Tag Archives: Gospel

Being fed and feeding

07 Monday Aug 2017

Posted by in Sermon Prep, Theology

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Yesterday’s reading in the Revised Common Lectionary were all about feeding.  Isaiah 55 spoke of coming to the water, and asked why spend money on that which is not food.  Our Gospel story was from Matthew 14 and told of the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5000+ in a desolate place.

There is a great deal debate over this reading – did Jesus do a real miracle by multiplying the loaves and fishes, or was the real miracle that people saw Jesus sharing what little there was and they began to share.  I don’t think it matters – regardless of the how, thousands were fed – that’s a miracle.

Instead, I would rather focus on the fact that this was a desolate place – that’s the terminology we are given.  Desolate, deserted, empty – they all mean the same thing ultimately.  These terms signify that there is no life, nothing of value.  And this is where Jesus goes.

The people go to where Jesus is.  I think it’s quite fitting that the crowd would search out Jesus in a desolate place.  Desolation isn’t just a physical place – it’s a state of being for some people, maybe for many people.  So many people are empty, exhausted, and their state of being is desolate.  There is no life where they are.  Yet, if they are searching, they are hungry.  They are hungry for food, for love, for attention, for care, for mercy, for forgiveness.

But where there is desolation, Jesus shows up and amazing things happen.  Jesus shows up and people are fed.  Not just enough to kill the hunger pains, but we are told to their fill.  But it doesn’t stop there – the disciples collected the leftovers and found 12 baskets full.  That’s because when Jesus shows up, there is overflowing abundance – never to run out.

Jesus shows up and amazing things happen.  People are fed love – in overwhelming ways.  Where they had only received conditional love, Jesus gives unconditional love – to the point of death.  We are overwhelmed by God’s love and have more than enough to give to others.

Jesus shows up and we receive forgiveness.  Forgiveness that we don’t deserve and can’t possibly do enough to earn.  Yet, it is given – in overflowing abundance.  So much so that we take the extra and give it our to others who need forgiveness.

Jesus shows up and we receive mercy and grace and so much more.  And we receive these things in overwhelming abundance.  So much so that we give it away.

The miracle isn’t that God is this good.  The miracle is that we are invited to participate in handing out God’s overwhelming abundance to others.  The miracle is that it doesn’t run out – ever.  When Jesus shows up to places where there is desolation – to lives where desolation runs rampant – lives change in overwhelming and abundant ways.  Thanks be to God!

Where is our faith?

01 Tuesday Aug 2017

Posted by in Church, Humanity, Politics, Theology

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For regular readers of my blog, you know that I have a long history of political activity.  I learned a great deal from those experiences and am grateful for that.  I also learned some things that make me glad I’m no longer in politics professionally.

Now that I’m in ministry, all that politics is brushed away, right?  Not.  Not even close.  In fact, in many ways, it’s much more difficult.  I have a fine line to walk when I preach and when I wear a collar publicly representing the church.

I’m not a big fan of pastors taking up partisan arms for a political party.  I can understand why some do, but I think it blurs the line of what we are.  Are we proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus or partisan political party?  Are we claiming that our faith is in Jesus, or in some politician in Washington, DC or another capitol?

This of course doesn’t mean faith and politics never intersect. I think that’s a big naive and dangerous too.  We are called to be in the world and call out injustice.  And often that happens in political ways.

When I see pastors that make excuses for politicians or political parties – for what they stand for, or the policies they promote – I have to wonder.  Are they a partisan preacher preaching the good news of political party with its vision for how the nation will look when the party has power?  I recently saw a video of a conservative pastor who was praising the current administration in Washington and made comparisons of the president’s leadership style with Jesus.  I’m not sure what that had to do with the preaching of the Good News, but I do know that it advanced the Gospel of the administration.

Likewise, I remember pastors equating the previous administration with Jesus too – labeling the president as a messiah-like figure.  Again, I’m not sure why that was necessary or how that promoted the kingdom of God.  It sounded more like the advancement of the kingdom of partisan political party.

Where does our faith lie?  Where is our hope?  If it is in Jesus, then partisan politics can be seen for what it is – secondary.  It is certainly not to be ignored.  But neither should we put all of our attention and energy to it either.  When we do that – when we obsess about politics and give it all of our attention, then we have made it into a god.

When our politics becomes the basis for our decision-making, when we feel the need to pay attention to every tweet and press conference and announcement from a politician or political party, when we believe that we will have a brighter future (almost heavenly) if only we fund a specific candidate and work to get them in office – then I have to wonder where our faith lies?  Where does our hope lie?  When politicians supposedly have all the answers to all of life’s questions and problems, then where is there room for mystery and faith?  What is the point of faith at all then?

Too often I have seen Christians who are well-meaning turn to partisan politics.  I get it.  I’ve been there.  Religion and politics are not very different at all.  Both offer a vision for the future – of what is possible.  Both deal with immaterial things.  Both offer a gospel message.  Both claim to be able to save people.

By all means, participate in politics.  It’s how we advance policies.  But be careful.  When politics becomes the center and the foundation for making decisions, for the way we live our life, for how we spend our money and attention, then know that we have just exchanged our faith in God with a faith in a broken humanity.

This is the real cost of Rapture Theology

28 Friday Jul 2017

Posted by in Theology

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Rapture theology is popular in the US and has been ever since it was invented in the 1800’s.  It’s certainly not a worldwide phenomena – thank God for that.  Yesterday I wrote about Christian escapism, which Rapture theology dips deeply into, and why I think this bad theology is allowed to continue to exist.

Today, I’m going to talk about the real costs of Rapture theology.  In order to do this, we have to dig down a bit to some underlying assumptions about the Rapture – the culture of Rapture Theology, if you will.

First, understand that Rapture Theology has made a mark on US domestic and foreign policy.  Maybe not in direct ways.  I don’t think you’ll ever find something that points to a specific policy flowing directly from Rapture theology.  There are exceptions of course – look at the foreign policy ideas of people like Sen. Ted Cruz, concerning the Middle East.  A great deal of his foreign policy ideas are shaped by Rapture Theology.

But just because there isn’t a direct link, doesn’t mean that there isn’t influence.

Rapture theology is more than just about theology and our understanding about God.  It also has an impact on how we see people and the rest of creation.  It’s a theology that, at its core, believes that creation is not redeemable.  It’s a theology that believes that people are not redeemable either, unless they have the right beliefs. It’s a theology that is in direct opposition to the belief that God loves creation so much that God would come to creation, die for creation, and then come back to restore and renew creation.  (See John 3:16 and Rev. 21 as starting points).

It’s a theology that stops at the flood and sees God as only an angry God bent on destruction.  Never mind that God changes and promises not to destroy the earth by flood again.  Never mind that at creation we hear God say “it is good” at the end of each day and part of creation.

To buy into Rapture Theology, one must believe that things that God says about creation aren’t true.  It’s a theology that doesn’t jive with what we know about God.  It’s a theology that cherry picks verses out of context to be twisted and mangled in order to support the deeper belief that creation, and ultimately people are un-redeemable.  It’s a theology that puts humanity in the driver seat of determining who gets into heaven and who is kept out – we get to be the ultimate judges.  Humans get to decide if other humans are pure enough to be in God’s presence.  Did they believe the right things?  Did they say the right things?  It’s another sin of certainty, which is really a sin of control over others.

But we know that God renews, redeems, restores all throughout the bible – in the OT and NT.   In the Old Testament, we hear about God redeeming the Israelites – saving them from the tyranny of Egypt and restoring them to the land promised them (Read Exodus through Numbers).

Then we hear about Israel being exiled to Babylon and God redeeming Israel and restoring Israel back to their land (read Daniel, Isaiah, and other books of the prophets).  We hear about God working through Josiah to renew Israel in their worship life (Read 2 Kings).  We hear about God working through prophets to proclaim how God changes, restores, redeems, and renews (Try Elijah for starters, or Jonah will work too).  Job 19:25 describes God in this language – “I know that my redeemer lives.”

The New Testament is chock full of examples of redemption, and renewal, and restoration.  The entire Gospel message is a message of redemption, renewal, and restoration.  Paul’s story is a story of redemption and change.  The Acts of the Apostles is full of stories of how God changes lives and renews and restores.  Just ask Lazarus is God is a God who renews and restores.  The list could go on and on.

So what are actual costs to buying into a Rapture Theology?  Many.

Let’s start with criminal justice.  In the US we focus most of our attention on punishment instead of rehabilitation – or redemption, renewal, and restoration if you prefer.  If your theology is based on the idea that creation and people can’t be redeemed and that God can’t change them, then it’s not a long stretch to see how this impacts what we do with people in our criminal justice system.  We punish them.  There is no redemption or chance for change after all.  In the end, God’s going to destroy everything anyway.  There is no point in rehabilitation. I’m not saying that our criminal justice system was created by people who bought into Rapture Theology.  But the underlying culture has certainly influenced the criminal justice system.

We see the real cost of Rapture Theology in how we do “health care.” We actually don’t do health care here in the US, we do sick care.  We focus on treating sickness.  Our insurance doesn’t reward people who change their habits or lifestyles.  Why would it if the underlying thought is that people don’t change and that they are un-redeemable and can’t change?  Instead, we only manage sickness.  Again, our health care system wasn’t designed by Rapture Theology proponents.  I argue that the culture underlying it has influenced the health care system though.

Rapture Theology means seeing the world in black and white – only two options and you better pick sides!  It’s a focus on conformity of belief, not any type of orthodox Christian belief. It’s all or nothing. You are either saved because you bought into Rapture Theology, or you are doomed.  It’s not dependent on Jesus’ action, but on what we believe.

There is no redemption, renewal, or restoration – only death and destruction. With Rapture Theology, there’s this weird idea that Jesus is coming back twice (can we say that’s not in the bible) – the first time to take all the people who got it right and had the right beliefs regardless of how they lived their lives, then God goes all nuclear on everyone else, but gives any survivors a second chance to get it right and then comes back a second time and whisks those few who do change away.

But it’s not real redemption – it’s just a change in thought and belief – not a change in their life, not a change in relationship, not a change in a heart-felt belief.  It’s a change in head knowledge only.  It’s shallow, really.  It’s better described as submitting, regardless if the person actually believes it or not.  It’s like following a law so as not to get into trouble – you drive  55 mph because that’s the law and you’ll get a ticket if you get caught.

These things aren’t on the surface and you won’t find our policies written with Rapture Theology terminology.  You won’t find direct links between Rapture Theology and the policies we have.  Instead, Rapture Theology has impacted the American culture since it was brought here and allowed to flourish – imparting its unhealthy fear of God, and mistrust of one another, and disregard for God’s call for us to be stewards.

It’s time for Rapture Theology to die off and be brushed into the ash heap of history, along with other really bad and false beliefs and ideologies.  Rapture Theology isn’t going to save anyone.  In fact, it has cost a great deal – brought fear in many people’s lives, an unhealthy view of God as really angry at them, given the church a bad name by making some parts of the church extremely judgemental and toxic, cost people’s lives and potential because of the criminal justice system and health system that is based on the same view of humanity, and hurt the church’s message of stewardship.

If I could say anything positive about Rapture Theology it would be this – I only hope that it is true in this sense – that the theology itself gets Raptured away, never to return again.

Wheat and weeds

24 Monday Jul 2017

Posted by in Humanity, Theology

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Are you tired of reading social media posts of “friends” that you are connected to who spend a great deal of time showing why they are right and their opposition is wrong?  I am.  Lately, as soon as I see what the post is, it just skip it and move on.  There are more important things to do, and frankly, I have enough stress in my life, I don’t need to add reading these kind of posts.

Tired of reading partisan political rants and posts about how (insert party or politician here) is just terrible, wrong, and yes, on the cusp of evil for the things that they supposedly say, do, or the policies they support?  Instead, (insert a more preferred party or politician) is so much better!  They have common sense of course with their common sense solutions.  They aren’t making (pick a group that can used for political gain) choose between (pick something that people need and/or makes their life better) and (pick something else). I am tired of this.  How do you all read all of these posts? Again, when I see that someone is posting something that becomes nothing more than an unsolicited ad for a political party or politician, it’s time for me to move on.

It’s the same stinking message, just change the players and the names.

It shows up in relationships where someone doesn’t like the fact that their (daughter, son, friend, coworker, etc) is (dating/seeing someone with a different skin color, speaks a different language, has a different religious faith, comes from a different country, is gay/lesbian/trans/bi/etc, etc., etc.)  It’s the same story, just the players in the story are different.  But the same arguments show up.

I’m right and you are wrong and you better conform your life to my way of living, being, doing, thinking, and believing – or else damn it!  Why don’t you see how clearly right I am?!?

Never mind that people’s lives are vastly different, that their histories are different, and there are innumerable other differences.  Clearly, I’m right and that’s all that matters.

Tired of this?  So am I.

So what to do about it?

Well, you could try to correct all the people who do this.  You’ll be exhausted and create tons of enemies.  You’ll get called names and threatened and all sorts of other fun things.  And you won’t change a single mind or heart – just like the folks who are doing this.  But hey, you’ll be right and they will be wrong.

Why on earth would you adopt the strategy of the people who supposedly upset you?  Why?  Yet, this seems to be the answer for so many people – do the exact same thing that you don’t like done to you.  That makes literally no sense what so ever.  Yet so many people do this.  Why?????

Want another option?  Try reading the parable of the wheat and the weeds from Matthew 13.  It was the Gospel reading from this past Sunday.

Matthew 13:24-30

The Parable of Weeds among the Wheat

He put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?” He answered, “An enemy has done this.” The slaves said to him, “Then do you want us to go and gather them?” But he replied, “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”

In this parable, Jesus talks about the wheat and weeds and how they grow together.  The sower of the seeds doesn’t tell the wheat to go and try to change the weeds to become wheat.  He doesn’t go and scold the wheat for not changing the weeds.

Jesus doesn’t call on us to change the weeds that surround us to become wheat.  Instead, we are called to be wheat – live like the wheat among the weeds.  Not to judge the weeds, or hack down the weeds, or condemn the weeds, or sow something terrible among the weeds because that’s what happened to the wheat.

Instead the wheat and weeds are allowed to grow together.  The wheat grows with the weeds.  This is our life.  To be with those who are like weeds.  But to be wheat.  To be wheat among the weeds is to live your life differently – to be in the world, but not of the world.  To love those around us – even the weeds.  To care for people – even the weeds.  To show that our lives are different because Jesus has entered our life.

If Jesus has entered our life, then it’s got to be changed.  We don’t act like weeds or the sower of weeds if Jesus is a part of our life.  Instead, our lives are changed and the methods of the sower of the weeds make no more sense and we don’t do them.

We are either wheat or weeds.  Wheat acts like wheat.  Weeds act like weeds.

 

All are welcome

31 Friday Mar 2017

Posted by in Church, Theology

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All are welcome.  It’s a phrase many churches like to say or have posted by the door to welcome people in.  Yet, is it true?  Does it really mean what it says, or should there be an * at the end as in – All are welcome*.  You know certain conditions apply.

All are welcome…as long as you are just like us.

All are welcome…as long you don’t ask us to change.  We’d rather you became just like us.

All are welcome…except for those people.  We don’t really want their type.  They are dirty and icky.

Or maybe you are part of a church where all are truly welcome – no exceptions.  I find that hard to believe though – all churches are made up of human beings and we are all flawed and sinful.  We judge people.

Besides, I’m not aware of too many churches who would welcome someone in with intent to cause harm to the church body.

The intent behind the phrase is good.  It’s the idea that all are welcome because this is God’s house.  Yet, here we are, failing to live up to it.

But maybe the point isn’t to live up to it.  Maybe it’s something to stretch towards.  Maybe it’s like a sermon – full of Law and Gospel.

All are welcome – the Law hits and shows us how we fall short and are in need of God.  We can’t do it, we fail over and over again.  We fall short, regardless of the intention.  We judge and sort people, often based on what they look like, sound like, wear, etc.

All are welcome – the Gospel shows us that because of what Jesus has done and what God is doing in our lives and in the life of our congregation all are truly welcome.  Welcome to become part of the sinners and saints. Welcome to become part of the body of the church that is in constant change.  Welcome to answer and respond to the call to serve our neighbors.  Welcome to be who we are, and ready to become who God is making us to be.

All are welcome.

What is natural?

24 Friday Mar 2017

Posted by in Humanity, Society, Theology

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An accompanying question would be “what is normal?”  I’m thinking specifically of American culture right now.  Is what we are experiencing normal?  Is it natural?  Are we on a trajectory on the cycle of civilization?  Can it be stopped or changed?  Should it?

I don’t have the answers.  But then again, I don’t think the answers matter that much.  It’s the questions that matter.  The questions are what open us up to possibilities.

These questions have been a constant through theological history too.  It’s a question of predestination – or is everything all set and there can be no variation?  Another variation of this expresses a different view – the end result is set, but the way we get there is open.  This opens up possibilities whereas the first view leaves us hopeless, mere puppets in a play.  I wonder how there can be love when there is no openness to possibilities of how things progress.

What is natural in our world?  Sin, death, anger, violence, power, control.  There have been more positive things too, but when we measure and mark history, it is often based on events like war, devastation, and rulers.

The Gospel and the reign of God are the things that are unnatural in this world.  That’s because the world is broken by sin.  The world’s norm is that might makes right. Yet Christ declares that the meek and poor in Spirit are blessed.  The world celebrates the division and war, yet Christ declares that those who are doers of peace are the blessed ones.

What is natural?  What is normal?  Is it what the vast majority of human history has been made up of?  Or maybe this history is not normal at all.  Maybe it’s out of whack.  Maybe Christ has what normal is, but we’ve been looking at the world upside down.  Maybe he’s turning the world right side up again – making all things right – bringing the world back to normal.

Pastors ought to be non-partisan

14 Monday Nov 2016

Posted by in Church, Uncategorized

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Pastors ought to be non-partisan.  Yes, I know I’m making a controversial statement.  Some of you probably won’t read past that sentence.  I know all the arguments that you’ll probably state too.  I’ve heard them all before.  If you feel you must repeat them, be my guest.  I’m not opposed to the First Amendment or it applying to pastors.

As a future pastor, I feel strongly about this.  I feel strongly about this based on many things.

1. Leading up to the election, I heard way too many pastors sound like they were preaching the gospel of either Clinton or Trump, rather than the Gospel of Jesus.  Too many made it sounds like either of these candidates were divine messengers who were sent to bring about the Kingdom of God.  Did I miss something in Seminary?  I thought we were to preach the Gospel of Jesus, not partisan political party platforms or candidate rhetoric.

2. After the election, these same pastors have made sure to wail and moan about many things.  They have contributed to the anxiety level we have here.  I feel certain that there are just as many pastors who would have done the same thing had the results been the opposite – just a different set of pastors.  Look I get it, there are concerns for those on the margins – lots of crap was said during the campaign.  And yes we see some of the consequences of the election with the targeting of those on the margins with slurs and other crap that doesn’t belong in society. That’s bad stuff and we should do what we can to stop it and stand with these people.  I will say this much, this wasn’t going away if Clinton won.  It didn’t go away when Obama won either.  This isn’t a political problem – it’s a sin problem.  The church has an opportunity and a responsibility to talk about sin apart from political party loyalties – or maybe even linking sin to politics.  You cheapen the message when you align the Gospel with one party or the other.  At that point the Gospel serves the needs of party and becomes secondary to it.  That’s not how it works though.

3. Why oh why are there pastors who sounds as though our salvation resides in one political party or the other.  It doesn’t.  Our salvation resides in Jesus, not Hillary Clinton, not Donald Trump.  Not in the Democrat Party or the Republican Party.  Why are we contributing to this false gospel message?

I didn’t vote for Trump or Clinton – Neither of them belong in the White House.  Heck, neither of them should even be allowed to come in as a visitor as far as I’m concerned.  But that wasn’t to be.

There are some pastors who have made politics, party, and politician into idols.  These pastors make it sound like we are to worship these things and people and hang on every word they say.  We aren’t.

Here’s why I think pastors ought be registered non-partisan:  having worked in politics for many years, I feel I can say with some authority that the nature of politics is that it is all consuming.  It’s like a black hole.  It becomes the foundation for everything else for many people.  Many people shift their beliefs so that they align with their political ideology.  They look past the sins of their candidates all in the name of moving the political agenda forward.  The ends justify the means in politics.  When politics is our foundation, then even the Gospel and our theology become twisted – we start using the rhetoric of politicians rather than the message of the Gospel to drive us.  We get comfortable aligning ourselves with earthly powers and put all of our hope in these powers.  We make politics our idol.  We serve it and I can tell you that it is a cruel master that offers no salvation, only power struggles.

Pastors are called to preach the Gospel of Jesus – a counter cultural, turn the world right side up, message.  The Gospel of Jesus isn’t about shifting power from one political party to the other and claiming that this party is right all the time and it is ushering in the Kingdom of God.  The Gospel of Jesus is a radical message that says our worldly ways of dealing with power through politics is broken because we are a broken people who have a broken relationship with God, one another, and the rest of creation.

The Gospel of Jesus isn’t the rhetoric of the Democrat or Republican party.  It’s completely different from these two false idols.  It’s a message of hope, a vision for living, a way of peace, embracing of all life and peoples, it overcomes envy and pride, is expansive in nature, and calls on us to be stewards, servants, and Children of God.  Neither party can even come close to this.

Why should pastors be non-partisan?  Because attaching ourselves to a political party cheapens the message we have been entrusted with.  Because the Gospel of Jesus goes well beyond any power in this world.  We’re called to preach the Gospel and frankly, partisan alignment and loyalty gets in way of that message.

Radical and Transformative

09 Thursday Jun 2016

Posted by in Theology

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Do we really understand how radical the Gospel message is?  I mean really?  Do we really understand how transformative it really is?  Really?

We claim it is, but then we go and ignore it while we interact with those who believe differently from us politically and/or theologically.  I guess those are areas just too important for us to trust to God and follow what God calls us to do and how to act – with grace, love and forgiveness.  Besides, we’re defending orthodoxy and right thinking – we can’t just leave right belief to chance, or to God for that matter.

We claim that the Gospel is a radical transforming message, but then we set it aside when it comes to people who are different from us as it pertains to sexuality, nationality and language.  It’s us vs. them, don’t you know.  Never mind that we are told that in Christ there is no more male and female, Gentile or Jew, Servant or free, etc.  We can’t leave our personal and national safety to chance or to God for that matter.  Lord know, God might ask us to turn the other cheek, not pick up a gun to defend ourselves.  And then what would happen?

We claim that the Gospel is a radical transforming message, but in so many places I look, I see Christians trying to be Pharisees who tell others how to live, while we’re told we should ignore what these same Pharisees are doing or how they are living out their faith.

We claim the Gospel is a radical transforming message, but then we put it aside because we are just too afraid to let it do what we claim it does – transform us and our world.  We can’t have that.  We wouldn’t be in control and have things turn out the way we would want them to turn out.  We still want a favored place, don’t we?  Obviously, God’s will should align with our own since we’re so damn smart.

Is the Gospel message a radical transforming message or not?

Maybe it’s just a bit too scary for some who claim to follow it.  Maybe the cost is too high for some.

Are we really ready to die to self?  Do we even really understand what that means?  Are we ready to die to the idea of controlling our lives?  Or is that for other people?  Are we too good for that?

Do we really understand how radical and transformative the Gospel message is?  Do we really buy it?  I mean really buy it to the point that we’re all in?  Do we fear that all of it is just a sham?  Or are we just so afraid to let go – like stepping off a cliff without something to visible to catch us before we hit the bottom?

Are we afraid to die to self?  I think we are.  Yet, Jesus calls us to do just that.  Not someone else, over there – but each one of us, right here, right now.

What gospel is John Hagee and others preaching?

27 Friday May 2016

Posted by in Politics, Theology

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Yeah, I’m going there.  Here’s your fair warning.  I’m not feeling great, so some of the filter between my brain and my fingers might not be working properly.

“God help us!”

That’s the only thing I could think to say when I was shown a video of John Hagee doing his endorsement of Trump without naming Trump because he doesn’t want to violate the letter of the law regarding church tax exemption.  Pharisees are good at obeying the letter of the law.  And with plenty of wealth earned off of his flock by scaring them to death with  preaching of Rapture theology, he can afford good lawyers who can defend him.   Never mind all the books and programs he’s sold predicting the end of the world.  BTW, they’ve all been wrong.  Yet, people continue to listen to this fraud.  If you think this harsh, here’s the definition of fraud – wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain.

If you want to watch his non-endorsement endorsement, you can see it here.

He starts with a quote by Martin Niemöller about seeing evil and naming it…And proceeds to endorse Trump.  It would be laughable if it weren’t actually happening.  That’s the same Niemöller who was an anti-Nazi, was imprisoned for his beliefs, and nearly died at Dachau concentration camp for this beliefs.  He named the evil of Nazism and almost died because of it.  Frankly, I’m deeply pissed off that Hagee has the nerve to equate himself to Niemöller in quoting him and using him in his non-endorsement endorsement of Trump.

Hagee says that the candidate he is supporting (let’s just name him here since Hagee didn’t have the courage to do it) will “Solve the immigration problem.” I wonder what Hagee would have thought about another person’s “solution” to another problem facing a country in crisis in the not so distant past.  We should be really concerned if this solution is renamed the “final solution.”  “Immigration problem” sounds so, I don’t know, so much like a math problem, doesn’t it?  Never mind the fact that people, real people, are actually involved here.  Immigration isn’t a math problem to be solved Hagee – It’s a situation where people’s lives are involved.  It’s complicated and takes times.

Hagee is a preacher, that can’t be avoided.  It’s unfortunate too.  People will see what he preaches – division, fear, destruction, wrath, etc. and equate that with Christianity.  It couldn’t be further from Christianity if you tried.

Hagee preaches a gospel message alright. It’s a message of the religion of America first.  it’s a religion of empire.  It’s the same religion that has been followed by so many in the past.  It was the religion of the British empire at its height.  It was the religion of Greece and Rome, of Babylon and Egypt.  It has been the religion of every empire that ever exist – or would be empire.  It’s a religion where the nation is no longer just a nation, but something more.  A religion which preaches that the nation and its leader(s) are the savior of the world.  A religion that separates those who are chosen (within the empire and supporting the empire) from the damned (everyone else).  It’s a religion of us vs. them.  It’s a religion that uses God’s name for the benefit of the chosen – wrapping the national flag around God like a cloak.  All enemies of this religion must be destroyed because the god of this religion is a wrathful, fearful deity that only understands the language of power.

It’s summed up in one of Hagee’s final statements where he says – “May god give us a leader who has the courage to put America first and stand up for we the people.”

I’m tired of this – already.  I’m tired of very public supposedly “Christian” leaders rationalizing away what is obvious right before their eyes.  I’m tired of the Pat Robertson’s and John Hagee’s and Gary Dull’s of this country preaching gospels of hate, division, judgement, wrath, anger, fear, and destruction.

I have a series of pointed questions for these men and their followers.

How long until we have a Trump religion where Trump is the savior.  I’ve already read several statements on social media by some saying that Trump is the only one who can save the country from it’s brokenness.  How long until we just formalize that and call it what it really is – a religion?

How long until we have our own National Trump Church which will be unified in espousing a single doctrine compatible with Trumps beliefs?  I wonder if these men are vying to be the head bishop.

How is what Hagee and others preach not making the state and his preferred leader the new religion under the guise of Christianity?  How is it any different than Rome and the emperor?

How is what Hagee and others who preach a similar message considered Christian in any sense of the word?  How is their warped idea of Christianity anything that anyone would want to live their lives by?

How is what Hagee and other who preach a similar message considered Christian – preaching a message about saving the nation through a man with a strong military to support him?

How is what Hagee and others who preach a similar message any different than what religious leaders in the past preaches about putting our hope and faith in Rome (or any other empire) and it’s leader?

How is what Hagee and others who preach a similar message considered Christian at all when Christ is so different from all of this?  Christ is the slain lamb who is victorious, not through military conquest and killing his enemies, but by loving them.  He enters Jerusalem on a donkey, not a white horse with a sword.  The incarnate God who loves the world so much, not so that he can destroy it in some fabricated Rapture in which humans desire revenge unleashed on God’s enemies, but a God who loves the entire world and all of creation and calls it good.  A God of peace who looks forward to the day when swords can be beaten into ploughs, not the other way around.

I have heard Hagee’s gospel message before and I’m tired of it.  We all have heard it preached so many times before throughout history – every tyrant and demagogue that was able to suck in religious leaders to their false gospel has preached the same disgusting gospel message.  And here we are again.  The tyrant and demagogue doesn’t have to force these people into preaching these messages – they willingly do it, and do in God’s name.  That’s the sad thing about it.  They believe they are serving God, when in fact they serve an idol – power.

God help us.  Give us strength for the days to come – not to fight, but rather to be a light you have called us to be.  Not to kill, but rather to die to self and pick up and carry our cross for the Gospel of Jesus.  Not to force, but to live out love and peace.  Give us discernment that we may have ears that hear and eyes that see.  Give us patience and calmness – lots of it God – we need these things to go forward.  Help us to be an instrument of your peace – strike that – make each one of us an instrument of your peace Lord.  Give us courage to preach your saving Gospel – both in word and deed.  God help us.  You are the only one who saves.

Lamentation and Hope

10 Tuesday May 2016

Posted by in Humanity, Society, Theology

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Last night as I was waiting to pick up my daughter from soccer practice, I scanned through the radio stations and landed on a “Christian” station.  The preacher on the air was talking about “the LGBT question.”  He made an argument that weaved the Constitution and the Bible together very intimately and then made the following statement:  “LGBT people have no standing before the law.  They need to sit down and shut up.”

I sat in disbelief and horror of what I just heard.  Did he really just say that…out loud…on the radio for all to hear?  Did I hear that right?  Where is the Gospel in that message?  No where.

Are we going to rule and be ruled by anger?  Will the angry mob be in charge?

Anger is deadly.   It does not produce life, but rather bitterness, dissension, scapegoating, threats, ruin of careers, relationships, lives.  Anger is a flame that is uncontrollable and that burns anything in its path – both friend or foe.

Anger is irrational, not open to debate, or conversation or listening in anyway.  Anger is all consuming and demands compliance.  Anger will do anything to bring all within its deadly grasp.

The opposite of anger is calm, ease, joy, love, peace, contentment.  These things can not live in the same place with anger.  They are much like light and darkness.  The difference between them is so very clear – with anger, a person is like a violent sea, being thrown to and fro at the will of the waves – reacting to every little thing – a victim.  Love, joy, peace and calmness are a calm sea – where a person no longer reacts, but can respond.  When they respond, it is not out of necessity, but out of love.

Anger leads to blood being shed – the blood of the one labeled as the cause of the anger – regardless of the truth.  The scapegoat.

Anger leads to death – death of conversation, death of relationships, death of trust, death of people.

Why, oh why, must we traverse this road?  Why do we choose a path that is so jagged and littered with victims of those who have gone this way before – a path of anger.  Why do we choose such a path so well traveled throughout history?  Do we follow this path because it is the common path – the wide road that has been heavily traveled and so we just follow it because there have been so many who have traveled it so many times before.  Do we think that the road will be different?

Or is it something else – maybe we travel it because we know exactly where it goes.  We travel it because we feel that because we know, we are in control.  Anger is as old as the first sin – the desire to be like God.  And when we woke up to the truth that we are not God, we grew angry.  Angry that we were lied too, angry that the lie wasn’t true, angry that someone else bought into the lie, angry that there were consequences for our decision, angry that we were not in control.

Why do we not learn from the past?  Why do men and women willingly carry your heavy burden, oh Anger.  Why?  Why do we think we can master you when history has shown that we become your slaves?  Why?

Why do we willingly reject peace, love, calm, and hope?  Why do we always only give these ways such a short leash that whenever there is a sign of challenge, we rip ourselves away from them to go back to our habits which lead to death?

Why do people not see the predictable fate that you, oh Anger, lead to?  Why?

Why do people who serve you not see what they become under your tutelage?

What are we to do, oh Lord of peace?  Are we to fight anger?  Or in fighting, do we become angry and become that which is not us.

Or instead, do you call us to something completely different?  That regardless of what others may do, do you call us to live a way of peace, love, hope, and calm.  Do you call us to live these out, not waiting for the perfect time and scenario because right now is the perfect time to live these out.  The perfect time to live the way of peace, love, hope and calm is in the midst of the fury of anger.  To be a light in a world lost in darkness.  To be the calm, small, still voice that calms the waters of the turbulent seas of anger.

You call us, Lord, to be your hands and feet in service to our neighbors and our world.  You also call us to be a message of peace, hope, love and calmness through your word and through our lives.

You don’t call us to the well-worn path, but rather to the path less traveled.  It is not an easy path.  You know the anxiety we feel in the center of our very being.  You have equipped us to carry on, not in order to earn anything, but to be your light in this dark world.  Help us to be that light always and if we have to, to use words – give us those words when the time is right.  We don’t know what is along this path, but we know where the less traveled path leads – it leads to a city, the New Jerusalem, where the water and the tree of life flow from its very center to nourish and replenish and restore all of creation.  It is a city where there will be no more tears of sorrow.  Death will be no more.  Mourning and crying and pain and anger will be no more.  For they will have passed away.   All that is left is you.