Jesus and Justice

Jesus’ Justice Ethic

Jesus’ Justice Ethic

This sermon is based on Luke 6:20-26. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: “Just do the right thing” sounds easy enough, but how do we know what the right thing is? “Just do what the New Testament says” sounds like good advice until you are confronted five times with “greet one another with a holy kiss” and other such anachronisms. “Just do what Jesus says” sounds great until you read the Sermon on the Mount with its prohibitions on anger, lust, divorce, and oaths, as well as its “turn the other cheek,” “give your coat,” “go the extra mile” and “love those who persecute you” philosophy. Don’t tell anyone I said this, but “knowing and doing the right thing” is far more complicated than it first appears. So, what are we to do? We seek God’s wisdom from above, from beyond, from

Jesus and Justice

Okay, I lied. I gave Columbus the benefit of the doubt in my last post saying it was more likely that Columbus was simply bad at math and not a swindler. Having now read more of the Columbus story, I need to retract that statement. Plain and simple, it is far more likely that Columbus was a crook. If that is too strong, then let me just say, he was a horrible human being. Consider the evidence. He was a terrible sea captain (half of his voyages ended in dismal failure). He was notoriously cruel (natives who did not bring in a sufficient amount of gold would have their hands cut off). He trafficked in slaves. He and his crew spread disease which almost eradicated the entire Taino population (how do you spell “genocide”?). As governor, he was both utterly corrupt and tyrannical (as a result of his thieving and

Jesus: The Justice of God

This sermon is based on Luke 4:16-20. SERIES OVERVIEW: Years ago, "The Who" asked, “Who are you?” (and if you are not right now chanting, “Who, who, who, who?” in response, you are either way too young or way too humdrum). It’s a fun song, but more importantly, it’s a great question. It was also an important question 2000 years ago as the people tried to figure out who Jesus was. But how Jesus answered the “who” question is interesting. He didn’t lecture us to correct our misunderstandings. Instead, he gave us images and metaphors and word pictures. He called himself the “Bread of Life.” He wore the criticism, “friend of sinners,” as a badge of honor. He proclaimed to all that he was “the good shepherd.” He declared that he was the Messiah, and he announced that he was Israel’s king. Here’s the point: all of these images (and the