01/16/2024
One More Thing...
Tim Harlow, author of What Made Jesus Mad, makes the following observation about what led Jesus to a godly anger.
“Everything Jesus came to accomplish had to do with reuniting the Father with his children. So if access to the Father was Jesus' purpose on earth, then it logically follows that it angered Jesus the most when people created barriers to that access. There are three obvious instances of Jesus' anger in response to the barriers people put up:
1. In the temple, where money changers were literally denying access to the Father, especially for the non-Jews and the poor.
2. During his teaching, when little children were denied access.
3. On the Sabbath, when religious leaders put rules above relationship and suffering above healing.
And I would add…
4. Deciding a group of individuals were unacceptable or not worth reaching out to with the love of God.
After saying all that, I would suggest that we still have to be very careful in expressing what feels to us as “Righteous Anger.” I’ve been flabbergasted to learn over the last several years that there are people all around me who see the same world, the same set of facts, the same social and cultural realities of our day in radically different ways. In fact, they see them in completely opposite ways. What seems like an obvious reading of scripture—what I believe to be central to the life and teachings of Jesus—makes no sense to folks who limit their news and opinions to a small echo chamber of like-minded media. At the same time I am astonished to hear what some pastors and self-identified Christians want to claim for someone or some perspective that seems obviously misguided.
Be sure to show up next Sunday as we discuss the role love plays in expressing righteous anger. Reread the eighth chapter of John’s gospel, at least the first 11 verses, and you’ll be ready to take the next step in our exploration of What Makes Jesus Mad.
Archived Posts
So many quips and quotes...
So little time to preach
I wonder what Mary and Martha’s phones might look like:
* Martha = the open browser with 27 tabs
* Mary = the single window that matters
* Psalm 46 = God saying, “Close the tabs.”
Quotable Outtakes That Didn’t Make the Sermon This Week
“When you try to control everything, you don’t just exhaust yourself—you quietly replace trust in God with trust in you.” & more
There is a challenge when it comes to preaching the Word of God.
Preachers are called to open up and interpret the word—inspired and written down thousands of years ago—and make it relevant to a very different world. On top of that there’s a degree of persuasion that goes along with the process.
What Jessica Really Meant to Say in Her Sermon…
When Jessica or Rick or a guest preacher takes the pulpit it’s hard for me to write a One More Thing Blog. I can’t share with you what didn’t make it into the sermon because I have no idea, not having written or delivered it.
Jesus Keeps On Ruining Funerals!
I didn’t have anything this last week that didn’t end up in the sermon. No catchy illustrations that didn’t make the cut. No theological insights that slowed down the main point. No one can ruin a funeral like Jesus. Told as I saw it and that was it. So I did some quick research and I thought I’d share just a reminder of what Easter is all about.
When I Don’t Get To Give My Benediction
Yesterday’s sermon talked about how we are in the thrall of self-centeredness—caught in a system that rewards those who climb to the top, even when you have to climb on the back of others. I talked about a famous sermon by Dr. Martin Luther King, ....
Some Good Quotes that I Didn’t Get To Last Sunday
I have been working out of Adam Hamilton’s excellent book, Why Did Jesus Have to Die? And when I find something that says what I want to say more succinctly and expressively than I can, I like to quote it...