We Get There By Walking

Doing my best to find my way.

Remember


Do this remembering me.
Today millions of Christians from all around the world will hear these words as we break bread and share a cup and recall Jesus’ last supper with his disciples before he was arrested, tried and executed.

As we hear those words and do our best to remember, may this be true.
May our remembering not be nostalgia.
And, not just ritual.
And, not just about Jesus.
May our remembering help us to recommit to our lives to living in and towards that Kingdom of God which Jesus saw and knew so well.
May, we remember who we are and who we are called to be.
May we remember and reclaim the core values of that Kingdom.
Loving God.
Loving neighbor.
Treat others the way we would like to be treated.
Building peace that we might be seen and known as children of God.
Being the light of the world doing what we can…all we can…to push back the darkness which surrounds so many.

May we remember.

Be Jesus…

Despite what you have heard or might have of heard,
Or been taught at sometime in the past;
I want to tell you today that…
It is not about…
Consubstantiation.
Or, transubstantiation.
Or, any other type of substantiation, if there is another type.

And, it is not about…
Christology.
Or, eschatology.
Or, soteriology.
Or, ecclesiology.
Or, any other ology you would like to add.

And, it is not about…
Hypostatic union.
Or, dispensationalism.
Or, pretribulation.
Or, predestination.

It is also not about…
Immutability.
Or, infallibility.
Or, substitutionary atonement.
Or, regeneration.

And, it is not about…
Doctrine.
Or, dogma.
Or, sanctification.
Or, purity.

It is not about…
The Trinity.
Or, the immaculate conception.
Or, walking on water.
Or, even turning water into wine.

It is about Jesus.
Healing.
Teaching.
Touching.
Challenging those who lord it over others in any one of 1000 different ways.
It is about Jesus.
Changing the lives of those who came in touch with him then.
And, those who come in touch with him even now.

And, it is about us…
About you and me…
Doing our best to be Jesus in those places where we live and work each day.
To be healing.
To be hope.
To be light.
To be compassion.
To be challenge.
Doing our best and, each day, striving to do better:
To love God.
To love our neighbor.
To turn towards and not away from those whom Jesus names as the least of these.
To treat others as we ourselves would like to be treated.

Here is what I mean.
When Jesus broke the bread with his disciples and passed around the cup from which they were to drink, he was not talking about sacrifice – his life for our sins like it was some God given trade-off.
Jesus was talking about presence.
About who he was now being a part of who they were.
So they could begin to do…
Would begin to do…
What they had seen and watched him do.

So, let me ask you this…
What is it about Jesus which most inspires you or challenges you or comforts you or sustains you? What is it about Jesus that you get the best?
Start there.
Take that one part;
That one thing;
And, do your best
To do that.
And, to be that.
To be Jesus…the best you can.

 

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Paul Alcorn

Several things I believe:

The most critical religious question of our day is how we will answer the question "Who is my neighbor?"

That which we know and name as God is more about the connections between us than something above us.

And this, from the poet Maya Angelou...
"Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better."