?

Over the past couple years, or really weeks for that matter we’ve seen a dramatic escalation of canceling behavior. 

A church loses its lease because the pastor liked some facebook posts that disagreed with the board’s politics. Despite the pastor apologizing and the church doing a lot to help the disenfranchised, including giving free COVID testing and operating a health clinic. 

Those who proclaim the loudest for a wife’s autonomy from their husbands, fired a lady’s husband because of her post.

An announcer was fired for tweeting “ALL LIVES MATTER…EVERY SINGLE ONE” in response to being asked on his take on BLM. 

Drew Brees, the quarterback for the Saints, who sees the American flag as the symbol for the ideal which America is pursuing rather than the symbol of all her historic flaws was dragged through the mud until he (and his wife) offered their mea culpa. The public ritual of being dragged before the public before you bow to the authoritarian mob to say, “You are right. I am the problem.” Some are forgiven, others are not. Largely it depends if they find you useful enough. 

Students who said bad things during their time as children in high school and had apologized for them, lost their spots at Ivy League institutions.

JK Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books and noted far left liberal, has the mob trying to cancel her from departing from transgender orthodoxy. 

Whom does Jesus Liberate?

We’re living in a unique age where the traditional values and authorities are not what enforces canceling but the avant-garde morality mob.  have divorced the power structures from the social structures. The neo-Marxists view the former as the oppressive forces from which to liberate people. Yet at the same time, they are the ones able to cancel people who diverge from their orthodoxy or orthopraxy. While not fully in control of the structures, they wield society. Meaning, they cannot jail you but they can ban you. 

In Jesus’ day, the cultural powers enforced a more traditional morality, so when we see Jesus offering mercy to sinners, from whom does he liberate them? 

The Neo-marxist reads Christ as offering grace to the oppressed—those who have been put under the boot of the hierarchical structures. Jesus turns the structures on their head, reminding us, “the last will be first” (Mt. 20:16). Jesus, reduced to a neo-Marxist liberator, we believe nods along with approval at the canceling of those dubbed oppressors.

However, these same events can be seen as Jesus offering grace to the “cancelled.” Not just against the power structures but those feeling the effects of power. The cast-out sinners find grace. Those cancelled by society, Jesus invites in. 

Like it or not, the mob enforcing their morality are as much a part of the power structure as those they are looking to overturn. Replacing the rules by which we cancel one another does nothing to replace the oppressive or authoritarian nature of the canceling mob. 

Jesus as Liberator

Jesus is the liberator who takes not only our guilt but our shame. Yes, the power structures pronounced him guilty but the mob pronounced him shameful. For our shame as well as our guilt, he died.

Jesus does indeed liberate the oppressed. He offers grace to sinners, whether it’s those violating traditional morality or our cultural norms. Jesus offers liberty to the captives, whether it’s Rome, abusive cops, or the thought police. He offers community to repentant sinners, whether the prostitute or the racist. 

For this radical grace, we despise him. We want our enemies to be his enemies. We demand his wrath on them, but we find Christ more gracious than we desire. His grace is utterly impractical, so we find ourselves among the mob shouting, “Crucify him. Crucify Him.”

The physician calls the sick not as approval for sins but the healing of sinners. Jesus’ restorative grace to humanity distinguishes his kingdom from the never-ending evolution of oppressing agents.

And so, we take Jesus seriously when he says, “My kingdom, is not of this world…” (Jn.18:36).

Thanks be to God that it’s altogether different!

A few years ago, as I completed the journey toward ordination we had to take a series of vows  that affirmed our position within the denomination. One of those positions was that of the infallibility of the Scriptures—meaning that they are without error. 

Normally, such people are called inerrantists. While I happily said the vows, I hesitate to define myself as such. I believe the Scriptures are true, trustworthy, and authoritative for the Christian. However, I have deep reservations about defining myself by what I’m not, rather than what I am.

Human beings have a pernicious tendency to become the very things we set ourselves against.

A while back I had a conversation with a strong inerrantist, who in seeking to harmonize the text, abused the text. At some level, wanting to preserve the idea of what the Scriptures are not, he didn’t allow them to speak as they are. To preserve his idea of inerrancy, he denied their authority.

The problem of defining ourselves by what we are not is the tendency to become the very thing we set ourselves against.

Antimovements

Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen this tendency of antimovements manifest in many ways. 

Antifa

Antifa (short for anti-fascist) is more fascistic than those they set themselves against. Fascism uses force to suppress opposition in order to gain control. Antifa is purposefully violent against their political opponents in order to instill fear.

In Seattle, Antifa has created their own space. Although they rail against the police, their “People’s Force” is more authoritarian, implementing their own version of stop and frisk and holding hostages (as the populace did not vote them in to control this neighborhood). 

Antiracist

The term “antiracist” is growing in popularity, but I fear the same thing is happening. 

Perhaps the most racist post I’ve seen is this one. She talks of her experience as a teacher that when children throw, break, slam things, and melt down that we recognize it as trauma manifesting. Compassion and love, rather than discipline, is required.

I know she may have been well intentioned but let’s be clear…black people are not children. Their children are of course children but as a class of people they are not children. I have no doubt that if one of this teacher’s peers acted in a similar manner, she would be horrified and want the teacher fired. Why? Because adults have agency and the expectation to control their emotions. 

I suspect this teacher and the few people I saw post such nonsense have very little encounters with black people. As a class of people, black people are not weak, fragile children, needing to be coddled. They don’t lack strength, agency, or the ability to make wise decisions.

In trying to be antiracist, she becomes the very thing  she stands against.

A mob has formed against a UCLA professor for not giving students special consideration according to their race, in accordance with federal law. The school has put him on leave, despite acting according to school policy.

In seeking to be antiracist, they became the very thing they hate.

So What am I?

While I’ll say I’m against racism, I won’t call myself an “antiracist.” I will call myself a dignitist— believing all people are worthy of a level of respect and dignity as made in God’s image. I am a justice-seeker—wanting to see justice accomplished within all levels of society.

Of course the antiracists will say, “Yes, we do too.” But again, when the target is to be against racism rather than for dignity and justice, our pursuits often devolve into supporting injustice and undignified treatment of others.

We see NYT columnists telling readers to cut off family if they don’t go to a rally or donate to an approved cause. “Sorry grandma, I know COVID-19 may kill you but you need to come with this mob if you want to see your grandkids.” We see murals of lynched policemen graffitied on walls. 

When we identify ourselves by what we aren’t, our hearts will justify the most wretched aspects of who we are. 

I don’t want to set up a weak man and suggest that all antiracists would endorse such nonsense. I would caution us about the nature of the human heart. When we identify ourselves by what we aren’t, our hearts will justify the most wretched aspects of who we are. 

We mutter “the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” as we make unholy alliances. My great fear for our society is that in fighting a good cause we’ll wake up having become twice the tyrant we sought to dethrone. 

May it never be. 

As religion recedes in the culture at large, much of the prevailing religion looks to entertain rather than demand from its practitioners. The world’s mantra to “live for yourself” finds implicit affirmation is therapeutic religion. 

One thing the riots are showing us, is the utter insufficiency of that narrative. 

We live in a world clamoring for something more to invest their lives in, something bigger than themselves. 

We’ve lost religion so we make politics into our religion. She’s the cause that we fight for, who demands absolute devotion with no absolution. 

Of the riots, so many are not started by black protesters looking to mourn and demand justice from the courts, but sheltered suburbanite white kids looking for something meaningful to do. 

The religious overtones of much of this movement must shock the Christian: the recitation of a catechism, instruction from a priestly class, contingent absolution, hardcore proselytizing, etc. Even the posture before the priestess, shrieks of a religious movement. 

The problem of the all demanding god of politics is that she sends no angel to withdraw our hand from Isaac. She is not Jehovah Jireh (the Lord who sees) but Molech who consumes our children in fire. 

Christian Parents Take Note

Christian parents beware. Our inclination to sacrifice religion for self-involved betterments like sports, band, etc. gives our kids nothing of significance to have their lives revolve around. 

The endless gathering of resume credentials to get into a better school to make a little more money gets exposed as empty. As does the self-satisfying pursuit of pleasure and comfort.  

Our children are searching for something of significance. Perhaps you see your child and say, “No they don’t. All they want to do is play video games.”

My response is two-fold. First, video games’ appeal provides the illusion and satisfaction of accomplishing something of significance. You build a world, you save the universe, etc. 

Second, what your child wants in the moment is not what sustains them long term. Your child may love cake, but what parent would make it their exclusive diet? They may prefer cake over any given meal but that is unsatisfying and unhealthy long term. 

Those once involved in religion that cost them little, that was never burdensome or deprioritized other good pursuits, see God as unable to scratch their existential itch. 

Show your children that the things of God are worth sacrificing everything for, for their sake. The God of Christianity is worth offering our sons and daughters to, for He has offered to us His Son.

Over the past several decades we know that religious affiliation is down, religious observance is down among the affiliated, and the concept of hell and divine judgment is largely dismissed.

We’re too refined for such nonsense. How could a loving God ever judge sinners?

The irony is that we’re clamoring for hell. Our culture lusts for such a thing, while simultaneously denying it. 

How Hell Helps Guide the Church

Since the dawn of Christian history, God’s people have waded through injustices because God judges sin. 

Of course we long for sinners to repent and find life in Christ. But we find solace knowing the God of justice has not turned blind eyes or deaf ears. 

No, God sees and judges each man according to his deeds. God’s judgment of all that is evil and reward for suffering for righteousness, instills hope, joy, forgiveness, and love in Christians as they face injustice.

The apostles rejoiced when beaten for Christ. Christians endured with hope. We see forgiveness poured out from Christ on the cross. 

The black church has modeled this understanding for us for ages, having manifest the Christian way, many times. Brandt Jean’s ability to offer forgiveness to the murderer of his brother captured the world not too long ago. 

He was as Christ to her. 

We  see a world unhinged without fear of God. The only judgment they think tyrants will see is what can be delved out by their own hands. Under the sway and power of sin, they become the very thing they claim to hate.

 “Revolutions produce other men, not new men.”-Barbara Tuchman 

As the late historian Barbara Tuchman puts it, “Revolutions produce other men, not new men.” Nothing demonstrated convinces me that those seeking to remake the world in their image, wouldn’t be twice the tyrants they seek to dethrone. 

And so for the Christian, we remind ourselves that as factions clash, tyrants rage, injustice drowns out the life and voice of many, God still sees.