Dear Kaleid Ladies,
This month, we will be sharing a few quotes taken from our summer book circle book: Lisa Sharon Harper’s The Very Good Gospel. In the spirit of summer simplicity, we will offer you a quote or two that stand more or less on their own as we invite you to consider the depth and breadth of the goodness of the Gospel.
Last week we shared a story about Lisa Sharon Harper asking a room full of campus ministers to survey Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John asking, “What exactly was Jesus’ ‘good news’?”
Here’s what they found…
“The team members found that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all cared about an individual’s reconciliation with God, self, and their communities. But the gospel writers also focused on systemic justice, peace between people groups, and freedom for the oppressed. The good news was both about the coming of the Kingdom of God and the character of that Kingdom. It was about what God’s Kingdom looked like. It was about what citizenship in God’s Kingdom requires. The biblical gospel writers’ good news was about the restoration of shalom.” (p. 6)
Harper goes on to share about the bifurcation of “the gospel” (and our subsequent truncated view of it in the American evangelical church) that occurred during the early 20th century, when churches that preached the gospel as personal sin-salvation became distinct from those that preached the gospel that frees communities from oppression and restores right relationships. It's a very helpful context, and we commend the book to you even if you cannot join us for the discussion! (But we hope you can! Join us tonight and on the 28th by registering here!)
Here is what Jesus said about the gospel when he got up to preach one day:
Luke 4:17-21 (The Message)
When he stood up to read, he was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written,
God’s Spirit is on me; he’s chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor, Sent me to announce pardon to prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, To set the burdened and battered free, to announce, “This is God’s time to shine!”
He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the assistant, and sat down. Every eye in the place was on him, intent. Then he started in, “You’ve just heard Scripture make history. It came true just now in this place.”
Gratefully,
The Kaleid Team
P.S. Would you like to spend time with kids at a summer camp in Clarkston the week of July 10th? Kaleid is once again gathering a group of volunteers to assist at a Friends of Refugees summer camp. Email Elise if you are interested in learning more or helping out!