The Fellowship of the Ring

It’s interesting how we can know something and yet suddenly something happens that reminds us that we've missed the significance of what we thought we knew. I've said before that preaching, teaching, or Bible study doesn’t necessarily give any new information but often just reminds us of what we should already be thinking about or challenges us to put into practice what we already know. Sometimes little, seemingly unrelated occurrences can trigger a sudden realization of something important.

A few weeks ago I casually posted on Facebook about a restaurant in Taipei. The restaurant is named "Dreams of Hobbitton” and it’s pretty easy to guess from the name that the theme is built on Tolkien’s novels. It has a website and really looked interesting. I noted that I hadn’t been there and didn’t know what the food was like but the theme and décor looked really interesting and it was just kind of cool that there was a Taiwanese so interested in Tolkien’s Hobbits that they would take a 4 story building and turn it into a restaurant based on that theme. This posted a few days before my birthday and a number of people suggested that we go there for my birthday meal (we haven’t yet but plan to go there belatedly). One friend suggested that if my wife took me there we could also enjoy the “Fellowship of the Ring” which was a cool play on words and it got my attention.

At the same time I was reading Acts 2 and preparing a sermon taken from the very end of that chapter after Peter’s message to the crowds who had witnessed the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost. After the sermon, it says that 3,000 were added to the disciples that day and then that they met daily in the temple courts devoting themselves to four things—the apostle’s teaching (the Word), fellowship, the breaking of bread (seemingly not just communion but meals together), and prayer. This is also where it says that the believers sold all that they had and shared everything together and giving to those in need. It’s the only place in the New Testament where we see a church doing anything like that and the picture that comes to mind is almost like a socialist or hippy commune except that the church in Jerusalem isn’t closed off from the rest of the world but is right in the middle of it (the temple courts were the most public place you could find in Jerusalem). It's also not imposed, but voluntary.

As I contemplated the “fellowship” mentioned here (and separate from meals together in homes, which is something we often think of as “fellowship”) I was reminded of the comment from the friend about the restaurant and the “Fellowship of the Ring.” Suddenly it hit me. When I think of fellowship, I think of small group meetings of a church—the youth fellowship, men’s fellowship, couples fellowship—and food together. I think of fun and comfortable times together. I think of a warm spirit of friendship and love. But, that was certainly not how Tolkien used the term. The "fellowship" that came together to dispose of the ring certainly included those things—the celebrations together, enjoying each other’s company, and good food and drink.

But, that wasn’t the Fellowship of the Ring. That fellowship was a life giving commitment to an arduous task that would be enormously difficult but was necessary to save the world. They were giving their lives (literally) to a cause and to each other. They didn’t know how it was going to end, but it seemed that it may not even be something that could be accomplished and certainly that it was at great risk. Some of them or even all of them might not come back alive. Their families and friends might think they were just crazy adventurers or naïve fanatics. The world would never be the same in some way or another. It would either fall into darkness or would enter a new and glorious age.

It hit me. What is fellowship? I don’t think it’s at all what most of us think about. Look at the context in Acts. The Spirit had come down upon the believers. Peter had just preached a sermon in which he told them that the Messiah had been among them, the hope of 2000 years of Jewish expectation. But, they had either participated or at least stood by while the Messiah, the Son of God, the Savior of the nation and the world had been crucified. The people's response was something like, “Oh, my God! What have we done?” and in this context these are not taking God's name in vain. There was a sense of the awfulness of the situation that had been laid out in front of them. The awesomeness of God having become a man and dwelling among them. The awful thought that they had put him to death. The terrible thought that their actions were from the powers of hell itself and that they had willingly joined the wrong side.

But, their next response was, “So, what can we do about it? Is there any hope for us?" Peter told them to repent and be baptized, and that they could then be forgiven. The relief was palpable. Three thousand people were added to the church that day. That may sound spectacular, but the situation was pretty spectacular also. These were people who likely knew a lot about Jesus and they had just witnessed a pretty spectacular event. If God could forgive this monstrous sin, he could forgive anything. Now, they were committing their lives. The leader they were now going to follow had already been executed by the religious leaders and the Romans. Their fate might well be the same but it would be better to die following God than to live in peace and security.

That's the fellowship that Acts is talking about and it's not much different from the fellowship of those little Hobbits and the others who joined that cause. It's more of a commitment to a cause and to others who are committed, than it is a warm, secure, social kind of fellowship. Can we say of ourselves that we have that kind of fellowship? Most of us will never face the choice of life or death for the cause, but we are faced with choices every day that call us to face our fellowship commitment. What are we willing to give up for the "fellowship of the Gospel?" How committed are we to Jesus' last words to us, to make disciples of all the different peoples of the earth? What are we not willing to give up?

This passage starts to make a lot more sense when we think of that kind of fellowship. It gives us a new definition of the church. The church is a group of people joined together in a The Fellowship of the Gospel. When we decide to trust Christ, we are making a life changing, life giving commitment to Christ and to the accomplishing of the mission he has given to us. That's the fellowship that we have together The Fellowship of the Gospel.

Bin Laden is Dead; Should Good Christians Rejoice?

I heard the news Monday evening in Taiwan (Monday morning in the US): Osama bin Laden has been killed. At first I was not sure whether to believe it or not, but it seems to be true. Pictures today show rejoicing at ground zero in New York and elsewhere. Twitter and Facebook is showing plenty of activity around this topic. Should we be happy? Is it okay to celebrate?

Of course we are human. We don't always feel what we should feel. We are not really disgusted with sin, especially when it is our own and even when we know it is sin. Sometimes we don't even admit that it is. We often don't praise righteousness, even when we know we should, and sometimes we don't even see what is right. So, as I muse on this here, keep in mind, I'm not talking about what we all might feel. I'm talking more about how we should feel and think if we we had the mind of God. Of course, even here, there is a huge danger of false pride since I certainly don't have the heart or mind of God. I should be the last to speak on that topic.

But, at the same time, it does bear thinking about since we should be seeking the heart of God even as we admit that we are light years away from it.

Maybe we should first ask, "Is God happy?" The question seems almost silly, and maybe it is, but for the sake of discussion, let's go there. Is God glad that the US took out such a notorious mass murderer. The answer is right at the heart of the gospel and in the Bible verse that is usually the first one that we memorize. "For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son...." Does that include bin Laden? I think it's pretty clear that it has to include him if we want to take the Bible seriously.

Some have quoted Ezekiel 33:11 as well: "...As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live...."

At the same time, Psalms 5:4-6 says "

For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness;
with you, evil people are not welcome.
The arrogant cannot stand
in your presence.
You hate all who do wrong;
you destroy those who tell lies.
The bloodthirsty and deceitful
you, LORD, detest."

There are many things that language is not really good at expressing and the heart of an infinite God is certainly at the top. However, I don't think that God is happy that bin Laden is dead, at least not the kind of "happy" that I see on TV. If we believe the verses above, I believe that he weeps over one of His creatures, one of His beloved, who was so thoroughly blinded by evil that he saw no problem with mass slaughter and felt no remorse afterwards.

But, at the same time, I also believe that God detested bin Laden for what he did. He was gracious, patient, longsuffering, and not willing for bin Laden to perish. But, in the end, He looked at this death with something indescribable (as most really deep emotions are) that included pain along with satisfaction--but no words are really adequate.

But, I also don't think it was the giddy kind of joy that we are seeing on the news. It isn't celebration. It's something else that I don't know how to describe even if I knew that I really understood. I think that the closest might be that of the mother who watches her son executed for multiple murders. Even if she agreed that it was just, she couldn't possibly be happy. One can hardly imagine the mixed emotions but also the overwhelming pain.

I think that it should give us pause to reflect. Our feelings might be swayed by patriotism, by pride, by the desire for vengeance, or a multitude of other things. Some people might be swayed in the other direction by a sense of pity or even by a view that America has mistreated Muslims and bin Laden was their defender. But, we should remember that salvation is by grace, not because we deserved anything. This isn't a defense of either bin Laden or of America. It is to say that, while it is natural to be glad that a mass murderer will kill no more, I also don't deserve God's grace any more than he did. I think I'm better than bin Laden. At least I haven't killed thousands of people and spread hatred on that scale. But, I am still wholly unworthy to be accepted into the presence of a holy God. It should push us to fall back on his grace.

But, there is one part of this story where we Christians do bear some of the blame. Most of the world, and especially the Muslim world, doesn't have a real testimony of the gospel. I remember once when I spoke to a church group about Taiwan and someone said, "Well, if they hear the gospel once and don't believe, then they deserve to go to hell. Why waste your time on people who don't want to know God." Does God love an Iranian as much as he loves an American? Does he love a Chinese as much as a Guatemalan? Does He love Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus? Why do we want God to be longsuffering with old Uncle Jeremiah and not with Mr. Khalid or Mrs. Chang?

Where is our passion for the world (the people) that God loves? We were created to be with God, to not only glorify him but to be a part of his glory. Man was offered the tree of life in the garden, but when he choose to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil instead, the tree of life was taken away--or a better description may be that man was taken away from it. But, the offer is still there to those who are willing to forsake their sin, to repent and cast themselves at His feet. That is what God offers to us--eternal life with Him, sharing in His sovereignty and His glory, and it painsHhim that anyone not receive it.

C.S. Lewis preached a sermon on this called "The Weight of Glory." He notes that we were created for something that we can hardly even imagine in this world, the participation in God's rule over the universe and a share of his glory. Lewis even uses the terms "gods and godesses" to describe and emphasize the enormity the role that God is preparing for us. He writes:

"It may be possible for each to think too much of his own potential glory hereafter; it is hardly possible for him to think too often or too deeply about that of his neighbour. The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbour’s glory should be laid daily on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken. It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilization—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendours."

We can all point to people who fit into the category of "horrors" as Lewis describes--Hitler, Stalin, bin Laden, and interestingly, Lewis published this sermon first in late 1941 when it looked as if Hitler were about to conquer all of Europe. I wonder if he had Hitler in mind, or maybe Stalin. What makes them all the more horrible, however, is not just the gravity of what they have done, but the loss of what they were created to be. And yet, they are dead. It is too late for them. God will be their judge. They should remind us that while we may feel some sense of justice and maybe even satisfaction with the death of a terrorist, we must also be grieving at the loss of the same human, created by God and precious to Him--so precious that He gave His only Son for this person.

But, it should also remind us of the living--those around us who have not yet reached that great divide. What Lewis reminds us of goes to the core of the gospel. The people we see every day, whether on the news or face to face, were created to be everlasting splendors but have the potential to be eternal horrors. What we most often notice are those who are further along to one or the other of these extremes, but all will be one or the other and the lubrication of our sin natures makes the slope toward "eternal horror" much slipperier. But, there is no one who can't be saved while there is also no one who deserves to be saved. How can we ignore those who are objects of God's love? What are we doing to turn them to Him? How can we say that we deserve his salvation more than another?

Lewis goes on to say:

"And our charity must be a real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in spite of which we love the sinner—no mere tolerance or indulgence which parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment."

While I certainly understand the sense of gladness that such a murderer has now finally been brought to justice (and feel it myself), this doesn't make the world all right. It's still a sinful world and there are plenty like him to some extent. We can't rejoice and we can't relax in this victory.

Instead of celebration, it should bring a sense of sadness at the degradation and corruption that sin has wrought. It should also drive us to love the world as God did--that He gave His only Son. And, if we could do that, what would it drive us to do? It drove Christ to humble Himself as a servant and even to a humiliating death on the cross. It drove him to take action. What does it do for you?