The Recovering Pharisee

In the early days of the Jesus narrative there is mention of two people who understood the times in which they were living. One was named Simeon. He was a good and godly man who was waiting on God’s promise to Israel. The other was Anna, who was a widow, prophet. The Gospel says she never left the Temple. She worshipped night and day, praying and fasting. Both Simeon and Anna had been listening to the voice of the Father and were led to an encounter with the Christ child. Simeon began to prophesy as he held Jesus, “Lord, you are King over all. Now let me, your servant, go in peace. That is what you promised. My eyes have seen your salvation. You have prepared it in the sight of all people. It is a light to be given to those who aren’t Jew’s. It will bring glory to your people Israel.” Once Anna encountered Jesus she began to speak of Him to all who would listen.

Although there is much here to discuss, I want to touch on two things. Simeon’s words, “Now let me, your servant, go in peace. That is what you promised. My eyes have seen your salvation” speak of the great contentment that comes with meeting Christ. A true and intimate encounter with the living God through Christ Jesus leaves us completely content. Once we encounter Him nothing else compares. The Apostle Paul spoke of this when he said it didn’t matter whether he was rich or poor, free or persecuted, no matter what state he found himself in he was content. So many Christians are still looking for that next thing. Looking for that next blessing, looking for that next great teaching, looking for their prosperity or promise, but they miss the point completely. When we look for Jesus and Him alone, we find Him and we find complete contentment. Why, because it is in that wonderful relationship with the living God we want for nothing. Much like first love, we are content just to be with our “one”. Christ is our “one”. When we are truly with Him we roll with the punches of life. We become responsive instead of proactive. We become content instead of always striving. What a wonderful place to be. We move where He moves, we speak when He speaks, we go when He goes. All we want is to be with Him and part of what He is doing. The coolest thing about that is, that He is moving where ever we are. He is not just moving in exciting worship services or on short term mission trips. If we will listen and look we will hear is voice and see his works all around us. At the grocery store, on our walks through our neighborhoods, all around us are those who need to experience a life changing encounter with a living God. We are not striving to do something for God, we just are. Remember Church is not where you go it is who you are!

That brings us to Anna. Once Anna met Jesus she began to tell others about him. You don’t need to have a theological degree or have memorized the Roman Road. All you need is to know Him. Tell others who He is to you. Tell them your story. If you don’t have a story to tell then lay everything down and surrender to Him. He will give you a story. He will become more to you than you ever could imagine. Christ is in you, He is in me. In Him we live, move and have our very being. It is not about religion or church attendance or tithing. It is solely and wholly about Him!! When we make it about anything else we become like those Pharisees of old and not so old. I for one want to recover from such things!!

I started last week blogging through the life of Jesus. I am really excited about this experiment. I have come to realize that somewhere in all the “church” stuff, I lost the wonder and majesty of Jesus. Church isn’t about buildings, programs, cool services, vision statements, core values or innovative approaches. When I planted Life Church of Sarasota, (I am ashamed to tell this story) we started meeting with a small group of people that had a heart to plant a new church. It was a very exciting time. We would meet every Saturday night and I would share my vision for what kind of church we were going to plant. It was going to be a different type of church. It was going to be a relaxed place where relationships were valued. It was going to be done with excellence. We were going to have great music and creative worship services. Our building was going to reflect these values with a coffee bar, food, free water and soda. There was going to space for people to gather and get to know one another. Our kids areas were going to be a place kids were excited about coming every week. It was going to be a church that served the community. Oh man was I excited about the vision of Life Church. We spent weeks talking about vision and philosophy of ministry. I went to a church planters conference to learn about church planting and I had done everything right! Everything they said that would make a church plant successful, I had done, down to the smallest of details. Life Church was going to be a great church.

Notice something about the previous paragraph. Lots of I’s. Lest you forget “I” am the recovering pharisee. Somewhere in my journey I had gotten real amped up about church but I had left Jesus knocking at the door waiting to come in. Not that Jesus wasn’t talked about or even prayed too. He was, that is what is so insidious about being a pharisee. Jesus is all around. He is talked about, read about, preached about, but he may not really be there. When all is said and done it is not about church, the bible, doctrine, worship or anything else, it is about Jesus. We are simply to be the tangible expression of Jesus to everyone we come in contact with. We are called to be intimately acquainted with Him. We are called to make Him Lord of all we are and all we do. He is the central focus of all we do and are. In Him we live, breath and have our being.

I was so focused on planting a church that I missed the entire point of the whole thing!! We are called to plant Jesus.

That is the point of the incarnation. God planted himself into this world through Jesus Christ! Jesus never wrote a book, He never traveled very far from his birthplace, He wasn’t a part of the religious elite, He didn’t run for office, He simply was. He was God made flesh. He lived in response to the Fathers voice. He only did what the Father had Him do. He was God manifest in flesh.

The scary thing is; that is what He is calling us too. We are to be one with Him, as He was with the father. We are to be His hands, feet and heart in the flesh to our world. We are to plant him right in the middle of the culture, in which we live. I truly believe that when we make Jesus the central focus of our lives we will begin to see things we never could imagine. When we don’t just ask what would Jesus do, but we begin to ask, Jesus what do you want to do, then we will experience something extraordinary. I planted a church, but failed miserably to plant Jesus the true vine.

I very excited about the upcoming weekend. I really enjoy 4th of July Celebration. BBQ, Chocolate Cake, Banana Pudding, Domino’s with the family. We have been watching the Ft. Hood fireworks show from the hill of my parents home for 43 years. It is a great tradition. Throw in a Will Smith movie and you have a great time.

We Americans are a very independent bunch. The land of John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Chuck Norris and Matt Dillon has produced a very self reliant and self contained society. We live in our subdivided neighborhoods and kindly wave to our neighbors as we pass by in our SUVs, pull into our two or three car garages without even getting out to open the doors and barricade ourselves inside our self imposed isolation chambers.

Many who live in this American dream suffer and cry in their solitude. On the outside everything looks “Leave it to Beaverish”. Landscaped yards and high pitched roofs become the whitewashed walls of the ancient pharisees. These middle classed suburban pharisees appear to have it all together, while they live out the American Dream. All the while there is something terribly amiss. Somehow many realize this, but don’t really know what it is. What is missing?

I think one thing that may be missing is connection. Facebook has exploded in popularity for this very reason. People are looking to connect to others. I love finding old friends that I haven’t talk with or seen in years. It is very comforting to know that they remember me. I believe that the independent American is looking for authentic connection. Our isolated and insulated lives have left us wanting. Sadly the one place that should offer this type of connection, the church, has failed terribly in offering it. Most models of church have bought into the lie that Americans want to be anonymous and individual in their spirituality. Big crowds and great programs feed into our isolation.

Jesus didn’t call His disciples into a life of isolation. He called them into a life of community. He realized we need each other. It is not good to be alone. There is something mystical and wonderful when people meet together under Christ and take the masks off and begin to share life together. You realize you are not the only one that goes through what you go through. You realize that life doesn’t have to be lived with that gnawing emptiness. Jesus said that He came to give life and life to the fullest. I don’t think he meant full of things. I believe that fullness comes for doing life with a group of friends who have decided to follow Christ and the ways of Christ together. Sharing our stories, struggles, joys and victories together. Finding ways to show who Jesus really is to the community around us. This divine, mystical, relational community is what caused Christianity to explode in the first three centuries. People saw first hand how Christians loved and served each other and anyone that happened to come into their sphere of influence. Jesus said they would know we are His disciples by our love one for another.

The sad thing is we have adopted a Christianity that is independent, individualized and polarizing. What if we began to love one another, care for one another, share with one another, pray for one another, and just live life together with Jesus.

The church is not an organization, a movement, or a political action committee. The church at its essence is a family and a body. It is something organic and relational. As we walk in love, one for another, hand in hand through life, something extraordinary can happen. We can become whole. We can experience the fullness of life that money can’t buy. It is a fullness that comes from knowing you are not alone. You belong to God and to God’s family. Not his pseudo, Pharisaical family. His family that lives like He did.