Ron Cole : unplugged, unorthodox, sacrilegious

Lost...explosive parables, and the fall out

 

 

 I was reading the "lost " parables last evening ( Luke 15 ); the lost coin, the lost sheep and the prodigal son. And slowly in my mind I could feel things shifting, I tried to reach for something, a handle, anything...but it was too late. Here I was upside down, all perception had changed, I had to reorient myself. Now I was " lost " ... initially I saw from the point of view of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son.  Now, it's this awkward view from being in the midst of the ninety-nine sheep that God doesn't seem to rejoice over, the nine coins that the woman just seems to take for granted, and the older son who humanly speaking seems somewhat justified for being overlooked.

 

In his home town of Nazareth, Jesus gives an inaugural sermon (Lk4:16-28) that gained him applause at first...until the people understood what in the heck he was saying! Then they tried to throw him over the nearest cliff.

 

Jesus began by quoting the familiar prophecy from Isaiah, about God's mission being aimed at poor people, the oppressed, the blind and the broken. Everybody said, " Right on! preach it brother." But Jesus made the "mistake" of turning the message around. He couldn't have jammed his foot any further into his mouth had he got up to address a white middle-class suburban congregation and said, " God doesn't care about this church,"

 

The " punch " of these lost parables comes when we turn them around, upside down. The parables are kind of like Trojan-horses. Jesus wasn't about to take the same approach that he took before the hometown folks. He wanted to make the same point to these cozy and comfy, " white middle class, suburban " church folk ", and to the " pastors " who came asking why he spent so much time with the out casts.

 

Jesus wanted to show them, " they " were the real " outcasts ", the prodigals that stayed at home. So Jesus lit a stick of dynamite, covered it with a parable, and tossed it into their midst. By the time the " good " people got the parable unwrapped, Jesus and his disciples were a few miles down the road. Perhaps they were still able to here the explosion. 

 

Maybe Sunday morning, between one of the worship songs...pause, and reflect. Maybe you'll here an explosion, and ask yourself. " whose more lost, the poor and homeless in the inner city, the addicts, the mentally ill...the marginalized community of divine nobodies...or is it the ??????

AIDS...and confronting the terminal illness of judgement

 

Last night, working in the emergency department we had a woman maybe in her seventy's come in with her forty year old son. To look at him you would never guess he was forty. He looked older than his mother, he was thin, gaunt and literally wasting away. He didn't have to say a word, you could see pain, suffering, shame and guilt written all over him. He was in the end stages of AIDS. Ravaged by the disease, he was severly dehydrated and dying of malnutrition...and his mom wasn't coping with it all.

Around her neck, I could see she was wearing a cross, so I asked her if she was a part of a church and if she was getting help and being supported there. At this point it was as if I had touched an open wound. Tears started to stream down her face. Handing her some Kleenex she told me, no, that she couldn't tell anyone about her son.

Even if it is not blatantly obvious, it is overt...maybe in her church, tucked in the corner you can see it ...judgement. This lady knew it. Homosexuality she has been told is a sin, and it will be judged, and AIDS is the consequence, the earthly judgement. If that's not bad enough her son still has the eternal torment of hell to face yet. And, of course this judgement I'm sure in her mind is partly about her. I mean, homosexuality is a choice...perhaps if she was a better parent her sons outcome would have been much better.

Who is " this Jesus " that many churches worship...I do not see him anywhere in the gospels ?

And, all the time tumbling around in my mind is this image of Jesus...hanging out with the most marginalized in the world. Somehow, he always seemed to be in the midst of sick, the blind, and crippled beggars...those possessed by demons. He touched the lepers, he kissed and healed them. He touched prostitutes, he came to their rescue...they washed his feet with tears and perfume.

And here is this woman whose gay son is dying of AIDS and there is no one in her church that she can tell. I think, I know Jesus would embrace and love this man without any judgement...and then I see a church, the body of Christ unwilling to move it's legs, to wrap its arms around this young man...or to move its lips and kiss him.

I know some one is going to say the trite, " love the sinner, hate the sin." Sorry, I'm gonna have to cry bull shit on that one. You can't love and judge at the same time...that is a very tainted kind of love. Jesus says we are to simply love...the way he did. The gospels are permeated with this kind of radical scandalous redemptive love. Can we please just learn to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE and LOVE till it kills us...a love that you sacrifice everything for.

...So we cancelled it all!

This is a very telling video that I hope you'll take the time to watch, and really listen to. Shes is very distraught on the one hand about the things that aren't happening...but, in her conversation there are some beautiful vistas that we get a glimpse of...things that are really happening without her. And things, in which the people are learning far more.

 

 

 Well...any thoughts ???

transformation...

I do dimly percieve that whilst everything around me is ever changing, ever dying, there is underlying all that change a Living Power that is changeless, that holds all together, that creates, dissolves and re-creates. That informing Power or Spirit of God. and since nothing else I see merely through the senses can or will persist, He is alone.

And is this Power benevolent or malevolent? I see it as purely benevolent, for I can see that in the midst of death life persists, in the midst of untruth truth persists, in the midst of darkness light persists. Hence I gather that God is Life, Truth, Light. He is Love. He is the supreme good.

But he is no God who merely satisfies the intellect, if he ever can. God to be God must rule the heart and transform it. This can only be done through a definite realization. more real than the five senses can ever produce. It is not proved by extraneous evidence but in the transformed living and character of those who have felt the presence of God within.

(The Essential Ghandi...pg 18)

God's Economy...the redemptive imagination of the Kingdom

The tactics of Jesus have the power to liberate our imaginations and inspire creative subversions of the status quo. They carve out a space where we can ask questions we never knew we could ask:

What if it's possible to live as citizens of

God's abundant kingdom no matter

what government we live under?

What if it's possible to work against the

principalities and powers of this age

without being captive to them ourselves?

What if it's possible to live God's good life

here and now, no matter what economic

situation we find ourselves in?

What if another world is possible?

What if it's already here?

To interupt the logic of scarcity by trusting Jesus in our homes, churches, and communities is to proclaim the only true economy --- the Kingdom that has broken into this world and will one day utterly consume it in a new heaven and earth. ( God's Economy: Redefining the Health and Wealth Gospel by Jonathon Wilson-Hartgrove; pg 75 )

the radical scandalous redemptive imagination of the Kingdom...Now!

We live in a time where Herod is in control.... If you stand up and do as John the Baptist did, say a few simple words--such as That is not right; this is not how it should be done; this is not how we should treat one another; this is not how we should live--you are risking death. Sometimes we forget that the faith of Jesus is a risky life, a life that might cost you your own life.... This is the Gospel. This is where it is preached, in dangerous times.

Source:  Pathologies of Power by Paul Farmer

 

Someone once said that Jesus talked about the Kingdom of God more than 100 times in the gospels. It's crazy how we've read our way through the words of the gospels, and have missed something that captured the passion and redemptive imagination of Jesus.

In a sense, we've reduced, filtered, dehydrated, diluted this profound mysteriously beautiful redemptive story about the Kingdom...to " Me and You."Jesus in the opening words of the gospel of Mark announces a new Kingdom, a new way of life, an abundant life a new way of living. It was a new way of peace, and reconciliation, of redemption that carried the good news to all humanity...to people of every religion.

The Kingdom of God is much bigger than any religion, or a new religion like " christianity "...it is roomy and spacious...in My Father's House are many rooms. It's hard to imagine the incredible vibrant faith that Jesus lived out in the context of everyday life being corked, zip-locked, sealed as a new " religion." I mean it's really hard to imagine Jesus gathering his disciples in a classroom in the local temple to announce, " Here's the plan. We're going to start a new religion, and we'll name it after me." " It will be a program, of plug and play...life applications...self help. " We'll manipulate them with the fear of hell, the tangle a carrot in front of them...the attraction of heaven when life comes to an end.

How do we say the Lord's prayer and miss, " Thy Kingdom come on earth, as in heaven." The Kingdom is about now. It's about God's will, his passion for grace, justice and mercy being done on earth now for " all " people. God's Kingdom, his faithfulness is presence in the midst of our suffering, oppression...and even in the midst of our darkness, and evil. Where is there a sacred secular divide, an iron curtain, a cement wall that keeps God on one side and not from the other? Where on earth can we flee from God?

The Kingdom is about the radical scandalous redemptive imagination of Jesus manifesting itself in our lives..." Now!" It is about us becoming heirs to his Kingdom now. It's not like waiting for a rich relative to die, so you can collect your inheritance and enjoy it. It's your's now, to be a partner, a co-creator in the building of the kingdom now...on earth, as in heaven. It is here now...if we have the eyes to see, and the ears to hear.

Jesus, grilled by the Pharisees on when the kingdom of God would come, answered, "The kingdom of God doesn't come by counting the days on the calendar. Nor when someone says, 'Look here!' or, 'There it is!' And why? Because God's kingdom is already among you." ( Eugene Peterson's, The Message, Luke 17:21 )

Jesus is the prophecy of Isaiah come to life, flesh and bones, breathing, proclaiming the Kingdom... living out the incredible profound truth of the Kingdom. The idea that, oh well, the poor will aways be with us, but, when the Kingdom does come in the distant future, God will make it better.

No! the good news of Jesus was now! The time has come for the poor, the oppressed, the sick, the indebted and the prisoners to be set free. As Kingdom people we are called to be agents of healing, and reconciliation...mending all the broken, and fragmented pieces of all God's creation.

He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he's there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross. ( Eugene Peterson's, The Message, Colossians 1 )

Let's insert our lives into Eugene Peterson's translation, and make it our Kingdom prayer..." So spacious are we, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in our lives with out crowding. Not only that, but that we, with Jesus fix all the broken pieces of creation...people and things, animals and atoms. That all gets properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies...all because he poured out his life on the cross opening us to the reality of the Kingdom...and abundant life. Let us sacrifice our lives and live out the radical scandalous redemptive imagination of Jesus  bringing the Kingdom on earth now, as in heaven. Amen.

 

Moot's Mobsby, McLaren...muse future faith

In a cafe' in London in late June, Ian Mobsby of Moot Community sat down with Brian McLaren. In this podcast interview, Brian McLaren dialogues with Ian Mobsby exploring the future of church and mission. In conversation, a wide range of issues are discussed including new monasticism, mission to spiritual seekers, and the challenge of church in the twenty first century.

You can listen to the podcast...Here.

Kester Brewin...a must read

Has What Emerged Retreated? | Returning to Institutions [3]

Read the whole post ... HERE.

beyond tunnel vision to the Kingdom...

Have you ever had the sense of tunnel vision where you become totally oblivious to everything around you? It's seeing a tree, but missing the grandeur, the beauty and diversity of the forest. It's like reading the gospels as saving souls, and missing the incredible profound mystery and redemptive imagination of the Kingdom.

 In the opening words of John's gospel he tells us Jesus pitched his tent into the messiness of humanity. Unwed teenage parents, homeless, marginalized by their community. It doesn't get much messier unless you mention the stench of animal dung, and the filth of a stable. But that is where the profound embryonic birth of the Kingdom starts. Later, Jesus would proclaim that very truth, " the Kingdom is near."

Later the religious establishment and ordinary folks would ask Jesus when and where the Kingdom was coming. Someone would ask, " Is it over there?" Or someone else, " Look up there is that it?" " No, is it over here?", Another would ask. " Is it coming on this day ", someone yelled.

And Jesus said, " it is not here, there, or up...look it is among you."

The profound mysterious reality of the Kingdom is among us...it is here right now.

Jesus had the redemptive imagination of the God of all creation. He had the uncanny ability to see the world upside down, seeing the Kingdom. Remember when he prayed those words, " Father, may you Kingdom come, on earth as in heaven."

He calls us to re-imagine the world seeing the Kingdom. But not only to imagine, to fantasize such a place. But to build the Kingdom of God now. This is where we need to move beyond our tunnel vision of seeing the gospel as " saving " mere souls...to the reality of redeeming " All " creation. This the profound reality and truth that Jesus spoke in his radical outrageous scandalous parables, and lived out in his table fellowship, his miracles and everyday living. He lived life as if he was living in the Kingdom now.

So what does this redeeming, and building of the Kingdom look like? Well, the wild Old Testament prophet Isaiah gives us a glimpse in the words from God...

Is this not the kind of faithful living I have chosen: to loosen the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? ( homelessness, poverty, racism, addiction ) Is it not to share your food with the hungry and provide the poor wanderer with shelter...when you see him naked to clothe him, and not turn away from your won flesh and blood ( your brothers and sisters, we are all children of God ). Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear. If you do away with the yolk of oppression, with the finger pointing ( The judging who's in and who's out ) and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness and your light will ne like the noonday...you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. ( Isaiah 58:6-12 paraphrased )

The Kingdom will be near...it will be here among us. Father may your Kingdom come, on earth as in heaven.

A' la carte...or Kingdom stories from Al and CARTS

 Jesus looked up then, and seeing the vast multitude that surrounded him and realizing they had traveled a great distance and were tired and hungry, he said to Philip, " Where are we to buy bread, so that all these people will be fed?" Jesus did this to prove, to test...to help Philip discover that mustard seed of faith that births the Kingdom into being.

Philip answered Jesus, " Forty dollars worth of bread is not even enough that everyone will receive more than a handful of crumbs. A few of the other disciples said there was some kid in the crowd with five barley loves and two small fish, hardly even appetizers for a crowd this size.

Jesus said, " make the people sit." The ground was covered 5000, it looked a multicolored carpet, humanity spread out before Jesus. Jesus took the loaves, praying gave thanks, gave it to the disciples and the disciples gave to the crowd. Jesus did the same with the fish. They had as much as they wanted.

When they had all had enough, Jesus asked the disciples to gather up all the broken pieces of fish and bread that were left over, so that nothing was lost or wasted. They returned astonished with twelve baskets of leftovers from 5 loaves, and two fish. ( from the opening of John 6. paraphrased )

   It's fascinating, as I'm writing and processing this at the same time, that Friday night at CARTS is a profound mysterious worship service...it is church with out the building. Someone just this week, I think Alan Hirsch tweeting back and forth said that the churches greatest sin was pouring concrete. He may be right, history and empty buildings will tell the real truth.

Anyways, at CARTS we do have our liturgy, which means, " the work of the people ". Everyone one is engaged in the reality of " Kingdom " worship, it is mysteriously vertical and horizontal...it is the love of God and neighbor.

Before we leave the parking lot behind the Capital 6 theater, we have a circle time...the volunteers, and our friends in the inner city and we join hands. It's not some join hands, we all join hands. There is a real sense of community. Feeling the cold, the roughness, the warmth, the squeeze of a hand; the smile, the sadness, the pain, the tear in a eye on a face...it's human, and we are all connected here in this place, and also to something much bigger.

My dear friend Al usually shares a short musing on the Kingdom, and a prayer before we make our rounds to " Our Place, Centennial Square, Street Link, the Salvation Army and the maze of streets in between. Last evening, Al shared the above story of Jesus feeding the multitude...it has always been one of my favorite.

First of let me say, I'm not a nay-sayer to miracles...I have witnessed them. Jesus could have fed 5000 people with what looked like a snack. If the mere sound of his voice can give rise to all creation, all that exists, then he can feed thousands with nothing much more than a happy meal. But, maybe weaved into the mysterious texture of this story is another miracle.

What would you call it, if you got 5000 people, the majority strangers, maybe from different cultures, different religious backgrounds. Maybe some were friends, maybe some were enemies. It was like a mix of poor, middle class and the rich. Lets call it a snap shot of humanity...in real time.

What would you call it...if you got 5000 people to share to the point where none was in need of more, and there was an abundance left over? What would you call that?

This is the freakin' reality of the Kingdom. When we live in the context of the Kingdom, miracles aren't so much miracles as they are the norm. It's mind blowing yes, because it turns our little worlds upside down. In the midst of Jesus, we all, humanity realizes it's poverty...and I'm not talking just food. We realize how impoverished we are with out the other. We need each other. And we need Jesus.

What must I do to gain eternal life, abundant life...the fullness of the Kingdom of God ; Love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength...and to love the other. Live this and the Kingdom becomes a reality.

Just a Jesus asked Philip, " where are we to buy bread, for all these people to be fed." We can be overwhelmed by the multitudes, but we can grasp that mustard seed of faith...and Love, Love and Love. Love the other as much as we love God...and out of that share. Sharing not out of our left overs, but out of everything we have. Sharing to the point where humanity, creation is no longer in need. To the point where all are full, and there is an abundant left over. Then we can truly say, the Kingdom has come.