Preaching Two Kinds of Justice - Karl Van Eck in Do Justice!

Defend immigrants and welcome strangers are prominent Biblical calls. Yet, a 2010 Pew Forum survey reports that 88% of white Evangelicals’ views on immigration are primarily influenced by concerns other than Christian faith.

Only 16% of white evangelicals had heard about immigration from their pastor or other clergy. Why do these Biblical themes have just a minor influence on white evangelical views?

During Church Between Borders workshops participants offer a different response. They are astounded by the level of dysfunction in U.S. immigration policy. “No one has ever told me about this,” is a common reflection. Minor debates about how the OT word “immigrant” might apply to current issues dissipate and the Micah 6:8 words, “do justice,” come into focus.

To preach about justice within the context of our broken immigration system requires recognizing two dynamics that bring about justice in the Old Testament. The Hebrew word for justice is mispat--it is about taking action and rendering to others their due. The Hebrew word for righteousness is sedeq. It is an attribute of being pure or right--it often refers to the condition of one’s heart.

First, change only comes for the most vulnerable when people with influence are willing to speak up in the face of the status quo.

Second, invite the congregation to take time to give the facts a chance. The Emergency Immigration Act of 1921 was supposed to be a temporary measure, but it proved to be a permanent turning point. Previous to 1921 5-10,000 immigrants per day passed through Ellis Island. Currently, the quota for low skilled workers is set at 5,000 per year.

Trying to understand every justice issue is a tall order. But when the food we eat and even the grapes for our communion wine come through the hands of immigrants, who were never truly offered a feasible way to enter the U.S. legally, we do well to invite our congregations to listen to facts and their stories.

In Christian Principles for Immigration Reform Michael Gerson suggests three very specific principles for having a right heart. One of the principles says, “Whatever our policy views, the dehumanization of undocumented workers is not an option.”

The full article is available here

Call To Worship: Lives Of Service (based on 2 Corinthians 5:20)

based on Worship Connection
by Nancy C Townley

God, guide our lives in service to your world. Make us ambassadors of hope and promise. God, open our eyes. Help us to see your world as you see it. Open our hearts and our spirits to follow your path. Help us to be people who bring good news to those bound by the chains of injustice.

Come, let us worship God, who sets things right; who makes all things new. Let us praise God with joyful hearts.

Small and Mighty: Hints of The Kingdom - Kayla McClurg in Inward/Outward

God’s reality is like . . . a tiny seed, yeast hidden in flour, treasure buried and found again, a pearl nesting deep within the sea. Barely noticed, yet potent and life-changing.

Each of us has brief encounters, whispers in the night, seeds of ‘something more’ that get beneath our surface and are uncovered again and again. They become an integral part of us yet are never fully comprehended. They call to us, Wake up! God’s kingdom is here. Once we see them, we are never the same again.

One such seed for me was planted by a little girl in Haiti. Despite the concrete harshness of her orphanage home, despite the noise and chaos and the other children’s sicknesses, she was spirited and mischievous. She darted from room to room chasing the other children, tripping them, springing out from around corners, stealing away whatever they might have found, a bit of string, a pebble. She seemed always to be plotting her next point of attack. She tied the 83-year-old volunteer’s shoelaces together and then hid nearby to watch. Greatly perturbed was she that I noticed and rescued the dear lady.

At lunchtime she and the other kids rushed to find places on the floor to get their bowls of mushy beans. It was the only time all day that quiet descended. This was serious business. A couple of minutes later I saw her eyes begin to scan the room and land on a weaker girl whose food was rapidly disappearing. I could tell she was up to something, and I wondered if I should intervene. Sure enough, before the smaller girl could finish her food, the ornery one made her move. What happened next is the pearl that now nests within me. How she dived upon the girl, not to grab her food away but to scrape out the final portion of her own beans into that nearly empty bowl. How she sat back, still hungry but smiling with satisfaction as the smaller girl continued to eat.

How tiny are the hints of the realm we live toward and in. They are nearly hidden, like yeast mixing into the bread of our lives, rising small and mighty. Not to be fully understood but forever rediscovered.

What is hidden, and rising now, within you?

The full article is available here

Conscious Christianity: Abraham Kuypers - James Bratt in The Banner

Kuyper was big on boring down to first principles—uncovering the unspoken assumptions we bring to our thinking and practice.

Abraham Kuyper called Christians to live out their core conviction as Reformed believers: that God is Lord of all things, and that we live unto God’s glory. Plus he showed them that, in the modern world, living by these convictions meant more than being faithful in the traditional areas of church, family, and personal life. It entailed politics and higher education. 

It meant revisiting and holding yourself accountable to the core principle of loving your neighbor as yourself in a new world where you suddenly had a wider expanse of neighbors living in unprecedented conditions; applying it to labor conditions in factories, international trade, the claims of rival ideologies and visions for society.

His movement’s slogan was “being Christian in all areas of life."And it’s come down to us today as being “agents of renewal,” “seeking shalom,” and so forth. On top of that, Kuyper regularly repeated that, while the modern world had plenty of features to cause fear, it also offered plenty of opportunities for holistic Christian witness.  

Kuyper was big on boring down to first principles—uncovering the unspoken assumptions we bring to our thinking and practice. He wanted Christians to become conscious of these and conform them more and more to biblical principles and the “ordinances” (laws) that he saw stemming out of God’s original creation of the world.

His was a principled pluralism; it’s not just that we can’t but we shouldn’t want to use the force of law to privilege our convictions. Rather, we try to persuade others that the fruit of Christian convictions will serve the common good that they and we share together. This is possible because of Kuyper’s famous and quite expansive concept of common grace.

By means of his other principle, which hasn’t been noticed as much. Kuyper was a strong communitarian. Each individual has rights and liberties, yes, but society (and churches) must not be regarded as a collection of individuals, he’d say. We find our meaning, our health, our safety, our opportunities as parts of living social bodies.

The full article is available here

Act Together and Reflect Critically - Paolo Freire

The Soul's Soil - Kayla McClurg in inward/outward

The realm of which Jesus speaks requires a more radical renovation—totally new soil.

Varied is the ground of our being. Much of the soul’s soil is packed hard on paths of worry and hurry as we pace from one cause to another, one appointment to another, one bill to another, our brains plodding the same old anxious grooves.

When the seeds of a new idea, a fresh perspective, a creative impulse, come—and oh, my friend, they do—are we apt even to take notice, let alone act, before they are gobbled up by the familiar urgencies that make their endless rounds?

Other soil eagerly envelops fresh seeds, forever craving the new project, the provocative idea, the sizzle and dazzle of the untried. How alluring, the sudden blossoming of new endeavors! How clever and intelligent we seem as we promote topics we have barely studied but about which we have astute opinions.

See how we gravitate toward being respected and admired? The adrenaline spike of the new suits us well. Please, not the slow deepening of roots for us. Not the dark anonymous soil of the soul.

The realm of which Jesus speaks requires a more radical renovation—totally new soil. Richness beyond compare, yielding a different bounty. Soil that consumes and renews. Soil that endures.

The full article is available here

Benediction - Grieving Honors The Value of What Was Lost (based on John 11:35)

Experiencing grief is to experience the loss of something that mattered to you. The things that we lose matter to us and are worth grieving for because they are part of the beauty of this world that God created and called "good."

So as we approach this week, may we love God and each other and live life fully in the both the messiness
and the beauty of this world.

Go in peace.

Reflection and Renewal: Grief That Leads To Repentance (based on Matthew 5:4)

Jesus said, "Blessed are those who mourn ... for they shall be comforted."

But we often flee the grief that leads to repentance. Instead, we seek comfort in possessions, prestige and power for ourselves only. Let us not be impatient under our own burdens and unconcerned about the burdens of others, as though we are not all interconnected and interdependent.

Help us, Lord, to be among those who mourn what is unfair and unjust. May we join you in your sadness for all that's wrong and broken in this world. When others are in mourning, may they find our comfort as an answer to their prayers. When we are in mourning, makes us aware of and open to your comfort through others.

What a blessing it is to give and receive grace. Thank you for that endless source of mercy, God. We give you thanks.

Amen.

Call To Worship based on Psalm 30

God, you were there with me in the midst of my trouble. I was down and out and it felt like the weight of my grief and pain were more than I could ever bare.

But when I cried for help, it was your grace that held me up and steadied my feet to rescue me. Even though I wept because it was like dark night in my soul, your joy came like the sunrise in the morning.

Now, my mournful silence has been replaced by singing. I can't keep silent because my sorrow has been turned into joy. Once again, you were faithful, trustworthy and gracious God.

I am forever grateful.

A Lament For Immigration Reform - Kris Van Engen in Do Justice.

To us immigration reform will never be dead until we can look in our own communities and see an immigration system that keeps families together and gives workers a chance at legal status.

Nehemiah could not ignore the dangerous state of the city he loved. The gates had been burned. So, Nehemiah spoke to his king and asked for permission to go and rebuild the city.

This plan sparked fear in the land. Opponents immediately took action to thwart the plans of Nehemiah. They undermined the rebuilding process in every creative way possible—they sent made-up messages to public officials, mocked workers, schemed to stop progress, and threatened Nehemiah’s life.  

Nehemiah held onto his vision and refused to give up. He asked the inhabitants of the city to focus on rebuilding their own backyards. In a surprising amount of time the city was rebuilt.

We speak for immigration reform in our own backyards. It has nothing to do with political timeframes or on-again off-again media storylines. To us immigration reform will never be dead until we can look in our own communities and see an immigration system that keeps families together and gives workers a chance at legal status.

This work for reform is a noble cause. We do it hand in hand with real people, neighbors, who we love. We are not alone in our efforts. Let’s keep praying with courage. Let’s keep focused on the work in our own backyard and let’s persist in speaking to our lawmakers until we see reform. 

The full article is available here

A Lament for Immigration Reform - Kate Kooyman in Do Justice

I'm happy sowing those seeds when we're close to our goal; but when I need to take the long view, when I need to pick up my bag of seeds and keep sowing in spite of the sure truth that nothing is going to grow, I get weary.

We had a hard week, justice seekers. John Boehner announced that immigration reform isn't going to happen this year. Though we have the votes to pass a bill, a bill won't come to a vote.

Families suffering separation, farmers under the stress of a 70% illegal workforce, communities bearing the strain of the thousands of traumatized children seeking safety...all this will continue. Immigrants will continue to bear the weight of this injustice.

It's hard for me to be a Christian in these times. I'm happy sowing those seeds when we're close to our goal; but when I need to take the long view, when I need to pick up my bag of seeds and keep sowing in spite of the sure truth that nothing is going to grow, I get weary.

I'd rather throw down that bag and cry. I'd rather argue with the God who is in control of all of this, convince God that the time is now. The seeds are good. The soil is ready. Do something. 

I'd rather demand that river of justice than sit around singing about it. Find someone to weep with today, friends of justice. But sow those seeds.

The full article is available here

Finding Rest - Kayla McClurg in inward/outward

We even change our ideas about God to match our current moods. The God of our making rarely gets to be simply who God is, any more than we get to be who we are.

We are rarely satisfied. We tend to be continually busy yet jealously guard our down time. We are both generous and self-serving, overly confident and doubting.

We are buried in things and see more that we want. We want to join the dance; we want to be a recluse. We judge ourselves and yet are slow to change.

We want, we know not what. Anything other than the way it is.

We are a bit like those spoken of in the scriptures: “We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn. John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard.’” We are rarely satisfied.

We even change our ideas about God to match our current moods. The God of our making rarely gets to be simply who God is, any more than we get to be who we are.

Jesus knows us well. He knows what we want and what we need, and he knows what a heavy load we have made of our lives. So he says, “Come to me, all of you who are weary of carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”

How will he do this? Oddly enough, by putting something more upon us—his yoke, which he says is easy, and his burden, which he says is light. Not weighted by a lack of satisfaction, a tendency to criticize and want always more, his burden is made light by being carried together. Yoked to him the weight is evenly dispersed; we walk in balance, steady, no longer swayed by mood. We begin to know what it is to be satisfied. We find rest for our souls.


The full article is available here

Religion Books vs Religious Books - Frederick Buechner

Immigration Reform: Not Demonizing Our Neighbors - Carissa Van Haitsma in Do Justice

Learning about the migration process for many Central Americans opened my eyes to the terrors many immigrants have faced. In the U.S. we do not welcome these immigrants, but instead we demonize them and deport them without a second thought.

There are many reasons Central Americans choose to migrate North. However, the violence and risk many Central Americans face while migrating is often just as terrible. 

Many Central Americans attempt migration even though they know the incredible risk. Despite the horrible things which may occur while migrating, many Central Americans live in worse conditions at home, causing migration to be worth the risk.

Learning about the migration process for many Central Americans opened my eyes to the terrors many immigrants have faced. In the U.S. we do not welcome these immigrants, but instead we demonize them and deport them without a second thought.

I was struck by the overwhelming need to love and care for the many people crossing the U.S. border every day, people who have experienced unspeakable pain and hardship to come to the U.S., who have finally made it, and are greeted with hatred and more hardship.

As Christians, we can not discount the experiences and hardships many immigrants have faced during migration. This issue is not only a political issue, it is a church issue. We must remember to be welcoming, and loving.

We must remember that instead of “illegal immigrants,” we are surrounded by people who have experienced true suffering. If we are able to consistently remember the person-hood and God-given dignity of every person, including undocumented immigrants, I truly believe the U.S. would be able to agree on an immigration system that helps, instead of hurts, the strangers in our midst.

The full article is available here

Philosophy Of Ayn Rand vs Philsophy of Jesus

Benediction for Communion Service: Taste and See (based on Psalm 34:8)

Communion is about action ... "taste and see," the Psalmist tells us.

So, now that we've taken the bread and cup, what are we going to do? If we are truly experiencing communion, we will be driven to offer the bread and cup - in whatever form it's needed - to others ... to whomever needs it. In so doing, our sense of community will widen in ways that may sometimes seem scary but are also exhilarating.

This is the work that communion brings us to.

Responsive Call To Worship: Communion Service (based on Isaiah 40:3)

Reader: From far out in the wasteland
that we find ourselves in, we cry to you God.
All: We hunger for Jesus, the bread of life,
and we thirst for God's Spirit.

Reader: God please hear us!
Pay attention to our cries for help!
All: Even though we're lost and far from home,
there is mercy and grace with you.

Reader: Our trust in you is the hope that we're hanging on.
We're taking you at your word God.
All: So we're waiting on you God, seeking.

Flags in Church? Chad Hall in Transformed

To give glory to country is idolatry. To weave faith into nationalism is heresy.

Does nationalism belong in church? I think not. When we strike patriotic tones, we dishonor God, disobey scripture, and misunderstand the relationship between God and country.

The narrative of scripture makes no room for nationalism in the modern sense. To give glory to country is idolatry. To weave faith into nationalism is heresy.

God welcomes all who will come and follow. For those who choose to follow, national identity wanes as kingdom identity grows.

One thing I will remember forever was a slide shared by Dr. Hans Hillerbrand, whose devout Lutheran family escaped Nazi Germany when he was a boy. The slide showed a Christian communion table draped with a Nazi flag and holding a communion cross that had been reformed to bear the swastika. It’s easy for us to stand such a great distance away and see how blatantly heretical that display was. Today we feel such great repugnance to the Nazi regime. But many of the Christians who were steeped in that culture saw no problem mixing the two because their loyalties to church and country were both high and they were unable to choose the higher (and ultimate) good. Many Christians in the world today feel repugnance when they see our flag or other symbols of our national pride and belief in our exceptionalism.

America is not a Christian nation and we should not pollute the universal church with fervor, faith or devotion to our nation (or any nation).

The full article is available here

The Problem Isn't the Bible, It's How It's Read - Brian McClaren in Patheos

The Bible—like any other sacred text—is too good and too important to be left to those who won't think critically about it. And frankly, it is too dangerous.

Finally, I found myself where I can enter the Bible as a library, a literary collection containing poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and other genres, and where I have complete freedom to ask questions about the Bible's sources, development, internal tensions, biases, accuracy, cultural context, and genre. I call this the personal/critical/literary approach.

I have continued to read it personally - seeking meaning, hope, guidance - because I still feel myself deep in the mysteries, dangers, and wonders of the human predicament.

From this nuanced position, I don't need to presume agreement among writers. I can allow them to make statements and counter-statements, to agree and to disagree.

Similarly, I don't need to assume every detail in the library is factual. Instead, I can read with the assumption that ancient storytellers had aims other than journalistic objectivity, scientific accuracy, or even absolute clarity.

This personal/critical/literary approach has freed me from the need to defend the violence found in the Bible, often attributed to God. It has also freed me from the opposite extreme: the need to throw out the Bible because it contains this violence. It has allowed me to trace how violence and the idea of God are gradually disentangled through the course of the biblical narrative, leading to a radically gracious and nonviolent vision of God. 

With a personal/critical/literary approach, I can see how our ideas of God have always matured as we matured, which challenges me to keep maturing now.

The Bible—like any other sacred text—is too good and too important to be left to those who won't think critically about it. And frankly, it is too dangerous.

The full article is available here

Continuing To Doubt - Kayla McClurg in Inward/Outward

Doesn't it give you heart to know that, even with all they have come through, and all that Jesus has done to assure them of who he is, some of the disciples continued to struggle with doubt?

Even after following him for years, learning from him, witnessing miracles of healing and resurrection, even after receiving the Spirit of peace from Jesus’ own breath, even after they too have been called to follow in his steps, commissioned to forgive and teach all they have learned, even then, some continue to doubt.

Now, having gone to the mountain to which he has directed them, they see him and worship him . . . and even so, they doubt. What a comfort these words can be for us. These are no super hero disciples. These are the ordinary faithful, folks among whom we, too, can find our place. Among these stumblers and mumblers we, too, can belong. This imperfect circle has room for our own imperfection, our own questions, space enough for both belief and lack of belief.

It is what it is. Some of us doubt. And what does Jesus do? Does he recoil in anger, utterly disappointed? Does he go in search of different disciples? No, he just keeps handing out assignments.

True to form, Jesus keeps calling us to our full capacity, coaxing forth a new kind of community, composed of both darers and doubters, the bashful and the bold. Fully human, as well as fully immersed in the Spirit that is Holy, his way of community can hold all that we are.

If Jesus can accept as his own those who have trouble believing, can we not accept ourselves and each other, regardless of our limitations and liabilities? Can we not answer yes to being both learners and teachers of this radical way of acceptance, following the one who has room even for our doubts?

Daring to Call it Idolatry: Nationalism in Worship - Craig Watts in Red Letter Christians

Regardless of the makeup of a local congregation, the church is multicultural, multiracial, and multinational by its nature. Nothing must be done in the life of the church to suggest otherwise.

Nothing in the teachings of either Christ or the apostles calls for love or loyalty to one nation above others. All that is expressly urged in scripture is that disciples honor and pray for governing leaders and obey laws that are not contrary to God’s will. Love and allegiance for any earthly realm is neither commanded nor commended in scripture.

Because of the nature of the church’s identity and mission, patriotic or nationalist expressions have no legitimate place in its worship and ministry. Regardless of the makeup of a local congregation, the church is multicultural, multiracial, and multinational by its nature. Nothing must be done in the life of the church to suggest otherwise.

The story of the self-giving, promise-making God is told again and again in worship. This story contrasts and challenges the story of every tribe and nation. In worship, hope is redirected from the principalities and powers of the present to that which is coming. Rather than sanctioning any present nation, the church, if faithful in worship, practices for what it prays for: “thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

The full article is available here

Benediction: Lives Marked By Compassion and Generosity (based on Ephesians 5:1-2)

Since God is so generous with us and infuses the universe with goodness, may we act as conduits of that divine grace. 

May our lives be marked by compassion. 

May God's ever-present spirit encourage and strengthen us as we work to bring out the best in everyone and everything.

Responsive Call To Worship: God Is With Us Always (based on Psalm 33:18-22)

Reader: Even if when feels like we are lost, adrift and overwhelmed ...
ALL: ... we are never off of God’s radar.

Reader: Whether through God’s Spirit inside of us or through others
who act as God’s skin to us ...
ALL: ... we are looked after and cared for.

Reader: In a world where hard times and difficulty comes
across all of our paths ...
ALL: ... we are not alone.

Reader: This reassurance can be a
great source of hope.
ALL: When we begin to, even faintly,
catch a glimpse of God's everyday,
all-encompassing love, we can't help
but give thanks. 

Call To Worship: Justice, Love, Mercy (based on Amos 5:24)

Reader: Creator God, speak to our hearts.
You have told us what is required:
All: ... to do justice, to love kindness
and to walk humbly with you.

Reader: Spirit, move us to action, so that justice rolls like water ...
All: … and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

Reader: Jesus, take away our self-centeredness.
Make us willing to give of ourselves to your creation.

All: Thank you that you continually move within,
around and through us. We give you praise.

Benediction: Willing To Serve and Give (based on Matthew 25:40)

May we follow God's command to love our neighbors as ourselves so that we can see God in the poor, oppressed, condemned and forgotten.  

May we be willing to serve and willing to give. May we overflow with grace and be God’s hands and feet in this world.