Wednesday, May 31, 2017

This week's Bible study will be part 1 of Luke chapter 14

Jesus Teaches About Being Humble
[Luke chapter 14, verses 1-14]
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Today as we move on to chapter 14 of the Gospel of Luke, we find ourselves in an entirely new setting than we were previously. As before back in chapter 11, Jesus was invited to the home of one of the Pharisees for a formal Sabbath dinner. But, remembering how Jesus had (figuratively) turned the tables on them when they accused him of sinning by healing on the Sabbath, this time around the Pharisees plotted to entrap our Lord and Savior and so once again attempt to discredit him and his ministry. So they seated him just behind a man who was chronically ill with “dropsy”, as the Bible calls it. This is an old term for the swelling of soft tissues due to the accumulation of excess water in the extremities of the body. Thus, the person might have edema due to congestive heart failure. Having gotten that little definition out of the way, let's begin today's study at verse 1.


One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. There in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy. Jesus asked the Pharisees and the experts in the Law, 'Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?' But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, Jesus healed him and sent him away. Then he asked them, 'If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?' And they had nothing to say.” (Luke 14, verses 1-6)


As you recall from just a couple of lessons ago, Jesus had humiliated the Pharisees when he healed a crippled man on the Sabbath after they accused him of sinning because of the way Jesus healed him. So evidently they surmised this time around – incorrectly as usual – that they could entrap Christ by appealing to his pity and compassion. How did Jesus respond? He went ahead and healed the man and then practically dared any of those present who were in positions of leadership to say anything critical about it! “If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?' And they had nothing to say.” The Pharisees could not think of one single response! Meanwhile, Jesus continued to enjoy all the free food! Then, without waiting any further for a response from these “experts in the Law”, Jesus changes the subject beginning at verse 7.


When he noticed how the guests picked their places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: 'When someone who invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may be invited. If so, the host who invited both of you may say to you, 'Give this man your seat'. Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place'. Then you will honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.'” (Luke 14, verses 7-11)


As you can tell, Jesus was once again unimpressed with the ways and traditions of the Pharisees. There are a couple of facts worth noting here. There will no people in heaven who are presumptuous, pushy, arrogant, self-important, or conceited egomaniacs. There are some people who need to be taught a lesson in humility, such as our current President as well as the 1 million per day who post “selfies” on social media. None of us is or will ever be at the center of the universe. That place has one lone occupant, the Lord God Almighty, with his only Son seated at his right hand. None of us has any business anywhere near that Throne. Only the shed blood of Jesus Christ at Golgotha upon that rugged old cross allows us into heaven at all, let alone getting anywhere near there.


But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place'. Then you will honored in the presence of all your fellow guests.” You know, there's nothing wrong with being a humble person! But sometimes being humble means not trying to draw any attention towards ourselves. It means being mature enough to realize that not everybody can be first, nor are we meant to be, and it's perfectly OK not to be too. It is unfortunate that there are individuals who are convinced that showing off their talents and skills at the expense of others makes them a better person because it demonstrates their “winning attitude”. Folks like this are invariably domineering, overbearing, and “my way or the highway” types of people. There are a lot of people like that working in government, up to and including the current occupant of the White House. “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Only Jesus, the smartest man who ever lived, could sum it up in one little sentence like that. Self-promoters will find themselves demoted by God, but those with humble and contrite hearts will be first in the Kingdom of God, as well as in life. And now let's conclude today's study starting at verse 12.


Then Jesus said to his host, 'When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors: If you do, they might invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.'” (Luke 14, 12-14)


These 3 verses are the very essence of how we practice our Christian faith! When we give to others, we do so freely, and without any expectation of repayment. So when Christians (not religious people, but followers of Christ instead of dogma) give to others, we do so unconditionally, just as Jesus died on the cross unconditionally for our sins. As the old hymn goes, “He paid a debt he did not owe for a debt I could not pay”. Another way of looking at this would be that we can invite our friends, relatives or co-workers over anytime we want. But if you can seat a bunch of poor, sick or homeless folks around the table for a nice meal, it may be the only opportunity we have to do this. Because tomorrow any one of them could be dead from exposure to the elements, or be beaten to death in their sleep, or even shot by yet another overzealous police officer. There's no way to know for sure. Also, what did Jesus mean by the “resurrection of the righteous”? He was referring to the resurrection from the dead of all those who were sincere followers of Jesus while they were living. This will not occur until the 'taking up' or “the rapture” of the church, as some call it, somewhere near the midpoint of the 7 year 'tribulation' period described in the Book of Daniel. But, that's a separate topic for another time. And next week we'll finish Luke chapter 14.

Monday, May 29, 2017

So, What About Those Oval Office Tapes? | The Resistance with Keith Olbe...

“I Am Number 8“ (New Message Series Part Two) - Pastor John Gray

The American People Are Gradually Running Out of Patience

How Much Longer Are We Going to Tolerate This?
By Pastor Paul J. Bern
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I have always strongly believed that it's not possible to be an effective Christian without taking a stand against social and economic injustice, and against government corruption in all its forms (such as lobbyists at the federal and state levels who give out bribe money like Halloween candy). In fact, I have been a proponent for radical change for a number of years now, and I have written and published 3 books on this very topic. Where shall I begin? In God-blessed America, the land of the free where everyone is an economic slave, our Founding Fathers' sacred idea of a government "of the people, by the people, for the people" has become but a cruel joke. Former president George W. Bush has notoriously (for both Christian and secular people) called our Constitution – our supreme law of the land – "that (uses God's name in vain) piece of paper". The federal government is currently spending at least $60 billion per month on military excursions in Afghanistan, the Middle East, and northern and western Africa – not including operating between 800 and 1,000 (depending on who you believe) foreign military bases all over the world. Our country's over-used flying drone aircraft kills hundreds daily overseas, many of whom are only innocent bystanders.



Our political and court systems are openly rigged against the best interests of the American people, particularly those of color. A massive market mechanism is securely entrenched in our political system where political influence is openly bought and sold. Tens of thousands of highly-paid middlemen called "lobbyists" facilitate the legal transfer of billions between moneyed special interests and our so-called "representatives" in Congress. This very lucrative business of buying and selling political influence has become the driving engine of our government. Our so-called "representatives" in Congress vie for millions in legalized bribes in return for delivering billions of our tax dollars to moneyed special interests. It's pure folly to think our current political system could possibly look out for the best interests of the American people.



Just ponder what our government has done, not for us but to us, in the last ten years alone. It's utterly mind boggling! The installation of Donald Trump to the US presidency is only the latest insult. Not because it's Trump, but because he promised to “drain the swamp”! Instead, Trump bought it and is now remaking it in his own best interest. The best interests of the American people have been sacrificed to moneyed special interests time and time again. Hopefully this time the American electorate has learned their lesson. The Wall Street bankers paid millions in bribes for a legal license to steal hundreds of billions of dollars from the American people. When greed got them in trouble, our so-called "representatives" gave them billions more of our money, American tax dollars, to bail them out in October of 2008. In the last ten years, our so-called "representatives" shared nearly a billion dollars in bribes from the "defense" industry alone. In return, they doubled our (2016) defense budget to $700 billion (equal to all other countries combined!) and lied us into unnecessary, endless, expanding wars that will ultimately cost us trillions.


This is aside from the extreme human costs of war with multiple consecutive deployments. For example, 1 in 5 returning veterans from US occupations overseas have permanent psychiatric disabilities so severe that they will never work again. Speaking as a minister and lifelong peace activist, I find this to be utterly reprehensible on the part of the US military! Be all you can be? Yeah, but it's all for them and none for us except for some vague talk about 'battlefield honor'. I've got some new information for all those people. There is no honor in killing other human beings, especially for religious or ideological reasons, and particularly for financial gain, which the US military is notorious for!



Our so-called "representatives" are slashing social spending for senior citizens and the poor just when far too many American people need it most. Yet they continue to spend hundreds of billions on weapons of mass destruction to protect us from our “enemies”. But most of our "enemies" are purposely created by our government's blatantly unjust foreign policies (that openly support oppressive military regimes for the most rigid internal control possible), and by our violent military operations within their homelands. Without a perpetual supply of "enemies", 'defense industry' profits would plummet, and Washington's wealthy paymasters will never have any of that! If that weren't enough, our so-called "representatives" have worked hard to keep America the number one weapons merchant on earth. Our so-called "representatives" continue to support the sale of billions in weapons to oppressive dictatorships around the world, which creates still more "enemies", which creates more special interests profits, etc. So we can fight wars, but we can't have a robust space program? We can fight wars, but we can't update and upgrade America's dilapidated power grid? We can fight wars, but America can't replace its crumbling infrastructure? We can fight wars, but we can't afford to make public colleges and universities free? America can't forgive $1.3 trillion (as of the end of the 2017 school year) in student loan debt so those of the millennial generation can get on their feet and start families and buy cars and houses? We can fight wars, but middle and lower income families can't afford school lunches for their kids? This is utter insanity!



Our current political system guarantees our so-called "representatives" will continue to pass and sustain legislation that transfers billions of our hard-earned tax dollars to moneyed special interests. That's because members of Congress who oppose moneyed special interests are promptly punished, ostracized, or replaced (if their offense is great enough). President Kennedy paid the ultimate price for opposing the elitists, but he achieved martyrdom among the American people. Because of the assassinations of the Kennedy brothers and Rev. Dr. King, Jr., our current political system guarantees moneyed special interests and our "representatives" must participate in this influence-peddling scam against the American people. It's mainly because they're being coerced by the implied threat of assassination, but also because it's so lucrative they'd be stupid not to.


Big corporations could be at a competitive disadvantage (and would likely resort to cheating their shareholders to replace lost profits) if they refused to buy political influence. Likewise, our so-called "representatives" would be at a competitive disadvantage getting elected or staying in office if they refused to broker political influence. Another “problem” as these elites as I see it is that, if corporate influence were to decline, it would open up windows of opportunity for start-up businesses and entrepreneurs, and there's no way Wall Street will tolerate that. Anything that puts money into the hands of ordinary folks – such as owning a business no matter how small – is seen as a potential threat and gets treated as such. Just ask any of the American merchants who lost their businesses because they couldn't compete with Wal Mart. I should know, I used to be one myself up until around the year 2000 or so.



The rigged national elections in 2016 were merely melodrama for the masses. Our 'choices' had all been chosen for us in advance by moneyed special interests pumping millions of dollars into the process. Besides, whoever “wins” will be forced to play by established political rules that guarantee moneyed special interests will always come ahead of the American people's best interests. After all, the money special interests own the American electoral process outright, like a company owning an asset. For months before the elections, the complicit mainstream media, using colorful pundits who talk smart and know little, entertain us with political melodrama and often-intolerable rhetorical bull-crap. They arouse us by pitting one segment of the American people against another. They make millions bombarding us with empty, emotional, 15-to-30-second TV ads that are little more than name-calling or patriotic platitudes. Congressional elections have devolved into a herd of sheep fighting among themselves for their favorite wolves. Congressional elections merely determine which segment of the America people gets screwed the most by which moneyed special interests group.



Trying to reform our current political system using that same corrupt system is just an exercise in futility. It's like trying to fix your broken arms using your broken arms. It's like trying to start a car that is out of gas or has a dead battery. Our current political system is designed to be reform proof, although that's not how it started out, as those who have read the US Constitution well know. The Constitution has well-established checks and balances to protect and maintain the country and the American people from tyranny from within and without. That's why "campaign finance reform" and all other such efforts to "reform" our current political system from within are doomed to either fail outright or be so watered-down as to be nearly useless. All these outrageous government actions are exactly what we should expect from a government openly for sale to the highest bidder. “We the people” are just government-controlled fodder and political afterthoughts for the moneyed special interests. Moneyed special interests paid for these outrageous government actions, and they got what they paid for. How much longer are we going to tolerate this? We, the people, got screwed while corporate America and Wall St. received obscenely huge bonuses and golden parachutes! I have the solution to this problem, and it can be found in any English dictionary.



rev-o-lu-tion (Dictionary.com) 1. an overthrow or repudiation and the thorough replacement of an established government or political system by the people governed.



Our country's elections amount to rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. We can't vote our government back to us. It was deliberately taken away from us, so we will deliberately take it back. A peaceful, people's revolution is the preferable way we can take back our government. But, like a now-deceased colleague of mine used to say, “Use your first amendment rights and protest! If that doesn't work, use your second amendment rights!” The trillion dollar business of buying and selling political influence (currently the driving engine of our government) must be overthrown, repudiated and thoroughly replaced if democracy is to survive in America. This massive influence-peddling scam must become our number one political issue because it underlies and thus greatly affects all other issues. If we don't get all the dirty money out of our politics, our democracy and our standard of living will continue to decline and surely America will take the rest of the world down with us. That doesn't sound like the kind of legacy I'd like to leave at all. The prophet David's son, King Solomon of Jerusalem, wrote near the end of the Book of Proverbs something which still holds true over 3,000 years later, and I quote: “Speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and the needy.” proverbs 31: 8-9) And again it is written, “He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.” (Proverbs 14: 31)



We can't afford to sit by like sheep or stand around like cattle meekly waiting to be slaughtered! We must find ways to hinder and harass the corporate state at every turn, and to control the violent tendencies of the police who protect them. Nothing will change unless we, the people, begin to organize radical acts of civil disobedience to disrupt our current political system, upping the ante until this massive influence-peddling scam is thoroughly exposed and eliminated (search: 'overturn Citizens United'). For example, in Iceland in 2012 when the entire country went completely bust (you know, like the USA is about to) the people – not the government, but the PEOPLE!) – had arrested and jailed over 100 bankers after throwing the old government out of office – peacefully but evidently very effectively. The citizens stood in the streets and banged on pots and pans, and they didn't stop until they got what they wanted. Nobody worked, and no children went to school for the first part of this national strike. Then they (the people, not the government!) wrote a new constitution and passed it into law. It was reported all over the European press but largely censored here in the US. Is it any wonder? If there were enough people inspired by what happened in Iceland, it could happen here next. Indeed, it well should! Well, what do the elite capitalists want? They can either allow what happened over there to happen here, in which case America will turn into another Greece, Spain, Ireland, Italy or Portugal. Or maybe even another Egypt, Yemen or Syria. Or they can declare martial law and simply seize absolute control. The only way to prevent this from occurring here in America is that “we the people” must take back our government by peaceful revolution because it will never be given back voluntarily. So get your pots and pans and your biggest serving spoon ready, and brush up on the US Constitution and all 27 of the amendments! Remember what President John F. Kennedy said: "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."
One final thought. “Rich and poor have this in common: God is maker of them all.” (Proverbs 22: 2)









Wednesday, May 24, 2017

This week's Bible study is part 2 of Luke chapter 13

The Mustard Seed, the Narrow Door,
and the Sorrow of the Lord
[Luke chapter 13, verses 18-35]
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Last week when we left off at verse 17 of Luke chapter 13, Jesus had just healed a woman on the Sabbath, which had drawn the ire of the Pharisees, the main critics of Christ. Today as we take up where we left off, we continue the conversation between Jesus, the Pharisees and the rest of the crowd that followed our Lord and Redeemer everywhere he went. Christ the Lord is still speaking as we begin at verse 18:


Then Jesus asked, 'What is the Kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches.' Again he asked, 'What shall I compare the Kingdom of God to? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.' Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem.” (Luke 13, verses 18-22)


Just as humanity started out with one man, Adam, so it becomes reborn with another, Jesus Christ. In this parable, Jesus is talking about himself and his Bride, the Church. Jesus is the mustard seed that grows into a gigantic tree, the Church. In the next very short parable, the yeast is the Word of God and the flour is humanity. Once God's Word works its way through us, it causes all of us to rise just as He was going to be raised from the dead. So there is also a nugget of prophecy mixed into the dough, which as before represents the Greater Church. And so Jesus went and traveled extensively throughout the region, teaching the people all these things as he made his way towards Jerusalem. And now let's pick up at verse 23.


Someone asked him, 'Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?' He said to them, 'Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter but will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Sir, open the door for us.' But he will answer, 'I don't know you or where you come from.' Then you will say, 'We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.' But he will reply, 'I don't know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!' There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. People will come from the east, west, north and south, and will take their place at the feast of the Kingdom of God. Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.'” (Luke 13, verses 23-30)


As you can clearly see, Jesus' response to the question from the unidentified bystander is a 'yes'. A lot of people who think they're saved will not be, and a lot of those who don't think much about that – those who dedicate their lives to doing good for others before themselves – will be saved anyway even though they were not particularly religious individuals in their lives on earth. In other words, the “Kingdom of God”, as Jesus called it, is going to be quite different than many believers suppose it to be. “'Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter but will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Sir, open the door for us.' But he will answer, 'I don't know you or where you come from.'


What did Jesus mean by “the narrow door”? He was referring to another time in his ministry, likely something that was fairly recent, that is recorded in Matthew's gospel chapter 7, verses 13-14, and I quote: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” So verse 24, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter but will not be able to”, is a prophecy about End Times Christianity. Not all those who profess Christianity will make it to heaven even though they believe. I realize this could be hard for some people to hear, and I certainly do not wish to dishearten anybody. But as a (Web) pastor it is part of my responsibility to point these things out, because it can help save souls. And, if I can help the Spirit save even a few souls as a result of these biweekly postings of (the real) Progressive Christianity, then all my efforts for all these years that I have been on the Internet will have been made worthwhile!


So what will happen to those who don't make it in? “Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Sir, open the door for us.' But he will answer, 'I don't know you or where you come from.' Then you will say, 'We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.' But he will reply, 'I don't know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!' There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. It is open to speculation as to whether these believers in name only will be left outside in darkness or sent to hell, as if that is of any great consequence here. Either way, these individuals who worshiped in vain are going to be shut out of heaven. Hell is for Satan and his demons, for those who refuse to forgive, for unrepentant murderers, and for those who commit blasphemy of the Holy Spirit (see Mark 3: 29). But to make it all the way to heaven only to not be able to enter in would be just as bad, and in some cases even worse depending on which 'believer' it is!


People will come from the east, west, north and south, and will take their place at the feast of the Kingdom of God. Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.” As I wrote above, God's way of governing, of rewarding good behavior, and of loving us unconditionally far supersedes any such systems of rules and rulers here on earth. Those who are the least and the last will be the greatest and the first in New Jerusalem where we will live forever without end. Millionaires will be paupers in heaven, and those who were formerly sick or disabled or homeless will be kings and queens in heaven! People nobody ever heard of will be treated not just as honored guests, but as newly installed royalty or other persons of senior leadership such as presidents. How totally different will the Kingdom of God be from anything within the scope of our collective experience! And now let's move on to the last relatively brief part of today's study, beginning at verse 31.


At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, 'Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.' He replied, 'Go tell that fox, 'I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.' In any case, I must keep going today, and tomorrow and the next day – for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem! Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord'.” (Luke 13, verses 31-35)


Here we see a clear indication that not all of the Pharisees were corrupt or steeped in hypocrisy, even to the point of warning Jesus publicly that there was a plot afoot against his life. Jesus' response was in itself a bit of a parable, probably to the point that not all the Pharisees who came to warn him understood it. But that doesn't bother Jesus at all – on the contrary, his response challenged those Pharisees to use the brains that God gave them when He made each of them. Jesus also told them – but not in so many words – that even if King Herod were to kill him, it could not be until his mission on earth was fulfilled (“I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.' In any case, I must keep going today, and tomorrow and the next day – for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!”).


Then Jesus prophesies against Jerusalem when he said, “Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” What prophets was Jesus talking about? He was referring to the likes of Samson, Isaiah, Jeremiah, John the Baptist and others, not including the apostles whose time for martyrdom had not yet come. All of the above were killed by their Hebrew brethren in or around Jerusalem (excluding Paul, who was beheaded in Rome). That's what Jesus meant by that statement. “Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord'.” Judgment had already fallen on Jerusalem in Jesus' time, and that judgment was carried out in 70 AD, or just under 40 years after Jesus uttered those words. So the words of Jesus were prophetic indeed, just like everything else he said, did and taught. But Jesus was referring to the time of his ultimate and final return, as prophesied about in Zechariah, Daniel, Matthew 24 and ultimately Revelation. This is still more proof, as if we needed any, that Jesus Christ was and still is the Son of God, and he shall be so forever! And, next week we'll start on chapter 14 of the Gospel of Luke.

Sunday, May 21, 2017

Renewing America Like Progressive Christians Should

The USA Is Becoming A Failed State:
Seven Simple Steps to Turn It Around
by Pastor Paul J. Bern
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As I look around me today, I see the United States of America as a failing country. There are just too many things going wrong with America today all at once! Failing to adequately tackle the inherent problems in our economic system: Failing to reflect on the deep flaws in our system of government: Failing to repair our image abroad: Failing in education, in health care, in human rights, and in religious tolerance. In fact, we look a lot like the USSR in 1990 – except with a lot more big-screen TV’s. And so I have composed this week's commentary listing what I view as our worst problems, followed by some helpful suggestions for solutions to the mess that we Americans find ourselves in today.



First, a quick word about president Trump. I have already written at length about my feelings regarding Donald Trump's handling – or mishandling, depending on your point of view, of his still-new presidency. But there is another side to all the hub-bub about president Trump, and that is the fact that he is a Washington outsider. Trump came into Washington, DC last January to shake things up, and he has run into a mountain of resistance from the existing political establishment. Instead of “draining the swamp”, the swamp has nearly swallowed up president Trump! But at the end of the day, much of the storm of controversy about the Trump presidency has been generated by the press, and at least as much as the Democrats, if not more.



Some people may well take issue with my contention that the political and governmental systems are broken, including the courts and penal systems, or even that we have a great health care system. I respect anyone's right to those opinions – freedom of expression is one of the few things our country hasn't managed to screw up in the last couple of hundred years. But in every case, the data backs me up. Allow me to try and substantiate my claims first, before suggesting a few possible solutions. First, let's take a look at the economy: in 2009 alone, 131 banks failed. That number had dropped to 5 in 2016, and there have been 5 more so far in 2017 with more than 6 months to go. The 2008 bailout granted billions of dollars – with strings attached – to private companies who then used the money to short-sell the market, make countless billions more, hand the government back its money (removing the strings) and pay out lavish bonuses while Americans lost their jobs. Meanwhile, the median family income is less today than it was in 1970.



Our government, meanwhile, is no longer run by competing ideologies but by corporate interests (I include both parties in this category since both are moneymaking enterprises disguised as political parties). There are good Republicans who would prefer that your cancer-stricken child had health insurance. There are responsible Democrats who are horrified by our country's 'spend now and pay later' approach to finance. But since they are beholden to their version of a higher power – corporate America, Wall St. and the almighty dollar – they have convinced themselves to vote with their wallets, not with their conscience. At the Federal level, AT&T and Goldman Sachs combined have contributed over $75M over the last 20 years to both political parties, and the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees, plus the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, aren't far behind.



Across the world America's reputation is tarnished, perhaps irrevocably, and yet we find our President – in the words of former vice-president Dick Cheney – following the 'Bush Doctrine' of a surge in forces occupying a foreign country with seemingly little chance of categorical success. We are seen as an economic and religious bully, and we don't seem to care. We vilify our political enemies for their human rights records, and import cheap goods from countries we know to exploit child labor. We are, to much of the world, intolerable hypocrites. About this Jesus said, “....you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.” (Luke 11: 46) Isn't this exactly where we find ourselves in 21st century America?



Apologists for the American health care system, not to mention “Obama-care” or so-called “Trump-care”, will continue to defend those systems at all costs, claiming that so-called 'socialist' states such as England, France and Sweden (which, incidentally, is actually a constitutional monarchy governed by a center-right coalition) kill their citizens at will in order to save money, or make you wait thirty years for a kidney transplant. Deflecting (especially with such utter garbage) doesn't make our system any better, and it's always bad business practice to spend too much time putting down the competition. When our own kids can't get health care because mom and dad have no money to pay, something is terribly wrong. Any anthropologist will tell you that we took better care of our young when we were Neanderthals – so what's changed? For one in six of our citizens to remain uninsured is a national disgrace. We deny basic human rights to our own people! Whom you choose to marry is not a matter for the government to decide, it is a matter for the individual (“work out your own salvation with fear and trembling before the Lord”). So it is for what religion to follow, if any (although I will continue to vigorously preach pure Christianity as the only true way to eternal salvation). Some may not like our choices, but they are inalienable rights and you should be free to exercise them as you will. Our US Constitution says you can (search: First Amendment).



As far back as 2005, statistics showed that hate crimes against Muslims were increasing 50% year-on-year. Even so, the FBI reported that in 2016 hate crimes against homosexuals had increased 10% from 2015, and those motivated by religion had risen by 12%. This is outrageous in the extreme as far as I am concerned. The track we have taken over the last fifty years has been the wrong one, and America is way past due for a serious course correction. We have let corruption, greed, fame, intolerance and a stubborn refusal to acknowledge our problems almost ruin our nation. We are failing to live the American Dream, and if we don't start now our children will never even know what it was. I have several fairly radical ideas. I'm sure you have some of your own, and I welcome them in the comments below. I have chosen not to expound on what I personally think the consequences of these actions would be, as I would be diving headlong into speculation.



1. Immediately and totally stop all corporations from giving money to political parties. Reverse Citizens United and make our elections publicly funded!



2. Make a promise to our children: you will be well-educated, and you will be treated with dignity and respect when you are sick.



3. Change the game. Capitalism is broken and must be replaced, and the smoothest transition I have found is that of a resource-based instead of a debt-based economic system. Any time you have less than 1% of America's population controlling the upper 99% of the cash flow, some legislated redistribution is clearly called for (or maybe an executive order to that effect). We can start with worker owned businesses instead of shareholder ownership. Public business ownership will still exist, but smaller – such as a cooperative – will be much better in many cases.



4. Take a page out of the Bible and just treat everyone else with some genuine respect and unconditional love. If it was good enough for Jesus, it should be good enough for you. About this the apostle John wrote, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us, so we ought to love one another” (1st John 4, verses 10-11). True love for each other means unconditional love with no strings attached! Respect others and yourself as well. Leave the gays alone. Leave the blacks alone. Leave the immigrants alone whether you think they're here legally or not. Leave the Muslims or the Christians alone, too. Even the atheists, despite the fact that they're all totally lost! Pray for them instead! When respect departs, enmity is the next train along.



5. Pay for it. Child labor is inexcusable! If it costs an extra ten bucks, or extra hundred bucks to buy something that was made by willing workers, pay for the darned thing! And the same goes for government. You want health care? Pay for it. More troops? Pay for them. Tax breaks for corporations? Not a chance, they have way too many of those already.



6. Form coalitions based on issues, not parties. Not every NRA member is anti-abortion. Not every tree-hugging hippie thinks that owning a gun is wrong. When a party tells you how you should think, and what issues should be thrown together into what bucket, you're a lot closer to communism than you think you are.



7. Buy American whenever possible. From what I can tell, the great empires of yore – from Egypt to Rome to England – were 'first-to-market' with some manufacturing innovation or other, that led to more innovations, and greater strides, that in turn led to them becoming the largest producers of goods in their region. This happened to the USA from the dawn of the twentieth century until the 'fifties. Then we began to transform into a service economy, just as those others did. Producing goods is what is making China become a world powerhouse, and if we are to compete, we must produce our own. American goods are always equal to the best even though they are almost never the cheapest, but if we are to reinstate our status as the world's greatest country, we need to start by supporting our own businesses and workers. We're in a really big mess, but if enough people commit to working together to solve our problems, we can do anything we set our minds to!






Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Bible study this week will be part 1 of Luke chapter 13

Jesus Administers a Dose of Tough Love
[Luke chapter 13, verses 1-17]
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For this week's Progressive Christian Bible study, we'll be moving on to chapter 13 of Luke's gospel as we continue our in-depth study of the writings of the apostle Luke. As a part of the series of analyses I am composing, this series of Biblical commentaries on the writings of the apostles will be the second book in this series. The first volume of Biblical studies I have managed to publish are those of the apostle Paul, called “The Apostles In Plain English Volume 1”, and you can find out more about that book from here. As you've probably guessed, these studies of Luke will comprise volume 2, but for now let's go ahead and get started at verse one.


Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, 'Do you think all these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them – do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.' Then he told this parable: 'A man had a fig tree, planted in this vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?' 'Sir', the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! But if not, then cut it down'.” (Luke 13, verses 1-9)


The background to this first verse is a reference to a freedom fighter named Judas of Galilee, who was considered an extremist at the time because of his teaching that there is but one God, combined with being a political activist for Jewish independence from the Roman Empire. His ambitions, combined with his teachings that were considered radical for their time, eventually resulted in he and all his followers (roughly 200 people together with their families) being put to death. So this first verse is a tragically vivid representation of the thought: “whom Pilate caused to be put to death while engaged in their sacrifices.” “Jesus answered, 'Do you think all these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” We can infer three different things from these words of our Lord and Savior. The first is that those who suffer more in this present life than those who do not are not suffering because of any alleged punishment from God. On the contrary, those who suffer more in this life – the poor, the handicapped, the mentally or chronically ill, those without jobs, and the scorned and rejected, they are the ones who will have the highest places in heaven.


The second is that there is no such thing as degrees when it comes to sin, which is repeated, willful disobedience to God. Sin is still sin, hate is still hate, theft is still theft, and murder is still murder. There is no such thing as a greater or a lesser sin. Many of those who are vehemently opposed to gay marriage are the same ones who look at pornography on their computers. Is their sin any less than those with same-sex attraction? No way! As the apostle James wrote in his famous and beloved epistle, “Anyone who sins by breaking just one of the laws of God, is guilty of breaking all of them.” The third thing we can infer from Jesus' statement is that those who rebelled against their oppressive Roman rulers in a bid for Jewish independence did not suffer a tortuous death at the hands of their Roman captors because of sin. They suffered a tortuous death because that was the stock in trade of the Roman soldiers who executed them.


A man had a fig tree, planted in this vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down!'” As you can see, Jesus is asking the crowd gathered around him and the apostles if they would condemn one of their own as harshly as the Romans did Judas of Galilee and his followers. Would they, Jesus asks pointedly, treat them like the fig tree planted in the vineyard? You better not, Jesus said to them, or you may find yourself condemned by God just as quickly and harshly, and cut down just as mercilessly. But the man who takes care of the vineyard responds, “Leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! But if not, then cut it down.” The property owner who first said to cut down that fig tree represents God in Jesus' parable, but the caretaker's response represents the mercy of Christ. If we don't bear a lot of fruit, sometimes that is because there are people who do not hit their stride either personally, professionally or romantically until later in life. Jesus will intercede in such cases and begin working more closely with that individual, redoubling his efforts to cause us to grow in him. Not so much ourselves, of our own volition, but that of the Spirit of the Lord that dwells within the hearts of every true believer. If anyone reading this is unsure of whether the Spirit of the Lord resides in their hearts or not, right now – before we go on – would be an excellent time to invite Him in! Go ahead, because you'll never be the same! Just ask away! And now let's move on to the second half of our study, beginning at verse 10.


On the Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and there was a woman there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward, and said to her, 'Woman, you are free from your infirmity.' Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and began praising God. Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, 'There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, and not on the Sabbath'. The Lord answered him, 'You hypocrites! Doesn't each of you on the Sabbath untie his horse or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what has bound her?' When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.” (Luke 13, verses 10-17)


So we can see here that Luke's narrative takes up on the Sabbath following Jesus' speech about the interpretation of the times from the end of chapter 12, which we studied last week. Jesus performs yet another miracle by calling the crippled woman forward and healing her for everyone to see. Naturally, the Pharisees – who always insisted on enforcing the letter of the law while overlooking the spirit thereof – were infuriated that Jesus had performed an authentic healing of this poor old broken down woman. “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, and not on the Sabbath”, they said. However, it does not look to me like this quote does a good job of capturing the moment. Let's keep in mind that these Pharisees were scolding the crowd, as well as Jesus, as if they were traffic cops who just pulled someone over for driving 100 miles an hour on the freeway. In other words, the Pharisees were absolutely livid about the miraculous healing Jesus had administered to the elderly woman. Instead of falling on their knees in acknowledgment that Jesus is Lord over all, they were jealous! It was raw envy they were displaying, hidden behind a veil of sanctimony.


And right there, my dear readers, is where Jesus lets them have it with both barrels. “You hypocrites! Doesn't each of you on the Sabbath untie his horse or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what has bound her?” 'It's perfectly fine for you Pharisees to lead your animals to water on the Sabbath', Jesus was asking them, 'but it's wrong for me to heal a woman on the Sabbath who has been crippled for 18 years?' Jesus is nearly incredulous with his religious counterparts for their religious snobbery, and no wonder! OK, now let's fast forward to today, and what current event does this closely parallel? Remember the winner of the “Miss USA” beauty pageant making the statement that “higher education is a privilege”? American political conservatives, particularly the religious ones, have been saying much the same thing for many years. Hogwash!! Oh no it's not, either! Access to knowledge, which entails higher education, is a basic fundamental human right from childbirth onward. To forcibly keep people illiterate and shield them from educational opportunities by erecting economic barriers is a criminal act!


When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.” Jesus made the Pharisees look ridiculous, he demolished their religious and intellectual snobbery right along with it, and he did so right in front of the whole crowd! The Pharisees deserved every bit of what they got from our Lord and Savior that memorable day. What I'd like to see us all do is to simply continue that tradition of delight in all the doings and miracles of our Lord and Kinsman Redeemer. Every time you see God doing something positive in your life or someone else's life, give God praise and thanks for it! And when trouble comes your way, as it inevitably does, thank God for the opportunity to sharpen your game. And next week we'll move on to part 2 of Luke chapter 13.

Sunday, May 14, 2017

An American Microcosm

A Microcosm of the USA and Christianity
by Pastor Paul J. Bern
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The events of this past week have left the office of the American presidency in shambles, made the US the laughingstock of the world, and I – for one – am appalled at the state of my country. President Donald Trump – or at least so long as he remains president – has left all of Washington in disarray from the presidency on down. He is also proving once again, as president George W. Bush did after September 2001 and especially after March 2003, that those who vote straight conservative every election have very short memories. It is the Republican party who, prior to Bush 43, brought us endless wars, the 1995 government shutdown, Iran Contra, the Drug War, president Nixon and Watergate, and the Vietnam War and the phony “Gulf of Tonkin Incident” that started that war. They are also indirectly responsible for the assassinations of Rev. Dr. King and the Kennedy brothers, which makes them accessories to murder.


President Donald Trump is a microcosm of America because he represents what America represents, and as such is someone who is admired by many. Donald Trump represents the American dream of becoming wealthy from a capitalist economic system that allegedly gives everyone a fair shot at becoming a rich businessman or real estate tycoon like Donald Trump. But president Trump is finding out the hard way that being president of the United States is nothing at all like running a real estate empire! When he ran for election last year, he wanted a job that he wasn't prepared to take on. Worse yet, he failed to appreciate the difficulty and long hours of being the US president. His assumption of the office of the President was poorly planned and is still being poorly executed. When it comes to the presidency, it appears that Donald Trump is a fish out of water. Our country, therefore, is in serious trouble, and this situation is serious enough to warrant our undivided attention.


So president Trump is more than a microcosm of America, he represents a microcosm of capitalism. As such, Trump represents everything that is wrong with America, and everything that is wrong with capitalism. The ugly truth is that Donald Trump didn't become a mega-billionaire because he is an exceptionally shrewd individual, or because he has some kind of inside track in the business world. Donald Trump got rich by screwing people every chance he got. Since Donald Trump has been elected president, he has been sued 134 times, according to the Boston Globe. He has reportedly filed bankruptcy at least 4 times since the 1980's, evidently for the sole express purpose of stiffing his creditors while short-selling the property(s) in question. Donald Trump is a human shark, and a big, menacing “great white” at that! He reveals capitalism for the essentially predatory economic system that it truly is. Trump is also a perfect example of the fact that, in a capitalist economy where everything is organized in a hierarchical manner, there are only a handful who end up at the top of the heap, just like Donald Trump. Everyone else winds up underneath, where many of them get financially crushed without mercy.


Moreover, Donald Trump represents all that is corrupt with Washington, D.C. Washington is overburdened with corruption from within, and crushing debt from without. In fact, Washington is so heavily laden with debt and corruption that it is slowly sinking into the soil it sits on. Not only that, but the entire District of Columbia is literally sinking, according to the US Geological Survey named in a 2015 article from CNN.com:

Washington, D.C. Has a 'Fore-bulge' Problem

By Jareen Imam, CNN, Updated Sat. August 1, 2015



(CNN) Washington, D.C., where the powers that reign over the United States reside, is sinking into the ocean.
Scientists predict that the land underneath the nation's capital will drop more than 6 inches in the next 100 years, according to new research from the University of Vermont and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
Surprisingly though, Washington's sinking land is an entirely independent phenomenon from the rising sea levels, which scientists have attributed to climate change in the past.
For this study, researchers examined the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, one of the most rapidly subsiding and lowest-elevation surfaces, which borders the Chesapeake Bay.
The area is going through what geologists call a "fore-bulge collapse," also known as the reason for many of Washington's foreseeable geological woes. During the last ice age, a mile-high ice sheet pushed the land under the Chesapeake Bay region up. When the ice sheet melted 20,000 years ago, the bulging land began to settle back down.
"It's a bit like sitting on one side of a water bed filled with very thick honey... when you stand, the bulge comes down again," said former USGS geologist Ben DeJong, one of the lead authors on the study, who conducted the research at University of Vermont's Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources.”


President Trump is also a microcosm of the current state of mainstream Christianity, whether denominational or otherwise. In spite of doing all the things I already wrote about, president Trump is a regular churchgoer. President Trump, like much of the rest of America, seems to think he can do whatever is expedient for himself and his family real estate empire, and he undoubtedly calls himself 'blessed' because of it all. Well-to-do mainstream Christians are filled with people just like that every Sunday morning, believing God has blessed them when all they really did was to help themselves to all they could carry away from the 'negotiating table'. Or sometimes, whatever they can take by force, it happens every day. They go to church every Sunday as a token of acknowledging their sinful natures and professing their devout beliefs, but then they go back to doing the same things the following week! Jesus had something to say about this issue, and I quote: “Looking at his disciples he said, 'Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you who hunger, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.” (Luke chapter 6, verses 20-22)


But then Jesus continues: “But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.” (Luke 6, verses 24-26) So based on this quote from our Lord and Savior, those who think they are richly blessed by God are actually on their way to hell! These are the people who think life is all about accumulating as much as we can, when in fact life is all about the legacy we leave behind. Instead of being focused on ourselves, we're supposed to be focused on Christ and the blood he shed for us all! But what are today's churches focused on? The bottom line, which is propelled by church membership and the money those members donate! Christianity isn't about Christ at all; Jesus is more of an afterthought than anything else, and this is wrong!


Pulitzer prize winning author Chris Hedges was asked about corruption in churches during a forum with Mr. Robert Scheer, who said of Mr. Hedges, “There’s a complexity to your view. You come out of the mainstream Protestant Church. Your father, who is a minister, is a man you had enormous respect for, championed gay rights, civil rights when it was not popular. And I just wonder, and I know you resent when I say you have a prophetic voice, since I know nothing about scripture I probably don’t know anything about prophetic voices, but nonetheless it does seem to me your strength and clarity comes out of your Christian background.”

Chris Hedges responded, “Yeah, without question. And what I’m willing to do, which the mainstream church is not, is to denounce the Christian right as Christian heretics [applause]. You don’t have to, as I did, spend three years at Harvard Divinity School to realize that Jesus didn’t come to make us rich [laughter]. And he certainly didn’t come to make Pat Robertson and Joel Osteen rich. And what they have done is acculturate the worst aspects of American imperialism, capitalism, chauvinism, violence and bigotry into the Christian religion. And again let’s go back to Wiemar and the rise of Nazism. We saw the same thing in the so-called German Christian Church, which fused the iconography and language of Christianity with Nazism. It’s not a new phenomenon. It was the minority within that church, Bonhoeffer, Niemoller, Karl Barth, Schweizer who created the underground Confessing Church. And my great mentor at Harvard Divinity School, James Luther Adams [applause], was at the University of Heidelberg in 1935 and 1936 and dropped out and joined the Confessing Church. And when I had him in the early ’80s at Harvard, he used to tell us that when we were his age we would all be fighting the Christian fascists. Because, he understood that the Weimarization of the American working class, essentially pushing (America's) working population into utter despair and hopelessness, coupled with a religious movement that fused national and religious symbols, was a recipe for fascism. And I think the great failure of the liberal tradition that I come out of is they were too frightened and too timid to stand up. I don’t know why they spent all the years in seminary if they didn’t realize that when they walked out the door they were going to have to fight for it. And they didn’t fight for it.”


Jesus said it, the apostle Paul wrote it, and I still believe it: There will be no cowards in heaven. Period, end of story! We as Christians have a moral obligation to stand up to tyranny, and to oppose greed and materialism as being the very antithesis of what it truly means to be an authentic follower of Jesus Christ, the Son of God! Moreover, the Bible has a few other things to say about rich people who are obsessed with obtaining even more wealth, just like president Trump, and I quote just a few of the many examples in the Bible:


Hebrews 13:5
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
1 Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
Matthew 6:19-21
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Luke 12:33-34
Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
1 Timothy 6:17-19
As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

As you all can see, the above quotes, combined with the farcical nature of the Trump presidency and the corrupt nature of America's political and economic systems, are a microcosm of what is wrong with America, capitalism and Christianity. I'm trying to sound the alarm about this because I see danger ahead, and we had better begin preparing for it now while we still have a little time left. Better hurry, too, or it will be too late.

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Bible study this week will be part 4 of Luke chapter 12

Jesus Came Not to Bring Peace, but Division
[Luke chapter 12, verses 49-59]
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Last week in our ongoing study of the writings of the apostle Luke, we concluded part 3 of chapter 12 with Jesus continuing to teach his apostles and the surrounding crowd, which was evidently of considerable size. “For those who have been given much”, Jesus taught, “much will be required”. The more abilities one has, whether they be natural abilities such as a knack for fixing things or being a really good musician, or of gifts of the Spirit as described by the apostle Paul in 1st Corinthians chapters 12 and 14 such as healing or evangelism, the more those individuals will be required to use those God-given abilities in service to others as well as to God. Those who fail to do these things are falling short, and in so doing are watering down their own salvation in Christ the risen Lord! Let's not make that mistake, people – keep your eyes on the prize, which is eternity with Christ Jesus. And now let's commence today's study beginning at verse 49.


I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed! Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” (Luke 12, verses 49-53)


What was Jesus talking about here? It almost seems that He was rambling around from one topic to another. After all, in one sentence our risen Savior is talking about our responsibility to use the gifts God has given us, and in the next he is talking about bringing “fire on the earth”. I think one strong possibility was that someone stuck their hand in the air and asked Jesus a question, and what we're seeing is his response. It's equally possible that this interaction probably took place at a later time that day, but at the same location. Other than that, the first thing we can take away from the words of our Lord is that he and the eternal salvation he represents will be a catalyst for conflict and a motivation for fighting. The name of Jesus will cause strife and division from within families and even whole countries. Jesus predicted that 2,000 years ago, and sure enough that's exactly what has occurred. The Arab-Israeli conflict is one glaring example of the division and strife Jesus prophesied about. There are people in the church I attend and where I play keyboards who attend without their spouses because their spouses won't come with them. This too is fairly commonplace in all types of Christian church denominations.


“....how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed!” As I read this first verse, the main thing I'm seeing is the raw passion and determination of Christ to fulfill his mission on earth. This can be interpreted 2 different ways. The “fire” can be that of the Holy Spirit, meaning this verse is a prophecy of the Day of Pentecost. But that same fire could also be a global holocaust that has not yet occurred, one that is reserved for the Last Days in which I believe we reside. The Book of Revelation refers to such an event in chapter 9, verses 13-16, and I quote: “The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the horns of the golden altar that is before God. It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, 'Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.' And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. The number of the mounted troops was two hundred million. I heard their number.” Moreover, the “baptism” that Jesus was referring to was, again prophetically, his crucifixion on the cross which at that point was still more than a year away.


Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three.” There are nonreligious families from which people of faith have come forth, and those new believers can find themselves ostracized by their own families. By the same token, there are religious families who have nonreligious members, and those individuals find themselves ostracized by their religious parents and siblings. There is a truism, 'If you want to get along with people, don't talk about politics or religion.' The divisive nature of Jesus Christ is in large part what that old saying is talking about. And now let's move on to the second part of today's study, beginning at verse 54.


He said to the crowd, 'When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, 'It is going to rain', and it does. And when the south wind blows, you say, 'It's going to be hot, and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don't know how to interpret this present time? Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right? As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be reconciled with him on the way, or he may drag you off to the judge, and the judge will turn you over to the officer, and the officer will throw you into prison. I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.” (Luke 12, verses 54-59)


Here again we see evidence of the group of Pharisees and Teachers of the Law that closely trailed Jesus, watching his every move and listening to his every word. I admire Jesus for his ability to wait until just the right moment before he lets loose with a verbal barrage that cuts them all to ribbons. Then comes that favorite word of his when describing his adversaries – 'hypocrites'. Yet again we have another example of Jesus' opposition to the religious establishment of his day and time. The Lord is accusing the religious crowd of having selective vision, seeing things they wanted to see while disregarding everything else. Jesus and the message he was preaching did not fit the scribes' and teachers' paradigm because they did not believe he was the fulfillment of the Law of Moses as Jesus had plainly told them (see Luke chapter 4, verses 17-21). Their refusal to believe ultimately resulted in their condemnation when their lives here on earth were over. You can be sure the same fate awaits any person who does not believe Jesus is the Savior of the world. There will be no exceptions.


You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don't know how to interpret this present time? Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right?” Here again Jesus is accusing the Pharisees and others in the crowd who did not believe of not being able to see what was right in front of them – the Messiah, the Anointed One of God, Jesus who is the Christ. 'Here I am plain as day', Jesus was telling them, 'and you still don't believe'. “As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be reconciled with him on the way, or he may drag you off to the judge, and the judge will turn you over to the officer, and the officer will throw you into prison. I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.” Get yourselves right with God! That's what Jesus meant by these last words. Get yourselves reconciled with God, otherwise you may find yourselves rejected by him when you were expecting an embrace! Settle accounts with your accusers before you go. Otherwise their complaints against you, whether you think they are justified or not, will result in a ruling against you when your time comes to stand before the throne of God for judgment (see Revelation 20, verses 11-15). And if that happens to anyone, that person may find themselves condemned along with all the unbelievers and the demons of Satan. So be at peace with everyone to the greatest extent that is possible, and God will be at peace with you too!