Perfect Imperfection

What if Christ wasn’t as physically pristine as He frequently portrayed? What if He had a visible, chronic disease? To look at Christ in video portrayals, He was muscular, charismatic, and flawless. While I hold that He was the only physical being to experience mortality without sin, isn’t it a bit much to say that He experienced mortality without physical infirmity? So why do I have such a hard time imagining Christ giving the Sermon on the Mount with a stuffy nose?

The idea of perfection may arise from the mandate that the paschal lamb be “without blemish”. However, that was a physical ordinance foreshadowing a spiritual reality, not necessarily a physical reality.

As far as charisma goes, Isaiah strictly denies that such would be present in the Savior, testifying: “When we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.” Abinadi adds His testimony to these words, confirming their accurate translation. In other words, there was nothing about His appearance or physical prowess that would have drawn you to Him: He did not rank high on “Hot or Not?” To the contrary, "we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted."

Alma the Younger’s Messianic text describes Christ taking physical infirmities, sicknesses, and pains upon Himself as literally as taking death upon Himself. When Christ revealed Himself to the people of Nazareth, He expected their first response to be “Physician, heal thyself,” possibly indicating some infirmity on His part that His audience would have been aware of and which may have served as a barrier to their belief, if they, like we, were prone to over-value physical appearance, health, and strength. He reported others as critically appraising His physical appearance as that of “a gluttonous man, and a winebibber.”

Did He borrow Simon Peter’s ship to avoid the pain of being seated on the ground? Was the cross carried by Simon of Cyrene because of physical illness at baseline, exacerbated by the exhaustion of Atonement? Was he permitted to sit at meat with Simon the Leper due to leprosy that afflicted Him as well? Was that why lepers felt comfortable asking Him for help? Was that why it required faith for people to touch Him or His clothes?

Christmas Meanings

Last night we went to Bethlehem in Burnet to hear and see anew the din and wonder that surrounded the Savior’s birth.

We stopped at the reckoning table for taxes, where we reported the many blessings that the Lord has given us. We were asked for payment, as if the punishment should be equal to our blessings, and when we said that we had no money, the tax collector angrily shouted at us and told us to leave before the soldiers could be called to arrest us. Another resident helpfully suggested that although our taxes were high, we might be able to raise funds by selling a child or two. Despite the references throughout the New Testament to abusive taxes, I had never before thought of Joseph, a young provider, likely stripped of his means just prior to his young wife’s great need. Nor had I thought of the anxiety of poverty coloring this young couple’s child-bearing.

I listened to two women arguing “Born in a stable? Doesn’t sound like the kind of place the Messiah would come to me: more like a palace far from here!” The Christmas story can become so route that its mystery is lost. It was bizarre that the God chose this tiny town, a poor neighbor to the sacred Capital, enslaved and abused by invaders, and a miserable stable in that destitute town to host the Heavenly King. Behold the condescension of God! The instinct that the fitting place for Christ is far away is wrong: He is happy to walk into the meanest of circumstances, for the Lord looketh on the heart, and inasmuch as you have done it unto the least of these, my brethren, you have done it unto me.

Seeing is Believing

if you want to see Christ, you need only to look around you. As you do so, and act in compassionate kindness, you will see Christ in yourself.

Bluff or Fold?

Christ warned about wolves in sheeps’ clothing.

Maybe I am more of a sheep in wolf’s clothing?

Christ is asking me to take off my wolf’s costume and get down to the real me.

He wants me to humble myself: become something worthy of God's sacrifice.

He wants me to enter the fold as a co-prodigal.

flaws-despite-best-efforts

God-given flaws encourage me to look to Him. As I develop earnest love for the least of my neighbors and diligent, intelligent, intentional submission to Him, He will strengthen weaknesses without reclaiming me from mortal frailties. Trusting God is believing that these flaws-despite-best-efforts are for the best.

Love my neighbor as myself

Love the Lord my God

with all my heart,

with all my soul,

and with all my mind.

This is the first and great commandment.

And the second is like unto it,

Love my neighbor as myself.

On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

I’m prone to misreading this passage, as if it said that the first commandment was love God with all my heart, the second to love God with all my soul, and the third to love God with all my mind. It’s not that way, really. In fact, Paul turns it around: “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?”

2 Ne. 28:30

For behold, thus saith the Lord God: God gives a steady, gentle, nurturing rain, rather than a deluge.

I will give unto the children of men line upon line, I may be frustrated with the lack of downpours

precept upon precept,—sudden, overwhelming evidence—but God nurtures, granting the resources

here a little and there a little; for growth in the circumstances where I now stand.

and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, If I will receive Him: recognize my neighbor’s

and lend an ear unto my counsel, virtues as part of His nurturing, and grow in His love: if I will thirst

for they shall learn wisdom; diligently, I will see that He is granting water in a desert, pouring forth 

for unto him that receiveth I will give more; love,healing the Dead Seas in my heart.

and from them that shall say,

We have enough,

from them shall be taken away even that which they have.

Article of Faith 13

We believe in being

honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous,

and in doing good to all men;

indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—

We believe all things, we hope all things,

we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things.

If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy,

we seek after these things.

We believe in being and doing. 

Believing and hoping are part of being us. 

Enduring discomfort is part of doing good. 

We don’t expect to be comfortable: 

we expect that exhilarating goodness sparkles under the surface.

Out of Context

I have heard that you should never interpret a scripture out of context. 

But when I apply a scripture, I am purposefully taking it out of context. 

Sometimes the more dramatically out of context, the greater the impact: the over-riding truth applies everywhere. The Spirit testifies of truth.