Sunday, October 1, 2017

My homage to Luther's 95 Theses on the 500th Anniversary month of their posting... (see Oct 8 blog below)


Out of love for the truth of the Gospel, and a desire to illuminate the teachings, commands and examples of Jesus on how to live Agape Love and Grace in the Good News, I humbly offer this homage to Martin Luther’s 95 Theses on this, the 500th Anniversary month of their original posting.  We need Reform in the church.  Now.  
True Faithfulness and therefore true Repentance (Mark 1:15; Matthew 4:17) come from changing our thinking on what it means to follow Jesus, to be followers of Jesus.  It comes in submission to His Word as fulfiller of Law and Prophets.  Righteousness is not piety, purity or holiness. Those are things of God.  Righteousness is faithfulness to the teachings, commands and examples modeled by Jesus on how we live Agape Love and Grace in the world, thus exhibiting spiritual gifts and producing the Fruit of the Spirit in the world (Galatians 5:22, 23).   Faithfulness to Christ Jesus our Savior and Lord is living the Gospel Mandate, Jesus’ Manifesto on Agape Love and Grace for how we live in this part of God’s Kingdom, here and now. Faithfulness to Jesus as Savior, Redeemer, Lord and fulfiller of Law and Prophets, our authority and the deliverer of God’s Will in the Good News, the New Covenant of Grace is lived by obeying Jesus’ Agape Love Command, in living what Jesus taught, commanded and modeled for us.

Self-righteousness is not righteousness.  (Romans 5:6-11; Ephesians 2:1-10)  Salvation is not based on merit, as those who represent Empire (then, the Holy Roman Empire, in Jesus’ day the Roman Empire) live and promote.  Salvation is not earned.  It is given freely, which is by Grace through Faith.  Faithfulness to living what Jesus commanded and salvation by Grace being established, therefore personal salvation is not the motive of followers of Jesus.  Our motive is living what God wants us to live and letting God save, thus trusting in God’s Mercy and Grace out of faith in God.  For personal salvation as a motive is the work of Empire, setting some as better than others, which is not true in the Kingdom in which we are all “beggars at the foot of the throne of Grace.”  Piety, purity and holiness is of God and only given by God, so it is not about us “becoming” more pious, pure or holy but rather us becoming more faithful to the following of God’s Kingdom Values as we have been given them in Jesus’ teachings, commands and examples.  Worship, praise and tithes are not necessarily works toward salvation, as is taught by Jesus (Mark 7:1-8). Faith Litmus tests of spiritual gifts mean nothing, as is witnessed in the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels (Matthew 7:21-23). The highest spiritual gift is telling the truth of God, according to Paul (I Corinthians 14:1-5), but even that is subordinate to living the Agape Love commanded by Jesus (I Corinthians 13).  In short, we are to rely on the Grace and Agape of God, and live Agape and Grace in the world around us.  That is righteousness in Christ Jesus.  That is faithfulness to Christ Jesus.

The church has been corrupted by the lust for power, greed and desire for prestige, position and status which are Empire values, rather than the Agape Love and Grace which are Kingdom of God Values.  Then it was the Holy Roman Empire under Leo X.  In the time of Jesus and the writing of the Gospels it was the Roman Empire.  The value of hubris in the Empire overshadowed the humility taught and modeled by Jesus in the Kingdom.  It led to false teachings around wealth, prestige and power, even to the exploitation of the people under Rome and then to the selling of indulgences for salvation under Leo X, and now to the false teachings of Church Growth, Prosperity Theology and the emphasis on Personal Salvation.  It led to a view that church was an institution to be served, rather than a movement of followers of Jesus, both then and now.  Worship, Praise, Prayer and Tithes as God’s only expectation of us not faithful to the Gospel.  Strict adherence to the Law of Moses (selectively in almost every case) lead to hypocrisy and not faithfulness as was shown then and has been seen now.  It leads to corrupt misuse of power by the church and by individual Christians.  The Church/Church bodies are commanded by Jesus to stand with the poor, marginalized and most vulnerable in the world.  Followers of Jesus are commanded not to judge others, not to refuse to help, not to abandon the most vulnerable and not to reject the stranger in the land, neither by ethnicity, faith practice, sexual orientation or any other difference. Bishops, Clergy and Lay Leaders must stop abusing their power, influence and position for promoting their own gain, promulgating their own prejudices and preserving their narcissistic focus on self, and must serve God by serving those who God loves in Agape Love and Grace.  They must stand with (advocate) the poor, marginalized and most vulnerable who Jesus loves and lead others to do so, and stand against those in politics, business, society who would hurt them and lead others to do so, if they are to be faithful to Savior and Lord.  There can no longer by lip service to Jesus’ name and duplicitous devotion to Mammon (wealth), Mars (power) and Narcissus (self-indulgence).

The Church of Jesus is called and commanded to address the world with the Gospel of Jesus, not reflect worldly empire within the church.  We are called to preach and teach the Agape and Grace Jesus taught, commanded and modeled and lead people to the transformative experience of living it.  We are called to boldly and directly address those economic, political and social expressions of greed, lust for power and prestige that are represented in Empire.  We are commanded to address hatred for those not like us by embracing them with the love of Christ.  Service and mercy are what are called for in the Gospel of Jesus in love.  Judgment, rejection, exploitation and refusing to forgive are antithetical to the Good News of Jesus, of Agape Love and Grace.

American Civil Religion is anti-Christ.  Just as Roman Empire and Holy Roman Empire held an arrogant sense of “superiority”, exceptionalism and manifest destiny which opposed the teachings and commands of Jesus, so do many who profess to be “Christian” in America.  Their twisted belief “justifies” their lust for power and control, “justifies” their selfishness and greed for more and “justifies” being Empire in the world.  None of this justifies them according to the Kingdom Values of Jesus in the Gospels.  Jesus taught that “the first shall be last and the last shall be first.”  Jesus taught humility in service and mercy toward all.  Jesus taught generosity of spirit and with one’s time, ability, possessions and advocacy.  God is the God of all nations, not just Rome or Holy Roman Empire or America.  Empire is not of the Kingdom nor an expression of it, but rather antithetical to its values.  Clergy and church who promote the ignorance and acceptance of hatred because it benefits them do not walk with God in Christ Jesus because it hurts those who Jesus loves.  Those who claim the name of Jesus but live for and out of status, wealth, prestige and position, power do not walk with Christ Jesus because it makes them believe they can exploit those who Jesus loves for their own gain.  Political Ideologies, social philosophies and economic systems that marginalize, victimize and exploit others are not of Christ.  Politicians, clergy, churches, societies and nations that do so are not faithful to God.

If salvation is by Grace, then the judgment of others is a tool of evil.  Grace and Agape Love deny any validity in the judgment of other faiths, sexual orientation, for any other reason by definition.  If Jesus said nothing about something, as we have that witnessed in the Gospels, how important can it be?  If the First Century believers received those who were ethnically, religiously and sexually different and therefore excluded by the Law of Moses from being received into the Body of Christ (Acts 8:26-40), shouldn’t we do the same?   While addressing pederasty, Paul addressed the Roman status symbol of buying children for sex by straight, married men of means.  That practice is unacceptable to God – using or exploiting others for one’s own pleasure is not acceptable to God.  It is not from love, but from a sick desire for power and control over others, and status.  Even IF, we erroneously took it to be a statement about homosexually in general or specifically, we must acknowledge that Paul equated using others for sex with the passions that everyone has, and commanded followers of Jesus, “therefore DO NOT JUDGE.” (Romans 1:18-2:11)  That was the central teaching in the passage to those in Rome.  Twisting the Word in order to justify our prejudices, in order to manipulate others to side with us or to believe that we are spiritually superior, or in order to justify our exploitation of or discrimination against others is not faithfulness to Christ Jesus.  Using selective passages of scripture to judge others harshly and falsely justify oneself is not a faithful use of scripture.  Using them to obfuscate one’s own sins of greed, lust for power and desire for prestige/position/status, things of which Jesus did say a great deal, according to the Gospel witness, is unconscionable and immoral.  The church body, leader or member who judges goes against Christ Jesus.

The Gospel of Jesus is transformative if we live the Agape and Grace at the center of it.  It is transformative for individuals, communities, congregations, church bodies and society if we do what Jesus commanded in His first recorded imperative in the first chapter of the first Gospel written – “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand, REPENT (metanoia – change your thinking so that your words/actions/direction will change), and BELIEVE IN THE GOOD NEWS.”  (Mark 1:15)

In the name of our Lord Jesus, the Christ.  Amen                                                           October 1, 2017
Rev. Jamie Kaufman  M.Div.    

 

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