broken Body .. -|-

read this: http://denyingme.blogspot.com/2014/07/church-and-poor.html

now read this: http://billmoyers.com/2014/08/13/no-safe-place-how-cities-are-making-it-illegal-to-be-homeless/

somehow we have to take Jesus seriously when it comes to the margins
we have to ..

in the famous sermon on the mountain Jesus said some things
He began to teach them, saying:
"The poor in spirit are blessed, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
Those who mourn are blessed, for they will be comforted.
The gentle are blessed, for they will inherit the earth.
Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are blessed, for they will be filled.
The merciful are blessed, for they will be shown mercy.
The pure in heart are blessed, for they will see God.
The peacemakers are blessed, for they will be called sons of God.
Those who are persecuted for righteousness are blessed, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
You are blessed when they insult and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of Me."

i've listened to sermons and messages and .. on this passage
most of the time it's a spiritual interpretation and application, and maybe rightly so since we're talking about 'spirit' and 'mourn' and 'gentle' and 'righteousness' and ..

but why does Jesus use 'poor' and 'meek' (gentle) and 'hunger and thirst' and .. ?

why indeed?
could it not be that he was specifically aligning the Kingdom of God with the impoverished, the marginalized, the hurt, the hungry ?
maybe that's a stretch ?

could it be that the kingdom looks nothing like the empires of this world ?
that he was drawing a contrast ?
that he was specifically pointing ( again ) to his inside/out philosophy ?
that humans are worth an invaluable amount to him, regardless of their status in life ?
or their condition .. ?

could be ..

 . ..      .

part 2
the hard part

it strikes me that Jesus was mostly a get-along-with guy
people liked him
he wasn't an angry person; he didn't go around berating this or that ..
except when it came to the religious empire

we talk a lot about Jesus anti-empire attitude towards Rome
but then there're the pharisees and the saducees and the scholars/legalists ..
Jesus took them on regularly
he pointed out their hypocrisy, derided their motivations for prayer and alms-giving in public, their money-grubbing ways in the temple of God ..
he took them to task for it
know why ?
they were charged with the responsibility of representing God before his people
they were to show-off God, inspire Godliness
lead God's people along the right path, for God
and they were screwing it up
turning it into merchandise, pomp, and politics
and Jesus was very angry at their misrepresentation of who God is

does that by any chance sound familiar ?
jus' sayin' ..
does it ?

well, maybe when the church of Jesus Christ is sitting in virtually the same place today, it should cause us to wonder at the comparison ..

i know there are stories, told and untold, of goodness at the hands of Jesus' church
i know that today christians step-up, taking the initiative, working the works of God to relieve suffering
i am thankful for every one that does
however .. considering the gospel accounts of Jesus' life, shouldn't it be significantly more obvious ?
it should be the one thing that stands-out whenever discussion of christianity evolves, for the mark of a christian, according to the Christ, is that we show love to one another
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
and the famous great commandment is to love our neighbour - it's as significant as loving God
   the two are inseparable

.. . ..

i wonder ..
where are you, church leaders ?
why aren't you sitting at the same table, discussing how, together, we can move the kingdom forward into God's will being done on Earth as it is in Heaven
pooling our resources
determined to help hurting people, regardless of the cost to our little itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny empires that we gloat so much over ..

think about it

is Jesus who we say he is ?
are we who we say we are ?
if so, we need to be doing what he did
thinking how he thinks
seeing how he sees
attituding his way

instead of playing politics

so here's a thought
take what you got
   and by the way, it ain't yours
and put it on the table
right in the centre
and tell all at the table that this is what your empire has as resources and you're putting it in
and let's see who else steps up to the plate

'cause this community can do what Jesus expects
he has empowered us
and we need to see it as our issue and not the issue of government, local or federal
it's us
we are responsible
I am responsible
it is our call in life to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the houseless, to give people space to toilet and shower and sleep and eat and raise their children
   ( 1 in 4 children in the usa exist at poverty level - 1 in 4 )

.. . . .

i recently read an article about how we as christians shouldn't be so serious
we should have the peace and joy of Christ and that should cause us to live in the moment and take things lighter and enjoy
to be frank, that fails with me
my fault i suppose
i haven't even begun to plumb the deeps of homelessness, and i am afraid
i am scared
for them in their dread condition
for me in my ineptitude, and my paltry efforts

that causes me feelings of guilt, depresses me, causes me to wonder at my commitment to my master and his kingdom, and a whole slew of other ' negative ' things
not delight .. not yet

and right there i'm back at Matthew chapter 5, which we looked at already
the poor
the hungry
thirsty
humble(d)
..
.........
    .        . . . .

who am i after all, that i should speak to spiritual leaders in this way ?
i am noone ..
yet i am someone
i see Jesus and his anger and why he was angry back then, and i see Jesus and his anger now
and i am afraid
i hesitantly, respectfully offer this as a reminder that the leadership of His Body lies with you
and that has to be the most incredible position to be in on this Earth

take that privilege and bloom
show the world the true person of God in Jesus
expend all for it
for him
go the distance, regardless of personal cost, and take as many with you as you can
when we boil it down nothing else matters, really
what is left, what floats to the top, is the incredible love of God for us, manifested primarily in the person of Jesus
love still is the bond of perfection.. above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

there is a massive need for it now
now
in this time, in this world, in the midst of the huge undoing of humanity we witness every new day
let us rise up and take the love of Jesus to the streets
relieving the need
listening to the hurt
compassioning with the abused and the cut-off
compassion, as in ' to suffer with '
as in I am hurting with you ..
.. . . . . . .     .

so when are we going to get off our thrones and play Jesus ??

when ?