Mark 7:1-8 (yes, please read it)
Sharing His disgust over the Lip Service Religious Leaders gave God, while lifting up their own,
self-serving practices, Jesus claimed that the Worship of those whose hearts are far from God is
wasted - in vain. It was nothing new.
Amos 5:21-24 (yes, again, please read it)
The prophet shared the Word of God that God does not like the Worship of those whose concern for
others and justice for them is absent. It does not set well with God. God HATES it, despises that
Worship. Regardless of how perfect their praise and adoration, if they have no concern for justice
and doing what is right for ALL of God's People, it smells badly to God, and is not a sweet smelling
offering to God.
Micah 6:6-8 (yes, you get it, in need of being read)
This prophet speaks God's Will that we should understand that our offerings are not acceptable to
God when they are shared with no concern for doing justice in the world around us, when we show
no kindness to others and when our arrogant hubris prevents us from walking humbly with God.
We need REFORMATION. The church is in great need of Reformation.
While Jesus teaches us that Lip Service to Him, while giving even perfect praise, is a worthless exercise, yet the church seems to have gone beyond the self-serving movements of CHURCH GROWTH, PROSPERITY THEOLOGY into the practice of GETTING OUR PRAISE IN WORSHIP ON WHILE GIVING OUR TITHES and while FOCUSING ON OUR PERSONAL SALVATION ALONE (just saying "the sinner's prayer" to save yourself), with no regard for anyone else - especially Neighbor (stranger, enemy) whom we are commanded to love and "the least of these" whom we are commanded to help.
While Jesus (and Paul) taught about being people of the Good News of Jesus, still now, as in Paul's time, we have ITCHING EARS (II Timothy 4:3) to hear what we want to hear and adopt ideologies that are FAR from Jesus' fulfillment of the Law and Prophets in the Gospels. Having "Itching ears" to hear something one wants to hear is NOT the same as reform. It is simply the looking away from the truth to the desired untruth. When Jesus says DO NOT JUDGE, we amend it with "unless you can prove their sin in scripture". When Jesus says DO NOT HATE, we modify it with "unless it is with the sin/sinner proviso". When Jesus says LOVE YOUR ENEMY, we add "unless they are not Christian or Anglo." When Jesus says FEED THE HUNGRY, CLOTHE THE NAKED, WELCOME THE STRANGER AND VISIT THE SICK AND IMPRISONED, we qualify it by saying, "unless it costs us or we have some prejudice against them." When Jesus says DENY YOURSELF, TAKE UP YOUR CROSS AND FOLLOW ME, we hear "indulge our selves, take up our monetary blessings and live life like we want to."
While Paul was expounding beautifully on the Gospel message of Jesus, even in his time, as in this one, people were being BLOWN ABOUT BY EVERY WIND OF DOCTRINE (Ephesians 4:14) (Then the Gnostic beliefs and latest Messiah to arise - anything to dupe people into serving the Religious Leaders - NOW the Church Growth, Prosperity Theology, Praise in Worship/Tithing and Personal Salvation ("sinners' prayer") debaucheries of The Gospel, that serve the servants (the church and unscrupulous pastors), instead of the Lord and those whom the Lord loves.
While Jesus was still teaching about FALSE PROPHETS wearing SHEEPS' CLOTHING BUT INWARDLY BEING RAVENOUS WOLVES (Matthew 7:15-20), there were those even among His disciples, as there are now, who wanted to get and abuse authority over others (Luke 22:24-27), and now as then those who call themselves pastors and teachers, but who only do what they do to gain power, prestige, position and wealth for themselves (Mark 12:38-40), and who look righteous on the outside but are dead to God on the inside because of their motives (Matthew 23:27,28), misleading anyone they can so that they can exploit others for their own gain...
It broke Jesus' heart (Luke 13:34,35) and He wept over their self-determined desolation.
It was then and is now like Josiah's discovery of the Word after a LONG TIME of it being so far from a priority that it was physically walled up in a treasury box in the Temple and forgotten. When it was found during Josiah's rule, he read it and wept because of how far they had gotten from it (II Chronicles 34). It sparked a sweeping restoration of the practices around the Word of God. It was a getting back to God's will, instead of following human precepts.
So it was with Jesus and His disciples, who in their 3 years of formal Seminary training and internship (being sent out and brought back to sit again at His feet) learned God's Will from the fulfiller of the Law and Prophets, and called Him "Lord of their lives." It changed the world, especially as the First Century Followers of Jesus, "People of the Way of Jesus" LIVED what Jesus taught (Acts) in Radical community out of Radical Agape Love. It was a getting back to God's Will, instead of following the human precepts that took God's people far from God's Will.
So it was in the Reformation, when Luther and others looked at the Word with fresh eyes and hearts, and decided that the path the church had been on for generations was further and further from what Jesus taught. It was a getting back to God's Will, instead of following human precepts.
We do not need more movements like Church Growth, Prosperity Theology, Praises & Tithes and Personal Salvation (just saying "the sinner's prayer" to save yourself) to keep us moving further from God's Will. We need to get back to what Jesus taught... what JESUS TAUGHT... what JESUS TAUGHT - the Fulfiller of the Law and Prophets, Savior and LORD OF OUR LIVES.
Read the Four Gospels. It will take you four evenings, and will move you in ways that watching four evenings of TV, going to four concerts or live performances, reading four novels or going to four clubs could NEVER do. When you do, concentrate on what JESUS TAUGHT... His teaching statements, Imperative (command) statements and parables that fulfill the Law and Prophets and guide us to His Kingdom Values for living in THIS PART of God's Kingdom. Ask Jesus, "What do YOU want of me?" Ask yourself - what does JESUS say walking with God means for how I walk now, in this world?
CAUTION: Reading it may bring you to a place in which you want to actually FOLLOW what Jesus taught in how you live your life, and it may cause you to critically think, which could in turn cause you to see how living Jesus' teachings could make the world a better place, and you may then be dissatisfied with what you are experiencing in church and in the world - which could lead you to a reformation in your own life, and lead you to live Jesus' Kingdom Values in the world around you, which could in turn change the world around you and cause others to find reformation in their lives because of what they see happening, and so on, and so on...
Don't do it to EARN salvation. GRACE is given freely because it is unattainable for us. Do it because you LOVE the LORD, who has given you Grace and loves YOU, and because you want to learn how to LOVE THE NEIGHBORS whom the Lord loves as God's children.
Come on in, the water's fine!
Pastor Jamie
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Monday, January 21, 2013
My heroes...
Ok, I have strange heroes... perhaps...
Above all, my hero is my Savior and LORD OF MY LIFE -
Jesus of Nazareth,who simply transcended the greed, corruptions of power and
controlling factions of the Roman Empire, Sanhedrin and Israel's Throne with His
fulfillment of the Law and Prophets in the Gospel, centered on Agape Love in Grace.
Martin Luther, the 16th Century Reformer, stood up to the Holy Roman Emporer,
the Pope and those in the church who had departed from the Gospel teachings
and examples of Jesus. There are glaring examples of things I CANNOT condone
in Luther's beliefs and actions, but he stood for the common person and Grace.
Mahatma Gandhi was as pure an example of someone LIVING the Gospel of Jesus
and therefore speaking justice and truth to power, as anyone in history.
Rev. Vernon Johns was a civil rights leader before there was a movement, in
Montgomery, Alabama. He was a spark of truth and justice in the darkness.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a representative of the Gospel of Jesus and
fearless warrior for non-violent revolution in the face of injustice for God's people.
Rosa Parks, who allowed being tired to her core to become sitting in for justice
and equality in the face of injustice and inequality.
Mother Theresa, who quietly, powerfully and consistently embodied the Agape
Love Jesus commanded for "the least of these".
Bishop Oscar Romero, who stood up to a corrupt government and the wealthy
landowners who owned it, the church in its silence and the military in its ruthless
torture and slaughter of innocents, along with Presidents Carter and Reagan, calling
for peace and justice for ALL in El Salvador.
Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, W.E.B. DuBois, Nelson Mandela,
Robert Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Desmond Tutu, and others...
My prayer, as I wait for a new, CONTEMPORARY hero to arise, is that WE, THE
PEOPLE will stand up to, to speak out justice and truth to power and wealth, even when
that means standing up to those whom we love and support, because what they are
doing is wrong for God's people. The closest one that I can identify today is
Cornell West, who goes out to speak, to demonstrate, to write, to teach, to get
arrested and to consistently raise concern for ALL PEOPLE, especially "the least of
these" in our land and abroad.
I aspire to be a faint reflection of the light that they have shone and still shine in the
world.
Pastor Jamie
Above all, my hero is my Savior and LORD OF MY LIFE -
Jesus of Nazareth,who simply transcended the greed, corruptions of power and
controlling factions of the Roman Empire, Sanhedrin and Israel's Throne with His
fulfillment of the Law and Prophets in the Gospel, centered on Agape Love in Grace.
Martin Luther, the 16th Century Reformer, stood up to the Holy Roman Emporer,
the Pope and those in the church who had departed from the Gospel teachings
and examples of Jesus. There are glaring examples of things I CANNOT condone
in Luther's beliefs and actions, but he stood for the common person and Grace.
Mahatma Gandhi was as pure an example of someone LIVING the Gospel of Jesus
and therefore speaking justice and truth to power, as anyone in history.
Rev. Vernon Johns was a civil rights leader before there was a movement, in
Montgomery, Alabama. He was a spark of truth and justice in the darkness.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a representative of the Gospel of Jesus and
fearless warrior for non-violent revolution in the face of injustice for God's people.
Rosa Parks, who allowed being tired to her core to become sitting in for justice
and equality in the face of injustice and inequality.
Mother Theresa, who quietly, powerfully and consistently embodied the Agape
Love Jesus commanded for "the least of these".
Bishop Oscar Romero, who stood up to a corrupt government and the wealthy
landowners who owned it, the church in its silence and the military in its ruthless
torture and slaughter of innocents, along with Presidents Carter and Reagan, calling
for peace and justice for ALL in El Salvador.
Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, W.E.B. DuBois, Nelson Mandela,
Robert Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Desmond Tutu, and others...
My prayer, as I wait for a new, CONTEMPORARY hero to arise, is that WE, THE
PEOPLE will stand up to, to speak out justice and truth to power and wealth, even when
that means standing up to those whom we love and support, because what they are
doing is wrong for God's people. The closest one that I can identify today is
Cornell West, who goes out to speak, to demonstrate, to write, to teach, to get
arrested and to consistently raise concern for ALL PEOPLE, especially "the least of
these" in our land and abroad.
I aspire to be a faint reflection of the light that they have shone and still shine in the
world.
Pastor Jamie
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
AMERICAN EXTREMISM
Since the colonialists, who "discovered" this land (though for thousands of years civilizations of people lived here) and used their technology and ruthlessness to dominate and eventually all but exterminate its original inhabitants... this has been a country of extremists... shunned and persecuted for their religious beliefs because of extremists in Europe, they then shunned and persecuted any who did not believe their way, which is also extremist. "There is only ONE WAY to be (legitimate)", is an EXTREME view.
These same extremists, along with others from yes, Europe, decided that it was perfectly fine to build their economy on the backs of people they enslaved because again, they were more technologically savvy and more ruthless. So, for 500 years people were labeled "less than fully human" in order to justify their slavery of them. Anyone who did not agree was either not a patriot or just socially deviant.
After slavery was abolished, it was the same extremist mentality that kept "Jim Crow" and segregation alive, and then the enslavement of Asian-Americans during WWII, then the exploitation first and then vilification of those from Mexico, the continued holding down of American black folks, and eventually the exploitation overseas by our companies so that WE could get cheap labor, pollute, destroy and waste resources at will and dominate the World Trade Organization to pad our pockets at the expense of others in the world.
Having nearly exhausted the potential for us to exploit others overseas, and in the face of more and more backlash for doing it, extremists are now turning on their fellow citizens, even those who look just like them, though they still doubly "stick it to" those who do not. They will throw the poor, the middle class and even our elderly under the bus for more profit for themselves.
We live in a country of extremists. Now, our current President is accused of being an extremist often, but compared to the last guy (his daddy and the guy that got the REAL extremist ball rolling in 1981), along with his administration... our - just barely left of center President - is a MODERATE liberal at best, and NOT AT ALL and extremist. Unfortunately, he at times blows way too far to the right in the political wind for that.
We are a nation of extremists. Our focus on personal freedoms and rights above all else naturally puts us at odds with what is best for our whole society. Our love for no limits in Capitalism (laissez Faire) and profit for those who have the means to achieve it, reflects an EXTREMIST view, as does the pursuit of ANYTHING with no limits, especially when it NECESSARILY means that others must be held down for any one person to have it. The EXTREME desire for prestige, position and wealth is reflected in the HUGE VEHICLES we waste and pollute with, HUGE HOMES we sprawl the countryside with and the HUGE LIVES we try to live that eventually kill us for the living of them.
We are a nation of extremists. The 2nd Amendment, adopted in 1791, was done so in the aftermath of the American Revolution, and many point out was also to arm those who had slaves in order to suppress any revolts by them. It does guarantee rational people the right to own firearms. It does NOT guarantee the right for people to own weapons of mass destruction that can kill 17 people in 17 seconds. EXTREMISTS make no distinction, and throw out any concern for the WHOLE of society for their individual liberty to own assault weapons. Anyone trying to make the logical, rational distinction is labeled and disregarded or (brow) beaten into submission, which by definition makes the extremists who want no limits in this irrational.
We do not allow people to own cannon. We do not allow people to drive tanks on public streets. We do not allow people to buy bazookas, mortars or hand grenades. They are implements of war. They are too dangerous to have in the general public. So are assault rifles dangerous implements of war. The extremists WANT people to legally own weapons that with extended clips can kill between 17 and 20 people in as many seconds. I question how rational that is. The absurd arguments about people being stabbed with knives, beaten with bats and poisoned are thrown up by the most illogical and irrational among them. These arguments are to distract us from the truths of how many people LEGALLY owned assault weapons and used them in mass shootings. The resistance to strengthen the scrutiny of screenings before one can buy ANY weapon, is an admission that many of these same EXTREMISTS are afraid they would not pass the scrutiny, and/or that they do not rationally see the need to limit WHO can legally purchase any weapon. And the rest of us are expected to shut up and allow this, or are driven to buy our own weapons to protect us from these very same EXTREMISTS someday.
These are EXTREMISTS, who want NO LIMITS on their firepower, at the expense of the whole of our society. Their "ALL OR NOTHING" mentality is consistent with "The American Way". They are unable to differentiate degrees of good or bad, and anything LEGAL must be GOOD to them. Their sense of entitlement as individuals over the public good is EXTREMISM. They view their insensitivity and insensibilities as personal rights as well, and they often exhibit EXTREME reactions to any who would have differing opinions or ideologies, labeling and vilifying them as being "less than" themselves.
They are merely an extension of the ideology of greed for power, prestige and wealth that has defined our nation since its beginning and has been perfected since 1981. The games our children play are training for their adult entitlement in this ideology. The television shows and movies we watch largely reflect our "no limits" values, along with the internet of infinite, unlimited entertainment and cultural propaganda. The news that feeds us "ignorance for truth" messages, and fearful images to keep us reliant on unscrupulous politicians, gun dealers and control-mongers who will be all too happy to take away our collective liberties and rights in order to "make us safe". Our government that is now mostly made up of those in the pockets of corporations, because we value laissez faire Capitalism over Democracy, allows our water, air and ground to be polluted and our resources to be ravaged all in the name of profit for a few over the needs of the many. "No limits! No limits! No limits!"is the cry of the EXTREMIST.
American Christians are EXTREMISTS in our views of "literalizing" scripture, superficial spirituality, justified judgement and exclusion, entitlement and prosperity, and even in our views of what is unacceptable and a justification for shunning others - views of extreme abstinence and extreme control over others' behaviors and beliefs. They want to have UNLIMITED control over the many by severely LIMITING their behaviors and beliefs. They want UNLIMITED prestige and recognition, prosperity and position in the society, this bunch who claim to follow the one who said, "Deny yourself, take up your Cross and follow me."
The results of their EXTREMISM are troubling. The scope of their vision for limitless everything for themselves over the needs of others is alarming. The means by which they are willing to achieve these ends are frightening.
The God who gave just enough manna daily in the wilderness, who promised to provide daily bread, who lifted up those who were NOT greedy, power hungry or lusting for prestige and self-indulgence, has something else to say, which the EXTREMISTS in THIS time and place consider EXTREME:
"Do to others as you would have them do to you." Jesus
"Love your neighbor as yourself." Jesus
"All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful, but not all things
build up." Paul
"Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private
ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common... and there was not
a needy one among them..." - no, not Marx, Lenin, Mao or even Obama... writer of Luke/Acts,
describing those who actually FOLLOWED JESUS.
You cannot be a follower of Jesus and ignore the good of another or others, or intentionally or ignorantly hurt others in order to gain for yourself. If you are doing that, you are an EXTREMIST, and you are following something or someone, but it ain't JESUS...
Engage in socially deviant behavior... I know it sounds extreme, but - Do what is best for EVERYONE and not just yourself. If THAT sounds extreme to you, it must necessarily reveal to you how EXTREME the "normative" alternative is...
God bless you all.
Pastor Jamie
These same extremists, along with others from yes, Europe, decided that it was perfectly fine to build their economy on the backs of people they enslaved because again, they were more technologically savvy and more ruthless. So, for 500 years people were labeled "less than fully human" in order to justify their slavery of them. Anyone who did not agree was either not a patriot or just socially deviant.
After slavery was abolished, it was the same extremist mentality that kept "Jim Crow" and segregation alive, and then the enslavement of Asian-Americans during WWII, then the exploitation first and then vilification of those from Mexico, the continued holding down of American black folks, and eventually the exploitation overseas by our companies so that WE could get cheap labor, pollute, destroy and waste resources at will and dominate the World Trade Organization to pad our pockets at the expense of others in the world.
Having nearly exhausted the potential for us to exploit others overseas, and in the face of more and more backlash for doing it, extremists are now turning on their fellow citizens, even those who look just like them, though they still doubly "stick it to" those who do not. They will throw the poor, the middle class and even our elderly under the bus for more profit for themselves.
We live in a country of extremists. Now, our current President is accused of being an extremist often, but compared to the last guy (his daddy and the guy that got the REAL extremist ball rolling in 1981), along with his administration... our - just barely left of center President - is a MODERATE liberal at best, and NOT AT ALL and extremist. Unfortunately, he at times blows way too far to the right in the political wind for that.
We are a nation of extremists. Our focus on personal freedoms and rights above all else naturally puts us at odds with what is best for our whole society. Our love for no limits in Capitalism (laissez Faire) and profit for those who have the means to achieve it, reflects an EXTREMIST view, as does the pursuit of ANYTHING with no limits, especially when it NECESSARILY means that others must be held down for any one person to have it. The EXTREME desire for prestige, position and wealth is reflected in the HUGE VEHICLES we waste and pollute with, HUGE HOMES we sprawl the countryside with and the HUGE LIVES we try to live that eventually kill us for the living of them.
We are a nation of extremists. The 2nd Amendment, adopted in 1791, was done so in the aftermath of the American Revolution, and many point out was also to arm those who had slaves in order to suppress any revolts by them. It does guarantee rational people the right to own firearms. It does NOT guarantee the right for people to own weapons of mass destruction that can kill 17 people in 17 seconds. EXTREMISTS make no distinction, and throw out any concern for the WHOLE of society for their individual liberty to own assault weapons. Anyone trying to make the logical, rational distinction is labeled and disregarded or (brow) beaten into submission, which by definition makes the extremists who want no limits in this irrational.
We do not allow people to own cannon. We do not allow people to drive tanks on public streets. We do not allow people to buy bazookas, mortars or hand grenades. They are implements of war. They are too dangerous to have in the general public. So are assault rifles dangerous implements of war. The extremists WANT people to legally own weapons that with extended clips can kill between 17 and 20 people in as many seconds. I question how rational that is. The absurd arguments about people being stabbed with knives, beaten with bats and poisoned are thrown up by the most illogical and irrational among them. These arguments are to distract us from the truths of how many people LEGALLY owned assault weapons and used them in mass shootings. The resistance to strengthen the scrutiny of screenings before one can buy ANY weapon, is an admission that many of these same EXTREMISTS are afraid they would not pass the scrutiny, and/or that they do not rationally see the need to limit WHO can legally purchase any weapon. And the rest of us are expected to shut up and allow this, or are driven to buy our own weapons to protect us from these very same EXTREMISTS someday.
These are EXTREMISTS, who want NO LIMITS on their firepower, at the expense of the whole of our society. Their "ALL OR NOTHING" mentality is consistent with "The American Way". They are unable to differentiate degrees of good or bad, and anything LEGAL must be GOOD to them. Their sense of entitlement as individuals over the public good is EXTREMISM. They view their insensitivity and insensibilities as personal rights as well, and they often exhibit EXTREME reactions to any who would have differing opinions or ideologies, labeling and vilifying them as being "less than" themselves.
They are merely an extension of the ideology of greed for power, prestige and wealth that has defined our nation since its beginning and has been perfected since 1981. The games our children play are training for their adult entitlement in this ideology. The television shows and movies we watch largely reflect our "no limits" values, along with the internet of infinite, unlimited entertainment and cultural propaganda. The news that feeds us "ignorance for truth" messages, and fearful images to keep us reliant on unscrupulous politicians, gun dealers and control-mongers who will be all too happy to take away our collective liberties and rights in order to "make us safe". Our government that is now mostly made up of those in the pockets of corporations, because we value laissez faire Capitalism over Democracy, allows our water, air and ground to be polluted and our resources to be ravaged all in the name of profit for a few over the needs of the many. "No limits! No limits! No limits!"is the cry of the EXTREMIST.
American Christians are EXTREMISTS in our views of "literalizing" scripture, superficial spirituality, justified judgement and exclusion, entitlement and prosperity, and even in our views of what is unacceptable and a justification for shunning others - views of extreme abstinence and extreme control over others' behaviors and beliefs. They want to have UNLIMITED control over the many by severely LIMITING their behaviors and beliefs. They want UNLIMITED prestige and recognition, prosperity and position in the society, this bunch who claim to follow the one who said, "Deny yourself, take up your Cross and follow me."
The results of their EXTREMISM are troubling. The scope of their vision for limitless everything for themselves over the needs of others is alarming. The means by which they are willing to achieve these ends are frightening.
The God who gave just enough manna daily in the wilderness, who promised to provide daily bread, who lifted up those who were NOT greedy, power hungry or lusting for prestige and self-indulgence, has something else to say, which the EXTREMISTS in THIS time and place consider EXTREME:
"Do to others as you would have them do to you." Jesus
"Love your neighbor as yourself." Jesus
"All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful, but not all things
build up." Paul
"Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private
ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common... and there was not
a needy one among them..." - no, not Marx, Lenin, Mao or even Obama... writer of Luke/Acts,
describing those who actually FOLLOWED JESUS.
You cannot be a follower of Jesus and ignore the good of another or others, or intentionally or ignorantly hurt others in order to gain for yourself. If you are doing that, you are an EXTREMIST, and you are following something or someone, but it ain't JESUS...
Engage in socially deviant behavior... I know it sounds extreme, but - Do what is best for EVERYONE and not just yourself. If THAT sounds extreme to you, it must necessarily reveal to you how EXTREME the "normative" alternative is...
God bless you all.
Pastor Jamie
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)