KUNG-FU SHEEP?

By John Fischer.

"Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. Be wary as snakes and harmless as doves." (Matthew 10:16)

There is much to be made in the teachings of Jesus of non-violence - even what I would call non-self-defense. Turn the other cheek; go the extra mile; if someone steals your shirt, give them your coat also; return good for evil; don't exact revenge, let the Lord do that; be happy when you are mocked, persecuted and lied about because your reward is great in heaven.

Ahem. Who, as Christians today really believes any of this? Who is acting on it? Come on, we're fighting for our rights, taking self-defense classes, packing pistols and telling the world "I've had enough and I'm not going to take anymore." Unfortunately that's a movie speaking, not Jesus. Jesus would say, Keep taking it because that is the way I do things. I get my will done in the world in an entirely different way than you would. I have different weapons. I use peace and love and kindness and good. An eye for and eye and a tooth for a tooth is not what I came to establish. I came to establish mercy and favor that is unearned. I brought something completely foreign to your natural way of doing things. I bring a new kingdom and I have a different set of rules. I follow the law of love. Still want to follow me?

I ask myself and I ask you, was Jesus just kidding when He said all this? I mean, how many different ways is there to say this? Can there be any doubt? Is the Sermon on the Mount some sort of dispensation we don't have to pay attention to any more? Is it a puzzle we have to decode? Certainly He doesn't really mean everything He said there. Really?

Sheep among wolves? Do sheep defend themselves? Are these kung fu sheep? No. Sheep have a shepherd. It's the job of the shepherd to protect them from wolves. A shepherd who lets the wolves in is a bad shepherd. We have a good shepherd.

"So what are you saying, John, that we should be wimps for Jesus?" Well I'm not so sure about the choice of words, but it might look like that to some people. If it is, it's a wimp with a backbone. In fact, it takes great strength to NOT retaliate. It takes great courage and restraint to do what Jesus is asking us to do. I wouldn't call that wimpy at all. Nor would I call it kung fu Christian. It's standing tall and taking it and loving and forgiving those who are dishing it out. Isn't that what Jesus did?

By the way, I am not speaking against national defense or the military. Even Jesus is not asking the nation to abide by the rules of His kingdom. The United States and the Kingdom of God are two entirely different things playing by different sets of rules. And I believe there is a way in which you can serve in the military and follow the kingdom Jesus is talking about in your personal life and relationships. I believe there are many who do. We have some in our Catch community.

Nor am I in a position to make all the conclusions as to what these words mean in our society and in our culture. There is room for discussion and debate here, but I am at least asking more people to acknowledge that these words and these teachings are there, they are central to what Jesus taught and stood for, and the way He acted Himself, and we have got to start paying attention to this and at least struggle with what it means to follow His example.

If you read the Sermon on the Mount and it makes you uncomfortable, then you have a ways to go in becoming a follower of Christ. I know I do. How about you?

John Fischer http://www.Fischtank.com

Cold Hard Facts by Scott Whaley

 

 

 

Maybe I have just been teaching too long, or maybe it is just the realization that raw emotions have a tendency to let me down.  Whatever the case, and I am sure I will think on it until I figure it out. I am a disciple of logic.  I find comfort in dealing with facts and provable ideas.  I like determining cause and effect.  And I drool over analysis.  I want to know what happened, how it happened, and most importantly why it happened.  It is close to obsessive behavior at times.

I have found in my years as a student and teacher (and dad and husband and employee and employer and taxpayer and good citizen) that the teachings of Christ during His earthly ministry are perhaps the most logical schools of thought I have ever encountered.  And my personal favorites from His everlasting legacy are those known as the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount. 

In Matthew 5:6 Jesus says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”  That seems illogical on the surface.  We live in a world tainted by the unholiness of injustice.  So it appears that well is fairly dry, or else Jesus is a starry-eyed dreamer putting an idealistic spin on some ludicrous notion of the Common Good.

But take a closer look: Jesus did not say that those who find righteousness will be filled.  He said those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled.  To hunger and thirst in this regard means to seek or to search for righteousness.  And it is in the seeking that we are filled!  I know of no one (and I really mean no one) who has pursued justice or compassion or love and not come away filled.  If the pursuit is in earnest, it will be fulfilling.  It cannot NOT be.  The cold, hard facts of Jesus’ statement here is that there is a great deal of internal satisfaction found in service of others, the proverbial warm fuzzy.  But helping others is not a checklist item.  Rather it is a constant journey that brings constant joy.

Sure there will be hardship, but there is hardship in everything.  The hunger and thirst for righteousness will not always lead to the righteous.  But it will certainly lead to being filled.  And that is logic I can understand.