Fill the gaps and be Jesus

Recently we were chatting about the simplicity of following Jesus and not getting caught up in confusing and sometimes mind-boggling theology. There’s nothing wrong with theology, we need it, but we don’t need it to simply look at how Jesus acted and to do likewise.

He said, “follow me.”
“look at me and what I do and do likewise.”
“you will see the Father if you see me.”
He didn’t make it complicated for us.
He was fully human and so he did the human things that we can also do.
He was a servant.
Look for the behaviour around you that is servant like, gracious and filled with love and compassion.

I had a moment a little while ago of being very aware of the vulnerabilities for certain people. I had prayed for a widow and in the moment I forgot to pray for the son too who had also experienced loss in losing his Dad and I suddenly thought how different contexts get us thinking of some people being more connected to the grief than others. In this particular context there was the wife and the child who was grieving.
In some instances in our in person social spaces, like myself, if my Mom had to die, it would only be me, the child grieving. My sister is not in my immediate, day to day physical friendship circles as she lives far away.
I was then thinking when my Mom dies, I would become an orphan.
If Marc dies I become a widow.
I am so thankful I serve a God who comes alongside and fills those gaps.

And then I realized how Jesus could see these vulnerable positions and how they would need people to come around to love, support and protect them from exploitation etc.

Not that long ago we knew of a couple where the husband, who was not well, suddenly pulled away from his wife. They found out there was another person taking financial advantage of him.

In grief you suddenly lose those who have been your protection factor.
Be the missing pieces or missing people to create beauty for them again. To create beautiful pictures and to live in wholeness.
It got my mind thinking to those who are differently abled and the poor. All the minority groups. Those pushed to the margins. All the people that Jesus mentioned.
He was extra concerned for those who needed help and protection.
They were vulnerable and easier to exploit for gain or harm. There is easier access to them because some of the normal protection factors are missing.
He asked us to look out for them.

Let’s fill the gaps and be Jesus to those around us.

Continulilly to Continually

 

Way back in lockdown days of 2020 when we were doing multiple videos for Church and Children’s Church, Marc was filming me explaining something and he suddenly smiled and he stopped filming. Obviously I was curious. “What’s so funny?” I asked. “Do you know what you just said?” He asked. “No, what?” was my response. You said continulilly and not continually!! Ha! Ha! big funny moment.

But it sent me on a journey of awareness and change. I never noticed it before. That’s why it is called a blind spot. Somewhere along the way I had become lazy and just gone an easier way for my tongue and brain. It’s 5 years later and it is still a very cognitive experience. I still say the word slowly so I can get it correct. It was brought to my attention, it was a funny moment, but I had a choice. I could stick with what I had gotten used to, or I could correct it. I chose correction, but who knows how long that brain pathway had been set in that way, and it takes time to unlearn and relearn. It hasn’t quite dropped down into my sub conscious where I don’t have to be cognitively aware of it when I say it. It’s because it takes a lot of repetition and saying the new thing, and I really don’t go around saying ‘continually’ continually!!

Recently I have had some engagement with some people on social media about love and mercy. It came off the back of seeing some comments by people, who identify as Christians, speaking about decimating some people they clearly see as enemies or calling for their slaughter. The church I attend is busy going through a series on the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes, so mercy and love were certainly part of multiple conversations. My post had said the following, “Teach us to love mercy for each and every person made in the image of God. This includes those we see as enemies. God calls us to love, not to decimate people made in his image. We will be known by our love, not by our calling for the slaughter of other people. Love mercy. Extend mercy. It’s the way of Jesus who loved us first.”

I then added this further down in the comments, “Adding to my status and the absolute instability in our world right now – I just saw a comment on Instagram – “Christians want us all to be Christians, but themselves can’t agree on what that is and what that means, especially the part about loving your neighbour or even who that is.” These are basic parts of our faith that we should not be confused about, and yet there seems to be so much confusion. And who is our neighbour? Oh, my goodness, the exclusions seem to be endless. And the justifications for the exclusions too. I’m not sure how Jesus could have been clearer when he was on earth with his teaching us about love that is inclusive of every living person. There is no extra information in that line – love your neighbour as yourself.”

And yet here we are, still asking that question. Still not getting to an answer.

Someone posed the question as to how we are to do this. It got me thinking as to what I would answer. 

My first response was to ‘be transformed by the renewing of our minds.’ That’s where the first part of this blog comes in. When we unlearn something, we must fill it with new learning otherwise nothing will change. It does not change overnight either. I am 5 years in on correcting the word continually. I find it quite uncanny that continually is so close to the word repetition. Brain pathways are formed through repetition. Changing brain pathways also happens through repetition and consistency. If we are seeing ourselves not loving in the ways of Jesus, then we can stop and think and make a choice to remind ourselves and then get to transforming our minds towards the ways of Jesus.

Maybe it will take someone pointing something out to you that you haven’t seen before. We need each other to see all there is to see. We cannot possibly see everything. But then we have a choice. Defensiveness and justification often rise to the fore because we don’t like being wrong or having a fault pointed out.

Maybe we could get really brave and ask someone where they see us lacking in love. We need to get ready to respond in humility and be vulnerable in that moment.

The second thing I would say is to get close to those people who Jesus highlighted we should be looking out for. Who are those people? Throughout the Old and New Testament we hear God and Jesus talk about looking after the vulnerable, the poor and needy, the sick, weak or differently abled, the fatherless or orphan, children, the widow, the sojourner, foreigners, strangers, the hurt, lonely and grieving, those in prison, those being oppressed, those in marginalized groups, those suffering injustice and Jesus adds our enemies too. We cannot possibly get to being okay with supporting the harm of other people or being harmful to other people after you look through this list. We should stand up and come to the defense of all people, but especially those people mentioned above who are more vulnerable.

Sometimes I find when this list is presented as is, or straight from Scripture, most people would nod and be in agreement with it because we have heard this before and we know these are the words of Jesus.

 But it still seems to be certain people, certain groups of people, certain choices people make in those groups, certain actions people have displayed, certain appearances and class differences that really get us tripped up. Then we have excuses as to why they are not the same and so we give the green card for harmful treatment of them. We turn away and choose to ignore the words of Jesus and we justify our thinking in multiple ways.

It might not come naturally to us, that’s why we ask to be filled with God’s Spirit on a daily basis, so that we have a never-ending flow of God’s love and mercy flowing from him to us and out of us to others. Can we possibly ask God on a daily basis to fill us to overflowing and go out and love in his strength?

It also seems that some people have done a very good job of putting conservative choices on the top of the pile that does not allow certain people the same treatment as other people. When someone looks and sees this and notices that something is not adding up to what Scripture says, they are then attacked because they are going against the flow. They are apparently asking the impossible in caring for  people we are called to care for. To stand in the way of harm being exacted on this group. They are shouted down as being anti mainstream and anti good and pious choices! Even if they are standing for kingdom principles they are being shouted down and silenced. Something has gone horribly wrong.

We need to remember that it’s always been and always will be a case of empire versus the kingdom of God. They are like oil and water, they don’t and can’t mix.

 Empire is all about power, pride, control of land, people and resources, greed, violence, destruction, killing, stealing, lying, hate and lack of empathy. Empire can never be seen as harmless entertainment. A mission of steal, kill and destroy can never be harmless!

The Kingdom of God, on the other hand, is all about love of God and neighbour, love of enemy, righteousness/justice, redemption, peace, Shalom, forgiveness, sacrifice, servant hood, self control, generosity, empathy, compassion, humility, mercy and grace. There are so many more things I could add to this list.

I see nothing of the kingdom of God when people are ‘othered’, hated, demeaned and dehumanized. That is harm being enacted on the people we are called to care for most.

Whose narrative is being loudly portrayed? Which one is more visible? Is it Empire or Kingdom at the moment? Fear keeps people silenced because they see how others are treated when they speak up. Evil continues to rise all the time. Empire is on full display at the moment. It’s loud and proud.  And loud does not equal legitimate behaviour and actions. Sometimes it’s so toxic and filled with hate, division, harm and dishonesty. We need to be careful when listening to the loud, popular and mainstream media. We can’t let that become the normalised narrative of the world.

And we need to be careful if we are silencing voices that are trying desperately to sound the alarm on greedy, cruel and ruthless empire behaviour. Do we really want hateful ideologies to grow, go unchecked and be normalized? Silence and indifference allows these things to thrive and dominate, because they just get louder and louder if they go unchecked.

Sounds like a wide path/narrow path checkpoint at the moment. And we, as followers of Jesus, are most definitely called to follow him on the narrow path.

Ask questions, dig deeper. Find the kingdom response in the midst of all the noise, hate and harm.

God is certainly not okay with the most vulnerable in our world being cast aside and being put more at risk. Even more so when it’s covered up with stories that justify the cruel and hateful actions.

When did Jesus ever say we should be concerned with protecting our faith more then protecting and loving people? Have we just released Barabbas again and called for the silence and death of Jesus? Thank God there’s light, hope and eternal life in that story, but really if feels like we are silencing God’s kingdom by allowing empire to shout way louder. And it’s being supported, applauded and cheered on by Christian people.

And the fruit of the many prophecies that seem to abound - do they line up with kingdom or empire? Do they promote life or death? Harm or healing? Stealing from or generosity? Destruction or building?

When we see division, mistruth and fear being sown, it’s not kingdom.
Where you see hate, selfish and cruel decisions, withdrawal of funds from the most poor and vulnerable in our world, harmful actions, killing others, no empathy, no compassion, it’s not the kingdom of God. Getting rid of teaching on diversity, equity and inclusion is anti kingdom of God and pro empire. Worrying about and trying to control or demonise other people’s beliefs and choices is anti kingdom and pro empire. Maybe we need to stop our focus on the beliefs and choices of others and make sure we are being consistent with our beliefs and choices. What are we promoting with our silence and indifference to the pain and suffering being purposefully inflicted on others? Do we really want to create such confusion as to whether we are promoting empire or the kingdom of God? Being pro empire is not drawing people into the kingdom. It’s pushing them away with force.

Should we not be promoting love? Including others? Protecting others from harm? Showing care, compassion and empathy, even if they are not followers of Jesus. I almost want to say, 'specifically if they are not followers of Jesus.' I am reminded of something from the Bible that says we will be known by our love and that it’s God’s kindness that leads people towards him and repentance. And yet another great confusion right now is empathy being questioned, invalidated, nullified and called a sin!! That lines up with empire completely.

I sometimes feel physical pain in my body and spirit when I see more and more harm being perpetrated. And it pains and hurts me somewhere deep inside when I see people of God, having lost all signs of empathy, not seeing the slow creep of deception or the danger at play and being flippant about it too.

There seems to be a nonchalant view that it’s all okay. Let’s just get the popcorn and watch it play out!

We seem to be celebrating people who go against the values and character we want to instil in our children to become good and healthy citizens in any country.

We desperately need to shift things.

We need the Sermon on the Mount to add up to our political conversations, to our comments about the world and about the vulnerable. It needs to be seen and not hidden. Showing meekness, humility and servant behaviour, loving our neighbour, caring for the needy, being hungry for justice, being peacemakers, practicing forgiveness, not worrying or being fearful, loving our enemies, standing for life (not calling for the death of people), being persecuted because of standing for the kingdom, poor in spirit, being mourners and merciful and pure in heart.

Jesus called us to sacrifice, to stand against and resist injustice and to do justice. To stand up for the poor and the needy.

Do we have eyes to see? Ears to hear? Spirits to receive? Or are we in retreat and accepting defeat. Maybe we need to change our focus from what we fear the most onto the one who says ‘fear not for I am with you.’

Christians were fearing of many things and although laws have changed in some countries to be more conservative, the issues they were afraid of have not gone away. Controlling people was never the answer. And when you further marginalize people, you gain other problems. It’s like there was some kind of sigh of relief when the next empire stepped onto the scene. Now the stuff people were afraid of is still around and there is now a bigger job to care for those being crushed by empire.

Jesus gives us free choice. He expects us to give others free choice too, even if it doesn’t align with our religious views/values. Jesus never made a fuss about protecting Biblical truth like the Pharisees. He says very clearly that he had not come to abolish the law, but fulfill the law. He came to establish the New Covenant, which changed everything. He was always way more concerned with loving and protecting people and leading them to freedom with the truth he spoke. Are we possibly acting like the Pharisees when we try and control others? It certainly sounds toxic.

We need the expansive, relational love of Jesus, not rigid religion.

I am seeing the  kingdom and all it stands for being silenced by those who say they have chosen to live the kingdom way!! Huh??? Does that not sound outrageous and very confusing? But it’s what is happening all around us.

We need to resist empire with everything in us. It’s oil and water - empire and kingdom do not go together. We live in this world, but not of this world. We cannot be idle and just let it topple our world with greed, power, control, harm and hate.

Resist is a very powerful and active word, and possibly not quiet either. In the Oxford it says it is the refusal to accept or comply with something, or the ability not to be affected by something, especially adversely. We are told to stand firm in our faith and not to let our faith waiver. We are also told to resist the devil and he will flee from us, but Jesus never told us to resist people.

The kingdom of God needs to step up, become vocal and visible with loving God and loving others. Not vocal, visible and loud about their rights! We have had enough of that. It’s just made us weak, mean and apathetic.

We can’t hide our light under a bowl or keep the salt in the container because it’s safer and looks nice. It’s useless if light is hidden and salt is not poured out. It’s always a risk, but a good one. If Christ is the light, then everything we see should be illuminated by Christ and everything others see in us  should emanate Christ. Christians especially seem to be tiring and fearful of the political landscape and topics to be discussed. We are told not to fear and it takes effort to resist Empire. It’s way easier to go with the flow and ignore. But it doesn’t just go away. It gets stronger and gains momentum. It changes direction and what it looks like - anything to survive and stay in control.

We have an Empire functioning as an empire and we shouldn’t be surprised. It’s going to want to expand, grab, steal, grow, lie, control and bash everything out of the way that messes with its mission. It perpetrates and excuses harm. Does that sound like the kingdom of God? Are we going to be the body of Christ and just silently watch it all happen?

We cannot possibly talk and sing kingdom in church and not go and practice it when we walk out of church, or worse celebrate empire! What a dichotomy.

Jesus resisted empire and spoke against it.

He showed a different way and he was killed for it. He wants us to follow in his footsteps as difficult as it might be. That sounds like ‘persecuted for righteousness sake.’ We seem to be hiding because we know we will be persecuted when we speak up. And by who? Possibly by those who say they follow Jesus and then shout for Barabbas to be released and by those in empire who want us silenced.

We certainly will not be persecuted by the poor and vulnerable. They will not shout us down. They will celebrate that we finally woke up.

It’s the lie of empire versus the truth of the kingdom of God. There’s a choice to be made.

 

Top photo - Author's own
Bottom photo by Midge

 

 

Blessed are the peacemakers

 “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God.”

Matthew 5:9

I was preparing a lesson for Children’s Church this past week. We are currently working on a theme of  “Hero or villain?” and getting the children to really get inside the stories and look at things from different aspects. This week was on Cain and Abel. In looking at the way forward I was looking at what it means to be a peacemaker in our world? I am also currently using the Lectio 365 devotional App and they have been working through The Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes.

It turned into quite an exploration that went beyond Sunday, and here I am with a blog on it all. Don’t worry the children only had a very brief overview of some of these points and then wrote down how they can be peacemakers in our world. This is for all of us. We sure can do with followers of Jesus actively seeking peace in our world right now. As you will see, there are endless ways for us to think and live when we look to Jesus as our example of how to live.

What does peace mean? A child’s answer on the internet - “Calm, getting along, treating people kindly, not fighting or arguing.”
What does it feel like in our world, look like, sound like? (This is a great exercise for all of us.)

Jesus is called the Prince of Peace Isaiah 9:6
He is our ultimate example – He shows us how to bring peace and get along with everyone.

Jesus made peace/brought peace when he died on the cross.
We make peace with God through the blood of Jesus.
Then our aim is to become more and more like Jesus everyday.

Jesus is a peacemaker. He showed us what to do.

Jesus is the son of God. When we follow Jesus by making peace, we are showing that we are children of God.

If peacemakers are connected with being called children of God. It means we have taken the step of becoming a child of God and being a part of his kingdom, so we need to be kingdom children/people and think about our kingdom response in every situation. Making sure at all times it falls in line with the gospel too in being good news for all people. So that peace on earth can be a reality.

We make peace when:
We follow the greatest commandments – Love God and love your neighbor.
We make peace by loving God.
We make peace by loving our neighbors.

We make peace through any action that creates peace, harmony and peaceful reactions.

We make peace when we bring peace into the brokenness of the world. It’s all about restoration and making things right again. All things made new.

We make peace when we make people feel welcome in spaces. When we include people. That they feel like they belong. We care about how people feel and are treated. That if there was a table to sit at, there would be space for everyone and everyone would get an equal chance to speak and be a part of what is going on. That we look around the room and table and ask who is not there and why they are not there.

We make peace when we create fairness, equity and equality in our world.

We make peace when we care about refugees, immigrants and asylum seekers.
We make peace when we love and care for human beings in the womb and outside the womb.
We make peace when we look after God’s creation (Conservation of land, resources, environment and animals) and care about the impact of climate change on our world. The earth cries out for redemption. Let us hear it.

We make peace when we make sure that our political policies are about making everything better for everyone. That all people are thought of and cared for in the policies that we make.
We make peace when we advocate for proper rehabilitation programmes to help people in prison to become better citizens whether they are released or not.
We make peace when we take addiction and alcoholism seriously and make sure there are enough rehab centres for those who need them.
We make peace when we take mental health seriously and help those who are struggling and facilitate the help they need.

We make peace when we stop exploitation of anyone (especially those who are vulnerable, where there is a power imbalance, any kind of abuse of a child or adult, people in the sex industry, victims of trafficking, homeless people, segregation of people, Apartheid practices.)
We make peace by honoring the image of God in every person.
We make peace/we are peacemakers by having mercy on people who are hurt or being hurt and treated badly by others (minority/marginalized groups in society, bullying, war, violence, gossip). (The Good Samaritan, Mark 12:30-31)

We make peace as children of God by working to bring everyone together.
We make peace as children of God when we practice forgiveness.
We make peace as children of God when we practice confession and repentance.
We make peace when our speech reflects our kingdom values with healthy, uplifting, wholesome and kind words.
We make peace by being known by our love and kindness, that draws people towards putting their trust in God.
We make peace when we practice welcome and hospitality.

We make peace when we listen to one another. An incredible gift. To have hearing hearts.

We make peace when we are filled with truth and always truth seeking. Honesty is a top priority.

Col 1:19,20 All God’s fullness dwells in Jesus. Through him to reconcile to himself all things. Making peace through his blood shed on the cross.
James 3:17 Wisdom from heaven – pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

Rom 12:18 As far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone

We make peace when we love our enemies. When we pray for them. When we treat them well and talk about them with respect and dignity.

Being a peacemaker is about helping people get along.
Getting involved in a conflict takes wisdom, discernment and courage. We are there to lead them towards sorting it out themselves. We are the mediator. We can give guidance or helpful advice. This can sometimes lead to persecution if people don’t like the advice or solutions suggested.

The very next Beatitude speaks to this - “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” Jesus himself experienced this when he spoke about being kingdom of God people. He died because people got so angry with what he was suggesting and saying about himself. We should expect similar if we are following him, his words and his ways.

We make peace when we work towards ending any violence or harm against anyone.

We make peace when we care about and take seriously the healthcare, education, housing, safety and security that all people receive in any country.

We make peace when we make sure people are as safe, secure and protected as possible.

We make peace when we care about the well being and safety of all children in our world.

We make peace when we take a stand against injustice and fight for justice.

We make peace when we think ahead and ask the question - “will this action or idea work towards peace and harmony for all in the world. If not, what can we do differently?”

We make peace when we are in the kingdom of God and we follow all that the kingdom stands for. We cannot serve earthly Empire and the kingdom of God at the same time. This is where 'in the world but not of the world' applies.

We make peace by praying for God’s kingdom to come on earth as in heaven. To recognise that we too are strangers, immigrants and refugees. A people on the move with a purpose and not calling this place home. We are merely passing through.

We make peace when we work towards redemption, renewal and restoration over and over again.

We make peace when we resist death with life. Life to the full. Live and let others live too. Be joyful in the journey. When we put fear behind us because perfect love casts out fear.

We make peace when we resist anything that has a mandate of steal, kill and destroy. This is not of the kingdom of God.

We make peace when we are filled with love, faith and hope.

We make peace when we rest and care for ourselves.

We make peace when the Fruit of the Spirit is evident in our lives – Gal 5:22-23 Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

We make peace when love is evident in all we do and say–
1 Cor 13:4-8 Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs, it does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres. Love never fails.

If we follow our own way or the way of the world we become enemies of God. James 4:4 (Cain was disobedient and had a hard heart and Abel loved God and wanted to follow his ways and be obedient)

What is Shalom?
Everything works how God created things to be
We love each other well
Restore what is broken (restorative justice)
Protecting the vulnerable – children, old people, people who are poor, people who are homeless, people who have been abused, those who are being badly treated by others.
Create justice and peace.
Mutual flourishing for everyone.
There is no need that goes unmet (the early church is our example)
Everyone has what they need
Gathering of a diverse people – different religions, male and female, different cultures and ethnicities, differently abled people, all skin colors, those who are neurodiverse, different languages.

Micah 6:8 Do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God.

How can we practice being peacemakers? (this was part of the lesson with the children, but absolutely applies to us as adults too)
Showing kindness to a nasty person or someone we don’t like
Always choose to be kind and show mercy, empathy and compassion
Being careful with the words we use
No name calling
Treat people with respect and dignity, even if they have made different choices to you, even if they are not following Jesus, even if they have done something really bad, even if they are in prison or taking drugs.
Becoming friends with a new child at school.
Look after each other. Keep each other safe.
Obedience to parents brings joy/don’t back chat parents.
Play nicely with your siblings and friends.
(What is one thing you could do this week to make your relationship better with them?)
Sharing with those who have less. Caring for those with less. Treating them well.
Work on your anger issues (Are you cross with someone? Ask Jesus to help you forgive them)
Holding onto anger is harmful to us and those around us. We need to find ways to deal with our anger. Self regulation of our emotions is important.
Practice humility and don’t see anyone as less than you. Esteem each and every person.

Isaiah 26:3 When our mind is stayed on Jesus = peace. We look to him as our example as to how we must live and get to practice making peace in our world.

Choose one thing to work on/change.
Use these Scriptures as a guideline for change.
Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. (To regularly repeat God’s design in my thoughts and actions) Romans 12:1,2
Developing good peacemaking thinking and habits will take time.
Be consistent with aiming at living and loving like Jesus.
It involves taking some old thinking out and replacing it with new thinking and then training our minds to think differently.
Setting our minds on things above. (Colossians 3:2)
Thinking about things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. (Philippians 4:8)
Praying for God’s kingdom to come, his will to be done, on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)

What changes can you make at home, work, school, church, extra murals, going to a conference, out shopping, going on holiday? What can you do differently?

Choose to be a peacemaker each and every day.

“The person who lives in love
Reaps the fruit of life from God
And while yet in this world,
Even now breathes
The air of the resurrection”
Isaac the Syrian