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| A Reject who Rejects Jesus |
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Unfortunately, I haven't had time to listen to Chris' sermon but I'm sure it is solid. For some time now, I've been stewing on the concept of Jesus' rejection and how I would have preached about it. The problem with being a "preacher" is that it is very tempting to become a teacher. By teacher, I mean, it is easy to spend time studying about what God wants to say everyone else versus meditating on what God is saying to me.
I'm struck by how often I catch myself looking down on the Jews for rejecting Jesus. Without even thinking about it, I become Jesus--the one hated for his goodness. I fail to realize that, if anyone, I'm never Jesus in the story. I'm anyone and everyone else in the story. And like EVERYONE else in the story, I reject Jesus. I believe Jesus is my Lord, Savior, and only through the cross will I be reconciled with my Creator. But every time I sin, I reject Jesus. This happens daily. Sometimes the sins are more pronounced, sometimes they are subtle easily justifiable moments of rebellion. Without question, they are ALL rejections of Jesus:
When I reject his plan - I ask why God does things the way he does. Though God has no obligation to explain anything to me, I demand it. I ask a lot of questions and, if he doesn't give me the answer that I like, I ask more because I believe I'm smarter than God. He just doesn't understand. As I declare that this not the way I would do it I only prove my own foolishness and pride.
When I reject his sovereignty- This is when I believe some things, but certainly not THAT THING has filtered through God's hand. When the unexpected, the painful, the undeserved, the unwanted, the things that rock our foundation and hit at the core of our being we reject his control. God couldn't possibly have intended this to happen...he must not be strong enough, this must have surprised him. Forgetting the cross, we reject that God can actually allow us to suffer, actually be glorified through it, and that we can actually grow from it.
When I reject his love - If he is in control, that just makes things worse. When bad things happen, and he knows it, and he can stop it, I reject that he cares for me at all. He must be evil, he must want to destroy me, he must not love me. Warped by our sin and the sin of the world, we embrace a love that is immediately gratifying, universally accepting, perpetually romantic and ultimately selfish. Any definition of love that includes pain, suffering, or selflessness is rejected.
When I reject my own sinfulness - I don't actually believe that I'm evil. I believe that sin is like a cold and that because I'm better than frank the criminal, I'm good. I ask why God didn't stop XYZ from happening to me and refuse to ask why God didn't stop me from doing XYZ to someone else or not doing XYZ for someone else. As we cry out for God's judgment, at the same time we ignore our sinfulness. We want his justice, as long as it doesn't apply to me.
When I reject his grace- Once I accept that I'm not really sinful, I sit in the world of entitlement. In other words, God gives me what I deserve. And, because I have obeyed his commandments, I deserve to be with him. Of course, when I don't obey I'll beat the crap out of myself as I fear he will reject me. OR, I'll feel great because I'm doing "good" today in my pursuit of righteousness. I reject that I am never beyond need God grace (sometimes I'm good enough) and am never beyond the reach of God's grace (sometimes I'm too bad).
When I reject the mystery his humanity - I don't believe that God can possibly understand where I am coming from. He doesn't know what it's like to be human. I believe that I have suffered worse than God ever did. In the process, I deny the very nature of the incarnation which in itself represents more humiliation than I could ever imagine.
When I reject the mystery of his divinity -- I don't believe that Jesus is actually God so I treat him like a "Christian Confucius". Instead of worship as God, I give him respect due a teacher. Instead of a heart of obedience, I give him my words. Instead of arranging my life so that Jesus is revealed as source of purpose, meaning, satisfaction, and joy in all of life and death, I give him 52 minutes on a Sunday morning--he deserves it, he's a great guy.
When I reject his body -- I believe that my faith is not only personal but also private. I believe that lie that I am not needed by anyone and I certainly don't need anyone. As a result, I sit alone imagining that everyone else is getting together--probably to talk about me. I don't want to be alone, but I'll never admit it because I'd be rejected. If people knew who I was, they would never be my friend. Yes, God gave me gifts, talents, and experiences to employ but no one will miss them. The body is better off without me, and I without it--or them.
I'm sure there are a hundred more things I can imagine that I have rejected about Jesus. Jesus became a reject so that he could love the rejects who reject him like me. |
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| To add a comment to "A Reject who Rejects Jesus" |
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| April 07, 2009 |
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re⋅ject /v. rɪˈdʒɛkt; n. ˈri dʒɛkt/  Show Spelled Pronunciation [v. ri-jekt; n. ree-jekt] –verb (used with object) | 1. | to refuse to have, take, recognize, etc.: to reject the offer of a better job. | | 2. | to refuse to grant (a request, demand, etc.). | | 3. | to refuse to accept (someone or something); rebuff: The other children rejected him. The publisher rejected the author's latest novel. | | 4. | to discard as useless or unsatisfactory: The mind rejects painful memories. | | 5. | to cast out or eject; vomit. | | 7. | Medicine/Medical. (of a human or other animal) to have an immunological reaction against (a transplanted organ or grafted tissue): If tissue types are not matched properly, a patient undergoing a transplant will reject the graft. | –noun | 8. | something rejected, as an imperfect article. | Origin: 1485–95; (v.) < L rējectus, ptp. of rējicere to throw back, equiv. to re- re- + jec-, comb. form of jacere to throw + -tus ptp. suffix
Related forms:
re⋅ject⋅a⋅ble, adjective re⋅ject⋅er, noun re⋅jec⋅tive, adjective
Synonyms:
1. See refuse 1 . 1, 2. deny. 3. repel, renounce. 4. eliminate, jettison. 8. second. I thought this was too good not to post as a comment on this post.. I was especially moved by the veeeerrrrryyyy last little note on a synonym of reject, "second". As a "lifer" (one who's been a Christian most of their life) I have no problem carrying Jesus around in my pocket to take out when the mood strikes. How amazing is it that another way of rejecting Jesus is to put him second in our lives? Because at first it seems like an accomplishment...he's not fourth or tenth in my life, he's SECOND! Yay! Except that, as my youngest's favorite Thomas the Tank Engine movie put it, "Everyone likes to be first, not second, third or fourth!" For if we put anything before Jesus, we are idolizing whatever it is and therefore worshipping it in place of God. It could be something that is inherently good, like our marriage or our kids or our savings account...but if it's before God, it becomes a tool of rejection. The other amazing thing is that Jesus is the only rejected "item" in the world that was not rejected for being imperfect, but for quite the opposite reason. The very fact that he faced the world as fully man and lived a perfect life is what makes him approachable and at the same time reject-able. A shining example of what we can never be on this earth, it is difficult to want to be around him if that is all we know of him. Once we begin to really know Jesus and his Father, we realize that he is the ultimate in approachability and understanding. We just have to stop stripping off his identity in order to fit him into our pockets. Great post, Sam! |
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| April 09, 2009 |
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| I am glad you decided to post AFTER the sermon. Great post. I did try to cover some of what you wrote on Sunday, most importantly that it's easy to pick on the Pharisees and the crowds for rejecting Jesus, but that we, and certinally I, likely would have done the same. And most certianally that I/we are never Jesus in the story. Chris Larson pointed out that if they had Talk Radio back in the day they would have lambasted Jesus for his actions in the temple, and I've thought about that as I've had my radio on during my commute this week. |
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| April 10, 2009 |
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| Reminds me of the movie "The Matrix" where the computer dude who created the matrix comments that originally he created a happy "perfect" matrix but our minds kept rejecting it. We claim to desire a great, happy life for us and others, but in reality, the news is a very testament to the fact, we love scandals. We desire to see others sin. Jesus didn't sin, there was no scandal, and he was rejected. |
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