Hi everyone,

So you may be wondering why this is coming out so late in the day. I had to leave for home shortly after worship today because we had tickets to MJ: the Musical. I don’t go to these shows often, but when I heard there was one about the life of Michael Jackson, I just had to watch. You see, I’m a bit of a fan…

So as a kid, I was pretty disappointed when all news about him dropped. Having one of my heroes labelled as “weird” kind of shook my world. Knowing that a person that I looked up to for his talent and what he supposedly stood for actually didn’t stand for that was soul crushing.

I know all of this is alleged. And I know he was never convicted. And I know I wouldn’t agree with or support anyone doing the things that he was accused of doing. But my goodness, do I still love his music. Am I still ever awestruck by his dancing prowess. Do I ever still look up to him and what he has done not just for the industry, but the awareness he tried to bring up about the environment, racism, and bettering oneself for the sake of the world.

Again, I am not in any way supporting what he may have done, but I just don’t want the allegations to get in the way of his message and gift to the world through music. It just seems like it’s too easy for us to cancel someone and everything about them.

Here are the readings for next week:
Isaiah 11:1-10
Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19
Romans 15:4-13
Matthew 3:1-12
And a video of these texts being read:

I often wonder if John the baptizer would have been cancelled if he lived in our society. He went against the grain. He didn’t fit in. He was just generally weird.

But his message was a good one.

Well, it was a good one for those who needed to hear such a message of repentance and redemption. For those who wanted an easy out, it might have been difficult to hear. And I suppose he did end up being cancelled by the powers that be, not just for being weird but by speaking truth into evil.

So while his message continues to be a good one, he was outcasted for reasons outside of that message. In an effort to squash that message, they cancelled him. Because they didn’t want him to continue speaking truth into their darkness, they wanted him silenced.

Now, I’m not saying that John the baptizer is like Michael Jackson or anything, but I’m comparing how both of their messages could have been lost to outside forces. But it’s important to see the good in what was said and not tarnish it all just because we might not like the bearer of that truth or what they were or what they’ve done.

This isn’t a green light to do anything we want as long as our message is good. But I’m saying let’s not cancel the good because there is, always has been, and always will be evil in the world.

And as always, let’s actively look for and recognise God in the world. Because the way things are, it’s so easy to caught up in the blame game. Rather, let’s look to the good, the just, and the peace that God blesses us with throughout our lives.

Thanks be to God! Have a great week, everyone!