Jesus - the original family guy

 Mark 10:2-16 is the Gospel lectionary text for Sunday, October 3.

Jesus addressed divorce.  For the record, Jesus said NOTHING about homosexuality or abortion, or practically ANYTHING that have become hot-button issues today for those who profess to follow Jesus, but who use HIS Gospel to divide, take control over others and gain the appearance of faithfulness for themselves while not living the LOVE that Jesus DID COMMAND.

Jesus was tested by the religious leaders, as always.  It was a trap.  They wanted to catch the "libtard" in some awkward sound byte to discredit Him.  Jesus instead schooled them on the intention of God's Law through Moses, and its context because of THEIR hardness of heart.  Jesus gave the Law context and thus discredited the hypocrites.  It seems to me that "libtards" may need to learn that lesson from Jesus for our interactions today.  We must reclaim the Gospel from those who have been twisting and weaponizing it for over 41 years.

Yes, for their hardness of heart, God did allow for divorce - a certificate to be drawn up by the men against their wives.  They were looking for reasons to ditch wives who did not do everything they wanted - to abandon their wives so they could run off with someone else.  Sound familiar?  There are sub-cultures among corporate executives who do this very thing and have been for years - "trading her in on a younger/newer model," like a car.  The trouble is, it left these women without means because of other rules designed to hold them down, back and out in their society.

So, Jesus clarified - if there is infidelity, then divorce may be justified for the man, but God created us male and female (note there is no hierarchy of importance attached to this statement by Jesus), and put us together as ONE flesh.  Would a man rip off his arms because he saw some bigger guns on someone else?  No.  You work with what you have been given.  Women were vulnerable - among the most vulnerable in that society, and under empire.  Jesus provided protection for the most vulnerable against those who would exploit them and throw them away in the society - men. 

And children - Jesus was blessing them.  They are always the most vulnerable.  They have no means of their own and are subject to whatever great or horrible things their parents or guardians dish out.  They have no status in a society based on merit, because they have not earned any yet.  They are of great value in the Kingdom because of their loving, trusting innocence.  The world victimizes them.  Our nation victimizes them.  Christian folk who claim to be "pro-life" victimize them once they are born.  They are the most vulnerable among us, yet it is to them that the Kingdom belongs.  And if we do not learn from them the receptivity to accept the Kingdom of God in trust and love, we will not enter it, according to Jesus.

Not much has changed in the world since Jesus walked among us.  Empire values still corrupt, especially in our nation.  Women and children are still exploited, abused and thrown away.  And the Gospel of Jesus still addresses the inequities and injustices to the most vulnerable, and counters that with Agape Love and Grace.

Jesus values women and children.  Do you?  Do we?

Pastor Jamie

us and them

Mark 9:38-50 is the lectionary Gospel text for next Sunday, September 26.

They wanted to create a division - us vs. them.  Someone was doing something good in Jesus' name but was not among THEIR group, not "one of us."  Jesus shut that down.  Here, unlike in another context of those who are assumed to be "of among us," Jesus said, "Whoever is not against is for us." If they are living the Agape Love of the Kingdom, they are with the program.

Then, Jesus talked about not being a stumbling block to the young.  Do not pollute their minds and hearts with your biases and prejudices.  Let them remain innocent of such contrived differences that make you feel superior to or entitled above someone else.  Do not put your hatreds in their hearts and minds and do not give them an example of judging others, with your unfaithful rationalizations and justifications.  Believe in Jesus and Jesus' Way.  The Kingdom is beyond "you and yours."  Jesus' Way includes, lifts up and loves all.  Teach them that.

In fact, whatever it is within you that causes you to think that way, get rid of it.  It is causing you to sin.  Separate yourself from it, even though you may be VERY attached to it, and even if you believe that it is something you need to survive in the world.  It is better to go through life without it, even hindered in the eyes of the world, of empire, than to lose the real life God provides in Jesus - life in the Kingdom.  Get rid of those things that would keep you from the Kingdom of God in Jesus and Jesus' Way.

Because you will be purified - NOT in the way that the world teaches, or the fundamentalists - the purity you will find is one in motive and in Agape Love - the purity of assuming trust and living a guileless existence, even a purposefully healing existence with those in the world around you.  Lifting others up, advocating for them, working on their behalf, being their power and voice, standing with them and transforming the world in which they live to be more just, equitable and loving.  THAT is the purity taught, commanded and modeled by Jesus.  THAT is Jesus' Way.

There is no us vs. them.  WE are children of God, ALL of us.  Are we going to see that and teach our children that and LIVE our responsibility to one another as sisters and brothers, or are we going to continue to live the insidiously evil values of empire that divide, delude and destroy others?  Will we follow Jesus or empire?  What will it be?

Pastor Jamie 

humility in The Way

 Mark 9:30-37 is the lectionary text for Sunday, September 19

Jesus again told them what it meant for Him to be Messiah - self sacrifice for the good of all.  They were not interested enough in that to ask what it meant.

Instead, they argued about who was the greatest.  Number One.  Champion over the other disciples.  Jesus had a teaching moment, and used it.

It is in empire that status above others is valued.  The Roman iteration of empire thrived on it, was built on it.  Somebody had to feel like they were better than, above, higher than someone else.  Pride, hubris and arrogance drive this kind of thinking - that is empire.

Jesus told them that the greatest in the Kingdom, in His Way, is the one who makes themselves last with regard to the well-being of others.  The first is the last, the last first in Jesus' Kingdom.  Humbling oneself to serve a child.  Caring for "the least", the most vulnerable who most need our care, is the GREATEST thing one can do as a follower of Jesus.

You can recite scripture until you are blue in the face, use it to hurt others, worship without missing a Sunday, tithe, praise Jesus, "save souls" and live the purest, holiest life of anyone around you.  What will make you GREAT in the eyes of Jesus, is how you care for the most vulnerable among us while humbling yourself so as not to get credit for it.

Empire AIN'T the Kingdom of God.  Its values are not God's values as we have been taught, commanded and modeled by Jesus.  Agape Love means lifting others up in humility, and gaining nothing for self while doing it.  

THAT is faithfulness to Jesus.

Pastor Jamie

ashamed

 Mark 8:27-38 is the lectionary text for Sunday, September 12.

Peter confirmed that Jesus is Messiah, but could not get with the idea of redemption and Grace.  Peter could not think in Kingdom terms.  He could only see the human values of long life.

Similarly, Jesus pointed out that to be His follower means leaving the typical worldly values of a self-serving orientation.  It is not about indulging, edifying, glorifying, promoting, serving or even saving self.  It is about losing self for His sake and the sake of the Good News in the world.  For followers of Jesus, it is not about what we get, even heaven, but about losing a life of worldly values and saving a life in Kingdom values now and in heaven.  If we focus on preserving our own lives rather than giving them in service to our Lord and our Lord's children, we will lose life with Him, now and later.  It is Jesus' rebuke of the tempter.   It is Jesus' rebuke of empire values.  It is Jesus' rebuke of those who would claim to follow Him, but who will not go to the Cross with Him.

Prosperity Theology, Church Growth Theology, Personal Salvation Theology, Self-Righteousness through personal purity and holiness Theology are all contrary to the Gospel of Jesus that does not talk about US saving souls, but rather the Holy Spirit doing so.  They are contrary to the Gospel of Jesus that does not talk about even saving ourselves, but in giving ourselves for the sake of others, even following His example, even to the Cross.

It is about sacrifice and finding a new life in the love of others - a life of living Agape Love that is a life worth saving, rather than holding onto worldly (empire) values and walking away sadly from our desire to inherit the Kingdom.

If we are ashamed of the Good News of Jesus because it runs contrary to the American way of life, American Civil Religion, laissez-faire Capitalism and the false, bad theologies that promote them, then Jesus is ashamed of us when He returns.

A pretty clear message, I think.

Deny self, lose the life you have been pursuing according to empire values, and again a life faithful to God - a life centered in the living of Agape Love and Grace.  Do it without shame, unabashedly proud to counter, resist and challenge empire at every turn because the Way of Jesus is a better, more sustainable way for all humanity.  That will save a lot of lives, a lot of souls, even perhaps the soul of our nation.  If not, then... 

Pastor Jamie

even the dogs

 Mark 7:24-37 is the Gospel text for Sunday, September 5.

A gentile, unclean.  A woman, never one of power and not one with whom a Rabbi should be talking.  The marginalized and disenfranchised came to Jesus.  Jesus at first put her in her place, acknowledged the social mores of the time.  Then He shattered them.  She "talked back."  She persisted.  She stood up to Jesus and debated Him, the Rabbi.  She also recognized who Jesus was - a powerful man who could help her daughter.  It worked this time.

Our social mores, religious practices and pieties hurt people.  We set up these precepts of humans as a reflection of our own bigotries, ideologies and false beliefs of superiority.  Jesus knocked them down with His words and actions.  After two thousand years, should not those who claim to follow Jesus also knock down the divisive, derisive, discriminatory and destructive expressions of empire?  Should we who claim Jesus' name not be tearing down political and economic systems and social practices that marginalize and disenfranchise some for the gain of others who are just like us?

Should women not have equal pay for doing the same jobs?  Should they not be represented equally in the government of, by and for the people?  Should they not be able to make their own decisions about their moralities, particularly concerning their own bodies?  Should those of different ethnicities, faiths and sexual orientations not have equality and equitable treatment in our society?  

Should we not be tearing down the systems that promote the greed, lust for power over others, desire for status above others and normalized hatred as a people who claim Jesus?  Yes.  But do we?  No.  We reflect empire, rather than address it with the Gospel.  In fact, we twist the Gospel to suit our empire values.  It is idolatry.  For people who claim devotion to a Lord who reached out to the marginalized and disenfranchised, and who addressed the corruptions of empire in politics and religion, it is at the very least hypocrisy.  

And the demons win because the church in America that claims to be of Jesus, walks away from those whose lives are being destroyed by the powers and principalities that occupy them.  They win because the church in America has become the church of idolatry, hypocrisy and evil forces.  It has become the promoter of empire and its evils in ideology and practice.  Oh, there are some who give lip service to Jesus, but there hearts are far from Him.  There are others who do live loving, generous and faithful lives, but they are often silent about the evils of the systems that hold down, back and out their sisters and brothers.  There are others who do speak, write and demonstrate, but they are marginalized for doing so by the public AND the church (i.e. Cornell West, William Barber, Jim Wallis, Michael Eric Dyson, Dr. Jacqui Lewis, Jacqueline Grant, Traci C. West, Yvette Flunder, David Eng, etc.).  The church is afraid to "lose members," if it makes a stand for those who are marginalized and disenfranchised among us.

But Jesus.  Jesus reached out to powerless, gentile, female dogs.  Jesus did not dismiss their cries or their attitudes, their begging or their debate.  Jesus saw the need and practiced the Agape Love that He preached, according to Mark's Gospel.  He healed the people in the Greek ten cities region that were influenced and occupied by Rome.  He built bridges and not walls.  He tore down barriers.  He touched lives and changed them.  And His followers did the same in the First Century, until empire subjugated the movement into an institution to serve her.  

And Jesus' followers today?  We have seen where the institution of church has gone in ideology and practice.  The movement of followers of Jesus is something else, within and beyond the institution.  Of which are you a part?

The Gospel of Jesus is relevant in resistance to empire and its values.  It is rendered irrelevant in compliance with it.  In that context, it is just one more tool used to hold God's children down, back and out.

So the question is, will the followers of Jesus be relevant or irrelevant in the Kingdom, here and now?

Pastor Jamie

"Precepts as Doctrines"

 I choose not to shorten the text as does the Lectionary.  The Gospel lectionary text for next Sunday is Mark 7:1-23.  I am not afraid to offend with the truth of Jesus here.  If you are offended, you may leave as did those from last week's lectionary.  Thanks.

Thank GOD we are back in Mark!

The corrupt religious cult leaders accused Jesus and His disciples of uncleanness.  They just loved to weaponize the Word for their own purposes - to judge others out of hatred, to exercise control over their lives in order to gain more money from their sacrifices in the Temple, to give the appearance of being authorities by their abuses of power, and to appear to be upright to gain status over others.  These are, of course, BOGUS claims.  Their unfaithfulness to God's Word is the stuff of Gospel corrections and admonishments, as we have in this text.

Jesus, quoting Isaiah 29, accused them of giving lip service to God but their real devotion and obedience to other gods, including themselves.  They used their own, twisted precepts to get what they wanted, as do we.  Prosperity Theology, Purity/Holiness Self-Righteousness theologies, Personal Salvation theologies, Church growth theologies with Blessed and Highly Favored theologies serve self as god, rather than Jesus.

As Jesus graphically pointed out (perhaps why the lectionary folk were offended), regulating purity and holiness, false pieties produce SHIT just like anything else.

Instead, we need to find our faithfulness in following Jesus' Law of Agape Love in Grace.  We need to purify our motives and live guileless, agape loving, self-sacrificing, humble and generous lives, instead of the self-serving lives that the false teachers and prophets promote in the church.  It was true then, and is still true.

We right now see the mess that the falsehoods of laissez-faire Capitalism have brought us to, and we can see, if we will, how the church in America with Jesus' name on it has promoted these falsehoods as well.  Peoples' hearts and minds have been polluted with the twisting of the Gospel of Jesus in this nation and across the world, thanks to the American Desolating Sacrilege which began long ago.

Outward pieties mean NOTHING to God.

Do you want to show your love and respect for God?  Do you want to be right with God?  Respect God's Word by living Jesus' Gospel Way in the world.  Strive to live Agape Love (active commitment on behalf of the other, even stranger and enemy, and especially the most vulnerable among us) in Grace (undeserved loving mercy, given freely).  Jesus COMMANDED it.

Then, the world may be saved, from sin and ultimate death, and so may you and I be saved.

Pastor Jamie

Coming or Going?

 John 6:56-69 is our lectionary Gospel text for Sunday, August 22.

Jesus had His best day and worst day on the same day.  He raised an army of 5,000+ and fed them, but then He talked to them until they were offended and many or most left.  His 12 and some others only remained with Him.  Jesus turned to Peter and said, "What?  You're still here?"  And Peter made His confession that only Jesus had the words of eternal life.

Thousands left because He told them the truth.  (Read that again, pastors.)

But then, as the disciples, turned Apostles lived what Jesus taught, commanded and modeled as Kingdom of God values, thousands were touched and moved and gathered to live in Jesus' Way.  The First Century community, movement of followers of Jesus changed their world and ours.

This message of Jesus came under empire's corruptions among the religious leaders and in the religious institution.  It was a new iteration of an old song.

In our iteration of empire, the desolating sacrilege was not Rome's entrance into the Temple cult, but Reagan/Falwell getting together to twist the Word of God to fit empire values - the ideals and values for greed, lust for power over others and desire for status above others which is still empire.  Jesus' Way did not fit in with their ideals or pieties and did not get them what they truly treasured, so they changed it.  They gave lip service to Jesus while giving their devotion to empire.  It was/IS their golden calf - their Ba'al gods' promise of providing what the people want.  They had "itching ears" to hear what they wanted and gladly are "blown about by every wind of doctrine" that will serve their desires.  Laissez-faire Capitalism, Military/Police might, Fame, False Superiority and Bigotry are their gods.  Holding the many down, back and out for the sake of the few "elites" is still the goal of empire, and the divisions, hatreds, violence, depravation and destruction of God's children and God's creation are the biproducts. 

So, many are offended with Jesus. or just continue to give Him lip service while giving their devotions to Ba'al/empire.  Tony Campolo once said, "Sometimes for the church of Jesus to thrive, the right people must come, and sometimes the right people must go."  Would that the purveyors of empire would just leave and take the name "Christian" off their twisted cult beliefs, ideologies, words and actions.  Then, the followers of Jesus could transform the world.

But many hear us calling ourselves "Christians" and associate us with what they are doing.  Instead of "People of the Way of Jesus," we are lumped in with them, in their perspectives.

It is time to distinguish ourselves from the empirical, American civil religion, right wing institution that claims Jesus name, and live what Jesus taught, commanded and modeled for us, as we have witness in the Gospels, on how to live the Kingdom values of Agape Love and Grace in the world.  Then lives will be transformed, communities, the church and the planet.

Pastor Jamie