SSSC: (Sometimes Sarcastic Sermonettes for Christianettes) 2023.05.29 --> POLITICS AND MORALITY. 2023.05.29

I started this blog series a long time ago, then let it wither...but I've had this nagging feeling (thnx, H.S.) of a need to resume it. So, here goes! The naming is from my late and usually restrained father-in-law, who was asked to deliver a sermonette for some occasion. On recounting the tale, he practically snarled, "Sermonettes are for Christianettes!" Since I often feel like a baby-beginner Christian myself, stumbling and struggling along the path behind Jesus, please realize that these sermonettes are as aimed as much at me as at pick-anything/anyone-out-there in God's wide world. Oh, the sarcasm is definitely me, not my father-in-law.

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Why so much concern about legislating morality? Granted, we live in a far from perfect place. 

But...I thought the first and greatest commandment was something about loving God? And the second was about showering love on those around us? Oh, and that "not judging others" thing?? ...oops.

Something seems badly out of focus... and a mixture of religion and politics seems to terribly blur our focus on the greatest commandments.

About all Jesus had to say about living in an occupied land, under the political/military/pseudo-religious thumb of an emperor and his jack-booted followers, was 

"...Pay your taxes to Caesar." 

Period.

So...how's your focus on God doing?

    Need glasses? (I know I sure do--some days I'm beyond legally blind!)

And, howzabout that "loving your neighbor" thing? 

    Are your neighbors happy to see you?

         Is your little world a better and more loving place because you are there?

If not, beware of the next mirror u pass--it might reflect a Pharisee!

[Hi, it's me!]

Ouch.

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The Greatest Commandment

36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Matthew 22: 36-39. NIV.

SSSC--UP

 UP

Yes, this is the title of a cute animated film that is both a tearjerker and an uplifting story.

--Abraham took Isaac up to the mountain

--Moses went up to the mountain

--King David lifted up his hands in prayer

--Elijah was up on Mount Carmel with the prophets of Baal

--Jesus went up to Jerusalem

--Jesus went up to the Mount of Transfiguration

--Jesus was caught up in clouds and said the words that General MacArthur would utter more than 1,900 years later, "I shall return!"

--Psalm 121, "I will lift up my eyes to the hills..."

Have you been caught up in something bigger than yourself lately?

   A dream? 

      A cause with a capital C?

           Something goofy that may seem childish to you...

                    or, more accurately, something that you fear others will regard as childish? 

Stretch for the brass ring, nobody else will do it for you. Go for it. And grab onto a buncha balloons while you're at it!

NIKE.

SSSC # 2023.06.19 JUNETEENTH (Sometimes Sarcastic Sermonettes for Christianettes and other wandering wonderers)

 Jesus strolled into the church in his hometown and was welcomed to come up front and read. He chose this passage, which is a quote from Isaiah:​

Lk 4: 18, 19

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
    and recovering of sight to the blind,
    to set at liberty those who are oppressed,   
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

John 8:32

"...and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Paul, the great preacher who had to be struck blind for awhile in order for the Lord to get his attention, ​​later expands on this theme, reminding us that we are all enslaved, whether to personal comfort, political or business power, work or play or whatever... which is not exactly focusing on eternity, Paul would say. 

Ouch.

Jesus spread his arms wide and said, "Come unto me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." That offer is still good for today...we can join with Paul and all those who have gone on before us, and be set free. The chains that bind us, like those unfortunate souls in Texas up 'til 1865, have been formally broken and only wait for us to step out of them into God's glorious freedom!

May I suggest reading the short book of The Gospel of John. ​Read it as a chapter a day or all in one sitting. Either way, let me know, and I will be happy to read along with you and discuss.

.

SSSC--Works: Jas 2 (On FB today, 05.22.21)

 WORKS 2.0

Forgive us, Lord, for we have loved the institution more than the people who ARE your church; Forgive us, Lord, for we have cared more about doctrine and correctness than your people round the world; Forgive us Lord, for we have sought our own comfort more than compassion for the poor in our midst;

Forgive us, Lord, for we proclaim the profundities of our faith while our works are feeble and vain; Forgive us, Lord, for we have loved Netflix

and phones more than you we are idolators and unworthy-- Lord, have mercy upon us: open our ears and soften our hearts to love and live your way...Amen.

It was a refreshing wind...

It is one of those beautiful summer evenings, when the moon is almost full, way up in the sky, highlighting a few clouds. Thunderstorms just rolled through, windy and loud and full of flash and flare--there are still a few distant jags of lightning in the south. The humidity has not all been washed out of the air, but the air still feels cooler and refreshed.

For some reason, my mind wandered in the direction of Pentecost, when the fresh wind of the spirit blew over the gathered disciples. While I doubt that the breeze that day was cooling, I suspect that the gathering was refreshed and energized in a manner never before experienced by any one of them!

Thinking of breezes, when Elijah was in the wilderness, before God manifested as the little whispering voice, an earthquake and a rock-crushing wind were the opening acts.

Jesus told his audience that while they can feel the effect of the wind, the wind remains an invisible force...
I wonder if the wind of the spirit has had any visible effects in your life, or in my life, lately? The simple answer is, of course. And you're reading it right now.

Lord, blow through our lives, blow away the chaff, and instill fresh air within us. To your glory, amen.