awaken the force ..

no .. i didn't watch the starwars thingy ..
not there
nor into the camping out for a week to see it
   what's with that ??
      that's not crazy, it's a freakin' addiction, or mental disorder ..

maybe someday when the hoopla dies and people dry out, or get psych help ..
   kinda like the same way i buy my jeans - used, and not-the-latest-model

..

perhaps in the (conservative) evangelical drive to hush the ecstatic expression of christianity in its pentecostal and charismatic forms (glossolalia, healing gifts, etc.) it has hushed too the voice of the prophet ..

and that's bad news ..
sad
for in so doing a much-needed voice in this christian west is silenced
   or merely murmurs

   ( the prophet of whom i speak is not the Predicter (we like to associate
   prophecy with foretelling), but the Messenger of God with a message ..
   there is a difference )

..

it seems to me that that voice is precisely the missing ingredient in the secularised politicised entertainmentised euthanised mostly-irrelevant church in this Earth today ..

that bold calling from the fringe, the border, the gutter of Christ's church, recalling a called-out people

this christianity has walked away from its god
   leaving God in the streets
hiding in impressive castles among the cliqued
   safe and secure in its dogmas and doctrines and rituals
      certain that God is in control
while humanity suffers outside the gate
   where Jesus went ..

we need that prophetic voice back
to bring amazing shock to this languishing Relic
   rousing it from the comfy pew
   blasting its lackadaisicality
   reminding it of its place in the Earth
calling for repentance from dead works to vibrant faith that works ..

   faith that works

a locust-and-wild-honey voice that speaks from the wilderness
   that loudcalls " prepare the way of the Lord ! "
to the kings that be ..
   not the secular presidents and prime ministers and sheiks
   but the religious royalty in the pulpit and seminary

only the prophet can dislodge the power-clergy
open the ears of the people
drown-out the mummifying drone of the pulpit
break-down the walls
   smudge-out the clean lines that divide the secure pew-bound
   from the hungry, the poor, the orphan, the alien, the homeless,
   the addict, the refugee, the muslimjewhinduatheist ..
      for just there
      right there
      over there
         is Jesus ..

..

perhaps the evangelical was wrong
perhaps prophecy didn't die-out
perhaps it just went to sleep

methinks it's time for the prophet to awake

God knows
religion sure could use a wild-honey tongued wildman
walking the fringes of christianity
calling-out the church
   to righteousness
   justice
   mercy
in the street

where are you, o prophet ?
arise !

it's time for the awakening force ..
it's past time

pause ..

It stands as the most communal time of the year
what with smiles and holding doors and generally kindnesses everywhere ..
everybody changes at Christmas somehow..

As the food and the merriment flow, it would do us well to pause, just for a moment, and consider ..
this celebration and unaccountable embrace we share is a brief encounter with a promise from on high - "and of his peace there will be no end" .. a promise in hope, of hope, that one good day the king of peace will reign, and peace will spread across the earth, a welling flood of cool clear refreshing

And consider..
while some of us share smiles and goodwill with our Earthmates, there are far too many of us for whom this is not their experience today - they sit alone somewhere, observing from a distance.. maybe soldiering in foreign lands, or familyless, or homeless, or refugeeing in fear..


Just a pause is all I ask
and a prayer
to the one who cares desperately for each of us ..
an acknowledgement of Godlove in the face of Jesus, Son of Human, who willingly and with aforethought walked away from his place of Peace, left his home, and became one of us in our place of Nopeace, to share in our plight ..
himself homeless at times, a refugee at times, forsaken at times, ridiculed and laughed-at at times ..
so that we might share in his inheritance - so that we too might be called children of God ..

a prayer of intercession for the hurting

a prayer of thanks for the lowly child that one day would wash the feet of his humanity

peace to you

all this evil .. and God ?

a friend mentioned to me today that they don't spend much time on God anymore ..
all the things going on in the world .. just doesn't make sense
the videos of isis slaughtering tons of people, using children to execute people ..
mass shootings ..
they don't have time anymore to do the apologetics to keep them convinced this stuff can happen with an omniscient god

and might i add
syria and the 1 million refugees this year
homelessness on the rise in many cities
corruption in the government of the 'greatest' 'democracy'
the ever-increasing disappearance of the middle class as the wealthy trump everyone else
   and use their wealth to expand their wealth at the cost of those without wealth
the rise of the new religious right-eous
   packing weapons for self defense
   pointing out the muslim for demarkation
   positing fear in the name of the God who drives out fear
   calling for war and killing
      while many many innocent civilians died this very year in war
         some from american bombings

who can blame my friend ??
i can't
and i won't
how can i

..

the question asked by my friend is one of the oldest think-inspired questions in the christian religion ..
and they're still trying to answer it today as best they can
and for good reason too ..
'cause we have been reared on a baseline of the sovereignty of God
and everything springs from there
everything ..

so that the obvious question " how can an omniscient ( think all-powerful ) God allow evil ? " dogs christianity as it runs over hill and dale proclaiming the christian god is God and everything is under God's control ! everything that occurs is according to his will ..

.. when the emPHAsis is on the wrong syllAble .. well ..

`|`

that conundrum has a term in theology .. it's called a ' theodicy '


i posit this one thing for our consideration ..
if the god-that-is controlled everything ( or even most things ), determining in detail what was going to happen
and if that god restricted evil
   then where would freedom be ?
and if there is no freedom in the creature
   then where would love be
because, my friend, love cannot be forced ..

love cannot be forced

now backtrack ..
if love cannot be forced, then God cannot determine our actions
and if God can't do that, then evil must be allowed to exist ..
if not, there isn't freedom
and no freedom means no love

and no love = no God
   at least not the christian god

..

that's my simplisticated argument
of course, you can google the theodicy thingy and find a library chock-full of theological treatises
and you can find some simplified ones too
like  this one
and you can get a wonderful audio book free that's written for simplisticated people like you and me
here

..

one other thing ..
we might be able to walk away from God because we can't explain this God alongside the persistent existence of horrible evil ..
but not Jesus

not Jesus ..

peace to you

an antiChrist christmas ..

this used to be my favourite time of year
  still is, i suppose
just that it's a lot quieter now

the cards i've played (and sometimes dealt myself) have left me solitary for the most part ..
God's been watching this game, saved me from bankruptcy many many times .. for which i am eternally in God's debt
i know that
i try to live that

i have very fond memories of cousins and the family lunch, really outstanding dining, right down to the black cake, a delicacy based in currants that had been soaking in rum for a loooong time ..
i miss it

..

but i don't miss the retail/media's manipulation, relocating God's gift to humanity into people having to gift, whether it's because " we have to: they're family ", or they're family of family, or my boss, or whether it's because " they give the children gifts every year " ..
the coercion of christmas - the one time of year when we humans should be basking in the light of that glorious Gift, graciously given to any who would receive it thankfully

i'm in another of my personal rebellions against the powers and authorities that rule this world, enticing us to spend what we mostly don't have to give things that people mostly don't need to people we mostly don't want to, but our society demands
another madness

while people in need are accommodated at christmas because it's christmas, but then left to revert to ' in  need ' the day after christmas, panhandling their days to feed and clothe themselves for another day, and look for some dark corner or hiding-hedge to crawl under for another sleepless night of coldfear, cuddling a bottle of warmth in the hope that their stupored mind will let go just for a couple hours .. maybe sleep will come tonight ..

that's the dread imbalance, the morbid injustice - complaining people that have, doing despite, rude hateful animosity, to those that don't, wishing them illwill amid a littany of spittled curses and naming - " Bum! Get a freakin' job! " ..

that's not Christmas; it's an outright antiChrist campaign covered loosely in mac 'n cheese and christmas ham and sweet potato pie to soothe the accusing conscience, it's own opiate, only not in a bottle this time .. " 'Course not! I'm not a drunken bum! "

..

where, o where is justice this christmas .. the justice that consists in helping the oppressed and abused, the unfortunate, the poor, the downtrodden, the homeless, the runaway, the enslaved, the mentally shattered, the addict, the much-maligned muslim, the molested, the .. those humans, those people, my sisters and brothers who have not in this the wealthiest-ever nation in Earth history

maybe celebrating christmas this year will consist of re-reading the humble story of gracious giving by Godself to an undeserving, motley and muddied bunch of ungrateful self-absorbed people that cannot see past their own $-shaped nose
and asking that God to show me someone in need of any help i can provide, in Jesus' name ..
and maybe in that i too can experience help in better knowing and understanding this God that loves the unlovable, gives overflowingly to the ingrate, washes the feet of the enemy, embraces the leper, releases the adulterer, opens the blinded eye, loosens the tiedtongued, fixes the broken heart, offers Godlife in the endless pursuit of reconciliation of us, the rebels, the antiGod

perhaps as i learn the humility of the Divine in loving me, the ungodly
i too will learn to be humble toward the humbled

that's my christmas wish
in Jesus' name

the enduring flexibility of the scriptures ..

Someone recently said the preacher commented on the argumentativeness within Christianity over theology - the meaning of words, etc. .. they said how unlearned people are able to read the Bible and get it, just so. So why all the fuss?

Well, for one thing, the Christ, as Head over the church, gifted the body with pastors and teachers and evangelists and prophets for a reason. People need to be taught (and reminded and encouraged).

For another, there are many scholarly teachers whose late-in-life remarks tended towards a desire for more life (lives) to study the Scriptures more - they felt there was plenty more to be mined.

For another, scripture has teaching and learning opportunities at all levels of knowledge and understanding and experience and maturity.

For another, 2015 is not 1615 nor 515.. Times change and the world as it is now is certainly not what it was then, or then, nor what it was when the traditions were penned.

For another, to wish the scriptures were math-ish, 2+2=4, and so everything contained there could be so organized and formatted such that a person with enough time and attention could 'master' the two-times table of scriptural truth is tantamount to reducing revelation to rote simplistic lessons to be learned on the school bench.

This is history, poetry, storytelling, prophecy, apocalyptic, parable. It is literature in all its varied grandeur, and that is not math - it is life. And it is told in all its horror and splendor, humanly, with a twist of Godview, divine worldview.
To attempt to codify it, define it, boundary it, even to dogmatize it or overly systematize it, is to reduce its glory to legalistic propositions, and that benefits no one, save for those who live in the fear it could be wrong, or doubted, or assailed by logic or argument of some kind. It would be to transform the beauty of it to mere words and disputed formulae, and that sucks all the umph out of it, surely.

There lies as much meat as a person can consume, as much depth, as much breadth, wonder, confundity, and profundity as one is willing to undergo in effort, in thought, meditation, consideration for a lifetime.

It is subject to varied meanings because I am not today what I was 20 years ago, neither am I that person over there, or that person across the sea in a markedly different culture.

The, to me, marvel of Scripture is its speakability to different people at different times in different places with different circumstances, and surely what it says to me could well be far different to what it says to you in your place.
The spirit of God does that. The Spirit speaks and witnesses to my spirit the things of Scripture to grow me, to call me, to move me, to change me, to impassion, to sober, to point, to break me down, and some other day build me up, strengthen today, bring me to my knees tomorrow.

Jesus himself made parable his trademark teaching mode, and parable strikes at the heart, calls for introversion, head-scratching, assaults, confounds, questions me, beckons me out of my know-it, bombard my conscience.
To reduce that to a simplified lesson is to unjustly do it much injustice.

No, Scripture is not quantifiable like a weights and measures table, nor learnable like some poem to be recited mindlessly. It is a powerful tool, able to strip the human of any sense of 'I know' and leave them in wonder at the awe of God and the awe-ful tendency of humanity towards control and the power to judge.

Scripture deserves to be honored for its flexibility, its ability to transcend time and circumstance, to strike me down here in 2015, right where I am, even as it did in quite a different way 2000 years ago, wielded by the selfsame spirit of God.

It deserves that freedom, that passion, that power, and that can only be mined by the mind willing always to learn, to relearn, to learn anew under that Spirit's guidance.


Seek not to know it, but to experience it
not to master, but be mastered by it ..

peace to you

upping the ante ..

just to up the ante ..
   maybe try somehow to balance-out the crap that christianity is serving-up to the world at large
i thought today of visiting a mosque
just so they know there's a white Jesus-follower who has no problem with their presence in this country, practicing their religion and all ..
.. and i've started looking into that

meanwhile, i spoke to a good christian friend, and during the conversation i told them my think ..
i fairly well knew the response i would get
basically all muslims want the world in their power, not only the radical jihadists
and then there was the Muhammad thing - a most violent person ..
and the battles they have fought and people killed
and .. .
..

and i thought ..
wait .. . . ...  .
hang on a minute .. have you read the older testament?
and do you know that David was refused by God when he told God he wanted to build a temple for God ? .. because David's hands were too bloodied ?
and have you read the ' commands ' that God gave to israel to wipe-out wholesale nations of people, including women and children and old people ?

and, just in case the response then is, " well, that's the old testament ", might i point out Constantine ? ..
and might i also point out the Crusades, one of the bloodiest rapacious escapades ever ?
both of those were conducted after Christ, and in the good name of Christianity, under the sign of the cross of Jesus Christ ..
not to mention the horrors of the Inquisition under the roman catholic church ..
or the unmentionable subjugation, and in some cases annihilation, of peoples across the planet by the christianized europeans, often, again, in God's name ..

so .. listen .. when your pot is black you should be careful in accusing the kettle ..

in our times, not too long ago, people were sold and bought as personal property
   in this country
and were beaten and killed and raped because they were considered to be non-human
   and that with open bibles at hand, quoted to boot ..
..
and too, if memory serves me, it was 1964 that one the Good Reverend MLK had to endure hardship alongside many many blacks in this country because the legal abolition of slavery had never really been met in the street called Reality in the 100 years since abolition
and lost his life alongside many many black people in their unrelenting pursuit of the happiness and the constitutional declaration that all people are created equal
..

so, when we talk about Islam wanting to subjugate the world ..
we need to look our white christian face in the mirror first
   and remove the plank from our eye



and then
love that muslim
in Jesus' name
for he too is created in the image of God

peace be unto you

christian suicide ..

it's difficult to figure where to start here..
it's like .. this is crazy
the things i want to say seem so damned obvious ..

this has been a week-long wonder at if-to-say what-to-say
like, superfluous ..

..

i guess i could hit on the headliners
the political madness among the trumps/rubios/cruzs
   who want to ban muslims
      like they were some fracking exxonmobil
         wait ..! they're not even being discussed - my bad ..
or the paris COP21 madness among the world's nations
   who waver at stemming the bleed-out
      like the #1 polluter, ye ol' great US, was some global priesthood,
      pristine and pointing burnt and bloodied fingers
         wait ..! that's hardly even being pointedout - my bad ..
or the madness among the 'christian' nations of the west
   who are and have slammed their doors to the many thousands fleeing for life
      like they were some righteous form of human
         wait ..! i forget - christianity, pure as the driven snow
   
`|`

so .. here i sit
befuddled
kerfuffled
all muddled
.. and muddied
my own brand of religion is swimming in a morass of filth
and i've been dog-paddling, trying to stay afloat
slimy green goop choking my lifebreath

and that shocks my naivete more than any of the other madnesses running loose ..
it utterly deflates this soul
i grasp desperately for whatever straws are out there
hoping to make it through this sickening crud alive
with some semblance of human nobility
at least a modicum of 'christian' faith
.. but it's hard ..
alas, i fear i'm drowning

`|`

for the people that speak loudest and boldest for christianity
are shooting the faith in the foot
and the world is watching

the world is watching

what's more
   and this really defines it
the world is correcting the antichristianity of christianity ..
as a muslim once said, "Mahatma Gandhi was right. Everyone in the world knows what Jesus Christ was about - except for Christians."
and there ya have muslim and hindu truth in the face of christian misdirection ..

but aside from the religious comment
the world at large is watching these christian bigboy bigots
and scratching its head in confusion ..
because the person this religion touts is Jesus
   and when they compare the 2
   they are confused
      and rightly so
      absolutely
and, my friend, God is not the author of confusion

the reason for the confusion is not hard to fathom
because when they read the gospels
they see what Jesus said and did
and what they see there and hear here is worlds apart

2 irreconcilable worldviews

irreconcilable !

madness

..

the gun-totin' jerry falwells who advises students of the largest christian university in this country to carry, and he is its head  ..
   may he fall well
      as in  " .. everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house,
and it fell,
and great was the fall of it.”
      so says Jesus ..
      ( Matt 7: 26, 27 )

the franklin grahams
   who speaks in the very place of his billy father
   saying muslims must be stopped
      billly, who i hope is grinding his teeth in trepidation and
      angst at the uncivil uncouth comments of his offspring

then there's the progeny of swaggart who drool the same hateful spittle
their dribble pooling on the pulpits and communion tables

..

i had another application for this pic
but i use it here to propose that the religion Jesus never meant to start has and, more pertinently, is now killing him afresh ..
killing the king of glory
now
here
displaying him to public shame
while all the world looks on
   astounded
   confounded
   dumbfounded

..

i could quote Jesus all day long
but i won't ..
because if you're too lazy or uninterested in reading in scripture what he said for yourself .. well, then
..
and that's precisely a marked part of the problem
many want to be 'christian'
but we hardly know the Lord Christ
what he said and did and how he behaved
what he thought and liked
what his attitude was ..
'cause we don't read it for ourselves ..
we let some jackass on a soapbox on the tele tell us

and then we wonder at the comment He made, " then i will say to them, depart from me! i never knew you "

we deserve to be beaten with many stripes for our disingenuity ..
..

real christianity is not defined by them
or by the christian universities and seminaries
it is defined by Jesus, the Lord Christ

..

and so, in my own remorse
my own version of repentance
i testify that i am ashamed of the label 'christian' ..
and i no longer lay claim to it

its history and its testimony and reputation today leave me no other choice
i want nothing more to do with the label

..

i have denounced, in this order, protestantism, the cult of christian fundamentalism, evangelical, and now i've cut my self off
   to the dismay of my godly mother
from the christian label

i want nothing more to do with it

and you know what ..?
i believe that if you asked Jesus today if he aligns himself with it
he would say "No!"
   exclamation mark included

and I follow him !
   exclamation mark included

not any religion

not any preacher

not any church

not any denomination
   He trumps them all

i done !

and i'm pissed!

christianity has put a loaded bible to its head and assassinated itself for all the world to see
and they borrowed jerry falwell's gun and franklin graham's hand

`|`

if anyone asks me about my faith, what i believe, why

i will begin here - i follow Jesus

i am his disciple

that's who i am

that's who i try to be

that's my story

..

i'll still attend any church i can find that will uphold and uplift Jesus in truth
and support it
but i wear the label no more

..

now

dare i say

peace to you

ps.

i relent ..
here is part of Jesus' teaching ..
read it, if you will
it's quoted from Matthew 5

One day as he saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went up on the mountainside and sat down. His disciples gathered around him, and he began to teach them.
“God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,
    for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
God blesses those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
God blesses those who are humble,
    for they will inherit the whole earth.
God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice,
    for they will be satisfied.
God blesses those who are merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
God blesses those whose hearts are pure,
    for they will see God.
God blesses those who work for peace,
    for they will be called the children of God.
God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right,
    for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.

You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.

You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.
But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!

You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’
But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.
So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.
When you are on the way to court with your adversary, settle your differences quickly. Otherwise, your accuser may hand you over to the judge, who will hand you over to an officer, and you will be thrown into prison. And if that happens, you surely won’t be free again until you have paid the last penny.

You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’
But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. So if your eye—even your good eye—causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your hand—even your stronger hand—causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

You have heard the law that says, ‘A man can divorce his wife by merely giving her a written notice of divorce.’
But I say that a man who divorces his wife, unless she has been unfaithful, causes her to commit adultery. And anyone who marries a divorced woman also commits adultery.

You have also heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you make to the Lord.’
But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne. And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King. Do not even say, ‘By my head!’ for you can’t turn one hair white or black. Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one.

You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’
But I say, do not resist an evil person!
If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also.
If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too.
If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles.
Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow.

You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy.
But I say, love your enemies!
Pray for those who persecute you!
In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.
If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.

But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. "

   and there's more
like chapter 6 ..
read on ..

peace be unto you

the only real response to Love .. and hate

when the day comes that i meet the Lord Christ
i will be utterly naked
like he was
on that cross
..
whatever i used to cover my self will lie shredded at my feet ..
the makeup, hat, sunglasses
education, religion, colour, class, decency, wealth ..
   denuded
   bare-boned
   soul all exposed
   my heart expertly scalpeled, it's cancer blackening the floor, running ..

there is no defense
there is no plea
no legal response, justification, rationalization ..

just the accumulated thoughts and intentions
the piled-up things i did
the person i became with each added second
each look
word

just me

and him

         selah

`|`

that's a sobering thought
if you believe in lifeafterlife
if you believe in God

..

i don't want anybody to see me
   filthy
thief
liar
murderer
adulterer
selfish
arrogant
hateful
addicted
harbouring revenge, grudgingly
wicked

i have shattered every law of God
made a mockery of my morality
shamed the god i claimed ..
not an ounce of worthy in that skeletized me

no hope ..  ?

nothing to bring
nothing to offer
..
        .    . .  ...

and then

he will embrace me

like he did on his cross

just so

no worded interlude
no reminders
no humiliating look
   or pointed finger
no blame

simply
embracing love

..

because he knows
he's been there
just there

he became the scapegoat of Atonement ..

but more ..
he became
   our sin
my
   sin

" God made him to be sin
      he who did not know sin, never sinned
for us
so we could be made righteous before God
      through him .. "
         (2Cor. 5.21)

           ..    .     .   .   . .

the Lord Christ
  filthy
thief
liar
murderer
adulterer
selfish
arrogant
hateful
addicted
harbouring revenge, grudgingly
wicked

..

he
became
my sin

and bore them away, in his body, into the Wilderness of Noreturn ..

" we despised him
we thought God was punishing him for his own sin
   and we turned away
but it was for our transgressions
   our iniquities
   our rebellion "
      (isaiah 53)

.. the Lamb of God

`|`

the embrace of the death cross becomes the embrace of life

astounding
unthinkable
incomprehensible

it cannot be explained
   only accepted
a gift with no comprehensible explanation

grace

         selah

`|`

if that is what Jesus did
for me
   what then is my 'reasonable' response
      ?

pure adoration
pure gratitude
pure service
   pure love

overflowing abundant life now in this overwhelming abundant love

disciple

..

if then Jesus did that 

for me

   in my wickedness

      what then is my response to my neighbour

         ?

my homeless neighbour

my blackasianindianmexicansyrian neighbour

my refugee neighbour

my alien neighbour

my hindujewishbrahmanatheist neighbour

my muslim neighbour

         ?

..

i wash their feet

   in Jesus' name

.. .    .        ..       .        ...  .

paris, another visit ..

this blog reflects an intention to speak my spiritual journeying into cyberspace ..
i have no idea what, if any, effect it has on anyone wherever ..
but that's not my business

so that the focus has been spiritual, whatever thaat means to me ..
unfortunately, i have circumscribed 'spiritual', with the result that i haven't voiced my thoughts on many issues

today i choose to circumcise that

here's why (although i imagine this will be somewhat difficult to explain) ..
historically for me, religious/spiritual/christian has been limited to 'moral' issues, and to issues directly relevant to 'the faith', mostly found in the do's and don't's of the 10 Commandments and the newer testament's proscriptions and admonitions
i was reared in a seriously 'militantlly' conservative christian church and church context, originating in the US's Bible Belt - specificaally, what is termed as 'the buckle of the bible belt'
the vision of that movement was to restrict itself specifically to evangelization and biblical instruction

issues that fell outside those narrowed boundaries were generally considered to be not our business as christians
ours was to focus on the souls of people, with a view to getting them 'saved' ..
missionary endeavours was a significant focus, both from the pulpit and from the treasury, and our little church of humble means sent missionary support across the globe - Bhutan, Africa, India, Israel, Guyana (S Am), etc. ..
in Africa alone we were responsible for helping to start-up (at my last count, some 10 yrs ago) almost 40 churches
to be real, we helped those communities with issues that concerned the church folk, like chicken farms, sewing machines, bicycles, and help constructing the church buildings
but the overriding concern was the gospel, people being saved; everything else was secondary and, to be frank, fell down the priority list

that is my context

..

i recently lived in california for a year
a privilege
for it was there i was exposed to a different think, religiously; i came to see things from another angle, sort of like hanging upside-down from a tree branch to look at the world ..
much of that came out of my being with, and serving, homeless people

and what my naivete was taught is that my brand of christianity has truncated the gospel, restricting its interpretation and application far below the heights for which it is intended by the God of the gospel

..

i provided that context because i believe there are others out there with a similar background, a like-context, and maybe something here will spark recognition and redirection

..

i say that to say this: in days of old i would have relegated the climate-change issue to that secondary level: let others deal with it, even if it's true ( there's enough evidence out there to ratify that conservative/fundamental christians have denied the reality of global warming ); mine is to focus on the evangelization ..
today i walk a different road
i'm learning that my narrowed view of the gospel is untenable, unscriptural and unGodly ..
and i'm trying desperately to change

global warming is not anymore an issue to be debated
it is a responsibility for which i will be held accountable by the Creator of this planet
it was He that said in the beginning that humanity was responsible for the management of the good earth and its creatures, to watch over and preserve it, to work in it, to service it

it is obvious now, to all who have ears to hear, that we stand on the cusp of what could soon be an irretrievable boundary, an earth to which there may be no going back, a burned and badly scarred planet ..
it is our duty to Creator God to stand with all who recognize this and are moving to stem the bleed-out
hopefully it is not too late

..

i've posted a link at the bottom of this page to a very interesting 50 or so minutes of discussion on what really is transpiring in paris
(the meat of it follows the headlines)

please make the time to view it .. all of it
it sets in context the ultimate failure of the planet's governing bodies to take this matter seriously, including, shamefully, the US who not only are a major contributor to the problem, but who refuse to be serious about rolling-back this tide of destruction

i am saddened
most likely, in my view, the Monied are again pulling strings - purse strings and puppet strings

..

there is a verse somewhere in the backside of The Revelation of Jesus to John ..
“ We thank You, Lord God, the Almighty,
who is and who was,
because You have taken Your great power
and have begun to reign.
The nations were angry,
but Your wrath has come.
The time has come
for the dead to be judged
and to give the reward
to Your servants the prophets,
to the saints, and to those who fear Your name,
both small and great,
and the time has come to destroy
those who destroy the earth. "
      (Rev 11. 17,18)



the last sentence is noteworthy ..
and we are judgementworthy

(the pics are of the shoes of those who would have participated in a disallowed march in paris under the guise of the recent attacks)

the link:-
paris, climate change, Democracy Now

our response to Paris et al. said better ..

I guess what I'm trying to say is this

Some folk just know how to say it
Kudos, ryan ..

" they have guns, but we have flowers .. "

it's crazy ..
wanton destruction of human life
for what ??
Allah said
apocalpyse

..

sound familiar ?

Left Behind
" better get saved now.. the Rapture is coming, and you don't want to be here when the Tribulation happens "
" the roman catholic church is the Antichrist !"
" the Muslim religion is the Antichrist !"

Y2k
people, as in christians, selling their properties, withdrawing their savings, buying food and weapons and making plans to hide in these mountains or those valleys because the year 2,000 is the dawn of the End Times

..

apocalypse
the end of the world
directed by Allah/God

..

fear

..

i sit in this here coffee shop and listen to ' the good ol' boys ' back there talking paris/isis/whatdowedonow

one bush talks restricting refugee imports to 'christians'
one carrot wants everybody dead or gone - wipe them out !

and, Godhelpme, one 'christian' leader cracker, trying hard to walk in the boots of his father, wants all muslims banned from this 'ere country

`|`

let's see
any ol' person can walk into a walmart or a homedepot, buy the makings for a homemade boom, drive into Anytown or Anycity in Anystate and blow the hell out of whatever and whoever anytime
..
or walk into a Anychurch and kill 9
or into Anyschool
..

it's the Injuns!
it's the English!
it's the damned Union/Confederate!
it's the Commies!
it's the Nazis!
it's the KKK!
it's the Muslims!
it's Saddam!
it's ..

..

somehow we forget that the good ol' usa has earned a bad bad rep in this world, and absolutely deservedly so
somehow we forget that christianity has killed more people in the name of their God than most
..
some old proverb about when you live in a glass house you shouldn't be tossin' rocks

and then we walk around like we be pure and righteous and above it all ..
damned liars that we are
pushing the indigenous before-we-were-here people back and back and killing them off 'cause they jes won't lissen, tow the damn line
stepping all over black people, chattel, like you can own a person, kinda like a cow or a chicken
hunting them down and stringing them up
nothin' but animals!
.. and we're still struggling with that
and with secondclass wimin an' asians an' mexicans and them damn homos and ..

`|`

my mind has been running, sometimes in circles, sometimes away, sometimes just wanting to shutdown, block it all out, pretend this just ain't happening

God! what's going on?
can't You do something?
people are dying
innocent people
children!
heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeellllllllp !!

`|`

and then i remember .. God has done something
and it's big .. huge!
God stepped in
Godself
and started a whole new thing by a man named Jesus ..
and they killed him for it
guns blazing, hateteeth bared ..

God sent flowers and we stepped all over them

and Jesus said something very interesting
   while he was hanging naked on a pole on the interstate
he said " Father .. forgive them; they don't know what they're doing "
they don't understand what they're doing
forgive them

and a few peasants somehow walked away and began a movement that was supposed to, as in, the plan is, change the world
change the world
a new world
a different world is in view
a world where lions and lambs play ball, sickness and death gone (read about them in history books), guns melted-down and made into golf clubs and basketball hoops ..
like that
.. where have all the flowers gone

..

somehow .. we ruined it
we made a bloody mess of it all
killing in God's name
overrunning countries so we could rape their women and steal their wealth, and their souls
wiping out entire civilizations wholesale ............

sound familiar ?

and we fly a christian flag and a national flag sidebyside, in 'church'
like ' we christians '
like God really gives a rip about our country, our politics, our thievery, our abuse, our wicked ways ..

really ..

..

this isn't at all a bashing party - i accuse myself of that often enough
it's just that, hey, a spade is a spade
so when someone raises a bloody hand to point a finger at a bloody hand ..

it's simply this: never ever forget who i am
what part I played in it all
who i give my allegiance to
who i admit as my authority

`|`

if i claim the name of Jesus, then i need to be like Jesus
i need to know Jesus
what he thinks
what he likes
what he dislikes
what kind of a person he is
and i need to do that
i need to be that

..

i don't have answers for the politicians or the preacher people
i couldn't be either .. don't have the wherewithal, the wisdom or the guts

all i know is this
somehow i have to speak peace into the air
somehow i have to bring hope
somehow there needs to be a smile, a word of encouragement, an ear that listens intently, an extended hand
a willingness to help
flowers
in Jesus' name

i can't offer advice
just me

i don't presume to know what should be done with isis
i don't know

all i know is
' they have guns, but we have flowers '
a father's words in the mouth of his son
in the face of the mass of mess in the aftermath of reckless wanton wickedness and death and destruction

..

a wisened statement ..
" darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that;
hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that "
and flowers ..

..

all i know is that ' blessed are the peacemakers .. they will be called children of God '

all i know is that the farthest extent of Jesus' teaching and example is
love your enemy

craziest thing!
the most unnatural thing i can think of
'cause my intestinal reaction is to hurt back, defend, overpower
show the bastards !

i'll not soon forget backintheday when i had this most unJesuslike thought that somebody ought to takeout saddam ( influenced in my naivete by the american fox ), and somebody said .. " pray for him "

..
you can love your friend and your family .. that ain't nuthin' 'cause they love you right back
the thing is to love those that hate you
love the ones that despise you for who you are
love the person that abuses you
that curses you
and pray for them

..

and then
turn the cheek

and pick a flower
or a handfull
and decorate somebody's day

another goodread on enabling ..

this too speaks ..

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/oct/28/my-heroin-addict-friend-when-shelly-starts-using-again-i-will-be-there-for-her-chris-arnade?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

goodread follow-up on enabling ..

I had a difficult time with yesterday's post .. it wasn't the runofthemill take on stuff, and caused me to consider long and hard whether my feelings were valid ..

a friend posted the following article on FB today
it speaks to similar


http://www.craiggreenfield.com/blog/deserving#.VjeEO2ZNRtp.facebook

'enabling' the downandout ..

a decade or so ago, while walking to work, i passed a man sleeping in an alley
it was 7-something
he was covered with a split-open cardboard box
his visible legs were bare, pieces of cardboard tied to his feet - his shoes

i paused ..

walked on

`|`

somehow i couldn't get this man out of my mind

`|`

some days earlier i had passed an alley and seen a woman sitting there, rifling through her bundle ..
i stopped and asked her if i could help in any way
shockingly she seemed angry at the thought, told me she didn't want anything from me ..
i couldn't figure that out
thought on it over and over
why ?

perhaps that had some effect on my reticence to approach the cardboard man

..

i closed the store, put an 'i'll be back shortly' notice on the glass door, and went looking for him
i found him still there ..
i bought him (and me) something to eat
and we talked

he was an intelligent person, apparently ran some sort of construction business that failed
he lost his wife and child - she kicked him out when he turned to alcohol

..

i took him to main street, into a shoe shop
immediately the looks
when i realized the disruption it was causing to the workers, i approached one of them and said i wanted to buy the man a pair of shoes
they said he couldn't be in there
(ok, he smelled bad, and looked very rough, so i understand the attitude)
we moved outside the door to the sidewalk and tried shoes
he chose a pair of construction boots

..

the next day i took him some of my own clothes

..

he came around to the store occasionally over the next few days
and then i didn't see him for a while
and when i did there were no boots ..
he said they had been stolen

..

i know he was still drinking

i continued to get him food and occasionally gave him money
although i figured he was probably using it to buy liquor
..

i was of mixed mind
was i helping or hurting my friend ?

..
.

was i 'enabling' him ??

`|`

that wasn't the first time i dealt with that
but this one really brought it home somehow

what was my response to be as a Christian
more specifically, and more pertinently to me, what should i do as a Jesusperson ??
how would Jesus deal with it ?

..

that think has dogged me since then
followed me around like i follow my self

people holding a sign at intersections
or sitting on the sidewalk

..

i did come to a position
i was going to help any way i could, whether that was buying food or clothes or giving them money
and i was going to leave the sorting-out to God

sometimes i would say something like ' i give you this in Jesus' name ', or ' God bless you ' and shake their hand
i guess i was trying to put a divine spin on it in their mind .. maybe that would make them think twice about spending the money on alcohol or drugs ..
and then i stopped with that attitude too; i simply blessed them .. period .. in God's name
and prayed for them as i walked away

..

God will deal with me on that someday, one way or the other
but .. my conscience is clear, for whatever that's worth

..

it's getting colder
and the thought of people sleeping in the street in the cold and the rain and the snow is again creeping up on me ..
that's my hallow e'en

i remember opening the doors and the street people walking in at 4 a.m.
serving them hot breakfast and a chance to sleep in peace

some were using before they came in
some had been drinking ..
most were dirty
bag-eyed
clutching their life in a backpack like it was their very life
everyone needed to use the bathroom .. some used it to clean-up ..
   cleaning the bathroom afterwards was always a test of my intestinal fortitudinosity .. really

i knew they would be back on the street today/tonight
knew they would be panhandling
some stealing
some using
scratching-out survive another day
eat bathroom clothing shower? shave? feminine needs?

... . .  .   . what do i do ?

was i enabling them in their drug use and alcoholism when i offered them food ?
after all, if they got free food they could use any money they had for using ..

`|`

this wasn't supposed to be a long-winded blog, but it's a serious matter for many, and i needed to lay a groundwork, a basis for the think, a you-follow-me-in so you can personalize it
you have to come to a decision for yourself ..

`|`

thing is
i keep hearing i'm enabling them

enabling

i wonder .. ... .

when a person has to sleep curled up under a hedge or in some darkened alley or under a parked truck or out in the woods ..
every night looking for a 'safe' place
where do i get off judging that person for needing to use to make it through the night and face the next day in the face of ridicule disgust berate get-a-job-you-bum get-out-of-here no-you-can't-use-the-bathroom ..

if it was me lying there afraid that someone would beat the crap out of me and steal my life .. every night
or rape me
if it was me facing 'decent' people every day with no sense of self-respect left
   that long gone with the repeated ridicule
   i'm now an unhuman human
   a worthless scumbag
..

`|`

i'm left with this ..

when i think of what i think and do and say
when i consider that i am quite the sinner
when i toss my self in the ring of life and watch me there in all my unGodliness
when i consider that i am an affront to God in the many many ways i am an affront to God
when i look at me
and then i consider God ..

when i think about God being there for me and meeting my needs every day
i don't have to sleep outdoors or scrounge for food or look for a toilet or beg
when i reflect on the fact that God still looks out for me
   and still loves me
in the midst of the me that i glaringly am
that Jesus washes MY feet ..

is God enabling me

??

why the colour, i wonder ..

everything says ' this is the real '
but we know different
or should

what we see and perceive, 2 differing experiences, really isn't all there is to it ..
damned good thing too
'cause i, for one, could never figure the point of it all ..
what is the point ??

not for some strange ' feeling ' in the pit of my mind that there has got to be more to it than this life as it appears onthefaceofit, i, one of those southpawish introverts, might well have left already ..
apart from the introversion stuff, there's the uselessness ..
unless of course you're willing to reduce it to a monarch-ish butterfly's creaturely instinctive life that passes-on its creatureliness to the next generation while travelling to exciting new lands with grand vistas .. they die on the journey, never witnessing the arrival, leaving the rendezvous at travel's-end for another generation to relish ..

the instinctive drive to perpetuate life

i'm sure there's pleasure for the butterfly in that journeying, but i think that ..
i think
i go beyond the pleasure of the moment
to wonder
beyond

..

there's this turn of theology that looks dangerously reducive, wrapping all of God's creation into one beautiful ball-shaped manifestation in all it's admitted glory ..

aside .. .
this happens to be my favourite time, colouring my year with my personal colour scheme of redsyellowsorangesgoldsbrownsgreens and the colours between, stretching my awe, Fall after Autumn, jaw agape, camera clicking as i try to take it all in again, and capture something of the emotional content to boot ..

that pallette presents itself in all its glory, falling leaf by leaf towards the hard ground of our humanity, as a human experience of beauty and wonder ..

but i am able to appreciate that beauty in an otherly manner, an observer, wondering and processing it all in a fashion that offers me a distinctive view, while being absolutely here

the difference is something in my makeup, something that distinguishes me from the leaf, the tree, and allows me to ponder, to awe ..

i am somehow different
it is that difference that calls humanity to a far greater accountability than any other creaturely form, a responsibility to not only appreciate the other, but to do our damnedest to preserve and perpetuate it as a manifestation of the 'divine' in me that speaks cool colours and beauty in its own right

there's something behind the beauty, some designing purpose
some calling to appreciate not only the beauty, but the beautiful purpose
..

the real we see is an inyourface thing
the real we do not see lies in back and beyond

so while i wonder at the colourfull fall in all its own glory
i go beyond to the beauty that saw that beauty in the designing of it for us humanity, who can somehow appreciate the beauty in its own right and yet appreciate the beauty behind the beauty
the beauty i see is merely a manifestation of a purposeful mind who not only understands beauty, but knows somehow what beauty is for me ..

there's a resonate there, a commonality in the mind of the purposeful beauty-creator and my mind

wow

really ??

really ????

..

somehow there's a connection between the i that i am and the person that created
and that defies the reductive 'theology' that wants to place the Autumn gorgeous and the beholder in the very same crucible of life that dies for the propulsion and propagation of life .. life fostering life fostering life ..

somehow i differ from that cycle
my crucible isn't that
at least not only that
there's more
there's more

..

i am not the same as the rest of the creation we know
somewhow i'm other
although i am integrally part of

that difference lies in recognizing the godness in me
that i am like an-other
somehow different
not the same
but like
a like that differentiates me from the creation-like i'm part of

that godlikeness is found right at the creation story, right at the beginning
in the opening chapters of the hebrew christian holybook

and God said this .. let's make humans ..
let's make them like we are
like us

that was the distinctive
the setapartness
the 'holy' design of the human that set them in a different light from the rest of God's good creation, that made the human accountable to CreatorGod and responsible as Godlikebeings for the rest of creation

..

so .. i'm not only part of the created order of things
and i'm not only like Creator
i'm a mix
a blend of the red and the green
a halfbreed
a privileged being, like God, living in the world i am part of

that leaves me a mysterious creature
able to appreciate the grandness of Fallcolour
able to appreciate the great Fallenness of the world of which i am
able to appreciate the majestic beauty and purity of the person who dreamed it all up, the person that made it happen and then infused it with creaturely images of Godself, while all at once comprehending something of the grandeur that first adorned it in its pristinity..

what an absolutely incredible thought ..

that leaves me in a most delicate suspense

a delicacy that callsout for wisdom
to understand
why
and what part is mine

somehow i have to be part of this, yet responsible to That
to somehow manifest the reality of who i am, who i was created as
and follow that through

it is a tall tall wall to climb
i'm not sure i have the wherwithal
but .. somehow i have to try
for failure to try is tantamount to a denial of the That i am like
and the world in which i live and move and be
observing its occasional beauty in the midst of all the dark horror of its life
   war
   power
   ownership
   and all the slavery that falls into that
      enslaved mind
      enslaved body
      bound by what i see and 'know'
      socialized to live in the pens created for us
         who refuse to look beyond the breeding grounds of a manufactured
         society that breeds more for the powers-that-be
         fuel their wealth
         perpetuate their pleasured power

..

i am so blessed to be able to perceive beyond the seeing
to know the Creator i am like
to be able to ask for wisdom to understand and to move in that direction
   beyond
   toward
while being here in the now with the other creatures in all their beauty

..

that journey, that climbing-the-wall, is a journey we all are called to take
that journey is the human endeavour
the trek beyond
upward
outward from me
to find the me i am created to be in the midst of life as it seems
in honour of the person that created it all
in the knowledge that i don't really know or understand it all
and that i need Creatorly insight, wisdom from above

..

that crucible is my forming fire
the place where the Creator was fired as human
as Jesus

i want that fire
for i want to be just exactly precisely Jesus ..
nothing less
nothing more

how about piping a different tune ..

" And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.
And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.
And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. "
acts 2

the context just beyond Pentecost, when the holy Spirit took up dwelling individually in Jesus' followers, just as Jesus had promised when he was about to face his final days - ' i will not leave you comfortless, i will come to you '

he did come, in the person of another Comforter

`|`

a few days ago a friend asked me my opinion on a piece written by a wellknown christian commentator and preacher
please read it; it's short
http://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/how-should-christians-think-about-socialism

`|`

the pic in the piece is bernie sanders

there are a couple problems from my perspective

bernie s does not promulgate socialism: what he speaks of is capitalistic socialism, which is obviously different, or he wouldn't have renamed it
and i daresay Mr sanders is not decrying the private ownership
he is crying-out against the blatantly unjust circumstance of the 1%, with the rapidly diminishing middle class and the rapid growth of poverty in the richest nation ever to exist ..
not that i'm a bernie s fan, just pointing that out

and, unlike the piper's take, mr sanders is not advocating for the state ownership of everything ..

`|`

but the more pertinent issue arising out of the article by the famous gentleman is the religious rather than the political

a point made was that people obviously had personal property in order to be able to give it away ..
true ..
however that comment in defense of capitalism and ownership rights does not reflect the scripture passage quoted
the obvious outtake is that they sold what they owned and gave it to the church to be used for the benefit of the group as a whole
the church became the manager of the pool of wealth
and everyone had their needs met

that's quite different from what the piper piped, quote:
" .. all of the Bible, the Old Testament and the New Testament, assumes both the legitimacy — and, I think, the necessity — of personal ownership. " ..


secondly, while aditting that noone in the church should go hungry, the blatant fact is that they do .. and houseless and begging for clothes
if for some reason you beleive that christians aren't on the street, i advise you to think again ..
so the church is hardly accomplishing that task


thirdly, we in the church have this habit of restricting our responsibility to the 'members' of christianity
so that, while the good gentleman didn't address the issue, the massive migration of syrians would, i imaging, not suit his religious agenda for north america .. unless he vetted the lot for religious affiliation ..

the glaring problem with that think is that Jesus specifically answered that issue when asked by a smartypants " and who is my neighbour ? " (referred to in last blog post)
Jesus' response was to tell a story in which religion was blasted and lovingkindness exalted in the persons of a priest a levite and a dreaded samaritan
it was the strange outcast samaritan who rescued and cared for the (presumably) jewish man who fell among thieves, while the religious bigots crossed the street to pass by the beaten man ..
= your neighbour is anyone you meet anywhere anytime
as in any other human


fourthly, the author points to 2Corinthians 8,9 as bolster for private ownership
but Paul was telling the predominantly gentile (non-jew) church in corinth that they should be sharing with the church in jerusalem who were undergoing famine
this was 2 distinct segments, 2 churches in different locations
in the beginning of that passage he references the macedonian church and their giving, as an example, and he points out that they were poor and undergoing tribulation oof some sort, yet they gave out of their poverty to the same jerusalem church, and in addition - more significantly - gave of themselves, that is, they told God that what they had was God's, and relinquished their ownership to the Lord

that, again, is a very different take on the scriptures the writes refers to, and he's using it to defend private ownership and mine-mine, in my opinion

" I am testing how genuine your love is by comparing it with the eagerness of the other churches.
You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich. "
2Cor 8:8,9

well then .. seems that Jesus himself set the example
the Word of God, who was in the beginning with God, and was God, gave up Godhood to become human for our sakes
he impoverished himself
what on Earth could that exemplify in Paul's argument, i wonder

" I don’t mean your giving should make life easy for others and hard for yourselves. I only mean that there should be some equality. " 8:13
share, so that everyone has what they need
that's the simple message
no ?

" Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need. Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it. In this way, things will be equal. As the Scriptures say,
' Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough. ' "
8:14,15

it's true, they had private property .. but seems to me they didn't consider it theirs
like we do
..
i'll stop
i could go on

the message is clear, in my humbled opinion

`|`

one last thing

of all the scriptures and doctrines we have that speak to this, Jesus stands-out as the predominant exemplar, as noted
but moreso in this respect: he not only relinquished his godhood for humanity, but even as a human, he was a servant
now, we can ' dance all around robin hood's barn ' on this, but the fact is that Jesus was a person without private means, without a home (and if he had one, hardly went there (that we know of from the scriptures)), shucked corn in the fields for food, took coinage from the mouth of fish to pay taxes, slept outdoors often, etc.
we also know that there were some better-off disciples who used 'their' money to support him and the cause ..
furthermore, he refused to ask the Father for help by sending heavenly forces when his life was about to be taken

`|`

so, ya
it isn't so much private property that i have a problem with, it's the idea that it's mine

`|`

i have a problem from the gitgo when i hear someone defending capitalism at the cost of the poor, the fatherless, the widow, the homeless, the emigrant ..
seems to me i'd rather err on the other side of that argument, sir

for followers of Jesus, the weight should always .. always .. land on the side of the downtrodden, the unfortunate, the alien, the prisoner, the margined, the outcast

`|`

when we are unwilling to forego the social norms with which we have been indoctrinated for the sake of Jesus and the kingdom ..
hmmmmmm ..
then i have to question what sort of disciples we are ..

those men left their very families to follow Jesus
left their livelihoods
their homes

..

question is this .. if Jesus was to appear today and require that of me .. .    .
would i ?

sundays speak .. violence and hope

one of the pleasures of my life at present is Sunday routine ..
if i can, i get to be with church
   and participate in the Gospel in its fullness, in context
and then spend some private time in a public coffee place
   ruminate
   read
   write

for me, it is a blissful blessing all its own

..

perusing Huffpost, the hot headline is ' days of rage ', a report on the dread israeli/palestinian conflict as it persists - death, threat, anger and rage, offense, abuse and confrontation ..

..

the hot topic at church was Magdalene house for abused women in Nashville and its Thistle Farms ..
hospitality
which, according to the preacher, speaks this .. " at bottom, at its core, christianity is hospitality ..
' in my Father's house are many dwellings; i go to prepare you one' .  " ..

..

while we war at one another
   there are pieces of peace in places
while we dispute vehemently over shiite and sunni, catholic and protestant, evangelical, fundamentalist, liberal ..
   there is the gospel in its going, here and there
while we kill in all its forms - abuse, hate, cast out, curse, malign and gossip, disregard and shame
   there is lifegiving in the name of Jesus

..

a certain man was travelling down to Jericho
and fell among thieves ..
a story Jesus told when asked about eternal life and "so, who is my neighbour ?"
a story about an outsider, a stranger who stopped on that wicked road to help
while all the religious folk walked on by, smelling themselves ..
the neighbour was the stranger, the outcast samaritan, the outsider
   says the preacher

..

while this world is marked and defined more by evil than by good
   there is the indescribable peace of God

i am fortunate to live in a 'free' country
while the majority live in or under threat of violence and war and greed that leads to poverty ..
very fortunate
and yet, there is a violence and war of another not-so-bulleted-and-bombed sort all around me ..
that abuse, hate, cast out, curse, malign and gossip, disregard and shame
that divide into groups
dismiss for colour
denigrate for sexuality
degrade for religion
disregard for social status
deprive of basic wellbeing for poverty
   the senseless delusion of finding oneself in riches
      “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” ( Lk 12.15 )

..
the fruit of godliness is
love
joy
peace
patience
kindness
goodness
faithfulness
humility
self-control

this is where Godspirit leads and dwells

..

while we are a most violent and abusive breed of creature
there is Good News
messages of hope
for us
here, in our context
to be planted in the hearts of our neighbours ..
good seed
producing such fruit

hope in the face of dread

let us be a people of hope
blessing our neighbour with good! news
   in Jesus' name

falling into colourful suffering ..

i dont know which is my mostest favourite .. spring or fall ..
it's falling right now, so i guess this is it

i love the colour
absolutely

but there's that nagging thought in the midsection of my brainthink that resurects itself - winter's coming
and i hate winter ..
every bone in my body cries out to be warmed
every muscle tenses at the cold
.. it's a tense time for me
and i spend much of it anticipating the resurrection of warmth
via that sun
the sun is the redeeming icon of winter for me

one day i'm going to tattoo that sun (as part of a more iconic symbol) onto my back

`|`

meanwhile the colours are showing - o my ..
i never ever tire of the awe of it all, and i'm sure if i retrace my blogsteps i'd find similar posts falling around this time in years gone by ..

i must get deep into the mountains soon
camera astrap
dog in tow

i relish that

`|`

the cycle of life
..

we humans arrive, grow, live, degenerate and die
pretty awful when it's put like that ..
simply awful

but we know the 70 or 90 (or 50) years we have are a whole lot more complicated than that simplistic statement
a whole lot more
there's great food and sparse cupboards
wonderful moms and mothers that abuse
schooldays missed and bullying
teenage flirts and rejection
upscale careers and production lines
3 bed homes and doublewides
retirement and 'homes' where you go to die
.. even that's a precis ..

that look that made your day and the comment that unmade it
the kind gesture of an opened door, the harsh bark of an angry boss ..

a thank-you card, a note slipped in your lunchbox, sharing a samich with your bestie, kicking around a (real) football on the beach, a beer and some laughable chat, coffee and a good read, the squeeze of a tiny fist around your finger ..
the 'friend' that inserted the knife blade, that illness that ruined your vacation, a backhanded slap, the soul-tearing disappointment of love-to-be lost, family feuds and broken thanksgivings, no reply to your application, $32.18 in the bank, eviction notice, what-the-hell-happened-to-my-church ? ..

now multiply that by 100 a month for 60 years ..
then add a ton of other disappointments and pleasured moments
and maybe you get a life

`|`

the cycle of life ..

..

richard rohr spoke to that some, recently
but his focus was on the 'downside' of life in that particular speak ..
his comments centered around the embracing of suffering as the definitive characteristic of truly human
as per Jesus, the real human, the ultimate ..

he took our brokenness within himself, acknowledged it, knew it, understood it, experienced it, in love, for us
he embraced our demise and made Life from the mix

that's a whole lot different than it is for us in our natural state of being
we rebel, in disgust, begrudge, respond aggressively, hate, search-out vengeance, sometimes many years after the fact, blare at God, dismember our fellow church 'member' ..
we carry the hurts as scars to be recounted, bruises on our shirtsleeves, all black-and-blued and obviously resentful of life and what i've suffered ..
quite unlike Jesus

..

there's a theme related to suffering in this life
it runs thick red with depth, breadth of soul, compassion, relatedness to this world in which we live and to the others that share it with us, mercy, caring, forgiveness, sorrow for others' hurts, compassion, forgiveness, a right view of money and possessions and the relatedness of giving and sharing, compassion, respect for each life - not only for those that fall into our clique and church and our view of socially acceptable, relief of the aching heart of a friend, a heart that runs toward the abused and downtrodden, compassion ..

suffering can breed beautiful crowfeet on the soul, lines that betray a soul well traveled, wisdom from beyond ..
if we let it

it's almost like .. it's a privilege to suffer .. .    .    .
   although it took a lot to write that statement
   a whole lot

do i really believe that ? ..
you ..  . ?

`|`

do i really believe that Jesus became my sin
took it
in himself
shared in the ruin of me
the brokenness of my life
?

that right there is the secret to knowing life
Life, with a cap
true life

for when i take that perspective on as mine, mine
i see God as Godself truly is
in all God's glorious beauty
relief and release for the hurting and abused and downtrodden
rescue from the detriment
the dislocation
the separation from GodCreator

reconnection
reinstallation in the family of God
unification
oneity

..

that was accomplished through suffering the humiliation of being human
the final humiliation of human death
for the God that was
that became human
for us

how can we let that go
let it pass
like another autumn
like the fleeting coloured grandeur of summerfade, winterdawn ..
just another season ..
?

i cannot

simply put, it's far too dangerous to Life
to my life, lived

it is the most astounding revelation to humanity ever
and it calls-out for a response that engages the all of me
every ounce
every molecule
every neuron
every intangible piece and part of me

i cannot but respond wholeheartedly, wholemindedly, wholesoulily, wholebodily
for that, my friend, is true life lived
life lived in fullness
in honour of that Man who loves me
and you
like we were his very own brothers and sisters
family
cofamily with him in the family of God who love us so, in just this way, that the very life of GodFirstborn could be willingly given for us

if that doesn't speak to us .. .
i'm not sure what ever will

respect to the One that suffered for me

may i learn that attitude
and attitude that

the Fall of nature carries with it a beauty that can sustain us through winterdeath ..
bring us out on the other side more mature for our weathering

peace

when God leaves ..

sometimes
   God backs-off
   just pulls a reverse
   leaves us there
      hangin'

   leaves ..

God abandons us
for a time

..

have you ever cried-out to God
got no response
as in zero ..
nothing there ..

" where are you ! ?? "

" why don't you answer me ? ... . ? " ?

`|`

i know the scripture .. ' i will never leave you nor forsake you ' ..

God doesn't forsake us
God forsakes us
for a time
for our good

..

one of Hebrews' issues is God's testing us
and it's a point worthy of serious consideration, because it's repeated throughout, with warnings attached

the prime illustrator used is Israel
rightly so, since they were the people God was going to use to win the world back

God displayed a strong arm in bringing them out of slavery in Egypt, humbling the Egyptians,
using a man God had humbled 40 years,
a runner-from Egypt, for murder
a man who had been raised as son of the imperial court
taught and trained under the best
..

God does things in wavy freaky twisty ways
befuddling the mind ..

..

God releases them, forcibly
leads them out
   leave
Egypt

..

then God
   leaves
them ..

o, they saw the cloud, the fire
but they didn't see God
or hear God
only Moses did

and they got antsy
mouthed-off
complained
accused Moses
accused God

said they wanted to
   leave
go back

..

it wasn't a big deal for God to give them meat
and water ..
   when they got tired of the sameol-sameol manna
eventually God did

what God was driving-at was
' are you with me ? '
' are you in ? '
as in in for the long haul
in, regardless

as in ' do you trust me ? ' .. ?

that is the issue with God

' i need you to be my child, to show the world who i am, what i am ..
but i need to know i can trust you ..
can i .. ? '    ..

`|`

so God simply stepped-back
to see what they would do

and they did respond
but not with faith
they responded with rebel

the Good News was preached to them too, just like it is to us
but it accomplished nothing in themm
because they didn't respond in faith
   with trust
faith didn't get in the mix ..
so God rejected them
God said ' you will not enter my Rest ' ..

God had promised them a land of their own
a land ' flowing with milk and honey '
and God was dead-on serious .. some eventually got there, got that ..
but not this generation, God did that for the next generation of Israel

and then ..
God tested them

and then, God tested

and tests
to this day

.. Rest

`|`

God is into testing
because God is not into mouthing-off
not into pretense
posturing
facades and whitewash
talk talk
labels and tattooed crosses
fancy church buildings
displays and promotions
..

God is real
God wants real
   more than anything

that's why God refuses the sacrifices and offerings and ..
God says ' don't bring it; i don't want it '
lots of talk and posturing
   but your heart
      is far from me
your heart
is
far
from me

' i rejected them
'cause they rejected me .. '

`|`

God isn't a fool
God is not a human that God lies
   or doesn't see our lieing
      our facade
      painted face for the world

God is into real

when we come to God
bring the real

`|`

so
consider ..
if we're going to be ' christian ', follow Christ
best do that
as in ' do ' that
and not play
   games ..
God is so not into playing games

when times get tough
when we lose-out
when people walk away
when ' friends ' un-friend
when all seems lost
bottoming-out
and we stand there ..
   all alone
   where to turn ?
   who is out there ?
   what do i do now ?
   where to now ?

that is just the time to hang-on ..
hang on !
do not turn back
don't do it ..

back there is slavery, bondage, inhuman
unhuman

how can we turn back
after tasting of the Spirit and the gifts and the release and experiencing God in all Godgoodness ..

it's impossible to renew to repentance those that do ..
they do despite unto the Spirit of grace
trample underfoot the Son
and treat the blood of the covenant as if it were a vulgar thing

we must hold on
God is God
what else is there ?
.. even when God is not there

because even when God is not there
God is there

God isn't playing games, friend
God is serious
about us
about you
and me

God wants us in
as in all in
as in committed, whatever the cost, whatever .. regardless

`|`

God tests our resolve ..
are we serious about this
or just playin' ?
using God for convenience, when it suits us ..

then when things get rough ..
man .. i'm not doing this anymore

it is those that endure
persist
refuse to turn back
patiently waiting on God to God it

those are the children of God

friend, what child doesn't experience discipline
if you do, it's proof you are God's child
be thankful your GodParent treats you like a Godchild
recognize it for what it is
bear-up in that discipline
..
God wants us to share in GodHoliness
God wants Godchildren that experience Godholiness
know what it is to share in Godnature
understand who God is
experience
God
in all Godfullness
filled with all the fullness of Godself
one with God
God in us
us in God
one

`|`


what is it worth to you ..