So many have a view of Jesus as a NICE MAN who just loved everybody.
Jesus did love - taught, commanded and modeled AGAPE Love - active commitment on behalf of the other, even enemy and stranger (Luke 10:25-37). That love does not always allow being nice. It DOES mean standing with and advocating "the least", the most vulnerable and those that society (and church) has judged, disenfranchised and marginalized. The gloves come off for that sometimes.
Jesus dispelled any thoughts of a prophet of God being like a "reed shaken by the wind", and He was just speaking about John, the one sent to usher in the Great Prophet, Jesus (Luke 7:24-35). Jesus then went on to compare that generation of God's people as spoiled, entitled brats who want what they want, and want the Prophets of God to give them what THEY want. That ain't happenin'. It wasn't then, and isn't now.
Jesus, the Prophet, lamented over the city of God, because they rejected His Good News and refused to embrace the Kingdom Values God wanted them to live (Matthew 23:37-39). This touching, tender and tragic sharing is the lament of a Prophet who came and gave, even embodied the message of God in New Covenant, but who was rejected and about to be killed like so many prophets before Him. The tragedy, though was not for Him, but rather for what it meant for them. Walking away from God's Good News, from God brings destruction of self. The corruption of the powerful and wealthy who refused to learn about Agape Love sharing in Radical Community, permeated the whole society, and the message of Jesus fell on deaf ears, even hostile ones. It would mean their own destruction, just as ignoring, rejecting or killing the prophets of old meant.
Jesus, the Prophet did not mince words. He warned of false prophets who would come with slick words and seeming innocence, but who would bear much different fruit. He warned His followers to discern the prophets by the FRUITS they bear (Matthew 7:15-19).
Jesus, the Prophet warned about future false prophets, too, who could do signs and wonders but who were none-the-less false because they did not tell the Truth of God. They lead astray because they lead away from Jesus' Good News of Humility, Self-Sacrifice, commitment to the other and acceptance of all people. They lead astray because they convince people that this faith is just about Worship, Praise and Tithes in order to get personal favor and blessings, when they have a Gospel of Jesus that teaches that this faith is about living Agape Love with "the least", the outcast, and even stranger and enemy (Mark 13:202-7).
Jesus, the Prophet warns of Religious Leaders who like to dress up in finery, take places of honor and make it all about power, position and wealth. These are the ones who fleece their flocks. They use pleasing language and appear to be pious, but theiy devour the most vulnerable for their own gain. Jesus declares as the Prophet of God that they will receive the greater condemnation (Luke 20:45-47).
Jesus, the Prophet warned the rich, the satisfied, the smugly happy and the well respected (Luke 6:24-26). Jesus the Prophet taught the karma of God's Kingdom regarding Judging and refusing to forgive, saying that what we give is what we will get (Luke 6:37,38). Jesus, the Prophet warned about bearing no fruit and bad fruit, pointing out the hypocrisy of giving outward signs of devotion and allegiance without actually following the Lord (Luke 6:43-49).
Jesus, the Prophet spoke WOE to the religious leaders (and their followers) who tithe but neglect doing what His Good News demands in justice and Agape Love, for always promoting their own position, saying that they look good on the outside but are DEAD inside to God (Luke 11:42-44).
Jesus, the Prophet spoke WOE to those who manipulate the law of God to benefit themselves and hurt others in a false authority, giving up true knowledge and keeping it from others, thus keeping them from knowing and living His Good News (Luke 11:45-52).
Jesus, the Prophet taught parables about The Rich Fool (Luke 12), the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16), the laborers in the vineyard (Matthew 20) and the Good Samaritan (Luke 10) to teach Kingdom Values to be lived in THIS PART of God's Kingdom, here and now.
Jesus, the Prophet taught the rich young man what it takes for the wealthy to be right with God, and what God values (Mark 10), and taught how the wealthy can repent of their hubris and value for wealth over people (Luke 19).
Jesus, the Prophet addressed the world with Kingdom Values in His Good News. He taught, commanded and modeled Agape Love as a WAY OF LIFE WITH GOD. Jesus did not sugar coat anything. Jesus showed great compassion and kindness with those who were marginalized, disenfranchised, exploited and abused by the powerful and wealthy. Jesus addressed the ones who created the plight of "the least of these", out of love for them and a desire that they repent - change their thinking and direction - so that they could turn and walk with God. Jesus, the Prophet told the Truth of God to God's people, and what it would take for them to live according to God's Will. That is what a Prophet does. Jesus, the Prophet was ignored, rejected and killed. That is what people do who want to live outward appearance, form and false piety without truly living what God wants, people who want salvation and other perks of claiming the name, without living the sacrifice taught, commanded and modeled by Jesus on behalf of "the other", which is Agape Love. Jesus shared HIS vision of the last day, when He would return. It was clear. There are a lot of folk who think that they are sheep (even prophesying, wonder working, demon casting sheep - Matthew 7:21-23) who will find that they are goats at the judgment because Jesus, the Prophet makes it all about how we live Agape Love with each other (feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the sick and imprisoned and welcome the resident alien in our land), and many church leaders, politicians and others in our nation have made it about power, wealth and personal favor and blessings.
Jesus is a Prophet - indeed, the Great Prophet.
God, while looking upon Moses and Elijah, the Law and Prophets, told the disciples of Jesus, "This is my Son, the Beloved, listen to HIM!". He is the voice of God. You can want Him as Savior, but you must also then receive Him as Lord of your life. And if you do, then you must hear Jesus say to you, "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord', and do not do what I tell you?" (Luke 6:46).
I love Jesus. I love His gift of Redemption and Salvation. I love His Grace. I love His Agape Love and the Good News of what it means to LIVE THAT in THIS PART of God's Kingdom, here and now. I love Jesus, the Prophet. My whole life is about living what Jesus taught, commanded and modeled as faithful living with God. It is that simple. It is that hard.
Pastor Jamie
Sunday, September 25, 2016
Monday, September 19, 2016
The Kaufy Scale of human interaction
Yes, I have my own scale,
regarding openness to others who are different from self...
It is a scale that may reflect prejudice, even bigotry
It may reflect the desire of folk for homogeneity
It may reflect one's xenophobia, sexism, racism, homophobia, classism, etc., etc.
You see, I have always been in the "majority" (of power) culture,
not by choice, and as I grew, not with any delight regarding that status,
because I saw the inequities and how it affected people I cared for, people I loved...
So, I learned. I soaked in the data with those in the "majority" culture AND those who I loved
who were not in it.
I learned about love and hatred, and apathy.
You see, the opposite of love is not hatred, but apathy. It is JUST NOT CARING.
Love and hatred are passions. Apathy is chosen absence of feeling, attitude, action, presence.
Those in the "majority" culture have never had to understand or empathize with those who are not in it. It is the "privilege" of being in the "majority" culture. People not in that majority of power, MUST understand well those who are in it in order to get along in life, but those in the "majority" culture are the ones to whom others must conform. Assimilation to the "majority (of power) culture" has always to some degree meant survival for those not in it. That has always troubled me. Inequity and inequality are falsehoods manufactured and forced upon some by others, with created "reasons" of "superiority" or "inferiority" to justify the ruthlessness of some over others.
The truth is that some will always be bigoted and discriminatory based on race, ethnicity, class, gender, religion, sexual orientation or any number of other differences. We always seem to focus on our differences and assign "better than" or "not as good as" values to them. Until we are accused of prejudice, at which time some folk try to claim they are "colorblind".
"Colorblind" means a person is among the privileged who through their entitlement falsely assigned can ignore the wonderful qualities of others not the same as themselves, and render much of who they are and what they value invisible, rather than acknowledge it with value. It is APATHY - the opposite of LOVE.
So, my scale...
reflects human development (or a lack thereof) within individuals and groups of people...
Keep in mind that there are continuums of degree within each "stage" of development...
CELEBRATION (seeing the good in others' differences from self, and embracing them... even seeking to be with others who are different from self by choice, in delight)
ACCEPTANCE (understanding differences are ok, accepting others for who they are, interacting well with others who are different in most settings, though not always in diverse settings by choice)
TOLERANCE (will acknowledge and tolerate those different in degrees of civility - though still some false belief of one's superiority and the other's inferiority- note that this is often the stage of "blind spots" of bigotry, where systemic and institutionalized bigotry are allowed to live, and often the stage in which folk will claim one "token" friend or acquaintance in order to claim full acceptance of others who are different)
INTOLERANCE (learned prejudice, bigotry, with power it leads to discrimination, saying or
doing hurtful things by choice to others because one falsely believes they are "superior" or "right" compared to the other)
APATHY (not caring, because one is removed from people who are different, it is a non-issue
because one is so removed from ANYONE different from self, no emotional investment)
*some may argue this is better than intolerance, but not from a human development
standpoint...
It is through exposure, interaction and face to face encounter that we learn to accept and even celebrate others. Arrested human development regarding social interaction is CHOSEN and TAUGHT. It is unconscionable and immoral, and it damages one's soul because it hurts others. One cannot be right with God if one actively or passively hurts others.
That is my scale. Those are my opinions. As always, this and $3 will get you a cup at Starbucks.
Pastor Jamie
regarding openness to others who are different from self...
It is a scale that may reflect prejudice, even bigotry
It may reflect the desire of folk for homogeneity
It may reflect one's xenophobia, sexism, racism, homophobia, classism, etc., etc.
You see, I have always been in the "majority" (of power) culture,
not by choice, and as I grew, not with any delight regarding that status,
because I saw the inequities and how it affected people I cared for, people I loved...
So, I learned. I soaked in the data with those in the "majority" culture AND those who I loved
who were not in it.
I learned about love and hatred, and apathy.
You see, the opposite of love is not hatred, but apathy. It is JUST NOT CARING.
Love and hatred are passions. Apathy is chosen absence of feeling, attitude, action, presence.
Those in the "majority" culture have never had to understand or empathize with those who are not in it. It is the "privilege" of being in the "majority" culture. People not in that majority of power, MUST understand well those who are in it in order to get along in life, but those in the "majority" culture are the ones to whom others must conform. Assimilation to the "majority (of power) culture" has always to some degree meant survival for those not in it. That has always troubled me. Inequity and inequality are falsehoods manufactured and forced upon some by others, with created "reasons" of "superiority" or "inferiority" to justify the ruthlessness of some over others.
The truth is that some will always be bigoted and discriminatory based on race, ethnicity, class, gender, religion, sexual orientation or any number of other differences. We always seem to focus on our differences and assign "better than" or "not as good as" values to them. Until we are accused of prejudice, at which time some folk try to claim they are "colorblind".
"Colorblind" means a person is among the privileged who through their entitlement falsely assigned can ignore the wonderful qualities of others not the same as themselves, and render much of who they are and what they value invisible, rather than acknowledge it with value. It is APATHY - the opposite of LOVE.
So, my scale...
reflects human development (or a lack thereof) within individuals and groups of people...
Keep in mind that there are continuums of degree within each "stage" of development...
CELEBRATION (seeing the good in others' differences from self, and embracing them... even seeking to be with others who are different from self by choice, in delight)
ACCEPTANCE (understanding differences are ok, accepting others for who they are, interacting well with others who are different in most settings, though not always in diverse settings by choice)
TOLERANCE (will acknowledge and tolerate those different in degrees of civility - though still some false belief of one's superiority and the other's inferiority- note that this is often the stage of "blind spots" of bigotry, where systemic and institutionalized bigotry are allowed to live, and often the stage in which folk will claim one "token" friend or acquaintance in order to claim full acceptance of others who are different)
INTOLERANCE (learned prejudice, bigotry, with power it leads to discrimination, saying or
doing hurtful things by choice to others because one falsely believes they are "superior" or "right" compared to the other)
APATHY (not caring, because one is removed from people who are different, it is a non-issue
because one is so removed from ANYONE different from self, no emotional investment)
*some may argue this is better than intolerance, but not from a human development
standpoint...
It is through exposure, interaction and face to face encounter that we learn to accept and even celebrate others. Arrested human development regarding social interaction is CHOSEN and TAUGHT. It is unconscionable and immoral, and it damages one's soul because it hurts others. One cannot be right with God if one actively or passively hurts others.
That is my scale. Those are my opinions. As always, this and $3 will get you a cup at Starbucks.
Pastor Jamie
Sunday, September 11, 2016
The Prophet - Amos
Amos was not a professional Prophet. He wanted folk to know that. He saw how the professional Prophets used their position for self gain at the expense of the truth of God - the role of the prophet. You see, telling the future is NOT the role of the Prophet of God (Nabi). That is a "seer". A Prophet tells what God's will is and what the benefits are of following God's will and what the consequences are for not following the will of God.
Amos offered angry words because God was angry.
Amos offered a warning to ALL the nations around Israel and Judah, including God's people in that kingdom, because God is the God of ALL nations and peoples, and God expected them ALL to act differently than they were in the world - THIS PART of God's Kingdom. God warned the nations through Amos, and the threat of Assyria was looming to be the hand of God in teaching the nations, including God's chosen and delivered people, the consequences of mistreating each other.
It was a time of relative prosperity, peace and military might with Israel and Judah. The people were gaining in affluence and quite content. But how they got that and what they did with it were not pleasing to God. Amos had been kicked out of the royal sanctuary at Bethel because of his conflict with the priest Amaziah and others who did not tell what God wanted, but rather taught that prosperity and strength was a sign of God's favor.
He was forced to give a harsh word in a pleasant climate to people who had benefitted from corruption and had gotten their power and wealth on the backs of other nations and those within their own nation (the real reason for their prosperity and power). They were ruthless and oppressive toward others, and that did not please God.
And so, he started with oracles against Israel's neighbors and addressed their abuses of other nations around them.
Then he turned on Israel for her sins of exploitation and injustice with her own people.
Finally, he shared God's vision of coming doom as a consequence of God's people not living within the Law God provided for them - to love God and love Neighbor as self.
It was for their greed and lust for power that Israel and Judah were to pay the price.
Amos did not mince words, even called them derogatory names - Cows of Bashan - and quite clearly laid out what God was displeased about -
their exploitation and oppression of the poor and keeping them down for their own benefit (4:1-3)
personal gain on the backs of the poor, ignoring the needs of the poor they exploited (5:10-13)
daring to worship and sacrifice as if they could be pleasing to God, while doing injustice
(5:21-27)
those with opulent wealth who live lives of luxury while others in the nation suffer (6:4-7)
those who set the system to benefit the wealthy at the expense of the poor, in an attempt to
"own" them, and cheating those who have no power for personal again (8:4-7)
Things would change. They would be conquered, all of them and sent into exile, which meant that they would lose everything. The nation had collectively sinned. The priests, the false prophets, the king, the wealthy who controlled the wealth and power had all hurt those most vulnerable, and they would have to pay the price for it.
We can believe that we are the wealthiest and most powerful nation on earth, and that because of our "exceptionalism" we are entitled to gain more off the backs of other nations and those who live within our own nation. We can be the most ruthless in the world, but claim to be "Christian" and therefore that we are blessed because of our worship and praise. We can mistreat the most vulnerable here and abroad for our own gain. If we do, we are NOT living what God wills.
How we treat others is ALL about our relationship with God. Our worship and praise, even tithes (sacrifices) are meaningless if we ignore the needs of the most vulnerable or exploit others for our own gain at their expense. God is the God of ALL nations and peoples. God will use as God's right hand, whatever and whomever GOD chooses to bring the people of God into the Love of God and Neighbor that God wills. It is not about purity and holiness, worship, praise or tithes. It is clearly about how we treat others who God loves.
Read Amos. Look at our nation and its practices through military might and economic influence. This is America's Prophet, here and now.
Pastor Jamie
next week: The Prophet - Jesus
Amos offered angry words because God was angry.
Amos offered a warning to ALL the nations around Israel and Judah, including God's people in that kingdom, because God is the God of ALL nations and peoples, and God expected them ALL to act differently than they were in the world - THIS PART of God's Kingdom. God warned the nations through Amos, and the threat of Assyria was looming to be the hand of God in teaching the nations, including God's chosen and delivered people, the consequences of mistreating each other.
It was a time of relative prosperity, peace and military might with Israel and Judah. The people were gaining in affluence and quite content. But how they got that and what they did with it were not pleasing to God. Amos had been kicked out of the royal sanctuary at Bethel because of his conflict with the priest Amaziah and others who did not tell what God wanted, but rather taught that prosperity and strength was a sign of God's favor.
He was forced to give a harsh word in a pleasant climate to people who had benefitted from corruption and had gotten their power and wealth on the backs of other nations and those within their own nation (the real reason for their prosperity and power). They were ruthless and oppressive toward others, and that did not please God.
And so, he started with oracles against Israel's neighbors and addressed their abuses of other nations around them.
Then he turned on Israel for her sins of exploitation and injustice with her own people.
Finally, he shared God's vision of coming doom as a consequence of God's people not living within the Law God provided for them - to love God and love Neighbor as self.
It was for their greed and lust for power that Israel and Judah were to pay the price.
Amos did not mince words, even called them derogatory names - Cows of Bashan - and quite clearly laid out what God was displeased about -
their exploitation and oppression of the poor and keeping them down for their own benefit (4:1-3)
personal gain on the backs of the poor, ignoring the needs of the poor they exploited (5:10-13)
daring to worship and sacrifice as if they could be pleasing to God, while doing injustice
(5:21-27)
those with opulent wealth who live lives of luxury while others in the nation suffer (6:4-7)
those who set the system to benefit the wealthy at the expense of the poor, in an attempt to
"own" them, and cheating those who have no power for personal again (8:4-7)
Things would change. They would be conquered, all of them and sent into exile, which meant that they would lose everything. The nation had collectively sinned. The priests, the false prophets, the king, the wealthy who controlled the wealth and power had all hurt those most vulnerable, and they would have to pay the price for it.
We can believe that we are the wealthiest and most powerful nation on earth, and that because of our "exceptionalism" we are entitled to gain more off the backs of other nations and those who live within our own nation. We can be the most ruthless in the world, but claim to be "Christian" and therefore that we are blessed because of our worship and praise. We can mistreat the most vulnerable here and abroad for our own gain. If we do, we are NOT living what God wills.
How we treat others is ALL about our relationship with God. Our worship and praise, even tithes (sacrifices) are meaningless if we ignore the needs of the most vulnerable or exploit others for our own gain at their expense. God is the God of ALL nations and peoples. God will use as God's right hand, whatever and whomever GOD chooses to bring the people of God into the Love of God and Neighbor that God wills. It is not about purity and holiness, worship, praise or tithes. It is clearly about how we treat others who God loves.
Read Amos. Look at our nation and its practices through military might and economic influence. This is America's Prophet, here and now.
Pastor Jamie
next week: The Prophet - Jesus
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