Universal Gospel - Ooh LA LA by Run the Jewels

Run the Jewels has been a breath of fresh air in a genre now dominated by trap, auto-tune, and mumble rap. I didn't get on the ride until Run the Jewels 2 (every record is just marked by a number), but they've by far been my go-to when it comes to hip hop for the last 5 years. I'm anxiously awaiting Run the Jewels 4, and if the lead singles are any indication they're about to drop a bomb on us.

The 2nd single, Ooh LA LA, dropped a few weeks ago, and this past week they released the video for it, which was filmed just before Coronavirus went crazy.

As I said in my intro post to what I hope will be a series, I've been noticing and looking out for things that are "the Gospel" that are unexpected, unintended, etc. It's all around us, and we just have to keep our eyes and spirits open to notice it. 

Here goes...

This statement opens the video: "One day, the long fought battle between humanity and the forces of greed and division will end, and on that day, finally free, we will throw a motherf*cking party." - someone

It hit me immediately. That's it. That's a Gospel (good news) message about the kingdom we should be trying to create while we're here, and the kingdom we expect in the resurrection, when all things are made new.

Psalms 103:6 - The Lord works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed (all will be NRSV)
John 13:16 - Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one that sent them. 
Mark 12:31 - You shall love your neighbor as yourself, there is no greater commandment than these.
Colossians 3:11 - In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all in all. 

There is a LOT of content in the Bible that points to God's intended design for society to be egalitarian, with no divisions drawn between factions; no in-groups and out-groups. In the story, the people of Israel are favored, but not because they're better but so they would be a blessing to all nations (Gen 12:2). 

Jesus made a point of bringing outsiders in. He built his squad with a group that shouldn't fit well together - fishermen (pretty typical in that time), tax collector (viewed as a traitor serving an occupying army), a zealot (a revolutionary aka what could be called a terrorist fighting against that occupying force), etc. And though the Bible doesn't make it entirely clear some women had prominent roles and were the most faithful to the end, especially Mary Magdalene.

Anyway, when I saw this video - the intro, the people dancing in the streets, tossing down and burning money, and the joy of it all - my first thought was, this is a Jesus kingdom message. God's economy isn't one of supply and demand, and zero sums. Its goal is peace. Balance. Shalom. Freedom. Liberation. That's the original meaning of salvation - freedom; as in salvation from the Egyptians holding them captive, salvation from the Roman empire, etc.

One day, our money will be worthless. I take seriously that the "love of money is the root of all kinds of evil." (1 Tim 6:10) Politics is an obvious target here, but so many decisions are made to preserve and/or grow money for those who already have too much of it. Filthy.

This is not some lefty, socialist/communist message. It's what Jesus' kingdom has promised us. Killer Mike and El-P may have been unintentional in doing it, but they threw down a Gospel message and I'm here for it.

Man, I can't wait for RTJ4 to drop!!!

Universal Gospel

I've been thinking a lot lately about incarnation, universalism/universal salvation, and how the Gospel is all around us. I hope to turn this into a series. I've been noticing some stories, songs, movies, etc. that are Gospel without trying to be. 

I used to work in the Christian music business (which is now essentially dead aside from worship music. Now I don't (or try not to) see any difference in the sacred and the profane. God can be found everywhere, and God is absent nowhere. (Is that too concrete of a statement to make?) As Christians our faith is incarnational - it relies on God inserting himself into our world. 

Richard Rohr says it this way, "God loves things by becoming them."

I want this series to be about getting our heads out of the clouds and simply looking around us. If we pay attention we'll see the Gospel all around us in people and creation. The creation is good, right? And humanity? VERY good.

This will be centered around things I notice that are consistent with Jesus' teaching about the heavenly kingdom on earth. The stories and topics here might (will) conflict with the Epistles, Old Testament stories, original sin, and a host of other things that are in the Bible. I'm looking at these things through a Jesus lens, not a Bible lens. 

Maybe you'll be uncomfortable with it. Maybe I'll be uncomfortable too? The stories might be gritty - you know, cursing, violence, etc. I think it's worth wrestling with tough topics. I love the Jewish concept of Midrash, which is the act of wrestling with and interpreting scripture. I hope that what I write about will be written in good faith, submitted in the mindset of Midrash, and not just me trying to be provocative, etc.

Some Thoughts on Universalism

Something I’ve been thinking about as I ponder universalism and the notion of Christus Victor and if/how they’re related; 

As God had been revealing itself to the world in Israel, and most clearly (Christians believe) through Jesus, are we really to believe he may not have been at work in other places through other means of revelation? The world was full of people and civilizations that didn’t have ways to communicate and connect.

If God starts revealing itself in Japan or undiscovered (haha) America through nature, etc. would he be expected to stop or change direction when Christ embodies Jesus across the world in Israel?

Before and while Israel was developing, there were civilizations in Africa, Greece, China, and other Asian, African, European, and Middle Eastern locations developing. We can't be expected to believe God wasn't revealing itself to these disconnected peoples, right? These cultures had religious/spiritual practices. Are we to believe they were completely misguided and lacking divine inspiration? Are we to believe that they were completely off the mark until the 1st or 2nd Century, when Christianity began to spread? And are we to believe that it was spreading as God would want it to since it had become the "official" religion of an empire? There's some deep irony in the fact that organized Christianity first experienced its steepest growth and acceptance when it was co-opted by the empires of Constantine and Rome.

These kinds of questions are why I have a hard time with Christianity (or anything) being THE way. It's my way. It's how I can relate to whatever God is. But I feel the need to preserve or allow the dignity of other groups who relate to God in different ways. I'm going to keep swimming in my lane because it's what I know and it works for me and I don't see any sense in starting over with something else. I'm a head over heart person. I don't have any mystical experiences or feelings that keep me in. What keeps me in is that the message of Christ and that the trajectory of the story in the Bible bends toward justice and goodness - and frankly, flips power dynamics upside-down.

I haven't ever participated in a Unitarian Universalist service but I don't feel like I could vibe with it, even though I feel like much of their approach to the spiritual world may mirror mine. I can better relate to teachers like Brian McLaren, Brian Zahnd, Richard Rohr, David Bentley Hart, Rachel Held Evans, Stan Mitchell, NT Wright, Rob Bell, and Pete Enns, etc. who are able to frame Christianity in an inclusive lens.

Evangelism / proselytizing seems like a Western thing, and almost a natural result of colonization. “We’re taking over your land. Be like us. Assimilate. Including our God. Do it, or else.” As I’ve looked around a bit I don’t see many other religions with the drive to get others to convert. Mostly I see people trying to be their best selves in relation to their view of God and their neighbors, which is a universal Good that absolutely meshes with Christianity.