A Family Pilgrimage

TENSION NEEDING REDEMPTION:

We are really bad at living in unity with one another

CENTRAL TRUTH EXPRESSED (MAIN POINT):

The journey of a long obedience in the same direction is a family journey

GOD'S HEART REVEALED:

God delights watching his children love one another well

OUR RIGHT RESPONSE:

Abide with Jesus in Community

1 | How have I experienced the tension?

Weeks ago we began chatting about how following Jesus is a Long obedience in the same direction.

You might remember we dove into these Psalms called the Songs of Ascent, which were the ancient playlist of the people of Israel as three times a year the entire nation would descend upon the capital city of Jerusalem to celebrate these feasts together.

These songs would be reminders of how their physical journey was a tangible metaphor for the journey with Yahweh they were on as individuals and as a people. So they would be reminded of who God was and who they were as they came from a diversity of geographies and life experiences up to the high place.

It demonstrated that they were unified, one, and most importantly a collective family.

But here is the problem… read about the people of Israel and you will discover continual dysfunctional family dynamics.

Betrayal, turning against one another, jealousy, arrogance, pettiness, and the list goes on.

2 | How have you experienced this tension?

Of course this is not just the experience of the nation of Israel, but the realities of doing life within family units…

Imperfect Moms and Dads, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, grandparents.

I imagine that few of us can look at the last three generations of our families of origin and think yup super healthy across the board right?

So then why does God continually use the language of family to describe our relationship with Him and one another?

Feels like a bad PR move right?

He uses a bunch of imagery that has the potential to trigger us in all the wrong ways…

He is our father… well some of our experiences of a Dad is…. Nonexistent, emotionally unavailable, uncaring, or overbearing.

Within the church, we are brothers and sisters… well some of our experiences with siblings haven’t really matured since we were 7 years old, jealousies, rivalries, screaming matches and more…

Should God perhaps choose a different option than the language of family?

Well what we discover over and over again is that within the Scriptures God doubles down on the language of family. The question is why and what hope does it offer for us as a people if we want to experience the reviving touch of God in our lives and within our Biblical Community?

3 | What do the Scriptures say about this tension?

Let’s start by talking about a few examples of family dysfunction in the Scriptures…

The first human family stumbled out of the gate.

Adam and Eve rebel against God, the man blames his wife, and then the next thing you know…

Cain experiences such fierce sibling rivalry that he takes the life of his brother Abel.

Centuries later, a man named Isaac would have two sons Esau the oldest, strongest, and hairiest, and Jacob the youngest, the deceiver, basically Loki. Jacob manipulates his way into taking his brother's inheritance.

Jacob (later known as Israel) has 12 sons, the youngest Joseph acts like a twerp and entitled younger brother, offends the other 11 and they sell him into slavery.

King David was dismissed as irrelevant by his brothers.

Later King David’s sons would fight against one another bitterly ripping apart the nation.

The Bible doesn’t exactly paint the rosiest vision of family functionality, but it is a relatable one.

It is one where because of human sinfulness and brokenness relationships are hard work!

But yet God doesn’t give us a plan B, where we go okay. I and everyone else are imperfect so time to retreat into my hole.

Instead, like the people of Israel we are called to continually come back together in the presence of our God.

In the Songs of Ascent there is a song that the people would sing

Read Psalm 133

Psalm 133 ESV

A Song of Ascents. Of David. Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.

Isn’t that how you describe when something is awesome and wonderful?

That movie was as good as oil flowing down an old guy’s beard

My day has been as good as dew covering a mountain.

Before we get into what he is describing as good, let’s unpack these metaphors…

This a reference to the anointing of Aaron who was the first high priest of Israel… when he was anointed it was a powerful moment in the nation of Israel… this expensive and exclusive blend of oil was precious and good but it wasn’t just a drop of oil, it was a covering… his head, his beard, and even his clothes. Covered in goodness in abundance.

The dewy mountain is called Mount Hermon, it is a beautifully majestic mountain in northern Israel where you can go skiing today. It is known for having heavy dew each morning. Covered in goodness in abundance.

So the image we get is whatever the songwriter, King David, is describing as good is not just 5/10, this is 12/10 territory… something so rich and good in abundance.

So what is this thing?

Read Psalm 133:1

Psalm 133:1 ESV

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!

King David knew what it was like to experience family dysfunction.

So we can hear his longing as he writes this song… this desire for a healthy family existence.

As a Dad I have discovered this by watching the way Asher and Abi interact. They are 2 and 4 so they have both many beautiful and frustrating moments ahead. But there are few things sweeter than when I hear laughter in the backseat because Asher is doing something for his sister. Or when Abi wants to make sure that Asher gets a snack as well as her. Or when they do something against one another and they go to one another and say sorry, ask for forgiveness and hug one another.

When my kids treat one another with love, care, and affection it is like being covered in goodness in abundance as their Dad.

How sweet do you think it was to the Fatherly heart of God when his children, the nation of Israel would sing this song across fields, mountains, and valleys as they journeyed together on their long journey singing and being reminded of their unity as one family?

It is only with this imagery of family and the Fatherly heart of God that we can begin to grasp why God would care so deeply about how we treat one another.

It is why Jesus would proclaim in his final message to his disciples before the cross…

Read John 15:12-14

John 15:12–14 ESV

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.

The word friend here is more than just our understanding of the word, someone you don’t mind the presence of… it is in the Greek rooted in brotherly love… uniquely loved brother/sister-friends.

When Jesus’ disciples love one another, sacrifice their wants, needs, and even their lives for one another, it is like an abundant covering of goodness to the heart of the Father.

Notice though that Jesus does not talk about this as an optional reality for his followers… it is a command of Jesus.

This is God’s Voice on how we live in biblical community. Love one another.

In fact, according to Jesus this is the natural outflow of the fact that we are his uniquely loved brother/sister-friends.

Now here is the deal. Do we do this perfectly or even well? Not often.

We are imperfect humans who trust our way over God’s often. We prioritize me. We misunderstand. Miscommunicate. And a host of other dark spaces.

This is why the Gospel is such good news.

It is not the news that you better work hard and then God will love you. It is the news that God created humans to rule with him, and in the midst of our rebellion against Him, he sent Jesus on a rescue mission to restore us back to his side to see His Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven!

Which means it is not based on your goodness or worthiness. It is rooted in who Jesus is and what he has accomplished, and trusting that the Spirit of God that he has given us as his church is more than enough to empower us to discover God’s love and pass it along to one another as we journey with Jesus.

It is not a quick fix. It is a long obedience in the same direction.

It is going on a path singing a song of unity within the family, oily beards, and dewy mountains realizing you do not sing alone… you sing with a family within your Biblical Community, across the globe, and spanning the last 2,000 years.

We are indeed on a family pilgrimage.

Not like brothers and sisters, but truly uniquely loved brother/sister friends who are journeying together to the feet of Jesus.

We are seeking God’s presence together.

This is why we gather here each week.

This is why in Hebrews the author writes

Read Hebrews 10:25

Hebrews 10:25 ESV

not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Plug for where Jesus says 2 or more gather in my name

Because we don’t just come to church, we gather together at the feet of Jesus.

This is why it is important that we each sing out praises and desperation in worship, because as we gather and lift up a voice together it represents this covering of abundant goodness to the heart of our Father.

Do you ever wonder why we call our Sunday services Gatherings? It’s not just to be different or edgy, but to be a reminder that we are a gathered people.

In the NT, whenever you read the word church it is the word ecclesia, the best translation is gathered people.

So when the gathered people came together in the book of Acts what we discovered is that they devoted themselves to the Apostles teachings, generosity, praise, prayer, and more! Because they didn’t see themselves as simply recipients of what the church had to offer, but as gathered family members who participated in the life of the family.

Plug for Magical Moments

4 | How can the Gospel bring resolution to this tension in your life?

Do we see ourselves on a family pilgrimage?

When we gather together to worship and sit under the teaching of the Scriptures, we are not just putting a marker on our good things Christians do bingo card. We are uniting with family at the feet of Jesus.

When we go to Bible Study, Community Dinner, Community Events, and more we are gathering with our family to learn, grow, connect, and have fun, we are uniting with family at the feet of Jesus.

When we get discipled in a discipleship group, have a conversation with a fellow uniquely loved brother/sister friend about what God is doing in our lives, pray for one another, confess to one another, give generously to one another in our needs, or in any other way journey together on this pilgrimage, we are uniting with family at the feet of Jesus.

5 | What would the world see if the church embraced this resolution?

Ultimately, our goal is not simply to gather and become an inward facing community… but that as Jesus said they will know we are his disciples by our love for one another.

In other words, we should put a great emphasis on living as family, but a family that invites others into it. Gathering to scatter across our weeks to be a Gospel Presence and Gospel Voice to our friends, coworkers, neighbors and families. And inviting them into the family of God that they would discover that Jesus desires to call them uniquely loved brother/sister friends of Jesus.

Let’s take a few moments to simply sit and rest in this reality.