You just have to just love
this Pope Francis guy...
I say this because of a
thought provoking NY Times article that I think warrants being shared.Summed up in the title is the Pope’s take on
giving to those less fortunate…
I think for many and
certainly myself, but regardless of your faith view, the question of how do I
see other people – do I see some groups of other people as less than – or can I
honestly say I always see all people as equal is not something I get a perfect
report card on.
Do I really see them as my
faith teaches, as being made in the image of god – Imago Dei?Because if I truly saw people – all people –
in that way, then I could never see them as “less than”.
In this conversation with
the Pope, the challenge especially when dealing with the homeless as some of
the poorest of the poor I will encounter on a regular basis, is do I
see them at all?The truth is sometimes I do, and sometimes I
do not.Sometimes I can barely utter
words as though somehow not responding at all means the interaction is not
happening.Sometimes I can spare a few
bucks or food I’m carrying (leftovers usually – feeling good about sharing the
scraps from my table…).Occasionally I
stop to talk.And in the rarest
instances, I find the time to share that most precious of gifts - some time and
a meal.
Things have an odd way of
circling around.We talked about this
subject with a group of friends from our church in the evening.I liked what one friend said about there
being a tension - did I do too little - did I do too much - am I helping - can
helping be hurting.I can second guess
myself endlessly.This tension was something
you could sense in many if not all our experiences.
Personally, I think it is
both fantastic but also sometimes a real bummer to realize the tension – it
seems that recognizing the tension itself creates more tension.I do sometimes find myself, driving in
traffic for example (a place I’m highly prone to be judgmental and thinking
less of others), muttering to myself "image of god - imago dei",
alternating with "unforced rhythms of grace... unforced rhythms of
grace". I also at times mutter other things... the struggle is real!I think it is the "unforced" part
that for me keeps the tension from becoming overwhelming without in anyway
denying it.Is it enough... maybe not...
maybe for today it is.But if it is
forced - then there is less room for grace.In the end, there was grace enough for today - tomorrow there may be
more, there may be less, but for today, it is enough.
So, to summarize…
Imago Dei – we are all
made equal, and in my view, in the image of a creator god.
See people – as people –
really see them, take some time and see beneath the outward appearance.
Do what you feel you can,
do it with grace, and don’t worry about whether or not you nailed it today –
learn from it what you can for tomorrow is another day.
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion?
Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to
take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced
rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep
company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”Jesus (Matthew’s
Good News, Chap. 11, verses 28-30)
Joy and I enjoyed a little road trip this past week.By little, I’m talking just under 1,800 miles.We slogged our way through something close to a blizzard the first morning but nothing was going to stop us from making it to Albuquerque to spend some time with our oldest who has almost finished her first year of university studies there (that can’t be right can it???).We enjoyed a few days with her and her fabulous friends and then on Tuesday headed across to the eastern border of the state to where Joy’s brother John lives in Clovis.
As fortune would have it, when Joy changed out the CD’s, one that was stuffed in the door of the car was Mary Chapin Carpenter’s “Stones In The Road” album.I think Chapin Carpenter is a fantastic artist, that rare combination of musician, poet and storyteller that appeals perfectly to me on almost any day.One of my favorite Chapin Carpenter songs, Jubilee, is on this album.Halfway into an 1,800 mile drive leaves you a little time to meditate on certain themes.And so this little post in the nexus of those musings and the celebration today of Easter.I posted fragments on FaceBook, but perhaps this will be more coherent – perhaps not – and that’s OK too.
The day draws to a close... and soon Easter overwhelms us.The words of a poem from Mary Chapin Carpenter are ringing Easter in for me this year.
I can tell by the way you're walking
That you don't want company
I'll let you alone and I'll let you walk on
And in your own good time you'll be
Back where the sun can find you
Under the wise wishing tree
And with all of them made we'll lie under the shade
And call it a jubilee
…
The idea of jubilee is to me an important element of the Easter mystery. Something that makes no sense certainly in our culture, and probably made no more sense thousands of years ago... NO ONE should permanently lose their inheritance.
For those not familiar with the Judeo-Christian notion of jubilee it was originally a year at the end (or beginning perhaps) of a 50 year cycle – the year of jubilee.In this year of jubilee all Israelites who had sold themselves into slavery were set free, and all land that had been sold reverted to its original owners. In practical terms then, this ensured that no Israelite could ever be in permanent slavery; nor could any Israelite permanently lose his inheritance.If you’ve never heard of this concept before, it probably seems rather odd, and likely it is.It may in fact be quite a stretch to refer to it as a Judeo-Christian idea as we see little evidence of it in the modern church or societies that have strong Judeo-Christian roots.It is certainly fair to say that then as now, this practice was RADICAL!
The poem continues...
And I can tell by the way you're talking
That the past isn't letting you go
But there's only so long you can take it all on
And then the wrong's gotta be on its own
And when you're ready to leave it behind you
You'll look back, and all that you'll see
Is the wreckage and rust that you left in the dust
On your way to the jubilee
...
Jubilee to me is more that the big picture. We like the idea that there are big solutions, that government in particular can tackle the big problems, and indeed as we have seen just this week, take on large social issues of our time and provide a sweeping solution – a “New Deal”, a “Grand Bargain”.And to some extent this may be true, yet I’ve always struggled a little with it.For redemption is and always has been, personal - something we need to figure out one with another as much as with our creator.When someone else provides a sweeping one size fits all solution, we lose the intimacy, we lose the personal connection.
As an example, a few years ago, the government of my homeland Australia issued an apology to the “Stolen Generations” of our Aboriginal people.I’m not going to go into detail of what all that means - most of you unfamiliar, probably get the gist of it and by all means look it up. But part of me struggled with this.And not because I did not think the apology was warranted, for indeed it was, but also for what it was, in reality as little more than words, it was largely symbolic. It was too little, too late.My discord was that for too many, this sweeping gesture took care of the issue; put it behind “us”, in an impersonal and distant way.It conveniently avoids the requirement for personal responsibility.
Each of us needs to be able to come to terms with our own life, its past and our present.Then and only then can we begin the process of moving forward into something new, something radically different from that past.
And so continuing on the theme with this beautiful poem
And I can tell by the way you're listening
That you're still expecting to hear
Your name being called like a summons to all
Who have failed to account for their doubts and their fears
They can't add up to much without you
And so if it were just up to me
I'd take hold of your hand, saying come hear the band
Play your song at the jubilee
...
But here’s the amazing thing about moving on.To some degree, we can do it on our own.But there is almost always a better way.We are communal in nature – it is part of our DNA.As afraid as we are that our shortcomings will be apparent to others, we have within us, most of us anyway, an innate compassion that would extend a hand to help someone just like us – if they only were willing to reach out for help in the first place.Being able to reach out though, to take that first step is hard.And sometimes, that helping hand can only come from our creator God, whose desire for communion with us was so great it collided with human history culminating with Easter.
Continuing with the poem…
And I can tell by the way you're searching
For something you can't even name
That you haven't been able to come to the table
Simply glad that you came
And when you feel like this try to imagine
That we're all like frail boats on the sea
Just scanning the night for that great guiding light
Announcing the jubilee
...
Grace to me is also key to jubilee, and something else we struggle with, that idea that we can receive from someone else something we don't deserve.To me this builds on the previous verse.We struggle so much sometimes to see ourselves as worthy.I think this often begins with ourselves, the messed up idea that we are not worth the effort.Something has got messed up to where we can’t even value or love ourselves.This for sure precludes going beyond that, but for sure it just gets harder sometimes even if we feel OK about ourselves, to see ourselves as of value to others, worthy of love from others, and certainly of value or deserving of the love of the God who created us – and yet we are.So much more than we could ever imagine.
And the poem closes
And I can tell by the way you're standing
With your eyes filling with tears
That it's habit alone keeps you turning for home
Even though your home is right here
Where the people who love you are gathered
Under the wise wishing tree
May we all be considered then straight on delivered
Yesterday was in many ways a crummy day – which is not meant
to be an understatement, but it was one of those handful of days in my mind
where the disquiet in my soul was just something I couldn’t easily find a way
out of. But even a day such as yesterday
where I was jolted into the early morning with the endless media coverage of
the terrible massacre at the movie theater in nearby Aurora in place of the
morning news and weather there were some great things in my life. Dinner with my younger daughter at the
restaurant my oldest was working, and then picking up the older one after what
was her last shift before heading off to college and going for dessert were not
only enjoyable as normal, they were pleasurable diversions from reality.
It’s a new day in Colorado.
But what is that reality?
I have received a number of messages from friends as it appears are many
others who live here in Colorado. I will
no doubt hear all about it from my father later tonight when I call home to
Australia. How can we choose to live
here with all this pointless violence seemingly endlessly going on? Another expat friend of mine (from Europe)
was talking to me yesterday and fielding these same questions from home, to which
he had replied, “it can happen anywhere – even in supposedly safe places like
Norway”. I’m glad in a way it didn’t
cross my mind not to go about the normal sorts of things we do as a family last
night, but I completely understand that for some people, that was not
possible. It did not really occur to me
at all in some ways that what was “normal” had been disturbed until as we were
driving home from dessert and past a theater, there were several police cars parked
outside. Then the reality hits – just as
it did after 9/11 for example – the world is not the same… Certainly not here
in Colorado and probably not in many other places either.
It’s a new day in Colorado.
So what of today… This morning as usual, I was the first up
and pottering about the house. In time,
my girls roused themselves and surprisingly at the appointed time, we left to
grab breakfast at one of our favorite haunts.
Then they set off into town – on their own. I thought about that driving home from the
restaurant – life goes on – life needs to go on. In three weeks my oldest will leave home for
college – life goes on. And yet the
doubts can get to you. Yesterday got to
me. In theory I suppose, my faith should
shield me from that. I’m OK that it does
not completely – I’m also grateful that it helps tremendously. It is odd nonetheless that my oldest has set
off on her own (without her parents – obviously not completely on her own) to
places like South East Asia, Haiti and most recently, the Dominican Republic and
I am completely at peace with that. But the
next time she goes to the midnight premiere of a movie, I will probably have
some discomfort. Life was not always
comfortable before yesterday. Life will
go on…
It’s a new day in Colorado.
Just over a year ago, we as a family, along with some close
friends experienced a riot. We were in
Vancouver – another safe place – trust me – if you’ve never been to Canada –
its safe – they are sooooo nice! I go
there a lot and it’s nice – I take my family and friends – and what do you know
– a hockey game ends badly for the home team and a riot breaks out. OK, it wasn’t just any hockey game, it was
the deciding game 7 of the Stanley cup finals – not convinced – never mind – it
is a big deal in Canada. But the point
of all that is not so much the riot, but the amazing outpouring of sadness
mixed with hope in the city the next day.
There was a spirit in that outpouring that said “this was not us” and I think that is where we are today in
Colorado. I am glad my children saw the response the day after.
It’s a new day in Colorado.
The lives of the families and friends of the 12 people who
have tragically lost their lives are forever altered by the events of last
night. The lives of the families and
friends of over 50 or so others who were wounded, several of whom are in
critical condition are probably in some way, forever altered by the events of
last night. Similarly, the terror for
many others, even if they were physically unharmed, some perhaps who were not
even in the theater will for a long time, maybe even forever, alter their lives. And I suspect that no matter what they have
seen, the responders on the scene and the trauma staff in the hospitals are
affected. One of my few other life
jolting days was the first (and thankfully only) time I was a first responder
at an accident which resulted in a fatality – I can’t begin to imagine what it
is like on a scene like that. I have no
words for these people, no explanations either, but the events that transpired yesterday
in Colorado are not the norm at all. We
will not have boards to write our response to this tragedy on, but I do hope to
attend a gathering somewhere today or tomorrow and along with sharing in the
sorrow of those who have lost so much, stand in solidarity with other in
declaring in one voice, “this is not us”!
It’s a new day in Colorado.
Yesterday in the Denver area alone (based on recent statistical
averages), close to 200 children were born.
It follows that today; another 200 odd followed them into the world, and
tomorrow there will be more. We have a
choice about the world they come into, the world they will grow up in. The title of this blog is from a recent Eagles
song, penned as I understand in response to 9/11 and while the band were
delayed recording an album due to that tragedy.
This song rattled around in my head yesterday – I suppose I was not
unique in that. I hope the web-link
lasts (one never knows with these things on the internet) as Don Henley
actually talks a little about the events leading up to it. But if not, then I’ve included the lyrics
below. Yes – yesterday there was a hole
in the world. Today is a new day – and while
that does not mean something like this will never happen again (although I hope and pray
that it does not), I will move forward in my life, believing that forgiveness
and love has the capacity to overcome fear and evil.
Concerning that, I guess it is oddly coincidental that I shared the
following quotes from acquaintances I’ve connected with over the past year or
so with another friend on Thursday - they remain true today - and perhaps have
a stronger hold on me...
“God does have a way of combating evil. It’s not punishment
and it’s not retaliation, fear or anger. It’s forgiveness. Forgiveness is God’s
way of combating evil” - Nadia Bolz-Weber
“Love doesn't need to win because it is not competing with
hate. It already won at Calvary. We are here to simply let the world know that.”
- Jeremy Ritch
In Vancouver, they now have a museum type exhibit with some of the boards
saved after the shop windows were replaced so people will remember, and perhaps
choose to act better in the future. What
we will remember will largely be in our hearts – but it will be even more
important in choosing how we live tomorrow.
I was all out of sorts this morning, which was more than a little disturbing. It was not because my wife and older daughter were heading to Chicago for a girls getaway – I will miss them – but I’m going to have a lot of fun hanging out with just my younger daughter. It was because I didn’t have to go to work. Although Good Friday is not all that widespread a holiday in the USA (which seems an odd if not ironic contrast to my upbringing in much more unchurched Australia), this year, we were graciously given the day off. Have I become that dependent on work? Am I a workaholic? Scary stuff…
Anyway, I got over that quick enough and have been pottering around the house taking care of this and that. This post is an expansion of some of the quotes I have favorited away on Facebook/Twitter from various friends. I posted them on my Facebook page and re-tweeted them as a #gf rather than #ff as I mused on what Good Friday is all about. In this post, along with the quote, I may – or may not depending on my mood, explain why the quote meant something to me.
“Personally, I don't have the guts to follow Jesus, so I often settle for being a Christian.”
unknown, via Brandon Mouser
So if you saw my original list on Facebook it is obvious I am reordering it. There is probably no particular significance to the order in either – it just appeals to my sense of chaos. Brandon is a neat young man introduced to me through the roots that have me writing under the Monica “Ruined for Life”. He is the son-in-law of an amazing couple, Ron and Nancy Thaxton who have loved, challenged, cared and pastored my wife and I since the early days of our marriage nearly 20 years ago in West Virginia. I’m pretty sure Brandon said this, but claimed to be quoting an unknown source. It sounds like he would have something the guts to say though so that fact it resonated with him is not surprising. I suspect for many of us willing to be honest about our faith, this could resonate equally strongly. Today of all days, I am reminded of the gap between the Jesus who is, and the person I am. That is why I am leading with this quote.
“Love is not a victory march. It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah”
Leonard Cohen ( via Jodi-Renee Adams)
Have always loved this song – and I am simply unable to express why there is something in this statement that resonates so strongly in me with Good Friday. So what I will say is that I think one of my favorite renditions of it was KD Lang at the 2010 winter Olympics opening ceremony in Vancouver. I suspect I would enjoy hearing Jodi sing is also.
SUPERGROUP!
“God doesn't love you because God loves everyone. God loves you because God loves you.”
Khad Young
“God doesn't want something from us. He simply wants us.” - CS Lewis
“There was never a time when God was not in love.”
Brennan Manning (via Mary Kathryn Tyson)
“No matter what ANYONE says; you are worthy! God loves you. No matter how shitty we've been.”
Jon Hedgecorth
“God is closer than we are to ourselves: nothing is more intimate than God's love.”
Henri Nouwen
“God is not in love with a future version of us... He loves us right where we are today.”
Billy Lloyd
I would not want you to think from my earlier comment on the gap between the Jesus who is, and the person I am that I am I see myself as some hopeless wretch. I would also not want you to think I think more highly of myself than I ought. But this to me is central to the events we mark this day. I hear often that “God loves us more than we could ever deserve”. I get the point, but I’m not sure it’s great theology.
In a recent discussion sparked by Frank Paul Green, adjunct faculty at George Fox Seminary, Franks opening discussion on this notion included the point that
“"God so loved the world" is the greatest statement concerning value, significance and worthiness. To suggest otherwise would be an oxymoron ... a self-contradiction.”
My response to this is that I think at its narrowest, I had to ask myself this - if I do not deserve God's love, then how do my children deserve mine? The later question is of course preposterous - and recognizing that the world is imperfect and sadly, even tragically for some, this idea that I do not deserve my parents love has been a cruel reality, I think for many, perhaps most, the idea framed in this way would suggest what I deserve has nothing to do with whether OR how much God loves me.
I’m not a theologian so all of this needs to be taken with a grain of salt, but to extend the argument further, if God loves me more than I deserve, how is that just. If God is not just, is he God at all? Pretty soon we are getting into the really murky waters that even trained theologians fear to tread. And so to my next quote…
“Every time theologians tell us what God can and cannot do, is or is not, they create an idol – an impression of an aspect of God that they can understand because it has limits. But God has no such limits.”
Neil Christopher
and related to this…
"Never think you need to protect God. Anytime you think you need to protect God, you can be sure that you are worshiping an idol." - Hauerwas
Simply this – I have no idea why Jesus did what he did? It seems like the most extravagant gesture. Was it really because he loved me; the singular me; that much, in spite of the presumption that I don’t deserve it? I really don’t know. But I will say this. I really don’t believe the central purpose of Jesus coming to earth was to die for our collective or my personal sin. He came to restore relationship with all of us – all with no exceptions – because of this unfathomable (and if it must be so to you, undeserved) love. The cross was how he achieved this purpose – not the point or the purpose itself.
GAMECHANGERS
“Love doesn't need to win because it is not competing with hate. It already won at Calvary. We are here to simply let the world know that.”
Jeremy Ritch
“God does have a way of combating evil. It’s not punishment and it’s not retaliation, fear or anger. It’s forgiveness. Forgiveness is God’s way of combating evil.”
Nadia Bolz-Weber
WOW! Just let these soak in –let them stir your soul and you figure it out.
DOUBLING BACK
“I didn’t go to religion to be happy. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I don’t recommend Christianity.” CS Lewis
“Kinda over Christianity but I love Jesus.” Rebecca Bec Cranford-Smith
You think there was any way to order these quotes!?! In truth, they are an incredibly interwoven mass of ideas in my mind, and that’s just fine with me. Sorry if none of this makes any sense to you – but I’m guessing if it was too crazy, you wouldn’t still be reading… Doubling back then simply to say that these have close ties to my opening gambit; that I don't have the guts to follow Jesus, so I often settle for being a Christian. Carry on…
(Oh – and I may be the first person to quote Bec as “Cranford-Smith” – congrats Bec J )
“Life is short and fragile. Love wastefully.” - Crystal Lewis
How much simpler could you emulate Good Friday than this…
“What if when Jesus said, "do good to those that oppose you & spitefully abuse you" he meant... do good to those that oppose you & abuse you?”
John Jensen
An object lesson – we say stuff like this, but we do the opposite. Our own misplaced sense of our rights has us constantly at odds with people with whom we disagree, who disagree with us, or whom we just plain cannot stand. Jesus spoke of a different way, and his actions on this day showed he meant it. Sometimes it’s so much easier to settle for being a Christian…
“Soon we must all face the choice between doing what is right and what is easy.”
Albous Dumbledour / JK Rowling
When I watched Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ (something I have only done in whole once), I was struck whether intentionally by the moviemakers take on things or not during the carrying of the cross that as much as Jesus may have been tempted in his 40 day sojourn at the beginning of his ministry, perhaps it paled compared to the temptation he must have felt at this point. Got nothing to back it up – just a thought…
“God's care for humanity was so great that he sent his unique Son among us, so that those who count on him might not lead a futile and failing existence, but have the undying life of God Himself.”
As church this morning, we listened to a beautifully simple dialogue on grace; at least that is what it was for me. The passage was from John’s gospel, the first 11 or 12 verses of the 8th chapter. My bible titles this passage rather austerely; “An Adulteress Faces the Light of the World”. My takeaways from this are:
Jesus doesn’t ignore wrongdoing, but He is so connected at a heart level to us when we have failed and are buried in guilt. He approaches the situation from the heart, in relationship, not via a set of rules or religious principles.
Jesus doesn’t say if you are the senior or most respected church leader, you get to judge and condemn someone who has done the wrong thing.
Jesus doesn’t say if you are the most religious person, you get to look down on someone who has done the wrong thing.
Jesus simply says, “The one who has done no wrong among you, go first: Throw the stone.”
Jesus after every one has drifted away asks her, “Woman, where are they? Does no one condemn you?” And when she answers “No one”, Jesus says two things. Firstly, “Neither do I.” Jesus came to mend a broken relationship with us which we were created to have with Him in the first place. Condemnation does not mend relationships, grace does, love does, caring at a heart level does… And Jesus caring about our heart, which does so poorly when laden with guilt or shame, also says, “Go on your way. From now on, don’t do the wrong thing.”
Hallelujah, grace like rain falls down on me Hallelujah, all my stains are washed away, washed away
(Warning, awesome song but clips from The Passion of the Christ are a little graphic and may be disturbing to some)
With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live life under a continuous low lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death. (Eighth chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans, first 2 verses)
But here is the thing. It doesn’t matter whether you are the self righteous judgmental type who thinks you have it all right and looks down on others because somehow their wrongdoing is worse than your own, or you know you have screwed up and are burdened with guilt and shame – or really anywhere on the spectrum in between. Jesus loves EVERYONE! It is not conditional, it is not based on anything we have done, or can do.
As the church, we are not always so great at this. Nick suggested this morning that grace is something everybody needs, and that the church should be a place they can find it. OK, maybe “not always so great” is being a bit kind. My gut reaction when Nick said this to be honest was that we suck at it. Thankfully however, Jesus is better than that. Jesus grace is not reserved for any particular person; no type of person, no color of person, no race.
And that is what makes my heart sing.
My chains are gone I've been set free My God, my Savior has ransomed me And like a flood His mercy rains Unending love, Amazing grace
