There are so many ways to poke fun at the politics of the day. It is even easier to poke fun at some of the politicians who are in the middle of the politics of the day. Much of this is the kind of stuff that fills the posts on Facebook. I don't like some of the posts. I find some of them to be foolish and completely out of place. Yet, I read them. More and more, there are a number of people who must spend their day posting many times a day. These usually involve the placement of memes that are meant to attract attention. Most often, they are met with the usual emojis to show a like or various degrees of dislike or strong feelings. For me, those visual comments give a feel for the thoughts and feelings circulating in the air. There are also written comments that show agreement - expand on a topic - display disagreements - and even point followers to additional information. I find that some of this can be a positive aspect of posts. I know I post quite a few photos of pieces of art in museums - but then I also often use the picture to say things the painting was never meant to say. Most of it is meant as political or social humor. And yes, I receive a spectrum of emoji comments. That fine.
Today I need to rant about the responses made to memes in which the comments are used to degrade the character of people simply because of who those people are. Sometimes they add nothing to the stream of conversation. It may just be a complete insult - a smear - a bigoted display of fear or hate. The comment that finally pushed be into a rant position was when one person referred to Pete Buttigieg as being a 'pee pee toucher.' There was no stream that was headed that way - it just came out as a display of the kind of ignorance and intolerance of others that can turn very ugly, dirty, violent, and demonic. I place such a comment on line with someone who uses a disgusting term to refer to people of color or people of other faiths. It has no place. It shows us how how far people will go to trigger the fear, hatred, bias, and ignorance that too often sets people against one another. This kind of comment does not fall into the category of humor. It is the kind of remark that would make a venue remove someone from the stage.
This doesn't mean we cannot poke fun. I remember when Clinton used 'deplorable' during the 2016 election. In my view, she was the deplorable one - and people went back and forth about that. Trump seemed to be a self-proclaimed pussy grabber. No one would have said it if he hadn't used it himself. So let the humor carry on. I have said many times that I really appreciate editorial cartoonist who are able to make us all look like stooges at times. Yes, they can be biting and they can piss people off, but never do good satirist or cartoonists or even political pundits disparage or degrade other people for their sexual orientation, ethnic background, religion, or race. When folks begin to slam others or take them down because of who they are, we are seeing the violence of a culture being put on display. No one needs to be physically touched - the words of disgust or ignorance or fear become the triggers that open up the door to actual violence toward others. There is much history to back that up. First the words fly - then fists - then.
If we see something in another person and we are alarmed or offended by what seems to be the character of that person or group, it is proper to point it out. For example, I will read something about Christian leaders who appear to back people and actions that I would never associate with being a follower of Jesus. Yet, I also know that my actions or words may solicit a similar view of my comments. We can then argue about those points - disagree - agree - change our thoughts. But when a person from a minority group is diminished by others for simply being who they are, I think we must more quickly and more purposefully disagree. But I must also say that as part of a majority group that has a long history of being in a position of power, I really find it hard to listen to people make blanket statements about 'gray haired, older, white men. I'm usually not bothered by it unless the statement is meant to be definitive of who I am or meant to degrade or attempt to not give me a voice in the room - simply because of some parts of my identity.
Our task, in my opinion, is to never cease to see with gracious and open eyes - those we would be tempted to disparage - those we fear - those who look and sound different from our own folk - those for whom we have no contact or never have met - those upon whom we can throw labels in an attempt to diminish them. The high ground is really not a place above others - it is the ground we share with those at whom we think it would be so easy to throw stones. It is when we stand alongside - them.
TRRR
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Tuesday, August 6, 2019
Bullet holes in walls in Bosnia - are you afraid
Please allow me to rant through storytelling. It is about guns - so hold on to your firearms of preference. This is a story that I have shared in portion on Facebook and used in part in the Welcome to Worship this last weekend of what seemed to be endless bloodshed in the land of the free and the home of the brave.
It was back on our last full day staying in a small village outside of Dubrovnik, Croatia. Karen and I decided that we wanted to take one last adventure before we headed out of town. We hired a driver from a company we used several times in Croatia. We were both amazed at the story of where he lived and how he lives away from this wife and child as he earned a wage to support them. He was a really good guy who was very willing to address himself to some of our basic and often tourist-like questions.
Our destination was to be Mostar, Bosnia-Herzgovina. He suggested to additional side trips to small scenic spots not too far off the beaten path we were taking. Mostar is a quaint small town. The arching walking bridge over the river that divides the town is one of the most picturesque scenes we encountered on that vacation. It was also a scenic wonder to me because as we approached the town, the minarets from a dozen mosques dotted the skyline and there was one lone church steeple. Quite a change from the cities and towns of Ohio.
Mostar was also known as being a place that was part of the battlefield of the Balkan war in the early 1990s. As we prepped for the day trip, we read about the fighting that went on there and how many bullet holes could still be seen dotting a number of buildings in the town. One source noted that many of those holes were turned into parts of graffiti art. This was once a divided town but now was a symbol of people with differences living together in peace.
Well, as we were driving to Mostar we asked our driver about his family and he asked us about the United States. He told us some of the tensions that still exist between Croatians, Bosnians, and Serbs. Quite enlightening. Then - we may have come to a light or an open expanse of road - he asked us if we were afraid. Karen and I were confused for a second and Karen said something like,
"You mean afraid to be in Bosnia?" He said, "No. To live in the United States with all the guns."
Wow. Here we were passing road signs of the towns that are infamously associated with bloodshed and genocide and he is asking if we are afraid to live in the United States. He was not merely referring to a story he may have heard. He really knew the statistics about guns and death by guns and military type weapons that anyone can own.
In a bit of shock, we tried to tell him that we were not afraid - but we agreed that there are so many guns out and about that if you only heard the about the number of guns in the hands and homes of Americans, it should sound frightening to anyone. Yet, there in that van we were once again hearing a story we had heard quite often on our latest trips to Europe in the last two years. The image of the U.S. is becoming more and more deflated. And worst of all, it comes as a great disappointment to people 'over there.' The old term Ugly American that was heard often in Europe during the months I was in England in the early 70's has intensified. Now, it is not merely about how we carry ourselves and know only one language and have a lack of understanding of other cultures. Now, it refers to a culture of violence and hatred and an inability to live within a diverse population - in peace. Our young driver sounded sad and discouraged about who we were becoming. It was as though we were a beacon - a light - that had gone dim.
Unfortunately, as we all know, as a nation we will not work on us. We are too busy trying to fix the blame for all that is wrong on someone out there. Even though we are not made secure by the number of guns we have or the availability of guns, our lust for more is growing as we whip up the fear among us. And, others in the world see that in us. They see a country allowing fear to cause the brave and the free to fire away at will.
By the way, we found a small artisan who was making metal plates in his little shop. We went into to watch him work and yes, we bought stuff. But here is what really hit us. He had turned empty casing of large caliber bullets and mortars into pieces of art. I thought: to hell with letting death rule us and make fools of us by worshipping the weapons that enflame a warring madness among us. Here was an artist who understood the reality of a population - a homeland - being devastated by violence. He may not be an artist who turns swords into plowshares, but he knows how to turn bullets into vessels of beauty and life. I say, unleash the artists and the people of grand imagination and let them lead us out of the grip of death we seem to love so dearly.
TRRR
It was back on our last full day staying in a small village outside of Dubrovnik, Croatia. Karen and I decided that we wanted to take one last adventure before we headed out of town. We hired a driver from a company we used several times in Croatia. We were both amazed at the story of where he lived and how he lives away from this wife and child as he earned a wage to support them. He was a really good guy who was very willing to address himself to some of our basic and often tourist-like questions.
Our destination was to be Mostar, Bosnia-Herzgovina. He suggested to additional side trips to small scenic spots not too far off the beaten path we were taking. Mostar is a quaint small town. The arching walking bridge over the river that divides the town is one of the most picturesque scenes we encountered on that vacation. It was also a scenic wonder to me because as we approached the town, the minarets from a dozen mosques dotted the skyline and there was one lone church steeple. Quite a change from the cities and towns of Ohio.
Mostar was also known as being a place that was part of the battlefield of the Balkan war in the early 1990s. As we prepped for the day trip, we read about the fighting that went on there and how many bullet holes could still be seen dotting a number of buildings in the town. One source noted that many of those holes were turned into parts of graffiti art. This was once a divided town but now was a symbol of people with differences living together in peace.
Well, as we were driving to Mostar we asked our driver about his family and he asked us about the United States. He told us some of the tensions that still exist between Croatians, Bosnians, and Serbs. Quite enlightening. Then - we may have come to a light or an open expanse of road - he asked us if we were afraid. Karen and I were confused for a second and Karen said something like,
"You mean afraid to be in Bosnia?" He said, "No. To live in the United States with all the guns."
Wow. Here we were passing road signs of the towns that are infamously associated with bloodshed and genocide and he is asking if we are afraid to live in the United States. He was not merely referring to a story he may have heard. He really knew the statistics about guns and death by guns and military type weapons that anyone can own.
In a bit of shock, we tried to tell him that we were not afraid - but we agreed that there are so many guns out and about that if you only heard the about the number of guns in the hands and homes of Americans, it should sound frightening to anyone. Yet, there in that van we were once again hearing a story we had heard quite often on our latest trips to Europe in the last two years. The image of the U.S. is becoming more and more deflated. And worst of all, it comes as a great disappointment to people 'over there.' The old term Ugly American that was heard often in Europe during the months I was in England in the early 70's has intensified. Now, it is not merely about how we carry ourselves and know only one language and have a lack of understanding of other cultures. Now, it refers to a culture of violence and hatred and an inability to live within a diverse population - in peace. Our young driver sounded sad and discouraged about who we were becoming. It was as though we were a beacon - a light - that had gone dim.
Unfortunately, as we all know, as a nation we will not work on us. We are too busy trying to fix the blame for all that is wrong on someone out there. Even though we are not made secure by the number of guns we have or the availability of guns, our lust for more is growing as we whip up the fear among us. And, others in the world see that in us. They see a country allowing fear to cause the brave and the free to fire away at will.
By the way, we found a small artisan who was making metal plates in his little shop. We went into to watch him work and yes, we bought stuff. But here is what really hit us. He had turned empty casing of large caliber bullets and mortars into pieces of art. I thought: to hell with letting death rule us and make fools of us by worshipping the weapons that enflame a warring madness among us. Here was an artist who understood the reality of a population - a homeland - being devastated by violence. He may not be an artist who turns swords into plowshares, but he knows how to turn bullets into vessels of beauty and life. I say, unleash the artists and the people of grand imagination and let them lead us out of the grip of death we seem to love so dearly.
TRRR
Saturday, August 3, 2019
Dark Psychic Forces and other powers that whip us up - let us down
I am not familiar with the work of Marianne Williamson. She is presently one of the Democratic candidates for president who has been able to demonstrate that she has followers and she is able to generate donations - the present standard for a stage appearance.
I bring her up because she makes me think of what could be an interesting aspect of these debates - even when we come to the debates between the Republican and Democratic candidates. I would not call it a third party - that is a tainted term. I will call it another voice. It is the voice that many people turn to when they are trying to be grounded. It is the voice of people who ponder the well-being of the earth and all that is therein. They do not have to be people of faith - yet that is where we often will hear such voices. It is also the voice of tried and trues atheist and those who have deliberately pulled out of the domains of organized religion in order be attached to a vision of peace that is often tossed to the side.
As much as I have heard folks discount Williamson's presence on stage, in my opinion she did offer the most critical voice to the listening public and the other candidates. Embedded in one of the few times she was given the mic, she warned us of the dark psychic force of collective hatred. She was playing the important role of Toto pulling back the curtain on the Wizard of Oz and the young child saying what needed to be said in The Emperor's New Clothes. The games of politics often lead us in circles - never moving ahead - just spinning in the same space. It is a place that seeks to settle for what I would call the demonic. I think it is what Paul called the principalities and powers. It may also be what I have learned to call the mechanism of culture that no one dare counter - less you be crucified.
Imagine this. MSNBC or CNN or FOX gives a panel made up of people who are respected within their circles of faith or their work in society for being wise - insightful - prophetic - courageous - nonpartisan - and let them offer comments and suggestions and critiques and take the clothes off of that which is down right demonic but dressed up to shine on stage. No scapegoating will be allowed. No us-them will be tolerated. No party line or party talking points can be tossed around. The voices of the candidates must be met with the fire of truthfulness that benefits all of us. I would expect that candidates would be called out - dissected - and their comments put under the fire of a wisdom that most of us do not want to hear when we are so tied to this party or that - this race or that - this social status or that - this line of work or that - this neighborhood or that.... We would also have to make sure that the folks on this panel were not like the court prophet of the Hebrew scriptures - those who went along with and stood behind the powers of the day. We would want ones more like the Great Prophets or Jesus or - yes, put your prophet person here. Trust me, the false prophets would be completely exposed if they started spreading the manure of the voices of hate or political correctness or any other voice that continues to build the status quo of what we have learned to accept as how we must live.
This would not be a religious show. Just as debates do not need a live audience present, there would be no live audience here. But afterwards, let the pundits go after them - let the editorial writer have their say - let the teachers and preachers within congregations quote them and challenge them. I don''t want any of them to be people of faith whose jobs are now tightly wound up in the mechanism of political parties or the web of religious money and status or the seats at news tables under the moniker of analyst/consultant.
You may say, I'm a dreamer. Yes. I'd like to think I am being a bit foolish. I know that no one would be pleased with the selection of this panel. So, select a second one for the next debate. Or bring the panel together for a special event and let folks listen in to the back and forth, the places of complete disagreement and complete agreement, and places of compromise and clarification.
Have this panel take on questions from the public. What damage could it do. Instead, what a gift it would be to people who care about the well-being of our country and the well-being of all who make up the land of the free and the home of the brave.
TRRR
I bring her up because she makes me think of what could be an interesting aspect of these debates - even when we come to the debates between the Republican and Democratic candidates. I would not call it a third party - that is a tainted term. I will call it another voice. It is the voice that many people turn to when they are trying to be grounded. It is the voice of people who ponder the well-being of the earth and all that is therein. They do not have to be people of faith - yet that is where we often will hear such voices. It is also the voice of tried and trues atheist and those who have deliberately pulled out of the domains of organized religion in order be attached to a vision of peace that is often tossed to the side.
As much as I have heard folks discount Williamson's presence on stage, in my opinion she did offer the most critical voice to the listening public and the other candidates. Embedded in one of the few times she was given the mic, she warned us of the dark psychic force of collective hatred. She was playing the important role of Toto pulling back the curtain on the Wizard of Oz and the young child saying what needed to be said in The Emperor's New Clothes. The games of politics often lead us in circles - never moving ahead - just spinning in the same space. It is a place that seeks to settle for what I would call the demonic. I think it is what Paul called the principalities and powers. It may also be what I have learned to call the mechanism of culture that no one dare counter - less you be crucified.
Imagine this. MSNBC or CNN or FOX gives a panel made up of people who are respected within their circles of faith or their work in society for being wise - insightful - prophetic - courageous - nonpartisan - and let them offer comments and suggestions and critiques and take the clothes off of that which is down right demonic but dressed up to shine on stage. No scapegoating will be allowed. No us-them will be tolerated. No party line or party talking points can be tossed around. The voices of the candidates must be met with the fire of truthfulness that benefits all of us. I would expect that candidates would be called out - dissected - and their comments put under the fire of a wisdom that most of us do not want to hear when we are so tied to this party or that - this race or that - this social status or that - this line of work or that - this neighborhood or that.... We would also have to make sure that the folks on this panel were not like the court prophet of the Hebrew scriptures - those who went along with and stood behind the powers of the day. We would want ones more like the Great Prophets or Jesus or - yes, put your prophet person here. Trust me, the false prophets would be completely exposed if they started spreading the manure of the voices of hate or political correctness or any other voice that continues to build the status quo of what we have learned to accept as how we must live.
This would not be a religious show. Just as debates do not need a live audience present, there would be no live audience here. But afterwards, let the pundits go after them - let the editorial writer have their say - let the teachers and preachers within congregations quote them and challenge them. I don''t want any of them to be people of faith whose jobs are now tightly wound up in the mechanism of political parties or the web of religious money and status or the seats at news tables under the moniker of analyst/consultant.
You may say, I'm a dreamer. Yes. I'd like to think I am being a bit foolish. I know that no one would be pleased with the selection of this panel. So, select a second one for the next debate. Or bring the panel together for a special event and let folks listen in to the back and forth, the places of complete disagreement and complete agreement, and places of compromise and clarification.
Have this panel take on questions from the public. What damage could it do. Instead, what a gift it would be to people who care about the well-being of our country and the well-being of all who make up the land of the free and the home of the brave.
TRRR
Monday, July 29, 2019
The energy of resurrection
Long time since the last post. I have not been keeping note of the notes I write myself. That means I write and rant less and less. That is odd for I like to write and at times - I rant with some joy.
I find myself mystified by preaching that focuses on heaven and hell. I once wrote that both of those concepts or realities are violent. By that I simply mean they are used to get something done. To encourage a life or discourage a life. The violence comes when folks are left out or welcomed in for this and that reason. The promise of heaven and hell leaves too many folks forgetting about the power and energy of today and how we are a part of the energy for life that makes creation eternally vibrant and alive.
For some, heaven and hell will be a part of their future. That future is constructed on conditions. There is a one day that will confront us and we will have to face going in this direction or that one.
More and more, I am empowered - even energized - by how the simple promise and announcement that I am beloved and I am a gift to the world and I am full of the potential for a peaceable existence is inspiration for the day. Personally, I find that affirmation within a traditional view of a God who creates - endlessly - and I am invited into that creativity without any need for coercion or violence.
If I had to put a title on this rant, it would be the energy of resurrection. It is the energy that continues to transform life even when I am not here anymore. It is the energy that nudges lives beyond my own to live benevolently and peaceably and within the depths of mercy and kindness and a renewing and reinvigorating justice. It takes energy to step into such a life. So this is where I am moving a bit differently than usual. Our death becomes the energy for life after us. Today I see it in two ways - not at all new thinking. First, when it is the death we face when we take our last breath and the brain waves have ceased the room is filled with the energy of our lives that appears to be gone but it is swirling in the room and the world around us. The energy of resurrection moves others off into the present. It has the power to awaken and disturb and move others. Can we see it? Hell no. Is it there? Damn right it is. The second way death becomes energy for life is within the day to day ways we face the death of ourselves - our ego - our way of seeing - our way of holding onto the world as we want it and expect it. Within the grasp of so many existential run-ins with death there is an energy that is the power for miraculous change that becomes available within a dying-to-self that invites life in others.
I live within a generation and culture that has been afraid - maybe even anxious - to let go and allow the energy of resurrection to be released. One way I see that manifest itself is within our rituals of death and burial preparation and burial itself. Here is one image that always confounds me. When taking a cab or Uber from LaGuardia airport over the years, we drive right alongside a sprawling cemetery. And why? It is as though we want to box up and contain and control the energy of resurrection - as though we can save it for another day. We embalm to keep things as they were before our last breath - the energy of resurrection is halted. We seem to be afraid to let decomposition become the possibility of new life. I have a love for that which decomposes - thus our compost bins. The energy from that decomposition becomes new life - energy moving into new shapes and forms.
I really don't want to get into a rant about our burial practices in our society, but they are odd at best. I have grown to appreciate the cultures - religious and secular - that dispose of bodies in ways that release them - allow for decomposition - expect that the energy of resurrection is already at hand. In all circumstances, we grieve for those who have died. Often we even grieve for ourselves. Resurrection comes as the energy of one's life is allowed to move others into a new space - a new time - a new understanding of life full of the energy that is endless - hope. I find hope to be some of that energy of resurrection. It is able to kick my butt and move me beyond myself and see myself within a grand life-giving agenda. I love the scene of Jesus telling the women at the tomb to tell the others to meet up with him in Galilee - the energy of resurrection. Keep moving - keep stepping out of line - keep decomposing - keep taking what is and make it what can be.
There are so many powers in our lives that attempt to embalm us so that we cannot be a part of the energy of resurrection. The power to keep things as they are become for me the power of death - the power of the demonic. Think of the man from Jesus' parable who not only had barns that were full - he torn those down to build ones that could hold more and more. Where is the energy in that story. It is put in a box - a vault - a silo. It is utterly contained. Death rules and the possibility of an expansive new life is shut down. He is so out of touch with the energy of resurrection he only consults with himself as to what he is doing. Yes there is much for him - but it is like a dead weight. Yet if he looked up and looked around that grain could energize his life and the lives of all his neighbors - both the rich and the poor. The energy of resurrection opens our eyes and opens our hearts and opens wide the life of a peaceable reign for anyone and everyone. That is some kind of energy - some kind of life coming out of death - some kind of resurrection to new life. Let it out of the box.
TRRR
I find myself mystified by preaching that focuses on heaven and hell. I once wrote that both of those concepts or realities are violent. By that I simply mean they are used to get something done. To encourage a life or discourage a life. The violence comes when folks are left out or welcomed in for this and that reason. The promise of heaven and hell leaves too many folks forgetting about the power and energy of today and how we are a part of the energy for life that makes creation eternally vibrant and alive.
For some, heaven and hell will be a part of their future. That future is constructed on conditions. There is a one day that will confront us and we will have to face going in this direction or that one.
More and more, I am empowered - even energized - by how the simple promise and announcement that I am beloved and I am a gift to the world and I am full of the potential for a peaceable existence is inspiration for the day. Personally, I find that affirmation within a traditional view of a God who creates - endlessly - and I am invited into that creativity without any need for coercion or violence.
If I had to put a title on this rant, it would be the energy of resurrection. It is the energy that continues to transform life even when I am not here anymore. It is the energy that nudges lives beyond my own to live benevolently and peaceably and within the depths of mercy and kindness and a renewing and reinvigorating justice. It takes energy to step into such a life. So this is where I am moving a bit differently than usual. Our death becomes the energy for life after us. Today I see it in two ways - not at all new thinking. First, when it is the death we face when we take our last breath and the brain waves have ceased the room is filled with the energy of our lives that appears to be gone but it is swirling in the room and the world around us. The energy of resurrection moves others off into the present. It has the power to awaken and disturb and move others. Can we see it? Hell no. Is it there? Damn right it is. The second way death becomes energy for life is within the day to day ways we face the death of ourselves - our ego - our way of seeing - our way of holding onto the world as we want it and expect it. Within the grasp of so many existential run-ins with death there is an energy that is the power for miraculous change that becomes available within a dying-to-self that invites life in others.
I live within a generation and culture that has been afraid - maybe even anxious - to let go and allow the energy of resurrection to be released. One way I see that manifest itself is within our rituals of death and burial preparation and burial itself. Here is one image that always confounds me. When taking a cab or Uber from LaGuardia airport over the years, we drive right alongside a sprawling cemetery. And why? It is as though we want to box up and contain and control the energy of resurrection - as though we can save it for another day. We embalm to keep things as they were before our last breath - the energy of resurrection is halted. We seem to be afraid to let decomposition become the possibility of new life. I have a love for that which decomposes - thus our compost bins. The energy from that decomposition becomes new life - energy moving into new shapes and forms.
I really don't want to get into a rant about our burial practices in our society, but they are odd at best. I have grown to appreciate the cultures - religious and secular - that dispose of bodies in ways that release them - allow for decomposition - expect that the energy of resurrection is already at hand. In all circumstances, we grieve for those who have died. Often we even grieve for ourselves. Resurrection comes as the energy of one's life is allowed to move others into a new space - a new time - a new understanding of life full of the energy that is endless - hope. I find hope to be some of that energy of resurrection. It is able to kick my butt and move me beyond myself and see myself within a grand life-giving agenda. I love the scene of Jesus telling the women at the tomb to tell the others to meet up with him in Galilee - the energy of resurrection. Keep moving - keep stepping out of line - keep decomposing - keep taking what is and make it what can be.
There are so many powers in our lives that attempt to embalm us so that we cannot be a part of the energy of resurrection. The power to keep things as they are become for me the power of death - the power of the demonic. Think of the man from Jesus' parable who not only had barns that were full - he torn those down to build ones that could hold more and more. Where is the energy in that story. It is put in a box - a vault - a silo. It is utterly contained. Death rules and the possibility of an expansive new life is shut down. He is so out of touch with the energy of resurrection he only consults with himself as to what he is doing. Yes there is much for him - but it is like a dead weight. Yet if he looked up and looked around that grain could energize his life and the lives of all his neighbors - both the rich and the poor. The energy of resurrection opens our eyes and opens our hearts and opens wide the life of a peaceable reign for anyone and everyone. That is some kind of energy - some kind of life coming out of death - some kind of resurrection to new life. Let it out of the box.
TRRR
Wednesday, January 9, 2019
Red and Blue and Purple Too (take 3)
Howard Thurman writes about two alternatives faced by the Jewish minority of which Jesus was a part - to resist or not to resist. He then writes of secondary alternatives to these two. #1. Imitation - which can fall under the general plan of nonresistance. He notes that Herod was an excellent example of this solution. #2. Another form of a nonresistance pattern is to reduce contact with the enemy - keeping one's resentment under rigid control and censorship. He notes that all imperialism functions in this way. Subject peoples are held under control by this device. #3. Resistance - to which he notes that even nonresistance is a form of resistance. He then really focuses on the Zealots as an example of this - a form of fanaticism. Then, Thurman notes another way. #4. The Kingdom of Heaven is in us - as the alternative Jesus brings. He quotes Vladimir Simlhovitch to flesh out this point. Jesus had to resent deeply the loss of Jewish national independence and the aggression of Rome...natural humiliation was hurting and burning. The balm for that buring humiliation was humility. For humility cannot be humiliated. ...Thus he asked his people to learn from him, "For I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
What I like about Thurman is he keeps moving with his images. For example, if #4 was to be all that which was said, it would be - in my words - religious bullshit. It could be the opiate - the doormat ready to be stepped upon. But, No! In fact, he recognized that such language and imagery became that used by the powerful and the dominant as an instrument of oppression. He goes on to write: Wherever his (Jesus') spirit appears, the oppressed gather fresh courage; for he announced the good news that fear, hypocrisy and hatred, the three hounds of hell that track the trail of the disinherited, need have no dominion over them.
God's Reign or the Kingdom of Heaven is a life - a life within all of us - a life that is meant to come to life right in the middle of all the violence and crap of the day - a life that is contrary - a life that sides with those whose lives are usually taken from them or shaken down as though they mean nothing. I hear this vision Thurman notes to be a vision of transformation. It is not a vision of a life that comes to all after our life is over. It is the power that resists all the powers that make the world - their world. So when Jesus walked along the way - he was walking within God's Reign - as God's Reign. Then to make a more powerful position of resistance, he invited others to follow in that life. In that invitation comes the power of resistance that is available to those pronounced and treated as the least and those who stand and live and love and share life with them.
When I use the phrase Read and Blue and Purple Too, it is a simple reminder that those who rule - those who stand within the halls of power - those who understand quite well how to keep the divisions of our lives alive and well, will not be those who walk in the way of The Kingdom of Heaven that is in us. Oh, they may talk well of such a Reign - but it is used to unleash those three hounds of hell in order to keep in power those who hold power and cause others to run for their lives. Thurman lifts up a resistance that is a life that pulls us into a contrary position and actions. It will not be found within the labels of Red and Blue and Purple Too - not even Green. It will be made available as we become vulnerable to all the powers within lives that do not go along. This is not mere protest - this is not rioting - this is not violence in any form. Rather it is the action of those who touch and heal and eat with and walk with all those folks we read about in the gospels. The note we must hear at this point is that those situations in which Jesus walked - are not distinct to that time and his life. We are not called to merely study them. We are invited to walk in that same way.
The complexity of our day - in so many ways - makes it difficult to walk humbly with our God - to resist the deep need to win or be called right and good and in power. Yet, whether Red or Blue or Purple, if we say we are followers of Jesus (people who live within the Reign of God in this day) no side can own our hearts or lives. We must do what I hate and fear - risk being left out and not in control of the day. Yet, what we may gain is the wealth of life that comes when we step down from our desire to win the day and turn to walk humbly with any who are left behind. It is there - the place we do not want to be - that we begin to change - see with new eyes - speak in a new voice - let go of the life we are absolutely sure we must save. Then within the embrace of those crowds of people who longed for healing and touch and food, we find ourselves full and healed and open to face the powers of death - for they cannot take away the life we are invited to share with all people without the need for Red or Blue or Purple Too.
TRRR
What I like about Thurman is he keeps moving with his images. For example, if #4 was to be all that which was said, it would be - in my words - religious bullshit. It could be the opiate - the doormat ready to be stepped upon. But, No! In fact, he recognized that such language and imagery became that used by the powerful and the dominant as an instrument of oppression. He goes on to write: Wherever his (Jesus') spirit appears, the oppressed gather fresh courage; for he announced the good news that fear, hypocrisy and hatred, the three hounds of hell that track the trail of the disinherited, need have no dominion over them.
God's Reign or the Kingdom of Heaven is a life - a life within all of us - a life that is meant to come to life right in the middle of all the violence and crap of the day - a life that is contrary - a life that sides with those whose lives are usually taken from them or shaken down as though they mean nothing. I hear this vision Thurman notes to be a vision of transformation. It is not a vision of a life that comes to all after our life is over. It is the power that resists all the powers that make the world - their world. So when Jesus walked along the way - he was walking within God's Reign - as God's Reign. Then to make a more powerful position of resistance, he invited others to follow in that life. In that invitation comes the power of resistance that is available to those pronounced and treated as the least and those who stand and live and love and share life with them.
When I use the phrase Read and Blue and Purple Too, it is a simple reminder that those who rule - those who stand within the halls of power - those who understand quite well how to keep the divisions of our lives alive and well, will not be those who walk in the way of The Kingdom of Heaven that is in us. Oh, they may talk well of such a Reign - but it is used to unleash those three hounds of hell in order to keep in power those who hold power and cause others to run for their lives. Thurman lifts up a resistance that is a life that pulls us into a contrary position and actions. It will not be found within the labels of Red and Blue and Purple Too - not even Green. It will be made available as we become vulnerable to all the powers within lives that do not go along. This is not mere protest - this is not rioting - this is not violence in any form. Rather it is the action of those who touch and heal and eat with and walk with all those folks we read about in the gospels. The note we must hear at this point is that those situations in which Jesus walked - are not distinct to that time and his life. We are not called to merely study them. We are invited to walk in that same way.
The complexity of our day - in so many ways - makes it difficult to walk humbly with our God - to resist the deep need to win or be called right and good and in power. Yet, whether Red or Blue or Purple, if we say we are followers of Jesus (people who live within the Reign of God in this day) no side can own our hearts or lives. We must do what I hate and fear - risk being left out and not in control of the day. Yet, what we may gain is the wealth of life that comes when we step down from our desire to win the day and turn to walk humbly with any who are left behind. It is there - the place we do not want to be - that we begin to change - see with new eyes - speak in a new voice - let go of the life we are absolutely sure we must save. Then within the embrace of those crowds of people who longed for healing and touch and food, we find ourselves full and healed and open to face the powers of death - for they cannot take away the life we are invited to share with all people without the need for Red or Blue or Purple Too.
TRRR
Monday, January 7, 2019
Red and Blue and Purple Too (Take 2)
Howard Thurman notes, 'It cannot be denied that too often the weight of the Christian movement has been on the side of the strong and the powerful and against the weak and oppressed - this, despite the gospel.'
We have all had the opportunity to live within and through times that can be set up as politically Red and Blue and Purple too. In our country, we are obsessed with saying that we are a Christian nation. Yet, that claim does not follow the way of Jesus. It is not a statement about how the broken are healed and the enemy loved - even unto death. It is about power. It is about giving validation - even a blessing - to the mechanism of violence that becomes us - defines us - preserves us no matter what the cost will be to others.
Within the days leading up to and entering into the new configuration in the House and Senate, there has been a disturbing mix of memes going around on Facebook. The ones that have been able to pull my strings are the ones in which the person who is posting wants a response to the use of different religious books for swearing in ceremonies. Usually there is an air of disgust that a book other than the Judaeo/Christian Bible would be the book upon which someone would pledge to uphold the constitution and carry out the duties of a government official. I always look at the comments in those posts. It is as though the use of a Quran means that the persons entering their office will eventually become a traitor or try to overthrown the country. Really!?
I find it more devilish that many politicians use the Bible as they book upon which they will make their pledges and promises. I use devilish in the sense of evil - in the sense of being an act of disrespect - in the sense of being an apostasy. I'm not saying that a religious person who faithfully engages in the life that their faith tradition teaches cannot be in politics. Rather, I find it morally reprehensible that one would think that their pledge of allegiance to the country will be better fulfilled if they say some words with their hand on a book. My Facebook encounters seem to forget that a person does not even have to swear on a religious book in court - it is unnecessary. We swear to the air - to the world - to the cosmos - to ourselves and those in the room that our yes will be yes and our no will be no. There will be no need to fudge. A book used in the pledge does not make one holier than others or more truthful or more trustworthy. I mentioned in a comment that if I had to make such a pledge - I would bring out my Calvin and Hobbes Anthology. I think I would do that so that any and all holy rollers would endlessly question my actions and motives and wonder about my sanity.
To be quite honest, I have a number of friends and acquaintances who love Calvin and Hobbes and they would understand the importance of using the Anthology as a way of mocking the state of things and also alerting folks to how the world may become different. And that, is why I do not want Bibles or Holy books to be used for a holy photo op that insults any and all faiths. We are not invited to swear to God to make our country be one that ceaselessly pursues justice. When we say we are a Christian or a Jew or a Muslim or a Hindu or whatever faith folks claim to be, we are to come to life within the teaching of those faiths. Screw the book - be the followers. Unfortunately, we have turned the image of the country into one that cannot function without a specific religious imprimatur to which we say we adhere. And yet, that is and always has been a lie. Our nation - any nation - falls flat when placed alongside the character of faith teachings. We have the good fortune - some might say we are blessed - to have a country that does not rise or fall because we say we identify with the teaching of a certain religion. In fact, to claim to be a Christian nation is to say that we are willing to act contrary to the teachings of Jesus and the prophetic line from which he lived. We need only look around. Thurman said it well in the opening quote.
I love to see people of faith take the risk to live and speak and engage the world out of their traditions. What I see as that takes place is the appearance of lives dedicated to a crazy notion that all people are created equal. That is not a principal owned by one group of people. It is the wonder of humanity making incarnate the creativity of life needed to transform everyone. I don't care what your faith tradition is - I want to be a witness to how you help take us all into a new life in which all people - means all people, and hatred and violence toward others is the manifestation of the lowest form of being human. And therefore, we are needed to offer ourselves to those who are filled with hatred and violence so that all will experience what I usually call the Peaceable Reign of God - or - as MLK, Jr. often called - the Beloved Community.
So, rather than bitch about people who may be different - rather than fear that which we do not know - rather than live and think as though we are hiding behind a wall that will save us, do this: if you are a Jew, Muslim, Hindu, Atheist, Christian - let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. That's how hope works. We begin to see the reality of promises that the present powers of the world never attain. It may be that our critique of those who hold power may not be about whether or not they are like us - but how they embody the best of a humanity led by a spirit of peace and love - for all.
TRRR
We have all had the opportunity to live within and through times that can be set up as politically Red and Blue and Purple too. In our country, we are obsessed with saying that we are a Christian nation. Yet, that claim does not follow the way of Jesus. It is not a statement about how the broken are healed and the enemy loved - even unto death. It is about power. It is about giving validation - even a blessing - to the mechanism of violence that becomes us - defines us - preserves us no matter what the cost will be to others.
Within the days leading up to and entering into the new configuration in the House and Senate, there has been a disturbing mix of memes going around on Facebook. The ones that have been able to pull my strings are the ones in which the person who is posting wants a response to the use of different religious books for swearing in ceremonies. Usually there is an air of disgust that a book other than the Judaeo/Christian Bible would be the book upon which someone would pledge to uphold the constitution and carry out the duties of a government official. I always look at the comments in those posts. It is as though the use of a Quran means that the persons entering their office will eventually become a traitor or try to overthrown the country. Really!?
I find it more devilish that many politicians use the Bible as they book upon which they will make their pledges and promises. I use devilish in the sense of evil - in the sense of being an act of disrespect - in the sense of being an apostasy. I'm not saying that a religious person who faithfully engages in the life that their faith tradition teaches cannot be in politics. Rather, I find it morally reprehensible that one would think that their pledge of allegiance to the country will be better fulfilled if they say some words with their hand on a book. My Facebook encounters seem to forget that a person does not even have to swear on a religious book in court - it is unnecessary. We swear to the air - to the world - to the cosmos - to ourselves and those in the room that our yes will be yes and our no will be no. There will be no need to fudge. A book used in the pledge does not make one holier than others or more truthful or more trustworthy. I mentioned in a comment that if I had to make such a pledge - I would bring out my Calvin and Hobbes Anthology. I think I would do that so that any and all holy rollers would endlessly question my actions and motives and wonder about my sanity.
To be quite honest, I have a number of friends and acquaintances who love Calvin and Hobbes and they would understand the importance of using the Anthology as a way of mocking the state of things and also alerting folks to how the world may become different. And that, is why I do not want Bibles or Holy books to be used for a holy photo op that insults any and all faiths. We are not invited to swear to God to make our country be one that ceaselessly pursues justice. When we say we are a Christian or a Jew or a Muslim or a Hindu or whatever faith folks claim to be, we are to come to life within the teaching of those faiths. Screw the book - be the followers. Unfortunately, we have turned the image of the country into one that cannot function without a specific religious imprimatur to which we say we adhere. And yet, that is and always has been a lie. Our nation - any nation - falls flat when placed alongside the character of faith teachings. We have the good fortune - some might say we are blessed - to have a country that does not rise or fall because we say we identify with the teaching of a certain religion. In fact, to claim to be a Christian nation is to say that we are willing to act contrary to the teachings of Jesus and the prophetic line from which he lived. We need only look around. Thurman said it well in the opening quote.
I love to see people of faith take the risk to live and speak and engage the world out of their traditions. What I see as that takes place is the appearance of lives dedicated to a crazy notion that all people are created equal. That is not a principal owned by one group of people. It is the wonder of humanity making incarnate the creativity of life needed to transform everyone. I don't care what your faith tradition is - I want to be a witness to how you help take us all into a new life in which all people - means all people, and hatred and violence toward others is the manifestation of the lowest form of being human. And therefore, we are needed to offer ourselves to those who are filled with hatred and violence so that all will experience what I usually call the Peaceable Reign of God - or - as MLK, Jr. often called - the Beloved Community.
So, rather than bitch about people who may be different - rather than fear that which we do not know - rather than live and think as though we are hiding behind a wall that will save us, do this: if you are a Jew, Muslim, Hindu, Atheist, Christian - let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. That's how hope works. We begin to see the reality of promises that the present powers of the world never attain. It may be that our critique of those who hold power may not be about whether or not they are like us - but how they embody the best of a humanity led by a spirit of peace and love - for all.
TRRR
Sunday, January 6, 2019
Red and Blue and Purple Too
None of us are meant to be observers as the world moves through today and into that which will be. We are to be participants. You may not agree with this, but we are participants even when we sit back and let ourselves merely look on or simply bitch and gripe about the world as we hold it out at arms length so that it will not touch us and we will not have to touch it. When I encounter people of various faith tradition a common thread that is woven into all of our lives is the necessity to have our lives become a part of the fabric of the society in which we live. It does not mean we work to transform the culture or society into our kind. Rather, there are foundational ways to be vitally concerned and a part of our communities. It would be easy to simply say we are invited to love one another - without boundary - without bias - without partiality. But those words, unfortunately, get blown off too easily. The infectiousness of sentimentality within the rubric to love has made love an indecency - for it has become the means to war, tribalism, and the need to destroy the other out of love of our own. What a shame. I must say that the call to love that comes from people outside of a faith community can be powerful and yet, it too, can be nothing more than an sentimental familial journey.
I may be one of the slowest readers in the world. Then, if you throw on top of that the fact that I must read early in the day or else I will fall asleep within moments of a few turns of the page - I can be pathetic. I say this at this point of this blog because I have been doing some of the best reading of my life within the past few years. It is theological and biblical - but it makes my heart stir and my mind work to bring words to life. And yet, I want to read novels. Harry Potter had me for years. John Irving can still grab me - though at times it takes too long to flip my switch. So, in this time of retirement yearnings, I looked up at the books I still have from my years of being a pastor. I gave away many - yes many - of my books. I kept ones I knew I would read again or use as a reference for myself or those few that I had only dipped into for a brief moment. Yesterday I looked up from watching some news and saw a very thin book. At the top of the binding it said, Thurman. As I am doing now, I smiled. It was Howard Thurman's book Jesus and the Disinherited. When I started to flip through the pages, I was glad my wife was not near by. For throughout the book I had marked it up without any regard for the conservation of yellow markers or marginal comments. It was then the I was a bit shaken - but that was good. What a foundational book for me. The book was published in 1949 but he had been writing decades earlier. Even the new 'theological' stuff I'm reading has not stirred my soul like my first review of the first chapter - actually the Preface.
But let me go back to my opening concern about love and engagement and that which I would consider the basic gift of our humanity - keeping our eyes open for the well-being of all. Anything less than that is sheer violence. I for one can be one hell of a violent person. Fortunately, I have voices all around me that hold up visions of peacefulness and the common good of all and the need to never forget those who are too often forgotten within the world I occupy. Let me step back a few sentences. Hell is the violence of this world of ours. Hell takes on so many faces, we often do not see it sitting at the bar stool next to us or the Thanksgiving dinner or our favored groups or the news we watch or the fear brewing in our hearts or the anxiety blowing in the winds of change. To keep things as we want them, in voice and act and gesture we let ourselves lean into the violence of separation, accusation, condemnation, and self-focused love.
Though I do not read as much as I would like - I read. I take a look at how this side and that side argue. I endure the endless ways everyone seems to attempt to make themselves shine and make sure the other is diminished. I am so sad to hear the violence. It comes from all sides. For example, I am one who strongly supports and even started my career as a pastor in community organizing. It is an important way to be connected to the community in which one lives. In Detroit, that meant a mere section of a big city. It meant I learned so much from neighbors. But I also learned that just like so many ways we move through life, we build an us and a them. Yes, even the most well meaning people know how to be violent at some level. One day at a meeting of about twenty five community members, there was some discussion about including a predominantly Chaldean neighborhood into our community organization. For a few moments, I sat back like a young child eavesdropping on a wise adult conversation that was beginning to implode. There were those (white and black) who were saying they worked with them and - they smell. Hmmm. Then the elder African American member of the board started laughing - one of those deep Heh-Heh-Heh laughs. When faces turned his way he said, 'Do you hear what we are doing? We are describing them in the same way (then he points to some of the white members of the board) they used to talk about us.' Everyone looked around and joined his laughter and follow with a vote to expand the table. The community was not miraculously healed - but, we saw and heard the movement of a humanity that was considering how truly human we all can be - even if it was just in one act of solidarity mixed with laughter and action.
Red and Blue and Purple Too will be my way of talking about the way we continue to be a violent culture and the call to be something new. Some of that will have to do with how we must face the lies that come from the two political parities that attempt to run our country. You may have noticed that both parties have a long history of promises and none of them are kept. Even prophetic voices fall to the side as the mechanism of the way things are marches on under banners promising new life and better times. Unfortunately, over the change of powers and words and parties, the violence of the culture persists.There is no trickle down. There is no program for the hungry and insecure. There is no action to expand the middle class. There is absolutely no action to see to the well-being of the poor. There is no mutual respect for people of all backgrounds. Even when folks attempt to talk of compromises by using words like purple to describe a political reality - purple is nothing more than nothing more.
So, while the same violence of our cultural leaders owns the day - what are we to do - what can we do? I'm one who needs to maintain an imagination and have others expand that imagination. I am one who also needs someone to help move my ass into action that will never forget the least, the lowest, the left out. For those of you who consider yourself bothered (even oppressed) by changes in society and feel threatened by how the world is moving in directions you may not like, I may not be writing for you. I hope I will be drawing into question the violence we have at the core of how we move through the day and how that movement is a hell of a way to live.
TRRR
I may be one of the slowest readers in the world. Then, if you throw on top of that the fact that I must read early in the day or else I will fall asleep within moments of a few turns of the page - I can be pathetic. I say this at this point of this blog because I have been doing some of the best reading of my life within the past few years. It is theological and biblical - but it makes my heart stir and my mind work to bring words to life. And yet, I want to read novels. Harry Potter had me for years. John Irving can still grab me - though at times it takes too long to flip my switch. So, in this time of retirement yearnings, I looked up at the books I still have from my years of being a pastor. I gave away many - yes many - of my books. I kept ones I knew I would read again or use as a reference for myself or those few that I had only dipped into for a brief moment. Yesterday I looked up from watching some news and saw a very thin book. At the top of the binding it said, Thurman. As I am doing now, I smiled. It was Howard Thurman's book Jesus and the Disinherited. When I started to flip through the pages, I was glad my wife was not near by. For throughout the book I had marked it up without any regard for the conservation of yellow markers or marginal comments. It was then the I was a bit shaken - but that was good. What a foundational book for me. The book was published in 1949 but he had been writing decades earlier. Even the new 'theological' stuff I'm reading has not stirred my soul like my first review of the first chapter - actually the Preface.
But let me go back to my opening concern about love and engagement and that which I would consider the basic gift of our humanity - keeping our eyes open for the well-being of all. Anything less than that is sheer violence. I for one can be one hell of a violent person. Fortunately, I have voices all around me that hold up visions of peacefulness and the common good of all and the need to never forget those who are too often forgotten within the world I occupy. Let me step back a few sentences. Hell is the violence of this world of ours. Hell takes on so many faces, we often do not see it sitting at the bar stool next to us or the Thanksgiving dinner or our favored groups or the news we watch or the fear brewing in our hearts or the anxiety blowing in the winds of change. To keep things as we want them, in voice and act and gesture we let ourselves lean into the violence of separation, accusation, condemnation, and self-focused love.
Though I do not read as much as I would like - I read. I take a look at how this side and that side argue. I endure the endless ways everyone seems to attempt to make themselves shine and make sure the other is diminished. I am so sad to hear the violence. It comes from all sides. For example, I am one who strongly supports and even started my career as a pastor in community organizing. It is an important way to be connected to the community in which one lives. In Detroit, that meant a mere section of a big city. It meant I learned so much from neighbors. But I also learned that just like so many ways we move through life, we build an us and a them. Yes, even the most well meaning people know how to be violent at some level. One day at a meeting of about twenty five community members, there was some discussion about including a predominantly Chaldean neighborhood into our community organization. For a few moments, I sat back like a young child eavesdropping on a wise adult conversation that was beginning to implode. There were those (white and black) who were saying they worked with them and - they smell. Hmmm. Then the elder African American member of the board started laughing - one of those deep Heh-Heh-Heh laughs. When faces turned his way he said, 'Do you hear what we are doing? We are describing them in the same way (then he points to some of the white members of the board) they used to talk about us.' Everyone looked around and joined his laughter and follow with a vote to expand the table. The community was not miraculously healed - but, we saw and heard the movement of a humanity that was considering how truly human we all can be - even if it was just in one act of solidarity mixed with laughter and action.
Red and Blue and Purple Too will be my way of talking about the way we continue to be a violent culture and the call to be something new. Some of that will have to do with how we must face the lies that come from the two political parities that attempt to run our country. You may have noticed that both parties have a long history of promises and none of them are kept. Even prophetic voices fall to the side as the mechanism of the way things are marches on under banners promising new life and better times. Unfortunately, over the change of powers and words and parties, the violence of the culture persists.There is no trickle down. There is no program for the hungry and insecure. There is no action to expand the middle class. There is absolutely no action to see to the well-being of the poor. There is no mutual respect for people of all backgrounds. Even when folks attempt to talk of compromises by using words like purple to describe a political reality - purple is nothing more than nothing more.
So, while the same violence of our cultural leaders owns the day - what are we to do - what can we do? I'm one who needs to maintain an imagination and have others expand that imagination. I am one who also needs someone to help move my ass into action that will never forget the least, the lowest, the left out. For those of you who consider yourself bothered (even oppressed) by changes in society and feel threatened by how the world is moving in directions you may not like, I may not be writing for you. I hope I will be drawing into question the violence we have at the core of how we move through the day and how that movement is a hell of a way to live.
TRRR
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)