Time to read Simon, again!

Simon Mein, theologian, priest and friend blogs rarely, but when he does it is worth the attention. His latest, Knowledge, Experience & Wisdom is a wake up call and a fine reflection in preparation for All Saints Day or Sunday.

He says, concerning the Beatitudes as that wake up call made imperative,

"The theological crux of the whole matter is that the Beatitudes lead to the Cross, and what has been lost in the frenzy of spending, increasing year by year ever since WW II, is any attention to the sacrifices needed in individuals, families, corporations and the world at large for the maintenance of a stable, productive society. The execution of Jesus clearly does not emerge in the story at the eleventh hour. As early as his third chapter, Luke notes that the authorities consulted on how to get rid of him. The Beatitudes sum up the pattern of behavior that Mark and the Evangelists who followed him, clearly laid out for us: rejection of legalism; cutting across deeply embedded social and ethnic frontiers; a very clear understanding that love in a clash with power (bottom line – gold/$$/££ etc.)"

Canon Mein is capable of the sustained rant worthy of the best of the prophets. He says,

"Perhaps what emerges is that the USA has far too much religion, religion of the smiley face, hand-clapping kind; religion that insists that getting filthy rich is what Jesus really wants for us; religion that harks back much more to the Old Testament than to the New; religion that fails to take into account the potentials of human sin (except for homosexuals and commies). Perhaps what we need is not only an economic rescue, but an evangelical rescue, where ‘evangelical’ does not mean far right fundamentalism, but an embracing of the Evangel so clearly set out in the New Testament."

His essay is a fine preparation for voting day and provides a check list against which sermons on The Saints ought to be evaluated.

Read it HERE.