Love Builds Up

Text: 1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Focus: Loving others

Function: To help people escape legalism and embrace loving encouragement.

Form: Story telling

Intro:

A couple of stories to introduce the theme.

A long time ago, the Chicago White Sox had a pitcher, a young man, who was doing well.

One night, Downtown Chicago, a group of Christian Street evangelists sang some music, talked to him about his eternal destiny and he was converted to Christianity.

He soon realized that playing baseball, for him, was to much of a distraction from his Christian journey. So he quit to become the famous, full-time Christian evangelist, Billy Sunday.

And throughout most of his preaching career, he preached against the evils of baseball.

He was sincere. But since baseball was a false god, an idol, to him, he projected that on everyone else and made a sort of false set of “rules” for holiness

When I was in Seminary, during a lunch break, I was playing Mahjongg on my laptop computer.

That week, we had a guest professor who was a full-time missionary to Hong Kong.

He happened by my seat, saw me playing Mahjongg Solitaire, and promptly informed me that in China, and Hong Kong, Mahjongg tiles are used like playing cards are here. They gamble with them.

I guessed where he was going with his statement because I was raised in one of those households that was not allowed to use playing cards since people here in the West gamble with them and, as Christians, we are called to avoid the appearance of evil.

But I let him stew for a bit. He just stood there and finally he said to me: “Aren't you going to quit playing the game now?”

I paused.

He went on: “Since they gamble with it in Hong Kong.”

Well, by this time, he had drawn a line in the sand.

Based on today's scripture lesson, the application principle is to limit my freedom when there is a chance that I might cause a weaker brother to stumble. You know, you might feel free to drink wine, but you certainly wouldn't want to offer a glass of wine to a recovering alcoholic. So, I had to gauge whether or not my continuing to play the game would weaken his conscience so much that when he returned to Hong Kong, he would eventually be caught up in the evil sub-culture of gambling with Mahjongg tiles.

Well, it seemed obvious to me that my playing a puzzle game with Mahjongg tiles on my computer, which isn't actually the game of Mahjongg where some gamble was not going to cause him to stumble in his faith and fall back into a previous sin. I doubt that he ever had a Mahjongg gambling addiction.

His concern was probably back to the principle of avoiding the appearance of evil. And of course, since none of his Hong Kong constituency was here, I had little doubt that I was causing any of them to stumble as well.

So I was faced with another dilemma. And this might even get closer to the whole point of the lesson, the title of the Sermon, based on the bulletin for this week: Love builds up.

Because now, all of a sudden, there is a power dynamic going on.

He is the professor, expecting to be respected. I am the student, anxiously desiring for this intelligent man to see the light of of inspiration inside of my own mind. Did I mention that he was also the son of the Dean of the Seminary?

My dilemma: Do I back down? Do I put up the game? Do I give him a snide remark exposing his legalism, maybe even his own power issues? Or do I fulfill this scripture and remember, Love builds up. How do I fulfill this scripture, Love builds up?

Fortunately, for me, my brain isn't that quick and the snide remark option isn't coming for a couple of hours or days. But now, there is email and text messages :(

In one sense, his words to me are an act of injustice. This is a form of power dynamic that does not represent the whole attitude that Jesus taught when he said: “Whoever wants to be your leader needs to be the servant of all.”

I eschew legalism in the Church.

Legalism has been responsible for unnecessary exclusion, misguided values and even institutional violence inside the Church at many times throughout its history.

So here I am, in this awkward situation, with my professor asking me to comply with a perceived holiness statement that has no application to Western culture.

I wonder. Does he want me to stand in awe of his missionary work?

Does he need me to validate his sacrifice in living thousands of miles away from home in order to serve Christ?

Is he asking me to appreciate him?

Is he on some sort of power trip?

Or is he a legalistic Christian who does not yet fully understand grace and since there is no real chance that my continuing to play this game is going to cause him to fall into the evil sin of gambling in the dark corners of Hong Kong, do I try to lovingly show him that God's grace would cover him, even if he started gambling?

Does he really think that God cares that much about whether or not he gambles?

I don't gamble. I am not a very good liar. But my boys are great at Texas Hold-em. And it is just fun, for them.

I didn't know what to do, so I prayed, silently.

All of this while this man is standing over me with this look like “are you going to comply or not?”

I decided not to comply. I hope it was the right thing.

I think I said: I appreciate your work in Hong Kong, but since this is merely a puzzle, and not the actual game of Mahjongg, and gambling with Mahjongg tiles has not become an issue of our collective Christian witness in the West, I am going to keep playing.”

The clever, snide remark that I came up with later was: “well, if you start gambling with Mahjongg tiles in Hong Kong, when you get to heaven, you can blame me.”

And I am glad that I didn't go negative. Because, what this passage of scripture teaches us is this: Love builds up.

Say it with me: Love Builds Up!

Love does not seek to be proven as the most resourceful, the most clever, the best wit, the holiest person, the most righteous, the better Christian, or the one with the best grasp on the Holy Scriptures, the person, as the text says: “with more knowledge.”

Nope. It is simple: Love builds up.

Knowledge, the text says, even biblical knowledge, can provoke us to pride.

I remember as a young Christian, sorting through theology, reading the Scriptures and having the words jump off the page, speaking directly to me and giving me new insights into the nature and love of God.

I remember how after God showed me something, I couldn't understand why no one else got it.

And someone said this to me: “where you a Christian before you understood that?”

And of course, I was.

“And where did you learn it?”

I would answer: “God showed me.”

“Then don't be frustrated with others. You were a Christian before, and you are a Christian now. Let God, let the Holy Spirit work in other people's lives just as God works in your life.”

Knowledge puffs people up. But love seeks to build others up.

And I think it takes discernment to know the difference.

Pride is a sin that we all face.

The balance point, the practical consideration is to ponder at all times whether or not what we are doing builds others up, or tears them down.

Specifically, brother Paul is discussing a point of conflict within the early Church as to whether or not it is okay to eat meat that at one time was sacrificed to idols.

I understand that it was cheaper meat.

But some people, having come out of an idolatrous culture/religion/lifestyle, would be afraid that they were falling back into a sin if they had anything to do with idols.

And I imagine that argument got heated.

One might say: “but it is cheaper, and if I pray over it, and my God is the only true God, then it gets sanctified and whatever spiritual effect, if any, that the idol sacrifice may have had is null and void.”

Others might say: “idols are fake gods and no matter what, they aren't real.”

And others, with scriptures like “avoid the appearance of evil,” and “separate yourselves from idols,” and even Paul himself, two chapters later in the same letter to the Corinthians warns them about things sacrificed to demons might say: trust God, even though the meat costs more, He will provide. Just keep yourself pure.

And here is the thing.

Those who are not offended by the meat offered to idols should not laugh at those who are. And those who are offended should not judge or criticize those who aren't offended.

Apparently this question of legalism was pretty big in the early Church. The entire Chapter of Romans 14 addresses the issue as well.

And the principle laid down is that those whose faith isn't bothered should not ridicule or hold in contempt those who can't. And again, those who can't should not judge those who do.

So, was my professor judging me? Or, was I holding him in contempt? I think if I had come up with the snide and clever remark at the time, then I would have sinned against him.

I hope that holding him accountable to his own power issues helped him.

I have no idea what power dynamic was going on with him. All I can do is hope that I was gracious enough to call out his own power issues without disrespecting him. I think I was.

And I need you to understand that all that matters is the lesson God is teaching me, not him.

God was using this circumstance to inform me about my own understanding of this very passage of scripture.

Love builds up.

Now, I have a few practical points.

1). When in a disagreement, or conflict about these issues, leave room for God to work in your own hearts. For every person involved, God can work with that person as God wants.

In that situation, maybe God wanted me to work with my pride. And most likely, God didn't want me to work on his power issues. That is God's work in him. Whatever God was doing with the other person was between them and God.

2). Don't merely arm yourself with bible verses to win a conflict. Leave room for the gentle, loving leading of the Holy Spirit. If we merely want to win a conflict, then we have already lost the principle that love builds up.

I sat on the listening team when the COB discussed how we would react to licensing and ordaining homosexual persons. In my opinion, to many people showed up at those meetings to be heard instead of to listen.

Listen to James 1:19 It is good for a person to quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger.

3). And finally, do everything out of love and concern for the other.

Father Gaudet was an elder Catholic Priest at the parish in Fortville, IN.

I became a good friend to him. He was a coffee sufficianodo.

At my first encounter with him he said this: “I got saved 16 years ago.”

Getting saved was and is an important phrase among evangelical Christians. One doesn't hear it as much in other circles.

He went on to explain how grateful he was to be serving this very small Catholic parish. At least he had a chance.

And one day, he told me about his children. Again, I thought it odd.

But his conversion was from the life of an alcoholic. God set him free. And now, the Catholic Church that he served used grape juice for communion. Love builds up.

Prayer: God, help us to remember that you are still at work in our own lives. Let us live our lives in communion with you, looking to ourselves, guarding our pride and living to love and serve others.

Dynomite!

Text: Mark 1:14-20 Romans 1:16

Focus: Good news

Function: To help people increase their own faith by sharing the Good News.

Form: Study

Intro:

Let me just restate the 15th verse. I want you to do an exercise with me. Imagine that you are indeed living in Palestine during the 1^st Century. Imagine that you were hearing these words for the first time: (close your eyes and imagine with me)

¹⁵“The right time has come,” he said, “and the Kingdom of God is near! Change your thinking and believe the Good News!

Focus on those words. What do you hear? (ask)

When I was 4, I prayed that Jesus would come into my heart and save me from my sins. And He did. I felt Him, right here. I used to think that that, and that alone was the gospel.

But, as I have mentioned, the gospel, the good news was this: “This is the time. It is right now. It is here and It is good news. God's kingdom is here.”

The good news is that now is the time.

Now, we need to clarify something in terminology: “The Kingdom of God.”

It could be one of those nebulous terms that could refer to about anything.

Remember, for me, growing up, the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven, always referred to the promise that when I die, I get to go to heaven.

And again, I believe that that is true. But all that can merely limit what the Kingdom of God is.

History, the Dark Ages, the Crusades, The Holy Roman Empire, Religious wars and etc might lead us to conceive that the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of God is indeed an earthly Kingdom with all the might, policies and politics of governments and the institutions of humankind.

And you all know that Jesus makes it clear that His kingdom is something completely different than human institution.

I often wonder if we could describe it with some spiritual terms.

Could we call it: “The Kingdom of Hope?”

Could we call it: “The Kingdom of faith?”

Of course, we need to qualify that last one a bit, to mean, not religion, but trust.

The Kingdom of Trust.

The Kingdom of trusting God.

There are two action verbs in Jesus proclamation. Change your thinking, and then Believe.

Believe. Trust. It is the same word in the Greek.

Pistus is the Greek word. Funny, but in the Koine Greek language, the word pistus was always followed with the preposition “into” instead of “in.”

The idea is that instead of believing that God exists, we believe in God.

We place our trust in God.

I like that. “I trust God.” “We trust God.” (say it)

I have an old wedding ceremony and in the vows are the words: “And thereunto I place my trust.”

I place my trust in you, as my wife.

I trust you, to have my back, I trust you to believe in me when no one else does, I trust in you to work together with me, for us. We are now one Flesh, with common interests and desires.

And, we placed our trust in God.

One could almost boil it down to say: “change your thinking to trust.”

And the point is that the time for them has finally come to believe that something good will happen to them.

Good News! The Kingdom of God is here. The will of God, for the salvation and deliverance of the entire world is now Here. It is happening today.

For people oppressed into poverty and virtual slavery by the Romans and their collaborators, it was almost dangerous for them to get their hopes up.

For many of them, any good news was too good to be true.

And to these people who were living under the jackboot of Roman occupation, good news was desperately needed to be heard.

And, it still is today.

I love most of the Old Hymns.

I love the drive between Dayton and here because it is filled with really good music.

Sometimes, I am driving down the road with my hands in the air as I am singing praises to God.

And there is one particular artist who really blesses me.

He is cousin to Jerry Lee Lewis and Mickey Gilley, his name is Jimmy Swaggart.

And although his Christian Career was been shrouded in shame, there is something about his music that is wonderful.

I finally figured out what it is.

Every time he sings, he sings of God's love and grace.

He is always reassuring us with “yes it is...” and etc.

And I listen to that speech, or I listen to the speeches of other great orators and realize that the common thing that really moves us is the message of hope.

It is real.

There is power in that message of hope.

There is power in the message of faith.

Let me refer us to another Scripture that also speaks to the power of the message.

Romans 1:16: ¹⁶I have complete confidence in the good news; it is God's power to save all who believe,

There is power in hope.

And I don't believe that it is merely some sort of psychological phenomena that fires transmitters in our brains and gives to us a sense of peace.

There is power to change.

So first, He says: “change your thinking about the future and then believe.”

God is doing something that humanity cannot stop.

And they tried to stop it.

But it didn't work.

The Church was born.

This place of help and healing was born.

This place that brings positive change to world was born.

And in it, people have been nurtured, helped, saved, secured and aided on their own journeys.

And, it transforms lives.

In the late 70's, Jimmy Walker played J.J. He was a silly character whose phrase catch phrase was “dynomite.”

It was the beginning of Hollywood giving significant roles to black men and women, but the stereotype that it created left many puzzled. But it was a beginning.

And Jimmy Walker rose above that role and invited credibility for his race on the national television stage.

And me, when my preaching career started, I was all about that concept of power. The power of the gospel.

So, I preached this sermon, with that catch phrase as the Title; “Dy-No-Mite” as an evangelistic message about how we as Christians need to stand up and proclaim the gospel so that whenever anyone hears it, they too, can get saved and when they die they can go to heaven.

And again, it works, and I believe that.

But man o man!

There is so much more wrapped up in that statement, “The good news is that God is here and now!”

Today! God cares. Today, God has peace for you.

And look what happened transformation wise:

Peter, Andrew, James and John simply left everything and started following Jesus.

What faith! What trust!

There was something to the words of Jesus that enabled and encouraged them to change everything about their lives.

This good news is so powerful, it changes the course of our lives.

It is a commitment to truly holistic living in touch with Spirit, Soul, Mind and body.

It is a cry from God: “i see your fears, I see your hopes, I see your weaknesses, but more, much more. I also see your potential, I see what you can I can do together, I see a new world coming through what you and I can do together.

As I mentioned, there is something about that music that does the same for me.

That good news gives me hope, that good news gives us hope and it encourages us to press on.

So, maybe the message is “what about today?”

Maybe it is “now is the time to be baptized.”

Now is the time to allow hope.

Now is the time to turn to something new.

It is here and it is now.

As with the disciples, it was a powerful call. It caused them to leave their nets and follow Christ.

Dr. King's Legacy Remembered

Text: Amos 5:21-24

Focus: The Legacy of Non-Resistance

Function: To help people claim our peace position

Form: Story Telling

Intro: Rev. Marthame Sanders writes this true story:

“Tariq got the call from his parents. His uncle’s home was being demolished. He tried desperately to call them back, but the phone was dead. He was beside himself - they lived next door to his uncle, and there was no telling what could happen during a home demolition.

“This was the latest in a string of bad news for the 18 year-old. Several cousins had been killed.

“His parents were out of work. And his town was being completely isolated, surrounded by a 25-foot high cement wall on all sides. Meanwhile, Tariq tried to focus on his studies. It was his freshman year of college, and his life seemed upside-down.

“A few weeks later, an organizer came to campus, talking about “non-violent resistance.” An intelligent, thoughtful young man, Tariq was by nature a skeptic. But the past few months had filled him with rage. The thought of non-violence seemed so naïve, but something grabbed him. Perhaps it was desperation, anything that could bring a glimmer of light to his darkened life.

“Tariq is a Palestinian Muslim, a person too often written off as a terrorist. The kind of anger and desperation he felt can easily provide fertile soil for militancy. And yet, Tariq found himself at a non-violent protest. Israelis and Palestinians joined hands against Israel’s building of the Separation Barrier and the further expropriation of Palestinian land. He found himself next to a young Israeli, the first he had ever met who wasn’t carrying a gun. His eyes lit up as he recounted the story. He had found a reason to hope.”

And she ends with these words:

“Dr. King left a legacy that non-violent resistance can change the world. Such hope glimmers as a candle in an ocean of darkness. The darkness shall not overcome it.”

Today we celebrate the life and legacy of a 20^th century Martyr.

We celebrate because his was indeed a very Christian legacy and we want to keep it alive, and dare I say, even continue to work to finish it.

Because all though we have made great strides, racism still exists in our nation and I believe that God wants us, the Church, the black and white Church, to join hands as we did in the 60's and continue the struggle.

So, for a minute, I am going to go into a near history of racism. For a minute, I am going to get negative. But don't worry, there is hope, great hope, at the end.

Let me try to put racism into a context that might be easier for us to understand.

I studied the Post Modern Church in London England on a grant given by Eli Lilly Corporation.

Directly across the Thames river from Parliament is another British icon: Westminster Abbey.

Inside the Abbey is a museum of sorts. All along the periphery are tombs of famous English Historical figures. There are many people buried under the tiles, and there are monumental stones to many others.

Most of them are past kings and conquerers.

In one sense, the Abbey is a monument to British Colonial/Imperialistic power. All of the great conquerers, are enshrined there as if somehow their religion can justify the evils of Imperialism.

Since it was a museum, we each paid the equivalent of 32 dollars to get the museum tour.

On tour, I noticed a monument to Charles Darwin. Now I know that he almost didn't publish his book, “on the origin of the species” because he knew how much it would upset the Church in England.

And to make it worse, the initial title of “On the Origin of the Species” was shortened from; On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life.” And that says it all.

Let me repeat the words omitted from the original title: “The preservation of favoured (sic) races in the struggle for life.”

Favored races. Better races. Not better animals. Not better species, but better races. It is indeed a scary thought. And although I greatly appreciate his work, and I see no contradiction between the Bible account and Evolution and I am glad that Christians found it in their heart to enshrine him, I recognize that initially, his title, which he voluntarily changed because he was speaking about natural selection not better races could and did have terrible consequences.

And he did, sort of, become the enemy of the Church.

So I found it remarkable, almost ironic, that they would have a monument to him in the Abbey.

But I think I understand it, and his original title, when I realized that some of those great conquerers entombed in the Abbey, who also claimed to be Christian, were some of the most ruthless men who ever lived.

The idea: “the survival of the fittest” justified the murder and displacement of everyone they they deemed to be inferior to them.

And there are direct links, from other English authors, to the the Eugenics programs of the Nazi's from these precepts.

Racism still exists.

In their religion they were taught that somehow they were better than others and that “betterness” justified their conquering other people. Then, I understood it as a false understanding of Dominion Theology instead of the good news to all the world, especially the poor.

Behind racism is the fear, anger and the lies that somehow or another, one group of people are better than others.

I have even heard of Christian ministers who have justified racism because of the Tower of Babel and have said that it was God's plan that races do not mix.

Now listen, most of the greatest strides against racism and for justice have been done by Christians just like us. And I promised that I would only be negative for a bit.

So let me change the tune.

Because, right over the main entrance, the public entrance, to the Abbey is the Wall of Martyrs. On the wall is a Jewish woman, a Chinese man, Gandhi, Dietrich Boenhoeffer, others and of course, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It thrills me that it is people of all different races and religions.

That Martyr's wall was for me, the most eventful and worshipful icon in the entire building. It almost seemed as if they themselves were repenting of their feeling of superiority.

Most Christians, as they have grown and been more enlightened share this passion for peace.

So, let me go back to the scripture and use this to illustrate the superior power of the kind of Christianity that Dr. King preached, taught, showed by example and ultimately died for.

This is a scripture about God’s distaste for any religion that clams to worship God while endorsing any form of racism or pride or feelings of superiority.

Reread Scripture:

When I read that phrase: “I hate your festivals,” like you, I ask the question: “Why would God say that?

And then, I see the reason in the last verse:

²⁴Instead, let justice flow like a stream, and righteousness like a river that never goes dry.

Instead.

This was a favorite verse or Dr. King. He quotes it often in his sermons.

I confess, the first time I ever heard that verse preached was at our own Annual Conference in Indianapolis, IN when Richard Kyerematen preached to the congregation.

When he got done with that sermon, and this is the only time I have ever seen it at Annual Conference, the entire audience stood up and cheered.

He nailed it! (give fist sign of all right!)

He remembered that it works.

He preached that God loves the worship that celebrates God and lets justice flow.

Dr. King did not force justice with violence. There is no restorative violence. He followed Jesus and Gandhi (who also followed Jesus). He placed his faith in Jesus' teaching and all though it cost him his life, it changed the world as we know it.

So here we are, remembering.

In 1968, Dr. King was murdered.

In 2008, the first black President was elected to lead us.

(build cadence here) For 40 days, Moses fasted on the Mountain. For 40 days, Jesus fasted in the wilderness. For 40 years, the Children of Israel waited in the desert for the fulfilling of God’s promise. And, for 40 years, African Americans waited from the time Dr. King was murdered until an African American was elected President.

It seems to me, it seems obvious, that God kept true to God's 40 as used as symbol for the time of suffering.

This isn't a Democratic of Republican sermon. I would have been just as happy Colin Powell had been elected.

This is about God's kingdom completely overshadowing the kingdoms of men.

And his legacy lives on. He embodied the teachings of Jesus Christ and gave his life for it, so today we celebrate his legacy.

And we see how his teachings live on with the illustration of Tariq, the Palestinian boy who made friends with lovers of peace and changed his own narrative.

There is a neat connection to him here at Hope. The Trotwood COB, where I came from, where my son is still a member, along with the Elm Street Congregation in Lima, where many from here originated both are involved in Agape Satyagraha. It is a peace mentoring group for kids that teaches peaceful non resistance based on the teachings of Jesus, Dr. King and Gandhi. My son is a mentor.

But the job isn’t done.

Fear and anger still controls the mindset of to many.

Friday, the week before, Wes and I went to hear an African American speaker, Bryan Stevenson, from The Equal Justice Initiative Project speak at Calvin College.

He reminded us that in 1972, 300,000 people were incarcerated in the US. In 2010, 2,300,000 were incarcerated in the US. We have 5% of the world’s population and 25% of the world’s prisoners. The so called war on drugs, combined with the “three strikes and your out” has caused men, mainly black men, to serve life sentences for non violent crimes like writing bad checks.

To make it worse, or to help understand the fear and anger mentality he explained this:

He said: “we made great strides during the civil rights marches of the 60’s. But we now have the wrong impression, or remembrance of the history. We see it in three steps. 1) Rosa Parks refused to sit at the back of he bus. 2) Dr. King marched on Washington and was killed. And 3), we passed a bunch of laws that ensured Civil rights.

He said that the battle isn’t over. And given his statistics, the murder of Trayvon Martin, the death of Eric Garner and the Killing of John Crawford III in the Walmart across the street from where my black daughter-in-law works, he is right. Dr. King’s legacy is still alive and sadly, his work needs to continue.

I have a dream that someday, black mothers will not have to have “the talk” with their black sons about how not to scare white people in normal situations so that they are not killed by the fear and anger that still fuels racism.

And it goes back to the initial concepts of racial superiority.

Bryan Stevenson said this: We were not just a nation that held slaves. We were a Slave Nation. Whose economy was built on the backs of slaves.

And in order to do that, we had to dehumanize black people. Our leaders, even our churches, told us that black people were inferior to white people. They told us that even the color of their skin proved that we were better since white signified purity and black signified evil. They were told that they could be saved by serving the White man.

And, that narrative, he said, has still never been officially addressed.

There is still a body of work to be done. And, we can do it. And, we want God to be pleased with all our worship, so we should do it. AMEN?

One might ask how:

He said, 1). Proximity

If we do not face the uncomfortable reality, if we do not allow ourselves to get close to the problem, awareness shrinks. Don't let fear control us.

2). Change the Narrative

• fear and anger causes us to forgo compassion 
• history of racism
• we have never dealt with dehumanization of black slaves
• need to understand traumatization of people of color 

3). We have to be Hopeful

• injustice prevails in the face of hopelessness
• no one can be defined by their worse act
  • I can't wait until you get to know Kathy better.
  • She is very content working in the hood with a primarily African American clientèle.
  • And yes, she has faced racism against her.
  • But she chooses to not define anyone by their worse acts.
  • She chooses not to define any religion, race, gender or anything by the acts of a few.
  • Jesus loves the little Children

And 4). We Have to Choose to do Uncomfortable Things

• some of us have to speak 
• it is necessary to represent love and truth 

And finally, he said something that helps me think of how God does and will continue to love this Church.

“Do not judge the morality of a society by the way it treats the rich, but by the way it treats the poor.”

I would add, do not judge a Church by the way it treats its own, but by the way it treats others.

When I hear those words, I find a positive direction to go in

Amos 5:21-24Good News Translation (GNT)

²¹The Lord says, “I hate your religious festivals; I cannot stand them! ²²When you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; I will not accept the animals you have fattened to bring me as offerings. ²³Stop your noisy songs; I do not want to listen to your harps. ²⁴Instead, let justice flow like a stream, and righteousness like a river that never goes dry.

I sat across from a man who was studying this in love feast once. He told me that the true Jewish nation escaped Babylon after the first destruction of Jerusalem into the Caucasus mountains. They settled Eastern, then Western Europe, England and finally, the Americas.

They, according to him, are t he true Jewish people and the true master race, the race with a manifest destiny. I was appalled that he believed it.