Abundance Reconstructed: Recent Episodes
Joe Burnham
A place for spiritual misfits who realize Christianity is broken but Christian faith doesn’t have to be.
Each week this podcast contains an audio version of the custom context portion of our weekly newsletter. For curated resources and a weekly action, and an opportunity to connect to a community of misfits, sign up at https://abundancereconstructed.com
And now the time is finally here to talk about the word perfect. Like when Jesus says, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” It is one of those phrases that Evangelicals love to point to when talking about the necessity of moral perfection. I am pretty sure the text on that million dollar bill with the million dollar question I talked about back in episode six, included a bit about perfection. It is all part of an evangelism spiel that says if you are not perfect than you deserve hell unless Jesus saves you. There are just two small problems … Greek and context. I will unpack each.
Helpful Links * Episode Transcript * What Do Children Do? * Don’t Go. Make Disciples! * What Is God Like? * From Murder to Meekness * Adultery vs. Loving Another * Divorcing Loopholes * Honestly to Honesty * Jesus’ Resistance Revolution * Reframing Spirituality * Be-Attitudes or Beatitudes * Salt of the Earth * Light of the World * How Do You Fulfill the Law * Living By Soul * A Spirit of Love * Living By Spirit * Series Links
If you live in the United States of America, odds are, you don’t know your enemies. This is true of the people you perceive to be your enemies and your actual enemies. So how can we take Jesus’ words about loving our enemies seriously? Let me expand a bit.
Helpful Links * Episode Transcript * What Is God Like? * Divided States of America? * Republicans: The Single Greatest Threat to American Democracy * Why the Corrupt Media Might Be Our Nations Biggest Threat * Mitch McConnell Pays Tribute to Joe Biden * The Truth About Division? * Series Links
What do we do when God isn’t like God? When I say that I am pointing to those parts of the Bible that portray God as doing something other than, for example, causing the sun to rise on the evil and the good.
Helpful Links * Episode Transcript * What Is God Like? * Divorce Loopholes * Turning the Other Cheek * A Spirit of Love * What Do Children Do? * Series Links
What is God like? Or maybe, since this is an exploration of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, a better question would be, “What is the God Jesus calls Father, like?”
Helpful Links * Episode Transcription * Sermon on the Mount – Introduction * What Children Do * Denver Area Funeral Officiant * Series Links
What do children do?
While there is so much to cover in the next segment of the Sermon on the Mount, I think that is the first essential question we need to reflect on.
Helpful Links * Episode Transcript * Under Saturn’s Shadow by James Hollis (affiliate) * Baylor Religion Survey * My Dissertation * Series Links
This week explored what can only be described as Jesus’ resistance revolution. After all, embracing the resistance wisdom of Jesus invites dramatic social change. That is the ultimate point of being the light of the world. By shining in the darkness you expose injustice and invite cultural transformation.
Helpful Links * Episode Transcript * Light of the World * Turn the Other Cheek * Get Naked as an Act of Resistance * The Second Mile * Giving and Receiving Mercy * Living By Spirit * A Spirit of Love * Jesus Taught the Kingdom of Heaven * Series Links
Like and turning the other cheek and getting naked, going the second mile is an act of resistance. It is part of a reframed spirituality that seeks to upend the power structures in the ancient world. It exposes injustice and insists on a recognition of universal human dignity. As with our previous examples of resistance, I lean heavily on the research of Walter Wink. This time, it focuses specifically on occupying Roman armies.
Helpful Links * Episode Transcript * Turn the Other Cheek * Get Naked as an Act of Resistance! * Reframing Spirituality * Light of the World * The Powers That Be by Walter Wink (affiliate) * What It Looks Like Inside an Amazon Warehouse Now * Warehouses with John Oliver * Inside the Hellish Workday of An Amazon Warehouse Employee * Series List
Jesus’ exploration of his reframed spirituality continues with a series of teachings on resistance. This sounds odd for two reasons. One, in the United States we just had four years of liberal “resistance” revolving around Donald Trump. The other is that most of our Bibles have a translation that is something like, “Do not resist an evildoer.” So let me unpack this a bit.
Helpful Links * Episode Transcript * Reframing Spirituality * Jesus Taught the Kingdom of Heaven * Blessed Are the Meek * Giving and Receiving Mercy * Who Are the Peacemakers? * Living By Spirit * A Spirit of Love * The Evangelical Vote on Throughline * Light of the World * Series List
While this entire week of posts feels exposing, perhaps none more than one on honesty. That is right, despite decades of struggle with anger and adultery, despite two divorces, honesty is what hits home hardest. Perhaps because I know all the rest flows from my inability to be honest. So to avoid any allure of hypocrisy, I am going to talk about me. I am going to talk about my honestly to honesty journey.
Helpful Links * Episode Transcript * From Murder to Meekness * Adultery vs. Loving Another * Divorcing Loopholes * 1984 by George Orwell (affiliate) * Abundance Reconstructed Community * Series Links
As Jesus continues reframing spirituality he explores divorce and more generally, sin avoidance loopholes. Again, if we skip the broader context, we miss this. If we miss the big picture, we start making rules about when people can and cannot divorce. Similar rules come up about remarriage. This is largely why the church is infamous for telling a woman to stay with an abusive husband. After all, he might hit her or verbally assault her, but he did not cheat.
Helpful Links * Episode Transcript * Reframing Spirituality * Salt of the Earth * Adultery vs. Loving Another * The Pure in Heart * Teaching to Obey * Living By Spirit * Light of the World * How Do You Fulfill the Law? * Series Links
Jesus’ second everyday example of his reframed spirituality is an invitation to avoid adultery by loving another. Yes, you heard that right. When we are busy loving another, we do not commit adultery. Let me explain.
Helpful Links * Episode Transcript * Reframing Spirituality * The Pure of Heart * Teaching to Obey * More Righteous * Be-Attitudes vs. Beatitudes * ”I Kissed Dating Goodbye” author statement * The Purity Culture and Sex as a Duty * Salt of the Earth * Living By Spirit * A Spirit of Love * From Murder to Meekness * Series Links
Guiding the people from murder to meekness is the first in a series of examples exploring Jesus’ reframed spirituality. These everyday applications unpack how embodying the Beatitudes does two things. One, it serves as societal salt or light. Two, it creates blessed happiness for the disciple. Jesus does this by reframing the common teachings from the Law given by Moses.
Helpful Links * Episode Transcript * Reframing Spirituality * Salt of the Earth * Light of the World * Blessed Are the Meek * The Four Agreements (affiliate) * How to Have Better Arguments Online * Persuading the Unpersuadable * Who Are the Peacemakers
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is reframing spirituality in his day. But when we read it today, we need a double dose of reframing.
Helpful Links * Episode Transcript * Be-Attitudes or Beatitudes * Jesus Taught the Kingdom of Heaven * Salt of the Earth * Light of the World * How Do You Fulfill the Law * “The Powers That Be” by Walter Wink (affiliate link) * Giving and Receiving Mercy * Persecuted for Righteousness * Living By Soul * A Spirit of Love * Sermon on the Mount – Introduction * Series List
Jesus closes the opening section of the Sermon on the Mount by telling the people they need to be more righteous. His actual words translate as, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Helpful Links * Episode Transcript * Sermon on the Mount – Introduction * Jesus Taught the Kingdom of Heaven * Leonard Sweet * Living By Spirit * Be-Attitudes or Beatitudes * Teaching To Obey * The Pure In Heart * Poor in Spirit * Salt of the Earth * Light of the World * Fulfill the Law * Living By Soul * A Spirit of Love * Series List
What does it mean to fulfill the Law?
Helpful Links * Episode Transcript * Teaching To Obey * The Pure In Heart * Be-Attitudes Or Beatitudes * Spiral Dynamics on Wikipedia * Living By Soul * A Spirit of Love * Series Links
Being the light of the world, like being the salt of the earth, describes the broad social impact of disciples who embody the Beatitudes. As we explored yesterday, serving as the salt focuses on everyday lived experiences. Being the light of the world is ultimately an act of truth telling that prompts change.
Helpful Links * Episode Transcript * Salt of the Earth * Dust Whisperer * Grove Collaborative (affiliate link) * B-Corp * Blessed Are Those Who Mourn * Be-Attitudes or Beatitudes * Are B Corps An Elite Charade For Changing The World? * Winners Take All by Anand Giridharadas * Misfits Market (affiliate link) * Blessed are the Meek * The Pure In Heart * Who Are The Peacemakers? * Series List
What does it mean that embodying the Beatitudes makes people the salt of the earth?
Helpful Links * Episode Transcript * A Ninth Beatitude? * Be-Attitudes or Beatitudes? * Jesus Taught the Kingdom of Heaven * Under Saturn’s Shadow by James Hollis (affiliate link) * Persecuted for Righteousness * Giving and Receiving Mercy * Blessed Are Those Who Mourn * Poor in Spirit * Blessed Are The Meek * Who Are the Peacemakers? * Series List
Is there a ninth Beatitude? I opened the series on the Beatitudes saying there were nine of them. It is true that, “blessed are” shows up nine times in the first part of Matthew chapter five. But is there really a ninth Beatitude?
Helpful Links * Episode Transcript * Be-Attitudes or Beatitudes * Blessed Are the Meek * Giving and Receiving Mercy * Teaching To Obey * Sermon on the Mount * Series List
In what some consider the final Beatitude Jesus says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10–12, NRSV).
Helpful Links * Episode Transcript * Sermon on the Mount Introduction * Jesus Taught the Kingdom of Heaven * Living By Spirit * Blessed Are The Poor In Spirit * Blessed Are The Meek * Giving and Receiving Mercy * Who Are The Peacemakers?
The Series This post is part of an ongoing series. Link here for a list of every episode in this series.
Next in Jesus’ series of blessings is, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9, NRSV).
Helpful Links * Episode Transcript * Living By Soul * Monty Python’s Constitutional Peasant
The Series This post is part of an ongoing series. Link here for a list of every episode in this series.
Following “blessed are the merciful” comes, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8, NRSV).
Helpful Links * Episode Transcript * Blessed Are The Merciful * Teaching to Obey * Poor In Spirit * A Spirit Of Love
The Series This post is part of an ongoing series. Link here for a list of every episode in this series.
Mercy is central to the fifth Beatitude. Jesus says, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7, NRSV).
Helpful Links * Episode Transcript * Blessed Are The Meek * Pax Romana * “Show the F**k Up” featuring Joe Burnham * Anselm of Canterbury * “The Myth of Redemptive Violence” by Walter Wink * Living By Spirit * A Spirit of Love
The Series This post is part of an ongoing series. Link here for a list of every episode in this series.
What does it mean to be righteous? I ask because Jesus continues the Beatitudes with, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6, NRSV).
Helpful Links: * Episode Transcript * Poor in Spirit * Great Commission Series * Teaching to Obey * Abundance Reconstructed Community
The Series This post is part of an ongoing series. Link here for a list of every episode in this series.
In the third Beatitude Jesus’ declares, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5, NRSV).
Helpful Links * Episode Transcript * Poor in Spirit * Blessed Are Those Who Mourn
The Series This post is part of an ongoing series. Link here for a list of every episode in this series.
The next Beatitude declares, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4, NRSV).
Helpful Links * Episode Transcript * Living By Spirit * A Spirit of Love * Developing Love, a sermon by Joe Burnham * Soul Guidance
The Series This post is part of an ongoing series. Link here for a list of every episode in this series.