"kingdom of heaven" Tagged Touchpoints
You’re Soaking in It!
“What Jesus was bringing was peace, no more religious destruction, or death… a life that is forever. Jesus brought life. Jesus brought life into the temples. He brought life into the homes of the ailing. He brought life to the seas and to the valleys, to the mountain tops and the desert floors. Jesus brought life. Jesus did not choose life. Life was not chosen. He was soaking in it.”
Inner Light, Outer Darkness
“Outer light illumines what we see. Inner light illumines what we can’t see. When our outer world brings us to our knees in darkness, we must attempt to create our own light. Like the man serving a life term, we must depend on the inextinguishable light.”
The Economy of God
“There is no one for the last one in line to give to. That person’s job, in that moment and time, is to be a recipient. Being a recipient renders us powerless, but it is the greatest source of freedom and intimacy because its freedom comes from gratitude, vulnerability and a willingness to receive without apology, and with no justification. That would be the refashioning of “I worked all day so I deserve to be the recipient.””
Shifting Ground
“Grace is funny. It is dangerous and subversive. But it is also peace-giving and freeing. Freed from having to justify ourselves, our existence, our stands… we are freed to live and serve the world. We don’t have a free will. We have a freed – F R E E D – will. And we are freed to take a walk, a hike, onto and into new ground.”
Christians Shouldn’t Be Scaredy-Cats
“The kingdom is not a hiding place from the vagaries of life, its pain and suffering. It is an encounter with them and an embracing of them. It is finding the Divine Mystery in the midst of them. This is the message of the One who eats with the outcasts and hangs on a cross. This is the message of the One who is resurrected and breathes “PEACE” on those who denied and betrayed him, tortured and crucified him.”
Give Credit Where Credit is Due
Grace and Peace from the Mystery in whom we live and move and have our being. I know I read from “The Message” interpretation by Eugene Peterson for our passage today, and I did so because it is such a good one. But I am going to use the NRSV (New Revised Standard Version) translation for this Touchpoint, because I think it shows how we have used and misused this passage. Love your enemies, do good to those who hate…
Being Next to Jesus!?!
“But the radical nature of Jesus death and resurrection is that he turns all this on its head, upside down. For Jesus, his death and resurrection don’t bring us to a new point of security, where we can SIT with Jesus, but a new point of servant-hood where we JOURNEY with him back into the world.”