Changing Sides
\nWednesday, July 4, 2018
\nU.S. Independence Day<\/p>\n
God chose things the world considers foolish to shame those who think they are wise. And God chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. \u20141 Corinthians 1:27<\/p>\n
You have heard that it was said, \u201cYou shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.\u201d But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun to rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. \u2014Matthew 5:43-45<\/p>\n
Christianity is a bit embarrassed by the powerless one, Jesus. We\u2019ve made his obvious defeat into a glorious victory. Let\u2019s face it, we feel more comfortable with power than with powerlessness and poverty. Who wants to be like Jesus on the cross? It just doesn\u2019t look like a way of influence, a way of access, a way that\u2019s going to make any difference in the world.<\/p>\n
We worship this naked, homeless, bleeding loser, crucified outside the walls of Jerusalem, but we want to be winners . . . at least until we learn to love the so-called little, poor people\u2014and then we often see they are not little at all, but better images of the soul. Yes, those with mental and physical disabilities, minority groups, LGBTQIA folks, refugees, prisoners, those with addictions, those without financial wealth\u2014all who have \u201cfailed\u201d in our social or economic success system\u2014can be our best teachers in the ways of the Gospel. They represent what we are most afraid of and what we most deny within ourselves. That\u2019s why we must learn to love what first seems like our \u201cenemy.\u201d<\/p>\n
If we look at all the wars of history, we\u2019ll see that God has unwittingly been enlisted on both sides of the fight. It\u2019s easy to wonder what God does when both sides are praying for God\u2019s protection. Trusting Jesus as the archetypal pattern of God\u2019s presence and participation on Earth, I believe God is found wherever the suffering is. I believe this because that is precisely where Jesus goes. He makes heroes of the outsiders and underdogs in almost all his parables and stories. To miss that point is culpable and chosen ignorance. The awakened and aware ones\u2014like Jesus and Francis of Assisi\u2014go where people are suffering, excluded, expelled, marginalized, and abused. And there they find God.<\/p>\n
Imagine, brothers and sisters, how different Western history and religion could have been if we had walked as tenderly and lovingly upon the earth as Francis and Jesus did. Imagine what the world would be like if we treated others with inherent and equal dignity and respect, seeing the divine DNA in ourselves and everyone else too\u2014regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, appearance, or social class. Nothing less offers the world any lasting future. We must be honest about that\u2014and rather quickly, I think.<\/p>\n
——————-<\/p>\n
JULY 4 WHEN YOU WORSHIP ME in spirit and truth, you join with choirs of angels who are continually before My throne. Though you cannot hear their voices, your praise and thanksgiving are distinctly audible in heaven. Your petitions are also heard, but it is your gratitude that clears the way to My Heart. With the way between us wide open, My blessings fall upon you in rich abundance. The greatest blessing is nearness to Me\u2014abundant Joy and Peace in My Presence. Practice praising and thanking Me continually throughout this day. <\/p>\n
\u201cYet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.\u201d \u2014JOHN 4:23\u201324 <\/p>\n
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. \u2014COLOSSIANS 3:16 <\/p>\n
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. \u2014PSALM 100:4<\/p>\n
Young, Sarah. Jesus Calling – Deluxe Edition Pink Cover: Enjoying Peace in His Presence (Jesus Calling\u00ae) (p. 195). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. <\/p>\n
Young, Sarah. Jesus Calling <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Changing Sides Wednesday, July 4, 2018 U.S. Independence Day God chose things the world considers foolish to shame those who think they are wise. And God chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. \u20141 Corinthians 1:27 You have heard that it was said, \u201cYou shall love your neighbor and hate your […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16975"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16975"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16975\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16976,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16975\/revisions\/16976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}