by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Aug 2, 2021
When Jesus took time for spiritual renewal, he went into the wilderness. He stepped away from all the trappings of his work. He traveled without a laptop. Without a calendar. He even left his disciples at home. In other words, Jesus left behind the first-century version of distractions so that he could fully unplug.
When it was time for me to take days away for spiritual renewal, I too went into the wilderness. I unplugged like Jesus. The Pacific Northwest was my destination. But unlike Jesus, I was planning on bringing my laptop and my calendar, so that I could squeeze in a few work commitments.
Unplug From Modern Distractions When Reconnecting With God
My spiritual director put a hard stop to that. “You want to connect with God? Leave your laptop and your calendar at home.”
At first, I resisted. I hadn’t been without these two elements of modern, mobile work-life in years. What if someone needed me? How would I journal? Or schedule in something for the future? I felt naked.
But underneath these nagging concerns lay a deeper question: Who would I be without the accoutrements of a busy life? Who would I be without work?
The answer to this question quickly became clear. Who would I be? I would be present. Present to the beauty of the towering trees and snow-covered mountains around me. Present to my husband and friends. Most of all, present to God.
Like other spiritual leaders, I had fallen into the trap of being so busy working FOR God, that I was not actually present TO God. My recent wilderness sojourn showed me the difference.
Now that I have had this experience, I see the wisdom of being unplugged like Jesus.
In fact, there is a strong biblical tradition of unplugging from work to ENJOY the wonders of life. Not only did Jesus go deep into nature to connect with God; so God, early in the days of creation, paused from making work in order to enjoy the finest part of creation: the Sabbath.
I can’t help but wonder what 21st-century life would be like if we practiced unplugging more often. Not just from laptops and calendars, but social media as well. Social and political polarization isn’t accidental. It’s reinforced by provocative clickbait, and outrageous headlines.
Unplug Like Jesus To Increase Your Ability To Self-Regulate
While cell phone and tablet engagement are known to reduce attention spans and constrict healthy social interactions, the opposite is also true. Being unplugged slowly restores a person to a less jangled state of mind—increasing one’s ability to self-regulate. With self-regulation, it’s even possible to tune in to the inner prompting of the Holy Spirit.
More than the latest news, spiritual leaders need this deep nourishment of the Spirit.
Jesus, unplugged, was able to refresh and carry on the challenging work before him. It’s not easy to love your neighbors, raise up disciples, send out apostles, and take on the status quo. Jesus couldn’t have done it without being rested and renewed in God. Spiritual leaders today need the same opportunity.
It’s time to unplug like Jesus.
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by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Jan 26, 2015
Church, it’s time to go all the way in embracing the Jewish Jesus.
Yes, Jesus is seen as a Jew in many pulpits and pews, but usually as an exception, an anomaly.
In too many sermons, commentaries, and hymnals his teachings on love, inclusion, and forgiveness are set up as a contrast against the Jews and Judaism of his day. What makes him distinctive, we say, is that he’s not like the other Jews. He reached people on the margins. He talked to women. He ate with sinners and tax collectors. But these characterizations of a Jewish Jesus are still distorted. Dr. Amy-Jill Levine explains why:
“Jesus becomes the rebel who, unlike every other Jew, practices social justice. He is the only one to speak with women; he is the only one who teaches nonviolent responses to oppression; he is the only one who cares about the ‘poor and the marginalized’ (that phrase has become a litany in some Christian circles). Judaism becomes in such discourse a negative foil: whatever Jesus stands for, Judaism isn’t it; what Jesus is against, Judaism epitomizes the category.”
Yes, Jesus reached out to all kinds of people. Yes, he counseled mercy and patience. Yes, he healed and set people free. But rather than see Jesus as different from the Jews around him, I suggest it is time to see Jesus’ ministry as a natural evolution of the whole history of Jewish teaching, ethics, morality, practice, and service of God. Otherwise he serves as an archetypal anti-Jew.
I’d like to explain the phenomenon, and then give you 3 criteria to check for to see if your preaching and teaching sets up Jesus as a Jew or as an anti-Jew.
Think about it.
If Jesus was fully Jewish, operating in a Jewish context, living a Jewish life, studying Jewish texts, praying to a Jewish God, clothing himself in the Jewish commandments, where else did it come from?
If we believe that Jesus was one with the God of Israel, then surely, Jesus drew upon the same Source and sources that inspired all the other teachers, miracle-workers, prophets, and kings that preceded and surrounded him.
Quite often the rabbis of his era were arriving at the same conclusions he was, from the Golden Rule, to teachings on Sabbath, the importance of love of God and neighbor. Others were engaged in calling disciples, healing, and miracle-working. Even his interactions with women, children, and Gentiles were not anomalous.
More than that, the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament is marked by theological and behavioral leaps, beginning with Abraham’s innovation that God is one, not many; continuing with Moses’ skilled but previously unknown leadership in leading the Israelites from slavehood to peoplehood; game-changing visions from prophets; and the courageous renewal of Judaism under Nehemiah and Ezra after the return from Babylonian exile.
Jesus is the product of generations of Jewish innovators, completely in line with the spiritual genius that went before him and even those that came after him.
Paul wasn’t kidding when he said about his fellow Israelites, “to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises;to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.”
How do you know if you are preaching and teaching about Jesus as a Jew or an anti-Jew? Check out these 3 critiera:
1. You rely heavily on the compare and contrast method of preaching and teaching: Jesus is the “good guy” and his Jewish contemporaries such as Pharisees, Saducees, scribes and lawyers are the “bad guys.” This creates an us v. them dynamic that creates enemies. In other words, in order to stand with Jesus, I have to stand against somebody or something else.
2. You remove Jesus from a Jewish context altogether, substituting “the church” for the actual Jewish people, Torah, land, and institutions he interacted with. Erasing his Jewish context doesn’t help. It’s like claiming being color-blind in a society where white privilege still operates.
3. You portray the Pharisees as uni-dimensional: hypocritical, out to get him, narrow-minded or legalistic. Of all the Jewish groups present in his day, Jesus himself was most closely aligned with the Pharisees. His way of teaching, setting up a fence for the Law, and seeing the world has more in common with them than any other group.
Putting this perspective into practice will take a renewed scholarship among preachers, pray-ers, poets, professors, and Bible study writers and teachers. I realize it’s going to take some work to leave behind comfortable but dishonest dichotomies and ready stereotypes. This won’t be easy for already overworked church leaders. But there are many excellent resources that can help. It’s worth the effort.
We are grand participants in a historic reconciliation, the fruits of which are only beginning to be realized. Understanding that Jesus operated within a rich spiritual and theological context is essential for deconstructing three attitudes: first, lingering anti-Judaism; second, Jesus as anti-Jew; and third, subtle “us versus them” dynamics. While denominations have repented of these attitudes, the fulfillment of that work remains to be done in individual pulpits, in Bible studies, and in human hearts. The more we get our theology and teaching right, the more space it creates for healing between Jesus and his own people.
Excerpted and adapted from “The Jew Named Jesus: Discover the Man and His Message,” (c) 2013 Rebekah Simon-Peter.
by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Jan 27, 2014
This week, I’m continuing to share tips for people of faith who are resolved to evolve in 2014.
Here’s Tip#3: Be bold!
Is there something you’ve been wanting to say? Or do? I met with a church leader who told me she has waited 2 years to tell a board that their work was ineffective. No one was taking action.
The truth is, it was ineffective, partly, because for 2 years, she hadn’t spoken up about what she felt or thought.
I can relate. I have a persistent fear that if I say what I really see or believe or think then people won’t like me. Too often I censor what I say.
A friend helped me trace that fear back to it’s roots. Here’s how it goes: If people don’t like me, they’ll talk bad about me. If they talk bad about me, other people won’t like me. If no one likes me, then there will be no place I fit in. If there’s no place I fit in, I’ll have no choice but to die.
A-ha! It’s not an inconsequential fear. But it’s also not rational. I thought back to quite a few times when saying something that
needed to be said required particular courage. Never once did I die. Neither did anyone else! (That’s not true for all people all of the time of course. Think MLK. Think Jesus.)
Hmm….maybe the consequences for speaking my mind aren’t as dire as I supposed. In fact, others expressed relief and gratitude that SOMEBODY finally said SOMETHING.
Leaders lead. Even when it’s
unpopular.
What are others waiting for YOU to say or do?
On this MLK day, as you resolve to evolve, be bold! When it comes to speaking out for those on the margin, there are no end of things that NEED to be said. Resolve to say what God has placed on your heart. Live out your true calling as a leader. Somebody, somewhere, will be grateful you did.
I would love to hear how you are being bold this year! Or, if you’re having trouble finding the courage to do so. Let’s talk.