I have been closely following the European refugee crisis due in part to my regular teaching of mission courses in the UK and around the world. Two years ago I visited the refugee camps in Calais, France, where I met refugees from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan, Iraq, Iran and many other countries (see update) who were seeking entry into the UK.

Months before visiting Calais I had run into Ismahan, a friend from Ethiopia living in Paris. She had visited us at Tierra Nueva back in 2009 before moving to France. It was then that I connected her to a church in Paris where we have close ties. When I saw her I told her about my plans to visit Calais and asked if she had any contact with East African refugees in France.

Ismahan became distressed and told me that her 15-year-old brother was being held captive in Libya and was in grave danger of being killed. She shared how her brother had paid a trafficker to bring him from Ethiopia to Europe. In Libya he’d been captured by pirates, who were demanding $12,000 ransom. She asked if I would accompany her to a part of Paris where there were lots of refugees. She hoped to find someone who might know how to effectively get ransom money to the traffickers to secure her brother’s release.

That afternoon we headed to a metro stop where East African refugees are known to congregate. Almost immediately we met an Ethiopian man who introduced us to Eritreans who’d arrived that day from having just crossed over by boat from Libya to Italy. He guided us to an abandoned school where over 500 refugees from many countries were squatting in crowded, miserable conditions. We ended up praying for a number of people there, and the reality of the European refugee crisis suddenly became all too real for me (see past update). We raised some funds to help pay the ransom to free Ismahan’s brother, and she was able to arrange her brother’s release.

On our recent trip to Paris this Fall, Ismahan introduced us to her brother Aydarusse, now 17, who has finally made it to France (photo above). He told us how his captors held him in a shipping container full of other mostly young migrants in the desert for three months (read more here). His captors regularly tortured him and the other prisoners, some to the point of death. They would hang him and other hostages by their wrists and whip them on a daily basis—calling their family members threatening to sell them as slaves, or sell their organs if they didn’t send money immediately. When his captors finally received their ransom Aydarusse was released, put on a boat full of migrants.

“There was nobody to guide the boat full of refugees,” he said. “They just gave us the GPS coordinates for Italy and sent us across the Mediterranean.”

The boat behind them capsized and hundreds of people drowned, including one of his close friends. He made it across to Italy and spent a year in a refugee resettlement camp before Ismahan was able to arrange his passage to Paris. Since his confinement in Libya, he has been suffering from anxiety and seizures. Though he considers himself a Muslim he asked us to pray for him. What a privilege to have this opportunity to hear his story and minister the love of Jesus to him!

On November 5 during a layover in Paris from Ethiopia I preached at a special international service with French, Japanese and Egyptian congregations gathered at Eglise Protestante Unie du Marais (watch here in English and French). I had been asked to preach on Isaiah 58, the biblical text at the heart of my pastoral call.

I shared how I’ve been struck afresh by God’s word to the prophet: “Cry loudly, do not hold back; raise your voice like a trumpet, and declare to my people their transgression and to the house of Jacob their sins” (vs. 1).

Why is the prophet to speak so strongly about the people’s sins?

The people considered themselves in active pursuit of God through spiritual practices, but they were frustrated: “Why have we fasted and you do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and you do not notice?”

God, too, notices his people’s spiritual quests. “They seek me day by day and delight to know my ways.” They ask me for just decisions, they delight in the nearness of God” (58:2). However God is not impressed, seeing and exposing social sins blocking their relationship with him and with each other.

“Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, and drive hard all your workers. Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist.”

Isaiah exposes and denounces spirituality devoid of social compassion and equity. Here God dismisses religion practiced by people who’ve hardened their hearts to the plight of the poor. Isaiah’s message seems highly relevant to our times.

I wonder what the equivalents of this would be today. I know how easy it is for me to justify consumerism, and hostility around politics. Today’s growing lack of civility sadly includes many Christians, and tough attitudes towards immigrants, certain kinds of transgressors and national enemies are certainly on the rise.

Through the prophet God calls the people to a spirituality that involves them becoming agents of freedom to people who are oppressed.

“Is this not the fast which I choose, to loosen the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free and break every yoke? Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into the house; when you see the naked, to cover him; and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?”

According to Isaiah 58, abundant life, recovery and deep spiritual connection with God will happen when we take action against injustice and engage concretely with people in need around us.

“Then your light will break out like the dawn, and your recovery will speedily spring forth; and your righteousness will go before you; the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.”

Hearing God’s voice and being guided spiritually are intimately linked to acting compassionately towards hurting people around us.

“And the Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.”

As I shared these thoughts and the story of Aydarusse, Ismahan suddenly noticed that her brother was standing at the back of the church with a big smile on his face. The whole congregation broke out in cheers. Many had contributed so he could be released.

Currently I am in contact with a Salvadoran pastor named Giovanni who had to flee El Salvador due to his prison ministry to gang members. He himself is a former gang member and was being targeted and persecuted by law enforcement. Upon entering the United States this past August he was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, and is being held in detention. Giovanni continues to share his faith with fellow detainees and is making a big impact. However he has just been given the opportunity to bail out to pursue his claim for political asylum, but needs $5000 for bail. Consider helping him bail out so he can rejoin his wife and son, now in Washington State (see our Gofundme campain here).

May you open your heart afresh to the living God and to vulnerable people around you during this season, as you celebrate the birth of Jesus, the world’s Savior.

The story of Philip’s encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8 has always inspired me—making me long for such adventures. Philip is attentive and flexible- wholly given over to Jesus’ movement. His availability to go out on missions is contagious, and Gracie and I are enlisted. May this contagion pass on to you, inspiring you to new ventures.

Philip is first mentioned in Acts 6:5 as second on a list of seven deacons recruited by the first believers to serve Greek-speaking widows who had been overlooked as food was distributed at the early church’s equivalent of a food bank.

After the apostles commissioned these seven, the first man on the list, Steven is propelled into an unexpected vocation. “Full of grace and power,” he answers with great wisdom those who oppose him. He preaches a detailed apologetic from the Scriptures that prophetically challenged his audience to embrace Jesus. His enraged Jewish audience consequently stones him to death.

An ensuing wave of persecution causes Christians in Jerusalem to scatter. Philip, next on the deacon list, goes to Samaria, proclaiming Christ with powerful results. Many are delivered of unclean spirits and many paralyzed and lame are healed. On his way back to Jerusalem an angel speaks to Philip, telling him to go to a desert road heading to Gaza.

There he encounters an Ethiopian eunuch who is reading the book of Isaiah in his chariot. The Spirit tells him to join the chariot and he runs to offer his assistance in interpreting the Scriptures, preaching Jesus to him. The Ethiopian man believes and is baptized, becoming the first known African Christian. Philip is then transported by the Spirit to the town of Azotus, where he continues his preaching all the way to Caesarea.

Over the past few years I’ve had my own series of encounters with Ethiopians, from meetings in Paris with people who’d just been trafficked from Libya, to visits with immigrants and a deacon of an Ethiopian Orthodox church in a refugee camp in Calais, France. This exposure to Ethiopians and to immigrants and refugees fleeing war and persecution in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Kurdistan, Eritrea, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen contributed to my prayer two years ago this month. Then I deliberately offered myself to God anew to provide training to leaders in poorer countries with minimal access to education.

Within two weeks I received seemingly random invites to train leaders in Kenya, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Siberia, most of which we have already pursued. During this same two-week period I accidentally locked my keys in my car on the last day of a course on prophetic ministry at The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. After calling the roadside service, AAA, I began teaching my class, and soon received a call from the tow-truck operator who had arrived to unlock my car.

An African man met me at the door of the school, introducing himself as Yared. He surprised me by immediately asking me what I teach at The Seattle School. I told him I teach Biblical studies classes.

“Why do you ask?” I said. “Are you a Christian?” “Yes,” he said. “I’m a worship leader for an Ethiopian congregation here in Seattle.”

I then told him that my real passion is to offer hands-on equipping of pastors and leaders in poorer countries through our Certificate in Transformational Ministry at the Margins. I briefly told him how our course combines skills in interpreting the Bible and facilitating relevant theological reflection, exercising the gifts of the Spirit, prophetic response to social justice issues and Christian identity in places rife with nationalism and tribalism.

“In Ethiopia there is real need for such training! He exclaimed excitedly—and I have connections with people back in my country who could benefit greatly!” He asked me to wait while he ran to his tow truck to get me his business card.

“Next time you come to Seattle I will take you out for Ethiopian food and we will talk more about training leaders in Ethiopia,” he said.

When I returned to my class and told my students what had happened, one of them asked me why I hadn’t invited Yared to come and share with our class. So I texted him immediately to see if by chance he was available to speak to my class. He said he had a few minutes to share. For over an hour he told us about his life in Ethiopia, his departure and move to Seattle, his roadside business, and passion to combine practical service to people in need with sharing his faith in Christ. My students were totally inspired and we asked him to pray for us.

Yared and I met several times for meals and coffee. Earlier this year he introduced me to an Ethiopian Bishop of a Pentecostal denomination who is now based in Seattle. We met Bishop Fecadu in a café in North Seattle frequented by many Ethiopian immigrants. He told us about the network of leaders that he oversees in Ethiopia- evangelists, elders and pastors that serve impoverished rural and urban communities. I was struck by his heart of compassion and longing to see his leaders more fully equipped and encouraged. I shared with him about our training program, and he invited us to offer our first module of our CTMM in October during his visit to oversee his churches.

There’s a lot of logistics involved in offering our training to African pastors. Bishop Fecadu explained how his pastors are poor subsistence farmers from all over the country. They would need their travel, food and lodging covered, and he and we would need to cover our travel and other costs. In addition, we would need an interpreter and our English training manuals would need to be translated into both Oromo and Amharic.

Gracie and I didn’t have money for this, like all our mission trips, but we prayed for provision to cover our travel costs, pursued the translation of our materials, and began making plans. An old friend who teaches at the Mennonite seminary in Fresno connected me with people he knew in Ethiopia who agreed to translate our manual into Oromo and Amharic. One of these men, Teferi offered to be our interpreter free of charge. A few people offered to contribute towards our travel expenses and the trip became a reality.

The last week of October over a hundred leaders gathered for four days in Bishoftu, a small city in central Ethiopia. We were able to share our teaching to pastors and leaders who were hungry for training in the Scriptures and passionate worshippers. Most of the participants slept on rented mattresses on the floor of the big room where we gathered. Bishop Fekadu’s Ethiopian family organized all the meals, which were cooked in massive pots over the fire in the rustic courtyard—with only a small sink for washing all the dishes. We enjoyed injera (large fermented bread crepes made of teff, a fine ancient grain of Ethiopia) with a spicy meat sauce and vegetables for every meal. Our hosts served delicious traditional Ethiopian coffee three times a day to all 100 plus participants!

Ethiopia is currently in the midst of a political crisis fueled by ethnic divisions that threaten to plunge the country into civil war. We could see that our teaching on Christian identify versus tribal and national allegiance is a timely word. Please pray for Ethiopia, and for Christians to be wise and prophetic in these dangerous times.

As usual Gracie and I were deeply blessed by the people, whose deep spirituality was evident in their vibrant worship, joy and active practice of the spiritual gifts. On several occasions people approaches us to share dreams and impressions they said they’d received from God for us—which were accurate, relevant and deeply encouraging. We were moved by people’s familiarity with Scripture, thoughtful questions and deep trust in God for health, provision and direction. We return home with hearts full of joy to be part of an adventure of faith in alignment with Philip—our first connection to Ethiopia.

Followers of Jesus have a spiritual obligation to bring into the light offenses or injustices otherwise hidden from sight. While discernment is certainly needed in knowing how and when to speak, prohibiting leaks is like silencing the prophets, who in Scripture carried out a function in Israel similar yet far beyond that of WikiLeaks or the best investigative journalism.

Jesus himself taught: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled,” affirming all who long for truth and justice. This hunger and thirst will lead us to walk in the light ourselves through personal confession and repentance, and also to expose injustices that affect the vulnerable.

Think of confession of sin as the exposure of our own hidden secret attitudes and actions that the Holy Spirit brings up. The Spirit sounds our hearts, “leaking” our sins into our conscious awareness, bringing conviction and inviting confession, renunciation and new, life-giving choices.

The writers of Scripture exposed or “leaked” classified, seemingly uncensored information about Israel’s patriarchs and matriarchs, political and religious leaders and the people as a whole. Incest, adultery, deception, murder, massacres, corruption, idolatry, power-grabbing schemes, rape, treason and every imaginable injustice and sin was brought into the light vocally and in written form for all the world– past, present and future to see.

The prophet’s role in Scripture included exposing injustices and confronting perpetrators. The prophet Nathan brought a message from God to King David, exposing his adulterous affair with Bathsheba and his murder of her husband Uriah. Isaiah, Jeremiah and every other prophet exposed both known and hidden sins and injustices of kings, and announced God’s judgment as consequences.

Leaking has always been a high value for prophets, who bring the final judgment into the present, demanding that things change now in alignment with heaven. Keeping evils hidden in the interests of national security brings no security at all, from a divine perspective. The prophet brings the high demands for truth in the innermost places as a precondition for real security—which is eternal.

There are justifiable reasons for keeping some information confidential. But oppressive policies, lies, actions bringing harm and other injustices should and will come into the light, as Jesus says:

“There is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. “Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the housetops” (Lk 12:2-3).

Prophetic exposure of injustice continues in the New Testament. John the Baptist was a prophet and a leaker. He exposed and denounced Herod’s affair with his brother’s wife—which cost him his head. Jesus too knew people’s thoughts and often revealed them, and exposed in graphic detail the hypocrisy of Scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, priests and the High Priest and secular leaders. These leaders were exposed as opposing and calling for the crucifixion of God’s promised Messiah Jesus, the Son of God himself. Jesus described people’s rejection of himself, the Light of the World, as the ultimate exposure of evil:

“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil” (John 3:9)

One sure sign of Scripture’s inspiration is the radical honesty and vulnerability of Biblical writers to tell what looks like a lot of embarrassing truth—which most certainly exposed the Jewish people to anti-Semitic assaults (too often even from Christians!) throughout history.

The Bible’s WikiLeak-like exposé of the sins of God’s people must be read as an invitation to transparency for us today. We mustn’t scapegoat Jews, Christians or anyone, “for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Let us allow Scripture’s public prophetic judgment to expose our personal, racial and national sin.

The good news is that evil actions do not disqualify perpetrators from God’s call and longsuffering pursuit. Jesus was and still is a friend of sinners, and God’s forgiveness and mercy for the undeserving is available and is far superior to human justice.

So there’s no reason to hide, and followers of Jesus must be the first to acknowledge and renounce personal, collective and national sin. We must be like transparent participants in a twelve-step group, presenting ourselves in humility with full disclosure. “Confess your sins one to another” (James 5:16).

“If you continue in my word, then you are truly disciples of mine,” taught Jesus. “And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (Jn 8:31-32).

The Apostle Paul writes: “Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them.” This is certainly what Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and many other watch groups do and must continue to do. Other famous leakers like Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning, Julian Assange and even former FBI director James Comey have exposed dark deeds of corporations, officials and governments to the news media through WikiLeaks, calling for public accountability and the redress of wrongs.

So we must welcome quality journalistic reporting that exposes today’s evils—like recent journalistic exposés showing how US and UK weapons manufacturers make cluster bombs used to kill children in Yemen, and how the US military refuels Saudi Arabian planes used to drop these bombs. Holding perpetrators of injustices accountable can lead to life-saving policy changes.

Because we know that Jesus died on the cross to save sinners, we can confidently approach the judgment seat, knowing that “if we confess our sins, he [Jesus] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn 1:9).

Rather than participate in cover-ups, remaining silent, denying difficult truths as “fake news” or calling on authorities to punish today’s leakers, let us re-examine our own prophetic heritage in Scripture and hunger and thirst for righteousness. Rather than seeking personal and national security, may we be willing to be persecuted for the sake of righteousness. Jesus promises that those that so act will be filled and theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The prophetic witness of Christians before the State has too often been muted by a surface reading of the Apostle Paul’s words in Romans 13:1-7, with its infamous “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God” (Rom. 13:1).

Added to this are Peter’s words: ”Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right” (1 Pet. 2:13-14).

It is critical that we read these verses about submission in their larger contexts and in the light of Jesus’ and the Apostles’ missionary activity and teaching. When you also deliberately engage with other Scriptures about governing authorities, like Psalm 2 and Revelation 13, a uniquely revolutionary form of resistance emerges that can inform our action in these challenging times.

What is often missed is that Paul and Peter called followers of Jesus to submit to the pagan and brutal Roman Empire. That submission included respecting the rule of law as long as it didn’t counter the higher allegiance to Christ, honoring those in authority, and humbly accepting the consequences if disobedience was required. Jesus, Peter and Paul were all arrested, beaten, and imprisoned for their missional activities, and Paul wrote at least four of his Epistles from prison.

Yet Paul still viewed all categories of rulers and authorities governing the world as part of the originally good creation, made by Christ:

“For by him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things have been created through him and for him” (Col. 1:16).

These non-human entities were viewed as subsequently fallen and rebellious, as the beast which Revelation 13 graphically portrays– but still in operational until the end.

So Paul and Peter are calling for Christians to be in a kind of subjection to whatever government or political party is in power in these times towards the end of history—whether that be a democracy, a caliphate, a fascist dictatorship, a monarchy or maybe even a mafia or gang network that rules a failed state.

Paul and Peter were recommending a course of action so that fragile new faith communities could survive and advance in hostile terrain, while simultaneously bearing witness to Jesus. “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all people” (Rom. 12:18). Their counsel is in part like advice given to prisoners serving a prison sentence, or to people on probation or engaged in drug court who must obey the rules to avoid further trouble.

Their call must not be read as a religious leaders’ endorsement, a statement suggesting State actions reflect God’s will or as suggesting a cozy alliance between religious and secular leaders.

Jesus, Paul, and Peter called for allegiance to God as highest power: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself” (Lk 10:27).

Nor do these texts mean that Christians must obey laws that go against conscience, be silent about injustice or hold back from their highest callings as Jesus’ disciples.

Jesus resisted authorities when he healed on the Sabbath, cleansed the Temple, and strongly critiqued religious leaders. Peter and Paul went right on preaching when told not to, and willingly suffered the consequences. The first Christians refused military service and worship of Caesar as Lord and suffered torture, imprisonment, and execution.

Paul appears to have often considered governing authorities his enemies, writing strong words regarding enemy love right before Romans 13: “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse” and end with “do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Rom. 12:14, 21).

Jesus’ revolutionary submission

Jesus models a quiet authority and confidence before the Roman governor of Judea Pontius Pilate, after he informed him he had authority to release him or crucify him with: “You would have no authority over me, unless it had been given you from above” (Jn. 19:11)—ultimately from himself!

The Apostles saw Jesus’ subjecting himself in self-giving love on the cross as the deathblow to the ruler of this world– the beginning of the end of the reign of the rulers and authorities, which will be judged and finally destroyed (1 Cor. 15:24-27).

Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2 must be read in the light of Psalm 2, which begins by asking a question that Christians in America and in many other nations should be asking:  “Why are the nations in an uproar and the peoples imaging a vain thing?”

“Why do we as Christians get so caught up in endorsing political candidates and parties, mirroring the hate-filled political divisions around us?”

My sense it that many Christians are not adequately informed about the final destiny of the powers and our own unique prophetic vocation.

The Psalmist reminds us of the macro divine perspective: “The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed” (Ps 2:2).

Jesus experienced hostility from rulers and authorities, and prophesied his followers would experience the same (Mk. 13:9; Lk. 12:11)– which they did (Acts 4:5). Martyrdom was normative then and is on the rise now.

Christians are called to be subject to governing authorities not because they are good or represent God’s agenda. Our citizenship is in heaven. Peter urged believers to see themselves as “aliens and foreigners” right before his words about being subject to authorities, who he sought to evangelize:

“Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation” (1 Pet. 2:11-12).

Christian submission to rulers and authorities must be done from a perspective of open-eyed realism about both the rebellious, hostile orientation of the powers against the reign of God and Jesus’ greater sovereignty and victory.

“He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord scoffs at them. Then he will speak to them in his anger and terrify them in his fury, saying, “But as for me, I have installed my King upon Zion, my holy mountain” (Ps. 2:4-6).

Jesus is that King, the Son of the Father, come to open the way for us to receive our authority and receive our inheritance as daughters and sons.

“I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to me, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you. ‘Ask of me, and I will surely give the nations as your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as your possession” (Ps. 2:4-8).

Jesus was installed “King of the Jews” there on the cross. Jesus’ submission to rulers and authorities to the point of death on the cross was God’s secret weapon against Satan and the rebellious powers. God “disarmed the rulers and authorities, he made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through him [Jesus]” (Col 2:15).

The Psalmist’s prophetic warning is still in force, putting all Christian submission and resistance into the larger context of Christ’s victory and destruction of the non-human powers.

‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, you shall shatter them like earthenware.’” Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that he not become angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!

Psalm 2 brings hope to Christians subjecting themselves to unjust rulers as we know Jesus’ submission wins as all authorities will themselves finally submit to Jesus Christ as King. May we learn from the suffering Christ to step into longsuffering prophetic witness now.

For a number of years my daily prayer and study time includes reading online national and international news articles, preceded and followed by readings from the Psalms, Gospels and Epistles, and often from the Torah and Prophets as well. Reading the news, however, can become an addiction, especially in times of turmoil.

The narrower path of seeking wisdom from above involves listening prayer, faith, intercession, and continual discernment– activities that require time and sometimes can’t compete with carefully crafted and entertaining media propaganda.

Even the best news coverage of current events is always incomplete, leading me to read deeper to seek understanding. Since the news media rarely focuses on good news and never on testimonies from the front lines of ministries committed to advancing the Kingdom of God, deeper analysis can lead to negativity: anxiety, fear, despair, anger and cynicism.

For years I have sought to practice what Swiss theologian and resister to Nazism Karl Barth reputedly advised young theologians. ‘Take your Bible and take your newspaper, and read both. But interpret newspapers from your Bible.’ More than ever these days I am seeing the need to deliberately and prayerfully interpret current events from Scripture.

The first Psalm calls “blessed” the person who “does not walk according to counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers.”

As I witness the USA (and other nations) severely divided, with people of opposing viewpoints citing their trusted sources and debunking others as under the sway of ‘fake news’ or propaganda, I’ve become convinced that Psalm 1 is highly relevant to our current national scene.

“What does it mean to walk according to the counsel of the ungodly?” I’ve been asking myself. The “ungodly,” sometimes translated “wicked,” is from the term rasha in Hebrew. Its opposites are “the righteous” and those who pursue justice and righteousness. The ungodly are not just obvious thugs, but designate people not following the ways of God, the proud and arrogant (Isa 13:11), rulers (Isa 14:5) and the rich (Isa 53:9).

The “counsel (boule in OT Greek) of the ungodly” refers to advice that is not coming from the righteous, or most importantly from God. The Greek Version of Isaiah 55:8-9 reads: “For my counsels (boule) are not as your counsels, nor are my ways as your ways, says the Lord. But as the heaven is distant from the earth, so is my way distant from your ways, and your thoughts from my mind.”

Jesus spoke often about contrasting sources of intelligence. “He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth” (Jn. 3:31). “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world” (Jn. 8:23).

“Standing in the path of sinners” refers to agreeing and participating in policies and lifestyles informed by unrighteous counsel, which is “from the earth” and “speaks of the earth.”

“Sitting in the seat of scoffers” is a popular pastime in America these days. In our highly polarized nation, the media and ordinary people daily pour contempt on opposing leaders and their followers. There is something almost irresistible about sitting in the seat of scoffers as hate and superiority can be intoxicating. Mocking or judging can give you a feeling of power and control, and the illusion that you are doing something rather than being stuck in paralysis, doing nothing.

But there is something positive and life-giving to be done! The Psalmist continues: “But their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night.” Don’t worry! “Law” here is not referring to laws or rules but comes from the Hebrew word Torah, referring to divine teaching- designating even the first five books of the Old Testament.

Pursue delight day and night- the Psalmist is saying, which in times of negative media bombardment can help us “not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good” (Rom 12:21).

Delight in God’s teaching can be pursued through prayer, study, contemplative reading of Scripture and worship. Once we have tasted delight we will desire more. This can lead us into a continual, day and night pursuit of divine counsel leading to a blessed life.

The one who mediates day and night will be “like a tree, planted by the streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season. And its leaf does not wither. And in whatever that one does they prosper” (Ps. 1:3). In contrast is the bleak prognosis for the wicked, who “are like the chaff that the wind drives away… The way of the wicked will perish” (Ps. 1:4-6).

So how do we step deeper into a lifestyle of preparation? How do we meditate on the word day and night?

Interestingly the word for meditate in Hebrew is haga, meaning “moan, groan, murmur, utter.” Haga suggests deep engagement. Meditating is less an intellectual activity and more a deep vocal or silent ruminating, which seems more possible as a continuous activity.

Adding to this, the Apostle Paul writes: “Pray in the Spirit at all times.” In Romans 8:23 the Apostle suggests a link to Psalm 1. He says that “we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons.” The term “groan” (stenazo in Greek) means “to sigh, murmur, pray inaudibly: — with grief, groan, grudge, sigh,” which is quite similar to the definition of the Hebrew verb haga. Later in Romans 8:26-27 Paul speaks about this even more explicitly:

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

Praying in the Spirit then can be associated with a kind of internal groaning that overlaps with meditation. We can engage in a kind of ceaseless prayer and meditation “in the Spirit,” even when we are sleeping or working with our minds, as meditation and prayer can be done with our spirits apart from our minds.

I encourage you to try this out, deliberately seeking the wisdom that comes from above leading to abundant life, over the earthly wisdom and human counsel. See if this helps you tune into messages of hope leading to fruitful resistance to the encroaching darkness of these dangerous times.

Sunday afternoon I led two back-to-back Bible studies in Skagit County Jail on the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13. After introductions and an opening prayer, a volunteer reads the first nine verses. As I listen a strategy unfolds for the mere twenty minutes that remain.

I ask the fifteen or so men where Jesus was, who else was there and what they were doing in the story. Since nobody seems to remember, we read the first two verses again. Then people piece together the details.

Jesus had left his house and was sitting by the sea. Large crowds came around him so he got in a boat and sat down. The whole crowd was standing on the beach listening.

“Ok, let’s pretend I’m Jesus and here’s my boat,” I say, jumping up on a table pushed up against a disheveled bookshelf in the jail’s multipurpose room. How about if you guys all stand, pretending you’re on the beach listening.” All the men stand up, and I pretend I’m teaching.

“So what happens in this story that Jesus tells?” I ask the men.

Together we talk about what a sower is, and how in the parable the sower throws seeds out on four kinds of ground. Seeds fall beside the road, which end up getting eaten by birds. Seeds fall in rocky soil, which spring up but then dry up fast in the hot sun. Seeds fall in the sticker bushes, which get choked to death. Finally seeds fall on good soil, which is fruitful.

“Who do you think the sower and the seed might represent?” I ask the men. Standing there looking at me sitting on the table (in the imaginary boat) the answer seems obvious. Jesus is the sower and they’re the soil. The seeds are Jesus’ words. I invite the men to take a seat and continue.

“So seeds go into ground, but we’re not ground, are we? How do invisible words enter into us?” I ask.

“We hear them,” someone says, and I remind them that Jesus ends his parable saying “He who has ears, let him hear.”

“So who has ears?” I ask, and everyone looks around and someone says, “we all do.”

So the sower scatters seed in all these places, which represent all kinds of people in different states of openness. If Jesus reveals God, what’s God like according to this story?”

“God doesn’t discriminate, he scatters his seed to everyone,” someone says.

“He’s generous and doesn’t judge. He teaches everyone,” someone adds.

“So he doesn’t say—‘no, I’m not giving that guy anything, he’s a sex-offender. Not that guy either, he’s addicted to porn. Not him either, he never goes to church and is a felon,’” I say, and then suddenly realize I’m speaking to inmates from the sex-offender pod. Nobody seems offended though. It feels like I’ve got their full attention.

We talk about how Jesus believes in the people, including us. He tells anyone who has ears, “hear.” There’s still a little time left so I invite someone to read the next verses.

“And the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.”

“So the disciples want to know why Jesus speaks through these not-so-easy to understand stories,” I say. “Does his answer sound kind of harsh, even discriminatory?”

The men look down at their Bibles silently, some of them probably thinking that the good news they’ve barely heard is about to be snatched from their trampled path souls by the birds.

I ask if anyone knows what a disciple is and nobody answers. I ask a man in front of me what’s his profession, and he answers: “I’m a chronic alcoholic.”

I acknowledge his confession but probe deeper, learning that he’s a mechanic. I tell him that if I came to him and asked if I could shadow him because I wanted to learn how to work on cars like he does and he agreed, I’d be his disciple.

“That’s like an apprentice,” a guy who says he’s a metal worker chimes in—and people get it.

“So the disciples come to Jesus with their questions and concerns, and he helps them understand,” I summarize.

“When we don’t understand something, we can come to Jesus and ask him. Of course we can’t see him. But we can tell him and ask him for wisdom and understanding. That’s called prayer. Jesus tells them in other places: ‘Ask and you will receive.’ ‘Seek and you will find.’ ‘Knock and the door will be opened,’ I say.

“Any of us can speak to Jesus or the Holy Spirit by faith. If you do this God will give you clarity, like Jesus says: “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.”

“What if Jesus is just saying that if you don’t understand something and don’t ask, you won’t get the clarity?” I ask.

The men seem to like this answer, so I dare to have them read the next verse and ask them what they think it means. Someone reads:

“For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.”

A heavily tatted-up guy probably in his late twenties humbly offers an answer.

“When we have faith and ask, God will give us more and our faith will grow. If we refuse to trust we end up with nothing.”

The guards pop the doors announcing time’s up, and we haven’t even prayed. I nod to the guard and ask if we can have one more minute to close with prayer.

“Any of us can be Jesus’ disciple if we want to learn from him.” I say. “You can be that good soil that receives the seeds of his word. He wants to tell you the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. While you’re in this jail you can be hearing and receiving his words, taking in these seeds. You can ask Jesus by faith and he will give you in abundance,” I say.

I invite the men to tell Jesus right then and there if they’d like to be his disciple to learn from him. Many of the guys are nodding that they want this. I bless the seeds of God’s words that have gone in, and prohibit the enemy from snatching them away. I bless whatever faith they have and then notice the guard peaking in through the door. Time’s definitely up and men file out. I feel God’s gentle presence and wait for the next group, wondering what’s going to happen.

Only three men come in for the second Bible study. A guy in his mid forties gets all choked up begins to cry when we talk about how Jesus doesn’t discriminate, but speaks to everyone in whatever state we’re in, calling us to listen, to receive the word so it can be fruitful.

He says that his mother-in-law, who he lives with, is a really religious person who goes to church every Sunday, and reads the Bible and prays every day.

“All the time she hugs me and tells me she wants me to live a long life. But I’ve been completely closed, feeling nothing. All I think about is where I’m going to get that day’s supply of heroin,” he says, sobbing.

“She doesn’t know, or I guess she probably does know that something’s wrong,” he reflects.

I’m deeply moved, and so are the other two guys. The man who’s crying suddenly realizes that these hugs are like seeds that are still there, waiting for the soil to be ready. Suddenly his heart is open, and the seeds of love are penetrating into the softened soil of his heart.

I ask if I can pray for him and the others, and people nod yes. I bless each of the men, asking the Holy Spirit to fill them, to cover over the seeds, make them germinate and grow, and become fruitful. I leave feeling like I can feel seeds germinating and growing, bursting out of my heart. Let whoever has ears to hear, hear.

 

Jesus’ parable of the judgment of the nations is often presented in ways that associate our treatment of anyone who is hungry, thirsty, a foreigner, naked, sick and imprisoned as synonymous with how we treat Jesus. Many Scriptures clearly call us to care for the poor, excluded, immigrants and prisoners. But numerous details in this parable suggest a different interpretation.

Jesus here teaches on the future judgment of non-Jews (the nations=ethnos), whom he commissions his disciples to evangelize and make disciples of before he departs (see Matthew 28:18-20). This parable is not about the judgment of nation states as institutions (though they will be judged), but about Jesus’ future response to how people treat his followers who go out spreading the word.

In this parable the King, who is also a Son of the Father in Heaven, returns and is enthroned. He calls non-Jews together and like a shepherd he separates sheep from goats. He says to the sheep, identifying himself as their shepherd:

“Come, you who are blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”

“For I was hungry… thirsty… a stranger… naked… sick… imprisoned” and “you gave me food… drink… hospitality… prison visits.”

These “righteous” don’t understand when they had done this for him, this Son of Man– the shepherd King. They hadn’t recognized him or made the associations he names.

“The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of mine, even the least of them, you did it to me’ (Matt 25:40).

Who exactly are the King’s “brothers” and also “the least of these” in this parable?

For most of my ministry I read this as referring to anyone in the category of hungry, sick, naked, a foreigner, or prisoner. This interpretation puts permanent pressure on all non-Jews to serve everyone who fits into these categories—or else you will be accursed and sent into “the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels” (25:42).

Is this the motivation Jesus is suggesting we should have as we minister to the poor, immigrants, refugees and prisoners? I don’t think so. God’s abundant and tender love for the poor and excluded is the only sustainable motivation.

I think that this parable is about God’s judgment of non-Jews who receive or reject followers of Jesus as they go to fulfill Jesus’ commission to make disciples, baptize and teach.

The King states “to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of mine, even the least of them, you did it to me.”

In Matthew Jesus consistently refers to his disciples as his brothers distinct from blood brothers/sisters (see Matt 12:48; 28:10).

A key Scripture is Matthew 10:40-42, where Jesus says to his disciples:

“The one who receives you receives me,” and “whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink… shall not lose his reward.”

Jesus also calls fellow believers to treat one another as brothers and sisters (Matt 18:15 35; 23:8) of our common Father in heaven.

Western Christians may find identifying Jesus’ followers as the hungry, thirsty, naked, foreigners, imprisoned of this parable difficult due to our distance from the ragged and persecuted state of early Christ followers and today’s persecuted believers and precarious ministry workers. Yet Christians today are marginalized, persecuted and martyred like never before in history in many places throughout the world—including inside our prison system.

Jesus’ disciples who carry on his mission were sent out in vulnerability, without money, extra clothes or even sandals (Matt 10:10), as persecuted “sheep in the midst of wolves”—a big challenge to us now. They were often strangers and even foreigners as they went from village to village and to foreign lands, fleeing persecution (Matt 10:16-23). They were dependent upon people’s hospitality (those people of peace who received them). But they were often rejected, persecuted, imprisoned and martyred (Matt 5:10-12).

In Jesus’ parable, receiving them equals receiving him—a total identification. Jesus’ identifying himself, the King with the “least of these” represents his deliberate inclusion of the humblest of his recruits who go out on mission. When we receive a humble disciple of Jesus, Jesus says we are receiving the King, the Son of the Father himself.

May we welcome, provide for, care for and advocate for those who minister in Jesus’ name. May we intercede for the persecuted church worldwide, and be inspired ourselves to join the company of Jesus’ brothers and sisters—even the “least of these,” knowing that even if the world does not always receive us, Jesus has our back.

 

For further reflections on this, see my chapter eight of my new book, The Beautiful Gate: Enter Jesus’ Global Liberation Movement, which can be ordered here.

 

 

There is a grave danger this week for those watching global events– to become excited and drawn into alignment with pretender saviors of the vulnerable. Today I am trying to deliberately contemplate how Jesus came into Roman occupied Jerusalem as Savior of the World, in contrast to today’s global leaders. It seems we must continually decide who saves and how it is effectively accomplished.

The US bombing of the Syrian air force base in retaliation for Assad’s use of chemical weapons to kill 80 defenseless civilians brought together liberals and conservatives. Both groups and many others share outrage at a horrific crime and guilty perpetrators. The defense of innocent children was the pretext and rallying cry. Abuses then and now are certainly barbarous and must be stopped, but how?

Today a fleet of US Navy destroyers, aircraft carrier and submarines accompanied by Japanese warships heads to the Korean Peninsula to intimidate North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un ahead of possible nuclear weapons tests. Would Jesus council these acts of intimidation and possible bombings and invasion to remove this dictator should he refuse to back down?

I readily admit that destroying weapons of destruction like MiG fighter jets appeals to me. But leveraging the use of violence and fleets to threaten more violence and calls to remove thug dictators in defense of women and children move us all closer to more death and chaos.

We can certainly see evidence that US intervention to remove dictator Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and Muammar Gaddafi in Libya brought further violence and chaos to these countries. And we must remember that the United States of America and the United Kingdom are the #1 and #2 weapons producers in the world—so can their council be trusted?

The US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson said earlier this week that the USA would come to the defense of innocent civilians “anywhere in the world.” Considering our track record in Iraq and Afghanistan it is unlikely that our way of defending will bring peace. Better that we begin by taking logs out of our own eyes.

Barely two weeks ago the US was directed by Iraqi security forces to bomb two buildings in Mosul, Iraq that that were full of women and children, killing over 200. US forces have recently been active in combat in Syria in which defenseless civilians have lost their lives (see this article). In our attempts to save we kill, as violence begets violence, spilling over and consuming unintended victims.

Closer to home thousands of unaccompanied minors fleeing gang violence in Central America are being deliberately kept from crossing the US-Mexican border, or are being deported back into life-threatening situations.

Should Assad and Kim Jong-un refuse to bow to pressures and continue forward with their plans, how will the US administration respond? Will war erupt that will take yet more lives and breed more chaos? Today the USA dropped a 22,000 pound bomb (its largest non-nuclear bomb) to eradicate ISIS fighters in Afghanistan, and I cringe as I anticipate the results. Now is the time to expose efforts to unite people against demonized enemies.

Today on this Friday of Holy Week we’d do well to remember how the crowd was easily rallied by religious leaders against Jesus as they called for his execution. In taking the place of the innocent victim as God in the flesh, Jesus subverted forever the scapegoating mechanism that brings false unity to punish and kill. It’s now up to us to continue to live in the freedom of that subversion.

Jesus absorbed human hostility at his crucifixion, interceding for us in our blind violence: “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” Let us agree with the mission of Jesus, who “draws all people to himself” in a true, redemptive unity rather than going along with calls to beat up on more bad guys. Let us find inspiration and empowerment from the resurrected Prince of Peace, waging peace alongside the vulnerable instead of war against the guilty. And the resurrected victim Jesus promises to be with us, to the end of the age.

 

For further reflections on Jesus’ mission, see my new book, The Beautiful Gate: Enter Jesus’ Global Liberation Movement, which can be ordered here.

 

Descriptions of God as a shepherd who looks for, finds and brings home lost sheep have always caught my attention, inspiring me in my calling to seek and find the forsaken. My own journey has taken me from suburban Seattle to rural Honduras and back to a jail and prison in Washington State and beyond— including a recent visit to a Scottish prison in Perth.

As a lonely teenager I remember longing for some wise and caring person to find me, even accidentally. I prayed seemingly in vain that someone would see me, notice my pain and reach out tenderly to me in my isolation, so I wouldn’t have to risk further shame of taking the initiative in making my need known. My own perception that I was not sought out or found while growing up inside the church underlies my own calling to seek and find the not yet reached—and recruit and equip others to do the same.

I have always been moved by the prophet Ezekiel 34:1-10’s critique of Israel’s shepherds, who refused to feed, strengthen, heal, bind up, bring back or seek after lost sheep. I love that God commits to doing this himself when humans don’t.

“I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for my sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day” (Ezek 34:11-12).

I myself experienced God’s unmediated search and rescue when half way up the Salathe Wall on El Capitan in Yosemite as an 18-year-old rock climber. There, on an exposed ledge amidst a lightening then snow storm, I cried out for salvation and experienced peace and a seemingly miraculous eventual descent. And yet Jesus’ life shows us God’s preference for mediated seeking and finding—which we are all called to emulate.

Jesus embodied God’s pursuit of the lost, the strays, rejected, and law-breakers. In another favorite text Jesus describes himself as leaving the 99 sheep in the open pasture to seek until he finds the one that is lost (Luke 15:4). Jesus describes his access to sheep using language that resonates in prison contexts. “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out” (John 10:3). Jesus describes himself as the “good shepherd” who lays down his life for his sheep.

“I know my own and my own know me,” says Jesus (John 10:14. “They will hear my voice,” says Jesus confidently (John 10:16). But how exactly does this work should we desire to join Jesus in his shepherding ministry?

Uniting ourselves to Jesus by faith is the first step, along with deliberate surrender to the Holy Spirit. A personal tie to Jesus the Good Shepherd gives us access to his Divine intelligence as to the location and identity of his at-large sheep. Jesus deputizes us and empowers us through the Holy Spirit with prophetic revelation and courage to join him in his lost-sheep finding missions—though risk on our part is always necessary. The Spirit’s equipping includes gifts of prophesy, healing, discernment and more.

Recently a Church of Scotland prison chaplain named Ken invited Gracie and I to offer a day of training to some 20 prison ministry visitors and chaplains in HMP Perth prison. This prison had been founded to incarcerate 4000 French prisoners of war after the Napoleonic wars at the turn of the 19^th Century. We knew Ken as he and two other Scottish prison chaplains had taken our recent Glasgow-based Certificate in Transformational Ministry at the Margins (see www.tierranueva-europe.org).

As we were going through security to enter the prison I asked Ken if we could visit with prisoners after the training. He told us that he hadn’t gotten the needed pre-approval. However when his supervisor formally welcomed us he unexpectedly volunteered that we were welcome to meet with prisoners if we wanted to.

After completing our training, Deirdre, a part-time chaplain who actually shepherds real sheep her other half-time, offered to take Gracie and I back to meet with prisoners for just a short ten minutes visit. I was surprised when she led us straight into a cellblock where inmates were circulating, taking showers and engaging in other activities. She quickly gathered eight of so of the men she had a weekly Bible study with in a side room, and introduced us.

Aware of our limited time and this amazing opportunity, I asked God for any impressions he wanted to give us so we could minister to the men in the minutes that remain.

Immediately the word Hepatitis C and knife pain in the lower back came to mind, and I asked the men if any of them had these conditions. A man with a big scar across his neck and right side of his face said he’d been feeling sick from his Hep C and we immediately prayed for him. Two other men and the chaplain herself said they had pain in their lower backs—but none of them had been stabbed. Gracie and I prayed for the men and Deirdre, and the men noticed immediate relief. We prayed for other conditions the Spirit revealed and the men were visibly moved.

Then a strong looking guy who was clearly spending a lot of time in the weight room walked in. I introduced myself, shook his hand and asked him how long he’d been there. He said seven years. He asked what we were doing and I told him we were praying for people. “Can we pray for you for anything?” I asked.

“No, no thanks, not me,” he said.

Immediately the word “mechanic” came to mind and I risked asking: “Are you by any chance a mechanic?”

“Yes,” he said, looking shocked, and I told him that I thought God was saying that he is a man who needs and likes to know how things work and that God really respects his integrity. I shared how that same curiosity about how things work applies to how God works too, and that he could ask Jesus questions directly. But just like a car won’t fix itself, but requires that you get out your tools and work on it, you have to get personally involved with Jesus to know whether he’s real. You can’t be a spectator but must crawl under the car, so to speak, experiencing for yourself the reality.”

I was surprised by what had just come out of my mouth—but was delighted to see the man visibly soften and take a seat with the others. Meanwhile Gracie had asked a man who had pain in his heart to put a hand on his heart and she began to pray. He was overcome with emotion and told everyone that something was happening in his heart, and that he felt heat going all through his body. Another even taller, tougher-looking guy came in at the end, and asked for prayer for a fellow prisoner who was too sick and distressed to leave his cell.

Deirdre was was amazed to see the Spirit move in that way, seemingly expanding our ten minutes as the Spirit seized the moment to reach each man in a personal way. This was only possible because Jesus the Good Shepherd knew his own and was mysteriously calling them by name through us. The connection that was made possible through the Spirit’s presence was a rare and precious foretaste of the heavenly banquet feast to come… and I am longing to taste this again and again.

Order my new book, The Beautiful Gate: Enter Jesus’ Global Liberation Movement here.

In recent Bible studies in Skagit County Jail and in our Tierra Nueva worshipping community I have been struck by Jesus’ unusual approach regarding substances, whether they be food, drink or drugs. In substance abuse and recovery circles (and vegan and other religious circles too) there is often intense scrutiny around what goes into the body—via stomach, lungs or veins.  Jesus’ words to the crowd in Mark 7:14-16 are counter-cultural to twelve-step and religious communities.

“Listen to me, all of you, and understand!” Jesus insists, inviting his audience to pay particular attention to what follows– Jesus’ underlined and bold-faced message. But will we understand?

“There is nothing outside the person which can defile him/her if it goes into her/him; but the things which proceed out of the person are what defile the person” (7:16), states Jesus, followed by an emphatic “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.

At this point I define “defile” as “to make unclean.” I add that back in Jesus’ time most religious leaders considered someone becoming unclean through the contagion of direct contact with the dead, lepers, the disabled, blood and through eating certain foods prohibited by the Old Testament law, like pork. Being unclean was seen as keeping people from God’s presence, and from religiously “clean” people or places.

“What kinds of substances are viewed as making someone unclean today?” I ask.

People mention drugs and alcohol, and more specifically meth, heroine, and weed. Some also mention cigarettes. I bring up our local Skagit County District Court Drug Court, and ask what substances could show up in someone’s urine that would get them in trouble should a person under drug court supervision be suddenly subjected to a mandatory “UA” (urine analysis)?

People mention how the presence of THC, methamphetamines, opiates, and alcohol would make someone legally “not clean,” unleashing penalties including banishment from drug court and incarceration.

“So what exactly does Jesus say again about what makes someone not clean?” I ask, inviting someone to re-read the first half of Mark 7:16.

A man in the jail recovery program haltingly reads, “there is nothing outside the person which can defile him.”

“So what substances make us unclean according to Jesus?”

People seem almost afraid to admit the obvious—“nothing!” They give me confused smiles, wondering where this is going.

I remind people that Jesus has just introduced these words with a strong call to attention: “Listen to me, all of you, and understand!” So according to Jesus, it is really important that we get that we are not made unclean by external substances—even illegal ones.

“So if substances, including food, drink and drugs don’t make us unclean, what does?” I ask, inviting someone to read the second half of Mark 7:16.

“But the things which proceed out of the person are what defile the person,” someone reads.

Let’s see what those things might be?” I ask, inviting someone to read Mark 7:17-19. There Jesus’ answers his disciples’ question about the meaning of this in a frank and clear manner, really getting down on his people for being so narrow minded.

“Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?” Thus he declared all foods clean.”

Before going further in interpreting this verse I remind people what I often hear from addicts about their drug use— they say they use because of the pain of traumas, and losses– “heart wounds.” Others use because of regrets or guilt due to their misdeeds.

“So do drugs and alcohol heal those heart wounds or take away guilt and shame?” I ask.

People are emphatic about how substances do not heal, but only comfort, or numb– permitting temporary and costly relief. I show them that Jesus is in full agreement with them. Drugs, alcohol and food do not penetrate the heart, but only go into our stomachs, lungs or veins. So according to Jesus they cannot make you unclean—because it is what comes out of the heart that makes you unclean. We read the next verses to see how Jesus invites still deeper analysis.

“That which proceeds out of the person, that is what defiles the person. “For from within, out of the heart of people, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. “All these evil things proceed from within and defile the person.”

We talk about how substances do not make us unclean. Nor do they heal or in any way address all these evils mentioned. Rather they can remove inhibitions or weaken our wills, so we don’t hold back from acting on these destructive thoughts in our hearts.  Men in jail admit that most are there for crimes committed under the influence.

“So how can our hearts be effectively healed? I ask, inviting people to turn to Psalm 51 for some ideas.

We use the remaining time to read through the Psalmist’s lines, identifying what he is doing and what we think about it.

We see that the offender King David, fresh from an adulterous affair with Bathsheba and the killing of her husband Uriah, is not kept from God’s presence, but speaks to God asking for mercy.

“Be gracious to me, O God, according to your loving kindness; according to the greatness of your compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin (51:1-2).

David’s concrete actions of asking God to show him grace and forgiveness, to wash him and make him clean are attractive as they are possible for people here and now.

This Psalm models confession of sin, repentance and turning to God in ways that inspire people when they know substance abuse, denial and running just get them into deeper trouble.

I suggest that the only remedy for healing the heart is God’s forgiveness applied directly when we acknowledge and renounce sin.

We read verse 6 about how God desires full-on transformation of our deepest selves, and people seem truly inspired.

“Behold, you desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part you will make me know wisdom.”

The Psalmist shows us the way forward, asking God to do what only God (not drugs, alcohol or religious striving) can accomplish, crying out:

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

People are especially moved by the Psalmist’s strong words about God not wanting sacrifice but true contrition and deep change.

“For you do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; you are not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”

Everyone is game to pray, and we take time to ask for God’s mercy, to confess and turn away from the sins the Spirit reveals, to ask for forgiveness, and to also forgive ourselves. I exercise my pastoral authority and declare all of our sins forgiven in Jesus’ name. There’s a palpable relief in the air, a feeling of lightness and even joy that comes in these times… and I’m ready to repeat this Bible study again and again.

 

Order my new book, The Beautiful Gate: Enter Jesus’ Global Liberation Movement here.