Jesus doesn’t rely on Zoom

We have experienced a vivid metaphor for the spiritual life over the past year, but more by way of contrast than simile. Anyone who has used Zoom or equivalent tools is well aware of the limitations of virtual meetings. How does Jesus prevent our relationship with him from being virtual?

 

Three limitations  of virtual meetings come immediately to mind:

• Distractions from activity or items present in the room or on the computer, at home or in the office, making it difficult to focus. When you are in a room meeting with others, although not totally absent, these temptations are much fewer.
• Lack of side conversations with peers, before and after meetings. They have to be deliberately made as a separate phone call. No chance encounters, and ad hoc small subgroup discussions.
• Difficulty in building relationships. Not impossible, but it is very hard to develop trust and connection when you are talking to someone whose facial responses are shrunk to a 2 inch image on the screen.

Even (especially?) school children struggle with virtual learning for one or more of these reasons.

In some respects, our communication with God in prayer is even more disadvantaged:

• Distractions during prayer are immediate and physical, mental, or emotional.
• We can’t make small talk with God. At least, most of us attend to the business of prayer and then turn back to the matters of this life after we have done our duty. The meeting ends and we get back to work (i.e., the things of the world).
• It’s tough to build a relationship with God when we can’t see His face. Those few who do give descriptions that are awesomely terrifying. (Exodus 33:22) 

But God did not leave things this way. Jesus came to the earth to overcome these limitations. People in His presence would leave their homes and go out to the wilderness to hear Him preach. And while there, they had conversations with other followers, and with Jesus’ disciples. And they could look on Jesus’ face without fear (with a few exceptions). Beyond that, Jesus took the initiative to bring God’s presence and truth to people in person. (Matthew 11:1, Mark 6:34, 7:24, 10:1) 

Since Jesus is in heaven, or at least in a spiritual dimension not tangible, how does He overcome the limitations of virtuality. He may be right beside us but we can’t touch or see Him.

• We can talk to fellow believers at church. And we can see tangible results from God working in their lives, in the things that they do.
• The Holy Spirit - the elan vital of God - is within us.
• He answers prayers tangibly, with concrete works to confirm His power
• We share in His suffering, not just vicariously through communion, but physically experiencing a share in His persecution. It is there, when He is with us in the storm, that we truly learn His nature and character.

We are slow learners in this regard, but the spiritual dimension of humans can only learn in this (last) way. Not just a mental conversation with God.  We can have phone calls with Him (often) but we only grow through experience. The challenge of this life is to enter in. Tuition for this class was already paid on the cross, but we still have to do the homework and field exercises. Otherwise He remains just a voice, not unlike those we hear daily on Zoom.

Teddy Roosevelt, The Weimar Republic, and Modern World

The political implications of the comparison are obvious. Are current conditions conducive to political power being seized by a populist totalitarian party? But dimensions of this comparison include far more than populist politics & paramilitary partnership: economics, culture, and moral fiber, but do all these conditions simply reflect a deeper root cause?

 

In his article The Ghost of Theodore Roosevelt, Cameron Hilditch outlines the logic of populist politics and compares the “Progressive” Bull Moose Party to modern times. In effect, he asks if Donald Trump does not get the Republican nomination in 2024, will he form a third party, split the conservative vote, and ensure continuing Democratic hegemony in Washington? Hilditch does not address the Weimar Republic, in which  the November 1932 election resulted in no clear majority for any party, but enough Nazi power in the Reichstag to eventually make Hitler chancellor and rend democracy asunder. And the significance of the role of paramilitary actions by the SA in the ultimate outcome. 

Economics were clearly different from modern circumstances at present. The Weimar Republic was paying reparations imposed by the victors of the World War in 1918. This plus economic policy that resulted in runaway inflation damaged the postwar German economy far more than one year of pandemic-driven-panic policy vectors. But the runaway inflation of the Weimar Republic had a cultural implication. It removed any possible incentive to save, motivating everyone to spend money the same day they got it.  

This was likely a strong factor in the profligate lifestyle exemplified in the movie Cabaret, which was based on real life. (Not that lifestyles were much different in the U.S. in the roaring 20’s). A reasonable question would be whether the lifting of restrictions post-pandemic will trigger such profligacy worldwide (assuming there is a post-pandemic). 

Weimar culture included academic dimensions as well. “Critical theory” was developed to link social problems to social structures, rather than individual psychological factors. In other words, blame your problems on society and don’t accept responsibility for your own actions. Logical positivism advanced the theory that philosophy should adopt the bases and structure of empirical sciences. “Follow the science” - worship as truth our current understanding of nature. Heiddigger and Marcuse advanced other theories; one wearies trying to figure out what philosophers taught. 

What was at the time considered moral degeneration multiplied, including homosexual venues, prostitution, and drug use. And where were people of faith, who might have set the standard?  “Higher Criticism” advanced source criticism, form criticism, and redaction. We remember  Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was executed by the Nazis at the end of World War 2, but he was only active a few years at the end of the Weimar Republic. What happened to the Lutheran Church, the Catholic Church, Germany the bastion of faith in Western Europe? Perhaps sectarian warfare over the centuries that had degenerated into jousting for political advantage alienated so many people that the Freethinkers League had 500,000 members in 1933; people so sick of Church politics that they joined together to advocate a theology of atheism. But that seems a symptom of the reality that churches, on the whole, were focused on power and theological points about doctrine.  Salvation through faith in Christ and His atoning sacrifice, and  development of an individual relationship with Jesus ceased to be their mission. Is this the underlying root cause of all the symptoms above?

Where do we stand today in the West? Have economic conditions resulting from pandemic panic further enhanced populist demagoguery and emboldened militias? Has religious hypocrisy so sickened the general public that any religion or lack of it is preferable over the truth about the creator and redeemer of humankind?

Beethoven’s music for the final act of His Story

The Som Sabadell video - May 19, 2012 street performance of final movement of Beethoven’s 9th symphony in Barcelona - begins with a small offering by a little girl. A lone musician begins playing a tune that is only recognizable if you are familiar with this piece of music. Slowly more musicians with instruments appear and join in. As the music develops, the song is recognizable. Choir and the conductor appear as the music swells to its climax. The symbolism is unmistakeable.

Friedrich Schiller’s poem worships joy - one dimension of the fruit of the Holy Spirit - as the source of happiness and fellowship  and the object of celebration. The culminating verse in Beethoven’s adaptation of Schiller’s poem focuses in on worshipping the source of joy and fellowship.

Do you bow before Him, you millions?

Do you sense your Creator, O world?

Seek Him above the canopy of stars!

He must dwell beyond the stars.

But in the Incarnation, Jesus came to earth to seek and save the lost. He returned to heaven, but He does not dwell beyond the stars. (Matthew 18:20) He was that first lone musician playing the song of redemption. After His resurrection He was joined by a small, gallant band of believers. The chorus grew to be mighty. But what the music does not capture in its rapture is the rapture of the saints and the opposition that Jesus must overcome to establish His kingdom on earth. Like Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus, triumphal worship in heaven focuses on the end stage. Even the lyrics that were written for this music in 1907 in English, by Henry van Dyke and sung as a hymn of the church, portray the process to the final consummation as ever upwards, with only the slightest hint of strife.

Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love

Hearts unfold like flow'rs before Thee, op’ning to the Sun above.

Melt the clouds of sin and sadness, drive the dark of doubt away

Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day.

All Thy works with joy surround Thee, Earth and heav'n reflect Thy rays;

Stars and angels sing around Thee, center of unbroken praise.

Field and forest, vale and mountain flow’ry meadow, flashing sea;

chanting bird and flowing fountain call us to rejoice in Thee.

Thou art giving and forgiving, ever blessing, ever blest;

well-spring of the joy of living ocean-depth of happy rest.

Thou the Father, Christ our Brother— all who live in love are Thine.

Teach us how to love each other, lift us to the Joy Divine.

Mortals join the mighty chorus which the morning stars began;

Father-love is reigning o'er us, brother-love binds man to man.

Ever singing, march we onward, victors in the midst of strife;

joyful music lifts us sunward in the triumph song of life.

What Jesus taught, and what history has demonstrated, is that as the gospel is spread throughout the world, many would accept it and become a family in Christ, but that it brings a sword to divide those who accept from those who reject. Ultimately the objectors will attempt to eliminate the gospel, bringing the apocalyptic unveiling of Christ. We can enjoy the music, but must remember that the ultimate plan of His story, to bring His kingdom on the earth, is not going to be a gradual spreading of that kingdom until all join in a capstone chorus. The cross must be embraced before the crown can be realized.

Jesus is the key that unlocks the broken human soul: Life Experience Therapy

We must start with the basic proposition that man is made in the image of God and has a spirit that is a miniature replica of Him. Except that each person’s spirit is marred by sin, resulting in it being damaged irreparably. Because of this, we bear true moral guilt before a holy God. When the Bible talks about conviction of sin, this is not just feeling guilty because of childhood conditioning. True moral guilt is the experience of the human spirit responding to God’s Holy Spirit.  

The result of this human condition is brokenness on a human psychological and psychiatric level. Jesus’ blood is the key that unlocks this brokenness. We lock ourselves in with our own spiritual pain. The 1851-53 painting by William Holman Hunt depicts Jesus knocking on a door with no knob on the outside. Who is inside? Why is Jesus outside?

Keys these days have very fine serrations that are customized to the specific lock that they are designed to open. Properly designed, no other key than that specifically designed for it will open the lock. Each person’s soul is unique, and only Jesus can unlock it. The key is uniquely tailored to that person’s wound due to sin, and the pattern of redemption uniquely glorifies God. Question for contemplation: How does the beauty of redeemed brokenness compare to the beauty of unfallen holiness?

This process displays an attribute of Jesus that was/would otherwise be hidden, unique to each person’s redemption and healing. It is intrinsic to God’s nature and character that He chose this method of self-revelation. [The last book of the New Testament is titled the Revelation of Jesus Christ. In it, Jesus’ glory is revealed to those who rejected Him.] To those who believe in Him, the essence of Jesus is demonstrated in the love that shed the Lamb’s innocent blood on the cross of Calvary; it is revealed to us individually and personally as He works in our lives to deliver us from the power and penalty of sin. 

The amazing thing is that Jesus’ unlocking of the human soul is not just the healing of our core brokenness, but opens the door to enormous spiritual blessings. Perhaps Joseph’s slavery in Potiphar’s household and imprisonment on false charges, Moses’ forty years hiding from Pharoah, David’s years on the run from King Saul, Israel’s Babylonian captivity, and so on, do not seem like blessings. That is because we do not have the whole picture. God chooses the best for His children. Unlocking the door to blessings in His kingdom may require difficult schooling. The blood of Jesus is not a magical incantation. To partake of His blessings, we must participate in His suffering on the cross, not simply verbally or symbolically, but in a real and experiential way; call it life experience therapy. Jesus is the key that unlocks this door. Perhaps that is why we hide from Him.

The Subtle Sin of Context Dropping

Classical thought sees virtue and sin as paired opposites. For example, contrast  the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) with the deeds of the flesh (verses 19-21). I propose a slightly different structure, in which there is a middle stage that is a one-way passageway between the two. Virtues risk becoming vices and sins by first removing context from the virtue. From the resulting free-floating attribute, it is but a short trip to sin. A few examples:

 God created food for humans to consume and gave Adam and Eve minimal instructions. (Genesis 1:29-30; 2:9,16-17) Food was fuel for their bodies, and undoubtedly healthy, as they were subject to death only after eating the forbidden fruit (and we can infer food was healthy from the known benefits of a vegetarian diet). He also gave them appetites so that eating would be natural and they would remember to do so periodically, and taste and smell so that eating would be enjoyable.

 Subsequently, hunger was recognized as a natural human appetite, without reference to it being a gift from God. It is a legitimate human need, since life does not continue without it. But - watch closely - once out of the context of a gift of God (how many people say grace before meals these days?) we have only human expertise to determine what is healthy. And if a person rejects the sage advice of nutritionists, and simply indulges their appetite, we arrive at gluttony. Few dispute that gluttony is self-destructive.

 Lucifer was created as the light bringer, the anointed Cherub who covers, with the seal of perfection, full of wisdom, perfect in beauty.  (Ezekiel 28:12-14) His admirable qualities led to pride (Ezekiel 28:17). Dropping reference to God’s calling and gifting him for a purpose, and focusing on his beauty and wisdom, he said in his heart, “I am a god, I sit in the seat of gods.” (Ezekiel 28:1) Ultimately, he sought to exalt himself above God and rebelled, becoming Satan the accuser, and the rest of the sad story followed. Satan lost the context that God had created and endowed him with glorious qualities to perform a specific role in God’s kingdom, apparently dissatisfied with the divine accolade ‘well done, good and faithful servant.’ Losing the context of his divinely ordained calling, his beauty and wisdom led him to pride.

 What was the original sin? Adam and Eve disobeyed a direct command. What were their excuses? “The serpent deceived me....”  “The woman You gave me gave it to me....”   (Genesis 3:12-13) God had given them food from almost every fruit-bearing tree. (Genesis 1:29) Neither seemed to be concerned about consulting The Lord, or recalling that they had walked with Him in the cool of the morning, after Eve’s initial misquoting of God’s direction (Genesis 2:17 vs. 3:3). Perhaps this is the core risk of context dropping that we all face; that in the midst of the press of life in the world, the alluring lies the tempter tells, we forget that we walk with Him and allow ourselves to be talked out of His honoring His words. To close the passageway from virtue to sin, we need to attend to His still, small voice.

The Killer Angels of Virus Research

The Lab Leak Hypothesis, by Nicholson Baker, provides a scary insight into the world of biomedical research labs. The potential origin of the COVID-19 pandemic is an interesting forensic research project, but the principle concern should be the bizarre world of biomedical research. 

The hypothesis Baker proposes is simple: the lab at Wuhan was doing research on bat viruses, someone made a mistake, and it leaked. A few items that contribute to the hypothesis. The bats with viruses whose DNA is 99% similar live in caves that are hundreds of miles away. How much a coincidence the virus surfaced in Wuhan (a 9-hour train ride away) where China’s premier biomedical research lab is! The virus shows differences from the natural bat variety that adapt it to human transmission and hosting. Not impossible in nature, but it happens to be one of the specific capabilities of biomedical research labs. Modern techniques include gene splicing (think CRISPR) and something called “gain of function”. Coincidences?

There are a number of such facilities around the world. Defensive research and weaponized pathogens are the dual missions of biological warfare facilities. Research focuses on viruses that are found in nature, in animals, but not normally in humans. Given human fallibility, previous accidents have occurred, resulting in less dramatic (but still significant) outbreaks, described by Baker. When you play with fire .... (Hosea 8:7, Galatians 6:7). Until this pandemic, global awareness of these facilities, and the risk they bring, has been limited. The risk that the existence of nuclear weapons carry has been understood for 75 years, but the threshold for first use of nukes has been high, and safeguards against accidental or incidental release have been stringent.  

As I was reading Baker’s article, I instinctively thought of Revelation 6:8; that was before I got to section X, in which Baker referred to a painting by Bruegel the elder, painted in 1562, The Fall of the Rebel Angels.  

As we approach the final realization of the prophecies of the unveiling of Jesus Christ, the true and final apocalypse as described in the book of Revelation, it is with great trepidation that we should remember that the coming of Jesus is good news! Jesus preached the good news of the gospel. Although He warned of judgment, He promised blessings to those who walk in His ways.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the gentle, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3-10, NASB)

A society based on these principles will endure. But this is not the world’s way. Nuclear deterrence based on mutual assured destruction, despite being MAD, is how the world maintains peace in the nuclear realm (at least for 75 years). But it won’t work for biological warfare. The impossibility of nations trusting each other enough to eliminate bio weapons is self evident.

One era in history comes to mind when part of the world attempted to follow Jesus. The Pax Britannica is nominally thought to have lasted from 1815 to 1914,  bookmarked by the Napoleonic and First World Wars. Other significant but usually ignored factors: the Slave Trade Act of 1807 and the abolition of slavery in the British Empire in 1833, reflecting the work and influence of Christians in England; and the London Missionary Society evangelization of the British Empire. 

Viruses are not angels or demons. But there may have been no other way for John, the apostle, to convey the vision given him of a world rejecting the gospel and arming itself with biological weapons. As Jesus explained one of His parables:

The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the weeds are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. So just as the weeds are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. (Matthew 13:37-40, NASB)

The killer angels are not the viruses, but those who reject the gospel, and work to dissuade others from following Jesus.

Job, Daniel, Ignatius, and the COVID spiritual pandemic

Compare current events to Job. A brief recap: Job endured poverty, sickness, and loss of loved ones due to an assault initiated by Satan.  Satan accused Job before God of mercenary faith (Job 1:9-11) and had divine permission to afflict him (1:12, 2:6). God affirmed His approval of Job (1:8, 2:3), who was not without faults. Job cursed the day of his birth, implicitly saying that God was unfair in creating him and then inflicting such pain on him (chapter 3). And Job was self-righteous, believing that his good works were not being fairly rewarded by God. (31:35-40) Ultimately God did not show Job the spiritual contest between Himself and Satan, but that the magnificence of His creation, and inherently Himself, was beyond Job’s comprehension. (Chapters 38-39)

When Daniel was visited and learned of heavenly warfare (Daniel 10), he had been fasting and praying for Israel for 21 days. It is really not appropriate for us to litigate and try to determine whether the archon, the prince of China - Yu Huang, the Jade Emperor, or some other ancient figure of Chinese tradition - is behind COVID-19.. It is also irrelevant:

• The Bible is clear that worship of all other gods is idolatry, and must not happen, so as not to be a snare to believers. Even pagan gods that appear to stand for divinely directed virtue.
• The Chinese Communist government does not acknowledge any supernatural existence or authority, following the Marxist tenet that religion is the opiate of the people.
• That’s not what this is about.

We must tread carefully about disrespecting spiritual authorities, even fallen ones. Gabriel fought the prince of Persia without prevailing (Daniel 10:13), the archangels dare not rebuke the devil on their own authority. (Jude 8-9) We must tread carefully here, because this realm is far beyond our comprehension.

The important point of the Daniel narrative is that Daniel wasn’t praying about Persia or spiritual powers. He was most likely praying about the Jewish people and their sin, and pleading for their redemption - the theme of his later life. (Daniel 9:4-19) What does this mean for us? Since nothing is allowed to happen without God’s permission, God has allowed this pandemic for His purposes. Our response to the pandemic must focus, like Daniel, on repentance and redemption. 

The discernment of spirits must focus on our own affections, thoughts, and will, as in the Ignatian discipline. We must discern whether our actions arise from godly or evil sources. Are individuals’ refusal to wear a mask, or rulers’ actions to control all public activities, at their root, from a godly desire to help people or an evil desire to promote self? Every private person, every politician, every public health expert, must examine themself. 

Is rejection of public or personal health measures born of a rebellious heart? (‘They don’t have the authority to make me do that! They don’t know anything!’) Is the imposition of draconian controls on the life and behavior of citizens really the manifestation of a self-exultation of personal ego? (‘I know what is best! I know that if everyone does what I say, things will work out for the best.’) How will each of us fare in our day of reckoning, as when God spoke revelation into Job’s life? Will He find that we rebel against authority in our spirit as the Israelites did in the wilderness (Numbers 16-17), or that we see ourselves as equal to or above Him, like Lucifer?  (Ezekiel 28:2).