If it rains on the rich and the poor,
if the sun shines on the hard worker and those who snore
if cancer catches the liar and corrupts the healer
then why do I look on my wealth as a sign of approval
each dollar a gold star on my good-life tick chart
justifying behaviour because I am blessed
when maybe I’m blessed to take care of those I call Less
When freedom isn’t freeing,
and belief shatters your faith.
When grace brings condemnation,
and judgement takes love’s place.
When numbers are not crucified,
and we covert a kingdom cup.
When new realities are preached,
while old ones are lived out.
When politics drive promise,
and people are busied with promotions.
When vision is as fickle as the wind,
and the most important meetings are whispered.
When the meal is dished out and no longer served,
and I can’t stomach the food that we’ve poisoned.
That is when I’ll walk away,
before I do.
behind a tranquil monastery is a boundary of forestry hiding a barbed-wire monstrosity
a church safe cursed by a razor-wire crown of thorns
we must protect our truth, sanctified and clean
like we set the standard for what clean is
hide your light under a bushel
unless it’s sanitized and superficial
Supermarket-church snap-frozen-reheated greetings, cookie-cutter-christians rehearsed prayers and scripted meetings
Yahweh’s speechless we’ve hijacked his voice and branded it like sneakers,spread the brand globally sweatshop-manufactured-ministry, unethical in our political standing on others to maintain our status quo
checkered shirts, buzz words, clap for yourself ignore the helpless, it’s you who commands and god who follows, enslaved by his own words pages of grace turned into spiritual laws and promises
a world void of colour and complexity, 40-days of formulaic-faith-paint-by-numbers-christianity
we’ve robbed the God of creation his creativity, denied his mystery, trapped him in a black and white box of simplicity
is it any wonder he doesn’t flow through me…
when kingdom looks so different from this brand of culturanity
mouthful of ash,
you taste like death to me,
behind your smile i discover what i knew all along.
Some would say I have participated in a lot of communions but a lot of communions I’ve never really participated in.
Sometimes I’d connect with God, sometimes I’d be bored.
Sometimes my mind would wander – what’s for lunch? and who I’ll hang with after.
Sometimes I’d sit in silence, while on the inside I’d want to jump for joy for what Jesus has done for me.
Sometimes I’d just feel bad…
Bad for not feeling bad enough, for not feeling thankful enough, for not feeling anything at all…
sometimes I’d just feel numb.
It’s easy for communion to become stale & cold, a box to check, something to get through, we do it less & less & when we do it, it is often preempted by a short emotive message trying to break through our hardened hearts to get us to take notice…
and years of sitting there head bowed in guilt-ridden reflection to do anything else would seem disrespectful, when maybe the most respectful thing we could do is to stand & raise our glass & say “Cheers!”, thank you Jesus for this life you have given so I may truly be living!
So maybe you’ll “ching” glasses with your neighbour,
maybe it’ll be a time of quite reflection,
maybe all you’ll manage is a, “God are you real?… I need help”.
However you choose to engage with what Jesus has done,
let it be real for you,
let it be honouring of God,
I pray you have the freedom to engage with a God who came to set you free.
This is something I did for a communion I took recently.
I can help the poor,
only if i don’t have to walk in your shoes.
I can make ethical choices,
when i live in abundance.
Ethical choices make me feel good,
they do little to help you…
or my understanding of what you go through.
You don’t have enough money to fill your belly.
I overfill mine.
still i have money & energy left over, so much left over.
i’ll remedy my excess at the gym.
what i really need is a remedy of the heart.
Some reflections after I successfully raised money for Oxfam by buying & consuming large quantities of brownies Mmmm… & failed miserably at the “live below the line challenge“.
Stumbled upon this on a friends facebook page. Sit with it for a while, I dig it…. a lot.
Pills Coffee Heresy 