31 Jul 08 — Some thoughs about small things

It’s really silly, I guess, and I suppose I don’t do it that often any more, but I certainly did it when I was younger. even now, ever so often, I have this irresistible urge to pick up a rock and throw it in the water. Nothing fancy — I don’t have the talent to skip stones a cross the water — I just like to see the splash and the ripples on a quiet, smooth body of water. A stone hits water. A fountain rises. Spray jumps outward. And ripples run swiftly across the surface to shore in one direction and out of sight in others. One tiny stone, thrown into a pint-sized portion of even the mightiest of lakes, creates a storm of ripples that soon causes the whole lake to move in unison.
Sounds like a good metaphor for the Reign of Heaven — doesn’t it? Try this then: get one person fired up for Jesus, and throw them into a Sea of Complacency, and the ripples of God’s Love will flow outwards from that impact to shake things up.

How often do you hear someone telling you to listen for the quiet, still voice of God? We usually hear someone tell us to listen for this voice, because all the noise of our culture or our circumstances are making it hard to hear God’s Voice. And yet, once we do hear that Voice — that small thing — it can completely transform us. How important it is to hear the quiet words “I love you” spoken tenderly to you by your lover! Imagine then how important it must be to hear Jesus say the words “I love you.” It is that quiet voice saying those three precious words which completely changes us from whatever we were into the Christians we are becoming. Those words are like one of Jesus’ mustard seeds planted into our hearts, indeed, into our very souls.
But instead of growing up to be big mustard plants, those seeds grows up to be the new you and the new me we call baptized, born again believers.

Why would Jesus tell us parables of this nature? (Matthew 13:31-33; 44-46) We live in a culture which values “size.” It even goes back to our childhood when we taunted each other with sayings like, “My Daddy’s car is faster/better/etc. than your daddy’s…” These early exercises in measuring and being measured follow us and haunt us throughout life. We buy the SUV not because we need it but because its bigger. We do a lot of things because they either make us feel bigger and therefore better than our neighbor. And most cultures state in some way or another that “bigger is better,” or “more is better.” Proof of which are the frequently seen bumper stickers which say, “The one with the most toys when they die wins.” Hearing these sayings ever day, whoever has less of those toys, is always fighting for (self-) acceptance and always playing a catch up game with those who always seem to have more.

Jesus addresses this problem head on: it is not the size that matters but the results. It is not where you start but where you end. And the journey along the way is also important, if for no other reason than you can not get from here to there without taking the journey. One of my other great frustrations is hearing people say, “My faith is not big enough to do _____ .” Or “I don’t know Jesus well enough…” Thank God Jesus understood this was going to be a problem. These sayings of Jesus are all about telling us to stop worrying about where we are starting from. Instead, look to where you are going and use what little you have to take those first steps. Jesus knew we could never get to our journey’s end unless we started. So, walk out in faith and take that first step — because Jesus will be their walking with you. Yes — such small things and such small steps matter.

29 Jul 08 — Some thoughts about names

Names can be important. For the ancient Israelites they described (sometimes prophetically) who a child would become when they grew up. One of the most important namings occurred when God Godself renamed Jacob Israel. Jacob was returning to the Promised Land after having returned to the old world of Haran where he had found his wives and where his mother had been born. But he was going to have to face up to his brother Esau whom he had swindled out of his birthright (with Mother Rebecca’s help). He came to the last frontier before that encounter: the Jabbok River. And after setting his affairs in order, he went off alone, and waded into the middle of that river to pray and prepare for the morning’s encounter.

He met God there. And in a most unexpected way: he wrestled with God all through the night. Eventually, as dawn was rising, God wanted to call off the contest. But Jacob would not let God go, demanding a blessing. He received two. His leg was struck and he would limp for the rest of his life. And he got a new name: Israel. His old name Jacob had meant “Deceiver,” but his new name meant, “One who strives with God.” Think about that for a moment. All of us are spiritual or physical descendents of this man who challenged and wrestled with God to the point of demanding and receiving (with consequences) a blessing from God. Today when we wrestle for our full inclusion with the traditional churches that are (in part) the earthly representation of God we are wrestling with God just as Jacob did. And like Jacob, all of us who do so receive a new name: Christians, God’s Beloved, etc. We are not the first: many have gone before us; many will come after us, but all of us receive new names when we challenge the unjust, exclusive, or plain ‘ol false representation of God on Earth and discover that we truly are blessed to be a part of God’s Reign.

A lot of us chose names for ourselves when we were christened as teens or when we took up religious orders. Others of us have reclaimed or given ourselves new names when we have come out to express the “real” person we are. When I came out I reverted to and reclaimed my old child hood name of Robin, setting aside my legal name of Robert for when legalities demand it. So names are important, and can be very emotional issues.

They should also be blessings. Certainly when our lover calls us by our name it can be a blessing. But it should be more than just that. There is nothing worse than being haunted by our name having been stuck in the middle of all sorts of childhood taunts or other defamations. As parents and mentors, when we give our children (actual or spiritual) their names, we have the responsibility to ensure that they grow up knowing that there names are blessings and are names to be cherished. We (and society) can not do that if we are hyper-critical, abusive or sarcastic when we use their names. Some speak a lot about the inappropriateness of using four letter words in civilized discourse, but how many never say such words, but use other words to cause their children, mentors, themselves, their friends, or even strangers equal amounts of pain?

In truth, our names are blessings, they are as much gifts of God as anything else we receive. So be careful how you say names — your own as much as any others.

24 Jul 08 — Some thoughts about shifting definitions

Freedom means freedom and equality means equality — right? No. At least not historically. Truth is, the definition of what freedom and equality mean shifts constantly. I’ve been reading a rather fascinating book by Eric Foner titled, The Story of American Freedom (W. W. Norton & Co., New York, NY 1998). When we talk about freedom and equality today, we are speaking of something very different from the generations of 1945, 1865, or even 1776. Truth is, the meanings we take for granted for these terms today were not the meanings in those earlier years and will not be the meanings they will have in generations to come. And if you think this is just a civic argument, it’s not. The meaning of equality, freedom, and salvation are not the same today as they were in 1518 (when Luther declared freedom from the Catholic Church and Protestantism began) in 30 (when Jesus was resurrected as the Christ) nor 538bce when the Israelites were released from Babylonian captivity, and on and on back to the very beginning.

Freedom in the 1776 understanding was strictly for white property-holding men, a very small sub-group of the American people of that time. And yet, all men were created equal our Constitution says, and so does our faith. Our ancestors never saw a contradiction between someone who was equal not also being free. Likewise, any number of “conservatives” see no contradiction between us being free to exercise our sexual orientations or gender identities and not being equal before the law and/or faith for the purposes of being married. It is the same schizophrenia of earlier generations — as “minorities” we are excluded from marriage today for many of the same reasons that slaves and women and property-less white men were at the founding of this country. Doesn’t make our exclusion right, but perhaps it sheds a little light on the subject and tells us this has been going on for a lot longer than with just our particular issue.

History has proven that this country has changed the definition of who is equal and who is free, even while it proclaims that all are equal. It has been a slow process, filled with many heartaches, false starts, and all too many poisoned words from those defending the status quo. And yet, if we are ever to fulfill the promises of our Constitution and/or our Faith, we have no choice but to continue seeking the full inclusion that both promise, regardless of what common opinion may think about us.

Today many groups of Americans do not have full equality and do not share in the bounty of freedom that heterosexual white men do solely because of the sexual orientation, racial and gender circumstances of their birth. Our argument is not against those who happened to be born as heterosexual white men. God bless them, we need them as much as we need everyone else. It is only that the rest of us deserve the same enfranchisement, the same privileges, the same responsibilities, the same prospects as they have and take for granted. And until we do, the American definitions of freedom and equality will remain incomplete. The key to filling out those definitions to the extent that the Constitution and our Faith demands is not just to proclaim “freedom” and “equality,” but to determine the real reasons why freedom and equality are excluded from some groups and heal those wounds of exclusion. Otherwise we will continue to have groups of people who are technically free and equal under the Constitution and our Faith who are forced to live un-free and unequal lives in this and so many other countries.

22 Jul 08 — Some thoughts about Rebecca, an unsung hero

The story of Jacob stealing Esau’s birthright and Jacob’s subsequent flight is reasonably well known as Bible stories go. But little is made of Rebecca, the true hero of the story. If she is mentioned at all, it is because she was instrumental in helping Jacob swindle his brother. Swindle it may have been, but uncomfortably, it was also God’s Will.

Ouch. Does that mean that the ends fit the means? Not necessarily. Only if the means are an expression of love and the ends an expression of love. Usually love and swindle do not match each other. But here we have one of those rare exceptions. At the beginning of the story, Rebecca is very upset about the turmoil in her womb. She even gets so frustrated at what is going on that she says, “If this is what being a mother is all about, forget it!” She then goes on to inquire of God what on earth is going on inside her. And God answers her. “Inside your womb, two nations are growing. And the Elder shall serve the Younger.” As it turns out, Esau is the elder; Jacob the younger. Clearly God is stating God’s Intent that Jacob will be the carrier of God’s Promise into the next generation, even though that flew in the face of cultural expectations.

Rebecca respects this and proceeds to groom Jacob for his future. He becomes her favorite, but her husband Isaac favors Esau because he is a good hunter and Isaac loves meat. For whatever reason, Isaac is allowing his own personal favoritism get in the way of God’s Sovereign-Choice. (Presumably Rebecca would have told Isaac of her conversation with God at some time.) So when the time comes to give his blessing to one of his sons, he announces his intention of giving it to Esau. Isaac was therefore announcing his defiance of God. Rebecca acted. We can quibble about how she did it, but Jacob got the blessing from Isaac — just as God wanted.

So, are Christians or other believers allowed to swindle if that swindle fulfills God’s Intent, Desire, or Promise? We can only answer “No.” Why? Because Christian values so permeate the law codes and expectations of our society, that in almost every conceivable instance, to swindle for any supposed reason of supporting what we believe to be Divine Intent would in fact only be to sin.

Today there are those who honestly believe that they must do “x,” “y” or “z” to fulfill God’s Desires. And time after time again, it is proven that they were mistaken in understanding God’s Desires. We see this every time a church says some can not belong or some can not serve because of who they are. Knowing full well the inclusion Christ won for us on the Cross, they continue to believe it is righteous to swindle other Christians out of their birthright. And there is the bottom line. In Christ, we all receive the same birthright and there is no longer a case of one being firstborn and another second born — there are no second class citizens in Christ’s Love.

Rebecca understood that her son Jacob was not second class even if he were second born, and she remembered God’s Word to her and she acted upon it. In doing so she went against her husband, against one of her sons, and against the dictates of her society. But she did so because she was following God. So she is a hero for her times. Thank God, none of us need ever walk in her footsteps — Jesus taught us that God’s Promise, Desires, and Intent work there way through every believer.

17 Jul 08 — Some thoughs about identity language

One of the greatest and most troubling lies we were ever taught as children was: “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” Now the first part is certainly true: sticks and stones can hurt you. But the second part is dead wrong. The language we use to taunt and to define each other can last a lifetime — and I know many people who are still hurting because of the things they were called as kids and may indeed still be called today — whereas the physical bruises of youthful indiscretions sometimes heal quickly. All of us have words we don’t like to have spoken to us. As someone who came out into glbti/q culture in the late 90s, I have always identified equally with the terms gay and queer, but I quickly learned in ministry that there are many who do not like the word queer and do not accept the communities’ “reclamation” and “re-defining” of that term — for them it will always be drenched in pain and fear. Tired of getting tongue-tied with the entire alphabet to identify ourselves, I’ve mostly begun using the term “inclusive” as a way of saying glbti/q + whomsoever others I want to include who don’t fall into “our” alphabet.

This week, and several times previously in this presidential election cycle, the “N” word has made its appearance, and interestingly, as often as not, it has come from mouths of well respected members of the African-American community, and apparently not in a friendly way. It has unfortunately been used as a put down or as a way of expressing supreme frustration at someone else. And immediately, both within and without the African-American community a hue and cry has been raised, legitimately I believe. I would hope the same outcry would occur if someone were to call a Jewish-American person by the K word, or an Italian-American by the “S” word and etc.

But what happens, when as a community, we have taken the equivalent word and turned it into a badge of honor? When we use the “Q” word, or any of the other words we use in our dictionary of identities, we use it as a symbol of pride, but as often as not, we bristle the moment an outsider uses it. Understandably we are upset when it is used in a derogatory way, but I suspect many of us feel uneasy when we hear any “outsider” using our own terms even in a good way.

Historically, as each group of identity-Americans has gained a measure of legal equality, over time, terms which were used derogatorily against them have become unacceptable in polite discourse, both politically and privately. But in our case, what words would those be when we have turned them into such badges of honor? I can’t imagine us jettisoning overboard any of the glbti/q letters, and it’s been a long time since I’ve heard a term like “sodomite” used by anyone other than the most unrepentant of fringe elements. Perhaps it will be the term “homosexual” which we younger glbti/q peoples will succeed in having thrown out, but I know more than a few of our seniors who were proud of their efforts at homosexual liberation, even though I personally detest the term and believe it is the worst of them all. (Frankly I think the term heterosexual is just as bad although straight is no better. It’s high time people who are not glbti/q come up with something interesting with which to identify themselves.)

So I wonder, which of the letters of our alphabet will become the “N” word of the future? And knowing the eventuality that one of those letters will inevitably fulfill that position, should that impact how we use such language to identify ourselves today?

15 Jul 08 — Some thoughts about sacrifices

Because of its realism, the Bible has its share of horror stories. I can think of few worse than Abraham’s near sacrifice of Isaac. Whether you understand it as a test of Abraham’s faith (the traditional view) or as God using this “test” to teach the Chosen People that they were not to sacrifice their children like all too many of their neighbors (a respected understanding) it is still a very disturbing story. In brief, after the miracle of Isaac being born to parents 100 years old, God required Abraham to sacrifice this very same Isaac on an altar. And without any comment or seemingly any emotion, Abraham sets out to do so, and only at the last second, with knife in outstretched arm poised over his son bound upon the altar does God intervene to stop him. If you want the full details, you can find it in Genesis 22.

“What does this story have to say to us today?” you ask. Consider the similarity between Isaac and Jesus. In very different ways they were brought to the point of sacrifice. God intervened with Isaac but let Jesus suffer death so that he could be raised from the dead so that death itself could be overcome. Maybe this teaches us something about the “fullness of time” the New Testament speaks about. Had the sacrifice been made in Isaac’s time, it would have been too early and the desired salvific results would not have followed.

More important though is what it teaches us about our children and about ourselves. It tells us that there are limits to what we can faithfully ask of our children. We may not physically sacrifice them upon an altar, but we all know children whose parents have sacrificed their emotions and spirits on the altars of their own greed or desires. All too often what the parents could not do themselves, they try to live out through the lives of their children. God says “No” to this as much as to the knife Abraham was wielding.

But God also says “No” when we ask too much of ourselves as well. Dedication and determination are all good and fine as long as they do not sacrifice the Dreams and Intent that God had born into us. We must always remember that Jesus said his yoke was light, an easy burden. If we become so consumed with our work, our hobbies, even our families at the expense of the whole community, or our ______ we can easily loose sight of the balance Jesus was asking us to achieve.

I have met too many people in life who have sacrificed themselves for something other than what God or even they themselves so ardently desired. It is tragedy enough when even one person is not able to live out their dreams. But the truth is, the majority of our neighbors and even ourselves do not. Christianity at its best should free you to live the Dreams God has for you and should teach you the appropriate offerings to ask of yourself, your spouse, your friends, and your children or those you mentor. And if you don’t feel you really know what that appropriate offering is, then it is time to go to God in prayer and ask for that specific guidance. It may surprise you, but I guarantee, it won’t be another horror story.

10 Jul 08 — Some thoughts about visitors

I’ve been blessed to have two couples from my former congregation in Southern California come and visit us over the last month or so. It’s been interesting noting their reactions to Louisville. There were a few common themes. Both couples visited Churchill Downs and the Slugger Museum. Both couldn’t get over the big trees and how green everything is. And they really enjoy our “old” homes with their big yards and gardens — very few cookie cutter subdivisions here. Needless to say, the cleaner air and easier driving was also very appealing.

As one returning from the Southern California desert myself, I can definitely say the grass is greener and the culture more friendly. Which brings me to my point. Sometimes we don’t recognize how good we have it here. No, we don’t have the freedoms and equality that so many members of our communities have in California, and we must continue fighting for them. But, once we do have them, we will have a much nicer place to live in than so many who already have those freedoms.

It is always tempting to “run away” and to seek ones fortunes elsewhere. The Bible and our national history are full of stories of moving on to Promised Lands and greener pastures. And there are times when it is necessary and appropriate. But Jesus recognized something important: we should make the Promised Land any land we are in. And we should make any pasture we find greener. Transform it and change it instead of moving on and abandoning it. But then, what would you really expect from someone who was so in to healing?

08 Jul 08 — Some thoughs about hospitality

The true sin of Sodom was and always will be inhospitality. When visitors came to town and Lot welcomed them into his home, the people of the town rose up and tried to rape Lot’s visitors. Needless to say they were not giving their town’s visitors the welcome they deserved and that courtesy and custom demanded. This was how Israel’s Lawyers, the Prophets and Jesus all understood this unfortunate incident: for them it was always an issue of inhospitality — the intended rape was the method of Sodom’s inhospitality.

Listen to what Jesus has to say about those who do not welcome his ministry — to those who are inhospitable to God’s Word: “And you Capernaum, ‘Will you be exalted to Heaven? No! You will be cast down to Hades!’ For if the mighty-deeds being done in you had occurred in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. Moreover I say to you, on the Day of Judgment, it shall be more tolerable for Sodom than for you.” (Matthew 11:23-24; my translation)

Hospitality is a big issue all through our Bible. Nations and cities have fallen because they were not hospitable. And more than a few individuals ran into trouble because they did not observe the customs and courtesies of hospitality. Unfortunately, more and more, our culture loses sight of this desire on God’s Part for hospitality. I think in the South we hold on to it a bit more than in some other parts of the country because Southern “gentility” is such a part of our culture. And yet, even here, it sometimes seems as if we are fighting a losing battle. I think it is safe to say that whatever we are doing, as much or as well as we are, there is always room to improve when it comes to being more welcoming and more hospitable.

And part of that is not just us opening our doors and being more friendly or attentive of our immediate neighbors. That this country does not have some form of universal health care is a sin of inhospitality. That there are all too many places in this country that are “downwind” or “down-water” of under-regulated polluters is a sin of hospitality to all our neighbors living there. That there are still people who seek to limit the equality of their glbti/q neighbors is a sin of inhospitality. That there are still those practicing racism, ageism, ableism, sexism, and all forms of antagonisms to other people’s faiths are just more examples of the inhospitality that is crippling our great nation. Why? Because all too many of us are being forced to worry more about the welcome we are receiving than on how welcoming we ourselves can be. And because all too many of us are having to worry about protecting our families or our very own bodies from abuse, pollution, ridicule, etc.

Jesus (and indeed the whole Bible) shows us a better way. Indeed, there could be no greater act of hospitality than Jesus offering his body and blood for our sakes. If we really want to walk in Jesus’ footsteps, we should be willing to be as welcoming as he was. Perhaps a good start would be opening our eyes to what is going on all around us, and then opening our hearts as we see the unjust pain and suffering that so many of our neighbors are experiencing. And the only way we can do that is by welcoming those neighbors into our lives — in person.

Some thoughs about apocalypse

Apocalypse is the language of human despair. As a literary form it was quite popular in the last few centuries before the birth of Christ. And no wonder. God’s Promise as lived by Israel was seemingly less and less impressive as each year went by. For hundreds of years, the rump state of Israel had been occupied by the Greeks and then the Romans. They were enslaved in all but name, and the prospects for freedom were dim indeed. It is out of this horror that apocalypse flourishes. This style of writing and story telling becomes very popular whenever people lose hope, when they can no longer see a way out, when only God coming down from Heaven and taking care of all the evil and starting all over again is the only conceivable answer.

Well God heard those cries of helplessness and did something about it. That something is Jesus Christ. There is no logical necessity of their being an apocalypse after the World changing Resurrection. And God’s Power to take care of the causes for apocalypse longing is shared with believers through the Holy Spirit. In truth, after the Resurrection, any vision of an apocalypse is a statement of disbelief — it says that the Cross is not enough, and that neither Jesus Christ nor Christian Disciples are able.

OK, what about Revelation you ask? Good question. Revelation has always stuck out like a sore thumb in the New Testament. Most likely, God’s Answer in Christ was simply “too good to be true” for some early Christians and they could not see in this answer that God had done all that needed to be done: that when you are born again from above you perceive the World and Life in such a different way that one really is living in that new Heaven and Earth for which so many apocalypses yearn.

I believe Revelation has a major purpose which can be easily lost in all of its apocalyptic language. God won the ultimate victory over evil on the Cross. But as long as there are unbelievers, evil can still fight a rear guard action, and can still cause plenty of misery. Revelation acknowledges this reality. It tells us that there will be a beast and false prophets in every generation. In this last century we have witnessed many: Hitler, Stalin, and on a more local level, racist vigilantes and anti-gay crusaders. What Revelation also tells us, is that in each generation, God crushes that evil. It may not always happen in ways that we can see or in ways that we would like, but it happens. As such, Revelation’s ultimate message for believers is: “God’s got your back.”

So the next time someone starts talking about getting ready for the end-times, just remind them that Jesus already took care of it for you, and that you’re more concerned about living Abundant Life than living in fear of someone else’s apocalyptic fantasies.

01 Jul 08 — Some thoughts about outcasts

The Bible includes many stories about outcasts. Of those, the story of Hagar and Ishmael is one of the most enduring. God had promised Abraham and Sarah a child, but after years of waiting, Sarah gave up hope in God’s Promise. She took matters into her own hands by giving her servant woman Hagar to Abraham. Ishmael was the result of their union. Abraham loved his son very much and honored Hagar’s role in bringing him into life. But Sarah became very jealous and tormented Hagar so much that she drove her away. Abraham consoled her and brought her back, but the tensions remained.

Abraham decided to talk to God about this problem. God’s response was to say again the promise that Abraham and Sarah would have their own child without a surrogate mother. God also gave Abraham the covenant of male circumcision that was to be performed upon all the members of Abraham’s household and for all the generations to come. This was to be a marker of their faith, much like many of us wear crosses today to identify our faith. And so it was that Abraham, by his own hand, circumcised all the men of his household. This included Ishmael, who was painfully circumcised on his thirteenth birthday. Note well: Ishmael was a child of this male only Covenant between Abraham & God that was one of the foundations of Israel’s faith. That means that Ishmael has as much right to claim himself an Israelite as anyone.

But Sarah grew even more angry and frustrated. And she demanded that Abraham cast out Hagar and Ishmael. Now Abraham did not want to do this because he loved his son. But he also wanted peace. Once again he went to God, and this time God said, “Listen to Sarah, and let go of Ishmael.” And so sorrowfully, Abraham did so. He gave them what he could and sent them away into the desert — and to God.

Eventually their resources gave out, and after Hagar had made Ishmael as comfortable as she could, she went off a ways because it was too painful for her to watch her son die. And she cried out to God. And God listened. Note well: the first time a woman is recorded as crying out to God in Scripture it is this outcast woman. And God answered. God provided a spring of water and Ishmael and Hagar were revived. Furthermore, God gave them a Promise as well, a Promise that Ishmael would also become a great nation. And so it has become, for Ishmael is the ancestor of the Arabic Peoples, almost all of whom are Islamic.

The consequences of taking things into our own hands, even in our own family lives, can have dramatic and enduring consequences. Just think about all the trouble this one family feud has caused. Today when a Palestinian hears Israel making promises, he or she hears Father Abraham making promises, but wonders how long it will be before Mother Sarah betrays them and casts him or her out again. No wonder peace is so difficult to create in the Middle East — they are in the midst of a family feud that has been going on for 3,800 years.