{"id":533,"date":"2010-07-28T09:58:18","date_gmt":"2010-07-28T15:58:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/raincitypastor.wordpress.com\/?p=533"},"modified":"2010-07-28T09:58:18","modified_gmt":"2010-07-28T15:58:18","slug":"dungface","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/richarddahlstrom\/2010\/07\/28\/dungface\/","title":{"rendered":"“Dungface”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\n<\/p>

My morning \u201ccoffee with God\u201d continues to consist of reading through Matthew in \u201cThe Message\u201d and this morning\u2019s read shook me awake yet again:<\/p>\n

\u201cA student doesn\u2019t get a better desk than her teacher. \u00a0A laborer doesn\u2019t make more money than his boss. \u00a0Be content \u2013 pleased even \u2013 when you, my students, my harvest hands, get the same treatment I get. \u00a0If they call me, the Master, \u2018Dungface\u2019, what can workers expect?\u201d<\/strong><\/em> (Matthew 10:24,25)<\/p>\n

Dungface<\/strong>. \u00a0The word is a reminder that the life to which Jesus invites doesn\u2019t have some sort of universal appeal. \u00a0After all, at the end of three years Jesus\u2019 ministry was so effective that nearly everyone in his little part of the world hated him, and conspired to put him to death on a cross. \u00a0Some of his biggest fans turned on him, and even his most loyal supporters cowered in fear, denying that they knew him.<\/p>\n

After an early growth spurt in the church, the same thing happened again, and Christians ended up being used at torches at Nero\u2019s parties<\/a>, or fed to the Lion\u2019s as food in a sick sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe world will hate you\u201d<\/em> is how Jesus said it elsewhere. \u00a0What\u2019s up with this? \u00a0I spend a lot of time telling people that the story Jesus writing across the pages of history has universal appeal, telling people that God\u2019s good reign of justice, mercy, peace, beauty, abundance, and healing is coming \u2013 why not join early, and get in step with God\u2019s story? \u00a0What\u2019s not to like about that?<\/p>\n

Plenty, it appears. \u00a0Paul says<\/a> the scent of Christ is the scent of life to some and the scent of death to others. \u00a0Careful observation indicates to me that what\u2019s unappealing about Christ\u2019s message is the very thing that\u2019s also appealing: transformation! \u00a0Since Jesus came in order to set things right, following him will mean that there are going to be some adjustments. \u00a0Remember what Isaiah said about valleys being lifted up and hills being smashed down? \u00a0It\u2019s metaphor (or allegory, I can never remember which) for Jesus equalizing things. \u00a0Remember Mary\u2019s prayer?<\/p>\n

\u201cHe bared his arm and showed his strength, scattered the bluffing braggarts. \u00a0He knocked tyrants off their high horses, pulled victims out of the mud. \u00a0The starving poor sat down to a banquet; the callous rich were left out in the cold\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/em> (Luke 2:51-53). \u00a0It\u2019s good news \u2013 if you\u2019re poor and hungry. \u00a0Otherwise, not so much.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the way it seems to work: \u00a0To the extent that I want transformation, Jesus\u2019 life, message, and power are all very good news, the best news. \u00a0Consider the lepers that were healed, the woman caught in adultery that was forgiven, the blind man who could suddenly see, and the disciples who, at various times, were aware of their profound need for transformation. \u00a0All of them ultimately loved and worshipped Jesus because He really did set them free.<\/p>\n

And then there were his enemies, who didn\u2019t like Jesus because they wanted to hang onto something:<\/p>\n

Herod wanted to hang on to illicit sexual pleasures<\/strong>, and I\u2019ve a suspicion there might be a few people today who are just like him.<\/p>\n

An earlier Herod wanted nothing to do with a different kingdom because, being a king, a new kingdom would spell an end to his own power. <\/strong><\/p>\n

The same resistance came from religious camps who understood that Jesus\u2019 reign would mean an end to their religious hierarchy <\/strong>and the structures that allowed them to enjoy prominence and power.<\/p>\n

The rich young ruler didn\u2019t want economic transformation because it sounded to much like \u201ctransfer of wealth\u201d, especially in light of what Jesus told him to do.<\/p>\n

So transformation was resisted by some people on sexual grounds, by others on religious and political grounds, and by others on economic grounds. \u00a0Sound familiar?<\/p>\n

There are two dangers we who love Jesus must consider:<\/p>\n

1. Am I being called dungface for the wrong reasons<\/em>? \u00a0As a pastor, I hear nearly endless stories of people who have been burned by the church. \u00a0The stuff that\u2019s been done \u201cin Jesus name\u201d down through history has been gross enough, sinister enough, to turn your stomach, and it\u2019s happening still. \u00a0What\u2019s worse, when people are called out on their unChristlike behavior, they relish in it, declaring themselves to be persecuted for righteousness sake. \u00a0That\u2019s dung. \u00a0They\u2019re persecuted because they\u2019re behaving like jackasses.<\/p>\n

2. Is no one calling me dungface<\/em>? \u00a0If my message isn\u2019t offensive to anyone, I fear that I\u2019ve massaged the rough edges off so much that it\u2019s become some sort of therapeutic soup, stripped of all transformative power, offering sentimental precious \u201ckum-bay-ya\u201d moments instead. \u00a0God help us, if that\u2019s what we, the leaders of the church are doing, and sometimes I fear that it is.<\/p>\n

How can I make certain that my message and life is powerful enough to elicit rejection, and yet know that I\u2019m being rejected for the right reasons. \u00a0The answer is simple \u2013 to say: \u00a0Truth and Grace.<\/p>\n

Jesus was relentless in calling people to transformation, challenging the prevailing sexual ethics, economic ethics, nationalism, religious hierarchies, and all other forms of idolatry. \u00a0He did this out of love, because he came to set us free from things to which we\u2019re addicted. \u00a0We think they\u2019re giving us life, but they\u2019re killing us. \u00a0I need to hold to this.<\/p>\n

Jesus was equally relentless about loving people, whether or not they ever believed. \u00a0Healing, blessing, friendship, changing water into wine, good conversation, all of these were offered as Jesus roamed through life, without pre-conditions for the recipients. \u00a0He loved people. \u00a0Lots of Christians who are called dungface these days are called that precisely because they offer no demonstrable love to people who think or believe differently than they do.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot of dung flying around and I need to be willing to let it hit my face \u2013 but only for the right reasons. \u00a0It\u2019s something to think about in a world filled with dung.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My morning \u201ccoffee with God\u201d continues to consist of reading through Matthew in \u201cThe Message\u201d and this morning\u2019s read shook me awake yet again: \u201cA student doesn\u2019t get a better desk than her teacher. \u00a0A laborer doesn\u2019t make more money than his boss. \u00a0Be content \u2013 pleased even \u2013 when you, my students, my harvest […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-coffee-with-god"],"yoast_head":"\n"Dungface"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"My morning "coffee with God" continues to consist of reading through Matthew in "The Message" and this morning's read shook me awake yet again: "A student\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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