What I find most incredibly delicious about the incarnation story is that God experiences THIS LIFE in order to relate to US, and let us know that God relates to us.
This, culminating in the gift of the Cross, is GRACE and AGAPE LOVE at their best.
God, wholly other, reaches into these lives in order to let us know that we are not alone, not forgotten and not insignificant to God.
God intentionally takes on human birth in its blood, sweat and pain. God is born to a lowly human couple that had no bribe money for a room. God is born in a barn. God is born into poverty and is immediately made a political refugee in a foreign land. God experiences an itinerant, homeless life as an adult, relying on others for sustenance and experiencing the hunger, heat, cold and fatigue that come with it. God is among the oppressed masses, is chased, is betrayed, is arrested on false charges, is denied by friends and abandoned by them, is beaten, faces an unfair trial and is executed in a brutal way.
God relates to us, in our human dilemmas.
This is the WORD MADE FLESH that dwells among us... Announced, not to the mighty occupying Roman empire or the Royalty of Israel or the powerful Sanhedrin of Religious Leaders, but to the night shift of shepherds who were enduring the cold, dark and danger of their labor.
This is the WORD MADE FLESH, full of Grace and Truth... disrespected by the established religious institutions and killed by the Romans BECAUSE He brought Grace and Truth to bear in how we live in THIS PART of God's Kingdom...
This is the WORD MADE FLESH, who called not the elites or recognized, but the sinners, tax collectors and ordinary laborers to follow Him with an incredible different WAY of being in God's Kingdom, here and now...
This is the WORD MADE FLESH, who dwelt among us, experienced our life in its best and worst, and relates to US...
And we who follow Him... obey HIS commandments to live AGAPE LOVE, be of Grace and Truth in this part of God's Kingdom, here and now, we are called to be His hands and feet, arms and heart, mind and mouth in THIS PART of God's Kingdom... we are called to be FLESH MADE WORD... to LIVE what Jesus taught, commanded and exemplified, here and now...
It touches me deeply that God goes to such great lengths to relate to me/us in THIS life. It touches me that I receive Grace upon Grace and not the wrath of God. It touches me that I have been given Agape Love in order that I might be filled with light and life. It touches me so much, that I want to seek Him (HIS WORD by the Holy Spirit) out and give to Him what is most precious to me... it moves me so much that I WANT to be Jesus' hands and feet, arms and heart, mind and mouth in THIS PART of God's Kingdom... to be the FLESH MADE WORD, here and now. I want to follow Him and HIS WAY in how I live my life.
How about you?
Pastor Jamie
Saturday, December 27, 2014
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Hatred
The hatred uncovered by President Obama's election is driving a number of factors in the country today. Blaming him for the race division widening, just because he dared get elected, many are using his image to rally those whose deep-seeded bigotry has lingered for years.
The obstructionism, at the cost of the American people, has been designed to make him appear as a failure in the eyes of the people. Despite the great economic recovery, fought at every turn by the hate mongers, despite millions having health insurance for the first time, despite unemployment coming down, wars winding down and other achievements that were necessary because of the last administration, STILL people believe this President is a bad one, because of the hateful, deceitful rhetoric they hear and read.
Emboldened by this hatred, voters' rights are being stripped away again, workers' rights are being systematically taken away, young black men and others are being hunted by police (with impunity), and people are being deported. Emboldened by those on the "right", economic forces are being put back in place that threaten to de-regulate the greed mongers, create huge monopolies of power and wealth to rule over us, mostly leading to the elimination of the middle class and killing off of the poor.
The systematic, intentional creation of unreasonable FEAR leads to hatred, which is the tool being used to manipulate fearful (and hateful) masses to blame the poor and immigrants, "liberals", intellectuals and others for their plight, which has been created by those who are now manipulating them... the Nazi's did this very effectively... the Reprobates in government are learning it well...
THAT IS WHY it is "justified" to shoot unarmed, young black men in the back.
THAT IS WHY it is "justified" to hate one's own people.
THAT IS WHY it is "justified" to be ruthless in "getting more for myself".
THAT IS WHY it is "justified" to hurt the whole nation in order to "take back the country".
THAT is why WE MUST SAY - "AWE, HELL NO!"
Why WE must speak, write, organize, march, demonstrate, BOYCOTT and VOTE... while we still
can...
This fear, turned to hatred will go a long way, IF WE LET IT...
The time for silence (compliance) is OVER.
The time for ACTION (non-violent) is HERE.
Fighting hatred with hatred allows hatred to win.
Fighting HATRED with Agape Love (committed action on behalf of the other)
is the ONLY WAY... Jesus' Way...
No more. No more. We must fight this beautiful fight in faith and say, "NO MORE!"
Pastor Jamie
The obstructionism, at the cost of the American people, has been designed to make him appear as a failure in the eyes of the people. Despite the great economic recovery, fought at every turn by the hate mongers, despite millions having health insurance for the first time, despite unemployment coming down, wars winding down and other achievements that were necessary because of the last administration, STILL people believe this President is a bad one, because of the hateful, deceitful rhetoric they hear and read.
Emboldened by this hatred, voters' rights are being stripped away again, workers' rights are being systematically taken away, young black men and others are being hunted by police (with impunity), and people are being deported. Emboldened by those on the "right", economic forces are being put back in place that threaten to de-regulate the greed mongers, create huge monopolies of power and wealth to rule over us, mostly leading to the elimination of the middle class and killing off of the poor.
The systematic, intentional creation of unreasonable FEAR leads to hatred, which is the tool being used to manipulate fearful (and hateful) masses to blame the poor and immigrants, "liberals", intellectuals and others for their plight, which has been created by those who are now manipulating them... the Nazi's did this very effectively... the Reprobates in government are learning it well...
THAT IS WHY it is "justified" to shoot unarmed, young black men in the back.
THAT IS WHY it is "justified" to hate one's own people.
THAT IS WHY it is "justified" to be ruthless in "getting more for myself".
THAT IS WHY it is "justified" to hurt the whole nation in order to "take back the country".
THAT is why WE MUST SAY - "AWE, HELL NO!"
Why WE must speak, write, organize, march, demonstrate, BOYCOTT and VOTE... while we still
can...
This fear, turned to hatred will go a long way, IF WE LET IT...
The time for silence (compliance) is OVER.
The time for ACTION (non-violent) is HERE.
Fighting hatred with hatred allows hatred to win.
Fighting HATRED with Agape Love (committed action on behalf of the other)
is the ONLY WAY... Jesus' Way...
No more. No more. We must fight this beautiful fight in faith and say, "NO MORE!"
Pastor Jamie
Lesser Fair Capitalism
Laissez-faire Capitalism is built on greed. It is inherently immoral. Any economic system predicated on the self regulation of greed, while giving unrestricted use of it, is not and cannot ever be equitable. Any system that is set up to optimally run with 4 to 6% of the population kept unemployed, is an unjust system. It rewards the most ruthless, relentless, unconscionably greedy among us in our society, while punishing the rest of us to their benefit. This is why the few, notable philanthropic wealthy are so few and notable. They swim against the tide of norms in this vast ocean of greed, corruption, exploitation, ruthlessness and immorality.
Capitalism with limits is NEVER acceptable to those who promote their own gain on the backs of the rest of us in this system. Limits of profit that would lead to lower prices, fewer people being laid off and more being hired, workers' rights, fewer monopolies, less resistance to the development of alternative fuel sources, more people with healthcare, etc. and is therefore unacceptable to the compassion-less who make the most profit as the system stands. Fewer politicians could be bought. Fewer people would be unemployed. The few would less likely own all the wealth, so more would own some of it. Putting human beings above profit would be a bright and hopeful change, but the forces of profit-over-people will never let that happen, because they will do whatever necessary to control government, military, energy, food and water resources in order to keep the rest of us under their control... all so that they can gain a bit more profit at our expense, at the expense of the environment and the expense of our/their souls...
Socialistic economic systems may be a solution. Certainly, limits of profit in Capitalism would make it more just. As it is, and especially as it is becoming, this system is immoral = IMMORAL.
Pastor Jamie
Capitalism with limits is NEVER acceptable to those who promote their own gain on the backs of the rest of us in this system. Limits of profit that would lead to lower prices, fewer people being laid off and more being hired, workers' rights, fewer monopolies, less resistance to the development of alternative fuel sources, more people with healthcare, etc. and is therefore unacceptable to the compassion-less who make the most profit as the system stands. Fewer politicians could be bought. Fewer people would be unemployed. The few would less likely own all the wealth, so more would own some of it. Putting human beings above profit would be a bright and hopeful change, but the forces of profit-over-people will never let that happen, because they will do whatever necessary to control government, military, energy, food and water resources in order to keep the rest of us under their control... all so that they can gain a bit more profit at our expense, at the expense of the environment and the expense of our/their souls...
Socialistic economic systems may be a solution. Certainly, limits of profit in Capitalism would make it more just. As it is, and especially as it is becoming, this system is immoral = IMMORAL.
Pastor Jamie
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