I refuse

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For sin is ultimately a refusal to grow

          Jean Danielou, reflecting on Gregory of Nysa

 

Why am I confident that the people of faith… will keep moving forward?

 

… because of the reality and presence of the creator with creation.  This is God’s world.

… because of Jesus.  We are stuck with Jesus, and he won’t go away… Jesus cannot be contained.  He rises again. He keeps coming back…

We also have the presence of Jesus, the Spirit of Jesus, the Spirit and breath and Wind and Fire of God, alive and active in us and all around us.

          Biran Mclaren, “A New Kind of Christianity”

___________________________

 

God

Creator, Savior, Enable

What must you think of us

 

Are we a blot on your amazing creation?

Do we walk away from your grace?

 

We rebel

We do deplorable things in your name.

 

We pout, we cower

We hide behind lies

We become fearful hoarders

 

And the world disintegrates,

The human family becomes dysfunctional?

 

The evidence is there

A pastor with asphalt burns on his face

The immigrant, terrified in the grasp of brutal creatures in masks

The young girl, curled embryonically on the seat of a private jet

The mother whose EBT card is as  empty as her children’s stomachs

 

Some say it has always been this way!

So?

 

We cannot afford the sin of apathy

We cannot do nothing

So, remind us, Lord, what it means to be blessed

To be a blessing

 

Awaken us, speak to us, teach us

Fill us

Again and again

 

Be relentless,

Come, find us as we hide

Inspire us as we flounder in the ooze and slime of old decay

 

Creator God, Serving God, Present God

Make us new every day

Change us

 

That we might be yeast,

Seeds of change

The light of hope

 

For you are love

And you love us

Always

Amen 

Pedaling in reverse

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Most of us pedal pretty hard to avoid going in the direction of Jesus’ Beatitudes. We read books that promise to enrich our spirits. We find all kinds of ways to sedate our mournfulness.

          Barbara Brown Taylor

 

We often imagine billionaires as winners in the grand game of life. But what if they are the most starved among us? What if accumulating unimaginable wealth is not a sign of success at all, but a symptom of profound inner emptiness? An addiction that has no endpoint?       

          Christy Lubbers Berghoef

__________________________________

 

I am

I admit it

An emotional eater

 

When sadness drains me of joy

When anxiety robs me of peace

When fear hovers over me with dark wings

 

I want to consume

Food yes

But more

 

I want to fill my mind with more information.

I want to fill my time with busyness,

My stomach with food and drink,

My nights with entertainment.

 

I want to fill my emptiness

Sedate my feelings

 

So I strive

I want to be a winner, a success

I want to be respected and valued

I want comfort and wealth, influence and power

 

Maybe if I have enough money and power

I will feel contentment, peace, and even joy

 

Maybe

 

But in my better moments

When I let the wind of the Spirit blow and the fire of God’s love burn

 

I know this is NOT the way taught and lived by Jesus,

Who said, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

 

Who said “The first shall be last and the last first” and taught that true power lies not in domination, but in giving up self-interest to serve others (kenosis)

 

The reality is that I can have it all

And still be empty

Afflicted with an insatiable hunger

That can never, ever be satisfied

 

I know this

I feel this

I live this

 

And I am not alone

I see this hunger that cannot be satisfied everywhere.

 

I look at the addiction to wealth, the desperate need for power.

I watch as beautiful simplicity is torn down

And replaced with gilded, bloated extravagance

 

I watch while my government actually

Appeals a court order to feed the hungry

So that the unsatiable rich might become even richer

 

When people are addicted to wealth and power

There is no endpoint

They are consumed by a need that will eventually devour them

 

When a country is led by such people

This insatiable hunger destroys that nation

As surely as addiction to alcohol, drugs, or sex

Destroys a family

 

Donald Trump, Stephen Miller, Michael Johnson

Bezos, Musk

All of them

Are starving

 

I get it.  Because I sometimes, all too often, I am where they are

 

We cannot survive the terrible choice to try and fill emptiness

With that which does not satisfy (thank you, Isaiah)

 

The outcome of this addiction

Is inequity, oppression, injustice, and cruelty

 

We build banquet halls rather than feed children

We grind justice into the pavement

We kill people for political talking points

 

Khalil Gibran once wrote,

“Pity the nation that is full of beliefs and empty of religion…

 Pity the nation that acclaims the bully as hero, and that deems the glittering conqueror bountiful…

Pity the nation whose statesman is a fox, whose philosopher is a juggler, and whose art is the art of patching and mimicking…

Pity the nation divided into fragments, each fragment deeming itself a nation.”

 

I do not want to be that person

Always hungry, always grasping, always focused on myself

 

I need to be willing to be hungry

 

I believe that God does God’s best work when we are empty

But we must let God bring us what we need

Let the Spirit fill us with all good things

 

When God fills us

We may not end up wealthy, and we may not have earthly power

The world may not even value us

And may see us as fools

 

But when we are filled with Sacred Presence

When we are filled with the overflowing, everflowing love of God

And have some of God’s compassion, kindness, generosity, hope, and love

 

We might well have peace

And be people who can pass that peace along

 

 

 

Heaven begins now

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Heaven begins now, for any saints willing to sign up.

                     Barbara Brown Taylor, Always a Guest

 

[The beatitudes] are steps into the kingdom, the stairway to spiritual life…. These are not blessings pronounced upon different kinds of people—the meek, the merciful, the pure in heart, and so on. Rather, they are stages in the experience of only one class of people—those who are entering the kingdom and who at each stage are blessed. The kingdom, of course, is the blessing, and each step into it partakes of its blessedness. This blessedness comes with the taking of the step, and is not postponed as a future reward. Jesus said, “Blessed are…”. 

                     Richard Rohr (Daily Meditations 11.5.205

__________________________________

 

Who doesn’t want to be blessed?

Bless me, God, for I have sinned

There will be showers of Blessing

 

Blessed

It is a description of the citizens

Of the Kingdom of God

 

All you have to do

Is open yourself up to Sacred

And there it is

Blessing

 

But what does a blessed soul look like?

Is one blessed if one is rich?  Powerful?

Is blessing having power over others?

Having a wonderful life?

Having amazing and wonderful things?

 

In reality

Jesus gives us a very different picture

Blessed are the poor, the sad,

The hungry, the persecuted

 

Not because they are poor, sad, hungry, or persecuted (Luke’s version)

But because God is with them

Always

 

Not what we expected

To hear that the denizens of heaven

The citizens of God’s Kingdom

Those most surrounded by God’s love

Are the immigrants

The people who worry about losing SNAP

The people who are worried that a retributive leader will persecute them

for not adoring him?

Those whose hearts hurt because of what has happened to them

Or because of what they see happening to others

 

God says, “You are blessed.  You have a special place in my heart

I see what the world is doing to you,

But you are the ones closest to my heart.”

 

I expect the poor, the hungry, the sad, the persecuted

might well respond with

Really?

Don’t talk of love, show me.

 

That, perhaps, is where Matthew comes in.

 

Blessed are those who are humble (poor in spirit)

Who see the pain of the world, and allow their hearts to hurt

Blessed are the meek, who are gentle, patient, and kind

Blessed are those who hunger for justice and act with mercy

 

Blessed are the pure in heart, those who are honest

And those who make peace and are non-violent

Blessed are those who are willing to pay the price

For doing what is right

 

It seems as if it is a progression,

Kind of like the 12 steps

Steps into the kingdom

 

It starts with humility

If we are humble (and it is not all about us)

We can see others, and see their pain

And to those in pain, we can offer kindness and comfort

And for those who are the victims of injustice

The victims of pogroms,

Those stalked, beaten, detained, and deported

We can seek justice

 

We can strive to make sure justice happens.

 

And we can be people who strive to bring all people together

All people

 

We can be people who don’t abandon the immigrant,

The young person who is trans,

The person with a mental illness or addiction,

And yes, the person who has been swallowed up by MAGA

Caught up in an ideology based on domination

 

And we can be people who are willing to stand up for

The poor, the anguished, the hungry

The ones targeted by ICE

 

We can be one way God shows love to them

 

Sometimes this feels vague

(at least it does to me)

But still, I think it is true

 

As we accept Sacred Love

We can offer love

 

As we trust that God stands with us

Even when everything is going wrong

We can stand with others

 

I wish, in my moments of pain

I could feel blessed more often

I wish, as I walk through each day

I could be a blessing more often

 

Because this, I believe, is how the Kingdom of God becomes real

 

As we see that we are blessed

And then become a blessing

 

New self on a new path

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It’s not to the old self on the old path, which would be non-conversion and non-enlightenment. 

 

It’s not to the old self on a new path, which is where most religion begins and ends. It involves new behavior, new language, and practices that are sincere, but the underlying myth/worldview/motivation and goals are never really changed. My anger, fear, and ego are merely transferred to now defend my idea of God or religion. 

 

Jesus is leading us to the new self on a new path, which is the total transformation of consciousness, worldview, motivation, goals, and rewards that characterize one who loves and is loved by God. 

                     Richard Rohr

________________________

 

The time has changed

The sun rises earlier,

Bring light to the day

 

But night falls earlier

Casting us into darkness

And the bitterness of a winter night

 

Time has changed

But something is gained and something is lost

And in the end, nothing has changed

Really

 

When Jesus said, “I make all things new”

He meant it

 

He did not simply call us to

Adopt a new ideology

Or embrace a creed

 

He did not even call us to accept a new set of rules.

 

He did not call us to pack up our baggage

And with a few adjustments to our thinking

And a somewhat childish (not childlike) concept of who he is

And a resolve to be better

And set out on a new path, go a new way

 

Faith is very much about all of that

New thinking, new behaviors

A new way of doing life

 

But to walk this new path

To follow Jesus

Takes something else

 

It takes death

It takes resurrection

 

We can’t follow Jesus.

We can’t walk the new path

Without a new self

 

Without dying to the old

And allowing the power of the Spirit

To make us new

Creations

 

This is not a magical, mystical transformation

Jesus doesn’t wave a wand

And suddenly

Everything is fresh and new

 

Too often, we don’t die to the old

We let the old self cling to us

(or we cling to it)

 

We are called to love God

Totally

All in

 

But we have so many other allegiances.

 

We are told to love everyone

But we don’t

 

We are called to forgive

But resentment and anger cling to our souls

 

We are told to be generous

But we are afraid

To take the risk of generosity

 

We are told to fear not

But we are so afraid

 

The old self stumbles on the new path

And our love of God,

Our desire to be faithful and obedient

 

Become a love of religion

A fixation on the rules

Judgment and exclusion

 

Suddenly, it is not God saving us

It is us saving God

OMG

 

Here is the deepest truth

 

We die to live

We lose everything to gain everything

We empty our hearts and hands

That our hearts and hands might be full

 

Not a new self on an old path

Nor an old self on a new path

 

Only a new self on a new path

will allow us to walk in the footsteps of Jesus.

 

We have to go deep,

Into the terrifying darkness of the soul

So the light can come into the darkness

And we can start

anew

Participatory Eschatology

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What is our quest?

 

“…to heal what we have so disastrously broken…

To unify and liberate what we’ve tragically divided and conquered…

To rediscover a larger and more beautiful whole rather than pit part against part in deadly conflict…

 

It is a quest for what is named and sought in every language and culture:

Salaam

Sidi

Mir

Elohe

Ukathala

Wolakota

 

We could call it peace… perhaps ubuntu, a rich word meaning one-anotherness, interconnectedness, join in the common goodness, and profound commitment to the well-being of all [would be better].”  (Brian D. McLaren)

 

Perhaps we are looking for the wrong things

Seeking desperately, like a person addicted

For things that destroy

 

Substances

Power and domination

Wealth

Retribution

 

Maybe we are just not ready.

Somehow

Like babies not ready for solid food

 

It might be that peacemaking

The work of creating Ubuntu

Is simply hard work

And means we must accept

“inconvenient truths”

 

Realities that are harsh

And demand changes we do not want to make

Sacrifices we find painful.

 

Change is difficult

We are such spiritual juveniles

So caught up in immature quests for

Safety and power

Safety and power

 

Think on it

How many of the world’s ills

Come from people with power

Seeking to keep their power and wealth

Safe

Untouched

 

Spiritually trapped

At nascent stages of development

Where promise is

Unfulfilled

We see others as dangers

Obstructions

Terrorists

 

And we destroy Ubuntu

 

We can never stop evolving

Growing

 

As we stumble through

Our pursuits for domination, elimination

Us over you

Us without you

Us taking you over

 

We must move toward a new way

Where we seek

Us in you

You in us

Some of us for all of us

Something good for ALL of us

 

It will be hard to get there

To this Ubuntu zone

And we will have to work

Hard

To stay there

Even for a while

 

But this is the call

The call of Jesus, who says

Follow me

Live like this

 

The journey with Jesus is

uncertain and daring

Always

 

But it is the only way to find

Healing, unity

Liberation

And (paradoxically) community

 

Are we ready?

I hope I am.

I hope you are

It will take all of us

 

(again, thanks to Brian McLaren for his thoughts and words, which I have unabashedly used in this piece)

 

 

 

Participation eschatology

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In participatory eschatology, when we ask, “What does the future hold?” the answer begins, “That depends.  It depends on you and me.  God holds out to us at every moment a brighter future; the issue is whether we are willing to receive it and work with God to help create it.  We are participating in the creation of what the future will be.

          Brian McLaren

______________________________________

 

How shall we then live?

As leaders lie

And propaganda floods the media?

As masked thugs stalk the streets

Looking for stereotypes?

 

Where brutality is the modus operandi

And destruction is the coin of the empire?

 

How shall we respond

As the planet burns?

And the existence of precious souls is denied?

As war morphs into war into war?

 

What does the future hold?

What is going to happen to us?

 

Is Jesus going to return

Bloodied and brandishing a sword

To slay the evil doers and save the righteous?

 

Is God going to come and rip creation apart?

Like a painter slashing his or her own painting?

 

Who’s going to make it?

Who’s going to cease to exist?

Who is going to win and who will lose

Who will find their way to “the Father’s House”

And who will be “tormented in the flame?”  (Rich man Dives/)

 

Perhaps it wrong

To think of an avenging God

To think of a Jesus who is almost the antithesis

Of the Jesus walked the earth

 

As Jesus becomes the Christ (Christus Victor)

Does he suddenly become a judger rather than a forgiver?

A hater rather than a lover?

One who deals in death rather than life?

An excluding punisher, who wreaks vengeance and destruction?

 

I don’t think so

I don’t think Jesus can deny himself

 

What I think is that Jesus the Christ,

Who dwells within us as Spirit

Works with us every day

Creating and recreating

 

I think that God became incarnate in this creation

And that God will not abandon it

I believe that Jesus was another incarnation

Creator coming into creation

 

And I believe that the incarnation happens

And happens

And happens again

 

In us, where God becomes real in the person of the Holy Spirit

Through us, as we

Follow

 

As we forgive and give

As we take care of the planet

As we feed the hungry and welcome the stranger

 

And become the voice,

And the hands and feet of Jesus

 

Become Jesus saying

“Suffer the little children”

Which does not mean to make children suffer

But embrace them

 

Become Jesus, healing, reconciling,

Making peace

Creating justice and equity

 

And in doing so, we participate

We determine

The future

 

What does the future hold?

It depends on us

 

Every moment

With every word, every act, we make the world better or worse

We make the future better or worse.

 

We co-create the future with God

We have that power

A power Donald Trump can only dream of and MAGA will never have

 

We are the incarnation of Love

We are the creative power of God enfleshed

And we should live accordingly