Relates to chapters 3 (Gospel), 5 (Need) and 6 (Sin) of Holy Conversation book.
Intro -
We all like to communicate… but sometimes we discover that some things don’t translate well.
Some of the biggest companies in the world have discovered this the hard way… when they tried to market their products in countries….
• When Parker Pen marketed a ball-point pen in Mexico, its ads were supposed to have read, "it won’t leak in your pocket and embarrass you." Instead, the company thought that the word "embarazar" (to impregnate) meant to embarrass, so the ad read: "It won’t leak in your pocket and make you pregnant.
• In Italy, a campaign for Schweppes Tonic Water translated the name into "Schweppes Toilet Water."
• Pepsi’s "Come alive with the Pepsi Generation" translated into "Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave," in Chinese.
• Clairol introduced the "Mist Stick," a curling iron, into German only to find out that "mist" is slang for manure. Not too many people had use for the "manure stick."
• Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux used the following in an American campaign: "Nothing sucks like an Electrolux."
• Coors put its slogan, "Turn it loose," into Spanish, where it was read as "Suffer from diarrhea."
Often words just don’t carry the same meaning for different people… or any meaning to some people.
In this series entitled “Holy Conversation” which is about talking about God in everyday life…we naturally must consider how the actual meaning of our faith is conveyed. We’re reminded of the simple truth…
“It doesn’t matter what you say… only what is heard.”
This helps us consider the Good News of the Gospel.
The word “Gospel” itself is a word that we would rarely hear today outside of it’s Biblical reference. The word ‘Gospel’ literally means ‘good news.’
It carries the sense of something vital being announced… but if the message doesn’t translate into what people actually understand… then it sounds like a foreign language.
What if you turned on CNN and you saw a news ticker break into the bottom of the screen saying, ‘very important newsflash’? What if the words then shifted into a language script and alphabet you have never seen before? The newsflash is apparently important, but you can’t read it.”
We may assume too much common meaning when we talk about the great spiritual message of the Gospel. We can use words that potentially disconnect people from the dialogue, rather than engage them in deeper reflection about what’s important. (Adapted thoughts from Static by Ron Martoia, pp. 156-157)
(We cannot simply replace the words of God to make people comfortable. What we can do is look at the intended meaning and be sure we are not confusing or missing the point because we are using words that simply can’t be understood. The scriptures use different words to get at similar issues. And obviously… the original languages and lives had a context that is different. So a part of what you will have an opportunity to explore in the Holy Conversation groups is how to think about the real and relatable meaning of spiritual words.)
I want us to briefly consider today is
What is that good news of the Gospel… and how might it best be communicated?
The word ‘Gospel’ is certainly used often within the Bible… especially in the New Testament. (It is called the gospel of God (Romans 1:1), gospel of His Son (Romans 1:9), the gospel of the kingdom of God (Luke 16:16), gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24), etc…. but clearly all imply that his good news is referring to the same thing.) However, we don’t quickly find a simple single defining summary. In part it is because it is intended to capture the whole of what God had clearly done on behalf of humanity… and in part because those who heard it already understood something of that history of God’s work that was then fulfilled in Christ.
So let me offer us a basic definition…
The Gospel is essentially the Good News of what God has done on behalf of humanity, the historical work of rescuing and restoring creation which is ultimately fulfilled through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
• Life (which embodied, taught, and imparted new life with God)
• Death (which provided restored relationship by bearing our shame, sin, and separation)
• Resurrection (which defeated the powers of this world and established the ongoing power of God’s supreme presence with us.)
There are several key words used here. I want to suggest that perhaps the best over-riding word both in terms of capturing the whole and communicating in our current culture is restoration.
I want to help us capture…
The Good News (Gospel) as Restoration
I realize that this word like any one single word doesn’t convey all that the Gospel implies… but I believe it is the best of over-riding meanings. It’s a message of restoration… that is communicated (that is… ‘made common’) not only in words, but in works…. not only in proposition, but in power.
Often when speaking of the ‘good news’ of the Gospel we speak of Jesus forgiving our sins. This is true… vitally true. But I believe that forgiveness is best understood as part of the lager process of restoration.
Jesus said… “The son of man came to seek and save that which was lost.’
There is a sense of rescuing and redeeming… which I think are best captured in the word restoration.
Eugene Peterson’s Message translation even chooses the word...
Luke 19:10 (MSG)
“For the Son of Man came to find and restore the lost."
The word for salvation (Greek ‘Sozo’) is also translated as restoring and making whole.
Consider with me how did Jesus announce his ministry? With the words of the prophet Isaiah…
Luke 4:18-19 (NIV)
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor."
> Jesus is placing himself in the context of God’s plan of restoration. The larger context from which he is quoting … and which would have been familiar to his hearers…says…
Isaiah 61: 4, 11 (NIV)
“They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. ...as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.”
Clear sense of restoration… of being delivered from a bound condition to a freed condition.
So how does this relate to the reality of sin and forgiveness?
We are being delivered from sin and it’s consequences. What we are being freed from… restored from… is ultimately a condition from our own doing… a condition that we are responsible for.
But that is not something people may sense.
I believe one of the challenges to hearing the Gospel is that
The word “sin” is not a word that always resonates today…and therefore “forgiveness” becomes less compelling news.
Lets try to bring think about this very simply. If I walked up to you and told you… ‘I have some great news to announce’…. and then said… “I forgive you.” How would you feel? What would you think?
I think at least a couple issues get raised.
First , you might think - Who am I and why would my forgiveness even matter? Being reconciled with me only has meaning if I bear goodness for you…good intentions and potential.
> The significance of forgiveness depends on the positive significance of the one who we are being forgiven by.
Example: As a child, if I disappointed my parents… and they made clear they forgave me. I might tell a friend about their forgiveness… but why it mattered is because they were my parents…lives that cared for me… lives that brought covering and provision. To be reconciled with them… restored to what they held for my life was good news. If some stranger or powerless figure had forgiven me it wouldn’t have been good news.
John 3:16 (NIV)
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
> God loves us (has good intentions)… and desires eternal life for us. So giving his son as a means to reconcile is good news because of his intent and the potential he holds.
Jesus… “I came that they might have life… and real and abundant life.” He came to forgive but as a means to restore.
The good news of forgiveness is only good news in relationship to the goodness that the forgiver bears. So if someone has yet to know the goodness of God… it’s not very meaningful.
Hat good intent and plan is clear through the larger message of restoration.
A second issue that may naturally rise up if I announced that I forgive you is the simple question… “From what?” To simply announce that I forgive you is a bit of a questionable indictment… and an unfair judgment if you aren’t clear on what wrong you did.
One of the reasons that sin doesn’t always resonate is not really new… it’s the fact that the word is related only to the really obvious wrongs or evil people among us.
The religious leaders in Jesus’ day would identify the prostitutes, drunkards, and tax collectors in the same way. (Joke about tax collectors in light of tax day upcoming.)
One’s self assessment is always easier if we don’t get too close to the reality of good… the reality of God. If we can leave God or Christ out of the picture… we may not identify with being one of the really bad people.
In truth … even the Ten Commandments indicts me. But I still may not relate to being like the anything other than generally good.
That’s why Jesus pressed beneath the surface of the soul… and raised the law of love … the spirit of the commandments… to reveal the real condition that we all must face.
The word for sin is one which has been reflected upon by scholars of the language as much as any other. One of the meanings noted has been that of ‘tragic flaw.’
Sin refers to the ‘tragic flaw’ of God’s image bearers no longer under His nature and being subject to other powers. It is a condition in which we have lost our nature and no longer can live in peace with God or our neighbor. It is a self imposed bondage of autonomy from God.
It is to this that Jesus spoke of announcing freedom. When we look within… we can begin to see how fundamentally self-centered we can be… and how defiant of living in gracious response to God. We realize that we are misguided in our sense of what freedom and control are all about. Real freedom is to gain freedom from that autonomous disposition… and be restored toward life with God.
SO we need to be forgiven in order to be reconciled to God… who is at work to redeem and restore us. Forgiveness is an essential part of being restored back to what was originally intended… part of a larger work than just itself.
In Luke chapter 15… Jesus says he want to tell us what the good news of the kingdom is like… and tells three pictures stories… three great descriptions… and they all center on something lost being found… and the joy at hand. (In contrast, I can forgive someone but that doesn’t clearly capture what it has led to.)
In the story of the prodigal son… familiar to many of us… clearly the son is forgiven… but it is only a quick part of the process of coming home and being restored as a son. The road is the crossroads… a critical juncture… but the longing is for HOME… and the focus of the story is on getting home… and then all the RESTORATION that home holds.
The Gospel of restoration involves the news of a greater intention (that we long for), a shared condition that separates us from that good intention and for which we don’t have the power to overcome on our own, and the provision of freedom to enter that greater intention.
What is involved with having such good news be heard?
What is involved with sharing such good news?
1. The Good News of restoration involves a larger story that includes God’s purpose for our lives, then the problem, then a provision. Each part may be the point we initially relate to but they are limited without the whole.
When Jesus announced the good news of the kingdom… it was initially to the Jewish people God had been working with… it was the good news that what God had begun he was now miraculously finishing. It was the climax of a story woven through a history they understood.
The good news of restoration is difficult to appreciate if we only tell the end of the story.
Scot McKnight -
“The gospel, when it begins with Creation, is God’s work to restore and undo and recreate (whichever image you might prefer) what we were designed by God to be and to do. Sin itself is more than judicial failings and more than offense against the Law. Sin is the disruption of the relationship of loving God, loving others, and governing our world. Which means, the gospel is designed to heal our love for God, our love for others, and our relationship to the world.” - Scot McKnight
I want to share with you what I think is a good presentation of the Gospel of restoration…
VIDEO: The Big Story (first part, 3 min) by James Choung (http://www.jameschoung.net/)
2. The Good News of restoration involves a spiritual process of awakening from our false and flawed condition.
We are so conditioned by a world trying to live autonomous from God… ruled by the autonomous ‘prince of this world’… that we generally live with a minimized consciousness of our need. So the good news of what God restoring our true identity is…
• Like recognizing a former life that has been repressed… or recovering from amnesia
• Like the Matrix…realizing we are living in manipulated dimension… deceived and appeased by a false and dying dimension… that we share in the choice of entering
> It is from this condition… that Christ fulfills the rescuing and restoring work of God to all who choose to follow and enter.
Therefore… The message of restoration will often only begin to awaken our inner awareness… only beckon something that is not fully clear at first.
Examples…
• Jesus calls the weary to find the rest of a better yoke… the thirsty to find living water… the hungry to find the bread of life… ultimately to eat his body (which none of them could initially grasp)
• Telling Nicodemus he had to be ‘born again’… it was a statement to awaken. Nicodemus didn’t leave responding in full faith… but soon he is there as a follower.
> It was like seeds being sown which is just what Jesus described he was doing… and we should do.
3. The Good News of restoration speaks to different aspects of one’s life at different stages of life.
The way a six year old and a sixty year old will feel awakened to their spiritual condition will likely be different… same general condition but experienced and felt in different ways.
Children come to Jesus because they simply hear he loves them… cares for them… wants to make the world a better place. These are actually all the right reasons… and most openly received. But as the soul grows in it’s autonomy, we become more independent. It often takes years to wear down our arrogance.
Example of woman caught in adultery… community rises up to stone her… rocks raised… Jesus set up states the infamous line: “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” Then it describes how slowly one by one they each drop their stones and walked away… BEGINNING WITH THE OLDEST. My sense is that they simply were more in touch with their lack of being so perfect. Life has a way of sobering you.
4. The Good News of restoration carries a broad range of implications and therefore may initially touch upon a broad range of personal needs and longings.
Examples of Jesus’ interaction with different people
Different people will naturally resonate with restoration differently.
• The social outcast will hear the hope of acceptance.
• The social activist will hear the hope of change.
• The prisoner will hear the hope of liberation.
• The addict will hear of the hope of sobriety.
• The weary will hear the hope of rest.
• The successful will hear the hope of true significance.
Let me ask you…
What longing was initially awakened in your life?
What better world is your co-worker looking for?
What type of restoration does your neighbor long for?
5. The Good News of restoration is communicated in both hearing and experiencing it.
While this series is focusing on conversations… we do well to remember that the vast majority of what is communicated is non-verbal.
Jesus proclaimed the good news of restoration in words and deeds. It was show and tell.
PARAPHRASE
Jesus came, announcing the kingdom of God, to invite people back into an experience of the Garden right there and then. In a sense, he was handing out free samples of the Garden. When I think of free samples, I instantly think of going to Baskin-Robbins for ice cream when I was a kid. They had those little pink spoons for samples. The spoon itself couldn’t have been bigger than a dime, but you could get a free sample of any flavor of ice cream you wanted. It was barely a taste, but enough to get you really hungry for more.
QUOTE
When Jesus came preaching and teaching and healing the sick, he was handing out pink-spoon samples of a restored creation. He wasn’t saying, "If you follow me, you will eventually get to heaven." No. He was saying, "You can experience much of what the Garden has to offer right here and right now." His goal was to transform the world, not to help people escape from it. This is one of the fundamental differences between Christianity and many of the other religions in the world. Jesus came to earth to transform it through love. He taught the disciples to pray, "Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10). The direction here is important. The kingdom is coming here, invading this space, transforming this place."
- Static by Ron Martoia, pp. 137-138
Do you know why they probably offer such samples at 31 Flavors? Because people naturally asked what a flavor tasted like to know that they would like it… and those serving realized they just can’t describe a flavor in words. It’s hard to explain the taste. There is nothing like tasting to convey what words can only try to describe.
> As the Psalmist wrote: “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”
> The great news is that we can help hand out samples of the kingdom.
I want to close with a continuation of the previous video that captures the Gospel…
VIDEO - The Big Story – pt 2 (3 min) by James Choung (http://www.jameschoung.net/)
Conclusion: Where are you?
Discovering Christ? (Invite to receive)
Joining the mission?
Have you ever met anyone who doesn’t find everything perfect about life or their lives?
If you have, then maybe holy conversation isn’t so foreign or far away.
Maybe it’s just sharing what you have found as good news of divine restoration.
PRAY
