Myths and Legends

Have nothing to do with profane myths and old wives' tales. 1 Timothy 4:7 (NRSV)

Today I want to write about the many and varied myths and legends associated with the many and varied symbols and songs of Christmas. This will in no way be exhaustive but it seems opportune given that Facebook and my inbox are filling with these myths and legends.

The Twelve Days of Christmas This song is about the twelve days between Christmas and Epiphany. Traditionally a time of celebrations and gift giving and part of the fun was a Twelfth Night celebration where "memory-and-forfeits" games were played/sung. In these games the leader recited a verse, each of the players repeated the verse, and the leader added another verse, and so on until one of the players made a mistake, with the player who erred having to pay a penalty, such as an offering up a kiss or a sweet. The myth is that the items in the song (partridge, turtle doves, etc) are symbolic of various Christian doctrines (partridge=Jesus, two turtle doves= the Old and New Testament, etc) and that it was sung by Catholics in England when the practice of their faith was outlawed as a way of teaching their doctrine.

http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/music/12days.asp

Legend of the Candy Cane This holiday treat is a relatively recent addition to the world. In early Christmas cards sugar candy was represented as white sticks until early in the 20^th century when the now traditional upside down “J” shape with red and white strips began appearing. Candy sticks with color strips are known in the 1840s. The myths that the candy cane developed as a way for Christians to identify one another or as a symbol of the scourging Jesus received are again fabrications where a secular item is infused with religious meaning that was not the original intent of the item.

http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/candycane.asp

I could go on from the Christmas tree to Santa Claus to the number and gender of the wise visitors to Christmas lights to Christmas being the actual date of Christ’s birth. As with almost any Christian holiday (perhaps any faith’s holidays) the symbols and traditions are often times adopted or adapted from those of the indigenous cultures. When trying to make your belief system understandable to someone outside your traditions what better way than to adapt them to local items and events?

So should we just ignore all our traditions and symbols of Christmas? No. I think that knowing what the origins of a myth or legend are is important as is the truth behind the adaptation or adoption. Then you can make an informed decision about what you will include in your own festivities and how you will share the meaning and significance of the symbols and legends you choose to pass along.

I think finding “Christian” meanings in myths and legends is one way of keeping the faith alive but we should never divorce the real roots from the thing itself. So I talk about the Christmas tree representing for me eternal life and the lights as symbols of the light of Christ but also mention that it started out as a religious symbol for indigenous peoples who had no knowledge or intent to communicate what I find in it today. I don’t need my faith to be the only reason for a symbol or a celebration, it doesn’t have to supplant the meaning it had with another and be deemed superior. When we try to cover over or hide the original we are saying that ours is better and that isn’t the point. The point is to let things speak and to find meaning within them for yourself and your faith but not to deride or belittle or even replace the faith, tradition or people that gave you the song, symbol or whatever.

In the early days of some of the American colonies Christmas was banned as a holiday as were all its symbols. It took well into the 1800s before Christmas began to be adopted as a holiday thanks in part to the immigrants who came from countries where their Christmas traditions were never banned. Think about what we almost lost if that ban held up over time. Sure most of what we associate with Christmas has its roots in other cultures and indigenous faiths but that doesn’t mean we can’t find significance and meaning in it for our faith and lives. So grab a cup of nog (not Christian), belt out the “Twelve Days of Christmas” while sitting in front of your Yule log (again not Christian) and your Christmas tree and find within it all meaning for your life and faith.

God, thank you for all faiths and cultures and the celebrations and traditions that belong to them. Thank you for giving me a mind to think and a heart to feel. Thank you for the meaning I can find in them and in the entire world. Thank you for giving me a faith that can be seen and known and felt in so many ways. Keep my imagination strong, my faith nimble and help me to never let the meaning I find in something be understood as the only meaning it can have. Amen.

Christmas Cookies

Asher will become famous for rich foods, candies and sweets fit for kings.

 - Genesis 49:20 (The Message)

We have a tradition in my family, one that dates at least to my mom’s mom. This tradition is that everyone in the family has to have a favorite Christmas cookie and they get that cookie each year. Now this is a wonderful tradition and always is received with joy. But, and you know there would be a but; it can be a bit overwhelming once you get your children’s significant others and your grandkids included in the list.  It means a wide variety of cookies but it also means making a wide variety of cookies. And of course as more and more folks are added to the list the choice of cookies becomes more difficult. We have modified our tradition to the point where someone can have a favorite that has already been claimed by someone else. It makes it easier on the cookie bakers and on the selection process.

When I was doing my “Foods of Faiths” meals based on the primary holiday of each faith there was a common thread that ran through them all, a sweet treat. It would seem that almost every culture and faith has a sweet tooth and that at times of joyous celebration that tooth is fed. One reason that sweet treats are so much a part of these special times is that sweeteners (sugar, honey, molasses, etc) are not easy to procure or produce. They are available for limited times or it takes a lot of effort to produce them. So these sweet ingredients are prized and used sparingly except at times of celebration.

Today in the 21^st century western world at least sugar and other sweet ingredients are easy to come by, relatively cheap and most of us have sweet treats as part of our every day (or maybe limited to weekly) diets. Sweets are no big deal to us. Cookies and candies and pies and cakes are available at every store, gas station, newsstand, restaurant, hardware store and just about everywhere else. They just aren’t that special anymore; the common place-ness of them has lessened their specialness but so as the quality of a lot of them. Mass produced sweets always seem lacking to me. Now some treats in some bakeries and restaurants are almost to die for in their quality and taste but that bag of cookies or that freezer pie just seems to be missing something.

So I like our Christmas tradition. We produce quality, handmade treats that are special because they are handmade and because they are favorites, not every day treats. At Christmas we use only the best – real butter, special flour, top of line chocolate, fresh and special ingredients all the way around. We make small batches – enough but not too much. And we take the time to decorate them well, make them look picture perfect, and have their presentation be special. They are truly treats for one and all.

So we begin the baking this weekend. We start with gingerbread, move on to sugar cookies, do the spritz, make what we call wagon wheels but what the rest of the world calls chocolate crinkles, then comes the fudge with and without nuts, then peanut butter cookies both with and without the chocolate kiss, snicker doodles make an appearance, gingersnaps have to be done, snowballs rolled out (my dad’s favorite which we will make in his memory this year), and the Check Mix baked (we salt lovers need a special fix too!). We spread this over several days and we end our special treats with fresh cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning. Makes my mouth water just typing this!

I hope you have a tradition that is exceptional. One that makes everyone feel that they are special. I hope that whether or not you have a large group or if it is even just yourself you keep that tradition alive. Everyone needs some touch stone, some special ritual, and some tradition that sparks memories, brings meaning, and helps make you feel this is a special time. If you don’t have some tradition now is as good a time as any to start one. Don’t be afraid to try something and see if it fits. We have gone through several traditions in my family. Some of them stuck and some of them lasted for a time and some didn’t make the must do status of Christmas cookies but all of them helped to bring meaning and significance to our celebrations.

Dear God, thank you for traditions, rituals and other things that make celebrations and holidays special. May all people everywhere have some special moment and treat this year. Be with those who have lost their traditions or who have never had them. May every one of your children feel special this year. Amen.

American & Christian

Do not say, "Why were the former days better than these?" For it is not from wisdom that you ask this. – Ecclesiastes 7:10 (NRSV) Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. – Isaiah 43:18 (NRSV)

Ok, I have held off now for months but I can do so no longer, I have to Muse about “The Donald.” His latest “position” on Muslims in the United States has pushed me over the edge. On the Huffington Post website his campaign press release read: "Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on.” Add to this his call for a data base on all Muslims and a shutting down of all Mosques and I am fed up with his Islamaphobia and his lack of compassion, understanding and commitment to Christian and American values.

What is going on? How can so many people be supporting this idiot? Time and time and time again through US history we have tried to ban, round up, subjugate and “protect our citizens and our way of life” to have these efforts backfire or be condemned in light of the values we profess. Slavery, Chinese immigration laws of the 1880s, Japanese internment, etc are all failures of just the kind of thing Donald Trump and his supporters are advocating. All have been proven to be worthless and all are condemned as anti-Christian and anti-American because they violate our basic understanding of our country, our values, and our humanity.

I can only understand these extreme reactions if it is placed within the realm of fear and a flawed desire to somehow reclaim a nostalgic past where all was wonderful. That past never existed. Because of who we are there has never been a time when we could keep others out in order to protect ourselves because we are all others here. One of the reasons people began to migrate to this land in the 1600s was because of religious intolerance in their homelands. A founding principle of this country is that people should be free to practice their religion and that being a citizen of this country does not require you to profess any religious creed or doctrine that you don’t want to.

How can people support excluding others based on religion? It is fundamentally against everything that is truly American not be mention Christian. We are told by Jesus to love one another. We are told by Paul that there are neither Gentiles nor Jews. We are told by our founding documents that all people are created equal. This may be the ideal and it may never have been fully realized but these are our basic understandings and core values. When you talk about keeping a group of people out or about gathering them into ghettos or making them register or monitoring an entire faith group -does this sound familiar like maybe Nazi Germany or Imperial Japan or Stalinist Russia or …? – you have given up what it means to be an American and a Christian.

Fear is easy to manipulate. Fear is easy to build upon. Fear is a strong emotion that kicks in all our reptilian instincts. Fear is a motivator for doing things you would never normally do. And fear is something manipulative people have drawn on to get groups to do things they would consider evil, abhorrent and beyond anything they would normally tolerate. I don’t think Donald Trump is smart enough to be deliberately manipulating the supports he has. I think he is just a scared, fearful and mean man who cares nothing for others and isn’t able to look at what he says and believes in a critical way. He is so narrow in his thinking, so limited in his compassion, so trapped in his billionaire fantasy land, and so out of touch with the world that he can only spout off ridiculous ideas that have no basis in reality and that would in fact do more harm than good.

I am proud of the fact that these United States have always tried to live by the words of the poem “New Colossus” on a plague on the Statue of Liberty:

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

We may have often times failed in our living out this dream, this call, this desire but it has been our beacon to the world and it helps to define who we are, what we believe and what we want our nation to be and set a standard for how we behave.

I don’t want to give Mr. Trump any more time or attention. I think his popularity is being driven by the media obsession with him and his ludicrous statements and preposterous positions. He makes good theater but he’s had his time in the spot light and we need to set this show aside. After all, only 35% of Republicans support him and only 23% of the US population is Republican. His views are not the views of a solid majority of Americans (according to the Wallstreet Journal), thank God!

Dear God, help me to be more tolerant of those I deem to be ignorant, mean, and narrow minded. Help me to live out my convictions and my faith. I pray for those been targeted and vilified. Help my nation to be the ideal we profess, a place that welcomes all. Amen.

Idols

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me…You shall not murder. - Exodus 20:2-3 & 13 (NRSV)

Just another day and just another mass shooting in the land of the free and home of the brave. There have been more mass shooting in the good old US of A this year then there have been days of the year. A mass shooting is when four or more people are shot in an event, or related series of events, likely without a cooling off period. Here is a graph from the Oregonian today that tells a lot about this number (each purple hash is a mass shooting):

I think we have been talking about the problem of guns all wrong. I think that what we have in this country with a minority of the population is a fanatical worship of an idol. By most sources and estimates only 1/3 of the US population owns a gun and gun ownership is declining. Yet most sources will tell you that right now in the US there are anywhere from 270-310 million privately owned guns – that’s nearly one gun for every man, woman, and child in the US. So those that own guns on average own several. So I think we might have a devotion to an idol and not a commitment to a right to own and bear arms.

Let me say that a large number of gun owners are people who handle them safely, have a reason to own them and don’t participate in what I am saying is idol worship. I cannot tell you numbers because they aren’t easy to find but I know many people who do own guns but don’t worship them or the right to own them.

That being said there are still a small but fanatical group out there that sees their guns as holy and their right to own them as devotion to their god. How else can you explain their unflinching claim that more guns would keep these mass shootings at bay? That isn’t logic or even defense of a right, it is religious fanaticism. “You can have my gun when you pry it from my cold dead hand.” Who says something like that? Only a devote worshiper. I think that we are missing the point if we approach gun control from a socially responsible or logical or common sense perspective.

We have to see that the NRA and its devotees are a form of idol worship, they have placed their guns and their right to own them on a pedestal and have fervently dedicated their lives and resources to keeping the object of their devotion free and accessible so they can carry it with them wherever they go and have it near at all times. Regardless of how senseless or illogical or even criminal it may be these gun worshipers will risk everything for their god; even when their devotion means the very real possibility that they or others will freely violate of their other god’s commandments.

The opposition to gun control isn’t about the right to own and bear arms; it’s about a fanatical devotion to an idol.

Dear God, help us to worship you and you alone. Be with the victims of gun violence. Be with those who feel that they must use guns for violent purposes. Be with us all as we try to find a way forward that allows for freedom and also protects us. Amen.

To Muse or Not to Muse That Is Not the Question

If your revelation hadn't delighted me so, I would have given up when the hard times came. But I'll never forget the advice you gave me; you saved my life with those wise words. Save me! I'm all yours. I look high and low for your words of wisdom. Psalms 119:92-94 (The Message)

As busy as the last couple of weeks have been I did think, “Maybe I should give up my Musing for awhile, take a break from this weekly (to use a George Carlin line) brain dropping.” But then I realized something, I am always musing, reflecting, wondering and trying to figure out myself and my life. It never stops, never ends and is a constant part of what I do and who I am. Maybe that’s a confession of mental illness but it is my reality. So for those of you who thought in my earlier lines that this might be a fond farewell it isn’t. You’re stuck with these weekly windows into the strange and sometimes wise workings of my heart, mind and soul.

I like to reflect on what’s happening around me, what I am feeling, how I am reacting to something going on. I enjoy sharing thoughts and letting you know what’s causing me pain or bringing me joy. As an introvert this is a safe way to share myself with others so that you have a sense of who I am as I get a sense of who you are through your comments, your reactions and those times we contact in person. It is also a way that I can share with you my theology, my understanding of God, and my take on how to live faithfully.

These Musings help me in another way; they help me to deal with the scary, tragic, awesome, unreal, disappointing and confusing aspects of life in the 21^st Century. Putting something down on virtual paper helps me to get my head around things, to get in touch with what I am feeling, and to let my joy or grief or confusion out and allow it to be seen, heard and in some way dealt with.

These Musings might just be my way of Journaling, or using a diary, of helping me to know and understand what has and is happening in my life. I know that at times, when I read back over what I have written I am surprised at what has come out, it could be something profoundly personal, it could be a way of looking at something that I wasn’t really paying attention to, it could be a way to focus upon myself and my relationship with God. In some way and at some times these Musings are my way of getting a handle on what it means to be a person of faith in the Christian tradition in our time and place.

So now I have a confession to make, I do these Musings for myself and then just let you in on them. I don’t think about how you, the reader will react, I rarely think about how you might receive them or if what I am writing will somehow convince you of something. I write these to get my thoughts together, to help myself deal with things that are important to me or that have caught my attention. These Musings are one way I listen for the voice of God, pay attention to the voice of God, try and make some sense of the voice of God and check to see if what I am hearing is the voice of God.

That sounds kind of weird, and very egocentric. But it is true. I Muse because I have to and I do it for myself. I want to help others in their efforts to make sense of life and to delve into their faith and relationship with God so I share these with you but only as a window into what I think, feel, believe and do and not as a prescription of what you should do (though I do think, at times, I suggest what you might do and maybe suggest it strongly).

So thank you for letting me drop some of my brain, my life, myself, and my faith on you. I hope that in some small way it helps you.

Dear God, thanks for giving me a heart to feel, a mind to think, a soul to connect with, and people to share with. I seek to be a faithful child of yours, help me in that endeavor. Bless all those who read or receive these Musings. Amen.

Retirement; OMG

When Methuselah had lived one hundred eighty-seven years, he became the father of Lamech. Methuselah lived after the birth of Lamech seven hundred eighty-two years, and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty-nine years; and he died. Genesis 5:25-27 (NRSV)

Let me begin with another apology for not sending along a Musing last week. My Life is getting to full and once in awhile something has to give. Last week it was my Musing.

Earlier this week I attended my first Pre-Retirement Seminary. Friends have told me I should do this at least three times: once to get my head around retirement, once to get serious about thinking about retirement and once to get my questions answered as retirement looms large in the very near future.

One piece of information you get is a projection of what your retirement income will look like from our pension and related sources. They run these projections based on meeting full retirement requirements. When I read mine something took me by surprise that maybe shouldn’t have, I am eligible for full pension benefits at age 63 because I will have 40 years of service. That’s 6 years away! I can’t be this old! I can’t possibly be this close to retirement. My shock was tempered when I discovered that full Social Security benefits aren’t available to me until I am 66 years and 8 months old so that means I can put off this life change at least another ten years if I want. Add to this that Amy has told me with great force and stern face that I will NOT retire before she does and my date with destiny is a bit vaguer.

I like to joke about the fact that I am not as old as my kids make me. I just can’t have my youngest child being 21; my youngest grandson (at the moment) just turning 5. I just can’t believe that I am that old. Sure there are some signs of aging; I wear bifocals now, my hair is gone, my upper range hearing has taken a hit, my knees and ankles scream at me of the abuse I have piled upon them. But there are also signs that I am not that old; not much gray in the hair I do have, I only take an aspirin a day and no other medications, I still enjoy a good rock concert and stay up late. I know I am being stereotypic in my descriptions but you get my point.

Now some people say aging is a state of mind. I agree to a point. I know many people in the 80’s who are vibrant, active, involved and engaged in life. They often say things like, “I like to help older people.” I also know folks in their 60’s that can’t get around, are debilitated by health issues and the results of life choices and that are withdrawn from life. Age can be a state of mind assisted by physical, mental and emotional issues. A couple factors seem to play into how well someone ages. First there is supportive community; people and family that wrap you in love, care and concern. They keep you young by keeping you active and involved and by giving you the assistance you need. Another factor is health care. If you have good quality health care and take advantage of it you age more gracefully. A factor in this is also financial. If you have the resources life is less stressful, you can keep up your independence to a larger degree and the numbers of choices available to you are greater. None of this guarantees a longer, fuller, healthier, happier life but it does contribute.

So after my initial shock at being this close to an age when I could retire I realized that in many ways I am extremely well off. I have a good pension plan (knock on wood and the world doesn’t fall apart). I have Social Security and Medicare (assuming that the US government doesn’t default and keeps managing the Trust Fund well). I have good health insurance. I have a loving family. I have a core group of beloved friends. I have an active and engaged mind. I am doing things to care for my body and my mind and my spirit. I have the resources and the ability to do those things. All in all I have realized once again how truly blest I am and how much I have and am humbled by the comparison of my wealth with that of so many others.

I know I’m not retiring in 6 years. I’m pretty sure I won’t be in 10 (Amy’s wishes do come into play). But whenever I do retire I know that the potential is there for me to have what I need to make my “golden years” a special time. I’m just not ready to enter them yet. I want to say to those of you who are retired I am watching you to learn how to move into this stage of life. I am taking notes so that I can learn how best to make the most of this next phase of life. Whether you are 55 or 85 I see in many of you the traits and life choices that I want to emulate when I do retire. One of the blessings in my life is you who are retired and doing it with compassion, flair, integrity and fun. Thank you for your example. God bless you!

Dear God, help me to realize how truly blest I am. Help me to remember those who are not as blest as I am. Lead me to do what I can to help others so that they can have what they need in this life. Thank you for all I do have. Thank you for the witness of those who are retired that show me how to faithfully live. Bless them. Amen.

Pride

Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses, but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God.

 - Psalms 20:7 (NRSV)

Pride lands you flat on your face; humility prepares you for honors.  - Proverbs 29:23 (The Message)

Don’t worry; I am not starting a series of Musings on the Seven Deadly Sins. I am conflicted however. You see all my life I have been taught that pride is not a good thing. Pride is defined as: a high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct, etc.; The state or feeling of being proud. A becoming or dignified sense of what is due to oneself or one's position or character; self-respect; self-esteem; Pleasure or satisfaction taken in something done by or belonging to oneself or believed to reflect credit upon oneself; Something that causes a person or persons to be proud. As one of the Seven Deadly Sins (I couldn’t avoid going there) pride is: excessive belief in one's own abilities, that interferes with the individual's recognition of the grace of God. It has been called the sin from which all others arise. Pride is also known as Vanity.

The conflict within me has to do with the battle lines that have been drawn by my religion, culture, tradition and family upbringing. Obviously the idea that belief in your own abilities is dangerous is part of the corrupt interpretation of the Christian faith that has been passed on over the last several centuries. It all goes back to the likes of St. Augustine who said things like: It was Pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels. I was taught in church and at home that you shouldn’t be too confident in your own abilities because it would somehow cause you to put less trust in God.

 

My folks were so confused about what to do they seemed to never fully land in either camp. They would tell me how great a job I had done and how proud they were of me and then in the very next breathe they would remind me that I could do more, be better and that I shouldn’t be too confident in my own abilities. This problem wasn’t just my own. It had gotten so bad in our culture that we began to realize that self-esteem and self-confidence were lacking in many people due to our cultural and religious hesitation and uncertainty regarding pride. When my kids were in elementary school self-confidence was a big part of everything they did from no letter grades (It’s how you do not how you rank with others) to participation trophies (no one is better than anyone else we all are equally important). While I think this helped a lot of kids to feel better about themselves it still didn’t get at the core of the conflict we have created – satisfaction and confidence verses a drive for perfection and pride.

 

I am proud of my children. I am proud of Amy. I am proud of my church. I am proud of the way I am leading my church. I am proud of what I have been able to accomplish in my life. I am proud of those I know who are doing well. But even writing this makes little bells go off in my head. Who am I to think I am doing a good job? Why should I feel pride for something that isn’t done as well as it might be? How is it that in all my imperfections and failings I can be proud of anything that I have done?

 

It has taken me years but I have gotten to the place where I can let those little bells toll and not let their ringing dampen the pride I feel in myself and others over things and life well done. I think we all need to take pride in a job well done. I think we all need to allow for ourselves to be proud of what others have accomplished. I think we all should let the pride flow when successes come. I also agree that we need to never, ever let our pride, self-confidence, etc displace God. I don’t believe in the interference God (God jumps in and makes things happen) but I do believe that what is right and good and just comes from a place deeper than just my or any other person’s ability. I believe that we are all uniquely gifted and that when we put our gifts to work for the common good and join our gifts with those of others who are also working for the common good we are doing something holy, something divine and God is present there. The sum or the parts is greater than the individual elements. It isn’t all thanks to the individuals present because something else is there as well, God is there.

 

I realize that I haven’t said everything I have to say on this subject. I also realize that I am not sure what else I need to say right now. So I will end this Musing without a clear finish to it.

 

Dear God, thank you for making me who I am, for all the unique and special things that make me who I am. Help me to be confident and proud of who I am and what I do. Help me to also join my efforts with those of others so that together we can be more and do more than we could alone. Thank you for all your gifted children. Amen.

 

Halloween or All Hallows Eve

They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. [Jesus] said to them, "Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." -  Luke 24:37-39 (NRSV)

Halloween or Harvest Festival? It seems that as we approach All Saints Day the debate rages about what the correct Christian thing is to do with the night before this most hallowed celebration of the church. To begin we need just a little background. Where exactly did this Halloween come from? I turned to one of my favorite sources for information historical and found this summary of the holiday:

Straddling the line between fall and winter, plenty and paucity, life and death, Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition. It is thought to have originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off roaming ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints and martyrs; the holiday, All Saints’ Day, incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before was known as All Hallows’ Eve and later Halloween. Over time, Halloween evolved into a secular, community-based event characterized by child-friendly activities such as trick-or-treating. In a number of countries around the world, as the days grow shorter and the nights get colder, people continue to usher in the winter season with gatherings, costumes and sweet treats.

(From: http://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween)

There is a lot more detail about the roots of Halloween, its traditions and their origins so check it out if you want to know more. My interest is in the fact that present day Christians seem torn about this annual dip into the mysterious, monstrous, metaphysical and macabre.   Many of us don’t like the evil or demonic bent to this annual celebration of the dark side while at the same time our culture has adopted Halloween. It ranks 8^th on the list for holiday spending which includes Back to School and the Super Bowl. When you look at what I would call holidays Halloween is 6^th behind (in order) Winter Holidays, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Easter, and Father’s Day. In the US we spent $6.9 billion on Halloween last year. So why is it that Halloween has such a hold on us? All the holidays that come in ahead of it on the spending list include the expectations of expensive gifts yet on Halloween we give out candy and usually small treats that don’t cost a lot. The spending on Halloween is mainly for costumes and decorations.

In anthropological terms some form of holiday that has as its main component ghost, spirits, demons, etc is almost universal among human cultures throughout time. Call it superstition, call it fear, call it an attempt to understand things that go bump in the night, call it a way to address the human need for understanding what happens after death, call it whatever but this celebration of the mysterious and monstrous seems hardwired into the human psyche. To pretend that Christians don’t share in this is absurd. All you have to do is look at the healing stories of Jesus to see the presence of this in our roots. All you have to do is look at the official rituals of the Roman Catholic Church to find ones for exorcisms. Why then do we want to gloss it over or in some way separate ourselves from this very human holiday?

Mostly, I think, it has to do with appearances. That’s right, some Christians want to present themselves to the world in a way that makes them appear more civilized, less superstitious, less carried away by fanciful and in their minds, twisted aspects of the unsaved hordes. After all, they believe, if we say that we are God’s chosen ones we have nothing to fear. They think that the waters of baptism remove the mysterious and monstrous from their midst. They honestly believe that by wearing a mummy mask, going trick-or-treating, carving pumpkins and enjoying the mysterious you are somehow give Satan an opening to attack your very soul.

But the stuff of Halloween is beneficial to us. Psychologist tells us that it is healthy to have a way to let yourself go, be scared and try on another way of life in a safe and socially accepted way. The scary aspect allows us to experience an adrenaline rush in a safe way but also to master deep-seat fears. It gives us a way to harmlessly live out our fantasies. Fundamentally healthy people want to be scared in a safe environment so they can experience the feelings and learn about how they react to fear without worrying about the outcome. Halloween, horror movies, roller coasters, etc all provide us with a way to safely explore fear and our reactions and help us learn how to deal with fear when it comes up in our lives.

So I encourage you to put on that costume of the person you most want to be like but aren’t. Take in a haunted tour of some house or the Shanghai Tunnels, have a late night picnic snack in a cemetery or do whatever scares you while in a safe environment and allow yourself to know what it’s like to feel afraid and learn something about yourself. One caution, if you have had real-life moments of fearing for your life be gentle with yourself if you choose to get scared. Don’t do something to cause those real life horrors to come back to life.

Dear God, thank you for our imaginations. Thank you for safe places to be sacred. Thank you for the times we can learn about ourselves and still have fun. Be with anyone who is going through real life horrors and help us work to make the world safe so that the only scary things that happen are things that are safe. Amen.

The Problem with Men

Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let us go out to the field." And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" He said, "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?" And the Lord said, "What have you done? Listen; your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground!  - Genesis 4:8-10 (NRSV)

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe data show that in the U.S. and Europe, 85%-100% of people convicted of assault are men. And 90% of murders are committed by men. Men are by far the principal perpetrators of rape, war, torture, incest, sexual abuse, sexualized murder, and genocide.  From: http://www.offourbacks.org/malepat.htm

As a man I am convicted. Violence is predominantly a male thing. You can argue about the figures but study after study and statistical report after statistical report shows that the overwhelming perpetrator of violence is male. Who are the mass murders? Who are the school shooters? Who are the architects of genocide? Who are the ones killing their children and partners? You know the answer, men.

It seems that there are many and varied theories about why this is the case. Some say males are genetically hardwired for violence, a warrior gene that has evolved to help us survive and thrive as a species. Some say it has to do with the lack of male role models present and active in the lives of children. Some say that the lack of social equality between the sexes is to blame. While there may be truth in one, some or all of these theories the fact remains that men are more violent than women.

In the stories of our faith the first violent act is Cain killing Abel out of jealousy. One of the Ten Commandments specifically forbids killing, “Thou shall not kill.” Jesus refuses to lead a violent uprising. Paul advocates civil disobedience not revolution. Yet even the Church has come to the place of sanctifying violence with the Crusades and the “Just War Theory” to name a couple examples. And who is it that runs civil governments and ecclesiastical institutions? Overwhelming men, that’s who.

I’m not sure where I want to go with this. I know that deep inside me is a belief that men are basically good, peaceful, non-violent types who want to see a world of harmony and peace. I also know that not so deep within me is a drive to make sure my family is safe and secure, that I will defend those I care about, and that if violence is the only means to that end I’m afraid that would be my response.

I believe that in most things that are on a spectrum the best place to land is at the balance point. I believe that we are living the best we can when things are balanced – enough fun and work to balance, enough alone time and time with others to balance, enough love received and love given to balance… So as a man I feel that my goal needs to be to find a balance, not with using enough violence and refraining from it but with the feelings and emotions that I have concerning how I want to engage the world. Using violence is never a good idea and if I must use it I do so knowing that there will be consequences. You see in the Cain and Abel story Cain wasn’t punished by God, his actions had consequences and in fact God protected Cain from others who sought violence against him.

We are at a time when the human male needs to evolve emotionally. Our nature and even our nurture may predispose us to violence but we don’t have to live that way. We can think, feel, and do the psychological and spiritual things necessary to keep our bent to violence in check and learn how to engage the world without it. We can do this but it will take work, it will take will, it will take support, it will take men willing to be the models so that other men and boys can see how they too can engage the world without violence. If we work hard, pray hard and are willing to keep at it we can alter the truth of violence and men.

Dear God, I pray for those who are victims of violence. I pray for those who are violent. I especially pray for all men who struggle with violence as a way of engaging the world. Heal us, help us to find non-violent ways to live and be. Help us find in you a model that will help us be the humans you want us to be.  Amen.

Being Persecuted

"Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable.”

Matthew 5:11 (The Message)

Let me begin by saying two things that have nothing to do with the topic for this Musing. First, thank you for reading my Musings each week. I really feel humbled by the fact that you want to read what I have to say. And second, this Musing is a bit long so I apologies for that up front. So on to the topic at hand.

Unless you’ve been hiding or not paying attention Pope Francis is in the USA for a visit. I have come to respect this Pope as he tries to walk a fine line between the traditional doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church and his believes that we need to care for our planet and for the poor and powerless and have compassion for those caught-up in divorce and offering absolution to those who have had abortions. But I am still waiting for him to speak “ex cathedra” on these issues. That is "from the chair" of his official seat as Bishop of Rome. This phrase refers to binding and infallible papal teachings which are promulgated by the pope when he officially teaches in his capacity of the universal shepherd of the Church a doctrine on a matter of faith or morals and addresses

it to the entire world. So I am watching and waiting, liking some of what I am hearing but 

realizing that much like the US President, the Pope can say a lot of things and what he says 

carries weight but in the end others have to agree and be willing to implement what they want 

in order for real change to come.

But something he said at the White House troubles me. This is from an online CNN story:

{Pope Francis} said that it was right that society was "tolerant and inclusive" but warned that American Catholics were "concerned that efforts to build a just and wisely ordered society respect their deepest concerns and their right to religious liberty. That freedom remains one of America's most precious possessions."

What concerns me is that this sounds a lot like someone speaking about having their rights violated and could be construed to mean they are being persecuted for their beliefs. This is the language of the religious right and of many Republican candidates for President. They are seeing the recent Supreme Court decision concerning the right to marriage for all consenting adults and the Affordable Care Act requirement for funding of birth control and abortions as cases of persecution. This is the way Ms. Davis, the county clerk who refuses to issue marriage licenses to homosexual couples, describes her plight, as persecution.

I cannot keep silent about this, persecution, really? Let’s remember a few things. First off we are not a Christian, Buddhist, Jewish, Hindu, Wicca, Islamic or other religion nation. We are a civil society that does not recognize any religion as official for our nation and its people. This means everyone is free to worship and believe whatever they want. This leads me to my number two, because of our religious freedom we who are people of faith have to constantly assess situations and circumstances and decide for ourselves how we will observe, obey, ignore or violate the rules and laws of our secular society. If an elected official cannot fulfill the legal requirements of the job they have been elected to because of their faith then they are obliged to resign. It isn’t persecution to require them to do their job.

Likewise with the Affordable Care Act; corporations are not individuals and a company cannot have religious beliefs. It can be owned and operated by people who have religious beliefs but as a company these beliefs are not germane to whether or not the company complies with the law of the land. They can offer alternative plans, they can advocate for changing the law, they can protest what they are being required to do but in the end, their religious beliefs do not have any sway in whether or not a company has to comply with the law. This is not religious persecution; it is the price of religious freedom and a government that is free from religious controls.

If you want to know what persecution is read the stories about what is happening in ISIS controlled areas of the Middle East. Look at the stories from Pakistan. Talk to those who objected to war on religious grounds. Check out the history of our world and see all the times and places people have been truly persecuted for their religious beliefs (Druids and Jews in Europe, Christians under Rome, Native peoples in the US, Australia, Central and South America, peoples of Africa, etc). I do not think that an elected official who is told to do the job she was elected to do even if it violates her religious beliefs is persecution because she has options, she has other opportunities and her life isn’t at stake.

To those who think that the erosion of “Christian values” in American society and the laws that are being enacted that seem to violate these beliefs is persecution I say, “Welcome to what this nation was meant to be.” It seems that we are trying to find a way to be that civil society that is not controlled by any one religion or belief system. Christianity is not now nor has it ever been the religion of the United States of America. It has been the dominate religion and as such has held tremendous power and sway in our nation but as we become more diverse and more secular its domination is fading and being replaced by a more open, free and divergent understanding of what is right and true and just for a civil society. Just look at what the latest Pew Research polling shows:

The simple truth of the matter is that Roman Catholics, evangelical Protestants, and other Christians are not being persecuted for their beliefs. They simply are experiencing the shift of our nation from Christocentric to pluralistic and not liking that shift very much. This isn’t persecution, it’s change.

Dear God, thank you for this nation. Thank you for Pope Francis and his witness. I pray for those people everywhere who are being persecuted because of their faith. Help me to find my way faithful around this nation as we give up our past ways and search for ways forward. Amen.

A Boy and His Clock

Listen, you idiots—learn good sense! You blockheads—shape up! - Proverbs 8:5 (The Message)

Newsflash…A boy and his clock. I could believe it when I first saw the story about Ahmed Mohamed and his clock. I mean a 14 year old boy brings a clock to school to show to his engineering teacher because he is excited about what he was able to accomplish and he is arrested? Seriously? He was brought to the principal’s office and asked if he tried to “make a bomb.” He was arrested and led through the school in handcuffs. The police and school officials describe what Ahmed carried as a “hoax bomb.” When asked by then police what it was he carried he said, “A clock.”

I understand the precautions we need to take in our schools. Too many serious, violent things have happened for us not to be hyper-cautious. I understand the English teacher being anxious. What I don’t understand is the assumption that what he had was a “hoax bomb.” If he said it was a clock and there wasn’t anything to prove it wasn’t then why did Ahmed get arrested? I mean almost anyone could look at a box of electronic elements and see if it was in fact a clock or an attempt to make something look like a bomb. Why didn’t the police believe him? Why didn’t they ask the engineering teacher to take a look at the device?  Why didn’t they have a bomb expert look it over? I would think that any of these people could have told them it was a clock and not a “hoax bomb.”

I give thumbs up to President Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Education Secretary Arne Duncan and many others who have reached out to Ahmed and told him to “stay curious and keep building” or something similar. I agree with them that we need to encourage curiosity and scientific exploration. I support children and youth trying things out and building things. I want our young people to feel safe and free to build things and bring them to their teachers to show off what they’ve done and to get their teachers to encourage and support them.  If we are so worried about safety that we are willing to assume that anything electronic that is home made is a bomb or hoax bomb then we are in trouble. If we won’t believe a young man who has never been in trouble and never caused people to question his motivations when he tells us what he has then we are in trouble. As Hillary Clinton tweeted, “Assumptions and fear don’t keep us safe – they hold us back.”

I can’t ignore the fact that Ahmed is Muslim and brown. I can’t ignore the fact that this took place in Texas. I can’t ignore the fact that the police chief is white and the school district official is white. I can’t ignore the fact that when it comes to people with brown skin and Muslim names the assumption by officials is the person is dangerous and their intentions are suspect. It seems that there was a very real assumption that Ahmed was not willing to tell the authorities the whole truth and they felt the best way to handle things was to haul the boy off to the police station. What if this where a white kid? I think his parents would have been called and he would have been warned about bringing something like that to school. I don’t want to make assumptions but I can’t ignore all this.

I have read stories about 5 year olds being accused of sexual harassment for trying to kiss a girl at school. I have heard of kids being dragged before police for having a pocket knife. And now we can add a boy and his clock to this list of ridiculous over reactions. Yes we need to keep our kids and schools safe. Yes we need to have clear policies and procedures. Yes we need to have very low tolerance concerning things like weapons, and sexual harassment and questionable devices. But we also need to trust what the kids say and take into account the circumstances and situations. We need to assume innocence and ignorance not malicious intent. And we need to figure out how to ignore the creed and race and focus on the situation.

I see that Ahmed is still suspended from school. Why? I see he is changing schools. I can understand that move. I see MIT says they hope he will apply. That’s good news. A boy of 14 has had to confront a situation that is incomprehensible and that’s too bad. A brown skinned person is once again harshly treated and subjected to things that seem out of proportion to the situation. Racism lives. A Muslim youth is assumed guilty, of having ulterior motivates, and of being able and willing to do something to cause fear and anxiety. Islamophobic we are!

Ahmed and all you other curious builders out there, keep at it. Even when the world seems against you remember that great things can come if you believe in yourself, your dreams and can move beyond the limited thinking of others.

Dear God, thank you for Ahmed and all those who are curious, who dream dreams and have visions and seek to explore your wonderful universe. Help us to name our racism and Islamophobia. Help us to see not the color of a person’s skin but their humanity. Help me to be a witness to how you want us to treat each other and the world. Amen.

                

The Cost of Doing What Is Right

"But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt.” - Luke 6:27-29 (NRSV)

A note before I begin, you may have noticed that there wasn’t a Musing last week. Nothing happened. The week got away from me and I didn’t get one done. I apologize if for some reason you were concerned.

Amy and I are considering some much needed updates to our home given the fact that the house was built in 1978 and still has its original gas furnace and aluminum framed windows. We had an evaluation done of our home and I received the list of things needed and associated costs today. I am left once again with a terrible dilemma, do what is right and suffer for it or do some of what is right and be inconvenienced.

To do everything they suggest and do it with the most energy efficient, planet friendly methods and products would cost us well over $25,000. Now that isn’t a lot from many angles but it is for us and where we are financially right now. If I compromise on what is best for the earth and go with what is ok I can get into the $15,000 range which is much more doable. But I don’t like the feeling I get when I consider going with the lesser option. And I know this feeling well, I get it often when contemplating where to do my shopping, what to buy, who and what to support with my time and money, and all the other places and ways I am confronted with the conflict between what I know I ought to do, what I would like to do, and what I feel I can afford to do.

I mean I really want to own a car that is the best thing for our planet but look at the costs: A Tesla Sudan runs $79,500, a Chevy Volt will set you back $31,000, and even a Prius comes in at $25,500. And there is the question about whether or not electric cars are better for the planet given the impacts of production and end of use disposal. I would love to buy fair trade and sustainable in all aspects of my life but they don’t make clothes in my size, the quantity of what I need often makes buying in this way expensive and some of what I want can’t be found.

Over and over I am forced to have to either go with my values and beliefs and it costs me or I compromise and it costs me too.  I am left with a question for the universe, “Why does it cost so much to do the right thing?” In a lot of ways I feel that to live out my values, my faith in the area of shopping and such I would have to be fairly well-off financially. It seems to me that our system is designed to allow for those who have the resources to do what is best and right while those of us without all the resources are left to do what is ok or not so good because we cannot afford to do otherwise. Sure I know that I have a lot more options than many others, especially those in under-developed countries. I know that if I really wanted to do something, get something, make something happen I could figure out a way for one thing but when faced with many things I don’t feel I have the wiggle room to do what I want to do, what should be done.

I know the argument that one watt saved is a watt saved, one drop of water conserved is one drop of water not wasted but why can’t I save many watts, conserve many drops of water? It comes down to cost and I feel that I could save more watts and water if I could afford to do more of what could be done instead of just doing what I can afford to do. I want vinyl windows, I want full insulation, I want a ductless heat pump but I can only afford the windows, the insulation and a much more efficient gas furnace. And I feel I have not lived out the values that I hold. I feel that I have had to compromise my faith and my relationship with God and creation. As silly as it may sound, I feel that I have let myself, others and God down because of the choice I have had to make, a choice based upon economics and not my faith and values.

I am truly thankful that God is understanding and forgiving. I am thankful that doing a little bit does make a difference. I am thankful that I do have choices and options. And I am thankful that I don’t feel good when I am forced to accept less than what I believe should be. I am also thankful that I can share my frustrations and limitations as we all seek to be faithful.

Dear God, help me make wise choices that reflect my beliefs and values, especially when they reflect yours. Help me to live with the choices I make and to never be fully satisfied with them until I can make the best ones possible. Thank you for giving me a sense of what is just and right and forgive me when I don’t do everything possible to be just and live righteously. Amen.

Marriage

…and the two shall become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate." Mark 10:8-9 (NRSV)

I could go all kinds of directions with this topic. I have so many things I could say about this institution, about what it means, about how it affects us, etc. I could go off on a tangent and talk about all the related issues like adultery, Ashley Madison website, divorce, etc. But what I want to Muse about today is what my marriage means to me.

Amy and I have been married for over 33 years. I wish I could say that it was a blissful and easy 33 years but the truth is it hasn’t been easy. We have had good days, good months and good years. We have also had bad days, bad months and even a bad year or two. We have faced a lot together and sometimes weathered the storms as a team, but sometimes we each had to go it alone. We have had years of counseling together and years of counseling by ourselves. At times we have found a balance while at other times we were on the edge ready to fall. Anyone that says to you marriage is easy either isn’t being honest with you or aren’t being honest with themselves.

On the outside my family of origin was like “Leave It to Beaver” but that image was not the whole truth. My mom and dad had troubles and were not the healthiest of people when it came to emotions, relationships and being a family. Some of it had to do with their own families of origin, the times they grew up in, and the experiences of their lives. Some of it had to do with the people that they were. And some of it had to do with the choices they made. Now don’t get me wrong, there wasn’t physical abuse, no alcoholism or drug addiction, no philandering and certainly no cowering and giving in to only one “head” of the house. In a lot of ways my home was a haven when compared to many homes. Still, though it wasn’t family paradise.

I am the product of that environment, of those genes and of the times within which I came to maturity. I am also the product of years of experience, of observing others, of reading and wondering and trying to figure out who I am and how I am to be in a relationship with another mature, thinking, feeling human being. For those you who don’t know her Amy and I are very different. We share a lot of common values. We care about a lot of the same things. We have similar beliefs and goals. But how we go about life is different. This difference has brought both wonder (awe) and wonder (bewilderment) to our life together. I can say now that it is a gift and that it has helped me evolve into the person that I am. In the ever changing flow of life I can honestly say that Amy has been a steadying hand and a voice of reason more than a few times and that our togetherness – our working as a team to face what comes our way – has provided the strength needed to carry on.

Eventually one of us will die. The other one of us will carry on. We will use our years together and all that we have done, survived, and accomplished to help the survivor continue on. I know that for me it will be hard but doable because I know Amy would want me to carry on. I hope she knows that I want her to carry on too. We both know that life doesn’t end when one in the couple dies, it is just another hurdle to overcome, a change in how we relate to one another and something else that we will learn from and that will bring growth.

As my brothers have struggles in their marriages, as my Dad’s wife continues to struggle with her grief, as friends celebrate anniversaries and kids who have grown up with my kids get married I have to say to God and the universe, “thank you” for whatever caused Amy and me to find one another and invest in our relationship. It is a gift of the universe for which I am eternally grateful.

Dear God, thank you for Amy. Thank you for our life together. Thank you for the joys we’ve shared and the hurdles we have had to overcome.  Be with all those who are married. Be with those whose marriages didn’t work. Be with those who are lost in grief. Bring comfort, strength and a sense of life to all who struggle in their relationships. And I thank you God that our nation recognizes that marriage isn’t about the gender of the couple but is about two people committing themselves to one another in hopes of making a meaning life together. Amen.

A Note

If he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it. - Philemon 1:18-19 (NRSV)

As you are aware, my dad died in the end of April. Our family was flooded with cards and condolences. It has taken until now to get through them all. And I had to go back over all the remembrance pages people wrote at the service. Then I when back over the ones people gave us at my mom’s service. After all this reading of so many memories and condolences I was left feeling affirmed, loved, and overwhelmed by the compassion and care of so many.  Then I got in the mail a card, a thank you card to be exact. It was from someone that I had helped and it was a sincere and heartfelt thanks for what I had done. And it cemented something in my mind; a hand written note has tremendous meaning, significance and power.

It seems that electronic media has stolen a lot of the things we use to write each other about. Faxing has replaced the need to pass papers back and forth. Text messaging has replaced handwritten notes families would leave for one another. Facebook, Instagram and all the rest have taken over for well wishes and birthday greetings and congratulations and sympathy cards we once sent. More and more we are allowing the quick and easy methods of today to erode the written note.

I have been sorting through family photos and mementos from my childhood and from my parents’ past and from their parents’ past. Among the items I have come across are postcards, letters, notes and greeting cards. The postcards and greeting cards are short; quick notes that mention an event or a few words of well wishes. The letters are pages long and contain mundane information about the weather, news about what is happening in the place where the writer lives, and reflections, observations and insights shared in an intimate and trusting fashion. These letters took time and effort to write. They weren’t a quick email “hi.” They aren’t a “Happy Birthday, enjoy your day” on a Facebook page. They are personal connections between people who are sharing about what is important to them.

I have decided that I need to write some letters. I need to write to my surviving uncle on my mom’s side and check in with him. I need to write to my surviving aunt on my dad’s side and let her know I am thinking of her. I need to write my nieces and nephews and just touch base. I need to write my brothers and let them know how I am doing and ask about how they are doing. I need to do this because writing a note sends a message: I care and have written this note taking the time to connect and share.

You see, I remember when I was younger how special it was to receive something in the mail. I remember when receiving cards, notes and care packages at camp or college helped me not only survive but thrive. I remember how loved and cared for I felt when people sent sympathy cards following the deaths of my parents. I remember how my kids loved to receive cards and notes from their grandparents and others. I remember how those letters, cards and notes made me feel and how that was a feeling of connection and care and love.

So I encourage you to take a few minutes each week to write to someone you care about. Not an email, not a post on their Facebook page, not a text message from your smart phone, not a quick email from the office. Write an honest-to-goodness letter, note or card; don’t just sign your name, write something. In this world of instant contact some good old snail-mail can be special and it really does tell someone you care.

I thank you God for those who care about me, for their reaching out to me with cards and letters. Thank you for the gift of reflection and writing you have given me. Help me to employ this gift to reach out and share my love and care with others through the written word. Be with everyone I have thought of as I have been writing this. Amen.

Morning Connections

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  - Lamentations 3:22-23 (NRSV)

Every morning, four mornings a week I get out of the house around 6:10 am and walk. Half the year it’s dark to mostly dark. Half the year it is light to most light. I try to walk no matter the weather and I do so for my health, my doctors said I should and I agreed! After almost two years of this I am also now doing it for several other reasons: I feel better when I walk, I like the alone time, it starts my day off right, and I enjoy the walk.

I have noticed something interesting as my routine has developed and I have settled into a pattern, I am making morning connections. I walk alone. I have my ear buds in and music playing. But still morning connections are happening. You see there is a steady, small parade of people that I encounter on my walks. Some are walking, some running, a few walking dogs, and a couple bike riders. Most are alone; there are pairs that look like friends, spouses, or parents and young adults. I don’t see the same folks every time I walk but I do see them regularly. Some come out when it is lighter and warmer but a lot are like me, all season folks.

The thing about us is we make connections. It may be a wave. It could be a smile, maybe a tip of the head or a nod. But we connect with one another. We share something in those early morning moments. It could be an affirmation of each other’s efforts to get in shape. It might be an acknowledgment of shared determination. It might be a knowing what the other is going through. Whatever it is we connect. So much so that at least for me when I fail to see someone I normally encounter I wonder if they are ok. And if several of our regular encounters don’t happen I worry about what might have caused them to miss their morning excursion. And when I have to miss a few mornings I hope they aren’t too worried about me.

I have also noticed something else, there are a very few who will not acknowledge you. They look straight ahead and even when you wave, nod or say hi they just march or run or ride on without so much as a recognition of your presence. When this happens I feel slighted and even a bit annoyed because my other morning encounters matter and being ignored somehow lessens the morning’s experience. I have come to realize that the simple act of acknowledging another person matters and makes a difference. A smile, a nod, and a spoken “hi” all have a certain power that is unique and universal. You see I walk pass by an Asian woman, a Hispanic woman runs past me, a black man runs my route, a 20 something with tattoos and a beanie crosses my path, a pair of older men play with a dog and we all wave, nod or say “hi” and everyone does so with a smile. In those brief and often fleeing morning encounters we all recognize ourselves in the other and our common bond as human beings.

When I lived in Boston people made fun of me because I made a point of look at people and being nice. I let others get on the train ahead of me. I held doors open. I smiled and said “hi.” I wanted to make some kind of connection and I wanted to make sure that we all knew we were together in this thing called life. After saying “hi” to this one older man every time I passed him on his bench for weeks he called out to me and when I paused he said, “Thanks for noticing me.” There is power in a simple nod, a smile or a “hi.”

So I encourage you, no matter where you live and no matter the routine you have, whenever you encounter someone smile or nod or say “hi.” It is a connection that is so important in a world where the individual seems lost. When you acknowledge another it makes you both more human.

Dear God, thank you for my morning encounters and for the people I recognize on my walks. Help me to always acknowledge others and to remember the power of a smile, nod or “hi.” Amen.

Soul Ache

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God. - Psalms 42:5-6 (NRSV)

I will warn you up front, I am not in a very hopeful mood today.

Another incident in a movie theater; another story about the Voting Rights Act and its difficulties; another admission that heroin and drug addiction are a rampant problem; another story about the intensifying of the fighting in Syria; another case of a child shooting another child; another terrorist attack… And there is going to be a Republican Presidential Debate on TV complete with FOX News and all the hyperbole and one-up-mans-ship that these political spectacles provide and I am feeling blue. And to top it off, I heard on NPR that the Blues are a fading musical genre, just when I need them they are fading away.

As I have said before, I am either and optimistic pessimist or a pessimistic optimist. I like to think that more than anything else I am a realist. I don’t let my highs get to high or my lows get to low. Realistically things always seem to work out, maybe not as well as I would like; maybe not in the ways I would like but usually, in the end, things turn out ok. But today I am in a funk. I just can’t shake the feeling that things aren’t going to work out for the best. I find myself feeling hopeless in the face of so much that is negative and life sucking. I look to the heavens and I look to the inner core of my being and I look to the trees and the mountains and I look to the songs and the arts and still I am not able to shake this hopeless feeling. My self-diagnosis is that I have a soul ache. This is a pain in my soul that throbs and twinges and causes me discomfort.

And just when I think I can’t make it another day, you know the ache gets so bad that I want to give in or give up, I hear David’s words “Why are you cast down, O my soul…Hope in God…” And you know what; hope in God is the prescription for a soul ache. Like any prescription it isn’t the sole method of treatment but it usually takes the edge off and gets you started on the road to recovery. Like a diabetic who has medication to help with the peaks and valleys but still needs to adjust their lifestyle or when you have some intense pain and get a pain reliever that doesn’t make the pain go away but does dull it and make it manageable; so too when one has a soul ache you need to hope in God and then get busy finding ways to keep that hope alive.

So today I am remembering that my hope is in God and I am searching for the ways to keep that sense of hope alive. Just sharing this with you has helped. Soul Ache will be a chronic condition for many of us for the foreseeable future. As our world goes through a dramatic period of shifting and changing physically through climate change but also politically through elections and revolutions and uprisings, socially through the many and varied issues of our day and how they are addressed, religiously as extremists rise and reformations happen and a new norm is discovered, and holistically as we find the balance point for the earth and its inhabitants. My hope is in God! Our hope is in God and the faithful who can continue to live faithfully even when our souls ache. Strange things are afoot at the Circle K and around the globe. How we who call ourselves children of God respond to the change and the ache we find in our souls will be critical to how we can assist creation in moving forward.

Spiritual practices, taking care of yourself, serving others, spending time with God, joining together with family and friends, meditating, star gazing, enjoying the arts, and whatever else you do to keep your hope alive have to be priorities for you, me, us so that when we hope in God we can also keep hope alive and help hope thrive. We are the beacons of hope in the dark and storm of this age and we cannot allow our soul ache to consume us. Get help, take the cure and never, ever forget that our hope is in God!

Dear God, thank you for being there. Thank you for caring. Thank you for being my hope and my prayer. Inspire me to be hope for others. Thank you for all the ways you have given me to feed my hope and keep it alive. Amen.

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