Unjust Laws
February 24, 2010 | Posted by Doug
"Woe to you who make unjust laws." -Isaiah 10:1
Reading: Isaiah 10:1-4
The corruption and injustice of the Congress and the State House are deeply troubling to God. The stubborn unwillingness to pass health care and immigration reform are a travesty. In this passage Isaiah makes the link between corrupt government and wealth. Our government is bought and controlled by the millions of dollars of corporate special interests. It is an utter outrage. It is not just a political issue, but a religious matter as well.
A Vision
February 22, 2010 | Posted by Doug
"They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain: for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." -Isaiah 11:9
Reading: Isaiah 11:6-9
I love the connection between the knowledge of the Lord and the end of hurt and destruction. Knowing the ways of God means ending destruction, violence, and injustice and bringing about a time of peace.
One Heart and Soul
February 21, 2010 | Posted by Doug
"no one claimed private ownership of any possessions" -Acts 4:32
Reading: Acts 4:32-37
“Jesus was the first socialist, the first to seek a better life for mankind.” - Mikhail Gorbachev “There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold.” This picture is repeated in Acts 2 and 4. This is what the early church looked like!
Glad and Generous Hearts
February 20, 2010 | Posted by Doug
"They...ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people." -Acts 2:46-47
Reading: Acts 2:43-47
What a great picture of abundance, “All who believed were together and had all things in common… distributing to all as any had need.” This is what the church looks like at the beginning.
Selling Oneself
February 19, 2010 | Posted by Doug
"...you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord."" -I Kings 21:20
Reading: I Kings 21:15-20
Up to this point, the story was about King Ahab trying to buy Naboth’s land, and then finally killing Naboth to get his land. Now the prophet Elijah accuses the king of selling himself to do what is evil. He was willing to sell himself to get something he desired. In what ways do we sell ourselves?
A Murder for Land
February 18, 2010 | Posted by Doug
"Naboth has been stoned, he is dead." -I Kings 21:14
Reading: I Kings 21:8-14
A queen hires men to bring charges against Naboth and have his stoned to death so she and the king can steal his land.
Naboth’s Armory
February 17, 2010 | Posted by Doug
"But Naboth said to Ahab, ‘The Lord forbid that I should give you my ancestral inheritance." -I Kings 21:3
Reading: I Kings 21:1-7
Bloomberg said to the Northwest Bronx, “Give me your armory, so that I may have it for a shopping mall, for it’s been sitting empty and it’s in my city, and I will give you lots of jobs and new stores and a movie theater. But the Northwest Bronx said to Bloomberg, “We will not give you our armory, unless you give us living wage jobs.” So Bloomberg went home resentful and sullen because of what the Northwest Bronx had sid to him, for they had said, “We will not give you our Armory.” He told the newspapers that the politicians and people of the Northwest Bronx were crazy.
Why is it that the rich always believe everything is their birthright, as long as they have the resources to pay for it? This has been going on since before Ahab, it’s a wonder that there are any resources in the world left that are not owned by rich people.
Naboth reminds us that this is an issue of both justice and relationship to God. “God forbid that I should give away my ancestral land,” he said. He probably could have negotiated a good price for his land. But he understood that God has created the resources of the world to serve local needs and not to be investment opportunities for the rich.
Leaving to Find
February 16, 2010 | Posted by Doug
"Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news,* who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life" -Mark 10:29-30
Reading: Mark 10:28-31
Leaving means finding, letting go means gaining, do you experience this to be true?
The Eye of a Needle
February 15, 2010 | Posted by Doug
"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." -Mark 10:25
Reading: Mark 10:23-27
When Jesus tells the disciples how hard it is for a rich person to enter heaven, the disciples are astounded. They wonder “who then can be saved?” I guess they were impressed with rich people, saw them as people who had been especially blessed by God. If they can’t be saved, then poor and working class people must not have a chance. But it turns out God’s standards are very different than the world’s. In the next story, a poor, blind beggar named Bartimaeus hears Jesus coming, jumps up and throws off his cloak and runs to follow Jesus, and is totally accepted. What kind of standards are these?
Love in Action
February 14, 2010 | Posted by Doug
"Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, " -Mark 10:21
Reading: Mark 10:17-22
Jesus gave this man a very difficult teaching, a teaching which came out of love for the man. Jesus engage them in dialogue. The man was proud that he had kept all the commandments since he was young. But Jesus could see that his attachment to money was keeping him from fulfilling his purpose. He loved him and challenged him to let it go, to share it freely with others, and to become a servant of the people.