Responses to the wounded

31. And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32. Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

Luke 10:31-32

With the best set of statutes and judgments in hand the levitical system morphed into an insentitive and oppressive economy. We know they were not committed to the forgiveness of sin nor in the primary functions of the tabernacle/temple, namely God’s residence among his people and his communication with them.

Criminal enterprises and dens of thieves

And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a robbers’ den.”

Matthew 23:2

The western governments have put every resource into maintaining a facade of responsibility and thoughtfulness, but only the bewitched believe it.

The empires we have lived under are patterned after – to some extent – the Mosaic legacy. Britain and the United States are poor examples of Christian virtues. Just try finding a cruciform body of law anywhere on the planet.

Matthew 23:38

Behold, your house is being left to you desolate!

It may seem strange that the church resembles a tent as residence or meeting place, but she is the house of God (all of us who have trusted God for salvation).  She is not sanctuary:  neither miqdash nor mishkan.   The way we conduct the heavenly Father’s business is in way too many instances a circus of entertainment and mind manipulation.  “Jesus loves me” is not defence of the faith. The activities under the big tent will continue to be can-do searches and loveless banks until we learn to defend the faith-once-delivered.

A handy pair

I’m sure you have heard a message from a Christian leader peppered with hallelijah and glossolalia.  You are also familiar with men and women in the pulpit whooping and hollering, jumping up and down, and saying nothing that touches the grand mission of the Saviour nor our missions as stewards of the salvation mystery.

The pillar and ground

God’s choices, like his ways, buck the human trend.  When given the authority to choose humans created the misery of the current age. 

I began my due diligence by asking questions in the last church where I had a membership. My questions were simple. Usually they took the form “Where does the Bible say what you just read [or said]?” By the time I got to college to study pastoral ministry I was sure that even a church with impressive credentials can be anything but truth’s pillar and ground. I learned to read and listen. Reading the Bible in its original languages has no substitute. I do not mean being able to say the words. I mean understanding the writers’ intention. I only struggle to connect what I read with life as it is today. I do not guess or depend on commentaries, by anyone. The Holy Spirit is not involved in making connections without Messianic hooks.

… know how you ought to conduct yourself in God’s house, which is the church of the living God, truth’s pillar and ground.

1 Timothy 3:15b

Behave yourself in the light of the incontrovertible

Decisions about right and wrong are regularly  entrusted to people with a bias against faith. Around the time of Christ’s birth there was no shortage of lipservice to law and tradition.  While a few individuals knew that the administration of the Levitocal system could not possibly be God’s idea of righteous judgment the majority was waiting in vain for God to execute justice.

God’s kingdom is not of this world – food, drink and festivals.

He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?

Micah 6:8

If there was no heart capable of receiving the will of God as it appeared in the terms of the Sinai covenant the situation in New Testament times was no better.  The people knew that theft and violence permeated the temple operations, whether that is in the area of financing the sacrifices or in interpreting the  Scriptures.  if you really believe that Yeshua was dealing with people who misunderstood what the law said then we can  believe too that he should have closed shop – not doing the Father’s business – on the Sabbath.

So David reigned over all Israel, and executed judgment and justice among all his people.

1 Chronicles 18:14

The violence of the wise

They loved the law but had no peace. They loved being called “seed of Abraham” but rejected him as the standard-bearer for the human race. The wise became foolish: they kicked Abraham to the curb by not emulating his trust in God, and they traded Moses for a golden calf, and for all the centuries down to the coming of the Christ, no one complied with the covenant.

Her princes within her are roaring lions, Her judges are wolves at evening; They leave nothing for the morning.

Zephaniah 3:3

This Zephaniah message could be a description of the Pharisees and elders of New Testament times.  The greed and inhumanity is still there.

The reason God equips believers with a sound mind – this is not acquired wisdom or theological savvy – is to ensure that reliable decisions are always within reach.  One does not have to read or hear Scripture to recognize injustice. 

Zephaniah’s description of  the leadership continues with terms that show how much had changed little had improved when our Lord evaluated

Her prophets are reckless, treacherous men; Her priests have profaned the sanctuary. They have done violence to the law.

Zephaniah 3:4

The will of God is written in two places: the Scriptures and the human heart. Contrary to popular opinion God does not put things into our hearts that cannot be tested by the Scriptures. Sorry my friend! It is not the law. That is for bad actors and kids. We have Christ within to move our minds to do God’s will and Scriptures to confirm that we are safe. Justice did not wait to open the graves of the ancients the moment Christ died. Why are we waiting to tell Herod or any other ravening wolf that we have his number. It is likely that Yeshua gave Herod nothing more than eye contact. Christians – leaders or not – hanging out with despots and bigoted scoundrels are waiting in vain. They need to wake up. Social justice matters.

Then he questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing.

Luke 23:9

Solidarity around inhumanity, a lying explanation and the denial of assistance to a man injured by “peace officers” is pure depravity.

All of Africa heard, “I can’t breathe”, and feels it.  From across the pond, mankind’s coming up alongside you.  They know what we need.  That knee is coming off our neck. 

The baptism we have avoided

Societies love to appear intelligent and sensitive but there are no more schizophrenic communities than those depending on law and order to ensure success or correct injustices.  From the adulterous Israel (ancient and modern) to China the big red dragon, we avoid the hard pulling.  Even when  God said “Save Rahab” they put her outside the camp.   America  is the queen of ’em all.  Humanity, outside of the religious and pllotoclak emite  just happens to be a law – a standard –  all by themselves.  The world needs a baptism into humanity’s primary interests.  Do you know how many people think you are not human?

The circumcision we denied

The humanity and labour of Black and brown people is in the success of the American empire and the back of any bus is not where we want to be.  Some people do not mind being second class citizens and others even take pride in the scraps they call employment, security and happiness.  Our roots are in us wherever we go, and the blackness of any skin is a token that one’s ancestors did not hide from the sun. It is popular still to despise root and branch of identity but there is no excuse for denying or trying to change the destiny and dignity that is ours.  Americans do not like Europe because it was the birthplace of the worse (by some reckoning) and still current outbteaknof inhumanity. America has  been doing for 200 years what the Nazis did for 5.  We denied Marcus, Malcolm and Martin.  Thank God, Jesse and Al are carrying the torch without apology.  A  circumcised heart does not put up with injustice.  How many flies do you allow to sit on your food?

Evangelical deception cornered

A cone of silence marks the trail of big bosses, big churches and big armies.   Every now and then into the silence comes the roar of thunder exposing for all to see the deceit behind die and go to heaven religion.   Phony as a gas powered cellphone!  They cannot speak of justice.   Only the Black ones have the courage to say from the pulpit with Biblical context and authorization “That isn’t Jesus”.  Much of the breaking news in evangelical Christianity today isn’t even Moses.  At least they could be saying “Love the alien” and “Eradicate poverty “. But no, healing and prosperity are the new church lottery and a whole new set of lies are being prepared to explain why the world needs right now a racist criminal bigot to stand in for the righteous Republican party. Of course they cannot speak truth or justice into the quagmire of today’s civic life. What can anyone learn from the global picture of the treatment of Palestinians, First Nations, and women and children? The big boys are cornered.

That knee is coming off our neck

The visionary young people have this. It is God’s design.

A nation that treasures free speech and political discourse should ask its leaders to wear polygraphs 24-7. In the middle of protests and a pandemic we hear every mayor, police chief, and governor saying that the police are “fine people” and violent playbook is still in use as if police officers are the silliest people on the planet. Thank God for cellphone video. We are wiping the maniacal grin off the faces of lynchers, preachers and politicians. Every word and act will witness against a injustice, callous violence and brutality

Is there iniquity in Gilead? Surely they are worthless. In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls, Yes, their altars are like the stone heaps beside the furrows of the field.

Hosea 12:11

“I can’t breathe” is not a cry for help.  It is a cry for life.

Breathing out more cruelty instead of an answer to America’s deadly wound the bigot in the executive mansion demonstrates the idolatry that comes with cops and the military as the shield against irrelevance and decadence.  In 200 years from the exile of Judah and Israel the powers that ruled the world came and went.  We do not have time for race-baiting videos, for shallow amen-seeking sermons, or patriotic rubbish about God and country.  The response we steer away from is the one that can save every person from oppression and injustice.  America needs a makeover and its first responders cannot be part of the rescue team.

Shameful response to a dying man

If we use the analogy that human aging is a journey to death that begins at birth we might say that nations too are born to die.  They do not become shining cities on hills.  Compared to Solomon’s Jerusalem today’s Jerusalem is a heap and a parable. The founders of modern nations did not think much about their nations needing rebirth.   They thought that good law (especially statutes that divide people) would guarantee success and longevity. Not even Israel, with the most detailed set of laws, has shown any progress towards a maturity that anyone would want to emulate.   So we should not be surprised to find that only the oppressed have been calling for their nations to begin a makeover.  When police do not recognize that their actions are causing death their superiors need to be called in for questioning.

Choked by violence

Every mayor wants to say that the police in his or her city are good officers but we are discovering  that many are not even good citizens.  In plain sight, the police arrest a journalist for doing his job.   The police chief fires four officers for their role in the murder of an unarmed Black man but only one is arrested and charged.  Bad cops are not a few.  0 out of 4 in Minneapolis is not a great show of keeping the peace or serving the community.

Undoing that response – his or ours – is impossible

The response to the gospel after Pentecost fell into two categories: the genuine call on the Lord’s name and the pretense of many (Jews and Gentiles).  We do not see the rejoicing in heaven when one person repents nor do we see the glee of Satan as one more human hardens his resolve to deceive.  There may be another day for you but what if there isn’t.  Let us stop playing the part of the just with our legal and irrelevant traditions.  When a man cries for life I can assure you that God does not give him a promise, raincheck, or loan; he gives him his own life.

Understanding the first responder

WHO can remember the time when black and brown people could not become either policeman or fire fighters in Canada?

There was a time when we thought that we all had to adopt the identity of Abraham’s descendants in order to function as followers of the Way. Being a good Canadian or American is neither here nor there.  James felt so and even after the reports of Holy Spirit baptism were tabled wanted to give the Way a Mosaic face (disguise). Paul, Barnabas and Peter witnessed the Lord’s certification of Gentiles without a word about Moses and circumcision.

The first responders to the gospel were baptized with the promise of receiving the Holy Spirit.   Those who were not were either (a) people who would  have perpetusted the lipservice that means nothing to God or (b) people whose day had not come yet (no root, choked by anxiety, under demonic dominion). The first responders were not idols; they were neither sinless heroes nor humble servants. They were ordinary persons who carried an extraordinary torch handed to them by a man of their times.

First responders of the first class do not carry ancestral or tribal banners. They are dreamers who are willing to be honest about the difference between God and creature, do not hesitate to call a killer a killer, and stand up as savers of life.

6. For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. 7. But like Adam they have transgressed the covenant; There they have dealt treacherously against Me. 8. Gilead is a city of wrongdoers, Tracked with bloody footprints. 9. And as raiders wait for a man, So a band of priests murder on the way to Shechem; Surely they have committed crime.

Hosea 6:6-9