That which you do onto the least you do onto me

Watching the news while on vacation getting in a little granddaughter time. I wonder, with the elections in November and poll numbers down the tubes, will Bush attack Iran or Syria in October in time to swing the elections?

9th Sunday after Pentecost

John 6:24-35

Our bellies are full
We are refreshed
Our minds are no longer dulled
By that gnawing ache of hunger
And yet
We long
There was more that took place on that day
Than just the loaves
------------and fishes
what happened was good
--in the way creation was pronounced good
and yet
--we hunger for more
not just the food
that eased our hunger
but there was power in the words that were spoken
power that opened our minds
power that challenged us
and made us see
--a hunger
we had not known
--(Jesus Said)
a hunger from deep within
which now that it has become loosed
will not be bound again
until it is feed
--(I am)
and nourished
as only God
--(the Bread)
as the Creator of all
--(of life)
can do

Children will be children

Sunday August 6th, Psalm 78: He split the Sea and they walked right through it; he piled the waters to the right and the left. He led them by day with a cloud, led them all the night long with a fiery torch. He split rocks in the wilderness, gave them all they could drink from underground springs; He made creeks flow out from sheer rock, and water pour out like a river. All they did was sin even more, rebel in the desert against the High God. Children will be children. It’s nice when the children get older and they begin to take care of themselves. Mark Twain marveled, tongue in cheek, at how smart his father had become as he got older. God had that same trouble with the children of God during the Exodus. God still has that same trouble with us. We all want a bit more because we feel a bit empty inside. God has not only given us more than we can imagine, but also through Christ, something to fill that emptiness in our soul.

Manna

Monday August 7th, Psalm 78: It was clear they didn't believe God, had no intention of trusting in his help. But God helped them anyway, commanded the clouds and gave orders that opened the gates of heaven. He rained down showers of manna to eat, he gave them the Bread of Heaven. It is the same today, though all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God, Jesus came into the world to save the world and bring salvation to all. Now it is our turn to share the gracious gifts we have been given and in the process, participate in the graciousness of God. It is in giving that we receive.

How much longer???!!!

Tuesday August 8th, Exodus 16: 2 In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the LORD's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death." Have you ever take a trip with young children? Remember the continued questions and complaints, “When will we be there?” “How much longer?” “I have to go to the bathroom?” “S/He touched/looked at me” and on and on and on? Things haven’t changed much have they? We are all quite capable of being bought off by the comforts of life to the point where we resist and resent a spiritual journey. When was the last time you went to a Bible Study or Worship, even if you didn’t feel like it that day? In spite of it all, God loved them. In spite of it all, God loves you.

Everyones need, not greed

Wednesday August 9th, Exodus 16: 4 Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days." God provides for everyone’s need, not everyone’s greed. What the people found out was that if they gathered more than a days worth, it rotted, it stank. On the sixth day they could get enough for two days so they could rest on the Sabbath. When we horde, it also rots, and rotting still stinks. It rots away in our garages and houses, true, but mostly it rots away in our hearts and souls, and that is where the stink comes from. Can’t come to church, I have a boat, I have to go fishing again. And just who do you think gave you the ability to get the boat in the first place? A little thank you would be nice.

Food

Thursday August 10th, John 6: 24 Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus. 25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, "Rabbi, when did you get here?" 26 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. If you give someone who is starving a lecture on how Jesus loves them and how salvation is theirs, complete with the gift of eternal life, they will not hear a word. First they need food. Here is a lesson for all world leaders, food draws people in, bombs, guns and prison drive them away. Once they are in, you can work on the Jesus thing.

Wow, Thanks!!!

Friday August 11th, John 6: 28 Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?" 29 Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." People are funny, even in the midst of their searching; they want to be in charge. It’s the old garden of Eden thing all over again. When I get something for doing something, then ultimately I am the one in charge. Jesus has done it, your job is to say “Wow, thanks!!!” and then live like you mean it.

Glottony

Saturday August 12th, John 6: 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." 34 "Sir," they said, "from now on give us this bread." 35Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. Gluttony is raiding the refrigerator because of a case of spiritual hunger. That which makes life comes from God, no blue plate special can ever truly fill that hunger.

8th Sunday after Pentecost

John 6:1-15

It seems like so little to go around
With the people of this world
Starving
Mothers holding children in their arms
Gifts of life from God
Only to be taken from them
By priorities
Not their own
Priorities
That must be set by someone
I scream
As I watch the swollen bellies of starvation
Eat away at yet another
Someone else’s child
There must be someone
Who is doing this to these children of God
These sisters and brothers of mine
in the family of God
these to whom I claim my oneness
through Christ
as I take the bread and wine
but “who” is the cry that keeps the bowls empty
and the water filled
with yet another messenger of death
(so they gathered up)
“Who” is a finger pointed out there
aimed at some
unnamed
and unchangeable
villain
out there
as the children continue to die
(twelve baskets)
I turn off the TV
Turn down the thermostat
And turned off the lights
To get a good nights sleep in the comfort
And security
Of this home I have made for myself
And hope I do not have to hear
The pleas
For the children
On the car radio as I drive
To work
Tomorrow
(with fragments)
I can’t stand to hear
Of the pain
Until
That one is found
(from the five loaves)
who is responsible
and that one
out there
is made to correct this injustice
(left by those)
that is bringing starvation
to those
(who had eaten)
sisters and brothers of mine

It's the irrigation system

Sunday July 30th, Psalm 145: The LORD helps the fallen and lifts up those bent beneath their loads. All eyes look to you for help; you give them their food as they need it. The Lord does indeed give food as it is needed, the trouble is that we humans have managed to disrupt the distribution system. We now have a multi-billion dollar industry in producing diet foods and diet plans in some parts of the world and children starving to death in other parts of the world. Perhaps if we were to love justice and show mercy (Micah 6:7-8) we could see to it to spend one tenth of our military budget on mercy and justice. That would be enough to provide adequate food, housing, clothing, and medical care for everyone in the world that does not currently have such. We can cry to let justice roll down like an ever flowing stream, what we need to work on is the irrigation system.

Kindergarten rules!!

Monday July 31st, Psalm 145: All eyes look to you for help; you give them their food as they need it. When you open your hand, you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing. For God, there is no us and them, for all are the children of God. That which you do, or fail to do, onto the least of these, you do or fail to do onto God. Society is judged not on how it creates wealth, but on how it cares for the least. God has given the gift, we are only asked to share. Kindergarten rules!!

With some left over

Tuesday August 1st, 2 Kings 4: 42 A man came from Baal Shalishah, bringing the man of God twenty loaves of barley bread baked from the first ripe grain, along with some heads of new grain. "Give it to the people to eat," Elisha said. 43 "How can I set this before a hundred men?" his servant asked. But Elisha answered, "Give it to the people to eat. For this is what the LORD says: 'They will eat and have some left over.' " 44 Then he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the LORD. When all people eat and have some left over, terrorism can gain no foothold. We should be throwing our nations wealth behind fighting terrorism in a way that works rather than just testing weapons systems that don’t.

Strengthened from within

Wednesday August 2nd, Ephesians 3: 14-19 My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. Jesus defines all the law and prophets as follows; love God, love others. In loving God, we are strengthened from within by the Holy Spirit, in loving others, that strength is nurtured. To do one without the other is to kill both.

the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love

Thursday August 3rd, Ephesians 3: 19 And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you'll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God. Learning to share with others from the abundance of our blessing does not lessen our blessing, it increases it. We live in a world that does not trust God. We have trouble trusting the fact that the more we give, the more we receive. We keep thinking in terms of a glass of water, pour some off for others and there is less in the glass. In God’s world, it is only when we pour off for others that the glass begins to fill.

Receive in true thankfulness

Friday August 4th, John 6: 10 Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. Part of the miracle is the blessing of Christ, the thankful blessing for what has been given. We are called to look at everything we have as a blessing from God and receive it in true thankfulness, for that is what it is.

the Blessing of the hearts

Saturday August 5th, John 6: 12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. The second part of the miracle is the blessing of the hearts that takes place as those sitting on the ground reach into their own private stash, and share. It is then that the abundance of the blessing is manifest in the physical world as well as in the spiritual world.

"Left Behind" Is this creep-show catastrophe biblical?

You may read this full article by Elizabeth Palmberg at: http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=news.display_article&mode=C&NewsID=5485

At press time, more than 60 million copies have been sold of a mediocre yet extremely popular fiction that, under the cover of an improbable adventure plot, peddles an ideologically driven, wildly unbiblical theology.

I’m talking, of course, about the Left Behind series of books. (Da Vinci what? Never read it). Actually, while The Da Vinci Code is also reported to have sold 60 million copies, for Left Behind the 60 million is an umbrella figure covering Left Behind, its 11 sequels and three prequels, another series of 40 kids’ books, and several more series of novels, plus associated audiobooks, graphic novels, devotionals, and, of course, the upcoming video game. So, while its reach may not be as wide as Dan Brown’s, its fans are invested deeply enough to buy book after book.

Mr. LaHaye, the Cold War called. It wants its paranoia back.

There’s a lot more bad plot in World at War, but before I tackle that, let’s get a few things straight. The Antichrist in Revelation gets global political authority from Satan (13:2), not, as the Left Behind books and movies suggest over and over, by promising humans peace and nuclear disarmament. In fact, assuming that John’s attention didn’t just wander in the middle of his Antichrist description, the Antichrist’s power is overtly military, while Christians should embrace nonviolence: “If you kill with the sword, with the sword you must be killed. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.” (Revelation 13:10; see also Matthew 26:52). The world, except for Christians, worships the Antichrist because of his apparently invincible power (13:4, 7-8), not because he offers ostensibly humble words about tolerance – in fact, the Antichrist speaks arrogantly (13:5).

Revelation repeatedly emphasizes the revolutionary idea that conquering, for humans, comes about through patient endurance (1:9, 2:3, 3:10, 13:10, 14:12) and public avowal of faith (2:13, 3:8), including faith unto death (2:10, 6:9, 12:11, 20:4). Given this emphasis on sacrificial trust in God’s power, it’s disturbing to see the main characters in the Left Behind books and films repeatedly depend on their own strength and wisdom. Our heroes adopt the vaguely military-sounding name “Tribulation Force,” and in the film of that name Buck and Rayford both hide their Christianity in order to get jobs working for the Antichrist. Buck doesn’t even offer temporary resistance to what his future wife Chloe calls “this whole hanging out with the Devil thing.”
In other words, the main problem with the Left Behind movies and books is not the biblical literalism they incorrectly lay claim to over and over. The real problem is that Left Behind is a big old plateload of neo-con neo-gnosticism designed to almost completely ignore some of the most clearly stated points of Revelation (and the gospels), in the pursuit of a particular, arguably idolatrous, present-day political mythology.

But the Left Behind films are not about discerning the actual signs of the times; they’re about a extreme right-wing political script shaped over the last few decades. Concern for one’s neighbor is just a blind to impose the ultimate, repressive, godless big government on the globe. In this New Testament-turned-upside-down, any talk of peacemaking (“Peace is imperative. We must help our neighbors, forget our differences”) is a dangerous ruse, not a blessing. Same goes for concern for the poor; the only people in the Left Behind movies who voice any concern for them are the Antichrist and one of his equally evil backers. (Carpathia fleetingly appears on TV in front of a tent-dwelling African family, intoning “How can we find peace when people are starving?”) In fact, the movies give the impression that there aren’t any poor people - at least none worth more than four seconds of screen time.

So, for the readers, viewers, and writers of Left Behind in all its forms, here are a few good words: Blessed are the meek. Blessed are the peacemakers. Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your father in heaven. Take care of the poor at your gates. Be faithful until death, and God will give you the crown of life. And lay off the Gospel According to Dr. Strangelove, OK?

Elizabeth Palmberg is assistant editor of Sojourners.

No Fear

Sunday July 23rd, Psalm 23: He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod; your staff, they comfort me. There are many divisions in the world. If we look deep enough there is someone or some group that falls on our spectrum of somewhere between dislike to greatly fear. Dislike we can usually deal with. Fear can turn into hostility such as we have now in the mid-east, Korea, Iraq, The Sudan and even here at home in the US. Before any war, there is a heightened sense of fear, it is what allows basically good people to justify killing of others. Into this mess we have created, even though I go through the darkest deepest places in life, I will fear no evil for God is with me. God’s side is peace, the question we have to ask is whether we are in or out?

Pray for your "enemies"

Monday July 24th, Psalm 23: You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. The best way to avoid conflict is fervent prayer for your enemies. I don’t mean praying that they will fall and break their neck, but truly praying that the fear the is driving them will cease, truly praying for their well being and happiness. When you begin to pray for them, you find that you also begin to get into their world, you begin to see things from their perspective. In this way, two miracles can happen, not only can their heart begin to soften, but your heart can begin to understand and also soften. It does not mean that you will become best friends, it does mean that you can once again start to see one another as brothers or sisters in Christ.

And the walls came tumbling down

Tuesday July 25th, Ephesians 2: 14-15The Messiah has made things up between us so that we're now together on this, both non-Jewish outsiders and Jewish insiders. He tore down the wall we used to keep each other at a distance. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and said it was good. After creating men and women in his image, we set about wanting to build things. Mostly what we built were walls. Cain and Able were the first ones and we have been at it ever sense. What Christ did is tear down the walls we have created. We still see the walls, we still believe they are there, but they are just in our imagination. God called creation good, Christ brought forgiveness, all the distrust is simply humanities fantasy trip.

Fresh starts

Wednesday July 26th, Ephesians 2: 15 Then he started over. Instead of continuing with two groups of people separated by centuries of animosity and suspicion, he created a new kind of human being, a fresh start for everybody. What takes effort is living in that fresh start. Christ came to bring peace through forgiveness. It is not a matter of starting conflicts and claiming that God is on your side, it is a matter of recognizing that Christ brought peace, and asking if we are on Christ’s side.

End of Hostility

Thursday July 27th, Ephesians 2: 16-18Christ brought us together through his death on the cross. The Cross got us to embrace, and that was the end of the hostility. Christ came and preached peace to you outsiders and peace to us insiders. He treated us as equals, and so made us equals. Through him we both share the same Spirit and have equal access to the Father. Christ brought the end of hostility and brought peace to the insiders and the outsiders by letting them know there was no such thing as insiders and outsiders. Christ brought peace, are you in, or are you out? If you are out, it is by your choice, not God’s.

Kindergarten stuff

Friday July 28th, Mark 6: 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. What did he teach them? Simple things mainly, Kindergarten stuff; be nice to one another, everyone help one another, the ones at the bottom need a little extra help, there is more than enough for everyone’s need but not for everyone’s greed so you need to share, you are loved and so is the other person and the one over there also, clean up you mess when you are done, God created you in love and still loves you, when this life is over you get to spend timelessness with God so live like you were with God now, stuff like that.

real healing

Saturday July 29th, Mark 6: 55 They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed. What were they healed from? Deep things mainly, meaningful stuff; hatred, self obsession, greed, selfishness, separation, all those things that help us build walls. The real power of God is tearing down the walls we build with our hearts, not our hands.

Hey You, Listen Up!,

Sojourners Magazine/March-April 2003

Hey You, Listen Up!
A Bible study
by Thomas Cahill


Let me tell you about a society of peace and prosperity that existed long ago. In this society, many people had much more than they needed. The construction business was experiencing an unprecedented boom; elaborate wine cellars and even personal vineyards were in vogue. All the markets were buzzing; the communications, entertainment, and travel industries had never enjoyed such escalating profits.

The men and women of this society” at least the ones who luxuriated properly ”would have been shocked to hear that there were some in their midst who enjoyed none of these pleasures, people leading lives of quiet desperation. The people on the hilltops would have been greatly offended had anyone dared suggest that the dispossessed were their responsibility ”that, in fact, it was their uncaring wealth that was responsible for the plight of the invisible poor. The scene I have set is not in the Hamptons or Marin County, but in Samaria in the Kingdom of Israel in the eighth century B.C. The prophet Amos was so shocked by conspicuous consumption on such a grand scale that he realized that this was a novel form of social injustice:

They hate those who teach justice at the city gate and detest anyone who declares the truth.
For trampling on the poor
and for extorting taxes on their wheat:
although you have built houses of dressed stone, you will never live in them; although you have planted pleasant vineyards, you will not drink wine from them:
for I know how many your crimes are
and how outrageous your sins,
you oppressors of the upright,
who hold people to ransom
and thrust the poor aside at the gates
Amos 5:10-12

Prophets are, by their nature, inconvenient party-poopers. It is a mistaken notion that prophets can see the future. Rather, they tell us what is true right now. Amos is the first in a long line of Hebrew prophets who tell the people the truth, however unwelcome, about how they actually stand with God.
A decade or so after Amos’ time, another prophet, Micah, finds himself confronted in the southern kingdom of Judah with the appalling Canaanite tradition of sacrificing children to the god Moloch. This practice had begun to attract even some Israelites. Micah, sickened, tells them in no uncertain terms that God “has already shown you what is right: and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8).

The ancient Jews had an amazingly unitive view of life. They did not need to distinguish prayer and moral action as if these were separate movements: to do justice, to love mercy, to walk with God that is, to be moral and prayerful were all simply aspects of the same process.

Mary, the Muscular Prophet

A third example of prophecy comes from early Christian tradition. Luke reports that “it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that the whole world should be taxed” (Luke 2:1). Despite the decree, it wasn’t really the whole world just the poor and lower rungs of the middle class, because in ancient Rome the rich only pretended to pay taxes, while everyone else bore the brunt of supporting the state. And Caesar Augustus’ taxation method was even more cumbersome than, say, Florida’s voting procedures.

Joseph had to travel all the way from Nazareth to his birthplace, Bethlehem, “to be taxed,” as Luke tells us, “with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.” If you lived in one of the better neighborhoods, you didn’t need to be saddled with such inconveniences. But if you were poor or a member of a minority group, a 100-mile journey by donkey when you were nine months pregnant was just the way things were. Were Mary and Joseph bitter? Did they wonder if God had abandoned them to be permanently oppressed by the rich and powerful? No, their lives were not confined to the politics or circumstances of the moment, however appalling.

In her song of celebration about the baby she was about to give birth to, Mary spoke eloquently in the Jewish prophetic tradition by seeing beyond the surface realities to the deep truth of human affairs. “My soul extols the Lord,” she exclaimed, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, because he has acknowledged his servant’s humiliation. Look: from now on will all ages call me happy because the Almighty One (holy his Name) has done great things for me! His mercy falls on every generation that fears him. With his powerful arm he has routed the proud of heart. He has pulled the princes from their thrones and exalted the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty (Luke 1:46-53). Of course, God has yet to do any of these things, but in Mary’s view they were as good as done because God is just and keeps his word.

The Beatitudes

Mary’s son, Jesus, will grow up to speak in the same prophetic tradition as his mother. Each of the prophets is an individual, of course: Amos the most outraged, Hosea the saddest and most appalled, Mary the most muscular and triumphant, Jesus the most gentle. Jesus almost never rants and seldom criticizes and in this he is the most positive of the prophets. “Happy the poor,” says Jesus, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Happy the afflicted, for they will be comforted. Happy the undemanding, for they will inherit the earth. Happy the hungerers and thirsters for justice, for they will be filled. Happy the merciful, for they will be given mercy. Happy the pure in heart, for they will see God. Happy the peacemakers, for they will be called God’s children. Happy the persecuted for justice’s sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:3-10). With one or two exceptions, this doesn’t seem a particularly happy lot. What’s happy about the poor (“in spirit” or otherwise), the afflicted, and the persecuted? Empty stomachs that hunger and dry throats that thirst don’t sound so happy; peacemakers usually get their comeuppance; and is anyone more persecuted than “the pure in heart”? “Happy the unhappy,” we might say in summary. But these are the Beatitudes, and they represent Jesus’ basic program. Like his mother, Jesus sees that, in some sense, the future is already Here present at least in seed and that the rewards of the just lie outside
ordinary time. Notice also that while some of the “happy” ones the afflicted, the persecuted are clearly put upon, others the poor in spirit, the champions of justice for the downtrodden, the merciful, the peacemakers have chosen to be the people they are. This division points to Jesus’ two audiences: the powerless, who need to be reminded that God loves them and will see to their ultimate triumph, and the powerful, who need to be encouraged to abandon their own comfort for the sake of others. The main purpose of the good news of Jesus is the same purpose as that of the entire prophetic tradition: to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. If Amos, Micah, Mary, and Jesus were to return to us [in 2006], they would have the same thing to say to educated, prosperous Americans that they had to say to our counterparts so many centuries ago. They would look out across our world and notice that one-sixth of the world’s people face actual starvation, subsisting precariously on less than $1 a day; that one-half of the world’s people exist on less than $2 a day, which means that millions of the world’s children go to bed hungry every night. This is completely unnecessary, because there is more than enough food in the world to feed everyone.

Amos, Micah, Mary, and Jesus would look out across our country and notice that a black teenager is six times more likely to be sentenced to prison for a nonviolent crime than is his white counterpart. If the crime involved violence, he is nine times more likely to be sentenced to prison. If the crime involved drugs, a black youth is 48 times more likely to be sentenced to prison than is a white youth convicted of the same offense. Though black teenagers represent only 15 percent of the under-18 population, they make up 58 percent of all teenagers admitted to adult prisons which are our principal training grounds for hardened criminals. Given such statistics, is it any wonder that our schools are failing? My daughter, who teaches literature to minority students in a difficult urban high school, said recently that her greatest enemy is the despair of her students. They know instinctively the statistics I have just quoted: They must live with them every day, and they know how little chance they have of succeeding against such odds. We are still sacrificing our children to evil gods.
I mentioned earlier the unequal taxation imposed by Caesar. Why did he do it? Well, he couldn’t very well tax his friends and cronies, the very people who helped him obtain his office, now could he? Obviously, the non-rich would have to take up the burden.

It is horrifying that the United States is now embarking on the same course of unequal and Unjust taxation that was once the modus operandi of the Roman Empire (and which, as I show in How the Irish Saved civilization, became the main reason for Rome’s downfall). Between 1995 and 1999, the number of Americans with million-dollar incomes more than doubled, while their taxes fell by 11 percent. For all other Americans, the portion of their income taken by taxes rose. Payroll taxes, which fall most heavily on low- and middle-income families, were increased in the 1980s in order to generate a surplus that would help the federal government pay benefits to an aging population. But now, thanks to the disappearance of the budget surplus, the payroll tax is being used up to cover deficits elsewhere in the federal budget. Why are we suffering such deficits? For one reason only: to fund tax cuts for the rich. The new slogan appears to be: “Leave no millionaire behind.” And the gulf between the rich and poor widens daily, as the rich become the immeasurably rich while the poor become the unthinkably poor.

Amos accused the people of Samaria in words that seared and phrases that smote. They “cram their palaces,” he said, “with violence and extortion.” They had “sold the upright for silver and the poor for a pair of sandals, from Gucci, no doubt. But he also said that all this could be reversed, if only the people of Samaria would turn away from their own self-absorption and toward those who, however silently, cry out for help. “Then,” promised Amos, “shall your justice flow like water and your compassion like a never-failing stream” (Amos 5:24). The worst feature of contemporary society is its tendency to leave each of us locked up in himself or herself, connection-less. To lessen this isolation we have developed all kinds of therapies, spiritual, psychological, and physical from groups that meet and talk endlessly to day spas, week spas, month spas, life spas. But none of these things, from primal scream to herbal wrap, seems to be doing the trick, any more than the huge houses and wine parties of the Samaritans did the trick for them.

What we need to do is open our heart to the plight of others, as if our heart were a dam, so that indeed our justice and compassion may flow. What is essential is that each of us steps forward to join the ranks of those who hope, that we hold out our hand to someone. There is no other way to walk with God.

This article is adapted from a talk given by author Thomas Cahill at the Faith and Politics Institute in Washington, D.C.

Hey You, Listen Up! by Thomas Cahill. Sojourners Magazine, March-April
2003
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the word is peace

Sunday July 16th, Psalm 85: I will listen to what God the Lord will say. For He will speak peace to His people, to those who are right with Him. But do not let them turn again to foolish things. The word of the Lord is a word of peace. There are many voices out there claiming to be the word of God, many voices that claim their own self-righteousness to be the righteousness of God. Most often these claims are for the justification of war, and war is big business if you are properly connected. God’s voice on the other hand does not tear down or destroy, it builds up and brings peace. Listen to the voice of God, it is right there in the book, it is the voice of peace.

plumb lines

Monday July 17th, Amos 7: "Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass by them; 9 the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword." All the might and wonder built up from the profits of injustice cannot overshadow the injustice of families living in cardboard shacks. The test of any nation is how it treats the least among then. A United States Senator makes over $165,000 per year along with more than a few benefits. In the past ten years they have increased their salary by 24%. In the last ten years they have not raised the minimum wage once and they just voted it down again. Hear again the words of the prophet Micah, for what does the Lord require of you, but act justly, to love mercy and walk humbly before your God.

Dancing with the devil

Tuesday July 18th, Amos 7: 14 Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, "I was no prophet, nor a prophet's son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. 15 But the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.' As it is easy for each of us to get caught up in our own dance with the devil, each of us is also given not only the task, but the ability to do something about it. Amos was a lowly hired farm hand. Through the voice of God he was also a voice of justice for his nation and all nations since. Just imagine what God can do through you if you let him? It’s kind of scary isn’t it?

Love God, Love others

Wednesday July 19th, Amos 7: 4 Hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land, 5 saying, "When will the New Moon be over that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath be ended that we may market wheat?"— skimping the measure, boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales, 6 buying the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the sweepings with the wheat. 7 The LORD has sworn by the Pride of Jacob: "I will never forget anything they have done. It seems odd, we come into this world with nothing, we leave with nothing and we spend most of our time trying to get something, and in the process destroying the very things that do mean something, our relationship with others. Many make the mistake of focusing more on the profit than on the prophet. In doing so, what we gain is offset by what we lose. What we gain is a bigger number in the bank account, what we lose is our soul. It is possible to live well, seek justice and love mercy. What it takes is simply to focus your life on Jesus words; love the Lord with all that is in you and love your neighbor as yourself.

The tail of a mouse

Thursday July 20th, Mark 6: 17 For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, whom he had married. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." Oooh! Those prophets, they are always getting in the way of profit and power. Herod tried to silence the voice of God by putting John in prison. Those who misuse power often try to silence anyone holding up a mirror that shows them what they are doing. And yet, God asks us to hold up just such a mirror. Bishop Tutu once said, “if an elephant has it’s foot on the tail of a mouse and you say you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.” When we speak the word of God, expect to raise a bit of anger in return. Mirrors have a nasty way of showing flaws in addition to beauty.

The rock and a hard place

Friday July 21st, Mark 6: 21 Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the girl, "Ask me for anything you want, and I'll give it to you." 23 And he promised her with an oath, "Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom." The old rock and a hard place. Herod had a bit of a concept of justice in his heart, not much, but a bit. Satan wants it all. At any time along a long road we are given the opportunity to speak up and do the right thing. Most of us, like Herod would rather save face and be silent. You must be careful that when you save face, you don’t lose your soul.

high cost

Saturday July 22nd, Mark 6: 26 The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, 28 and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. Sometimes the cost of discipleship is high. The cost of free will is to exercise that free will in doing the right thing.

Building a Covenant for a New America!

National City Christian Church
Washington, D.C.June 26-28, 2006

Pentecost 2006:

Listen to streaming audio:

http://www.calltorenewal.com/events/pentecost06/index.html

Jim Wallis' speech:
Sen. Barack Obama's speech:
Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS)
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY)
Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC)
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
Rep. Dennis Moore (D-KS)
Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA)

5th Sunday after Pentecost

Mark 6:7-13

I have come in the name of Jesus
The son of Nazareth
Sent from God to you
The children of God
I ask for nothing
But bring peace
Shalom
That it may be well with you
And your God
In this place
The message went out
On the lips
And deeds of the twelve
As they begin to see
And understand
(God)
who was this one who sent them
and the message that He brought
to a people
(brings)
filled with love and hate
pain and joy
dreams and reality
(life)
people who live not of high dreams
but of today
and tomorrow
(to those)
hoping beyond hope
to hear such a message of love
for some hearing
(who hear)
and for some not
that the God of Creation
the God of “In the Beginning”
(God’s)
loves them
(word)

With your eyes on God

Sunday June 9th, Psalm 123: I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven. As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he shows us his mercy. It is good to have focus in life. Without knowing where you are going, it is hard to know what to do along the way. Through grace, we know were we are going, we are returning to our loving creator. Through prayer, worship and Bible study, we know what to do along the way; love God and love others. When you take our eyes, which is another way of saying your life long focus, off God, you lose your way. With your eyes on God, life, which has been given to you as a gift, comes into focus.

Focus

Monday June 10th, 2 Corinthians 12: 6 If I had a mind to brag a little, I could probably do it without looking ridiculous, and I'd still be speaking plain truth all the way. But I'll spare you. I don't want anyone imagining me as anything other than the fool you'd encounter if you saw me on the street or heard me talk. One way to look like the fool on the street, or anywhere else, is to brag. It is referred to as having “I” trouble. Paul had much to brag about in the area of religious experience, and even had a little “I” trouble himself. His main focus however was the Lord. Any other focus tends to turn around and bite you. Having trouble with depression, unhappiness, ambition, etc? Change your focus, change the direction you life faces. Change it in the direction of Christ. Once you know the one to whom you will go, it will help you enjoy the journey getting there.

Paul Almighty

Tuesday June 11th, 2 Corinthians 12: My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. One of the real strengths of a Christian is the ability to enjoy your weakness. It is in your weaknesses that you can finally let God shine through. Our strengths tend to give us the false hope that we can really do it all on our own. In the movie “Bruce Almighty” it is when Jim Carrie finally gave up on trying to run everything and just wished for the happiness of another that he began to live. Often times we find that the same is true for us.

Give it up

Wednesday June 12th, 2 Corinthians 12: It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become. One of the paradoxes of life. The harder we try the behinder we get. Every day in every way, give it over to Christ and let your life begin. Keep your focus on Christ in your life and let the troubles roll off your back. It is the gift of Grace given to you and to all.

Expectations!

Thursday June 13th, Mark 6: "Where did this man get these things?" they asked. "What's this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! 3 Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him. Expectations!! Sometimes the come in the form of pressure to perform up to some standard, sometimes they are the blinders that keep us from seeing the greatness before us. Sometimes the blinders are worn by others, but the most destructive times are when they are worn by us. Expectations can be the blinders that keep us from seeing the Angels before us, the miracles in life, the kindness of others, the grace of God and the love and caring of friends. Magic tricks work because we see what we expect to see, and in doing so we are fooled. Satin works because we see what we expect to see and miss the grace of God that surrounds us. Open your eyes to the grace of God in your life this day, and then live the wow!!!

Stop Studying

Friday June 14th, Mark 6: Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. 7 Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits. 8 These were his instructions: "Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 9 Wear sandals but not an extra tunic. In the church, we like to study things. We study “Just war theory” even though Jesus said to love your enemies, not kill them. We study human sexuality within the context of faith to see if someone can be an active homosexual and an active Christian, even though Jesus said nothing about homosexuality but did say something about divorce. We spend lots of time studying. I think Jesus sent the disciples out with very little so they would spend less time wondering how to best use the things they brought and more time just brining the Good News of salvation. I think we could spend less time in study and more time in doing the gospel.

Not your job

Saturday June 15th, Mark 6: 10 Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. 11 And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them." Do what you can, where you can. You can’t do it all everywhere. Where you don’t connect, someone else might be able to. Why do you think there are so many religious expressions? God has the plan, all we have to do is our part.