I'm reading "Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises, and a Revolution of Hope" by Brian McLaren. If you've ever been around me when I'm reading a book that I love, you already know my propensity to reading parts aloud. Well, if this is as close as I can get then so be it!
"But most of what I had heard religious people say about Jesus related to (a) how some inividuals could go to heaven after death, or (b) in the meantime, how some individuals could be more personally happy and successful through God and the Bible. Jesus, as someone focused on individuals and the afterlife, seemed to have little to offer regarding, pressing global matters. This common assumption, I hope to show, is false. Additional questions flowed from the tension between the original two: Why hasn't Christian religion made a difference commensurate with its message, size, and resources? What would need to happen for follwers of Jesus to become a greater force for good in relation to the world's top problems? How could we make a positive difference?"
I was talking to one of the baptists serving at CGM this morning. Talking about the lip service that is given to God, the preaching of his word but no living it. Worse yet, what about those that live it only when the rewards of living it suit their needs? Why are some Christians only drawn to helping others when it benefits them, when it makes them comfortable, when it smells nice, doesn't get them dirty, and doesn't come at inconvenient times? Why aren't more family units that are able to serving others as a family? How can parents complain that their kids don't have any idea how good they have it, when they don't show them how things can be different?I'm in no way saying the message of the saving grace of a relationship with Jesus Christ is unimportant. That is the important part of the equation. But, say someone enters into a relationship with Christ. Then what? Should people stagnate, stay still and not grow, or dare I say, evolve in their relationship with Christ? Not to mention, how can people that believe in the Lord's prayer that reads, "Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven" (well and then some but this will already be long enough as it is). But, how can people repeat that prayer as if it's just words, just a routine saying? How can you look around this world, your community, your neighborhood, your own home and not be moved to help, to serve, to improve the lives, the hopes of people?Brian McLaren writes of a time he spent in Barundi Africa. It's the sister country to Rwanda, which should ring a bell to most of you. The friend that he went to see was a Pastor named Claude.
Claude said, "Over the years, I have come to realize that something is wrong with the way we understand Jesus and the good news. Something is missing in the version of the Christian religion we received from the missionaries, which is the message we now preach ourselves. They told us how to go to heaven. But they left out an important detail. They didn't tell us how the will of God could be done on earth. We need to learn what the message of Jesus says to our situation here is East Africa."
I was blown away, and then I read Brian McLaren's thoughts on that statement...
"As he spoke, I thought, this is not just an African problem. The same has been true here in the Americas where I live, as it has been in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and Asia. Did North American church leaders teach the early colonists to treat the Native Peoples with love and respect? Did they consistently and with one voice oppose slavery because it was an assault on the dignity of fellow human beings? Later in our history, did they express outrage over the exploitation of factory workers or the second-class status of women? Did they stand up for refugees and immigrants? Did they oppose white privilage, segregation, anti-Semitism, stereotyping of Muslims, and other forms of ethnic prejudice? Did they see the environment as God's sacred creation that deserves to be cherished and conserved? 'Well,' you might say, 'some got it right'. But you would have to agree: too few, and too late. most were preoccupied with other matters-arguments about religious esoterica, fights over arcane biblical interpretations, fanciful escapes into theological speculation, heat and fury over drinking or gambling or playing cards or using tobacco, controversies over whether guitars and drums can be used in worship gatherings or whether only pianos and organs produce holy music, and other matters that-in comparison to racism, genocide, carelessness toward the poor and various minorities, exploitation of the environment, and unjust war-seem shamefuuly trivial, weapons of mass distraction."
We spend so much time espousing on things that have little consequence. Tearing each other down, judging and picking apart other peoples beliefs and lives. Why? What purpose does it serve? Most of the time, it doesn't even make the person tearing others apart feel any better, and that's about the only purpose I can think of.But you know, there are days that I don't want to be kind, days I don't want to even speak to other people. On those days, when I extend to others what I think I don't have to give anymore, it shows up. Somehow, the energy, the love, the passion, it shows up and it is always worth focusing on someone other then myself.
"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it."-MLK jr
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