Upside-Down Your Life: How to Listen to Jesus' Message about the Kingdom of God ~ Mark 1:14-15; Luke 4:16-21; Matthew 6:10

 

In the very funny but irreverent film Life of Brian, Monty Python’s spoof about the life of Jesus, a group of people are standing on the very edge of a crowd listening to Jesus preach about the kingdom of God.  Due to their distance, they struggle to hear all that he’s saying and out of boredom they begin to bicker with one another until one of them shushes the group and asks, “What did he say?”

I think it was “Blessed are the cheesemakers,” a shepherd replies.

“Ah, what's so special about the cheesemakers?” a woman asks.

Her husband, the wise interpreter, man-splains, “Well, obviously it's not meant to be taken literally; it refers to any manufacturers of dairy products.”

Hmmmmm. It’s ridiculous but not altogether untrue. I mean Jesus says some pretty shocking stuff that upends our views on wealth, wrong-doing, violence, national identity, fairness, greatness, forgiveness, and even God. His message at times – if we’re paying attention – sounds like an overturning, an inverting, an upside-downing, of how the world actually works, who God really is, and what God is truly doing. And that’s what we’re exploring in our series Upside-Down Kingdom; not to man-splain Jesus but to listen to him well and live upside-down ourselves so that we can stand right-side-up. So the first thing you have to do is in order to hear Jesus’ kingdom message well is . . .

Upside-Down Your Repentance

We listen to Jesus begin his ministry but it’s so easy to mis-hear. When you’ve heard the word “repent” I imagine that you picture feeling terribly sorry about bad behavior – feeling guilty, if not ashamed, and imagining that all of that is somehow necessary in order to be forgiven or loved by God. And while there’s nothing wrong with feeling bad about doing wrong, it doesn’t seem to make sense of what Jesus meant as he announced his Upside-Down Kingdom. He doesn’t say, “Feel bad and believe the good news!” but “Repent and believe the good news!” So our first upside-down is that God’s kingdom is about joyful repentant goodness.

What does Jesus mean by “repentance”?

 

It means so much more than feeling regret for past wrongs. It signifies a fundamental reorientation of one's entire mindset and attitude toward the goodness and beauty of God, oneself, and the word. Repent was a world that literally meant, “go beyond the mind you have.” It involved “A new way of seeing”- and a new way of seeing. And what are we to see? “Good news,” Jesus shouts.

This upside-down thinking then leads to a change in behavior, a turning away from a previous way of living toward an upside-down one. But what is that upending transformation? It’s what life looks like when one realizes that God is more gracious, more forgiving, more inclusive than we ever thought and that God wants us to go beyond the mind we have and be like that.

This change of heart and mind is not so much achieved through human will but is a gracious gift offered by Jesus. So the Upside-Down Kingdom is the gift come down that God through Jesus offers us. He invites us to receive this gift, not pay for it.

So Jesus’ upside-downing is that repentance is less like a person in mourning and more like the Flammarion Engraving, a famous sixteenth-century woodcut of a pilgrim pushing his head through the firmament of heaven to discover a bigger and more wondrous world behind the world. 

 

That’s what Jesus announces and invites us to. It’s a willingness to be curious, to listen carefully, to take risks, to accept gifts, of good news. It’s a willingness to look outside of ourselves for a gift that has come down and which aims to joyfully take over the world. Joyful thinking is our act of resistance. So upside-down your repentance! And . . .

Upside-Down Your Time and Place.

¹⁵ ”The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near.”

²¹ He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

It is interesting that in Luke’s Gospel the first word of Jesus’ public ministry, apart from reading Scripture, is the word “today,” a word that appears in Luke more than any other Gospel. The kingdom of God is here, right now, Jesus says. There is good news, freedom, and liberation, “this very day.”

Jesus will model a daily spirituality that points to good news for the present moment to be present on the earth. The famous Christian philosopher Dallas Willard will acknowledge this powerfully: “The gospel is less about how to get into the Kingdom of Heaven after you die, and more about how to live in the Kingdom of Heaven before you die.” The kingdom of God and salvation aren’t just about an afterlife, but about a daily, interactive relationship with God, where one lives out Jesus' teachings and participates in the kingdom of God on Earth.

The problem for us is that many of us have been told that salvation is a later thing, a far-off thing; that “heaven” is a beyond thing, an after-life place, a grand ole by-and-by event when you die. And yet that’s not what Jesus is primarily inviting us to. We know this because Jesus taught the us that we are to pray regularly – “on earth as it is in heaven.”

 

This is an inverted prayer for heaven present here. He taught that we should let go of worry about tomorrow and on many occasions will announce “Today salvation has come to this house” (Luke 19:9). But friends, I’ve been in the church long enough to know that Jesus says, “today” and we say, “tomorrow.” Jesus says, “Look! right now” and we long for the past. Jesus says, “This very day God is here, active, present, liberating people on the earth” and we say “trust Jesus so that you can go to heaven when you die.” Jesus’ kingdom invitation upends our timetable and territory. How should you think about your enemy? Now, like heaven come down. How should you think about the poor? Now, like heaven come down. How should treat the immigrant? Now, like heaven come down. And like any protest movement – which is a great description of Jesus followers – we are to chant, “What do we want? Heaven on earth! When do we want it? Now!” So upside-down your repentance and your time and place. But also . . .

Upside-Down Your Body and Soul

The mission of Jesus – the one he received from God and derived from Scripture is not to save souls out of the world, but to save the world and heal all of creation by drawing the human race back into its proper relationship with God and with each other – body and soul. It’s to liberate real social categories and solve earthly problems and not merely spiritual ones. That’s what we mean by the word “salvation.” But the passage from Isaiah, that Jesus quotes, also says that this work applies to us. For this anointed one, we are told will establish a people who are:

“oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. ⁴ They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.” (Is. 61:3-4).

When Marianne was going through her divorce she had a student who was helping watch the kids. One day, that student calls Marianne and tells her that she needs to come home right away – that the kids were okay but that there was something very important for her to see. When she arrived home, she discovered that one of the kids had gone through the house and had overturned and inverted everything that she could turn over or lift. She had upside-downed everything because that’s what her world felt like. While that’s a tragic example, it points us to our work. That we are to repentantly listen to Jesus’ way, Jesus’ time, Jesus’ mission, and invert everything that is not as Jesus intends it to be. Jesus’ kingdom message is always – always - a joining of two realities that we must never separate immaterial and material, salvation and justice, love of God and love of others, inner transformation and outward construction. For those of you who might only wish to ask, “Are you saved?” Jesus would add, “Do kids have enough to eat?” To those who might only worry about economic concerns, Jesus would add, “Do you need forgiveness?” For those who say, “Let’s pray.” Jesus will add: “and rebuild and restore.” And to those who are quick to slap on work gloves, Jesus asks, “Are you receiving this gift that comes down from heaven for you -  a God who loves you before you do or say anything?” Salvation, friends, IS the upside-down, Jesus announcement of the mind-blowingly joyful, kingdom of God – now – “on earth as it in heaven” – body and soul. Amen.

The Platinum Rule of Acceptance ~ Romans 15:1-7

 

Picture this. Someone’s standing on a bridge looking like they’re about to jump and another person runs up and shouts, "Wait! Don't do it!" The one on the bridge says, "Nobody loves me." The would-be-rescuer says, "God loves you. Are you a Christian?” “Well, yes.” “Protestant or Catholic?” “Protestant.” “Me too. Baptist or Presbyterian?” “Baptist.” “Great! So am I. Calvinist or Armenian?” “Armenian.” “Right on! Pre-trib or post-trib?” “Pre-trib.” “Awesome. New International version of the Bible or English Standard version?” “New International version.” The rescuer  yells, "Die, heretic!" And pushes him off.

We laugh even though it’s not a great joke but because it’s so true. How many of us have had people we loved and trusted, who said they loved Jesus, say to us, “Die, heretic!” How many of us have had lines drawn in the sand and been told, “Stand here or get out!”? How many of us have had this beautiful book, this gift from God, this holy revelation, which Paul says was written in the past to give encouragement and hope, used to do this [I beat my hand 3xs with the Bible in a violent way]. There are some of you here who still have bruises, who still have open wounds, who still weep and flinch. And I want to tell you today that you are loved-fully, that I’m so terribly sorry, and that this sermon is for you. This is the last Sunday in our series Think Christian and I wish to think as clearly and simply as I can. The goal of a theological conversation is not to argue a point or defend a position but to love a person. The heart of Christian thinking is the “platinum rule” to accept one another just as Christ accepted you (Romans 14:1; 15:1, 7).

The Golden Rule, of course, is the teaching of Jesus found in Matthew 7:12: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” It’s a wonderful teaching but Paul takes it one step farther, which I am calling the “Platinum Rule”: “Do unto others as Jesus has done unto you.” And what has Jesus done? Accept us at our worst. And now for a Greek of the Week. "To accept" in the Greek means to take someone as a companion, Acts 17:5; 18:26; to take to yourself food [BTW “companion” literally means to “take bread with,” Acts 27:33, 36; to receive kindly or hospitably and admit someone to one's circle or to friendship, Acts 28:2; Rom. 14:1, 3; 15:7; Phlm. 1:17. Acceptance doesn’t mean that you agree with someone. It doesn’t mean anything goes. Acceptance means offering radical welcome and kindness to everyone, even the weak or the wrong. It is a Christ-centered, self-forgetting love where we accept others wherever or however they are - no strings attached. No bouncers, no door-keepers, no debaters, no sheriffs, only servants and friends. It’s the radical Gospel idea that God’s kindness leads to repentance.

With that in mind, in order to be of the same mind as Jesus, to think Christian is to accept others with the tongue, to accept others with the heart, to accept others with the eye, and to accept others with the mind.

1. Accept others with the tongue – refuse to quarrel over non-essentials (Romans 14:1-2, 5-6) For the Apostle Paul this could mean what one ate, or on which day one worshipped. These were contested issues within the church. Other Christians, like the Apostle John, will openly condemn eating meat that has been sacrificed to idols (Revelation 2:14, 20). Paul acknowledges that there are plenty of religious choices that followers of Jesus can and will disagree about. That’s not to say that there isn’t a center, a core of belief that we can certain rest in and recognize one another with: the creation of all things by God, that humans are made in the divine image but harmed by sin and prone to perpetuate it, that Jesus came – fully God and fully human – to reveal God and through his death and resurrection to save us from sin and transform our lives, and will ultimately come again in judgment to make all things right. That is Christian identity. But there are yet many differences and diversities of interpretation on topics like biblical inspiration, the sacraments., the incarnation, the atonement, the application of a Christian ethic, and when Jesus will come again. Consider the definition of a mammal. These are animals that are warm blooded, give birth to live young, have hair, and a spinal column. While the definition is certainly particular, it, nevertheless, maintains an amazing inclusivity that would describe a horse, tiger, dog, monkey, elephant, or human. And so we humbly offer a wide tent, focusing on what unites us, mindful that this side of eternity we all “see through a glass darkly.” It’s interesting that in Paul’s description of the weak and strong – the weak are the ones who have a lot more rules, which they demand for others to follow, that they believe are non-negotiable. The weak are the ones who want to argue the most. To accept others with the tongue is to practice a way of speech that is gentle, courtesy, curious and kind. It welcomes honest conversations about real difference without coercion.  

2. Accept others with the heart - Don’t judge someone else or show contempt (Romans 14:3-4, 10).  How do you know if you’re judging someone? When you think you’re the bouncer of the party. When you imagine that people stand before you for a verdict or are meant to serve you or are to answer to you. It’s when you believe that being right is more important than being loving and positions are more important than persons.  William Doughty was a young seminarian who came into the covenant by way of marriage and went to North Park Theological Seminary in 1948. Moving out of more conservative circles, Doughty was surprised by some faculty at North Park who challenged certain views that he found bedrock to scripture’s integrity. In an effort to address these issues, Doughty began a four-year campaign writing to the ECC board and specific churches to highlight these concerns. The controversy took a turn, however, when Doughty moved from being critical of certain positions to calling into question the Christian character and salvation of particular professors. One of the most beloved faculty members, Donald Frisk, known for his love of Jesus and Christian character, became Doughty’s prime target. This ultimately led to Doughty being defrocked, losing his ordination, by the ministerium. What’s interesting is that the ministerium said that the Covenant Chruch was wide enough to allow for a diversity of opinion on a range of theological positions, including allowing Doughty’s own, but that he was being let go because of his “unchristian spirit” which had him attacking a brother in Christ. We simply cannot claim to think Christian, in other words, if we cannot love those whom scripture calls us to love. To think Christian is learn that love is always the most important evidence for proper theology.

3. Accept others with the eye – Don’t cause someone to stumble (Romans 14:13-15). In Christian thinking, while “freedom” is critically important it is equally important to remember that you are not allowed to use your freedom to harm others or to imagine that freedom is something you possess but aren’t required to share. Take alcohol, for example. It’s true that there are diversities of opinion on this topic and while you may be fully convinced that drinking is okay – you should abstain from it in the presence of others if doing so harms them or their conscience, regardless if you are convinced from Scripture. What’s fascinating about Paul’s argument is the claim that one’s conscience, more so than the one’s exegesis, is what determines the truth of a position. So you must keep an eye on others and their own thinking rather than merely on an issue if you wish to fully think Christian. Of course, this also means that you must follow your own conscience as well and learn to accept yourself.

4. Accept with the mind – Read the Bible in order to please and encourage others. One of the ways in which Christian thinking can go wrong is when we rely only on our intent. The others whom we seek to love and welcome also get a say in what encouragement looks like. If they are never “pleased,” if they never feel “built up” then you aren’t reading with acceptance. Paul doesn’t say love others “as it pleases you.” But sometimes people can’t be pleased. In our welcome and desire to be like Jesus, we know that sometimes no amount of love can convince someone to be in a relationship or stop them from using the Bible to harm. When you encounter angry people with Bibles who refuse to listen and love, sometimes you must become like Jesus in the most terrible way: you will have to die. The Gospel writer John, writing about Jesus, will say it painfully: “He came to his own and his own did not receive him.” Friends, some of you will have to painfully accept that the relationship you want with your parents, your child, your friend, can’t be had because people are holding too tightly to their own position and refusing to love. But know that Jesus knows that pain and remember that sometimes love must endure insult and die. Paul uses Psalm 69:9 to point us toward Jesus. To think Christian we must bear with one another sacrificially because Scripture reveals that’s what Jesus did. So how do you know you’re thinking Christian? If your thinking causes you to sacrifice others rather than love sacrificially yourself, you aren’t thinking like Jesus. 

 

 If your reading of the Bible doesn’t have you encouraging others, or if others find your reading hopeless then you are not thinking Christian. If you your position has you kindly, lovingly, enduring people who still won’t receive you – then I am so sorry – and yet, you are thinking like Jesus and he will be with you. You are showing radical love and following the platinum rule – just as Jesus has loved us all. Amen.