The stone was rolled away

Several times, I have pondered what would happen if Jesus were to come in today's time. He would be persecuted today by the same people who claim to believe in Him.

Enter the modern-day pharisees: the leaders of the American 'Religious Right'. They charm the masses with hate speech and use scare rhetoric to keep their 'flock' in line. All the while, they direct their flock to disobey the Shepherd and twist the Shepherd's words so that they may gain more power and prestige.

This weekend, I've been re-reading a lot of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am awed and appalled at how Christians can sit idly by and watch the leaders of the Religious Right profane the words of Jesus. What they direct flows completely contrary to what Jesus said OVER and OVER again.

For example:
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

 Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

 Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

 The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

 Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

 They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

 He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'"

-Jesus Christ, The Gospel According to Matthew 25:31-45

Christ commands us throughout the gospels to feed and clothe the poor, to help the sick, to help and love one another. He COMMANDS this. So why do Christian leaders say the exact opposite?

You can cut welfare, but you then need to step up to the plate. Having your church youth group volunteer at the homeless shelter or take in a homeless family once a year WILL NOT make a DENT in what the welfare system does currently. Why doesn't your megachurch provide health insurance and health care for the poor? Why does your church's budget focus on advertisement and stewardship rather than actually providing helpful service to others- REGARDLESS if they believe what you do?

To me it's perfectly clear- it's not a religious agenda, it's a political one. Christ has been replaced in His churches. He isn't being worshipped. A false idol has taken its place. That false idol is the imaginary, uncaring Christ who says it's okay to ignore the poor and lavish in your own riches, to have more and more children while ignoring the orphans, to ignore the homeless man you see on the street, to cut off healthcare for millions of senior citizens and children so that the rich can get richer and lower their taxes. That false idol was created by greed and driven by an unquenchable thirst for power. It is upheld by the political leaders.

Just as the stone was rolled away and the resurrection was revealed, so must the stone be rolled away from the eyes of millions of Christians who cannot see that their focus has been taken away from Christ by the very people who claim to know what He wants. If you want to know what He wants, read the Gospel. Really READ it. Apply it to your own life, every day. Then take a good, hard look at today's Christian leaders and ask yourself if they are really doing the same.

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."
-Jesus Christ, the Gospel According to Mark 8:34-38