Je Suis Charlie

Galatians 3:23-29, 4:4-7

          Each day I receive an inspirational thought in an e-mail. An acquaintance of mine arranged this and I am forever grateful for an additional tool to start the day on a thoughtful, appreciative and prayerful note. I find that how I start my day is a fairly good barometer of how I will focus, view and handle life during the next 24 hours. That's me. Today's message was "If we worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true really is true, then there would be little hope for advance." (Orville Wright, 1871-1948)

           Three things came to my mind with today's passage and this quote. One is simply a sign I saw yesterday,  Je Suis Charlie. It offered solidarity and a message about the recent barbarism and religious lunacy that occurred in France.  What religious fanatics do ( and have done over the centuries ) is shameful, demonic and absolutely has no bearing on any message God wishes to reveal to mankind. Je Suis Charlie was posted in solidarity by a person who posted information, not unlike myself that was often challenging and counter to many accepted beliefs. To promote thought and to question the status quo should not be something that endangers one's life. Yet what happened in Paris shows us the extent to which warped ideologies can infect and inflame people to horrific actions. It is intensely sad that such lessons are still being learned after humanity has lived through similar 'infections' such as the Nazi's, the Inquisition, various Pogrums and the Crusades. Are we destined to never learn from our errors?  The right wingnuts in this country spreading hate, lies and misinformation about the LGBTQ community run the risk of creating similar hateful and misguided actions here. In fact, hate crimes against gays inspired and provoked by these hateful "Evangelicals" and self righteous religious wingnuts occur daily. A simple act of defiance (read: affection, love, companionship) such as hold hands or a simple kiss is enough to incur beatings and even death.

          So here I am each day, writing what I hope are prayerful reflections but often rants against the power elite and status quo. I write sometime challenging notions that might make some people a bit squirmy. Little did I know I was writing many times in the vein of Orville Wright.  Challenging assumptions and hoping to advance knowledge, love, fellowship and faith.  This could get me killed though so I too should say Je suis Charlie!

           My third point and perhaps the most important of all because it based on scripture is today's passage. When Christianity was spreading far from Jerusalem and into cultures quite different from Judaism, certain problems arose. Different cultures among other things requires respect of the other and a desire to learn. One of the problems about that learning process is that different cultures have different views on things and often have much different ways of expressing things. Such is the case when Christianity began to come to Greek areas.  So much was different. Philosophies, ways of expression. The Greeks did not have the foundation of ancient Judaism or their scripture and in fact had their own history and deeply embedded culture.  In many ways this is the age old issue of unknown cultures cultures clashing. Not so different from East and West, Blacks and Whites and many other culture clashes in human history.  What this passage is trying to address is that because of Jesus There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female. If the passage were written today it might easily have read, no gay or straight, no Muslim or Christian or Jew. The passage is trying to focus on the fact that we are all children of God. We all call God "Abba" (read: Daddy). We are all His children.

         As children of God we are called to learn ad grow, but also respect each other and part of the learning is from each other. There is a tension in learning because it does challenge us. But for those who do the challenging, whether it is satirical comic in France, or a blogger sitting on a little island in the Atlantic or Orville Wright, we must not raise our hackles and inspire hate and vengeance in response.

      We are all children of the same God. If we raise our hackles, it should be against fantiscism, hate and fear mongering and to stop violence, brother against brother.

Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.