Nothing good comes out of Nazareth

 

Prejudice is nothing new. Nazareth was a small rural town in Galilee. Not only was Jesus born in Bethlehem in a stable and placed in an animal feeding trough for safety, but he would go back to Nazareth to grow up because that was where their home was at the time. They had only travelled to Bethlehem to adhere to the Government census that was called for. Nazareth was a small place, and many would describe people from there as having had a humble beginning. That certainly lines up with everything we know about Jesus. Jesus identifies with our pain, betrayal, abandonment or rejection. Isaiah 53:3 says, “he was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom the people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.” Nazareth was a part of that prophecy coming true.

In reading further, I found out that Nazareth had a bad reputation. It was a no-good town outside of the boundary of Jerusalem. It was a Jewish town, but it was not well liked, actually quite despised by many Jewish people. They thought people there were rebellious. It was a small country farming town and the people lived simply. It wasn’t even known further afield. The gospel writers had to describe that it was a town in Galilee, because of it being in a region known for its obscurity. The more I read the more adjectives I found to consolidate how it was seen; obscure, backwater life, less sophisticated, uncelebrated, forgotten, off the beaten path, insignificant, out-of-the-way, rough, rustic, other side of the track, just a common Jewish settlement.

They focused on agriculture and local crafts. There was another town nearby called Sepphoris. It was a very prosperous, wealthy, sophisticated metropolis, with luxurious homes. Jesus likely worked here as a carpenter as it was in close proximity to Nazareth, about 6km away.  And then we have Jerusalem, an exceptionally wealthy cosmopolitan metropolitan. The main wealth came from the temple, held by a small priestly aristocracy. There was massive economic disparity between the rich elite and the poor majority. A point of social critique by figures like Jesus.

Socially it was seen as ‘going down’ to Nazareth. Jesus never grasped for the big city lights, fame and attention that could have come from living in Sepphoris or Jerusalem. He did what most aligned with his character of fully God/fully man and humbled himself in Nazareth in Galilee. His disciples were also from Galilee and most likely working-class people. Early followers of Jesus were called Nazarenes. Eventually he was rejected by his fellow Nazarenes and driven out of town with the threat of being thrown off a cliff.

We see celebrities walk down a street or into a stadium and they receive huge applause and adoration. People gasp and run up for selfies and take videos if the opportunity presents itself. That was not the life Jesus chose.

This all speaks to Jesus’s character of being humble, vulnerable, not seeing himself as above others, serving, loving, caring and compassionate.

John 7:52 says, they replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.”

Jesus referred to himself as Jesus of Nazareth when he first greeted Paul and was called by this title on a few occasions. The term was often used to cast derogatory aspersions and doubt on his credibility, mostly by his enemies, the demons, false witnesses and soldiers. It was not seen as a sign of honour. It was placing him in the space of the marginalized and not liked people from Nazareth. He was happy to identify with them. He knew very well what people thought of the town and the people in it. Even in death the sign above his head was meant as a mockery and humiliation by saying, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” When he rose again the angel said to Mary, are you looking for Jesus of Nazareth? He’s not here.

Nathaneal expressed doubt as his first response when hearing that Jesus was from there. Never mind even questioning whether anything good could come from there, his comment is very definitive in saying that nothing good comes out of Nazareth. God always seems to like to start with unlikely places or unlikely people to show his greatness. And I wonder sometimes if there is deliberate intent to spark the feelings of doubt and prejudice in us to highlight what sits naturally in the heart of man. And then to take us on a journey out of that and towards God and his kingdom. We have the example of Jesus as to how to do that.

It begs a question to take notice when doubt and prejudice rise within us, to take a moment and reflect and ask the Holy Spirit what is up. Where would we have stood back then? Looking down on the man from Nazareth? Walking with him as a fellow Galilean? Chasing him out of our own town? What if Jesus walked in our town or our city today? What place would be Nazareth? How would our prejudice measure up if brought into the light? Would we want to be his disciple and face prejudice and criticism from others? Would we call Jesus a liar and chase him out of town?

I love the response of Philip when he says, “Come and see”. It’s an invitation to see for himself, experience Jesus directly, to come close, to be in proximity with Jesus.

Very often when we are exposed to the truth personally, when we open our eyes to see, when we listen, when we respond with humility, when we take the risk of possibly being wrong, that’s when real learning happens. That’s when our prejudice and doubt is put under a spotlight, and remember it’s never about feeling shamed with Jesus, it’s about an AHA moment, it’s an ‘Ah, ok I see now.’ We learn to look past what we initially thought to be the truth, past our preconceived ideas and our flaws. We so need this in our world today. We need people to go and see for themselves and not stick with preconceived ideas, doubts, lies and prejudice and letting them all go uncontested. To rather be willing to lean in and listen. To be willing and curious to learn more. To be willing to be wrong. To be willing to say sorry and ask for forgiveness.

We know God works through the weak, the humble and the unexpected. It is when we are weak that he is strong and when we are humble then he receives the glory. The unexpected reminds us that God can use anyone he chooses, even those we might see as unexpected. It reminds us too that we are walking a journey of faith and trust. He chooses the foolish, weak and lowly things of the world to shame the wise and mighty. It stops anyone from boasting because we are all equal and valued in his sight. We cannot do anything to earn his grace. It is given as a free gift to us. His kingdom is not about worldly power, greed and control. It’s about power under control, boundless love, generosity and freedom. Let’s raise people up instead of putting them down. Let’s value what Jesus put before us when he was here on earth. He showed us how to live by the way he lived, spoke and acted. He is our perfect example, he changed everything, the man from Nazareth in Galilee.

Artwork by Evelien Burger.

Worldview reconstruction

Our worldview crumbles
when exposed to the kingdom of God.
We are shaped as we grow up.
Worldly Empire language and action
needs to shift towards truth
towards the truth of your kingdom.

It slowly breaks down
Broken and skewed
Distorted truth
Deconstructing,
Reconstructing.
The filters need adjusting
The lenses are blurred and smudged.
A great big clean up
In an ever-learning space.
In the kingdom here,
and the kingdom not yet.

Search me O God
See if there is any wicked way in me.
Search my heart.
Help me to lay down
that which is not of you.

Doubt and fear crumble our world.
Faith builds
Hope rises
Our Restorer
Builds and strengthens us in him

Oh Jesus, we need you
We need to go deeper into you
To dive deeper and deeper.
In you we find everything we need
Keeping our eyes on you
You steady us
the Author and Perfector of our faith

Let faith rise
Let faith help us to build
To build new walls
not walls of separation,
but built on your foundation
of welcome and inclusion.
Broken to whole
Safe spaces
Peace making
justice seeking.
Burn away the chaff
Let us burn for you
Anointed and on fire.
Your living stones

We are chasing after you
After you Jesus.
More and more of you
A new heart attitude
Fill us with your Power,
your Spirit and your Peace.
New plans,
new dreams and visions

Loving with a life laid down for others.
A love for the image of God,
in every living soul.
Aligning with your heart
With your heart of love.

No longer destroyed,
but built by God.
No longer desolate,
but replanted by God.
A harvest full and bountiful
More and continued growth
His gracious gifts to us
Let us steward it well.
May we see heaven come
on earth as it is in heaven.

You have said all this
Your words bring life
My sheep hear my voice
Speak Lord
Your servants are listening
we are here, waiting
we will abide in you.
You are inviting us to more,
to go higher with you.
You will bring the increase
We need to be obedient
to grow in your righteousness
We need to believe and not doubt
Our God reigns
It’s all for his glory
Then people will know he is God.

Artwork by Evelien Burger
Poetry thoughts from messages in church.

 

Will we do something? (When power is abusive.)

I found a recent comment about current revelations of abuse of power quite alarming. Many people have been harmed and abused by this abuse of power. The person said this, “Nothing will be done! Nothing! The people and the institutions will not be held accountable, and they will suffer no consequences. A new political party won’t even help. Neither will any protests or letters do anything. New policies and laws will not be written and passed. The power structure that birthed this abusive space will not do anything about these abuses. They will not right the wrongs. The whole system needs to be dismantled and completely revamped. That’s the only way forward.”

So, if we are sitting in situations around our world where this is often the outcome, then we need a way forward even if the system is not dismantled. When there is too much power and a power imbalance is created, we will very often see abuse happening. It’s just too easy for the person with more power to take advantage of the person with less power. Sometimes these imbalances already exist and sometimes they are created by wider powerful circles. It’s not that having power is the problem; it’s what people choose to do with their power. We see many examples where power is used for good. But it seems when there is an unending acquisition of increased power, that greed and dominion come into the picture, and then we have a big problem.

When power goes unchecked, its natural progression is often to become abusive.

What does this unchecked power look like?
There is no accountability. There are no boundaries, limitations or constraints placed on the actions and decisions of people. There is secrecy, mistrust, lies, blaming, shame, control, corruption, stealing, exploitation, abuse, greed, murder, threats, coercion, manipulation, blackmail, extortion and cover up. The person or organization with unchecked power is ‘untouchable’ and believes they are ‘above the law’.

When abuse happens close to dominating power these things happen:
Any vulnerabilities are taken advantage of and there is exploitation of the person. There is great unfairness and the rules are not the same for everyone. Some people get to be treated way better than other people. It is obvious that there is a complete lack of concern for those deemed as unimportant. Arrogance often leads the way. There is no empathy or compassion. We see callousness, heartlessness and immorality. Gaslighting is common, which leaves people questioning their sanity and wondering if what happened really happened. Stories make no sense; they sound unbelievable and confusing. This is very deliberate on the part of those who are abusing and exploiting others. There is often ridicule and further abuse. There is maligning of the victim’s character and there is silencing by the abuser and society. Because the person is broken down and made to feel complicit in their own abuse, the chances of disclosure are low. There is also real danger that the threats will be realized, and so the threats of harm to the victim or their family members keep them silenced. If someone does gain the courage to speak to someone, they are often not believed, ignored and dismissed. All of this is completely repugnant, sordid and unacceptable with the outright disrespect for human dignity. It is always shocking and heartbreaking.

Any failure or mistake on the part of the abuser is ‘managed’ by them or someone else. Things are explained away and the harm/abuse is validated. Power is protected from any correction. Authority and the structures around it are preserved and not examined. They cannot be questioned and there is always denial. Things are swept under the carpet and there is always ‘cover up’. The root of harm is not dug up and exposed. Power rallies around power to protect at all costs. Abusive power structures sometimes use the language of justice and progress to protect themselves instead of others. There are always deliberate distractions and new made-up stories. There is deliberate training of people to accept this as the norm. Murder can sometimes be seen as the greatest silencer. Thank goodness for trails of information that still surface beyond the grave to bring about a level of justice for those who have been victims, and to bring about a level of accountability for those who have been perpetrators.

We see it repeatedly. With the most recent reveal of more of the Epstein files, it’s all over our newsfeeds. Unchecked power leads to abuse on multiple levels. Too many are repeatedly falling into this trap. The trap is set for everyone, not just the victims. We all become victims in this ‘game’, unless we ourselves take some accountability. Sexual grooming and gaining trust start with the community and then the family and then the child. We fail children if we as a community and as family members are not awake to these schemes. And this is not meant to be shaming. It is an insidious trick and it’s easy to fall prey to it. There are masterminds behind the veil. They know what works. They know how to exploit vulnerabilities. They know how to keep our eyes closed or averted to what is going on. They know how to silence and cover up their tracks.

This level of power will always protect its’ power first over the victims of its’ abusive actions. So, people caught up in the system of abuse are literally thrown under the bus. People will find when they get too close to this level of power, they will either join it for their own protection, or they will get eaten alive by it.

We cannot allow this to carry on and for us to keep being caught off guard, unaware and unprepared. The good news is, we can absolutely do something about it.

The NPO I head up is called Pilot My Future and Child Protection is at the heart of a lot of what we do. We teach and train others in Protective Behaviours as one of the courses we offer. (There are multiple NPO's and people in South Africa and worldwide who also train in Protective Behaviours or Protective Education.) It is basically personal body safety skills to give you a brief description, but it’s so much more than that. No institution, school or family is immune to the potential of abuse happening in your sphere. Abuse can happen anywhere.  All children, youth and adults can benefit from Protective Behaviours and I believe with this knowledge we have answers for societal issues like Gender Based Violence, Addiction, Bullying and Child Abuse. It is heartbreaking when we see the levels of child abuse in our world. I have found the course to be life changing in that it provides a framework for how to stay as safe as possible in this very unsafe world. It mostly deals with feelings of safety because unfortunately no one can absolutely guarantee our physical safety. But the skills are to help us to listen to our bodies and react to what our bodies are saying. Sometimes things will happen and then we teach children and teens where to go and get the help they need. We teach them about their feelings, to understand what is going on and why they are responding in certain ways. This gives them language and helps them to verbalise what is happening in their lives and also how to self-regulate their feelings too. There are so many benefits in this programme. Although we teach these concepts to children and teens, Child Protection is still in the hands of adults and Child Protection is everyone's business.

I have come to realise how very important choice, control and consent are. They empower us and allow us to act when we feel unsafe. When they are removed we are disempowered, vulnerable and unsafe. We teach that we all have the right to feel safe at all times. That means if I have that right, so does the person next to me. We can keep each other safe. We can look out for the more vulnerable in society. The message is for all. There are no exclusions. We are all deserving of safety and protection. Real community provides safety networks. There are people we can choose to go and chat with when we are feeling unsafe and we can get the help we need. There are multiple conversations that are had during our training of practitioners where we unpack societal issues that compromise safety. We have in-depth discussions on sexual grooming and abuse and discuss multiple solutions for a safer way forward.

A few years ago, my husband and I were sitting on our verandah on a hot summer night and a fairly decent sized spider launched off the ceiling in front of us. She got very busy and later when we came back outside, we saw her beautifully spun orb web. There she sat, peacefully in the middle of her web. She had done her job of spinning her sticky web and now she was waiting for the first unsuspecting prey to be caught in her web and provide her with supper. In that moment I was reminded that this is exactly what sexual grooming can look like. Those looking to exploit others set the scene, look for vulnerabilities in others and then start taking steps to draw children and teens into their sticky web. They wait for someone to walk right into that web, often without seeing it first, and to get stuck and trapped, and they then move forward with their planned abuse strategies.

We need as much, if not more, effort, skill and opportunity to create a counter web of safety. There needs to be a masterful plan in place to combat the insidious nature of sexual grooming and abuse. We need this counter web to be about caring what happens to people who could be vulnerable to exploitation and to use their power for the betterment of all. We need real deep dive conversations about vulnerabilities. Some of them are personal and some are systemic. Both have solutions if we all work together for the good of everyone.

Creating the Counter web:

Be on guard. Be aware. Be prepared. Be wide awake.

We need many conversations with communities, families, children and youth.

Repetition. Repetition. Repetition. So that the skills and new concepts sink in.

Build into wholesome character and values. These will stand in direct opposition to the flawed character and values in unchecked, abusive power.

There is no secrecy. Transparency is imperative.

No blame and shame.

Choice, control and consent need to be available without conditions.

Respect and dignity shown to all. No-one is better than anyone else.

A whole lot of honesty, humility and accountability.

Education with courses like Protective Behaviours.

Looking at and being aware of vulnerabilities.

Coaching and empowerment to overcome vulnerabilities.

When we see something as adults, we say something, and we report to the relevant authorities.

Speaking up. This takes bravery and courage. Just one person speaking up and sharing what has been going on often gives others the courage to do the same. There are always others involved. The 'power of one' must never be underestimated. Protective Behaviours encourages sharing with someone you have chosen on your safety network.

To end off, I feel great hope rise within me when I see some solutions that are within easy reach of us all. We all get to play a part in making our world a better and safer place for all. In the process we are also a part of dismantling unchecked and abusive power systems if we keep removing the people that they would use and abuse for their benefit. By standing in the gap for others, we get to throw many spikes in the wheels of injustice. And I am under no illusions that we sit with a massive problem. It can be overwhelming, but we need to do what we can. It's one child/teen, and it's one child/teen at a time. That is always doable. We would like to see injustice come to a grinding halt in our world. Let's balance the scale towards justice. Now that’s something to get excited about. Let’s do this.

Pictures are AI generated.

 

There's no time to waste. Let's do this

 

Many have been praying often for the global church. For us to be reminded of God and his kingdom and that the Kingdom of God is not of this world. We are in this world, but not of this world. Our earthly world is really struggling right now. There is so much pain and injustice. It’s heartbreaking. People have let go of things they used to hold dear and value. Our light as the church has dimmed in leading the way. The path ahead seems dark and obscured. Where have we wandered off the path of life? Jesus said very clearly that he came to bring life and life in abundance. That abundant living seems to have been swallowed up with fear and lies.

There is a desperate need for the veil to lift and for us to see clearly ahead. The current moment is calling for deep repentance from us and lament for what has been let go of, thrown away and lost. We need to let the tears flow while down on our knees with our heads bowed before God. Destruction has been the result of sinful actions, of letting go of God and his ways. His ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts. But at the same time, we have the mind of Christ, and the Spirit of God dwells in us. The Holy Spirit is calling us, drawing us back to those ancient paths, the ones we used to walk on and to a simple way of living. The path that requires sacrifice, humility and obedience. With the focus of loving God and loving others. With treating others as better than ourselves. A time to sit and reflect and unpack what that means. How do we show that we love God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind? What does it even look like in practice? What does the word ‘all’ mean to us? How do we then love others on the back of loving God so completely?

There is an urgency for us to remember this path of love and to open our eyes to the incredible pain all around us. For us to find ways to ease that pain and bind up the broken hearted. To look around and allow the Holy Spirit to direct us to pick up the building blocks that we have dropped. Those blocks that we were building our lives with. Gold, silver and precious stones to lay down upon the foundation of Christ alone, our cornerstone. Compassion, empathy, care, love and a godly justice that seeks to right the wrongs in our world. To seek after the Shalom of God which looks towards restoration, renewal, redemption and mutual flourishing on earth as it is in heaven.

God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit co created each and every living soul and put their joint image into us. They then called for that image, that imago dei, to be seen, to be heard, to be loved and to be cared for as if it was God himself in front of us. This calls us to honour our fellow people. To raise the standard of loving, where everyone is included and no-one is left out. Where a person feels wanted in our presence and never cast aside. Where they feel valued and spoken well of. Remember we are bringing heaven to earth. Our goal is ‘on earth as in heaven.’ To see everything through kingdom lenses. The colour and brightness is intense. It is so brilliant as it shines from God’s throne of grace and righteousness.

Imagine heaven for a moment. Let’s close our eyes, relax and breathe in the moment. What can you hear? What can you feel? What can you smell and taste? What can you sense? Open your eyes ‘in heaven’ and what do you see? Are you seeing and hearing the same here on earth? What can we do to change this? The Bible describes heaven as a wonderful and beautiful place. A place where God dwells, where his robe, his presence, fills the temple. The goal is not to dream of it for one day in the distant future, the goal is to live it right now, here on earth. The kingdom now and the kingdom not yet.

Remember the words of Jesus, remember his actions and his great love he displayed. He came and changed everything with a new covenant and a new command. He is the only way, the truth and the life. He spoke of things like calling us to watch our anger levels and to love our enemies. Radical choices for us to make. Daily choices for us to make.

Let Jesus be the air we breathe, let him be our daily bread, let him infuse us from top to toe with his power, let him be everything to us because there is no-one like him. We are complete in him. Then let him lead us to those who need us most, the poor and vulnerable, the excluded, the sick, the marginalized, to people who might have dirt on them and smell, to the people that society casts aside as ‘less than’, to those in prison, to the children and to the elderly. He came for these people. For the lost, the lonely and the sick. He mentions these people. He wants us to care for these people in particular. To stand with them in solidarity. To stand up for them. To advocate for them. To fight for them. To wash their feet and to love them. To stand against any injustice against them.

If there is ever a doubt in our minds when we are trying to discern between wrong and right, we can know the truth. We can know the right choice to make. Keep going back to Jesus, keep going back to what the Kingdom of God stands for. Look for the greatest commandments, look for the Beatitudes, look for the fruit of the Spirit. Look for what Jesus tells us to be clothed in, as God’s chosen and dearly loved people, saved through Jesus’s death and resurrection, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Be willing to be persecuted for his sake and to have endurance to run the race of faith. To put our trust and our hope in God.

The more we look into the face of Jesus, the more we look into the mirror of his love, the more we see the reflection of his love in and through us. If we do this each and every day and throughout the day, we will find ourselves melting in his presence and becoming more like him. With his love flowing through us, we will remember the old paths. Fear will leave us. We can refute the lies and allow truth to fill us. We can be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Love will tumble out of us. God’s shalom, his peace, his justice and his love will be on display. The world around us will look different and it will be different. Relationships will be restored, wars will come to an end, hungry tummies will be filled, there will be sharing so that everyone will have enough of everything they need. Pain, loneliness and exclusion will be replaced with comfort, care and belonging. We will be witness to heaven being pulled down onto earth.

Oh Church, with everything in us, let’s urge each other towards this new picture, this new world with the kingdom of God on full display in and through us. Let’s run towards it. Let’s drop everything that has hindered us and kept us from it. Let’s run and run quickly. There is great urgency for transformation. May we let the Spirit of God flow through us with rushing and gushing wide rivers of love, mercy and joy. There is no time to waste. Let’s run!

Which power do you choose?

 

2026 has just started. There is a lot going on. There are a lot of things causing great concern for people across our world. It is times like this that we need to ask some critical questions of ourselves and our faith. We do not need to live in fear or wobble.

Stability is a word and a hope that our world needs right now. God’s kingdom is all about stability. God’s kingdom is where God rules and reigns in entirety in heaven. He brought this kingdom to earth in Jesus, so that we could see in person what it was all about. That’s when he chose to step down and come close to us in human form. Every word from Jesus while on earth was telling us what the kingdom is all about and how we can be a part of it. We step into it when we choose to follow Jesus and everything he represents. We get to show what it’s like here on earth by the way we live and love, and we get to bring it down onto earth as in heaven when we act on what Jesus taught us. When we die and go to heaven we will experience it in completeness. So, in the Lord’s prayer when we say, ‘Thy kingdom come and thy will be done on earth as in heaven’, that’s what we are talking about. That’s what Jesus taught us to do in our praying. He was giving us the very basics right there on how to live as representatives of his kingdom here on earth.

Instability is a word that our world feels like right now. The instability is brought about from people in political worldly empires trying to rule in their own power, which is not God’s power. Worldly empires are about themselves, their greed, power and control. Straight away we can see those words have nothing to do with God’s kingdom, so if we are a part of God’s kingdom, we cannot look to those earthly structures for stability or how to live. Worldly empires are not in partnership with God’s kingdom. They are in direct opposition to it. It’s oil and water and the two cannot and will not ever mix. Yes, we live within these political spaces because we live on earth, but if we follow Jesus, we need to be living according to God’s kingdom principles. That reminds me of a Scripture that says, ‘we are in this world, but not of this world.’

Worldly empire and God’s kingdom operate with different power. We need to ask ourselves what power we really want. We seem to sing about God’s power in church on Sunday and then very quickly slip into trusting in political worldly power at other times. Maybe it’s because we think we can see it better playing out in front of our eyes, I am not sure. But even the focus of the power is different. God’s power is absolute and is against evil powers that come against it. Worldly political empires are very self-focused and mostly see people as the enemies and obstacles in their way to complete dominance.

Even the weapons are completely different.

Worldly empire’s power uses force, fear, hate, lies, aggression, arrogance, coercion, boasting, abuse of power and weapons that destroy people and planet. It’s very selfish and all about winning and conquering. It’s all about excluding people and only about a few who win and gain all the wealth for themselves. They do not care about those they trample on to get there or what happens to them afterwards.

God’s kingdom power is one of servanthood, being co-workers, love, compassion, humility, thankfulness and joy. It’s also always putting him as the focus and the aim of destruction is at the evil powers, not at people or planet. It’s completely unselfish and others focused. It’s all about welcoming, including and adding people into the kingdom for their benefit, so that all can mutually flourish.

God’s Kingdom stays the same, always. Worldly political empires change all the time, depending on so many different things, but mainly because they are run by human people and their own power.  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. A steadfast assurance for his followers.

Right now, we are watching international law crumble before our eyes, never to be the same again. But God’s principles remain the same. We should be standing on those principles and calling political power out when they go against them. Jesus was not silent when people practiced injustice towards anyone. If we see hurt and harm, we should not celebrate it, we should be saying that it is not okay. We should be defending the poor, the marginalised and the weak. Jesus came up against political empire the whole time he was on earth. They eventually tried to silence him in death, but we know how that ended.

When worldly political power tries to silence things like inclusion, equity and diversity and we can see those are principles in God’s kingdom, we should not be the ones jumping on the bandwagon and agreeing with empire. We should be pointing out that those concepts are dear to God’s heart and it’s what he wants us to practice in bringing his kingdom to earth.

Christ is a sure foundation. He is our solid rock. All other ground is sinking sand. Reminds me of a song many of us grew up singing – the wise man built his house upon the rock and the foolish man built his house upon the sand. So, when the rain came down and the floods came up, the house on the rock stood firm and stable and the house on the sand fell flat because of complete instability. We have a choice to make daily. Where are we going to build?

God’s kingdom is the rock. Political empire is the sand. It cannot offer anything stable. There is no surety.

We are urged to build our lives on Christ, so it must start with Jesus and the New Covenant. We can’t have our foundation from anywhere else, and we also can’t build on top of Christ with anything that is not of his kingdom. So, if we put our faith in any worldly political empire, we are building that on top of Christ. It just cannot work. He still stays the same and solid, but we muddy the waters because we can’t even see him anymore because of what we have taken onboard. We land up in confusion and think that the worldly empire now has the answers. Sometimes it comes because of fear and it looks like our fear can be relieved by trusting in the actions of the empire.

Our trust and hope can never be in a political empire. It is sinking sand. It stands in direct opposition to the kingdom of God. It’s building a golden calf to bow down to in hopes of our freedom being protected. We know the argument of separating church from state. There’s good reason for that. The two cannot be in bed together. There cannot be an alliance with oil and water and thank goodness for that. But if we convince ourselves otherwise and start believing lies and we forget to keep looking to Jesus, we will find ourselves in bed with the enemy.

It's so clear right now that we have a huge divide in the church. We have church people posting absolute opposites on social media. The political right and left is brought into many of these accusations. There are arrows flying at each other. There are nasty words being said. There is huge disagreement on big topics. It’s obvious we have a clash of kingdoms going on. Parts of the church have climbed into bed with political empire. They are trying to go against the principle of oil and water not mixing. And many comments from people saying, ‘but how can you really know what’s true.’ There has been building of other stuff on top of Christ. There are warnings in God’s word about choosing wisely and with care how you build onto your foundation. We can know what is true if we line up what we are concerned about with the kingdom of God. It’s the only sure and true starting point. We also will not get our real answers about God’s kingdom from social media, we will only find the truth of it in God’s word and in the life of Jesus.

God’s kingdom power and political empire power look very different, sound very different, use different weapons, they do different things and they have completely different outcomes. The one will benefit a few, the other will offer benefit to everyone. Let’s not get starry eyed about the political empire that looks and sounds like it has our best interests at heart when our baseline is fear. I saw a comment the other day that said, ‘people have been trained to experience equality as loss and diversity as a threat.’ That sounds like it’s been set up by political empire so they can convince people that it’s okay to climb ladders of power, it’s ok to exclude others, it’s okay to win at all costs, it’s okay to protect what you believe is yours to feather your own nest, it’s okay to fight and trample others to get ahead and to stop the threat.

It made me think in that moment to put it alongside God’s kingdom. Do we think God’s intention for the world was for us to experience things as loss or a threat? So, it doesn’t hold weight in his kingdom then to be concerned about loss and threat, especially when it is about 2 concepts that he holds highly and dearly. I mean the trinity is all about equality, inclusion and diversity. We need to remember if we want to be great in God’s kingdom we need to learn to be the servant of all.

Ultimately, we have a choice whether we want the stability of the kingdom of God to be able to live within the instability of worldly political empire or will we choose what looks powerful and mighty with a human sword? Our Prince of Peace said on several occasions to put the sword/the human weapon away. “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent any arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” Even when Peter did use violence to protect Jesus, Jesus reminded him and said, ‘no more of this’. He then had compassion on the man who had been hurt (by power/violence that is not of the kingdom) and touched him and healed his ear.

May we choose to put our trust in the only person who deserves any accolade for peace in our world. May we choose Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, the Prince of Peace, from a kingdom that is not of this world but one that helps us to live for him in this world.

Pictures from St. Peter's Rainbow Village in Gqeberha

Tears for your pain

 

Watching a series on Netflix

It’s real people

Following a script

Yet, I sob for their pain

I laugh for their joys

I’m drawn into their story

For 40 minutes

Or an hour

It feels real

I turn to Instagram

This time, it is real

It’s not just a reel

It’s real, living people

With real, heartbreaking pain

So much of it, all the time

Why does it seem more acceptable

to cry for the scripted pain,

but not for the real pain?

If feels like a stab to my heart

My chest hurts

I feel it deep inside

Why must they suffer so much?

Why can’t we stop their pain?

Why do some people make their pain worse?

Decisions made

Harmful and hurtful

Cruel and damaging

Made on purpose

To make their pain worse

Unbearable
Overwhelming grief

Food denied

Baby food denied

Fresh water denied

Fishing denied

Shelter denied

Medical help denied

Education denied

Resistance to this hell denied

Dissent denied

Peace denied
Time to heal denied

Trapped

Nowhere to go

Bombs allowed

Snipers allowed

Drones allowed

Tanks allowed

Starvation allowed

Loss of limbs allowed

Trauma allowed

Death allowed

Sickness allowed

Lies allowed

Floods

Freezing weather

Strong winds

Tents blown away

Sopping wet blankets

Families separated

Children alone

Sickness abounds

Here I am

In a house

With food

A warm bed

Family

A doctor to go to

I am not living in their pain

But I feel their pain

like it’s in my body

God, we are desperate for miracles

For change

For soft hearts

For people to remember

You came for everyone

Your kingdom is about a love 
that is expansive and inclusive
Our neighbour is everyone

Your love knows no bounds
We need to love the same
With your love

Please lift the veils of deceit

Let us see clearly

We need spokes in the wheels,
in the wheels of injustice.
We need them jammed
For them to stop turning
For chains to be broken
For freedom
For life and light to return
For families to reunite
For medical help to enter
For food in abundance
For laughter
For truth, the real truth
For hope

When the time was right

Was it the right time?
For Jesus to arrive?

Prophecies agreed it was

This was the set time

The time had fully come.

And God sent Jesus

Captivity and exile were over

It was time to rebuild and settle

There had been silence

It was time for something new

It was time for the Messiah
Although not everyone heard
Or understood
Or recognised him
Or accepted him
This was the Messiah 
The one they had waited for

Still, expectation hung in the air

Freedom was on the horizon

Darkness was covering the land

Eagerly awaiting answers

For light to dispel darkness

The place was ready for good news

With one tongue to spread it far

A message of love desperately needed

An empty desperation hung thick in the air

Waiting for light and truth

God is always intentional

He's always deliberate

His planning perfectly executed

History was on the move

The seed was on the way

Growth was taking place

There was growing expectation

All prophecies are fulfilled in Jesus

Every detail in place

The time was now

For the King of heaven to come down

The lamb of God

Everything coming together

The set time had fully come

Jesus came
As a tiny baby
A baby?
Was this really the Saviour?
To save the world?
Yes, this was God's way
God's perfect answer
Wrapped in cloths

The light and hope lit up the sky
Shepherds were the first to see

He lit up the darkness

Good news for all

The chance for peace

For Shalom

Hope was born in the manger
Love had come down
Love was living with us
Humility on display
Always approachable

He's in the details of our lives too

Every detail

He’s intentional with us

Be encouraged

Find your comfort and rest in him

Seasons come and go

There’s preparation

And then there’s fulfillment

Don’t miss out

Keep your eyes open

Wait on him

Waiting can be hard

It can be uncomfortable
His presence is close

 Joy is always on the way

Pregnant with hope

Life and light

Be faithful in your waiting

Keep on hoping

Don’t give up

He's coming back
He keeps our hope alive

The trumpet will sound

Loud and clear
Everyone will hear
Everyone will see
Everyone will know
Our reigning King

But first,
There are things to do

To bring heaven to earth

The time is always now

Carry the struggle and pain now

Look after those who need love and care now

Triumph is on the way

Jesus our King will return

What a day of rejoicing that will be

Let’s keep busy with the things of his kingdom.

Artwork by Evelien Burger
Poetry based on the Christmas morning message at Lighthouse Family Church