A few months ago, I listened to a sermon series on the Beatitudes from Mars Hill Bible Church. One particular sermon by Rob Bell really struck a chord with me. In this talk on Matthew 5:6, Bell was attempting to repaint the idea of hungering and thirsting for righteousness in a way that is more congruent with Jesus’ world view.
Let me back up a little by giving you a quick (and probably lacking) overview of Bell’s approach to the Beatitudes. In short, the Beatitudes aren’t instructions on how to receive the blessing of God as much as they are proclamations of who God sees as blessed. For instance, when Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” he is not saying, “In order for God to bless you, you have to find some way to become poor in spirit.” Jesus’ point is that God is with the least of these. God is with those who are not spiritually rich. God is not with those who “deserve it,” whatever that may mean. So Jesus is attempting to help his listeners understand this deep truth: God blesses the people whom you don’t expect to be blessed.
Again, Bell is emphasizing that these sayings by Jesus should NOT be used as formulas to earn God’s blessing. To do this, we fall into the trap of a works based theology.
With Matthew 5:6 in particular, Bell explains how he understand Jesus’ words: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” For Bell, Jesus is talking to those who have a deep and unquenchable longing to see justice in a broken world. So often, these are people who experience oppressions, injustice, and, well, wrongness. Because of this, they hunger and thirst for rightness, or righteousness to prevail over injustice.
We all have a little of this in our lives. We see oppression, hunger, poverty, and pain in the world, and we want it to be made right. Sometimes we misdirect this desire to situations that don’t deserve such attention.
I have been most guilty of this recently with the whole NBC debacle and their dealings with Conan O’Brien and Jay Leno. I saw what happened to Conan O’Brien as an injustice, and my hunger and thirst for righteousness was temporarily misdirected to that cause. But in reality, Conan is a multi-millionaire. He’ll be fine. He doesn’t need my help. My hunger and thirst was wrongly directed for a time.
But many times, our hunger and thirst to see justice is properly directed. We begin to side with people who experience real and damaging trauma, most often inflicted by those in power, and we ache for them. Sometimes we find ourselves in need of justice, and our hunger and thirst for righteousness drives us to cry out to God for his grace and blessing. In this, we find the words of Jesus comforting. God is with those who hunger and thirst to see God’s justice in a real way.
Now, all of us have different areas where we direct our “hungering and thirsting.” A friend of mine at work has a heart for racial reconciliation, and her desire for justice is most directed there. Another friend sees the poverty and oppression in Latin America and puts his energy and resources to work to see justice there.
We all have our areas where we hunger and thirst.
For me, there are a few areas, but none so great as my desire to see my gay brothers and sisters in Christ accepted into the community of God where they belong. Yes, I know. Not a popular thing to say in some Christian circles. Gladly, I’m not alone, even though it may feel this way sometimes.
In short, I feel the Church has done a serious disservice to a large number of gay Christians who find their identity in Christ and have come to terms with their sexuality. The Church has wrongly interpreted a few vague passages in the Bible in order to condemn what they do not understand, and quite honestly, I can no long stand idly by.
This injustice has to stop, and the wheels are finally in motion. Many devout Christian men and women are beginning to see that, for the last 150 years or so, the Church has gotten it wrong. The Bible does not, in fact, condemn homosexual orientation, and, in reality, the writers of the Bible know nothing of homosexual orientation.
What I would like to do over the next few blogs is to tackle a couple of the more recent “anti-homosexual” misinterpretations of scripture in hopes that I can show where we as a Christian community have erred. I’d like to start with one of the most commonly misunderstood biblical narratives, the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Hopefully you will hear my heart through all of this. I have a deep hunger and thirst to see God’s justice in this world. I have an unquenchable desire to see wrongs righted. And above all, I approach this topic out of love – love for God, the Bible, and my gay brothers and sisters in Christ.
Also, please remember that this is me writing – Jon. Your son, brother, uncle, and friend. I am not being deceived by Satan. I am not trying to justify sin. I am not trying to send the Bible down some slippery slope. I have enormous respect for scripture, so much so that I refuse to allow it to be read at face value. I also have a deep love for God, and I want more than anything else to see God’s will done on earth. And for me, God’s will is that we no longer oppress people because of their sexuality.
I pray that you would come along with me on this little journey. I also understand that you will disagree with me, and that’s fine. But please, hear me out.
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So appreciate your approach and your willingness to stand up for this. We can learn a lot from your action. Plus, your reflections are challenging particularly when one thinks of a ‘Theology of the Cross.’ Thanks for speaking out for the poor in spirit, in today’s society. We need more Christians in the world like you.
Comment by Neville January 29, 2010 @ 12:59 pmJon, I’ve often heard people dismiss the beatitudes as unrealistic ways of living, but I’ve never heard people say that striving for these things is falling into works-based theology. Interesting. I wonder if the world could use a little works-based theology sometimes.
But that is really besides the point. I’m really looking forward to your discourse, especially because my church is currently going through this very same dialog. Blessings as you continue, and I can’t wait to hear what you have to say!
Comment by Ben Wideman January 29, 2010 @ 5:09 pmThanks Ben. I think the idea is that some people read Jesus as saying, “God will bless if you if you can become poor in spirit, if you can become meek, if you can hunger and thirst for righteousness, etc.” The danger is that people begin to see these things as prerequisites for God’s blessing, when really, Jesus is just proclaiming a new truth of the inbreaking kingdom of God. Jesus is not saying, “become this way to get blessed.” He’s saying, “here are the kind of people that God loves.”
Thanks for reading. This should get interesting…
Comment by jddamiani January 29, 2010 @ 5:19 pmI have several family members and close friends that are gay. NONE of them, claim to be “brothers and sisters” in Christ. They want none of it, nothing to do with it- they have been rejected and confused and labeled. Being condemned for “sexual orientation”….should be read…being condemned for “sin”. It is not the WHAT, but the WHY. God clearly states his displeasure in SIN, I am speaking in broad terms….WE ALL SIN. Again, it is not the WHAT, but the WHY. Are we living a lifestyle of sin..and loving it? are we purposing to sin? To offend? To Parade our Transgressions? Are we loving living in sin? I am again, speaking in broad terms, not just homosexuals here. I LOVE my family and my friends. When I left the “church” my comfort zone, and I was ridiculed and talked about by them….I felt like my eyes were opened for the first time…I was able to see people-very hurting and rejected people- hurting and rejected by the “church”, I felt as if I finally saw clearly how Jesus truly sees them and see his “church” For hte first time, I was able to love the unlovely-because I was “one of them.” They are just like me, struggling, blinded, deceived in one way or another, wanting approval and acceptance, that can only be found In who God really is. Not who He is to me, but who his word says He really is. I had to find that out for myself, experience Him myself…and ya know what HE LOVES ME! He loves who he created me to be. LOVE covers a multitude of sins. Thru that Love, I wanted to change, I humbled myself and confessed and desperately wanted to change. That oh so often used question rings true if we really search for the answer…. What would Jesus do? Are our families, friends, (homosexuals or not)are they like the pharisees , full of pride, preaching and parading their rightness? OR are they like The woman who got the crumbs, who humbled herself and and admitted she was as good as the dogs….. Either way, Jesus embraces the humble, contrite in heart, willing to change, willing to learn….accepting differences is good, but accepting sin and encouraging someone that it is “ok” to keep going in their sinful lifestyle (again any sinful lifestyle) is wrong. Jesus clearly told everyone he came in contact with to stop, sin no more, change. So If you are not justifying sin, that is good, I agree with you, that we need to embrace them in their humility as Jesus did- but did he embrace those in their pride and justification of sin? Did he embrace those who like simon the sorcerer, tired to conjure up his own tongue..or wanted a formula to do the same? From what I read(but you are telling me it is not really the real thing), any way from what I read…..those that were changed…were very humble, and were desperate for change. So to me, there is no question in my mind, that I am loving, embracing and showing Jesus to my friends who are gay, I am being a conduit right now, letting Jesus love them thru me…waiting for Jesus, He will draw them with his Love…WHO is going to show them that love? Do you think they will be drawn to Jesus by our labels, and homophobio- I think not. This ought to be a good one jonjon.
Comment by searcing with all my heart February 1, 2010 @ 7:29 amOK, wow that was LONG! Sorry, and I have some grammatical and spelling errors, typing with cold fingers- sorry!
Comment by searching with all my heart February 1, 2010 @ 7:30 amfor some reason my previous comment deleted when I made a new long- maybe that is better, anyway- LOVE covers a multitude of sins, that was the gist of it….We need to stop looking at the sin…WE ALL SIN, truly that age old question comes to mind…WHAT would Jesus do? I have many several gay friends and family, who I love so much. Who is gonna Shoe Jesus truly to them?
Comment by searching with all my heart February 1, 2010 @ 7:34 amwow I am really tired, no coffee yet, can you tell…ha ha how funny..you should laugh hard when you read my posts, so many spelling errors- ha ha wow it is good to laugh
Comment by searching with all my heart February 1, 2010 @ 7:35 amLucy, thanks for your comments. Everything you posted assumes one really big thing – that homosexuality is a sin. With everything you write, I can say a hearty “amen,” but only because you write about justification of sin. It is my conviction, through years of research, that homosexuality is, in fact, NOT a sin. I don’t write this out of a desire to justify something. I’m not gay, so what would I want to justify? I write this because solid biblical research points away from the condemnation of homosexuality. That’s what I’m going to try to show in the next few blogs.
Oh, and comments don’t post until I approve them. I got all four of them.
Comment by jddamiani February 1, 2010 @ 9:40 amokee dokee thanks JonJon …..
Perhaps you might think about changing your blog explanation…because…you wrote “Enjoy the mild stuff on my blog, because you’ll never hear my more controversial views. I have a reputation to uphold!”
I think perhaps you have changed on that view- which is good:)he he
Comment by searching with all my heart February 1, 2010 @ 12:39 pmYeah, you’re right. This was the kind of stuff I thought I wouldn’t write about. Guess I was wrong.
Comment by jddamiani February 1, 2010 @ 12:40 pmI’m proud of you Jon – this is not an easy “row to hoe” …. but so much better digested when coming from someone who is not gay.
As I was reading the other comments – one stuck out – that the writers gay friends “didn’t want anything to do w/ being believers” etc… I am very grateful that through all of my “coming out” that I did not let what humans say or do to me become translated as what my heavenly father thought about me.
My whole life was church … christian school … activities at church … service within church. %90 of everyone I knew went to church with me. Finally – when I began to become convicted to finally TELL THE TRUTH about who I was (honestly believing that telling the truth was better than living a lie) ….. i was hit right between the eyes w/ some of the most vicious responses/comments/ letters/ phone calls…. people who had “loved” me the day before – completely turned their back on me the next. It was a nightmare.
BUT – I never confused their betrayal as a betrayal by God. Unfortunately A LOT of gay christians lump all of that together – and blame God. So sad that I have met MANY bitter – hurt and completely destroyed gay friends who have let ignorance affect their relationship with God. I have always made it my priority to chat about this w/ anyone the Lord allows me to meet. It is a huge tragedy that can only be corrected by education and compassion.
So as you go through this Jon – I’m there …. grateful and excited about what the Lord will do through your courage and voice.
Love you man.
Comment by jimmy February 3, 2010 @ 1:17 pmI am so glad that you have realized your Father’s love is not from or demonstrated by mere humans. This takes forever for so many people to realize…actually many go to their grave, still wondering if God loved them. There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus…unfortunately, there is in us humans. I have seen this happen,when someone confesses that they have sinned- say they committed adultery- one day they are loved, popular, on a pedestal and the next after their confession…they are knocked down, not looked at, ignored, and left empty-because they have put their hope, trust, approval in humans instead of God. Also the people who looked to them as role models, and the very people who put them on a pedestal now realize they were worshiping humans instead of God. I have learned that many churches put their image at the top of the list. So,if you disrupt their image of perfection(especially if you are a pastor) they eat you for dinner. AND if you grew up in that church- as you said-then that just proves to the them, that perhaps they have failed in their messages, or that they too can fall away, and that we indeed are fallible, that we are not perfect- thus disrupting the church’s whole facade of perfect peaceful sinless christians. Thanks for your post
Comment by searching with all my heart February 3, 2010 @ 2:09 pmReally liked Jimmy’s thoughts on rejection (i.e., rejection from Church, earthly people vs. rejection from God). I think most gay people and most gay Christians don’t tend to separate the two, though. Things can get really obscured and that’s when it’s helpful to really rely on, depend on, love. I liked what Lucy wrote about ‘love covering a multitude of sins.’ I also want to point out that I think Jimmy’s position is extremely important. For if gay Christians feel they have to choose (be gay or be Christian) and they choose one (or the other) they are essentially thwarting the Imago Dei. I think (more and more today) people who feel gay and who are growing up in Church, really need to stick to love, stick to where they belong. They have just as much right to be in Church as the next imperfect person, so I advocate (even if the church consensus is up in the air on the matter) for both people to commit to staying and wrestling through their conflicts and sacrificing for one another for the sake of unity in the body of Christ. If there’s one thing the history of Church has taught us (specifically over the last 100 years) it’s that how much God must be grieving over the riffs and splits of so many church communities over issues that “appear” to be “make it or break it” ones. Sadly, I fear most of them aren’t and the issue of homosexuality isn’t one either (at least, in my opinion it isn’t). Currently, I’m going to a church (go Ben) that is dealing with this issue yet, they haven’t come to a consensus on it. I’ve often asked what I will do if they come out against including homosexuals in Church membership. My heart wants to remain faithful but deep down, it’s really hard to. In the end, I still come back to the same point: for the sake of unity, endure. And love. And love some more. This seems to be increasingly important in an age consumed with splitting over conflicts (especially when these conflicts come in the form of relationships).
Comment by Neville February 3, 2010 @ 4:21 pm[...] February 19, 2010, 7:05 pm Filed under: Uncategorized A few weeks ago, I blogged about my hunger and thirst to see justice in relation to the way Christians treat people who identify themselves as [...]
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