Advent THIS time: Of What is this the Advent for YOU?

Matthew 24:36-44 (lectionary for Advent I on December 1):

Advent is under-rated.
The hymns are not well known or popular, at least most of them.
The culture has moved on to Christmas (some since Halloween or before).
Preparation for Christmas does not mean preparation of hearts and minds much, if it ever did.

I have always believed it to be vital.
The preparation of hearts and minds to God's coming in human form is vital, especially now.
God promised to send one to deliver us.
God promised to turn things upside down, straighten the crooked and level the playing field for the lowly.
God promised to be with us.
We need to prepare our hearts and minds for that.

I am reminded that we know not the day or hour, we are reminded that this coming to us will catch us off-guard.
It will not only not come WHEN we think (December 25th being an arbitrary date at best), but it will not come in a FORM in which we will be looking - poverty, lowliness, humility and vulnerability.
So, we must be ready.
To be ready, we must be prepared.
To be prepared, we must believe and act as though we believe.

God comes to us.
This year.
In a time we will not expect.
In a form for which we will not be looking.
God comes differently now than ever before in our lives, and it is needed more now than ever before.
And it will change our lives, transform the world in which we live.

Or, we'll buy and bake, decorate and clean, cook and gather presents for a nice party.
We'll Read the Good News, Worship, Listen to Carols or Cantatas about the event, attend reenactments and think about what this means for us,
     or we'll treat it like any other year of gatherings, parties and presents.
We can prepare for God's reaching into our lives here and now,
     or treat it like a historic event we just remember every year.
Perhaps, this year we can prepare ourselves to be the hands and feet, the will and mouth of God
     in making the rough for so many smooth, the crooked that hurts so many straight,
     the lows for so many higher...
 
Here comes Emmanuel.
Emmanuel is comin' to town.

Why?
To relate to us AS WE ARE and bring us HOPE in who God is.
To identify with us so that we can understand God's Love and Grace.
To give Good News to the most lowly and turn things upside down toward Justice.
To make for Peace in the World and bring Joy because of it.

The Word made Flesh will arrive in your life to make you the Flesh made Word in the world.

Do you believe that Jesus is Emmanuel?  Word made Flesh who dwells among us?
Are you ready to have your life changed?  The world transformed?  To be the Flesh made Word?

For something like THAT, we must prepare our hearts and minds!

Pastor Jamie

Fundamentalism destroys Shalom

We have seen the dangers of religious extremism across the world.  It has led to the subjugation of huge parts of societies, the oppression of millions and horrible violence and death.  There are more, subtle dangers present as well, especially to our souls and the soul of our nation.

The intolerance of other beliefs and social mores comes from a dark place.  It is not of the light of God, for it judges, divides and may ultimately destroy people.

Extremist views come from extreme thinking for some and from the extreme of lack of critical thinking for those who would follow them, a prerequisite for belonging to extremist cults.  Adherents are required to turn off their brains and blindly obey those who have convinced them that they are true believers, even while ignoring the sacred texts that they claim to be dear to their hearts.

When, for instance, people who claim to follow Jesus are convinced that faithfulness to God means being more pure and holy than others, they abandon the teachings of Jesus altogether to cling to ideologies born of false Christian theology.  Making all faithfulness about being more "righteous" than others leads to judging, something Jesus commanded against.  Embracing ideologies of purity and holiness as one's justification before God lead people to walk away from Jesus, rather than follow Jesus, who likened faithfulness to the living of unconditional love and active commitment for "sinners" and "the least" among us.

Ideologies born of bad Christian Theology have led to the ideas that a "righteousness" born of purity and holiness, ecstatic worship and praise and tithing necessarily bring adherents to favor with God and material blessings.  They further lead practitioners to the necessity of "saving" others to this ideology and confronting anyone not on board with it.  They lead to folk being intolerant of others who do not believe in or adhere to their extremist views.

Ideologies born of bad Christian Theology lead folk to look to the magical thinking of supernatural interventions or deliverance, rather than faithful use of the "spirit of power, love (agapeis) and self-control" (II Timothy 1:7) that God gave us in order to live healthy practices, practice good stewardship of the creation, endure struggles and pain, and build sustainable lives and communities.  The belief is that if we are (self) righteous, God will deliver us from all calamities.  The belief is also that God will absolve us from any responsibility in the destruction of our own lives, the lives of those around us and the planet.  These are patently false notions.

They may also lead to people disassociating their faith from how they live in the world, justifying their exploitation of others economically and/or abuse of power over others politically.  Worse, they may lead people to believe that their value for Democracy is at odds with their extreme religious and social views, causing them to embrace instead a theocratic fascism as political ideology.

This all begins with blind loyalty to and belief in unscrupulous, false preachers, teachers and their devotees rather than belief in the fulfiller of Law and Prophets, the giver of the Good News, and the teachings, commands and examples of the one they claim to follow.

Because of that blind devotion to them and their false theologies, they are easily manipulated by the leaders of these false strains of the faith into supporting the ideology for the gain of those who have gained status as leaders, providing them with more power and more wealth.  Among the many problems with this are the divisions caused within society and family, the breakdown of critical thinking ability and the killing of their souls and the potential death of the soul of the nation in which they live.

For some, it is a false Christianity based on purity and holiness.  For others it is American Civil Religion.  For yet others it is a religious devotion to White or Male or Anglo or Straight Supremacy, Laissez-faire Capitalism and/or Bigotry.  Blind loyalty to these destroys critical thinking, the celebration of others, the ability to love unconditionally and actively commit to others' well-being and therefore the willingness to follow Jesus in how one lives.  It leads to love for wealth, power and status for oneself above love for our sisters and brothers.  It leads to the death of community and the soul.  It destroys Shalom.

I have loved ones who break my heart regularly.  They claim to believe in and follow Jesus, but their hearts are far from what Jesus taught, commanded and modeled as we have that in the Gospel witnesses, because they have been influenced by false teachers over the years and have adopted extreme religious (and political/economic) ideologies rather than follow Jesus.  Because of this, they are at odds within themselves and with God, and naturally with others around them.

I am often at odds with people around me as well.  I resist the evils of empire and strive to live the Agape Love Way that Jesus taught, commanded and modeled for those who would be Disciples of Jesus in the world.  I am much more pugilistic than I ought to be in my desperate attempts to confront the lies with the truth, which in itself does not help to create Shalom.  So, I strive to find a different, better "package" for the Gospel I share, though there is none better than the words of Jesus in the Gospels, for any who would engage their minds, hearts and souls in loving God and Neighbor.

"Love (agapeiseis) the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind .  Love your neighbor as you love yourself.  On these two commandments hang all the Law and Prophets."  Jesus, according to the Gospel of Matthew (22:34-40)

It is all about the living of Agape Love - "active commitment on behalf of the other, even stranger and enemy, and especially the most vulnerable", which produces Shalom - "completeness, wholeness and well-being" for ALL in the world.  THAT is God's Will and our only Mission.

Pastor Jamie

Moses

We saw "Harriet" tonight.
It was truly amazing.
Always a hero to my wife and me, the story of this remarkable woman is inspiring today, even as it was for generations before us.
After escaping to freedom in 1849, she brought 70 people out of slavery by 1860 and led a raid with an African-American unit of the union army at Combahee Ferry to free more than 700 more in June of 1863.
She was a woman of faith.  She believed that the Lord spoke to her and led her.

I am always inspired by folk who stand up to evil, who speak truth to abusive power and who work to abolish inequities among us out of an active faith.
This little, 5' tall woman who was born a slave, towered over others around her and did so in order to bring freedom to human beings who should never have been enslaved.
It was God's justice.

No wonder they called her "Moses."
Faith over fear and faithfulness to God and Neighbor over self drove her to do remarkable things.
She will always be remembered for it.

We are in a time in which we need people of faith to stand and move in faithfulness.
We need folk to stand up to evil systems that hold the many down, back and out for the sake of the few.
We need folk to speak truth to power and demand equal justice for all.
We need folk to work to abolish inequities and the systems that promote them.
We need a movement committed to the living of Jesus' Agape Love in the world, this world, here and now.
We need reform or revolution.

Until everyone has the same opportunities in wages, employment, education, housing, healthcare, transportation, civil and human rights, we must demand that from our leaders and each other.

It took a civil war to break an economic system based on racism, and it was costly.
I pray that we will willingly adopt an economic system that demands equal opportunity for all now.

All strains of American Civil Religion, masking as "Christianity" need to be brought to their end, for they are a product of and support to the evils of empire.
We must embrace the justice, the sustainability, the peace and Shalom of the teachings of Jesus and live them, in order to be followers of Jesus.

Until we do, we are ALL subject to an oppressive, unjust, corrupt system based on hatred, greed, lust for power and desire for status.  Both oppressors and the oppressed are trapped under a system that kills souls and the soul of our nation.

People of faith, faithful to Jesus' Way, need to stand and speak, demonstrate and exemplify Jesus' Way.

For the sake of Pharaoh and the people under Pharaoh, for the sake of those trapped under an unjust system that destroys their lives and holds them down, back and out, for the sake of the soul of  our nation, we must find our path to freedom from this insidious abomination and be courageous and faithful enough to take it, and then work toward the liberation of others from their bondage to the evils of empire.

Thank you, Harriet, for your most faithful example.
You, along with Gandhi, Bonhoeffer, King, Malcolm, Romero and numerous others are my heroes for your faithfulness to the ideals that Jesus taught, commanded and modeled regarding liberation from evil oppression, particularly through the living of Agape Love.

Pastor Jamie

Get On Course and Stay on Course

Luke 21:5-19 (text for lectionary on November 17)

Looking for signs regarding the future, or any focus on the future takes us out of striving in our present.

Regarding the forecast of the Temple being destroyed by Rome in the near future, the Gospel of Luke portrays a message of Jesus regarding staying on course in the present.

As the Jesus of Luke points out, false teachers will come and manipulate believers over their fear of the future, and particularly over their fear of the end.  Books have been written, bold statements made and predictions offered by false teachers for generations.  Their intent has always been and is to lead astray, to pique fears and take control over believers for their own ends.

When disasters come, and they will, we are instructed to remain calm.
When we are persecuted for following Jesus, we are called to trust and persevere in our faith.

In other words, live in the now.
Be fully present now.
Get on course with what Jesus taught, commanded and modeled as God's way for us to be faithful.
Live what Jesus taught, commanded and modeled everyday in the world, regardless of what is going
    on in the world around us, particularly BECAUSE of what is going on in the world around us.
Focus on the living of Agape Love that Jesus commanded.
Focus on resisting the values of empire as you live the Kingdom values given by Jesus.

With regard to Climate Change... yes, I am going there... stay focused on the stewardship of the Creation to which we are entrusted... ending the waste, destruction and pollution of God's creation.
With regard to Elections... stay focused on voting for candidates who would most exemplify the values taught by Jesus, and getting others to see the wisdom of doing so.
With regard to Economics... stay focused on your ethical work, being good stewards of what you have and the sharing of your abundance with others around who are not so fortunate.
With regard to Wars... stay focused on teaching and demanding Agape Love and the building of Shalom in the world around you.

In order to do that, it will take great Faith in Jesus and Jesus' Way as a better way for the world, here and now.
In order to do that, it will take great Focus on Jesus and what Jesus taught, commanded and modeled for how to live in this part of God's Kingdom, here and now.

The end will come.
What we have is right now.
Right now is what matters.
How are we following Jesus in how we live our lives right now?
Let that be our focus and concern.
Regardless of what is going on in the world around you, get on course and stay on course.
If the course you have chosen is following Jesus in how you live, then you will most positively affect the things in the world around you.

Above all, live the Agape Love and Grace given by God to you, in the world around you.
It will make the right now of others in the world better, and help establish and sustain Shalom (completeness, wholeness and well-being) in the world around you, the world in which you live.

Pastor Jamie

Living... HERE AND NOW... get with it

Luke 20:27-38 (the November 10 lectionary text)

Resurrection... Heaven... just a few thoughts...

As a Hospice Chaplain of 12 years, I can tell you that it is true - "Everybody wants to go to heaven, but don't nobody want to die."

The church has been led to believe that this faith is all about "pie in the sky when you die" through personal salvation gained by any number of works, merit and self-righteousness.  It has done that, since the days of Jesus and after, in order to have power and control over God's children and manipulate them with false promises.

According to the Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, that is ALL WRONG.

Even the Sadducees, who don't believe in resurrection, tried to get Jesus to focus on resurrection and life in heaven.

Jesus' answer?
A description of life now, and how people need to be focused on how they are living with God HERE AND NOW.
God is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.
The God who promises life after death considers them ALL alive.
So, this is about the living, HERE AND NOW.

If our goal is just resurrection and life in heaven, then our goal is ALL WRONG.
If our goal is how we live in faithfulness to God and Neighbor HERE AND NOW, then we are people of the Way of Jesus.

Karma (yes, it is Christian) demands that we do the right thing, but also for the right reasons.
We are not, according to Jesus (and Paul), supposed to believe that this life is about earning, meriting or deserving heaven.  That is WAY TOO SELF FOCUSED for the living of Agape Love and Grace.
It is about being faithful to what Jesus taught, commanded and modeled for us as God's Will for how we live HERE AND NOW in this part of God's Kingdom.
It is about how we give of ourselves for God and Neighbor, without concern for ourselves.

Being heaven minded corrupts our hearts, our motives, our purpose and our walk with God.
It allows false teachers to manipulate us for the sake of their own power, status and wealth.
(see here Luke 20:45-47... not in the lectionary for some reason)

Agape Love and Grace in heaven are a given.
Living Agape Love and Grace in this part of God's Kingdom are our challenge, our call, our mission, and our only purpose, at least according to the Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels.
There is too much work to be done in Agape Love and Grace, for us to be focused on "rewards," when salvation is given "by Grace through Faith, apart from works."
There are too many who are considered "the least of these", for us to be worried about ourselves.
There is too much injustice for us to be concerned about our own privilege above others.
There is too much hatred and apathy for us to be only concerned about US being lifted up.
There is too much need among the most vulnerable around us for us to be worried about our own entitlements, blessings, favor and wealth.

Jesus says, in effect, "Get over the resurrection thing and do what I told you to do."
"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord', and do not do what I tell you?"  Luke 6:46

We do the right thing, according to what Jesus taught, commanded and modeled for us as faithfulness in the living of Agape Love and Grace HERE AND NOW, as a RESPONSE to the Agape Love and Grace that God has given us in Christ Jesus.

Jesus has already taken care of redemption, salvation, resurrection and life in heaven.
Get over it.  Get with it.

Pastor Jamie