This is the season of anticipation and hope.
We anticipate God's reaching into this world, into these lives with Love and Grace.
We hope for something better than the unrest, corruption and ruthlessness that we see - we hope for peace on earth and goodwill toward all.
If we truly anticipate these things and hope for them, we are either actively involved in living them or we are passively expecting some kind of supernatural intervention instead of us living them.
This is the season of Love and Grace, peace on earth and goodwill toward all - but only if WE put those things in the world around us, thus fulfilling what we are taught, commanded and shown by God.
The world needs these things especially now.
The world around you, the people around you, need these things desperately.
These things have been put within each of us for the world around us.
How will we BE Love and Grace, Peace on Earth and Goodwill toward All this year?
Be God's hands and feet, God's voice and heart in the world around you.
Because some folks around you anticipate that in hope.
Pastor Jamie
Wednesday, November 28, 2018
Sunday, November 18, 2018
Unimpressed
Jesus seemed unimpressed with what empire considers to be greatness.
The beauty of the Temple building itself, with all its grandeur did not receive Jesus' adulation.
False teachers, regardless of their achievements or wonders got no love.
Paying the Temple tax, dietary codes, purity codes and other religious protocols seemed like a mere nuisance to the Son of Man.
Certainly the Temple fiscal practices, though seen as quite normative and necessary, drew disdain from Jesus, exhibited in a mighty way.
The "righteous" stoning of women caught in adultery elicited fierce opposition from the Son of God.
The Powerful Herod and Pilate, along with other "officials" did not impress Jesus.
The Sanhedrin - Pharisees, Scribes, Sadducees, Chief Priests, Elders did not receive much collegial consideration from Jesus, regardless of their status in society, but indeed drew a lot of Jesus' most extreme criticism.
The wealthy and how they got to be wealthy made them examples of immorality in the moral lessons of Jesus.
The Roman Empire itself seemed to draw more disdain than fear, awe or admiration from Jesus.
What empire values in displays of wealth, power and prestige/status did not impress Jesus.
In fact, they seemed to draw from within Jesus criticism, disdain and opposition from the one sent by God to teach, command and model Kingdom values in Agape Love and Grace.
So, why are we so impressed with such things today, we who claim to follow Jesus?
Grand temples, modern day elders prancing around in thousand dollar suits, mega anything, wonders and signs, and other displays of wealth, power and status, along with any concern for self purity or holiness draw the dedication of many, rather than making those who claim Jesus question what is at the heart of them or why Jesus in the Gospels does not lift them up as something to be lived.
What impressed Jesus was people living Agape Love with one another.
Lifted up by Jesus were the most vulnerable and the downtrodden by a society dominated by those who benefitted from adopting and living empire values:
The Good Samaritan, the Owner of the Vineyard hiring those overlooked, The Poor Widow, children, Lepers, the Blind, four friends of a paralytic, Syrophonecian woman, Samaritan woman at the well, etc., etc., etc..
What does that tell us?
What is great in the Kingdom of God is humility and the living of Agape Love and Grace in the world.
What is valued by God and modeled by Jesus is the lifting up of those beaten down by empire values and those who have chosen NOT to live those values in their lives here and now, in THIS PART of God's Kingdom.
The movement of believers who are the People of the Way of Jesus live these values, shedding light on what is truly unrighteous and striving to live the Agape Love and Grace with Neighbor that are faithful expressions of our Love for God.
The grandest, greatest, richest, most powerful, most full of bravado and most admired in empire are those with whom Jesus seems to be least impressed.
The greatest are the most humble and giving servants to those most vulnerable, downtrodden and excluded by empire. For Jesus, they seem to be quite impressive.
With empire and its values, and those who represent them Jesus seems most UNIMPRESSED.
Pastor Jamie
The beauty of the Temple building itself, with all its grandeur did not receive Jesus' adulation.
False teachers, regardless of their achievements or wonders got no love.
Paying the Temple tax, dietary codes, purity codes and other religious protocols seemed like a mere nuisance to the Son of Man.
Certainly the Temple fiscal practices, though seen as quite normative and necessary, drew disdain from Jesus, exhibited in a mighty way.
The "righteous" stoning of women caught in adultery elicited fierce opposition from the Son of God.
The Powerful Herod and Pilate, along with other "officials" did not impress Jesus.
The Sanhedrin - Pharisees, Scribes, Sadducees, Chief Priests, Elders did not receive much collegial consideration from Jesus, regardless of their status in society, but indeed drew a lot of Jesus' most extreme criticism.
The wealthy and how they got to be wealthy made them examples of immorality in the moral lessons of Jesus.
The Roman Empire itself seemed to draw more disdain than fear, awe or admiration from Jesus.
What empire values in displays of wealth, power and prestige/status did not impress Jesus.
In fact, they seemed to draw from within Jesus criticism, disdain and opposition from the one sent by God to teach, command and model Kingdom values in Agape Love and Grace.
So, why are we so impressed with such things today, we who claim to follow Jesus?
Grand temples, modern day elders prancing around in thousand dollar suits, mega anything, wonders and signs, and other displays of wealth, power and status, along with any concern for self purity or holiness draw the dedication of many, rather than making those who claim Jesus question what is at the heart of them or why Jesus in the Gospels does not lift them up as something to be lived.
What impressed Jesus was people living Agape Love with one another.
Lifted up by Jesus were the most vulnerable and the downtrodden by a society dominated by those who benefitted from adopting and living empire values:
The Good Samaritan, the Owner of the Vineyard hiring those overlooked, The Poor Widow, children, Lepers, the Blind, four friends of a paralytic, Syrophonecian woman, Samaritan woman at the well, etc., etc., etc..
What does that tell us?
What is great in the Kingdom of God is humility and the living of Agape Love and Grace in the world.
What is valued by God and modeled by Jesus is the lifting up of those beaten down by empire values and those who have chosen NOT to live those values in their lives here and now, in THIS PART of God's Kingdom.
The movement of believers who are the People of the Way of Jesus live these values, shedding light on what is truly unrighteous and striving to live the Agape Love and Grace with Neighbor that are faithful expressions of our Love for God.
The grandest, greatest, richest, most powerful, most full of bravado and most admired in empire are those with whom Jesus seems to be least impressed.
The greatest are the most humble and giving servants to those most vulnerable, downtrodden and excluded by empire. For Jesus, they seem to be quite impressive.
With empire and its values, and those who represent them Jesus seems most UNIMPRESSED.
Pastor Jamie
Sunday, November 11, 2018
Looking Good
Status in society can be heady stuff.
We like to be recognized, honored, favored above others and blessed more than others.
We like the status that our name, our position, our power and/or wealth can provide.
We like to look good to others and to be lifted up because we have high standing in society.
If that were not so, there would be fewer famous people, particularly famous folk who are famous
just for being before us in "reality tv" programs and for what last name they hold, regardless of
what they have achieved in life or contributed to society.
The Scribes were the same. The problem was that they were the religiously famous of their day. They were the ones whose names were known because they held and exploited their positions of power over others in the religious community. They liked their status. They flaunted it in public by what they wore. They demanded respect out in public and made an appearance in order to be publicly adored. They had their reserved parking spots and restaurant tables and seats of honor in the assemblies and they always sat at the head table at dinners, with all the recognition that came with that. They liked their status and made the most of it.
There are two problems with this.
1. Their position was meant to be one of service. Their function was one of helping others with their faith. They were to serve God by serving God's people in humility and with honor. They and the status-driven society in which they lived turned it into a show of status. Jesus, who said that He (Son of God), came not to be served but to serve (as Son of Man) (10:45), criticized them and exposed their unfaithfulness to God.
2. They used their status to exploit others by abusing the power that came with it. They lined their own pockets at the expense of the most vulnerable because their status allowed them to do so. They did what they needed to do in order to appear to be pious, faithful, spiritual, godly and upright. Their words and public actions were a good show. But they took what little the poor and desperate had for their own gain, exploiting the status that was normative in the Roman Empire and adopting Empire values for their own personal profit at the expense of the most vulnerable.
Jesus said that they will receive the greater condemnation in the Kingdom of God. They have pretended to represent the Kingdom while representing and upholding empire values. They have embodied everything that is wrong with empire, while claiming to be faithful to God and God's Kingdom. It seems clear that they could not have done that without others expressing their adoption of empire values and valuing the status that they gave them in the society. This unfaithfulness was a communal one, to be sure. Folk would not be famous except that people have made them so.
Juxtapose this with the lowly, ignored, poor widow who gave her best and even last faithfully. She offered her pittance without fanfare and was lifted up by Jesus as an example of faithfulness. She had no sycophants adoring her every word or action. Faithfulness is not about how much we have for ourselves or how much we give to keep up appearances or with the expectation of any kind of return. It is about our humility in heart and generosity toward God and one another. That is the way of Agape Love. That is the way of Jesus.
Status is necessarily not a Kingdom of God value. It is a construct within empire to promote the other empire values of power and wealth, and the getting more and flaunting more of both. It runs contrary to the humble living of Agape Love that Jesus taught, commanded and modeled for us - in the witness of the Gospels. In the Kingdom, even this part of it, what is valued is what we humbly and generously give for the sake of the other. That is faithfulness to God and Neighbor.
Pastor Jamie
We like to be recognized, honored, favored above others and blessed more than others.
We like the status that our name, our position, our power and/or wealth can provide.
We like to look good to others and to be lifted up because we have high standing in society.
If that were not so, there would be fewer famous people, particularly famous folk who are famous
just for being before us in "reality tv" programs and for what last name they hold, regardless of
what they have achieved in life or contributed to society.
The Scribes were the same. The problem was that they were the religiously famous of their day. They were the ones whose names were known because they held and exploited their positions of power over others in the religious community. They liked their status. They flaunted it in public by what they wore. They demanded respect out in public and made an appearance in order to be publicly adored. They had their reserved parking spots and restaurant tables and seats of honor in the assemblies and they always sat at the head table at dinners, with all the recognition that came with that. They liked their status and made the most of it.
There are two problems with this.
1. Their position was meant to be one of service. Their function was one of helping others with their faith. They were to serve God by serving God's people in humility and with honor. They and the status-driven society in which they lived turned it into a show of status. Jesus, who said that He (Son of God), came not to be served but to serve (as Son of Man) (10:45), criticized them and exposed their unfaithfulness to God.
2. They used their status to exploit others by abusing the power that came with it. They lined their own pockets at the expense of the most vulnerable because their status allowed them to do so. They did what they needed to do in order to appear to be pious, faithful, spiritual, godly and upright. Their words and public actions were a good show. But they took what little the poor and desperate had for their own gain, exploiting the status that was normative in the Roman Empire and adopting Empire values for their own personal profit at the expense of the most vulnerable.
Jesus said that they will receive the greater condemnation in the Kingdom of God. They have pretended to represent the Kingdom while representing and upholding empire values. They have embodied everything that is wrong with empire, while claiming to be faithful to God and God's Kingdom. It seems clear that they could not have done that without others expressing their adoption of empire values and valuing the status that they gave them in the society. This unfaithfulness was a communal one, to be sure. Folk would not be famous except that people have made them so.
Juxtapose this with the lowly, ignored, poor widow who gave her best and even last faithfully. She offered her pittance without fanfare and was lifted up by Jesus as an example of faithfulness. She had no sycophants adoring her every word or action. Faithfulness is not about how much we have for ourselves or how much we give to keep up appearances or with the expectation of any kind of return. It is about our humility in heart and generosity toward God and one another. That is the way of Agape Love. That is the way of Jesus.
Status is necessarily not a Kingdom of God value. It is a construct within empire to promote the other empire values of power and wealth, and the getting more and flaunting more of both. It runs contrary to the humble living of Agape Love that Jesus taught, commanded and modeled for us - in the witness of the Gospels. In the Kingdom, even this part of it, what is valued is what we humbly and generously give for the sake of the other. That is faithfulness to God and Neighbor.
Pastor Jamie
Sunday, November 4, 2018
It's the Law
For all my sisters and brothers who advocate a strict adherence to the Law (and Order)... Deuteronomy 6:4, Mark 12:28-34...
From Deuteronomy through all history, Love has been the Law for those who worship the One God.
It is the COMMAND of God.
It is God's IMPERATIVE.
"There is no other commandment greater than these" ...
That we LOVE GOD with all our HEART, SOUL, MIND and STRENGTH...
That we LOVE NEIGHBOR as SELF...
More important than offerings and sacrifices (tithes, penance), even Worship or Praise.
The word is Agape in Greek.
Active commitment on behalf of the other, even stranger and enemy and especially the most vulnerable, according to Jesus (Matthew 22:34-40, Luke 10:25-37, Matthew 25:31-46).
We love God by loving those who God loves - actively committing to their well-being.
It is not just suggested or expected. It is THE COMMAND of Jesus.
With all our heart,
With all our soul,
With all our mind,
With all our strength... all of our selves engaged in, focused and committed to living this Love...
We are COMMANDED to love others, commit to their well-being (even stranger and enemy) just like we love our selves!
With our words and actions.
By keeping our mouths shut at times and in what we don't do.
By how we interact in society, do our work, engage in politics and economics and raise our children.
We are COMMANDED to love God with all we have and love our Neighbor as we love our selves.
We are COMMANDED to not want or allow any lack or harm come to them anymore than we would want or allow that for ourselves.
We are COMMANDED to do what we can to enhance their well-being in life, even as if it affects our own well-being (and it does).
The immigrants at our border, who God loves.
Our black and brown sisters and brothers, who God loves.
The poor, the sick, the disabled, all children, LGBTQ folk and people of all faiths within our land and across the world.
For if we do not, we are rejecting, hurting, discriminating against, abusing, exploiting JESUS.
For if we do not, we are slapping JESUS in the face with our blatant apostasy (walking away, abandoning) of Jesus' Way..and are "FAR from the Kingdom of God."
So, it really is this simple -
If we Worship, Praise, Tithe, Pray, exhibit spiritual gifts, live pure and holy lives according to some deeply "religious" code but do not actively live AGAPE LOVE with ALL PEOPLE, IT ALL MEANS NOTHING.
(see I Corinthians 13)
Truly, we live by THIS Law or we die by THIS Law, according to Jesus, who many of you claim as Savior and Lord, and who is the Judge of the living and the dead.
So, how are we doing at living within the Law?
Pastor Jamie
From Deuteronomy through all history, Love has been the Law for those who worship the One God.
It is the COMMAND of God.
It is God's IMPERATIVE.
"There is no other commandment greater than these" ...
That we LOVE GOD with all our HEART, SOUL, MIND and STRENGTH...
That we LOVE NEIGHBOR as SELF...
More important than offerings and sacrifices (tithes, penance), even Worship or Praise.
The word is Agape in Greek.
Active commitment on behalf of the other, even stranger and enemy and especially the most vulnerable, according to Jesus (Matthew 22:34-40, Luke 10:25-37, Matthew 25:31-46).
We love God by loving those who God loves - actively committing to their well-being.
It is not just suggested or expected. It is THE COMMAND of Jesus.
With all our heart,
With all our soul,
With all our mind,
With all our strength... all of our selves engaged in, focused and committed to living this Love...
We are COMMANDED to love others, commit to their well-being (even stranger and enemy) just like we love our selves!
With our words and actions.
By keeping our mouths shut at times and in what we don't do.
By how we interact in society, do our work, engage in politics and economics and raise our children.
We are COMMANDED to love God with all we have and love our Neighbor as we love our selves.
We are COMMANDED to not want or allow any lack or harm come to them anymore than we would want or allow that for ourselves.
We are COMMANDED to do what we can to enhance their well-being in life, even as if it affects our own well-being (and it does).
The immigrants at our border, who God loves.
Our black and brown sisters and brothers, who God loves.
The poor, the sick, the disabled, all children, LGBTQ folk and people of all faiths within our land and across the world.
For if we do not, we are rejecting, hurting, discriminating against, abusing, exploiting JESUS.
For if we do not, we are slapping JESUS in the face with our blatant apostasy (walking away, abandoning) of Jesus' Way..and are "FAR from the Kingdom of God."
So, it really is this simple -
If we Worship, Praise, Tithe, Pray, exhibit spiritual gifts, live pure and holy lives according to some deeply "religious" code but do not actively live AGAPE LOVE with ALL PEOPLE, IT ALL MEANS NOTHING.
(see I Corinthians 13)
Truly, we live by THIS Law or we die by THIS Law, according to Jesus, who many of you claim as Savior and Lord, and who is the Judge of the living and the dead.
So, how are we doing at living within the Law?
Pastor Jamie
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