The Quality of Mercy

The quality of mercy is not strained.
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown.
His scepter shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings.
But mercy is above this sceptered sway;
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings;
It is an attribute of God himself;
And earthly power doth then show like God's
When mercy seasons justice.

(From Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice)

Sweet Jesus!
What have they done
with my Lord?

Forgive me, but I've been living in Africa for the past couple of years, and they don't do "Chocolate Jesus" in Africa. By the way, it has nothing to do with the weather. Many of us who live on this side of the ocean have accepted a parody of Jesus that looks nothing like the Jesus of the gospels. Regrettably, the sugary sweet Jesus we've grown fond of in western culture is as likely to melt under the heat of our everyday demands as a chocolate Jesus would be to melt in the heat of the hot African sun. This diatribe was brought on by the sight of two things that I never saw while living in African. One is the Easter candy display I saw at the grocery store this morning. I had completely forgotten about chocolate crosses and marshmallow peeps. I think the absence of sugary sweet Easter candy made it easier to savor the bitter/sweet flavor of Christ's painful execution followed by his glorious resurrection. Another thing I forgot about while living in Africa is the huge difference in the demographics of the church there and here. All of the African churches I attended had a large number of young men. Many of our North American congregations have a growing number of older women and few young men. I haven't given a lot of thought to why there is such a difference in the church demographics of Africa and America, but I think it has something to do with our view of Jesus. In Africa, Jesus seems to be more masculine. He is the Lion of Judah, the King of kings and Lord of lords. In America, Jesus has become more and more emasculated. He is the Lamb of God, sweet gentle Jesus who holds our hands and sooths our fears. Of course, Jesus is both the Lion of Judah and the Lamb of God. He both reigns as our King and walks beside us like a loving friend. The gospels portray Jesus as both gentle and mighty. Through the ages courageous elderly women, wise old men, strong young women and daring young men have courageously and faithfully followed him. -- Bob

We Are in the PEOPLE Business

Zig Zigler or one of those other consultants who makes big bucs telling people how to succeed in business gives this piece of advice, "To succeed in business you need to be able to answer two questions: 'What business are we in?' and 'How's business?'" Those are pretty important questions. One of many reasons why the influence of Christianity has declined so dramtically in North America is that we have forgotten what business we're in. We have spent far too much time and money trying to succeed in:

• The Moralizing Business
• The Finger Pointing Business
• The Political Action Business
• The Theological Reflection Business
• The Televangelism Business
• The Worship Entertainment Business
• The Christian Music Business
• The Christian Book Distribution Business
• The Tacky Religious Paraphernnalia Business
• The Church Building Business
• The Antique Preservation Business
• The Pastoral Employment Business

What business are we in? We are in the People Business. People were at the center of everything Jesus did during his brief sojourn on this planet. He broke with the religious customs of his day to heal people on the sabbath. He skipped lunch so he could spend time with a Samaritan woman who needed a drink of living water. He became indignant when his disciples tried to chase away a noisy bunch of children.. Rather than spending his time alone with a good book he chose to spent most of his time with hurting people. He delighted in hanging out with smelly fishermen, crooked tax collectors and hardened sinners. Why? Because Jesus loved people... "For God so loved the world that he gave his only son so that those who believe in him wouldn't perish, but would have eternal life." Churches will continue to decline and the influence of Christianity itself will continue to diminish until we remember what business we are in and invest ourselves in taking care of business. -- Bob