Trust but verify... Mark 9:38

Acting in Jesus name & heart, good work is for all to do.

 

In the late '80s when U.S. President Reagan met face to face with USSR President Gorbachev, the "trust but verify" phrase was made famous in the discussion of missile deployments and nuclear warhead agreements being made. But the same principle seems apt on the field of interpersonal relations and the eternal vigilance needed to look out for false teachers and prophets, whether they are off track on purpose or unbeknownst to themselves and their followers, too. Then in the Wisdom Books of the Old Testament there is the visual interpretation of wisdom to resemble a snake in its sharp-eyed way of evaluating things. In other words, there is an important relationship seen in Jesus' living example between loving forgiveness and righteously judging.

Like Jesus, we should live in the  physical world to embody and live out God's teachings rather than to sit idly by in meditation alone. Part of that exertion and exercising of body and mind comes from looking with care and love upon sins of self and others with a view to close scrutiny and discernment. When it is appropriate and there are "money-changers in the Temple," then we should call it out and make judgement; not the preachy, hypocritical, or judgmental kind but a firm and loving kind. Put another way, while God judges each person in some ultimate sort of way, during each person's sojourn on Earth, judging others should be practiced - not carelessly, but judicially. Not with the goal of excluding, condemning, or damning the person, but rather with the purpose of accountability that leads them on course correction back into God's Way. Judge, discern, look closely - but always with a heart of love and for the purpose of redeeming salvation that comes by God's own grace, not something given by human powers that be.

In the words of Ronald Reagan, in order to sustain the relationship between us, we should trust each other but at the same time never stop verifying. Be ready to forgive but not to forget sins. Be ready to judge, but not necessarily blurt out unthinkingly. In all things, though, it is on God's authority and message, not on one's own: Judge but not judgmentally, be righteous but not self-righteous.

Cain and Able in tension; intention

Men's Bible Study is taking up Ecclesiastes after a long couple of years. The line about "chasing after the wind" and futility in trying to build one's tower of earthly or worldly achievements is always fresh and relevant, especially in immigrant societies, where identity of self and in the eyes of others comes from "what you DO" and not "who you ARE" (your relatives and line of family trophies from the ages). And during the age of consumerism, where status can be staged or posed by material goods accumulated, the Ecclesiastes message that all that striving is meaningless does rebuke the myriad day-dreams of what to buy, what to build next.

in tension? intention? [clipart.com royalty free]

Interestingly, one of the Bible Study guys keeps a copy of the multi-lingual Bible open and found that the source word for 'meaningless' is the name of Able, the one whose sacrifices pleased God and whom brother Cain murdered. Playing with the words that intersect with 'meaningless' casts a little light on this advice about not confusing one's worldly glory with spiritual glory: meaning, intention, purpose, goal, target. Contrasting this is 'sin' -- as in the technical or literal/visual sense of "missing the target" or getting off the track when aiming to seek God's Will. In other words, Sin misses the goal; sin gets off track from the purpose, sin is the absence or the fouling of meaning. Thus "sin" and "meaning" are in opposition; they are in_tension (wordplay - at least for English - for 'intention' or the thing one is aiming for). The provisional conclusion, then, is that the tension between sin and righteousness is a basis for intention, and by extension also, meaning.

Rough and tumble? Consumerism vs. Christ'ism

image search "coupon" collage shows full color wares to buy

How best to follow Jesus when descriptions show him challenging the status quo of Pharisees and the strong language and actions he metes out to his all-too-humanly-frail disciples? He demonstrates infinite love and patience in many ways, but also insistence and impatience about fools and foolishness.

Ever since the "single use" disposable approach to mass production, distribution, consumption, and landfilling, the worldview of consumerism and advertising has almost completely dominated our societies: to spend (therefore to earn) is to live. That seems to leave little time to reflect and seek relationship with God, all of creation, and one's neighbor. So the iconoclasm we read of in the Bible by Christ's example seems to be less Pharisees (although the legalism, head-smart but heart dumb, bull-headed self-assuredness can be seen today in pulpits and lay leaders and followers, too) and more a problem on consumerism that blinds us from seeing each other. Perhaps in our time to "be in the World but not of the World" means to reject the many incentives and rewards of buying more and more. And it means not to measure self-worth or the success of others by brand of clothing or personal automobile. So long as we consist of flesh and blood, the body will be blessing and curse at the same time; something that shapes our engagement with all that is around us and thereby a source of being prey to temptations. And yet, when eternal life or else damnation is at stake, the present moment of living is no time to obsess about 'being a nice person' if that separates you from God and God's will, or it separates you from one another as a wedge instead of a bridge. In the end, following the Jesus example, is to "speak truth to the power" that so dominates our minds and times: consumerism and reducing and simplifying the world of experiences into "maximizing utility" as an economic animal.

Grace is similar to Mercy in that it is given, no matter if merited, earned, or paid for. But it differs in that grace makes whole, holy, completed. By contrast, mercy is granted in place of expected punishment or debt that is owed; it does not by itself create wholeness or completed relationship (repair). And grace differs to righteousness, too. Righteousness means being attuned to God's word and desires, in tune with God by direct and correct relationship. Grace repairs and fills the gap that separates self from the Creator. And so with respect to Jesus' example of himself disregarding The World in order to keep in constant prayer and communion with Father/Mother God, this idea of grace is central, because it fills any gap or separation or shortcoming.

With something like 1 in 4 residents in the USA defined by income as impoverished --this in the wealthiest and most resource-wasting society on the planet-- Jesus would surely engage directly and persistently with people struggling to survive. Again and again the ones with ears to hear and eyes to see are the ones he meets at the margins of society, the edge of the road, or the outer part of gatherings. People who are ill, or who are impoverished, or who have been humbled by circumstance (or possibly by their own disciplined habit) are most primed to embrace the message of love that is abundant and unending, without conditions and status.