Woe... Whoa!

 Matthew 23:1-12 is the lectionary text for Sunday, November 1.  I will look at all of Chpt. 23.

For the sake of the people and his followers, Jesus clearly exposed the corrupt religious leaders of His time for who they were and what values they lived.  They were in positions of power in the church, so the people had to adhere to what they said, but Jesus admonished the people not to adopt the empire values that the religious leaders had adopted.  The religious leaders were all about the empire values of wealth, power and status.  Jesus called for humility, promising that these corrupt leaders would be eventually deflated.

The lectionary stops there, but the rest of this chapter is crucial for understanding that against which we must stand.

Jesus addressed the corrupt religious leaders directly.

Jesus exposed them for not being of the Kingdom, and leading others away from the Kingdom, converting people to live their devotion for the gods of empire, and thus putting them in Hell.

Jesus pointed out their greed and love for all that glitters, rather than what the church stands for and what God intended it to be about.

Jesus rebuked them for their displays of opulent wealth in their tithes, while ignoring justice, mercy and faith for the children of God!

Jesus called them out on their outward appearances which are facades designed to hide evil within.

Jesus accused them of giving lip service to the messengers of God from old, but ignoring, silencing, punishing and killing the prophets God has sent to them now.

Jesus in utter frustration, wept over Jerusalem because of what the center of God's covenant community had become.  It was not as God wanted.  

Jesus declared their institution desolate.

Jesus said they would not have another chance until they welcomed Him and His Good News.

This is the text for the day after Reformation.  It echoes the corruptions of the religious leaders over the centuries -

The Temple Cult leadership in Jesus' time,

the growing corruptions that came with the institutionalization of the church under Rome, 

their culmination in the Holy Roman Empire under Pope Leo X,

and now with the Desolating Sacrilege of 1981 and following in the U.S., during which the Religious "Right" and Political "Right" got together to corrupt the church and society with their devotion to the false gods of empire once again.

Jesus still weeps over the institutions that now bear His name, for we are again desolate.

Our only hope is transformation in repentance - changing our thinking so that our direction will change.

Our only hope is transformation in coming to live what Jesus taught, commanded and modeled for us as faithfulness, as we have in the Gospels of Agape and Grace.  The Good News is, as Jesus pointed out, that we who follow Jesus can still do so, in spite of what "the church" as institution does.  The transformation must therefore start with us.  

Without that, we will remain desolate - the church and the nation.  We have seen what that looks like, and we know it can get much, much worse.

Pastor Jamie

It's about Love. Genuine Love. Agape Love. Period.

 Matthew 22:34-46 is the lectionary text for Sunday, October 25th.

It was 1980 when I started being politically minded.  Jimmy Carter was running for his second term and had faced a lot of hardships as President.  He was a good, decent and truly generously loving man.  He was genuine in his love for country and humanity.  He was being bashed by the Reagan campaign over gas shortages, Iran hostages and other recession-oriented issues.  It was a volatile time, and Reagan and his cronies threw fuel on the flames in order to get elected.  I was completely unaware, as were most Americans, that Reagan had promised arms to Iran in exchange for a delay in the freeing of the hostages, denying Carter the fruits of his diligent labors and thus a second term.  On his inauguration day, being a dramatic actor (OK, having played co-star to a chimp for a few movies), Reagan stole the election at the expense of the hostages and the truth, for dramatic effect.  After that, Reagan changed government toward oligarchy by appointing agency and ministry heads who represented corporations.  The age of blatant empire values in America had come.  Greed was good, lust for Power was justified and desire for Status was lifted up as the new, normal American values.  He claimed to love America through his hokey, grandfatherly and wholesome veneer.  He was anything but genuine.

I also had no idea that Jerry Falwell and the "moral majority", with their emphasis on purity and holiness, did not form out of a deep love for all life as sacred (mostly fetal life) and thus in opposition to abortion, but out of a desire to keep their schools segregated.  They claimed morality, but behind the scenes worked on the values of very immoral racism, homophobia and misogyny.  They claimed morality, but worked to further the immorality of greed, hatred and intolerance, lust for power over others and desire for status above others.  They were anything but genuine.

I call it our Desolating Sacrilege, when the political and religious "right" conspired to have power over the people, impose their will and ways on the people and destroy Christianity in America along with her Democracy.  Clearly they were successful, partly due to the intentional, systematic and sustained efforts of Newt Gingrich, the Bush's, Limbaugh, Beck, Pat Robertson and others.  

It was during this time that this passage from Matthew 22 took on new meaning for me, partly because I heard it mentioned by Carter in the context of our society and our relationship with others in the world, and partly because I saw it being LIVED by Carter in government, and the striving to live it in economics as a faithful way to live in Jesus.  I started applying Agape Love to every aspect of life, even before my "born from above" experience in 1995.  I have grieved the loss of sanity, morality, civility, justice, equity, inclusivity, equality in increments since then.  I have grown in the conviction that Agape Love and Grace are the imperatives God gives us for the living of these days in this part of the Kingdom, here and now.

The legalists will look for loopholes in the law (see Luke's version in 10:25-37).  Fundamentalists do that.  They will find exceptions for themselves in morality while abusing others for a perceived lack thereof within them.  The Temple Cult Leaders of Jesus' time were like that.  Jesus addressed it often.  Claiming (self) righteousness, they do not follow Jesus, Jesus' teachings, commands or examples, and do not therefore walk in Jesus' Way.

We are currently in a national, moral, ecclesiastical, political, economic and pandemic crisis because of their steady work since 1981.  We live under empire values and practice American Civil Religion instead of Democracy or Christianity, because of their intentional, systematic and sustained efforts.  Their unfaithful devotion to the unholy trinity of greed, lust for power and desire for status has driven them to strive for a fascist oligarchy disguised as American-style Theocracy.  It is not faithful to Jesus. 

If we want to follow Jesus, we must love God with Agape Love - active commitment on behalf of the other.  We must love God for God's sake, actively committing our lives to pleasing and obeying God, as we have been shown by the Jesus of the Gospels, who has all authority in our lives as children of God.

If we want to follow Jesus, we must love Neighbor as we love ourselves with Agape Love.  We must actively commit to the well-being, completeness and wholeness (Shalom) of our Neighbor, who Jesus defines as stranger, enemy and the most vulnerable among us (again, see Luke 10).  Loving Neighbor as self means that we no more want harm or lack to come to neighbor than we want that for ourselves - that we in fact want Shalom for our Neighbor as much as we want that for ourselves.  Jesus taught this.  Jesus commanded this.  Jesus modeled this.  If we are to be followers of Jesus, we must live this.

The time for lip service, for serving two masters, for duplicitous words and practices is over if we want to survive.  Not all who claim the name are faithful followers of Jesus.  American Civil Religion is not Christianity.  The "moral majority" was not a majority in America and was certainly not based on any morality that resembled what Jesus taught, commanded and modeled for us.  The religious right is wrong.  The political right is wrong.  If Jesus is Lord of your life, then living what Jesus taught, commanded and modeled for us in how to live in this part of God's Kingdom here and now is the only faithful way.  

It's all about Love, genuine Love, Agape Love.  Period.

Incidentally, Jimmy Carter is still living his faith and citizenship in truly genuinely (Agape) loving ways.  I wonder how life would be different for us now had he not been cheated out of a second term. 

Pastor Jamie

To whom do YOU belong?

 Matthew 22:15-22 is the lectionary text for Sunday, October 18th.

They gave Him a question to test Him and trick Jesus into verbally being disloyal to empire and the emperor or to God.  He gave them a trick answer.

Graven images were anathema to faithful believers.  Jesus was being set up by the Pharisees to either be disloyal to God or to Caesar.  Either way, they would try to entrap Him and hasten His demise.

Meanwhile, the Pharisees, Sadducees, Chief Priests, Scribes and Elders benefitted from the lucrative trade of changing Roman coins into Shekels in the Temple, so that faithful believers could make their offerings without being unfaithful to God.  They exploited and cheated the people for their own personal gain.  It did not matter that the coins were kosher in the Temple.  Their real devotion was to the empire and emperor on the "real" money.  Jesus had already dealt with them in Chapter 21 of Matthew.  That is why Jesus called them hypocrites.

The point is this.  It all belongs to God.  If you are a faithful believer, it ALL belongs to God.  Money, government, economics, social engagement, worship, work, family, church, community, marriage, parenting, sex, education, healthcare, employment, the environment, politics, public safety, how you handle Covid19 - ALL of it belongs to God.  We are either faithful in everything or we are not faithful.  We are faithful in these things or not.  

And how are we faithful?  Not by giving our lip service, piety, rituals, tithes, worship and praise to God while giving everything else to empire.  No.  That is the stuff of hypocrites.

We are faithful by applying what Jesus taught, commanded and modeled for us in the living of Agape Love and Grace to every aspect of life, in every arena of life.  We are faithful when we work toward the Shalom of all around us (completeness, wholeness and well-being).  Are you using what God has given you in Agape Love for God and Neighbor?  The creation, are you honoring and preserving this gift of God?  Are you aligning yourself with those who most exhibit Kingdom values in Politics and Economics?  Are you participating in the world around you in Agape Love and Grace?  If you are trying to give lip service by saying, "Amen" to the Good News of Jesus, while living the values of Greed, lust for Power and desire for Status, you are not.  If you are about getting what you can for yourself to the neglect of others around you, by the chosen ignorance to their plight or at their expense, you are not being faithful.  If you are actively committed to the well-being of others around you, then you are following Jesus.

Give to empire what belongs to empire - NOTHING.  Fight for a Democracy in this nation, vote for those who will strive to establish it, and then use your vote to make sure your tax dollars go to preserving and sustaining the well-being of others around you in the nation and the world.  Fascist Oligarchy is evil.  It is empire.  Social Democracy is the closest political and economic system to Kingdom values that exists in the world today.  Laissez-faire Capitalism is the furthest from it, is of empire and is evil by its nature.  It is based on the empire values of Greed, lust for Power and desire for Status, and not on Agape Love or Grace.  Vote for humanity, for civility, for the environment, for justice, for peace, for equity and equality.  Do work that does not mean gain for you at the expense of others.  Vote not only for your own interests, but for the interest of others, ALL others, and especially the most vulnerable.  That is the Agape way.  End Empire.  That is Jesus' Good News way to be in the world, this part of God's Kingdom, here and now.

Give to God what belongs to God - EVERYTHING.  Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength by loving your Neighbor as yourself, in every aspect of your life.

We cannot serve two masters.  (I read that somewhere.)

It is a choice.  It is YOUR choice.  Put down your money, take your choice and live with it.

The question is -

         Will you be a person of the Good News of Jesus in this part of the Kingdom, here and now?

         or...

         Will you be a person of the Bad News of Empire, and walk away from the Kingdom?

Pastor Jamie

Coming to the Banquet

 Matthew 22:1-14 is the lectionary text for next Sunday, October 11.

The King is always God, and of course Jesus is the Son.  A wedding banquet?  Hmmm... I am of the mind that, while speculation may be fun at times, there are vital lessons to be learned for life in focusing on what is actually the center of the message.  

People are invited to be in the Kingdom of God, the banquet, the feast that has no time or place, for all time and in all places - the Kingdom lived here and now, as well as there, then.

Some folk got no use for it, even belittle the idea.  Others are too busy making money.  Some are even hostile toward the Kingdom and its values, in light of empire and what they would lose by living Kingdom values, so they mistreat the messengers of Kingdom values by ignoring, silencing or even killing them.  Labels such as "communist" and "socialist" come in very handy in 'muriKKKa's iteration of empire, but it is the same as it has been for generations and two thousand years.  The Kingdom values of Agape Love, Grace, Community and Shalom for all are not convenient for the devotees of empire and its values of greed, lust for power and desire for status.  

So, Jesus in Matthew is signaling to those who have been invited, the religious leaders, civic leaders and others who have professed to be Kingdom people, that now those who will respond will look differently from the traditional folk who have been marginally a part of the Kingdom, both the good and the bad.  They are ALL invited.

And the banquet, the Kingdom is filled with guests.

The next part is tricky, and has been used for every manner of manipulation, particularly about what people wear to church.  I believe it is much deeper than that.  My understanding is that hosts provided wedding garments for those who had none in that time and place.  That may be a myth or a true custom of the time.  

Regardless, I believe it is about being clothed in the righteousness of the Christ.  I believe that we are covered by the redemption of Jesus by Grace in the Kingdom.  I believe that coming wrongly attired to the Kingdom means trying to participate in the Kingdom and its values while donning the facade of opulent wealth, the demeanor of power over others and air of superiority in status above others - which are not Kingdom values.  I believe it is the white-washed tomb syndrome of those who believe that they can be clothed in their OWN righteousness.  To come to this banquet, the feast that has no end, we must come right - humble, equal, valuing equity and generous, aware of our need for Grace and Agape Love and willing to live it with others.

The consequences suffered for not coming are dire.  The consequences from coming wrong are devastating.

Refusing to live the Agape Love and Grace of God in Jesus has dire consequences for those in the world around us.  To live in the Kingdom necessarily means giving up the falsehoods and values of empire.  When we come right, it is truly Good News.  We feast for eternity, basking in the Agape and Grace of God with one another.  We know what is true, what is uplifting and life-affirming.  We know what is joyous and gracious and loving.  We know Shalom in the Kingdom, because ALL know Shalom.

Come to the banquet which is the Kingdom of God, here and now.  Come, clothed in Christ's righteousness, by Grace, which is a sufficient covering- indeed, the only appropriate attire.  Come and live God's Will being done on earth as in heaven.  Come to the feast which is lived out now, and has no end.

Pastor Jamie