Reflection Archive - February | Church of the Cross Anglican

Reflections for Urban Disciples - February 2010

On this page we post occasional reflections that are intended to encourage us as disciples of Jesus in the city.

February 22, 2010

Counterfeit Gods

Saint Paul wrote that one of the worst things God can do is to “give them over to the desires of their hearts” (Romans 1.24). But why would the worst punishment be giving someone what they always dreamed of?

We all have longings. Many of us long for that special someone who will love us for who we are. Others of us long for success and to be recognized as an accomplished person in his or her field. These longings in and off themselves are not bad. However, when we put all our hopes, energy and being toward that single longing, we quickly realize that we are loving, trusting and obeying these longings as if they were God. In essence we are doing whatever we need to, to realize those longings. It is in these moments that these longings become counterfeit gods and we have forgotten the one, true God.

The Greek story of Narcissus tells us of a beautiful man who one day wanders into a forest and finds a crystal clear pool of water. He is so mesmerized by the sea nymph in the pool (his own reflection), that he stares for hours at the water, trying to grasp at it. At first he only stares into the pool for a few hours, then its a whole day and finally Narcissus starves himself to death because he is so taken by the image in the pool. Many of us are like Narcissus. We slowly become mesmerized by our counterfeit gods and soon enough we are overtaken by them. However, this is not the end of the story. God has set a plan in motion to redeem humanity and through Jesus’ death on the cross and his glorious resurrection, God is inviting us to return to him. During this season of Lent, let us examine our own lives and recognize our own weakness. Let us throw ourselves back to Jesus and ask God to “restore to us the joy of his salvation and uphold us with a willing spirit” (Psalm 51.12).

Posted by Ben Rey

February 10, 2010

Teachability

Proverbs 9.7-9

7Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse, and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury. 8Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you. 9Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning. 10The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom...

Few of us delight in being corrected. We may claim to be teachable, but we really glory in not needing to be taught or instructed by others. A helpful diagnostic question for knowing our own hearts on this is to ask how we feel when someone corrects us or when we receive some kind of criticism: embarrassed? ashamed? indignant? insulted? defensive? In contrast, look at the response of the wise man to the one who reproves him in verse 8, “He will love you.” That’s a far cry from self-defense and going on the attack against those who would dare to criticize us. But this is the response of the wise. The key is found in verse 10, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” The wise have been humbled before the grandeur and awesomeness of God. Their state before God leads to their state before others. There is no longer a need to defend oneself or to resist correction. Instead, the wise, poor in spirit and driven by a thirst for truth and wisdom, heed instruction - from God and others. In pride, the foolish resist reproof and fight to defend their own image. As we come into Lent, we must confess our pride, our resistance not just to the reproof and instruction of others but to the reproof and instruction of God. Jesus invites us to come and learn from him (Matthew 11.29) as he speaks to us through his word, his Spirit, and each other. May God enable us to again take up that invitation, to confess our pride, and to become teachable once again in the fear of the Lord.

Posted by Mark Booker

February 3, 2010

“It’s just like that Michelangelo painting...”

My friend explained to me as we sat together in a cafe on a busy Boston street. “Our relationship with God is just like that Michelangelo painting. We stretch out our hand to God and he stretches his finger out to meet us, but there is a gap. There is always a gap between us.”

Mark and I were on a day retreat in mid-December praying and casting vision for CotC in 2010. We had taken a break at this coffee shop and in popped my friend. He is in his mid-30’s and has an eclectic work history and even entertained the possibility of divinity school. He exudes joy and lights up whatever room he is in.

As we began talking our conversation quickly turned to God. We talk mostly about love and God’s love for us. He tells us that he has rarely witnessed the love of God. My friend has been ostracized time and time again by the church and retells us the story of an uncomfortable visit to a local bible study.

He shares with us about his desire to be close to God, but that there is always this gap, just like in that Michelangelo painting. I gently explain to my friend that the wonderful thing about Jesus is that he was fully God, the creator of all things, but he came down into our mess. He came into our pain and suffering in order to close the gap. It is through Jesus that we can truly know God. “You know...I never thought of it like that before,” he says and tells me he needs to think about it. I tell him that a group of us meet on Wednesday nights at my house to talk about our lives and Jesus and he is welcome anytime. He says he would like to stop by…

There are countless stories just like my friend’s in the city of Boston. Christianity is a failed message here and we routinely run into people who have been hurt and burned by the Church. We offer a place to seek God freely and to be a part of a community who will advocate for them. I see many similarities between the Book of Acts and our lives here in Boston. The men and women whose stories are told in the Book of Acts led their lives before Jesus and they encountered those far from God in random and unplanned ways: Philip happened to overhear the Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8), Paul and friends randomly met Lydia (Acts 16), and the unplanned conversion of the Philippian Jailer (Acts 16). In the same way, our hope is to be a people who spontaneously share aspects of the Story of God in a genuine, authentic way around the kitchen table, in coffee shops and at the playground.

Posted by Ben Rey

Teaching

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