Graber Olive House Paranormal Investigation Report

Graber Olive House Report

By Richard Mario Procida, Esq.

After we arrived we met a young boy who was interested in ghosts.  When we went into the museum before the investigation began, the young boy went up to the small window next to the the door, looked through it, turned and said: “This is where you will see her tonight.”  I first thought about how the face of Georgia Graber had been seen in that window, but that wasn’t what the boy said.

He walked out and I followed.  Outside the museum I caught up with him as asked: “Are you saying that I will see a ghost through that window tonight?  He stopped, looked at me and smiled, then turned and walked away. 

I knew I wanted to investigate the museum, but now I wanted to make sure to investigate it before I left.

When the investigation started, we broke up into groups.  I went with Michelle and Cheryl to the vat room.  Michelle had a lot of equipment and lead the investigation.  She wanted to do EVP work in the back corner.  I explored a little with the hyperbolic mic, then I sat with Michelle and Cheryl while Michelle conducted an EVP session.  I didn’t want to interfere with Michelle’s investigation, and as a trainee I felt it appropriate to just listen, watch and learn.

The vat room is spooky.  It’s a large room with a lot of dark corners.  That type of environment can spook people.  There was definitely a feeling that someone was watching me, but that is what spooky means.  I didn’t experience anything definitive there.

Then we went to the labeling room.  We investigated the report of lights in the room and discovered that there are holes in the wall of the loft.  Light from flash cameras shine through the holes and reflect on the wall of the labeling room.

In the labeling room I used a K2 meter and a EMF detector which I placed near me as I sat in a meditative state and looked around the room.  I didn’t experience anything in the labeling. 

We then went to the loft.  Michelle set up a lazer grid and camera in the storage area at the north end of the room.  She put a recorder in a small cage box and a recorder outside the cage box in the center of the loft.  She then read her list of questions for the EVP session.  I sat with my K2 and EMF next to me.  I attempted to maintain a mediative state to sense the presence of any spirts.  I did not have any experience in the loft.

I had mentioned to Michelle that we really needed to make sure that we investigate the museum. After investigating the loft, Michelle and I went into the museum.  We met Jennifer and Chris there.  Jennifer was saying that she had been communicating with a spirt using her EMF dectector, but that it stopped when Hiro was there.   Jennifer didn’t appear to get any communication after we arrived.

Michelle began deciding what equipment to use.  I suggested a EVP session given the report that spirits like to talk in this room.

Then we heard a noise behind us.  I went around the little wall and toward the rear door when suddenly the whole back corner of the room shook.  I heard the door shake and saw and felt a vibration that shook the whole back corner of the museum near the rear door.

Some people said it might be people walking on the planks, but I insisted that the whole room shook  such that it was unlikely be people walking on the planks.  Earlier I had walked those planks, and they didn’t make that type of noise and vibration.

I went to the small rectangular window to the left of the back door and looked through it.  I saw a five to five and a half foot stocky woman walking diagonallly from the middle of the room in front of the door toward the vat room.  She had a round face, puffy cheeks, and a small chin.  She may have been wearing some type of hairnet type hat, because I saw her curls coming out around the side of her face.  She wore a long thick dress with what looked like multiple layers at the bottom.  She had dark strap lines over her shoulder as if she were wearing some type of apron or protective covering over her dress.  She walked about eight feet across the floor though and into the vat room when she looked at me.  We made eye contact.  Her eyes opened wide as if she were surprised to see me.  She seemed to be walking right through what I thought was a barrier between the vats and the walkway behind the door.

I thought she was a person walking back there, especially have having made eye contact.  I exclaimed, “There are people back there!”  I turned and saw Jennifer behind me then turned back and looked out the window, but she was gone.  Then I realized that there was no one back there at all.  The investigation was finishing up and everyone except us was out front.  

I was flabbergasted.  I had been quiet the whole night not wanting to interfere in Michelle’s investigation, but now I began cussing.  “What the fuck just happened.”  I remember wanting to communicate with my team members what had just happened.  I informed that that I may had just seen Georgia Graber.

I asked Jennifer to walk where she had just walked to try to determine whether it was a reflection, but I didn’t see anything.  I remember having my face right up against the window and seeing the apparition walking across the floor in the other room, not a reflection in the window.   The window was so small that my head would have blocked any reflection from behind me. 

I wanted to do an EVP session, but I don’t remember doing it for very long. I did not have a recorder, and it was at the very end of the investigation. I wasn’t sure what my other team members had experienced or captured.

I was confused. I wasn’t sure what had just happened.  I would describe it a mind bending experience.  I felt a twisting numbness in my head.  I felt confused and tired.  I needed to go figure this out.  I felt speechless.  I didn’t know what I would say at the meeting at Michael’s house.   I may have been afraid or even embarassed.   I didn’t feel right and wanted to go home.

I wish I would have had done more to confirm my experience.  I didn’t have any equipment.  I don’t know if anyone caught anything.  No one gave me any direction.  I felt frustrated.

It took a day or two for me to process what had happened.  It was probably Georgia Graber.  It looked like her, and an apparition of her face has been photographed in that window.  No one there was dressed like the apparition.  The apparition was a full bodied, head to toe.  I saw her head and face all the say to her shoes.  Her shoes appeared somewhat thick and rounded like work boots. 

The eye contact is what made me think there was a real person in there.  Anyone who saw my face in that window would likely be surprised at seeing me.  I sensed awareness such that I thought it was an actual person.  The experience was confusing.   I wish I hadn’t looked away.

Next time I need to be sure to have some equipment like a digital recorder and camera to get evidence to confirm my experience.

JESUS: A Spiritual Man Confronts Religious People (Luke 4:21-30)

JESUS: A Spiritual Man Confronts Religious People (Luke 4:21-30)

By

Richard Mario Procida, Esq.

Luke 4:21-30 (NRSV)

²¹Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” ²²All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” ²³He said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Doctor, cure yourself!’ And you will say, ‘Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.’” ²⁴And he said, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown. ²⁵But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; ²⁶yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. ²⁷There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.” ²⁸When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. ²⁹They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. ³⁰But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.

                Commentary:

Have you ever said something at church then feel as if some in the congregation want to run you out of town and throw you off a cliff?  Well, Jesus had that experience.

                The above is the second part of this story.   In the first part Jesus puts economic and social justice issues at the center of his ministry.  Jesus proclaims he is anointed to bring good news to the poor, release to prisoners and slaves, freedom for the oppressed, and the year of our Lord when all debts are forgiven and slaves set free. [Luke 4:18-19]  Today we read about the response to his message. 

First, they appear amazed.  They compliment him on his gracious words.  But behind this façade lurks perniciousness.  The story takes a sharp turn.  Jesus suddenly begins to attack them.  The text begs us to ask why?

Many people look to the Bible for answers, but the Bible doesn’t just give answers.  We are meant to ask questions.  In part one we asked about why we have a mixed citation to different parts of the book of Isaiah, and then how Isaiah’ prophesy was fulfilled?  [God's Priorities and Jesus' Mission]  Today we ask why the story suddenly turns on a dime?  At one moment they praise him, next they want to kill him.  Why?

Some have opined that this is really part of two different events. Luke somehow mistakenly combined them.  Others act as if everything is going swimmingly until Jesus insults his audience.  These interpretations leave us more confused than enlightened.  How could Luke haphazardly slap two different stories together without having any reason for doing so?  Why would Jesus suddenly start attacking his audience?  These views lead us nowhere.  They are dead ends.

There is another more convincing interpretation, but it requires one to consider the context in which Jesus spoke. 

Jesus goes to synagogue, reads the scripture, and offers interpretation.  He then realizes, by their response, that they are against him.

            What throws us off is their initial reaction.  Is it true amazement and respect?  Jesus had just come off a successful start to his ministry.  He had been widely praised. 

Or were they amazed at the audacity of his claim?   Was it amazed disbelief?   Were they just being polite?  It’s really hard to say.  For all intents and purposes they seem at this point to be responding well. 

Then they ask: “Is not this Joseph’s son?”  This is where things turn sour.  Something in their response tipped Jesus off.  They were not his friends.

There are two things about this question that reveal their veiled animosity.  First, the question raises the issue of Jesus’ legitimacy.  Second, the question shows disrespect.   They imply by their question that Jesus is an illegitimate child who cannot lead the people of Israel.  Jesus need hear no more.

The Law precludes those of illegitimate birth from taking any leadership position in the synagogue or in the nation.  [Deuteronomy 23:2]  By questioning Jesus’ parentage, they are questioning his authority to teach and speak and lead the people of Israel. 

Then, by referring to him as Joseph’s son, they disgrace him by failing to call him by his name.  This is not a formal greeting.  They do not call him “Jesus, son of Joseph” which would be an honorable designation.  They simply refer to him as Joseph’s son. 

Jesus is about thirty years old at this time.  He returns to his hometown perhaps even to the synagogue in which he grew up, and the members treat him as if he were still a child.  They showed little respect.  The question is designed to put him in his place.

I had an African-American roommate when I was in law school.  I wanted to demonstrate some intimacy toward him, so I used what I thought was a colloquialism.  I said something which, in hindsight, was a stupid thing to say.  I called him “boy”. 

In my ignorance I didn’t realize what I had said.  I envisioned it as some nice thing Southern men say to children when they want to share something with them.  What a nincompoop!  I really didn’t mean to hurt him.  It damaged our relationship beyond repair. 

Imagine how Jesus felt when they said to him: Aren’t you Joseph’s boy; and are you really Joseph’s?  Ancient readers may have recognized the accusation immediately.  Once we understand the context, we can begin to understand what happened.

Jesus says doubtless you will say to me “Doctor, cure yourself!”  In other words, cure yourself of your own illegitimacy, your own uncleanness.   He then accuses them of demanding that he perform miracles.  He follows that up by saying “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown.” 

These statements are revealing.  First, the elders know the rumors.  They question Jesus’ legitimacy.  They know the dirt.  They have essentially called Jesus a bastard.  Jesus cannot change his parentage by performing a miracle.

Second, Jesus doesn’t call himself “God’s son.”  Instead, he calls himself of prophet, a man of God.  In other words, Jesus is fully human in this story.  He returns home only to be confronted by rumors and rejected by those in his neighborhood synagogue. 

Third, this tells us that Jesus apparently had a normal childhood.  The townspeople knew him as a child.  They did not recognize any special powers in him.  He didn’t perform miracles when he was there.  He didn’t perform miracles as a child.  There are Gnostic infancy narratives that describe Jesus as a devious child who misused his power but who eventually learned to use his powers for good, but these are later stories are not considered reliable. [The Infancy Gospel of Thomas]  The townspeople of Nazareth were not afraid of him.  This story confronts us with Jesus’ humanity.

Many people want to plop theological doctrines onto every story they read in the Bible.  This is inappropriate and misleading.  This passage says nothing about Jesus as the Son of God who came to die for our sins.  Instead, Jesus is accused of being a bastard.  Jesus refers to himself merely as a prophet.  Saying that prophesy is fulfilled does not imply that Jesus is God or even that prophesy is literally fulfilled.  It is a spiritual interpretation of the text.  Jesus is a spiritual teacher forced to deal with bigoted, religious people.

Just because the passage doesn’t say Jesus is God doesn’t mean that he isn’t God.  It’s just that the passage doesn’t say this.  Sometimes it’s simply more profitable to see Jesus’ human side.  Jesus was fully human.  He was not a demigod, half God and half man.  The mystery is that Jesus was both fully human and fully divine.  It’s impossible for us to imagine him this way.  For many Christians to see Jesus as both fully human and fully God is to see his body as merely a shell for the divine.  It’s impossible to see both at the same time.

So we must at times see Jesus as a human being.  By seeing his humanity we can better understand him and the conflict he evokes.  We can better place ourselves in his shoes, and we can better understand his ministry. 

Here Jesus attempts to address the synagogue.  He selects parts of certain verses and then reads them together.  Then he sits down to teach his message: the poor, imprisoned, and oppressed are blessed.  The people appear impressed, but they are not sold on the idea.  They question his authority.

Today we can imagine something similar happening in many churches.  Jesus has just placed economic and social justice issues at the center of his ministry. That didn’t go over very well in his day, and it wouldn’t go over well in many churches today.  We can imagine the reactions we might get just for speaking this truth.  It’s likely that some congregations would show us the door.

Jesus then makes his point clear.  God sent the prophets to feed a pagan while many Jews starved.  God healed an enemy while Jews suffered.  Just when they expected to hear about God’s vengeance on Israel’s enemies, Jesus says no, you are the despised.  You are the unworthy.  You are the unclean.  You are the bastards.  [Isaiah 61:2]

Many Christians today believe that Jesus will return to destroy the world, kill nonbelievers, and then sentence their souls to eternal torture and torment.  This is not unlike the Jews in the synagogue who looked forward to God’s vengeance on their enemies and on Pagans, i.e., those of other faiths and cultures.  What Jesus said to them he now says to us.  God will surprise you!  Those you think destined for torment, God will save; and those who you think are saved, God will ignore.

GOD'S PRIORITIES AND JESUS' MISSION: The Rejection of Jesus at Nazareth and what it Means to Fulfill Scripture (Luke 4:14-21)

GOD’S PRIORITIES AND JESUS’ MISSION: The Rejection of Jesus at Nazareth and what it Means to Fulfill Scripture (Luke 4:14-21)

By

Richard Mario Procida, Esq.

Luke 4:14-21 (NRSV):

¹⁴Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. ¹⁵He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.

 ¹⁶When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, ¹⁷and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

¹⁸“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, ¹⁹to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” ²⁰

And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. ²¹Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

This passage is the first half of a strange story.   By the end of the story Jesus is run out of town.  Everyone in the synagogue wants to kill him.  But this first part doesn’t capture that tone.  We don’t have a clear idea of what’s going on yet.  We only have half the story.

Jesus has had great success in the countryside and now returns home.  He attends synagogue as was his custom.  This is expected, because Jesus is a spiritual person.  He has a ministry of his own.  Of course Jesus would go to synagogue every chance he gets.  That’s something any spiritual or religious Jew would do.  Jesus participated in the Jewish religious community.

Spiritually minded people participate in religious and spiritual communities.   This is where they learn about spirituality, talk about spirituality, and engage in spiritual practices.  Whether in a small groups, at a spiritual center, as part of another religion, or in the various forms of religious or spiritual services or activities, spirituality is best practiced within a community.   Many today call themselves spiritual but not religious, but to be spiritual one should participate in a spiritual community. 

Sometimes, however, our experience in these spiritual and religious communities doesn’t go smoothly.  We have our own ideas and callings.  Sometimes our ideas and callings don’t mesh with every community.   We don’t always recognize this right away.  Eventually we get the message

This is what happened to Jesus.  He hasn’t got the message yet.  At this point everything seems normal.  Jesus volunteers to read.  Yet there’s a tension in the air.  The action slows.  The tradition is to read and then offer interpretation.  Jesus reads from the book of Isaiah.  He combines different verses.   He reads Isaiah 61:1 and part of verse 2, and part of Isaiah 58:6.  This is interesting for what he chose to read and for what he chose to omit.

This first part of the story introduces Jesus’ mission.  Jesus is filled with the Spirit of God, but notice later that he is anointed by the Spirit in order “to bring good news to the poor.”  Jesus hasn’t been anointed just to be anointed.  Jesus is anointed for a reason, and that reason is “to bring good news to the poor.”

In Luke, “the poor” always includes those living in economic poverty.  Remember in Acts, which was written by Luke, the community shared everything. [Acts 2:44 and 4:32] Luke’s community was concerned about poverty and was likely poor itself.  Many interpreters attempt to minimize this focus by talking about the “poor in spirit” as in Matthew, but that’s really not appropriate when reading Luke.  When Luke has Jesus refer to the poor, captives, and the oppressed, we are meant to understand this to mean those in poverty, prisoners, slaves, the marginalized and those excluded from the community, including the diseased, mentally ill, the disabled, women, and Gentiles.

Today these people include racial and other minorities, people of different faiths, persons with different sexual preferences and identities, and people with different lifestyles.  All the marginalized and oppressed of the world, including prisoners. 

 Isaiah 61:1 speaks of “release to the prisoners.”  “Captives” and “prisoners’ include those imprisoned for unpaid debts as well as political prisoners.  Most Jews were poor because of the taxation rates imposed by Rome.  Many fell into debt.  The oppressive Roman economic system threatened debtors with imprisonment.  Many were left to die in prison, because they couldn’t pay their bills.

This connection is made even more explicit by Jesus’ reference to “the year of the Lord’s favor.”  This may be a reference to the Jubilee Year.  According to Leviticus 25:10 every fifty years the land was to lay fallow, debts were to be forgiven, and slaves were to be set free.   Jeremiah 34:14, however, suggests the practice may have never been followed.  In any case, for Jesus to define his mission as “good news to the poor,” release to captives, and freedom to the oppressed, is to make economic and social justice issues central to his ministry.

“Captives” also included slaves.  Half the Roman population was slaves.  They had no rights and could be crucified for disobedience.  If they refused to have sex or spoke in an offensive way, they could be crucified.  This happened daily.  Crucifixions happened outside the gate so that any slave coming into the city could see what would happen should he disobey. It was very much a crucifixion industry.  [Thomas E. Boomershine, PhD, A Storytelling Commentary on Luke 4:14-21 (2009).] 

Jesus omits the second part of verse 61:2 which calls for “a day of vengeance” and “comfort for all who mourn”.  He replaced it with “to let the oppressed go free.”  This tells us the emphasis of Jesus’ ministry.  His ministry is not about death or vengeance.  Just when the audience waited to hear about God’s wrath, a very popular theme for first century Jews, Jesus flips the message.  It’s about freeing the oppressed, not vengeance or wrath.  It is about justice, not death or damnation.  His message is universal.  Jesus is calling for a more inclusive community, one including gentiles and other marginalized people.  For Jesus salvation is universal and available to all, Jew and Gentile alike.

When Jesus sits down to give his interpretation, all eyes are fixed upon him.  Now we’ve set the tone.  Their eyes were fixed upon him not because they understood the importance of what he said.  Their eyes were fixed upon him, because he had made a big splash in the countryside.  They had probably talked about him already.  They may have taken some pride in their “native son”, but they were likely critical of him as well.  Verse 22 says they spoke well of him and were amazed by his gracious words.  That’s like saying “what a nice man and what a wonderful thing to say.”  They may have even thought him naïve, thinking the “day of the Lord’s favor” had come. 

Jesus explained, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”  Today something they weren’t expecting has occurred.  Today something that reality tells them hasn’t happened yet has happened.  Like today, those in the synagogue would have questions.  How has scripture been fulfilled? The Romans are still in power.  The prisons are still full.  Slavery is rampant.  The poor are still destitute.  The blind still beg.  The Israelites are still oppressed.  How is it that this scripture has been fulfilled?  It’s laughable.

Jesus’ ministry was very much about the “now”.  Today scripture is fulfilled.  No more waiting around.  Open your eyes; let the blind see.  Scripture is fulfilled today. 

The Kingdom of God is here now.  How can there be anything but the Kingdom of God?  God rules now.  It’s up to us to work for God’s Kingdom, to make God’s Kingdom manifest. 

God’s Kingdom is good news to the poor.  It’s release for those in prison and freedom for the oppressed.  It’s a world where people demand economic and social justice.  

We Christians shouldn’t just wait for Jesus to return.  We especially shouldn’t wait for a day of vengeance or wrath.  Instead, we should be working to make Jesus’ mission a reality.  We should follow Jesus.

Jesus’ ministry focused on the poor, imprisoned, and oppressed.  This should be our focus, too.  The church, as a religious institution, should use its authority to address poverty, discrimination, and all other forms of social and economic injustice.  Of course, our churches are not, and should not become social service agencies.  There are some things government does much better.  But if we are to follow Jesus, we must address these issues.

Jesus also says scripture is fulfilled “in our hearing.”  If we truly hear what Jesus is saying, if we take what Jesus says seriously, we will take action to make his mission a reality.  We will follow him.  We will make the poor and oppressed our priority.  We will make freedom and justice our priority.  We will make God’s Kingdom our priority.  In so doing we follow Jesus and, thereby, fulfill scripture.

Now say that to your community and see what happens.  Those in the synagogue didn’t understand, either.  So Jesus kept talking.  It’s up to us to hear his words.

To be continued. . . .

Being a Supernaturally Gifted Servant of God (1 Corinthians 12:1-11)

Being a Supernaturally Gifted Servant of God (1 Corinthians 12:1-11)

By

Richard Mario Procida, Esq.

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

12Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. ²You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. ³Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says “Let Jesus be cursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit. ⁴Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; ⁵and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; ⁶and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. ⁷To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. ⁸To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, ⁹to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, ¹⁰to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.  [NRSV]

                I usually don’t read scripture literally.  The symbolic and metaphorical meanings are almost always more important and useful.  A mere literal reading is superficial and often misleading; it’s only the first level of interpretation.   In this case, however, it is important to take the existence of spiritual gifts literally.

                If we are not open to the supernatural, then we are in danger of becoming what a growing number of Americans are saying they are not: “religious but not spiritual”.  The fastest growing religious identity in American is those who say they are “spiritual but not religious”.  More and more Americans are rejecting religion, especially religion devoid of spirituality. 

Spirituality presumes the existence of the supernatural.  Spirituality without the supernatural is psychology.  Religion without the supernatural is philosophy.   Without the supernatural, the church has little justification.  The experience of God is supernatural and we must experience God.  Beliefs are mere substitutes for experience.  Without the supernatural we cannot provide spiritual fulfillment.  The experience of the ineffable is the Holy Grail.  Without it we offer mere illusion.

Paul wants us to be informed.  Many in Corinth worshipped idols before they became Christians.  Those idols could not speak.  Be thankful we have the true God who speaks through us by the utterance of wisdom and knowledge, by faith and healing, by miracles and prophesy, and tongues and the interpretation of tongues.  We worship a living God, the Spirit of the risen Christ that is present among us and who speaks through us supernaturally.

Paul then offers a form of discernment.  He says that no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit, and no one speaking by the Holy Spirit can say “let Jesus be cursed.”  These observations should be interpreted in their historical context.  Otherwise we misunderstand Paul. 

For some reason, Christians believe that the Spirit somehow prevents people from saying “Jesus is Lord” unless they are Christians.  This is not what Paul means.  We know that such an interpretation is wrong, because we have no evidence of people being prevented from speaking these words.  People have not choked up or been made mute when trying to say “Jesus is Lord.”  

We can test this theory.  Just assemble a group of atheists and ask them to say “Jesus is Lord.”  I’m sure they will oblige, because they are interested in proving you wrong.  You will find that nothing prevents them from saying these words.  So the interpretation that the Spirit prevents non-Christians from saying these words is simply wrong.  If it were true, then we would all be sitting around a table pointing fingers at one another saying “Jesus is Lord” to test whether we and others speak by the Holy Spirit.  Such a practice would look silly. In the United States, anyone can say “Jesus is Lord” with little fear of persecution.

In the first century, however, those who proclaimed “Jesus is Lord” where directly affronting the Roman Emperor.  Such a claim could lead to imprisonment and death.  To make the statement “Jesus is Lord” required great courage. 

Today, people who stand up for social and economic justice are in effect saying “Jesus is Lord.”  Their speech promotes the common good.  In some foreign countries, to proclaim ones faith in Christ is a political offense or puts one at risk for persecution and discrimination.  Similarly, standing up for freedom and democracy can lead to imprisonment, torture and death.  Today, we look to the Arab Spring and the protests in countries like Syria, Bahrain, Yemen, Iran, and China, to name but a few, to understand what it meant to Paul to say “Jesus is Lord.”

To understand the statement “let Jesus be cursed”, one must remember that when Paul wrote there was no New Testament.  The Corinthians had Paul’s letter, and they had the Torah.  The Torah states that “anyone hung on a tree is under God’s curse.” [Deuteronomy 21:23]  So there must have been debate about this. 

To say that Jesus was simply a man executed by Rome is to say Jesus is cursed.  The Roman Empire would have no problem with this.  If Jesus were simply a man, if he is not risen through us, if there is no supernatural, then no one could speak by the Holy Spirit.  Paul wants us to know that these spiritual gifts are real. 

While there are many spiritual gifts, services and activities, all are from the same Spirit, the same God, and the same Lord. (v. 4-7)  That “Lord” is Jesus Christ.  To say that “Jesus is Lord” is not only to pledge allegiance to Jesus rather than to Rome, it is to accept the supernatural, to experience God’s presence, and to allow the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, to activate our gifts for the common good.

All spiritual gifts are supernatural, but not all gifts are what we think of as supernatural.  Wisdom and knowledge are learned faculties.  Wisdom and knowledge may have supernatural origins. We may merely foster and develop them as we pursue our interests.  Our talents and abilities are truly gifts from God.  What makes them activated by the Spirit is when we are inspired to use them for the common good.

Spiritual gifts are also overtly supernatural.  Paul writes that spiritual gifts are from God. (v.7)  They are real.  Healings, miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirits, tongues and the interpretation of tongues are all gifts of the Holy Spirit. (v.11)  Paul attests to this here.

The supernatural is real.  Paul observed these gifts in action.  He is a precipitant witness.  These gifts were practiced then.  They have not gone away.  God has not pulled the Holy Spirit from us.  We should accept these gifts both in their supernatural and nominal forms.  We should begin by understanding and recognizing them both in ourselves and in others.  Most importantly, we should be open to them.

This is good news.  A magical world where the supernatural happens is an infinitely better world to live in.  The problem is one of discernment. 

Each and every one of us are allotted spiritual gifts. (v. 6 and 11)  The Spirit activates them for the common good. (v.7)  This is another way of discerning the gifts of the Spirit.  Paul provides little other guidance regarding discernment here but addresses this issue in other parts of the letter.  The message from this reading, however, is that spiritual gifts are real and are from God.

Human beings allow themselves to be easily deceived.  Many deemphasize the supernatural out of fear of human superstitions.  Images of Jesus on a piece of toast and other alleged miraculous events saturate our airwaves.  People are easily taken and lead astray by charlatans.  These concerns are real and not to be taken lightly.  They, however, should not prevent us from recognizing and activating our supernatural spiritual gifts.

Recently I took a picture with a spirit.  On a ghost investigation I sensed a spirit and asked it to take a picture with me.  I put out my arm as if to hug the spirit and my friend took a picture.   A small brilliant and colorful orb appeared in the fold of my arm.  The experience has changed me.  I am all the more certain now that we have eternal life.  The photographic evidence is strong, especially considering that the orb appeared exactly where we asked it to, an intelligent response.   It’s amazing and real.  For me, there’s no reason to doubt the supernatural.  There’s no reason for us to doubt Paul either, a man who had his own amazing experience on the road to Damascus.

I’m not saying that every church has to have people who speak in tongues.  What I am saying is that some of the times speaking in tongues is real.  There are plenty of people who practice healing.  Reiki, an ancient Japanese form of spiritual healing, is performed in many hospitals across the country.  New Age practitioners are channeling spirits, communicating with spirits, predicting the future, performing spiritual healings, exploring past lives, and interacting with angels and spirit guides.  Police are suing psychic mediums.  Why are Christians denying the existence of the supernatural even while Paul and the Bible attest to it?

Fear of superstition is overrated.  The supernatural must be incorporated into our lives and into our churches.  Without the supernatural, we can have no relationship with supernatural beings like God, the Holy Spirit, and the risen Christ.  This blog, for example, is the result of the gifts of prophesy and the utterance of wisdom and knowledge.  (This does not make me better or even more spiritual, because the Holy Spirit activates these gifts in me for the common good and not for my aggrandizement.) 

We need to take a hint from the New Agers who are unafraid to explore the supernatural.  What’s missing for many people is a relationship with God.  Any relationship with the Holy Spirit or with Jesus is supernatural as well as relational.  We should not be afraid to proclaim revelatory wisdom, knowledge and prophesy.  We should practice the gifts of spiritual, emotional, and physical healing.   We should work miracles, discern spirits, speak in tongues, and interpret tongues.  They don’t have to overtake our church services, but they should be a part of our community. 

God comes into our community from within, not from upon high.  Whether we are artists, healers, artisans, or laborers, our gifts are from God.  Church should be a place where we can explore and share them without feeling shamed or discouraged.  If we practice our gifts, we might be surprised.  Without the supernatural, there’s a strange emptiness in our souls.  May we be blessed and filled with the Spirit; and may we identify, express, use, and discern our spiritual gifts for the common good. 

EPIPHANY: Unveiling the Truth about the Nativity Stories

Epiphany: Unveiling the Truth about the Nativity Stories

By

Richard Mario Procida, Esq.

 (v.1) In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, (v. 2) asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” (v. 3) When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; (v. 4) and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. (v. 5) They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: (v. 6) ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel’.”  (v. 7) Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. (v. 8) Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” (v. 9) When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. (v. 10) When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. (v. 11) On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. (v. 12) And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road. [Matthew 2:1-12]

                The Birth of Jesus is recorded only in Matthew and Luke.  Both stories differ significantly.  Two weeks ago we heard part of Luke’s version of events, specifically the angel Gabriel’s visits to Zechariah and to Mary, Mary’s trip to see Elizabeth, and the Magnificat.[Escape to Judea] This Epiphany we hear Matthew’s version of Jesus’ birth.

                Epiphany means disclosure or unveiling.  This year God calls upon us to disclose or unveil the truth about the nativity stories.  They are not historical accounts.  They are different and probably incompatible or at least unlikely to both be factually accurate.  There are only a few things that are likely to be factual.  The rest is literary fiction.

                Being a Christian means telling the truth, especially about the Bible.  It’s about being honest.  What type of church misleads its congregants or allows them to believe falsely?  Only Christians insecure in their faith need others to confirm their beliefs.  Even if you believe the nativity stories can be harmonized, it’s inauthentic not to acknowledge the differences. 

                This is also about telling the story of Jesus’ birth as it is written in the Bible, rather than making up a third story that is told nowhere in the Bible.  Luke tells one story. Matthew tells another.  No story in the Bible has both Magi and Shepherds.  No infancy account in the Bible has both the slaughter of the innocents and Jesus’ circumcision and presentation in the Temple. Any story that includes both is extra-biblical.  It’s a fabrication made up by combining both stories. 

Many Christians don’t know, and don’t want to know, what’s really in the Bible.  To question the factual accuracy of the stories seems disloyal to them.  They believe a theology that says the Bible is inerrant and factually accurate, but this claim is found nowhere in the Bible.  The Bible doesn’t claim to be inerrant and historically accurate.  Inerrancy is an unbiblical theological claim. 

Many Christians do not believe the Bible, either.  Instead, they believe in theological doctrines.  When the facts about the Bible are presented to them, they overlook them in favor of their theological presuppositions.  These doctrines and presuppositions cause them to misread the Bible and to falsify God’s word.  They then use the Bible for their own purposes rather than to serve God.

The Bible is not a history textbook.  It’s a story about a man who lived 2000 years ago who changed the world.  It’s a story about how God intervenes in our world.  It’s a mystical story that rings true morally and spiritually.  It’s literature.  It’s historical fiction.              

Many Christians also have a superficial knowledge of the Bible.  Even though they study it thoroughly, they approach it with false presuppositions and never study it scientifically.  They never think to compare and contrast the gospel stories.  They remain mostly unaware of the synoptic problem. They do not see the problems the text addresses.  They don’t recognize the issues.  Instead they focus on superficial things.

For example, was the star in Matthew a comet or a rare alignment of planets?  The answer is neither, its fiction.  The star disappears while the Magi are with King Herod. [Matt. 2:7-9].   A natural phenomenon doesn’t just disappear.  At best, it’s a supernatural event.  More likely it’s simply a story Matthew used to express the significance of Jesus’ birth.  Luke has angels appear to shepherds instead.  Both images signify the birth of the Messiah.

Matthew and Luke tell different stories.  One story has Magi.  The other has shepherds. [Luke 2:15-20]    One story has the baby Jesus is in a house, in the other a Manger.  [Luke 2:12-13]  In Matthew a star appears over the house where the baby Jesus lies.  Luke has angels appear to shepherds. [Luke 2:8-14]  In Matthew, Mary and Joseph flee with Jesus to Egypt. [Matt. 2:13-15]  In Luke they go to Jerusalem and then return to Nazareth.  [Luke 2:21-49]  These differences demonstrate that Matthew and Luke are Evangelicals with agendas.  They want to tell a meaningful story, but they wrote separately and came up with different versions.

                Matthew and Luke deal with the same problems but solve these problems differently.  For example, both need to trace Jesus’ linage back to King David.  Matthew did it through Joseph. [Matt. 1:1-17] Luke did it though Mary. [Luke 23-34] Both needed to place Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem.  Matthew simply placed the birth in Bethlehem, but Luke moves Mary and Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem by means of a census.  Both needed to deal with the issue of Mary’s suspicious pregnancy so as to avoid divorce or execution by stoning for the crime of adultery. [Escape to Judea]  Luke has Gabriel strike Zechariah mute while Mary obtains Elizabeth’s blessing. [Luke 1:5-25, 39-56] Matthew has the angel Gabriel appear to Joseph to convince him to take Mary as his wife. [Matt. 1:19-21] Luke, on the other hand, avoids implicating Joseph in any way.   

                There was no census.  There was no massacre of the innocents.  Neither of these have sufficient historical support.  It’s unfathomable that Josephus, an ancient historian, would have neglected to record King Herod’s order to kill all boys aged two and under in Bethlehem and the surrounding region.  Instead, Matthew uses this to identify Jesus as the new Moses who will set Israel free.  Luke knew that Jesus was from Nazareth.  So he used the alleged census to move Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem where prophesy said the Messiah would be born.  These stories serve Matthew’s and Luke’s purposes, not to tell factually accurate stories but to convince people that Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of God.  To fail to understand this is to fail to appreciate the liberty with which these authors wrote.

                The Bible is meant to bring us closer to God.  It’s not a history lesson.  It’s the story of Jesus, the Son of God who gave his life for us.  We are meant to learn from these stories.  We are meant to grow in Christ, not to recite facts.

Faith is not about believing things.  It’s about following God.  Belief is about trust. If we consider the stories, understand them, and model our lives after them, we trust that our lives will serve God.  We will do God’s will.  We will do our part to transform ourselves and the world.  That’s what being a Christian is.  Rather than waiting around for Jesus to return, or until we die, whatever comes first, we follow God and seek transformation for ourselves and the world.  The Bible serves these causes.  It is not a recitation of historical fact.  It’s a spiritual text that transforms us and the world.

                So what is true about the Nativity stories?  There are two things that are probably factual.  First, it’s probably true that Jesus was born likely during the reign of Kink Herod between 4 and 6 CE.  Most scholars agree that Jesus was an actual person who lived and died in the first century.  The second fact likely to be true is that Jesus was from Nazareth.  All of the gospels record this, because people knew this about Jesus.  So this fact is likely to be true. 

As for the rest of the Nativity stories in both Matthew and Luke, they are mostly fiction.  To teach or allow people to believe that both stories are factually accurate in their entirety is to be dishonest both with them and about the Bible.  Let this ignorance end, and let no such sin darken God’s house this season, because if you do Christians will continue to live in ignorance and their faith will be in vain.

THE GENERATION GAP: Why Young People Leave the Church and What to Do About It (Christmas IC)

THE GENERATION GAP:

Why Young People Leave the Church and What to Do About It (Christmas IC)

By

Richard Mario Procida, Esq.

¹²As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. ¹³Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ¹⁴Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. ¹⁵And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. ¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. ¹⁷And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

¹⁸Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. ¹⁹Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly. ²⁰Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is your acceptable duty in the Lord. ²¹Fathers, do not provoke your children, or they may lose heart. [Colossians 3:12-21]

            Church attendance has been declining since the 1970s.[i]  Today a mere twenty percent of Americans attend church regularly.  It’s even worse in Europe.[ii]  2.7 million Americans leave the Church every year.[iii] At first only the Mainline churches were declining, but now even Evangelical churches are seeing young people leave the church at about age 15, as soon as they have a choice, many times never to come back.[iv]

            My experience is typical.  During my teen years I felt uncomfortable and judged at church.   At the same time I suspected those in church were hypocritical or phony. When my mother forced me to go the summer camp, I felt alone.  There was nothing to do except be mischievous, and most of the kids were.  By junior high I began cutting Sunday school.

 In Sunday school I didn’t feel respected or even liked.  I was an intelligent young man, but I constantly felt talked down to in class.   I had questions and comments which the teacher and fellow students didn’t appreciate.  

I didn’t relate to the kids at church.  I felt my home life didn’t conform to their standards.  I couldn’t be myself around them.

Then I started to find myself disagreeing with the sermons. I liked rock music but was told to be worried about backwards lyrics and rockstars who sold their souls to the Devil.   At the same time I craved peace and happiness.  I wasn’t finding it in church.

Then the concerns about sexual sin came.  I found myself in church essentially being confronted about masturbation.  I didn’t have a girlfriend.  I wasn’t having premarital sex.  The discussions about sexual sin translated to me as about masturbation.  

Eventually I thought I would try to stop masturbating as a spiritual practice.  It didn’t work.  So I gave up.  Abstinence caused me pain and dissatisfaction without any spiritual benefit.  I didn’t feel closer to God.  More important things like getting my education and preparing for my future took precedence. 

In retrospect, it makes sense that I didn’t get along with these conservative kids at my church.  I grew up on the “Southside”.  I lived in a working class Latino neighborhood.  My friends were my neighbors and classmates, not the kids at my church. 

In my late twenties I attempted to go back to church.  I had had a number of spiritual experiences.  As an older student in college, I became interested in feminism after having one of the most significant spiritual experiences of my life during a gender studies class.  I decided to pursue a minor in The Study of Women and Men in Society, the University of Southern California’s Gender studies program.

I became a feminist anti-pornography advocate.  At that time the issue of pornography was a hot topic in church.  I remember one event at a Calvary Chapel where they were discussing abortion as the top Christian priority.  I got up and suggested that pornography be first, because it deals with the causes of unwanted pregnancies, and because we can build bridges to the feminist community and make them allies rather than enemies.  The response I got that day made me decide that I never wanted to go to church ever again.

Of course this would not be my fate.  My mother belonged to this type of church, and so did my brothers and other family members.  One day I read a newspaper article about a church performing civil unions for homosexuals.  I decided to try this church.  A liberal church might be different, I thought.  I attended this church for a time before going to law school.

After law school, I began attending spiritual classes.  I attended services at a spiritual center across town.  Then I decided I wanted a community closer to home.  I felt a need at this point in my spiritual journey to settle on a path.  I felt like I was dabbling in different spiritual paths, going down one then investigating another, and not getting to the deeper levels of spiritual practice and understanding.  I thought that if I focused on one path I might find deeper meaning.

I was also becoming more politically active.  I felt a calling to get involved, and I felt my faith was a part of that calling.

I chose Christianity, because it is the faith of my youth.  Also, my father had been discussing theology with me.  He has a Master’s of Divinity and served as pastor briefly when I was small child.  He stills studies theology.  At some point I became interested in the progressive Christian perspective, something my father didn’t anticipate. 

Then I read another newspaper article about the Episcopal Church ordaining lesbian Bishops.  I had read some of Bishop Spong’s books and liked other progressive Episcopal writers, too.  Additionally, I had attended an Episcopal church when I was in college.  So I decided to try the local Episcopal church that I had attended as a very young child before we went to the Baptist church down the street and then to the Baptist church up on the hill. 

I got involved quickly.  I even helped them write their mission statement.  But I felt more and more uncomfortable.  I had different points of view and I wanted to talk about them.  Some people enjoyed my participation in the Bible study and in church, but others didn’t like me.  I would sometimes get angry looks.  I describe them as bug-eyed looks.  Often an older member would glare at me, teeth clenched with one eye seeming to bulge out at me.  These people seemed rigid and didn’t want to discuss religion, spirituality, or politics.  This is horrendous, because church is the place to talk about life’s big questions.  Many were hostile toward different interpretations of scripture.

Eventually, I got sick of reciting the Nicene Creed.  I first tried to change it to make it more acceptable, but every week I said something different and realized that I would have to rewrite the whole creed.  I came to see the creed as Roman Imperial religion and could no longer recite it in good faith.  When the new rector came on board, I decided I had completed my work there.  I still attend their evening Bible study lead by the new rector.  I feel some freedom to express myself there, and there are very few Bible studies where I feel welcome.   I know that some attendees don’t like me.

I now attend a church where I feel comfortable expressing myself.  I’m sure some people don’t like my blog.  Most of those people don’t attend the discussion groups I attend, and they don’t really say anything to me.  I want people to know that I’m responsive to constructive criticism.  There is conflict no matter what church you go to.  Healthy conflict is honest and encouraging without being toxic.

Even my father and my brother have difficulty fitting in at their churches.  My father has a graduate level theological education and knowledge of the Bible, and he doesn’t feel free to express his views fully at his church.  My father tends toward conservative theology, but he still has to restrain himself when he’s in church.  It’s such a waste.  The members of his church are missing out on his wisdom.

My younger brother recently made a real effort to return to church.  I remember he even got baptized at the Southern Baptist church not far from where we lived.  I don’t think he felt he got the experience he was looking for.  I think he felt that it didn’t make a difference in his life. It didn’t work. 

Then one day the pastor challenged anyone in the church who believed in evolution.  My brother is into science.  He watches all the astronomy and astrophysics shows.  He’s familiar with the science behind evolution and carbon dating.  I don’t’ know if it was the issue of evolution, or if it was just the idea of demanding adherence on matters of science that turned by brother off to that church.  As far as I know he never went back.

These personal experiences while unique to me and my family are not all that dissimilar from the experiences of others.  Studies have found that even Born-again Christians do not agree with all that Evangelical churches teach.  For example, one study found that only a little more than fifty percent of Born-again Christians believe it is impossible for someone to earn their way into heaven.  Only sixty-two percent strongly believe that Jesus lived a sinless life.  The same study defined “biblical worldview” and found that only 20% of born-again Christians and a miniscule one-half of one percent of adults aged 18 to 23 held a “biblical worldview.”[v]

Another study found that among self-described Christians, only 43% believe that the Bible is accurate in all the principles it teaches.  Even among those who say that they will get into heaven only because they accepted Jesus as their savior, only 48% believe the Bible is entirely accurate.  Among Born-again Christians only 65% believe this. Additionally, 53% of Christians believe that Satan is a symbol and not a living entity.[vi]

The reasons given for leaving the church are similar, too.  One study found that young people left the church because they felt the church “demonized” everything outside the church.  They resented the church being concerned about videogames and movies while ignoring real-world issues.  They find the church’s teachings on sexuality outdated and say that the church fails to deal effectively with doubt. 

Young people have doubt, and that the church is unreceptive to their questions.  Young people feel the church is not a safe place to express doubts, the church’s response to doubt is trivial, and Christianity doesn’t make sense sometimes.  A third of them said they could not ask life’s most pressing questions at church.  Almost a quarter have significant intellectual doubts.

These young adults feel marginalized.    Most disturbing is that one out of six said their faith doesn’t help them with depression or emotional problems.  The Church is not serving young people well.[vii]

At the same time young people with church experience found church uninspiring.  Thirty-one percent were bored with church.  Twenty-four percent question the church’s relevancy to their life, career and interests.  Twenty percent said God seems to be missing from church. 

Many also complain about the Church’s antagonism toward science.  Thirty-five percent said Christians are over confident that they know all the answers.  One third of young people with a Christian church background said that churches are out of step with science.  A quarter felt that Christianity is “anti-science.”  Many were turned off by the creation-versus-evolution debate.

Sexuality is also an issue. Young Christians are just as sexually active as non-Christians.  Seventeen percent said they felt judged by the church.  For Catholics, 40% found the church’s teaching on sexuality and birth control out of date.   Given the Church’s prohibitions on sexuality, it’s no wonder younger and single people leave while older and married people stay. 

The universality of Christianity is also at issue.  Nearly a third felt that churches fear other beliefs and faiths.  A quarter felt that they had to choose between their friends or their faith.  One-fifth described the church as a country club, only for insiders.

Young people leave the church because they don’t believe the doctrines anymore, don’t feel free to be themselves, and aren’t experiencing God in church.  The insistence on correct doctrine discourages difference and forces those who disagree out.  When we focus on beliefs and creeds, we create a mechanism by which to cull our flocks rather than to grow them.  People self select out when they conclude that they can’t or won’t accept the ever increasing plethora of doctrines and views on issues ranging from evolution and abortion to the denigration of people of other faiths and the supremacy of Christianity that the church demands they believe.

Beliefs and creeds are overrated.  Insistence upon “correct doctrine” discourages questioning and discussion.    This is a travesty, because church is the place where people should address important spiritual questions.  We can’t do that in any realistic and honest way when we insist upon enforcing correct belief and doctrines, especially when those doctrines don’t make sense.  

We need to be open to other people’s opinions and accept that people will come to different answers in their walk with the Lord.  A “cookie-cutter” approach to religion, spirituality, and life’s big questions won’t work.  We can’t have pat answers to anticipated questions, because people come to their own individual and unique conclusions.  There are many reasons for this.  A real and honest relationship recognizes and allows for disagreement.

In Colossians we find a more tolerant and welcoming description of how we should be.  We are to bear one another, forgive one another, love one another, be at peace with one another, teach and instruct one another, recognize our collective wisdom, and sing gladly.  Nothing here says to make sure everyone believes the same thing.  It says nothing about making sure everyone understands correct doctrine.  There was no “correct doctrine” when Paul wrote.  Instead, Paul envisions a bottom up experience. 

Rather than dictate beliefs to the congregation, Paul tells us to teach and instruct one another.  The word “admonish” really means to warn, instruct, or guide.  We are to warn, instruct, and guide one another. This requires openness to and respect for what others have to say.  We are to be meek, humble, and patient with one another.  We are also to be compassionate and kind.  Paul doesn’t say that everyone must think and believe the same thing, like a bunch of robots.  We are to understand and know God in our own ways, and then share our insights with one another.

            The reading then confronts us with an example.  Paul asks family members to treat each other with respect. 

Ancient culture was patriarchal.  Paul tells the Colossians how to relate to one another within the dominant social structure of their time.  Today we wouldn’t tell women to subject themselves to their husbands.  We would interpret it so that it makes sense within our culture, a culture where women are respected as equals.

            Notice that Paul doesn’t tell husbands to make their wives subject to them, nor does he tell fathers to demand that their children obey them.  Yet how many times has a passage like this been used to demand things of others? 

Instead, Paul tells husbands to treat their wives kindly and to be respectful toward their children.  The instruction is not to enforce a patriarchal family structure, it to respect one another and treat each other kindly in whatever familial or social structure one finds oneself.

            The good news is that young people are concerned about important issues.  They have questions, and they want things to make sense.  They want to be real, and they want to know truth. 

            Americans remain a spiritually focused people.  Two-thirds of Americans view themselves as “deeply spiritual.”  Eighty-two percent describe themselves as “spiritually mature.” 

            We also want make a difference in the world.  Almost nine out of ten care deeply about social injustice and morality.  Most Americans feel they are fulfilling their calling in life while half also say they are searching for meaning and purpose.    These facts tell us that there is room for a spiritual community in people’s lives.[viii]

            The problem we face is that many of our most committed members, the ones who have remained, tend to hold orthodox views.[ix]  The liberal church has yet to capture the imaginations of young people and lay liberals. 

Some argue that church has lost its relevance.  If we continue doing the same thing, we will continue to see the same results.[x]  Others warn us not to “water down the message.”[xi]  The liberal church offers a weak theology that does not demand much of their members.[xii]  The question is how are we to reenergize those “lay liberals” who tend to leave the church while retaining our more traditional minded members.  

            Lay liberals are Universalists.  They believe that other religious also have a valid claim to truth.  They say that all the world’s religions teach the same things.  God is reflected in all the world’s religions.  They firmly reject the idea that God sends people to Hell.  Instead, they believe in honesty and other moral virtues, and they encourage tolerance and civility in a pluralistic society. 

Lay liberals also present certain challenges.  They have a strong aversion to aggressive evangelism, perhaps because they recognize the validity of other faiths.  They seldom discuss religious matters with others, even with their family and closest friends.  This puts the church  in a precarious position.  Without new blood, a church slowly dies.

We have not fashioned a message that compels people to spread the message and get involved.   We need a strong alternative theology that embraces difference.  It should be a theology of hope and action.  It needs to be something that people want to share with others.  A real community provides meaning and purpose.  Church must make a difference in people’s lives, in our communities, in our nation, and in the world.  Such an approach will take courage and ingenuity.  It’s is my hope that my writing contributes to this cause.

---

[i] Benton Johnson, et al., Mainline Churches: The Real Reason for Decline, (1993)    http://www.leaderu.com/ftissues/ft9303/articles/johnson.html

[ii] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_attendance

[iii] Dr. Richard J. Krejcir, Statistics and Reasons for Church Decline,( http://www.intothyword.org/articles_view.asp?articleid=36557)

[iv] Six Reasons Young Christians Leave Church (9/28/11)( http://www.barna.org/teens-next-gen-articles/528-six-reasons-young-christians-leave-church ); Rebecca Barnes & Lindy Lowry, 7 Startling Facts: An Up Close Look at Church Attendance in America (http://www.churchleaders.com/pastors/pastor-articles/139575-7-startling-facts-an-up-close-look-at-church-attendance-in-america.htmlhttp://www.churchleaders.com/pastors/pastor-articles/139575-7-startling-facts-an-up-close-look-at-church-attendance-in-america.html)

[v] Barna Survey Examines Changes in worldview Among Christians over the Past 13 Years (March 6, 2009) (http://www.barna.org/transformation-articles/252-barna-survey-examines-changes-in-worldview-among-christians-over-the-past-13-years)

[vi] Barna Study of Religious Change Since 1991 Shows Significant Changes by Faith Group (Aug 4, 2011)( http://www.barna.org/faith-spirituality/514-barna-study-of-religious-change-since-1991-shows-significant-changes-by-faith-group)

[vii] Josh Rhoten, Church is no longer a priority for younger families, which has turned many local congregations into a sea of gray hair with few young faces (Nov 13, 2011)(http://www.wyomingnews.com/articles/2011/11/13/news/01top%2011-13-11.txt)

[viii] American Spirituality Gives Way to Simplicity and the Desire to Make a Difference, (The Barna Group, Oct 27, 2008)( http://www.barna.org/faith-spirituality/19-american-spirituality-gives-way-to-simplicity-and-the-desire-to-make-a-difference

[ix] Benton Johnson, et al., Mainline Churches: The Real reason for Decline (March 1993) (http://www.leaderu.com/ftissues/ft9303/articles/johnson.html).

[x] Rebecca Barnes and Lindy Lowry, 7 Startling Facts: An Up Close Look at Church Attendance in America (http://www.churchleaders.com/pastors/pastor-articles/139575-7-startling-facts-an-up-close-look-at-church-attendance-in-america.htmlhttp://www.churchleaders.com/pastors/pastor-articles/139575-7-startling-facts-an-up-close-look-at-church-attendance-in-america.html)

[xi] Dr. Richard J. Krejcir, Statistics and Reasons for Church Decline (2007)     (http://www.intothyword.org/articles_view.asp?articleid=36557)

[xii] Dean M. Kelly, Why Conservative Churches Are Growing (1972).