When we base our righteousness on our merits, piety, purity or holiness we inevitably get lost in trying to justify ourselves, rather than glorifying the God of Grace.
Jesus was (is) a threat to those who taught (teach) self-righteousness and use God's wrath as a tool to manipulate and dominate others. They had to question His authority, because what Jesus represented (represents) is quite different from what those who use self-righteousness taught (teach).
Transformation happens when we live the Agape Love that Jesus commanded. When that becomes our focus, active commitment on behalf of the other, even stranger and enemy, and not our own, personal salvation, then we are transformed as human beings and communities are transformed as well. Jesus taught Agape Love as a way of life for His followers in every aspect of living. It does not allow for ignoring the needs of others while focusing on one's own gain, not spiritually, politically, economically or socially. It is a different way of life for those who would follow Jesus by living what Jesus taught, commanded and modeled on how to live with one another in THIS PART of God's Kingdom, here and now.
Righteousness is faithfulness to Jesus and Jesus' Way. Faithfulness is living the Agape Love that Jesus taught, commanded and modeled for us in the world, and not focusing on our own salvation. Living Agape Love and Grace ARE piety for those who would follow Jesus. Purity is the consistent living of Agape and Grace in purely comprehensive ways in the world around us. Holiness is relying on God's Grace and being in relationship with the Holy, led by the Holy Spirit and being transformed in that Love and Grace day by day.
So, Jesus used those who were held in disdain by the "religious" to teach about faithfulness. The child who out of a strong will differentiates from the parent and openly defies, yet ultimately conforms to the parent's will on how to act in the world, is not the unfaithful one. The unfaithful one is the one who gives lip service to the authority, majesty, awesomeness of the parent (perhaps praising the parent all the way) and then does not do what the parent wills for that child to do. Those who seem less pious, pure or holy who live the Agape Love that Jesus commands may be looked upon with disdain by the "pious, pure and holy religious types", but are the examples of faithfulness that Jesus gives us in His Good News.
Perhaps this is what prompted the Gospel writer to report Jesus' words -
"Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord' and do not do what I tell you?" (Luke 6:46)
... and...
"Not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who DOES the WILL of my Father in heaven. One that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name (exhibit spiritual gifts), and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?" Then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.' (Matthew 7:21-23)
Righteousness is not personal piety, purity or holiness.
Our motive is not supposed to be personal salvation.
Faithfulness is living the Agape Love and Grace that Jesus taught, commanded and modeled.
Our motive is to Love God and Neighbor as we love ourselves, because it is the right thing to do for the world around us and is thus the will of God as we have that in Jesus - our goal is to FOLLOW JESUS in how we live in this part of God's Kingdom, here and now.
So, with regard to following Jesus in how you live what Jesus taught, commanded and modeled for us, as we have that in the Gospels -
Are you one of those who say, or one of those who do?
Pastor Jamie
Sunday, September 24, 2017
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
loving neighbor as one loves oneself ... Matthew 20:1-16
It can be (and has been) argued that this is purely about Grace, and those coming late into the Kingdom being afforded the same Grace as they enter. That is correct.
When the argument has been made, however, that this passage (and that Grace) has nothing to do with economics and how we live economically in THIS part of God's Kingdom, it has been made in error.
It has EVERYTHING to do with Grace. If the expectation is that such Grace is lived in the Kingdom of heaven, then there is an expectation that those who aspire to be in that part of the Kingdom must live that Grace here and now, in this part of the Kingdom.
There is an expectation here. If God is so gracious with us, we are commanded to be so gracious with one another.
Grace is not based on merit. You cannot earn it. You cannot warrant it. You cannot be worthy of it. By definition (undeserved loving mercy given freely) Grace is based on need. It is about the one who has the means and is in a position to be gracious giving this unmerited mercy and love to those who need it, purely because they need it (and because the one who is giving it lives by Jesus' command to live Agape Love - active commitment on behalf of the other, even stranger and enemy), thus keeping Jesus' commandment to love neighbor as one loves oneself.
Day laborers needed a day's wage, small as it was, to feed their families for that day. Those who were chosen later in the day to be hired needed to feed their families no less than those who were chosen earlier in the day and had no worries about being paid their basic, subsistence wage that day. Those who waited all day to be hired would be stressed, knowing that they would not receive enough for that family to eat that day, but also knowing that something is better than nothing. Imagine their joy to receive a whole day's wage, and barely enough to feed their families, rather than not enough. The assumption of those who worked all day for the daily wage, that they would receive more because of the generosity of the landowner to those who had not, was made out of a sense of entitlement to more than that upon which they had agreed - more than enough.
I believe this lesson is about paying enough to workers for their well-being, and not just based on merit but based on their need to receive it.
I believe this lesson is about landowners taking into consideration, in Grace and Agape Love, the need to be generous with workers, and not only taking profit into consideration.
I believe this lesson is about workers not begrudging what others may make who are in need of feeding their families.
It is about the Agape Love that Jesus commanded his followers to live. It is about living the Grace that God extends to us, with one another in this part of God's Kingdom.
So, Christian business owners, executives and stockholders who would follow Jesus will gladly take less profit, less salary and fewer bonuses to make sure that those who work "under" them make at least a living wage so that they can have well-being and provide for their families, right?
In recessions or depressions (like the one we are about to enter), stockholders will understand companies taking less profit in order to keep their employees employed, executives will forgo on the bonuses they might receive in lessening the workforce and owners will gladly take less profit, right?
So all of the believers in business, who sit on the pews or seats and breath in the sanctuary air on Sundays will fight for a living wage instead of a minimum one (say of $15 per hour), and fight for all citizens to have health coverage so that employees and their families can have their well-being, right?
So, followers of Jesus will make profit less important, always having more less important and rising higher than someone else less important, in order to keep His commandment to love neighbor as one loves oneself, right?
By the way, this parable pre-dates communism by about 1900 years.
God is not interested in which socioeconomic system we adopt.
God cares that it is just, equitable and provides enough especially to the most vulnerable among us.
God cares for the people who have been exploited by political ideologies and economic systems like laissez-faire Capitalism for a couple hundred years. God cares for the creation that is being polluted, destroyed and wasted so that a few can have more and everyone else dies. God cares for those being held down, back and out from what they need by those few who have it all.
God cares. God takes sides.
If you want to be right with God in this part of the Kingdom and hope to find yourself in that part of it someday, perhaps living Graciously with others as God has been with us, and living Jesus' commanded Agape Love is a start - in EVERY aspect of life - politics, economics, community, family, etc...
Or you can exploit, manipulate, cheat and destroy others on your way to the top now, or be complacent and apathetic about the plight of others as you collect more than you need, leaving everyone else in the dust.
Just remember, in the Kingdom...
The LAST shall be FIRST, and the FIRST shall be LAST.
Pastor Jamie
When the argument has been made, however, that this passage (and that Grace) has nothing to do with economics and how we live economically in THIS part of God's Kingdom, it has been made in error.
It has EVERYTHING to do with Grace. If the expectation is that such Grace is lived in the Kingdom of heaven, then there is an expectation that those who aspire to be in that part of the Kingdom must live that Grace here and now, in this part of the Kingdom.
There is an expectation here. If God is so gracious with us, we are commanded to be so gracious with one another.
Grace is not based on merit. You cannot earn it. You cannot warrant it. You cannot be worthy of it. By definition (undeserved loving mercy given freely) Grace is based on need. It is about the one who has the means and is in a position to be gracious giving this unmerited mercy and love to those who need it, purely because they need it (and because the one who is giving it lives by Jesus' command to live Agape Love - active commitment on behalf of the other, even stranger and enemy), thus keeping Jesus' commandment to love neighbor as one loves oneself.
Day laborers needed a day's wage, small as it was, to feed their families for that day. Those who were chosen later in the day to be hired needed to feed their families no less than those who were chosen earlier in the day and had no worries about being paid their basic, subsistence wage that day. Those who waited all day to be hired would be stressed, knowing that they would not receive enough for that family to eat that day, but also knowing that something is better than nothing. Imagine their joy to receive a whole day's wage, and barely enough to feed their families, rather than not enough. The assumption of those who worked all day for the daily wage, that they would receive more because of the generosity of the landowner to those who had not, was made out of a sense of entitlement to more than that upon which they had agreed - more than enough.
I believe this lesson is about paying enough to workers for their well-being, and not just based on merit but based on their need to receive it.
I believe this lesson is about landowners taking into consideration, in Grace and Agape Love, the need to be generous with workers, and not only taking profit into consideration.
I believe this lesson is about workers not begrudging what others may make who are in need of feeding their families.
It is about the Agape Love that Jesus commanded his followers to live. It is about living the Grace that God extends to us, with one another in this part of God's Kingdom.
So, Christian business owners, executives and stockholders who would follow Jesus will gladly take less profit, less salary and fewer bonuses to make sure that those who work "under" them make at least a living wage so that they can have well-being and provide for their families, right?
In recessions or depressions (like the one we are about to enter), stockholders will understand companies taking less profit in order to keep their employees employed, executives will forgo on the bonuses they might receive in lessening the workforce and owners will gladly take less profit, right?
So all of the believers in business, who sit on the pews or seats and breath in the sanctuary air on Sundays will fight for a living wage instead of a minimum one (say of $15 per hour), and fight for all citizens to have health coverage so that employees and their families can have their well-being, right?
So, followers of Jesus will make profit less important, always having more less important and rising higher than someone else less important, in order to keep His commandment to love neighbor as one loves oneself, right?
By the way, this parable pre-dates communism by about 1900 years.
God is not interested in which socioeconomic system we adopt.
God cares that it is just, equitable and provides enough especially to the most vulnerable among us.
God cares for the people who have been exploited by political ideologies and economic systems like laissez-faire Capitalism for a couple hundred years. God cares for the creation that is being polluted, destroyed and wasted so that a few can have more and everyone else dies. God cares for those being held down, back and out from what they need by those few who have it all.
God cares. God takes sides.
If you want to be right with God in this part of the Kingdom and hope to find yourself in that part of it someday, perhaps living Graciously with others as God has been with us, and living Jesus' commanded Agape Love is a start - in EVERY aspect of life - politics, economics, community, family, etc...
Or you can exploit, manipulate, cheat and destroy others on your way to the top now, or be complacent and apathetic about the plight of others as you collect more than you need, leaving everyone else in the dust.
Just remember, in the Kingdom...
The LAST shall be FIRST, and the FIRST shall be LAST.
Pastor Jamie
Friday, September 8, 2017
... as you would have them do to you... Matthew 18:21-35
Forgiveness is hard. There is no doubt about it. It is a process in many cases.
People are sometimes too quick to say, "I forgive you", and then hold things against folk.
Forgiveness means that it is wiped out, the debt is forgotten. When someone wrongs us and is prone to wrong us again, that does not mean that we need to put ourselves in a position to be hurt by them again. Rather, we can trust people as they are able to be trusted. But to forgive means that we do not hold against someone what they have done to us or owe us. We do not make them pay consequences for it. We do not exact a price for what they owe or have done. We let it go.
God does that with us. The price I owe is too great for me to pay with regard to my redemption. I know what I deserve, but God gives me Grace anyway. God forgave the debt, even paid the price on the Cross. God bought back what I owed at great cost to God. That is Grace. It comes from Agape Love. When Jesus commanded us, "Do not judge..." and "Forgive...", it was given as a command to live Agape Love and be Gracious with one another. Agape Love is active commitment on behalf of the other, even stranger or enemy, according to Jesus. Grace is undeserved loving mercy, given freely. God gives that to us debtors.
God expects us debtors to live by the Great Commandment, given by Jesus in a new way and simplified for us with "Do to others as you would have them do to you." When we have done wrong or owe someone, we are thankful and grateful when it is not held against us - when it is forgiven. God does that with us. Are we thankful for the gift? Are we grateful to God? God then commands us to be loving and gracious with one another as God has been with us, not because they deserve it, but because they need it and because we need to be loving and gracious, forgiving and not judging in how we live with God and one another. If I love myself enough to want that for myself, then I must love my neighbor as much, at least according to Jesus.
It is a command. The parable here makes it very clear that God expects this from us.
Receiving Grace and Love from God and then insisting that we be punitive with those around us or hold them to a different standard is inconsistent with how this works with God. Jesus taught that very clearly.
Loving neighbor as self demands something else.
If you believe that you should not be hindered from voting for elected officials, then do not believe that others should be hindered from voting.
If you believe that you should have affordable healthcare, then do not begrudge others who have a way of receiving affordable healthcare.
If you believe that you should be paid a living wage, then do not hinder others from making a living wage.
If you believe that you should be allowed to remain in the country, though your ancestors came and stole and killed and exploited those who were original inhabitants, then do not support deporting others who have come peacefully and productively to live here.
If you hope to get federal funds for your area because of a hurricane, then do not vote against others getting aid when their area is hit by a hurricane.
If you want your children to get a high quality education, then do not work so that ONLY your children can get a high quality education.
If you want to be treated with equal respect and have equal opportunities to others, then do not claim some false superiority over others and treat them shamefully because they are different from you.
If you want to have your marriage honored and family accepted, then do not hinder others who love from being able to get married or have their family accepted.
If you want to enjoy breathable air, safe land and drinkable water then do not pollute, waste and destroy those things that future generations will need.
If you hope to have gainful employment and provide for your family, then do not insist on cheap goods that require that someone else in the country or world to be exploited for sub-standard pay.
While those who are duplicitous, hypocritical and corrupt may believe that they are getting away with things because of the power and wealth they have to manipulate the rest of us, it will be torture for them in the end, at least according to Jesus. While some believe they are entitled to have privileges in life while denying others the basic needs and rights in their lives, Jesus says there is a price to be paid for such hubris, arrogant pride and hatefulness.
The great turn-around is coming. The first shall be last and the last, first. Jesus promised that. A whole lotta folk who think they are sheep may find themselves in the goat line.
And yes, politics and economics have EVERYTHING to do with your faith in Jesus. How you live in this part of God's Kingdom here and now has ramifications for life in the other part of God's Kingdom later. Jesus promised that.
We are all beggars at the foot of the throne of God. All of us. According to Martin Luther and others, it is absurd for one beggar to feel superior to another. Absurd. Insane.
Pastor Jamie
People are sometimes too quick to say, "I forgive you", and then hold things against folk.
Forgiveness means that it is wiped out, the debt is forgotten. When someone wrongs us and is prone to wrong us again, that does not mean that we need to put ourselves in a position to be hurt by them again. Rather, we can trust people as they are able to be trusted. But to forgive means that we do not hold against someone what they have done to us or owe us. We do not make them pay consequences for it. We do not exact a price for what they owe or have done. We let it go.
God does that with us. The price I owe is too great for me to pay with regard to my redemption. I know what I deserve, but God gives me Grace anyway. God forgave the debt, even paid the price on the Cross. God bought back what I owed at great cost to God. That is Grace. It comes from Agape Love. When Jesus commanded us, "Do not judge..." and "Forgive...", it was given as a command to live Agape Love and be Gracious with one another. Agape Love is active commitment on behalf of the other, even stranger or enemy, according to Jesus. Grace is undeserved loving mercy, given freely. God gives that to us debtors.
God expects us debtors to live by the Great Commandment, given by Jesus in a new way and simplified for us with "Do to others as you would have them do to you." When we have done wrong or owe someone, we are thankful and grateful when it is not held against us - when it is forgiven. God does that with us. Are we thankful for the gift? Are we grateful to God? God then commands us to be loving and gracious with one another as God has been with us, not because they deserve it, but because they need it and because we need to be loving and gracious, forgiving and not judging in how we live with God and one another. If I love myself enough to want that for myself, then I must love my neighbor as much, at least according to Jesus.
It is a command. The parable here makes it very clear that God expects this from us.
Receiving Grace and Love from God and then insisting that we be punitive with those around us or hold them to a different standard is inconsistent with how this works with God. Jesus taught that very clearly.
Loving neighbor as self demands something else.
If you believe that you should not be hindered from voting for elected officials, then do not believe that others should be hindered from voting.
If you believe that you should have affordable healthcare, then do not begrudge others who have a way of receiving affordable healthcare.
If you believe that you should be paid a living wage, then do not hinder others from making a living wage.
If you believe that you should be allowed to remain in the country, though your ancestors came and stole and killed and exploited those who were original inhabitants, then do not support deporting others who have come peacefully and productively to live here.
If you hope to get federal funds for your area because of a hurricane, then do not vote against others getting aid when their area is hit by a hurricane.
If you want your children to get a high quality education, then do not work so that ONLY your children can get a high quality education.
If you want to be treated with equal respect and have equal opportunities to others, then do not claim some false superiority over others and treat them shamefully because they are different from you.
If you want to have your marriage honored and family accepted, then do not hinder others who love from being able to get married or have their family accepted.
If you want to enjoy breathable air, safe land and drinkable water then do not pollute, waste and destroy those things that future generations will need.
If you hope to have gainful employment and provide for your family, then do not insist on cheap goods that require that someone else in the country or world to be exploited for sub-standard pay.
While those who are duplicitous, hypocritical and corrupt may believe that they are getting away with things because of the power and wealth they have to manipulate the rest of us, it will be torture for them in the end, at least according to Jesus. While some believe they are entitled to have privileges in life while denying others the basic needs and rights in their lives, Jesus says there is a price to be paid for such hubris, arrogant pride and hatefulness.
The great turn-around is coming. The first shall be last and the last, first. Jesus promised that. A whole lotta folk who think they are sheep may find themselves in the goat line.
And yes, politics and economics have EVERYTHING to do with your faith in Jesus. How you live in this part of God's Kingdom here and now has ramifications for life in the other part of God's Kingdom later. Jesus promised that.
We are all beggars at the foot of the throne of God. All of us. According to Martin Luther and others, it is absurd for one beggar to feel superior to another. Absurd. Insane.
Pastor Jamie
Tuesday, September 5, 2017
Church discipline????? Matthew 18:15-20
I wonder how many churches, how many pastors...
are hearing their brown and black members' cries, their LGBT members' cries, their poor peoples' cries...
of racial profiling...
of injustice and disproportioned imprisonment...
of economic discrimination...
of the threat of deportation...
of losing the rights that others in the country enjoy because of who they love...
of being killed, unarmed in the streets...
of being held down, back and out because of their gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, religion or lack of one...
I wonder how many churches, how many pastors...
will read this text this week and confront their members who are politicians, business executives, law enforcement officers, citizens, teachers, administrators, civic leaders...
go to them individually... then with another member... then in front of the congregation, if they will not repent...
how many?
Would that the fundies would literalize this...
that those who claim Jesus would claim this...
that those who have large churches in the suburbs would preach this...
that those who are denominational leaders would encourage this...
that those who sit in the pews and breathe in the sanctuary air would hear this on Sunday...
would that they would...
but will they?
Pastor Jamie
are hearing their brown and black members' cries, their LGBT members' cries, their poor peoples' cries...
of racial profiling...
of injustice and disproportioned imprisonment...
of economic discrimination...
of the threat of deportation...
of losing the rights that others in the country enjoy because of who they love...
of being killed, unarmed in the streets...
of being held down, back and out because of their gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, religion or lack of one...
I wonder how many churches, how many pastors...
will read this text this week and confront their members who are politicians, business executives, law enforcement officers, citizens, teachers, administrators, civic leaders...
go to them individually... then with another member... then in front of the congregation, if they will not repent...
how many?
Would that the fundies would literalize this...
that those who claim Jesus would claim this...
that those who have large churches in the suburbs would preach this...
that those who are denominational leaders would encourage this...
that those who sit in the pews and breathe in the sanctuary air would hear this on Sunday...
would that they would...
but will they?
Pastor Jamie
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