By Dr. Lani Wilson

Good Morning! The beginning of our 96th Anniversary month is beautiful. We pray and fast with special gratitude for God’s continued presence with us and for guidance for the future in our second century of service.

The word suggested this week is “contort.” Yup, my sentiments exactly. You can never say The LORD doesn’t keep us on our toes. Its Latin verb root is “contorquere:” Con for “together” and torquere for “twisted.” Twisted together. Who was, who is “twisted together?” There are so many ways to use the word “contort.” When we think of the nominative form of the word contort, contortions, what comes to your mind? Do we picture the physical contortions of gymnasts, like the acclaimed Chinese gymnasts who travel the world in shows like Cirque du Soleil? Those are the most obvious, concrete example of physical contortions and although there is obviously talent involved, there are also years of training from childhood.

“O” Cirque du Soleil, The Bellagio Hotel, Las Vegas, NV

And in any great physical achievement, there are great physical sacrifices and pains that go along with extraordinary athleticism. We may question the tactics used to bring about the gymnastic superiority of Chinese gymnasts, but we still seek out these performances…because the end product thrills us. And we are amazed.

We might call it child abuse in the United States and question how parents could allow the State to take their children and treat them like this. But we don’t know what lives these children leave in order to earn the “glory” of Olympic competition. Isn’t it a matter of context: What is valued, and by whom? Is it possible that in life there are similar sacrifices and pains that await anyone whose goals are bigger than him or her self? And why would anyone (who didn’t have to) go through such agony if they didn’t have to? Is it possible that in American society that is the mélange of the world, the pain and sacrifices are there in varying degrees, but we just don’t want to see it? For some of us our cumulative, cultural history has at its heart, suffering and sacrifice with no end in sight. Yet, here we are.

When we look for the word contort in the New Testament, the verses that pop up are about the braided, plaited, twisted crown of thorns that the Roman soldiers pressed down on Jesus’ head.

They put a purple cloak on him and after braiding a crown of thorns, they put it on him.
Mark 15:17 (NET)

The soldiers, having braided a crown from thorns set it on his head, threw a purple robe over him…
John 19:2 (TMB)

They plaited a crown from branches of a thorn bush and set it on his head. They put a stick in his right hand for a scepter. Then they knelt before him in mocking reverence: "Bravo, King of the Jews!" they said. "Bravo!"
Mathew 27:29 (TMB)

It was to mock Him in His suffering, made all the worse because He chose to be in that position.

The crown may have been made from palm spines or some other thorny plant common in Israel. In placing the crown of thorns on his head, the soldiers were unwittingly symbolizing God’s curse on humanity (cf. Gen 3:18) being placed on Jesus. Their purpose would have been to mock Jesus’ claim to be a king; the crown of thorns would have represented the “radiant corona” portrayed on the heads of rulers on coins and other artifacts in the 1st century.
Mathew 27:29 (NET Note 43)

Phoenix Palm www.dryadmusings.com

That was the personal and supernatural choice that Jesus the Christ made. For us, it was public, historical, and universal.

"My kingdom," said Jesus, "doesn’t consist of what you see around you. If it did, my followers would fight so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. But I’m not that kind of king, not the world’s kind of king."
John 18:36 (TMB)

Jesus’ answer comes during His confrontation with Pontius Pilate who is debating whether to pardon Jesus or Barabbas. Pilate has just stated that Jesus’ own people and Chief Priests have handed him over and Pilate has just asked, “What have you done?” (John 18:35b, TMB). We have probably always read verse 36b and assumed we knew about whom Jesus was talking.

“If my kingdom were from this world, my servants would be fighting…” (NET)

“If it did, my followers would fight…” (TMB)

We assume that when Jesus said His servants or His followers He obviously meant the men and women who had been with Him throughout His ministry. But if we look at the entire verse, could it be that The LORD was not talking about them? In effect, He is saying that His servants or followers are obviously not fighting to keep Him from being handed over. Therefore, He must be otherworldly. The Message Bible translates verse 6 thusly:

"My kingdom," said Jesus, "doesn’t consist of what you see around you. If it did, my followers would fight so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. But I’m not that kind of king, not the world’s kind of king."

Did He mean that because He is not a worldly king, His followers aren’t going to fight for Him? Is that really why His disciples weren’t fighting for Him? Because they knew that this Jesus was the Son of God; they knew that He was divinely appointed to die for the whole world, not just the Jews? We assume we know whom Jesus was talking about: If He was an earthly king, Jesus said they would definitely be defending Him. Then, just what kind of king did His followers believe Him to be? Which followers, which servants is Jesus talking about? By this time His male disciples had scattered after The LORD was seized in the Garden of Gethsemane. When Jesus started talking about an afterlife in His ministry, Jews believed in sheol: Not a heaven and not necessarily a hell.

Hebrew word of uncertain etymology (see Sheol, Critical View), synonym of "bor" (pit), "abaddon" and "shaḥat" (pit or destruction), and perhaps also of "tehom" (abyss).—Biblical Data: It connotes the place where those that had died were believed to be congregated.
Emil G. Hirsch, JewishEncyclopedia.com

Traditional Judaism firmly believes that death is not the end of Human existence. However, because Judaism is primarily focused on life here and now rather than on the afterlife, Judaism does not have much dogma about the afterlife and leaves a great deal of room for personal opinion. It is possible for an Orthodox Jew to believe that the souls of the righteous dead go to a place similar to the Christian heaven, or that they are reincarnated through many lifetimes, or that they simply wait until the coming of the messiah, when they will be resurrected. Likewise, Orthodox Jews can believe that the souls of the wicked are tormented by demons of their own
creation, or that wicked souls are simply destroyed at death, ceasing to exist.
Judaism 101: Olam Ha-Ba: The Afterlife

From what we read in the New Testament, we believe that the male disciples were afraid and that’s why they weren’t fighting for Him. But Jesus also rebuked violence in the Garden of Gethsemane when He was taken prisoner. The question is, ”Were the disciples simply being obedient or were they just afraid?” What does it matter?

Clearly, Christianity is a complex institution made up of many divisions, sects, and doctrines. We live in a global community so complex that it is impossible to keep up with all of the nuances of living in industrialized societies. In America we know that Millennials are less “churched” than their elders. The large proportion of young adults who are unaffiliated with a religion is a result, in part, of the decision by many young people to leave the religion of their upbringing without becoming involved with a new faith. In total, nearly one-in-five adults under age 30 (18%) say they were raised in a religion but are now unaffiliated with any particular faith.
“Religion among the Millennials” Pew Research Center, February 17, 2010

Although this information is generally well known, what is overlooked is that some core beliefs related to traditional religion are still there.

Yet in other ways, Millennials remain fairly traditional in their religious beliefs and practices. Pew Research Center surveys show, for instance, that young adults’ beliefs about life after death and the existence of heaven, hell and miracles closely resemble the beliefs of older people today. Though young adults pray less often than their elders do today, the number of young adults who say they pray every day rivals the portion of young people who said the same in prior decades. And though belief in God is lower among young adults than among older adults, Millennials say they believe in God with absolute certainty at rates similar to those seen among Gen Xers a decade ago. This suggests that some of the religious differences between younger and older Americans today are not entirely generational but result in part from people’s tendency to place greater emphasis on religion as they age.
Ibid.

It appears that as these contemporary young people get older, they will resemble their elders in religious practice. But what do we want them to copy from us? If they are less affiliated with a denomination, specifically the one in which they were raised, what doctrine do they follow? Is it important for them to believe in the divinity of The Christ or is it just good enough that they believe in God? What makes believing in the Son of God more or less significant for them? We seem to live in an “everything is everything” culture that stresses personal freedom but with fewer guiding core principles, especially about how we treat the other seven billion people on the planet. In the previous discussion about which servants or followers Jesus was talking about, the question was asked, “Were the disciples simply being obedient or were they just afraid?” If we conflated the two, twisted them together, contorted them, is it possible for His followers to have been both obedient and afraid? And isn’t this what we are much of the time when we follow Jesus the Christ into unknown territory: Trying to be obedient and simultaneously afraid?

Could the other followers, servants to whom Jesus was referring who were not defending Him-fighting for His freedom, be otherworldly just like His kingdom? What if Jesus was referring to His disciples to come?

You need to know that I have other sheep in addition to those in this pen. I need to gather and bring them, too. They’ll also recognize my voice. Then it will be one flock, one Shepherd.
John 10:16 (TMB)

If contort means “twisted together” like the braid or plait of thorns placed on Jesus’ head as described in the Gospels, doesn’t it seem possible that what we see as our religious practice usurped by modernity is actually the rebirth of belief? What our generation might be experiencing is not the painful constriction of the Body of Christ but the radical contortion like the young Chinese gymnasts, leading to greater performance, greater work in a new and greater century? Could Jesus the Christ have been referring to this new non-denominational, seemingly secular, engaged, open, morally inquisitive Millennial generation as those otherworldly servants who weren’t fighting to free Him then but who are coming of age now? His time has never been our time, right? What if we are on the precipice of a revelation from God to this new generation that only they can hear and recognize and feel in their own way, in their own skin? It’s not a contortion as our generation understands the word; it just might be a new twist…together.

Jesus said, "Don’t bicker among yourselves over me. You’re not in charge here. The Father who sent me is in charge. He draws people to me-that’s the only way you’ll ever come. Only then do I do my work, putting people together, setting them on their feet, ready for the End. This is what the prophets meant when they wrote, ’And then they will all be personally taught by God.’ Anyone who has spent any time at all listening to the Father, really listening and therefore learning, comes to me to be taught personally-to see it with his own eyes, hear it with his own ears, from me, since I have it firsthand from the Father.
John 6:45 (TMB)

If we believe that Jesus the Christ is the Bread of Life, isn’t this braided, contorted, twisted baked Bread one loaf, one faith, one God, one Spirit, the One?

Make us one Lord
Make us one
Holy Spirit make us one
Let Your love flow
So the world will know
We are one in You
Carol Cymbala

One is not “a lonely number” in You, LORD. Thank You for rescuing us from each other when we knock each other down. Thank You for forgiving us when we punch a hole in each other’s spirit all in the name of doing good for You. Thank You for giving us another chance when we can’t see that we just missed a chance to be like You. Thank You for patching up our wounds when we beat each other down trying to look like we’re doing something for You. Thank You for catapulting us forward to Your new day even as we go kicking and screaming. Sometimes, we really do not know better even as we are so efficient as we run over each other, all in the name of doing it for You. Forgive us for being blinded by our own contorted versions of obedience and loyalty when we are anything but. Have mercy on us and make us one in You because frankly, we don’t have any One else to go to.

Make us one.

Amen.