Poor People

There are many signs and miracles that occurred in the life of Jesus that I long to see. I feel as though if I could just see the blind given sight, or the lame walk, or the dead raised, it would strengthen my feeble faith. It would be an even greater honor to be given the power to perform these miracles; to be able to go out like the disciples healing the sick, raising the dead, and performing other miraculous signs. I read a passage recently which encourage my feeble faith and shocked me. The passage is Luke 7:18-28, where John the Baptist questions whether Jesus is the messiah. John questions Jesus because he is imprisoned and because he heard Jesus was performing powerful signs (7:18 and preceding). He was questioning Jesus because of his suffering, and he was questioning Jesus because of his power. His doubt stems from the fact that Jesus is not using his power in the way John would like him to. Jesus is not using his power to alleviate John’s suffering. I question God in these same circumstances. I doubt God when he doesn’t use his power to prevent or protect me from suffering. I doubt God when his plans are radically different from my plans. It’s encouraging that the forerunner of Christ Jesus, a man Jesus calls the greatest man born of woman (Luke 7:28), had the same questions in the face of bleak suffering. But that’s not what really shocked me in the passage. What shocks me is Jesus response, his proof that he really is the messiah. He says “Go tell John what you have seen and heard: the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel proclaimed to them.” Luke 7:22. First, Jesus responds not with a theological argument, not by reminding John of what transpired at his baptism, but simply for his followers to report what they saw. The truth about Jesus’ true identity is available to all who look at what he does. The signs he mentions are that the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the gospel proclaimed to them. It’s the last one that shocks me. One of the signs that Jesus is the messiah is that the poor have a priority in the preaching of the gospel. It’s not only shocking that this is a sign but also that this is a sign on par with the blind receiving sight and the dead being raised. But I think it is a powerful sign, a sign that indicates that the marginalized, the abused, the victimized, those who society deems as worthless, useless, and dirty are now receiving the good news of the kingdom of God. The poor are now take priority in hearing God’s message to mankind. What’s also shocking about this sign is that I can participate in it. I don’t have the power to give the blind sight, and none of the dead with whom I’ve spoken have returned to life, but I do have the power to tell the gospel to the poor. In proclaiming the good news to the poor I am performing a sign that demonstrates the Jesus is the messiah. All along I was disappointed that I could perform no sign, when instead I should have been taking every opportunity to perform the sign which is within my power to perform.

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Music I’ve been listening to lately

Nice music video as well.

A good reminder to stop making excuses.

That guys voice just haunts me. I don’t know why.

I like her voice and the lyrics, the  video is a bit odd.

I can’t justify this pick. It’s one of the few things I actually enjoy that they play on the radio… or maybe I just enjoy that it isn’t a lady ga-ga song.

And some Josh to cleanse the palate if that last song was too pop for your taste.

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Keeping up appearances

The word “appearance” has evolved slightly in the past 400 years. In 1611 the term meant the “visible state or form” of an object. If a man appeared on the horizon one might say there was an appearance of a man. It did not in any case indicate a difference between what something appeared to be and what it actually was. The connotation that there may be a distinction between something’s appearance and it’s essence probably arose in in the 1700s when the phrase “keep up appearances” developed. So when the King James Bible translated 1 Thessalonians 5:11 in 1611 “Abstain from all appearance of evil” it did not mean avoid doing any activity which others might perceive as evil. It meant avoid every form of evil. The Greek phrase can be translated “every form of evil” or “every kind of evil.” While the King James translation was accurate in its time, it’s archaic translation is popularly quoted in Christian circles. Unfortunately it is often quoted to emphasize the importance of “keeping up appearances” which is a concept that often goes against a Christian mindset. I’ve often heard people say “we must avoid every appearance of evil” to avoid not only activities which are sinful but in some instances actually doing good deeds which might be misinterpreted as evil. The truth is that Jesus and Paul had very little concern for “keeping up appearances” and did what they thought was right with very little regard to other people’s opinions. Jesus ministered to tax collectors, prostitutes, and other dregs of society despite the fact that this ruined his “appearance” in his society (Matt 9:11, Mat 11:19, Mark 2:15, Mark 5:29-30, Luke 15:1). Paul was beaten, imprisoned, caused a riot, put on trial, stoned, and eventually beheaded for doing what he considered right. If he was more careful about what others thought of him he probably wouldn’t have been attacked as often. My point is quite simply this; 1 Thessalonians 3:11 commands us to avoid evil, every kind of evil in fact. But it does not command us to be concerned about preserving or maintaining our appearances.

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