a tale of 2 kings, or the real Good News..

there's more than 1 way to look at stuff
.. we seem to like surety a lot
as in, my way is the way and the other ways are wrongevil

if you live in the ocean it's difficult to imagine landlife
   your think is waterlogged
if you've only ever ridden donkeys and horses it's a strain to imagine cars
   clippityclop rules

even for those of us who live near the sea, life in a waterworld is virtually unthinkable

and a muslim just walked past me ..

and i sat next to a wealthy man today ..

and africa is about as far away to me as the moon
   'cept for the internet, i suppose
and iran
syria

..

as the rich richen and poverty expands in this country, it becomes more and more difficult for either to imagine the other
both live in the fear of the other, and in fear of their state - the one scrambles for food and shelter and clothing while the other scrambles to secure what they have

..

point is, i suppose, that apart from the desire to understand the other, whomever that other may be for us, there will usually be
   the fear of the other
and fear is a serious obstacle to understanding and wisdom
and to love Jesus-style

`|`

for some time i've struggled with the question of whether someone born into and growing up in a place where the name of Jesus has not been known can know God
as in the God i know, the God who manifested Godself as Jesus
   ( and ya, i know about creation reveation
   and conscience
      .. got that )

that think can lead all kinds of places
like, if i grow up in a country where the religion is muslim (or hindu or brahman or ..) and my parents are and my schoolfriends are and my place of worship is and i learn that think as the think and observe that life in my daytoday ..
then the life of the other, christian (or hindu or ..) will be strange to me
   and not only strange, but perhaps even reprehensible

when women in my society are taught to cover themselves, and then i see uncovered and barely-covered women, it's an offense to me
   even if i don't express that openly
when pork is seen as an unholy/unclean meat, and i see people freakin' over bacon, it's strange and uncultured to me

..

muslimism is much like judaism is many ways
in ancient israel people had 'laws' to live by, and not to live by those laws entailed punishment, sometimes stoning
   stoning
   to death
..
that wasn't that long ago in the grand scheme of human history

..

so then, there's more than 1 way to look at stuff

and i have to choose a way
or be blown about by every wind of doctrine, of somebody's morality, of social norm
and end up being a nobody
   or an everybody
and who wants to be a nobody
   or an anybody ..

but ..
.. i somehow have to allow the other to choose their own way
   and not be quick to judge
'cause my way may be the 'right' way
   but their choice has to be their choice, or it's not a choice
   and no choice is to live in love not
     
      even though they might not have Jesus as a choice ..
..
Jesus was the most unconventional person ..
he went to temple
   but he regularly upended religion
      his religion
he lived in a community that believed that God's blessing on people was manifested in their wealth
   but he oftentimes, as in lots, demeaned the value of money,
   and warned seriously about its power to draw a person
   away from God and neighbour

yet
he was the sinless One
   who spent his life among the sinners; he was their friend
he knew the boundaries of Judaism
   but he opened doors to roman oppressors and to hated samaritans
   and secondclass women
   and he loved children
his life led to breaking-down walls of separation, bustin' them loose
   so that there is no longer jew vs gentile, or slave vs free, or rich vs poor or man vs woman ..
broken down
lines gone
all in
no more lines
all in

and that was Jesus ..
the Jesus

and if that was his MO
   then who am i to ..

..

so that when we hear of why the government should not support the poor and provide homes for the homeless, including vets and women and children
   because that's a threat to me and my view of life
when we hear that medical care should only be for those that can pay for it
   because "i missed one-damned payment on my med bill
      and they sent a collector after me"
   and "whythehell should i pay for someone else's medical"
when i think of what a free education for everyone
   will cost me in taxes
when i see mosques in every major city
   and the offense that is to my understanding of god
      and correlate that with jihad

then ..

but Jesus ..

who opened doors
broke down walls
embraced the sinner
welcomed the oppressor
   gave up his life for
      me
..
me
the sinner
the wall-builder
the hater
the prejudiced
covetous
selfish
liar
cheat


`|`

i can lock-out
   or unlock
block-off
   or demolish
accumulate
   or share
pull my weapon
   or be willing to lay my life down
      " Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower,
      you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily,
      and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you
      give up your life for my sake, you will save it.
      And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world
      but are yourself lost or destroyed? "
         that was Jesus btw ..

..

Jesus could have been a famous rabbi and lived well, garnered much respect
   he chose to live on the street with the people
he could have been a 'king' and challenged imperial rome
   he chose a donkey and sandals
   a basin and cloth to wash feet
      wash feet .. get that
he could have built a religion with many followers
   he chose to create a family powered by love for one another
   empowered by his spirit
      and let it run

because his way was 'toward' the other
   not walled-off
'for' the unclean
   not walking on the other side of the road
'with' the sinner
   not berating them
'embracing' the margined, the outcast and the alien
'inviting' and welcoming any

there's this passage penned by apostle Paul
   " And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself
   through Christ.
   And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.
   For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself,
   no longer counting people’s sins against them.
   And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. "
      (2Corintians 5:18,19)
wow
no longer counting people's sins against them ??
really ??
wow
..

who am i
   that i get to mark-off the other
   berate
   judge their circumstance and motivation
   hate them
   abuse them ..
when i am so deserving of judgement
   when there is nothing worthy in me
   when, in my puny respectability and workethicity and christianity
      i am in the place of 'depart from me, Lord .. i am a sinful man .. '

i (should) love
them
and them over there
neighbors they are
as deserving of love as i
even
   and especially, says Jesus
   my enemy

love
for love covers a multitude of sins
   a ton of sins labeled with my name
      mine
   as well as theirs

      and who wants exposed sins ? ..
   as in naked
   stripped of all respectability
      'cause sins can be respectably clothed, ya know
who indeed ..


' this is how people will know you're my disciples
   when they see your love for each other '
      Jesus

..

so then .. God does not count people's sins against them
because reconciliation has been accomplished through Jesus the Christ
and this incredible message of reconciliation, of release, of freedom
   has been entrusted to me ..
      not a message about sin
      their sin
      sins
         not


the Good News is reconciliation
wrapped in musty brown paper that looks a lot like me
..

may the peace of the Lord Christ be with you ..