Friday, March 06, 2009

Lent Bible Challenge | Day 9
March 6

Preaching in his hometown, Jesus quotes from Isaiah 42, 49, & 58. teaching that salvation - or that the circle of God's love is not based on ethnicity, genetics, culture or nationality.  Rather it includes everyone.  God's message is for the Jews and the pagans [everyone else is Jesus' day].  Rejected, and nearly killed by his own people - Jesus goes to other people - who quickly welcome him as one of their own and make radical existential choices to embrace Jesus' teachings and to live differently in the oppressive imperialistic context that they knew in Roman occupied Palestine.

How do we reject our own prophets today?  Refusing to recognize their gifts because of their genetics?  As the constitutional debate about Prop 8 rages on - and both side let fly their interpretation of who is godly and who isn't - I wonder why I rarely (if ever) hear today's passage quoted in arguments? Why is it that modern religion (of the Christian sort) in our country is all based upon private spirituality, legalizing morality and cultural wars as opposed to embracing Jesus' radical call to set free those who are burdened, broken and in bondage?

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