A collection of angry thoughts about what is happening with the world right now.
We have politicians, but not leaders.
What is the definition of a leader? A leader is someone who can identify what needs to be done and actually organize and inspire people to go get it done. None of our elected politicians are really leading this fight. All the organizing and getting things done is grassroots led. Human beings, looking out, and having empathy and humanity, are saying, “this is the right thing to do, and I will put my own personal safety on the line to do it.” Our leaders have to be harassed and bullied into doing what is the right thing to do.
I am really proud of the citizens of Minneapolis right now—who are a living example of what it means to be the Good Samaritan. When Jesus told that story to his Jewish audience, he was being deliberately inflammatory. He was saying to them. “You people who are so confident in the correctness of your religious observances—you have all truly lost the plot. I will tell you a story about a heretic who understood exactly what my gospel and my message is all about. That heretic walked in the way of love and was like God. Imitate him.”
One of the saddest things about what is happening right now is that so many people refuse to believe that “the liberals” “the nonbelievers” the Democrats” “my enemies” are incapable of doing what is pleasing to God. The only people who do what’s pleasing to God are the people who go to my church, who believe the things that I believe and do the things that I do. Truly one of the most spiritually dangerous lies to believe. One of the most famous parables of Jesus was told specifically to refute it. How many of these christofascists have heard the parable of the Good Samaritan, but have never really listened to it, or taken it to heart, or to think about what it means in our context.
There are many spiritual dangers. Life is hard and a lot of people want to lie to you and take advantage of you. But one of the worst spiritual dangers you can fall into is believing that the grace of God is only for the people you approve of. That God is not at work in the world, drawing all people to himself. If you refuse to see the kingdom of God at work in the city of Minneapolis where they have fulfilled with their bodies what Jesus said was perhaps only the second greatest commandment: love your neighbor as yourself. The spiritual danger that comes from protesting that God has shown too much grace to sinners–that people do not deserve empathy.
Luke heavily implies in his gospel and in the Acts of the Apostle that the religious leadership of his day turn on Jesus and Paul because they are too generous in offering the gospel to outsiders. They offer God’s grace to people who don’t deserve it. They offer God’s grace to the enemies of Israel. That God’s priorities don’t line up with the political priorities of the religious leadership. And these people would rather kill Jesus than say to God, “thy will be done.”
You can be sure that the same is happening today, all over churches across the United States. That there are so many people there who would rather see people tortured, killed, and murdered than submit to God’s call to love your neighbor as yourself. It’s out in front of us right now, but people are hardening their hearts right and left to the plain truth that God’s ask is very simple. Love God, love your neighbor. Have compassion on the people Jesus would have compassion on.
If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.