Touchpoints on The Gospel (Page 9)
The Heresy of Individualism
“Now you know why Luther was mocked when he insisted on the Real Presence of the Christ in this meal. People laughed at him and said, “If Christ is really present in the bread and wine than you might as well say he is present in the cabbage soup at the local pub.” To which Luther supposedly replied, “Yes, exactly.”
God’s Wedding Reception
“This miracle story isn’t about celebrating the marriage of two people. It is a celebration of the marriage of God, the Divine, the Mystery, with humanity, with you and me. There are no roads that lead to God because God has come to be with us. God has come to marry us. Unite with us. Become one with us.”
Therefore, Be It Resolved
“Make no mistake about it. This is a reversal from how God is often portrayed, talked about, pictured. We always think we have to do something first. We have to act first, and then, God as judge, will decide after we are all done whether to accept us or not. But this baptism story, and where it is placed in Luke’s Gospel is a reminder that we have it all backwards. It’s only Chapter 3 and Jesus has done nothing at this point in the Gospel of Luke to warrant God’s love and delight.”
Treasured
“Perhaps that is why this meal is so important to me. In the night in which he was betrayed, the Christ –who was treasured by no one this night – took bread and wine and said to his disciples, “You are my treasure… This is my body and blood given and shed because I treasure you and ALL PEOPLE.” Here in this meal I experience a Jesus who is all grown up… who has grown bigger than my expectations and understanding… who treasures the untreasurable, forgives the unforgiveable, and loves the unlovable.”
John the Baptist’s Hot Sauce
“And so, I need that unquenchable fire to burn in me. To burn away the chaff in me so that I can bear fruit that befits repentance. What I need is a continual baptism of water and fire. Though frankly, I would just prefer the water.”
Frankly, I Prefer the Baby
“And yet, even in my denial, betrayal and taking flight, “THE WORD OF GOD CAME,” the Christ comes to me in my denial and betrayal, and like a good shepherd pursues me in my flight away from him.”
A Different Kingdom
“resources cut. It’s present whenever the homeless are sheltered, rather than demonized. It’s there whenever children are welcomed, rather than put in cages.”
Happy Birthday!
“You see, creation never stops. Life and death and birth are a continuous reality in our lives and the life of the world. Life is a gift, not a possession, and it’s given daily.”
God Is a Ball Hog
Grace and peace from the Mystery in whom we live and move and have our being. Behold the days are coming when I will make a new covenant…This is the covenant I will make: I will put my law in their minds… I will write it on their hearts. I will be their God… I will forgive their wickedness… I will remember their sins no more.” Jeremiah 31:31-34 God is a ball hog. When it comes to our salvation, God…
Recognizing Jesus, Recognizing Bartimaeus
“And now I recognize that I am the blind beggar, or the blind beggar is me, just in a different condition. And the command to love my neighbor AS myself isn’t theoretical anymore.”
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.”
With God, All Things are Possible
“Deprivation is not the point of this passage. Neither is it the point of the kingdom. The point of the kingdom is in the caring and the sharing of all that we are and all that we have. The point is to live in the reality that all is a gift…and NOTHING is a possession. Or should I say, NOTHING is the only possession.”