August 6, 2023
Judy and I have been sitting outside in the wonderful morning, shaded by our apple tree. I had my coffee and Saduko, Judy with her coffee and book. I was gathering courage to face the hassles of working on my website and putting my new book on Amazon. The day is filled. The folks next door were outside also, and had a radio tuned to the local country-western station. My day was changed when they played a song called, ‘When Jesus Comes”. I’ve just got to write a few words about this. We tend to not talk much about religion, but it’s in many of our songs. And if it’s ‘on-the-air’, it should be OK for me to comment.
Wouldn’t it be great if Jesus just came down from heaven and fixed everything? Who can blame people for hoping (believing) that they don’t really have to do anything; that God (Jesus?) will make everything right, if they only believe it? Tragically, this has been part of Christianity from the start. It makes no difference that Jesus of Nazareth refused time and again to be the Messiah, a righteous king who would lead the people in revolt against the hated Romans. Not learning from that first mistake, his followers joined in the revolt thirty-five years later, still believing that Jesus would come again to solve all their problems. They were wrong again, of course, and all died by Roman swords in 70 AD when Jerusalem finally fell.
Since then, as regular as clock-work, every generation or two has a tragic movement that is based on that gross error. The Abba/God that Jesus knew promised to be with us, as we worked to live faithfully, but never promised to solve our problems. Yet, this messianic expectation is still very much alive and well.
Why is this important? Aren’t religion and politics separate? Of course not. What you believe tends to influence what you do and how you vote. If you really believe that Jesus is coming again, very soon, and will make everything wonderful, why worry about climate change? Why worry about wars or hunger? All the problems of the world are just temporary and illusionary.
When we vote people into office that have this basic understanding, the whole world is in peril. And we do vote them into power. More every year. That is what is happening in the U.S. There are few democracies in the world not affected.
The religious basis of the ‘right-wing’ thinking is rarely admitted. But listen to the songs. They often tell more truth than you’ll hear spoken. Know, however, that if you mention this or dare to question, it will probably be seen to the ‘believers’, that you are under the influence of the Devil, or are just a lost soul, needing to be saved. You won’t change many minds but will find encouragement in joining with others who agree with you. It will be a good idea to see what churches your politicians, of all levels of government, attend, if any.
As for me, I’m trying to be open to the More that I sense, being very aware that it is up to us to solve the problems of living in this blessed but imperfect world. Amen.
Anthony
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Anthony Gifford
118 Ford Street Kingston, ON K7K4Z6
Judy’s phone number 613 985 1029
House phone number 613 344 2322
anthonygifford42@gmail.com
