The world says get
and Jesus says give.
+ The Faces of Jesus
+ The Faces of Jesus
During this season of Eastertide to Pentecost, when we dare to receive 50 days of "joy as resistance against all the forces of despair and welcome the Spirit of God's fire that "consumes nothing good but everything evil," I continue to hear Alice in Wonderland's refrain "curiouser and curiouser" as we get ready to celebrate Emmaus City Church's 10th Anniversary.
And I'm brought back to this foolishly wise quote by the late pastor and author, Frederick Buechner, who invites me to wonder like Alice again, and Tom Holland, agnostic historian and author, who encourages Christians to be honest about the mad things they believe in:
If the world is sane,
then Jesus is mad as a hatter
and the Last Supper
then Jesus is mad as a hatter
and the Last Supper
is the Mad Tea Party.
The world says,
Mind your own business,
and Jesus says,
There is no such thing as your own business.
The world says,
Follow the wisest course and be a success,
and Jesus says,
Follow me and be crucified.
The world says, Drive carefully
—the life you save may be your own—
and Jesus says,
Whoever would save his life will lose it, and
whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
The world says,
Law and order,
and Jesus says,
Love.
The world says,
Get
and Jesus says,
Give.
In terms of the world's sanity,
Jesus is crazy as a coot,
and anybody who thinks he or she
The world says,
Mind your own business,
and Jesus says,
There is no such thing as your own business.
The world says,
Follow the wisest course and be a success,
and Jesus says,
Follow me and be crucified.
The world says, Drive carefully
—the life you save may be your own—
and Jesus says,
Whoever would save his life will lose it, and
whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
The world says,
Law and order,
and Jesus says,
Love.
The world says,
Get
and Jesus says,
Give.
In terms of the world's sanity,
Jesus is crazy as a coot,
and anybody who thinks he or she
can follow Him
without being a little crazy too
is laboring less under a cross
than under a delusion.
without being a little crazy too
is laboring less under a cross
than under a delusion.
+ Frederick Buechner,
The Faces of Jesus
"Under a Delusion"
"Under a Delusion"
Rather than speaking
with the voice of prophecy,
rather than explaining
to a grieving and anxious people
how the dead will rise
into the blaze of eternal life,
rather than proclaiming
the miracles and mysteries
that they uniquely exist to proclaim,
(too many) Church leaders
with the voice of prophecy,
rather than explaining
to a grieving and anxious people
how the dead will rise
into the blaze of eternal life,
rather than proclaiming
the miracles and mysteries
that they uniquely exist to proclaim,
(too many) Church leaders
seem to have opted instead
to talk like middle managers.
...
The future for local churches
is to remind people
where these ideas come from.
They come from believing in mad things,
that there is a God
who created all human beings equally,
gave them an inherent dignity
because they’re created in God’s image.
...
People want the supernatural.
is to remind people
where these ideas come from.
They come from believing in mad things,
that there is a God
who created all human beings equally,
gave them an inherent dignity
because they’re created in God’s image.
...
People want the supernatural.
+ Tom Holland
Historian, Author and Agnostic
May God's Kingdom come, His will be done.
Que le Royaume de Dieu vienne,
que sa volonté soit faite.
愿神的国降临，愿神的旨意成就。
Nguyện xin Nước Chúa đến, ý Ngài được nên.
Jesús nuestra Rey, venga Tu reino!
🙏💗🍞🍷👑🌅🌇
que sa volonté soit faite.
愿神的国降临，愿神的旨意成就。
Nguyện xin Nước Chúa đến, ý Ngài được nên.
Jesús nuestra Rey, venga Tu reino!
🙏💗🍞🍷👑🌅🌇
With anticipation and joy,
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