Christmas 2017 Day 4

"to rebuild the nations,
to bring peace among the people,
to make music in the hearts." Howard Thurman

Yesterday, I watched an excellent talk on residential segregation by Richard Rothstein given at the City Club of Cleveland a few weeks ago. Click here to watch it. He began by describing the areas that we in the US have been working to desegregate - voting, schools, water fountains, banks. Then he asked why we're not addressing residential segregation. There's a myth that because it's defacto segregation (due to individual choice), therefore, the government cannot interfere.

This is not true. The segregation in our cities and suburbs - and, therefore in our schools - was subsidized and mandated by the FHA policies of the 40s and 50s. The FHA loans that lured white people to the suburbs were subsidized by the government and only offered to white people. They were legally not available to black people, who were then stuck in the cities paying rent rather than earning equity. This translated directly into more wealth for white people, which in turn directly impacted the education differential between white people and black people, even before accounting for charter schools. Again, this was mandated by the government of the United States.

What does this have to do with rebuilding a nation? It points to possible paths forward. 1. The US government needs to be held accountable to correct this injustice because it was government policy that created it. In the same way that charity maintains the status quo, individual actions will not enough to correct this problem. 2. We all need to be more mindful of what our children are learning. We need to demand more inclusive history books that do more than throw a bone to the African-American experience, the Native American experience and women's experience. That means we need to ensure our students have the ability to read, including the ability to think critically about what we read. I read a jeremiad yesterday by Dr. Miguel de la Torre of Iliff School of Theology that placed our current political situation squarely on the shoulders of ignorant white people and Fox News. Fox News can only spread their lies because their viewers unquestioningly swallow what they're being fed. Educating our children in critical thinking will create informed participants in our democracy - all of them actually.

If you're anything like me, you're reading this and wondering, "What can I do?" I'm here for you. 1. Educate yourself. Don't take my word for any of this. Go see for yourself. Turn off Fox News - they are not a source of reality. Instead try CNN - if the pres is calling them 'fake news' they must be doing something right. The Washington Post is also good.
2. Call your reps and senators, both state and national. Let them know your concerns. They may not do as you like but sometimes enough people calling can change minds. They should welcome hearing from you.
3. Look around your community. Get involved and informed about its government. Local government often has a greater impact on our lives than the state or federal government.
4. Run for office! Why not? Surely you could do better than Trump.
5. I don't have kids and am avoiding talking too much about their education, but kids or not, get involved with your local school board. They choose the textbooks your children learn from.

Of course, very few of us have time for all this, right? Pick one or two. If nothing else, educate yourself about the racism, sexism, and classism inherent in our governmental policies. Remember, it's our job as citizens to be as informed as possible. Push back against bigotry of all forms. Speak up for those whose voice has been marginalized.  Those are things all of us can do better at.

Yesterday I asked if we really want a society built on the richest stealing from the rest of us. If your answer was no, then let's get to work on rebuilding our nation in a more just and equal fashion.This is the work of Christmas that Howard Thurman talked about. Only then can there be peace among the people. Only then can we all make music in our hearts.

Christmas 2017 Day 5

John 2:3-5 - When the wine gave out, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no wine." Jesus said to her, "What is that to you and me? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."

I love this interaction between Jesus and his mom. He knows what she's asking, but he doesn't want to do it. His first response can be paraphrased, "yeah, not really our problem, is it?" Then I imagine him seeing the look on his mom's face and hastily adding something more official and less whiny - my hour has not yet come. I picture Mary rolling her eyes as she talks to the servants. I can see her walking away, leaving him stuck there with the servants. Check and mate.

This interaction seems so human to me. So often people read the liturgy in a monotone, giving me, and maybe you, the impression that Jesus is always making deep pronouncements. This is one moment where his human nature peeks through that, where he learns that maybe he is not the best judge of when his time has come. Maybe he really, like a lot of us, didn't want to go through with his ministry - at least the human part of him. Or maybe he was afraid the other guests would turn him into a party trick, or mob him, or worse. What he does looks very much like magic. And they had been drinking for three days at this point.

This interaction makes Jesus real to me in a way that others don't. He thinks he's in charge, only to find out that no, not really. Human Jesus wants to be in control, like we all do from time to time. Being in control makes us feel safe - everything is just how we like it. I think Jesus learned that day that ministry - and love - are about NOT being in control. To love is to invite people into our hearts, which means all of them, the "good" and the "bad." There is no way to love another and be in complete control of the relationship. We have to accept whatever they bring; and that is scary. Maybe even for Jesus - at least at first.

That's why Jesus is always pushing us out of our comfort zone; so that we can learn to love others and to truly follow him. He pushed his disciples to feed the crowds and to go from town to town preaching the good news. We cannot get what we want by sitting at home wishing or praying for things to change; we have to go out of our comfort zone and do our part. If we want to follow Jesus, we need to get out of our comfort zone and do our part. Because of today's story, a story in which we see Jesus pushed out of his own comfort zone, we know that he understands our own reluctance to leave. Yet we cannot do the work of Christmas without doing so.

Do we want peace, love, joy, and hope in our lives? We can start by being peaceful, loving, joyful, and hopeful ourselves. Of course, we'll fail miserably at first, but we'll get better the more we practice.

Christmas 2017 Day 3

Howard Thurman:
When the song of the angels is stilled,
when the star in the sky is gone,
when the kings and princes are home,
when the shepherds are back in their fields,

the work of Christmas begins,

to find the lost,
to heal the broken,
to feed the hungry,
to release the prisoner,
to rebuild the nations,
to bring peace among the people,
to make music in the heart.

I love this poem, even though I don't know its name. It echoes what I wrote on Christmas. Healing the broken, finding the lost, feeding the hungry, releasing the prisoner - these are all beautiful actions we are called as Christians to perform throughout the year. So, what's the problem with charity? Doesn't charity accomplish these things? It does, and we should absolutely give to charities doing these things as well as doing them ourselves.

The problem with charity is that it maintains the status quo. It's important to feed and shelter people. Yet, if we're not looking honestly at the conditions that led to people needing food and shelter, we're putting a tiny band-aid on a huge problem. That problem is our societal attitude toward the "Other." Especially prevalent, (subconsciously or otherwise) are the racism, classism, sexism of our society, our life together. We value men more than women, white people more than people of colors, rich people more than poor people. We value healthy people over people with disabilities or chronic illness, we value straight people more than LGBTQ people, we value "native born" Americans more than immigrants, regardless of how long our own families have been here. We value power more than community.

These are all encoded in our laws, such as the recent tax bill, and in how our laws are enforced. They are encoded in our discussions about gun control, police brutality, birth control, abortion, terrorism, healthcare, Medi-Care, Social Security, education and more. It's encoded in the money we put into our military, education, roads, streets, bridges, libraries. Peter and I just got our tax bill. It seemed high until we realized that is pays for schools, city government, county government, the Cleveland Public Library (a 5-star library), and the Metropark system. Those are all things we use - even the schools, because although we won't use them, they are there to educate the next generation as they were there for us. These taxes are our share of upkeep and maintenance of these services, which would all be prohibitively expensive if we had to pay for them ourselves. That's the point, we all pay, we all get to use. And Peter and I use more than our share.

So, let's look at the tax bill that just passed. It gives temporary, small benefits to middle- and working-class people while giving deep and permanent cuts to rich people and corporations. Since no Democrats voted for this bill (and opposed it vociferously), what it tells us is that Republicans don't care about anyone who is not rich or a corporation. Is that the society we want to live in? A society in which people who are not rich will not be able to get ahead. (Many in America already live in that society and it will be worse with this bill.)

Giving to charity without also working to change our values and putting money in things that will enhance rather than destroy our life together, will only perpetuate the injustices inherent in our society, out life together. "to rebuild the nations, to bring peace to the people, to make music in our hearts." These things are as important as charity, maybe even more so. I'll go into that tomorrow.

Christmas 2017 Day 2

Psalm 119:18 - Open my eyes, that I may perceive the wonder of your law.

Psalm 119 is all about the Law. It praises the Law's perfection while asking for the grace to be able to follow it completely. The Torah is still the center of Jewish life (if I'm wrong, correct me). This request to be able to perceive the wonder of the law is almost like asking to see God. The desire to follow the Torah is the desire to please God.

Most of us have heard about the ten commandments. They form the basis of the Torah, but they are not the entire law. One of the best expositions of the Law is in John Calvin's Institutes. He reminds us that we are to avoid doing the things proscribed, but also we are to make our actions intentionally life-giving, to promote the flourishing of life in others around us. Not only are we not to kill people physically, but we're to make sure they have enough. Not only are we not to steal, but we're also to make sure no one has the need to steal. The commandments are about how to live in community and encourage the flourishing of life at the same time.

Justice, especially economic justice, is a cornerstone of both Testaments. Not only personal justice, but communal justice, systemic justice. If you doubt this, read the Jubilee laws as well as the harvesting laws. The Jubilee laws state that every 50 years, everything goes back to the starting point: debts are abolished, slaves are freed, land that was sold is returned to the original owner. This was to ensure that everyone was provided for and that land remained in its original owner's possession intact so that it could continue to provide for families.

The harvesting laws dictated that the edges of fields and vineyards were to be left unharvested so that those with no other means of support (temporarily - Jubilee) could harvest enough to not starve. The point of both laws was that the community survival depended on individual survival. The community was important. When community members are cared for - physically, mentally, and spiritually - everyone flourishes.

We have forgotten this lesson as a society. We routinely treat people experiencing poverty, homelessness, chronic illness, disability, or addiction as if they're entirely responsible for their situation - as if simply by having these problems, they become less than human. We mock them, tell them to get a job - many homeless and poor people have jobs! - and we criminalize their situations in a thousand ways, ensuring their chances of getting out are slim. All so that we do not have to look at those verses about Jubilee and harvesting; so we don't have to face our participation in systemic injustice; so we don't have to change.

Because if we do look at the situation, we recognize our need for change. All change starts with education. No matter how old you are, it's never too late to learn how systemic racism, poverty, sexism, ableism, heteronormativity work. In fact, it's our job as citizens of a democracy to understand how they work so that we can be informed participants. This may seem like I have come far away from where I started, but what is education? The opening of our eyes. We vote for people who will help determine what our lives together, as a community, look like. When we vote selfishly or only with our feelings rather than our minds, we end up with a government composed of like individuals - selfish and only concerned with feelings rather than facts. Recognizing our responsibility as outlined in the Jubliee laws and the harvesting laws can help us to create a society that is just for all its citizens and people living and working here.

Tomorrow, we'll talk about problems with charity. For today:How is God calling me to change in this coming year? Where is Jesus urging me to get out of my comfort zone?

Christmas 2017

One of my favorite Christmas carols is "A Cradle in Bethlehem." The chorus has the line, "A mother tonight is rocking a cradle in Bethlehem." Every year when I hear it, I am reminded that the conditions of Jesus' birth really weren't all that unusual and that millions of women are tonight in fact rocking cradles in similar conditions. Tonight and every night. Those children are every bit as holy and sacred as Jesus. The song reminds me every year that the people those children grow up to be are special too. We are all that special.

My hope today is that I (and you, too, if you wish) am able to take that idea into the rest of the year. Keeping Christmas in my heart.

Advent Day 20

Jer. 31:13 - I will turn their mourning into joy, I will comfort them and cheer them in their grief.

Yesterday Peter and I went to a memorial for all the people who died on the streets of Cleveland this past year. We didn't know any of these people, but as the names were read, I began to think of the members of the Night Ministry community who died while I was there and all the people who came to the Drop-In Center and Detox in Santa Barbara. I remembered Claude, who used to sell Streetwise in front of Medici's in Chicago. I remembered the man who used to sleep by Route 66 in Flagstaff, who I surprised on morning as he was opening his sleeping bag. I remember hugging Steve on State Street. I thought of all the young men who were shot to death in Rogers Park while we were there.

Letting people be homeless is just as violent as shooting them outright, if not more so. As Chris Knestrick noted yesterday, being homeless is hard. It's time consuming searching for a meal or shelter; humiliating, people treat you terribly; you have not privacy or safety; shelters sometimes have rats or bed bus (or worse); you have to keep a constant eye on your stuff. It's exhausting physically, mentally, spiritually. I was talking with one person a while back with whom I shared that I'd be a terrible homeless person. He said I'd be surprised and that, sure, it's the worst day of your life when you become homeless, but you get used to it. No one should have to get used to it.

Yet, if I had to pick one word to describe all my experiences, it would be joy. I met a woman one evening who had just been diagnosed with HIV and was living under the viaduct until her housing came through. She told me, "God is so good." Rather than being depressed or down, she was full of joy and grateful for what she had. Because God brings joy in the midst of our deepest griefs. When we least expect it, joy pops in and surprises us. This time of year can be hard on people for many different reasons. Joy is still available to us if we open ourselves to it. Of course, that sometimes means opening ourselves to our grief as well. That's not always an easy choice. God can turn our mourning into joy and comfort us in our grief. Will we let God do that for us today?

Advent Day 19

Psalm 126:1-2 - When the Lord restores the fortunes of Zion - we see it as if in a dream - our mouths will be filled with laughter, our tongues with shouts of joy.

If any of you out there thing that knowing even a little of the original languages of Greek and Hebrew will clarify the text, I'm here to dispel you of that notion. In my experience, it brings up more questions - and more avenues of exploration of God. As I was reading this psalm this morning, I focused on the word 'fortunes.' I wondered whether it meant wealth as well as good luck to the author of the psalm. But, when I looked it up, I was perplexed to discover that the word actually is translated 'sojourn.' The literal reading then is, "When YHWH restores/returns the sojourn of Zion." What the heck is a sojourn of Zion? The stay of Zion or the trip of Zion. Although the event referred to is clearly a desirable one, fortunes doesn't seem to imply

Which might be why some translations , the NIV for example, use 'the captives of Zion,' in which case this might refer to Babylon's sack of Jerusalem in the early 6th century BCE and the subsequent deportation of the most powerful and the most talented to Babylon. This event is referred to in Psalm 137 more explicitly. To me, this makes more sense, even though the translation isn't perfect.

In either case, the vision or dream is of restoration of the kingdom. It is a vision of a future filled with joy and laughter. I think we are in a similar situation in America. None of our people have been taken away, but our government institutions are being hijacked in much the same way as Babylon sacked Jerusalem. Are we also able to envision a future filled with joy and laughter in the middle of this nightmare? Christians are a future oriented people. We have faith in God's promises, which Jurgen Moltmann reminds us are always in the future. We look to the future. Our hope arises when we can see the vision, even if we cannot yet see how to get there. This is why Mary can sing praises to God in the midst of a terrifying situation. She has already begun to co-create with God a new vision for our world - peace on earth, good will toward all people.

Such faith takes work, it takes trusting God that God's promises will come to pass. How can we grow our trust so that we may catch Mary's vision of God's justice? What circumstances are making trusting God difficult or even impossible? How can we open ourselves to joy anyway?

Advent Day 18

Psalm 53:7 - Oh that the deliverance of Israel will come from Zion! When God restores the fortunes of Her people, Jacob will exult and Israel rejoice.

An interesting thing about the psalms is that we're not exactly sure who wrote them or when they were written. Of course, that's true of many of the books of the Bible. Shh don't tell anyone. We have educated guesses about most dates, except for those that coincide with history. Anyway, this makes the psalms available to us even without knowing the context. They speak of universal feelings of fear, revenge, laughter, sorrow, confession, deliverance, hope, praise, lament, and even joy. This psalm speaks of "evildoers, who devour my people as they devour food (v5). That's a good description of what is happening in America this week. Republicans taking money from the poor and giving it to the richest and corporations IS devouring God's people. And as this psalm makes clear, that is nothing new under the sun.

This is the world Jesus - and all of us - was born into. Jesus came into a world filled with violence and greed and preached peace and generosity instead. That our world continues to be violent and oppressive to many is a condemnation of us as Christians. When Jesus said we will always have poor people, that, too, was a condemnation of us. When Mary sings "God has put down the mighty from their thrones and lifted up the lowly," she is declaring God's judgment against our greed and violence.M

So, today we lament. We mourn with those who mourn and weep with those who weep; even as we rejoice at God's promised deliverance. When our mourning and weeping are over, it's time to get to work co-creating with God a better world for us now and for those who will come after us. My sister said it best, she feels joy by helping others.

Advent is a time of waiting and waiting is hard. We want that hope, peace, joy and love NOW. We don't as a rule like waiting. But the question of Advent isn't whether we like waiting. No, the question of Advent is what will we do while we wait for God's promised deliverance? Will we perpetuate violence and greed? or will we work with God to co-create a better world, a heaven here and now?

Advent Day 17

Psalm 33:3 - Sing a new song to the Lord; play sweetly with shouts of joy.

Sing a new song. What does this mean? The verse seems to be about music, yet there's that bit about a new song. Is the psalmist saying we need to make up songs and praises to God? challenge ourselves to sing more difficult songs? or just change up the songs we sing. What about playing sweetly? How does that speak to those of us who don't play instruments?

Or, maybe it could be understood as a metaphor of our lives with God? Could it be a challenge to step out of our comfort zone and try something new. Could it mean getting out of a religious rut? Creating new things is what God does. Therefore, we as co-creators, are also creating things. Ours aren't always new things. We often re-create our world the same way without being willing or able to open our minds to a different way of being. Paul writes that those in Christ have become a new creation. We create who we are every day; why not create something new with God?

I have somewhat recreated myself this past year by speaking out more politically and in other areas. In this process, I have found a sense of hope and joy even though things might look bleak. That's what happens when we try to do something different - we become larger, more sure of ourselves, more able to experience joy even in the midst of arguing with our spouse. That's the second line: play your tune (your life) sweetly with shouts of joy. Recreating our world the same way each day can be comforting. Many of us though, would get bored with nothing new in our lives, with days that were the same year after year. By doing something different - no matter how small - we relate to our world differently. We see things from a new perspective - hopefully a more loving and compassionate one.

What new song can we sing to God today? How can this song invite us and others to experience joy?

Advent Day 16

Psalm 67:4-5 - Peoples will praise You, O God; all peoples will praise You. Nations will exult and shout for joy, for You rule the peoples with equity.

I'll be honest, I read this and I think, "Yeah, right." Where is the justice? The Middle-East is closer to a major conflagration, Russia is interfering in our politics and our president does nothing, people all over the world are hungry although we produce enough food for everyone, fires are raging in Santa Barbara and other parts of California, and the rich are busy waging war against poor people and "mere workers." That's just some the the crap going on. This has been a rough year for many of us and joy doesn't seem very reasonable.

And yet. And yet ... this is roughly how the world was for Jewish people under Roman occupation: oppression, suffering, powerlessness. In the midst of this suffering, Mary finds herself unwed and pregnant in a culture that required stoning of such women. And yet ... she sang her song of praise and rejoiced anyway. "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God, my savior." (Luke 1:46-7) Why is Mary rejoicing? She caught a vision of justice and righteousness ruling the earth. "He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty." (Luke 1:53) This is exactly what the psalmist sees; "You rule the peoples with equity."

That sure isn't our world now. Peter and I were listening to an interview with Walter Brueggemann, a Presbyterian scholar, and we were struck by one thing he said. Responding to a question about whether he sees heaven as a place to be in the afterlife or a place here and now, he said he thought heaven is something here and now and that God uses people to co-create it. My response is, if we look around and don't see justice for people experiencing poverty, hunger, homelessness, disabilities, or violence, it's because we are not cooperating with God.

Joy is not something we can control. It's not dependent on justice here and now; it's dependent on our co-creating with God. When Mary rejoiced to see the future promise of justice, she had already found favor with God. Joy is a gift of the Spirit that comes upon us unexpectedly in the messiness of our lives, just as it came upon Mary in the midst of a life-threatening situation.

What are we co-creating with God today? How can we remain open to joy when it comes, even in the midst of fear, anxiety, oppression and heartache?

Advent Day 13

Psalm 130:6 - I am more eager for the Lord than watchmen for the morning.

I used to work the night shift (11 - 7) at two different jobs. I really get this verse! That yearning for morning to come so we can sleep. The ache of staying up all night. Our bodies aren't really meant to be awake at night so messing with that is hard on us. That's why no one really wants to work nights.

Waiting for the light. We're in the darkest month and days of the year and many of us yearn for more light. Yet, are we that eager to be with God? Not me. Well, sometimes. It's easy to be eager for God when we are in a dark place. It's more difficult (for me) to maintain that eagerness when everything is going well. If we truly want to pray with St. Francis "where there is darkness, light" we need to be in contact with that light.

Advent Day 12

Psalm 18:4 - I called on the Lord and was delivered from my enemies.

Who are our enemies? Are they people who have harmed us? people who were harmed by us? people with the potential to harm us? Does the harm have to be intentional?  or are our enemies merely people difficult to get along with? We all have such people in our lives. Whether we've met them in person or they harm us from afar. My question is - how are we delivered from our enemies?

The apostle Paul says acting gracious and loving toward our enemies will "heap coals on their heads." Not really delivering us, is it? Jesus tells us to pray for them; to go the extra mile ... not to heap coals, but as an act of love and forgiveness. In some cases, this would open us to more harm. It's important to remember that sometimes the most loving act we can give ourself and another is to keep out of their presence. Of course, the Lord's prayer also recommends forgiving others, which certainly includes our enemies. So, it seems that true peace between peoples begins with an act of love and forgiveness.

But, forgiveness is hard and should absolutely not be pushed on people not ready to forgive. Especially if the one who needs forgiving is not repentant. Forgiveness must come as a natural consequence of the healing process, not imposed from outside onto victims still suffering. Forgiveness sometimes takes a lot of time and healing. Yet, no matter how long it takes or how hard the work is, being able to forgive our enemies cuts the tie that binds us to them. Forgiveness is not only for our enemies benefit, maybe not even primarily, but rather for our own benefit as well, so that we might go forward freed from their hold over us psychically and emotionally. Resentment, anger and desiring revenge are all natural responses to harm. They give us a sense of power at a time when we feel powerless. They make us feel powerful, but in reality, giving into them in the long-term only gives our power to the one who has wronged us. In the long-term resentment and anger make our lives miserable.

This is a hard teaching, which is why we need help. The psalmist called on the Lord. Remembering God's steadfast love and our own love-worthiness (yes, it's a word now) helps strengthen us when the going gets rough. We might even need "God-with-skin" in the form of friends, family, church community, support groups, or even therapists to show us and remind us of our love-worthiness. It sucks to have to do this work because someone else caused us harm, but the freedom from resentment and anger is worth doing this work. It creates peace within us and our community.

Lord, make us instruments of forgiveness.

Advent Day 11

Psalm 147:11 - But the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him; in those who hope in his steadfast love.

Those who hope in God's steadfast love. That is what Christians hope in. What does it mean, though, in practical terms? How do we know when our hope has been fulfilled? What is God's steadfast love? Is it something we can experience only in the future? or can we experience it now? So many questions. ...

I suspect these questions will be answered differently by each one of us. In my own experience, recognizing God's love was life-transforming. Until then I was convinced I was doomed to hell for ... something. It took many people loving on me to recognize that I'm worthy of love; God's or anybody else's. I don't always feel worthy, but today I know that feelings are not facts. God's love does not depend on our feelings.

That means God loves people experiencing homelessness, hunger, danger, fear, oppression, poverty, anxiety. God even loves those people we cannot bring ourselves to love. Yes, even that one. As such, there is hope! Hope that people can change and often do - I did. Hope that justice might prevail. It won't prevail unless we work with God for justice, because I don't believe that God controls everything - we have free will. Yet, if we're quiet, we might hear God whisper to us, we might hear God's guidance. Peace takes work and so does hope. In fact, action often is a source of hope.

This is a different kind of hope, though, from hoping in God's steadfast love. That hope is sure. We might not be able to see how God's promises are fulfilled, but God's love assures us they will be. God's promises will arrive and become reality - even if it doesn't happen in our lifetime. That is an important caveat. We ourselves may not see the justice we desire, just as not all the slaves were freed. It's important to remember that we must do the work anyway. How can we give hope to another today?

Lord, make me an instrument of your hope.

Advent Day 10

Psalm 85:11 - Faithfulness and truth meet; justice and well-being kiss.

This is the Jewish Publication Society translation and I want to note a few things about that. First, the word translated 'faithfulness' (kesed) can refer to God's faithfulness to her covenant or our own faithfulness to the covenant. It is a mutual faithfulness rather than our own or God's. To me that makes this word even more profound. How deep and wide is God's faithfulness? Deep and wide enough to meet truth. How deep and wide is our faithfulness?

Another interesting thing about this vision of the future is the translation of 'justice' rather than 'righteousness' for zedek. This makes the idea expressed in this verse communal rather than individual. Communities offer (or not) justice. Individuals are righteous. Justice is not seen here in the penal sense, but rather in the sense of a community's well-being.

Which brings me to my third point: the translation of shalom as well-being rather than peace. You may have noticed that in yesterday's psalm as well. There can be no peace when all are not fed. There can be no peace when all are not safe. There can be no peace when all are not housed adequately. There can be no peace when all are not free. There can be no peace when the environment is abused for our gain. There can be no peace when all of God's good creation is not taken care of physically, emotionally, and spiritually. This is what make the Republican tax bill so monstrous: it creates a greater injustice than already exists; it does evil and calls it good.

There is no peace without justice - justice and well-being kiss. How are we feeding the hungry? How are we clothing the naked? housing the homeless? Keeping women safe from harassment of all types? keeping people of colors safe? keeping LGBTQ people safe? supporting disabled and chronically ill people? taking care of our neighborhoods? These questions are not just advent questions - we should be asking them every day all year round. Injustice happens year-round. Peace takes action - peace is a lifestyle rather than something we think about only at Christmas.

Lord make me an instrument of your well-being.
B

Advent Day 9

Psalm 122:6-7 - Pray for the well-being of Jerusalem; may those who love you be at peace. May there be well-being within your ramparts and peace in your citadels.

Peace seems so far from Jerusalem - moreso now than usual. Praying for peace there seems like a fool's errand. Peace itself often seems like a fool's goal. I've been saying a prayer designed to open one's heart to all people and things. Every time I get to the praying for the well-being of "enemies" (none of you!) I can feel my heart shut down. Yet, if I or you or anyone - if we are not at peace withing ourselves, how can there be peace on earth?

For the beginning of this church year, the pastor at the church we've been attending seems to be doing a series on beginnings and endings. Yesterday he spoke on the sexual harassment and rape stories coming out in recent weeks as something that needed to end. Our church conversation on this issue needs to begin. He confessed his own ignorance and talked about having that conversation as a church. He gave no details. He did speak directly to the men saying it is on them. He ended by saying that after confession comes grace. I think he missed a few steps - apologizing, amends, and changing our behavior. Peace requires action.

St Francis - or whoever wrote his prayer - knew this. The prayer outlines the things that make for peace: sowing God's love, forgiveness, faith, hope, light, and joy. God's peace, the peace that passes all understanding, consists of these things. Where they are missing, there is no peace.

Lord, make us instruments of your peace.

Advent Day 6

Psalm 130:7 - O Israel, wait for the Lord; for with the Lord is steadfast love and great power to redeem.

I'm sad today. I'm sad about my friends who are sick. I'm sad about the fires in Southern California, wreaking havoc on the lives of my friends and family. I'm sad about Jerusalem. I'm sad about Republicans trying to take away all that was good about America along with our money and our healthcare. There seems to be no end to the number of things to be sad about. Yet, hope does not spring from times of east and prosperity, but rather from times of difficulty and pain.

Jurgan Moltmann writes that if we can see how to get what we hope for, it isn't really hope. All we have to do is take those steps. No, hope lies beyond our horizon, beyond our ability to see the entire path. Our hope in God's promises will be fulfilled in the future. God's promises are always in the future. When one is fulfilled, more promises will take its place. There is always another promise beyond our horizon.

What we wait for is not God to fix things, but for God's word, God's guidance, God's Love. Wait for the Lord; for with the Lord is steadfast love. The world as it is at this moment is not in its final state. These things too shall pass. We wait for love to fill our bodies that we may work with God in bringing about justice where there is injustice.

Wait for the Lord; for with the Lord is steadfast Love.

Advent 2017 - Day 4

Psalm 50:3 - Our God will come and will not keep silence; before God there is a consuming fire, and round about a raging storm.

Firestorms in Southern California; firestorms in Washington DC as Mueller investigates Trump's ties to Russia; firestorms around taxes; not keeping silence, prophets speaking for God. The thing that stands out to me is the contrast between silence of Advent and the firestorm. Many argue that God isn't here - doesn't really lift up the poor or throw the rich down. God is silent, they say. Yet, God always partners with human beings - Noah, Abraham, the prophets, Mary, Elizabeth. God speaks through her prophets. Will we listen?

Will we listen to the voice of the earth in flames? Will we listen to Black Lives Matter and other groups seeking justice? Will we listen to Dreamers? Will we listen to refugees? Will we listen to women when they tell us they've been sexually assaulted or raped? Will we listen to prisoners when they tell us about the brutality of their treatment? Will we listen to LGBTQ people? Will we listen to people who have a disability? Will we listen to economists who denounce the Republican tax "reform" bill. Will we listen to our hearts? Or will we retreat behind the veil (the racist comfort phrase) of "Law and Order?" Will we stand with the abusers or the abused?

Advent is a time to listen. Will we keep silence and listen to Christ crying out to us through all these voices? Will we close our ears and our hearts or will we make room in our hearts for Christ to be born?
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Advent Break - Day 3

Psalm 33:20 - My being waits upon you, Lord; you are our help and our shield.

Advent is a time of waiting - for what? In our current political situation in the US - rich against poor - waiting seems to signify hopelessness, defeat. It feels like giving up. Although God is a God of hope, she is not going to come down and sort it all out for us. That's why we have brains and free will. No, that is not what we're waiting for. In fact, this tension between action and waiting is inherent in the Bible. There is a time for both.

The books of the Bible do not all agree with each other. This verse from the Psalms is about waiting in hope for the Lord; in Matthew, Jesus encourages us to get out of our boats of safety. They seem to contradict each other. Yet, waiting on the Lord does not mean we cease all activity. It means we spend time with God and listen for her voice. Advent waiting is a time to reconnect with the promises of hope, joy, love, and peace. It is a stepping back from our unnecessary activities - TV, social media - in order to listen. Advent waiting is sitting in the presence of the Lord listening for what Jesus may have to say to us. We still our hearts and minds to make room for God to come in. We open our hearts and minds to what may come to us in the silence. Finally it requires discernment - was that suggestion from God or my own desires talking?

As we wait in hope, we can still fulfill our obligations. We can be open to God at work, at play, while shopping for gifts, while protesting, while contacting our senators and representatives, while driving - we can do it all in God's presence. We invite Christ into our activity and our waiting. Christ can be born in us if we allow him in.

Hope is born in us as well, and with hope comes activity. God is our rock and our shield, which we wouldn't need if we are living outside the safety of our boats. So Advent is a time of waiting, listening, and discernment, but it is also a time of making plans and a time of acting on what we have heard and discerned.

How will you find time today to invite God in?
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137 shots

Matthew 30:31-2 – Jesus stopped and calling to [the two blind men] said, “What do you want me to do for you? They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.”

This passage one thing I appreciate about Jesus, he listens. He doesn’t just heal them and move on, he listens. He asks what do you want, and then he listens. What a great chaplain. It’s especially great that he does not say, “Thoughts and prayers,” and move on even though he has the power to help. He merely asks what they want. He gives them an opportunity to tell their story. He gives them the gift of being heard.

So many people today feel unheard. We often talk past each other in our efforts to be heard, thus increasing the frustration. Sometimes we talk past each other to avoid having to listen. White men have been avoiding listening to white women and men and women of colors for centuries. Television pundits shouting at each other only amplifies the white man’s voice. They have positions of power and drown us out. One way we are seeing this is the revelations of sexual harassment and abuse many respected – and some not so respected – men have perpetrated against those without power. Yet, we continue to privilege the men doing the assaulting by discussing them rather than how such behavior impacts their victims. Women’s voices are still drowned out.

Last night, Peter and I went to a worship and rally in remembrance of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams, who were shot 137 times by the Cleveland PD. It’s been five years and there has been no justice. Only one officer (out of 13 shooters) lost their job, none have gone to jail. There were cops from several jurisdictions around and the Cleveland PD were out of Cleveland at the time. The shooting happened in East Cleveland – in the parking lot of a middle school. They had done nothing for the officer to want to pull them over and were not wanted on a warrant. They did lead the police on a high-speed chase, which would not have happened had the officer who began this mess had left them alone. I wanted to share that before I share my thoughts about the rally.

At the rally, held at the school’s parking lot where the shooting happened, we began with prayer. At first there were only a dozen people there from two maybe three community organizing groups. After prayer, we counted aloud to 137, stopping to say “reload” on the 10s. By the time we got to 100, I was having trouble not crying. It was both moving and horrifying. So I invite you now, stop reading and count to 137, stopping on the 10s to say “reload.” While you’re doing this imagine you’re in a car in a dark parking lot surrounded by cops and those numbers are bullets. Oh yeah, and one of the cops has jumped on the hood and is shooting through the windshield. Hopefully, they were not conscious for that.

I have just read The Quest for the Historical Satan by Miguel De La Torre and Albert Hernandez. They offer a new way to think about satan – the accuser. They suggest we think of satan as a trickster; not a god opposed to God, but rather God’s partner. Tricksters in almost all human mythologies are neither good nor bad but often play a role in shining a mirror for us to see our behavior. Like signs on the road that we need to pay attention, tricksters try to give us heads up by testing us. So, satan, who needs God’s permission, tests us. Will we pass or fail? Completely up to us! I think America as a society is failing. We have failed to listen to women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted, instead treating them like sluts. We have failed to listen to Black people when they told us the truth about their lives. When evidence was presented, we made excuses. As a society. We failed and continue to fail the tests. They say the greatest trick the devil pulled was convincing people they didn’t exist. De La Torre and Hernandez argue that the greatest trick was to convince us that bad is good and good is bad. I think they might be right.

Which brings us to the final verse: "Lord, let our eyes be opened." We can only see when we’re willing to look with open eyes. So much of our political and social life together is built on denial of reality. As a society, as a church, we have ignored the signs and are reaping what we’ve sown. We have a tax bill that cuts taxes to corporations and takes away many benefits from actual people. We have been tricked into thinking good is bad and bad is good.

And so with those two blind men, I pray, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.”

PS – I’m annoyed with myself because I just sent in my application for an MTS at Iliff (online) and then I came up with all this. It would’ve been a beautiful essay….

Crowd Takes Charge

Matthew 30:31 - The crowd rebuked them so that they would be silent but they cried out louder, "Lord, have mercy on us."

"The crowd rebuked them." Gah. This has been a thing - people thinking they know what others would want them to do and doing it without asking. Its usually men, in my experience anyway. As a competent woman who's had this done to me many times, this annoys me no end. Especially when their intentions were "good," because that makes it harder to speak up.

Or, maybe the crowd misunderstood, the true nature of love that has no limit. Perhaps they thought that if Jesus healed these two blind men, there would be less healing for them. Love is not a zero sum commodity! More for you doesn't mean less for me. Especially true of Jesus. He loved everyone. Even the Sadducees and the Pharisees. Even the rich young man who couldn't give up his wealth and possessions. Even Judas. Even Trump, Ryan and McConnell. Yet, we cannot believe it. We don't want to believe it. I think because we suspect there might be more required of us if we begin to believe it., which is true.

So, the crowd, perhaps because they're afraid they'll end up with less if the blind men are healed, try to silence their competition ... and the competition won't be silenced. I think this idea of competition explains some people. Those who are afraid that someone they disapprove of will get something undeserved. Jesus rewards these men, which means they can be a model. They KNOW that Jesus can help them and so ignore those that try to stand in their way. I don't know about you, but I am the person who stands in my way. Before I even get started, my brain is telling me that it's not worth it. I am about to send my application to Iliff's MTS program and my brain is loud right now. Yet, if Jesus can heal two blind people, he can heal my mind's crazy, negative thoughts.

Do I have the dedication and courage to act on this knowledge that Jesus can heal? Do I have the courage to trust Jesus with the outcome, including financial questions? I sometimes think I am trusting and following Jesus' way and then something will happen, a small bump in the road. I need to work at it every day. Some days are better than others! Just for today, I choose to trust.
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Two Blind Men

Matthew 20:30 - And, look, there were two blind men sitting by the side of the road. Hearing that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, "Have mercy on us, lord, Son of David!"

They were just leaving Jericho and outside the gates of the city they encounter two blind men, presumably begging. We don't know anything more about them. I wonder, did they have a home to go to each night? family that cared about them? Or did they only have each other? Were they born blind or did they have a disease or an accident? Of course, none of these questions are answerable (and arguably not relevant). Yet, they are a way to enter the world of these two men. Their lives couldn't have been easy, whether they had family support or not.

They hear, someone tells them that Jesus is passing by. Somehow, they know who he is, which implies they're not completely without support or resources. They know that Jesus can heal them; give them a better life going forward. They are willing to do what they can to make their situation better. They cry out to Jesus, "Have mercy on us." Help us. We trust you can heal us. Please help. It's the first century equivalent of people begging in  big cities holding a sign telling their story. "Homeless and unemployed. A veteran, need housing." Except, it's a lot easier to pass by a person with a sign that people shouting out to you specifically.

Son of David is what they call Jesus. This was a messianic title and they are acknowledging they know who he is and what he can do for them. They are proclaiming him to be the messiah.

One final point. There must have been others begging on the road that day, but we only hear the story of these two men. DId others cry out and also receive healing? We don't know, we only know that these two did. Jesus does not heal people randomly. I can't think of one person he healed who did not ask (or argue with) him about it. He raised Lazarus from the dead, however, you can't ask a dead person's permission. They all asked, they all did what they could to better their situation. Jesus certainly healed more people than the gospels record, but could he or would he have healed some random person without their expressed desire for such healing?
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Walking from Jericho

Matthew 20:29 - As they were leaving Jericho, a great crowd followed him.

Raise your hand if you knew they were in Jericho. Having finished his gentle rebuke and theology lesson on becoming a slave, we abruptly discover they were in Jericho, about 25 km (15ish miles) away from their goal, Jerusalem.  Remember he told them that he was going to his death there. As usual, a great crowd followed him.

Do you ever wonder whether Jesus was ever annoyed by the crowds? We know he tried to get away when he could. Was he an introvert or an extrovert? I wonder because it would bother me. I'd need some time away from people to regroup, recharge, and rest in God (not in that order). I wonder if Jesus needed that or if he was so on fire, he had to keep going. Some people are like that. Not me.

I also wonder about the crowds following him. Were they all the same people? Why did they follow him? for his teaching? hoping for healing? because he gave them hope and they wanted to be near him? What about their families; wives, husbands, brothers, sisters, mothers. Recall that Jesus told them that if any of them left their mothers, sisters or brothers they would receive many more such figures in their life. But, how did the families and children left behind feel? Maybe their families were with them? But then we need to ask about their livelihood? It would have been a rather large social disruption, which would have annoyed the authorities for certain.
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Ransom

Matthew 20:28 - "Just as the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Serve. Not slave, completely different word. Perhaps this is the verb for what slaves do? Jesus reiterates and highlights the necessity for service in God's kin-dom. Jesus came not to be treated like royalty, like a god - but t0 serve those in his care. To serve is the job definition of a slave. So, again, the chasm between Jesus as part of the Trinity and Jesus as a human being, a slave, could not be greater. He truly emptied himself.

He emptied himself and gave "his life as a ransom for many." What does it mean for Jesus to give his life? Does it mean that he dies for us? Does it mean that he dedicated his human life to serve? In this case, I think it is both-and rather than either-or. He spends his ministry in healing, teaching, prophesying and resisting. His death is a result of that activity. He died that we might live - not saved from hell after we die, but live our true lives hell and now. Freedom from our former, limiting ways of thinking rather than freedom from all pain in the afterlife. Freedom from being of this world - being blown every which way by the winds of opinion and fashion. Freedom from a life lived without purpose or meaning. Freedom to be who we are.

This is how I define 'saved' in my own life. I was living in the hell of having no sense of my own self worth, thinking my very existence was shameful, being convinced I was going to hell after death, that I was excluded from Jesus' promises, being petty, spiteful and self-centered, thinking I had missed the key of life that everyone else seemed to have, dealing with abuse from family and significant others. Traumatized. Like the women who are coming forward and sharing their own stories of sexual abuse and harassment. We were all living in hell.

Jesus came to me at my lowest point to let me know he understood, even if no one else did. I have been graced by that revelation more than I can speak. I'm no longer haunted by the past. And yet these revelations of sexual abuse by so many powerful men have opened up a new awareness of how much stuff I took responsibility for that wasn't mine to be responsible for. It's hard to look at because no one wants to see themselves as a victim. I don't want to see myself as a victim, as vulnerable (in the bad way). Yet, I do it anyway to the best of my ability. I recognize that while my physical age may have been considered old enough, I was not emotionally mature enough - L, D, J. All took advantage of my immaturity.

This past weekend was rough, thinking about these events. I think I have enough recovery that I no longer feel bad, shameful, sinful, screwed up. I have enough recovery to remember my strength, to keep working, writing, applying for Iliff. Enough confidence in me and those who support me to believe that none of that is who I am.

That is the freedom Jesus offered me; freedom from the past, my foibles, my traumatizing experiences. Jesus reminds me of my birth-right; I am a child of God.
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Becoming a Slave

Matthew 20:27 - "And whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave."

Slave. There's a difference between being great and being first; the difference between being a servant and being a slave. The words and concepts are as different in Greek as they are in English. If we want to be great, we must serve others. We must be their servant. A servant has rights, gets paid, can go home at night, can go wherever they please, is employed, and is given the dignity of being considered a person.

A slave gets none of these things: no rights, no pay, no home, no freedom, no dignity of being considered a person, they are owned. They are truly last. Yet, the biggest difference between these two statuses is the type and severity of punishment. A servant had rights and if an employer abused them, they could theoretically get another position. A slave had no such option, either in America or Rome or wherever slavery existed. That is what it means to be  a slave. They were owned, not employed. They could not just go looking for another owner. They had no rights and no recourse.

This is a measure of how wrong James, John, and their mother were. Were they prepared to give up what little they had, including the dignity of personhood? Taking on a living death? Some churches continue to ask/demand this from their women (not their men). This is what Paul means when he said Christ left the form of God to take on the form of a slave. A complete denial of all that is considered human. Following Jesus means going down the ladder toward slavery, rather than up.
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This is What Equality Looks Like

Matthew 20:26 - "It will not be so with you. Whoever wishes to be great among you must become your servant."

And we're bback to the last will be first - phrased differently. "It will not be so among you" refers to the previous verse in which he described contemporary rulers lording it over their subjects. He is giving James and John a friendly rebuke along with his reiteration of the upside-down hierarchy of his kin-dom. As members of Jesus' kin-dom, are instructed not to aspire to be great as the world sees greatness but rather to aspire to serve.

Jesus describing for them the upside-down nature of his kin-dom. Rather than working our way up the ladder, we are to work our way down toward those whose access is limited or non-existent, the outcasts. Contemporary outcasts include people experiencing homelessness, people who aren't "white," people who commit crimes while not being "white," people with little or poor education, people with disabilities including mental health issues, people whose sexuality doesn't match the one male-one female paradigm. I could go one. Jesus challenges the disciples yet again to go further in being in the world but not worldly.

Jesus is always challenging our ways of seeing (perception) and our ways of being in the world. He wants us to discover love and for many of us, dependent as we seem to be on TV, facebook, twitter and other media, that means being with those we find unlovable - at least at first. Once we spend time with those the world rejects, we begin to see more clearly how other people's stories intersect with our own. We begin to see how our systems - political, economic, social - are geared toward keeping white cishet men in power and keeping all others down. It's no one person's fault. As we begin to see it, we can no longer be satisfied with the accumulation of things as a measure of success, we can no longer be satisfied with the status quo.

The deeper we go in love, the more we see how unloving our old ways were. I'm extrapolating from my own experience here. I thought success meant having a good-paying job and being responsible. The world (at least in America) would add a college degree, owning a house, being married, having children, having good credit, having status symbols such as cars, jewelry, second homes. These things need to be protected so we get a security system, fence our yards in, and gate our communities to keep "those people" out. Our hearts become small and insular rather than opening up to the love of others. Jesus tells us this is not the way to love. It is the primrose path to demonization and hate of the other.

Going toward love (down) challenges us to be open to letting go of our possessions; our addictions to drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, cigars, TV, social media, fiction, books, shopping, gambling, love, sex, and all the other things we substitute for getting to know ourselves and others. Going toward love frees us to not worry about what we wear or how we will get our next meal. Going toward love frees us to spend our time loving others, hearing their stories, serving them. Going toward love is the way to be great in the kin-dom of love.
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This is What Oppression Looks Like

Matthew 20:25 - And Jesus, calling them, said to them, "You know that the rulers of the nations lord it over them and their great ones are tyrants over (dominate) them."

All we have to do to see this today is pick up the newspaper. The desires of Trump and the Republicans to have complete control over everyone else, especially women and their wombs. I just discovered Rosemary Radford Reuther's book, "New Woman, New Earth." Sadly, 40 years later, the attitudes of men toward women haven't changed much. Just look at the lengths that Weinstein went to keep the women he raped and harassed quiet: he had his bodyguards, some of whom were ex-Mossad, intimidate them into silence. It really burns men's egos that women are entering - they might say "invading" - spheres previously reserved for men alone: politics, STEM, journalism, authors, doctors, lawyers, governors, congresspeople - even president. (Hillary is still my president!)

Republicans want the status quo so bad, they cheat - gerrymandering, voter suppression, lie about their opponent, even joining with the Russians - to get their way. We've held them back and even gained a little ground yesterday. A trans woman won a state congressional seat in North Carolina, beating the very man who authored the  "bathroom bill."

Here, Jesus is clearly about to make a distinction between the nations and his kin-dom. He describes the nations as having rulers who revel in using their power over others just because they can. They are cruel just because they can be. They kill just because they can. They take away others' rights just because they can. The rape and sexually harass just because they can. I'm no longer talking about the Romans, am I? The disciples already know this. They know this in their bodies as well as their minds how it feels to be oppressed in these ways. They don't like it - who would? Jesus doesn't have to go into detail or dramatize the situation for effect; it's horribly shitty already.

Stay tuned for his prescription.
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You what?

Matthew 20:24 - When the ten heard about it, they were indignant with the two brothers.

My first thought is, How did they hear about it? There were only four people in the and none of them are good candidates for saying anything to the others. James and John probably wanted to keep it quiet - I know I would. I can't imagine their mother broadcasting her failure to secure their place. Jesus might have - if only to teach all of them a lesson. No matter what happens, we get theology with that. So, unless James and John are fans of unnecessary drama, either they were overheard or Jesus saw a teaching moment. He certainly saw one after they heard about it.

My second thought was, Well of course they were indignant! Who wouldn't be? There seems to always be at least one person in any group who tries to put themselves above others ... even in churches and other religious organizations. It is upsetting and as we can see, it hurts relationships with others in the group. Ambition on its own isn't bad, as I mentioned in my previous post, but when others are hurt, it becomes sinful. And the brothers' ambition embodied and incarnated in secret hurts their relationship with the other disciples.

My third thought is to wonder why the ten got upset. There's the obvious, that some of their number were trying to get ahead at their expense. But, was there any other reason? Were any of them considering doing the same thing and hadn't acted yet? How competitive were the disciples? We rarely see this kind of interaction among them, but that doesn't mean that it rarely happened. Peter in particular was impulsive and hot-headed.

So, the lesson here is think before you act. Did James and John think about what they were doing? As I mentioned, there was precedent for their mother to approach Jesus, yet they were certainly in on the plan. Of course, no one can foresee all the consequences of our actions, however, that does not let us off the hook for being thoughtful and acting more intentionally for others rather than ourselves. Next, we will see Jesus' comments on all of this.
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