Inspired by people who were arrested

Jesus was a radical

Jesus was a
radical nonviolent  revolutionary
who hung around lepers, hookers, and crooks;
wasn’t American,
and never spoke English;
was anti-wealth,
anti-death penalty,
and anti-public prayer (M 6:5);
he never called the poor lazy,
never justified torture,
never fought for tax cuts for the wealthiest Nazarenes,
never asked a leper for a copay;
and was a long-haired homeless,
community organizing,
anti-slut-shaming,
middle eastern Jew.

Easy Essay: Out of the Temple

Christ drove the money changers
out of the Temple.
But today nobody dares
to drive the money lenders
out of the Temple.
And nobody dares
to drive the money lenders
out of the Temple
because the money lenders
have taken a mortgage
on the Temple.

When church builders build churches
with money borrowed from money lenders
they increase the prestige
of the money lenders.
But increasing the prestige
of the money lenders
does not increase the prestige
of the Church.

Which makes Archbishop McNicholas say:
“We have been guilty
of encouraging tyranny
in the financial world
until it has become
a veritable octopus
strangling the life
of our people.”

– Peter Maurin

Remember, Jesus of Nazareth was a prisoner

Remember, Jesus of Nazareth was a prisoner, found guilty by a court, & sentenced to death. He went to the temple (the church) & turned over tables, scattering the collection money, & chasing out the church’s money handlers with a whip. Jesus challenged the established rules & out of hand & unfair traditions, and because of this some of the people who knew of him considered him a horrible criminal who blasphemed against God & deserved to be arrested and put to death.

So if you ever hear about someone who was found guilty by a court and sentenced to prison, if you ever hear of someone who goes to places of establishment & attempts to overthrow, run out, or change them, who challenges the rules & the current way of doing things, remember…

…Remember that Jesus was that person.

As a Christian, I try to live my life as Jesus would live. Jesus was a convicted criminal who tried to overthrow/runout corrupt establishment; Jesus lived amongst the prostitutes & homeless, the ill, & those suffering from personal demons; Jesus stood up against the establishment for the good of the poor & the discriminated. I as a Christian want to be all of those things, & because I hold Jesus within me, because he lives within me, I already am those things.

I tell you this: I am a convicted criminal, I stand up against the establishment, I stand up for the poor & discriminated, the prostitutes, the homeless, & the ill, for they are my friends. There are people who believe I am a horrible criminal, that I blaspheme God, and that I should be put to death.

I am a disciple of Jesus of Nazareth, & he lives within me.

– Jack Danya Kemplin