Dear Sisters and Brothers,
I have friends, and perhaps you do too, who absolutely refuse to have anything to do with organized religion. Sometimes I think these people may be right.
Too often, we have justified and committed terrible acts by invoking God, Allah, Jesus, or simply identity with one belief system or another. We have also allowed our religious traditions and belief identities to justify marginalization and ostracism of those with whom we differ or disagree. Examples from history are numerous and heart-breaking.
Today, we see Shiites and Sunnis killing each other in Iraq. These are both Muslim groups. In part, the Darfur genocide and the Sudan civil war have been justified and escalated as Christians versus Muslims. India has just experienced a horrific train bombing motivated by politics driven by religious differences. Israel is destroying Lebanon in part to preserve its own survival as a Jewish state, while its enemies in Hezbollah and Hamas claim to be acting in the name of God.
In this country, our leaders frequently refer to the United States as a “Christian nation”. This despitethe fact that they often act in ways completely contrary to the teachings of Jesus, such as through war-making on flimsy excuses, lack of concern for our needy neighbors in this country and abroad, and attempted suppression of dissent and thoughtful discussion of governmental policies.
So, is religion the root or at least the justifier of evil? Is Christianity a joke? Are we in New Creation Church wasting our time? What’s the point of coming together, and in inviting others to join us? And who shall we invite?
We must remember that, while the powers that be often find religion to be a convenient wedge with which to divide people, the basis of nearly every religion is love. At New Creation, we are most familiar with that love as expressed in Jesus Christ. I do not know if I can accept that God chose us to be Christians before the world was born, but I do know that God created the world in love, and it is in love that God interacts with the world and its inhabitants…all of them, which would include all living creatures and the environment in which we live.
It was in love that Jesus walked the earth, and that love ultimately claimed his life. Jesus valued love over self-preservation and was rewarded with resurrection. Jesus welcomed the outsider, the marginalized, the sinner and the skeptic and became the savior. God brought redemption to the world through Jesus and expects us to share in that redemption…not just to enjoy redemption but to live it in the most practical means possible.
Everything that we do in order to share this message is valuable. Every time we act in a way which rejects the violence of this world and its myriad common sense justifications is a mark of following Jesus. Anything we do to share love and concern for one another and moreover, with those not within our group. is a sign of God’s kingdom breaking out. Many of actions will be small and we may not see the outcome. Therein lies the hope, that God loves us still and will help those little seeds we plant or water or even get to harvest.
Let’s continue to practice inefficient and abundant love. Let’s strive to be creative in our response to the suffering of this world. Let’s hang on to hope, and let’s keep the faith. May all of us be blessed on this journey of continuous discovery.
Amen.
Our Latest Updates on