For Sunday 10/13/19 - Give Thanks

Photo by Mayur Gala on Unsplash

Luke 17:11–19 NRSV

On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”

Reflection on the Lectionary:

I have been in the therapist's and pastor's chair enough years now to easily recognize when I am about to hear, once again, someone's story of being unworthy and unclean before God and the world.  Typically, it will be condescension and/or condemnation from a parent or church people/leaders or a teacher or some other person in authority.  The trauma that these authorities injected into the person's soul haunted them into worthlessness and tormented their lives for decades.  The healing process I initiate with the person is asking them to recall their early experiences with God.  In our subsequent work, the individual eventually reconnects to the unconditionally loving accepting energy of the God they met in childhood and how they felt treasured.  In time, which may often be weeks or months or years later, I will ask a follow-up question.  What can you tell me now of the God of your understanding?  Often I will hear in reply, "I am who I am.  I am a good person and deserve to be happy.  God always loved me even when others could not or would not.  God loves me now.  God will always love me forever more."  In my thoughts resound the words, "....your faith has made you well."

Brad Shumate
Free of Encumbrance
Eugene, Oregon
USA

For Sunday 8/25/19 - "Moscow Mitch" proclaims himself a Christian?

Photo by Antonika Chanel on Unsplash

Lectionary Scripture - Luke 13:10-17 NRSV

Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.” But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?” When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.

Lectionary Reflection:


"Moscow Mitch" -- as Speaker Nancy Pelosi of the U.S. House of Representatives calls Senator McConnell -- proclaims himself to be a Christian.  Frankly his version of Christianity is warped, twisted, corrupt.  It's nothing I can wrap my mind around as a healthcare professional and minister.  Personally, I doubt that "Moscow Mitch" could look Jesus in the face for a single second for his machinations bent on gutting Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Securty -- social programs critically important to our seniors and disabled and others of our nation's most vulnerable citizens.  

"Moscow Mitch" appears to think however that elimination of these programs serves a greater purpose.  The greater purpose served is paying for the $1.5 trillion tax cuts he and POTUS 45 rammed through Congress in the fall of 2017.  Of course, the overwhelming portion of those cuts benefited the wealthy -- billionaires and multi-millionaires like himself.

"Moscow Mitch" misses Jesus' message entirely in today's scripture passage.  Jesus "freely" heals the woman bent over from a spinal condition oppressing her life for 18 years.  By contrast, "Moscow Mitch" egotistically proclaims from his position of power "no more free stuff".  His behavior is certainly in keeping with the inflexibility of the synagogue leader in the scripture above.  Jesus, however, stands over and against the "powers that be".  In his time, they were religious leaders and authorities that plotted and tried to forbid Jesus from exercising compassion and manifestations of God's generous loving nature.  By contrast, "Moscow Mitch" is not much different from the synagogue leader and refers to himself as "The Grim Reaper" toward anything he can get away with labeling socialism.  So called "free stuff" particularly gets his goat.

Recently, I had the pleasure of entertaining in my home a highly successful business person with business locations and homes throughout the world.  The individual is now enjoying travels throughout the world and working through a bucket list that reflects desire to experience humanity's many diverse places and cultures.  At one point during our time together, the person said, "In all my travels, I have witnessed every developed democratic nation working to give their children's generations the best opportunities possible for their future.  Every country that is but America.  This nation prefers instead to enslave its young adults to debt they will never be able to pay off in their life times.  This means foregoing homes they will never be able to buy.  Paying costly rental for housing.  This means debt that will be passed onto their children and grandchildren.  All of it just so the wealthy can have more to themselves."  The individual then talked about the importance of a society and culture providing free or nearly free education along with universal healthcare.  Rest assured though for "Moscow Mitch" these things are nothing but the evils of socialism which make him foam at the mouth.  

"Moscow Mitch" get on your knees, ask Jesus' forgiveness, turn your inhumanity around, stop trying to look for ways to enrich yourself and your wealthy friends --- especially through dealings with Russia, a mortal enemy of the USA.  You seem to have no conscience as you seek to empower our mortal enemy by failing to pass election reform, election security measures, and for whom you remove economic sanctions that benefit you monetarily.  If you can't get down on your knees and repent and start doing right by everyone in this nation to lift them out of debt and financial ruin due to education and healthcare costs, to protect our nation from enemies within and without -- then it is time for you to leave politics.

Mr. Temple Hypocrite "Moscow Mitch, resign from the Senate, go home.  POTUS 45 will soon join you.  Go home, enjoy your ill-gotten booty.  Leave the real work of healing our nation to people who have the altruistic intellect and spiritual generosity to do so.  They will surely succeed where you could not because of your miserly greedy soul.  Watch Mitch, watch those bent over in oppression from debt, from grief, from poor health, bent over from being ignored and demonized.  Watch God heal them.  Watch God raise them upright to see the sky, to see the shining, just, and peaceable reign of God that awaits them on the horizon.  They are being called to it -- and you hypocrite, you "Grim Reaper", you shall be left behind to froth "socialism" at the mouth until you can froth and foam it no more.

Brad Shumate
Free of Encumbrance
Eugene, Oregon
USA

For Sunday 8/18/19 - Interpreting the Present Time

"...why do you not know how to interpret present time?"

Luke 12:54-56 NRSV - "Interpreting the Time"

Many today are experiencing the fire of transformation.  Why?  They're coming alive in protest at the anti-nature of Christ residing in POTUS 45.  They're seeing 45's racism, his lying, his bullying, his grandiosity, his admitted sexual aggression toward women, his narcissism, his harm to the Earth, his tearing down of democratic institutions/ideals, his demonizing of imigrants, his many false pretenses of goodness, his countless wrongdoings, his fomenting of violence in others.  Simply said, 45 is a threat to all persons of authentic faith.  The only persons of faith who cling to him with a death grip now are those persons afraid that their life-long fantasy won't come true, i.e. their dream of Jesus dropping out the sky to rule the earth exactly the way they want and to establish white supremacy.  Sorry folks, it ain't going to happen.  This is the end time for you and your movement.  You are like a supernova, one last big blaze before you are lost and gone forever.

There are too many of us who made peace a very long time ago with the world's diversity.  There are too many of us who believe that God planted many diverse forms of faith among us so we might learn and understand how it is that God loves unconditionally and meets each person each moment of the day with open arms, kindling in their lives and their spirits a passion and fire for when all the world's people will end their judgmental ways in favor of a present time that is just and fair and peaceable for all and for the Earth on whom we depend generation after generation.

As the saying goes, live simply so that others may simply live!  Become one of those of fire with transformation.

Brad Shumate
Free of Encumbrance
Eugene, Oregon
USA      

Luke 12:54-56  NRSV -- He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘It is going to rain’; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat’; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

04/19/19 Reflections on the Mueller Report

I have been feeling quite down since release of the Mueller Report, especially due to AG Barr's handling of the report in which Barr clearly seeks to protect POTUS 45 reportedly due to 45's distressed state of mind. I totally doubt that AG Barr much sympathized with state-of-mind in cases he dealt with prior to POTUS 45. For AG Barr, this is more about GOP maintaining control of the Federal Government to the GOP. You know, AG Barr, if one's mind is truly vulnerable to being distressed in the manner that POTUS 45 has evidenced the past two years and more -- then holding the high office of POTUS is not within one's skill set and POTUS 45 should resign. Hear that AG Barr!! And hear it for sure because POTUS 45'S power mongering self-serving ego has gifted himself so many lawsuits that he'll be in court the rest of his life just trying to avoid wearing an orange jumpsuit.

My beloved friends (each and everyone of you), far far too much of the World's well-being rests upon the ability of a POTUS to be cool, calm, collected, and totally unflappable in the face of extremely distressing circumstances, especially where Russia and China and North Korea and Iran and places where religious extremists reside. I am so heartened today to read that "Republicans For The Rule of Law" will be running ads this weekend on Fox News calling for POTUS 45 to be held accountable for his attempts to obstruct justice and that Congress should be taking up the matter of impeachment as they did with regard to Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon.

Special Counsel Mueller was brilliant leaving the matter of high crimes and misdemeanors of POTUS 45 up to Congress, not AG Barr.  For his part, AG Barr has definitively proved he is not up to the job to prosecute POTUS 45, but "Republicans for the Rule of Law" prove that no one, even POTUS 45 and his violations of the Constitution's Emoluments Clause is above the law.

"Republicans for the Rule of Law" promulgating their message this weekend on FOX NEWS that POTUS 45 be held accountable for his transgressions as Republicans held Bill Clinton accountable and as they held Richard Nixon accountable -- would restore my faith in the party of President Abraham Lincoln. Should the party of Lincoln forego trying to re-elect POTUS 45, and also remove from office his supporters like VP Mike Pence, Senator Mitch McConnell, and others -- even Press Secretary Sarah Sanders who admitted lying to the American people when questioned by Special Counsel Mueller, then and only then will the GOP have my attention.  They will have my attention even more if they seek the election of Republican Governor Kasich -- for then I will assuredly vote Republican in the 2020 Presidential Election!