The Camel and the Needle

Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." —Matthew 19:21-24

This seems fairly straightforward to me. It's not the only time Jesus suggested giving away money was a godly thing to do, of course, but this passage seems to sum it up nicely. The message I take from this is that concentrating on keeping wealth—caring about doing so—is detrimental to your relationship with God. Note I say "detrimental", not "an absolute bar", yet either way, I'm not sure I understand why so many Christians seem to be amongst the most greedy wealth-seekers, and I definitely don't understand prosperity preachers.

Easter

If Jesus were alive today and preaching the message he preaches in the Gospels, he would be crucified.

It wouldn't be literal. We don't do that anymore, at least in our society. But the word has become metaphorical for harsh, often angry criticism. And in the U.S., people who ask for charity and love for one's fellow man generally find opponents in plenty who will attempt to verbally crucify them.

But no matter how harshly such messages are criticized, people continue to try. In the face of such metaphorical crucifixion, knowing that criticism and anger and even violence may come their way, people still spread this message: to love their neighbors, no matter how different, and to help those in need. Like Jesus, who knew that sooner or later his words would lead to his death, these people do not let the knowledge of their opponents' likely reactions stop them. The message is too important to them.

These people are not all Christians. Some are, but others are Jews or atheists or Muslims or agnostic or pagans or Buddhists. And some of their most strident opponents do claim to be Christian. Many who do not believe in Christ have much more in common with him than those who do. And I believe it is not which beliefs they hold but what they do from those beliefs that matters most.

This Easter, I celebrate not only Jesus's resurrection, but also the continuing efforts of those who act in a way he would surely approve of, no matter what the reasons are that those things are done.

Keep the Sabbath Holy

So, apparently, certain right-wing television and radio pundits are really, really upset that the healthcare reform bill vote is going to be on a Sunday, because it's an affront to God to work on the Sabbath.

Strangely, I'm of the opinion that doing something one believes will help the sick is not only God's work (and therefore holy) but also something Jesus would explicitly approve of doing on the Sabbath. I wonder where I got that idea?

Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Stand up in front of everyone."

Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained silent. —Mark 3: 1-4

Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"

He said to them, "If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." —Matthew 12:9-12

Dear... Too Many People

Are you a Christian? In the U.S.?

Have you opposed health care reform? Said we shouldn't take in Haitian refugees? Said that people should stop throwing money at Haiti? Opposed proposed extra funding for food stamps?

If you answered "yes" to the first two questions, and any of the remaining ones, I'd like you to do me a favor. Go get your Bible. Open it up to Matthew 25. Start reading at verse 31, and finish up the chapter.

I'm not going to say anything else. I think that really about covers it.

Sunday Thoughts

There's something about this country I don't understand.

See, Christians are a majority here. Maybe not everyone who classifies themselves as Christian is particularly active in their faith, but they were raised with Christian beliefs and still consider themselves such.

So why are so many Americans against programs to help the poor? Whether it's direct as welfare or a national health insurance of some sort, or as indirect as better education, people seem unwilling to pay for government programs, or volunteer time or money or goods to private programs. And some people are pretty heated about their opposition to the former.

I don't understand how anyone can reconcile that unwillingness with what Jesus taught. I don't think I need to pull out Bible verses for this; anyone with even a cursory knowledge of the Gospels should know that Jesus was pretty explicit that helping the sick and the poor was the right thing to do, and that giving up one's own wealth for that purpose was the best thing to do.

I find it difficult to understand why anyone who calls themselves a Christian would have any trouble giving to a cause that helps the poor. Churches which run food pantries or other helpful programs are struggling to meet demand, so it's not even happening there. And when it comes to government programs and any hint of suggestions of tax raises, it's met with anger and refusal. Is that really the Christian response?

Sunday Thoughts

We just got back from an early-morning drive through the city and I was thinking of writing something about that, about beautiful sunrises and birds singing at dawn, but I don't know if I have the right words to explain why that and the otherwise silent city means so much to me. I've said in the past to people that sunsets and kittens are two good reasons to believe in a loving God and love creation, and you can put sunrises and joyful bird wakings on that list, too, but it's more a personal thing than something I expect anyone to really share. Still, I can say there's something beautiful and even awe-inspiring in getting to see those things in the middle of a large city before most people have stirred from their homes. A moment where you can glimpse a peaceful creation is something wonderful.

And that might be enough for today, but I thought I'd grab a random Bible verse to see if it inspired me to write something more anyhow.

The Bible verse I got led me to Chapter 12 of Romans, and it does touch upon something I've been thinking about, so I think it's probably a good idea for me to try to explore what it means for me.