Spirituality Column #280
March 27, 2012
Current in Carmel – Westfield – Noblesville – Fishers
(Indianapolis north suburban home newspapers)

Triumphal Entry Marks ‘Narrow’ Victory
By Bob Walters

“… but small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, …” (Matthew 7:14)

This weekend most of the Christian world celebrates “Palm Sunday” marking the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Thus in Biblical times began a week that would see Jesus exalted, suspected, betrayed, arrested, questioned, beaten, denied, humiliated, abandoned, mocked, crucified, dead, entombed, and, by the beginning of the next week (Easter), freed from the tomb and eternally victorious over death.

We are the redeemed from death. Jesus is the physical, divine, triumphant Risen Christ; our Lord and Savior.

Each of the Bible’s four Gospels recounts the Triumphal Entry (Matthew 21:1-17, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28-44, John 12:12-19). In a sense it’s odd to call the arrival “triumphal” in that Jesus was riding a donkey, a sign of humility, not triumph. Still, the Hosanna! shouting, palm-bearing crowds passionately cheered Jesus. News of His recent resurrecting of Lazarus from the dead was on everyone’s lips, including those of several not-so-enthused Pharisees.

And as Jesus approached that small gate at the end of that narrow road to Jerusalem, He knew something nobody else but his Father knew: Jesus knew what would happen that week, of the “cup” He could not pass, of another resurrection.

Jesus knew his “Triumphal Entry” began a march toward a victory in scope and impact unlike any imagined by the mind of man. He knew of the pain and suffering that lay ahead for him, yet He continued on the path for love, God’s glory, and our salvation.

“… and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:14, continued)

Here, “it” refers to the life that one finds in Jesus Christ – servanthood, sacrifice, joy, hope, faith, love, heaven, etc. The entry point to this life is likened to a small gate at the end of a narrow road. That’s not because the gift is small – it is huge – but because of what Jesus already knew, and knows, about the self-focused fallenness of mankind.

The good news is that the gate to eternal life exists in the living person of Christ. The bad news is that “servanthood and sacrifice,” as Jesus describes life with Him in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-6-7), doesn’t sound “triumphant” to egotistical human ears.

Jesus, in obedience and knowing what lay ahead, traveled the narrow road to Jerusalem and courageously entered the small gate to serve others and glorify God.

How many of us are striving for that kind of victory?

Walters’ (rlwcom@aol.com, www.commonchristianity.blogspot.com) understands that the gate is small but wonders if it is wrong to pray that it is big enough. His book, Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary, is available at Amazon.com.

Spirituality Column #279
March 20, 2012
Current in Carmel – Westfield – Noblesville – Fishers
(Indianapolis north suburban home newspapers)

‘Whatever gods might be'
By Bob Walters

“I am the master of my fate;
I am the captain of my soul.”

So ends Scotsman William Ernest Henley’s poem “Invictus”, a couplet seen a thousand times on a thousand motivational posters. I saw one recently.

“Invictus” is Latin for “unconquerable.” Henley’s lines bespeak heroic will, stoic self-sufficiency, and uncomplaining fortitude. His words invite responsibility, imply courage, and place no blame – these are all virtues.

Our human souls stand buoyed by the “master and captain” language of control: I control my fate, make things happen, and do what I want. It’s up to me. My conscience is the only consequence. When the chips are down, my head is up. I am all I need.

It is precisely here where aspiring virtues start devolving into self-absorbed vices; where “whatever gods might be” (in the poem’s first verse) subordinate Almighty God.

Few would envy Henley’s life (1859-1903). Persistent childhood infections required the painful amputation of a lower leg at age 17, and Henley was told he would soon lose the other. Dr. Joseph Lister (the founder of antiseptic medicine; ever heard of “Listerine”?) arrived and saved the remaining leg. Near the end of that ordeal (1873-1875) at the Royal Edinburgh Infirmary in Scotland, Henley wrote "Invictus." If Henley could spit at discouragement even then, who wouldn’t admire him?

And yet as a Christian believer, I see Henley’s famously defiant, courageous, poetic truism as profoundly, misleadingly, and destructively untrue. His “master and captain” imagery conjures secular humanism, mocks reliance on God, and eschews relationship with the only proper master and captain of every human life, Jesus Christ.

Perhaps you’re thinking, “Picky, picky, picky. What’s wrong with a person taking command and being responsible for his or her own life?” Well, this is what’s wrong with it: it separates that person from God. There is only ever one “master” in our life and if that master is me, then it is not God. And if my soul cries out to nowhere beyond the self-imposed captain’s quarters of my own inner life, then I am confined in the brig of my mortal soul rather than being eternally freed by the saving grace of Christ.

“I can do all things through him (Christ) who strengthens me,” says Paul (Philippians 4:13). Our Christian goal is not to master and command our limited “light and momentary” lives, but to love and worship the unlimited and eternal living God.

Death, you see, conquers all, except for Jesus Christ who conquered death.

“Invictus”? ‘Tis wiser and more profitable, methinks, to serve a Master and trust a Captain who truly is unconquerable.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com, www.commonchristianity.blogspot.com) reads more into posters than he used to. Google “Invictus” to read the whole poem.

Spirituality Column #278
March 13, 2012
Current in Carmel – Westfield – Noblesville – Fishers
(Indianapolis north suburban home newspapers)

The Glorious Gift of Doubt
By Bob Walters

Ponder this one for a moment:

Why is the Bible, a book of God’s truth, full of characters who doubt God?

Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, Moses, Gideon, Job, David, Jeremiah, Zechariah, John the Baptist, Joseph, Mary, Thomas – and many, many others – second-guess, mistrust, question, laugh at, rail against or just plain doubt some aspect of God, His glory, His faithfulness, His plan, or His love.

This is an important perspective to have when doubts creep into our own faith.

All of these Bible characters survived their doubts and eventually – granted, some later than sooner – came to understand the trustworthiness of God and the glory that is rightly His. Their doubts tested God, and the Bible shows us that God always proves faithful to His own truth.

This is a key point, that our faith in God must be based on acceptance that it is God’s truth that counts, not on the human fact of our own desires and comforts. God created mankind in His image, but we are not God. Christ Jesus, God’s son, came to restore our relationship with God, not to make us God. The Holy Spirit reveals God’s truth, irrespective of our own preferences.

So, just to be clear: There is a God, and He is not us.

As Christians we should give ourselves a break and not sweat a little doubt now and then. Doubt does not equal sin; doubt is part of the reasonable, faith-building equation of questions and dialogue, of investigation and learning, of familiarity and relationship. James 1:6 says “believe and do not doubt,” but this is in the context of our doubts, trials, and temptations leading us to God for answers, and that’s a good thing.

Sins are things that separate us from God and things that denigrate God’s will. Faith, rest, and peace in God mean that when our doubts do arise, we have faith – we trust – that God wants to help us understand His glory.

Any father loves to have his children trust him and ask him questions. Our Father in heaven is no different, and He is strong enough and wise enough to handle the tough ones.

Doubt isn’t the opposite of faith if it makes us engage, learn and understand. That kind of doubt is a gift, maybe because God craves a relationship with us and it gives us a reason to communicate. And for reasons – God’s reasons – I still don’t understand, God’s eternal Glory is somehow tied to our faith in Him.

I don’t doubt that is the truth, even when I can’t imagine why.

Walters (www.commonchristianity.blogspot.com) notes that faith with some doubt is still faith; while doubt without faith is just ... doubt.

Spirituality Column #277
March 6, 2012
Current in Carmel – Westfield – Noblesville – Fishers
(Indianapolis north suburban home newspapers)

The Problem with Explaining Christ
By Bob Walters

It seems much easier to believe in Jesus Christ than to explain Jesus Christ.

Or perhaps that’s backwards … it’s easier to explain what Jesus is than to believe what Christ came to do.

Or perhaps both are missing the point.

The truth is, neither explaining about nor will believing in Jesus Christ sufficiently attach our lives to the eternal Glory of God. Nor will our explaining and believing persuade a skeptical outside world of Christ’s mission, goodness, grace, and truth. The world insists on proof, generally distrusts faith, and – saying “Thanks anyway, I have my own” – mostly shuns the existence of God’s perfect, ultimate, glorifying truth.

As much as we Christians are called – and ache, really – to explain, to share and to persuade others of the importance of a life in Christ, explaining and believing won’t get the job done. My favorite professor in college taught philosophy and could explain seemingly anything but made it abundantly clear that he didn’t actually believe in anything. And we all know that simply “to believe” in Jesus is not a final answer: Satan has more belief in and understanding of who Jesus is than any of us possibly could (Matthew 4:1-11). Even atheists can explain, and even Satan believes.

What, then, sets a Christian apart as an effective witness for Christ? Let’s consider the example of Jesus’ witness for Himself.

Jesus spent very little of his time on earth trying to explain who He was. Many asked, including the demon-possessed man (Matthew 12:23), Pharisees (Matthew 16:1), Sanhedrin priests (Matthew 26:63), Pontius Pilate (Matthew 27:11), even His own disciples (Mark 8:27). Jesus mostly answered either with shrewd parables, questions, or some elusive form of “It is as you say.”

Jesus knew who He was, and made every effort to show others – by His actions, answers, and miracles – that He was “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6) of God Almighty. Jesus referred to God as “My Father,” but to Himself as the “Son of Man.” Jesus kept his earthly focus on glorifying God with His actions, not on explaining himself with His words.

That’s how one properly witnesses to a faith relationship; by glorifying God with one’s actions, not by dazzling mankind with one’s explanations.

Certainly, we are “to be prepared to … give a reason for the hope that you have,” (1 Peter 3:15), but a Christian’s joy, trust, faith, hope, love, peace, patience, kindness, perseverance … and belief … can all be explained in two words: Jesus Christ.

What’s easier, and simpler, and truer, than that?

Walters (www.commonchristianity.blogspot.com) observes that much of the world shuns Jesus who saves, and accommodates Satan who destroys. Talk about “backwards.”

Spirituality Column #276
February 28, 2012
Current in Carmel – Westfield – Noblesville – Fishers
(Indianapolis north suburban home newspapers)

God Is All Over the News
By Bob Walters

For better or worse, good or bad, fun or serious, small or big – God seems to be all over the news in recent months. Some clips …

- We have a new gerund: “Tebowing” is an identifiable Christian “thing.”

- Indianapolis Super Bowl CEO Allison Melangton regularly listened to K-Love Christian radio in her office as her crew rocked America’s biggest party.

- The Roman Catholic Church, which mounted a nationwide advertising campaign over the holidays (CatholicsComeHome.org), has modified its liturgy. Now, “Passing the Peace” at Mass includes saying “And also with your spirit,” an appropriate nod to the Holy Spirit, the all-too-often-underappreciated essence of the Trinity.

- As for the Mayan Calendar “End of the World” thing next Dec. 21 … who’s running the show, anyway? God, or the Mayans?

- I think it’s creepy when any government official – left, right or center – compares his social/economic agenda to the will of Jesus Christ by proof-texting the Bible like President Obama did Feb. 2 (Luke 12:48, much given, much demanded, etc. to raise taxes)at the national prayer breakfast. That’s a red flag, and unprecedented even at that event.

- Also, the President’s yes-we-will, no-we-won’t federal health insurance contraception contradictions involving Catholic charities tangles public policy and Church doctrine. Pope Paul VI’s 1968 “Humanae Vitae” is revealing, and history shows the Pope had it right (see page 100, column #93, Aug. 18, 2008, in my book Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary).

- The Susan G. Komen Foundation exists to protect humanity from breast cancer, but willingly bows to pressure from Planned Parenthood not to protect humanity in the womb … oops, I mean, “not to infringe on a women’s freedom of choice and right to reproductive health.” See Psalm 139:13. I believe God is serious about his knitting.

- Creationism was going to be, but now will not be, taught as science in Indiana high schools. Fine. Why not just accept science as a fascinating part of the search for God, and thereby allow God in the classroom without trying to dissect Him on a lab table? If anything is a Creationism lab experiment, it’s us, not God.

- A Sept. 14, 2011 “errant” internal memo suggested that Walter Reed Army Hospital ban Bibles and other faith items. Oops! The ban was rescinded as soon as it became public.

- The political, sectarian, tribal, genocidal and budding nuclear hornet’s nest of the Middle East and Africa grows uglier daily. Will God be more glorified if He fixes it, or if we trust God and pray for the strength, courage, and wisdom to endure what comes?

Sadly, the news isn’t always good; but thankfully, God is always the truth.

Walters (www.commonchristianity.blogspot.com) is an Evangelical but heard the new Catholic liturgy Jan. 1 at beautiful St. Ann’s Church in Harbor Springs, MI.

Spirituality Column #275
February 14, 2012
Current in Carmel – Westfield – Noblesville – Fishers
(Indianapolis north suburban home newspapers)

Love, Endurance, and Prayer
By Bob Walters

My friends John and Joyce (Estes) Samples have been married 61 years.

Not bad, but this is amazing: Joyce and her six still-living Estes siblings - two brothers and four sisters – have all been married for more than 50 years.

That’s right, seven brothers and sisters from the same family have each celebrated Golden Wedding Anniversaries. Youngest sister Sue’s 50th in February 2008 was the seventh and inspired national news coverage.

The Estes siblings and current years of marriage are Agnes 65, Doug 64, Charles 61, Joyce 61, Eula 58, Sue 53, and Gladys 52. They were born in Kentucky but grew up near Richmond, Ind. Joyce and husband John, a minister, live in Fishers.

Thirteen of the 14 Golden celebrants are still “alive and kicking” today (Gladys’ husband died in 1999). Another brother, Joe, died in 1992 after 48 years of marriage to Ruth, a marriage delayed three years by World War II. So that’s another 50-year-plus commitment. A ninth sibling sister died when she was less than two years old.

As you might expect, their parents C.M. and Minnie Estes marked a long marriage – 59 years before C.M. passed in1975. Minnie died in 1997 at age 99.

Add it all up and that’s 521 years of marriage for these Christian, church-going, prayerful kinfolk who provide a Valentine’s Day reminder that love can indeed endure.

But rather than making this about Christian marriage or a secular holiday (the “Feast of St. Valentine” has been dropped from the official Roman Catholic calendar), let’s talk about love, endurance, and prayer in broader terms.

Most of us, when we pray, pray for deliverance. We pray for God to fix this problem, heal that sickness, smooth life’s rough spots, or calm troubled waters. “Deliver us from evil” we pray, because we think “evil” must be this thing making me crazy either in life or at this particular moment. But what are we doing for God?

Jesus prayed for deliverance, sure, “Take this cup from me …” (Matthew 26:39), but then expressed his faithfulness to God (26:42), “May your will be done.” And when Jesus prayed for Himself, the disciples, and all believers (John 17) in the Garden before His Crucifixion, He prayed for endurance for the sake of God’s glory.

Try praying “for endurance for the sake of God’s glory,” and see what happens.

The proof of love is in our endurance – just ask Jesus. Or an Estes sibling.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com, www.commonchristianity.blogspot.com) learned that Jay Leno invited the Estes siblings and spouses to fly to Los Angeles and appear on The Tonight Show, but some of the Estes siblings don’t fly – never have, never will. Endurance, evidently, has its limits. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Spirituality Column #274
February 7, 2012
Current in Carmel – Westfield – Noblesville – Fishers
(Indianapolis north suburban home newspapers)

He’s Got the Whole World …
By Bob Walters

Is there anything anywhere that is not – somehow – attached to God?

For believers, the answer is easy: “No.” Everything was created by God, is attached to God, is finally answerable to God, and ultimately (if only in eternity) glorifies God. God is in and around everything, whether we understand it or not.

Believers’ identifying quote: “Praise God!”

For modernists, the answer is complex. Modernists – the philosopher modernists, we mean; the existentialists (“thought begins with man”) and secular humanists (rights of man) – generally allow for the existence of God but draw subjective lines of opinion and confinement around what is and is not in God’s purview.

Modernism presumes mankind and creation are capable of generating thought and things independently from God, making mankind responsible for truth, justice, and judging right and wrong. Modernists – the Enlightenment crowd, Darwinists, Evolutionists, etc. – cast a wary, often intellectually pitying eye on those poor dumb annoying believers. For man to be big, modernism insists God be made small.

Identifying quote: “God is a matter of opinion.”

For postmodernists, the answer is irrelevant because the question is invalid: God is merely an indefinable myth for the weak minded. Everyone worships something, and postmodernists seem to worship experiential, demonstrable, situational expedience filtered through power and money yielding an unprovable version of operable truth and reality in the here and now. There is no “good” or “right or wrong” or even “proof,” there is only “what is” and “whatever.” That’s it. Absent a more appropriate subspecies identifier, most of these folks typically are identified – hailed, really – as “intellectuals.”

Identifying quote: “Don’t tell me what to think.”

I’m comfortable that all intelligence, wisdom, truth, morality, judgment, the good, the bad, the ugly – all of it – goes back to God. This is not to knock human intelligence or intellectuals, but to recognize and celebrate God’s uniquely prospering and challenging gift to man – the brain in our head.

An old theological joke recounts how God, playing hide and seek with man, hid in the human heart figuring it would be the last place man would look. People the world over yearn to worship something, but use their “wisdom” to keep the real God at bay.

Jesus says we are to seek God (Matthew 6:33, “But first seek His Kingdom”), and that the greatest commandment is to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30). We may first feel God - sense Him - in our hearts, but it takes an engaged mind to appreciate that God is attached to every part of our lives.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com, www.commonchristianity.blogspot.com ) knows lots of smart people but doesn’t pray for their wisdom, he prays for God’s … with mixed results.