            BeautyNqueens51: amen !!!!!!!!!! 6 years ago • Report 1  blondephd: Thank you Joseph for posting what certainly opens up a discussion fitting for this very holy time of year when our beliefs and behavior towards other is at the front. We have seen the many protests across the country in response to police shootings of unarmed black men, women, and boys, many people of color do not feel safe around police. They do not feel protected, they feel afraid, harassed, mistreated, in danger. The rally cry has become “Black Lives Matter” and in response, some have felt compelled to reply “All Lives Matter.” The issue, however, is not that anyone is proposing that other people’s lives do not matter. Of course everyone’s lives matter — including the lives of police officers. The Black Lives Matter slogan draws attention to the fact that, in our country, people of color — and in particular black males — are systematically treated as if their lives did not matter. As Christians we should recognize the language of black lives matter. After all, Jesus did not say “blessed is everyone,” but “blessed are the poor” (Luke 6:20). He did not say “as you do it unto everyone, you do it unto me,” but “as you do it unto the least” (Matthew 25:40). Jesus did not say “love everyone,” but “love your enemies” (Matthew 5:44). Continually Jesus drew our attention not to loving people “in general” but to specifically caring for those we would tend to discount or condemn. Black lives matter is exactly the kind of thing Jesus would say. Why did Jesus have this emphasis, and why should we? Because then as now, there are people who were marginalized, condemned, and shut out of the system, and the hallmark of Jesus’ mission and ministry is all about drawing our attention to them. It has to do with empathy for the “other,” for the one we would normally regard the “least.” This is not an issue peripheral to the gospel, or a matter of a few isolated proof texts. It is at the very heart of Jesus’ ministry and mission. Happy Easter 🌷🌷🌷  mschat1212: To all my friends happy Easter Enjoy your dinner and eater egg hunt but always know god is here for,all of us ⚘⚘⚘  pamhuntres: Here Here Blonde,,,,your comments are beautiful and perfect at this special time of year,,,whether we are celebrating Easter or Passover ,,,this is a time to remember that there was a crisis in Israel not unlike the crisis we are experiencing now in our own country. A class war divided the church,the government as well as the people. The Romans had easily taken control over a compromised Israel unable to defend itself as it was at war within it's own ranks. As this confusion continued there emerged a messiah who taught tolerance and regard for each other over class and religious intolerance. He taught peace in the face of hate and war. Israel no longer able to govern itself was disintegrating ,,, the reign of kings was at an end. The church was beleaguered by infighting, class war and ethnic intolerance. The Messiah himself showed us the way. With great love and compassion he showed us that putting differences aside and reaching out to those downtrodden misunderstood and mistrusted people was the way to find real peace. The way to save themselves. In the end the people of Israel were dispersed the Messiah was murdered for challenging conventional thinking while the Roman empire looked on in disgust. There was no happy ending ,,,,Easter is a reminder that only love can turn the tides of history and build a strong future in the face hateful intolerance. I for one intend to follow my conscience and teach my generations that once their was a Messiah who gave his life to all these social problems. I do not intend to forget or allow my generations to forget that his message was love ,,,,,,,,,, Pamela  (Post deleted by josephus1959 ) |
