healing a leper

Jesus of Nazareth challenged the power structure of the day and deeply held belief that the Messiah would come and rescue the Jewish people from Roman rule.  He was born to an exceptionally poor family, in a system of oppression with little to no privilege (minus being a male in a world where women were considered property). He was fully human, and I believe fully divine.  He felt rejection, pain, anxiety, joy and hope.  He practiced being fully present in the human experience alongside his friends and family – and stopped at the inconvenient and addressed the deepest problems of humans in the here and now.  

And there cometh to him a leper, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And being moved with compassion, he stretched forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou made clean. And straightway the leprosy departed from him, and he was made clean. And he strictly charged him, and straightway sent him out, and saith unto him, see thou say nothing to any man: but go show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing the things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. Mark 1:40-44 ASV

Compassion is deeply human, and often takes us from a self-centered narrative to shining our awareness on another person and their needs. If I were starting a ministry and emulated the powerful teachers of 2021, I would heal the leper in front of a crowd and tell him to go and tell it on the mountain.  I would share videos on Instagram of the event, tell my friends to share the news and I’d be a sponsored influencer before the week’s end. I’d make a shirt that says “super spreader” and sell thousands. I’d drive from city to city in my Chevy Tahoe with sweet rims and speak at all the conferences, selling books on healing and telling the world how “God” had blessed my ministry and given me the power to heal the sick.  The human desire is to align with the power structure of the day and lift your name to celebrity status. 

 In our latest episode with Kyle Isenhower on Ravi Zacharias, we asked him how to save American Evangelism. Kyle stated a good place to start is ending the dangerous practice of celebrity ministers and the power structures that protect their kingdoms in the name of Christ. Unchecked power, wealth, and God’s name stamped to the side of a private jet is a recipe for destruction. Throw in a gifted speaker, writer or minister and start treating them like a King.  Jesus rejected the temptation in the desert.  I hope our celebrity pastors are wise enough to set up accountability structures in their castles to help them do the same. 

David 

self-reflection

Last week I spoke to an old friend that I hadn’t talked to in almost six years. The simple act of saying hello brought back a small wave of emotion that I did not expect. When I reconnect with someone after many years, a period of self-reflection tends to take place. Many times I will reflect on what I did to cause the separation to occur, or what circumstances may have occurred that caused the drift. If you know me at all, it probably would not surprise you that I tend to take a hard look at myself from time to time; the popular phrase “I am my harshest critic” rings true for me. 

If you have listened to our podcast, then you may have heard me tell my story in the second episode. I candidly discussed my battles with alcohol and depression as well as what brought me out of the funk I was in. The part I didn’t get much into involved losing friends because of it. I unintentionally pushed some very good friends of mine away with my desperation for companionship and acceptance.  See, when you feel inadequate as a person, you are looking for any type of validation you can find, and when you are putting that burden on people, and they fail to deliver what you are expecting (as every human does), then you find ways to use them as a scapegoat.

So why does this come to mind after simply saying hello to an old friend?

There has been a theme that has surfaced in my journey in discovering what spirituality is to me, and that theme is, “Would you sit with them at the table?” Would you have dinner or communion with someone even if you do not agree with them? Or to take it a little farther, would you sit at the table with your enemy? This is an issue that comes to the forefront of my mind now with the political and social climate we are currently in. Would I be able to share the table with someone who is a hardcore Trump supporter? Would I be able to have dinner with someone who believes white privilege is not a real thing? Would I be able to have communion with a White Supremacist?

I will admit a couple of the questions above seem silly. I understand that it seems petty to ask myself if I would eat with a Trump supporter, but the reality is, sometime I struggle with this. I know some amazing people who support Trump and do not believe that white privilege exists. So maybe the better question is what makes me hesitate when I try to answer this question. Why do I seem to look at someone who does not agree with me politically as if they only make terrible decisions all the time? Do I need to have someone I perceive to be an enemy in order to better reflect my superior world view or empathy for the marginalized?

I think the better question is would Jesus commune with a person who is considered to be his enemy? If you are like me, you may answer yes very quickly to this question; however, think about what this means. Jesus constantly baffled the people around him by routinely eating dinner with the people who were considered inferior by society. He even begged for God to forgive the people who crucified him. This is the example set for those who claim to follow him, yet we as followers of Jesus routinely fail to invite certain groups or individuals to the table.

And what is it that causes us to consider anyone inferior or unworthy? It is my opinion that this is not something that people are born with.  Biases when it comes to race, class, gender, or even political affiliation are consciously and subconsciously taught to us over time.  I think that is why when you watch young children playing, they rarely discriminate. They are willing to play with any child that is just around or that might have a toy they like.

So with that in mind, what contributed to the distance between my friend and me?

The reality is I do not really know why. I know that due to my own insecurities, I projected some hurt I was feeling onto that person and convinced myself that it was because of their actions that I was feeling pain. This of course was not true, but it allowed me to not look inward at what was truly going on inside myself; however, it is my hope and prayer that I may become more like Jesus and be willing to humble myself and share the table with those who may oppose me.

-brad

Question:

Would you be willing to share communion with someone who considers you an enemy?