Fourth Sunday of Lent – Rejecting the sanctimonious spiritualization of the Gospel

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As we continue our look at Becoming a Resisting Church, we are confronted with the story of the blind man Jesus healed. The religious leaders of his day (the Jewish Nationalists) believed that the man was born blind because of his own sin or that of his parents. Think about that for a moment. A child who was born blind somehow committed a sin while still unborn that warranted their God to punish him with blindness.

Or even worse, the parents did something so horrible that God punished them with a blind child. Their God cursed the child to live a life of pain and suffering, not for anything he did, but because he wanted to get back at the parents for their sin.

All too often modern Christian Nationalist and evangelical fundamentalist want to have a vengeful and hateful God. They want a God that condemns innocent people to pain and suffering to prove a point.

In Rev. Detrich Bonhoeffer’s day, the German Nationalists (Nazis) believed in this same God. He called them out for that abusive and incorrect view of God when he stated:

“That is precisely the frightening thing about this story – there is no moralizing here at all, but simply talk of poor and rich and of the promise and the threat given to one and the other. Here these external conditions are obviously not treated as external conditions but are taken unbelievably seriously. Why did Christ heal the sick and suffering if he didn’t consider such external conditions important? Why is the kingdom of God equated with the deaf hear, the blind see? — And where do we get the incredible presumption to spiritualize these things that Christ saw and did very concretely? We must end this audacious, sanctimonious spiritualization of the gospel. Take it as it is, or hate it honestly!” (The Sermon on Lazarus, Detrich Bonhoeffer)

Today, many Christians continue to uphold this sanctimonious spiritualization of the Gospel that Bonhoeffer decried. They want to punish those they see as unworthy of God’s love. However, true Christians continue to call out that kind of hateful message as it is completely contrary to the message of Jesus.

Jesus showed loved and compassion to those most in need. He healed the blind man and called out the Jewish Nationalists for their incorrect and immoral teachings about God. He set them straight when he told them that this man was not being punished by God for sin but was a beacon of God’s light and love in the world.

We need to be that kind of Christian. We need to show the love of God to all people, especially those who are disabled and those that are marginalized in our society.

Saint Thomas Merton made this clear when he stated:

“Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business, and, in fact, it is nobody’s business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbor’s worthy.”

I hope you will join us in preaching the true Good News of Jesus to the world around us.

Pax et Bonum,

Bishop Greer

Third Sunday of Lent – Cheap or Costly Grace

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Are we practicing cheap grace or costly grace? You may ask what I mean by that as so many have not heard of this distinction. Rev. Detrick Bonhoeffer is the one who discussed this distinction in his book titled The Cost of Discipleship.

Our readings this Sunday give us a hint. God calls the people of Israel to trust in him and to follow him no matter what. Saint Paul tells the church at Corinth that they need to set aside their old ways to follow the message of Jesus. And Jesus tells the people who followed him that one must take the time to tend to the fig tree to receive fruit.

All these point to the idea of a costly grace. A grace that requires action to be grace. Cheap grace doesn’t require anything of us. Bonhoeffer put it this way:

“Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”

On the other hand, costly grace requires us to set aside our biases, hatred, distrust, and lack of compassion to follow the message of love. Again, Bonhoeffer explained it this way:

“Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble; it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.”

This Sunday we will look at how the difference between cheap and costly grace is important to know when Becoming a Resisting Church. And we will learn how to apply that as we resist the call of the world to seek power, money, and authority.

I hope you will join us Sunday!

Pax et Bonum,

Bishop Greer

Second Sunday of Lent – Transfiguration

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As we move to the Second Sunday of Lent, we continue our series on Becoming a Resisting Church. This Sunday we focus on the Transfiguration of our Lord.

Transfiguration is part of our move away from the temptation of the world such as power, greed, and authoritarianism. It is a transfiguration into the type of people Jesus calls us to be. And Jesus calls us to be compassionate, caring, and helpful to those most in need.

Rev. Dietrich Bonhoeffer spoke about this in his writings about Life Together:

“God does not seek the most perfect human being with whom to be united but takes on human nature as it is. Jesus Christ is not the transfiguration of noble humanity but the Yes of God to real human beings, not the dispassionate Yes of a judge but [the] merciful Yes of a compassionate sufferer.”

Jesus seeks to make our world a more loving and compassionate place. He calls us to help the poor, homeless, immigrants, women, people of color, and those in the LGBTQIA community. He calls us to love rather than hate.

In a world that continues to slide toward more and more hateful rhetoric, we are called to show more and more love. We cannot love our neighbors and hate the immigrant, the poor, the women, the people of color, and the LGBTQIA in our midst.

Today is the day to make a change. Today is the day for transfiguration.

Will you be transformed, or will you continue to follow the world?

Pax et Bonum,

Bishop Greer

First Sunday of Lent – Temptation

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This Sunday we begin our Lenten series on How to be a Resisting Church. In it we will look at the lives and works of the Rev. Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Their inspiration and works have stood the test of time and have helped the church navigate some of the most destructive times in the history of the church.

Our readings this Sunday focus on the command of God to follow him given to Moses and the Israelites and the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness.

Rev. Bonhoeffer said in his book on Temptation:

“It is here that everything within me rises up against the Word of God….  Therefore the Bible teaches us in times of temptation in the flesh, there is one command:  Flee!  Flee fornication.  Flee idolatry.  Flee youthful lusts.  Flee the lusts of the world.  There is no resistance to Satan in lust other than flight.  Every struggle against lust in one’s own strength is doomed to failure.”

He reminds us that the temptation of the world is to turn our back on the Word of God and to follow our earthly desires. However, God calls us to flee from those temptations and to resist the call of evil.

In our modern world, we are so often enticed by the evil that surrounds us. That evil calls to our baser instincts to hate, divide one another, and to marginalize those we see as less than ourselves. Yet, God calls us to embrace those most in need, to help lift up the downtrodden and to sow love all around us in the world.

Part of being a resisting church is to answer the call of God even when the rest of the world, yes, even the rest of Christianity, works to fulfill those desires of the flesh. It is not easy, but rather it requires us to let go of our earthly desires and to humble ourselves before God. And Lent is the perfect time to start this pattern of service to God and our neighbor.

I hope you will join us this Sunday as we being our look at how to be a resisting church in the world around us.

Pax et Bonum,

Bishop Greer

Loving your enemies and holding them accountable

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I have had many “Christians” come after me the last few weeks using this Sunday’s Gospel as a bully club against me. They seem to forget that holding someone accountable for their bad actions is also scriptural and not a violation of loving your enemy and doing good to those who persecute you.

Jesus routinely held the religious leaders of his day accountable. John the Baptist lost his head for holding Herod accountable for his adultery. Many prophets, martyrs, and patriarchs in the Bible stood up against the evil that was pervasive in their nations because they were called by God to do so.

We can love our enemies and do good to them while holding them accountable for their bad actions. Calling out those individuals who are celebrating the abuse and marginalization that is occurring in our nation is what we as people of faith are called to do. Paul even gives us a road map for how to hold those people accountable.

I refuse to be silent while my family is put at risk. I refuse to allow people to violate the sacredness of our sanctuary to abuse, disenfranchise, and even kill immigrants all because the color of their skin is darker. I refuse to allow their votes in favor of killing, imprisoning, and abusing LGBTQIA+ individuals to go unchallenged. I refuse to allow them to celebrate taking food away from children and medical care away from the elderly.

If you are one of those individuals supporting these policies, hear me well, YOU ARE NOT A FOLLOWER OF JESUS. You can call yourself a “Christian”, but you are not a follower of Jesus. Just like the “white-washed tombs” called religious leaders in Jesus’ day, you have sold your soul to the evil one in exchange of material wealth, momentary joy, and temporal power.

I will do good to you. I will continue to pray for your salvation. But I will not hesitate to hold you accountable.

I pray that you will turn from your evil ways and join us on the path to righteousness. Our door is always open and the sacraments, especially confession, is available to all people.

Pax et Bonum,

Bishop Greer

Are you a Blessed?

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Beatitudes image showing Jesus teaching surrounded by images of others that describe those teachings.

Last Sunday, during Mass, I suffered a major anxiety issue. Those that know me well could tell that something was off. I did my best to hide what was happening, but the signs were there. This attack was likely caused by all the stress and worry that has invaded our lives since the presidential change of power.

It was also a moment for reflection for me. I may appear strong on the outside, but inside I am scared and worried about the future of our country and those that I love that are being attacked and vilified every single day.

In the past two week, my daughter has come under attack from dozens of conservative “Christians” who think it is their mandate from God to attack her for being transgender. Our church has been the target of a tremendous amount of hate online because we are “woke”. And I personally have been attacked by dozens of conservative “Christians” who believe I am a false prophet for teaching the Bible.

I preach the Gospel. The very Gospel we read this Sunday.

“Blessed are the poor. Blessed are the hungry. Blessed are you who are now weeping. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man.”

Jesus was saying that those society marginalizes are blessed in the eyes of God. He even tells us in a roundabout way that if we proclaim his message we will be persecuted, reviled, and abused. Most people stop reading there because they are too upset that Jesus is “woke”. But let’s look at the rest of what he says:

“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.”

Wow! Jesus’ message makes it clear that the rich, the gluttonous, those who laugh at those in need and marginalized, and those who are set up as idols and spoken well of have already received their rewards and they will suffer in the life to come.

Sadly, in today’s version of mainstream “Christianity”, people are too concerned with wealth and power. They either have wealth and power, or they think they can gain it by stepping on those who are considered “undesirable”. We need only look at the things they are promoting and accepting to see this.

I was reminded of this today when a former friend was found to have posted a video of people laughing and pointing at people wearing a mask to protect themselves from COVID or Bird Flu. They claim to be a “Christian”, yet they show a complete disregard for other’s health or concerns.

As someone who worked in the hospital 15 hours a day in the COVID ICU watching hundreds of people die from COVID, that kind of abuse is evil. As someone who has a weakened immune system due to diabetes and congestive heart failure, it is a wish that I would die.

That kind of behavior Jesus spoke about in the Gospel I just quoted! “Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep.”

Rather than repent, so many “Christians” today think they can be forgiven by claiming, “It was just a joke” or “You can’t judge me, only Jesus knows my heart.” Jesus also spoke to this when he said that we will know a tree by its fruits.

If you are not standing on the side with the Blesseds, then you are on the side of the Woe to them. Now is the time to make a real change and become a real Christian.

Otherwise, your experience at the end of your life will be less than pleasant.

Pax et Bonum,

Bishop Greer

Will you answer the call?

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Here I am send me image with guy with his arms outstretched.

Twenty-six years ago, last month I was ordained to the priesthood. It was a turning point in my life as I answered the call from Isaiah of “Whom shall I send?” I answered like Isaiah, “Here I am. Send me.”

Little did I understand at the time what would lay in store for me. Like Isaiah, I feel like an unprepared and unworthy servant of our Lord. Yet, he has called me and many of my brothers and sisters in ministry to be a prophetic voice to the world around us. And let me tell you, that is not as exciting as it sounds.

Sometimes being a prophetic voice in the world means that people will hate you. They will threaten you, abuse you, and might even throw you down a well like they did Jeremiah.

And standing up can get you into trouble.

But that is not a reason to back down. Rather, it is the time when we must stand up, no matter the cost. We must fight for justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion in our society. We cannot rest until the marginalized are treated with respect and dignity, the oppressed are free, and the abused are no longer mistreated.

Jesus calls us all to be the light, peace, and love in the world. Yet so many Christians believe that his message of loving everyone is too weak. They want the strong, AR-15 carrying, muscle bound, white, blond hair, blue eyed Jesus. The real Jesus, a Palestinian Jew, dark skinned, dark hair, likely brown eyed, carpenter living under an oppressive Roman occupation who taught us to love our enemies and to do good to those who persecute us is considered heresy.

Yet the real Jesus calls us to live a different life. One in which we give to others in need, care for those who are sick or hurting, and welcome the immigrant and refugee among us. He calls us to put ourselves in their place and to treat others the way we would want to be treated.

We hope you will join us this Sunday as we work to follow the real Jesus!

Pax et Bonum,

Bishop Greer

Standing against injustice

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Simeon and Anna spend their days in the temple in Jerusalem waiting for the coming of the Messiah. They had hope that they would see the coming Messiah because the Holy Spirit had revealed to them they would. Despite all those who had given up hope, feared the coming apocalypse that would come at the hands of the oppressive Roman government, and despaired at the lack of real spiritual leadership, Simeon and Anna did not give up hope.

Today, we face many of the same fears the people in Judea did in the first century. In less than two weeks, our country has gone from a constitutional republic to an authoritarian fascist state. People are being fired for the color of their skin, their gender, and their political leanings. Concentration camps are being set up to house those who the dictator wishes to be imprisoned. People are being denied the ability to leave the country because they cannot get passports because their gender is considered illegal.

It is tempting to give up hope. And trust me, it has been a very difficult week for me. I have struggled to get out of bed, dreading the next news alert, scared every time there is a knock on the door, fearing the invasion of federal agents into our worship space because we preach the “wrong Gospel”.

Your fear, concern, and feelings of hopelessness are valid.

I was reminded today of Jewish saying by Rabbi Tarfon, “It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you at liberty to neglect it.”

We are called to stand up to injustice, violence, abuse, marginalization, misogyny, and bigotry in our world. Even if that requires that we call out those we consider friends for their bad behavior.

Jesus reminds us in Matthew 25 that we will only enter heaven if we care for all people and love all people. Not just those who look like us. Not just those who think like us. Not just those who are “pure Americans”.

We are called to love everyone. We are called to help those most in need. We are commanded to welcome the stranger and to treat them with dignity and respect. To do otherwise, is a grave sin.

Come stand with us this Sunday at Saint Francis Parish as we continue to preach the Gospel of Jesus.

Pax et Bonum,

Bishop Greer

Who do you serve? Jesus or a dictator

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As I sat down to write this blog post, word has come that hundreds of people who may or may not be undocumented immigrants have been arrested and whisked away to an undisclosed location. Even as I write these words, the fear is real and the remembrance of another nation who did this in the 1930’s is harrowing.

This Sunday we read the story of Jesus proclaiming the passage from Isaiah that says:

                  The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

                  because he has anointed me

                  to bring glad tidings to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives

                  and recovery of sight to the blind,

                  to let the oppressed go free,

                  and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.

So many people in the United States claim to be Christians, yet they applaud binding up innocent people, blinding those who see too much, oppressing more and more people, all in the name of a false god. They turn against the teachings of Jesus and even call for the deportation of Americans who preach those very teachings.

Bishop Budde is a prime example of this vitriol. She preached the message of compassion, love, and hospitality toward all human beings, even those we don’t get along with, or think are wrong. And for this, members of congress are calling for her deportation. This is abusive and heretical.

It is time that all people of faith who truly follow the message of Jesus, the message of Isaiah, stand up and call out the false teachings being promoted by those who claim to be Christians, but deny Jesus by their lifestyles. Those people are easy to spot. They claim to be Christian but attack immigrants, women, the poor, and the LGBT. They promote abusive regimes that disappear people in the middle of the night. They support anti-religious dictators who spend their time finding new ways to make the marginalized lives unbearable.

We can either be true to our faith or finally admit that we are not Christians and that we do not follow Jesus.

Like Bishop Budde, I call on all people of faith to show compassion, love, and kindness to all people. To stand up for the rights of those most in need of our support. To protect immigrants, women, people of color, and the LGBT community.

To do otherwise is not just unholy, but un-Christlike.

Which side will you choose?

Pax et Bonum,

Bishop Greer Godsey

When the going gets tough

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Water to wine. Jesus’ first miracle would have set the fundamentalist on fire today! Just the mere thought of drinking wine makes many of them clutch their pearls. One of the messages I think Jesus was trying to get across in today’s scripture readings is that the unexpected, the disappointing, even the damaging can and will happen to us. However, how we react to those situations speaks volumes.

And trust me, there are time when we are far from safe and secure in our lives. Many people today are concerned as we prepare to swear in a new president tomorrow. They fear all the terrible things that may happen to those they love or even to themselves. Jesus reminds us that despite the obstacles we face, he is right there with us, helping us through. Does that mean I live my life without fear or concern? No, I too worry about the future. However, I can only deal with what I can control.

And wasn’t that Jesus’ message? And Mary helped to drive that point home. She made Jesus aware that the wine had run out, the bridegroom was loosing face and his reputation was to be damaged. Jesus asks her what concern is that of his? And all his mother responds with is to tell the servants to do whatever Jesus tells them to. That was her answer. It is something you can fix, something you can change, so do it.

And Jesus did. He not only made more wine out of water, but the wine turned out to be much better than the wine they had bought! Jesus preformed this first miracle despite not really wanting to. He showed us that it is required that we work to fix the things we have the power to fix. We cannot sit by and ignore the needs in the world around us. Nor can we sit back and watch evil things happen in the world. We have to stand up and make a change.

This week, I pray that you find the courage and strength to keep going no matter how hard the path gets.

Pax et Bonum,

Bishop Greer