MONDAY, July 26 Saint James (tr)

Matthew 20:20-28. You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave.

If Christianity is to win the world, Christians must unite upon certain fundamental objectives and seek to discover practical means for their attainment.

One is the elimination of war.

A second is a social order which gives to able and competent human beings the opportunity to work and earn a living wage.

A third is the elimination of the selfish exploitation by the strong of the weaker members of society.

Not only must we make Christianity more vital and telling by strengthening our own faith and by translating our faith into action, but also each separate individual follower of Christ must learn to live in closer comradeship with him. This will mean assuming the form of servant, letting go of our own prerogatives and claims. Our love of Christ makes this possible. It is only as we come to know and love Christ passionately that we can through our lives make his spirit irradiate this dark world. (1941)

PRAY for the Diocese of El-Obeid (Sudan)

Ps 7:1-10; Jeremiah 45:1-5; Acts 11:27-12:3

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alive and well

Jul 26, 2010 at 3:02 am

Written by owen mcgee,

I guess communism was alive and well in 1941......

-1

Not my Jesus

Jul 26, 2010 at 6:26 am

Written by Philly Hoffman,

Jesus was not a communist - why do we think their agenda might even be close to the way?

-1

FATHER , SON , AND OUR HOLY SPIRT

Jul 26, 2010 at 7:12 am

Written by Frederick Wright,

One might think that the Jesus and our Holy Spirit would be agaisn't war and for all to have, food, shelter, and educational power on this earth, none without any need and the fish, birds and all animals in one accord. Our God has always been a God of peace, for it is free will of man in his humanist being the principle of war. Sowas I live today war free in my Lord and His Kingdom in my troughts, actions and meditations, I have hope and Faith that as it is in Heaven, it will be on earth. This is a wonderful Goal to look forward too and live today, not the Goal and Sliver of humanist, but the Glory of God saying " Good and Faithful Servant", as I bow down to the Holy one Named Jesus. I pray for Jesus' Teachings and Actions be recieved by many today by many to walk in our Holy Spirit of Love. Praise God .. for His endless Love today and forever.Smile...

Reductionism

Jul 26, 2010 at 8:08 am

Written by Stephen,

The social Gospel can become a
reductionist formula that overlooks Jesus most favored commandments and
being guided by the Holy Spirit. Those who say we are a Christian nation
might be careful, because what that really means is that we should form
a social order that in some ways is like communism. To truly be a
Christian nation would mean getting rid of capitalism by order of the
"theocracy". For myself as much as I believe capitalism does not reflect
Christian values, I would be content to make sure our church reflects
Christian values of justice, peace and charity and do all it can to
influence our culture, but not attempt to usurp it politically like many
evangelicals seem to do in regard to their short list of moralities. One
of my favorite pop songs is Elvis Costello's "What's So Funny About
Peace, Love and Understanding?" Nothing.

Editor,

Jul 26, 2010 at 8:29 am

Written by Richard H. Schmidt,

Thank you for your comments, all of them su*gestive. I like the call in today's meditation for Christians to work for a just and humane social order. It is thoroughly consistent with Jesus' teachings. Occasionally I hear someone dismiss such efforts by the church as "liberal" or "communist." I do not find labels helpful. The Book of Acts makes clear that the early church operated on a socialist model, but it was small and that was a different day. It does not mean we should all become socialists today. Neither capitalism nor socialism is a perfect economic order, because selfish people can manipulate any economic system to their advantage. I believe that as Christians, we must seek justice and peace in whatever kind of economy we live.

...

Jul 26, 2010 at 8:29 am

Written by Tim Holsonback,

With God, all things are possible in both a capitalistic and socialistic society.

Context is everything

Jul 26, 2010 at 8:41 am

Written by Sam Dowding,

Back in May I drew today's reflection to my EFM class' attention. I was grabbed from the introduction: "If Christianity is to win the world, Christians must unite upon certain fundamental objectives and seek to discover practical means for their attainment." In the midst of WWII, being openly against war took gumption. Even today. All 3 objectives seem impossible given man's innate me-first tendencies, but we know in 2010 that being for war, against every person having the opportunity to earn a living, and for exploitation are ultimately self-destructive, and more importantly contrary to Jesus' injunction that we seek to love one another as we love ourselves. We "receive the light of Christ" at Baptism. I can keep it shining bright, starting with my commitment to these objectives.

...

Jul 26, 2010 at 9:07 am

Written by Andrea,

Thanks, Sam, for the reminder of the historical context of the meditation and the acknowledgment of the writer's courage. And thanks, Dick, for separating political and economic labels from what we as Christians are called to do. Many of comments today seem symptomatic of public discourse today - instead of engaging the issues, many of them attack the writer, using scary labels like "communist" and "socialist." There is nothing sacred about capitalism, folks. And saying that does not make me a communist or a socialist. At the basic level, what is wrong with working to end the causes of war? (Even leaving aside whether you believe in the "just war" theory, wouldn't it be better to find solutions before war is necessary?) And isn't making sure people have enough to eat, a safe place to live, and freedom from oppression at the core of loving our neighbors? These are hardly radical ideas... Difficult to achieve, maybe, but with God, all things are possible.

No enforced compliance

Jul 26, 2010 at 9:27 am

Written by Gaye Anne McWade,

Following Christ cannot truly be enforced since love is made moment by moment.

God won the War against Satan

Jul 26, 2010 at 11:15 am

Written by Dennis Paul,

Utopian dreams on earth do not recognize the 'sin' of man and the failure to achieve what the Son of Man did. He won the war in heaven against Satan and will come to finalize that victory here on earth. We must become like Christ but not be fooled but such idealism that destroys the freedom that Christ won on the cross for us.

-1

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