When
down-and-outers get a break, cheer! And when the arrogant rich are
brought down to size, cheer! Prosperity is as short-lived as a
wildflower, so don’t ever count on it. You know that as soon as the sun
rises, pouring down its scorching heat, the flower withers. Its petals
wilt and, before you know it, that beautiful face is a barren stem.
Well, that’s a picture of the “prosperous life.” At the very moment
everyone is looking on in admiration, it fades away to nothing.
Anyone who sets
himself up as “religious” by talking a good game is self-deceived. This
kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind
that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the
homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from
the godless world.
Do you
want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here’s what
you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, not
the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn’t wisdom.
Boasting that you are wise isn’t wisdom. Twisting the truth to make
yourselves sound wise isn’t wisdom. It’s the furthest thing from
wisdom—it’s animal cunning, devilish conniving. Whenever you’re trying
to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall
apart and everyone ends up at the others’ throats.
Real
wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by
getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with
mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced.
You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God
and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.
James 1:9-11, 27-28 & 3:13-18 (the Message)
Finally!
I'm finished with the book reviews for 2013... I have to
admit, I'm relieved. I don't have the best follow thru on long projects &
31 days of doing anything repetitive is super challenging for me. Call it lack
of focus or boredom or A.D.D. or whatever.
So on this monumental day, I am sharing one of my favorite
books of all time. It wrecked me really.
The Irresistible Revolution... Living as an ordinary radical
by Shane Claiborne.
'Many of us find ourselves caught somewhere between
unbelieving activists and inactive believers. We can write a check to feed
starving children or hold signs in the streets and feel like we've made a
difference without ever encountering the faces of the suffering masses. In this
book, Shane Claiborne describes an authentic faith rooted in belief, action,
and love, inviting us into a movement of the Spirit that begins inside each of
us and extends into a broken world. Shane's faith led him to dress the wounds
of lepers with Mother Teresa, visit families in Iraq amidst bombings, and dump
$10,000 in coins and bills on Wall Street to redistribute wealth. Shane lives
out this revolution each day in his local neighborhood, an impoverished
community in North Philadelphia, by living among the homeless, helping local
kids with homework, and 'practicing resurrection' in the forgotten places of
our world.'
When our boys, now 23 & 19 were still living at home, I
read most of this book (see follow thru above) out loud to them in the evening
after supper. It prompted something revolutionary in our house. As a family we
took a whole month & focused on 'want vs need'... meaning that we didn't
purchase anything that wasn't a 'need'.
Gone was pizza delivery & coffee out. Gone were the trips
to the mall & to the movies. Gone was the purchase of gummy bears &
shampoo & dry cleaning. To say it wasn't reeeeeeeeeeealy hard would be a
total lie. There was much complaining & wailing & gnashing of teeth.
But near the end of the month something awesome happened. Our
boys both went to a super-size youth event. (Obviously tickets were purchased
BEFORE the month began.) Anyway, they were whisked from their temporarily militant
household to jam with big name bands, listen to big name speakers & get two
whole days & nights of big name stimulation. Here's the awesome part... the theme of the weekend...
Want VS Need. Hahahahaha! You should
have seen the texts coming in from those boys. They were completely
flabbergasted & convinced that their dad & I had somehow contacted the
event coordinators to manipulate their experience. (I can't believe they
thought we were that 'important'.) Anyway, our response to them was,
"Hmmmmmm... Could it by chance be the hands of someone bigger at work?
Um Jesus perhaps?"
Our little experiment did open our eyes to the way we were
living our American Christian lives & began our family’s incredible faith journey
toward compassion & simplicity.
I love this kind of challenge & I don't know about you,
but when I read about people who are really doing something radical for Jesus,
I can't help but pump my fist in the air & holler... WHOOOOHOOOOO!
Here’s what I’m talking about...
"My grandfather used to bale hay, and he was notorious
for buying new tractors and equipment without my grandmother's consent. So this
one summer, he had just gotten a brand-new truck and trailer and wanted to
'break 'em in." So he and my uncle began loading up the hay bales
scattered across the field, stacking them higher and higher, pushing it to the
limit. Finally, they hit the road with the hay, my uncle driving and my
grandfather riding along proudly. What they didn't notice was that one of the
hay bales was rubbing against a tire. Which is pure trouble, thanks to a little
thing called friction.
Before long, the hay bale caught on fire, then another &
another. (It’s hay.) Eventually, the truck looked like a comet headed down the
highway. And they didn’t even notice. They were probably just talking about how
nice the truck ran or jamming to the Chuckwagon Gang. People began to wave hysterically,
and my uncle nodded back. (That’s how we roll in East Tennessee.) But
eventually, he looked into the mirror and saw the flames behind him, and they
quickly pulled over and got out of the truck. This created new problems, since
now the flames that had been behind them raged upward and began to melt the
back of the truck. My uncle noticed that my grandfather had the glove
compartment opened, and he asked what he was doing. My grandfather pointed to
the pile of stuff he’d pulled out and said, “Well, I don’t want this stuff to
burn too.” But my uncle was not so quick to give in. He snapped back, “No, get
back in the truck.” So they did. My uncle hit the pedal and they were on the
highway again, this time with the goal of getting rid of the fire. He began to
swerve so the hale bales fell off behind them. But then the fields began to
catch on fire. Pretty soon fire trucks from all the neighboring counties were
following along behind them, trying to limit the damage, and they finally
managed to extinguish the inferno.
My grandfather told me, after he got out of jail (just
kidding). “Shane, we caught half of East Tennessee on fire.” We laughed and
laughed. And I thought to myself, “That is what the kingdom of God looks like.”
Christians blaze through this dark world and set it on fire with their love. It
is contagious and spreads like wildfire. We are people who shine, who burn up
the darkness of this old world with the light that dwells within us. And
perhaps the world will ask what in the world passed through here.
We are not just called to be candles. Candles make fore nice
Christmas services and for a nice peace vigil (or a pretty Elton John song).
They can remind us that God’s light dwells within us and that we are to shine
that light in this dark world. But we are not just called to be candles. (3) We
are called to be fire. Candles can be snuffed out by the slightest wind or by
the smallest child on their birthday. But it’s harder to put out a fire. WE are
to be fire, to weave our lives together so that the Spirit’s inferno of love
spreads across the earth. “ –Shane Claiborne
3. And when I say fire, I mean the kind of fire that
purifies and cleanses, not the kind of fire that destroys. This is the gentle
fire that the Scriptures speak of, the fire that melts away the impurities of
precious metals. The fire that burns away the chaff and dead branches so that
we may be more fully alive, as people and as a planet. The fire that consumes
bushes and sinners without destroying them.
I know that Shane is radical & his theology is radical. Some
people may not ‘get him’. I also know that Jesus is radical & His theology
radical. People definitely didn’t ‘get’ Him.
I may not be called to sell everything & minister in the
inner city of Philadelphia like Shane but I am called to make a difference in
the little town I live in. I may not ever write books or speak on a big stage
but I can start a fire in my own community. I don’t have to settle for living a
life of a flickering candle. I can be part of the fire that God has called me
to. & so can YOU.
WHOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO! Can I get a fist pump up in here!?!
Oh PS...
Remember this old hippie campfire song?
So much good!
It only takes a spark
To get a fire going
And soon all those around
Can warm up in the glowing
That’s how it is with God’s love
Once you’ve experienced it
You’ll spread His love
To everyone
You’ll want to pass it on
What a wondrous time is spring
When all the trees are budding
The birds begin to sing
The flowers start their blooming
That’s how it is with God’s love
Once you’ve experienced it
You’ll want to sing
It’s fresh like spring
You’ll want to pass it on
I wish for you my friend
This happiness that I’ve found
You can depend on Him
It matters not where you’re bound
I’ll shout it from the mountain top
I want the world to know
The Lord of Love
Has come to me
I want to pass it on
I’ll shout it from the mountain top
I want the world to know
The Lord of Love
Has come to me
I want to pass it on
Kurt Kaiser, Pass it On
