Rock Mass 09-06-2020

Rock Mass on the first Sunday of the month.

Rock Mass for Sunday September 6, 2020

 LOVE

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
(1John 4:7&8)

If anyone says, "I love God", yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
(1John 4:20&21)

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
(Matthew 22:36-40)

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
-JESUS (John 13:34&35)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
(Galatians 5:22&23)

MAY THE LORD DIRECT YOUR HEARTS INTO GOD'S LOVE AND CHRIST'S PERSEVERANCE.
(2 Thessalonians 3:5)  
Peace, Love and Light!
Kevin (Cloud)

The inspiration for creating "Rock Mass" came from the Rock Mass at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena California back in the early 1970’s. On the first Friday night of each month All Saints held a Rock Mass which was a mix of traditional Episcopalian Mass and rock concert. A live band would play popular rock music which couldn’t necessarily be called “Christian” but contained spiritual phrases and references to God or Jesus. During the 1960’s and early 1970’s there was an explosion of these songs coming out of the "secular" music industry way before there was “Contemporary Christian Music”, in a way, it could be called "The Gospel According To Billboard's Top 10".

(Stained glass guitar angel found at www.patheos.com/blogs/nadiabolzweber)

Fair Use Notice

I'm Not Going To Tell You Who To Vote For

I’m not going to tell you who to vote for, there are enough fear mongers out there screaming at you. All I am going to say is that your vote counts and that nobody should vote without thinking and praying first.

Neither candidate, and for that matter, neither political party fully represents “Christian values”. There is no one candidate or party who lives up to anyone’s definition of “Christian”.  And, by the way, who decides what exactly “Christian Values” are and which ones we expect society to adhere to?

It is impossible to make a choice between the two major candidates along with their policy platforms and agendas without accepting some level of compromise. We make compromises daily with every decision we make in life. Should I order the French fries or the side salad with my double bypass cheese burger? Should I buy the SUV so I can haul the kids to school and their sports games or get the two seater sports car that I really wish I could drive up the coast with the top down and the wind in my hair? Do I buy that new shirt online or support the local retailer? Do I drive a gas hog or a hybrid? And on, and on, and on!

When we vote, and especially in this election, we face moral dilemmas more serious than these few examples, ones that have long term consequences, ones that we must take the time to search our hearts and minds on. Every election year we are presented with a decision that requires us to know why we are voting one way or the other, not simply voting “Blue” or “Red” because we were told that was the right way – the “Christian” way to vote. When we cast our votes we are making a compromise, I don’t like the “lesser of two evils” view but in reality that just might be what it is. No candidate is perfect, no candidate will live up to all of our expectations, and no candidate will keep every campaign promise. But we must decide between the two and in a nation as polarized as ours there will of course be those who will be unhappy with the winner.

So, what are we as followers of Jesus supposed to do? What is our responsibility? First and foremost be an informed electorate, prayerfully study the issues and the candidates. Search your heart as to what you value in a civil society and compare that with what Jesus taught. Read the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 and seek out what values Jesus was teaching. We can’t vote for Jesus, that’s just a silly meme on social media… but we can vote the values that Jesus taught us. We can vote for mercy and love. We can vote to care for those in need. We can vote to care for the sick and the elderly. We can vote to be peacemakers. We can vote for people with character and decency.

We usually think of paying taxes when we read Jesus’ words “Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s” but I would suggest that here in the U.S. we can apply that to voting as well. We have the privilege and I might add a sacred duty to vote. We can’t vote for a perfect candidate, none exists, but for Heaven’s sake please vote.

Most of all I would suggest that no matter who wins in November that we all remember Paul’s words to Timothy:

“Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.” (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

Peace, Love and Light!

Kevin (Cloud)

Religious Hypocrites

 

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven." ~Jesus (Matthew 6:1)

Check out the complete manifesto here: The Hippie Christian Manifesto

Peace, Love and Light!

Kevin (Cloud)

Rock Mass 08-02-20

Rock Mass on the first Sunday of the month.

Rock Mass for Sunday August 2, 2020

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel."

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean."

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness." ~Jesus (Matthew 23:23-28)

 ~

"However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says: 'Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. What house will you build for Me? says the LORD, Or what is the place of My rest? Has My hand not made all these things?'" ~Saint Stephen (Acts 7:48-50)

 ~

"Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" ~The Apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 3:16)

 ~

“The Kingdom of God does not come in such a way as to be seen. No one will say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ because the Kingdom of God is within you.” ~Jesus (Luke 14:20-21)

 ~

“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” ~Saint Peter (1 Peter 2:9-10)

Peace, Love and Light!
Kevin (Cloud)

The inspiration for creating "Rock Mass" came from the Rock Mass at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena California back in the early 1970’s. On the first Friday night of each month All Saints held a Rock Mass which was a mix of traditional Episcopalian Mass and rock concert. A live band would play popular rock music which couldn’t necessarily be called “Christian” but contained spiritual phrases and references to God or Jesus. During the 1960’s and early 1970’s there was an explosion of these songs coming out of the "secular" music industry way before there was “Contemporary Christian Music”, in a way, it could be called "The Gospel According To Billboard's Top 10".

(Stained glass guitar angel found at www.patheos.com/blogs/nadiabolzweber)

Fair Use Notice

Love Fulfills The Law

"Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift." ~Jesus (Matthew 5:23-24)

Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:10)

Check out the complete manifesto here: The Hippie Christian Manifesto

Peace, Love and Light!
Kevin (Cloud)

Rock Mass 07-05-20

Rock Mass on the first Sunday of the month.

Rock Mass for Sunday July 5, 2020

He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to act justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God. 
(Micah 6:8) 

Defend the weak and the fatherless;

uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.

(Psalm 82:3)

 

Peace, Love and Light!
Kevin (Cloud)

The inspiration for creating "Rock Mass" came from the Rock Mass at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena California back in the early 1970’s. On the first Friday night of each month All Saints held a Rock Mass which was a mix of traditional Episcopalian Mass and rock concert. A live band would play popular rock music which couldn’t necessarily be called “Christian” but contained spiritual phrases and references to God or Jesus. During the 1960’s and early 1970’s there was an explosion of these songs coming out of the "secular" music industry way before there was “Contemporary Christian Music”, in a way, it could be called "The Gospel According To Billboard's Top 10".

(Stained glass guitar angel found at www.patheos.com/blogs/nadiabolzweber)

Fair Use Notice

Q: What Color Was Jesus? A: Love!

Q: What color was Jesus?

A: Love!

A strange answer, true but I’ll get to my explanation soon enough, first some thoughts on color…

We can be pretty sure that Jesus’ natural being was that of a Middle Eastern man. That his skin color was most likely darker than that of the Jesus depicted in Warner Sallma’s 1941 painting The Head of Christ.

In an earlier blog post of mine, So, What Color Was Jesus? I referenced a BBC story about the reconstruction of a Middle Eastern first century skull. That reconstruction process offered a suggestion of what a man from Jesus’ time might have looked like. The BBC story quotes Dr. Mark Goodacre, a New Testament scholar from the University of Birmingham, who was involved with the reconstruction as saying "We do seem to have a relatively dark skinned Jesus”.

I get why some feel that over the years images of a white Jesus empowered a dominant white culture. European colonialism, slavery and exploitation of indigenous people was inexcusable. Subjugation in the name of Jesus, or any deity for that matter, is wrong. Forced conversion is a perversion of the Gospel message.

We know that Jesus didn’t look like a white blue eyed European, but it would be safe to say he didn’t look like most of the other icons painted over the centuries either. Is contextualizing Jesus into one’s own culture wrong? Is making the Son of God look like yourself a bad thing beyond the possibility of being historically incorrect? There is a prohibition in the Bible against making objects to worship, but I feel that images used to pictorially convey the Gospel are acceptable so long as the image of Jesus, be it whatever color, is not used to dominate another group of people.

So, back to my original question...

“What color was Jesus?”

My answer is Love!

Let me show you how I came to that truth. Here are a few scriptures about Jesus that show he is the exact representation of the Father and that the Father is love therefore the invisible God represented to us in visible human form looked like love. 

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. (Colossians 1:15)

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form. (Colossians 2:9) 

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him. (Colossians 1:19)

“Now that you have known me,” he said to them, “you will know my Father also, and from now on you do know him and you have seen him.” Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father; that is all we need.” Jesus answered, “For a long time I have been with you all; yet you do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. Why, then, do you say, ‘Show us the Father’? (John 14:7-9)

“I and the Father are one” ~Jesus (John 10:30)

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:7-8)

I’m not saying that color doesn’t matter. God created our colorful human race and we should honor each other’s God given beauty! What I am saying is that Jesus transcends color and race.

So, what color was Jesus? My answer is Love!

Peace, Love and Light!

Kevin (Cloud)


Fair Use Notice