September 25, 2024 – A

The shift Christianity is required to make
is from believing in Jesus
to being Jesus, "like that."

It is a simple shift in perspective
to view Jesus' "resurrection"
as being coming to life in his disciples,
but.

If it were as simple as changing clothes,
it would have been done long before now.

It requires a change of attitude,
of orientation,
of focus and direction.

And our theology has to be completely
revamped.

The Garden of Eden metaphor
has to be scrapped entirely
and replaced with the Prodigal Son's father
as the way to think about
what needs to be done.
From, "Depart from me!
I never knew you,
you servants of iniquity!"
To, "You were lost,
and now you are found!
You were dead and now you are alive!"

Or: "O Absalom, Absalom,
my son, my son!
O Absalom, my son!"

The Substitutionary Theory of the Atonement,
has to be replaced with
“Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, 
and I will give you rest. 
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, 
for I am gentle and humble-hearted,
and you will find rest for your souls,
for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Paul made the mental shift required with his,
"It is no longer I who live,
but Christ who lives within me!"
And that is all that is left 
for the rest of us to do.

And, "BOOM," as John Madden would say,
everything is as it should have been
from the start--
and would have been
had it not been for Irenaeus, the Bishop of Lion,
also known as "the Butcher of Lion,"
because of his persecution of heretics,
murdering Gnostics by burning them at the stake.

Everything flows from how we see things
and say what's what.
And the times are calling us 
to change how we see things,
and become who we have always been asked--
and had it in us--
to be,
the anointed ones,
the divine children of God.