Dear All of Us,
Keeping up,
be it
with the Joneses,
appearances,
expectations,
the bottom line,
the pace,
the pressure,
can be hellishly hard
and really hurt.
When it comes
to religion
it sure does.
Keeping Up Is A Downer
when
religion and its leaders
- anybody's -
gets puffed up,
arrogant,
out of whack,
off center,
top heavy,
heavy handed,
self-reverential,
self-serving,
corrupted,
becomes a wedge
between us and God.
It's like trying to live
with difficult relatives.
It was sadly so for Jesus
He lived and died
a practicing, religious Jew.
He didn't
BAIL
and
he didn't
BLINK.
He stayed put
but wouldn't put up,
much less try
to keep up with,
the religious phony -
person or practice.
He challenged and chided
the religious fat cats
and faux fashions
of his religion.
Jesus didn't mince or
cushion his words.
Speaking of religious
officialdom
and the burdens
they imposed, he said:
"...they do not practice
what they preach.
They tie up
heavy loads
and put them on
men's shoulders,
but they themselves
are not willing
to lift a finger
to move them...(1)
Woe to you,
teachers of the law
and Pharisees,
you hypocrites!
You are like
white-washed tombs,
which look beautiful
on the outside
but on the inside
are full of
dead men's bones
and everything unclean...(2)
You snakes!
You brood of vipers!
How will you escape
being condemned to hell? (3)
PHEW!!!
Religion can and does
help our spiritual lives.
Jesus didn't bail.
Religion can and does
hurt our spiritual lives.
Jesus didn't blink.
NOT BLINKING
THESE DAYS
In Jesus The Christ
we cite, challenge
and work change
with things like
- Denying Communion
to members of
another denomination
- Excluding persons with
different gender
understandings and/or
experiences
- Clerical elitism
and dominance
- Baptizing a nation's flag
- Avoiding The Beatitudes
and dumbing down
the rest of
The Sermon on
the Mount
- Worship Services
laced with
entertainment
- "Church" more a
belonging system
than a gathering
of disciples
living in community
- "Gospel" mostly just
social justice
or
- "Gospel" mostly just
personal piety
or
- "Gospel" perverted
for profit -
Prosperity Gospel,
- Churches with
more real-estate
and cash than the
minimum necessary
- Churches wrapping
nationalism in
way more than
Full Gospel,
indeed,
perverting Gospel
for
partizan, political
advantage and
justification
- "Read the Bible
my way or go to hell."
- Spirituality as an esoteric,
elitist pastime for
religious deletants
with nothing more
worthwhile
or vigorous to do.
- Gospel Lite,
Cafeteria Christianity
- Too churchy busy
to have time
for intimacy with God
- Pastors trained
in theology
and management
way more than
nurtured in deep,
for real spirituality
and discipleship
- Lack luster, if any,
genuine ministry
for young adults,
the disabled,
midlife shift,
the elderly,
- Avoiding vigorous,
challenging
social justice
focus and service,
- polity preoccupied,
corporately managed
PHEW!!
When religion
gets wacky,
wares us down,
hampers our
spiritual lives,
we want
to make sure we
get in step with,
"keep up with"
Jesus.
Religion
simple and sincere:
"Walking and working"
with Jesus,
"learning how he does it,
the unforced rhythms
of grace." (4)
God focus, people care,
life freed and light.
That's
God Right
Spirituality
&
Religion
With it we really do
keep on keeping on
KEEPING UP
******
SCRIPTURE CITATIONS
(1) Matthew 23:3-4
New International
(2) Matthew 23:27
New International
(3) Matthew 23:33
New International
(4) Matthew 11:28-30
The Message
******
For more and deeper
PONDER PRAYER
To get the full force
of what Jesus said,
and it is forceful,
let's fasten
our seatbelts
and read all of
Matthew, chapter 23,
The Seven Woes
and more
in
The Message
(it's available online).
How does
religion today compare?
What impact does it have
for us, the world,
the future?
How do we react
as we endeavor
to live our
spiritual lives
Gospel Real
in our
religious setting?
Lastly, let's turn to
Matthew 11:28-30 in
The Message
and do a deep dive into
the embrace of Jesus
as he invites us to himself
and recasts and refreshes
our spiritual life
in and with him.
We ponder and apply
as we accept.
It's a holy new,
wonderous,
turn around way of
KEEPING UP
******
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Thanks for sharing
frankly speaking
spirituality for the street
with others.
It means
we get to be
a gathering here
from many nations
and
persuasions,
one
as we all open to
KEEPING UP
with
The Love That Is God
******
frankly speaking
spirituality for the street
johnfrankshares.blogspot.com
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******
Real Religion
is us gathering
in community
in support & service
in prayer
to live
The Love That is God
Real Religion
is
a body
animated by
The Spirit.
That's for real
KEEPING UP
See you next week.
Can hardly wait!
Love to all!
John Frank
PS
I'll let you know if my
retired pastor pension
gets cut off because of
my not blinking above.
If it does, can I sleep
on your coach?
******
