"Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none..."  (Luke 3:11)  Tonight my New Testament professor taught us that the people who were being preached at in this passage lived in such poverty that they really only had one shirt.  It was a rarity that anyone would actually have a change of shirts.  Yet, here, John the Baptist is saying that if you wanted to live out the Kingdom and happened to have a spare shirt, you ought to give it away to someone else who has need.  That really puts things into perspective! 

We studied the Gospel of Luke this past week and learned that one of the many themes that is prominent in this gospel is salvation for outsiders.  You can't read Luke without seeing the emphasis on Jesus' love for the poor, the oppressed, the marginalized of society.  In fact, it is in Luke uniquely that we find Jesus saying, "Blessed are the poor...blessed are you who hunger now."  Poor, not poor in spirit.  Hunger, not hunger for righteousness.  Jesus really meant the physically poor and the physically hungry.  In His inaugural sermon in Luke 4, He said that He came for the poor, the prisoners and the oppressed.

So as believers how do we be obedient to Jesus' call to us to care for these "outsiders"?

Growing up in middle class suburbia, the only attempts my group of friends ever made was to go down to a soup kitchen to serve food to the homeless and sometimes distribute sandwiches in downtown SD.  Anything more than that was beyond our imagination and our capability.  But somehow I think these things, though nice, do not fully embody what Jesus meant.

Perhaps what Jesus meant was something more like what happened to me a few years ago.  I was hanging out with a friend of mine and nonchalantly complimented her on her shirt.  Pretty routine stuff.  That's just what girls do.  But rather than the usual, "Thanks," in response, she completely took me by surprise when she asked instead, "Do you want it?"  She wasn't kidding.  She was really offering me her shirt!  And as I contemplated how surprised I was, I realized also that I shouldn't be surprised. She was just living out the Gospel.

But things like that do surprise us.  We don't know what to do with it when someone truly follows Jesus.  It's weird.

After class tonight, I talked to one of my classmates, and she said that she felt so riled up; she felt convicted and inspired to use all of her mind, body, and hands to serve God's people, but she wasn't sure who or how.  I was excited with her and felt the same way... but as we ended the conversation, I realized that I knew who and how.   When Sam and I were first married, I kept writing about the "tax collectors and sinners" and our knowing, growing conviction to do something about them -- but the only problem was that we had no idea who and how.  Walking out the seminary doors tonight, I felt this affirming hand on me urging me forward in welcoming a little one into our home.  To be foster parents -- to use the abundance (material and spiritual) that God has given us to bless a child who has no true home or true parent or family -- this is what the gospel is about.

There's this false notion among Christians that knowing the Greek language will give you special knowledge of the Bible and therefore special knowledge to God -- as if it's the key that unlocks all secrets.  This is actually not true.  I have loved learning Greek in this past year, because it is fun reading God's Word as it was written by the original authors and catching the subtle implications of verb tense, voice and moods that might not come through in English translations.  But the best part has been having the cloud of 'mystery' lifted from the idea of Greek.  You know how pastors do it, they say, "This is what it really says in the Greek", and you can only accept what she or he has to say because you don't know any Greek.  My professor says that there really is no reason to be so condescending when you preach.  What it says in your Bible in English is what that particular Greek word means.  That is why those scholars translated it that way. 

Here are some examples of Greek words that pastors have over-exegeted:

Some pastors want to "give you greater insight" (or maybe they're just misinformed) by telling you that the word used to describe the Holy Spirit "parakletos" comes from two words: "para" which means "alongside" and "kaleo" which means "called", so they say that the word parakletos means "one who is called alongside", i.e. the Holy Spirit is one who is called to come alongside us.  And while this 'insight' sounds clever, this is not exactly true.  "Parakletos" is a word that means "helper, encourager."

In the English language, we don't usually break down a word to give us more insight into its meaning.  We don't take a word like "understand" and break it down by its parts.  Otherwise, we'd think understand means to stand under.  So why do we do this with the Greek?

The second example has to do with John 21 when Jesus reinstates Peter.  I used to teach this in my Bible studies incorrectly too.  The incredible Greek "insight" goes like this:  The first two times Jesus says to Peter, "Agapas me?"  Peter responds, "Sure, philo you."  (instead of, "Agapo you.")  So on the third time, Jesus changes his question to, "Phileis me?"  And Peter again responds, "Yes, philo you."  In explaining this passage, many define agape as unconditional, divine love, and phileo means brotherly, human love (i.e. it's a lesser love), and therefore, Peter is responding with a lesser love and in the end, Jesus goes down to his level and asks him if he brotherly-loves him.  What's the point of this?  I have no idea.  Why is it such great insight that Jesus goes from asking Simon if he unconditionally loves him to only brotherly loving him?

Actually, the Greek verb agapao doesn't just mean unconditional love.  It can also just mean regular old, plain "love".  For example, in 1 John 2:15 when it talks about the love for the world, the word that is used is also "agapao".   It doesn't really make sense to interpret that verse as divine, unconditional love for the world, does it?  So "agapao" doesn't just mean unconditional love.  There are also other places in the New Testament where the word "phileo" is used to describe God's love.  Words have more than one meaning, and to draw an exegetical insight based on one definition of a word across the board can be dangerous and just plain irresponsibile scholarship.  When we write an essay in English and have to repeat the same idea, we switch back and forth between words, using synonyms, just "because".  In the same way, Jesus is just using a synonym when He does the switcheroo.  There's no deeper meaning.  If you check commentaries, you will find that nine out of ten scholars will tell you this. 

Okay, last one.  The word in Greek that means "power" is dunamis.  Some people say that dunamis is related to dynamite, so therefore "dunamis" means "explosive".  But it really doesn't mean that.  Dynamites hadn't even been invented during New Testament times.  This is called semantic anachronism.  Preachers sometimes quote Romans 1:16 as, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the dynamite of God..." "as if something profound or even esoteric has been uttered.  To mention dynamite as a kind of analogy is singularly inappropriate. Dynamite blows things up, tears things down, rips out rock, gouges holes, destroys things. The power of God concerning which Paul speaks...its goal is to save...(and its aim is) for the wholeness and perfection implicit in the consummation of our salvation."  (p. 34 D.A. Carson, Exegetical Fallacies).

Amen to that.  So the moral of the story?  God's word, as it has been translated in our English Bibles by Christian scholars, is God's word to us.  You don't have to know Greek to know God's word and His heart.  It's fun and great and certainly adds to things -- but it's not essential!

Like most Americans, I am so used to a particular rendition of Psalm 23, that it just rolls off my tongue without effort and without thought:  "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want."  And while such a phrase has meaning to me, I never realized that it wasn't very meaningful to me until today when I read it in the TNIV. 

"The Lord is my shepherd; I lack nothing."

"I lack nothing," said the Psalmist.  Wow!  Such a declaration sent reverberations from my mind to the depths of my soul. I lack nothing?  How strange that I often feel like I lack so many things.  I don't say it in so many words, but when I am constantly thinking, "I wish I had more money", "I wish we had a better house", "I wish I had more time",  "I wish I was smarter";  I am really saying that I lack X, Y, Z.  But with Jesus as my Shepherd, I really lack nothing.  I have everything I need and more.  How I desperately need to meditate on this verse until its truth sets my restless heart free.

After our first foster parenting class tonight, the reality set in that the goal of fostering is reunification of the child with the parents.  If the parent fulfills certain requirements set by the court, the child will be reunified with their parent -- whether or not we feel that it's the best home for the child. 

Knowing this, I find my heart crying out to God for the strength to walk so willingly into heartbreak -- for surely, to become a foster parent means that my heart will be broken a million times over through the process.  I would only be deceiving myself if I think I can walk away untouched, unscathed and dry-eyed.  For being one who seeks so much to guard my heart from unnecessary pains and nuisances, this certainly will turn my world upside down.  How long has it been since I have built a tiny retaining wall around my heart?  I am so afraid of putting myself in positions of vulnerability that will result in a bleeding heart -- am I now to run headlong right into it?  I have been running a hundred miles per hour in the opposite direction for who knows how long.  And now I have to ask why do I run so fast away from pain?  To truly hurt means that I have truly loved.  It's the heart that has not loved that remains untouched - and that would place me nowhere near the heart of God.

And as I think about it all, I find myself crying out to God to help me trust Him -- to trust that when we have to give up a baby, He will take care of the baby ever after.  I know He will, but it's easier to say it than live it.  About a million miles of toil stand between these words and their corresponding reality.

I find myself thinking that it would be far, far easier to take the traditional route and just have biological children! 

But there are 7,000 kids in the foster system in SD while there are only 1,400 foster families.  God will not let us stand on the sidelines and do nothing.  He didn't call us to be benchwarmers.  His love for orphans echo through the pages of Scripture, and we can't deny it.  Taking care of them is His idea of "true religion".  And having already been led 20 miles down this direction, there's just no turning back.  How can I see and know and understand without acting?  That would just be pure hypocrisy.

Yes, (I'm coming to grips that) my heart is going to break a thousand times before it's over.  (And so I confess that) I need God so desperately in this.  Can't do it without Him!  Deathly afraid of heartbreak am I.  But, oh, how much better to be heartbroken, intimately involved, and praying than to be walking around blindly pretending that these injustices don't exist.  How far - so very far - I'd be from the heart of God.

As Sam and I approach parenthood (see Sam's post from today), we've been thinking a lot about how we want things to look like.  One thing I realize is that my list is mostly based on things I really loved about my childhood or appreciate as I look back or based on things that I wish it had been more like...  I think we all have these lists.  What's one or two things on your list -- please share with me something that I could add to my ever-growing list.

Things I loved from my childhood that I'd like to do the same:
- Go to the park on weekends - ride bike, play different sports together as a family
- Play boardgames together
- Eat dinner together as a family every night and have a "no tv during dinner" rule
- Have the "always volunteer and pitch in where needed" rule for chores for the kids (but differ in that "Dad" won't be the exception to the rule in our house)
- "Less is more" with toys (less toys means more room for creativity and imagination)
- No fear of lack of food or shelter or that "Mom & Dad" will take care of things
- Take kids to the library and let them check out as many books as they want

Things I'd do differently:
- More affirmation
- More affection - hugs and kisses and "I love you"s
- Open conversation and communication, dialogue and discussion (kids have a say and their opinions will be valued and considered)
- Children are allowed to run around and laugh, have lotsa fun and even be loud sometimes
- Parents will say sorry to kids and admit when they are wrong
- Friends will be welcomed to come over -- and not have to feel like intruders
- Kids will be encouraged to explore every gift or talent (music, art, writing, sports) while they are younger and to dream big dreams of all they might do to follow God and honor what gifts He's given them as they grow older and mature into the men and women of God He created them to be
- Christ will be the center of our home and Lord of our lives (not money, safety, security, material things nor traditionalism, culture or 'what others might think of us')

[Edit]  I just found this list from June 9, 2000 called "Notes for Future Family"
- No TV, arrange sofas to face each other to promote conversation
- Build relationships with children's teachers, know schcool activities, be involved
- Go to my kids' games and plays
- Put notes in their school lunches
- Let them do what they dream of (music, dance, etc)
- Share my stories with them (past failures, mistakes, "crushes", everything)
- Keep house open to all friends
- Read to them; take them to the library
- Reaffirm them after disciplining them
- Say sorry
- Be supportive; give good reasons and explanations (don't just say "because I said so")
- Be consistent
- Give them room to fail
- Make hot drinks for my kids' friends on cold days -- even when they're 22!