Justice....... or revenge?

I had an interesting conversation this morning with one of my sons. He's going to try and join the army when finishing college next month. reason?.... When I said is there not something else you can do that is less well...dangerous...? And he said, well at least it gives me a chance to try and do something about terrorists! Since we were only chatting about christianity being about justice this morning...... Is this a response for justic or just a chance for revenge? In the case of James, it is. I believe about justice, in that he sees the need for somthing to be done to stop people who engage in terrorism, not for the purpose of revenge, but because it is wrong, and innocent people get killed. So what would Jesus do? Well I'm certain he wouldn't stand for the behaviour of terrorists, and would have something to say about it, but what would his physical response be? He didn't fight back when some very aggressive people decided to kill him! But on the other hand, he did turn the tables in the temple! Toys out of pram there! So what I suppose would he have to say in this instance? Is it right to do nothing and let the world be over run by psychopathic separatists bent on destruction and murder, or should we, the rest of humanity stand up and be counted?

A simple prayer.

God
For a world in which evil and suffering seem to abound and Your love is forgotten in the rush for self fulfillment. May we all be instruments in changing the world away form the darkness and bringing it back to the light of Your love.

Amen.

Reble, reble.

I think it's very dangerous to view Jesus simply as a meek and mild lamb who went to the slaughter for our sins. Of course Jesus was these things but he was also a reble rouser, a political activist and someone who stired things up a bit.
His actions in the temple when he emptied it of the money changers and thoes who sold sacrifices were not thoes of a meek and mild man. He was angry, he over threw tables, he flogged people!!! He chased the sinners out of the house of God! Jesus was political! Christianity is about being polotical because if seeking the truth and justice for all God's people is not about being political I don't know what is.
It's so easy to sit on the fence and alow issues of faith to pass us by because we feel "unqualified" to speak out about the gross abuses being perpertrated the Church. In many countries the church is a political institution. Take the UK for example, many of our laws and guidlines have precendent in scripture.
As Christians, I believe it is our duty to get angry and act when we see injustice, to lobby parliment to over throw or repeal laws that are unjust, to ask for the rights of thoes who can not ask for them themselves, to be a force for change not only in our own countries but in our world.
Too long has the church controlled world through dogma, ignoring the central tenenats of Christ's teaching. Too long have Christians as a whole rested on their laurals and refused to change what they know to be fundimentaly corrupt in their own churches, never mind about in the world. How is this serving God's greater plan?
My Jesus is an angry Jesus. My Jesus stands up for the weak, for the poor, for the opressed, for the abused. My Jesus is strong and political and won't take no for an answer!! My Jesus STILL changes the world.
Now is the time that we as Christians must stand up and be counted for Global justice and human rights and to stop using our religion as an excuse to be supirior to others.
God humbled himself to come to earth so that we might bring the world to His perfect love, to bring the world back to the devine plan of love and justice for all and we can't do that if we tell one another it is either Christanity or polotics. The two are inextricably link and rightly so. Now is the time to tell the world about God's saving grace.
Now is the time to shout, make a noise and be heard!!

Alas, alas for you...

Alas, alas for you,

Lawyers and pharisees

Hypocrites that you be

Searching for souls and fools to forsake them

You travel the land you scour the sea

After you've got your converts you make them

Twice as fit for hell!As you are yourselves

Alas, alas, for youLawyers and pharisees

Hypocrites that you are

Sure that the kingdom of Heaven awaits you

You will not venture half so far

Other men that might enter the gates you

Keep from passing through!

Drag them down with you!

You snakes, you viper's brood

You cannot escape being Devil's food!

I send you prophets, and I send you preachers

Sages in rages and ages of teachers

Nothing can mar your mood

Alas, alas for youLawyers and pharisees

Hypocrites to a man

Sons of the dogs who murdered the prophets

Finishing off what your fathers began

You don't have time to scorn or to scoff

It's getting very late!

Vengeance doesn't wait!

You snakes, you viper's brood

You cannot escape being Devil's food!

I send you prophets, and I send you preachers

Sages in rages and ages of teachers

Nothing can mar your mood

Blind guides, blind fools

The blood you've spilt

On you will fall!

This nation, this generation

Shall bear the guilt of it all!

Alas, alas alas for you!Blind fools!!

These words we placed in the mouth of Jesus by Stephen Schwartz in his excelent musical "Godspell". How they ring true.

Although adressed to the "Lawyers and pharisees" of Jesus' time, I believe that these words aplie to the church today more than ever, especialy to thoes who let their own pride and self-interest stand in the way of God's devine plan.

As discussed in earlier posts, it's man's pride and arrogance that have hurt the church the most. The damage that "Churchy-anity" has done to God and the survival of God's message in an increasingly secular and disilusioned world is immense. The more peopple strive for control, using religion as an excuse, the more they'll loose it.

Our Pastor made an interesting point this morning during his sermon. He was talking about the "Da Vinci Code" and how, when he reveals the nature of his job, people are all ways at pains to tare Christianity down. Unfortunately that is the legacy of conventional and right-wing "Churchy-anity" and that is who, I believe these lyrics particularly applie to.

However it is easy to get swept up in the negative aspects of the church with out focusing on the positives. The joy it has brought into my life is emense and now I wouldn't be with out it. I must admit I get almost as judgemental about certain section of the church as they get about my church (MCC).

I geuss what I'm trying to say is that we can't change anyone else, just ourselves but, hopefully, by keeping an attitude of faith we can be able to open other people's heart to the truth: that God's love is for everyone regardless of gender, sexual orientation, colour, creed or nation. Jesus came so that we might have a more personal relationship with God. I'm no biblical scholar but even I recognise the syblomism of the taring of the curtain in the holy of holies. We need no one on earth to intervene with God on our behalf because Jesus has already done so, and by having done so has made us worthy to come to God directly and be our own sacrifice of praise. What better wway is there?

Angels

Plenty of them around of course. Earth angels, incarnate angels, arch angels and all kinds of other ones! What are your experiences of angels?

And So What About The Other Mary Thing?

Having breached the subject of the exiled Bride of Christ, what about his poor mother? You know how many people have said to me over the years, O thats too much Mary business for me.... or others who have gotten irate because some preacher or another has mentioned Mary too many times. Or someone else who refused to remain in a church because someone brought in their figurine of the mother of God?.... Pathetic, but true..... Ok I guess the Catholic church has got it all out of proportion and worships Mary and stuff, which yes, I can agree that is not quite how its meant ot be. But there seems to be this anti-Mary quest in some churches which slightly annoys me. Her only crime it seems, was to be the Mother of God! Now I ask you..... what greater task in life could any young woman be given? And how brave was she to accept it. And Yes, she deserves some recognition for it.

I think somewhere along the line, there is confusion between the sacred feminine following in parts of Europe in the early christian church and the cult of Mary. It seems blatantly obvious to me that the church has morphed the whole Mary thing into being about the mother of Jesus, when actually it was originally about his wife! Yet another cover up?...... Maybe the church needs a slap of two I think...

Bless her, Mary deserves some respect. She gave birth to her child in a stable/ or otherwise minging place, suffered the ridicule of all for being an un-married mother, watched him grow up knowing it was but for a short time, and then watched him murdered by the very people who were supposed to be religius leaders of the time and she was supposed to look up to. I think she deserves more that respect! A medal!!!!

So perhaps all those fundamentalist bigots out there should get over themselves and start looking at just who these people really were and try to get in touch with that instead of making up so many rules and practices that the simple things are overlooked. Like love.... a simple thing, but only love could be enough to get anyone through what Mary went through.