It is Advent. A time in the church when we prepare, we wait, we expect something amazing. I find this funny because I am always expecting something amazing from God. Everything that God does amazes me. Bringing hope from despair, bringing laughter from tears, loving a dirtbag like me, and the most amazing thing, bringing life from death! Everything God does is amazing! But being so close to Christmas, everyone wants to sing Christmas carols. "We want to get into the Christmas spirit now instead of during the season of Christmas," is what I hear. The season of Christmas in the church is the time between Christmas and Epiphany. Those 12 days between December 25th and January 6th. That is when the church says to sing all those favorite hymns. Advent is a time to prepare for the coming. The coming of Jesus as God in the flesh, Immanuel, Mighty God! But, I guess I am no different, so in my churches, I sing a few Christmas hymns to help people get in the mood.
The first week of Advent we are asked to reflect on the coming of Jesus at the end of time, when the parousia happens. Have you ever noticed that fundamentalist evangelical Christianity talks about the second coming as a two fold return. First, Jesus comes and "raptures" the believers and then comes again after the "great tribulation" for the "Great White Throne Judgement." But here is a surprise for most people, the words "second coming" never occur in the entire bible! What fundamentalists desire, the Second Coming, is never spoken in the scriptures! It is simply the coming, the parousia! And it is to the Earth that the coming happens! Holy Cow!!
The coming is spoken of, and we get to see and know, we get to look and know. That is what Luke states. We Look and Know the kingdom of God is at hand. The kingdom is not far off, it is here and now. The kingdom is a participatory event! We get to participate in it most surely when we feed that hungry child at our "poor shelter" in town, when we give our clothes to the Salvation Army second hand store, when the hooker and the pious people sit at the same table, when God's ways become the way the people of the world live by instead of war and capitalism and rich getting more and poor getting less, when we sacrifice our desires for the ways of God! The veil between our world and God's kingdom becomes transparent during these times and when we pray,and when we worship, and when we eat and drink at the table of God!
The Kingdom is not too far off. The coming is at hand! Look and Know!
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Enough
I just returned from my Thanksgiving Eve service. I am ever thankful for the vocation I am blessed to be in!
The text that I preached on was from Matthew. Jesus is in the middle of his sermon on the mount. He is the new Moses and has given a new Decalogue, but then he says something amazing. He says don't worry about what you will eat or drink or wear, Seek first the kingdom of God. Jesus can say this because he is living in the here and now kingdom where he and his followers are sharing and living and loving. Those in his movement don't need to worry about food because they share. Those in his movement don't need to worry about clothing because they share. Those in his movement don't need to worry, period.
We claim to be in his movement today and yet we worry. We worry because even though we claim to be followers of Jesus, we don't live in the kingdom he started. We live in the world, but we could live in the kingdom. We could live in the kingdom that is hear and also in the future by saying enough!
We in the USA have enough, and yet others don't. We in the USA spend $1.14 trillion a year on war and military endeavors and yet 20,000 people will die today from hunger related diseases. I think that is enough! We in the USA have clothes to spare, and yet some in the world don't have shoes to keep the diseases from their feet. I say that is Enough!
What would happen if we all said ENOUGH?
The text that I preached on was from Matthew. Jesus is in the middle of his sermon on the mount. He is the new Moses and has given a new Decalogue, but then he says something amazing. He says don't worry about what you will eat or drink or wear, Seek first the kingdom of God. Jesus can say this because he is living in the here and now kingdom where he and his followers are sharing and living and loving. Those in his movement don't need to worry about food because they share. Those in his movement don't need to worry about clothing because they share. Those in his movement don't need to worry, period.
We claim to be in his movement today and yet we worry. We worry because even though we claim to be followers of Jesus, we don't live in the kingdom he started. We live in the world, but we could live in the kingdom. We could live in the kingdom that is hear and also in the future by saying enough!
We in the USA have enough, and yet others don't. We in the USA spend $1.14 trillion a year on war and military endeavors and yet 20,000 people will die today from hunger related diseases. I think that is enough! We in the USA have clothes to spare, and yet some in the world don't have shoes to keep the diseases from their feet. I say that is Enough!
What would happen if we all said ENOUGH?
Monday, November 23, 2009
Lutheran CORE
Change is good. Change can make one grow. Change can even buy a soda pop! Change in the church is inevitable because the church is a group of people coming together to see what God is up to in the world that we live in and a place to gain strength for facing the changes in the world.
Some people will say that the ELCA has left the church catholic by the changes it is making concerning the rostering of publicaly accountable, life long monogomous, same gendered people, but I say hog wash. The Reverend Dr. Gil Waldkoenig from the Lutehran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg recently said "Lutheranism is a reforming movement within the church catholic, a generation of scholars tried to teach us (for one example, Jenson and Gritsch in their book Lutheranism). Now CORE is giving visible witness AGAINST that thesis, by drawing a smaller circle to stand inside and proclaim 'we are true, you are false.'" I agree whole heartedly.
The church must change or it will die. We, as a people of God, must reinterpret how God is acting in the world. We, as a people of God, must always move in the direction of justice because God is a God of justice. God is a God of life and anything that does not foster life is not of God. Therefore, keeping people who are in a publicly accountable, life long monogmous, same gender relationship from fulfilling their calling in the church is not of God. Those scriptures that say homosexual sexual activity is an abomination DO NOT come from God but from people who wanted the nation of Israel to be different from the nations around them.
The ELCA must endeavor to be a reforming church. The ELCA must never draw a circle around itself for the sake of unity. The ELCA can simply say "good bye" to those people who want to consistently tell us the world is flat, and watch them sail off into the sunset of history because their movement will never survive becaue it is not relavent to people living in a post flat world. Good bye CORE, good bye!
Some people will say that the ELCA has left the church catholic by the changes it is making concerning the rostering of publicaly accountable, life long monogomous, same gendered people, but I say hog wash. The Reverend Dr. Gil Waldkoenig from the Lutehran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg recently said "Lutheranism is a reforming movement within the church catholic, a generation of scholars tried to teach us (for one example, Jenson and Gritsch in their book Lutheranism). Now CORE is giving visible witness AGAINST that thesis, by drawing a smaller circle to stand inside and proclaim 'we are true, you are false.'" I agree whole heartedly.
The church must change or it will die. We, as a people of God, must reinterpret how God is acting in the world. We, as a people of God, must always move in the direction of justice because God is a God of justice. God is a God of life and anything that does not foster life is not of God. Therefore, keeping people who are in a publicly accountable, life long monogmous, same gender relationship from fulfilling their calling in the church is not of God. Those scriptures that say homosexual sexual activity is an abomination DO NOT come from God but from people who wanted the nation of Israel to be different from the nations around them.
The ELCA must endeavor to be a reforming church. The ELCA must never draw a circle around itself for the sake of unity. The ELCA can simply say "good bye" to those people who want to consistently tell us the world is flat, and watch them sail off into the sunset of history because their movement will never survive becaue it is not relavent to people living in a post flat world. Good bye CORE, good bye!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Christ the King
Today is Christ the King Sunday. My friend loves this day. I am not too sure. I wonder what it means for me living in 2009 in North Dakota to say that Jesus is King? I have often talked about primary identity. What is my primary identity? Am I an American who happens to be a Christian, or am I a Christian that happens to live in America. I lean towards the latter, but most people in my parish would lean towards the former.
I argue quite often with my older brother about theology. He is a conservative fundamentalist and I am a flaming progressive. He would say that he is an American Christian, and I love him for that. But saying that Jesus is King is making a political statement just like the first followers of Jesus made when they said that Jesus is Lord and Caesar is not. But do we mean Jesus is King always when we say it or does it matter what is happening in our lives?
I think many people think of Jesus and God only during times of great stress and trial. God is the escape hatch in the troubles of life, and I find this difficult to come to terms with. I would like to see more people taking their religion a lot more serious. Not like the pious people of the past, but like people who want to change the world for the better with the love of God.
Christ is King, not just of heaven, but of earth too. Does that make a difference to us?
I argue quite often with my older brother about theology. He is a conservative fundamentalist and I am a flaming progressive. He would say that he is an American Christian, and I love him for that. But saying that Jesus is King is making a political statement just like the first followers of Jesus made when they said that Jesus is Lord and Caesar is not. But do we mean Jesus is King always when we say it or does it matter what is happening in our lives?
I think many people think of Jesus and God only during times of great stress and trial. God is the escape hatch in the troubles of life, and I find this difficult to come to terms with. I would like to see more people taking their religion a lot more serious. Not like the pious people of the past, but like people who want to change the world for the better with the love of God.
Christ is King, not just of heaven, but of earth too. Does that make a difference to us?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)