over and over in the old testament we hear the stories of groups of people building altars & “high places” in-some-shape-or-form to worship some kind of God. innate in us, it seems, is the desire to construct something that’s solid, tangible, and probably somehow noticeable. i am guessing that is what makes things feel more “real.” this untangible, Jesus-in-the-spirit-and-flowing-through-people thing is really tricky for many to feel like it’s enough. give us something written down, a doctrinal statement that we can hold on to, 4 walls & a message every sunday, a website, a leader, a small group, the newest cool Christian book, a something-that-makes-it-all-more-clear-and-tangible-and-understandable-for-us and then we’ll somehow have a direction to point. in the old testament, these high places were based on false Gods but i have been thinking about how easy it is to transfer the same idea to christianity (the contemporary version of it, i know it was never the idea) that some of us created our own high places of “religion-church-the Bible-doctrine-and-all-kinds-of-other-things” that we worshipped more than the living God.
i know many of you who are reading communitas collective are done with these kinds of “ high places” which, like God seemed to say over and over, would never satisfy or meet our deepest need. we tried it. we built it. we worshipped it. it didn’t ultimately deliver, even if it might have for a while.
i believe Jesus cut through the confines of religion, smashing the false high places & the religiosity that everyone was clinging to so tightly, to turn everything that was once known on its head. the last shall now be first and the first will be last. the low places are where the living God will likely be found. the inside of the cup is what matters, not the outside. mercy is more important than sacrifice. over and over and over, Jesus smashed down more high places, not just religious ones but also a slew of other highly constructed altars related to socio-economics, race, gender, and more.
as jeff said in his previous post, so many we know are “deconstructing”, some slowly, some more quickly. and i wonder if really deconstructing is really just smashing down the high places. of getting rid of the things that hinder & distract us & keep us protected. of being willing to follow a God whose ways are actually not quite as clear and layed out step by step as we might prefer. of giving up the path of ascent and start walking the path of descent.
we probably all have high places we are still clinging to somehow. i know i am. even though i have let go of the need for doctrinal statements & a lot of other church-y fundamentals, in me is still a deep desire for an easier way, less pain and more comfort, money-a-flowing, and more tangible world-measured results.
and every time i encounter Jesus in the gospels these high places take a little beating. i think that’s a good thing.
what are some of the high places in your journey, your ministry, your life, that are somehow being smashed down?
Kathy, I love you reminders… “the last shall now be first and the first will be last. the low places are where the living God will likely be found. the inside of the cup is what matters, not the outside. mercy is more important than sacrifice. over and over and over, Jesus smashed down more high places, not just religious ones but also a slew of other highly constructed altars related to socio-economics, race, gender, and more.” We love our idols! I have been thinking of these idols in terms of drugs to which I was addicted. I wonder how we keep from building new idols. I think you are right, it is matter of ongoing process of revelation, confession, and surrender… the stripping of our faith down to bare bones and something that’s real and something that looks like Jesus.
Sense of security is a “high place” for me. I cling to routines, places, people who make me feel secure instead of clinging to Him. Thanks for this Kathy, it makes me think.