Luke 13:31-35 for March 17
Herod was corrupt and wanted Jesus dead.
All the power of the oppressive Roman empire was threatened by what Jesus represented.
The Temple Cult leaders were in collusion with Herod and Rome, and benefitted from their corrupt practices that went against the very faith they represented. Jesus was also a threat to them and they wanted Him gone.
What an environment in which to share the Good News!
Political corruption was rampant along with religious collusion for profit, and the people were victimized through abuses of power by their political leaders and abuses of false teaching by their religious leaders. Sound familiar yet?
And Jesus would not back down. Jesus stayed in their faces and kept putting His message of justice, love and shalom out in the world as an alternative - as Kingdom values in the face of empire values. God's children were being hurt by this system of oppression and Jesus' message was to be transformative in their lives.
It was despair or disgust that brought the harsh and pained words over Jerusalem by Jesus, according to the writer of Luke. It was despair that God's people in God's holy city would turn away from God's Will and reject Jesus' Good News as an expression of it, repeatedly. It was disgust that they would follow the corrupt practices and teach their children the same by their example, rather than turn to God and God's Kingdom values as shared by Jesus. It was a painful expression of futility with a recognition that they were left to their own devices, and that because of it the children of God would continue to be exploited, oppressed and occupied. It was the painful acknowledgement that they were stubbornly determined to go with the flow and get whatever little perks they could while minimizing their oppression as much as possible, rather than adopt Kingdom values, resist living those of empire and establish shalom (completeness, wholeness, well-being) for all people.
Jesus would not be back in Jerusalem until His triumphal entry, according to Luke. Jesus would go and reach out with God's Good News to others because the people of the established faith had rejected the Good News out of fear, confusion or their own corruption. They lived under empire and participated in empire values in how they lived, rather than resist and live the values of the Kingdom of God.
Just being a child of Abraham does not make one above the law of God, of Jesus.
The political leaders were brutal with the people in the land and God was not pleased.
The religious leaders were blind to their corruption and deaf to the cries of God's children.
What would bring a people to profess a faith in God and then with their words and actions go against the very teachings of that faith?
What would bring a people to claim God in name only but ignore the teachings of God?
What would bring a people to dramatically twist the Word so that it justifies the way they live values other than those of their God?
Love of wealth?
Lust for power?
Desire for status in society?
What does that do to their relationship with God?
To their individual and collective soul?
To their children as they witness their inconsistencies?
How sad is that, to walk away from God for a few perks?
To reject God for the following of corrupt, unjust, hateful and greedy values for oneself?
To participate in and promote the empire values that run contrary to God's values and that had destroyed the shalom of so many for so long?
It brings despair.
It brings disgust.
It brings about the death of the soul.
That would be very sad indeed, especially for those who profess to be people of God and followers of Jesus! Can you imagine?
Pastor Jamie
Sunday, March 10, 2019
Sunday, March 3, 2019
The temptations have always been the same
Luke 4:1-13 for March 10, 2019
The writer of Luke recognized that Jesus was tempted to do these things.
Jesus identifies with humanity throughout His life as we have it in the Gospels. Jesus took on humanity and experienced it fully according to the Gospel writers, and here the Gospel writer wants us to know that Jesus understands temptation from first hand experience.
Jesus was tempted to break the fast, gratifying his flesh instead of remaining focused on spiritual discipline, to be sure.
But beyond that, Jesus was tempted to use His supernatural power to gratify Himself, to prove how much power He had and what status He held as Son of God.
We are tempted to do much the same thing. As children of God, we often hear other people of faith boast about all that God has done for them or will do for them, supernaturally. Proving that we are favored children of God can be a heady thing. It puffs us up with pride and portrays us as people of a certain status among others of faith. It also sends us on a path of seeking status (we call it glory) for ourselves rather than walking humbly with our Lord. If we can claim some supernatural intervention, a miracle perhaps in our lives it gives us even more status as God's child and recipient of glory.
The Roman empire was all about status, even godlike status among its elites. They claimed divine connections and certainly milked their status as much as they could. The Jesus of the Gospels taught and commanded humility and a trusting relationship with God based on the belief that enough is enough and that what God has already provided is tremendous.
Jesus did not take the bait. He cleverly shut it down by claiming that what He needed more was the spiritual connection with God, and not the access to power and status (glory) that He was tempted to pursue, and the worldly trinkets that come with them.
Jesus was tempted to gain the whole world for Himself through corrupt allegiances by the selling of His soul. It was all about gaining power and wealth over others in the world.
We are sorely tempted by greed and the lust for power. It drives us in such subtle and cunning ways that we often do not see how inconsistent it is with the Gospel messages of Jesus, believing that we can serve two masters. It is that about which we make our whole lives and we apply the Agape love we are commanded to live to the acquisition of more power and wealth, rather than to our covenant with God and neighbor. Empire values getting all one can for oneself, even at the expense of others. The Kingdom values the Shalom (well-being, wholeness, completeness) of all people in community. Greed and lust for power drive people apart and set up systems that normalize the few having more while the many go without what they need. That is the nature of empire, and it is tempting to believe that it is just a natural way for all humanity to "take care of number one" and "me and mine." It is a part of our nature, to be sure, but Jesus gave us example on how to rise above that baser nature and keep our focus on serving only God, which according to Jesus means loving neighbor as self.
Finally, Jesus was tempted to test God, to see if God was ready and willing to intervene supernaturally on Jesus' behalf. Jesus was tempted to make the covenant with God all about His being served by God, rather than serving God in faith and love.
It happens all the time. We hear folk talking about God being an "on time God," being "blessed and highly favored" and receiving "supernatural" interventions or bounty from God. The focus is then on God as our servant, like a genie in a bottle or a cosmic pump to be primed with our worship, praise and tithes. It is tempting to get into trouble and look for God to rescue us. It is common to hear people talk about how God will correct injustices or climate change supernaturally, so it becomes normal church thinking that we do nothing ourselves on behalf of others, but rather to pray and "wait on the Lord." The problem is not just what we hope to get. It goes much deeper than that. The problem is our focus on self as if we are the center of concern for those around us and expect that same focus from God. The problem is that we are not content to live in loving covenant with God and neighbor, knowing that we live within the love of God, and serve God by living that love for neighbor. We want to receive worldly treasures from God. We want to be elevated according to empire values by God and still be people of the Kingdom of God. The problem is that we want the spiritual benefits of life with God AND the worldly ones. We want to serve two masters, and that is not possible.
Jesus was tempted to do it, too, according to Luke's Gospel, but He remained faithful to loving and serving God with His whole being - heart, soul, mind and strength.
Perhaps THIS Lenten Wilderness is the time of preparation for us in our walk with God in the future. Perhaps we will have opportunity this year to face these same temptations of seeking status, living in greed and lust for power and thus testing God rather than serving God and neighbor. Perhaps in facing them this year we will come to a greater understanding of the nature of the temptations and the damage they cause if we give in to them - damage to our relationship with God and neighbor, damage to soul and community and the world - and that this year we will make strides in saying, "No" to them and "Yes" to faithful Agape for God and neighbor and thus service to them in how we live our lives. This may be the year we "do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with (your) God." This may be the year we walk in Jesus' Way of Agape in the world around us.
With you in the striving to walk in The Way...
Pastor Jamie
The writer of Luke recognized that Jesus was tempted to do these things.
Jesus identifies with humanity throughout His life as we have it in the Gospels. Jesus took on humanity and experienced it fully according to the Gospel writers, and here the Gospel writer wants us to know that Jesus understands temptation from first hand experience.
Jesus was tempted to break the fast, gratifying his flesh instead of remaining focused on spiritual discipline, to be sure.
But beyond that, Jesus was tempted to use His supernatural power to gratify Himself, to prove how much power He had and what status He held as Son of God.
We are tempted to do much the same thing. As children of God, we often hear other people of faith boast about all that God has done for them or will do for them, supernaturally. Proving that we are favored children of God can be a heady thing. It puffs us up with pride and portrays us as people of a certain status among others of faith. It also sends us on a path of seeking status (we call it glory) for ourselves rather than walking humbly with our Lord. If we can claim some supernatural intervention, a miracle perhaps in our lives it gives us even more status as God's child and recipient of glory.
The Roman empire was all about status, even godlike status among its elites. They claimed divine connections and certainly milked their status as much as they could. The Jesus of the Gospels taught and commanded humility and a trusting relationship with God based on the belief that enough is enough and that what God has already provided is tremendous.
Jesus did not take the bait. He cleverly shut it down by claiming that what He needed more was the spiritual connection with God, and not the access to power and status (glory) that He was tempted to pursue, and the worldly trinkets that come with them.
Jesus was tempted to gain the whole world for Himself through corrupt allegiances by the selling of His soul. It was all about gaining power and wealth over others in the world.
We are sorely tempted by greed and the lust for power. It drives us in such subtle and cunning ways that we often do not see how inconsistent it is with the Gospel messages of Jesus, believing that we can serve two masters. It is that about which we make our whole lives and we apply the Agape love we are commanded to live to the acquisition of more power and wealth, rather than to our covenant with God and neighbor. Empire values getting all one can for oneself, even at the expense of others. The Kingdom values the Shalom (well-being, wholeness, completeness) of all people in community. Greed and lust for power drive people apart and set up systems that normalize the few having more while the many go without what they need. That is the nature of empire, and it is tempting to believe that it is just a natural way for all humanity to "take care of number one" and "me and mine." It is a part of our nature, to be sure, but Jesus gave us example on how to rise above that baser nature and keep our focus on serving only God, which according to Jesus means loving neighbor as self.
Finally, Jesus was tempted to test God, to see if God was ready and willing to intervene supernaturally on Jesus' behalf. Jesus was tempted to make the covenant with God all about His being served by God, rather than serving God in faith and love.
It happens all the time. We hear folk talking about God being an "on time God," being "blessed and highly favored" and receiving "supernatural" interventions or bounty from God. The focus is then on God as our servant, like a genie in a bottle or a cosmic pump to be primed with our worship, praise and tithes. It is tempting to get into trouble and look for God to rescue us. It is common to hear people talk about how God will correct injustices or climate change supernaturally, so it becomes normal church thinking that we do nothing ourselves on behalf of others, but rather to pray and "wait on the Lord." The problem is not just what we hope to get. It goes much deeper than that. The problem is our focus on self as if we are the center of concern for those around us and expect that same focus from God. The problem is that we are not content to live in loving covenant with God and neighbor, knowing that we live within the love of God, and serve God by living that love for neighbor. We want to receive worldly treasures from God. We want to be elevated according to empire values by God and still be people of the Kingdom of God. The problem is that we want the spiritual benefits of life with God AND the worldly ones. We want to serve two masters, and that is not possible.
Jesus was tempted to do it, too, according to Luke's Gospel, but He remained faithful to loving and serving God with His whole being - heart, soul, mind and strength.
Perhaps THIS Lenten Wilderness is the time of preparation for us in our walk with God in the future. Perhaps we will have opportunity this year to face these same temptations of seeking status, living in greed and lust for power and thus testing God rather than serving God and neighbor. Perhaps in facing them this year we will come to a greater understanding of the nature of the temptations and the damage they cause if we give in to them - damage to our relationship with God and neighbor, damage to soul and community and the world - and that this year we will make strides in saying, "No" to them and "Yes" to faithful Agape for God and neighbor and thus service to them in how we live our lives. This may be the year we "do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with (your) God." This may be the year we walk in Jesus' Way of Agape in the world around us.
With you in the striving to walk in The Way...
Pastor Jamie
Friday, March 1, 2019
Like Jesus, like Moses and Elijah
Listen to HIM! Luke 9:28-36
Jesus is fulfiller of Law and Prophets.
Jesus IS Moses and Elijah in the New Covenant.
Listen to HIM!
What Jesus taught, commanded and modeled as life in the Kingdom of God.
Listen to HIM!
The Liberator (from sin and death), like Moses.
The Agitator (of empire and those in corrupt power and wealth), like Elijah.
Listen to HIM!
Imitate HIM.
Follow HIM.
That was a new message for them.
It must have been quite a sight, quite an enlightenment, quite a moment.
Passing the mantle of Law and Prophets to Jesus with God's voice commanding them (and us)
to listen to Jesus now AS God's fulfillment in Covenant.
And don't give into the temptation to make this about worship and praise, adoration alone.
This is about BEING Liberator and Agitator.
Can't stay up on that mountain and treat this like it was JUST a moment.
It was a CALL, a COMMAND to FOLLOW Jesus, who came down from that mountain
and into the lives of people who NEEDED the Liberator and Agitator to do the job at hand.
We ain't Jesus.
The best we can do is be like Jesus, imitate Jesus and follow Jesus.
Worship, Praise and Adoration are NOT the call of the Gospel.
The call of the Gospel is to follow Jesus - to listen to HIM!
We are called to be like Jesus, and being like Jesus, like Moses and Elijah.
We are also called to Liberate and Agitate as followers of the Fulfiller of Law and Prophets.
Lent is not a mountaintop experience. It is a WILDERNESS experience. This is the Sunday we prepare for that time in the wilderness, keeping in front of us the mission Jesus/God gives us.
It is time to prepare for the work in the plain, where the people are.
It is time to FOLLOW Jesus in what Jesus taught, commanded and lived in the world.
It is time to listen to HIM! To submit to Jesus as Lord of our lives.
Otherwise, it is time to listen to Jesus say to us, "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I tell you?" Luke 6:39-49 (46)
Liberate those in bondage, under oppression.
Agitate the powers of empire who promote injustice, inequity and hatred/division.
Follow Jesus.
Listen to HIM!
With you on THE WAY...
Pastor Jamie
Jesus is fulfiller of Law and Prophets.
Jesus IS Moses and Elijah in the New Covenant.
Listen to HIM!
What Jesus taught, commanded and modeled as life in the Kingdom of God.
Listen to HIM!
The Liberator (from sin and death), like Moses.
The Agitator (of empire and those in corrupt power and wealth), like Elijah.
Listen to HIM!
Imitate HIM.
Follow HIM.
That was a new message for them.
It must have been quite a sight, quite an enlightenment, quite a moment.
Passing the mantle of Law and Prophets to Jesus with God's voice commanding them (and us)
to listen to Jesus now AS God's fulfillment in Covenant.
And don't give into the temptation to make this about worship and praise, adoration alone.
This is about BEING Liberator and Agitator.
Can't stay up on that mountain and treat this like it was JUST a moment.
It was a CALL, a COMMAND to FOLLOW Jesus, who came down from that mountain
and into the lives of people who NEEDED the Liberator and Agitator to do the job at hand.
We ain't Jesus.
The best we can do is be like Jesus, imitate Jesus and follow Jesus.
Worship, Praise and Adoration are NOT the call of the Gospel.
The call of the Gospel is to follow Jesus - to listen to HIM!
We are called to be like Jesus, and being like Jesus, like Moses and Elijah.
We are also called to Liberate and Agitate as followers of the Fulfiller of Law and Prophets.
Lent is not a mountaintop experience. It is a WILDERNESS experience. This is the Sunday we prepare for that time in the wilderness, keeping in front of us the mission Jesus/God gives us.
It is time to prepare for the work in the plain, where the people are.
It is time to FOLLOW Jesus in what Jesus taught, commanded and lived in the world.
It is time to listen to HIM! To submit to Jesus as Lord of our lives.
Otherwise, it is time to listen to Jesus say to us, "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I tell you?" Luke 6:39-49 (46)
Liberate those in bondage, under oppression.
Agitate the powers of empire who promote injustice, inequity and hatred/division.
Follow Jesus.
Listen to HIM!
With you on THE WAY...
Pastor Jamie
Sunday, February 24, 2019
Loving when it's hard; the measure you give
Luke 6:27-38
Active commitment on behalf of the other, when the other is an enemy who hates you is challenging.
But that is the test of our living of Agape Love. When we only commit to those who please us, care for us and benefit us we are living empire rules of quid pro quo and not the Kingdom values of unconditional love.
If you believe at all in Grace, then you must be gracious. If you believe at all in God's mercy for you, then you must be merciful to others, regardless of their merit or deserving, status or worthiness. If you want to receive mercy and Grace, you must be willing to be merciful and gracious with others.
It's good karma. The measure you give will be the measure you get back. While some regard this teaching as a reason to tithe in the hopes that their cosmic ATM machine will pay off, a priming of the supernatural spiritual pump, it clearly has nothing to do with that. The context here is around Forgiveness and Judgment.
If you judge others, you will be judged. If you refuse to forgive, you will not be forgiven. Elsewhere we read and have said the words, "forgive us our trespasses AS WE forgive those who trespass against us." "Do not judge" is an imperative - a command. What we give in forgiveness and/or in judgment we will receive, "A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap..."
What are we putting out in the world around us - in the world in which we live?
Whatever it is that we put out there creates that environment in which we must live.
If we want to live in a gracious, merciful place, we must put grace and mercy out there.
It ain't easy. It is much better for us and for all around us, however, when we live that out there.
Agape Love is difficult, especially because we've been taught our whole lives to live within empire values based on status, merit and quid pro quo interactions in society. Empire values are designed to benefit the few over the many and especially to divide some who believe themselves better than others from all the rest. It breeds division, poverty, injustice, oppression and usually violence. It causes people, families, communities and societies to be torn apart. Agape Love wipes out the false and divisive critera and demands equality, equitable treatment and gracious mercy in how we live with one another. It is a better way. It is THE WAY of Jesus.
Agape Love is sustainable. It promotes life because it promotes community - life together. It means that we would not more want harm to come to the other than we would want harm to come to ourselves. It means that all receive the best of the others around them because all are giving their best to one another, regardless of differences. Politically, economically, ecclesiastically and socially we have been conditioned for many years (especially since 1981) to embrace empire values in our nation, but the Good News of Jesus offered an alternative in a very similar context under the oppression of Rome. That alternative is still viable if we would only embrace it as OUR WAY. It is the only way for us to have a future as a people and a world.
To follow Jesus means that we live what Jesus taught, commanded and modeled for us, as we have that witnessed in the Gospels. Jesus' Way means living Agape Love with one another, even when it's hard. It also calls us to the accountability and the hope that "the measure you give is the measure you will get back."
What do you want to receive from others? Put THAT out in the world around you for them. That alone sustains life, and alone is our salvation.
Pastor Jamie
Active commitment on behalf of the other, when the other is an enemy who hates you is challenging.
But that is the test of our living of Agape Love. When we only commit to those who please us, care for us and benefit us we are living empire rules of quid pro quo and not the Kingdom values of unconditional love.
If you believe at all in Grace, then you must be gracious. If you believe at all in God's mercy for you, then you must be merciful to others, regardless of their merit or deserving, status or worthiness. If you want to receive mercy and Grace, you must be willing to be merciful and gracious with others.
It's good karma. The measure you give will be the measure you get back. While some regard this teaching as a reason to tithe in the hopes that their cosmic ATM machine will pay off, a priming of the supernatural spiritual pump, it clearly has nothing to do with that. The context here is around Forgiveness and Judgment.
If you judge others, you will be judged. If you refuse to forgive, you will not be forgiven. Elsewhere we read and have said the words, "forgive us our trespasses AS WE forgive those who trespass against us." "Do not judge" is an imperative - a command. What we give in forgiveness and/or in judgment we will receive, "A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap..."
What are we putting out in the world around us - in the world in which we live?
Whatever it is that we put out there creates that environment in which we must live.
If we want to live in a gracious, merciful place, we must put grace and mercy out there.
It ain't easy. It is much better for us and for all around us, however, when we live that out there.
Agape Love is difficult, especially because we've been taught our whole lives to live within empire values based on status, merit and quid pro quo interactions in society. Empire values are designed to benefit the few over the many and especially to divide some who believe themselves better than others from all the rest. It breeds division, poverty, injustice, oppression and usually violence. It causes people, families, communities and societies to be torn apart. Agape Love wipes out the false and divisive critera and demands equality, equitable treatment and gracious mercy in how we live with one another. It is a better way. It is THE WAY of Jesus.
Agape Love is sustainable. It promotes life because it promotes community - life together. It means that we would not more want harm to come to the other than we would want harm to come to ourselves. It means that all receive the best of the others around them because all are giving their best to one another, regardless of differences. Politically, economically, ecclesiastically and socially we have been conditioned for many years (especially since 1981) to embrace empire values in our nation, but the Good News of Jesus offered an alternative in a very similar context under the oppression of Rome. That alternative is still viable if we would only embrace it as OUR WAY. It is the only way for us to have a future as a people and a world.
To follow Jesus means that we live what Jesus taught, commanded and modeled for us, as we have that witnessed in the Gospels. Jesus' Way means living Agape Love with one another, even when it's hard. It also calls us to the accountability and the hope that "the measure you give is the measure you will get back."
What do you want to receive from others? Put THAT out in the world around you for them. That alone sustains life, and alone is our salvation.
Pastor Jamie
Sunday, February 17, 2019
"When the glory comes, it'll be ours..."
Thank you, John Legend.
The author of Luke's Gospel gave me a tremendous gift. Rather than "spiritualize" and therefore obfuscate the transformation to come when God's Will IS done on earth as in heaven, the author of Luke/Acts put it plainly (6:17-26) in a vision of how God will turn around the injustices suffered under empire.
Being poor causes one to be poor in spirit. Not having what you need to sustain your life while seeing all around you the obscene wealth of others and how the 1% live their oppulent lifestyles multiplies one's lack of well-being. God says that the poor are blessed in the Kingdom and that it will be turned around. Those who are poor now will inherit the Kingdom and those who are wealthy now have already received all that they will. The redistribution will come and the systems that rewarded the ruthlessly greedy will be torn apart.
Make no mistake - those who are hungry now hunger and thirst for righteousness. Watching their children remain hungry, even starve while others in the world throw away food and hoard it until it rots leads one to cry out for righteousness to be restored in the world. Empire provides more for the already bloated and demands more of those who are already starving so that they may have it. God's will has no room for that, and in Luke Jesus promises that those hungry now will be filled and those who are full now will know the hunger they have suffered under empire.
The tears of God's children come because they mourn the losses they have suffered of dignity, equality, justice and hope. Those who have had it all stripped away weep because they are stuck in their current state as those who have put them in it laugh and smugly go through life. But those laughing now under empire's insidious inequities will later weep for all that they have lost, but more- for the deficits in their souls that led them to believe they were entitled to be privileged above others who are children of God.
The marginalized, scapegoated, disenfranchised who are recipients of ethnocentrism, classism, racism, homophobia, misogyny, xenophobia, religiophobia and nationalism are loved by God and will receive from the Kingdom of God the restoration of their respect and equality. They will have equitable treatment in the Kingdom as it comes. Those who are privileged now for no real reason, but are given merit only for what they look like, who they love, what faith they practice or where they were born or what they were born into, and who promote and promulgate the arbitrary distinctions that benefit themselves over others will be counted among the reprobates of the past.
Yes, PLEASE!
Enough of this insanity that divides!
Turn it around, Lord! In fact, turn it on its head!
Re-distribute the wealth so that all have enough!
End the hatreds that insanely hurt many of your children!
Reverse the elitist norms that have been created to benefit the unscrupulous, ruthless few over the rest of the world!
THY KINGDOM COME. THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IN HEAVEN.
PLEASE!
NOW!
How can I help?
Pastor Jamie
The author of Luke's Gospel gave me a tremendous gift. Rather than "spiritualize" and therefore obfuscate the transformation to come when God's Will IS done on earth as in heaven, the author of Luke/Acts put it plainly (6:17-26) in a vision of how God will turn around the injustices suffered under empire.
Being poor causes one to be poor in spirit. Not having what you need to sustain your life while seeing all around you the obscene wealth of others and how the 1% live their oppulent lifestyles multiplies one's lack of well-being. God says that the poor are blessed in the Kingdom and that it will be turned around. Those who are poor now will inherit the Kingdom and those who are wealthy now have already received all that they will. The redistribution will come and the systems that rewarded the ruthlessly greedy will be torn apart.
Make no mistake - those who are hungry now hunger and thirst for righteousness. Watching their children remain hungry, even starve while others in the world throw away food and hoard it until it rots leads one to cry out for righteousness to be restored in the world. Empire provides more for the already bloated and demands more of those who are already starving so that they may have it. God's will has no room for that, and in Luke Jesus promises that those hungry now will be filled and those who are full now will know the hunger they have suffered under empire.
The tears of God's children come because they mourn the losses they have suffered of dignity, equality, justice and hope. Those who have had it all stripped away weep because they are stuck in their current state as those who have put them in it laugh and smugly go through life. But those laughing now under empire's insidious inequities will later weep for all that they have lost, but more- for the deficits in their souls that led them to believe they were entitled to be privileged above others who are children of God.
The marginalized, scapegoated, disenfranchised who are recipients of ethnocentrism, classism, racism, homophobia, misogyny, xenophobia, religiophobia and nationalism are loved by God and will receive from the Kingdom of God the restoration of their respect and equality. They will have equitable treatment in the Kingdom as it comes. Those who are privileged now for no real reason, but are given merit only for what they look like, who they love, what faith they practice or where they were born or what they were born into, and who promote and promulgate the arbitrary distinctions that benefit themselves over others will be counted among the reprobates of the past.
Yes, PLEASE!
Enough of this insanity that divides!
Turn it around, Lord! In fact, turn it on its head!
Re-distribute the wealth so that all have enough!
End the hatreds that insanely hurt many of your children!
Reverse the elitist norms that have been created to benefit the unscrupulous, ruthless few over the rest of the world!
THY KINGDOM COME. THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IN HEAVEN.
PLEASE!
NOW!
How can I help?
Pastor Jamie
Sunday, February 10, 2019
With Whom and For What will YOU Stand?
It takes effort.
It's ok to have feelings around things, events, conditions, injustices or tragedies, but of what good is that if a person does nothing through which to make a positive effect?
It takes effort.
But if we are going to make effort to affect positive change, we must be clear regarding our identification with and commitment for those involved.
So, with whom and for what will you stand?
With regard to economic injustice and the disparities in income and opportunity it represents, with whom will you stand? Will you stand for those who have the most and work to hold onto much more than they need and obtain even more, or with those who are left with little or nothing, and certainly not enough in order to live well or pursue their hopes and dreams?
With regard to racial injustice and the inequities suffered by our sisters and brothers of other than majority of power ethnicities, with whom will you stand? Will you stand for everyone living free of acts of hatred, discrimination and systemic prejudice or will you stand for those who have and want to have the freedom to act on their bigotries?
With regard to injustices to women in the world and the holding down, back and out, even the violence against and legislative oppression of women regarding their ability to make choices for themselves and get equal employment and pay for equal work, with whom will you stand? Will you stand with those who believe misogyny is normative and therefore perfectly fine, or with those who recognize that injustice against them affects all of us?
With regard to the intolerance of those who practice non-Christian faiths or no faith, with whom will you stand? Will you stand for those who believe all should be coerced into practicing one faith or recognizing only one faith as the only legitimate faith, even legislating that in our land, or with those whose spiritual unity in difference is not only not intolerant but is rather celebratory of different faith and non-faith expressions?
With regard to the right of a person to love who they love and have equal rights as loving adults in our society, with whom will you stand? Will you stand with those who are "straight and narrow" regarding loving norms and practices or with those who understand and accept that though they do not understand another's orientation, yet still that orientation is normal and valid for them?
I KNOW you have an opinion on these issues and the people they represent.
I KNOW you do!
I would suggest that your words and actions reflect with whom you stand in the world. I would further suggest that your silence reflects that as well.
Standing is acting on behalf of people who reflect a perspective and commitment.
Speaking, writing, demonstrating is action on behalf of other people and oneself, whether for a whole ideology or one issue.
Sitting has a message of its own. Silence speaks volumes about the person sitting within it.
Not standing or speaking and not addressing actively the issues or those affected by them is an action
reflecting one's commitment or lack of commitment to others around her/him/them.
The Jesus of the Gospels took sides. Jesus, according to the Gospel writers, stood with those most vulnerable, the downtrodden and powerless. Jesus stood up to the elite, the powerful, the ruthlessly wealthy and intolerant of empire. Jesus applied Agape Love to the world - active commitment on behalf of the well-being of the other, even stranger or enemy and especially the most vulnerable.
Do you stand with Jesus and for those who Jesus loves? Do you stand for their well-being?
If not with Jesus and for Agape Love, with whom DO you stand and for what?
Pastor Jamie
It's ok to have feelings around things, events, conditions, injustices or tragedies, but of what good is that if a person does nothing through which to make a positive effect?
It takes effort.
But if we are going to make effort to affect positive change, we must be clear regarding our identification with and commitment for those involved.
So, with whom and for what will you stand?
With regard to economic injustice and the disparities in income and opportunity it represents, with whom will you stand? Will you stand for those who have the most and work to hold onto much more than they need and obtain even more, or with those who are left with little or nothing, and certainly not enough in order to live well or pursue their hopes and dreams?
With regard to racial injustice and the inequities suffered by our sisters and brothers of other than majority of power ethnicities, with whom will you stand? Will you stand for everyone living free of acts of hatred, discrimination and systemic prejudice or will you stand for those who have and want to have the freedom to act on their bigotries?
With regard to injustices to women in the world and the holding down, back and out, even the violence against and legislative oppression of women regarding their ability to make choices for themselves and get equal employment and pay for equal work, with whom will you stand? Will you stand with those who believe misogyny is normative and therefore perfectly fine, or with those who recognize that injustice against them affects all of us?
With regard to the intolerance of those who practice non-Christian faiths or no faith, with whom will you stand? Will you stand for those who believe all should be coerced into practicing one faith or recognizing only one faith as the only legitimate faith, even legislating that in our land, or with those whose spiritual unity in difference is not only not intolerant but is rather celebratory of different faith and non-faith expressions?
With regard to the right of a person to love who they love and have equal rights as loving adults in our society, with whom will you stand? Will you stand with those who are "straight and narrow" regarding loving norms and practices or with those who understand and accept that though they do not understand another's orientation, yet still that orientation is normal and valid for them?
I KNOW you have an opinion on these issues and the people they represent.
I KNOW you do!
I would suggest that your words and actions reflect with whom you stand in the world. I would further suggest that your silence reflects that as well.
Standing is acting on behalf of people who reflect a perspective and commitment.
Speaking, writing, demonstrating is action on behalf of other people and oneself, whether for a whole ideology or one issue.
Sitting has a message of its own. Silence speaks volumes about the person sitting within it.
Not standing or speaking and not addressing actively the issues or those affected by them is an action
reflecting one's commitment or lack of commitment to others around her/him/them.
The Jesus of the Gospels took sides. Jesus, according to the Gospel writers, stood with those most vulnerable, the downtrodden and powerless. Jesus stood up to the elite, the powerful, the ruthlessly wealthy and intolerant of empire. Jesus applied Agape Love to the world - active commitment on behalf of the well-being of the other, even stranger or enemy and especially the most vulnerable.
Do you stand with Jesus and for those who Jesus loves? Do you stand for their well-being?
If not with Jesus and for Agape Love, with whom DO you stand and for what?
Pastor Jamie
Sunday, February 3, 2019
Faith is Love in Action
Faith requires action. We act on our faith. In what do you believe and trust? What is the source of your well-being? What provides your standard for living your life? Within what do you "live and move and have (your) being"?
My faith is in Jesus and His Good News as a better way in which to live in THIS PART of God's Kingdom, here and now. I believe it is God's Will for humanity. I believe living Jesus' taught, commanded and modeled Agape Love is that Good News because it transforms lives and the life of community and ultimately humanity.
Agape Love is active commitment/committed action on behalf of the OTHER, even stranger or enemy (see Luke 10:25-37) and especially the most vulnerable (see Matthew 25:31-46). It is not about feeling, but about DOING. Jesus, fulfiller of the Law and Prophets commands us to live this love for God in active unconditional, self-sacrificing love for Neighbor. We will live Agape Love in the world around us if we believe in Jesus and His Way of Agape Love and trust that it is God's Will for us.
Prayer changes us. It acknowledges our relationship with the one who is immanent but transcendant. It holds us accountable in that relationship and with our neighbors. It transforms our hearts and leads us to actively live Agape Love in the world around us. Prayer is action.
Worship changes us. It centers us in the things of God with our neighbors. It informs, inspires and illuminates our faith. It compels us to go out and live Agape Love in the world around us (if it is true worship). Worship is action.
Study changes us. When it is focused on what Jesus taught, commanded and modeled for us in the Good News, the Word calls, compels and challenges us to lay down those things that have kept us from living in Jesus' Way (thinking, attitudes, prejudices, practices) so that we may live differently in the world around us.
Stewardship is the action of using what God has provided us in Agape Loving ways - our time, our abilities and our possessions selflessly used to exhibit Agape Love and change lives around us in the world.
Agape Love is our Faith in action.
Faith is Agape Love in action.
We will never live in Jesus' Way in the world around us if we do not believe that it is God's Will or trust that it is a better way for us and for those in the world around us.
If we believe that Jesus' is the fulfiller of the Law and Prophets and that Jesus' Good News is a better way for us to live, then we will trust that living that way will benefit ourselves and those around us in the world because it will provide for all Shalom (well-being, completeness, wholeness) and thus peace in the world. Believing that requires that we actively live the Agape Love that Jesus taught, commanded and modeled as we have that in Jesus' Good News for the world, the Gospel witnesses.
It is not about the HAVING of Agape Love, but to the LIVING of Agape Love that we must commit as people of faith in Jesus. Having faith means living it in Agape Love, which is not a feeling but action in commitment to God and Neighbor.
Through the living of Agape Love in Faith lives are transformed. The life of the individual, the lives of those around them, life in community and ultimately life as humanity.
You are putting something out in the world around you. Is it an expression Agape Love?
If you claim to be a person of faith in Jesus, are you putting what Jesus taught, commanded and modeled for us out in the world around you as we have that witnessed in the Gospels?
I somewhat agree with James and the idea that "faith, if it has no works is dead." I believe that faith in Jesus without actions of Agape Love is no faith at all.
Agape Love is Faith in Action.
Faith in Jesus is Agape Love in Action.
We are human beings. Be fully human. Live fully with the other humans around you as an act of Faith out of Agape Love for God.
We are spiritual beings. Be fully spiritual. Apply your faith in God to how you live Agape Love in the world around you.
As people of faith in Jesus, our way of being in the world is the active commitment to the well-being of the other, even stranger and enemy and especially the most vulnerable.
Act accordingly.
Striving with you,
Pastor Jamie
My faith is in Jesus and His Good News as a better way in which to live in THIS PART of God's Kingdom, here and now. I believe it is God's Will for humanity. I believe living Jesus' taught, commanded and modeled Agape Love is that Good News because it transforms lives and the life of community and ultimately humanity.
Agape Love is active commitment/committed action on behalf of the OTHER, even stranger or enemy (see Luke 10:25-37) and especially the most vulnerable (see Matthew 25:31-46). It is not about feeling, but about DOING. Jesus, fulfiller of the Law and Prophets commands us to live this love for God in active unconditional, self-sacrificing love for Neighbor. We will live Agape Love in the world around us if we believe in Jesus and His Way of Agape Love and trust that it is God's Will for us.
Prayer changes us. It acknowledges our relationship with the one who is immanent but transcendant. It holds us accountable in that relationship and with our neighbors. It transforms our hearts and leads us to actively live Agape Love in the world around us. Prayer is action.
Worship changes us. It centers us in the things of God with our neighbors. It informs, inspires and illuminates our faith. It compels us to go out and live Agape Love in the world around us (if it is true worship). Worship is action.
Study changes us. When it is focused on what Jesus taught, commanded and modeled for us in the Good News, the Word calls, compels and challenges us to lay down those things that have kept us from living in Jesus' Way (thinking, attitudes, prejudices, practices) so that we may live differently in the world around us.
Stewardship is the action of using what God has provided us in Agape Loving ways - our time, our abilities and our possessions selflessly used to exhibit Agape Love and change lives around us in the world.
Agape Love is our Faith in action.
Faith is Agape Love in action.
We will never live in Jesus' Way in the world around us if we do not believe that it is God's Will or trust that it is a better way for us and for those in the world around us.
If we believe that Jesus' is the fulfiller of the Law and Prophets and that Jesus' Good News is a better way for us to live, then we will trust that living that way will benefit ourselves and those around us in the world because it will provide for all Shalom (well-being, completeness, wholeness) and thus peace in the world. Believing that requires that we actively live the Agape Love that Jesus taught, commanded and modeled as we have that in Jesus' Good News for the world, the Gospel witnesses.
It is not about the HAVING of Agape Love, but to the LIVING of Agape Love that we must commit as people of faith in Jesus. Having faith means living it in Agape Love, which is not a feeling but action in commitment to God and Neighbor.
Through the living of Agape Love in Faith lives are transformed. The life of the individual, the lives of those around them, life in community and ultimately life as humanity.
You are putting something out in the world around you. Is it an expression Agape Love?
If you claim to be a person of faith in Jesus, are you putting what Jesus taught, commanded and modeled for us out in the world around you as we have that witnessed in the Gospels?
I somewhat agree with James and the idea that "faith, if it has no works is dead." I believe that faith in Jesus without actions of Agape Love is no faith at all.
Agape Love is Faith in Action.
Faith in Jesus is Agape Love in Action.
We are human beings. Be fully human. Live fully with the other humans around you as an act of Faith out of Agape Love for God.
We are spiritual beings. Be fully spiritual. Apply your faith in God to how you live Agape Love in the world around you.
As people of faith in Jesus, our way of being in the world is the active commitment to the well-being of the other, even stranger and enemy and especially the most vulnerable.
Act accordingly.
Striving with you,
Pastor Jamie
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