How Do You Make Love Stay?

Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love; and then, for a second time in the history of the world, humanity will have discovered fire. -- Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Ah, the power of love. That's what Christ offers to us. All this talk of coming again to judge the living and the dead... OK, fine. But with what shall Christ judge the living and the dead? LOVE. And on what basis will we be judged? How well and completely and actively we LOVE. Whoomp, there it is.

I'm not one to artificially separate romantic love (Eros-ish love) from brotherly love (agape-ish love). Truth is, there is nothing more romantic than having a healthy amount of agape mixed in with your Eros To be smitten and on fire with passion is a marvelous thing. To care deeply and work diligently for the spiritual, emotional and physical well-being of the one for whom you feel passion makes that passion even better. However, I do agree it is best not to be inflamed with passion for anyone besides your intended. That would turn church dinners into Melrose Place or much, much worse. True, it would boost attendance for awhile, but, oy, that couldn't end well! Agape without Eros, yes. Eros without agape, no.

To finish the romantic love tangent, when Dan Fogelberg or some other pop singer croons the question “How do you make love stay?”I believe the answer is simple: pay closer attention to your agape (respect, care, compassion, encouragement), and the missing Eros might still come around from time to time. To borrow another Fogelberg-ism, the fire will, indeed, start to mellow through the years. But it can still flare up from time to time with a bit of stoking, so long as you've kept the hearth aglow. Nuff said on that topic?

So, no matter how you are thinking of love at the moment (agape or Eros) let's see if the following lesson will apply. This is a bit from Paul, from his first love letter to the church in Thessalonica. I believe this is Paul's earliest preserved letter...the freshest after his conversion from persecutor of “the People of the Way,” to “Person of the Way” himself. It is full of brotherly affection and friendly advice. It is obvious he deeply loves these folks, and why wouldn't he? Paul first came to Thessalonica after being roundly abused in Phillipi. They loved and listened to him. A church was formed. Paul healed up spiritually and physically among them, then went on his way and was repeatedly stymied in his attempts to get back to visit the ol' neighborhood. So he sent Timothy in his place. Then he wrote this letter to them. In the fifth chapter he says this about sticking together in the hard times to come...that is, making love stay:

5:16 Rejoice always, 5:17 pray without ceasing, 5:18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 5:19 Do not quench the Spirit. 5:20 Do not despise the words of prophets, 5:21 but test everything; hold fast to what is good; 5:22 abstain from every form of evil. 5:23 May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 5:24 The one who calls you is faithful, and will do this.

This reading is remarkable to me, giving in terse sentences the simple instructions for best following together a path of faith-to-wholeness in spirit, body and mind. Here are Paul's rules for a life of love that STAYS:

1. Stay positive (5:16) be happy when they walk through the door,





2. Stay reverent (5:17) really ask God to bless them,





3. Stay grateful (5:18) sincerely thank God for them,





4. Stay energized (5:19) be wings, not dead weight





5. Stay open-minded (5:20) seek the good and Godly, not strife and controversy
   
   
   


6. Stay grounded (5:21a) don't simply shut down, exchange thinking and ideas fully, honestly





7. Stay close to good (5:21b) keep your good/God bearings





8. Stay far from bad(5:22) don't drift into bitterness, gossip, judgmentalism, anger or fear





9. Stay focused (5:23) keep stoking your soul, continually tend to your own relationship with God





10. Stay faithful (5:24) when God blesses you, you can really, really bless others.

Why should we do these things? So God will love us best? NO! So God will love THROUGH us, that we can love better!!! When we are of generous heart and mind, those around us thrive. Don't be stingy with the true love. Open your heart to the “other” (yes, especially the ones in that other group, over there!), because the truth is, there IS NO OTHER. There's only us and God.

Don't give in to the impulse to separate, complicate, obfuscate. Share the love where you are. How do you make love stay? By making more love where you're staying!

Putting Some Multi- in the Media

Looking through some compatriots' blogs, I see that I have been far too verbose, leaving no breaks for the eye...NO PEEKCHURS!



So here is a break for your entertainment pleasure...
















Isn't it strange how the brain works.


I took an intensive course in the "Seven Intelligences" a few years back. It absolutely revolutionized the way I perceive the way I perceive. We all "click" differently, and most traditional measures of intelligence are hopelessly biased toward a few of those ways of clicking, encountering the world and learning.



Realizing that we are differently gifted is relatively easy. Making allowances for those differences in how we reach, preach and teach is far more challenging, but ultimately liberating. In my church, we try to offer different modes of experiencing the Divine. Not sure how successful we are at it, but it is certainly leading our church to evolve.


Our music program is flourishing under the leadership of a cadre of individuals who reach, teach and preach melodically. We have a wonderful member of our congregation who makes banners and wall hangings that are regularly rotated through the sanctuary. We do occasional dramatic presentations, though not nearly enough... We've also added a brand new digital projection unit which will be used in all kinds of creative ways to help people open their hearts, souls and minds to the Holy Experience. And our occasional guided meditations are quite the rage.

Why? Because traditional church can be a mind-numbing experience, when it should be a mind-BLOWING experience.

Here, have another picture:



This is a duck I met outside the Clifton Springs clinic after I spent the night at the bedside of an acquaintance there on a mental health admission. He was a loner (the duck, that is), standing apart from all the other ducks doing their ducky things. "I'm my own duck, dammit!" he seemed to say to the world. "I will not follow the flock.I will not humiliate myself for a scrap of stale bagel. I am the pinnacle of duckdom. "


We spend a lot of our lives being measured to see if we are smart enough, pretty enough, interesting enough, rich enough, erudite enough. But God has created us as part of an amazing palate of ability, flaw, color, dimension and odor (to name just a few variations). Why do we feel the need to categorize, homogenize, institutionalize and sanitize ourselves and each other? I prefer the collage... the mess... the FUNK. How about you?

When was the first time you acknowledged you were different than everybody else? How'd you feel? I think you're weird. Please don't change unless you want to...

bailing out

Okay, I'm finally stretching my brain around the whole bailout issue. It didn't really hit my personal tripwire until I read of the Citibank bailout this morning. I've done precious little if any business with AIG or any of the other companies rescued so far. As to the big three auto makers, I am a Toyota man. I bought my first Toyota in 1989 (a pickup I finally sold this past year), and have owned three others besides. They are solidly built, comfortable, reliable, economical vehicles. Detroit has yet to offer anything comparable, in my opinion. And judging by the car lots and TV commercials I've seen, Detroit is still marketing gas-guzzling pickups and SUVs to the testosterone-addled mega-hauling crowd. They don't need a bailout so much as some intelligent leadership. But, hey, I get it that a pretty good percentage of our work-force is tied to the auto industry. So, a pretty good percentage of our economy is tied to counter-intuitive thinking and empty suits. They insist on blaming the unions for their lack of competitiveness, but last I checked, Toyotas and Hondas cost MORE than comparable American vehicles. The Japanese aren't eating Detroit's lunch because their products are cheaper. They are eating Detroit's lunch because they are building better products that American drivers want to buy!

But I digress. The reason the Citibank bailout strikes me is because Citi and I have an ongoing relationship. I have a Citibank credit card with a healthy (for them) balance. Times are tight right now, but Citibank will not lift a finger to bail me out. And if I am late on two payments in any twelve month period, my interest rate will more than double overnight. In fact, if I am late on a utility payment, go temporarily delinquent on an auto loan, or fall even a few days behind on some other credit card payment, Citibank reserves the right to turn the screws to me -- check your credit card agreement, they can do it to you, too! (Thank VP-elect Joe Biden for that...he helped make it law.) So the ordinary consumer can't afford to bleed the least little bit in the water, because, legally, that will result in all the sharks attacking!

What this all tells us is that government of the people, for the people, by the people has very nearly perished from this earth. It is all stacked against us. Our representatives on the local, state and federal level don't seem to have a subtract button on their budget calculators, and most have bought into thoroughly debunked "trickle down" theory rather than protecting the engine that drives the economy: the middle class. Duh!

I am not saying "tax the rich." Those reps who come home and gloat over this or that government grant they have landed are playing a shell game, calling themselves heroes for taking an ever-growing portion of our income and then returning an ever-shrinking portion of our money back to us. I don't see this ending well. I believe Jesus was right in saying "Give unto Caeser what is Caeser's," but he wasn't commenting on a representative democracy. We, the governed, now have a say in governance...or so we have been taught.

What's a good Christian citizen to do? Pray first, then raise holy hell?!? Could be. What do you think of the state of our economy and the solutions offered by government on various levels? How does your faith inform your response? Let's discuss...

Open and Affirming

Okay, here goes. The leadership team at West Bloomfield Congregational Church, UCC has arrived at the following statement. We will ask our congregation to pray over it, study it and then vote on adopting it as our own at our annual meeting January 4, 2009. Most who have read this statement see it as a simple formalizing of what we have already practiced for decades.


We know as Christians that we are many members, but are one body in Christ. We are members of one another, and we all have different gifts. With Jesus, we are called to love our neighbors as ourselves. We are called to act as agents of reconciliation and wholeness within the world and within the church itself. We join together as a loving Christian community to celebrate and share our common communion and the reassurance that we are indeed created by God, reconciled by Christ and empowered by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we do not discriminate against any person, group or organization in membership, appointment, use of facility, provision of services, funding, hiring, or promotion on the basis of sexual orientation, race, gender, age, nationality, ethnicity, economic status, marital status, or physical disability.

That is all there is to it. Yet, that is not all there is to it. To say we will openly embrace, encourage, and even hire anyone regardless of their sexual orientation is not an uncontroversial thing. I know a few of our church members are deeply troubled by this step. We will be speaking about it over the next few weeks in our church, especially in light of explicit Biblical chapter and verse that seem to contradict our stance. This is a deep issue and must not be approached carelessly.
What's your opinion?

Learning Reading

I love to read. I find it to be the most excellent of all our invented human forms of communication. But how often do we really think about what we are doing when we read? I recently read a brief, Near-Eastern/Western history of reading on www.liveink.com that summed it all up rather nicely. To paraphrase:

Verbal communication is millions of years old, but it was only about 6000 years ago that the Sumerians began drawing pictures in clay to portray ideas and keep track of supplies and events. This is our first evidence of written communication.

About 2000 years later, in 2000 B.C., the Phoenicians came up with the first symbols to represent the sounds of human speech. This first writing was a string of consonants crammed together to represent spoken words (THSFRSTLPHBTWSSTRNGFCNSNTSCRMDTGTHRTRPRSNTSPKNWRDS).

Around 1000 B.C., the Greeks invented vowels(AROUND1000BCTHEGREEKSINVENTEDVOWELS)...

Around 200 B.C., the first punctuation appeared (AROUND200B.C.,THEFIRSTPUNCTUATIONAPPEARED.)...

Around 700 A.D., lowercase letters were developed by Medieval scribes (Around700A.D.,lowercaselettersweredevelopedbyMedievalscribes)...

About 200 years later, in 900 A.D., words were finally separated by spaces, making it possible finally to read silently, rather than sounding out letters out loud. This was a big deal.

Notice that most of the tweaks and advancements in writing and reading were developed concurrently with or even after the writing of the individual books of the Bible, which took place here and there roughly between 1000 B.C. and 150 A.D.

Realizing that we have no original scripture documents – NONE – we can see how remarkable (yes, even miraculous) it is that we have a Bible at all. Our sacred documents come to us from copies of copies of copies of copies of texts written in nearly indecipherable blocks of letters on animal skins, clay or papyrus, each and every letter of which was painstakingly read and rewritten by oil lamp or candlelight by tired monks with aching eyes. A single misplaced, skipped or repeated letter out of millions could change entirely the meaning of a word or passage. In time, these writings would be translated into other languages, and those translations updated as languages evolved. Eventually, scribes would be replaced by movable type, then... you get the idea. The Bibles we read today have passed through countless human hands to get to us. God is God, but writing and reading are uniquely human. It may be God's word, but our mortal fingerprints and thinking are all over, around and through it!

Let us also recognize that we read different materials differently. I suspend disbelief for a good work of fantasy. I read over the same lines repeatedly and open my imagination to complex metaphor for poetry. A text book requires interactive attention, maybe even the taking of notes. I may find myself checking for author bias, or weighing statements against other sources in a work of biography. In short, when I enter the library, how I will read depends on the section in which I am reading.

The Bible – from the Greek Biblios, meaning library – is a collection of books of various sources from various eras in Near-Eastern history: Some of it is the written preservation of stories and rules once memorized and spoken around campfires and communal tents (Torah – The Law or The Teachings). Some of it is a collection of social and political commentaries of various eras (the Prophets). Some of it is the collected wisdom and sacred songs of this or that ruling class (Psalms and Proverbs). Some is the collected accounts of the life, teachings and ministry of our Messiah and his common followers (The Gospels and Acts). Some is the collected letters of itinerant preachers to local churches (the letters of Paul, Peter, John and Jude). Some is political polemic written in veiled terms and thinly disguised code (Revelation). How we read each of these books in our holy library depends on which book we are reading. So, when we read Psalm 137, we should not take it as God's will that we dash the babies of our perceived enemies on the rocks! No, we should read the anger and frustration in the sacred Blues sung by an exiled people toward their captors, the Babylonians. We should feel their sheer desperation for God to rescue them and restore justice. We should, in short, use Psalm 137 as a reminder of what happens to a human soul robbed of its freedom and dignity, and strive to neither oppressed nor oppressor be!

And while we're thinking of it, let's consider the human authors of these books. There is a German term – sitz im leben – which literally means “life setting” of a text. Who was writing this? What was their station in life? What was happening around them when they wrote it? Consider, for example, Paul's admonition from 1st Timothy 2:

Let a woman learn in silence with full submission. I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she is to keep silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet she will be saved through childbearing, provided they continue in faith and love and holiness, with modesty.

This is written in our Bibles! Does that mean that we should bar women from preaching and teaching men? Should a man turn off his radio if Joyce Meyer comes on? For the misguided literalist, yes!

But suppose I don't simply read these verses as a timeless command directly from God, but rather, as an excerpt from a letter written by a devout man in 1st century Palestine? In his day, women were almost entirely illiterate and unschooled. In his day, there were only a few men in larger villages who might have access to scripture and theological training. That was this letter's sitz im leben.

Would we remove a female seminary professor or pastor in this day and age solely due to her genitalia and a surface reading of 1st Timothy? Yes, some of us would, despite the vast difference between the era in which this verse was written and our own. This is an example of the damage that can be done when we insist on a childish relationship with scripture. We must not lean on our own understanding, but rather trust in God and the wisdom imparted through the ages. We can dig deeper than our own surface understanding of a text to encounter God's will in scripture. It takes prayerful dedication and hard work, but isn't Godly wisdom worth it?!? If we prayerfully, carefully apply the standards of Paul to our modern reality, we may instead say:

Let those who are unschooled learn in silence with full submission. I permit no ignorant person to teach or have authority over a church. For it was through ignorance and deception that Adam and Eve became transgressors. Yet they will be saved through their life roles, provided they continue in faith and love and holiness, with modesty.

I did not simply pull this interpretation out of thin air, but did my humble best to consider what God may be communicating to me through Paul. I do so humbly, recognizing that I might not have it quite right, and leaning hard on my years of training, research, study of ancient languages and cultures, and my continuing life in Christ and Christian community. If you plan to do the same, I would recommend you do so in community with others, including (as Paul insists above) one or more leaders well-schooled in scripture and tradition. This is very much in the tradition of the rabbis from the first days through today, including Paul and ESPECIALLY Jesus.

Scary? Overwhelming? Darn right it is! But we are called by the God of the Living to no less than our best efforts. In other words, dig in, think, discuss, pray, learn, apply and live!

Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law they meditate day and night. - Psalm 1:1-2

Sermon from Sunday, October 12, 2008 on Becoming an Open And Affirming Church

Fundamentals, Not Fundamentalism

I have fielded a lot of requests for transcripts or recordings of this past Sunday's sermon. Mike, our fearless High-Tech leader, is out of town for a few weeks, so there will be some delay in the posting of the podcast of the sermon (eventually available, as are most of my sermons, at http://wbccucc.blogspot.com). So, in the interim, here is an ever-so slightly cleaned up transcript of the sermon.

It begins with three readings from the Revised Common Lectionary for the day:

Exodus 32:1-14 When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered around Aaron, and said to him, "Come, make gods for us, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him."
Aaron said to them, "Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me."
So all the people took off the gold rings from their ears, and brought them to Aaron. He took the gold from them, formed it in a mold, and cast an image of a calf; and they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!"
When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation and said, "Tomorrow shall be a festival to the LORD."
They rose early the next day, and offered burnt offerings and brought sacrifices of well-being; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to revel.
The LORD said to Moses, "Go down at once! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely;
they have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have cast for themselves an image of a calf, and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!'"
The LORD said to Moses, "I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are.
Now let me alone, so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; and of you I will make a great nation."
But Moses implored the LORD his God, and said, "O LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?
Why should the Egyptians say, 'It was with evil intent that he brought them out to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth'? Turn from your fierce wrath; change your mind and do not bring disaster on your people.
Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by your own self, saying to them, 'I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.'"
And the LORD changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.

Philippians 4:1-9 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.
I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

Matthew 22:1-10 Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying:
"The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, 'Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.'
But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.

Then he said to his slaves, 'The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.' Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.
"But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?' And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' For many are called, but few are chosen."

Our sermon this morning is Fundamentals, Not Fundamentalism. Our readings this morning are all pretty fundamental. In our Gospel reading you heard a story of an invitation that went out in this parable from Jesus. The invitation went out to everybody who was already a part of the faith community...all who were the Chosen People – all who were Jewish – to come to this banquet. And the banquet was Christ. And many, during his life, refused to come. So he said “open it up to everybody.” And they did open it up to everybody, and many came, and there was much rejoicing.

Then we get to this confounding part in Christ's story where someone who was just pulled off the streets was there at this wedding banquet, and he's chastised for not wearing a celebratory wedding robe. And it sounds unfair, as most folks aren't walking down the street wearing a wedding robe. But remember, this is a parable. You have to treat it like the story it is. You have to dig a little deeper.

What are we really talking about? We're talking about someone who was invited into a faith that wasn't really theirs to begin with. Much like just about anyone Christian. We didn't start out Jewish. We were grafted onto this tree with this God. This parable speaks to anyone who was invited into this faith, accepted the invitation, came in and enjoyed the blessings, but who didn't change in any noticeable way: Came right in and kept right on with the same attitudes and prejudices they'd always had... came into the feast of Jesus Christ and showed no external evidence at all that they had embraced anything life-changing at all. And Jesus tells this fable as if to say: “those people who refuse to redress their crimes or correct their misconceptions – the ones who won't make the least little change to show gratitude for this free gift they are given – are not going to be a part of this banquet.”

-------

In the Epistle reading from Philippians, Paul is heartbroken because two of the women with whom he started up that church – two who rolled up their sleeves and labored side by side with him – were having some kind of argument that was splitting the church. And so he appealed to the others of this faith community: “help these women get along.” He doesn't address the exact issue and say this one's right, this one's wrong. He is not searching for some empirical truth that will shut one of them up. Instead, he says: “find a way to help them put this behind them, end the conflict and recognize any disagreement as petty compared to the greater task of serving Christ.”

So we've talked so far about two fundamental points of a healthy Christian faith:
1.not carrying in your own prejudices and fears when you enter this new life, and
2.not using your faith as a source of conflict and strife.

And then we have that reading from Exodus, which is as fundamental as it comes for our faith. THE GOLDEN CALF.

Now most of us have a Cecil B. DeMille image of that calf...with some woman sensually polishing it with her long, dark hair, while all the loin-clothed, movie lot extras dance and grind around her in a state of debauched arousal. We also naturally equate gold with money. No. No. No.

What is the problem with an idol? Simply this: It is an attempt by finite beings to contain the eternal in a nice, manageable package. Put God in a little, portable box, and stick God wherever you want to. You can move God over here. Don't like the view over here? Move God over there. And you can manipulate God anyway that serves you, shape God into any form that is agreeable to you. THAT is the sin of the golden calf.
Now we Christians don't have any idol like that nowadays, right? We don't have anything that we use to try to put God in our box, right? Nothing we use to say “God agrees with me and God is shaped like this,” right?

Hmmm.

Nothing in Christianity is turned into more of a self-serving idol than this book on the pulpit. We use our Bibles to spread more hate, more division and more oppression than any shiny cow statue could ever bring around. The Bible is our false idol.

- - - - -

Once, long before I went into the ministry, I had a conversation with a gentleman in South Carolina who knew me as a Yankee, but not necessarily as a Christian. And he told me that he was almost kicked out of his church. He was the deacon in charge of scheduling weddings, and he was nearly drummed out of his church for giving a couple permission to marry there. The couple was black, and it says right here in the Bible “each to their own kind.” Black people shouldn't get married in a white church! It says right here in the Bible! THUMP!!

- - - - -

One of my favorite authors is Dr. Eugene Petersen, who wrote a modern translation of the Bible called The Message. And he also wrote a few books for pastors that really strengthen clergy and give them cause for joy, hope and strength. He was raised by a single mom, a beautiful lady and Christian.

His mother was a missionary to the rough and tumble logging camps of the Northwest. Eugene and his mother would travel from remote camp to remote camp by sled, and she would sing and preach and lift up these men so far from home and civilization. She did this for years, and then suddenly it stopped, and she traveled no more to preach and teach.

It wasn't until years later that Dr. Petersen asked his mother why she stopped. And she told him of a group of men confronting her outside a camp meeting, opening their Bibles and reading “women, be silent in the church,” and “it is not right for women to instruct men.” And how many lumberjacks...how many men far from everything they knew and loved, didn't hear the Gospel because a group of self-righteous prigs lifted up their idol and went THUMP!!!

- - - - -

How about a brand new Anglican bishop who, as he goes through his glorious installation, has to wear a bullet-proof vest under his beautiful vestments because there have been so many death threats from his fellow Christians? Gifted pastor or not, he's gay, and “it's an abomination,” THUMP!!!

This, my friends, is our golden calf. This beautiful, sacred series of writings that has so much in it about love, joy and how to be a living, loving child of God; and how to live and celebrate and share all the blessings that are ours; this, my friends, is what we use to put God in a box that we can control. This is what we use to dress up our same old prejudices and fears. This is what we use to come into the pews and not change a thing about ourselves. If we read this book and it doesn't scare us, rip out our hearts and challenge our prejudices and pre-conceived notions, then we aren't reading it deeply enough. If it doesn't give us the occasional headache, then it is nothing more than another lousy golden calf.

Now there are people in this very community who need God, love and a place where they can come and hear what is pure, honest, true and hopeful. And the reason they are not here is what we have done with and to this Bible. We are better than this.

You right now are sitting on a hill in a church that in 1834 – when the only support they had in this wilderness was the Presbyterian church – severed ties with that, their only lifeline to civilization back east because the Presbyterians refused to take a vocal stand against slavery.

You are sitting in a church that in 1893 – 26 years before women had the right to vote, and at a time when women were supposed to be silent in the church – hired it's first female pastor.

You are sitting in a church that, at the height of the race riots of the 1960s, traveled en masse into downtown Rochester to worship at an urban, African-American church, and then invited that same church out here to worship in these very pews with us.

This is our church. This is our scripture. These are not blunt instruments. The fundamentals of our faith are that we love our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength; and that we love our neighbor as ourselves.

“And who is our neighbor?” as the devout, uber-religious man asked Jesus. Jesus answered that man in a parable in which he lifted up the most detestable of people to the Jew: a Samaritan. Who is your neighbor? The one you detest the most right now. The one you are most prejudiced against, uncomfortable around, fearful of right now is the one Christ points out as the person to love and accept. That is the one who should be here with us now.

Let's take off our prejudices. Let's not cast our prejudices, fears and short-sightedness on God. Let's love our neighbor. That is FUNDAMENTAL.

Now FUNDAMENTALISM is different. It is what we are trying to avoid. Fundamentalism is someone's interpretation of scripture that is only 150 years old. Our scripture is 2000-3000 years old. That OLD TIME RELIGION is NEW. It was a response to something called the ENLIGHTENMENT, when common people finally had their scriptures in a language they could read and began to apply their God-given reason and logic to Biblical thought, just as scholars, rabbis, prophets and priests had done for thousands of years. They had the power to read and discern and influence their own destiny. And some took it even further and said “wait, we can use these same principals to govern ourselves,” and our nation was born. And yet, there are those who would shut us down, using this same Word and saying, “No, it is not your reason. That is not our TRUTH!” And they claim “this is not what the Bible says,” as if the Bible had a mouth and vocal cords and as if what they were doing to it was anything but a bad ventriloquism act supporting their own prejudices.

Let us, my friends, not put words in the Bible's mouth, but, rather, faithful, prayerfully dig deep into all that is written here. With awe, and trembling, let's recognize who and whose we are, and, especially, WHO WE WILL WELCOME regardless of sexual orientation, economic status, race, gender or any other thing that we cynically, faithlessly use to bicker with our brothers and sisters.
That's FUNDAMENTALS as opposed to fundamentalism.

Where's the Honor?!?!?

I just spent a most detestable hour reading through blogs and watching videos from the presidential campaigns. This is ridiculous and brutal. The hatred, half-truths and outright fabrications meant to assassinate character and prejudice voters is reprehensible. There is no honor in any candidate allowing such activities to take place in their name...in OUR name!

I read up on the candidates' positions on important issues. I followed their statements at debates. I take each at their word on their plans for the nation. I made my choice and am ready for the voting booth.

I do not appreciate the desperate, win-at-all-cost politics of innuendo and character assassination. I do not like cheap shots and impossibly twisted "facts" in front of hand-picked, hate-filled crowds. I do not care for these assaults on the democratic process.

I am ashamed for those who apparently have no shame of their own.

School's In

Well here we are at one of my least favorite days of the year. The house is empty as the wife and kids have headed back to school. Going home for lunch isn't any great treat right now, as I have to get used to the empty rooms.

Life is moving so terribly fast! Suddenly I've got a kid in 10th and another in middle school. Gone are the days of waiting together for the bus to come. Present are the days of engaging conversations and occasional advice (and my kids are as likely to offer it as ask for it). I definitely enjoy these times with my kids, but it really does seem like the clock is accelerating and they are just a few breaths away from heading out on their own. I love my life too much not to get a little misty over the passing of eras. I am that blessed.

At the birth of my children so many of my elders said "hang on to these times and enjoy them. They are gone before you know it." Wisdom. Wisdom

This Just In: China Still China

From the Times Online, London:

Michael Sheridan, Beijing

The mystery of the half-filled stands at many events at the 2008 Olympic Games has been solved, according to Chinese internet users, who say it is the result of a policy to prevent the gathering of large and possibly uncontrollable crowds.

They claim ticket sales to the public were secretly restricted. Blocks of tickets went to government departments, Communist party officials or state-owned companies, which have quietly obeyed orders not to hand them out. “People are so angry because they slept all night outside ticket booths and got nothing and now they see this,” said one blogger, Jian Yu.

Official explanations eroded swiftly because internet insurgents have rapidly identified cracks in the perfect facade constructed for the Olympics.

In the nine days since Chinese leaders presided over a grandiose - and, it turns out, partly faked - opening ceremony, one fact after another has eluded the censors and fuelled public indignation at the costs and the charade. Protected, they hope, by online anonymity, some of China’s 1.3 billion people are daring to wonder where it will all end.

Related Links
Anger turns to uprising along the Silk Road
At some football matches in the northern city of Shenyang, only a third of the seats were taken. Even some gymnastics finals, usually one of the biggest attractions on the programme, were not sold out.

Nobody seems to have explained it to the International Olympic Committee, which is baffled by the empty seats, or to the sponsors, who are disappointed.

The policy meant that some British supporters have been deprived of the excitement of seeing the Games. Even parents of competitors, such as those of Rebecca Adlington, the gold medal-winning swimmer, have complained about being unable to get seats.

Jeff Hunter, group operations director for Sportsworld, the official travel and ticket agent for the British Olympic Association, said: “It is surprising that not all the venues have been as full as they could have been.”

Lower-ranking Chinese officials hastily bused in paid “volunteers” to populate the stands in Beijing, appreciating the embarrassment caused by leaving them half-empty, but public relations remain a matter of indifference to most guardians of public order.

Security has been heavy-handed from the start. As the film director Zhang Yimou’s extravaganza kicked off with a boom, I watched on a giant screen in a park, one of the few venues where ordinary Chinese people were allowed to gather.

They cheered as the fireworks exploded, few looking up to find that there were, in fact, none to be seen because the sequence was produced by software, not gunpowder.

They cooed at nine-year-old Lin Miaoke, hardly caring that her lyrics were obviously mimed, and as she sang they went into a patriotic delirium when goose-stepping soldiers raised the national flag. Yet even these loyal citizens could not be trusted. We were surrounded by dozens of police who locked the gates to keep us in and others out.

Chao Chanqing, an exiled journalist widely read on web-sites accessible in China, has accused Zhang, the director, of playing the same role as Leni Riefenstahl, who filmed an epic documentary for Hitler at the Berlin Olympics of 1936.

The director scorns the comparison but he admitted that a Chinese leader ordered him to make changes to the ceremony. “I had no chance to reject his opinion,” he told the Nanfang Weekend newspaper. Analysts said he was referring to vice-president Xi Jinping, heir apparent to the top job.

Government officials swept thousands of migrant workers out of Beijing – the very people who built the stadium, at least 10 of them paying with their lives. Police arrested hundreds of provincial petitioners who sought justice in the capital and sent at least 58 to labour camps for “reeducation”.

The sick were told that routine surgery was cancelled in every hospital and officials shut some psychiatric patients inside their wards.

Even as the nation is supposed to be keeping a keen tally of the gold medal count, dissenters are daring to raise the issue of how much the Games have cost the people of China.

For all its export might, China is still a poor, largely agrarian country with perhaps 700m farmers and 150m migrant workers. The size of its economy is huge but, measured by wealth per head, it ranks 109th in the world, comparable with Swaziland or Morocco.

It faces an acute crisis as its people live longer but fewer are born; the old lack pensions and healthcare must be paid for. Half the population does not have clean drinking water and 16 cities are among the most polluted on earth.

So why, asked the mainland Chinese writers in a Hong Kong magazine named Kaifang (Opening Up), did China blow more than £20 billion on the Games?

They calculate that the total costs may exceed £30 billion, more than the Chinese government will spend this year on education or public health or relief for the Sichuan earthquake. These are questions that would make any ruler nervous.

Chinese leaders prided themselves on the splendid reception for dignitaries and 10,500 athletes. They rejected criticism of their policies on Darfur, Burma and Zimbabwe, brushing aside foreign demonstrators complaining about Tibet.

However, they remain worried about political undercurrents among their people. These can be unexpected. Despite pervasive internet control, censors could not stop nationalist criticism about the diplomatic price China has paid for mounting the Games.

Exhibit one for the ultra-patriots was a border treaty signed on July 21 between China and Russia to settle disputes over their Siberian territories that led to armed clashes during the cold war. Official accounts of the treaty emphasised the return to China of 1½ islands in the icy Amur River that divides the two nations.

Online critics were enraged because the foreign ministry appeared to have recognised the 19th-century conquest of thousands of square miles of land by Tsarist Russia. “These lands belong to all the people of China,” a blogger called “Tiger” wrote. It was only on the day the treaty was signed that the attendance of Vladimir Putin at the opening ceremony of the Games was confirmed.

Exhibit two was an agreement on June 18 between China and Japan to embark on joint exploration for oil and gas in a disputed zone of the East China Sea. It was only after this agreement that Yasuo Fukuda, Japan's prime minister, confirmed that he, too, would attend the opening.

It may seem remote to the athletes and sports fans in Beijing, but national pride is central to the Olympic message that China's government has crafted for its own youth.

Few foreigners will make their way to the Stalinist palace in west Beijing that houses the national military museum, but thousands of schoolchildren were trooping through a new exhibition there last week.

They saw a version that traces their country's descent into poverty and chaos to British aggression in the 1840 opium war. "The imperial powers descended upon China like a swarm of bees, looting our treasures and killing our people," the exhibit reminded viewers.

There was no mention of the famines that may have claimed 30m lives after Mao's "great leap forward", of the decade of chaos in the Cultural Revolution, which killed 1m more, or of the democracy protests in 1989 which ended in the massacre at Tiananmen Square.

Despite the precise attention given to such a perfect display, somebody seems to have missed the bold headline on a student newspaper published in 1919, when China was in a ferment of idealism and its Communist party did not exist.

It stated: "Democracy - a government for the people, by the people and of the people - our motto."

A Mother's Cry

My Dear Friends,

I recently received an anonymous communication from a Christian parent with an unusual request. I have no way of knowing if or how this person is affiliated with our church, but I recognized a deep hurt, anxiety and confusion, so I will honor the request, which was to offer a Word this Sunday regarding the role of a Christian parent whose adult child has strayed in a particular manner.

Whoever you are, you rightly seek spiritual wisdom to lead you through a complex situation. I offer you this Word from the fourth Gospel:

John 8:2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them.
3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them,
4 they said to him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery.
5 Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?"
6 They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.
7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her."
8 And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground.
9 When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.
10 Jesus straightened up and said to her, "Woman, where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you?"
11 She said, "No one, sir." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again."


Concerned parent, whoever you are, I ask you to prayerfully reflect on this reading and the path Christ chose. He sheltered the individual from the harm others would inflict, regardless of guilt. He identified himself with and stood up for the sinner, no matter who was watching and what they might think. He did not condemn, but offered instead a steadying hand, quiet forgiveness, simple encouragement and the grace-filled freedom to move on and do better.

Whoever you are, you are in my prayers.

Materialism and Corporate America

“I know a man, he lost his head. He said: 'The way I feel I'd be better off dead.' He said: 'I've got everything I've ever wanted, now I can't give it up...It's a trap. Just my luck.' ” -- Laurie Anderson, Monkey's Paw, from the album Strange Angels, (C) 1989, Warner Bros.

I see where the Pope spoke to young people in Australia, challenging them to abandon the headlong pursuit of material wealth. I assume he then flew his private jet back to his palatial apartments alongside the opulent, gold-, silver- and marble-filled St. Peter's Basilica. (I am not anti-Catholic. I am pro-irony.) I can only imagine what the humble fisherman-turned-itinerant servant of the Gospel would think of the towering, multi-billion dollar structure that bears his name.

The love of money is the root of much that is evil, Paul warned Timothy (1 Timothy 6:10). I must admit, if I don't love money, I am at least exceedingly fond of it. We don't get nearly enough time together, money and me. But I cherish every moment we spend.

For the thinking, self-examining American Christian, it is difficult to reconcile anti-materialistic Gospel messages with our hotly promoted civic shopping duties in this consumer culture. It is a struggle to wave bye-bye to all of the voices alternately whispering and screaming “BUY BUY.” But many of us view this American life as hopelessly perverted from the pursuit of happiness to the pursuit of MORE.

I believe we as a nation have lost our moral compass. Deregulation has been the mantra of the past four administrations, with devastating results. I provide as evidence the state of our supposed “free-market” economy: The deregulated media has bought out and shut down all competing and minority voices and given us pap in place of substance. The deregulated energy industry has given us the likes of Enron and oil companies that jack up profits to obscene margins as they rape the earth and consumers alike. The deregulated banking industry has given us mortgage and credit crises far worse than anything this nation has ever before seen. The deregulated investment industry has given us Bear-Stearns and many others whose uppermost executives fly off with their millions, immune to the common folks who have seen their retirements flushed down the drain. Deregulated airline industry? A poorly maintained fleet, lousy service and bankruptcies. Deregulated food industries? Outbreaks of food-borne illnesses, reprehensible land and animal stewardship, and brutal labor practices.

Deregulation will only work if the deregulated are willing and able to police themselves. This requires an awareness of – and allegiance to – a higher moral authority. But the current leaders of the corporate world in general seem to suffer from spiritual bankruptcy, doing things to boost stock prices that undermine our lives, our communities, our government and nation.

A for-profit corporation as a legal entity is an artificial person, born selfish and self-absorbed. A for-profit corporation “lives' to make as much money as possible. Such corporations love mammon, as it is the full defining measure of success and self-worth. A corporate entity has no conscience beyond that which its human handlers carry in their Armani briefcases. What's best for the stock price is seldom equivalent to what is best for humanity. But what's best for the stock price is inevitably the focus of the for-profit corporation.

The current state of for-profit America hearkens back to the days of the robber barons, doing whatever it takes to corner markets and eliminate the competition, regardless of what is best for the nation and her citizens. We are encouraged to remain addicted to that which does not satisfy. We are encouraged to help spread the disease of rampant consumerism to every foreign shore. We are encouraged to adopt the every-man-for-himself approach of the soulless corporation.

There is nothing inherently sinful in honestly pursuing prosperity. But I strain to find honesty in today's marketplace. How about you?

Progressive Christianity and Dr. Dobson

“Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” -Mark 3:35

The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle editorial page recently had a great take on James Dobson's ham-handed political Bible-thump, and “signs that Christians who may not share the political views of fundamentalists...are no longer taking a back seat” (Dobson's Monopoly?, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, Thursday, June 26). It was accompanied by an excellent piece by Susan Estrich (Most of the Faithful are Also Tolerant and Open), in which she shared the results of a recent national poll which showed that most Christians are far more open minded than the few big mouthed cowboys-for-Christ who always seem to find a microphone.

The upshot of the whole Dobson-related editorial was the simple fact that a few media-loving, overbearing “Christian” commentators are finally seen to be far less than the spokespeople for Christ and Christianity. It turns out Dobson, Robertson, et al. don't speak for most of us, and even many conservative evangelicals are turning away from them! WHO KNEW?!? Well, lots of us did.

Christ was the model of compassion, reason and inclusion, and progressive Christians have been a major force of positive – dare I say evolutionary – change ever since. We fight to free the oppressed. We serve the poor. We cared for the earth when green was a mere color, not the hot new destination. In this country, we were the Spiritual push behind public education, independence, abolition, temperance/women's suffrage, fair labor standards, the Civil Rights movement and so much more. We were among the first on the scene in New Orleans, China and Myanmar, and will most likely be among the last to leave. We started the School of the America's protest and Habitat for Humanity, as well as founding Princeton, Harvard and Yale Universities. Some of us are gay. Some of us are blue-eyed, or left-handed, or from Gdansk. Millions of us know our Bibles, vote our consciences and live our faiths gently, with conviction, though not necessarily in 100% agreement. Some of our brethren disown us and claim we will rot in hell, but God is still speaking to us and through us.

All of this without 1-800 numbers, the wholesale demonizing of people we don't understand, or the use of the words God and hate on the same placard. Sure, we've occasionally taken a back seat, but only to offer another child of God their rightful place at the front of the bus.

We are followers of Christ! Doers of the Word!

Jesus' Tasty Fish Sandwiches!

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God; to draw near to listen is better than the sacrifice offered by fools... -- Ecclesiastes 5:1

I received two interesting “religious” mailings last week.

One came from a mega-church in Oklahoma, whose name I will not mention to avoid giving them any sort of publicity. The mailing included several pieces, the centerpieces of which were a small, paper “prayer rug” and a sealed envelope containing “my very own, personal prophecy.” (The instructions insisted I not open the prophecy until I had knelt on the prayer rug (or I could “simply touch it to my knees”) and contacted the church via phone or return card...so I, of course, ripped the prophecy envelope open immediately. Turns out God is waiting for me to step forward in faith so HE can RICHLY REWARD ME! At the bottom of the SACRED PROPHECY were detailed instructions for “stepping forward in faith” through a generous donation.) Also included was a picture of a gazillion squeaky-clean, Sunday-best, Southwestern white folk standing in front of their arena/sanctuary, fairly blinding the cameraman with their Pepsodent smiles. I don't know if they all swallowed this idiocy, or were only hoping I would. The whole piece was screaming the question: WHAT CAN GOD DO TO HELP ME HERE????

I have grown so tired of slick Prosperity Gospel hucksters. I liken them to those folks who were following Jesus for the tasty, miraculous fish sandwiches (John 6:26 - after the loaves and fishes miracle, a throng seeks out Jesus in Capernaum and he says to them: "...you are looking for me not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.") Just look at what we can get from God! Praise the Lord and pass the tarter sauce!

The second mailing I received was a humble, computer-generated newsletter from Ecclesia Ministries of Newburgh (New York). Full disclosure: this ministry is master-minded by UCC-ordained clergy...one of our guys. The newsletter was filled with stories of recovery and rehabilitation. One of the group's board members was pushing a shopping cart full of empty cans around Newburgh trying to buy his next drink just two years ago. He and several others have been sent through reputable rehab programs and are now rebuilding their lives as they help others do the same. The mailing focused on a building they are reclaiming for street ministries and shelter space. There were two “asks” in this piece. The first was an invitation to come learn how street ministry is done: visit them and spend a weekend in ministry in September (“we hope that as many as ten of you will join us...”) so you could go back to your own city and set up a similar ministry. The second ask was for money, of course, but not to enter some sort of Holy Ghost lottery that would bring about a jackpot for yourself. No, they asked for money to help them finish the shelter, support and expand outreach ministries, and rescue more addicts and misfits from the streets. The whole piece was screaming the question: WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP GOD HERE???

So you tell me, which of the above questions is the more faithful to ask?

The primary focus of the follower of Christ must be on feeding the flock, not feeding the face.


P.S. Ecclesia Ministries of Newburgh, P.O. Box 1621, Newburgh NY 12551-1621
www.Ecclesia-Newburgh.org

It's been more than a month since I posted! Here is a piece that responds to one of those chain e-mails. I get a lot of these from folks in my church. Sometimes they are looking for my response. Sometimes I think they just want to tweak me!

Anyway, here is the chain letter from "Angry Woman," purportedly a New Jersey housewife. I print it in its entirety, followed by each section of the letter, with my response attached. It's a bit of a slog, but I look forward to responses and dialogue after...

WOW! WHAT A LETTER! Letter from one 'Angry Woman'
I don't know who wrote it but they should have signed it. Some powerful words. This woman should run for president.
Written by a housewife from New Jersey and sounds like it! This is one ticked off lady.

Are we fighting a war on terror or aren't we? Was it or was it not started by Islamic people who brought it to our shores on September 11, 2001? Were people from all over the world, mostly Americans, not brutally murdered that day, in downtown Manhattan , across the Potomac from our nation's capitol and in a field in Pennsylvania ? Did nearly three thousand men, women and children die a horrible, burning or crushing death that day, or didn't they? And I'm supposed to care that a copy of the Koran was 'desecrated' when an overworked American soldier kicked it or got it wet?...Well, I don't. I don't care at all. I'll start caring when Osama bin Lade n turns himself in and repents for incinerating all those innocent people on 9/11. I'll care about the Koran when the fanatics in the Middle East start caring about the Holy Bible, the mere possession of which is a crime in Saudi Arabia I'll care when these thugs tell the world they are sorry for chopping off Nick Berg's head while Berg screamed through his gurgling slashed throat. I'll care when the cowardly so-called 'insurgents' in Iraq come out and fight like men instead of disrespecting their own religion by hiding in mosques. I'll care when the mindless zealots who blow themselves up in search of nirvana care about the innocent children within range of their suicide.
I'll care when the American media stops pretending that their First Amendment liberties are somehow derived from international law instead of the United States Constitution's Bill of Rights. In the meantime, when I hear a story about a brave marine roughing up an Iraqi terrorist to obtain information, know this: I don't care. When I see a fuzzy photo of a pile of naked Iraqi prisoners who have been humiliate d in what amounts to a college-hazing incident, rest assured: I don't care. When I see a wounded terrorist get shot in the head when he is told not to move because he might be booby-trapped, you can take it to the bank: I don't care.
When I hear that a prisoner, who was issued a Koran and a prayer mat, and fed 'special' food that is paid for by my tax dollars, is complaining that his holy book is being 'mishandled,' you can absolutely believe in your heart of hearts: I don't care.
And oh, by the way, I've noticed that sometimes it's spelled 'Koran' and other times 'Quran.' Well, Jimmy Crack Corn and-you guessed it-I don't care!! If you agree with this viewpoint, pass this on to all your E-mail friends. Sooner or later, it'll get to the people responsible for this ridiculous behavior! If you don't agree, then by all means hit the delete button. Should you choose the latter, then please don't complain when more atrocities committed by radical Muslims happen here in our great Country!
And may I add: 'Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem' -- Ronald Reagan I have another quote that I would like to add AND.......I hope you forward all this. 'If we ever forget that we're One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under' Also by.. Ronald Reagan
One last thought for the day: In case we find ourselves starting to believe all the Anti-American sentiment and negativity, we should remember England 's Prime Minister Tony Blair's words during a recent interview. When asked by one of his Parliament members why he believes so much in America , he said: 'A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at how many want in.. And how many want out.

Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you:
1. Jesus Christ
2. The American G. I. One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.

YOU MIGHT WANT TO PASS THIS ON,

AS MANY SEEM TO FORGET BOTH OF THEM.

AMEN!

Now, Corey's response:

Good morning, everybody. At first I just hit the delete button on this e-mail. But, after sleeping on it I realized how many of the people on this list of recipients I know and respect, especially the lovely lady who sent it to me. I also thought of my father-in-law, involved in 11 invasions in the Pacific Theatre in World War II, and how this angry woman questions HIS patriotism under her wide, dark net of anger. So, meaning no offense, this is one proud American's response. As I read through her whole letter, will you read through mine and respond as you see fit?

WOW! WHAT A LETTER!

Letter from one 'Angry Woman' I don't know who wrote it but they should have signed it. Some powerful words. This woman should run for president. Written by a housewife from New Jersey and sounds like it! This is one ticked off lady.

'Are we fighting a war on terror or aren't we? Was it or was it not started by Islamic people who brought it to our shores on September 11, 2001? Yes, we are fighting terrorism...but "the War on Terror" is a mere slogan if you use as a cover to simply kill Arab Muslims, regardless of their involvement in the 9/11 atrocities. Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. This is not a matter for debate. It is a simple, irrefutable FACT. Saddam Hussein and Wahabi Muslims HATED each other. There was no connection. Those boys were mostly from Saudi Arabia, which HATED Saddam Hussein. The sick minds who planned and promoted the whole thing continue to hole up in Afghanistan and Pakistan. If you want to fight a war on terror, don't open up new fronts away from and unrelated to the battle!

Were people from all over the world, mostly Americans, not brutallymurdered that day, in downtown Manhattan , across the Potomac from ournation's capitol and in a field in Pennsylvania ? Did nearly three thousand men, women and children die a horrible, burning or crushing death that day, or didn't they? Yes, they were and they did...and it was a terrible tragedy. They were killed by a group of hateful, evil, deluded men (mostly Saudi extremists) who, with their evil leader of the same extremist sect, have embraced murder and mayhem as the best way to get their point across. We Americans know better than to behave like that in the world, right?

And I'm supposed to care that a copy of the Koran was 'desecrated' when an overworked American soldier kicked it or got it wet?...Well, I don't. I don't care at all. Well you should. You're an American, aren't you? You should care that our American soldiers are overworked and under-equipped. You should care that they have been stretched to the limit. You should care that they are being placed in hazardous duty without adequate training or a clear mission. You should care that anyone in the world should see America as anything but tolerant of religious freedom. You should care that American's would hold men in prison without trial for five or more years. We're Americans. We're the ones who care about human rights!

I'll start caring when Osama bin Laden turns himself in and repents for incinerating all those innocent people on 9/11. That's not how it works. The bringers of justice never set justice aside. Lovers of liberty never fail to respect it. Americans should never tie their behavior to the actions of the likes of Osama bin Laden. That would be un-American.

I'll care about the Koran when the fanatics in the Middle East start caring about the Holy Bible, the mere possession of which is a crime in Saudi Arabia This, too, lowers you to the level of the fanatic. The terrorists are angry at a few, so they'll lash out at anybody under the same flag. You're angry at a few, so you'll lash out at anybody under the same religion.

I'll care when these thugs tell the world they are sorry for chopping off Nick Berg's head while Berg screamed through his gurgling slashed throat. Again, a sick, terrible thing, but do you really want to sink to that mindless level? It is not only the terrorists who are dying, but tens of thousands of innocents! The terrorists weren't in Iraq. They came there to fight us, tens of thousands of innocent Iraqi men, women and children are dying. They had a terrible time under brutal Saddam Hussein, but they are suffering mightily under our occupation, too!

I'll care when the cowardly so-called 'insurgents' in Iraq come out and fight like men instead of disrespecting their own religion by hiding in mosques. Oh! You were so close to getting this right, but your anger blinded you! Much of the Muslim world is incensed at the actions of these few radicals. If you and I care about the innocent Muslims and the sanctity of their faith, THEN we will be seen as heroes and liberators. If we continue to make everyone suffer for the crimes of the few, we'll just be lumped in with the terrorists. If you're waiting for extremists to change before you will show any compassion, then you have just become an extremist yourself. CARE NOW!

I'll care when the mindless zealots who blow themselves up in search of nirvana care about the innocent children within range of their suicide. The mindless are incapable of caring. To tie your actions to their thinking only makes you mindless, too.

I'll care when the American media stops pretending that their First Amendment liberties are somehow derived from international law instead of the United States Constitution's Bill of Rights. And I would say the American media has given the Bush Administration and the congress a pass on this whole Iraq War. I would say the mainstream media is not free -- it is bought and paid for by the military-industrial complex Dwight D. Eisenhower warned us about. The Main Stream Media was fairly giddy about the buildup to war, what with all their flashy graphics, their spiked ratings, and their "embedded" reporters. They failed us, and the many who gave their lives for a free and independent press.

In the meantime, when I hear a story about a brave marine roughing up an Iraqi terrorist to obtain information, know this: I don't care. Care about the Marine and the honor code he swore to and believes in, but which he has been ordered to disregard.

When I see a fuzzy photo of a pile of naked Iraqi prisoners who have been humiliate d in what amounts to a college-hazing incident, rest assured: I don't care. Care for American justice and our reputation in the world. Humiliation at gunpoint and in front of snarling guard dogs under people who have the very power of life and death over you is unlike any hazing incident of which I have ever heard. Beyond that, when I was in college, I avoided the kind of alcoholic,frat-house idiots who pulled hazing rituals. Please don't suggest the men and women of our armed forces are simple, frat-boy jerks, or under-estimate the power of American ideals in this world by excusing inexcusable behavior...especially when the suits and officers who gave the orders stepped back and let the enlisted men and women take the hit on the whole sordid mess! Care about the soldiers who were abandoned by their leaders and had their military careers and lives ruined for this! Care about the Muslims who were trying to support us and our cause, but then had to explain how the "liberators" could do such things to people who hadn't even been brought to trial, and in the very same prison infamous for Saddam Hussein's evil deeds of like nature! Wake up and care about the world beyond your nose!

When I see a wounded terrorist get shot in the head when he is told not to move because he might be booby-trapped, you can take it to the bank:I don't care. Care about the soldier forced to make such a terrible decision in the heat of battle. I have a nephew who went to this war an upstanding, upbeat young man, and who came back from this war scarred and troubled. You should care about what our boys and girls have to do over there to survive. We knew this was going to be a chaotic bloodbath before we went in:
"I would guess if we had gone in there, I would still have forces in Baghdad today. We'd be running the country. We would not have been able to get everybody out and bring everybody home.
"And the final point that I think needs to be made is this question of casualties. I don't think you could have done all of that without significant additional U.S. casualties. And while everybody was tremendously impressed with the low cost of the conflict, for the 146 Americans who were killed in action and for their families, it wasn't a cheap war.
"And the question in my mind is how many additional American casualties is Saddam (Hussein) worth? And the answer is not that damned many. So, I think we got it right, both when we decided to expel him from Kuwait, but also when the president made the decision that we'd achieved our objectives and we were not going to go get bogged down in the problems of trying to take over and govern Iraq..."
-- Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney, August, 1992, when asked why President George H. W. Bush didn't march on to Baghdad.

When I hear that a prisoner, who was issued a Koran and a prayer mat, and fed 'special' food that is paid for by my tax dollars, is complaining that his holy book is being 'mishandled,' you can absolutely believe in your heart of hearts: I don't care. Care and be proud that that prisoner knew enough about our nation to expect better from Americans. I do, too.

And oh, by the way, I've noticed that sometimes it's spelled 'Koran' and other times 'Quran.' Well, Jimmy Crack Corn and-you guessed it-I don'tcare!! In all your anger, you don't care about much, do you? People are different. Places are different. You can't "bring freedom to the world" without recognizing and respecting these differences. Don't make the mistake of considering willful ignorance a sign of strength and patriotism. That's the flaw of the extremist.

If you agree with this viewpoint, pass this on to all your E-mail friends. Sooner or later, it'll get to the people responsible for this ridiculous behavior! If you don't agree, then by all means hit the delete button. Should you choose the latter, then please don't complain when more atrocities committed by radical Muslims happen here in our great Country! Your methods give them new excuses and recruitment videos. You want to create new terrorists? Tell the world you don't care about the Muslim faith, imprisonment without trial, torture and the death of tens of thousands of innocent civilians who were never in any way connected to 9-11. Good God, wise up, Angry Woman!

And may I add: 'Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem' -- Ronald Reagan

I have another quote that I would like to add AND.......I hope you forward all this.

'If we ever forget that we're One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under' Also by.. Ronald Reagan

Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.

Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.

The ultimate determinant in the struggle now going on for the world will not be bombs and rockets, but a test of wills and ideas -- a trial of spiritual resolve: the values we hold, the beliefs we cherish and the ideals to which we are dedicated.
-- You guessed it, all quotes from President Reagan!

One last thought for the day: In case we find ourselves starting to believe all the Anti-American sentiment and negativity, we should remember England 's Prime Minister Tony Blair's words during a recent interview. When asked by one of his Parliament members why he believes so much in America , he said: 'A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at how many want in...And how many want out.'
Those who insist on holding America and Americans to the very highest standards are the true patriots. As Americans, we are born not simply privileged. We are born RESPONSIBLE. Care for the world and its people is the first, best test to determine a true American... and a true follower of Christ, for that matter!

Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you:
1. Jesus Christ He did not die for our anger and ignorance. He died FROM our anger and ignorance.
2. The American G. I. The least we could do is uphold the high ideals they died for!

One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.

I would add a third: the American Activist, who died for our freedom and our weakest members (who the Apostle Paul instructed us to honor the most). It is the activist who keeps our government honest, our citizens aware and inspired, and our outcasts welcomed into American society with all its freedoms and responsibilities. It is the American Activist who won Angry Woman her right to vote. It is the American Activist who insisted on freedom and a voice for all citizens. It is the American Activist who integrated our military. It is the American Activist who demanded body armor and armored vehicles for our soldiers. It is the American Activist who is demanding better care for our wounded veterans and A NEW G.I. BILL. We have already seen what happens if we blindly entrust the care of our veterans, National Guard and enlisted soldiers to our government: budget cuts, under-equipping and unnecessary death and injury. Thank you, American Activist, for truly supporting our truths (and troops), not just slapping a ribbon on your car and pretending you've done something to help!

YOU MIGHT WANT TO PASS THIS ON,

AS MANY SEEM TO FORGET BOTH OF THEM.

AMEN!

I wish you all peace as only God can give. Pray for our world. Work for its well-being.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed through the renewing of your mind in Christ Jesus. -- Romans 12:2

Rev. Corey Keyes

"Do you believe in miracles?"

...asked the kerjillion-celled, carbon-based life form as he and several billion companions clung to their little spinning rock, only the barest wisp of vapor protecting them from the infinite dead, cold vacuum of space.

We are incredibly improbable miracles. Our impossibilities are endless. When we speak of miracles, we tend to think of occurrences seemingly outside the realm of natural occurrence. But in truth, natural occurrence is, itself, miraculous.

So I don't believe God caused the sun to literally stand still in the sky for a day (those Hebrew writers were wonderfully poetic and figurative in their writings). I still believe in miracles, and even agree there may be the occasional miraculous intervention of an attentive God. I don't need to swallow it all at face value to believe it all, do I?

Do you?

Let's discuss!

For Hard Economic Times

Let's start this blog entry off with one quick, simple assertion: compared to wealth and want as known in Christ's time, we are, all of us in America, filthy, stinking rich. I don't care how badly you have it here, if you are reading this, you would be considered wealthy by first-century standards. So, throughout this post, you should read "rich" as "me." Capice?

Hard economic times are here. I know so many people who are on the verge of losing hearth, home and health. Fuel and food costs are through the roof and moving higher. Jobs have wandered off to places around the globe that pay slave wages and dump waste at will. Tough times, right? Right.

Now I can't help thinking of the whole idea of trickle down economics: the idea that you give the richest folks breaks and the benefit trickles down to the poorest through investments, job creation, service industries, etc. It's crazy, but it just might work. Trickle down theory hinges on one principle: GENEROSITY. The rich get richer and they spread it around to the rest.

But there is an equal and opposite theory which states: put more money into the hands of the middle and lower classes and they -- the major consumers -- will spur the economy. If tax breaks to the wealthy are trickle down strategies, then breaks to the not-so-rich might be seen as capillary action strategies. Whatever. The central point is this: like theory one, this second theory also hinges on GENEROSITY.

So the deal is all our best economists on the left and right are suggesting the same thing: The only way to recover from communal and personal want and hardship is to give away what you have...share it with the rest of the community. Sounds like Christ to me.

St. Basil, the 4th century Bishop of Caesarea, was recently quoted extensively in Sojourners magazine. Interested in the economic recovery? Check this out:

"Isn't it true that you fell off the womb naked? Isn't it true that naked you shall return to the earth? Where is your present property from? If you think that it came to you by itself, you don't believe in God; you don't acknowledge the creator and you are not thankful to him who gave it to you. But if you agree and confess that you have it from God, tell us the reason why he gave it to you...

"He who strips the clothed is to be called a thief. How should we name him who is able to dress the naked and doesn't do it? Does he deserve some other name? The bread that you possess belongs to the hungry. The clothes that you store in boxes belong to the naked. The shoes rotting by you belong to the bare-foot. The money that you hide belongs to anyone in need. You wrong as many people as you were able to help [but didn't]."

Now is the time to share what you have with those less fortunate than yourself. Not only is this, your Christian duty, good for the soul...turns out it's good for the economy, too!

Obama Elitist: Refuses Use of Thesaurus

The controversy continues to threaten to boil over in Pennsylvania in response to Sen. Barack Obama's description of small town residents here as “bitter,” an atrocious political gaffe that jeopardizes his very candidacy.

“It's outrageous,” said Joe Mocalotz of Pottsville, who was laid off when a local textile mill moved operations to China. “Sure, I had my home foreclosed, lost my health insurance and can't feed my hungry children. I'm angry...even disillusioned. But bitter? Obama is out of touch with small town America.”

Leanne Johnston of East Brady agrees.

“My husband lost both legs on his third tour of duty in a war we shouldn't be fighting.” Johnston offers. “It took us forever to get any benefits. We had to move in with my mother, and I can't find anything that pays above minimum wage. We can't afford to heat the house and have gone through all our savings. We feel betrayed, forgotten, frustrated... not bitter! He should know better. oh, what an ugly word!”

It's a sentiment that is echoed throughout this depressed, rust-belt state. As more and more factories and small businesses fold under the pressure of spiralling fuel costs and unfair trade and labor practices, leaving families clinging desperately to whatever slim reason for hope they can find, how one parses one's speech has become understandably crucial. The groundswell of disenchantment with Obama has eclipsed once-critical issues like Senator Clinton's use of a yellow pantsuit and Senator McCain's infamous “I like to barbeque” remark.

“Bitter?” asked bankrupt businessman Tom Cosack of Allentown, with barely contained contempt. “Not me. I'm disenchanted, disenfranchised, dispeptic and distraught. Honestly, if Senator Obama thinks he's too good for a simple thesaurus, how can he possibly have any idea what I'm going through?”

Beijing, Berlin and the Olympic Torch

I saw this morning that they are considering eliminating the rest of the run of the Olympic torch because of the disruptions and safety concerns brought about by protesters along the way.

I'm a sports fan and an avid follower of the Olympic Games, and all I have to say is:

GOOD.

As to those who say "don't politicize the Olympic Games," which are about the spirit of human achievement and fair play, I was among you, but I've had a serious change of heart.

I still believe the Olympics should go on, but with the international community using the games to take every opportunity to crack the isolationism, piracy and brutality of China's ruling Communist Party. I say boycott the opening ceremony, too. Insult our Chinese hosts. Then step in and participate in the games, exposing the Chinese people to international ideas, and the international community to China's human rights, commerce and ecological crimes. Why? Ironically, because we can't allow the Olympics to be used as a political pawn.

China is attempting to leverage the Olympic Games to raise their strategic profile and image in the world. They want to hide the shame of their legacy of bureaucratic corruption, murder and repression behind the Olympic flag. Why else would they spend billions on this international competition?

But the torch, Corey. The torch! Why mess with that beautiful, hopeful symbol of all to which humanity might aspire?

Read this from the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7330949.stm

The modern running of the Olympic torch was developed by the Nazis in 1936 as political theatre at its most cynical and darkly macabre. Kinda freaky, isn't it? I had no clue. I'm not big on the whole pure Aryan race thing, are you? Thank God at least Jesse Owens went to Berlin to repeatedly stick a finger in der fuhrer's eye throughout the games.

We can do the same in China through how our teams carry themselves, tourist interaction with the few regular folks allowed within fifty miles of the Olympic venues, and pressure from our own political leaders. After all, isn't that the main reason the International Olympic Committee infers to justify bringing the Games to China?

Leave politics out of the Olympics?!? As if that's ever been done!! Go ahead and play the games, but recognize whose games you are playing.

Four Steps with Dr. King

I've been thinking about Dr. King a lot lately; especially with last Friday's 40th anniversary of his cowardly, evil murder.

It seems to me a great deal can be gleaned regarding our progress as a nation by looking at the silly reaction to Rev. Jeremiah Wright's preaching. If you have never had the privilege of sitting (and jumping up to sing your lungs out and/or shout) at a church steeped in the Black Church tradition, you might be shocked by the 10-second video bits shown by Fox News and others.

I am a proud graduate of Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, whose Black Church studies program is the oldest in the nation; the origins of which go back to April 5, 1968. At CRCDS, when I attended in the early- to mid-90s, we had chapel every day, with the different faith traditions rotating leadership. By far my favorite services were those led in the Black Church tradition. They tore you down and built you back up stronger, cleaner. They welcomed in everybody, even this dorky little white boy. The singing, the Spirit, the prophetic Word launched from the pulpit were stunning, inspiring. We'd leave the chapel ten feet off the ground and ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead.

Much of what I heard rocked me to my core. I wasn't used to such strong talk coming from the pulpit. Of course I wasn't in total agreement with every single thing said (and if you are in your church, you'd best ask yourself if you are really hearing the Word of God), but, man, was it prophetic.

My point is, you've got to hear a sermon in any tradition in its entirety. I often make statements in my sermons that, taken out of the greater context, would be easily misunderstood. But, in my experience, this is somehow even more true in the Black Church tradition.

Rev. Wright is a brilliant preacher who has brought thousands to Christ. He speaks cold, hard reality to all who will listen. But you need to hear his sermons in their entirety to appreciate the scope of repentance and positive change he calls for in the listener's heart, the neighborhood, the nation and the world. The post-9-11 "America's chickens are coming home to roost" comment, for example, is part of a longer sermon available on YouTube in which he speaks prophetically of some Americans' tendency to want to lash out at anybody for revenge, regardless of how many innocents are crushed in the process. This was preached in 2001, well before the Iraq invasion.

But Rev. Wright preaches on, relating that when he asked God how to respond to the evil horror of the 9-11 attacks, God told him to first purify himself. If we respond to evil with evil in our own hearts, we risk slipping quickly out of the will and protection of God.

This point reminded me of Dr. King's words in one of the greatest documents ever produced in our nation, his Letter from Birmingham Jail: "In any non-violent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts..., negotiation, self-purification, and direct action." Rev. Wright echoed these principles, suggesting we must first get our facts right, speak with our allies and opposition, and check our own motivation before we lash out or invade anybody. I believe we'd be in better shape today if Rev. Wright had had the ear of the American people, Congress and the White House when he preached that sermon six and a half years ago.

Many of my colleagues in the UCC felt the need to come to the public defense of our fellow UCC pastor. One of them wrote an excellent piece published in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. When published, it was noted that 11 other area UCC clergy supported the letter. Well, some enterprising reader saw this, did some sort of search to find e-mail addresses for local UCC clergy, and sent me the following:



From: olbuddy
To: revkeyes
Sent: Thursday, April 03, 2008 11:05 AM
Subject: Rev. Jeremiah Wright aka (Hate monger)

You should be ashamed of your self for supporting the Rev.Wright what is wrong with you. If the Rev. Wright or any other Rev from the GVA ASSOC. want's to GOD DAM AMERICA maby you should get the next plane out of the US OF KKKA.
L** G*** H****n NY USA

And here was my response, written after a great deal of time spent in Dr. King's and Rev. Wright's self-purification mode:

Well, that's an interesting way to start a dialogue, olbuddy.

Why are you so angry? What's got you so scared? Seriously, Mr. G***, the land of the free and the home of the brave means exactly that: free enough to speak out, brave enough to listen to what others have to say. In that spirit, I'd like to hear what you have to say. I can deal with the anger, but please refrain from profanity and racial slurs, if you don't mind. I'll afford you the respect you deserve. Just return the favor and respect me as well. That would be the American way.

And there is no way I'm leaving my country. I love it enough to want only the best for it. Just as I love my children enough to have very high expectations for their behaviors and actions, I love America enough to criticize, question and suggest corrections to make it the best it can be. I believe that makes me a patriot.

I wish you peace and the blessings of Christ,

Rev. Corey Keyes, West Bloomfield, NY

Thus far I have received no response from "olbuddy." It would suggest he was interested only in diatribe, not dialogue. I find that is often the case with Americans dwelling at either political extreme. We become so addicted to the power of arrogance. We relish being contradicted; even go searching for it. But then we don't listen to what our opposition is saying. We simply scream our slogans, slap on a new bumper sticker and march down the road to ruin of our choosing, marvelously self-affirmed in our obstinacy.

It seems to me America is again waking up, hungover, from this very human tendency toward radical ignorance. We are finally collecting facts. I pray we follow Dr. King's steps from here: moving methodically, faithfully through negotiation and self-purification, so our next direct action might be constructive.

And Olbuddy, if you're still out there, I anxiously await the chance to start this process with you, brother.