“He thinks that singing on Sunday’s going to save his soul.”Jack Johnson

 

Jesus teaches that it’s more important to be reconciled with others, than to go to a community to worship God. In fact I believe he is saying that reconciliation with each other is worshiping God. The religious right of the first century AD believed that going through organized and systematic rituals at a temple was the best way to worship their creator. Jesus says, if you do go to these religious events, be sure to first really do yourself and God a favor, be reconciled to each other. Once we begin “othering” our advisory, we make them less than honorable or worth reconciling with. This burns up our soul in a toxic way because, it the first step to de humanizing our fellow human. Once we remove their basic God given dignity, by name-calling we don’t have to reconcile, in fact we start to justify preemptively striking them, hedging them out, oppressing them, or even killing them. Our souls are in danger of creating hell here and now on earth when we insist on calling our brother an asshole, kook, fucking idiot, bastered, terrorist, communist, imperialist, and on and on the list goes. Jesus invites us to see the good in our brother, to call it out, to seek peace, to find reconciliation with all things and people. It becomes very obvious that Jesus is not apart of our political agendas in the twenty first century, nor was he apart of the agenda of the religious or political systems of his day either. Jesus says that following Gods way starts with our neighbor, what we call our advisory, and ask us not to waste our time singing on Sundays if we have not made peace with all our friends and foes. So, as followers of Jesus, lets follow this teaching. If you do go to a house of worship tomorrow, this Easter or whenever, consider its worth reconcile with those in your life wherever possible. If you’re not ready to practice this teaching, you’re not ready to go to a community of worship.

 

Jesus Teaching #9

 

The teaching: Stop negative name-calling and labeling! Be reconciled with others before you go to a house of worship.

 

The practice: Search you soul and heart with God and invite our creator into your intimate thoughts and sub conscious stirrings. Invite God into your hurt and ask him whom you need to make peace with. Once the answer comes, use every recourse you have acquired or can obtain and seek out wisely how to make peace.

 

“But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. “Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar (worship God), and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother and then come and offer your gift.” Jesus