The Burning Bush

Can I be "proud to be an American" in church?

2005-06-29T14:25:00.000-05:00

This week my congregation sang, again, "God Bless the USA", that timeless hymn by Lee Greenwood. If you are unfamiliar with it, the main line and most problematic for a worship service is the line "I'm proud to be an American".

First to the problematic line. To borrow from Ben (see link at top because I am not smart enough to figure out how to link correctly), we shouldn't really be proud of anything in church. Humility is a virtue. Therefore, pride is not.

Second, being proud to be American can seem to mean we value that identity over our other commitments or over other nationalities. It doesn't necessarily have to mean that, but it certainly can, and I think that's what it conjures up in most people.

On to the song's theme. There seems to be an enormous problem with asking God to Bless the USA. After all, when God was creating the world (however you think that happened), God probably was not thinking, "millions of years from now I need to bless that America country". We should probably spend more time asking God to have mercy upon us. If we believe our fate is tied to our neighbors' (one of those Christian ideas), then we should not be separating out America from the rest of the world.

I also think there is a disconnect between singing songs that have anything to do with a specific country in church. Our focus in church should be on God, not ourselves. When we focus on America, then we are focusing on ourselves. I believe we should shed our national identity within the walls of the church and become simply Christians.

"God Bless the USA" is a fine song for baseball games and Fourth of July parades, but I think that it should not be part of our worship life.

And another example of religious patriotism run amok:
This week one of the seniors in our church seniors group finished up the Pledge of Allegiance with the word "Amen." Several people chuckled in a friendly manner, and the leader of the group said "I know I always want to finish it up with 'Amen'." Now, the kindly interpretation would be that it has the formula of a prayer and is familiar in the way of the Lord's Prayer. Uncharitably it could seem that the stupid flag is as important as the cross or other symbols of our Christian faith.

Thoughtful people should continue to think about this issue and extricate patriotism- a noble sentiment- from religious devotion.

Church newsletter article June 05

2005-06-02T09:54:00.000-05:00

I was recently flying back from Kansas City, where I had been attending my brother’s college graduation. In the casual way of frequent travelers, the man behind me in line and I began to talk. We were exchanging general information, but then he asked me why I was in Chicago. After I told him I was a pastor, he responded in what has become a familiar way. “Oh, really. Huh.” But then he continued “I think that being a good person and following what God says is what is most important. You don’t have to go to church to be good.” I agreed with him, to a point.

There is something very important about going to church. It is something you can’t get on your own, regardless of how closely you follow God’s word. That thing is community. The church community can be incredibly powerful or destructive. When the church community is one that upholds people who are sick or broken or doubting without judgment, it is doing its work. When the church community is one that raises children to believe in big ideas and a big God that can sustain them through their entire life, it is doing its work. When the church community is one that challenges the good Christians to be even better, and to walk closer with God and God’s people, it is doing its work. When the church community is one that has diversity of beliefs and allows people to disagree in a kind and supportive way, it is doing its work. When the church community is one that includes everyone, to whatever level their abilities permit, in the mission of the church, it is doing its work.

There are many destructive things that church communities can do, but only if the people within them chose that way of being a community. God chooses life and hope. Our communities should do likewise, by how we treat each other both in the church walls and outside of them.
I hope that this kind traveler will one day find the value of a church community, not because someone encouraged him with their words to do so, but because they showed him with their actions how powerful they can be.

A prayer:
Gracious God, you come to us in the strangest places and remind us of the task of discipleship. Help us to be beacons of your light in the world, encouraging people to seek you. We pray in the name of your son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

We don't need no stinking policy

2005-05-04T12:56:00.000-05:00

Over the Advent season ABC continued its policy of not showing religious ads on its main station, although ABC Family and other subsidiaries do show religious ads. This prohibited the United Church of Christ from running its commercials.

They have since changed their position, and will air two commercials from Focus on the Family during the season finale of Supernanny.

Sounds like a firm policy, doesn't it?

Revelations on Revelations

2005-05-03T15:45:00.000-05:00

NBC will air the fourth installment of six of its miniseries Revelations this week. As a pastor, I consider one of my responsibilities to watch this stuff in case one of my parishioners wants to talk about it, so several weeks ago I sat down to watch the first episode.

I was surprised. It is very flashy, with several young, photogenic actors. While the science v. religion dichotomy begins subtlely, it is in full tilt by the end of the episode and, from what I can tell from previews, for the following shows.

Without spending more time in annoying analysis of what is only a tv show, I would like consider the effect of shows like these. It seems their intention is to convert people. What they would convert people to, if they followed the Revelations show, is a religion where God punishes disobedient children by zapping them with lightning so that they can therefore become a conduit from God of information for crazy nuns. It is a religion where Satan is embodied in a human man, and scientists are idiots who are doing evil things like donating the organs of a brain-dead child to other terminal children. Terrible people, those scientists.

I wonder if these stories hurt or help the faith. If this were my only contact with religion, I would not be convinced that it was something worth considering. I would not consider God a benevolent being who had expectations of people. God would be a judge who manipulated events for the chosen people.

My brother emailed me after he had seen a few seconds of the show to ask about one of the Biblical references. It came from Maccabees, a book that only appears in the Apocrypha, a section of the Bible for Catholics and scholars. I think it is telling that the show uses mainly (again, judging from one episode) sources that are obscure and out of context.

But of all of this, the most disturbing part happened last week, when the previous hour of tv held a special on the devil with a "real" exorcism. They have therefore tried to link their fictional account based on verses in the Bible with what they're billing as a real exorcism. This week's show is preceeded by another bible-ish "news" story.

I do not have a problem with most fiction about the Bible. I figure that whatever gets people to read the Bible is a good thing. I have an problem with stories like Revelations and the Passion of the Christ (which I also saw out of pastoral guilt, not because I thought it had merit) that reduce the stories of faith to judgement and pain. I would not worship a God who was only judgment and pain.

The disciples and Jesus do not live the rest of their lives with the hate and despair of Good Friday, but move forward to Easter. We should be respectful of the sacrifice of the life of Christ, but realize that without the LIFE of Christ, the sacrifice would be meaningless.

Shame on these shows that try to reduce God to a merciless, judgmental bully. Christians, atheists, and most of all Christ deserve better.

Transparent or Hidden

2005-04-14T13:43:00.000-05:00

The last few weeks have illustrated some of the differences between Catholics and Protestants. The way we choose leaders is an obvious way.

I read two articles today. One was for my denomination, the United Church of Christ, which has chosen a candidate for an executive minister position. The other was for the conclave, who will soon begin choosing a pope.The UCC candidate was announced 4 months before our next denominational meeting. She will be available for questions before she is voted on at the large meeting by all delegates. Everything is open for inspection and question. The Catholics were featured in another article about the great lengths they go to in order to preserve confidentiality.

While we both assert the Holy Spirit working in the process, we have dramatically different understandings of the process. I do not have a claim which is better.But I do wonder if along the way something important has been lost.

In our desire for rules and regulations are we stifling the Spirit? I don't pretend to know, or to speak for the Holy Spirit. But I wonder about what Jesus thinks of us all, as we have secret conclaves or open elections. Are we truly doing the work of the Lord, or just getting in the way?

Praying to the Pope

2005-04-11T11:19:00.000-05:00

Last weekend the funeral mass for the Pope was held. It was broadcast in the middle of the night here in Chicago, so I did not see it. However, the many images that were shown after of the procession, and of the people who had thronged to see the Pope laid in state were quite impressive.

In the last few weeks I have found a sort of affection for the Pope growing within me, replacing my old reaction of ignoring him. As a Protestant, the worship of the Pope seems completely foreign to me, and also not a little heretical. I know, I know, Catholics don't worship the Pope. Or at least that's what they say.

Last week a young and photogenic priest from the Chicago area was featured on the news saying he was praying to the Pope to guide them through the process the cardinals use to pick the successor to the Pope.

Praying to the Pope? TO THE POPE?

It's not fair to soundbite someone, and not let them speak their mind in context. But this seemed to be his point. It concerns me that leaders in the church are encouraging parishioners to pray to people, instead of to the Lord.

What would Martin Luther say?

I'm not even a country

2005-03-23T14:57:00.000-06:00

Thanks to John for the "What Country are you?"quiz. My results (minus the flag I can't seem to cut and paste to the blog):

You're the United Nations!Most people think you're ineffective, but you are trying to completely save the world from itself, so there's always going to be a long way to go. You're always the one trying to get friends to talk to each other, enemies to talk to each other, anyone who can to just talk instead of beating each other about the head and torso. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, and you get very schizophrenic as a result. But your heart is in the right place, and sometimes also in New York.

The Country I Am

2005-03-04T15:35:00.000-06:00

You're Canada!

People make fun of you a lot, but they're stupid because you've
got a much better life than they do. In fact, they're probably just jealous.
You believe in crazy things like human rights and health care and not
dying in the streets, and you end up securing these rights for yourself and
others. If it weren't for your weird affection for ice hockey, you'd be
the perfect person.
Take
the Country Quiz at the href="http://bluepyramid.org">Blue Pyramid

Homily 2.10.05

2005-02-10T18:15:00.000-06:00

Text: Gen. 2:15-17, 3:1-7; Matt. 4:1-11

Tonight we hear the stories of two temptations, the temptation of Eve which leads to the fall of humanity, and the temptation of Jesus which leads to humanity’s redemption. These stories are helpful to us in this time of our own simulated sojourn in the wilderness, where we fast, deliberately inviting temptation into our lives, so that we might grow closer to God.

Now isn’t this a predicament? By denying ourselves, we invite temptation, we give it more power. By denying ourselves, we become much more aware of what we deny. If it is chocolate, the check-out aisles tempt us much more than they did two days ago: if it is to give more money to charity, our money seems much more precious than it did last week. Our concern for that which we have denied ourselves grows so much more—yet we do this to grow closer to God.

How can this work? It works because if we deny ourselves of something, if we fast, then we that we are also deny ourselves, our own desires. But when we deny ourselves, what is left? Only God and the world around us. When we deny ourselves, we must turn outward from ourselves and accept the presence of God and our neighbor. We must accept those things, embrace those things, or we must face our temptations with only our will, with no reason not to give in.

By denying ourselves we must accept God and our neighbor. This idea lies at the heart of Christian ethics. We must deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus. The tempter manages to trick Eve into eating of the tree because she shifts her focus from the word of God to her own desire. But the devil cannot trick Jesus, because Jesus has denied even his nature as God’s only begotten son and has placed himself solely in obedience to God. It is this discipline we pray for and aspire to achieve not just in Lent, but throughout our Christian lives.

Relevancy

2005-02-05T18:02:00.000-06:00

The February 7th edition of Time features the article "The 25 Most Influential Evangelists in America". It has most of the usual culprits, and a few new ones. It also asks the important question of what Bush owes the Evangelicals, since it has been widely reported that he owes them his win in the most recent election.

After reading the article, I began to wonder who would make the list of the 25 most influential non-evangelical Christians? When I said that I thought Time should run a story about this other group, my liberal minister-to-be boyfriend said they wouldn't run a story like that because "they don't matter". He was being mostly sarcastic, but I think the topic begs the questions:

Who would you include in the list of the Top 25 most influential non-evangelical Christians? And, what do we need to do to be relevant in the political sphere and society?

A parishioner at my church responded to a youth who asked if the topic for youth sunday could be "Church and Law" that we couldn't raise the topic because we had to separate church and state. I don't think that's true. But how do we do it in a way that supports Jesus' vision of caring for the poor and needy without turning Christianity into a social ethics group or turning our churches into bully pulpits?

*Also check out Atrios on his post about people's views on catastrophe. atrios.blogspot.com

Homily 2.03.05

2005-02-03T18:02:00.000-06:00

Text: Matthew 17:1-8

According to the writer of Matthew, six days after Jesus says, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me,” we come to the Transfiguration scene. The first episode after the call to discipleship, the Transfiguration is not out of place, though it may seem so at first. In the call to discipleship, Jesus promises the disciples that they must lose their lives in order to gain them again—it is a promise of hardship and the necessity of radical choice to leave behind all that is familiar, all that is comforting, to make a leap into place where all is unknown except for Jesus.

The Transfiguration enriches our understanding of the call in at least two ways. First, it tempts us with what the call is not. Jesus, transfigured into a heavenly being, whose face shines like the sun, and whose clothes change from dirty homespun to dazzlingly white, speaks face to face with the greatest prophets of old: Elijah and Moses. This is what the disciples were waiting for! Certainly they spoke of plans for legions of angels to come down and sweep the Romans out of Israel, to establish God’s rule forever in the promised land. Perhaps that is why Peter calls Jesus “Lord” and offers to make dwellings for them. It is a temptation familiar to all of us, the temptation to believe that God’s way is a glorious way, a lordly way, the way of the powerful.

But God does not lead us that way—God leads us to Christ. “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” says the voice of God from on high. And what does Jesus say to the disciples, who fall prostrate at the voice of God? “Get up and do not be afraid”.

Along with these words comes a touch. Though Jesus confronts his followers with the radical call of discipleship, he reassures his followers with the touch and the words of a true companion. He calls to our work despite our terror of the holiness of God and the choices that confront us. He does not promise freedom from hardship, from want, from confusion. But he does promise us freedom from fear and freedom to stand with him, the freedom that comes from doing the will of God.

The Transfiguration reveals to us Christ’s glory that he could have chosen—the heavenly crown that he gave up for us. It also reveals to us the true nature of Christian discipleship—a comforting touch, an encouraging word, companionship in doing the will of God.

Reimaging the Problem

2005-02-01T13:19:00.000-06:00

Reuters reported today that the Pope has called for new vetting procedures for priests. Here is a part of the article:

In a letter to the cardinal in charge of priestly education, the pope said specialists might have to be called into to help teach young candidates about the reality of celibate chastity.
"Right from the moment the young men enter a Seminary their ability to live a life of celibacy should be monitored so that before their ordination one should be morally certain of their sexual and emotional maturity," the pope wrote.
"Given on-going social and cultural changes, teachers might find it useful to turn to the work of competent specialists to help the seminarians fully understand the demands of the priesthood," he added.

I fully commend the Pope for recognizing the reality that people will probably not be celibate for their entire life naturally, and that they need to fully understand the demands of a celibate lifestyle before pledging God to undertake it.

But I think a more important part of what the Pope asked for was buried in the story. "One should be morally certain of their... emotional maturity". While the sex crimes perpetrated by these people were about sex, they were also about power. And a priest is a powerful figure. There is a reason it took people so long to come forward. If priests and pastors in the Protestant churches were better screened and monitored to make sure they were able to cope with the challenges of the priesthood- and I mean more than the lifestyle- I believe some of it could be avoided.

It can be a hard transition from seminarian to leader of a flock, with all the attendant responsibilities and trust from parishioners. I think churches would be using their time better to talk with priests and pastors in Protestant churches about how to negotiate the tricky land of boundaries and friendships with parishioners.

I cannot speak for all churches, but in mine pastors are implicitly discouraged from having friends in the congregation because of the power difference. And we are explicitly discouraged from dating in our congregation because of the power difference. Power can be used for good, or for bad. I would bet that helping the seminarians before their ordination understand that would go a long way to setting up healthier churches and healthier church leaders.

We cannot allow people to graduate from seminaries and assume they are doing well in their ministry without continued guidance. Better preparation will go a long way, but continued networks of support and monitoring will also be critical in keeping kids safe. We need to be smarter about all the stages of ministry for everyone's sake.

Homily 1.27.05

2005-01-27T18:09:00.000-06:00

Homily 1.27.04
Texts: Micah 6:1-8, 1 Cor. 1:18-31, Matt. 5:1-12

"Where is the one who is wise?...Where is the debater of this age?" asks Paul. If he looked around he would see plenty of us. We debate with people in class, in the lounge, in our living rooms. We debate the images we see on the T.V. screen, the ideas we read in our books, the very words that come out of our mouths--we debate what we have done and what we will do. Moreover, we have come to this university to become better at debating. We come to learn how to be the one who is wise. Yet, Paul tells us, our knowledge is nothing.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit...Blessed are those who mourn...Blessed are you when they persecute you..." Jesus says in Matthew. Is this not the foolishness of God? People say that the poor are blessed because they must be closer to God, and closer to each other. The material has not come between them. But we don't believe this, because we don't live in voluntary poverty. Or if we did believe they were blessed, perhaps we would believe it because we think that God will raise them up and give them justice, happiness--in short those things which we have ourselves already.

"Where is the debater of this age?" You'll him there, trying to pull up the poor, castigating another method. You'll find her scornful, despising the less fortunate, loving her wealth. The wise will talk and strive for and against justice. The poor will rise up and fall down, the middle class will shrink and expand. Some poets will tell their stories truthfully, some falsely. But all will fall, Paul says, at the foot of the cross.

We are used to hearing about the redemptive promise of the beatitudes, how God will sate the suffering. But what if you are pure in heart, but neither mourning nor poor? Or persecuted, but not meek? What about those who hunger for righteousness, but make no peace? All of us are some of these, none of us are all of them. Paul says, "God chose what is low and despised in this world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing the things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, in order that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.'"

Now we see a darker picture of the beatitudes. If we were poor in spirit, mourning, meek yet thirsting for righteousness, pure in heart and a peacemaker, persecuted and defamed, then we would be Jesus, and we could await, even expect glory. But only one could be raised on the cross. No, the Beatitudes show us that when mourn, and we thirst for vengeance; when we make peace, we lack mercy; that we persecute those who persecute us; that we hunger for our own righteousness. They teach us, that in our pride, in our wisdom, in our assurance, we will be brought low before God, only to see those whom we despise lifted up. And this happens so that we know that it is not we who have invented righteousness, or justice, or peace, but God-- "I am the LORD; I act with steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the LORD." Indeed we are called to follow this God--but in following, we must fall into His hands.

The Devil in Blue Jeans

2005-01-24T13:47:00.000-06:00

Here's a funny story from the AP:

BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP, 1/22/05) - When scuffling sisters brought their family squabble into the Assemblies of Jesus Church, the preacher says the devil came, too.
The Rev. Clarence June Love was just about to begin his Sunday service to a congregation of less than a dozen on Jan. 9, when sisters Reba Storey, 46, and Mary Steele, 64, entered the hall to talk to their 88-year-old mother, Maude Yates.
The sisters claim they wanted to tell their mother that Storey was going to have surgery. They say they came to church because another sister, 69-year-old Rosa Harrison, who is also the preacher's girlfriend, won't let them see Yates, who lives in a nursing home. But what caught Love's eye when the sisters entered his church were their blue jeans - forbidden for women in some Pentecostal churches. The 83-year-old preacher came down from his pulpit.
``You're not wearing pants in my church, you demon,'' Storey claimed the preacher said. ``I said, 'I'm glad I serve a God who can work through my pants.''' That's when, according to Storey, Love allegedly grabbed her and hustled her to the door.
``He said, 'I got all the demons out of my church, and I want you out,''' she said. ``I said, 'I don't believe you've got all the demons out yet.''' Love called the police. Storey and Steele turned themselves in, then filed charges against Harrison and Love. Now all of them face assault charges. General Sessions Judge Bill Watson said he hoped to deal with the case Friday after spending all his time Wednesday just finding lawyers for everyone.

Jesus or Billy Graham

2005-01-17T13:26:00.000-06:00

Last fall I was teaching a Bible study at a local nursing home on the passage from Luke that includes the verse: "If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, "Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.” (Luke 17:6). I had been teaching for about an hour, and could tell that one of the seniors in the class was getting agitated.

He was apparently pushed too far by the verse from Luke. He began his critique thusly: “Irene (his wife) and I are friends of Billy Graham, and he would never say this.” His statement did not make sense to me. I responded “Well, Jesus said this”, assuming that would clear up the issue. He looked at me like I was stupid, and returned to his corner, muttering to himself “Billy Graham wouldn’t say that, Billy Graham wouldn’t say that”.

I do not spend much time contemplating whether what I would say is what Billy Graham would say. But obviously, that was how this man determined whether what was said had merit. It can be tempting to let other people, especially respected religious leaders, tell you what to believe. And to some extent that can be valid because respected religious leaders are respected for a reason. But whenever I get to the edge of abdicating my responsibility for determining my own faith beliefs, I recognize the danger of letting others tell me what to think.

Those of us who grew up in the church were told what to think as children. That makes sense from a developmental standpoint. But when you get to be an adult, you should not continue to believe what you believed because someone told it to you.

Challenging the basics of faith can be painful. It can feel like the foundations of your life are shifting under you. But if you allow yourself to be bound to following the faith of Billy Graham or anyone else, life will be much less interesting, and your faith will be much weaker. I encourage you to listen to the faith of your respected religious leaders, and then ask the questions: how does this help me develop in my faith? Do I agree with how this portrays God?

There are many stages of growing up. For Christians, one of those stages is growing out of our Sunday School faith of our childhood and into our adult faith. Life will be better for it, and more importantly our faith will be better for it. Let me know if you have any luck with those mulberry trees.

Kierkegaard and Conscience

2004-12-16T22:40:00.000-06:00

Over break, I have been reading, among other things, Kierkegaard's "Attack on Chrisitianity". It is a wakeup call to all of us who wish to become pastors. He notes, as many of us have, the indolent establishment, and its preference for the cheap grace of swelled rolls and black budgets. This is not the Christianity, he says.

Of course he speaks to the Danish church, whose pastors and bishops were appointed by a king. Thus, he wisecracks about the State's lordship over the church--surely this accords with the New Testament!

In our own day, we see our churches arguing about "inclusivity" and "mutuality" and all these things. But the locus of our faith, the person of Jesus Christ, seems strangely absent. Ideology has the day. Christianity, fundamentally, is a about a God-person, with whom we have a relationship, and who we are called to imitate. Therefore, what we need are theologies and churches whose goal is not to be "more inclusive" or "more Biblical" or "more socially aware", but more faithful to Jesus and his example. I think if we start there, we might actually get somewhere.

Consider, for instance, the debates over sexuality. Most have concentrated on the relevant passages from the Bible, which are of course important. But we need Jesus, and and Jesus's theology. Not so much a WWJD, but who is Jesus and what is our relationship with him and each other? This kind of theology is a lot tougher than the moral theology of both sides, but ultimately more fruitful and enlightening.

Both these last couple of posts have been sub-par. Hopefully, more good stuff will come soon.

I-44

2004-12-14T18:23:00.000-06:00

Missourah. I drove right across the southern half on my way from Chicago to Tulsa. It's a red state, with moral values, and lots and lots of strip clubs. In fact the ratio to billboards for Jesus and billboards for strippers is equal. The ratio of strip clubs and "Adult video stores" to churches decidedly favors the dens of vice.

My personal favorite local is Big Louie's , which lies right about in the middle of Missourah. I've never stopped, but I've seen it perched on the top of a hill by the highway. It's like a farm for everything you can do badly to your body. The building begins with a video/book store, then it goes to a cigarette shop, then a tattoo parlor, then the strip club itself. It's looks more like a barn than anything else, right down to the gravel parking lot. Big Louie's is quite the name. But there's plenty of anonymous stores along the highway, interspersed by a few anonymous churces and some Wal-Marts.

In one spot, vice beat Jesus. There used to be a sign that read, "Adult video store, exit now!" and right beside it, a bright pink sign that read, "Porn destroys life". Now the Jesus sign is gone--perhaps because pink is for homos. Who knows.

Pretty interesting for a red state. Illinois, which lies very much in the blue, has very few signs for sex dens--except when you get to the Chicago suburbs.

Really, this means that the Christian church needs a new theology of sexuality. "Porn destroys life" might be true, but it will always lose to the video store.

A Little Bit of Judgment goes a long way

2004-12-07T11:34:00.000-06:00

First, thanks to John for extending me an invitation to blog on his site. I appreciate it.

I recently began teaching Bible Study at a local nursing home. It has been quite entertaining, and I have learned much from the participants. The passage we were studying the particular day in question came from Luke 19 in which a Pharisee prays to God in thankfulness that he is not like other people. One of the participants told the group that the message was to not judge others, or at least not too much.

Not too much? Where do you draw the line? Only judge people if they are not as good as you? As rich as you? As smart as you? While I can understand the temptation to judge, and may have once or twice in my lifetime even engaged in such an action, I cannot understand tolerating such judgment. Jesus was not a judge- he in fact seemed to prefer the company of obvious sinners. When we have no log in our own eye, perhaps then we can consider judging others. Perhaps when we have no sin we can throw the first stone.

We are all sinners. The degree of sinfulness does not matter - should not matter to other people. We are not going to stand before God on the judgment Day to be judged on a bell curve. We are judged on our own merits, and when we pray to God in thankfulness that we are not as bad as those other people, we move ourselves to the last chair in line.

People who call themselves Christians spend a lot of time in judgment. This is time poorly served. We would be much better off personally, as a community, and as a planet if we spent more time like the tax collector in the story crying out for mercy. As we prepare for the Christmas season, let us spend more time with grace than with judgment. That will be a gift that benefits the receiver, the giver, and most important, God.

Yahweh...Take this heart and make it break.

2004-11-19T15:37:00.000-06:00

Well, the new U2 album is on the web, and you can listen to if for free at their website.

It's a good album, and thoughtful, with a strong, counterpop message. You'll hear Bono's ask us to reject romance for love. You'll hear him talk about commitment between a man and a woman. There is a particularly intriguing song called "Crumbs from Your Table", which has all sorts of biblical references (most prevalent: the Lazarus story, and talk about signs and wonders), and seems to be written from the perspective of Africa--a daring song that could collapse at any moment into folk sentamentalism, but doesn't. Then there's Yahweh, which provides a killer last line.

The New York Times calls this album one of U2's best.

After one listen, I am not sure I can agree. It is a good album, and better than most of the ones you might hear this year. But the best U2 albums, Achtung Baby and Joshua Tree, had songs that beat like hearts, lyrics that broke your soul. This one doesn't quite make it there, at least not on the first listen. Vertigo is not Zoo Station.

It makes it to a place of maturity and compassion, though. And so long as U2 stays on that plateau, their new CD's will have a place in my library.

Homily 11.18.04

2004-11-19T11:46:00.000-06:00

Luke 23:33-43

When Jesus was crucified, they taunted him. “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!” “If you are the King the Jews, save yourself!” “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

They taunt him with what he could be: a great king, a savior that liberates people from the sword and the government. They tempt Christ, asking him to stop his suffering and the suffering of others. After all, that would be the smart thing to do. If he truly is the Messiah, he should sweep the nations of the earth before him, meld one, just kingdom, and rule forever.

A just God would do this; a compassionate God would do it without hurting anyone. A compassionate God would simply change our hearts. A compassionate God would have created us so that we would not sin and still know God's amazing grace. After all, God can do anything. Is God incapable of this?

These are harder questions than we might like to admit. We are all too aware that the world is not a just place, nor a compassionate one, though we know there are honest and kind people in it. Perhaps we count ourselves among that number.

Tonight, however, we are asked to identify ourselves with the taunters and the thieves. “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?” one of the thieves cries. “And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” Tonight, the texts ask us think of ourselves as condemned justly to death.

This is not a fantasy we enjoy. No one likes to be guilty. Even less do we like to repent, to admit our guilt. Nevertheless, the second thief, a known sinner, and cognizant of his sin, still says, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself. Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. The taunt and the plea reveal two different ideas of what a kingdom is: on one hand, we have the kingdom of our own earthly desires, be they noble or vile. On the other hand lies the desire for Jesus to count us among his subjects. There is the earthly kingdom, and the kingdom of God.

We are sometimes too quick to associate the Kingdome of God with just with social justice and progress, though we are right to associate the kingdom with these things. But what makes a kingdom a kingdom is a king-and our king, as we celebrate this last Sunday before Advent, is Jesus. Jesus's kingdom is not of this world, in the sense that it is concerned only with worldly ends. Rather, Jesus kingdom is one of love, the love God has for humanity. To live as a Christian is to be loved by God and love God in return. When we learn to love God, we learn to love our neighbor. Living this love makes the kingdom more present to us, and gives us the strength to reach toward perfection, though we know we will not reach it till our King comes in glory. Amen.

Homily 11.4.04

2004-11-08T20:21:00.000-06:00

Luke 6:20-31

Earlier this afternoon I went to a lecture by Mark Strand. He's a poet. He's won the Pulitzer Prize, he's been the Poet Laureate of the United States, he's won the Wallace Stevens Award, which poets give to the best among themselves. His reading voice has a pull, and his poems, read aloud by him, are beautiful, sparse, without ornament. There are no theories in them, no agendas, except his delight in the playground of words and ideas. He himself seems direct, honset, without pretension, indeed very much like his poetry.

The poems he read muse over death and time and the fragile things of life difficult to grasp. But there is little faith in his poems, other than the faith that things will come, and they will pass, ans that will be all for them, and for him. The coming, the being and the passing of time, the dying--the encounter with these things is the beauty of his poetry.

Their beauty actually distracted me from my original intent--I wanted to talk about our election and our politics, usually choice themes for this reading [ed. note: the reading is Luke's version of the Beatitudes]. You'll often hear this passage accompanied by condemnations of our government (the taxes are unjust and our education system needs fixing!), our economy (capitalism exploits the poor, and CEO's are evil people who would burn in hell if there was one!), or silly sophisms about doing little things for other people, accompanied by stories of anonymous schoolboys sharing their apples with the new kid.

This passage might be all those things, but it is certainly not just one of them. It is also poetry, though of a different sort that I heard earlier today. In it we hear the voice our our Author, the One who has known us even before we kicked in our mother's wombs. It is a hymn of blessing, and a curse. It is a poem of our world, of our situation, of a possible reaction to our existence.

It is also absurd. By all rights, the poor are not blessed, the rich have little woe. Fame and acclaim hold high place for us. Giving to beggars whenever they ask does not help them, and what we would have others do unto us, others would not have us do unto them. These are the facts of life; the coming, the being, the dying, and all will pass into the graveyard with life itself.

But there are other facts than facts of life. There are facts of faith. God exists, and He loves us. He sent his son, Jesus, to us, and though we killed him, he rose from the dead for our redemption. Before things came into being, God was. After death, there ought to be nothing, yet there stands the risen body of our Lord.

These facts are also absurd. The facts of faith somehow stand outside fo time and inside of it as well, as far from us as the reaches of space, closer to us than the beating of our own hearts. Yet these facts of faith give birth to new life. In this life, the beatitudes are no longer absurd, but perfectly logical, and we can follow them. In this life, death is not the end, but the first step on a new shore, upon which we will leave our old boat behind, having at last reached the country where God dwells.

Jesus, Still Lead On

2004-11-08T20:01:00.000-06:00

O.K. So here's the deal:

President Bush is President, barring either the fortunate event of an administration-wide impeachment resulting in a Powell presidency, or the very, very unfortunate event of assasination/world-wide nuc-ler holocaust. This second-term was decided by a strong base of "conservative Christians", who seem to believe that God, guns, gonads, and the flag are either the same, or so intimately related they might be Siamese twins.

This blogger thinks that shoving poorly thought education plan down the throats of our public schools and then funding half of it is not Christian. This blogger thinks that pre-emptive war is not Christlike. This blogger thinks that condemnation of homosexuals is Phariseeism. This blogger does not think the politics of fear and terror have anything to do with the gospel. This blogger does not believe that President Bush, who does not participate in corporate worship, whose administration has shown little, if any Christian inclination, whose sheer incompetence and arrogance has resulted in the largest budget deficit in history, the lowest respect abroad for our country in a century, and the whose choice in cowboy boots smacks of elitism, who plainly enjoys reveling in the idolatrous frenzy of his duped Christian followers; in short, the very man of Jesus warned us when he said, "You shall know them by their fruits."

We're here to figure out how to follow Christ faithfully. We're pretty sure it means to stop following our President.

Anybody else want to follow the way?