I thought we had a great discussion last Tuesday. This week, we are discussing Chapter 7, “I Love Humanity. It’s People I Can’t Stand,” and Chapter 8, “God at War,” of Richard Beck’s book Reviving Old Scratch: Demons and the Devil for Doubters and the Disenchanted. Chapter 7 should remind us of our discussion of Ephesians last summer, where Paul writes about the Church being a microcosm of the Kingdom. This email can be found online.
The Superfluous Church: (pp.67-70)
Beck begins this chapter with Linus’s quote: “I love mankind, its people I can’t stand!!” Or as Dostoevsky writes: “The more I love humanity in general, the less I love man in particular. In my dreams, I often make plans for the service of humanity . . . . Yet I am incapable of living in the same room with anyone for two days together.”
Humanity is easy to love. Therefore, when we reduce the Kingdom of God to “good deeds done by good people in the public sector for the common good,” Christianity becomes easier. p.68. Volunteering an hour a week at a homeless shelter (New Directions is always accepting applications) or spending a week digging wells in Africa (numerous opportunities are available) is good kingdom work and what Jesus calls us to do in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats in Matthew 25. However, when Christianity is reduced to us being out in the world to make a difference in the world, then the Church becomes unnecessary. In fact, not having to deal with church politics, the mundane aspects of running an organization, and the toxicity that some have experienced within its walls, the Church actually can be seen as getting in the way of the Kingdom.
The Necessary Church: (pp.70-78)
Jesus, however, did not establish a method of doing good works (however necessary and kingdom-building they might be); rather, he established a community. From the first twelve disciples to the 3,000 baptized on Pentecost, the Church is the foundation of Christianity because it is the place where the kingdom virtues of care and peace are developed and practiced. p.70. The Church, Beck writes, is the laboratory of love, where actual human beings—sometimes irritating, demanding, inconvenient, or boring — are brought together in relationship with each other to become one and to become more Christ-like.
The twelve disciples included both Simon the Zealot and Matthew the Tax Collector, who were sworn enemies. Jesus, the good Jewish Messiah, reached out to and cared for Samaritans and Roman occupiers. This is who we are to be.
However, it was only a few weeks after Pentecost that Hellenistic Jews began complaining that Hebraic Jews were mistreating them. Acts 6:1. Most of Paul’s letters concern resolving disputes between Law-abiding Jews and Law-ignorant Gentiles. And in Corinth, the congregation is divided over which apostle should be followed. 1 Cor. 1:12. The Church has always been messy. However, it is within the Church that we are given the opportunity to practice sharing and forgiving, and extending mercy and grace. The Church is also the place where our own brokenness and sinfulness are both revealed and healed. p.74. The Church is where we learn to accept and celebrate our differences, discard our old selves, and grow into our new selves. If you have time before Tuesday, please read over Romans 14-15, 1 Corinthians 12-13, and Ephesians 4-6 and see how the Church provides us with the place to develop into little Christs.
Dinner is at 6. The menu is baby back ribs. Discussion around 6:45. Compline about 8. Hope to see you here!
I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all lowliness and meekness, with patience, forbearing one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:1-6