conjectural navel gazing; jesus in lint form

a postcard from a friend

One of the Girls is in Ireland. Well, one of One of the Girls most accurately...Anyway, Mike sent a postard that read thusly:

Tripp - I saw and old
man playing "Fields of
Athenry" on a synthesizer/
drum machine last night in
the village of Kinsale in Cork.
It was hilarious.
-Mike

The picture on the post card is to the right.

I want to go to Ireland. Anyone with me?

joseph of arimathea

Today is his feast day.

The most enduring legend regarding Joseph of Arimathea regards his foundation of the first Christian Church in England at Glastonbury, in the first century (37 A.D. or 63 A.D., depending on the source). The traditional view of the Christianization of England is that it didn't occur until the missionary efforts of St. Augustine late in the 6th century (other legends discuss a missionary journey to England in the 2nd-century, by Faganus and Deruvianus).

The distinction between the Arimathean legend and the traditional Augustine view is a significant one - if Joseph really did bring Christianity to England as early as 37 A.D., it means that Christianity in England predates Christianity in other Western European nations such as Spain and France - and may even pre-date the establishment of Christianity in Rome itself. Thus, the claims of the papacy to be descended from the first apostolic church could be called into question. link

juxtaposition?

The Israeli government apologized for that airstrike, as it did for the one here on Sunday. It said that residents had been warned to leave and should have already been gone.

But leaving southern Lebanon now is dangerous. The two extended families staying in the house that the Israeli missile struck — the Shalhoubs and the Hashims — had discussed leaving several times over the past two weeks. But they were poor — most worked in tobacco or construction — and the families were big and many of their members weak, with a 95-year-old, two relatives in wheelchairs and dozens of children. A taxi north, around $1,000, was unaffordable.

And then there was the risk of the road itself.

Dozens, including 21 refugees in the back of a pickup truck on July 15, have been killed by Israeli strikes while trying to evacuate. Missiles hit two Red Cross ambulances last weekend, wounding six people and punching a circle in the center of the cross on one’s roof. A rocket hit the ambulance convoy that responded in Qana on Sunday. - NY Times

and then...

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The word poor seems to represent an Aramaic `ányâ (Hebr. `anî), bent down, afflicted, miserable, poor; while meek is rather a synonym from the same root, `ánwan (Hebr. `ánaw), bending oneself down, humble, meek, gentle. Some scholars would attach to the former word also the sense of humility; others think of "beggars before God" humbly acknowledging their need of Divine help. But the opposition of "rich" (Luke 6:24) points especially to the common and obvious meaning, which, however, ought not to be confined to economical need and distress, but may comprehend the whole of the painful condition of the poor: their low estate, their social dependence, their defenceless exposure to injustice from the rich and the mighty. Besides the Lord's blessing, the promise of the heavenly kingdom is not bestowed on the actual external condition of such poverty. The blessed ones are the poor "in spirit", who by their free will are ready to bear for God's sake this painful and humble condition, even though at present they be actually rich and happy; while on the other hand, the really poor man may fall short of this poverty "in spirit".

Why is is that we cannot bless the poor? Why is it that we make excuses about the poor? "We gave them warning." Too little, too late. If we were to live lives that blessed the poor, we would put a halt to Israel, put an end to Hezbollah, and bless the poor by bringing economic health (and before Hezbollah and Israel ruined everything this was underway) and stability to a region that just might not need a Hezbollah or reject an Israel if the poor were seen as blessed...and worthy of our help and assisstance.

We would rather keep them poor. And we would rather pretend that they are not our problem.

Sorry, this is a rant. It is incoherrent, but this article sent me over the edge. But it is the truth. If there is an invasion, the poor cannot leave. If there is flooding, the poor cannot leave. There are always nuances to this, ala New Orleans, but the truth is poverty limits the possible escape routes. This is why during war countries will set up economic blockades against their enemies if they can. We all know that the poor have less power, less ability, and are generally less "harmful." And thusly more easily managed or ignored.

Blessed are the poor, indeed.

sunday morning blogging and a sermon tangent

Those who know me know that I start my week with about a dozen sermon ideas. If I am fortunate, I have whittled it down to two or three come Saturday. If God is kind to me and I can hear, I will have one (or two) good sermon to deliver on Sunday morning. Well, that process was ticking right along per usual when I stumbled upon a couple of other thoughts and ideas. As I have a little time, I thought I would post the ideas here.

First, I am preaching about the miraculous. One of the things I wonder about miracles and the so-called western mindset is that we think we can do anything. And, for better or worse, we really have yet to stumble upon any culture-wide reason to expect less. Technology continues to develop. We are astounded by our own cleverness daily. It is no wonder that we do not believe in miracles. What is there left for God to do? We can be happy little deists simply because we believe God to be unnecessary. At most, God is the Great Moralist in the Sky. Yay. Lucky we.

Okay, go that off my chest.

Second, there is a great article in the NY Times about how Las Vegas is making it illegal to feed homeless in the parks. Yeah, here I stare at the feeding of the five thousand and once again a city is making it more and more difficult to feed people. Las Vegas is not the first to do this kind of thing. Nor will they be the last. I hope someone picks this up to preach. I only discovered it this morning.

Finally, I just want everyone to know that I am blogging from the comfort of my back porch. Yep. You got it. The wireless network reaches quite happily to the back porch of Chateau Ouilmette. I know it is going to be a hot day today, but right now it is lovely outside. The cats are lounging with me. I have a pot of coffee and a macbook. Miraculous indeed! LOL.

Have a great day. I am preaching about the AIDSRide (now defunct) and free steaks. I think it will work. We'll see. Maybe I should bring my bike with me to church.

Argh! There's just too much!

*weep*

de poissons sans sausse

Susie, John Calvin has something to offer us! Who knew? This week's lectionary is the Johannine feeding of the 5,000.

Now, though we do not every day see miracles before our eyes, yet not less beautifully does God display his power in feeding us. And indeed we do not read that, when he wished to give a supper to his people, he used any new means; and, therefore, it would be an inconsiderate prayer, if any one were to ask that meat and drink might be given to him by some unusual method.

And this is what I have been thinking about in terms of Lebanon and any other crisis in which we may find ourselves...private or public. Sometimes we want the magical and not the miraculous. The miraculous is, according to Calvin, beneficent and commonplace. It is de poissons sans sausse (fish without sauce).

a word from benedict

This is a link to a recent statement from Pope Benedict. It is brief. And probably for that reason I agree with all of it. Heh. Ah, yes, and I am sure that the Pope is glad that this heretic approves of his words. Heh. Of course, we Baptists don't agree with/on much.

To trust [Christ] means to enter actively in this divine love, to participate in this endeavor of pacification, to be in line with what the Lord says: "Blessed are the peacemakers, the agents of peace, because they are the sons of God." We must take, in the measure of our possibilities, our love to all those who are suffering, knowing that the Judge of the Last Judgment identifies himself with those who suffer.

This is what I understand to be the crux of the trouble in Lebanon, Israel and elsewhere. We fail to do this. And this is a human failure. We fail to perceive suffering when it appears before us. We rationalize our inflicting of suffering by suggesting that by doing so we decrease suffering. We call it "protection" or "retaliation" or "peace making." The truth of it is that both the recipient of such violence and the perpitrators of such violence are suffering.

I was listening to NPR earlier today. In interview with a woman in Beirut she proclaimed that she has "lost twice." She cannot support Hezbollah. She cannot defend herself from Israel. Her home has been destroyed and she has nowhere to go. She suffers. Where is God? God is with this woman. And if she has ears to hear, she may find God working in her life...asuaging her anger, pleading for an end to her torment, working toward her safety, and maybe working quietly to bring about the salvation of the world through her. Yes, even that much. That is the example of Christ. That is the example of Mary and the Apostles. That is the example of the prophets and martyrs. Benedict is right to call us to such reflection and action.

If you want to read more thoughts on the conflict, go visit Larry or Noz.

motherly visits

The coffee is brewing. My mother is still asleep. Trish is not to be disturbed for another 25 minutes. It's been nice to have my mother in town for the last couple of days. She is on her way to Salt Lake City to see my brother. I wish I had thought about this earlier, but it would have been great to go with her.

My mother, like many, is a great cook. Then again, so is my father. The two of them have encouraged my brother and me to become good cooks. So, last night mom and I cooked together. Dinner included some prawns, clam steamers, a really good smoaked salmon spread on toasted french baguette (olive topenade and bruchetta were available as well). We had a little cheese plate with brie and mushrooms. It was a good meal. I think mom and I spent about five hours hunting around the suburbs for various gifts for people. She has a wedding to go to back in Virginia. And she wanted to get one or two small things for me and my brother. "House warming gifts" she said "are a mother's perogative." I was not to dissuade her. I'll just shut-up and be grateful. My mother is here.

Thus, the upstairs is reorganized. The back porch is reorganized.

This morning I have a meeting with Larry from Reconciler at 8:30. Then I'll swing on back home and hang with my mother until it is time to take her to the airport. This evening and tomorrow will be sermon prep time. I also have a column to write for the church newsletter. It is not geat thing. The sermon should be fun to whittle down. I have been thinking about catering and Babette's Feast. We'll see if that ends up in my sermon after I read some Bonhoeffer and John Calvin.

another perspective

The words "unconditional support" strike me as interesting. Does anyone know what our agreements are with the state of Israel? Are there certain guidelines, ala Geneva Convention and other treaties, that we are supposed to encourage the state of Israel to align themselves with? I know to some this is a trick question. Some would suggest that we don't abide by much, but that is another post.

Islamic Society of North America Statement Regarding the Crisis in Lebanon

(Plainfield, IN - 7/16/06) - The Islamic Society of North America is deeply concerned about the escalation of violence in the Middle East, and urges the US administration to act as a neutral broker in the conflict. The United States cannot continue to extend unconditional support for Israel, especially when they are committing illegal and immoral violent acts of collective punishment upon the people of Gaza and the sovereign nation of Lebanon. The American nation needs to take the lead in upholding international law in times of conflict. In the context of international terrorism, the United States has been especially concerned to convince nations and groups that targeting civilians to achieve political or strategic goals is a violation of morality and law. The United States must consider its own security to be paramount, and expressed support for Israeli attacks on civilian targets in this conflict destroys American credibility in the defense against terrorism.

We call upon President Bush to denounce Israel’s excessive and disproportionate use of force against the people of Lebanon that has left scores of civilians dead or wounded, and has targeted the most vital infrastructure, including the airport, roads, ports, and bridges, rendering the Lebanese people virtual prisoners in their own country. ISNA joins other Muslims and faith groups in calling for immediate, balanced, and decisive leadership from our administration in helping to resolve this current crisis between the Palestinians, Israel and Lebanon, and to work for a comprehensive cease fire.

On a moral and even legal level, it is unconscionable and unethical, as well as a violation of the Geneva Convention that an entire population be punished through actions such cutting off electricity or food, while holding them prisoner by cutting off access to borders or travel. This immoral policy which began in Gaza has now been extended to a sovereign nation, in an attack that began by targeting the very symbol of that sovereignty, the airport. Israel has openly and brazenly stated its intent to turn Lebanon - an ally whom we were recently defending against Syrian intervention - back twenty years. Innocent civilians have been the main victims of this blitzkrieg, and an entire population of the people Lebanon now join the people of Gaza in being subjected to collective punishment for the actions of a few.

The Palestinian struggle for dignity and independence and the Israeli struggle for security is long-standing and will never be resolved by force. Over the last few decades, thousands of people, Arab Christians and Muslims in Lebanon and Palestine and Israeli Jews have been harmed or killed in violent conflict. The death of more people will not further the cause of peace and security.

If there is any hope for resolving this crisis and working to achieve an effective cease fire, and preventing the spread of this conflict which could lead to an all out regional war, it must be done quickly, and with fairness to all parties. All troops must be brought back into their own territories and halt all attacks upon their neighbors. All captives of this recent conflict should be returned unharmed. Every effort should be made to restore normal living conditions to affected civilian populations. The world cannot afford an all-out war in the Middle East and so we must join together for an all-out effort for peace.

I thought that this would be worth sharing as well. I know it is a Trib article, but what the heck. I don't make any money from this blog.

Chicago Muslims, Members of the Lebanese Community, Speak Out

By Margaret Ramirez

Tribune religion reporter

Published July 20, 2006, 3:40 PM

With a mix of emotions ranging from worry to rage, Chicago's Muslim leaders joined members of the Lebanese community to speak about the violence in their homeland and called on the United States to halt the violence.

Christina Abraham, a De Paul University law student, described frantic phone conversations with her family in Lebanon. She said Israeli forces bombed the predominately Christian neighborhood of Ashrafiya, where her aunt and cousins live. She said her cousins were trapped for days in an underground bomb shelter, unsure if they would survive the battle raging between Israel and Hezbollah.

"To kill hundreds of civilians for the sake of two captured Israeli soldiers--who are still alive--is to desecrate the sanctity of human life," said Abraham, 25, who is also civil rights coordinator for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Chicago. "Israel justifies this attack by saying they are targeting Hezbollah. But the Beirut airport is not Hezbollah. The medical supply trucks are not Hezbollah. The children that are dying are not Hezbollah.”

Abraham spoke at a press conference at Chicago's Downtown Islamic Center organized by CAIR. As the conflict in Lebanon continues, Muslim community leaders in Chicago said many Lebanese Americans are feeling disappointed and betrayed by the U.S. failure to call a cease-fire.

Ahmed Rehab, executive director of the CAIR chapter in Chicago, said U.S. actions give the impression the administration uses a double standard for Arab-Americans.

"The unwillingness to call for a cease-fire gives the impression that the administration places less value on the lives of American citizens of Arab descent and are therefore not worthy of protection from Israeli state terrorism. The administration should have one standard regarding the value of life and one definition of terrorism," Rehab said.

According to the Association of Religion Data Archives, about 60 percent of Lebanon's religious population is Muslim and 37 percent is Christian. The remaining communities belong to the Jewish and Bahai faiths. There are approximately 25,000 U.S. citizens in Lebanon, most of them of Arab or Muslim descent.

Chicago's Muslim and Arab communities plan to rally in support of Lebanon and Palestine Saturday at noon in front of the Tribune Tower at 435 N. Michigan Ave.

Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune

chicago area rabbis speak up

Just so's everyone is clear, I am not advocating any position on this blog yet. But I wanted you to have the opportunity to read this recent press release.

CHICAGO BOARD OF RABBIS

July 20, 2006

To: Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago

Dear Colleagues and Friends:

Once again, the Israeli- Palestinian conflict has erupted into large-scale violence. All of us agonize over media images of the dead and wounded, too many of them civilians. Because the Palestinian and Lebanese casualty figures are inevitably greater than those suffered by Israel, there is a tendency among some observers to conceptualize the conflict as the Arab David vs. Jewish Goliath, placing an unfair burden of blame on Israel. This has caused inter-communal tensions between Christians and Jews in recent years.

It is the sacred responsibility of religious leaders to speak out in the face of violence. We are writing colleague-to-colleague in the hope that you will keep in mind some basic facts about how this round of hostilities began, who started it, who is sponsoring Hamas and Hezbollah, and for what purpose? No evaluation of the situation can be fair unless it is grounded in these realities.

We are especially sensitive to concerns regarding proportionality or collective punishment. After all, it was Abraham, the first Jew, who challenged God's justice in "sweeping the innocent away with the guilty." Does the search for three kidnapped soldiers justify Israel's aerial operations and its use of heavy armor and artillery? Why not negotiate a prisoner exchange? Because these questions [are] the focus of debate among Jews in Israel and throughout the world, we understand how non-Jews who support Israel's right to defend itself (jus ad bellem) might oppose the way in which the operation is being conducted (jus in bello). In this regard, we ask that you remember that proportionality is calculated not by the event, but by the threat. In the present instance, the menace facing Israel is larger than the specter of three captured soldiers. Israel is confronting a regional threat, which begins with Iran, Syria and their proxy, Hezbollah, and stretches to the radical Islamic Palestinian group Hamas. We endeavor to demonstrate this in the attached material.

The four of us writing this letter cannot be characterized as "hawks." One was primary drafter of the Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago's letter urging President Bush not to invade Iraq. We are unanimous in advocating mutual concessions through diplomatic negotiations as the pathway to peace. But we also appreciate that the exigencies of real-life situations must be considered when applying theoretical constructs. This letter, with its attachment, is intended to initiate a conversation, not end it. We are eager to receive your response, in any way you choose to send it. At day's end, all of us are committed to peace. Let us not allow our differing visions of how peace can be achieved impede our mutual efforts in pursuit of a goal mandated by the God of all humankind.

L'Shalom,

Rabbi Victor Mirelman Rabbi Vernon Kurtz
President, Chicago Board of Rabbis

Past President, Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago

Rabbi Herman Schaalman

Rabbi Ira Youdovin
Past President, Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago

Follow the extended link to a more lengthy expression of their thinking. And here is a dissenting view...

SAVING LIVES IS OUR HIGHEST DUTY

(A statement from Rabbi Arthur Waskow of the Shalom Center)

Dear Friends,

We are taught: saving lives (in Hebrew, "pekuakh nefesh") is the highest duty. This war is killing people now. And the rage it creates will kill more people later. This war marks not only a crisis in the future of Israel, Lebanon, and Palestine, but also a crisis in the moral universe of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

There is a teaching in the Talmud: "If someone comes to kill you, kill him first." Then the Talmud continues: "But if you can prevent his killing you by wounding him rather than killing him, and nevertheless you kill him, you become a murderer."

Violence in self-defense, the rabbis are teaching, is legitimate—perhaps even required. But only self-defense that uses the smallest degree of force that would stop an attack.

This is wisdom for Jews and for the Jewish state, but not only for Jews. Something like it arises in all religious traditions that do not prohibit the use of violence altogether, even in self-defense. So we all face today the question whether the present government of Israel and the present leadership of Hezbollah are following this precept.

I think not. I think the attacks on Lebanese infrastructure far from the Israeli-Lebanese border, like those on the civilian infrastructure of Gaza just a few weeks ago, are going far over the line of legitimate self-defense.

And I think the rocket attacks by Hezbollah against Haifa and many other Israeli towns, as well as the original attack across the international frontier, also go far over the line of any conceivable "self-defense."

These attacks are killing scores and hundreds of civilians, including children.

What can we do?

The warring governments and nations are too full of fear and rage to stop on their own. Only UN intervention with a strong peacekeeping force on the border can end these deadly attacks and prevent future ones. Can protect BOTH Israelis and Lebanese. Only US support can get the UN to act. So far, the US is holding back—while scores of Israelis and hundreds of Lebanese die.

I urge you to speak out in private and in public to urge the US government to act NOW, not weeks from now, to insert a UN force on the border and insist on a cease-fire by both sides. Many lives are at stake.

That should be followed by an Emergency International Conference for Peace in the Middle East, aimed at universal agreement by all warring parties in the Middle East on peace treaties that protect Israel and a viable new Palestinian state.

Lives are at stake. In God's Name and for God's sake, please act now!

With blessings of shalom, salaam, paix, peace

Arthur

THE CURRENT ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-LEBANESE CONFLICT:

THE VIEWS OF FOUR CHICAGO RABBIS

1. Who Started It?

On June 25, Hamas operatives tunneled from Gaza into Israel, where they killed two Israeli soldiers and kidnapped a third, demanding that Israel free more than nine hundred Palestinian prisoners, many of them being held for violent crimes. Two weeks later, Hezbollah forces crossed the international border from southern Lebanon to support Hamas’ demand. They killed eight Israeli soldiers, and took two others hostage. Neither attack was provoked.

In the past, some Christian leaders have tempered their criticism of Palestinian violence by casting it as the understandable response of an otherwise helpless people living under occupation. The current situation reveals serious flaws in this analysis. Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000, and from Gaza in 2005. There is no Israeli presence in either locale. Moreover, the Israeli government has announced plans to disengage from most of the West Bank, either through negotiations or unilaterally should the Hamas government persist in refusing to recognize Israel.

Rather than being a consequence of Israeli occupation, the present situation is a direct result of Israel having withdrawn from Arab lands, leaving Palestinian terrorist groups free to train operatives, manufacture weapons, and launch actions inside Israel.

2. Background

From the late 1970’s until 2000, Israel maintained a 3-5 mile wide security zone inside Lebanon, to prevent Palestinian terrorists from shelling Israeli towns and crossing the border to attack civilians, many of them women and children. Periodic attempts at replacing Israeli troops with an international force failed. A contingent of U.S. marines positioned there in 1982 was withdrawn after 241 of them were killed in their barracks by a Palestinian suicide bomber. The United Nations force (UNFIL) is chronically undermanned and ineffective. When Israel withdrew six years ago, Hezbollah moved swiftly to establish a state-within-a-state in southern Lebanon backed by Iran and Syria. The Lebanese government has done nothing to implement a 2004 U.N. Security Council resolution (#1559) calling upon it to disarm Hezbollah and take control of southern Lebanon.

Israel’s disengagement from Gaza last summer was intended to give the Palestinians an opportunity to prove their ability to build a self-governing Palestinian society prepared to live in peaceful co-existence with its Jewish neighbor. A Palestinian success would strengthen Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s case for placing most of the West Bank under Palestinian sovereignty, thus opening the door for full Palestinian statehood.

What actually ensued was catastrophic. Shortly after Israel departed, a virtual civil war erupted between Fatah (Yassir Arafat’s party which controlled the Palestinian Authority) and Hamas. Lawlessness prevailed in the streets. An already fragile economy crumbled. The PA was unwilling and/or unable to prevent terrorists from firing missiles at towns inside Israel. Then, the Palestinians overwhelmingly elected a Hamas government, which is committed to annihilating the Jewish state, and which openly praises suicide bombings.

3. Conduct of the Operation

Negotiating with terrorists is rarely productive. If Hamas and Hezbollah can win the release of hardened criminals by kidnapping three soldiers, why not kidnap three more and demand further concessions? Nevertheless, the Israeli government has sent semi-veiled signals of its willingness to consider concessions after the three soldiers are returned. This is diplomatic code for agreeing to release some of the prisoners at a time when it can be done away from the glare of publicity. Thus far, the terrorists have refused.

Moreover, it is critical to understand that rescuing three soldiers, while Israel’s primary objective, is not its only one. From the time Israel entered the Oslo negotiations more than a decade ago, its territorial policy has been rooted in the principle that peace with the Palestinians is impossible without a near-total Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza. Formal and informal proposals by four successive governments make it clear that Israel intends to keep less than 10 percent of the West Bank and none of Gaza. Additionally, Israel has offered to cede to the new Palestinian state an equal amount of land either in heavily Palestinian areas of the Galilee, or in the Negev. Success of this policy, or any policy that presumes a two-state solution, rests on Palestinian willingness to establish peaceful relations with Israel.

Hamas and Hezbollah make no secret of their disdain for a two-state solution. When they talk of “ending the occupation,” they mean the West Bank, Gaza and all of Israel, which they regard as Islamic land occupied by Jews. Opinion polls indicate that a substantial majority of the Palestinians are willing to accept a two-state solution. But this sentiment is irrelevant so long as actual policy is dictated by rejectionists for whom terror is their primary tool of “statecraft.”

So long as an intransigent Hamas rules in Gaza, and Hezbollah is free to operate in southern Lebanon, there can be no progress toward a negotiated peace. Without substantial changes in the Palestinian political landscape, could any responsible government withdraw from the West Bank---from which even primitive rockets can reach Jerusalem and Tel Aviv?

Israel has legitimate reasons for seeking to break, or at least seriously weaken, the terrorists’ stranglehold on what remains of the peace process. Unlike in the past, its strategy for pursuing this goal does not entail occupation in any form. As Israeli Council General Baruch Binah told a noontime rally in The Loop earlier this week: “They say they want us out of Gaza and Lebanon. We were out, but they sucked us back in. If they want us to leave again, return the captives, stop hurling rockets and they won’t see us anymore.”

Amal Saad Ghorayeb, a professor of political science at Lebanese American University, characterizes Hezbollah and its operatives as “being driven by a jihadi ideology and a sacrificial theology, and they don’t give a damn about the consequences.” The only approach to defeating this blood-thirsty fanaticism, other than another extended military presence, are short-term, but large-scale, military operations, some of them targeting infrastructure. Israel has been careful to drop leaflets warning civilians in southern Beirut and southern Lebanon where it knows that Hezbollah keeps stores of rockets and launchers in apartment houses, garages and homes. Nevertheless, innocents are killed and wounded, their peril intensified by the terrorists’ strategy of positioning themselves in densely populated areas, using women and children as shields, or as fodder for their public relations campaign. This cynical policy violates international law and the canons of human decency.

4. What’s at Stake for Humankind?

It is no longer accurate to describe the conflict as pitting Israelis against Palestinians. As columnist David Brooks wrote in the New York Times, “Iran has conducted a semi-hostile takeover of what used to be known as the Arab-Israeli dispute.” Hezbollah, which receives $200-$300 million annually from Teheran, is Iran’s proxy in its pursuit of regional hegemony, and Syria’s in its drive to remain a major player in Lebanon after its forced withdrawal last year in the wake of Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri’s assassination. “It has become the essential instrument of Syrian maneuvers to prevent the Lebanese state from adapting to its newfound independence,” according to Waddah Sharara, a sociology professor at the Lebanese University. Nor is the conflict east vs. west, or Judeo/Christianity vs. Islam. Criticism of Israel from most of the Arab/Islamic world has been muted. Saudi Arabia went so far as to condemn Hezbollah’s actions as “uncalculated adventures.”

5. Conclusion

Like you, the authors of this communication abhor the carnage, and pray that it ends as quickly as possible. Talk of establishing a new multi-national force is encouraging, but only if its mandate has teeth. Otherwise, the terrorists will regroup, re-arm and prepare to ignite another round of violence. Arab and Muslim pressure on Iran and Syria could be exceedingly helpful, as they are the patrons of terrorism.

For the moment, however, as unsettling as the thought may be to all of us, short-term violence may be the most effective way of pursuing peace. Israel is not attempting to beat the Palestinians and Lebanese into submission. The violence is aimed at defeating the terrorist organizations in order to create a window of opportunity for other Palestinian, Arab and Muslim voices to be heard.

one of the girls

This is a great photo taken at the concert this weekend. You can follow the link embedded in the picture for two more images from the show or go to the church site for even more photos. It was a great time. About 120 people showed...wandered in and out. And several friends that I had not seen in quite a while brought their children. It was so good to see them as well. Incredible.

In other news, my mother is flying into town today. She is spending a night with us on her way to Salt Lake City to see my brother. It will be good to see her.

And today I will finally be given the "keys" to the current church website. That is very good news, I believe. First, this means that the guy who has been helping me does not have to update every little thing per my whim. I can do it. This will also keep other things timely...like sermon updates and the like.

Y'all have a good day!

a quotation for you...

The spiritual life is a stern choice. It is not a consoling retreat from the difficulties of existence, but an invitation to enter fully into that difficult existence, and there apply the Charity of God, and bear the cost. ... Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941)

I like Evelyn Underhill. Always have. She is a challenging and encouraging spiritualist. This quotation is interesting to me given some of the thinking I have been doing around church growth and the like. Not that I have many answers, but I am leaning more toward this kind of understanding of the church. Certainly God is a Comforter...well, the Spirit is. And this is not to be ignored. But the call of the church to be the transformative agent in the world means that the individual Christian may find their own life being turned upside down or inside out in the process. This is not always easy. It is not always painless. In fact, it is almost always painful. It is a healing pain, but pain nonetheless. This is also how I understand the prophetic call in scriptures...a hot coal on the tongue. This is Christ's call to the rich young man. It was so difficult that he walked. That will happen, too. And we will walk and return and walk again. That is part of the journey.

Applying the charity of God can be a gentle work. That is to be certain. de Sales says it this way:

Don't lose any opportunity, however small, of being gentle toward everyone. Don't rely on your own efforts to succeed in your various undertakings, but only on God's help. Then rest in his care of you, confident that he will do what is best for you, provided that you will, for your part, work diligently but gently.

But that gentleness is not an eventless existance or a transformationless existance. And I think that is what Underhill is after. Merton speaks similarly about his experience in the monestary, thinking he could escape his anxiety or the trials of the world by becoming more spiritual. He discovered to his initial chagrin that the opposite was true. The spiritual life is an honest one. It demands rigor and courage.

tuesday in the basement...

I am blogging from my basement.
Trish has a new MacBook. Wow.

Covet.

It has a built in camera. Um, if you are not feeling queasy, you are encouraged to follow the extended link.

I am happy to have e-mail at home.

Me and Trish

Si and Laura joined us for dinner.

sermon: proper 11 (16) year b, 2006

Follow the extended link for the sermon. This weekend's sermon is more of an outline than a full blown manuscript. You'll even see little headers to myself. Be ye warned!

Sermon: Proper 11 (16) Year B, 2006
Community Church of Wilmette
July 23, 2006

This is really a sermon about reconciliation.

Ephesians 2:11-22

2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 2:14 For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. 2:15 He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, 2:16 and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it.

I will tell something of my experience with ecumenism and what I have learned about Reconciliation. This will be a good time to talk about Richmond Hill and the Church of Jesus Christ, Reconciler.

Ecumenism
Reconciliation
Healing of racial divisions in Richmond, VA
Ministry of Prayer…services three times a day
Ministry of Community Organizing
Putting wheels on theological understandings and ecumenical agreements

2:17 So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; 2:18 for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father.

2:19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, 2:20 built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.

2:21 In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; 2:22 in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.

I want to talk about the Temple here.

You see? The connection between this new community growing and worship is absolutely intrinsic. Paul even goes so far as to re-articulate the architecture of the Temple. The literal walls that would have divided the gentiles from the people of Israel have been torn down. In the Temple in Jerusalem there were different halls for the clean and the unclean, the circumcised and uncircumcised. There could be severe punishments for those who worshiped in the wrong hall. Non Jews were threatened with death.

There was also the Temple veil. When we hear Ephesians read, we should also be hearing the story of Jesus’ death on the cross when the Temple veil was torn. The Temple veil separated the people from the Ark of the Covenant…or at least the tabernacle that held the Ark. Only priests could enter the Tabernacle. It was believed that the unclean would be struck down. There was even a tradition that the priest who was chosen to enter into the tabernacle had a rope tied around his ankle in case God struck him down. That way the others could pull him back out without putting themselves at risk.

As Paul says, the walls are torn down. They are torn down between Gentile and Jew. They are torn down between humanity and God as well. Now there is nothing to separate us.

Where is the Temple located now?

This is where we need Mark to help us out.

Stuff is left out again, miracles of walking on water and feeding five thousand. This is the kind of thing that has kept the disciples busy.

The disciples are tired.
They don’t want to teach.
They don’t want to feed.
Even Jesus himself seems to want to get away. Does his compassion have limits?

But the needs of the world are too great. People follow them.
And so, Jesus takes pity on them.

6:53 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. 6:54 When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, 6:55 and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. 6:56 And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.

The work of reconciliation is constant, on-going and absolutely needed in the world. From Mark’s narrative we can begin to understand that the thronging crowd was not the sign of a popularity contest. No. It was a sign of the need of the world for the presence of God.

Paul and Mark are on to the same thing. Reconciliation is more about getting along well, though it is certainly that. It is about an abiding peace, yes, between neighbors and between humanity and God. But this can be understood as health or freedom as well. It can be understood communal well-being. It is Shalom.

Luke Timothy Johnson, a scholar at Duke University, states it this way in his commentary of the New Testament.

The church is founded on the cornerstone of Jesus. But since Jesus is the living Lord and head of the church, it is a living entity, “joined together and growing into a holy temple of the Lord.” Therefore, the church is the place of reconciliation in the world, carrying on the process begun by the death of Jesus.ⁱ

It is the place of the community of the faithful, the church, to continue the reconciling work of Christ. How are we to be a reconciling community?

AWAB?
Speaking out about violence in our city and neighborhoods?
Speaking out about political and theological hostility in our nation?
Speaking out about the hostility in places like Lebanon?
Speaking out about the hostile economic systems that build walls that divide us?

What the world needs is courageous people to speak out as Jesus did, to heal as Jesus did, to seek God’s reconciling will for the world as Paul proclaimed.

The world needs more Jesus and not less.
Churches need to speak out more and not less.
Our theology needs to be spoken and not hidden.

Do we dare proclaim Paul’s vision? Do we believe the world to be reconciled? If we do, we must say so. It is a vision of hope and healing.

The crowd is waiting by the seashore.  They are waiting in Lebanon and Philadelphia and Chicago and El Salvador and even in Wilmette. 

They are ready to hear the word proclaimed and to receive healing.

Are we ready go ashore?

I believe we are.

Thanks be to God.

iThe Writings of the New Testament Johnson, Luke Timothy p. 416

the academic dean speaks

As an academic with a Ph.D. from Oxford University and specialist in Christian-Muslim and East-West relations, constantly seeking creative models of conflict resolution and better understanding, all of what I have just written is written in a manner far from what I would normally write or say with a cool head, far from what my Swiss-blood-flowing veins would normally permit me to utter. But then, perhaps academics sometimes owe their readers more genuine feelings, skin-level emotions gushing out of a deeply hurting, frustrated, desperate, and hopeless soul that has had enough of human arrogance and injustice.

Read the rest here.

c'mon out!

thinking about mark some more...

What is it with the rough-shod Markan narrative (kai, kai, kai) taking this moment to try (unsuccessfully?) to slow down. The great lion that is Mark...and here is the shepherd and the sheep, the compassion of Christ responding to the expressions of need and desire from those who hardly know him, who could not articulate the Nicean Creed or anything close. They simply want peace, shalom. They want their lives to be right, healthy. Breathe on me breath of God...ruach Elohim.

Then there is Paul's high theology of the church tied with this "low" relational theology. Paul preaches reconciliation. Shalom as well. Shalom is the fruit of reconciliation. For Paul, Christ breaks down the walls...temple walls even...and the world is reconciled to God and, if humanity is willing, hostility may come to an end.

God requires the heart. This is what Sister Marie told me years ago as I was fumbling through vocational strife. God requires the heart. The reconciliation is relational, always realtional.

Elohim ladrosh halib? What think you, Baruch? Elohim ladrosh *ruah*...?

I am still stumbling through the Hebrew for this. I am thinking about the command from Deuteronomy...Love the LORD your God with all your heart...and teach this to your children so that they too may remember this.

Just musing right now.

so much to say...

We need to welcome a new faculty member to the H.E.Fosdick School of Baptist Ministry. It is only by laziness that I had not added a link to his site before. Mea maxima culpa. Take a moment to pop in and say hello.

richard dunn-will b. dunn chair of rhetorical excess

In other news, Huw pointed out these two newsworthy announcements. I will do what I can on Sunday morning to get CCW to participate. It is clearly something we can get behind.

Pope Benedict XVI has called for a worldwide day of prayer and penance for peace in the Middle East, to be observed on Sunday, July 23.

and following closely upon Benedict's heels...

The Russian Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow has issued a call for world leaders to "combine their efforts to stop bloodshed and to establish just peace in the Middle East."

It really is fantastic that these two have stepped up in this way. Again, if there is to be an end to hostility (something Christians may want to consider), then these men must speak out. Now, let's see who is listening.

Finally, the article about One of the Girls has been published. It is a nice article. I don't sound like a complete idiot. My only frustration is that our website manager has not updated the Girls website to reflect the change in my bio or the fact that we are performing. I'll see what I can do to fix that. Still, it is a great article!

(Later that same day: The One of the Girls website is up to date!)

mind the gaps

The major theme here is what God has done in Jesus Christ to reconcile a fallen humanity to God's own self. Sinful human beings, the argument goes, couldn't possibly accomplish that reconciliation themselves. But a lavishly generous and gracious God could -- and did -- not just forgive human sin but adopt human beings into God's family through the work of God's child, Jesus the Christ.

The gap between the divine and human more than narrowed: overcome, bridged, erased by a God who is gapless.

You can find the rest of Larry Greenfield's essay here. This is similar to the understanding I have of Ephesians. I am taking a slightly more ecclesial bent to it. The church is a gap-less and wall-less Temple. The walls that divide, not just the gaps, have been torn down. Hostility has come to an end.

I cannot help but think of Lebanon or even Chicago right in light of this passage. Churches need to be saying more about Jesus and not less. Paul's letter to the Ephesians is a fantactic witness to the power of God's work in the world. We need to speak about this directly and confidently...like Larry does. Otherwise our churches are simply mute...no matter how much noise they may make.

missionaries in lebanon

ABC International Ministries reported July 19 that its three missionaries currently assigned to the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary -- two career missionaries and one volunteer -- were safe. A press statement said the career missionaries -- seminary professor Dan Chetti and his wife, seminary administrator Sarah Chetti -- "have chosen to remain and minister with our partner in Lebanon."

You can follow this link for the rest of the article.

just another day...

Trish converted. Yep. It's true. She purchased a MacBook yesterday. So, I have lost my lovely spouse to the Macmonster. I too will likely join her. A divided home yada yada.

But we dropped significant coin. And then on the way home the brakes in the car went kerflooie. We got it to the service station with no serious trouble. But it is a big bill to replace all the brakes and pads. I guess I should save for the transmission now. I drive stick.

This is great news: The carpet guys are at the house right now finishing the basement! This means that we can finally unpack! Huzzah! Hooray!! So, if you are coming to the One of the Girls gig this Sunday, know that you are welcome to come a little early for eats and then come after to lounge on the back porch...or the basement!

Yay!

Finally, a quotation for you. Kudos to Amy.

"To consider your preaching of more importance than the opening of a flower is to leave the narrow path. To value certain appointments on your daily calendar and resent others as intrusions is to misunderstand the Word. To esteem and enjoy some people in your parish and to discount and dismiss others is to wobble blindly. To meet the needs of others and ignore the whispers of your own soul is to succumb to the illusion that there is a time more precious than now and a place more heavenly than here."

-from The Art of Pastoring by William C. Martin

a busy day...

Today I met with one of my church leaders for breakfast and money talk at 7am. Oy. At 10am I will meet with a couple of pastors to talk about spiritual direction. Then I will go home and puzzle through the lectionary readings for Sunday. I am most interested in the Ephesians and Mark passages.

Ephesians 2:11-22

2:11 So then, remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, called "the uncircumcision" by those who are called "the circumcision" --a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands--

2:12 remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

2:14 For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.

2:15 He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace,

2:16 and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it.

2:17 So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near;

2:18 for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father.

2:19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God,

2:20 built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.

2:21 In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord;

2:22 in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

6:30 The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught.

6:31 He said to them, "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.

6:32 And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves.

6:33 Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them.

6:34 As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.

6:53 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat.

6:54 When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him,

6:55 and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was.

6:56 And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.

There are some blogs worth checking out today. AKMA is keeping up with the Ekklesia Conference. I wish I could have gone. It should be interesting stuff...

[Debra Dean Murphey] rejects the terminology of “Christian [or, less acceptably still ‘religious’] education,” and insists on speaking about catechesis. Worship should be the matrix and milieu for other modes of catechesis, which in turn should reflect the ideal of doxological growth toward full, grounded, deep discipleship (over against nationalist idolatry, consumer ideology, or the acquisition of abstracted facts and propositions about God). On her account, teaching in this way defies the traditional model of content-transmission, and turns us toward transforming the disciples’ imaginations.

Larry is not feeling very Protestant.
Jeff is thinking about mission.
Geoff is waxing philosophical. It's a good thing.
Noz is thinking about timetables.
Rich is frustrated with NASA.

And with that I bid you all Adieu!

(exeunt)

to drink or not to drink

I wonder if I should get involved somehow. I dunno. Maybe. Perhaps it would be unwise. I am just a little surprised to see this exercise in prooftexting back in the fore again.

"[Abstinence from alcohol] is consistent with the ethic of love for believers and unbelievers alike (1 Corinthians 8:13; 9:19-22; 10:32-33)," he wrote. "Because I am an example to others, I will make certain no one ever walks the road of sorrow because they saw me take a drink and assumed, 'If it is all right for Danny Akin, it is all right for me.'"

Based on 1 Corinthians 6:12, Akin said, Christians should "refuse what enslaves."

"Alcohol is a drug that can impair the senses and has a potential addictive element. Like addictive pornography, it should be avoided at all cost," he wrote, noting later that joy should come from God and not alcohol, according to Ephesians 5:18.

For his part, Cole said Scripture supports his position, especially regarding blessings and freedom through salvation. He listed how, in the book of Numbers, God received wine offerings as "a soothing aroma." He also noted Deuteronomy 14 and Isaiah 55, which explicitly allowed God's people to spend money on "wine or strong drink."

"Not only do resolution supporters refuse to acknowledge the entire biblical teaching on the matter, they even read selectively from texts that they do cite," Cole wrote. "For instance, most arguments for teetotaling reference the Nazarite vow of the Old Testament or the example of John the Baptist in the New Testament as evidence that those who abstain from alcohol achieve a greater level of holiness. What is missing from their argument is that the Nazarite abstained from vinegar and raisins, too, and never cut his hair. Moreover, John the Baptist chose locusts as his dietary supplement. I have yet to find a teetotaler who wears a ponytail or prefers bugs and honey with his morning coffee." In the end, attitude determines a lot when trying to be wise with alcohol, according to Akin.

sunday's sermon

Sermon: Proper 10 (15) Year B
July 16, 2006
Community Church of Wilmette

David is celebrating. He is celebrating a great military victory and the success of his political aspirations. All the house of Israel dances with him. He had set out to unify the nation under his leadership. Until his reign, Israel was a collection of tribes, a confederation at best and hardly a kingdom. And as much as David was loved and though Jerusalem was known as the City of David, King David knew there could be more...more unity, more power, more wealth. As scripture says, “David became greater and greater because the Lord God was with him.ⁱ”

The Philistines had heard that David's power was growing and they feared him. So they rose up against David. And, as most of us can guess, the war did not go their way. David prevailed. Again, the Lord God was on David's side.

David went to Shiloh to retrieve the Ark of the Covenant. Shiloh, thanks to the presence of the Ark, was serving as the religious center of God's Chosen People. The Ark of the Covenant was the vessel that contained the tablets that Moses was handed on the mountaintop. Upon them were inscribed the Ten Commandments. David sought to bring the religious and political life of the nation into Jerusalem, under his jurisdiction. The symbol of God's presence to the northern tribes would now be the symbol of God's presence to the whole of Israel. Jerusalem's prestige would grow. No longer would it be the City of David, but the City of God.

Typical of David's career, he moved quickly. He knew an opportunity when presented with one, so he moved the Ark to Jerusalem. In the process a man died. Uzzah, seeking to steady what he believed to be a tumbling Ark, reached out and in touching it died. It was well known that the Ark of the Covenant was a powerful symbol. It was used as a weapon in the field of battle. None were to touch it. This is something Uzzah would likely have known. In a moment of panic, he forgot and was struck down.

I think you all should know that this part of the story is omitted from the lectionary reading for today. It is perhaps difficult and unpleasant for us to hear...and to preach. I agree. It is awful. But it is in the scriptures and we at least need to know what is in the book we cherish so. So for better or worse, I think we should wrestle with it as we are able.

David is angered. David is frightened. So he abandons the Ark at the home of Obed-edom for three months. He is angry that God “burst out” upon Uzzah...this is what Perez-uzzah means: “Bursting Out Against Uzzah.” Now David wonders how the Ark came into his possession at all. But after a while he hears that Obed-edom is doing well. In fact, it appears that the presence of the Ark is a blessing to the household. So David returns to claim it.

And here is where we have the dancing in the loin cloth. This is where we were back in the beginning, with David and all Israel turned out to sing and dance and praise God. David is met with joy and adulation...except for one person. Michal is not particularly impressed and will say as much to David. What is interesting to me in this is that her complaint is not really that David is scantily clad. It is that David may well not be celebrating God but celebrating his own rise to prominence. Certainly God had a hand in getting David there, but like many of us, he celebrated himselves and not God when he succeeds.

The story continues.

I cannot tell you exactly when it was that this story from scripture first came to my attention, but what I remember is that it was used to suggest that dancing and ecstatic worship should be permissible theologically and the issue at hand is one of taste and not theology. “Look, even King David danced before God...and in a loin cloth no less. What is so bad about drums or dancing in church?” Fortunately for all of us there are other passages that also state pretty clearly that such celebration is appropriate in the liturgy. We can save that particular conversation for another day.

But the fact that this is a passage about worship is undeniable. It is about worship and it is about politics...those two improbable bedfellows that keep cropping up in our lives lately. But what is it that brings these two things together? It is the identity of God that brings them together. It is God who brings victory to David. It is God who is present in the Ark of the Covenant. I think that is what troubles me so deeply about the death of Uzzah and the power understood to emanate from the Ark of the Covenant. It is God who does all of these things...even the reprehensible. God acts in politics. God is present in worship. God “bursts out upon Uzzah.”

Don Saliers, a professor at the Chandler School of Theology and father of an Indigo Girl, says this about worship. “worship is fundamentally the responsive gesture of the people of God.ⁱⁱ” It is a response of the People of God to God. It is not a response to what God does per se as much as it is to who God is. Thus, David liturgy is problematic for Michal not because he dances in a loin cloth, but perhaps because she believes he dances for himself and has missed the potential lesson to be found in Uzzah's death. As an aside, she could dislike him for many reasons. She was Saul's daughter. She was perhaps disgruntled to discover that David had taken many new wives in his travels. Her frustration may have had many reasons behind it.

But getting back...

I hesitate to make an object lesson of God killing Uzzah. I think that cheapens the man's death somehow. And I have not settled for myself what I think about the death. But that the ancient Hebrew thought that Uzzah was struck down by the power of God is undeniable. And though David understands this in the beginning, his fear and anger abate when he thinks that perhaps God is no longer angry with him. The awesome and uncontrolled power of God shrinks in David's imagination. Once he feels God is again controllable, he carries the Ark to Jerusalem.

This is where David misses his opportunity to learn. And he will do so again and again throughout his career. As C.S. Lewis said, this is no tame lion. It is not that God is the God of Caprice and struck down Uzzah for no reason whatsoever. For the ancients it was not so arbitrary as that. This is a story about how uncontrollable God is, how vast God is, and how small we all are, even David, when compared to God. And, if we can see what it will take David a great while to finally understand, that we worship not a set of ideas or tablets but Someone completely Other.

I think that this is where David misses the mark. He thinks he understands God, truly grasps Him...literally can carry God to Jerusalem. In the scripture that follows, David and God will debate about whether God needs a temple. David's logic is that he himself has a palace. God should have a temple. Earlier in the history of Israel, God tried to convince the Chosen People that they did not really want a King either. For better or worse God was just as successful in the debate with David as God was in His earlier debate.

What David does well, what we can admire in him is that David does have a relationship with God. David understands that there is a Will and a Person there. David debates with God. You don't debate with a creed a or a philosophical system. David, in his own way, does love God. There are reasons why the Psalms are ascribed to David. David is famed for this relationship. There is much that is positive that we can learn from David about how to rightly worship God.

• We are to come in joy. Dance!

• We can bring our grief, our sorrow, and even our rage to God. As the psalms suggest, there is no limit to the range of emotion that we can express in our worship of God.

• The virtue of sacrifice is that it feeds another. The sacrifice that David offers God in our passage today is a grand example of that virtue. And it serves as a potential way we can understand our own celebration of the Lord's Supper.

As a baptist I understand the lesson about worship found here to be expressed in the baptist virtue “soul liberty.” Simply put, we believe God to be so powerful and Other and our own salvation to be so essential to our relationship with God that we cannot imagine a faithful life without the responsibility of such individual freedom. We must “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.” There is something desperate and hopeful in this. The God who strikes down Uzzah, this untamed God, is the God who later dies for us as Christ...the same God that has been since the beginning as Creator and Word and Holy Spirit. This is terrible and wondrous in the same moment. God loves us enough to allow us to come before Her on our own, to be in relationship with the Holy as individual members of the People of God. This is the nature or worship.

“Christian liturgy,” says Saliers, “in its whole economy (rites of initiation, eucharist, the daily prayer, the cycles of time, and the range of sacramental life) is response to God in Creation, in time and history, in prophecy and precept, in care for neighbor and for the very created order itself.”

I have been thinking about the nature of our worship together here at the Community Church. I like what we are doing, but since it is the summer, I thought I might experiment a little here and there with the order of service. I would very much like your help and feedback with this. Keep in mind the hard scriptures that we encountered this morning. Keep in mind the responsibility we share as individual believers.

Many of you have likely heard this quotation from Annie Dillard. “Does anyone have the foggiest idea of what sort of power we so blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it? The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up batches of TNT to kill a Sunday morning. It is madness to wear ladies' straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews.ⁱⁱⁱ”

Brothers and Sisters, this is a church. It is a place where we are to be community as our name suggests. But, as is often the case, it is more complicated than that. The People of God is a worshiping community. We gather together not only to enjoy one another's company, but to invoke God, the Lion of Judah. It is no small task. It should not be taken lightly. We can dance. We can rejoice with timbrel and lyre and drums and electric guitar if we so choose. But we rejoice in God...the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob, of Sarah, Ruth and Tamar. She is God: wholly Other, in love with Her Creation, and all that we will ever need.

Amen

thinking about this comment...

Steve posted this comment a long time ago:

I think that the desire to grow a church is often a misplaced priority, because it is focused on the need of a church to survive or to restore some "golden age" nostalgia. It is a need more grounded in the kingdom of self than in the reign of God's mercy and truth. I have served as a pastor for 35 years and have yet to see a church significantly increase membership because it decided to grow. Why would I want to attend a church that is interested in using me to meet their (survival) needs instead of evidencing a genuine interest in my life and destiny?

If Christians have found a reality which makes life fuller and more meaningful, it is natural to share this with others. I think that this is the most natural form of evangelism, "sharing the good news" as it has become real for me. When a community of believers has a significant number of people who are "alive in Christ," led by staff who model the expression of faith in word and deed, I think that growth will happen. And I think that the worship service then becomes an expression of the "alive in Christ" experience of the members of the community of faith.

If a church takes evangelism seriously, I think there needs to be at least a two-staged approach:
1) to meet the self-centered needs of those who are separated from God. I think most of us self-centered creature/sinners first take God seriously because we thing God will meet our needs. The hope that our self-centeredness will find a deeper fulfillment in God is, I think, the driver for the first stage of the salvation process.
2) to help new believers move beyond the selfish infant-in-faith stage to grow as disciples whose desire becomes more and more "thy will be done."

Churches that focus only on one of these dimensions tend, in the first case, to produce a cultural Christianity that is not really transforming of the fallen world, and in the second case, to produce a more "elite" expression of Christianity that seldom reaches those who do not have a previous allegiance to the faith.

So, now what?

friday...

I am going home. I have researched the sermon. I have a dozen books in hand. I have been reminded of David's political manouvering and how the Ark played into that. Does anyone remember that God really did not want the Temple built? Anyway, it is a curious thing to wrangle with because I don't like to think that Uzzah's death was an object lesson. But maybe it is something to consider. Perhaps if not an intentional action on God's part to kill Uzzah, David nonetheless missed the point as he got nekkid and danced around to "play" before God.

God is nothing to be played with. Our vocations are nothing to be played with. Faith is serious. God is serious business...loving and gentle and perhaps even fun, but as Lewis suggests, this is no tame lion.

Okay, right...I will see you later. Bye!

too cool

This is my friend, The Dread Pirate Justin! Arrrrrr!

I love it. Thanks for sharing, Kate. Heh. And to think, this guy is on a search committee. Heh.

dancing before God

Is anyone else out there looking at the 2 Samuel passage from the RCL this weekend? I have decided to make it the focus of the sermon and to talk in and around the worship life of the Community Church. There is not just a little kismet in this reading appearing in the lectionary this week.

What are you thinking about? For those not preparing a sermon for this weekend, if you have anything to share, dive on in.

2 Samuel 6:1-19

David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. David and all the people with him set out and went from Baale-judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who is enthroned on the cherubim. They carried the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart with the ark of God; and Ahio went in front of the ark. David and all the house of Israel were dancing before the Lord with all their might, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals.

When they came to the threshing-floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen shook it. The anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God struck him there because he reached out his hand to the ark; and he died there beside the ark of God. David was angry because the Lord had burst forth with an outburst upon Uzzah; so that place is called Perez-uzzah to this day. David was afraid of the Lord that day; he said, ‘How can the ark of the Lord come into my care?’ So David was unwilling to take the ark of the Lord into his care in the city of David; instead David took it to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite for three months; and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household.

It was told King David, ‘The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.’ So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing; and when those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling. David danced before the Lord with all his might; David was girded with a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.

As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal daughter of Saul looked out of the window, and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.

They brought in the ark of the Lord, and set it in its place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it; and David offered burnt-offerings and offerings of well-being before the Lord. When David had finished offering the burnt-offerings and the offerings of well-being, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts, and distributed food among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, to each a cake of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins. Then all the people went back to their homes.

I have this quotation from Ion Bria running through my head..."Liturgy challenges Christian ethics which remain at the level of formal principles without touching the depth of life. It makes clear that the transformation of life which is at the heart of the gospel is not possible without communion with the bread of life."

I added the avoided text so that all would know what the comments were about.

abide with me...

I am tired.

It is a good tired, but my head cold is encouraging a bit of crankiness on my part. I have been doing a lot of administrivia today. I don't mind adminsitrivia as a general rule, but today has been especially heavy. I have put about 30 miles or so on the acr that is church related (Say nothing, Jane Ellen. I know.)...and that is kind of a lot given I have not yet left the North Shore suburbs.

Oh, knowing that Cliff is beginning to settle in his new digs is good. It also reminds me that I moved and started a huge new job in the same period. Somehow I think that this is a normal stress level given the situation.

the list
meet with pastor from church start here at CCW
get stuff for parsonage (This involved two Home Depots and one Best Buy...current success: nil. But the place will be ready next week maybe.)
contact ABC benefits people to get that stuff finalized
stare at tomorrow's schedule and wonder what drugs I must be taking
work on sermon a bit
get the cable guy to come out and set things up
final session for premarital counseling

You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of heavens dance between you.

Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

This is enough for one day.

listening bar
Wild Montana Sky by John Denver, something cool from Sean Michael Dargan, A Little Rain(?) Cowboy Junkies

emerging story

So, I did not get into the story. The camera crew that was supoposed to come to Reconciler's service was pulled away for another story. Ah well.

Here is a link to the video. Enjoy!

Oh! I did make the run of links on the CBS 2 page.

sermon: proper 9 (14) year b

Follow the extended link to my sermon for this morning. I talk about Obama and the separation of church and state. I also talk about evangelism and Rice Krispies...well, maybe not the Krispies.

Mark 6:1-13

I have been thinking a lot lately about the idea of the “separation of church and state.” Primarily, this is due to a speech that Barak Obama gave at the “Call to Renewal” conference in Washington D.C. I don't know how many of you took the time to read that speech, but it is an interesting one and may be worth your while. I don't say that to endorse a specific politician. No, I suggest it but because Senator Obama has issued a challenge to all of us. And I simply want you all to know that someone has thrown down a gauntlet of sorts.

Senator Obama has called everyone to dialog, to set aside pettiness and prejudice and try to come to the table together bearing our faith traditions on our sleeves as we work out the civil life of this nation. What an incredible thing for someone to suggest. Some have called it short sighted and naïve. Others have suggested that the Senator does not go far enough. He has met criticism from the left and from the right. He has met support from the left and from the right. Christians and non-Christians alike have critiqued his position and his continued attempts to articulate his understanding of how this nation is divided along faith lines as well as political lines...and how we might overcome such division to the benefit of all.

It is an incredible vision.

Sharon recently handed me a copy of Dawn Turner Trice's Chicago Tribune July 3rd column. In it she suggests that there is a connection between our attitudes about evangelism and Barak Obama's call to dialog. You see, Dawn Turner Trice is apprehensive about both. She has a list of negative experiences surrounding evangelism that influence how she hears Obama's words.

Now, I will be the first to share horror stories of evangelism gone awry. Some day remind me to tell you about hanging out at Virginia Beach, Virginia handing out “Chick Tracks” to vacationing Jewish families. I think we have all either participated in or fallen victim to uncomfortable evangelical moments.

These experiences have perhaps been the root of disillusionment for some. They have perhaps made us skeptical of evangelism as a practice...or even the word itself has nothing but negative connotations. We are not alone. Nor are we particularly unusual.

Dawn Turner Trice gives examples of friendships that become unwieldy after one person converts or begins to take their faith walk seriously. Speaking about our faith can “evolve into a mini-sermon and not a discussion” says Dawn Turner Trice. “One person has all the answers and [knows] the only path to truth and the light.”

And in response we come up with our own comfortable ways of being “evangelical.” Sharon and I spoke about this at length the other day. Dawn Turner Trice states that her preferred mode of evangelism is to wait until someone asks her about her faith life. Then she is willing to share. But only after being asked.

She has met with frustrating evangelists.
She has been met with frustration when sharing her own faith.

People's personalities, the general disposition toward a specific faith tradition, existing faith traditions and many other variables play into the overall experience and practice of evangelism. Dawn Turner Trice is absolutely right in suggesting that it is often tricky and difficult. But scripture suggests no less.

This is not news.

Jesus always encountered opposition. In the reading this morning we have an excellent example of this. Jesus goes to his home and is met with opposition. He even heals a couple of people and his neighbors and cousins are not particularly impressed. His message falls flat and he encounters the enduring stubbornness of his own kin. So what is his response?

He simply moves on to the next town.

And, if we are to believe that the writer of Mark connects these two stories in the same way that the people of the lectionary committee may, then Jesus' response is to also send his disciples out so that they may have the same experience.

Sometimes Jesus appears to have a wicked sense of humor. “Well, that was difficult. Let's make James and John do it. That'll be fun.”

In his instructions to the disciples, he reminds them that they will encounter opposition. Sure, they may be going to towns that they know, houses that they have been to before, but they will still encounter an unwillingness to hear the Word of God. That's just how it is. Make no mistake about that. There is opposition. But the question is then: How do we go out and meet that opposition?

Peacefully, suggests Christ. Simply.

“How sweet. How idyllic.” we might think. But don't be fooled by the Gospels. Please do not think that the writer of Mark is telling us some fairy tale.

Scholars currently remind us that first century Israel was perhaps similar to our culture today in several ways. One of the many is the fact that it was a religiously and culturally diverse population. Several languages would have been heard in a marketplace. Tradespeople and soldiers from all over the world gathered and passed through Israel selling their wares and serving at the pleasure of the Roman Empire. Greek philosophies would be proclaimed. Emperor worship would be clear and within the publics eye. Even within first century Judaism there was diversity of theological understanding - denominations of a kind with Essenes and Sadduces and Pharisees and others in the synagogues and Temple.

Jesus' context was complicated and daunting. His response was simplicity.

The logistical model that Christ gives the disciples is simple. Take little with you...a friend perhaps and enough clothes to get along. Stay in places that are not ostentatious, perhaps in the guest room of someone's home...or the first century equivalent to a roadside motel. And when you encounter opposition, for you surely will, simply brush the sand off your feet. Move on. Don't let it get you down. Don't let it color your experience. Don't rise up and shove the message down their throats. Just keep on moving.

It is a simple mode of communication. Just go out and tell people. Heal. Cast out a few demons. Go with a friend to keep you company. This is relational. This is peaceful.

Sometimes I wonder if we hinder our evangelical aspirations and vocations by attempting to employ sophisticated marketing models in lieu of what really is supposed to be a “word-of-mouth” campaign.

But then what is this connection between evangelism and the separation of church and state? D. Dawn Turner Trice connects it to religious pluralism. She reminds us that those who signed the Declaration of Independence and those who would go on to craft the Constitution were of various religious persuasions. They were Deists, Quakers, Anglicans, Presbyterians and even Atheists. The language they chose was to grant for some kind of freedom for a variety of religious vocations and perspectives to exist peacefully, to co-habitate in a productive way.

If nothing else, perhaps religious persecution and warfare may come to an end in the Americas. Remember that Europe was in the midst of religious warfare for centuries. The founders may have desired for a freedom of religion and an implied separation of church and state simply to keep violent disruption to a minimum.

Religious zeal and political power could too quickly find one another and literal Hell would break loose. It was a question of power.

And this is the connection that the columnist wrestles with most clearly. If we are to be a society where we are free to evangelize and to be free from caving to evangelical efforts for fear of political and civil reprisals, then it is better to say nothing. Obama's vision of dialog seen through this lens is then not only naïve it is even dangerous. No wonder she is nervous. If evangelism is about power and politics is about power, then when the two wed, then there is too much power in one place and those not in the fold will suffer.

Sarah Dylan Breuer is an Episcopal priest and preacher. She writes on her blog “gracenotes” and is the editor of The Witness, an on-line magazine about Christian faith. She had a very helpful reminder about the first part of our readings in her recent commentary on the Gospel passage. What is it that makes everyone in Jesus' hometown so stubborn? Is it really because they remember Jesus in diapers, so now they cannot imagine him all grown up and God's own messiah? Maybe that has something to do with it. Certainly. But it also has to do with power.

She reminds us that the culture of the time, perhaps again like our own, ascribed to a limited good model of life. Meaning, there is only just enough to get along...and when one person has too much power, then there is less for the rest of us. To have more means someone else has less. This is related to tangible goods and , as Sarah suggests, “abstract ones – like honor.”

If Jesus is going to receive such honor, then there is less to go around for the rest of his family and community. He must have taken it from someone else to be able to do what he is doing. By healing and casting out demons, Jesus is actually upsetting a precarious but understood balance of power.

But the ministry of Christ has something to say about the source of what is Good. There is limitless Good to be had. In fact, God's grace is for all. Forgiveness and healing is available for all. God's intention and efforts has always been for the redemption of the world, not a select few or for some to have more grace than others. There is enough to go around. We discussed this last week. There is more than enough to go around. In fact, Christ will send out his disciples and they too will forgive and heal and cast out demons.

Evangelism is not about the hording of power. It is the reminder that we are all, in truth, powerless without God. But God, through grace, desires us all to enter into life together with Him. There is more than enough Good. There is no need to broker for power, to jockey for position, to claim rank or prestige.

The last shall be first.
There is no slave or free.
There is no east or west.
God is fully real, fully present, fully desirous of all of us...and is not interested in power.

This is a radical notion. It turns what we know on its ear. And it shows in stark relief the scandal of how many of us have experienced and participated in evangelism. Evangelism is not about garnering power. It is about waking the sleepers so that they too will know that they are loved by God, that they already have all that they need. There is healing. There is forgiveness. And what ever the demon may be that ails you so, it can be cast out in the name of the One God.

Disillusionment is healthy. Dawn Turner Trice expresses hers well. It is, I believe, a healthy step in the development of Christian faith. Things do not go as planned. Talking about God is hard. It can be a fearful business. In response we can sometimes abuse our vocations and our institutions. Yes. True enough. But the Gospel itself calls us out of spinning our wheels in the midst of disillusionment. We are to walk on.

We are to brush the sand off our feet in peace. The Gospel of Matthew contains the same tale of Jesus sending out his disciples two by two. In that telling, Jesus tells his disciples to greet each home with peace. “Peace unto this house.” If that peace is not returned, then move on.

God's mission for us is to spread the Word of God in peace. It is not our job to cajole or enforce, but to proclaim, heal and cast out demons. It is our job to give up our fear and our grasping for power. It is a sign of friendship to lay down our lives for one another. As Christians this is a core truth, a facet of our identity. Can we understand that this also relates to our work in civic life?

The separation of church and state is not a new struggle. Rome struggled with it. Should Christianity be legalized? If so, should it then become the official religion of the Empire? Should people have to be Christian to own property? From empire to feudal and monarchical models of government, and progressing to democratic models of government, we have always struggled with the place of religion in our civic life together...the place of faith within a world where political power appears to be the highest reality. It is a complicated morass of necessity, idealistic aspiration and desire.

It seems that we are once again attempting to understand how our life together as a nation shall function. Politicians are wrangling about how this will work, attempting to set a tone for dialog and problem solving. As we participate in these conversations whether through our voting, our public debate, and our gifts of time and money, let us live without fear, offering up God's limitless Good to all. And when we encounter opposition, for we surely will, let us let it be...offering peace to all as we continue in our call to always and forever proclaim a Gospel of Peace.

just what we all wanted to know

free enneagram test

And I am an INFP.

gnashing of teeth in the early morning

Reason #15,783 what caffeine is bad for me: I am up now. You see, sometimes caffeine does not keep me up, it wakes me up. I have been up and unable to sleep since 3:30. This is awful. Oy. I may be able to go back to sleep here soon. I feel the buzz abating.

Here is a snippet from a NY Times article that is worth your attention.

"Rob Bell is a central figure for his generation and for the way that evangelicals are likely to do church in the next 20 years," said Andy Crouch, an editor at Christianity Today magazine. "He occupies a centrist place that is very appealing, committed to the basic evangelical doctrines but incredibly creative in his reinterpretive style."

I met Rob a couple of years ago. He appears to be the real deal. If you can get a chance to go see him, do so. If, as some suggest, he is a sign of the changing face of evangelical Christianity in the US, then we all have reason to be glad.

And with that, I think I will go back to bed.

short friday five

Short People - My wife is 4'11" tall. She abhors the song "Short People." She is clearly the love of my life.

Short Hops - The trip from Chicago to Detroit is a short hop via aircraft. Nonetheless, it takes nine and one half hours to make it.

Short Stories -

It was about dusk, one evening during the supreme madness of the carnival season, that I encountered my friend. He accosted me with excessive warmth, for he had been drinking much. The man wore motley. He had on a tight-fitting parti-striped dress, and his head was surmounted by the conical cap and bells. I was so pleased to see him that I thought I should never have done wringing his hand.
I said to him --"My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met. How remarkably well you are looking to-day. But I have received a pipe of what passes for Amontillado, and I have my doubts."
"How?" said he. "Amontillado, A pipe? Impossible! And in the middle of the carnival!"
"I have my doubts," I replied; "and I was silly enough to pay the full Amontillado price without consulting you in the matter. You were not to be found, and I was fearful of losing a bargain."
"Amontillado!"
"I have my doubts."
"Amontillado!"
"And I must satisfy them."
"Amontillado!"
"As you are engaged, I am on my way to Luchresi. If any one has a critical turn it is he. He will tell me --"
"Luchresi cannot tell Amontillado from Sherry."
"And yet some fools will have it that his taste is a match for your own.
"Come, let us go."
"Whither?"
"To your vaults."

Short Lists - Well, it is not really all that short.

Short Stops - The Wizard of Oz.

for your edification

Follow the extended link for a bit about St Maelruain.

"Labour in piety is the most excellent work of all. The kingdom of heaven in granted to him who directs study, him who studies, and him who supports the student." --Saint Maelruain.

St. Maelruain of Tallaght, Abbot ------------------------------------------- Died 792.

"Labour in piety is the most excellent work of all. The kingdom of
heaven in granted to him who directs study, him who studies, and him who
supports the student."
--Saint Maelruain.

Saint Maelruain was the founder and abbot of the monastery of Tallaght
in County Wicklow, Ireland, on land donated by King Cellach mac Dunchada
of Leinster in 774. Tallaght Abbey became the mother house of the Culdee
movement, which Maelruain co-founded with Saint Oengus.

The name Tallaght (Irish Tamlachta), derived from tam, plague, and
lecht, stone monument, records the burial place of some of the earliest
inhabitants of Ireland, the Parthalonians, who were swept off by a
plague about 2600 BC. Tallaght is situated in the barony of Uppercross,
5 miles south of Dublin. The monastery the site was donated in honour of
God and St. Michael the Archangel by Cellach (d. 18 July, 771) of the Ui
Donnchada, grandson of a Leinster king, Donogh (d. 726).

The Culdee movement, intended to regularise the rules of Irish
monasticism according to traditional ascetical practices, was codified
in several of the saint's writings: The teaching of Mael-ruain, Rule of
the Celi-De, and the monastery of Tallaght, promoted both the ascetic
and the intel