I heard a pastor on TV this morning talk about how Christians should not "exit quietly" upon Jesus' return. He talked about how we need to be conspicuously in the sphere of politics and such...
To be fair, I know that this pastor has blessed many people and I am sure that I would agree with much of what he teaches, and while I agree with today's outward statement of this pastor of some very dear friends of mine, I dare say that I would not agree with what at least some of what that means to him.
You see, I believe that our, contemporary "Desolating Sacrilege" that Jesus spoke of is the mixing of church and state that happened in 1981 and following, when Reagan and the political "right" got in bed with Falwell and the religious "right". The corruption of scripture, the constitution, democracy and ethical economics has been the result since that time. Fueled by a preoccupation with sexual "morality" which was raised as smoke and mirrors to cover abuses of power and wealth and the "normalization" of greed and lust for power, the corruptions of the church have gone hand in hand with the corruptions in politics and economics for 35 years. Instead of the church addressing the culture with the Good News of Jesus, it has reflected the culture, justifying its actions by twisting the teachings of the Word and ignoring much of what Jesus, fulfiller of the Law and Prophets taught.
I believe that followers of Jesus SHOULD have a "noisy exit". We should NOT sit down or sit by quietly while this happens. I believe that when it is all said and done, we who follow Jesus need to boldly stand and speak truth to power and wealth - that is, corrupt power and wealth - which means speaking truth to a LOT of American Christians.
I believe that if I am a follower of Jesus, I will follow what Jesus taught, commanded and modeled for His followers to live. It is much less about purity and holiness for Jesus than it is about right living with one another, which pleases God.
Jesus' central teaching was Agape Love - HIS COMMAND for His followers to live - which includes NOT JUDGING OTHERS and FORGIVING OTHERS.
What we have seen come out of much of the American Church has been intolerance of people who Jesus never condemned, even as fulfiller of the Law and Prophets.
Jesus' teachings, commandments and examples consistently include the outcast, the foreigner who lives in the land, the practitioner of other faiths, women, the sick, the imprisoned and the socially, politically and economically most vulnerable.
What we have seen come out of much of the American Church has been the exploitation, further disenfranchisement, rejection, subjugation and de-humanization of many who Jesus embraced as Savior and Lord.
I heard it from our Uber Driver last night, who fancies himself a minister responsible to tell "the truth", but whose truth has been shaped and shaded by intolerance and corruption.
I hear it from lovely people who are striving to live what their preachers are telling them is necessary in order to be "righteous" children of God.
I hear it from strangers, friends and even people I dearly love.
Let me be clear.
I am not a "Christian" like that. I am a PERSON OF THE WAY OF JESUS. I follow Jesus, which means that I strive to live the Agape Love Jesus taught, commanded and modeled for me to live in THIS PART of God's Kingdom. Jesus is my redeemer and Savior who gave His life as the ultimate act of Grace (undeserved loving mercy freely given) for me. Jesus is therefore my Savior. Jesus is also Lord of my life. JESUS is my authority. I believe that to be a "Christian" means to live with God as Jesus showed us how to live with God.
The preachers, politicians, corporate leaders and even Uber Drivers who claim Jesus' name but strive to ignore His teachings, commands and examples on how to live Agape Love in the world do NOT represent what I believe it means to faithfully follow Jesus.
I am going to get very practical on you, now.
Get a RED LETTER version of the New Testament (preferably NRSV, which I believe is the most faithful to the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek texts).
Read what Jesus said.
Read the IMPERATIVE statements of Jesus (do this, don't do that) - Commands.
Read the Parables of Jesus as teaching tools.
Read what Jesus DID and how He addressed the Religious and Political Leaders of His time.
Jesus is the fulfiller of the Law and Prophets.
If you want to live with God, live what JESUS defined as living with God.
Read it over and over, if you need to... and THEN try to feel OK about judging others who are different, or feel OK about exploiting or ignoring the poor, de-humanizing anyone, rejecting people who cohabitate in this land, vilifying people of other faiths or promoting the church itself, instead of the Mission of the Gospel.
Read it over and over, if you need to... and THEN try to believe that this is all about Worshiping Jesus, who never said, "Worship me", praising, giving tithes and expecting monetary blessings in return or more blessings than others around you.
And if you are concerned about the time when Jesus returns, listen to what JESUS says are the criteria for salvation in Matthew 25:31-46. Nothing here of worship, praise or tithes. Nothing here of purity or holiness. What JESUS says defines the Sheep and Goats is how we live Agape Love (or refuse to live it) with one another in THIS PART of God's Kingdom, here and now.
I DO BELIEVE that followers of Jesus need to NOT be silent or absent from the public arena. I DO BELIEVE that we need to address the political and economic arena with the Gospel of Jesus who warns against Greed and shows His preference for the Poor, who warns against abuses of power and shows His preference for those abused by them. I DO BELIEVE followers of Jesus need to FOLLOW JESUS, because His Way for THIS PART of God's Kingdom is a better way for all of us.
But it starts by knowing what Jesus WANTS of us as His followers, and being willing to submit our lives to Jesus' Way for us.
Go ahead, read it over and over again... I dare you to do so without having at least SOME of your notions about church, politics and economics challenged!
Pastor Jamie
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