Tag Archives: Justice

Moving from Division to Action

Kingdom Building

August 17, 2019

Scripture Reading: Luke 12:49-56

‘I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on, five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided:
father against son
   and son against father,
mother against daughter
   and daughter against moth
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
   and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’ –Luke 12:49-52

Sound familiar? Taking sides seems to be the norm in our society today. What is Jesus trying to say here? What is the benefit of such chaos? Jesus grew to manhood during Roman rule where Jews could practice their religion if they did not make waves against the Roman Empire, which showed no mercy to anyone who crossed them. Jesus learned early the need to go along to get along. Much of his ministry was targeted at teaching his fellow Jews that going through the motions of religion was not living up to the covenants God has established with them, covenants regarding how to live and more importantly how to love, which in many ways were diametrically opposed to the ways of the Roman Empire.

I do not know Jesus’ motivation for allowing or encouraging division. I do know that division challenges the ennui* resulting from going along to get along. Perhaps Jesus was stirring up divisiveness to refocus God’s followers to take up their calling to foster God’s rule rather than Rome’s. Perhaps the divisiveness we are experiencing in our world today can be channeled into positive energy to lift us out of the ennui of our lives and help us to take up Jesus’ vision.

‘Why do we fast, but you do not see?
   Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?’
Look, you serve your own interest on your fast-day,
   and oppress all your workers.
Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
   and to strike with a wicked fist.
Such fasting as you do today
   will not make your voice heard on high.
Is not this the fast that I choose:
   to loose the bonds of injustice,
   to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
   and to break every yoke? –Isaiah 58:3-4, 6

Prayer: Lord, let your Spirit flow through us channeling discord into energy for creating a just world. Amen.

*Afeeling of listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occupation or excitement

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Fullness of Faith

Kingdom Building

August 15, 2019

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 11:29-12:2

By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell after they had been encircled for seven, received the spies in peace. –Hebrews 11:29-31

How’s our faith doing? Have we measured it recently? We might forget to check it like the women awaiting the bridegroom who forgot to get oil for their lamps and were not prepared when he arrived*. Would we have had the faith to leave the oppression of Egypt to cross the red sea?

Most of the people fleeing oppression in El Salvador (86%), Honduras (87%), and Guatemala (87%) are Christian. They flee their sons being kidnaped and brainwashed into become gang members, they flee their daughters being kidnaped and trafficked into the sex trade industry, they flee with the faith that God goes with them. Where are we followers of Christ as they flee?

In Christ’s birth, death, and resurrection, we were invited and chose to join a team challenged to create a world ruled by God’s love with many first experiencing God’s love through us. At want point are we allowed to rest on our progress and say, “Things are going well for me and my family-church-community-state-country, why do I need to worry about anything else? Won’t keeping these fleeing people out of my country, improve my quality of life?” It will not. As we install alert systems and build walls and do safety drills our lives are being revamped as we climb into our bunkers of fear.

Let us step forth in the faith of the Israelites as they fled Egypt and claim peace and tranquility through the power of God’s love not just for us but for all of God’s children.

Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning
Give me oil in my lamp, I pray
Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning
Keep me burning till the break of day

Sing hosanna, sing hosanna
Sing hosanna to the Servant King
Sing hosanna, sing hosanna
Sing hosanna, let us sing

Give me peace in my heart, keep me loving
Give me peace in my heart, I pray
Give me peace in my heart, keep me loving
Keep me loving till the break of day *

Prayer: Lord, lift us from our complacency and renew our faith as we strive to spread your love throughout the land. Amen.

*First verse, refrain and third verse of Give me Oil in my Lamp see at https://www.google.com/search?q=give+me+oil+in+my+lamp+lyrics&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS852US852&oq=giveme+oil+in+my&aqs=chrome.2.69i57j0l5.5637j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Slavery

Kingdom Building

August 11, 2019

Scripture Reading: Luke 12:32-40

‘Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. –Luke 12:35-39

Slavery was a norm in the first century when Jesus interacted with the crowds. His audience did not need further description to understand the situation. Of course, we are only 150 or so years removed from slavery being a legal reality in the USA. In many ways, we are still adapting to the cultural changes brought about by the Emancipation Proclamation. Immigrants without documentation are brought into this country by businesses who profit from being able to pay them less than minimum wage with no benefits which is close to slavery. Human trafficking of all sorts is more common than we want to admit. Since such activities are illegal now, it is usually the victims who are punished for the crime when it is discovered. Thus, I find It hard to read our scripture above to find the message of hope and faith that is buried in the sands of slavery, but there is both faith and hope as we drill deep into the story.

If we were the slave awaiting the return of the master and being alert to his coming would we expect him to invite us to sit down and eat while he serves us? Is Jesus turning the culture upside down? How do we relate to this all-powerful, always present, all-knowing God willing to serve us as a slave? How do we understand that such a God as this loves us all and wants the very best for each of us? The answer is simple, we love this one and only God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength and pay God the highest honor when we love all God’s children in the same way.

Prayer: God who is love, forgive us when we fail to love you as fully as possible by loving all your children as completely as possible. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Purses that Do Not Wear Out

Kingdom Building

Kingdom Building

August 10, 2019

Scripture Reading: Luke 12:32-40

‘Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. –Luke 12:32-34

I am a one purse person carrying the same purse until it falls apart before I purchase another one and then I do not want to throw the worn out one away. Not throwing something away is peculiar behavior for me. Books are another thing with which a do not want to part as well as items my mother made but in general when something has served its purpose, I toss it.

Purses carry things we value. A few weeks ago, I ran to Walmart, grabbed whatever I needed, rushed back to my car, transferred my purchases, returned the cart to a stall, and headed home. When I reached for my purse as I got out of my car it was nowhere to be found. I panicked. As I drove back to Walmart, I realized I did not have my drivers license or my bankcard or any of my credit cards or any ID at all. I also felt the trip back was a hopeless one, but some wonderful person had discovered my purse in the parked grocery cart and returned it to customer services who were very happy to return it to me with nothing missing.

In our scripture today Jesus is telling us to take care of the important things specifically mentioning giving alms to the poor. My mother respected the idea of the tithe, but she taught her children that all our resources were dedicated to God and we need to use them with that in mine. We do need to handle our money wisely in taking care of ourselves and our families but also in assuring that all have enough including through are alms but also in the justice work we do as we strive to create a world where everyone has enough.

Prayer: Lord, give us wisdom in the use of our resources in your service. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Going the Right Way

Kingdom Building

August 7, 2019

Scripture Reading: Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23

‘Hear, O my people, and I will speak,
   O Israel, I will testify against you.
   I am God, your God.
Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you;
   your burnt-offerings are continually before me.
Mark this, then, you who forget God,
   or I will tear you apart, and there will be no one to deliver.
Those who bring thanksgiving as their sacrifice honor me;
   to those who go the right way
   I will show the salvation of God.’—Psalm 50:22-23

As a former child welfare worker, I testified in court numerous times as witness. Generally, child welfare hearings are just before the judge but on occasion a jury trial took place. In the scripture above the Psalmist writes that the Judge is testifying against the person on trial. Now, in our society, we could get into a legal discussion of the need for a judge who is a witness to a crime recusing herself or himself from also serving as the judge in the case. I am not sure that was true in Israel when the Psalm was written, and I do not question God’s impartiality. The one who loves each and every person is both totally partial and totally impartial. Only such a One who is omniscient can meet the standards for being both witness and judge. God works prospectively and retrospectively to help all of us go the right way.

The challenge is discerning what that right way is. Does our outward, structured worship reflect our way of being or are we just going through the motions? Do we live the love we sing about on Sunday? Do we seek God’s guidance regarding what is the right way? Do we turn around and change our ways when we realize we have gone the wrong way?

Working horses are often outfitted with blinders that limit their peripheral vision, so they are not distracted from plowing a straight row. We, too, need to protect ourselves from distractions that impact our going the right way. We also must consider that the blinders we protect ourselves with may not be in sync with God’s right way. For example, white privilege is certainly an area with which many of us must struggle as we attempt to assess the right way regarding racism.

Prayer: God of Love, Mercy, and Justice, guide us in understanding the full nature of your way, and your truth and our lives in you as we strive to do the right thing. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

God and Worship

Kingdom Building

August 5, 2019

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 1:1 10-20

Hear the word of the Lord,
   you rulers of Sodom!
Listen to the teaching of our God,
   you people of Gomorrah!
What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?
   says the Lord;
I have had enough of burnt-offerings of rams
   and the fat of fed beasts;
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
   or of lambs, or of goats.
 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
   remove the evil of your doings
   from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
   learn to do good;
seek justice,
   rescue the oppressed,
defend the orphan,
   plead for the widow. –Isaiah 10:10-12, 16-17

The recent thoughts and prayers discussion in the USA regarding mass shootings has led people of faith to consider our prayer lives and the purpose of prayer. Prayer is meaningful in many ways but ultimately it draws us closer to God aligning ourselves with God so that our actions better reflect God in our lives. Today’s scripture charges us to consider the purpose of our worship. Is our worship designed to express our love for God or to entertain ourselves? Is our worship not only a time to reconnect with God as an individual, but as a community of faith at one with God? Finally, is our worship a source of inclusion or exclusion of all of God’s children? Do we worship to prove our privilege status apart from others or to gain spiritual nourishment to work toward being one with all God’s diverse children?

Isaiah speaking the words God gave him chastises God’s people for evil-inspired self-righteous, privileged worship and challenges us to remove the evil of our doings by seeking justice for the very people we scorn. While we no longer compete for who can bring the finest bull to the altar, we may be guilty of worshipping our opinion of ourselves as compared to the status of others.

Our worship must be a time of soul searching as we spiritually wash ourselves as individuals and communities of faith and see ourselves as God sees us. What evil are we fostering by either omission or commission, what good are we doing, are we making the difference in this world God has called us to make, are we seeking justice for all, rescuing the oppressed, defending orphans, pleading for widows or their equivalent in our world today?

Prayer: Lord, help us see injustice as you see it and guide us in bringing our world to your justice and righteousness. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Storing Wealth

Kingdom Building

August 4, 2019

Scripture Reading: Luke 12:13-21

Then he told them a parable: ‘The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, “What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?” Then he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God.’ Luke 12:16-21

Cognate: 4147 ploutéō – be rich, having many resources*.

For you say, “I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.” You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. — Revelation 3:17

Commit from Strong’s Concordance regarding the use of the word rich in the Lukan scripture above: (Rev 3:17) The Laodiceans had success in banking, trade, and commerce – but their “spiritual” lives paid “low spiritual” dividends (yields)! The Laodiceans were too highly motivated (conscientious) about “earthly” matters, and lacked real “spiritual” commitment for wise prioritizing*.

I am supplementing the scripture for today because I found the commentary in Strong’s Concordance very instructive. It was directly related to my search of the word rich from Luke 12:21. It referenced Revelation 3:17 so it is included as well as the Strong’s definition of “rich”.

I tend to agree with Maslow** that when one’s basic needs are not being met it is almost impossible for them to focus on anything else. The same is true of people living in fear of their safety. Both conditions describe the refugees fleeing from Central American coming to the USA and those together are the reasons these refugees are not deterred by anything; their lives are more worthless in their homelands than in our detention facilities. For people to even begin to come into wholeness they must have basic needs met and a safe environment in which to live. At that point they can receive and give love and grow into belonging. Not recognizing and responding accordingly to this basic psychology renders all our attempts at turning refugees away fruitless. We are most likely exacerbating the problem and may pay a high price for it someday. We must do all we can to reduce the chaos in the refugee’s homeland and for the ones arriving here adjudicate their cases as quickly as possible while providing humane treatment as they are processed. We may need to define some category of people who fall below the current definition of a refugee but who would be returning to harms way until their homelands recover from the dangers that are prevalent. Serious criminal would continue to be prosecuted and face whatever the result of that prosecution is.

Jesus makes clear in the scripture above that having riches is fleeting and meaningless for we are all going to die, as wealth is not transferable after death. Our misplaced efforts to store wealth to the detriment of others is worthless.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we worship idols of riches and guide us into the rich life of the spirit where love is the measure of wealth. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/4147.htm
**https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

There Are No Borders in the Kingdom of God

Kingdom Building

August 3, 2019

Scripture Reading: Luke 12:13-21

Someone in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.’ But he said to him, ‘Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?’ And he said to them, ‘Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.’ –Luke 12:13-15

Jim Wallis, public theologian, describes racism as America’s original sin in his book America’s Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege, and the Bridge to a New America*. While I do agree with him, I also think we must recognize that greed is the idol that is the basis of racism and that we all to one degree or another suffer from the pandemic of greed awash in our world. I thought as I heard a politician on the news recently justifying the treatment of families on our southern border. “I wonder how long he would last sleeping on concrete under a metallic blanket with barely enough room to half set half lie down unaware of where your family is, and not speaking the language of the people in charge.” Being hungry, perhaps sick, with few places to go to the bathroom, no way to go anywhere beyond the cage is impossible to comprehend. I wonder how long I would last.

A few days earlier in a discussion with a friend, we considered how we react when we are left without a convenience. I described how on discovering that my microwave would not work; I immediately got in my car, drove to a big box store, and purchased a new one without any thought. I remembered driving all over the state as a state employee without any means of communicating with anyone as I panicked recently upon realizing I left my cell phone at home while driving 14 blocks to the pharmacy. And I am in a dither over the sports news source that provides my NBA Thunder games refusing to re-up its contract with the service on which I watch the games. I hope they get their dispute settled before the preseason starts or I will have to find a new service. This paragraph describes my privilege laced with greed. There is nothing inherently wrong with owning a microwave or a cell phone or watching basketball games. The sin occurs when we attain privilege at the expense of others.

Our immigration laws are broken because people get rich from their being broken. Until we the people rise and demand that those laws be adjusted fairly, it will never happen. The power brokers of greed are controlling our country and we end up supporting them because we, in the middle, have grown to enjoy the scraps of their privilege in our lives.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we allow greed to filter in and rule our lives. Teach us the worth for each of us when all have enough. Amen.

*https://sojo.net/about-us/news/jim-wallis-slavery-racism-and-america-s-original-sin

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Government of the People by the People for the People

Kingdom Building

August 1, 2019

Scripture Reading: Colossians 3:1-11

Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient. These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life. But now you must get rid of all such things—anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. -Colossians 3:5-10

I find it interesting that much of the discussion about behavior that we classify as sin in our world relates to the sins of others that most of us would never consider committing. Most of the discussion in the Bible regarding behavior is targeted at our cleaning up our own act as illustrated in the scripture above. The primary reason we are charged to live a righteous life is so that our work toward creating a world ruled by love will be more productive if we are not distracted by the enticements of the world or disparaging others. Consider how much time we commit to meaningless activities designed to what? give us a false sense of happiness or provide an opportunity to make us feel better about ourselves by denigrated others. It seems to me that our worth is established by God’s love for us. We need not look any further than that.

Such distraction and disparagement seem to overtake our civic lives in a country formed of the people by the people for the people. These words were spoken by Abraham Lincoln in the Gettysburg address. Their origins are much older. In 1384, John Wycliffe wrote in the prologue to his translation of the Bible, “The Bible is for the Government of the People, by the People, and for the People.” I wonder if Lincoln read from a Wycliffe translation. The Bible with its stories of governments that succeeded and those that failed certainly provides some guidance for governance, although its use for justifying everything from slavery to Hitler’s Nazi leadership might give us pause. Wycliffe specifies his use of the Bible in the roll of civic services. The Bible is useful for governments whose primary concern is the wellbeing of its people based on the desires of its people. Can we borrow Paul’s instructions from Colossians and apply it to governments in the same manner as we do for individuals? A government of the people by the people for the people must not be distracted by the enticements of the world or disparage its people.

Prayer: Lord, empower us and guide us to elect leaders who strive to provide government of the people by the people for the people—all the people. Amen.

*Familiar Quotations by John Bartlett, 1951 edition

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Woe to Those who Oppress

Kingdom Building

July 28, 2019

Scripture Reading: Luke 11:1-13

He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’ He said to them, ‘When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name.
   Your kingdom come.
   Give us each day our daily bread.
   And forgive us our sins,
     for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
   And do not bring us to the time of trial.’ –Luke 11:1-4

Jesus was brought to the time of trial and he prayed ‘Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.’ (Luke 22:42) He faced both a literal civil trial and the spiritual trial of taking on evil. Jesus did not want to face it and he does not want us to face it but for the kingdom to come many have and will face both kinds of trials as we work toward the fruition of the kingdom of God in the midst of a world driven by the Caesars of evil.

I remember the chill that ran down my back watching a documentary of the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer seeing his naked back as he stood before the gallows where he was hanged for waging war with the evils of the Nazi regime.

My definition of doing justice was shaped by reading Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letters from the Birmingham Jail. His murder resulted from his stand for all poor people as he faced the Caesar of greed and lust for power still alive in our country today.

This week I heard the call of justice from The Reverend Doctor William Barber II as he has taken up the mantel of doing justice through the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for a Moral Revival. He was tried and was convicted of trespassing during a protest at the NC General Assembly. So much for freedom of speech. It was not trespassing as we normally think of it, stepping on restricted ground, crossing a threshold. His crime was talking too loudly. When asked in court to demonstrate how loud his voice is, he turned facing the jury and in his full preaching voice quoted Isaiah 10:1-2 (NIV):
Woe to those who make unjust laws,
    to those who issue oppressive decrees,
to deprive the poor of their rights
    and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,
making widows their prey
    and robbing the fatherless.

We are right to pray not to be brought to trial. Do we have the commitment that Jesus had to also pray not my will but thine be done?

Prayer: Lord, strengthen us in our work to do justice. Always test us to make sure we are on the right track. Bring us together as one, to face the trials of evil through the synergy of love. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.