The Kingdom of God? or Violence and War? The Jews in Jesus day knew the Kingdom of God was soon coming. They knew Elijah would usher it in. (Malachi 4:5) When the Jews asked John if he were Elijah John said No (John 1:21). Later when Jesus heard that John had been killed in prison He was obviously moved with emotion and grief because He begins to ask the people who they thought John was in a kind of angry and judgmental way. He knew they knew who John was.  Jesus knew the crowd knew that John was someone the world would never see the likes of again. John thought the coming Kingdom was going to be conquered as it always had, through violence, killing, and death. The presence (kingdom) of God abode in the ark of the Covenant the Jews carried with them that men (Physically) fought for. The Kingdom of God suffers violence and the violent take it by force. Jesus said the New Kingdom, the The New Testament and Covenant of God will be within you. Put down your weapons of death and destructing. My Blood will conquer this death and destruction. My Blood will put this to an END once for all. The Christians battles and wars are no longer fought with physical swords but spiritual ones. The kingdom of hell on earth has been destroyed by God's Kingdom of Heaven on earth. People today love violence and war and destruction. We're the Sodom and Gomorrha of violence. So much so that even those men God has entrusted to them are beginning to say we're going back to the old wine (Violence) the New Wine doesn't taste as good anymore. Go ahead, light the match. Instead of throwing living water on it throw some more gasoline. Why was John the Baptist greater than all the other prophets before him? John's message wasn't Revenge it was Repentance. I'm just blown away at some of the doctrines and gospels Leaders, the men and women God has been asking, (More than 3 times) do you Love me?... Teach them and feed them My Gospel. John has already prepared the way for God's Kingdom on earth and Jesus snuck it in. It's like the wind, You can't see it but you can feel it within you. It's like John the Baptist. Physically he was not Elijah but in the spirit and power of Elijah, he was. That's why John could say he wasn't Elijah (Fleshly) and Jesus could say he was (in the spirit and power) Elijah. Thy Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven. That transpired on the day of Pentecost. It's free. We don't have to fight for it. The full Kingdom of God isn't going to be ushered in by violence. It's going to be ushered in through Repentance. Unless someone attacks me first or is trying to kill me I let God take care of my enemies and He does. Leaders should be preaching repentance. We say forget it, I've had enough God's not helping us I'm going get justice myself. It's obvious to me and the things God has shone me over the last 5 or 6 years that people have made up their mind. A mindset of revenge and violence the Holy Spirit will have no part of. Our culture has been poisoned with old wine and the younger generations coming up are drunk on it. People are trying to do the same thing today they were doing in Jesus day. The Kingdom of God will come but not with the help of the weapons of war used in this world. Repent or Revenge? As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord with the commands (And the weapons) He has already given us. All those who live by the sword will die by the sword.

At Gethsemane, Jesus was under so much presser He sweated blood. His mission would soon come to a close. The very reason for His existence on earth,  to teach the Gospel and spread the Kingdom of God on earth to all who would listen, understand, and accept the Salvation He would offer through the cross was upon Him and He must have been thinking He came up short. What angered Jesus the most was unbelief and a hardened heart. (aside from being set up and attacked by Pharisees). When He warned His disciples about the leaven of the Pharisees they had no idea what He was talking about. He had to remind them about the fishes and the loaves before they understood what He was saying (Matt.16:5-11). It wasn't because their hearts were hardened it was because they just didn't understand the inlining message. Fast forward to the last supper. Soon they'll be left without Him. I wonder what Jesus must have felt like when they're 'Celebrating' the last meal with them and another argument breaks out about who'll be the greatest (Luke 22:24). They had learned nothing from the earlier argument they had about who's would be the greatest back in Luke 9:46. That kind of pettiness and pride go against what He had taught them for the last three years. These guys weren't even on milk,  they were still on the water. You know the devil was in Jesus ear. Lucifer always hits us hardest when we're at our weakest. Later in Gethsemane, He takes Peter, James, and John and tells them to wait for Him while goes off to pray and they keep falling asleep.

When leaders or 'activist' that have a national platform don't or won't deliver when the opportunity presents itself by way of the President of the United States to step up and help THEIR community and race...because they've been offended by something they've heard the President say or do 20 years ago, then you need new leaders. What if Martin Luther King carried this attitude with President Johnson? (Who was from Texas and was known to be a racist) What if MLK said I refuse to work with a racist President to help my community? The black community (And white) knew what President Johnson views and attitudes were about blacks. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was actually proposed by JFK but the Governing Southern states resisted it. MLK's movement, that included and welcomed ALL races to Peacefully unite with him and his dream eventually put so much pressure on Congress and the Senate that Johnson had to do something and he did. President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 1965 because of the "Silent noise" MLK created. He created it by putting his personal beliefs and opinions about other people aside for the sake and welfare of his people. Martin Luther King is a perfect example of what real leadership looks like. He had crosses burned on his front lawn. He had his house shot up. He had death threats. MLK could have taken the easy way out but he didn't. Do you think MLK wasn't "Offended" by some of the people he came up against? Today you have professional race baiters on both sides that have sung the same song for 30 years and things have gotten worse, not better. Hollywood, the MSM and especially today's music business portray the black race as out of control gangst'a-thugs into drugs disrespecting the woman they love. The black community has prospered economically but the message and the image TV and Rap music and Hollywood feed us, the average white middle-class American is negative. You don't see the average black family who loves God and respects the rights of other people in the entertainment world. The black community is portrayed as victims and that spirit of revenge has seeped into too many institutions including the "Church" black and white. Martin Luther King looked ahead and move forward toward a better future for this country. He didn't turn around and sit down with a chip on his shoulder about what happened 200 years ago. Anyone can do that and get patted on the back. He didn't refuse to work with people he disagreed with or didn't like. That's not leadership. This country needs to invite God into it or nothings going to change. MLK had the Bible in one hand and Gandi in the other and he prayed for God's guidance and PEACE and God delivered. The President offered a number of black leaders to the White to help him work on prison reform. Something our society has ignored for too many years and only one (To my knowledge) accepted the offer. The media has brainwashed Americans into believing President Trump hates blacks and women. The truth is President Trump has more women working in his cabinet and administration than any other U.S. President. He's the first President with the guts to stand up and take a stab (No pun intended)  at prison reform for not only blacks coming out but blacks' whites, Hispanics, and everyone. But when you look at how many black people that have been locked up in prison over the last 20 years and the recitative rate of returnees you realize rehabilitation is just a word. Nothing changes until something changes and when opportunities arise for change you'll know who your real leaders are. You'll see who walks the talk versus who just talks the talk. You'll find out who really cares and has concerns for prisoners coming out and who doesn't. Martin Luther King worked with President Johnson and he would be working with President Trump today for prison reform. I have no doubt about it. MLK wasn't perfect and it angers me when I read about supposed FBI files that paint him out to be some sex addict. Whether true or not it doesn't erase what he accomplished moving ahead with a better future for America. And for things to change as they did you know God was in that movement. The proof is in the pudding. If we want to change we do what works. We know what works but to get it working more people in black Church leadership roles have to step up and be an example of what true Godly leadership looks like. Leaders who can put their feelings aside knowing they're going to pay a price. Knowing the main resistance might be coming from their own community. The goal has to mean more to them than what other people are going to say about them. The black community has these leaders. Every generation has these leaders who can lead. And anyone who says I refuse to work with him or her because I don't like them IS NOT A LEADER. We have to pray for NEW leaders who will take advantage of opportunities to help people. Changes CAN happen. But not for those who remain unwilling to even try. How can you trust or even respect that kind of leadership? Find leaders who value the Golden Rule and not the rule of the community. 

I am convinced that most of the saints were religious dropouts from societies that were going nowhere. Faith called them to drop out and believe in something else. Jesus announcement of the Kingdom of God was telling us that culture as we've created it is on a track towards self-destruction and emptiness. He told us we can "Get off the train" at the next stop and re-center our lives in truth and objectivity. All we have to give up is the utterly false understanding that we have of ourselves from civil society. For some reason that liberation seems to be the most difficult thing in the world.
    Finding God and losing the self-are the same thing; we don't really come to it naturally or choose it of ourselves. Faith is always God's thing. It seems to be the only way the Lord can draw us into a new viewpoint, a new point from which to view the life that is larger than life. That life is love!
   
   Fr. Richard Rohr.  >Radical Grace<  Daily meditations!

CATHOLIC RADICALS!
What is the necessary meaning of Catholic Radicals, to which we allude in our title and which we now find essential in this secular and post Christian age?  First, the word itself is a clue. Radix is the Latin word for "Root."  A radical is one who moves beyond the liberal and conservative branches of an institution and goes back to the fundamental questioning. The dictionary says a radical is one who goes back to the root, the source, the fundamentals. This is very different from a modernist or liberal who wants to update or accommodate to the present situation. There's a place for such reform, but that is not the primary concern of a true radical. Neither is a radical the same as a traditionalist or conservative, who usually does not go back far enough. A radical Catholic will at times look like both of these types, yet is neither of them at all.
   The questions and concerns of radicals would under-cut all self-interest. ideology, and institutions. In this case, they ask: What does our humanity demand of us? What does love ask of us? What did Jesus present as essential and all-embracing? What is God doing on earth today? John Paul the ll asks such questions in his writings >Social concerns< and finds himself speaking for truly radical Catholics. Striking at the root of the tree, he does not ask us to "CHANGE". That is why the Priest and the Presidents and other men of power have thus far been unable to admit that this encyclical even exists.

Fr. Richard Rohr!   >Radical Grace: Daily Meditations<
             

Forgiving those that have (at times) tried to destroy you is insane behavior. Some would call it foolish and in the eyes of the world, it is. Jesus said to forgive your enemies and even pray for them as He forgave us by taking our sin upon himself when He suffered and died on the cross opening up the door to Eternal life and God himself. This is what Christianity is all about. Our penalty was paid in full. Jesus walked the radical Grace of forgiveness He preached. This is where most Christians trip up. We say we've forgiven them but when the first chance to destroy them comes along we grab it and use it against them. That act against them can stunt our growth and we grow no further in the things of God. How can we? The world looks at us and says they can talk it but they don't walk it. (Matt.5:46-47) The other stumbling block is honesty. The Big Stuff. Honesty about ourselves and life around us. There are so many different reasons we can stand on to justify our actions. I'm human, I understand and most of all God understands. He knows why we do what we do. When life presents a significant issue that we come up against, we can forgive and we can be honest or we can compromise our walk with God and go the worlds way. Life is life, and things happen in life we never expect or saw coming. What do we do? If God is working with someone and things are changing and they've walked with God for many, many, years, and they ruin that through open and outright dishonesty or unforgiveness they've proven where their loyalty lies. I've had so many opportunities to hate and judge people only God would know. I've seen the Worst of people. People have tried to tear me down again and again. I've never gone after people but I will defend myself and I know God is on my side. There are perks no one else will see but you and God. God cares more about how we treat people than how much of the word of God we know. He cares more about honesty than any mountain sitting before us. God will throw your mountain into the sea but He cannot make us walk in truth and forgiveness. That's our choice, not anybody else's. Most of the church lives in one or two or both. Today even the church is a cut-throat world. People don't forgive each other and they're not honest with themselves. When the rubber hits the road they take the easy way out. If we're going to make a difference in the world we have to live differently than the world does. Set apart. We have to be living examples of what we say we believe in not just talk the talk. Some forgive expecting something back. How is that any different from the world? Where's the sacrifice in that? Being honest where there are no consequences for your honesty is easy. But, Every now and then life presents us with a crossroad. It's yes, or no. Are you a Christian or are you not? Are you authentic or are you a look-a-like? Can we forgive their wrongs against us? Can we be honest knowing the consequences? God is their there judge and we don't have to worry about where they are with God in this life. But when we can prove we've forgiven them and own our part in honesty and truth not wanting or expecting anything in return,  that's when the people around you take notice. If our lives don't reflect who we say we are when we're up against the wall then we end up in no mans land where they party 24/7 and we might lose the best chance we had in life to prove we are who we say we are and that Christ and the power of God are real. Who cares what people think? Let them think you're crazy and foolish. God will ask us to do crazy things to test our loyalty and they can be the most important times of our lives. Authentic, True, significant in the things of God and forgiving. The truth is most Christians can't or won't do this. You can. Forgiveness on that level isn't for weak people. It's rare, it's crazy, and it's insane but God ordained. We're flawed people but God is looking for Honest and Forgiving people who are authentic. This life is short. We're here for a little while and then gone. Who cares how radical you are? Do your best to please God as the opportunities present themselves. Be a living example of who we really are.