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Some of us have run from bees. Others of us have run from bullies. And lots of us have run from a friend’s house when we heard the voice of mom calling us in the house for supper.

I distinctly remember the call of my mother who would yell, “Ronnie and Johnny and Pat-riiiiiiiiiik!” to get her three sons home from a few blocks away. The last part of Patrick’s name was always drawn out in a falsetto voice. We could hear mom from five blocks away, and we would immediately stop what we were doing and run home for supper. And, unlike most kids today, we actually played outside, so, by the time we got home, we were sweaty, filthy, stinky, and starving; we were a mess!

As a pastor, I have heard, more times than I can count, about those who have run from their calling from God. There’s a story in an Old Testament book of the Bible about a guy who ran from his calling from God. “But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish” (Jon 1:3a NIV). It’s interesting how many Jonah’s there are out there in the pastoral world. Every seminary and Bible College hears their fair share of those who have “ran away from the Lord”.

The point of Jonah’s tale is to let us know that it is dangerous to run from God.

What about running to God?

My wife recently used a fairly simple and well known object lesson to bring home the point that we must all work together in order to do God’s will. In other words, no one person can do the entire ministry required to bring others to the Good News.

She used a tablespoon-full of coffee grounds to point out how only one part of a recipe is not very appealing to the palate. After all, it’s not until the grounds are added to water and heated on a stove that something edible is produced.

When she scooped up the coffee grounds into the spoon, she asked if anyone would like to eat the grounds. Of course, one young boy who wanted more attention than he should have desired raised his hand with great urgency and said with earnest enthusiasm, “I’ll eat it! I’ll eat it!” So, my wife obliged him with a quick dunk of a heaping mound of dry coffee grounds right into his mouth.

Immediately, the boy stood up and ran for the closest faucet. With a look of horror on his face, he ran as fast as he could to the kitchen sink, while his mouth oozed dark brown slobber that ran down his chin and onto his nice, white shirt.

Some Christians, who are called to some form of ministry leadership, run with great passion away from God. While others, like the little boy with a penchant for punishment, run with equal eagerness toward what they think they will enjoy. Imagine their surprise when they learn that they have rushed into something they weren’t really expecting. In fact, they found that the ministry they ran to wasn’t really tasty to them at all.

Let’s not forget Paul’s warning in his first letter to Timothy: “[An overseer] must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil” (1Ti 3:6 NIV).

Sometimes, Christians are too eager to dive into their calling before their calling is ready to receive them. And when they rush to open their mouths and take it all in, they are horrified to discover that it tastes nothing like they imagined. Because of their impatience, they end up making a huge mess, when a few more ingredients and a little more cooking time could have given them a more palatable experience.

As Dr. Rod Cooper so wisely stated, “God is not in a rush to make you a leader. He is much more interested in what you look like when you do lead.”

So, whether I’m a Jonah 1:3 runner or a 1 Timothy 3:6 runner, the direction I’m going isn’t really the problem; sometimes it’s the running itself that makes the mess, no matter which way I am headed.

In His dust,
Johnny

© 2010 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved

One of my favorite moments in Israel was the visit to Caesarea Philippi. Standing in the place where Jesus told Peter that he is a rock, and on ‘this rock’, Jesus said he would build his Church, was pretty amazing.

To this day, the Gates of Hades, has barely changed. I thought others, who may never have the priviledge or who have been there and would like to see it again, would appreciate this visual experience. Just click on the picture above to see the video.

In His dust,

Johnny

It’s not easy to be sweet when we’re feeling sour.

Often, when we are hurting, we are more like someone who is drowning, and anyone who tries to help is in danger of being taken down with us.

When Paul wrote to the Philippian believers, they were struggling and suffering under the weight of Roman neighbors who wanted to get rid of, hurt, and even kill them because of their belief in and devotion to Jesus.

In Philippians 2:12, Paul gives an interesting, and somewhat perplexing, admonition to the believers there: “continue to work out your salvation…”

This passage has caused centuries of Christian teachers, preachers, and exegetes to lose sleep over how exactly to interpret this portion of the text.

It’s a bit difficult to understand what Paul is saying here, when we approach this passage from a literal rendering of the words used by most translators. The majority of translations use the English phrase, work out, or simply the word, work, in the passage.

The Greek word that Paul uses here, κατεργάζομαι, he also uses in other passages in this letter and in other letters that he has written. For example, in Romans, Paul uses the word many times while speaking of a totally opposite behavior within himself from that which he instructs the Philippian believers.

“I do not understand what I do (κατεργάζομαι). For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it (κατεργάζομαι), but it is sin living in me. 18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out (κατεργάζομαι). 19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do–this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it (κατεργάζομαι), but it is sin (not God as in our Philippians passage) living in me that does it. (Rom 7:15 NIV)

So “work out” can be translated with the words “do”, “achieve”, “accomplish”, “attain”, ”carry out”, ”deliver”, or “rescue from harm”, along with many other similar verbs. The basic idea that Paul has in mind is that the Philippians are to continue to deliver salvation to one another.

Another important part of the passage has to do with the word “your”. This is not a “your” as in “each of you”; it is a plural “your”, to be understood as “all of you together”, or even better, “ya’ll”.  

As a community they are to continue sharing their salvation with one another.

Once again, a literal reading of this passage, mixed with some presuppositions that we bring to the reading, can cause confusion. The question will immediately come to mind: “How do we deliver salvation, and why do we do this as a community?”

Looking at Paul’s writings in Ephesians, we can add even more chaos to our thinking, when we read, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– not by works, so that no one can boast” (2:8-9 NIV).

The reason that we can become confused is that we read the word, salvation (σωτηρία), as if it has only one meaning. Usually when we read the word, salvation, we immediately think of it’s definition of being saved from our sins, which is the salvation given to us by the atoning death of Jesus. This would make the reading of Paul’s words in Philippians 2:12 mean that we are responsible for achieving our own salvation, and even more baffling, we are responsible for achieving it all together.

But, where in other portions of Paul’s letters the words σωτηρία and σῴζω are translated salvation or save, here σωτηρία has another meaning. As it is used in many passages of the Old Testament Greek translation (Septuagnt, also known as the LXX), and other uses by Paul himself,  σωτηρία is used in Philippians 2:12 as a reference to health and well-being or rescue from harm or chaos (see Heb 11:7).

In the LXX, the word, σωτηρία, is a Greek translation of the Hebrew word shalom, which means “complete peace” or absense of chaos in any part of one’s life.

Paul is telling the Philippian believers, “With all of the chaos that surrounds you, don’t forget to continue share shalom with one another.”

With God working in us, even when we are struggling to keep our heads above water, we can lift someone else up. It is possible to continue sharing shalom with one another, even while we are in chaos.

In His dust,
Johnny

© 2010 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved

In the original movie, “The Karate Kid”,  Daniel is a boy who is being bullied by some very skilled karate students. When he meets a karate instructor (Mr. Miyagi) who is willing to teach him how to defend himself, Daniel is more than enthusiastic to learn. Mr. Miyagi teaches Daniel how to wax cars, sand floors, and paint fences and houses, which frustrates Daniel, until he realizes that the techniques he has been using to do all of Mr. Miyagi’s chores are actually preparing him for his goal of learning karate.

A really cool part of the story is when Mr. Miyagi surprises Daniel by giving him one of the fancy, classic cars that he has been waxing. This was a complete surprise to Daniel, who had no idea that, while he was making those cars sparkle with his sweat and elbow grease, Mr. Miyagi was going to give him one of them.

Jesus knew that he was going to the cross to die a cruel death. But his goal was not to receive the throne and name of God. Throughout his life and his death, he did not consider being God as something that he could take. Instead, as God, he emptied himself, and, as man, he humbled himself. And, like the beautiful car that Daniel did not consider as something that he could have, but was given to him by the graciousness of Mr. Miyagi, God graciously exalted Jesus and gave him the name that is above every name.

What exactly do those two things (”exalted” and “name that is above every name”) mean?

The second chapter of Paul’s letter to the Philippians begins with an emphasis on humility, which is expressed in considering the needs and importance of others as greater than one’s self. In v. 5-8, Paul reminds them that they are to be humble as Jesus himself was humble, even to the point of a humiliating and embarrassing death on a Roman cross.

Vv. 9-11, explain to the Philippians the gracious response of God to Jesus’ humility throughout his life and his death.

“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phi 2:9 NIV).

The first century world in which Jesus lived, worked, and taught was one filled with religion and worship of many gods. Even those who worshiped many gods believed that there was a Most High God who was pleased by mankind’s worship of the lesser gods. Among some Jews, there was an understanding that there were many celestial beings known as the “hosts of heaven” or “lesser gods”, which Christians speak of in a familiar doxology, saying, “Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts.” But even among the gods or the celestial beings, YHWH (Yahweh) was the Most High God, or sat in the highest position as Creator of the gods and all other creation.

It is this language which Paul borrows when he states that Jesus was exalted to the “highest place”. The Greek word, ὑπερύψωσεν, that is translated, exalted, is a hapax legomenon, which means it is used nowhere else in the N.T. This word means “supremely exalted to a place where nothing higher exists.”

Along with Jesus receiving the Highest Position in the universe, he is also granted “the name that is above every other name.”

What is that name? We might be tempted to think it is the name Jesus. But that would be wrong.

Reverence for God’s holy name was so thoroughly expressed by first century Jews that they would not even say it. Therefore names such as Adonai, ha shem (the Name), the Place, and Lord were used in its place. Another expression used by reverent Jews who didn’t want to say God’s name was to say, “The name that is above every name”.

The name which was regarded as forbidden to say was Yahweh. YHWH was the name of the Most High God. YHWH was the name of the One who created all that exists, whether finite or infinite, mortal or immortal.

When Paul says that Jesus was given the name that is above every name, he is saying, “Jesus was given the name YHWH!” In other words, Jesus is the God of all creation, heaven and earth, and to say the name Jesus is the same as calling on the name of YHWH.

In v. 10, Paul says, “…at the name of Jesus…” The of in this passage is a possessive genitive, which means it refers to that which belongs to Jesus. To better understand this, we should translate the phrase, “…at the name that belongs to Jesus…” That name which has been granted to the Son by the Father is the name that is above every name…Yahweh.

The day will come when every nation will recognize that the Most High God, the One who sits in the highest position in all the universe and is called Yahweh, is “…Jesus, whom you crucified…”(Acts 2:36).

In His dust,
Johnny

© 2010 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved

After hundreds of years of removing the apocalyptic genus from some of the obvious apocalyptic teachings of Jesus, it can be difficult for some Christians to accept correction. But, regardless of one’s personal sensitivities, placing Jesus’ words within their proper Jewish type is important and must be exercised by those who are given the purpose of breaking the bread of life.

Jesus’ own understanding of the end of the world was undergirded with an eschatology that expected an immediate change in the worldview of Israel that would come about within a generation (s. Matthew 24:34; Mark 13:30; Luke 21:32).

Scholars, in the past, have made the claim that, because the universe did not experience a cataclysmic change, Jesus was proved to be wrong about his apocalyptic prediction. Others have claimed that, because Jesus’ prediction did not come true, his reference to “this generation” must have had a different meaning. But the apocalyptic language, which Jesus used, was not literal: it was highly figurative as is common within apocalyptic genres of speech.

Mark 13:24-6 exemplifies Jesus’ Jewish use of just such a genre. Jesus says that after the tribulation, ‘the sun will be darkened, the moon will not shine its light, the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers in heaven will be shaken’. As is the case in many teachings of this passage, many assume an “end-of-the-world” eschatological reference. But in this passage, we are actually reading the words that were typical among ancient Jewish teachings when referring to a horrible event. As N. T. Wright states, it is the same kind of reference that Americans may use when we say an event is “earth-shattering.”

Jesus is predicting the end of the common understanding of Israel’s role and worldview within their own time. The destruction of the Temple and the coming slaughter of the Jews by the Romans, which will include a change in the mindset of God’s children from those who destroy their enemies with the sword to those who love their enemies into God’s Kingdom through peace and community, will indeed be an earth-shattering experience for the Jewish leadership.

The Babylon of Jesus’ day is not Rome, but the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem. The enemy of God’s people is not a nation, but its own hard-hearted, blind, and def priestly class. It is not an enemy outside of the people of Israel, but Israel itself who is the enemy of God’s purposes in Jesus’ day. To learn that a nation is the enemy of itself is undeniably a cataclysmic awareness when that kind of knowledge is discovered.

The leaders of the Temple could not hear Jesus’ warnings, nor were they able to see that God had revealed His plan and persona in the form of a Jewish Rabbi whose message was insulting to those who had placed their confidence in their own wisdom and the swords with which they trusted to free themselves from their current exile.

Upon Jesus’ resurrection, the son of man did come (or go, as is the dual meaning of the Greek word ἔρχομαι) in clouds with power and glory. Here again, the clouds are not meant as the literal, physical gathering of condensation in the atmosphere that surrounds the planet. Such pictures were used in times before aeronautics to refer to unreachable heights that exemplified the positions of royalty. Upon Jesus’ resurrection God was pleased to give him the Throne of Heaven.

“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth” (Phi 2:9-10 NIV). When Jesus was seen, after the resurrection, as the One who had risen from the dead, he was being seen as sitting on the highest place of honor, the throne of God.

It is comforting to know that Jesus is the God of the universe, who is revealed by his faithful followers as higher than any current position of authority in our known world. No national leader can claim the clouds, the highest throne in the universe, as his or her seat.

May we all recognize, like the blind and def of the leadership of first century Israel, that we can easily become our own enemies. And may we not resist this awareness, but escape the exile of our own imprisonment, be free from the tyranny of self, and give ourselves to the sovereignty of Christ’s Holy position as God of all.

In His dust,
Johnny

Works Cited:

N. T. Wright Jesus and the Victory of God (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996).

Richard Bauckham Jesus and the God of Israel: God Crucified and Other Studies on the New Testament’s Christology of Divine Identity (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2008).

© 2010 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved

We have all heard of people who raise their children as a single parent, people who have dropped out of high school or college, people who have quit their well-paying job to try the music scene, and people who have abandoned their dog or cat in the woods. Some of us are these people, and some of us know these people. Quitting is so popular today that it’s a wonder anything gets finished.

Too many of us are holding out for management positions, looking for a better spouse than we already have, and switch college majors every time a new career idea catches our fancy. Too often, what we have is never good enough, the grass always looks greener in someone else’s yard, and the ice cream at the mall is always better than the ice cream at home.

Every one of us is tempted by dissatisfaction. We are all looking for a better job, a better car, a better life. Fortunately, some of us have learned that better doesn’t mean something, someone, or somewhere else. Some of us have learned (often by a really bad experience) that better is often found in one’s willingness to finally recognize the amazing and wonderful beauty and adventure of what he or she already has.

For Christian leaders, the challenge is to put away fantasies of greater positions, less pastoral problems, and more respect.

In Matthew’s gospel, there is a woman who is only known as the mother of Zebedee’s sons. And it is interesting to recognize that this woman is mentioned only twice in Matthew’s gospel. The first time she asks Jesus if he will place her two sons on his right and left, when he comes into his kingdom. Jesus responds by telling her that she doesn’t really understand what she is asking (s. 20:20-22). The second time we see her, she is there at the cross when Jesus dies, and on his right and left are two others being crucified (s. 27:50-56). Was this what the mother of these two sons expected to find on Jesus’ right and left?

Often we don’t really know what it is that we are asking for when we seek something different than we have. Too many Christian leaders, me included, live their lives looking for the next parish, appointment, or position, when what is really needed to develop his or her as a spiritually mature Christian leader is the opportunity to stay. Stay through the blessings and the horrors of ministry. Stay through the parties and the pressures, the times of popularity and struggles with congregational members, and stick it out through the easiest and most difficult moments of the pastoral call.

Eugene Peterson says in his book Under the Unpredictable Plant: An Exploration in Vocational Holiness, “Far too many pastors change parishes out of adolescent boredom, not as a consequence of mature wisdom. When this happens, neither pastors nor congregations have access to the conditions that are hospitable to maturity in the faith” (p. 29).

Like the mother of Zebedee’s sons, every one of us is tempted to be placed in positions of honor and prestige. And perhaps, by having our eyes so fixed on future “kingdoms”, we are missing the blessings of where and who we already are, and what we already have.

In His dust,
Johnny

© 2010 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved

Children will usually assume the social status of their parents, as if they are the ones who earn the living, and therefore are themselves rich or poor. As children become adults, they are then often confused when they find that mommy and daddy do not necessarily dictate the standard of living within the perspective offspring’s personal household. This can lead to shock or elation, depending on the circumstance.

Western Christianity has failed, in at least two areas, to prepare those who profess Christianity, with regards to life and death.

First, the materialistic and narcissistic philosophy of Westerners, especially within the American culture, has developed an individualistic perversion of the Christian faith. Most Western Christians are attracted to the faith because of the assumption that it is about “my” salvation, and “my” relationship with Jesus. This mentality is so prevalent and deeply rooted that even this discussion gives cause for offense to some. The “unity” message of Jesus  establishes Jesus’ desire that his imitators not express individualism, but literally live as one (s. John 17:22).

With the self-centeredness that seems to pervade the Christian faith in the West, it is no wonder that worship is often nothing more than a crowd of  individuals that are rarely concerned about, nor genuinely familiar with, many of those with whom he or she is worshiping. The stench of selfish desire within worship reminds me of where one goes to be alone in his or her own house, which is usually the bathroom, and not the family room.

The second area of failure within the common experience of Christianity is a misunderstanding of what happens upon ones death. The typical proactive counsel of the Christian is to share that the one who has died has gone on to a “better place.” This assumption is largely based on three passages of Scripture – Luke 23:43, 2 Corinthians 5:6-8, and Philippians 1:21-24.

The first passage includes a reference to “paradise”, which is παράδεισος, a Greek word that is rooted in an Old Persian word meaning garden, park, or enclosure, and was also used as a reference to the Garden of Eden – the place of peace, safety, and innocence. παράδεισος is not a word that means “heaven” as in the eternal sense of the word, but, I would suggest, is a word which signifies the end of pain and guilt.

The belief that eternal heaven is immediately experienced upon one’s death is a notion that unwittingly removes the need for the major message of the Gospel of Jesus – the miracle and great anticipation of the future resurrection. “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first” (1Th 4:16 NIV). Those who are “dead” will rise “first.” If those who are dead are already in heaven, the resurrection of the dead would not be necessary, but only a gathering together of those who have already gone to heaven with those who have not yet gone.

Another important aspect of understanding this passage has to do with what it means to be dead, and what “Heaven” is.

When one died, in the Biblical period, he or she was beleived to have gone to sheol or hades, which means the place of the dead, the grave, or the underworld.

Heaven is a word that is not only a synonym for God, it is also used to refer to the place of God’s dwelling, and a reference to God’s people. The Kingdom of Heaven is the “people of God.” The ultimate goal of God is to join heaven and earth together, so that God’s will is done on earth as it is done in heaven (s. Matthew 6:10). The earth was initially created to be God’s abode, in which man would share life with God. Upon the resurrection, God’s original plan will be reclaimed.

As Christ’s followers usher in the Kingdom of Heaven with acts of mercy and justice in life, death will eventually come to them, barring the return of Christ. But death is not simply a passing into bliss; it is a time of rest as the dead in Christ await the return of the Messiah, the resurrection, and the fullness of the Kingdom of Heaven, which is God’s act of creating a new heaven and a new earth for His dwelling place.

“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness” (2Pe 3:9-13 NIV).

And the resurrection and arrival of the fullness of the Kingdom of Heaven will not only be a dwelling place for God, but also for his people.

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away’” (Rev 21:1-4 NIV).

Many of us will sleep, while awaiting the resurrection. “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed– (1Co 15:51 NIV).” Sleep is a translation of κοιμάω, which means the “sleep of death.” Not all of us will die before the return of Christ, but we will all be changed from the form of our earthly bodies, whether dead or alive, into heavenly bodies (s. 1 Corinthians 15:40ff.).

It is the me-oriented philosophy that makes it difficult to imagine that a person will not immediately be ushered into the heavens upon his or her death – “I am too important to be allowed to wait!” But all we have to do to dispel this narcissistic attitude is to remember that before we were born, we were unaware of existence at all. And just as we waited our own conception in our mother’s womb, without any foreknowledge, we may just as well await the resurrection with the same unconscious existence. Though I am tempted to accept that a complete incognizant existence awaits us upon death, until our resurrection, it may also be that paradise is a literal place of waiting for the resurrection as well.

But either way, death is a reason to hurt. It is one of the many evidences of the fact that God’s Kingdom, though present in his people, is not yet fully present. Pain, guilt, longing, sin, and death give us cause to cry and hurt. The trauma of death is not to be flippantly dismissed with words of blissful promises to those who have lost loved ones, as if death should not cause pain, but the experience of death for those still living is to serve as a reminder of the hope of resurrection. Even Jesus cried over death (s. Jon 11:35).

The Scriptures are not as clear on the subject of death as we would like, but the debate continues, as it should. In the end, God’s Kingdom will exist according to His pleasure, which includes the company of His children. And whether we wait unaware of our waiting, or we wait in the garden, the promise of the resurrection gives great hope to believers who know that we will once again experience the company of those we love, and the presence of the Alpha and Omega – Jesus, forever.

In His dust,
Johnny

Works Cited:
Father Rohr, Richard “Politics and Spirituality.” Online. 7 July 2007.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeF7V6PYFqE&feature=related

Bishop Wright, N. T. “Life After ‘Life After Death.’” Online. 1 March 2008.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z50Jv-PXYb4

© 2010 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved

There is power in a name, and enormous amounts of power can be exercised by the one who bestows a name. The very act of naming is in and of itself a performance of authority.

We give names in order to give recognition and even to prove ownership, such as when we name a boat or a child, or even give a pet name to our loved ones. And we also give names in order to protect ourselves from having to understand a person, a people, or a thing. Giving a name, in this way, is actually giving the one who names the ability to control what appears to be uncontrollable, and offers a pardon from having to know more about that which he or she has named. It is a way to dismiss someone or something without having to grow or learn. This kind of naming is the fodder that empowers racism, homophobia, and grudges.

We have all used this naming power many times. When we disagree with someone, the temptation to put a name on them is immediate. If I can give this person a name, I can box them in without having to listen. I might give them a political title or refer to their generation, nationality, or hometown.

Jesus was called a glutton and a drunk, when the authorities wanted to box him in (s. Mat 11:19 NIV).

There are Christians who assume the power to brand other Christians with titles like “Emergent”, so that those who don’t assume the “orthodox” beliefs can all be rolled into a convenient ball and targeted as one, neat group to be discussed by those who wield the naming power.

Sometimes names are given as a reminder of who someone claims to be, but isn’t exemplifying. Jesus used this when reminding those who knew how to live like God, but weren’t. “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men’” (Mat 15:7-9).

Christians! Christianity is about Christ; it’s not about Bible translations, doctrines, or buildings. When we make Christianity about something other than Jesus, we assume the power to give it the name that we want it to have. And anyone who doesn’t believe that it’s about what we believe it is about also is given a name, such as “heretic”.

Keeping Christianity safely in our box keeps us from having to know what being like Jesus really is. Instead, we can simply learn what our denomination or personal belief system is about, and then we only have to know what that is.

Learning to really be like Jesus is a lot messier. And we have learned that messes must be contained, whether they are what we see as messy people, messy things, or messy beliefs.

In His dust,

Johnny

© 2010 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
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when the bus came to Capernaum, the thrill of walking on the ground where Jesus considered home was truly exhilarating. This was another place that had taken up much of my personal study time back home. I knew of the basalt rock that was prevalent in this area. And I also knew that the olive presses and other tools used for processing food were made in Capernaum and used throughout Israel. And I was there, gazing and walking upon  Jesus’ old stomping grounds. And it was really happening. I was really in Jesus’ hometown.

As we walked through the town of Capernaum, I looked around at the many millstones and olive presses that I had only seen in videos and pictures, and I wanted to take so many pictures, while, at the same time, I wanted to put away the camera and simply enjoy the moments. But I continued to take pictures so that I and others could enjoy them in the future. And there were moments when I handed the camera to my wife so that I could look at everything with my naked eyes. It was an awesome experience. One of the tools that I wanted to see for myself was the Γεθσημανὶ (Eng. Gethsemane meaning “olive press”), a large, heavy, stone pillar that was placed upon bags of broken, ripe olives and used to squeeze out the precious olive oil.

When we came up to a gethsemane in Capernaum, our guide pointed it out, but I was surprised that he was unaware of its significance in the story of Jesus. It is in the gospels of Matthew and Mark that the story of Jesus going to a place called “Olive Press” is told. And it is in the garden of the Olive Press where Jesus feels the heavy burden of our sins placed upon him like a giant gethsemane, and has his very precious blood squeezed from his body as his sweat was laced with drops of blood due to the stress of his impending Passion.

It was in the garden of the olive press where the priceless oil of our Savior was literally pressed from his body by the weight of our sins, which he bore for us all. How could that have been missed by our guide? I was saddened that more of us were not privileged to the metaphor of Jesus’ night in the garden of the Olive Press. I continued to look around at all of the ancient millstones and seas used by those who processed olives in Capernaum during the time of Jesus. Perhaps Jesus himself had used or even built some of the olive presses that were found in this ancient place. After all, Jesus was a τέκτων (Eng. Tekton), a construction worker. And though tekton is usually translated as “carpenter” in the New Testament, it actually means “construction worker”, which could also refer to a stone worker. Looking around at Capernaum, and all of its stone work, along with the fact that Capernaum was “the” city where these important tools were purchased, helped me to see that it is very possible that Jesus probably did much more work with stone than he did with wood.

This was indeed a life-changing, eye-opening occasion, even more than I had hoped for. It was here in Capernaum that the story of Matthew 17:24ff speaks of Jesus teaching his disciples a powerful message about humility and “littleness”. While they are in Capernaum, Jesus has children come to him, and he tells those who want to enter the Kingdom of Heaven that they must be like little children. And he goes on to tell them that if anyone causes a child to sin, then that person would be better off having a millstone hung around his neck and then be thrown into the sea. That story became so vivid as I stood there in Capernaum looking at the many millstones which must have been there as Jesus told this story. And then to look over my shoulder at the sea of Galilee, which was believed to be the Abyss, where the power of evil lurked beneath the waves, brings the entire teaching moment into full perspective. Jesus used that which was around him to teach a powerful message to those who were listening to him. With a child on his knee, a millstone beside him and the sea of Galilee in full view, his message must have left a significant picture on the minds of all who heard.

In His dust,

Johnny

© 2010 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved

Jesus being God has always been a topic of discussion in the world after Jesus. It’s interesting to note that, as a Jewish rabbi, Jesus was accepted as an exceptional teacher by his fellow-Jews. But even those closest to him, including his closest disciples did not fully understand him. This helps us to understand how this subject could be one of serious debate three hundred years after his death and resurrection.

In the fourth century A.D., after Constantine gained power and allowed for Christians to assemble and work out their beliefs, they began to debate the nature of Jesus, his identity, and his connection to God the Father.

There were apposing views and beliefs about the deity of Jesus that actually brought Christians to the point of verbal and physical fights among one another.

To the Jew, the Messiah would not have to be God, but only a person anointed and chosen to lead God’s people. For Jews, King Saul and King David were two messiahs, for they were anointed and chosen to lead God’s people. This should help us to understand why this issue was not a topic of debate until Christianity was firmly in the depths of Western thought (modern scholars are discovering that the deity of Christ was actually accepted even in th first century A.D.).

As differing opinions of who Jesus was as the son of God began to surface, the universal church knew that there was a need to bring a systemized understanding among believers; this task was accomplished through councils. The first council was the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325, the second was the Council of Constantinople in A.D. 381, the third was the Council of Ephesus in A.D. 431, and finally the Council of Chalcedon was held in A.D. 451.

The major subjects of discussion among these councils included their understandings of the Trinity and Christology.

Christ’s deity was a matter of many discussions as some thought Jesus to be subordinate to the Father, while others thought of him as only appearing to be a man. Still others believed that the Christ came upon Jesus at his birth and left him before his death.

In the end, it was decided that God is One in those distinct and separate persons as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

God revealing himself to the world in the form of His son gave the world an opportunity to experience His word clarified through Jesus; God’s ways and will were exemplified as God himself called the world to follow him here on earth.

Jesus says to us,”Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17). In this passage Jesus uses the terms “abolish” and “fulfill”, which are used idiomatically in Hebrew as words meaning to “misinterpret” and “clearly interpret”. Jesus came to “clearly interpret” the Word of God, according to the Kingdom of Heaven. There is no clearer interpretation of God’s word lived out than for God himself to live it out before us in the form of his son Jesus.

The four councils from A.D. 325-451 allowed for the leaders of God’s people to articulate the truth of Jesus’ divinity for all of the ecclesia, which was justified by Jesus himself when he gave Peter the “Keys to the Kingdom” and the ability to “bind” and “lose”, more rabbinic idioms, which mean the leaders of the Church have Christ’s support in how they define the rights and wrongs of the Church (see Matthew 16:19). To “bind” and “lose” is literally translated, “to forbid and permit”. The leaders of the Church were given the authority to choose what would be forbidden and permitted as practices of believers; this would include the decision to form a canon (the books that would be included in the Bible).

Understanding that Jesus is God, just as the Father and the Holy Spirit are persons of God, gives us an understanding that the Messiah was more than just a Jewish man anointed and chosen to lead God’s people, as many had been before. But Jesus is God personified, calling himself to the task of leading His people into His Kingdom.

During the councils there were those who relegated Jesus to being less than God or a part of God, as Dr. Garth Rosell says, somewhat like an egg with three distinct parts, which are all part of an egg, but under close scrutiny the different parts of an egg are very different. Jesus is exactly God; He is the perfect image and form of God, not simply a part or portion of God.

He is God incarnate.

In His dust,
Johnny

© 2010 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved