Good News!

I left a question at Stan's blog which I'm addressing here. I'm addressing my question AND addressing Stan's response.

Stan answered a question (well, no, he didn't) I left at his blog by saying this:

without posting your question (MY QUESTION: where is the rubric by which you can know WHICH lines are metaphorical and which aren't?) 
I will point out that I answered it in the post. 

No, Stan didn't. Not at all. It's interesting that he thinks he did and it makes me wonder what he thinks my question was.

He "preached the gospel to the poor" and we still have the poor. 
He proclaimed "the release of the captives, the recovery of sight to the blind, the freedom for the oppressed. 
He declared, 'Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing' (Luke 4:21). 
But ... Jesus lived and died and, with some exception, the poor were still there (Matt 26:11), 
the captives were still captive, 
the blind were still blind, 
and the oppressed remained oppressed." 

If you say He meant it literally (as you do), He lied. It still is not fulfilled in that sense. 
Or ... He meant it spiritually. 

You complain that the gospel that Paul gives (which he calls "the gospel of Christ") isn't "good news" for everybody, 

No, I don't. I complain that modern conservative religionists' IDEAS of what Paul preached isn't good news. And it's clearly not. It's not even bad news. It's a trainwreck of a atrocious horror story where most of humanity will be tortured for an eternity for the "crime" of being imperfect humans. Only a few (those "god" "selects") will be saved.

But for me, I do not set up Paul against Jesus. I interpret Paul's words, THROUGH Jesus' words and teachings. Now, an argument CAN be made that Paul taught a "different" Gospel than Jesus (I think STAN has even suggested this! That Jesus never got around to preaching the actual "good news" of most of humanity being eternally tortured!), but I don't think so.

Good news for the minority who were spared the everlasting torture given to their loved ones is STILL not good news, even for the few who were "spared."

but your version of a "social gospel" isn't either 
since all those categories of people are still suffering and it's not good news to anyone who isn't suffering. 
Or ... the gospel isn't merely the physical reality of suffering, but an actual remedy for spiritual suffering available to all.

This is the problem with a limited imagination and binary/ONLY TWO POSSIBLE WAYS approach to studying texts and philosophy. WHO SAYS, we're only limited to those two options? Jesus never said, "I came to preach good news to the poor and marginalized AND THE ONLY WAY I CAN DO SO IS BY "FIXING" ALL THE POOR AND MARGINALIZED. GIVING MONEY TO THE POOR, HEALING ALL THE SICK, ETC!!!" That isn't what Jesus said, but Stan is trying to make that case. It's not what Jesus said and it's not what I'm saying.

Jesus said he'd come to preach good news to the poor and marginalized.
THEN, Jesus began going out visiting with, welcoming, including, helping, associating with, healing the poor and marginalized.
THEN, John the Baptist asked Jesus, How do I know you're the One? And Jesus responded by saying, "Look, I'm going around, hanging out with the poor and marginalized, preaching good news TO THEM and healing them."
THEN, Jesus taught his disciples to do the same thing. Hang out with the poor and marginalized, heal them, teach them the good news that was FOR them.
etc.

Now, it can be very difficult for the privileged and wealthy to understand how "hanging out with, welcoming, accepting, being friends with those dirty outsiders and their sick illnesses and gross selves" is good news to the poor and marginalized. BUT, it is, even if they don't understand it. For the poor and marginalized, being welcomed, accepted, loved and included as part of a greater beloved community, that IS INCREDIBLE good news. Literal good news.

And for most of humanity, we recognize that magical, unlikely healings of normal serious illnesses and oppressions and poverty just don't generally happen. And it's not even the most important thing. Consider: I work daily with people with disabilities (and less regularly, with the impoverished and immigrants) and for them, their most serious disability (at least, many would say this) is NOT that they can't use their legs or eyes. It's being excluded, marginalized, impoverished, kept OUT.

That is an imposed disability that causes real harm and damage in ways that their physical disabilities just don't cause.

The miracle of Jesus' good news is not magical healings for everyone - that just doesn't happen in an imperfect world and no one - not even conservative religionists - is making that claim. And, after all, we're ALL at best only temporarily or partially healthy, with a perfect body, not needing glasses or canes or hearing aids or a therapist. Physical disabilities can be a pain, but we all got our things, sooner or later. NO, the greatest disabling condition is not being included, not being welcomed, or, at best, being included grudgingly, "because Mom told us to invite you to our birthday party..."

The good news that Jesus brought to the poor and marginalized was the good news of love, of welcome and inclusion and acceptance. THIS, we can see clearly in who Jesus spent his time with, loving, laughing with, partying with, embracing.

THAT is deeply good news. Here, now. There, then.

Jesus didn't promise magical healings and banks full of money. Jesus promised love, acceptance, welcome... a beloved community.

Good news indeed. AND, it's good news because it's actionable. It CAN and DOES happen. We see it all the time, we who are of the Beloved Community. God's realm come, God's will be done, HERE, on earth, as it is in heaven.

THERE is the good news! And what amazing, empowering, life-altering good news. It doesn't require that we repent in just the right way or understand some human religious traditions and theories just the right way. It doesn't require a human or animal sacrifice (which was always just a metaphor, right?) It just requires an embrace of grace and love and welcome. And not even a perfectly lived out embrace of grace. But an acceptance of that Way.

Further, this good news was not a one off. It was designed to be systemic. It was a new and better Way. And that was the Way of those who followed Jesus, of the church. We see this right away in the book of Acts and the "birth" of the church - followers of this Way of Good news of love and inclusion for the poor and marginalized. The more fully we follow in Jesus' steps - as a group, deliberately, lovingly, joyfully, systematically, the MORE that it truly will be good news for ALL the poor and marginalized... or at least, it's good news for the poor and marginalized to the degree it's embraced. One person - even one son of God in human form - can only befriend, welcome and love so many people. BUT, a whole new way? A systemic embrace of love and grace? That's where we can do, as Jesus said, " Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these!"

To be clear, the passage there in John does not spell that out in so many words, but it's just an obvious truth. Many can do more than one. Many doing good and kind things can do more than one doing good and kind things.

As to Stan's complaint that "and it's not good news to anyone who isn't suffering." again, Stan is missing my point and, I think, the point of Jesus. Jesus quite literally WELCOMED the rich man to join them. "Sell your stuff, give it to the poor and follow me..." Jesus was not - I am not - excluding anyone. But the starting point is that it's good news for the poor and marginalized. THEY are the ones this realm is specifically for, as Jesus literally said. Others are invited to join in, but it's a joining with, allying with, being friends with the poor that they're joining. And in some senses, one needs to leave that wealth behind, at the very least, leave behind the love of money, which is the root of all kinds of evil.

And why is that? Well, we can see in the real world that the wealthy have things go their way, all the time. It's one of the trappings of wealth... you become privileged and it's hard not to live into that privilege. I think all of us who are at least middle class in this hyper-wealthy nation can recognize that to some degree. And so, without it being a Beloved Community specifically for the poor and marginalized, the wealthy and powerful inevitably have things bend their way. But we are arguing for a better moral arc of the universe, one that bends towards justice.

And the question I asked that led me down that road? What is your Rubric, Stan, where you can perfectly understand which lines are metaphorical and which are literal? There was no answer to that question. And even if he thinks, "it's in the text... we can understand which lines are literal and which figurative by reading the texts..." Well, Stan and I (et al) ARE reading the texts and we're reaching opposite conclusions, sometimes. So, where is the rubric to decide that for us?

If one lives in a gospel of bad news for vastly most people, where understanding and accepting the RIGHT way and repenting the RIGHT way which requires a pretty perfect understanding of the texts in question, well, they simply have no rubric to ever fully decide the right orthodoxy.

The rest of us live in a welcoming beloved community of grace, where a rubric is not necessary. 

An Open Letter to Senator Rand Paul

An Open Letter to Senator Rand Paul:

(Short version: You KNOW this administration is a threat: Switch parties and become a Democrat.)

Dear Senator Paul,

Become a Democrat.

I know that is a hard pill to swallow. You are not a Democrat. You are certainly opposed to a wide swath of the values and positions of the Democrat Party. (And yet, as someone who professes to be more libertarian in nature, there surely is some level of cross-over and common ground.) Nonetheless, I understand that you probably can not imagine voting with the Democrats AS a Democrat.

And yet, I think you fully recognize how dangerous this administration is... how out of control this particular version of the GOP - the MAGOP - is. I think you know that today's GOP is fully owned by the current president AND I think you know that this current president is not just a bad president and a bad human (although, he certainly is and will go down in history as one of our worst presidents), but he is a dangerous president. I think you recognize that the MAGOP is a threat to our free Republic and a danger to the world.

Hard times call for hard actions.

Become a Democrat.

This administration has threatened to invade and "take" other allied nations - Canada and Greenland - even invoking a military action to do so.

This administration is committing extra-judicial killings in the waters off of Venezuela, with no due process.

This administration is sending US troops to terrorize and cause harm to US citizens in our own country. His people have falsely arrested US citizens and legal residents, they've shot at us with "less-lethal" firearms and explosives and they've even killed us. They're bypassing due process in the US, as well as out at sea.

And I think you know that this administration is historically unethical, corrupt and indecent in a wide swath of actions and policies.

As a medical man, I'd be surprised if you thought that this president is mentally stable. He's clearly not. He's a sick, abusive, corrupt man who needs help, NOT to be in charge of this great nation.

This administration is undoing whatever greatness there may once have been in our country and I think you know that.

We certainly need to elect more Democrats and remove more GOP representatives and I think many rational, moral conservatives agree. But these are hard times, made dangerous by an out of control administration that is not being constrained by the rational part of the GOP. I think you know that. And so, in the meantime, if we can get moral, reasonable conservatives who are already in public office to take this kind of stand - Become a Democrat - we can start the work to save our nation. I think you know something radical needs to be done. This is that step (one of many needed).

Take that stand. Become a Democrat.

You Got to Watch What You're Doing

In the news, regarding protesters at a church service due to ICE connections:

" A Sunday morning church service in the Twin Cities interrupted by anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protesters is the latest flash point in escalating tensions between the Trump administration and demonstrators in Minnesota.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who oversees the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, announced an investigation within hours, calling the protesters’ actions “desecrating a house of worship and interfering with Christian worshippers.” "

These protesters better be careful. It's this kinda shit that got Jesus killed.

"On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and

began driving out those who were buying and selling there.

He overturned the tables of the money changers

and the benches of those selling doves*, and

would not allow anyone to carry merchandise

through the temple courts.

And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”

The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and BEGAN LOOKING FOR A WAY TO KILL HIM,

for they feared him,

because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching."

*NOTE: The gospel ("good news for the poor and marginalized") writer specifically notes that Jesus picked specifically the benches selling doves. THE "dove offering" was the offering that the poorest people offered at the temple. Wealthier folks offered goats, etc. What happened, I've read, is that the poor people would bring their own meager doves to offer as a sacrifice - which was required by the religious leaders for them to be "right" with God - and the "inspectors" at the temple (the merchants) would say, "Oh wait, YOUR dove doesn't meet minimum requirements required by GOD. You'll have to buy one of OURS."

It was a scam fleecing specifically the poor (and others). THIS is what outraged Jesus so. THIS is what led to Jesus' execution by the state.

Love and Love and Love

"Love never fails.
But where there are prophecies, they will cease;
where there are tongues, they will be stilled;
where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

For we know in part and we teach in part,
but when completeness comes,
what is in part disappears.

When I was a child,
I talked like a child,
I thought like a child,
I reasoned like a child.
When I grew up,
I put the ways of childhood behind me.

For now we see through a glass, darkly;
but then face to face:
now I know in part;
but then shall I know even as also I am known."

~St Paul
 

It's all about love. Love and knowing, as much as we can know. And unlike what some suggest, the more we know someone - their hopes, their passions, their needs and yes, their (our) imperfections - the more we can love them, not loathe them... not consider them "totally depraved," but totally beloved.

We all need more loving in this world.

Magnificat

My annual posting of Mary's Magnificat... Mary, the one who raised and taught Jesus and his brother (half-brother, if you prefer), James. Mary, the poor and lowly Jewish teen being raised in an oppressive land by powerful men who didn't care what happened to the poor and so-called "lowly..." Mary's words:

"My spirit celebrates God, my Liberator!

For though I’m God’s humble servant,

God has noticed me.

Now and forever,

I will be considered blessed by all generations.

For the Mighty One has done great things for me;

holy is God’s name!

From generation to generation,

God’s lovingkindness endures

for those who revere God.

God’s arm has accomplished mighty deeds.

The proud in mind and heart,

God has sent away in disarray.

The rulers from their high positions of power,

God has brought down low.

And those who were humble and lowly,

God has elevated with dignity.

The hungry—God has filled with fine food.

The rich—God has dismissed with nothing in their hands."

And then, there are the words of her first-born, Jesus:

Jesus, who learned these lessons from his mother, had this to say:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because
God has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
God has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and
recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of God’s Jubilee."

"Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the beloved community of God.
Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh...
But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.

Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep."

"Come, you that are blessed by God,
inherit the realm prepared for you from the foundation of the world;
for I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,
I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
I was naked and you gave me clothing,
I was sick and you took care of me,
I was in prison and you visited me."

(and also: Depart from me! All you who did none of that!)

Jesus, speaking to the rich young ruler and loving him, according to the text, said:
"You lack one thing; go, sell what you own,
and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven;
then come, follow me.’

And when the rich man heard this,
he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions."

"When you give a luncheon or a dinner,
do not invite your friends or your brothers
or your relatives or rich neighbors,
in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid.

But when you give a banquet,
invite the poor,
those with disabilities,
the lame, and the blind.
And you will be blessed"

Etc. Jesus learned well from Mother Mary.

+++++

And then, from one of her other sons, James:

"My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

Listen, my dear brothers and sisters:

Has not God chosen those who are
poor in the eyes of the world
to be rich in faith and to inherit the realm God promised those who love
But you have dishonored the poor.

Is it not the rich who are exploiting you?
Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of the One
to whom you belong?"

and...

"Now listen, you rich people,
weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you.
Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes.
Your gold and silver are corroded.
Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire.
You have hoarded wealth in the last days.

Look! The wages you
failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields
are crying out against you.
The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of God Almighty.
You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence.
You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.
You rich and powerful ones have condemned and murdered the innocent one
(Jesus),
who was not opposing you."*

What a family!

* As an aside, it may be viewed by some that Jesus and his family were hateful towards the rich, but I don't think that's it. I think God loves all of humanity. But those concerned with human rights and the beloved community ARE going to be opposed to those who abuse human rights... who oppress the poor and marginalized. But that doesn't translate, I don't think, into hate for the oppressor.

Those who oppress are not only harming the oppressed. As we find in other teachings from Jesus, the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil. Having excessive wealth and power, that is a trap and quite often a cancer that destroys both the rich and those they oppressed. When James says that Jesus was not opposing the rich oppressors, I think it's obvious that Jesus (and all who oppose oppression) DO oppose oppression. But, as we see with the Rich Young Man story and the story of Zaccheus (another wealthy oppressor), the rich were ALSO invited to join the beloved community, the welcoming dinner table... it's just that they were also invited to abandon that wealth which oppressed, as well.

Seems to me. If a person falls into an ocean with loads of gold and jewels in their pockets, the first thing they need to do to be saved is to let go of that which was weighing them down.

Happy, holy days.

These People are Not Like Us...

Saying it yet again, in another way:

I. He has attacked our heroic reporters for doing their job;

II. He has defended a man our CIA (and others) said was guilty of having a reporter killed, butchered. And this was a US-based reporter... In spite of the evidence, he just waved it all away and decided to proclaim, himself, that this wealthy and elite prince was innocent! (This was a prince whose daddy appointed him the Prime Minister, sort of like our own president getting wealthy thanks to his daddy's wealth before him... and by endless lawsuits) The point being, this is not a freely elected noble leader, this is a wealthy prince having a brave reporter butchered to death and getting away with it;*

IIa. It should be noted that the felon president isn't coddling a likely butcher out of the kindness of his heart... he's arranging oil deals, golf deals, investment deals for his family and other ultra-rich families... my friends, this should NOT be so;

III. He has boasted about getting away with sexual assault - boasted and laughed about being able to get away with it because he was rich and powerful and privileged;

IV. He has publicly boasted and laughed about using that same privilege to ogle half-naked teen-aged girls;

V. He was a frequent friend of a now-convicted (and now-dead) pedophile;

VI. He said of the pedophile's assistant, "I wish her well..." and his administration got her a cozier jail cell after some unknown "deal" was made;

VII. He has pardoned convicted criminals who assaulted police officers in a public insurrection at the Capitol;

VIII. He has pardoned millionaire and billionaire friends who were legally convicted of crimes and cons;

VIX. He has praised and defended and lauded/allied with dictators, oppressors, murderers, fascists while at the same time attacked and belittled our traditional partners - nations that are free republics, not dictatorships or run by strong men;

VX. He has refused to be transparent about his finances and the ways he and his family are enriching themselves with his presidency;

And I could go on and on. This is not a normal presidency. At some point, dear conservatives, you really need to finally say, "Whoa, THIS is too much... I've been conned. He truly was corrupt and indecent and vulgar and acted in ways that enriched him and his name and empowered actual criminals, racists, nazis and sexual assailants."

Please, join the majority of the nation in standing opposed to a criminal and corrupt administration. If nothing else, conservatives used to be concerned about crimes. This is a criminal administration, pardoning and defending wife abusers, child abusers, wealthy thieves, murderers and just the worst of people.

* RE: powerful people like the Saudi Prince getting away with literal murder, it should be noted that this is the way of our world for people like the prince and the pervert president. Even the Biden administration refused to hold the prince accountable. These people are not like Us.

Growing Old

I heard John Burroughs

in the Autumn woods today

he said

“How beautifully leaves grow old.

How full of light and color are their last days.”

and I could not disagree

not if I wanted to

But after their light is dimmed

and after their color faded

Autumn leaves still grow old beautifully

becoming Winter leaves with

the common decency to leave

some of themselves behind

I hope to grow old like that

You Are Beloved

Craig recently stated a position in his protest of the notion of Pride, a position he personally reached using his own human reasoning...

It seems like an oxymoron to associate Jesus with pride.

When LGBTQ folks and their allies speak of pride, we are speaking of Love, of self-love, of recognizing our selves as being loved and lovable and worthy of love. We are speaking of self respect and refusing to be oppressed or the punching bag of people who arrogantly presume they are better, more holy, more righteous than them (even when that self-righteousness may be cloaked by some faux humility).

Same for Black Lives Matter and Black is Beautiful campaigns.

When a people are and have been oppressed, beaten, beaten down, spoken ill of, rejected by "polite society," abused, literally demonized and otherwise harmed and maligned for centuries... for entire lifespans! - when that happens, psychologists and wise people will tell us that this is extremely damaging to our psyches and bodies. As a result, it's not just the physical threat from the racists and LGBTQ haters, it's the physical and emotional toll it takes on our bodies.

Jesus understood that. Jesus whole through story in the gospels (like the story of the prophets before him) was a defense of and celebration of the poor and marginalized.

"Good" society in that day regularly abused and maligned and demonized the poor, the sick, the foreigners, the outsiders. The poor and sick were regularly blamed for their own poverty and illness. There were no resources to help them most of the time (outside of their families, which didn't/couldn't always come through). This is why they often found themselves in the extremely debilitating role of beggars, which is yet another harm pushed on the poor and marginalized. Even worse, "good" society often blamed the poor and marginalized for having SIN which was the CAUSE of their poverty and illness. Yet another wound.

Now, for many people raised in places and positions of privilege, it may be difficult to wrap our minds around this problem. "Okay, so I've had a setback and people are speaking ill of me... Just buck up, kiddo! I'll just go ahead and pull myself up by my own bootstraps!" But that's privilege talking. That's someone who was not raised with centuries of oppression and demonizations, even sometimes by their own families.

Jesus comes offering ANOTHER vision. One of the Beloved Community TO WHICH the poor and marginalized were literally welcomed and beloved.

In a world that blamed the poor, the widows, the divorcees, the orphans, the sick, the mentally ill, the oppressed and marginalized, Jesus came with a rebuke to that and another way:

I have come to preach good news to the poor and marginalized! he preached.

THEY say you are lowly and evil, but I say, BLESSED are you who are poor! he said.

Jesus sat down, associated with, welcomed, laughed with, talked with the "sinners," he TOUCHED the sick and dying (a big cultural no-no). He made clear that he loved the poor and marginalized.

He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, welcomed and listened to women and widows and "whores..."

He taught how we were NOT to think about inviting the rich and well-placed... rather, the poor and marginalized were the ones to bring to his welcome table. Indeed, that we should go out of our way to reach the poor and marginalized and welcome them in!

AND, when he DID welcome the rich and well-placed, what did he tell them? "FIRST, go and sell your stuff, give it to the poor, then come follow me." They too, were welcomed, but the welcome was cast through the door of poverty and inclusion for all.

And more often than not, Jesus rebuked the wealthy and powerful, the graceless rule-followers. He warned people to watch out for those who devour widows' houses (echoing the Prophets before him). "It will be HELL for you, you rich and powerful!" he yelled. He knocked over the moneychangers' tables where they were taking advantage of the poor in the temple! 

This, too, was a blow on behalf of the poor and marginalized. These rich ones were the people who were oppressing the poor and working class and marginalized, as Jesus' brother James made clear. THIS is why, as the Gospels repeatedly affirm, Jesus was popular with "the people," and why the rich and powerful were wary of confronting him.

When the poor and marginalized heard that (AND knowing the danger that put Jesus in!), they knew that Jesus was truly on their side. He didn't just casually off-handedly SAY he loved them, he truly loved them at great personal cost and risk. Again, THIS is why Jesus was popular with "the people."

When John the Baptist asked Jesus if he was the one, he said, "The sick are being healed, the poor are having good news preached to them!" as if to say, "Duh! THERE it is! THAT is how you know! The poor are beloved and welcomed!"

Over and over in the Gospels, this Good News of a beloved community - the realm of God, where the poor and outcasts were the ones invited specifically... literal good news for those oppressed and demonized! - was repeated.

Jesus was saying to those who had been traditionally oppressed:

"You are Beloved. You are worthy of Love. The God of the Universe loves you all! You are welcome to join with us in the realm of God, the beloved community.

Don't listen to the hateful ones... take pride. YOU are beloved!"

Yes, Jesus knew well about the good news message of finding pride in knowing you ARE beloved and welcomed, no matter what the religious legalists might say.

The Seven Woes, a Timely Warning

In Matthew 23, we find Jesus going on a long and vicious tirade against the legalists and powerful - the very religious, but evil ones, and Jesus spoke extremely harshly of the Pharisees and others in power who were hypocrites and abusers. Speaking of these religious leaders who pile law upon law upon law on the backs of people, Jesus said:

"They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them."

He then addressed these powerful abusers, delivering seven "woes..." The famous southern preacher, Clarence Jordan, translated "woe" as "It will be hell for you, Pharisees!" as in

“It will be hell for you, theologians and preachers— phonies, because you lock people out of God's Way. You not only won’t enter yourselves, but you slam the door on those who do.

It will be hell for you, theologians and preachers— phonies, because you send missionaries around the world to make one convert, and when you win him you make him double the devil’s son that you are."

And wrapping up with...

“You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?"

Da-yum.

And at the end of that tough take down of the powerful religious abusers, Jesus said:

"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing."

Fire and anger and bittersweet love.

I think many of us have a sense of this, today.
 

Jesus Wore a Pride Flag

"Jesus wore a Pride flag like a cape

like some sort of gay superman"

is not an historical fact,

but it is an image that appears

faithful to the biblical witness.

Jesus, it is noted in the biblical witness,

famously was asked to support the religionists

and join in with them

to stone an adulterous woman

to death

to kill the woman "caught in the act"

until she was dead as a stone

...beating & battering her bloody, bruised body

with stones until her heart quit beating

her lungs no longer able to exhale

her Self, shattered and shapeless.

Jesus was asked to join in with the religionists

and brutally murder her

righteous, in their rule-following

("rules" defined by them...).

...Jesus did NOT join in with the religionists.

Indeed, Jesus said

the ones with no sins

should cast the first stone

and while the religionists

no doubt

may have considered themselves

damned near sinless

couldn't bring themselves to say it out loud

and so they shuffled away

dropping rocks as they disappeared

in the sand

Jesus wore a Pride Flag that day

like a cape

like a gay superman

All Are Welcome

For those interested in justice and the beloved community, these last nine months have been a LOT. And last week was a lot more, on top of it all. The hateful words, the deadly violence, the dangerous policies... there is so much to pull us down and wear us out.

I'd like to share an antidote to that.

After the last week of violence and hatred, on Saturday, I was fortunate to be part of three or four events* that were a balm (in part) for all of it.

On Saturday morning, there was an event that celebrates our LatinX family, celebrating their art, their words, their dance, their food... it was a party open to all and attended by all sorts of people. Folks with disabilities, with different backgrounds, from different nations, with degrees of so-called "documentation..." they were honored, celebrated, revered, listened to, respected. They were the heroes of the day and it was clear that they were not just role models and heroes for that day, but for every day. Day in and out, these creative givers are making our nation and our world a better place and there is no way to place a value on that.

Later that day, another friend from another culture was part of another event, another party, celebrating our neighbors from other parts of the world. Beautiful, graceful dancing, amazing music and songs played on instruments that many of us didn't grow up with, fantastic food and, again, all were welcome and all sorts of people came. There was power in that beloved community.

Finally, Saturday night, I took part in our church's monthly open mic coffee house that is, again, open to all, but we go out of our way to specifically make room for our friends living on the margins, living their lives sometimes with health and emotional concerns, living their lives with dignity, even when they may not have secure housing. And because it was an open mic coffee house, open to all, many of our guests performed, sharing music, stories, poetry, oftentimes made all the more powerful because of all that they are dealing with.

There was power and empowerment, respect, love, grace, and ALL were welcome.

At all of these events (and more that regularly lead up to such events), ALL were welcome, ALL were celebrated and honored and respected as the deeply valued, deeply loved members of our community that we all are.

It is through these efforts of love, support, respect and deep welcome that we begin our efforts to restore our nation and our world to a more loving place, where human rights and human dignity are the starting point and just assumed.

I can't thank enough those who work, plan, sponsor and build communities of welcome and love. It IS a deliberate effort that requires work, but it is a work of love and life and we need this work.

Thanks for the healing that the literally hundreds of people on Saturday gave to me and to our world. May their numbers increase! Let's do it again, today. And tomorrow.

* NOTE: I said, "three or four," but there were countless smaller actions on Saturday and in the weeks and years leading up to days like last Saturday. It's an ongoing effort and I'd really love to share the stories of so many of the many smaller parts and actions that make up such series of events. But work calls...

War Criminals, Racists and Traitors, Oh My!

This corrupt and felonious administration with actively racist plans and policies are not even pretending any more. The pretty boy entertainment show host (Hegseth) who, despite being completely lacking in qualifications and was appointed to lead the Defense Department (a clear DEI hire in support of less qualified white men over better qualified people of every color and background)... THAT pervert has put up a larger than life-sized painting of the racist, slave-owning traitor, "general" RE Lee at West Point. The cowardly pissant who killed and slaughtered to protect slavery is even WORSE because, if you believe his writings, he recognized the evil of slavery. WHILE he owned slaves. 

This is yet another clear effort to indoctrinate and brainwash military students into supporting racist, slavery-defending traitors and to whitewash history even more.

It's NOT OKAY to promote traitors to our nation who fought to kill hundreds of thousands of loyal US citizens as acceptable role models, WHILE at the same time, dictating to our museums and other actually expert historians and scholars that they must downplay how evil slavery was.

* Slavery IS, always was and always will be a great evil.

* Robt E Lee was a traitor responsible for the deaths of thousands of US citizens and the slaves they fought to keep enslaved.
* The confederacy was a traitorous endeavor, built on the twin evils of slavery and racism.

* They WERE the bad guys in this story.

Here, there be monsters.

Look, at this point, it's a given that some large portion (majority) of so-called "conservatives" have abandoned ANY point of decency, morality, reason and intelligence and sold their souls the the idiot pervert who conned willing idiots into putting him in office. Twice. There is no indecency he/they can't commit, no vulgar depths they won't wallow in, no end to the number of women they'll openly rape and prey upon (laughing about how their white privilege keeps them safe), no end to attacks on actual states' rights, no end to fiscal irresponsibility, no end to the defense and fangirl crushing on actual dictators and murderers... there is nothing these deviants can do to stir up a rebellion from the vast majority of conservatives, including the religionists.

The question then remains, what can the 50-65% (?) of the rest of us do to stop them?

To begin with: Resist.