<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:3.2pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-line-height-alt:8.65pt;mso-outline-level:
1;background:white;vertical-align:baseline"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">Kudos to Pastor Biffle.</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:3.2pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-line-height-alt:8.65pt;mso-outline-level:
1;background:white;vertical-align:baseline"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; "><br></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:3.2pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-line-height-alt:8.65pt;mso-outline-level:
1;background:white;vertical-align:baseline"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">What a great message for Thanksgiving.</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:3.2pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-line-height-alt:8.65pt;mso-outline-level:
1;background:white;vertical-align:baseline"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; "><br></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:3.2pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-line-height-alt:8.65pt;mso-outline-level:
1;background:white;vertical-align:baseline"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">Desperately counting my blessings in a time of crazy politics and culture.</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:3.2pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-line-height-alt:8.65pt;mso-outline-level:
1;background:white;vertical-align:baseline"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; "><br></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:3.2pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-line-height-alt:8.65pt;mso-outline-level:
1;background:white;vertical-align:baseline"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">Nick</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:3.2pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-line-height-alt:8.65pt;mso-outline-level:
1;background:white;vertical-align:baseline"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; "><br></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:3.2pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-line-height-alt:8.65pt;mso-outline-level:
1;background:white;vertical-align:baseline"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">Time
for Jesus to 'occupy' your life</span></b></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-line-height-alt:
7.7pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">By Robin Biffle | Posted:
Friday, November 18, 2011 12:00 am</span></b></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-line-height-alt:
7.7pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">Moscow-Pullman Daily News</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; "></span></p>


<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:3.2pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-line-height-alt:7.7pt;background:
white;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">Jesus is an original "occupy " guy, isn't he?</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:3.2pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-line-height-alt:7.7pt;background:
white;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">He's part of the movement that thrives when powers and
principalities and people need to hear the prophetic voice of difficult truth.
Whatever your understanding and experience of Jesus, you may recognize him as a
human being who spoke and acted subversively within the brokenness, hypocrisy
and cynicism of the dominant political, religious and social structures.</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:3.2pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-line-height-alt:7.7pt;background:
white;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">Many Christians understand that Jesus occupies us to bring us to a
"more excellent way;" Jesus challenges us and then supports us in the
call to live a life of justice, compassion, abundance, forgiveness,
reconciliation and restoration - the marks of God's reign on Earth. Living in
God's reign, living for the common good, invites us to face difficult choices,
and to make a choice that gives life and offers love.</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:3.2pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-line-height-alt:7.7pt;background:
white;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">To give us guidance in this "kingdom living," Jesus
reminds us of the two great commandments - love God, love others. Jesus isn't
talking, of course, of the warm, fuzzy, feel-good kind of "love" of
pop culture. Jesus wasn't talking of any feeling at all. Jesus was talking
about action, about doing love. Jesus says, be loyal to God, be loyal to
others. What you do to others, he says, you do to me. Don't love money. Don't
love stuff. Get your priorities straight: "render to Caesar" and
"render to God" and don't mistake the former for the latter. That's
occupy movement talk.</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:3.2pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-line-height-alt:7.7pt;background:
white;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">What the occupy movement says is consistent with what Jesus says:
Look after the folks who need looking after. Don't hoard. Don't cheat. Don't
steal. Share - especially with those who have less than you have.</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:3.2pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-line-height-alt:7.7pt;background:
white;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">When Jesus occupies the temple, overturns the tables and chases
the moneychangers away, what do the on-lookers do? We imagine that some run
away appalled and hurry to tell their friends about the scruffy, dusty
protester who behaved badly. Some wait for things to get back to
"normal" so they can go about their business again. But some open
their eyes and see, open their ears and hear. Some turn and follow, and
continue in Jesus' example of acting up.</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:3.2pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-line-height-alt:7.7pt;background:
white;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">Issues raised by the occupy movement are fundamentally religious
questions: Who/what is our god? What is our relationship to/with other people?
How do we care for the least among us? What is our responsibility in the public
square? How do we live lives consonant with love in a world that's imploding
with greed? Who are we called to be in these times? What are we called to do?
We are called to stand up for the things Jesus stood up for, and overturn the
tables that Jesus overturned.</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:3.2pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-line-height-alt:7.7pt;background:
white;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">I invite you to let Jesus occupy your life. I invite you to occupy
your own life. Let Jesus challenge you or challenge yourself. Ask yourself the
hard questions: Am I living for the common good, or am I living the convenient
life - the life that is about me, me, me? What is my treasure? Where is my
heart? Whenever you're faced with a choice ask: Which way is life-giving? Which
reflects the priorities of compassion and care for others? Would I do this to
Jesus? Would I want this done to me? Occupy yourself!</span></p>

<div class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
text-align:center;mso-line-height-alt:7.7pt;background:white;vertical-align:
baseline"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">

<hr size="2" width="100%" align="center">

</span></div>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-line-height-alt:
7.7pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">The Rev. Robin Biffle</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; "> is
rector of St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Moscow.</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Georgia","serif""> </span></p>