Empire is all about self.
Empire is about gaining more power, wealth and status for self.
Those who collude with Empire, who adopt the values of empire do the same thing in their own lives. They mirror the empire values of self first, self last and self only. They will promote self at the expense of anyone else, if that means self benefits. They will openly live hypocrisy and defiantly discriminate, justify their entitlement to privilege and lash out at anyone who does not represent the same values. They will take from others in order to benefit themselves, regardless of the cost to those others around them. Empire is evil, according to Kingdom of God values.
Jesus' teachings, commands and actions fly in the face of Empire. Jesus regularly broke the Sabbath laws that had been twisted by the Temple Cult leaders who were in collusion with Rome. Jesus made His message and ministry about Agape Love, the antithesis of Empire values. Jesus taught and lived Grace, which has no place in Empire. Jesus resisted Empire by simply refusing to play along and live empire values. And his disciples, Jesus' followers had many lessons to learn in not trying to live with one foot in the Kingdom and one in Empire.
John the Baptist had just paid the ultimate price for not colluding with Empire, in fact for speaking out against the hypocrisy of people who did. John flew in the face and got it in the neck. Jesus was not in the least bit deterred from doing the same.
Empire notices when large groups of people gather. Rome had experienced insurrections at the hands of Israelites before, and they certainly noticed when people were gathering around a religious leader. Jesus knew that. John had just been killed for speaking out against the King of Israel, who was in collusion with Rome, so Jesus kept teaching Kingdom of God values which flew in the face of Rome (Empire), and a large crowd gathered to hear this very different message from what they were hearing from the false teachers and prophets who were in collusion with Greed, lust for power and self-promotion.
5,000 men was specified, along with women and children. The cohort of Roman soldiers in Israel at the time was about 3300. At full strength during Passover and other potentially politically charged times, they were at a full 5500. Jesus raised an army in a day. That would NOT go unnoticed by the Romans. Jesus raised 5,000 plus who wanted to hear more about true Kingdom of God values, and that would not go unnoticed by the Sanhedrin. Jesus was a greater threat than John. He threatened Rome, not with military might, but with resistance to the established norm of Empire values. He threatened Israel's political leaders because they were in collusion with Rome in order to gain some power for themselves. He threatened the Temple Cult leaders because they used their influence for personal gain in wealth, power and status, at the expense of God's people, by twisting the Word of God to suit themselves in their pursuit of more for themselves.
What did Jesus do?
He fed the multitude. He did an intimate act of compassion and caring with 5,000 plus people he did not know. He selflessly gave to a crowd, which was NOT according to Empire values. They had nothing to give Him in return. He could not benefit in status under the Roman occupation by such an act. He was not playing along with the values of empire that demand that any interaction bring about personal gain in some way. He gave to a crowd of people, regardless of their status, merit, goodness or deserving. He was gracious and loving. It was not normal in that culture.
He had to teach His disciples, who were ready to live by Empire values and send hungry people away empty, though they claimed to be faithful to His message. He had to teach His followers, who had been benefitting from His Grace and Love all along and who no doubt figured they deserved it because they were there with Him, worshiping and praising Him, that Grace and Agape are not about people's sworn oaths or earned merits, deserving or what they can bring one in wealth, power or status, but rather about the need of people and the need of a person who lives Kingdom of God values to care for those who have needs. He had to teach them that Kingdom of God values do not allow for "insiders" and "outsiders" of prestige, position and status. Grace and Agape Love, by definition to not work that way. He had to teach them to love enough to "be bothered" to serve others.
This is how the Kingdom of God works, at least according to Jesus. It flies in the face of the prevailing norms that are not Gracious or Loving. It embodies humility and self-giving for the sake of other, even stranger and even enemy. It does not seek personal gain at the expense of others. It does not accept as right the creation of "insiders" and "outsiders" so that some can feel elevated above others. It does not legitimize the exploitation or destruction of some so that a few others can gain more. It does not turn away those in need, even under claims of not having enough for self.
The miracle here is often taught and preached as the supernatural multiplication of bread and fish. I believe that the miracle here - the way the Kingdom of God works - is in the gathering of diverse people who want to know the truth of Grace and Love, the willingness of those who follow Jesus to differ to Kingdom of God values rather than Empire values and the sharing of people in need with one another.
The message here is that God can raise an army to face Empire, and that when God does God will lead that army to destroy, not the people who exhibit empire values, but the values themselves, eroding them away in the face of the truth of the Kingdom of God in the living of Agape Love and Grace. Kingdom of God values are different from worldly values. We cannot change those values in the world by mimicking them in our words and actions.
So, when empire would lift up greed, lust for power and self-promotion as the norm, we who claim to follow Jesus must necessarily lift up generosity, re-defining power (exercising self-control and recognizing shared power as being better than power over someone else) and humble self-giving as the norm to be lived, according to Kingdom of God values. And we must do that in our words and actions, in every encounter. If we are to follow Jesus, it is what we must do - follow Jesus. When others are in need, even others who are different from us, we must come together to meet their need,, rather than find a way to get more for ourselves at their expense. When others would claim to follow Jesus but walk the path of greed, war, false superiority, self-centeredness and bigotry, we must all the more stand up and speak out what is Good News in Grace and Agape Love. When others would twist God's Word to justify their bigotries, we must counter that with the truth of the Good News of Jesus, even when we do not understand those being judged. When others would live the hypocrisy of literalisms that make themselves look better by comparison to someone else because of some lifted-out-of-context piece of scripture, we must share about Grace and Love being the commands of Jesus, fulfiller of the Law and prophets, Lord and Savior. And when the whole nation, falsely claiming some self-righteousness, "exceptionalism" or false superiority uses its wealth, power and status to hurt others within the nation or outside of it, we must live values - Kingdom of God values - that fly in its face, and put them in its face.
We are living WITHIN Empire. We have been for some time, but lately we have been seeing EMPIRE flourish and become the new norm with its values of greed, lust for power, self-promotion and the exploitation, destruction and intolerance of any who are not among those with wealth, power and status.
This is not a dress rehearsal. We are IN IT.
You can claim to be a follower of Jesus, but if you do, are you following Jesus?
It is all too easy to try to live claiming the name of Jesus as Savior but ignoring Him as Lord of our lives in order to benefit from living empire values and thereby gain in wealth, power and status. It is harder to incur the wrath of those who have adopted empire values as their norms because we refuse to live them.
The Agape Love and Grace that Jesus taught, commanded and modeled for us are at the center of Kingdom values. We receive Grace and Agape from God. We are taught and commanded to live them with others, even strangers and enemies. THAT will change the ugly, dangerous, hateful, greedy, power hungry and status-driven corruptions of life in this empire. That alone can do it.
Pastor Jamie
Sunday, July 30, 2017
Saturday, July 29, 2017
what you do with what you have... Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
The mustard seed is about seemingly insignificant and small things providing much in the Kingdom. The small seed grows into a shrub that helps to sustain life and provide flavor to some in the world around it.
The treasure in the field is how the Kingdom meets us in this life, when we do not expect to find something that we treasure, but when we do we do whatever it takes to hold onto it. I have people in my life that represent treasure to me, great treasure. For some of them, it was an unexpected joy to find them in my life, but now that I have them, I want to hold onto the relationships and will do what it takes to do so.
The pearls represent that which we have earnestly sought and have finally found. When we finally have what we have longed to have, we will sacrifice a great deal to have and hold onto it. My wife represents a lifetime of searching with the wrong people, for the right person with whom to share my life and ministry. I am thankful, even Jacob with Rachel thankful, to have her. I know that I got the better end of this deal, and I will do what I need to in order to honor her and make our marriage flourish in healthy joy.
The end is not ours to judge now. We are the fishes and not the fisher who decides which fish are to be kept and which are to be thrown out. We are the fishes and not the angels who sort out the fishes. Perhaps we need to treat others who seem to be small or insignificant as mustard seeds who are valued in the Kingdom. Perhaps they are not our treasure, but we can come to understand that God treasures them. Perhaps we can come to understand that not everyone represents what we have earnestly sought in our lives, but that they are sought by the Kingdom and valued.
What is new and not like the old may have treasure in the Kingdom of God. Jesus' New Covenant in Grace and Agape Love certainly does.
What is old may be of value to the Kingdom as well, having a place in the experience of the people of the New Covenant in the value of our faith history and heritage.
Perhaps we can grow to value what God values.
Perhaps we can grow in our graciousness toward others as God has been gracious and merciful with each of us.
Perhaps we can grow in loving others who God loves in this part of God's Kingdom.
Perhaps, if we learn to treasure what God loves, even the insignificant, the old and new.
Perhaps that is living in the Kingdom with God.
Pastor Jamie
The treasure in the field is how the Kingdom meets us in this life, when we do not expect to find something that we treasure, but when we do we do whatever it takes to hold onto it. I have people in my life that represent treasure to me, great treasure. For some of them, it was an unexpected joy to find them in my life, but now that I have them, I want to hold onto the relationships and will do what it takes to do so.
The pearls represent that which we have earnestly sought and have finally found. When we finally have what we have longed to have, we will sacrifice a great deal to have and hold onto it. My wife represents a lifetime of searching with the wrong people, for the right person with whom to share my life and ministry. I am thankful, even Jacob with Rachel thankful, to have her. I know that I got the better end of this deal, and I will do what I need to in order to honor her and make our marriage flourish in healthy joy.
The end is not ours to judge now. We are the fishes and not the fisher who decides which fish are to be kept and which are to be thrown out. We are the fishes and not the angels who sort out the fishes. Perhaps we need to treat others who seem to be small or insignificant as mustard seeds who are valued in the Kingdom. Perhaps they are not our treasure, but we can come to understand that God treasures them. Perhaps we can come to understand that not everyone represents what we have earnestly sought in our lives, but that they are sought by the Kingdom and valued.
What is new and not like the old may have treasure in the Kingdom of God. Jesus' New Covenant in Grace and Agape Love certainly does.
What is old may be of value to the Kingdom as well, having a place in the experience of the people of the New Covenant in the value of our faith history and heritage.
Perhaps we can grow to value what God values.
Perhaps we can grow in our graciousness toward others as God has been gracious and merciful with each of us.
Perhaps we can grow in loving others who God loves in this part of God's Kingdom.
Perhaps, if we learn to treasure what God loves, even the insignificant, the old and new.
Perhaps that is living in the Kingdom with God.
Pastor Jamie
Thursday, July 20, 2017
evill sowers of bad seed... Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
It is no fun when things do not work out well.
It is worse when one knows that the reason is the intentional efforts of someone.
Sowing good seed (the Good News teachings of Jesus) in the world is hard enough.
It seems human nature that hurtful gossip is spread much more quickly and effectively than the life affirming Gospel.
It is tough when a person, group or society hopes to see the fruits of their labor come to fruition, only to see the effort dismantled because what has been sown by others who live on fear, hatred, greed, lust for power, hubris and self-centeredness is choking out what was sown in love, grace, generosity, kindness, compassion and selfless humility. The hurtful, intentional destruction of others' lives comes from the evil one.
So, one can become like the evil sower and start a campaign of evil retaliation, fighting fire with fire, hatred with hatred and hubris with hubris. But hatred does not kill hatred. It adds to it. Only love counters hatred. Perhaps we were sowing some Good News seed, but not sharing out of love. Perhaps we were caught up in the message itself and not the living of it and putting its value into the lives of those around us enough. Perhaps we had a great, packaged thing but we did not LIVE it with others, so the evil sower got a foothold with some bad seed.
Ripping up the ones who bear bad fruit does not solve anything.
It only turns what was once Good News into destructive divisiveness.
Spreading more Good News seed and LIVING it's message is the answer.
It was not enough to have a good message and not live it, so living it is the key.
Putting the Agape Love of the Gospel out in the world around us affects the world around us.
It gives the ones who have the potential to be good fruit from Good News seed an example for how to live in the world.
In the end, it is God who will harvest. Our job is not that, but only the LIVING of Good News.
Put more Agape Love, Grace, Peace and Justice out there. THAT is the command of Jesus.
The evil sower will still sow, and bad seed will still grow... but many will come to bear good fruit in the face of them.
Clearly any efforts at planting Good News seed have been lost on our Government currently, in our churches for the past 35 years and on Wall Street. The Unholy Trinity of Greed, Power and Self-Indulgence have been planted alongside any Good News seed of Agape Love, Grace and Humility. Right now the field looks mostly like the fruit of the bad seed. But it is not yet the harvest. LIVING the Good News of Jesus in the world is our only task, and it is enough. Jesus will harvest in the end.
So, in the end...
Will I be Good News seed that is lived in the world and grows to bear Good News fruit, or will I let my anger over the evil sower and the bad seed turn me into bad seed that bears no good fruit?
Becoming the bad seed of the evil sower does not help me bear Good News Fruit.
What will YOU bear in the world around you?
Pastor Jamie
It is worse when one knows that the reason is the intentional efforts of someone.
Sowing good seed (the Good News teachings of Jesus) in the world is hard enough.
It seems human nature that hurtful gossip is spread much more quickly and effectively than the life affirming Gospel.
It is tough when a person, group or society hopes to see the fruits of their labor come to fruition, only to see the effort dismantled because what has been sown by others who live on fear, hatred, greed, lust for power, hubris and self-centeredness is choking out what was sown in love, grace, generosity, kindness, compassion and selfless humility. The hurtful, intentional destruction of others' lives comes from the evil one.
So, one can become like the evil sower and start a campaign of evil retaliation, fighting fire with fire, hatred with hatred and hubris with hubris. But hatred does not kill hatred. It adds to it. Only love counters hatred. Perhaps we were sowing some Good News seed, but not sharing out of love. Perhaps we were caught up in the message itself and not the living of it and putting its value into the lives of those around us enough. Perhaps we had a great, packaged thing but we did not LIVE it with others, so the evil sower got a foothold with some bad seed.
Ripping up the ones who bear bad fruit does not solve anything.
It only turns what was once Good News into destructive divisiveness.
Spreading more Good News seed and LIVING it's message is the answer.
It was not enough to have a good message and not live it, so living it is the key.
Putting the Agape Love of the Gospel out in the world around us affects the world around us.
It gives the ones who have the potential to be good fruit from Good News seed an example for how to live in the world.
In the end, it is God who will harvest. Our job is not that, but only the LIVING of Good News.
Put more Agape Love, Grace, Peace and Justice out there. THAT is the command of Jesus.
The evil sower will still sow, and bad seed will still grow... but many will come to bear good fruit in the face of them.
Clearly any efforts at planting Good News seed have been lost on our Government currently, in our churches for the past 35 years and on Wall Street. The Unholy Trinity of Greed, Power and Self-Indulgence have been planted alongside any Good News seed of Agape Love, Grace and Humility. Right now the field looks mostly like the fruit of the bad seed. But it is not yet the harvest. LIVING the Good News of Jesus in the world is our only task, and it is enough. Jesus will harvest in the end.
So, in the end...
Will I be Good News seed that is lived in the world and grows to bear Good News fruit, or will I let my anger over the evil sower and the bad seed turn me into bad seed that bears no good fruit?
Becoming the bad seed of the evil sower does not help me bear Good News Fruit.
What will YOU bear in the world around you?
Pastor Jamie
Sunday, July 9, 2017
The Sower and partisan ideologies... Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
The Gospel of Matthew begs the reader to interpret. It raises questions pregnant with meaning for people of faith, regardless of their particular perspectives on God's Word.
For some, the seed represents THE WORD, "the law of rightness". The various types of soil represent either faithfulness or unfaithfulness in one way or another. Those with "right beliefs" in the Word are the good soil who receive it, obey the letter of the Law and produce "saved souls" for the Kingdom. The nature of these folk who receive it thus makes them faithful, because they understand it in the "right" way and bring people to the true faith. There are only a few "right ones" who truly obey and produce souls like that. The rest are worthless, for all accounts and purposes of the Kingdom.
For others, the seed represents THE WORD of Grace and Agape Love. The various types of soil represent those who are receptive to Jesus' Good News of Grace and Agape, in one degree or another. Their understanding involves a willingness and ability to apply the Good News of life around them. If they do not have that, it is snatched away. If they have no depth of faith in Jesus and His Good News as a better way to live, they get it superficially but cannot apply it in a sustained way to the way in which they live their lives. If they are duplicitous in their devotion between Jesus and worldly concerns and treasures, they will abandon Grace and Love over politics or economics. If they do understand the wisdom and faithfulness of applying Grace and Agape to the living of their lives in this part of God's Kingdom, they produce more Grace and Agape in the world around them.
The thing about it is this - we approach the Gospel of Jesus either from a perspective of our embedded theologies of law, rightness and merit, or we approach the Good News of Jesus from a perspective of Grace, Agape Love and Mercy. The irony is this - those who approach the Word from a perspective of Law still want Grace and Mercy when they fail to live it. They rely on it and expect it for themselves because they believe they are still the "right ones", though they may be unwilling to live Grace and Agape in the world with others around them - which seems not quite "right" to me. Those who approach the Word from a perspective of Grace, Agape and Mercy sometimes want the Law to apply to those who are selfish, hateful, apathetic or vengeful - making themselves a bit vengeful, I suspect - which seems ungracious, unloving and unmerciful to me.
We are all flawed and broken.
We all need God's Grace and Mercy.
The Sower (presumably the Holy Spirit), sows the seed on ALL types of soil, regardless of how well, badly or non-existent the production of good fruit goes.
This is Grace. It is egalitarian. God does not discriminate. In God's infinite wisdom, omnipresence (presence in the future and present), knowing the outcomes - God still sows the Word in the lives of all, equally.
The truth is that we are all, every kind of soil at one time or another in our lives.
Perhaps we don't understand it at times in our lives and we just stop trying to take it in, apply it and live it.
Perhaps we at times receive it with joy as a surface or superficial, literal understanding and do not explore the depth of all that it may mean for us, and it sprouts but in way not strongly rooted, having been planted in the shallow soil of literalisms, and fails to guide our steps when life gets hard, because it is shallow.
Perhaps we at times receive it but what we see in the world around us makes us believe that it is not realistic to live in this world, or we have itching ears to abandon sound doctrine and look after a twisted version of it designed to get us what we want in this world.
And sometimes perhaps we get it right, when our lives are in balance and we have a sense of well-being, so we consider the depth of the Good News of Jesus and apply it to life, living His Grace and Agape in the world around us, as indiscriminately as the Holy Spirit which sows the seeds, and more Grace and Agape Love are produced in the world around us.
I am sometimes the well-worn path of laziness with regard to the Good News of Jesus, and take the superficial meaning at best or literal ones at worst, or mindlessly parrot the teachings of someone else, or pick and choose the things that support my ideologies, prejudices and biases, or ignore the parts I may not want to hear at the time, and any opportunity to live Jesus' Good News is snatched away.
I am sometimes shallow enough to hear the Good News and let it be about momentary warm and fuzzy feelings, but do not deeply consider its implications for me and those around me in the world, and therefore the Good News is the last thing applied to times of difficulty when things don't feel good, in which I may produce anything BUT good fruit for the Kingdom.
I am sometimes consumed by the myriad troubling things happening around me in the world, which seem to surround and choke me. I do not always live the Good News in these moments, but react from my baser nature. I have also at times been consumed by the insidious desire to consume, to acquire and to value things, rather than God and God's children, which have nothing to do with Grace or Agape Love.
And I have had brief moments when I have been attuned to the Good News of Jesus, driven by the sower of its seeds and active in the living of the Grace and Agape Love that permeate my being, thanks be to God. In those moments, I pray that I have put out in the world what has been poured into me, that Grace and Agape, Mercy and the deep, abiding sense of the Shalom (completeness, wholeness, well-being and peace) that comes with it.
More of that, please. Sower, please continue to sow in me the seed of Agape and Grace.
Pastor Jamie
For some, the seed represents THE WORD, "the law of rightness". The various types of soil represent either faithfulness or unfaithfulness in one way or another. Those with "right beliefs" in the Word are the good soil who receive it, obey the letter of the Law and produce "saved souls" for the Kingdom. The nature of these folk who receive it thus makes them faithful, because they understand it in the "right" way and bring people to the true faith. There are only a few "right ones" who truly obey and produce souls like that. The rest are worthless, for all accounts and purposes of the Kingdom.
For others, the seed represents THE WORD of Grace and Agape Love. The various types of soil represent those who are receptive to Jesus' Good News of Grace and Agape, in one degree or another. Their understanding involves a willingness and ability to apply the Good News of life around them. If they do not have that, it is snatched away. If they have no depth of faith in Jesus and His Good News as a better way to live, they get it superficially but cannot apply it in a sustained way to the way in which they live their lives. If they are duplicitous in their devotion between Jesus and worldly concerns and treasures, they will abandon Grace and Love over politics or economics. If they do understand the wisdom and faithfulness of applying Grace and Agape to the living of their lives in this part of God's Kingdom, they produce more Grace and Agape in the world around them.
The thing about it is this - we approach the Gospel of Jesus either from a perspective of our embedded theologies of law, rightness and merit, or we approach the Good News of Jesus from a perspective of Grace, Agape Love and Mercy. The irony is this - those who approach the Word from a perspective of Law still want Grace and Mercy when they fail to live it. They rely on it and expect it for themselves because they believe they are still the "right ones", though they may be unwilling to live Grace and Agape in the world with others around them - which seems not quite "right" to me. Those who approach the Word from a perspective of Grace, Agape and Mercy sometimes want the Law to apply to those who are selfish, hateful, apathetic or vengeful - making themselves a bit vengeful, I suspect - which seems ungracious, unloving and unmerciful to me.
We are all flawed and broken.
We all need God's Grace and Mercy.
The Sower (presumably the Holy Spirit), sows the seed on ALL types of soil, regardless of how well, badly or non-existent the production of good fruit goes.
This is Grace. It is egalitarian. God does not discriminate. In God's infinite wisdom, omnipresence (presence in the future and present), knowing the outcomes - God still sows the Word in the lives of all, equally.
The truth is that we are all, every kind of soil at one time or another in our lives.
Perhaps we don't understand it at times in our lives and we just stop trying to take it in, apply it and live it.
Perhaps we at times receive it with joy as a surface or superficial, literal understanding and do not explore the depth of all that it may mean for us, and it sprouts but in way not strongly rooted, having been planted in the shallow soil of literalisms, and fails to guide our steps when life gets hard, because it is shallow.
Perhaps we at times receive it but what we see in the world around us makes us believe that it is not realistic to live in this world, or we have itching ears to abandon sound doctrine and look after a twisted version of it designed to get us what we want in this world.
And sometimes perhaps we get it right, when our lives are in balance and we have a sense of well-being, so we consider the depth of the Good News of Jesus and apply it to life, living His Grace and Agape in the world around us, as indiscriminately as the Holy Spirit which sows the seeds, and more Grace and Agape Love are produced in the world around us.
I am sometimes the well-worn path of laziness with regard to the Good News of Jesus, and take the superficial meaning at best or literal ones at worst, or mindlessly parrot the teachings of someone else, or pick and choose the things that support my ideologies, prejudices and biases, or ignore the parts I may not want to hear at the time, and any opportunity to live Jesus' Good News is snatched away.
I am sometimes shallow enough to hear the Good News and let it be about momentary warm and fuzzy feelings, but do not deeply consider its implications for me and those around me in the world, and therefore the Good News is the last thing applied to times of difficulty when things don't feel good, in which I may produce anything BUT good fruit for the Kingdom.
I am sometimes consumed by the myriad troubling things happening around me in the world, which seem to surround and choke me. I do not always live the Good News in these moments, but react from my baser nature. I have also at times been consumed by the insidious desire to consume, to acquire and to value things, rather than God and God's children, which have nothing to do with Grace or Agape Love.
And I have had brief moments when I have been attuned to the Good News of Jesus, driven by the sower of its seeds and active in the living of the Grace and Agape Love that permeate my being, thanks be to God. In those moments, I pray that I have put out in the world what has been poured into me, that Grace and Agape, Mercy and the deep, abiding sense of the Shalom (completeness, wholeness, well-being and peace) that comes with it.
More of that, please. Sower, please continue to sow in me the seed of Agape and Grace.
Pastor Jamie
Sunday, July 2, 2017
Our Religious Hubris... Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
When one believes, either by self-righteousness or one's sense of one's own "exceptionalism", whether as an individual or church or nation, that one is unquestionably to be recognized by others as the valid expression of nationalism or faith or both, one has become one's own god. It is idolatry of self.
American "exceptionalism", which has fed this most recent expression of nationalism, had its roots in "manifest destiny" and the "doctrine of discovery" before it. It is the false belief that God favors America above other nations. Considering the lessons learned (and not learned) by the nation of Israel from just after its founding until the present, any nation is to recognize that God is the God of all nations and peoples, and not only one nation or people.
American "Christianity" suffers from the hubris of believing that the flag-waving, gun-toting and ungracious Jesus that she has created is "the real Jesus". People who claim that Jesus would exclude immigrants (sojourners, strangers in the land), do not know Jesus, who was a refugee as an infant and who identified with resident aliens, if we are to believe the Gospels. Those who believe that they can be "Christian" and take away healthcare from millions of people, do not know Jesus, who cared for and directed His disciples to care for the sick. Those who believe that they can be "Christian" and exploit others in the world and their own nation for their own profit, or destroy the lives of others around them so that they can have more power, do not know Jesus, who railed against Greed and Power as unfaithful expressions of idolatry.
The problem is that American "Christianity" has re-created Jesus in its own image. Jesus is personal Savior who has nothing to do with the Good News of Agape Love and Grace that the Gospels consistently lift up as God's Will, but rather as one who adheres to an inconsistent use of the Law and Prophets, as did the Pharisees, Sadducees, Chief Priests and Scribes of the First Century. They view Jesus as the one who punishes those who are not "like them" and rewards those who are "like them", because their god is themselves.
So, when faced with the real deal, they found ways to dismiss, disregard and destroy the messengers of God's Will. Believing that they were the ones who "paid the piper", so they got to "call the tune", they rejected God's message and God's messengers, and they still are doing so. Misrepresenting, twisting, spinning and contorting the message of the Gospels, they refuse to hear "sound doctrine", and let their "itching ears" guide them to false guides, teachers and prophets who will play their favorite tunes.
Their false prophets, guides and teachers seem to be wise and faithful, but they preach a different Gospel from that of Jesus. Their personal salvation, personal prosperity and personal righteousness messages are false, but they play well with folk who share their prejudices and desperate need to be "the right ones", "the blessed and highly favored ones" and the dominant ones in the culture. When your whole life is about being self-centered, self-absorbed and self-indulged, it is easy to ignore the plight of those who are being hurt by the system that has provided you with what you have. When your whole life is only about promoting you and yours, it is necessary to back those who would take more away from others in order for you to have more for yourself. When your whole life is about you feeling good, having more and getting what you want, it is easy to see yourself as the epitome of what is "good" and "right", and see anyone not like you as being "less than" or "at fault" themselves for the plight they find themselves in because you want more. When your whole life is about you and yours, it is necessary to find false prophets, guides and teachers who will whisper in your ear that you are the "right", "exceptional" and "blessed" one because of divine intervention, so that you can judge those who are not so blessed.
It is true of American "Christians", who ignore the teachings, commands and examples of Jesus and instead follow the teachings of those who convolute the Gospel to benefit and promote themselves. It is true of American Citizens who believe that Jesus is America's Savior, to the exclusion of other peoples and faiths across the world and within the nation. It is true of this President, who has had these whispers in his ear his whole life, and who has wielded the "righteous anger" of those who have felt that they were wrongly denied the status of "exceptional" by the country for too long. It is true of the racist, classist, homophobic, religiously intolerant, xenophobic, ethnocentric and nationalistic folk who have reacted to the prospect of having to recognize others as children of God and American citizens for what has seemed to them a "long time". They believe that their bigotries are justified and should be recognized as "the American way", legitimized with hateful rhetoric and actions toward others who are not white, misogynist and fundamentalist "American Civil Religionists" and normalized by having more of the same in the White House and Congress, and now on the Supreme Court.
The problem is that it is simply idolatry of self. The problem is that this has NOTHING to do with Jesus or what Jesus taught, commanded or modeled for us in how to live in this part of God's Kingdom. The problem is that it keeps the Gospel hidden because those who have claimed to be "wise, fiscally responsible, patriotic and right" do not know the Son or the Father, do not know the Will of God because they can only see their own will, their own desires and their own benefit, in the end. The danger is that it is killing the soul of our nation, and many individual souls with it. The danger is that with everyone we exclude, exploit and destroy we are putting ourselves at odds with God who is the God of all nations and peoples, and who loves them all.
Jesus' words of comfort here are for those excluded, exploited and destroyed. Jesus' words are for those who are tired of seeing this idolatry and its fruits. Jesus' words are for those who are called to take up His yoke and His burden, because that ultimately leads to justice and peace, in Agape Love and Grace. It is the beautiful fight of the faith. It is the narrow way that leads to salvation for the community and the world. Jesus' way of Agape Love and Grace is the way of restoration in transformation. This is the Good News, in the living of which the rest of American Christians are called to be salt and light.
So, let the other children believe that they are entitled to call the tune. We dance to a different tune - to the music of the Good News, of Agape Love and Grace. Give them a different example from their arrogant and ignorant hubris. Give them the example of Jesus' humble wisdom of Agape Love and Grace. Read it, learn it and live it. Speak it, write it and demonstrate it. Put it out there proudly and re-claim the Gospel in Jesus' name. Even as Jesus (and John before Him) did not dance their dance, so must we not dance that dance, but rather the dance of humble love and service modeled by Jesus in the Gospels. And feed the hungry, satisfy the thirsty, clothe the naked, care for the sick and (unjustly) imprisoned. Associate with them and help them, because they are Christ Jesus and they are the ones being hurt by our nation's religious hubris, our idolatry of self.
Pastor Jamie
American "exceptionalism", which has fed this most recent expression of nationalism, had its roots in "manifest destiny" and the "doctrine of discovery" before it. It is the false belief that God favors America above other nations. Considering the lessons learned (and not learned) by the nation of Israel from just after its founding until the present, any nation is to recognize that God is the God of all nations and peoples, and not only one nation or people.
American "Christianity" suffers from the hubris of believing that the flag-waving, gun-toting and ungracious Jesus that she has created is "the real Jesus". People who claim that Jesus would exclude immigrants (sojourners, strangers in the land), do not know Jesus, who was a refugee as an infant and who identified with resident aliens, if we are to believe the Gospels. Those who believe that they can be "Christian" and take away healthcare from millions of people, do not know Jesus, who cared for and directed His disciples to care for the sick. Those who believe that they can be "Christian" and exploit others in the world and their own nation for their own profit, or destroy the lives of others around them so that they can have more power, do not know Jesus, who railed against Greed and Power as unfaithful expressions of idolatry.
The problem is that American "Christianity" has re-created Jesus in its own image. Jesus is personal Savior who has nothing to do with the Good News of Agape Love and Grace that the Gospels consistently lift up as God's Will, but rather as one who adheres to an inconsistent use of the Law and Prophets, as did the Pharisees, Sadducees, Chief Priests and Scribes of the First Century. They view Jesus as the one who punishes those who are not "like them" and rewards those who are "like them", because their god is themselves.
So, when faced with the real deal, they found ways to dismiss, disregard and destroy the messengers of God's Will. Believing that they were the ones who "paid the piper", so they got to "call the tune", they rejected God's message and God's messengers, and they still are doing so. Misrepresenting, twisting, spinning and contorting the message of the Gospels, they refuse to hear "sound doctrine", and let their "itching ears" guide them to false guides, teachers and prophets who will play their favorite tunes.
Their false prophets, guides and teachers seem to be wise and faithful, but they preach a different Gospel from that of Jesus. Their personal salvation, personal prosperity and personal righteousness messages are false, but they play well with folk who share their prejudices and desperate need to be "the right ones", "the blessed and highly favored ones" and the dominant ones in the culture. When your whole life is about being self-centered, self-absorbed and self-indulged, it is easy to ignore the plight of those who are being hurt by the system that has provided you with what you have. When your whole life is only about promoting you and yours, it is necessary to back those who would take more away from others in order for you to have more for yourself. When your whole life is about you feeling good, having more and getting what you want, it is easy to see yourself as the epitome of what is "good" and "right", and see anyone not like you as being "less than" or "at fault" themselves for the plight they find themselves in because you want more. When your whole life is about you and yours, it is necessary to find false prophets, guides and teachers who will whisper in your ear that you are the "right", "exceptional" and "blessed" one because of divine intervention, so that you can judge those who are not so blessed.
It is true of American "Christians", who ignore the teachings, commands and examples of Jesus and instead follow the teachings of those who convolute the Gospel to benefit and promote themselves. It is true of American Citizens who believe that Jesus is America's Savior, to the exclusion of other peoples and faiths across the world and within the nation. It is true of this President, who has had these whispers in his ear his whole life, and who has wielded the "righteous anger" of those who have felt that they were wrongly denied the status of "exceptional" by the country for too long. It is true of the racist, classist, homophobic, religiously intolerant, xenophobic, ethnocentric and nationalistic folk who have reacted to the prospect of having to recognize others as children of God and American citizens for what has seemed to them a "long time". They believe that their bigotries are justified and should be recognized as "the American way", legitimized with hateful rhetoric and actions toward others who are not white, misogynist and fundamentalist "American Civil Religionists" and normalized by having more of the same in the White House and Congress, and now on the Supreme Court.
The problem is that it is simply idolatry of self. The problem is that this has NOTHING to do with Jesus or what Jesus taught, commanded or modeled for us in how to live in this part of God's Kingdom. The problem is that it keeps the Gospel hidden because those who have claimed to be "wise, fiscally responsible, patriotic and right" do not know the Son or the Father, do not know the Will of God because they can only see their own will, their own desires and their own benefit, in the end. The danger is that it is killing the soul of our nation, and many individual souls with it. The danger is that with everyone we exclude, exploit and destroy we are putting ourselves at odds with God who is the God of all nations and peoples, and who loves them all.
Jesus' words of comfort here are for those excluded, exploited and destroyed. Jesus' words are for those who are tired of seeing this idolatry and its fruits. Jesus' words are for those who are called to take up His yoke and His burden, because that ultimately leads to justice and peace, in Agape Love and Grace. It is the beautiful fight of the faith. It is the narrow way that leads to salvation for the community and the world. Jesus' way of Agape Love and Grace is the way of restoration in transformation. This is the Good News, in the living of which the rest of American Christians are called to be salt and light.
So, let the other children believe that they are entitled to call the tune. We dance to a different tune - to the music of the Good News, of Agape Love and Grace. Give them a different example from their arrogant and ignorant hubris. Give them the example of Jesus' humble wisdom of Agape Love and Grace. Read it, learn it and live it. Speak it, write it and demonstrate it. Put it out there proudly and re-claim the Gospel in Jesus' name. Even as Jesus (and John before Him) did not dance their dance, so must we not dance that dance, but rather the dance of humble love and service modeled by Jesus in the Gospels. And feed the hungry, satisfy the thirsty, clothe the naked, care for the sick and (unjustly) imprisoned. Associate with them and help them, because they are Christ Jesus and they are the ones being hurt by our nation's religious hubris, our idolatry of self.
Pastor Jamie
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