Long time..

Family,

First of all, let me apologize for not blogging in about a month. Going back to seminary, to finish my M.A. degree, has taken more out of me than i had expected. But now that i am getting a grasp on what my schedule will be like, expect to hear more from me, again. And since i have plenty of writing to do, for class, i will make sure the blogs are short and sweet. Well at least sweet.

In case some of you aren't aware of where we are going, for Lent, this blog will help keep you, all of us, on track. When i reflect on society and listen to the laments of those who refuse to come to church or feel alienated from the church, there seems to be one linear thread in most of their reasons for not attending church. Christians aren't very Christ like. In many people's eyes, there seems to be a disconnect when it comes to being a Christian, little Christ, and being like Jesus. This distance between right thinking and right action causes many to say no to entering the doors of any church. My hope, for us, during Lent, is that we can attach ourselves to what it means to be "authentic" Christians. I want us, once again, to rediscover what it means to be Christ-like. With that as my impetus, i created a serious titled: C.H.U.R.C.H.: A journey for the people of Jesus to become like Jesus and the church.

Last Sunday are focus was on being Christlike. Meaning, what matters to Jesus had matter to us. The marginalized. The sick. The oppressed. The blind. The lame. The sinner. The forgotten. The prisoner. Think of the person(s) in our communities that are often overlooked, ignored, or abused, and guess where you will find Jesus. And, from my reading, it was not so that Jesus could give them orthodoxy, but so that these people will know that the Kingdom of God has moved close to them, and so that they will know they are loved. If this is how Jesus approached the overlooked in our world, why aren't we?

This week, our second Sunday in Lent, finds us traversing the feeding of the five thousand miracle found in Mark. Without delving, too deep, into the sheer audacity of Jesus to feed five thousand men, (women and children were there but not counted), i want us to ask why. Why did Jesus feed them? Why didn't Jesus just send them away? And can we glean anything from Jesus instructions, to his disciples, on how we are to treat those who come into our midst?

Well? What do you think?

For me, and this is where i will keep it short, Jesus fed them because they trusted Him to take care of them. Like the hospitality praxis of Palestinian/Jewish culture, Jesus knew they were in His care, so He fed them. He cared for them. He made them safe. If Jesus did this, without requiring anything of the thousands, why aren't we? Is is right to require people to earn their keep? If we say yes to this, how is it biblical? If we claim Scripture to have authority, why do we insist people earn their way? Why do we keep chains on our love and our ministry? Did Jesus hold back? In order to know what it means to be authentic Christ followers, we have to find a way to answer these questions, through the lens of our faith. When we do, we will be on our way to being real, and being real is all people expect from us. Amen.

Shalom, Salaam, Peace,
jerry