Jesus' Insurrection

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

Next year I’ll celebrate peace every day.

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,

The old year passes into memory, and to much of what it held I say “good riddance!” But to some of its events I say “awesome! There is reason to hope.”

Sadly, the negative carry-overs will give major challenge to the hopes and dreams. My prayer is for wisdom in our political leadership and patience in national populations. I think I’m carrying more hope than despair as I leave 2009. You bless me.
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

“Judas, I don’t think it’s justified to call me a loser just because I won’t lead an insurrection against Rome.”

[A wimp? No. His troops would engage in a more subtle takeover, but He never said this.]

D. Blog: Thought for 2010

“No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars or sailed to an uncharted land or opened a new heaven to the human spirit.” -- Helen Keller

2009 Highlights

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

I know peace, and this, friend, is not peace.

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,

Interesting, a minor physical problem appears and I immediately ask myself: what have I done wrong to bring on this problem? Are you trying to tell me something by this? Interesting, and probably a silly reaction, definitely a self-centered reaction. Sturdy and hardy as they can be, bodies don’t last. They have parts that go bad, wear out, get irritated by actions and contact with other entities. That’s it. No message from you. No little punishment by you. It is what it is, a sore toe.
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

“Just friends, Mary? Is there another guy?”

[He would have known, right? So He didn’t say this.]

D. Blog: 2009 Highlights

For me, the list includes these events:

- Obama inauguration
- Serving on the Vision Team and other aspects of life with First Congregational UCC of Asheville
- Many rich family times
- Trips to Nags Head, Chattanooga, and northern California
- UNC winning the NCAA championship
- Lakers winning the NBA championship
- Remodeled bathroom
- Installation of solar panels
- Getting acquainted with Green Man
- Hearing Miriam McGillis speak about the New Cosmology, Peak Oil, Climate Change, Thomas Berry and Brian Swimme
- Learning about and beginning to work with the Transition Towns Movement
- Applying permacultural design to our yard and garden
- Receiving an insurance “bonus” after being rear-ended in my pickup
- Sharing my photographs and receiving words of praise for them

I hope your year has been blessed in similar ways.

Seeing the Enemy?

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

The river to peace flows in a deeper channel than we choose to go.

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,

I wonder whether you, through our entanglement with Earth, are leading us in this new greening/environmental movement. Is this movement evidence that Earth is trying to restore her life-engendering powers through forces beyond our intellectual knowing and beyond scientific awareness? We like to think we are in control, that we are learning to “manage” Earth’s systems. Perhaps we should see these greening efforts as Earth’s work, Earth making humans act more responsibly as stewards of life. Just wondering. At times, you can be very subtle, even sneaky..
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

“The new shades were a Godsend out there in the wilderness. Thanks, Mom.”

[Hmmm. Nope. Not in any of the texts.]

D. Blog: Tuesday Haiku

It seems we broke the mirror
So we no longer
See the enemy

Considering X-mas

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

Dungeons and dragons are symbols for injustice and war. Defeating the symbols without controlling what they symbolize is of no value.

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,

The psalm says, “If I forget you, O Israel.” I recall the lament and the devotion, but it seems misplaced, secondary to where our ultimate devotion lies – to you. As much as a homeland can mean to us, I think it should not be primary in our hearts. You are our one true home.
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

“Actually, ‘God’s country’ would more likely be someplace called Greenland.”

[He might have been a model for Green Man, but He didn’t say this.]

D. Blog: X-mas

According to the signs, we can still buy fresh-cut X-mas trees, or get an X-mas dinner for $9.95 at the local diner.

I play with this X-mas “word.” I suppose the X is a Greek symbol for Christ, but X-mas has given me some sympathy for those whose bumperstickers say “put Christ back in Christmas.” Who among us speaks Greek?

I wonder whether modern children might make a first association of X-mas with X-men. Maybe that’s okay. Jesus was something of an X-man: mysterious, had super powers, a hero figure.

I think trying to put Christ back in the holiday is a hopeless cause. I suspect it’s always been more about family sharing and gift-giving than about advent candles and Christmas Eve services. And maybe that’s okay, too. Christ is surely present when we experience and demonstrate love. Imposing piety and self-righteousness on the holiday detracts from its holy nature.

Cliches of 2009

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

The road to peace is paved with hope and loving sacrifice. Fear and self-interest create pot-holes, lengthy detours and dead ends.

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,

You fill my senses.
You fill my mind.
You fill my time.
You fill my life.
God, you’re wonderful!
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

“I see fools.”

[When He looked at His disciples? Thought it, perhaps, but didn’t say it.]

D. Blog: 10 Un-Favorite Cliches of 2009 (in no particular order)

- “On the ground”

- “Going forward”

- “On the street”

- “Bottom line”

- “At the end of the day”

- “Under the radar”

- “Between the lines”

- “Rush”

- “Sarah”

- “Outside the box”

Better Off Without Such Headlines

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

International sporting competitions further the goal of peace, until nations get in the way.

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One, Mary’s Child,

We have a mixed message in the stories of your birth. A simple birth in a simple place to a simple woman who is not yet married. Simple shepherds who get the first announcement of your arrival. So it seems the story should be a tale of the poor boy who rises to prominence – like Joseph or Moses.

But then we have these uncommon, extraordinary and miraculous elements that highlight how unique, special and divine you are. A virgin mother, a descendant of King David, parents who are visited by angels and dreams, a choir of angels to announce your birth, a star that marks your birth, wise men from afar who bring gifts to the one they recognize as the newborn king of the Jews.

We leave the realm of the simple, natural and universal experience of your presence and make it so out of the ordinary that we can no longer relate to you on a personal level. No longer one with and for us, you are “lord”, “master”, supreme ruler of all. No longer the Christ within us, but Christ above humanity. Divinity no longer residing in our midst with the meek and lowly, but the ideal, the celebrity far beyond us.

Perhaps you (and we) should create some real stories of your birth in our midst today.
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

“Matthew, I really like the scene with the wise men. It shows how much greater I am than Moses or David. Way to go!”

[No. Jesus did not get the chance to edit.]

D. Blog: Something We Can Live Without

Have you noticed how news headlines and stories attribute emotions to countries?
“China angered by interference…”
[Maybe China need an anger management class?]

Or, a country takes an action?
“Iran warns…”
[The supreme ruler or his spokesman maybe, but the whole country? Really? It reminds of a place called Oz and its wizard, who wasn’t so great as the pretense of embodying a country.]

And this one always gets me:
“US wins gazillion Olympic medals…”
[Athletes do all the hard work, country gets credit. Athletes -- mostly nameless, get token rewards; country “wins” and we are all so proud of ourselves...]

Could we please get real?

White Christmas

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

“Sure, war has its place – in the past.” – Kevin, age 11

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,

I think we need new carols. No more Christmas songs of nostalgia and sentimentality. No more stable, wise men, star or shepherds, virgin or inn keeper. Just this: You entered human life experience to demonstrate your love for us and to offer freedom from oppressive political, religious, economic and social systems. You reminded us of our importance to you, that all of us are precious, forgiven and encouraged to share the mystery of life with you in the vastness of space and time. You lived and live among us to dispel our fears and announce your peace among those who know their oneness with you and with one another. I think you would welcome more such carols. I know I would.
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

“I’m a conservative – religiously, politically and economically.”

[No. They were the ones responsible for His execution]

D. Blog: Our White Christmas

It's Not about the Eonomy, Stupid!

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

Peace of mind is not possible without peace in the heart.

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,

The days proceed as a parade of surprise, wonder and enjoyment.
Whom shall I thank?
I see beauty all around me. I know love and friendship. I meet ordinary yet amazing people
Whom shall I thank?
I hear and read stories about people who do or have done great things for the betterment of humanity.
Whom shall I thank?
I live in a time of awesome hope and awful danger, a time that stirs anticipation, anxiety and high energy.
Whom shall I thank?
I’ll offer my thanks to you, for you rule in and over and through it all.
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

“Show me the money!”

[Nope. Nothing about payment, bonus or reward in His contract.]

D. Blog: Not Exactly Humbug

The point of all this Christmas hoopla grows duller for me each year. I “get”, appreciate, and truly enjoy the emphasis on family and friends. Most of the rest of it? Not so much. Santa and Ho Ho Ho? Nope. Not as we get him. Why, even Buddhists, Taoists, and Communists dress up in Santa costumes. He’s been transformed from a Christian saint into a chubby party-fantasy guy, totally cut off from Nicholas of Mira. Star of Bethlehem? Physical nonsense, unless we think the Magi had an On Star system to guide them. Holy Child born in a stable? I like the symbolism, of course, but it has no basis in fact.

Christ come on Earth on our behalf? Now that I do believe -- with all that is in me. But with the modern Christmas phenomenon, we’re hard-pressed to get to this layer of ultimate meaning. The “newsworthy” meaning has to do with how retailers fare in the great season of buying. To that a definite "Bah, Humbug!" is in order.

Jesus' Last Will and Testament

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

Which GPS will direct us to Peace? (e.g. Godly Prayer System?)

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,

Change is the only constant, so either you change constantly or you create change constantly. Or both. I exercise caution, then around fixed religious beliefs, ancient practices, erecting memorials, trying to recreate the past. Part of the old hymn has it right: “Forward through the ages.” If we want to go with you.
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

"I, Jesus of Nazareth, being of sound mind, do hereby leave all my worldly goods, including my seamless garment, to be held in trust for The Little Sisters of the Poor."

[Another thing He didn’t say from the cross.]


D. Blog: “Neither Rain nor Snow…” – unless delivering by car

There was no mail today.

A Mixed Message

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

Swords now appear only in sporting competitions and entertainment. Now it’s missiles and bombs we try to live by – and will die by.

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,

The holiday has slipped up on me this year. Oh, I’ve prepared gifts, decorated and made plans for visitors. All of that with little stress, but also without a lot of focus on other kinds of preparation, on advent and the coming of the Christ into our lives. I like to think that’s become such a part of me, that I have such an awareness of that presence much of the time, that a special season for it is not necessary. Christ lives in and among us; preparing for that reality seems redundant. Now it’s a matter of living accordingly. Didn’t Jesus say something like that? Anyway, I do celebrate the Christ presence in my life, that you are, in effect, built into our genetic structure, that we are not bound by death-dealing political, economic, religious and social structures that would impose themselves upon us. We are saved as we choose to be.
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

“There are no stars.”

[A true statement – suns and a Son, but He didn’t say so.]

D. Blog: Tuesday Haiku

Consider this mixed message at Christmas:
Pray for peace and
Pay for war

In Your Dreams?

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

So, soldier, do you think Jesus was misguided or misquoted when He said “Love your enemies?”

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,

Since before I was born you have known and cared for me. Such an idea is almost more than I can comprehend. The depth and constancy of such love is more than I can comprehend. It leaves me in awe once again, stunning me with the magnitude of the thought. The God of the expanding universe pays that kind of attention to me? Is intimately involved in the events of my daily life?

It makes me want to be sure I’m doing things that will please you and make you proud. I’m grateful to know it is enough that what I’m doing makes me happy; that pleases you, too. But it adds to my joy when I think I please you beyond that, that I make my parent proud.
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

“I’m dreaming of a white Christmas.”

[But not of the storm that precedes it.]

D. Blog: In Your Dreams?

[And this was the "before" picture...]

>

Abusive Relationships

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

No peace ever disturbed my sleep.

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,

It might stretch beyond our ability to comprehend, but life is a miracle. It might seem natural, but it reaches beyond natural, as we know natural, to supernatural. Its depth and breadth and time span dwarfs and warps any kind of “natural” that we can mean by that word. Your cosmos found a way to bring life into being beyond any natural events. You found a way to evolve humans into existence, beyond anything that could have been expected naturally. Your brought me, uniquely, into this divine process, and I can but wonder and give thinks.
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

“Sounds good to me: fireworks for the Passover celebration.”

[After the meal, when the went to the garden. Didn’t happen.]

D. Blog: Abusive Relationships

Earth does much more for us that we do for her. Trees do more for us than we can possibly do for them. Rivers do more for us than we do for them. Air is more important to us than we are to it. And so on. These sustain us far more than we maintain them. They sacrifice for us and we take advantage of them. They enable our existence and we behave as if they can do so without limit. Among humans this is known as an abusive relationship.

Those Who Value Parsimony

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

Ever notice how the government tries to estimate the cost of its armed conflicts? Trillions of dollars these days, never mind the lives lost and destroyed. For comparison sake we should ask for an estimate of the cost of peace, so we know which is the better value.

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,

How do you really feel about sin? Or is it simply human projection to think you feel? I like to think you feel, but I have difficulty when it comes to connecting the emotion of hate with you. So I part company with those who say you hate sin. I imagine sin saddens and grieves you, even makes you angry sometimes. But I like the old preacher’s analogy: sin is like a raspberry seed under your dentures. It irritates you, annoys you, and you wish you could get rid of it. But you love raspberries. You allow creation to behave in ways that are not in line with your wishes. It pains you, especially when we do hurtful things to one another. But you love your world.

I wonder about this projection of hate of sin. Perhaps it is we who hate sin, because it demonstrates how far we are from being divine. Or, perhaps we love to hate sin because we can feel self-righteous in the process…
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

“I need more fiber in my diet.”

[Lack of fiber wasn’t a problem in His day.]

D. Blog: Word of the Week -- "parsimony"

Noun
1.
parsimony - extreme care in spending money; reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
parsimoniousness, penny-pinching, thrift
frugality, frugalness - prudence in avoiding waste

2.
parsimony - extreme stinginess
minginess, niggardliness, niggardness, tightfistedness, meannes, parsimoniousness,
closeness, tightness
stinginess - a lack of generosity; a general unwillingness to part with money
littleness, pettiness, smallness - lack of generosity in trifling matters
miserliness - total lack of generosity with money

[Thanks to thefreedictionary.com for explaining this ultimate Scroogey/Republican value.]

No to "Gift" Cards

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

WWJD? What He did not do was carry a weapon. WWJD? Act nonviolently.

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,

“Life is suffering; then you die.” It’s a statement and a perspective with limited truth. It reminds me a lot of the idea that there is something called “original sin.” There are alternatives that resonate with greater truth for me, as in “original blessing,” or “life holds suffering and joy, simple pleasures and great satisfaction, love and wonder; so live it to the fullest.”

The negative outlook strikes me as similar to childish whining, a complaint against the universe, a challenge to the way you created things, a denial of life’s possibilities, or the stuck-in-the-mud path chosen instead of the clear road to enjoyment. Just accept and forgive what we don’t like. Our idea of perfection was never in the cards, the stars, or your mind.
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

“Did you get some tofu for tonight’s supper, Nathaniel? You know John won’t eat the lamb.”

[Never said it.]

D. Blog: No more “gift” cards

Why from now on I’ll give cash instead of “gift” cards, you might wonder. I got to thinking about those cards when they started popping up everywhere, even my local gas station. The grocery store sells them, the drug store, the department store. Go into a big box store and they sell these cards for other big box stores. “What’s up with all these cards?” I asked myself.

Here’s what I came up with, after absolutely no research:
-- If, say, Staples sells a card for Applebee’s, Staples receives a percentage of that purchase from Applebee’s. Okay. What else?
-- I buy my son a card for Best Buy, say for $25. Some time later, he goes shopping at Best Buy and picks out a CD that costs about $20. Well, there’s another $5 on the card. What does he do? Same thing I would do: he finds something else to buy so that remainder isn’t wasted. My “gift” to him becomes an additional purchase he feels he must make at Best Buy. The gift that keeps giving – to Best Buy. More.
-- Suppose he doesn’t want to use my gift at Best Buy. Nope, sorry, can’t redeem it for cash.
-- Suppose he waits too long to use my gift. Sorry, unlike my cash gift, this one has an expiration date.
-- Okay then, some time after his birthday, say a month, he goes to Best Buy and manages to purchase something he wants that costs exactly $25. Pretty nice, right?
-- Well... but what was the money to buy the card doing during that month? Suppose Best Buy puts that into an interest bearing account and gets $.50 (I know, pretty high interest, but you get the idea). Do you think they credit any of that interest to his card? Nah. Suppose instead I’d given him some cash and he put it in his interest-bearing account until he was ready to spend it. Better for him, right?
-- So, I’m thinking this “gift” card to my son is more like a loan to Best Buy. They use the money from me until my son wants to use that money. Why not just give him the money??
-- This loan to Best Buy has some unusual characteristics. They might not be required to pay it back if, say, he misplaces the card. Or they might not have to pay all of it back if, say, his CD purchase costs $24.50 and he’s not interested in using the remaining $.50. And, Best Buy does not pay any interest on this loan I’ve made to them, neither to me nor to my son.
I’d like a loan on those terms, too. Know anybody who’ll give me one?

-- Or perhaps, instead of a loan, I might think of it as a reverse credit card. I give Best Buy credit, but they don’t necessarily have to make payment to my son until he demands it (or some of it), and the terms of this credit card don’t say anything about 18.9% interest on outstanding balances or minimum payment or payment due date.

Think I could get Best Buy (or any other business offering “gift” cards) to give me a credit card with similar terms?

I think gift cash is the way to go this Christmas.

Peace on the Back Burner

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

When peace gets put on the back burner, we get burned.

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,

“Blessings all mine, and 10,000 beside…” Does it get any better than this? Perhaps, but for me this is good enough, more than I hoped. Life is good, Yeah!
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

“Call no man 'father,' unless he’s celibate, of course.”

[He never gave birth to this conundrum]

D. Blog: Snowfall

Snow has fallen, snow on snow. Its beauty lasts even less than it will. Or perhaps the beauty is what lasts – in memories and photographs. But then when snow melts, it lasts in other ways, ways that nourish and sustain the planet and the life forms living on it. Isn’t that the way of all beauty? Even if it at times involves some struggle or hardship, it enriches our lives.

[Thanks to the BBC International website for this photograph.]

Imagination Deficit Disorder (IDD)

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

I’ll bet all I have on peace in the finals.

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,

We cannot rightly blame you for boredom. Life is so challenging, interesting and downright entertaining, anybody feeling bored must not pay attention. Perhaps they suffer from Imagination Deficit Disorder (IDD), which leads them to watch too much television. Thankfully, I don’t seem to have such a condition. I love the life you give us, can’t get enough of it!
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

“Get me to the synagogue on time.”

[What time would that have been? – Didn’t say it.]

D. Blog: Tuesday Haiku

Which war would I fight in?
That would be the one in which
No one gets killed.

Dating Jesus

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

A preacher who never opposes war is a false prophet.

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,

If I didn’t know better, I might think you care only for me, for my state, for my country, for my religion, my race, my species, my planet. All have received abundant gifts as a result of the course of life’s evolving. But while I know all of my situation in life is blessed, the blessedness can only continue as I am mindful that I hare your bounty with the rest of the world the world to which you expressed your love through Jesus the Christ.
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

“I think we should date other people for a while.”

[Comment: ??]

D. Blog: No Rapture for Me

I suppose God could pull off a rapture like that envisioned by some Christians, improbable and fantastic as the notion is to me. But it’ll never happen. It makes less sense than the Star Trek fictions or the group that thought a passing comet meant they would be taken away from Earth. That escapist stuff has a place, but not in reality.

The more realistic apocalyptic scenarios involve things of our own human doing: nuclear war or radioactive and other toxic wastes, climate change, the end of the oil age. I’ll keep my focus on those very tangible threats and ignore the imaginary ones.

Crisis of Spirit

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

Resort to violence is an admission of failure on someone’s part.

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,

A leader has disappointed us.
A shepherd would lead us astray.
Lead us now, you who never disappoint.
Guide us back to paths of righteousness and peace.
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

“With all the walking we do, I wish I had a pedometer.”

[And if wishes were horses… He never even thought it]

D. Blog: Crisis

Athletes have violated the sanctity of fair play.
Tiger Woods is just one who violated the sanctity of marriage vows.
Bernie Madoff violated the sanctity of the trust people had in him.
Wall Street executives violated the sanctity of fiduciary responsibility.
Barack Obama violated the sanctity of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Religious authorities violate the sanctity of their calling.
We have all violated the sanctity of Earth.

I consider it a crisis of Spirit that underlies most of our ills.

Garden of Eden=Earth?

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

You cannot expect people to trust you when you carry a gun.

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,

Could we survive for a second without your sustaining presence? I don’t think so.
Do we know enough to go it on our own? I don’t think so.
Can we control our own fate? I don’t think so.
Do you try to keep us from getting too deep into trouble? Absolutely!
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

“No, Mom. I’m sorry, I can’t go home with you. These are my peeps now.”

[Not how He broke the news to her that He had left the family.]

D. Blog: Garden of Eden = Earth?

Perhaps we have misunderstood the story.
Perhaps Earth is the garden and we are in it, but don’t realize that any longer.
Perhaps our role is still that of tending to her health and welfare.
Perhaps Earth is a more hospitable and more fragile place than we have imagined.
Perhaps the traditional interpretation of a “fall” is but an imaginary explanation of our toil and the evil we encounter as we make our way in this verdant and complex planet.
Perhaps we need to realize we could never leave the garden of Earth, except in our imaginations.

Shanghaied!!

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

If we remove wars from the picture, then governments might truly serve the needs of their people.

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,

As your sheep, we need a great deal of care and attention.
Thank you for being our shepherd.
As your sheep, we sometimes stray and get lost and need someone to seek and find us.
Thank you for being our shepherdess.
As your sheep, sometimes we encounter perils and need someone to protect us.
Thank you for being our shepherd.
As your sheep, sometimes we hear voices that would lead us along dangerous paths.
Thank you for being the shepherdess who calls us back to safer paths.
As your sheep, we sometimes become injured and hurt and need someone to heal and comfort us.
Thank you for being our shepherd.
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

“Just blame the woman.”

[What He refused to say of the woman caught in adultery.]

D. Blog: Word of the Week – “shanghai”

[Thanks to Merriam-Webster.com for explaining this term’s origin and meaning.]

Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): shang·haied; shang·hai·ing
Etymology: Shanghai, China; from the former use of this method to secure sailors for voyages to eastern Asia
Date: 1871
1 a : to put aboard a ship by force often with the help of liquor or a drug b : to put by force or threat of force into or as if into a place of detention2 : to put by trickery into an undesirable position

[Illustration: “With his acceptance speech this week, President Obama attempted to shanghai the Nobel Peace Prize into serving the purposes of war.”]

Skeptics? No, Deniers

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

“I know. Let’s pretend we’re Christians and become pacifists!” – Shamir, age 12, on how to achieve lasting peace.

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,

As a physical expression of who you are, Earth is amazing! I hope you don’t think it’s blasphemy when I say that Earth expresses your essence at least as well as Jesus did. We can more readily experience it as life creating, sustaining, adapting, loving, encompassing what we know of both matter and spirit. What a wonderful world!
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

“Did I really say that about my own people, John?”

[Probably not as down on them as gospel writer John was, but He didn’t ask this question.]

D. Blog: Denial

Climate change skeptics are in the denial stage. I’m not a scientist, but the consensus among them, based on data not speculation, says the warming is occurring. Skeptic says, “But Earth has experienced these cycles of warming and cooling in the past.” Telling response for me is that the warming has never before occurred this rapidly in the past. And what’s so different about this particular warming trend? An overgrown human population burning fossil fuels for the past 150 years, far beyond what was possible ever before on Earth. Only in this period of time has this occurred. To doubt or deny such an obvious set of facts makes an ostrich seem realistic.

Exploiting Differences

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

We’re all held hostage by war-making systems.

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,

When we fail to know our connection with the other, how can we possibly connect with you? Or, as the letter of James says, how can we love you if we don’t love our brothers, sisters, enemies? Impossible. They, too, are your offspring, your enfleshments in this world. If we see only separation from them, we separate from you as well.

That’s how I see the “fall” in the story of Adam and Eve. They saw their separateness and so became divided. Poor things… But that’s just a story. Poor us… for real.
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

“When do you think the Messiah will come?”

[As far as we know, not something He asked His cousin John when they were children.]

D. Blog: Questions in the News Room

Whose personal tragedy can we exploit today in order to draw an audience?

Which celebrity’s personal failings can we exploit to keep the public distracted from things of real importance?

How can we play up political differences of opinion to create strong emotional reactions in the population such that they want to hear the extremists rant?

What Jesus Wanted for Christmas

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

In the game of life, peace always trumps war.

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,

You give us so many wonderful things. No wonder we like to give presents to our family and friends. It’s part of our DNA as your children. Fortunately for us, you don’t respond like the woman who gave two sweaters to her son. When he came to visit wearing one of them, she said “What? Didn’t you like the other one?” I imagine you simply observe which of your countless gifts we notice and make use of, and you take some gratification when they help us grow, mature and share with others.
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

“Thanks Mommy, just what I wanted for Christmas: my two front teeth.”

[Yeah, right, He never said that.]

D. Blog: Tuesday Haiku

Earth’s diversity
stretches the mind, beyond
what we can ever know.

A Pet Peeve

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

How many pacifists does it take to change a light bulb?
None. They carry a light within. [Well, some do…]

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,

How divine to put or restore the breath of life in a person. An obstetrician should relish the job of initiating the first breath in a new life. To breathe is to live.

To breathe is to inspire. To lose breath is to expire. Your breath inspires. Your comfort comes to the expiring. May it be so for us the living to know your inspiration. May it be so for those facing death to know your comfort.
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

“Okay, Dad. When I turn 30, I’ll move out on my own. Promise.”

[We don’t know if there was such a conversation. If there was, it wasn’t in English.]

D. Blog: A Pet Peeve

I get terribly frustrated with drivers who are overly polite. You know. The ones who after coming first to an intersection with a four-way stop will wave to others to go first. Instead of following the rules of the road, they follow some personal rule about performing random acts of kindness (maybe) or just don’t recall the rules of the road. All their “kindness” does is cause uncertainty about what they’re doing and prolong everyone’s stay at the intersection. Is that wave a greeting? Do they need assistance? Oh, I guess they want someone else to go first so they don’t have to commit to a driving decision based on what has been prescribed as safe driving practice.

One such driver caused me to be rear-ended the other day. Instead of proceeding through a perfectly fine green light that most drivers had been seeing as a signal to go on through the intersection, she saw someone waiting to enter the flow of traffic from a service station, and she decided to perform her random act of kindness for the day. Problem was she was paying no attention to vehicles behind her. As the vehicle from the gas station pulled into the intersection, I hit my brakes (at a light that had been green for quite some time, remember). The driver of the large pickup pulling a trailer could not avoid hitting my vehicle as the polite driver moved on down the road, oblivious to the fact that her act of kindness was a dangerous and unnecessary gesture that caused an accident in its wake.

Now, I’m all for acts of kindness. I just have a serious problem when drivers mix the impulse for kindness with stupidity.

In the World=Incarnation

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

I’ve never met a peace I didn’t like, never met a war I did like, never heard of a torture that could be justified as moral.

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,

I wonder, occasionally, whether all of our attempts to communicate with you seem ludicrous to you. Or, do you appreciate our attempts to connect with you? It doesn’t really make a difference in what I’ll do; I’ll keep trying because it benefits me. This is plain self-interest, because these attempts help me focus on what’s going on inside me, to find what’s important to me, to feel good about my life and the direction it’s taking. So, like it or not, I’ll continue to send my thoughts your way, and continue to see the blessings in my life.
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

“Warrior God has given way to Daddy God. Deal with it.

[He taught something almost like this, but didn’t say it. Maybe that’s why so many people can’t believe it.]

D. Blog: In the World

When the Christian scripture says we are not to be “of the world,” it causes us problems because people interpret that to mean not of the natural world. But the appropriate interpretation of “world” here means the political and economic systems of power in the world, not the entire physical world. We cannot live in any other world, not even as we seek a spirituality in our lives. We have no other means of encountering divinity except through our bodily senses, in and of the natural world. The whole notion of incarnation reflects this – the sacred soul resides in a physical body, thus confirming its value. We honor the Holy One in this life, in this world.

Elephants in the Room

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

Green is a primary peace color; red, not so much.

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,

Thanks.
Thanks for the memories.
Thanks for the blessings of today - and for its challenges.
Thanks for tomorrow’s goys and hopes fulfilled.
Thanks for that within and between us which lies beyond time.
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

"That time share in Babylon sounds great, Nicodemus."
[But not the investment He recommended.]

D. Blog: Watch out for the Elephant

We seem unable to address adequately the major threats to our “way of life.” Climate change, population growth and the decline in supplies of fossil fuels will have far greater impact than terrorists or Muslim extremists. Yet we as a nation devote vast amounts of resources and personnel to the latter, more familiar threats with more familiar counter measures.

I think it’s akin to focusing on the little brat’s tantrums when it’s the elephants that can destroy the entire house.

Think You Understand Transgression?

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

When we aspire to overcome nature, we lose.

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,

Given a choice between a meeting and doing things around the house, I would normally choose the latter. The other day I didn’t have a choice. Meeting. But as it turned out, the meeting was more beneficial than staying at home would have been. I just never know when you will surprise me with grace and joy.
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

“Mister, you won’t believe what this popcorn ceiling will do for the resale value of this house.”

[Not exactly the kind of work He did before entering the ministry.]

D. Blog: Word of the Week – “transgression”

According to the Huffington Post,

“Tiger Woods' apology for his affair has caused a sensation -- but also, it seems, a whole lot of confusion over the meaning of the word ‘transgression.’

In the apology Woods posted to his website, he wrote:
‘I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart.’

In the wake of his admission, ‘transgression’ and ‘transgression definition’ topped Google Trends as the most popular search terms in the US.”

In case Tiger’s vocabulary confuses you, too, wordnetweb.princeton.edu offers this definition:

- the act of transgressing; the violation of a law or a duty or moral principle; "the boy was punished for the transgressions of his father"
- the spreading of the sea over land as evidenced by the deposition of marine strata over terrestrial strata
- the action of going beyond or overstepping some boundary or limit

[Sort of like going to war??]

In the Beginning...

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

Empires come and go. God’s dominion stays.

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,

You amaze me – at least once every day. Or if I’m paying some attention, every hour. On some days more often than that. I imagine that if I could be so attentive, I might be amazed from moment to moment, like a curious child.

We let common life obscure the uncommon facts of life on Earth, our uncommon personal life stories, the uncommon creativity and achievements of humanity. That lightbulb everyone is so anxious to change, for instance. It’s a great metaphor for the light you provide, being taken for granted, yet so vital and so miraculous – if we pay attention.
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

“In the beginning, I didn’t know a word.”

[John might have written something like it, but He didn’t say it.]

D. Blog: Balancing Acts

Neighbor cat chases a squirrel in our yard. It’s probably just practice for the well-fed cat, but no game for the squirrel. Survival of the fittest? I wonder. Perhaps it’s simply part of an amazingly complex balancing act that nature performs.

As for humans, are we resilient enough, strong-minded enough, fit enough to survive the coming decline (collapse) of the fossil fuel balance that our population depends upon?

Tiger Woods, Imagine

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

The only hope of satisfying Divinity’s purpose lies in achieving world peace.

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,

You know that one of the main ways we know you is as Creator. When we see the grandeur and the intricacy of the universe, we stand in wonder at the divine power that made it all. Equally awesome to me is the fact that you have given to us, the children made in your image, a measure of that same ability to create. I imagine it might be our greatest spiritual gift. For I experience creativity as a spiritual force. When we use it, instead of destructive power, we unleash more of your spirit into the universe. I know that when I am using my creativity, I feel very much connected to you. Help me to use this ability in ways that express your love and further your creative activity.
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

“If I am to model my life after my ancestor, King David, I certainly need a Bathsheba. You’ll do, Mary.”

[Not that kind of King, so He didn’t say that.]

D. Blog: Imagine…

I can Imagine I might accidentally hit a tree hard enough when backing out of my driveway that it would require a visit to the emergency room. I can imagine I would call my insurance company. Involvement of a hydrant would, I imagine, bring somebody from the local fire department.

Police? Hard to imagine. Reporters? I don’t think so. Making international news? Unthinkable.

Neighborhood gossip? I imagine so.

Thank you, Tiger Woods, for proving that we are a global village.

The War Thing

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

Only those with hope and trust find peace.

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,

Thank you for the gift of time, without which there is no life. That was a stupendous idea you have. But we need experiences of your timelessness, too. I wonder whether the tendency to structure and fill our time has the by-product of eliminating the openings for glimpses of the timeless and eternal – you. I am grateful for all encounters with you, in the countless ways they come.
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

“When in Samaria, do as the Samaritans do.”

[The alternative lesson to one of His parables, but it never caught on.]

D. Blog: Tuesday Haiku

I don’t get it, this war thing.
Explain to me why
you believe it works.