I didn’t die so you could go to church. I gave my life that you may have life that is eternal and abundant and true. Church is a part of that life but it is not the whole part. I invite you into a continual engagement with the divine mystery. It fills the entire heavens and earth and influences every aspect of your life. I am not hostile to the church that I built and I don’t want you to be either. I do want you to have a true perspective on its purpose. Don’t look at it as a source of life, but rather as a place where you can join together to share and celebrate the overflow of life that you live every day. 

Are you familiar with the concept of a ‘strawman’? A straw man is not a real man, and a strawman is understood to be a false representation. It is easy to create these to represent the positions of those you disagree with. This is a lazy way to attack your enemies, making it easier by misrepresenting them; exaggerating their weaknesses and minimizing their virtues. It is also fundamentally dishonest. My word teaches you to love your enemies. Do you see this as only an abstraction involving vague feelings of affection? But love is demonstrated in concrete actions. You can start by not misrepresenting them to criticize them. 

Chemists use litmus paper to indicate acids and bases. There are two colors to indicate which of these conditions is present in a solution. The term litmus test has taken on a broader meaning in politics, as a binary indication of whether an individual meets a certain criteria. Churches have throughout history have applied the same concept to persons to decide if they are saved or not. Do you prefer to minister to other believers? Consider my own time of ministry on earth. Did I ever examine someone to find out if they had the right group affiliation or beliefs to be worthy of ministry? I never applied a litmus test to people who came to me and you shouldn’t either. 

I raised Lazarus from the dead and called him forth from the tomb but that is not the end of the story. When he appeared I commanded that he be released from the grave clothes that bound him. Why was this included as an important part of this account? Lazarus could not function as a living person while he was still bound for burial. How does this apply to you? I have also raised you from the dead. Are you still wearing grave clothes? Do you still retain habits, thought patterns, and traditions that bind you and prevent you from functioning as a living person? Then you too should cast off your grave clothes that you may live.