The Message - May 20th, 2012

2012-05-24T01:16:09Z

“How to Become What We Are” - Rev. John Konz - The Lessons: Ephesians 4:17-5:2; John 17:6-19

The Message - May 13th, 2012

2012-05-15T20:47:19Z

“Unfinished Journeys” - Rev. John Konz - The Lessons: Deuteronomy 34:1-12; John 15:9-17

The Message - May 6th, 2012

2012-05-08T00:25:45Z

“Love Lessons” - Rev. Jim Oates - The Lessons: John 15:1-8; 1 John 4:7-21

The Message - April 22nd, 2012

2012-04-22T19:43:03Z

“I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel” - Rev. John Konz - The Lesson: Romans 1:8-17

The Message - April 15th, 2012

2012-04-20T01:37:30Z

“Lessons from Kindergarten” - Rev. John Konz - The Lessons: Acts 4:32-35; Mark 10:13-16

The Message - April 8th, 2012

2012-04-13T00:43:38Z

“What Does It All Mean?” - Rev. John Konz - The Lessons: 1st Cor. 15:1-11; Mark 16:1-8

The Message - April 5th, 2012

2012-04-07T21:36:51Z

“Why It Matters Who Killed Jesus” - Rev. John Konz - The Lessons: Exodus 12:1-4; Mark 14:10-21

Why Did Jesus Die on the Cross?

2012-03-31T23:17:40Z

    By the time you read this, we will be getting ready to start the observance of Holy Week. We know that it was on this week that Jesus was put to death on the cross. But what may be a little cloudy in our minds is why he had to face the cross. Part of the reason for that is that the Church through the centuries has misled you. They have told you that Jesus died on the cross to save you from your sins. That is an idea that would have been totally alien to Jesus because Jesus would not have seen you as needing to be saved. This is a theology that was developed by the church for one purpose: TO KEEP YOU UNDER CONTROL THROUGH A THEOLOGY OF FEAR. You and I were created and declared by God to be GOOD! It is true that we commit sin and need God to forgive us, but that forgiveness is not due to any flaw that existed before our birth. There was no flaw in us when we were sent forth from our Manufacturer. But most of us, to one degree or another, were taught that we had to confess Jesus Christ as our savior so that we could go to heaven when we die. It was like a church insurance policy. We were saved if we made the confession but damned if we didn’t.
   So if Jesus didn’t die on the cross to save us from Hell, why did he have to die? For me, Jesus died, first and foremost, for the cause of unconditional love. He was killed by the Romans because he was seen as a threat to the empire. Jesus was seen as a revolutionary and a radical. It was not that Jesus was a threat to lead an armed revolution against Rome, but rather that he encouraged peaceful resistance toward anyone or anything that stood for the oppression and persecution of anyone, especially the poor and disenfranchised. It is interesting to look at the word “radical”. Those of us who journeyed through the 60’s and early 70’s will remember people that we were told were radicals by the news reporters or government officials on television. Somehow we got the impression that these were fringe people, people who took extremist positions on a wide variety of issues. The same thing happened during the civil rights movement. But when I looked up “radical” I got a surprise. “Radius” and “Radial” are words that come from the same origin and they mean “close to the core” or “close to the center.” Jesus was not on the fringe at all. When we get to the core of an issue, we are close to the truth; and the truth is exactly what strikes fear in the empire. So Jesus died on the cross because the Romans saw him as a threat to their business as usual approach to running the empire.
   Now you will notice that in many places, Rome is presented in a somewhat favorable light in the gospels, especially Pontius Pilate. But take a look at when these gospels were written. The temple had already been destroyed by the time Mark began writing his gospel around the year 70. That was nearly 40 years after Jesus died on the cross. Matthew and Luke came 25-35 years after that and John was written a bit later yet. It was a time when the early Christian movement was seeking recognition by the Roman government so that the persecutions would be brought to an end. One of the means of doing that was by writing a story about the life of Jesus in which the underlying message is to say, “We realize that you Romans didn’t want to kill Jesus. You were pressured into it by the Jews.” No doubt this approach helped in getting Christians out from under the persecutions but in doing so anti-Semitism was reborn.
   Why did Jesus die on the cross? He died for every woman who was ever a victim of oppression. He died to lift up the poor and the afflicted. He died for those afflicted with AIDS, the new lepers of today. Jesus died for the cause of justice. Jesus died to show us in the Church what we might expect if we take his call seriously. Unconditional love may seem harmless, but watch what happens when you seriously put it into action.
   So if Jesus died for all of that, to what then is the Church called? For an answer to that, check out this article next month. Think about it.                                    John

On Palm Sunday, April 1st...

2012-03-31T14:19:25Z

Come and participate in the

Jerusalem Market Place!

11:30 - 12:30 p.m.

The Message - March 25th, 2012

2012-03-29T01:56:21Z

“Two Thieves, Two Points of View” - Rev. John Konz - The Lesson: Luke 23:32-43

Oak Creek United Church of Christ