The wolf in sheep’s clothing is easy to spot. You will know all such wolves by their anti-Jesus and anti-love thoughts, words, and actions. Jesus taught the Golden Rule, to treat everyone the way you wish to be treated. The wolf in sheep’s clothing is following the wrong god. Which “God” are you following?
The following is taken from page 65 in MY RED BAG OF COURAGE, subtitled, SURVIVAL WISDOM. You can also find this sermon on You Tube:
The sermon that follows was delivered by seminary student James Talarico who was filling in for Reverend Jim Rigby when he was on his writing leave. Rev. Rigby is a Presbyterian minister in Austin, Tex. In 2007, he was named “Texas Public Citizen of the Year” by National Association of Social Workers for his work on gender, economic, and racial issues. He has written for Huffington Post, Common Dreams, and other sites, but now his focus is on his blog, as a place for deeper discussion of the relationship between religion and politics. You can read about this at the website: About Jim jimrigby.org.
My book, MY RED BAG OF COURAGE explains, “Religion is the personification of science, a way to explain the origins of the cosmos through means to which humanity can relate. This book is the best way I can think of to share what I have learned with you and explain why it is important. Accurate knowledge is not all about the latest fad or expression of history which all had the very same beginning despite the various interpretations of human experience.
“The words of Jesus when he walked on Earth flew in the face of religious and political authorities. Most of his words were intentionally not included in the one bible that was assembled from the many other writings during the Catholic Church Councils of Laodicea, Constantinople and others. Even Protestant religions go by the books of the bible, except for the seven mentioned above, approved by the Roman Catholic Church, saying that “God” somehow ordained it.
“The same thing is happening today with Christian Nationalists, who are the wolves in sheep’s clothing, in a maligned attempt to usurp the words of Jesus, as if Jesus backs politicians, political agendas and completely contradicts himself when he teaches that the kingdom of God is inside humanity in Luke 17:20-21, which is against what the Maga Religious Right is pontificating. This ‘Kingdom of God” is the Christ Light that animates each of our Spirits and Souls WITHIN us regardless of political party. It is time to unite humanity over common goals.”
Consider the words of seminary student James Talarico who was filling in for the Reverend Jim Rigby when he was on his writing leave.[1]
Jim Rigby is a Presbyterian Minister in Austin Texas. In 2007, he was named “Texas Public Citizen of the Year” by National Association of Social Workers for his work on gender, economic, and racial issues. He has written for Huffington Post, Common Dreams, and other sites, but now his focus is on this blog, as a place for a deeper discussion of the relationship between religion and politics. [2]
Rigby challenges whether it is possible, if all religions are willing to go through radical reformations to align themselves to the best science available, to learn to honor artistic expression however different, and to serve universal human rights.[3]
He asks, “Is it possible to affirm our different religious (and nonreligious) world views in ways that do not lead to intolerance and oppression, or does religion lead inevitably to superstition and sectarian violence? Can we affirm the core values of our own group, and yet, still be good citizens of the world?”
“Our pastor, Dr. Jim Rigby, is on his writing leave but I don’t know how much writing is getting done. I sent him a text asking for some inspiration for this sermon, and he gave me this. It’s ‘The Top Reasons Beer is Better than Religion,’ (congregation laughs) says Talarico delivering a sermon while Rigby was away.
“Number One: when you have beer, you don’t knock on people’s doors trying to give it away. Number Two: there are laws against forcing beer on minors who can’t think for themselves. Number Three: nobody’s ever been burned at the stake because of their favorite brand of beer. Number Four: you don’t have to wait more than two thousand years for a second beer. Number Five: and last, if you’ve devoted your life to beer, there are groups to help you.
“My granddad was a Baptist preacher. I’ve been a member of this church since I was two years old. And now I’m in seminary studying to become a minister myself. My faith means more to me than anything. But if I’m being very honest, sometimes I hesitate for telling someone I’m Christian.
“There is a cancer on our religion. Until we confess the sin that is Christian Nationalism and exorcize it from our churches, our religion can do a lot more damage than a six-pack of Lone Star.
“There is nothing Christian about Christian Nationalism. It is the worship of power, social power, economic power, political power in the name of Christ. And it is a betrayal of Jesus of Nazareth. He told us we would know them by their fruits. Jesus includes, Christian Nationalism excludes. Jesus liberates, Christian Nationalism controls. Jesus saves, Christian Nationalism kills.
“Jesus started a universal movement, based on love. Christian Nationalism is a sectarian movement, based on mutual hate. Jesus came to transform the world. Christian Nationalism is here to maintain the status quo. They have co-opted the Son of God. They’ve turned this humble rabbi into a gun-toting, gay-bashing, science-denying, money-loving, fear-mongering fascist. And it is incumbent upon all Christians to confront it and denounce it.
“Christian Nationalism is on the rise. Two years ago, Christian Nationalists stormed the Capitol, killing police officers while carrying crosses, and signs reading “Jesus Saves.” Last year, Christian Nationalists on the US Supreme Court overturned Roe vs Wade, allowing states like ours to outlaw abortion even in cases of rape and incest. And as we speak, two Christian Nationalist billionaires are trying to replace public schools in Texas with private, Christian schooling. We are closer than we think to a Christian Theocracy.
“How did this happen?
“The first followers of Jesus didn’t call themselves ‘Christians.’ They called themselves ‘The Way.’ Their crucified teacher taught them a different way of being human. And they intended to follow it. The early church was a revolutionary community built on radical love, a ‘peculiar people’ who shared all their possessions and refused to participate in the economy, the military, or the culture. The Book of Acts tells us that the first Christians were persecuted for ‘turning the world upside down.’
“But three hundred years after Jesus was executed by the Roman Empire, Emperor Constantine made Christianity the official state religion of that very same empire. Constantine was the first Christian Nationalist. And ever since, the powers that be have been taming Christianity, domesticating it, diluting it into something more palatable. Pro-war, pro-wealth, pro-white supremacy. That original counter-cultural movement became a tranquilized, privatized, weaponized religion the official sponsor of western civilization.
“A religion of sharing became a religion of greed. A religion of peace became a religion of violence. A religion of forgiveness became a religion of judgment. A religion of ego transformation became a religion of ego affirmation.
“Today, Christian Nationalists obsess over people’s private parts while the planet burns. Eight men own as much wealth as 3.6 billion people and Christian Nationalists are boycotting Barbie. The Bible doesn’t mention abortion or gay marriage. But it goes on and on about forgiving debt, liberating the poor and healing the sick.
“Christian Nationalists like to say this is a Christian nation. Not only is that historically inaccurate. Not only is that theologically blasphemous, but it is just not true.
“Look around us. If this was truly a Christian nation, we would forgive student debt.
“If this was truly a Christian nation, we would guarantee healthcare to every single person. If this was truly a Christian nation, we would love all of our LGBTQ neighbors. If this was truly a Christian nation, we would make sure every child in this state and in this country was housed, fed, clothed, educated, and insured. If this was truly a Christian nation, we would never make it a Christian nation, because we know the table of fellowship is open to everybody, including our Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, and atheist neighbors.
“Jesus could have started a Christian theocracy. But love would never do that. The closest thing we have to the kingdom of heaven is a multi-racial, multicultural democracy where power is truly shared among all people, something that’s yet to exist in human history. Christan Nationalism is not only a threat to the American experiment in democracy. It’s also a threat to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
“When someone asked Jesus to name his most important commandment, he cheats and gives two – two that he says are related. The first is to love God. The second, he said, is like it: ‘love thy neighbor as thyself.’ It’s like it because when I recognize the divine image in myself, I can’t help but recognize it in my neighbor; whether they’re Christian or not, whether they’re religious or not.
“In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus specifically defines neighbor as someone different from us, racially, economically, politically, religiously. God loves diversity. God loves variety. Just look around this big, beautiful planet of ours. Do we really think that God would make all these beautiful people with all their beautiful traditions for no reason at all?
“There are so many pathways to the sacred. The Islamic mystic Rumi said, ‘Every religion has love, but love has no religion.’ God is so much bigger than our human categories. God is not a Presbyterian. God is not a Christian. God is not a noun at all. God is a verb. God is not a being. God is being Itself. God is love.
“And that’s why Jesus is against anything that gets in the way of that love between neighbors, including religion. That’s why he’s always breaking religious rules. That’s why he’s always getting in trouble with the religious authorities. That’s why he says sinners will see the kingdom of heaven before religious people do.
“Sorry to everyone here. (parishioners laugh) I knew you came all this way.
“Religious supremacy is antithetical to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus didn’t come to establish a Christian nation. He came to reveal ultimate reality, which he called the kingdom of God.
“But it’s not like any kingdom we’ve ever known. Instead of a throne, Jesus sits at a table. Instead of a warhorse, Jesus rides a donkey. Instead of a sword, Jesus picks up a cross.
“The kingdom of God inverts the power dynamics of ‘all the kingdoms in the world.’ True strength is vulnerability. True statue is equality. True wealth is sharing.
“And we as Christians are called to realize that kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven,” not by force, but by faith. Jesus asked us to have the faith of a mustard seed, trusting that by living and dying for love we give birth to a better world. That’s not easy to do.
“In a world full of fear, Jesus knew we would put our trust in something other than God, something other than love. As a Jewish rabbi, he called those things idols: money, status, and the most dangerous idol of all, power.
“When Jesus was tempted by the devil, when he was in the wilderness, one of the things the devil offered was power, ‘all the kingdoms of the world,’ and Jesus rejected it.
“When his disciples ask who will be the most powerful in the kingdom of God, Jesus said, you know the lords of the earth push their people around, ‘but among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be a servant.’
“And when they still didn’t get it, and they ask who will be the greatest in the kingdom of God? Jesus said, ‘Little children,’ the least powerful, but most trusting members of any human community. That’s the kingdom of God.
“I think Chance the Rapper said it best, ‘Don’t believe in kings. Believe in the kingdom.’
“Jesus knew, in the words of Dorothy Soelle, ‘There is only one legitimation of power and that is to share it with others. Power that is not shared, that is not turned into love, is pure domination and oppression.
“Christian Nationalists are more committed to the love of power than to the power of love. And it exposes a lack of faith because the opposite of faith is not doubt. Doubt is a healthy part of any faith. The opposite of faith is control. When we stop trusting God, when we stop trusting love, we start taking control ourselves.
“Christian Nationalists want to control what we read, who we marry, where we travel, when we have children. They want to control our minds and our bodies.
“’O Ye of little faith.’
“Christian Nationalists trust domination because they think domination is what works. But Jesus revealed that the true power of the universe is not domination, but love.
“In Daoism, they teach that over time the soft overcomes the hard. The water wears down the rock. The wind takes out the mountain. The grass upends the concrete. ‘The meek … inherit the earth.’
“Violence may win in the short run, but in the end, love always wins. Jesus said this kingdom of God is in our midst. It’s hiding in plain sight. Heaven is already here inside of us. Above us. All around us.
“On my mom’s side my granddad was a Baptist preacher. But on my dad’s side, my Grandpa Talarico never went to church, but he was one of the most generous, compassionate, moral people I’ve ever met. He was an immigrant from Italy whose family saw firsthand the dangers of mixing church and state. He settled in the Texas hill country, and on Sunday mornings he would take these long walks through the wildflowers and the live oaks, and he would take me with him. He said it was the best chance to see G.O.D., the Great Out Doors.
“Biologists tell us that everything in nature is connected and evolving toward greater union. Anthropologists tell us that our ability to share and corporate is humanity’s superpower. And astrophysicists tell us that the universe is just gentle enough to make our existence possible. This universe of ours is nothing but gratuitous grace.
“Teilhard wrote that the very physical universe is love. We see it in the harmonies of music, the principles of mathematics, the patterns of nature. We are all expressions of that creative power. We are the universe becoming aware of itself.
“As children of God, children of the cosmos, we are loved unconditionally, indiscriminately, infinitely. No achievement can add to it. No mistake can take from it. No amount of church going or church missing can change it. That’s truly deserving of the title, ‘Good News.’
“We are made by love, with love, to love. I call that love God. You may use a different word, and that’s okay. There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the ground.
“We can cure the disease of Christian Nationalism. We can protect against the virus of religious extremism with healthy religion.
“The great faith traditions of the world have so much to offer us in this time of global crisis. Hinduism’s ahimsa provides an alternative to the logic of violence. Buddhist meditation provides an alternative to the abuse of our attention. Judaism’s Sabbath provides an alternative to the demands of capitalism. And in a world where everything can be bought and sold including the earth itself, Native American traditions provide an alternative to ecological extraction.
“It’s hard. It is so hard to protect your spirit in a world trying to kill it.
“That’s why we need faith communities like this one. That’s why we need stories and traditions and practices that heal our soul and transform our mind. Every time on this sanctuary that we say the prayers, sing the hymns, sprinkle the water, eat the bread, drink the wine, we’re tuning our hearts.
“Our Buddhist friends tell us that it takes practice. Neuroscientists tell us that we can become kinder, more empathetic if we work at it. Things like love, peace, and hope, they require strength training, a gym for the heart.
“So every week we gather here to sing our songs and tell our stories just for the opportunity in the words of Thich Nhat Hanh, ‘dwell in the ultimate.’ Together. Just for a moment.
“And that’s almost better than a cold glass of beer. I invite you now to your own reflection on these words.”
[1] https://youtu.be/Blph_2RSBno
God Bless Everyone Everywhere