We're doing things a little different this summer with theStory. For starters we aren't doing services every week. Instead we thought we would split some of our gatherings up on Sundays and spread you all out across the city in each other's homes.
We concluded our series on the parables this month looking at the themes of forgiveness and grace. The crux of our exploration was remembering the grace and forgiveness extended to us by God, and in turn extending it freely to others.
It's been said that we need grace when we deserve it least, and at times its easier to agree with the idea of forgiveness then actually allowing it to implicate itself in our lives. As a individuals and a church community, may we see ourselves and others from God's perspective and move our understanding of the gospel from thought to action.
Below you'll find a video clip, key quotes, our original parable on the parables "The One about the Buildings" as well as a series concluding prayer.
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"The creation of humanity, in the very image of God, demands full accountability, which means that one must be merciful in the same way that God shows mercy." (Brad Young)
"The kingdom comes with limitless grace in the midst of an evil world, but with it comes limitless demand." (Klyne Snodgrass)
"The creation of humanity, in the very image of God, demands full accountability, which means that one must be merciful in the same way that God shows mercy." (Brad Young)
"Woe to you if you stand on your rights, for God will then stand on his and see that judgment is executed." (Joachim Jeremias)
"But not only do they reject the host , they also prefer other things. God gives the Kingdom; but the accepting of the kingdom of God offers the greatest gifts; but it demands exclusive loyalty and whole-hearted devotion. The great feast is a feast and not a distribution of free rations. Those who wish to enjoy it must come in. They cannot have portions sent out for them to enjoy while they are busy themselves with other things." (TW Manson)
"We are raised, reconciled, and restored not because we are thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent but because we are dead an our life is hid with Christ in God - because, that is, Jesus has this absolute thing about raising the dead. In the Gospels he never meets a corpse that doesn't sit right up." (Robert Capon)
"To be broken is to stand in need of grace. Honesty keeps us in touch with our neediness and the truth that we are saved sinners. There is a beautiful transparency to honest disciples who never wear a false face and do not pretend to be anything but who they are." (Brennan Manning)
"None of the people who had a right to be at a proper party came, and that all the people who came had no right whatsoever to be there. Which means, therefore, that the one thing that has nothing to do with anything is rights. This parable says that we are going to be dealt with in spite of our deserving's, not according to them. Grace as portrayed here works only on the untouchable the unpardonable and the unacceptable. It works in short by raising the dead not by rewarding the living." (Robert Capon)
"Jesus does not here teach either a mechanically operating predestination which determines from all eternity who shall or shall not be brought into the kingdom. Neither does he proclaim that man's entry into the Kingdom is purely his own affair. The two essential points in His teaching are that no man can enter the Kingdom without the invitation of God, and that no man can remain outside it but by his own deliberate choice. Man cannot save himself; but he can damn himself...Jesus sees the deepest tragedy of human life, not in the many wrong and foolish things that men do, or the many good and wise things that they fail to accomplish, but in their rejection of God's greatest gift." (TW Manson)
The Pharisees had a concern for purity at meals that we can hardly appreciate. With such purity concerns, Simon, the host, was convinced that Jesus' tolerance of contact with this known sinner proved that eh could be neither righteous nor a prophet. Two passages from Sirach help to understand the Pharisee's conclusion: 12:14, "So no one pities a person who associates with a sinner and becomes involved in the other's sins"; and 13:17, "What does a wolf have in common with a lamb? No more than a sinner with the devout." One of the most certain facts about Jesus is he associates with the wrong people, people others thought caused defilement, but Jesus did not fear becoming unclean by contact with the unholy. He thought holiness was stronger and more contagious than defilement, and he accepted the woman's actions as righteous and loving. (Klyne Snodgrass)Â
GRACE BY U2 Grace She takes the blame She covers the shame Removes the stain She travels outside of karma What once was hurt What once was friction What left a mark No longer stings Because grace makes beauty Out of ugly things Grace finds beauty In everything
The One About the Building: A Parable about the Parables Concept by Darryl Silvestri
In an attempt to position itself for successful ministry, a certain church consulted a renown architect who hailed from outside their town to help design a building that would both meet their needs and propel their efforts forward.
All the usual types that are invited to preside over such decisions were there: The pastor; the rich guy; the general contractor; the visible minority and the token woman.
During the first consultation, the pastor began to explain to the architect what they had in mind. "We need a great building in a great location. It needs to be fresh and unprecedented. It must have landmark qualities and be a safe distance from both the sketchy part of town and the business district to avoid any sort of negative influence. Does that make sense?"
The architect began to furiously scribble down the details then took a moment to sort through his notes and said: "Sounds like you're looking for something that will separate you from the rest. Something that will render your competitors obsolete, an edifice that unmistakably makes a statement."
The committee inched to the edges of their seats and with giddy anticipation awaited the architect's insight.
"Sounds like you're looking for a skyscraper" he announced.
The committee, now shifting uncomfortably back into their seats, looked to the pastor who verbalized what he had quickly gleaned from his team's body language.
"Uh...well...er...I'm not sure if we've explained ourselves very well. What we are trying to say is that we want to serve the public - clean people up and show them the error of their ways. We need to create opportunities for our members to safely and efficiently spread the gospel because after all, this is what we believe God demands."
Feeling confident about their pastor's re-explanation, the team was now at ease. Glancing over the top of his glasses, the architect flipped the page of his notepad and started fresh.
After an extended pause, he smiled, and presented his idea.
"What about some sort of 9-5 drive-thru facility? Your goods and services could be neatly packaged and administered in a speedy fashion. For your protection, and to avoid potentially dangerous or compromising situations, we could outfit the space with state of the art automatic sliding windows, surveillance cameras..."
Before he could finish, and totally out of turn, the rich guy blurted out "No, no. You're not hearing us. You've got us all wrong."
The meeting was not going as smoothly has the pastor had hoped. He began to nervously fiddle with cell phone, flipping it open and closed, open and closed.
"Then help me understand your clientele. Describe your target audience, then perhaps we could bring our ideas closer together" the architect suggested.
"Our community" continued the rich guy, "is primarily comprised of good people that come from good stock. On average our parishioners have a minimum 4 year undergraduate degree, they vote conservative, they've worked hard and earned all they have and our records indicate that the majority live on or near the beach."
"So you want a members only country club?" smirked the architect.
An uncomfortable chuckle swept the room followed quickly by whispering and shaking heads. The pastor sensed that he may be losing control of the meeting. In hopes of re-establishing focus, he called all to attention then re-booted the discussion in a calm and peaceful manner.
"Friends, let's not get off track here. In order for the architect to help us, we need to be very clear with our purpose, mission, vision and values. He can't help us unless we can clearly articulate who we are."
The conversation seemed to suddenly dry up.
Uncomfortable with the awkward moment, the architect spoke up in an effort to jumpstart the conversation and ultimately earn his keep.
"What sort of thing do you people do?" he asked.
Matter-of-factly, the general contractor attempted to paint an accurate picture of their day to day operations.
"Well," he said, "we have staff members with various responsibilities that require rooms and offices to do their jobs. And we obviously hold a church service, so we'll need a space that will accommodate everyone showing up all at once for about two hours once a week. In addition, we're going to need a facility that will be able to track all of our assets to ensure that nothing ever gets misplaced or lost."
The tension was just beginning to ease until the architect suggested that perhaps all they really needed was an office building outfitted with various sized meeting rooms and work spaces.
"We could even install a swipe card system for everything from people to props...you'll never have to worry about losing anyone or anything ever again! We could design a perfectly controlled environment that is organized, professional and task oriented."
The suggestion went over like a lead balloon. The team stared back blankly.
Thoughtfully, the visible minority broke the silence: "Perhaps you misunderstood. We're not just ‘all-business' here. It's not about programs, or services here, what we really want is for people to go to heaven."
Looking around for affirmation from his team, he continued: "I mean, that's it right? Jesus is coming back soon, and we want to be ready. The scriptures say we'll be caught up in the sky with him, so we need something help us help people get to heaven."
The architect took that thought and ran with it. This time, instead of writing he drew up a quick sketch. Then, with best intentions and in all seriousness, turned the sheet over and proudly offered this idea: "What you all need is a sports stadium with a retractable roof. You'll have more than enough space to play in your Christian sport leagues, have your Christian concerts, and hold your Christian conventions, then, in the event that your saviour returns, you pull the roof back, and have easy access to the sky."
He grimaced. But a quick scan of the room revealed that he was alone in his sense of accomplishment.
Back to the note pad.
Again he sketched.
"Well how about this?" he said touching up the drawing as he spoke. "You previously mentioned that you need something distinct yet secure. Something edgy, but respectable. Something to meet the various needs of the individual. And if I'm reading accurately between the lines you need something that is easily accessible yet keeps the right people in and the wrong people out."
He paused to temporarily enjoy what appeared to be the verge of a breakthrough. He'd felt this vibe many times before. The chin holding nods were a dead giveaway.
This time he proudly stood and presented his thoughts and sketch: "I give to you a gated community! The walls will be high enough to keep out the riff raff, but low enough for people to be able to see the individual towers and temples that house and keep track of your people, property and programs. The moat, of course, would be optional."
After a few seconds of silence, the token woman took one last attempt to steer things in a better direction.
"Sir, we don't mean to waste your time, but I don't think you understand where we're coming from. We want to be a community that is known by our love. Grace, forgiveness, mercy are the things that help us understand our God, and we want to embody those very attributes. In essence, we are God's temple."
Confused and obviously disappointed, the architect collected his papers, and proceeded to snap his briefcase shut. Moving towards the pastor, he extended his right hand in closure. The shake was firm yet brief.
Stunned, the team watched as the architect headed straight for the door. Just before stepping out, he paused, turned, and addressed the room:
"I cannot help you."
The Parables Prayer
Father,
Help us understand your kingdom That when we fall asleep, it keeps on going That, for a time, good and evil inevitably co-exist Where we think it's small, it's how you like it When we think it's not there, it's everywhere That it has more value than our eyes can see
Give us grace to understand your grace That we receive your grace not based on who we are but because of who you are When we think we have arrived and have it all together Humble us quickly, for we are sinners
Give us courage to follow in Jesus' footsteps Point us to the better ground to build Help us see truth inside of ugliness Help us see love inside of foolishness Remind us that we are equal No better than our fellow man Remind us of our value as your sons and daughters Remind us of the cost of following you fully
We can't find ourselves We can't make it easier to find us We are just lost, waiting for you to find us When you find us, we will party We will party because you have brought us home
Even though your net of grace gathers up everything in its path We still want to do the sorting for you We have our own standards in what we think is good May we quit our book-keeping Your scales are different, and nothing like ours Your timing is different, we like to rush Eventually the bad will be sorted out Sorted by grace, not revenge
So many things get in our way Money is the worst We think it gives us security and hope for our future But it doesn't Money is to give, not to receive Money doesn't have value, and the lack of it doesn't remove value Help us not to be controlled by what we have or don't have Help us love, rather than control
Thank-you for forgiving us For our multitude of sins Let us wear your clothing of forgiveness Into every relationship we have May we forgive others, as you have forgiven us
May your stories sit in our minds Expressed through our hands Spoken from our mouths May we follow you to the end of the line May we follow you to the losers May we follow you to your death So you can give us true and beautiful life
Handles Feb 2010 Roundup If Scripture is a means of God’s self revelation, then understanding it (on its terms and not ours) is of primary import ... Readmore...
FORECAST - HANDLES From whisper to print then back to whisper. Living and life giving, the Scriptures are a collection of images, a series ... Readmore...
ROUND-UP - DISLOCATED Jeremiah 29:4-14 tells an old story that intersects with our present day story. Israel’s elite were in exile, God’s divi ... Readmore...
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