Practical Presents

Please accept my gift that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have everything I want." So he urged him, and he took it. Genesis 33:11 (NRSV)

Christmas has come once again and with it the never-ending drive to find the right gift for those you love and care about. It would seem that one gift option you are to avoid is that practical item. It seems to say that you don’t love the recipient enough or that you are not paying attention to what they want or that you don’t want to take the time or make the effort to give something to them that is from the heart. Maybe it’s because I am a man or I am insensitive or I lack some deeper level of empathy but I think a practical gift can be meaningful, an expression of deep love, and come from a place of intimacy. A practical gift can be the best gift you can give someone.

Ok, I don’t mean a new toilet seat for Christmas – my dad did that once for my mother when the toilet seat broke a week before Christmas, not his best choice. But there are practical things that really are some of the best gifts you can give someone. The difficulty with practical gifts is that you really do have to pay attention to the wants and needs of the person you are considering. Giving a practical gift means you know what they need, what they really would like to have but for some reason are not able or willing to get it for themselves. Often times this has to do with the seemingly frivolous nature of the item or the need it addresses. The other reason usually has to do with the feeling that they can “get by without it.”

If someone cooks a lot and they comment that chopping onions is a bother and wouldn’t it be nice to have an electric chopper but they never seem to want to get one that may be a great practical gift. Amy got me one and it is used a lot and it is a treasured gift even if it is just a practical item. Amy doesn’t like the dark halls and corners of our house during the day. She loves lots of natural light. We can’t cut a bunch of windows into hallway walls so she often comments on those “can” skylights as something to consider. When I suggest we get one she always has a reason why it isn’t a good time. So, I got her one and she regularly comments on how nice it is that we have it and thanks me for that gift, even after several years.

I know that age has something to do with this. I also know that financial limitations come into play. Practical gifts are often things that are wanted but seem just beyond what would be necessary. Socks and underwear are practical gifts that are also necessary. In our family, they regularly appear at Christmas but they aren’t what I am talking about here. I am talking about those things that aren’t necessary for life but that are necessary to make life just a bit nicer, easier, better. I have set myself a goal of at least once a year getting everyone I care deeply about one practical gift that makes their life a bit nicer, easier, better. I am having a hard time doing this for my sons but I will figure it out as they too transition into a phase of life where that practical item really does impact their life and is appreciated more than the latest gadget or trendy item.

So, my advice to you is to give a practical gift, but make it one that really reflects the person you are gifting. This takes works. It means you must pay attention and notice things. It means that you must risk the initial reaction for the longer-term appreciation. And it does not let you off the hook for finding and giving that less practical gift that also reflects the recipient’s wants, needs, and indulgences. Being a good gift giver takes work and it takes balancing the special, unique and practical.

May you receive just the right practical gift this Christmas!

Merry Christmas and a blessed and hope-filled New Year.

Dear God, help me to give the gift that others need to make their life better. Help me to receive whatever gifts I am given with a gracious and loving heart. Help me to remember that it isn’t the gift, it’s the act of giving that matters. Thank you for the gift of your Child and the gifts he inspires in us all. Amen.

I Am a Muslim

There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28 (NRSV)

I want to apologize for the hit and miss delivery of my Musings over the last few weeks. The election results and my mental and spiritual reaction to them has made it hard for me to get my head, heart, and soul around a subject that I would like to share about. I cannot tell you when I might be back to a mostly regular weekly Musing but until I am I will continue to send them out as I feel I have something to say.

The threat of a registry for Muslims and people from the Middle East has got my attention. It smacks of the Jewish ghettos of Warsaw and the yellow Stars of David in Nazi controlled areas during World War Two. It carries the stench of the internment of Japanese peoples on the west coast of the USA during that same era. It echoes the McCarthy Era and the Committee on Un-American Activities, the work of J. Edgar Hoover, and the Hollywood blacklist. All these moments in time are resoundingly condemned for their inhumane treatment of people and the sanctioned racism they produced and the fear they caused innocent people just because they happened to look a certain way, believe a certain way, or exercised their Constitutional freedoms. And just to make this even more clear, with the passage of the Civil Liberties Act in 1988 our nation admitted that such action is unjust and contrary to our values of liberty and justice for all. (This is the letter President Clinton sent to those who were interned.)

Social Media has been buzzing with this topic for days. One action that seems to have gained a lot of attention is how non-Muslims might react if a registry is instituted. That action, to register as a Muslim even if you are not. This may seem a silly thing to do or one that does little but think about for a moment. It has the potential to put millions of names into the system that would have to be vetted or verified. It would make it harder to figure out who exactly are the “real” Muslims. It would show our Islamic neighbors and friends that they are not alone. And what is most important, it would display your willingness to put yourself on the line for another – a way to love your neighbor – a way to witness to the all-inclusive and universal love of God.

The Bible states over and over and over again that our God given responsibility is to care for, protect, and serve the stranger, sojourner, foreigner, orphan, widow, poor, disenfranchised and otherwise powerless persons in our midst. This is what we are called out from among the peoples of this earth to do. This is the character of our God, this is what our God values. Look at Exodus, look at Leviticus, look at Isaiah and Micah, look at the Psalms, look at Jesus, and look at Paul. In every place, you will find that the one, overriding definition of being faithful is caring for the least and powerless. As Christians, we must see that singling out a group of people for no other reason than baseless fear and discomfort with differentness places that group squarely within the realm of those we must serve, protect, and care for. And therefore, registering as a Muslim is one action we can take to faithfully live out our connection with God and Christ.

I know that there may be risks associated with doing this act of civil disobedience. It may take time and money on our parts to get ourselves freed up from the limitations such an act might place upon us. But we must be willing to place ourselves in difficult positions to be faithful to God’s call upon our lives and God’s desire for the powerless to be supported and cared for. We cannot sit this one out. We cannot allow for this to take place and if it does, despite our best efforts, then we must act in ways to subvert and render it ineffective. It is what God would have us do.

I believe the time for action is now. I believe that if we are to say “NO!” to fear and evil we must find the places and do the things that speak loudest against this darkness. And we must listen to John Lewis, President Obama, Hillel the Elder, and many others who have said in one way or another, “If not us, then who? If not now, then when?” The time for faithful people to be upfront, open and honest about their beliefs is upon us. If you truly are a partner of God and Christ seeking to transform lives and the world you must enter the fray and to feel as Don Quixote does when he sings in Man of La Mancha:

To dream the impossible dream

To fight the unbeatable foe

To bear with unbearable sorrow

To run where the brave dare not go

To right the unrightable wrong

To love pure and chaste from afar

To try when your arms are too weary

To reach the unreachable star

This is my quest

To follow that star

No matter how hopeless

No matter how far

To fight for the right

Without question or pause

To be willing to march into Hell

For a heavenly cause

And I know if I'll only be true 

To this glorious quest

That my heart will lie peaceful and calm

When I'm laid to my rest

And the world will be better for this

That one man, scorned and covered with scars

Still strove with his last ounce of courage

To reach the unreachable star

Dear God, help me to love as you love, to risk myself for those who are powerless, and to be faithful. Be with anyone who fears for their freedom and their rights. Amen.

Musing on the Day After the Election

"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you, desolate. - Matthew 23:37-38 (NRSV)

Alright, I am such a mixed bag of emotions that it might be hard to be coherent but I’m going to try because I want to share with you what is happening with me in hopes that it will somehow speak to you this strange and unsettling day.

As I walked this morning in the dripping fog and dark I was consumed by the results of the presidential election. I found myself focusing on three basic responses:

1. Violence – I heard echoing in my mind the call from Les Misérables “Man the barricades” or something to that affect anyway. I was focused on revolution – rising up in arms against the tyrant who will be president. I wanted to plot an overthrow, find likeminded people who were willing to die in the effort to wipe this evil from the face of the earth. I wanted to find a way to mobilize the militia and call all caring, compassionate, loving people to arms. (I know that sounds wrong but we’re talking about how I felt.) I knew that the one and only way to ensure the future of our nation was to eliminate this spawn of the devil.
2. Give up – I almost sat down in the middle of the path and gave up everything. I wanted to just drop there and let myself fade away. I could see no hope for our nation or our world. I felt wrung out and wasted, without an ounce of energy left to try and continue to love, be compassionate, work for justice, etc. “Why bother?” I asked myself. Over my lifetime I have been sorely disappointed too many times in elections and this blow just took the wind out of whatever sails I had left. I just couldn’t see how anything I could do would make a difference. Our great nation, this grand experiment had failed and the end of the world must surely be coming. So, I wanted to give up and just stop, just cease to be. I would not be a part of what is to come so why even try to live through it.
3. Get busy – Kübler-Ross and others talk about the stages of grief and I know these three echo some of those stages. But as I showered and dressed and thought about how to put one foot in front of the other today I realized that this election, this man becoming president was a call to action. As a partner of God and Christ working to transform lives and the world into the place of justice, righteousness and peace that God dreams for it I have work to do. Many of the leaders of my denomination that I respect (I will be honest there are many I do not) are calling for vigilance in living faithfully the call of God and Christ to love and service, work for peace and justice and to be the change our world needs. There is a lot of fear and anxiety out there and it may be very well founded but my task is to live hope, love others, work for peace, advocate for justice and do all I can to raise up those being beaten down by the oppression of others.

Now I know I will vacillate between these options in the hours and days ahead. But I will work hard to stay focused on the third option – getting busy being the light and love of God and Christ for the world. I’m not sure yet what forms and actions this “getting busy” will take. But I am sure that they will include love and compassion and empathy and justice and peace.

I am afraid that we have started down the road that leads to what happened in Germany in the 1930s. I want to work hard to keep us from getting to the end of that possible path. A man, Martin Niemöller (1892–1984), was a prominent Protestant pastor who emerged as an outspoken public foe of Adolf Hitler and spent the last seven years of Nazi rule in concentration camps wrote this famous statement which I will and I think we all need to keep in mind:

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out— 
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— 
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

So, as you run through the vast spectrum of emotions that are coming your way in this post-election grief most of us are experiencing keep true to yourself. Live as the true Christians you are: loving others, working for justice and peace, treating others with compassion, advocating for those without a voice, serving those who are without enough, witnessing to the way of God and Christ that is the way of life, of enoughism (look it up here: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=enoughism) , and of love. Remember, together we are stronger than going it alone and that in the end love will win and God’s dream for creation will come to pass.

I end with a tweet from this morning from Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton):

“Let us have faith in each other. Let us not grow weary. Let us not lose heart. For there are more seasons to come and... more work to do.”

Dear God, give me comfort. Give me peace. Give me the determination to keep going, to keep loving, to keep working for you and your dream for me and all creation. Help me to be gentle with myself and others. Help me to put one foot in front of the other and continue down the path that Jesus calls me to. Be with those most directly impacted by this election and provide comfort and assurance to those who are fearful for themselves and those they love that you are with them and that others are with them too. Help me to breathe, help me to love, help me to not give into despair and help me live as your beloved child now and always. Amen.

Democracy

 "But my purpose is not to get your vote, and not to appeal to mere human testimony. I'm speaking to you this way so that you will be saved.” John 5:34 (The Message)

In a blog post “The Principles of American Democracy” writer and novelist Joel D. Hirst writes: There is perhaps no term more used, misunderstood and abused than the word ‘democracy.’

Abraham Lincoln’s democracy was encapsulated in his quote, “As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy”; while Gandhi said, “The spirit of democracy is not a mechanical thing to be adjusted by abolition of forms. It requires change of heart”; and Aristotle is quoted as saying, “If liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in government to the utmost.”

Yet what is democracy? The dictionary definition of democracy is simple: “Government by the people.” … In my opinion, democratic governance in America can be summed up in five elements…The first element is the mechanism of representative democracy…it is also essential to have a professional, non-partisan civil service that provide these services to the people…the third component of American democracy: the principal of separation of powers…The fourth is the principal of limited government…none of these principles would have any value if they were not woven around a nucleus of hard, civil and political rights which, enshrined in the bill of rights, guarantee the individual within American society certain “inalienable rights” (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joel-d-hirst/the-principles-of-america_b_1397365.html)

As we all prepare to exercise one of our basic rights, to vote, let’s remember that we are a part of a democracy and that for it to work and work correctly all parties need to agree to its validity. There are some troubling things happening – a major party candidate not willing to pledge to support whatever the outcome of the election is, Senate leaders pledging to not approve Presidentially appointed justices and judges, etc. Voting is just a part of our role in a democracy. We also must vote well. We must hold elected officials accountable. We must call for our elected officials to do their jobs. And we must expect that participants in the democratic process will abide by the outcomes.

It is said that the governance of the USA is an experiment in democracy. Will we continue down the path of refining and learning while the experiment goes on or will we reach the end of the experiment, write up the conclusions and move on to another thesis statement? The key for our system to work is for those elected to understand themselves as representatives of everyone. They are not representing Democrats or Republicans, they aren’t representing the Tea Party, they aren’t elected to do what is best for a certain constituency but for the common good; the good of our city, region, county, state and nation. They get elected because they support ideas, options and programs that the majority of those who vote identify with but we elect them and expect them to “vote their conscience” and not look to donors or special interests or party but to their inner commitment to do what is the best thing for all the people. It is this basic understanding that worked in the past to get things done, even when parties disagreed about it, they were willing to compromise and find a solution that seemed best for everyone.

I think a lot of the dissatisfaction people are feeling toward our elected officials has to do with this breakdown in fulfilling the role they are elected to. I wish I had a way to legislate or make this happen but I am not sure how we move things from the contentious and manipulative present reality into something that truly works for the good of the nation and its people. What I do know is that voting matters and electing people who will try to do what they can to get us back on course and caring more about the common good then about personal wealth, status, or narrow agendas is a way forward. So, vote and pray and let’s hope that miracles happen and work to make them become real.

Dear God, help me to put aside my selfish wants, needs and desire and focus on what is best for all. Be with the people of my nation as we vote, open our hearts, minds and spirits so that we can move beyond selfishness and greed. Be with all those elected and give them hearts to do what must be done for the good of all. Be with those who loose and help them accept the outcome and do what they can to support those elected. Amen.

When the Power Goes Out

 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. - John 1:5 (NRSV)

No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. – Matthew 5:15 (NRSV)

First off let me apologize for not doing a Musing these last couple of weeks and not telling you I won’t. Nothing serious going on, just didn’t manage my schedule well enough to get everything in.

Last night I was preparing dinner for about 20 people at my church. Each year I “sell” and event at our church auction and sometimes these events include meals. This year I am doing 6 evenings with dinner and a presentation. Well anyway, last night the power when out in the area around the church. A power line was down and I think a fire was involved but the outcome was no electricity and total darkness when the sun set about 6pm.

Luckily I had already prepared the main dish and had it sealed up tight in a roaster keeping it warm and the dessert was made and we were having salad and tortillas. I wasn’t able to get the quinoa cooked but other than that dinner was ready. So we went ahead with the dinner by candlelight using candelabra and candleholders placed all around the room.

Two things struck me as folks gathered and we ate our dinner. One is how much light you get from just one candle. It is said that the human eye can detect the light of a candle as far away as 1.6 miles (https://www.technologyreview.com/s/539826/how-far-can-the-human-eye-see-a-candle-flame/). So even a little light from one candle flame can make a room brighten up. If you add many candles the room comes to light. Now using candelabras and such means the light is lower down so it gives the room a special glow and a comforting mix of soft light and soft shadow. There really is something nice about being in a safe place in candle light. And it gives special meaning to the scripture from John 1. Darkness cannot overcome the light of a candle.

The second thing that struck me had to do with the resilience of people. Now we were not in a terrible disaster nor were we ever in danger but still this group of folks came together in less than ideal circumstances and overcome them. We enjoyed our dinner. There was lots of laughter and conversation. The meal – though hard to see in detail – was eaten without a hitch. The presentation wasn’t the magnificent PowerPoint I had put together but from my notes I was able to share the substance of what that presentation held and doing so by candle was in a way fitting since we were talking about ancient Mesoamerica.

This power outage and our time together has reminded me of just how special people are and how we can get along without all our modern conveniences. If dinner hadn’t been mostly ready, we still could have ordered pizza and had a great time or just eaten the salad and tortillas. I like being reminded of this. Being the host and cook I sometimes get caught up in wanting everything to be “just so”. I worry that things will not be what I envision them to be. So it is good for me to be reminded once in a while that I really am not in control and that wonderful things can still happen when the best laid plans and all my great designs cannot come to life. It does me good to be with a group of people that rise to the occasion and make the best of what is given them.

As we head into a weekend that might bring other opportunities for fun in the dark and using candles these reminders are good for me. I hope you stay safe and have a good weekend.

Dear God, thank you for moments that help me remember that I am not in control. Thank you for resilient people who can make the most of a situation. And thank you most of all for your presence in all the dark and light moments of my life. Especially, O God, be with those who have experienced some of the worst of life with hurricanes and typhoons and flooding and with those who are helping them. Amen.

When Technology Dies

 Your strength will come from settling down in complete dependence on me— The very thing you've been unwilling to do. – Isaiah 30:15 (The Message)

I have had a taste of the what the end of civilization will be like – the modem at the church died and I found myself disconnected from life and the world. No email, no internet, I couldn’t even print as the copier is linked through our modem. I couldn’t get newsfeeds and I wasn’t able to post this on my blog. Did everything I know and hold dear disappear? No! My phone still can access the world. Thank God for LTE reception!

Richard Rohr has a small book out What the Mystics Know that I am using with my Sunday School class. As with any book and especially one on spirituality and mysticism I don’t agree with everything he says. I like what he says about our being over stimulated by the omnipresence of media and how it induces emotions in us and how this makes us overstimulated emotionally which in turn makes us less aware of and able to get connected to the deeper level that emotions can take us to. I call this desensitization.  It’s like hearing another story about Donald Trump putting down women or making a racist remark, they are happening so often that we have become desensitized to them and the awful reality they reveal.

I think there is a point in disconnecting once in a while. First off when you reconnect you remember how awesome it is to have such wonders at your fingertips. You are overcome with the reality of the unbelievable gift that is technology is. Next you are moved when you see and hear things again. If you haven’t had a newsfeed for a day or two that story of a police shooting or a refugee boat capsizing hits you hard. You find yourself enlightened and enlivened by that cat video or those cute puppies or that great dance by that toddler and you are thankful for the wonders of God’s creations. If your emails have stacked up, you realize how unimportant many of them are and search for the few that have a real need to be read and replied to and the rest you delete. You do a search for something that is the most important issue you are thinking about and let the shopping for shoes fad to the back. You log in to Facebook and scroll past the insignificant things looking for that update on a friend’s health or a reply to a question you sent.

But after maybe 15 minutes or so you slip back into the patterns and habits that you have developed for your engagement with technology in your life. You once again get desensitized because your Facebook page and newsfeeds get bombarded with so much stuff that plays on your heartstrings, fuels your anger or frustration, or pulls you into emotionally charged areas that you have to let your emotions slip behind a screen just to move on.

And this is tragic. Every story about a refugee dying trying to get someplace safe should move you to tears. Every misogynistic statement, racist remark or hate-filled comment should get your ire up. Every falsehood and stupid, blatant, and obviously inaccurate comment should bring you up out of your seat with a cry for truth and accuracy. We cannot allow ourselves to become desensitized to these things. If we do then we allow for them to happen and we allow for them to become normal and acceptable, just part of what we see and hear. THIS CANNOT HAPPEN. We have to be appalled, disgusted, sickened, stunned, repelled, and horrified at injustice, oppression, misogyny, racism, loss of life, and every other evil and wrong we see, hear, and read. To do less is to allow for the darkness to grow.

As many have said, if not now than when and if not me then who? We cannot expect anyone else to do it. We have to do it ourselves – we have to object and protest and call for change. We have to say no to this rhetoric and stop to this hate-mongering. We cannot allow ourselves to be desensitized to this because if we do darkness gains and we all are a step closer to ruin. Be offended and don’t just take it. Be appalled and call for change. Be disgusted and push for better. You, I, we cannot wait for someone else to do it and we cannot wait for a better time. We have to do it and we have to do it now.

Dear God help me to speak the truth in love. Help me to challenge injustice, oppression and hatefulness wherever I encounter it. Help me to remain sensitive to the pain and suffering of others and help me to keep from thinking that it is just the way things are. Amen.

Unmotivated…Apathetic…Uninterested…Indifferent…Lazy

“Stay alert; be in prayer so you don't wander into temptation without even knowing you're in danger. There is a part of you that is eager, ready for anything in God. But there's another part that's as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire." - Matthew 26:41 (The Message)

I am having one of those weeks, I seem to be lacking. I’m not sure how best to describe it. Unmotivated is my first attempt but that doesn’t seem quite right. So as I often do I turned to my Thesaurus. I entered unmotivated and got a short list of possibilities: apathetic, unenthusiastic, inert, shiftless, uninterested, lazy, indifferent, lacking in enthusiasm, and not keen. None of these is quite right for the way I am feeling. So I tried melancholy. And I got things like sad, depressed, glum, despondent, dejected, downhearted, and the blues. Again, not really what I am feeling. So I tried malaise. Here I got two categories, one was sickness and I knew that wasn’t it. The other was dissatisfaction. Here were listed other words that have already come up (depression, melancholy, etc.) But there were other words like discontent, disquiet, unease. These are closer but still not quite what I am experiencing. Searching for disquiet I got unrest, uneasiness, foreboding and alarm. When I turned to dissatisfaction words like displeasure and frustration appeared.

I think this is the realm of my discontent, this displeasure and frustration, this foreboding and uneasiness. Having played multiple sports, I can equate my current state to those moments in the locker room before taking the field or court. It was a time of worry and frustration. A time of uneasiness. It was that uncomfortable calm-before-the-storm. I can only imagine that people awaiting battle felt similarly having never been in battle myself. It isn’t a doubt of self. It’s not an anxiety about my abilities. It is having time to think about what is coming and to realize that no matter how well I have prepared I cannot know the outcome. I always felt this way before exams, before job interviews and before other major decisions in life.

Now I don’t think there is any great upheaval coming in my life. At least nothing that I am aware of. No big events for family or close friends. No life-altering decisions that are needed. Nothing to make me think my state is due to the anticipation of something I have in the works. So what is it that is making me feel this way? It could be the political campaigns. Maybe it’s my SF Giants being the cusp of missing the playoffs. Maybe it’s the questions surrounding the Duck’s football chances this year. It could be my thoughts about retirement in a few years. Or maybe it’s climate change, the future of my church and the church as an institution that is weighing on me. Maybe it’s the sum of all this. But I think I know what it is. I have to decide about what comes next.

A whole lot of stuff in my life, personal and professional, has reached a point where it is now time to decide what comes next. It has been a long time since most of the facets of my life were all aligned at the place where a decision about what comes next was needed. I think it was back when Amy and I were getting married and deciding where we wanted to live and serve, like 32 years ago. Then as now I am uneasy. Then as now I am discontent. And something else is similar, then as now I know I want to let go and let God but I am finding that difficult. There it is, the really source of my frustration, foreboding, and every other thing that is swirling around me. I cannot know where I go next because I am not in control of that.

This is what makes me uncomfortable, no being in control. I have to just turn my hands palms up, raise my face to heaven and say, “Lead me, Lord.” And that is what bothers me. I don’t believe in the puppet-master God that manipulates lives and history so that everything fits some divine master plan. But I do believe that God has a desire, a dream for the universe in general and for my life in particular and that God wants me to discover this. Over my life time I have narrowed this down and feel that I am honing in on it but when moments like the one I am in right now come I know that further refining is needed.

So I will live in this space of discontent, displeasure and frustration, foreboding and uneasiness. I will listen for God’s voice. I will wait for some guidance and the dawning of an awareness. And I will work very hard to keep from trying to take control and make this time conform to what I think it should be.

Dear God, help me to await your voice. Help me to be patient as I seek guidance. Help me to live faithfully in this wilderness for a while. Amen.

Words and Symbols

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Psalms 19:14 (NRSV)

As we go even deeper into the election cycle it seems that more and more we are being exposed to words and symbols that carry weight and meaning but that a lot of folks just brush off because they are “just words” or “just an image.” I think this is directly related to that old saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me.”

A bit of information on that phrase seems in order. This is from the website http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/sticks-and-stones-may-break-my-bones.html :

'Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me' is a stock response to verbal bullying in school playgrounds throughout the English-speaking world. It sounds a little antiquated these days and has no doubt been superseded by more streetwise comebacks.

The earliest citation of it that I can find is from an American periodical with a largely black audience, The Christian Recorder, March 1862: Remember the old adage, 'Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never harm me'. True courage consists in doing what is right, despite the jeers and sneers of our companions.

That reference to the expression as an 'old adage' in 1862 suggests and earlier coinage.

It seems to me that are allowing hurtful words and damaging symbols to become part of acceptable speech and decoration. I don’t care how someone interprets a symbol for themselves they must also acknowledge what it communicates to others. A Confederate Battle Flag isn’t just a sign of Southern Pride. It is also a symbol of an ideology that supported chattel slavery and a belief that human beings are of less value and worth because of the darkness of their skin. A plaque with the Ten Commandments in a courtroom isn’t just a listing of guiding moral principles. It is also a prime piece of the theology and belief systems of Jews and Christians.  

In this country we have freedom of speech which has been defined to include signs and symbols. I have every right to say what I want to say and adorn myself and my property in whatever way I see fit. But that doesn’t mean I am to be insensitive to what I am saying, wearing and posting. Freedom of speech isn’t freedom to abuse. It isn’t freedom to torture or bully. Sometimes our words and our symbols do this and when they do we have crossed a line. Tell racist jokes, have a swastika tattooed on your neck, wear your KKK robes and hoods but when you burn a cross, call for the elimination of people, treat another human being as of less worth then yourself you have moved beyond free speech.

We all need to take care and realize that our words matter. Our actions matter. Our signs and symbols matter. I want the world to know I am a Christian but that doesn’t mean I can go around hitting people with a cross. Difference and diversity are what make a nation, a people, us great. It isn’t that we all think alike, believe the same things or agree on all matters but that we allow for differences. Fr. Rohr writes in What the Mystics Know: “Law is the false promise for those who control life from their heads…those who substitute principles for prayer and people.” We cannot allow our words to become substitutes for prayer and people. We cannot legislate morality nor can we legislate one acceptable understanding of life and society. But this does not mean we have accept that anything goes.

I am struggling to get this Musing to make sense. That is one reason this is coming out on Monday instead of last Thursday. I know what is in my head, heart and soul but it isn’t coming out so clearly. What I want to end with then is this, words and symbols matter and I think we owe it to ourselves to limit both when they do harm.

Dear God, help me to say and do what builds others up, what brings life and light. Help others to do the same. Let us have our differences but let us all agree that we can disagree without maliciousness toward the other. Amen.

Christianity

One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, "Which commandment is the first of all?" Jesus answered, "The first is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." Mark 12:28-31 (NRSV)

I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:34-35 (NRSV)

As the UMC wrestles with an openly lesbian Bishop and whether or not that is “acceptable” and as we sink deeper into a presidential campaign that has people talking about “Christian Values” I think it’s time I Mused about this faith called Christianity.

To begin with Jesus was a Jew. He wasn’t the first Christian, he was a reformer and a re-interpreter of Judaism. He spent his time trying to get people to see how the Judaism of his day had replaced faithful living with rule following. How they had allowed security and the status quo to be their guides instead of God’s call to radical justice and peace. Jesus did not intend for a new religion to come from his work and he sure didn’t set down any rules, doctrines or requirements for said religion. The only thing he told people was to love.

The basic characteristics of a Christian are love for self, others and God. They are a commitment to justice. They include a willingness to sacrifice your wants and needs for those of another. And they see the helpless, poor, disenfranchised, outcast, foreigner, stranger, widow, orphan and enemy as deserving of acceptance and love and as the ones to be cared for, nurtured and fought for. And they have at their core a willingness to work to see that all people everywhere have enough so that they can live up to their God given potential.

So Christianity isn’t about correct beliefs. It has nothing to do with a set of prescriptions for faithfulness. It doesn’t have any kind of focus upon sexuality. It isn’t interested in making sure that you are saved so that you can get into heaven when you die. There isn’t even a strong sense that it has anything to do with Christ sacrificing himself to make us acceptable to God. Jesus wasn’t interested in heaven, he was focused on life in the here and now and sought to help others find a similar focus.

When did we get to care more about a belief system then about people? When did we start dividing the world into us and them? When did this movement of love and care switch to a movement of rules, doctrines, and narrow understanding of the magnitude of God’s acceptance and love? When did who you love become more important than loving? When did the foreigner among us become suspect and undeserving of our care? When did our faith without borders become a faith reserved for only those within our realm? I agree with Gandhi, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

We who truly want to be travelers on the way with Jesus must begin to speak up when others try to tell the world what it means to be a Christian. We must claim our faith and then live in such a way as to show what it truly is. And we must let the Christian value of love; unconditional, sacrificial, all-encompassing, all-inclusive be what the world sees in us, through us and from us. If anyone tries to limit access to God, if anyone says Christian values include exclusion, if anyone pushes for a division between who is acceptable and who isn’t that person is not practicing the Christian faith. If anyone preaches that we aren’t to care for the other – friend, family member, enemy, foreigner or person of another faith – they are not practicing the Christian faith. If anyone tries to convince you or another that there is only one, predefined path to God they are not practicing the Christian faith.

That’s what I think about Christianity. My final words are to quote Martin Luther: “I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God. Amen.”

Dear God, help me to be the best Christian I can be. Help others who profess to be Christian to be the best Christian they can be. Forgive me and Christianity for any person that we have harmed by our disingenuous practice of our faith. Help me to be a bridge and not a wall, a helping hand and not a closed fist, a bringer of light and not a purveyor of darkness. Amen.