This I believe (or Whopper of Sin)

In response to Dmergent’s request to 250-word-or-less credos, here’s my own.

Note: this is best when read while listening to the intro of Eminem’s Lose Yourself.

I believe…

…Jesus, the incarnation of God, shows us how to expose the corruption of power structures, to stand in solidarity with our fellow human beings in their most desperate times, and how to become liberated from all that dehumanizes us.  He willingly expressed God’s love for us and God’s desire for our wholeness even to the point of embracing death to say so.

…when I sit down for a Whopper with cheese and ask God to bless this unhealthy junk food to the nourishment of my body and I am not mindful of those who are presently hungry then sin in its most original form is present through my basic and unintentional participation in systems of injustice that are inescapable.  When we are released from sin by the grace of Jesus we are bound to a new ethic which calls us to seek justice, love mercy, and rescue the oppressed.

…the Kingdom of God Jesus inaugurated is beyond the comprehension of the individualized, beyond the desire of the consumerized, and beyond the perception of the nationalized.  Only by shedding ourselves of our false loyalties and identities can we become cognizant of the realm of God’s reign.

…the Holy Spirit is constantly moving amongst Christ’s disciples, empowering them to be a blessing for all people and proclaimers of God’s boundless love and grace, enlivening the activities of our minds that we might enact the transformation of the Church catholic into that holy body which God calls us to be.

By Dan Mayes

Dan Mayes is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).  He currently serves as pastor of First Christian Church in Spencer, IA.  He has served congregations in Iowa, Kansas, and Oklahoma.  His