Love letter

Dear Round Table,

Love is the subject of my final report about Yeshua/Jesus of Galilee. Only love can travel safely from one empire – Rome – to your imperial situation there in SVG.

AN ASTONISHING PERSON

Dear Friends,

Yeshua, whom the government executed with two other criminals, was a small town young man without bling and things to show off. He had no craving for such things, but yet still, people looked to him and admired him. He didn’t do magic to heal and astonish people. He did love deeds.{{more}} He touched unclean and diseased people when that was against the rules. He held salvation seminars with untutored slaves, farmers, fishermen, women, bootlickers and children. He loved fun. When Roman Empire power exploited and made people feel degraded, and when the Religious Temple authorities would tell people that God had a barbed wire fence of holiness around him, Yeshua would amaze people with a new image of God and with his message and programme of anointed and wholeness and righteousness from God – for people. At times, the intellectuals, the wealthy, the people who worked with Rome and other strangers would come to him for help, and he would help them too. And then, there were others who saw Yeshua as unfit, unqualified to be anointed by God because he did not match up to their class, because he did not come from the city, Jerusalem, and because he did not walk behind their bandwagon. Yet Yeshua loved them still; he told them the truth about themselves and at times, he exposed their transgressions before the people.

Sisters and brothers, I tell you, Yeshua was an amazing person. He was a new model human being. At the same time, I hear that there were times when Yeshua kept away from the crowds to be alone, to meditate, to evaluate, to reason with his Dahda and to find spirit strength. Yes, Yeshua had his moments of depression and hurt and anger – all because he was so committed to God’s business and God’s people. When he got vexed, it was not because his own pride was hurt. What angered and hurt him was when people turned their backs against God, or tried to put God to serve their own purpose or when they trampled down the hopes and dreams of God’s poor people, or when they said, like one decent young professional: “Master, I like what you have to offer, but no, I have to take care of my money, my property, my profession first.” It hurt Yeshua, because he saw the great potential in that young man. Like a shepherd, he wanted the best for the sheep, each human being.

Reimagining God

It looks to me as if Yeshua was himself a love letter sent to us in God’s own handwriting. From what I gather, Yeshua brought a new image of God to show us. In much of Yeshua’s teaching and conduct, God was close, near intimate and indwelling us. The name that he often used for God was “Dahda” and he taught his friends to call God “Dahda” when they prayed. Thus, God was a mutual embrace experience, something like the relationship that prophets like Jeremiah mention – God inside us as well as God embracing us (Jer 31.33) in whom we put our trust. God who loves us before we meet any conditions to deserve love.

The God that Yeshua loved had a revolutionary sense. For example, in the movement led by the Baptist John, God was coming through Yeshua to mash up the place with fire and turmoil to deliver and make over those who repented and dash the rest into fiery flames. Yesha came with flames of love, grace and liberation. On the other hand, when I look at GOD whom the priests of the temple represented, I see a party GOD, not an intimate, embracing, inclusive GOD, but GOD who handed out blessings to those who passed the entrance exam that the temple leaders set; e.g. bring your sacrifices and taxes, obey your “cleanliness” rules, keep the commandments, honour the rulers, keep away from outsiders and Samaritans and let the priest go to Yaweh for you etc. Yeshua said: they are fencing up GOD in their own class corner as if they own GOD. GOD is also out here to meet with sinners. The leaders could not abide with the revolutionary that Yeshua represented. It would mean that they would lose control. Things could get out of hand by all means. They must stop this Yeshua and this grace, this GOD revolution. They rejected, they feared Dahda GOD, they envied the way people were receiving GOD on their own faith. They made plans to kill the movement of GOD. They wanted their own GOD, one like an emperor, with them as the emperor’s guards. They didn’t want a loving GOD.

LOVE FOR LIBERATION SALVATION EMPIRE

Dear Round Table friends, I have discovered Yeshua who called himself child of humanity, a real human child. Our mentor, he showed us GOD the parent who gave a loving embrace to us. …The Conservative Power Structures killed Yeshua as a criminal on Calvary. Love ended up on a cross, but another love started.

For Yeshua the Galilean the liberation of each person was important. Even the old persons, the one dropped out of 100 students had to receive special attention. But the other side of his salvation work was that he was agent of a liberating community, an empire with a difference. To me he was the forerunner of an empire of GOD, where the liberation of each person would be the condition for the liberation of all. Salvation was a network movement. He had this vision of a community of mothers and brothers and sisters, who all pledged themselves to “the empire of love.” Come, the will be done here and everywhere in the whole cosmos. Dahda at the same time contributes, enhances spiritual, historical resources, daily intelligence bread, pardon and spiritual repair, roadmap guidance and due diligence.

After Calvary, Yeshua was raised; he did not even visit those who ganged up on him and put him to death. No spite was in him, only love for the new empire of the father, growing from the seed planted among those who had dwelt with him, who would go abroad where he had never been to plant new seed. That is how Yeshua, whom you call Jesus, travelled from Palestine. He never embraced the Roman Empire or any other empire, whether British, American, Christian, Portuguese or African. Salvation does not dominate from on top. The only throne Yeshua mounted was a cross on Calvary, and that was only for a few hours.

I close sincerely, my Round Table sisters and brothers and mothers with the love that Yeshua has taught me to cultivate from Palestine 2,000 years ago. I invite you to keep the life of Yeshua as your light and embrace him.

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