Today- tonight, I would submit, we are called to see the world through God’s eyes. A world in need of healing, in need of love and care. A world that needs reminding that power is not the greatest good.

All the gospel stories of the birth of Jesus are meant as a contrast.

Jesus wasn’t born in a palace.
He was born in a barn, and those of us from Montana know what the characteristics of a barn are. It’s messy, it’s smelly, it’s full of equally smelly occupants and hay and straw, and sometimes wool bags and sheep and chickens and cats. Well at least we had cats in our barn when I was a kid.
Not very glamorous. There was no gold ornamenting the walls. There were no specialists, doctors or nurses to assist. There were no special privileges. Just the warmth of mom and dad and the animals in a very humble place.

In a time when we are seeing the crumbling of human decency and concern for others made in the Image and likeness of God, the nativity of Jesus is a great example of the opposite. Humility not ostentation, kindness not cruelty, generosity not creating and hoarding wealth.

This is the message of Christmas. And although a lot of so-called Christians want to make this about power and to force people to struggle and want to facilitate the oppression of others, try as they might- that is not the message of Christmas.

Christmas will always be about love and joy and peace and equality and inclusion. Because every human being on this planet is equal in the sight of God. Immigrants are not less than.LGBTQ + people, especially transgender people, intersex people those with birth defects, or learning disabilities are not less than. Those with different color skins, different faces, different creeds, different beliefs, are not less than. People who disagree with us are not less than.

All are looked upon by God as people worthy of love and compassion. God says all humans are more than anyone’s feeble and shallow judgment.

And when anybody says that they are not equal, that is antichrist.

So beware.

If you are encouraged to hate, or asked to approve imprisoning people because of who they are not what they have done, that is antichrist.

Please don’t give in. Our faith tells us that every human soul is precious in God‘s eyes.
And it is only God that will judge. Our job as faithful Christians is to err on the side of love. It is not to round up other human beings and oppress them. It is to give them the dignity of their humanity. That’s what Jesus lived and died for and if you wanna fight with me about that, I’ll be here after church.

Marcus Borg says “Luke affirms that Jesus, not Caesar, is the good news, the true savior and Son of God who brings peace. The theme of two lordships is powerful and central to the biblical tradition as a whole. Explicitly, the birth stories affirm that Jesus is the true lord. Implicitly, they leave us with a question: where are you going to see your lord? In the power and wealth of Herod and Caesar, of kingship and empire? Or in this Galilean Jewish peasant who saw things very differently? Where are you going to see the decisive manifestation of God?”

Justice is what God‘s love looks like walking through the world.

The birth of Jesus is the birth of the equality of all human beings. It is what justice looks like walking through the world.
And no one is to be left behind.

But there are so many people left behind, and I think it’s our job to find them and make sure they’re not.

Following Christ means taking the hard way, but it’s not joyless.

“Love your neighbor as yourself, one has no greater love than to lay down their life for their friends, love one another is I have loved you. Turn the other cheek.”

It comes down to that word love, and we throw it around all the time, but loving ice cream is not the same as loving someone that annoys us. Loving the person that annoys us is more important.

But hey, let’s get back on the Christmas train, because it’s all about feeling good and warmth and decorations and food and presents and making sure our egos are satisfied.

Except that it isn’t. Never was.

I just don’t want Christmas to lose humility and kindness, and service and justice and liberation.

Christmas is Christ’s mass. Christmas is God among us.
Christmas is God saves us. Christmas is the birth of God’s word to love without prejudice. Christmas is God telling us to not be a jerk.
Christmas is God asking us to be understanding instead of judgmental.

Christmas is reminding us that we are never less than. We are so much more than.

And so is everyone else.

We’re more than we can imagine and so is every other person we encounter.
Because God sees something that our eyes will never really see. God sees the soul.

And I think that the important part of Christianity is to try and see with the eyes of God, not through the eyes of a very limited human perspective.

That’s the gift of Christmas, to try to see with the eyes of God, not our own.

I wish you all a very blessed Christmas.

Jesus talks about marriage today, but he’s really talking about how we try to wrangle the scriptures to make it fit our own needs, viewpoints and prejudices.

Do we really care who’s wife that woman is? It’s just a way for the Sadducees way to wrangle.

The Sadducees weren’t curious, they were cruelly trying to trap him with the law- although it wasn’t really the law, it was a cruel twisting of the law. They didn’t even believe in the resurrection of the dead. They were mocking him. They denied the resurrection of the dead, the existence of spirits, and the obligation of oral tradition, promoting the written Law alone. They were Fundamentalists.  Torah only. And they didn’t last.

This question was designed to make Jesus seem stupid.

It was self-serving- and cruel.

And what did Jesus do? He made the question irrelevant. 

He said that the answer to that question is none of our business. It is God’s business- and you’re stepping in it.

As a reminder, Christians aren’t called to hate. We Christians are called to love.

Hate is a strong word and I really do not like to use it in my personal vocabulary- unless it’s about food. 

Particularly barbecue sauce, melon and bad pizza….

Hate is one of those words that is inexorably linked to the complete and utter dissolution of relationships.

Hate says “something or someone should not exist”. 

And I would add even despite the factual evidence of reality- that’s what we in psychology call delusion.

Hate isn’t something every Christian should aspire to.

But I find an exception here. So just stay with me for a minute. If you were listening to my sermon two weeks ago I said that Christians are only allowed to hate one thing : Cruelty. Some have asked me to elaborate. Here goes.

I hate cruelty.

I think Jesus hates cruelty.

I think cruelty exist in so many forms around us, and we may not really understand or acknowledge what that is.

For the Sadducees today, cruelty is trying to trick someone into proving their own biased opinion. 

Cruelty is not allowing a human being the dignity of their humanity.

Cruelty is fighting to get my way in order to get inconvenient people out of my way. In other words, using power to hurt, harm, stifle and even kill.

Cruelty is refusing to feed the hungry.

Cruelty is refusing to help those without homes, medical care, stability, childcare….even though we have the means and resources to do so. 

Cruelty is keeping wages so low that people can’t afford  the necessities of their family- even after working 60-80 hours a week.

Cruelty is about diminishing people and populations that we don’t like or agree with.

Cruelty is about reporting people to immigration for no loving reason. Just to have power over a person with less power to make themselves feel good. 

Cruelty is about debating another human being’s right to exist- who we believe are created in the image and likeness of God.

But there are less obvious signs of cruelty that we’ve normalized:

Cruelty is making fun of someone.

Cruelty is allowing other people to do so.

What else?

Cutting in line?

Flipping the bird in traffic?

Pursuing vengeful behavior to hurt someone the way they hurt you?

Cursing someone?

Wishing bad things on someone?

Lying?

Cheating?

Disobeying the rules to feel better about ourselves- not because the rules are unjust?

I want to be clear that I’m not trying to shame anyone, I just want to expand our consciousness a bit.

And like everyone else, I’ve done things that are not in line with my ideal moral framework. Within the moral framework of Jesus.

And he knew that.

As Christians, we struggle to be better every day. 

That’s why forgiveness is a key component of the Kingdom of God, Jesus talked about it all the time.

We say we’re sorry, and hopefully mean it, and try to amend our lives. We do it here every Sunday. And I don’t know about you, but I need to do it with my loved ones, my family, my community as often as possible. How many times have you said “I’m sorry” in the last few days? If your Canadian, it might be in the hundreds… But seriously.

No matter what we’ve done, if we sincerely repent; we’re trying to follow Jesus.

And God forgives us.

Every single time.

We live in a cruel time.

We live in a time where Christian people feel that hurting other people is OK- and even brag about it. It’s misguided and makes me sick to my stomach.

It is not OK. And it is in fact antichrist. We are to take care of those who are marginalized, without homes, without food, without families, without people to care for them, and there is really no exception to that if you believe in the good news of Jesus, the Christ.

I am angry that our country is moving toward a place of indifference. I’m angry that people are moving to a place of indifference. I am angry that people with less have to fill in the service gaps formerly filled by all of us. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to give, but I give my taxes to help those who need help- and I still can’t help but think of all the people with way more resources than I have- the people who could give and don’t- they just have disgusting parties, buy yachts they use once a year, build rockets and have millions of dollars weddings instead.

There is a certain amount of selfishness that is gripping this country- and the world. And all I can do is say what Jesus said, which is basically “This world is not the Kingdom of God, and the shortsightedness of cruel people will always be there but you can’t take it with you. Their power will disappear“- and yet they cling to the cross around their necks to excuse them.

So what are we doing today? What are we doing to help those people who are less fortunate less healthy, less able, and less attractive and less palatable than we are?

That’s the test.

A tenet of AA that I greatly admire is “to help the still suffering alcoholic”. 

We are to help those suffering if we can.

And believe me, everyone in this room is suffering in some way.

Mother Theresa once said that every suffering human being is just Jesus in a distressing disguise.

We need to find Jesus in those distressing disguises.

The writer Anne Lamott once spoke to writers about people who complained to her about her depiction of them in her life- “You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better.”

When people tell their stories, what character will we play? Should we have behaved better?

So our question today is… maybe two questions, maybe three.

The only real questions for a Christian: Am I trying to be better?Am I trying to show God and Jesus to the world by my behavior, beliefs, and thoughts? Do I really believe in trust in the mercy and forgiveness of God?

And the only answer is “I will try with God’s help”.

The 13th chapter of Luke’s Gospel includes two texts offered for today’s Gospel: the account of The Bent Over Woman and at the close of the chapter- which we do not hear today- the dialog where Jesus engages the question of the number to be saved.

“Strive to enter by the narrow door.” Binding these are images of the Kingdom of heaven used prior in the 13th chapter of Luke: the tiny mustard seed which grew to a tree and yeast that a woman takes to leaven large measures of flour. Whether or not the Gospel writer put these texts in sequence, they offer us examples of the ways the witness of Jesus’ interactions long ago reinvigorate the Gospel message and the church’s mission today.

In the story of The Bent Over Woman, Jesus lays hands on a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for 18 years. In response she stands up straight and begins praising God.

Imagine for a moment, yourself as a person bent and crippled. You may have seen such people on the street- often women.

Imagine what it might be like to have suddenly whatever infirmity is bearing down upon you lifted!

You hopefully would raise your arms as you give praise for this renewal of life.

I suspect that Luke himself might be somewhat confused at the use of this image as a priestly image. But priests raise their arms through the worship service- especially during the Eucharistic prayer and The Lord’s Prayer- and so can the congregation.

\ Exegetical work on the word “âspiritâ” in the text would suggest that the ‘crippling spirit,’ though couched in the language of demonology, really meant, in those days, some sort of physical, perhaps arthritic infirmity of which the woman was healed. Today, in such a situation we might take ourselves to the hospital for back surgery and that would be that; we might still be joyful and feel the occasion of our healing worthy of praising God, but the occasion would not be so full of meaning or metaphor as the incident described in Luke.

Yet, the image of the church, or our communities, or our families being bent over by a crippling spirit offers us the opportunity to examine our own situation. What are the ways in which Jesus’ healing hands and words might call us to stand up straight and glorify God? What are the tools we might use to ask for God’s healing grace in each of them? What is the vision of the Gospel toward which we strive?

On July 29, 1974, as the hands of Jesus, represented by three Bishops, were laid on the heads of 11 women, the church itself was healed of a crippling disability. The healing did not ensure that the suffering was over, either for those who rejoiced and those who did not. But at least a crippling spirit no longer hindered the healing. Suffering and joy continued to live side by side. But the door was open for new life and renewal of a church where all might be included. Priesthood was less exclusive.

Over and over again, the Gospel message opens us to wider vision of inclusivity. And to the naysayers God has a response. Not only a response, but an example.

In this reading, I see Jesus teaching against cruelty.

When the leader of the synagogue protests this healing, Jesus says, basically, that it would be cruel to deny anyone God’s mercy and healing, confining it to certain days of the week. It would be cruel to allow suffering in any form when it could be addressed and healed. In this case, the Law had constricted God’s love and grace and mercy- and God will not be confined!

Here’s an easy way to tell if something is Christian or not: if it’s cruel, it absolutely is not!

Cruelty is Antichrist. The approval of cruelty is Antichrist. The allowing of cruelty is Antichrist.

Absolutely.

Take for example, the words of Jesus further in the chapter as he traveled through towns and villages.

“Strive to Enter by the narrow door,” replied Jesus to the one who asked him just how many will be saved. Such language recalls images of exclusion- the road is narrow and the way is long. Only the strong survive. The implication is that only a few are able to get through the narrow door. But Jesus then continues: “From North and South and East and West, people will come and take their places at the banquet in the kingdom of God”- not necessarily those who have the right credentials or blood lines or those who strive to be first. Everyone is invited but you have to walk through the narrow way, the narrow door.

The narrow door is often taken to mean something quite different from what it meant in Jesus’ time. We often think of the door as open only to the really good people or the really pious or smart people or the ones who knew the “right people”. The narrow door, in our modern way of looking at things, was the one that looked pretty much like the front door of any modern day house, the door we lock carefully at night and which seals us safely in. That was not the door Jesus was speaking of at all. The narrow door in Jesus’ day was something else entirely. It was, in fact, the open door.

In those days there was the daytime door and the nighttime door. The daytime doors were really the gates of the city. Any of you who have traveled to Jerusalem or any number of other cities with medieval origins has seen the great big city gates. Every morning they were opened to let the vegetable and market carts in- or to let the cavalry out or in. They are giant doors that allowed the comings and going of animals and vehicles and armies, folks with lots to carry. At night, though, the wide doors were closed and the entryway to the city was through the narrow door through which you could only enter on foot-with very little baggage.

When Jesus says strive to enter through the narrow door, the message is not that people can’t enter, it’s that you can’t take a lot of baggage if you want to enter. Two feet wide- take what’s important.

Christian life very often is about letting go of some of the baggage we think is essential to our lives. In order to enter the world to which Jesus calls us, we have to shed much of that we think keeps us safe. We step through the narrow welcoming door, often having to bend low to come into the authentic realm to which Jesus invites us. It is that place where who we know, who we have been, who our ancestors were, what our education has been, or what possessions we have do not matter.

What matters is love, generosity, humility and a desire to serve- not cruelty. It seems that today so called “Christians” reject kindness in in favor of cruelty. And that’s messed up. Rejoicing in the pain of others created in the image and likeness of God is Antichrist.

And what we are given in exchange for following Jesus is the healing hand that allows us to throw off whatever is burdening us, in body, mind, and spirit, and to stand up and lift our arms in joyous praise to God.

Leave here with the Eucharist inside you and be kind.

The kindness of Jesus is inside you.

Go.

I do it because I need to give something even if it’s not much.

I put the pennies and the nickels and dimes in another jar. Later, I can turn them into quarters.

There’s something about a quarter that feels so solid, so rich and so big and yet so small- and lately not enough- but I will continue to give them.

I have quarters ready by my left hand to offer to anyone who needs them. I have quarters near my right hand as I look with curiosity to someone who might be too proud to ask.

I have people tell me “don’t give money to those people, they’ll just buy alcohol or drugs, or things that aren’t good for them.”

I don’t care. That’s not the point.

They’re doing the best they can.

And human kindness might bring them beyond the helplessness that they feel. And my quarters will hopefully give them hope.

So I give out quarters. Sometimes several sometimes just one or two, but it feeds my soul. It connects me with everyone I see and give.

I don’t care what they do with it because it does for me 100 times more than it does for them.

I carry them in my pants pockets, I carry them in my jacket pockets, I carry them in my car and I try to carry them wherever I go.

You never know when someone needs a quarter.

It may seem like nothing, but for some people it’s everything.

Giving feeds the soul.

It’s fed my soul greatly.

That’s love..

Grab some quarters.

I used to teach about the book of Revelation when I was a college professor, and it cannot be stressed enough that this book was specifically written for a community under persecution by the Roman Empire. It may have consequences because people’s motives and desires rarely change- especially when they feel powerless.

Sigh.

But it’s really important to remember that the triumphant- the hero of the book is the lamb- the most meek and powerless of all the figures mentioned in the book- and also let’s not forget the tree of life- which is available for everyone who seeks the God of justice and love.

We associate the lamb with Jesus. We don’t associate Jesus with power, cruelty, injustice and violence. He is the lamb.

Not the lion.

He chose the power of love over the love of power.

How clear can this be?

Jesus for us is the prince of peace for a reason.
He’s not an AK-47 brandishing partisan advocating cruelty and starvation, disease and murder. I can find no justification for that in the gospel.

And I fear that some “Christians” believe that he is that exactly.

As biblical Christians, our job is to serve those in pain, to serve those in need, to deny ourselves and follow in the path of the one who offered his life for the salvation of the world. 

We are mandated to give to our less fortunate human beings.

If we can, we are to help.

And if we cannot physically help, we must pray and advocate for those in pain- those who suffer.

The Jesus I know, and love would never deny hungry people food. And this seems to be when we’ve lost our way. If Christian nationalists want to be “Christian” this is not the way to go.

“For God so loved the WORLD , that he sent his only begotten son….”

Lord, have mercy upon this nation that arrogantly believes it is loved more than any other.

Or maybe not mercy.

Maybe we deserve to be punished for heresy. It is not up to me to say….

But the vision of the Kingdom of God is not that of violence, oppression, pain, ignorance, arrogance and horror.

It is the exact opposite.

Just thought thoughts from a priest.… 

Antichrist

Antichrist will be heartless.
They will be after only power.
The Beatitudes will be trampled.
Christians who love the example of Jesus must always pay attention to the poor and the promulgation of mercy, of compassion- not the heartless dismissal of human beings that seems all too common today.
If Jesus had any message, it was compassion and it was sensitivity to those at the bottom of the social ladder and those in pain. Antichrist doesn’t care about any of those things. And I’m afraid that we’re going to see more and more of that moving forward.

Antichrist will be heartless.
They will be after only power.
The Beatitudes will be trampled.
Christians who love the example of Jesus must always pay attention to the poor and the promulgation of mercy, of compassion- not the heartless dismissal of human beings that seems all too common today.
If Jesus had any message, it was compassion and it was sensitivity to those at the bottom of the social ladder and those in pain. Antichrist doesn’t care about any of those things. And I’m afraid that we’re going to see more and more of that moving forward.

Forward

I sit with kids and adults in despair because the future terrifies them.
All I can say are platitudes- that we must pay attention and do what we can to move forward- that everything will be all right.
But will it?

And what is forward?
What is all right?
Is it advancement?
Is it simply moving into the minute beyond this one moment?
Is it moving beyond the political reality of this one?
Is it beyond the injustice, the war, the hate, the intolerance of this one?
Is it fear for my life because I am different?
Is it hiding my face for fear of being shot?
Is it moving into the basements and the attics because those are the “safe” places?
Is it cutting out my tongue, silencing my voice,
Lobotomizing my brain just to stay alive?
Is it handicapping life?
Is it?

Forward seems to be the promise of freedom.
That nebulous thing that we’ve all been programmed to worship.
For everybody- even those we hate- and who hate us.
Freedom is the belief in hope- that there is more than hate and despair.
Freedom believes in the song of each soul.
And that it is not unheard.
And seriously, no soul wants to be imprisoned.
Freedom needs the brave,
Has needed the brave.
The gun can’t kill me,
The beating can’t diminish my message.
I am created in the image and likeness of God- and I will not be disregarded.
But is it?
Is that freedom?
Is there existence without anxiety?
Seriously.
And I sigh.

I wish this was more poetic, but poetry won’t save lives the way I want it to.
And neither will tears.
Only standing up- boots on the ground, songs on our lips, conviction in our hearts and an angry ,sad, powerful community that sustains us.
It might just save us.
And that “might” is the only thing we long for.

Gianforte’s fundamentalism and his anti-federalism government. The crazy fundamentalism. The ass-backward denial of science and philosophy and theology and sociology and just basic facts.
Here we are.
They are in charge now .
In charge of the facts that are passed on to our children.
But they aren’t passing on facts.

I’m angry.
I grew up in Montana in the public school system in the 70’s and I and my classmates (who differ in my political preferences) were just fine.
We were neighbors.
We might not have seen the world the same way, but when somebody’s barn caught fire, we didn’t ask their political affiliation. We helped put it out.
Today, 50 years later, I see that people are asking to see people’s credentials before they help.
That disgusts me.
As a priest, a minister, I find that reprehensible for those who proclaim themselves Christian.
Because it is not Christian.
Not in the least.
If your worst enemy is in trouble a Christian helps them out.
If someone who hates you is in need, you do what you can.
If children are hungry, you feed them.
If people are homeless you shelter them.
If people are cold, you clothe them.
If people disagree with you, you love them.

The thought that “they should provide for themselves” enters your mind, that is that is not Christian- that is ignoring a way for you to be Christ.
Do all the good you can, for as many you can, as long as you can.
And if you have anything that can be helpful- give what you can.

In short, Christianity is about the other- the primacy of the other.
Anything else is narcissism hidden in a religious framework.