True teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross; then, having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create their own.”
Nikos Kazantzakis
Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the
works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these,
because I am going to the Father
Jesus,
Upper Room Discourses
Many people think of Jesus as our Savior, as the one who
will get us into heaven. So the question often is “Have I accepted Jesus as my
Savior?” But we never ask the question “Have I accepted Jesus as my teacher?”
Dallas Willard,
____________________________________________
during Advent we celebrate the coming of the Messiah
the one, or so his mother tells us
topples kings and kingdoms
lifts up the humble
who scatters the proud
and fills the hungry with good things, plucked from the
bones of the rich
(OMG! Socialism!)
so why is it that so much of “Christianity”
for so much of its tainted existence
has protected kings and kingdoms
devalued the humble
worshiped the proud
and ignored the poor?
it is a strange thing
how we focus on Jesus’s coming and going
but seem to forget
most everything in between
we love the story of Jesus’s arrival
the baby in a manger (which should teach us something)
the humble parents
and lowly shepherds
we linger on the cross,
and the empty tomb,
and the resurrection story
and make it all somehow a story of retribution
and rescue from the hands of an angry God
but we seem to miss the point of both
the beginning and the end
of the Advent of Jesus
because we ignore his teachings
ah!
those teachings
the radicality of the Gospel is astounding
give to receive
give up power to find true power
love and pray for your enemies
sell all you have and give to the poor
turn the other cheek
enter into the pain of the world
be the servant of all
die to live
if I am honest, I shy away from the radicality of Love
(God)
and slip (as John Dominic Crossan puts it, back into the
normalcy of the world
as quickly as I can
sure, I give a few gifts on giving Tuesday
but am I sacrificial in my giving?
rarely!
how do I feel about my enemies?
let’s not talk about that!
it is hard isn’t it,
to follow the teachings of Jesus?
which is perhaps why Chesterton famously said;
“The problem with Christianity is not that it has been
tried and found wanting,
but that it has been found difficult and left
untried.”
this Advent season
as we wander through the darkness toward the dawning
light
of Christmas
may we remember that Jesus came to teach us
another way of doing life
and not just teach us,
but also empower us!
to do greater works of love
than we ever thought possible
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