liltimmy's reflections

part two of the book

2006-06-07T17:37:00.000-07:00

The second part of Lohfink’s book speaks about the nature of the church after Jesus’ death and resurrection. So by looking at the Pauline communities and the early church fathers we can get a glimpse of how the message of Jesus’ was understood and implemented. So assuming that the early church got it right, Lohfink tries to answer the question, “how did Jesus will community?” The answer to this question, for the early church, converges at many levels from what we see or how we understand the Jesus movement. They were a family oriented community who were healing agents that refused to take part in violent action against the state. They saw themselves as the people of God who were called to embody the Holy Spirit.

non-violence in Lohfink

2006-06-07T17:36:00.000-07:00

The early followers of Jesus saw themselves as a community of family, but not the typical family. This family was made up of many different types of people, who redefined familial structures under the rhetoric of God as father and everyone else (in that community) as brother and sisters. The early community of Jesus was also a non-violent community whose identity claimed by there ability to be a people of healing agents, and a people who are defined by service through sacrifice. And this sacrifice isn’t understood in relation to war for the sake of peace per se, but rather as peace being achieved through sacrifice visa-vis dying at the hands of the enemy.

redefining Israel

2006-06-07T17:35:00.000-07:00

By beginning with John the Baptist and assuming Jesus to fall into similar categories as John, Lohfink sees the Jesus movement as a renewal movement within Israel. This renewal is exemplified in the 12 disciples, claiming this is as a symbolic move of Jesus, by which he is remaking the 12 tribes of Israel. And in remaking Israel, Jesus is claiming the eschatological hope of Israel’s return from exile has finally arrived in his work. So, what did this community look like? How did it function? Hopefully by answering these questions we can begin to see how Jesus envisioned the community,

post #2 for Jesus and community

2006-06-07T17:34:00.000-07:00

Lohfink places the discussion of Jesus and community against the contemporary backdrop of an individualistic church. This current “church” is epitomized as a sort of “super market.” This is because the western church is highly consumer oriented, and is driven by attending to the needs of the wider population rather than focusing on community. With this assessment of the current church being a consumer church (whether protestant or catholic), Lohfink uses this as a springboard to talk about Jesus. The guiding question for the first major section of the book is, “what did Jesus think of community?”

Reflection 1 kingdom ethics (what does the kingdom of God look like?)

2006-06-02T09:22:00.001-07:00

The kingdom of God has no room for violence. It is nowhere to be seen. The image of a would be messiah riding on a horse going to Jerusalem with a huge following proclaiming that the kingdom of God had come, would be expected to bring with him some sort of holy war. But instead Jesus rides into Jerusalem proclaiming that the kingdom of God had come but instead of riding on a warhorse or chariot he rides in on a donkey. And instead of declaring war with swords he declares war with a cross. And it is this cross that the kingdom of God will now be set in motion. It is this cross that is the symbol for what “ethic” the kingdom of God is to hold up as its banner. It is the new politic, the new covenant.

Reflection 5 reflection on Wright what was the message of Jesus?

2006-06-02T09:22:00.000-07:00

So what was the message? What political option did Jesus give? The way of the kingdom for Jesus was simple, love. The kingdom of God was a message about turning the other cheek, going the extra mile, loving enemies, being a light to the other nations. The kingdom is seen through the eyes of children. It is innocent. It is peaceful. Those who live by the sword will surely die by that same sword. The message of Jesus’ to Israel was to ‘repent for the kingdom of God is at hand.’ The question is, Repent from what? The answer is; repent from your way of doing politics and follow mine. The kingdom of God is not about revenge rather it is about sacrifice. It is the image of a man taking up his cross and following Jesus. It is the picture of poor people being included, sick people being healed, and outcast sons returning home to the father who is running out to meet he who has returned home. The kingdom is a picture of a feast but not with the expected dinner guests, instead of the popular rich successful person, it is now lepers, prostitutes, and sinners.

Reflection 4 pissed off by the evangelical lens (Wright reflections)

2006-06-02T09:20:00.001-07:00

If the Church is found guilty of anything regarding the message of Jesus it is that we have dumbed down the gospel to be a matter of personal piety towards God. We have fallen err to the idea that Jesus came for the purpose of taking away the trivial sins of individuals and all one has to do is follow him and they will be able to die and go to heaven. Jesus has become our personal buddy that we can pull out and call on when we need help for our every trivial need. We have forgotten that Jesus actually lived. We have forgotten that he actually breathed the same air that we breathe today. We have also forgotten that he had a message and it was because of this message that he was crucified. When studying the historical Jesus we find a man who had feelings, felt pain, needed food. We don’t see a God/man walking around with a halo over his head healing people in order to show them that God actually does exist. What we do find is man on a mission to defeat the power of darkness, which is injustice.

Reflection 3 praise reflections on a non-violent Jesus

2006-06-02T09:20:00.000-07:00

The Lord is good and he is looking for a way to bring the message of peace to this world that has fallen victim to the fall. The question is “how?” How is it that this world plagued with famine, hunger, and war is able to be brought back to the created order? The answer is simple peace. The problem with “peace” is that in the evangelical church this has become a scary word. Not least because it brings images of the end of the world and the antichrist but also because we have taught that the only way to have “peace” is through war and war is scary. Peace for our American Christianity has been all about freedom. Unfortunately this freedom is not defined by the biblical understanding of being brought out of exile rather we have defined freedom by the individualistic understanding that says that “as long as I can do what I want I am free.” It is my firm conviction that peace for biblical theology is easy to understand. It is peace. It is pictures of wolfs and lambs lying together. It is a picture of the world bowing at the knee to the name of Jesus. It is a picture of a woman wiping the feet of King Jesus with her tears. It is a picture of a king who is not willing to fight with violence but would rather die at the hands of the enemies in order that they might be forgiven.

Incarnational theology-NT Wrights Christology part 2

2006-06-02T09:19:00.000-07:00

Perhaps a better place to begin, when studying Jesus, is Jesus himself. Maybe behind the face of Jesus we become aware of the heart of God. Often it is misunderstood (in historical terms) that Judaism in the first century didn’t have incarnational theology. What the incarnation of Jesus was for Christianity, the temple was for the Jews. The temple was the embodiment of the glory of God. The connection here is magnificent and perhaps profound when thinking of the implications. Jesus saw his vocation as a man who was to take the central themes and symbols of Judaism and turn them on their head. The bible says that Jesus came to fulfill the law not abolish it. What does that mean? It means that Jesus came to fulfill the purpose of what the law was suppose to do. The bible says that Jesus said destroy this temple and three days I will raise it. What Jesus is saying is that he is the true temple. This is my body which was broken for you and this is the cup of the New Covenant, what Jesus is saying and doing here is taking the Passover meal and saying that the new exodus is about the dawn. He takes the central symbols of Judaism and gives them a redefinition. Even resurrection was an expectation for all Jews when the new kingdom arrived. But Jesus takes that expectation and makes it his own showing that the new kingdom has arrived, if not fully at least partially.

Incarnational theology-NT Wrights Christology part 1

2006-06-02T09:17:00.000-07:00

When we try to understand who Jesus was, where do we start? If we believe Jesus was God, do we begin with our concept of God and then project that back into Jesus life and apply godness to Jesus. Or do we simply begin with the human Jesus and then see if we can understand who God is by looking at the human (historical Jesus)? Often the church has opted for what it means to be God and projected that back onto the life of Jesus. So what you end up with is a Jesus who roamed around the world, floating on a cloud, remembering the days when he was in heaven, singing with the angels.

Romans 13 Yoder

2006-05-24T23:02:00.000-07:00

What about Romans 13, this is the question that I am always asked when people hear that i am a pacifist. After all doesnt the bible say that we should submit to the government? The misunderstanding takes place when people miss the context of the rest of the book but even more specifically Paul's argument. The heart of Paul's argument lies in chapter 12 where he is arguing for the church to be a people who function different than the state. 12:1 he says to be transformed by the renewing of your mind which is the catalyst by which the church is being seperate from the world. He continues by arguing how the people of God are to act out of love which then comes the logical thought that even love should reach to their enemies. who is the natural enemy? The governing authorities. And it is within the context of love for enemy that Chapter 13 should be read. at no point does it say that Christians are to bear the sword, rather it is highlighted that this is what the state does. and it is this that the Christians are to be transformed from.

yoder # 4 reflections on chapter 8

2006-05-24T23:01:00.000-07:00

One of the most important theological issues that is essential to grasp, is the issue of Christ’s defeat of the powers (Col.1: 15-21). Is this defeat of powers referring to demons, Satan, dark angels; or is it referring to political powers and their structures? One of the most difficult things to grasp for western theology is the truth that the dichotomy between heaven and earth didn’t exist for ancient Israel. What it was that did exist was the blending of the two worlds. So if injustice reigned then Satan was literally at work in the world. This is found in Yoder, but I actually found it more pertinent in Horsley, Richard Paul and Empire. In this book he highlights a lot of the rhetoric that seems to place Christianity right at the heart of political resistance.

Politics of Jesus #3 most powerful thought of the book up till now

2006-05-22T08:29:00.001-07:00

In this quote I am about to share Yoder is trying to show how ridiculous the churches interpretation of the significance of Jesus death. he notices how the church has taken away from the significance of the Christ event and the effect it has on the way we are the church. This is the quote, “the Cross of Calvary was not a difficult family situation, not a frustration of visions of personal fulfillment, a crushing debt, or a nagging in-law; it was the political, legally-to-be-expected result of a moral clash with the powers ruling his society.” (pg. 129)

Politics of Jesus #2 chapter 2-3

2006-05-22T08:29:00.000-07:00

In the last blog I resembled how for Yoder he was arguing for the starting point for all of ethics. This blog will deal more with the picture of Jesus that Yoder paints. Who is this Jesus? What did he look like? What did he proclaim? For Yoder Jesus was a man who announced the kingdom of God. But this kingdom was not an apolitical kingdom that was only experienced in the hearts of individuals. Rather this kingdom was highly political and highly subversive to the powers. This is why; after all, Jesus was crucifiable, he had a message that challenged the other kingdom options of his day.

Politics of Jesus #1 chapter one thesis for boom

2006-05-22T08:28:00.000-07:00

In the last 100 years or so, Christian ethics have been dominated by paradigms birthed out of western ideas. What John Howard Yoder is arguing for is a shift to take place within Christian ethics. He wants the church to once again look to Jesus as the starting point for all of ethics. This doesn’t take away the controversy per se. In fact there still will be people who paint a picture of Jesus that breathes forth with a dash of horrific colors that resemble the dark and shadowy politics of the crusades rather than the beautiful profound peaceful politics of Jesus. But at least if we all start with Jesus, it allows for more room than what has went before, even though in the end we might disagree on what Jesus or even God we choose to model ourselves after.

liberation from the powers

2006-05-16T17:54:00.000-07:00

The reflection of this blog is centered on evangelization and the goal of missions. The main thrust of the evangelistic message of Jesus is liberation from slavery. Who is our slave master? The slave master that sits over the creation is the powers. The message of Jesus is all about delivering the creation from the bonds and chains that tie down the good creation. The goal of missions is to proclaim to the powers that their time is up. Return from exile has come and the world is set free through the work of God through Jesus on the cross. So we, who accept this story, carry this around with us, in symbolic action in order that our words don’t get in the way. Symbolic action is the key into contemporary evangelism.

messianic missions and ethics

2006-05-16T17:52:00.000-07:00

This blog will focus on two aspects of Messianic mission (1) is the world and the other is (2 ) ethics. The object of missions is directed towards this world. Why? Because it is fallen and is longing for redemption. A person doesn’t have to look to far, in the streets, before they will see the effects of injustice. What it is that this world, which is held captive by the fall, is looking for is for God to make the world right. What God did in Jesus, he wants to do through the churches mission in the world.
(2) what are the guidelines by which the church is to function? How are we to move forward? What is our essence? As the church we find ourselves in a story and this story is of a people of God. The story begins with creation and then moves to the fall from the fall the story of Abraham came to be the hope for the fallen world. Abraham’s descendants failed and then enters Jesus, he came to right the wrongs made in the previous parts of the story. We live in the part of the story that carries on the story that Jesus began. The question is how do we live in accordance to the essence of Jesus teaching? Unfortunately this cannot be answered by merely finding practical steps. The only thing that can be said is that when we (the church) live in tension with the world then we call on the spirit to direct and guide our paths. When this happens and the Spirit descends we will find that we will live in step with the ethical teaching of Jesus, i.e. feeding the poor, loving neighbor, and living at peace.

Holy Spirit and Messianic society

2006-05-15T18:10:00.000-07:00

what is the source of a missional community? often the church has steered clear from the idea of the Holy Spirit having a role in mission. This lack of Spirit emphasis has plagued the church from both Catholic and protestant circles. this is at least until recent. Now, with the spread of Pentecostalism and renewed respect for the Eastern Orthodox, the church has now, not only pushed the emphasis of the Spirit but have also, experienced first hand the power of the Spirit. This seems to have been the thrust of this chapter, that is, mission and Spirit go hand in hand. this seems obvious especially in light of the startling facts that are given in The Next Christendom that shows that most of Christianity is no longer identified as a western idea rather it is being lived out and embodied in the third world.

along with this comes the idea that the church is made up of people who have a different perspective. primarily because the politics that the church is concerned about is not lust, greed, or power. Rather the church is a group of people who embody the call of Yahweh and are centered in his name in the power of the Spirit. is the church political? of course but not like the worlds. the guiding principle for this community is forgiveness and love.

can't wait for N.T. Wright

2006-05-13T08:30:00.000-07:00

37-105 shank and driver

The goal of chapter 2, in my opinion, is to find a starting by which Christians everywhere can speak of Christ. He wants to suggest that we move beyond the language of Christology, which has been dominated by modernist paradigms. so he he suggests that the best way to speak is to (1) look at Jesus in his context and (2) to look at the history of your own culture and take messianic principles (or Lordship) to see how Jesus is Lord.

What is the goal of messianic mission? The goal of messianic mission is the kingdom of God. The only problem with using this language (kingdom of God) is that it is tainted by the history of oppression that the church is guilty of; namely crusades, inquisition, its place in WW and many others. But for the sake of argument, the language is important, but is in need of a drastic redefinition. The need, in the west, is to move beyond an apolitical Jesus and kingdom to a wholistic Jesus and kingdom that is concerned with all parts of creation. when following the theme through the Old TEstament our the otherside to the new Testament, you find that it is political and spiritual.

2006-05-11T22:20:00.001-07:00

Posting # 1 Shenk pp.8-32

Often it is assumed that the Jews had no concept of missions. Shenk wants to say otherwise. He defines missions as an imptortant value for the first century Jews. This was what the role of proselytizing was for the Jews, which within their worldview would have fulfilled the hopes of Isaiah. what the premise of this book rests on, is the assumption that the mission of Jesus is a paradigm by which the church could move forward, this is defined in chapter 2 as messianic mission paradigm. The substance behind "messianic missions" is the wholistic assumption that salvation includes the redemption and reconcilliation of the whole world. The message of salvation is the gospel. The gospel embodies service and cross which moves in the direction of peace for the sake of the enemy.

Timmy b