When discussing Christmas with a family member, a Christian friend recently chided,
This phrase has been running through my mind, and I can't get it out. Let me explain."Read through the New Testament and you'll simply recognize the need to celebrate such an important moment as the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ."
You see, folks, I'm at the point in my religious life that oft-repeated religious phrases are becoming meaningless and cliche.
"Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" is dangerously close to becoming another cliche for me.
You're probably worried about my salvation now that I've confessed that. But hold the phone calls and tell your pastor to wait on line #2, and allow me to elaborate.
I'm tired of religious people flippantly speaking without understanding. Religious people do this all the time. We say really important-sounding stuff but don't speak with any awe or really meaning what we say or thinking about what we're saying. No fear or trembling. We just parrot stuff we've heard in our church.
I've become aware of this fact to the point it's impacted my prayers. I deliberately use non-conventional wording now to avoid meaningless religious cliches. I catch myself using meaningless religious fluff phrases all the time, and it's disconcerting. Yikes.
It's like an old-time cheesy horror flick, where the whole town populace is turning zombie: I'm becoming... "one of them!" I don't want to become a religious-fluff-phrase zombie.
"Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ."Wow. Do any of you actually know what that means?
Lord is "master". As in, "master/servant" relationship. As in, "a disciple following his master."
Messiah Yeshua was a master, alright. He had disciples. But this wasn't some new religious hierarchy he invented for some new religion called Christianity. Rather, in Judaism, a rabbi would take under him disciples: men to whom he would teach how to live their lives down to the smallest detail, the teency-est aspect, every little triviality from how and what to eat, all the way up to the big stuff like when to show mercy and when to judge.
That's what a master did.
Want to be a disciple of a master? Then follow everything the master showed you. Big and small. Trivialities to fundamentals. You're not in a position to dismiss the stuff you don't like. You're not in a position to interpret his actions to fit your lifestyle. You do what he does, you imitate. You become as the master by living exactly the way he showed you. That's the disciple's life.
Yeshua was the perfect master. We are not perfect disciples. But are we even trying to be disciples of Yeshua our Messiah? Is he really Master? I mean, you're calling him "Lord and Savior" every 5 minutes in church. Should I believe you, Christian friend?
If He's your Lord and you're his disciple, why do you trample on every damn thing he did? I'm not talking about sin, friends. I sin too, and I repent for it, thank God. I'm talking about doing the opposite of what he did and being unrepentant for it. That's something different entirely. There's a difference between "Hey, I messed up" and "We don't have to do as the Master."
You piss on God's Feasts, calling them "Jewish", passed-away nonsense. You talk behind our backs when we try to keep God's commandments, saying how foolish we are, even cult-like, for trying to keep God's Torah. You tell others to steer clear from us crazies.
Yet the One you call "Lord", your supposed tutor who showed you how you should live down to the tiniest of tiny details, didn't celebrate your Christmas. He didn't celebrate your Easter. Heck, Jesus didn't eat pork. He didn't go to Church on Sun-day. He didn't start a new religion. He kept God's commandments, and God's Feasts, which you regularly trample.
You might protest and say you don't care about such trivial things, but remember, you are a disciple! Disciples do not get to choose which acts of the master to imitate. Start picking and choosing, and you're not a disciple at all, you're just starting your own religion with a select choice of the Master's teachings.
(Note to self: Hey, I've just discovered why we have so many Protestant denominations!)
How can you call Him "Lord" if you don't follow what He does?
You feign discipleship; some of you wear "What Would Jesus Do" bracelets. I read that book, too. But "WWJD" is a joke in today's Christianity. I mean, I can't take you seriously when you guys say that. Really. What would he do? Jesus would (did) celebrate Passover. He would (did) honor the Father's sabbath. He would (did) keep God's commandments. You don't do any of that. You don't follow the master. You say you do, you call him "Lord", but I don't buy it.
WWJD? A more accurate acronym would be,
"WSIDSJDATTCTMR? OIKIJDWIWASIBLBTS!"
(What should I do since Jesus did all these things contrary to my religion? Oh, I know, I'll just do whatever I want and say I'm being "led by the spirit!")
Friends, I'm getting tired of meaningless religious fluff. I'm sick of religious cliches, folks. I'm also a bit tired of the Christian religion. Man. It's true.
Now that I've gotten that off my chest, and now that I've undoubtedly offended 90% of you fine blog readers through my rash and overly-harsh midnite blog rant, I can finally go to sleep.
