Counter Cultural God

                                                      

As we reflect at Christmas time
To the time of your birth
To the land of your birth
To the people you were born into
To the way you lived
To the words you said

We see change, change, change
But always with purpose
Always with your kingdom in mind
Always with us on your mind and heart
Always about your plan of redemption

Scandal and surprises
Unmarried pregnant teen
carrying God’s redemption plan
Birth in a dirty manger
Living as a fleeing refugee
The least of these being first
to announce good news for all

Subverting cruel power structures
Disrupting injustice
Upending tradition
You never conformed
If it was not inline with your kingdom
“You have heard it said, but I say”
With all the authority of heaven

Walking over cultural barriers
Men, women, children
Different religions
Different colour skin
All your creation in your sight
All equal at the foot of the cross

Your kingdom is completely different
Your kingdom is about love
Radical love
It’s about service
Sacrificial service
It's about humility
Not hubris and calamity

You noticed and saw people
You loved little children
You wanted them seen and heard
You saw hurting and pain
You touched and healed
You lifted up
You came close
Where others ran away
Always offering your kingdom way

How can it be that we see
your kingdom not playing out
in front of our eyes?
And still, we argue
Still, confusion reigns
Curiosity lost
And yet, it’s as plain as day

I came to seek and save the lost
I came to redeem you
I have called you by name
I have created you in my image
My image!
Are you seeing my image in the
workings of the world?

Do you see me in the hate?
Do you see me in the war?
Do you see me in the lies and justification?
Do you see me in the bully tactics and manipulation?
Do you see me in the murder and mayhem?

Do you see the foundations of my kingdom?
Are they strong and in place?
That I stand for justice and peace?
Grace and mercy
Love and service
Shalom and mutual flourishing
Truth breaking down the barriers
A new commandment
A whole new covenant
Are these brought into being?
Is my throne of righteousness being upheld?

Can you see the overlooked, the poor and the marginalized?
Can you see the weak and the minorities?
Or are your eyes only on the glitz and glamour
of the powerful, those at the top of the pile?

Is my image celebrated in each and every person?
Do you see me in the person in front of you?
Do you see me in the people on your screens?
Do you see me in the people being trampled on by
a power-hungry world?
Can you stop and look?
Do you see me in them?
Do you see them?
Human beings made with my image in them.

Can you choose a different way?
Can you choose my way?
It might not make you very popular
Scandals and surprises hardly ever do
Walking counter cultural
Walking against the flow
Is this the way you will choose to go?

Obedience takes courage
Don’t be tempted to just fit in
If you see injustice
Boldly call it out
If you know something is wrong
Please don’t stay silent
Speak up!
Just like I did
It may even cost you your life
like it cost me mine

You may land up scorned and cast aside
You may be ridiculed and gossiped about
You may be beaten up and spat at
You may be misunderstood
But I didn’t leave you with conjectures
I left you with plain and simple truth
Love God
Love your neighbor
Let everything else fade away

In Matthew six verse thirty three
Seek the kingdom of God
above all else

Let’s just do what Jesus did and said
Let’s uphold his kingdom
His other worldly kingdom
His differently powered kingdom
Then we would have
'on earth as it is in heaven'

Look where Jesus’s eyes look
Look where his heart is
Look who he spent time with
Look at his words and reminders
Look where his focus was and still is

May your Holy Spirit work on our hearts
To help us re-imagine this new world
To bring it into being
To actively love each person
To put God’s truth in the mix
To be his salt and light
To be his hands and feet
To be his heartbeat here on earth

(Top artwork by Kelly Geere)