Stupidity in It's Finest

Maybe I've been reading too much of Nadia Bolz-Weber's book Pastrix, where she describes her life as trial and error until she found the Lutheran church.  Her language isn't what you expect of a pastor.  It's harsh.  It includes curses.  But it's life.

And maybe its because of her writing that I must say, I find myself disappointed at times, like tonight.  A local church at Holy Cross in Commack could do something brave--taking in migrant children from the border who willing give themselves up when caught.  These people aren't looking to cause trouble; they're looking to flee from it.  These children are from a different walk of life than the common person is used to in the United States.  They are abused, neglected. Their families are torn apart from drugs and disease.  They come to the United States for the same reasons our ancestors did: for a chance at a better future.

Let's play devil's advocate.  They take our jobs.  They don't contribute to welfare and social security.  They are now part of the healthcare system.  They fill our schools and make us pay higher taxes.  I won't comment that both Republicans and Democrats believe that the United States is there to protect those who are underserved in the world.  Sure, we argue how this should be done, but we agree on something at least.

Protesters were at the meeting in Holy Cross tonight, and I'm kind of glad this blog is my own work and not the views of the church I serve, because I must say: shame on those who, in your own anger, diverted the meeting from being productive, talking about the issues, and asking how best to address the needs of real life people in real life ways.  This isn't about politics; it's about humanity.  Shame on those who make this an issue about our President and how well he is or is not handling the situation.  I pray that your own family never come into need.  I pray that you yourself may escape the growing poverty gap between the have and have nots.  I pray that you shut your doors, bar your windows, and not look out into your community, a community that is already diversified and an image of the broken Christ, who's blood-stained hands cup this community.

They say never write angry, but how can't you be angry when people's lives are at stake.  I believe God  feel sads when wayward people do wayward things.  My point is this: maybe Holy Cross isn't the best place to host these children until the government can figure out what to do with them, but if Holy Cross isn't, then you tell me where--because these children are already here.  And before you point to another region, another state, or another town, take responsibility for yourself, for you and these children are all part of the same humanity and children of the same heavenly Father.

The Absurdity of Peace

I heard the news just about an hour ago.  In the plight of rising tensions between Hamas (and subsequently and unfortunately Palestine) and Israel, Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 crashed over Eastern Ukraine after being shot down by separatist forces.  As if they didn't already have the world's attention, they got it even more now.

Praying for peace at this point seems absurd, and this coming from a pastor who feels that his prayer life with God is strong enough.  Praying for peace day-in and day-out while the sky is falling around us because of human selfishness and inconsideration seems to diminish the impact prayer has.  In fact, a childhood misconception of prayer is God as a genie; all we have to do is begin with "I wish..." and God will perform to our standards.

But praying for peace is truly all we can do.  Part of the absurdity of praying for peace is that we are holding out for a miracle that only God can bring.  We're being foolish, many would comment, because things like war and retaliation can bring peace; prayer, it would be argued, seems to do nothing.  However, Christianity is foolishness in its fullness, "for the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God" (1 Corinthians 3:19) and "for God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom and God's weakness is stronger than human weakness" (1 Corinthians 1:25).  If we want peace, it can only come by God's will, through God's grace, and directed by God's power.  Peace on any other terms isn't peace; it's just supplanting our own ways above another person's.  If I want peace in Israel, what would peace look like?  Would it be Israelites secure in the Gaza strip?  Would Palestinians have a place to live or be recognized?  Would Jordanians allow Israel to be a country?  What about the inequalities that if the Palestinians gave into would promote lack of humanity?  My definition of peace in just such a battle as those living in and around the Holy Lands very well might not be peace to all people.  Indeed, peace in my mind wouldn't even recognize people taking action into their own hands at the cost of innocents dying; haven't I too denied the human rights and feelings of those feeling the pain of abuse?

So what hope then do we have in praying for peace?  It is the only solution we have.  "For in hope we are saved.  Now hope that is seen is not hope.  For who hopes in what is seen?  But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." (Romans 8:24-25)  "And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given us" (Romans 5:3-5).  We hope in God's activity, a miracle of God intervening in this world.  And God will, and indeed is, acting.  I assure you that more and more nations are coming together to defend people's rights, and even Palestinians and Israelis are reconciling.  For years, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland were at a same tense point; tension has eased and will hopefully one day be a thing of history.  God is quelling hard hearts and uniting people.  God is on the move!

Indeed, we hope and pray for what we cannot see, knowing that all things are in God's hand.  God will bring peace...  God will bring peace...

Sisters and brothers in Christ, today, I urge you to start a vigil with me.  Every night, pray for peace, the peace of Christ, not the peace "as the world gives; do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid." (John 15:27)  But know that all things are in God's hands and all things are precious to God, those that reflect God's image (Genesis 1:27).  And pray with me now:

"O God, it is your will to hold both heaven and earth in a single peace.  Let the design of your great love shine on the waste of our wraths and sorrows, and give peace to your church, peace among nations, peace in our homes, and peace in our hearts; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen."  (ELW 76)

Everything will be alright.  "Peace be to the whole community, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Grace be with all who have an undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ." (Ephesians 6:23-24).  Amen.

Freedom of a Christian

Giving this week is 4th of July, I figured I would spend some time writing about freedom as a Christian.  There are many takes on this freedom, mostly saying similar things.  But to the one who wrote the tract "Freedom of a Christian", I now turn to Martin Luther, our church founder.

Luther once wrote: "A Christian [person] is the most free lord of all, and subject to none..."  Great!  We can do anything we want, right?  Because we have been saved by grace and sin can't hold us down, we can and really are encouraged to live however we want.

But, Luther doesn't end there: "...a Christian man is the most dutiful servant of all, and subject to everyone."  Wait.  We're free... and yet, we have to be a servant (which in Greek is the same word for slave) to all?  Luther's point is that, even though we have been given the good news of the gospel, we should live into Jesus' footsteps, who on the night of his betrayal called us to be the least and servant of all; he ministered to those in need and not fearing illness himself; and he gave the kingdom to those who traditionally had been outside of the pearly gates.

We are free in Christ to make any decision we like, although Paul has an empathetic no about sinning just so we can see grace all the more clearly (Romans 6:1-2).  Our freedom in Christ puts us in line with certain expectations, and those expectations are to serve others.  For Paul, after realizing that some of those who weren't as strong in faith as he was saw eating meat sacrificed to idols as idolatry (Paul clearly states that food offered to idols is null since there are no idols), Paul writes: "Therefore, if food is a cause of their [other Christians] falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall" (1 Corinthians 8:13).

To be a Christian means freedom from condemnation and service to those whom God calls us to care for.

Resting Within Activity

I don't know about you, but this week has been such a long and busy one at the LCOS office, I swear it should be Saturday by now.  Busy can be either good or bad.  Busy has a way of distracting one from accomplishing what needs to get done, which can be bad.  Busy can also produce some really key results at the end of the day, things that need to get done--which is good.

I don't know about you, but busy often gets a negative connotation in my mind.  The thought of being "busy" usually creates lethargy within me, and I instantly feel a little more tired.  However, I also know that, particularly in my own family, some people thrive on busy-ness.  In fact, when they stop being busy, they don't know what to do.  They don't know how to rest.

In Psalms 46:10, the psalmist sings out: "Be still and know that I am God."  In Exodus 20:8, God calls all people to honor and keep the Sabbath day holy.  Resting, finding breath in one's schedule, and not doing are things God calls to God's own creation.  If God had to rest on the seventh day when creating the heavens, the earth, and everything in between, how much more our limited human bodies need rest.  This isn't to say that during the busy times, you can necessarily find those periods of rest, nor does it mean that resting should ever be longer than necessary.  For the early Israelites, resting was only a day long and included six other busy days before another day of rest would come along.

In the summer time, it's important to find rest so that one can carry out the next program year without becoming stressed out, burned out, or overly tired.  It's also important to realize that there are still things that need to get done in the midst of our rest.  Thanks be to God who gives us purpose and the energy to carry everything out.

Cats and Closets

Now before anyone calls the ASPCA on me, if you ever owned a cat, maybe you've learned that cats have a mind of their own.  In fact, the cats I've known often get into trouble either because they are looking for some attention or because they are, in fact, very curious.  This is a story about the latter.

There was a frantic search this morning for one of my cats.  What was unusual about this particular cat is that she liked to sleep on the master bed throughout the night... but only on her terms.  You couldn't put her on the bed and expect her to stay there.  She often is a little edgy, and for at least one particular dog, she can be unpredictable with her emotions, at one time acting friendly and then at the next taking a big old swipe at your nose.  Between her and her litter sister, she is the more moody and quite frankly, "queenly" of the two.  She rules with an iron paw!  She's also very adventurous, which is surprising because as a kitten, she was very timid; but she has been known to break out of the house just to take a stroll in the backyard.

So, it should have come as no surprise this morning when she was missing, but her two parents were very concerned and didn't want to leave for work until she was found.  I must say, I thought I looked in all the closets, under every sofa, and even bribed the cat with "kitty treats" if she would just come out of hiding.  I'm sure she would have come... if she could.  She was found in the supply closet upstairs.  Last night, I was refilling a soap dispenser and she must have sneaked into the closet while it was open.  Then, without making a sound, she "enjoyed" her solitude once the door closed on her.  Let me tell you, now that she has been found, she is incredibly moody and wants nothing to do with "kitty treats", back rubs, or even cuddling!  I think I might be in the doghouse when I go home tonight.

Might this be a metaphor, though, of some people's reaction to God?  In yesterday's Gospel text, Jesus seemed very cranky, saying things like he did not come to promote peace but rather to bring division.  Might this division be because of our own closet experience (and I'm not necessarily speaking about the gay term here, although I think this might fit many in the gay community).  Out of curiosity, maybe we were the ones who went to places God never wanted us to experienced, we were the ones who got trapped, and even when God opens the door to us, might we still feel loathing due to the experience and feelings of abandonment?

Just remember, God opened a door to something that was very valuable, something God wants to be in relationship with.  God wants to hold us and remind us once again that we are loved.  Let go of the guilt and shame, and feel God come in.  Or, to quote scripture: "I came that [my sheep] may have life and have it abundantly" (John 10:10) and "But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine" (Isaiah 43:1).  You don't need to be afraid anymore and for goodness sake, stop letting your curiosity keep getting the best of you!  Don't keep God at a paw's length... er, at a arm's length away!

Experiencing HOME

"You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt." -- Deuteronomy 10:19

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately.  Thinking gets me in trouble all the time, because my thinking turns out to be ideal and yet there are large gaps between the ideal and realistic world.  In particular, I recently have been thinking about people who long for a sense of home.  I have met several over the past few weeks, and the music I am listening to right now just emphasizes that point.  Home is a sense of security, peace, and love that we should all experience, but our broken world sometimes hides or even denies this possibility at times.

The early Israelites were constantly reminded that they were aliens, foreigners, or in the above translation, strangers in the land where they lived for hundreds of years.  That's a long time not to feel home.  Maybe the problem isn't with those who are lost, looking for home.  Maybe the problem is with those who have found home.  How can we open ourselves up to exhibit the traits of love, peace, and security so many are looking for?  How can God's people reach out to those still searching for home so that all of us can experience HOME?

God in the Dark

In a recent Time article, Barbara Brown Taylor, an Episcopalian priest, was asked how one might find God in times of depression, fear, and high anxiety (a darkness in one's soul).  Taylor, a person who left the ministry in her own dark night of the soul, knows only too well that the fear of darkness can also be a time of God's nearness.  She comments that darkness should not be feared because God comes to many Biblical characters in the darkness, including Jacob, the Israelites, and Nicodemus.  And yet, in this world of light, people fixate on the goodness of light (and "enlightenment") over and against darkness.  In darkness, Taylor argues, we learn faster than in light.  We also experience God in ways that would not be possible in light.  Have you ever experienced God in the dark?  What reassurances do you get when you face the dark night of the soul?

The article comes from the Times article dated April 28, 2014 entitled "Let There Be Light", pages 36-41.

Guns and Religion

This past week, Georgia passed a gun law that is the most universal: guns are allowed in almost any setting... provided the setting accepts people to carry guns.  That's right: schools, bars, and churches just to name a few of the more controversial places.  So I thought we might take a little trip down the history of the church:

In the Old Testament, it seemed that weapons were not only welcomed in the Temple, but arguably a part of the service.  Sure, these weapons weren't guns, and they were holy instruments that would be used to slaughter the sacrificial animal on the altar (and not people) but I'm sure some could point out that a weapon is a weapon no matter where it has been used.

However, there were also places of sanctuary in the Old Testament (safe places to go to for those who were considered criminals before due process).  These places didn't allow for those who were victims of a crime to seek out their own vengeance if the supposed criminal was within the walls of the city.  While the Bible clearly states "an eye for an eye" justice (or in an extreme case: a life for a life), I would argue that these towns of refuge (from Joshua 20) were the start of sanctuary in the Christian church, although I must admit, I haven't done much research on the matter.

In the Christian church history, it wasn't long before those who were being persecuted fled to the church for safety (this was once the church became an acceptable religion).  The church was considered holy ground in which bloodshed would not be tolerated.  However, in more recent history, we have stories every few months of people walled in the church begging for mercy and people on the outside setting fire to the church walls or brazenly walking in with weapons of any type, killing people on church property.  It was only a few years ago a Lutheran Church in Pennsylvania laid witness to a congregation member killing the secretary of the church with a gun.

Should a similar legislation pass in New York state, our Council would immediately be called to decide our stance upon the matter.  In all honesty, I don't see this happening any time in the near future.  But it doesn't hurt to get a conversation started: would you allow for guns to be permitted on church property and if so, would there be any conditions you would put on the user of the gun(s)?  Or if you are on the other side of the fence, on what basis do you defend your claim for no guns on church property?  Would you consider other weapons permissible on church property and if so, which ones?

A New Day

Welcome to the Easter season!  What a busy week the church had last week, with vigils, long devotional walks, sacred rituals, a plethora of worship services, and finally, the arrival to Easter Sunday.  While Lent is over, along with the fasting, it's a shame that in this new day, the church doesn't have a similar practice for the 50 days of Easter leading to Pentecost.  It's almost like you're preparing yourself for Holy Week, but shouldn't there be a promise to better yourself in the new day?  Even if its simple (like repeating "Jesus died for me", "God loves me so much", or making sure you pray each day), what would you do in this new day while Christ visits and remains with you?

The Paradox of Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday is often seen as joyous over against the 40 days of Lent and the rest of Holy Week.  It includes upbeat hymns, a church-wide procession, and palm-branch waving.  Fun times!

But Palm Sunday is also juxtaposed (or in paradox to) the overall sediment of where all our journeys are leading: to the cross.  The worship service itself takes on a very real feel once the Gospel (which includes the whole narrative from Maundy Thursday to the cross) is read.  And Holy Communion becomes something other than the lively knowledge that our sins are forgiven.

We venture to the cross.  Let us not forget the very reality of our faith.