Palm Sunday is God's way of reminding us what authority and responsibility are really all about. We have the mistaken idea that public acclaim, spectacle, the facade of leadership is all that is necessary. In the same way that Jesus used all the traditional associations with a ruler entering into Jerusalem, we mistake fidelity to religious practices (something forever in flux) with a deep spiritual commitment. We see how deep and true the people's belief in this latest messiah by how quickly the cries went from "hosanna" to "crucify Him!"
And people's attitude toward faith is being shown, alas, in the current use of "religious liberty" as a way to show hatred against others. Apparently, some people (are you listening, Gov. Pence?) seem to feel that simply claiming any kind of faith is enough to justify discriminating against others. Well, not any faith; more specifically, conservative Christian. Jews, Muslims, Hindus, need not apply.
Actually, there are Muslim restaurants who refuse service to any woman not dressed according to their standards. But that's another issue.
The problem with all this is not that some of my brother and sister Christians are unclear on the concept. There have been limits on faith expressions in this country for years and years. Christian Scientists are required to provide medical care to their children. Jehovah's Witness go through a complicated series of maneuvers when they need a blood transfusion. And Mormons have been legally prohibited from polygamy.
We won't go into the complicated issue of faith healers.
Of course, much of this new idea of dressing up discrimination as "religious liberty" comes from a comparatively small group that don't want liberty for anyone but themselves. The fact that this is showing up in state after state smacks more of a concerted effort than a spontaneous movement. But still it is the same old behavior in certain faith communities that demand you follow their restrictive code or be penalized.
When Jesus rode into Jerusalem, the crowd cried "hossanna," which loosely translates as "save us." But Palm Sunday is not about salvation in any sense. That would only happen through love and resurrection, aka Easter. So when anyone claims they will save anything through hatred and discrimination, they obviously seek license, not liberty.
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Friday, March 13, 2015
The value of a silent example
This is to my conservative Christian brothers and sisters; please stop!
There was a time in my life when I was so sure of my faith that I had to, simply had to tell everyone about it. In the same way that someone who is newly in love is only able to talk about the beloved (have I shown you the photos of my grand children?), Some believers feel compelled to tell others- at great length, in boring cliched sentences- about this incredible God they have found.
The amazing experience of a close relationship with the Ground of all being can be quite heady. And because some in that community have chosen to ally themselves, for reasons I can only guess at, with a particular political stance which, ironically, is quite antithetical to faith in general and Christianity in particular. (Are you listening, Ayn Rand?)
But the issue here is that the way our brothers and sisters are acting is driving people away from the community of faith. It is no coincidence that atheism as a mainstream phenomenon has been growing as conservative Christians have been more visible. If one's first exposure to any kind of Christianity is the toxic forms most people see today, it is understandable that one might recoil from it.
Please understand: if someone chooses to show their faith in a particular way, so be it! I was there at one time, as I said. But, in some parts of the world, missionaries are forbidden to talk about their faith unsolicited. Only their actions may speak. So, my conservative brethren, let your good acts speak of what you believe. Spare me from the Bible tracts and the televangelists and the demonstrations. As I said: just stop!
Show me this God of love you say you are following.
There was a time in my life when I was so sure of my faith that I had to, simply had to tell everyone about it. In the same way that someone who is newly in love is only able to talk about the beloved (have I shown you the photos of my grand children?), Some believers feel compelled to tell others- at great length, in boring cliched sentences- about this incredible God they have found.
The amazing experience of a close relationship with the Ground of all being can be quite heady. And because some in that community have chosen to ally themselves, for reasons I can only guess at, with a particular political stance which, ironically, is quite antithetical to faith in general and Christianity in particular. (Are you listening, Ayn Rand?)
But the issue here is that the way our brothers and sisters are acting is driving people away from the community of faith. It is no coincidence that atheism as a mainstream phenomenon has been growing as conservative Christians have been more visible. If one's first exposure to any kind of Christianity is the toxic forms most people see today, it is understandable that one might recoil from it.
Please understand: if someone chooses to show their faith in a particular way, so be it! I was there at one time, as I said. But, in some parts of the world, missionaries are forbidden to talk about their faith unsolicited. Only their actions may speak. So, my conservative brethren, let your good acts speak of what you believe. Spare me from the Bible tracts and the televangelists and the demonstrations. As I said: just stop!
Show me this God of love you say you are following.
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
One Day at a Time
Today is all we've got. Yesterday is gone, and no matter how hard we try, we can't go back and change what happened. Tomorrow isn't here yet, and all our worrying and frantic preparations don't guarantee anything.
So live for right here and right now. Yes, we need is to be aware of where we have been. Of course, we should think ahead to where we hope to be. Those things may orient us, but they should not define us.
The problem lies in the way we live today. So many live lives that are dull, shallow, uneventful. The present for such holds nothing, so constant review and attempted revision of the past, or persistently seeking some presaging of what is to come, becomes more interesting than the humdrum of our daily routine.
There is a danger here, of course. Living in the now can become a way of avoiding responsibility for our lives, rather than taking the reins of life in our own hands. We must tackle all the things each day may hold, no more and no less. "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." (Matthew 6:34)
And once you choose to live in the now, seek to live your life to the full. Remember, that's the only one you get, so live it to the full!
So live for right here and right now. Yes, we need is to be aware of where we have been. Of course, we should think ahead to where we hope to be. Those things may orient us, but they should not define us.
The problem lies in the way we live today. So many live lives that are dull, shallow, uneventful. The present for such holds nothing, so constant review and attempted revision of the past, or persistently seeking some presaging of what is to come, becomes more interesting than the humdrum of our daily routine.
There is a danger here, of course. Living in the now can become a way of avoiding responsibility for our lives, rather than taking the reins of life in our own hands. We must tackle all the things each day may hold, no more and no less. "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." (Matthew 6:34)
And once you choose to live in the now, seek to live your life to the full. Remember, that's the only one you get, so live it to the full!
Thursday, March 5, 2015
So sorry
Everyone has things they regret. (Well, maybe not everyone, but you know what I mean.) The words that shouldna been said. Things should/shouldna been done. From when we were all very young, and didn't know any better, but that didn't matter. (Tell you sometime about a very young me and my Aunt Claire.) So one of the first things we learn is saying we're sorry. Even forgiveness is given but not believed or forgiveness is not given or given conditionally, or... You know the story, don't you?
But lately, apologies and forgiveness have taken a new sphere. We have assumed a global form of cynicism. We hold all apologies as suspect automatically, and forgiveness is given too easily or not at all/
Now, granted, with many in the public/political arena, the practice is to speak/act first, apologize after. It is akin to the courtroom practice of asking the witness a question that will be objected to, but the very act of asking it will hopefully bring up a forbidden subject. The idea is: I will say this or that, and the audience I am aiming at will hear only that and pay no attention to the apology.
This has contaminated the very concept of sincere repentance, much less forgiveness. Even though we Christians are supposed to pray regularly that we forgive and are forgiven, we seem to have difficulty receiving, much less giving. And the category of the unforgivable has become broader and broader.
The deeper problem is that we are unwilling to accept others. We cannot forgive because we do not want to open ourselves to others. Or we may be overly aware of our own flaws and failures so that we expect them in others/fear others will know them in us.
It is sad but true that we do not trust others now. There are people who can be bad, but we tend to go beyond that to include people we disagree with politically, spiritually, geographically, even what baseball team you root for. (Uh, go Red Sox?) Yet there are people I love that I disagree with about some or all of the above.
There was a time in my life when I hurt some of the people I love. (Story for 'nother time.) And I apologized. Boy, did I apologize. Over and over. Finally, a person I loved and had hurt told me: stop. The very act of repetitive contrition was having the opposite effect from what I intended. The point is we need forgiveness but we also should forgive ourselves. And we should forgive others, not worrying if they accept our forgiveness. (Or even feel they need it.) The whole point is letting go.
But lately, apologies and forgiveness have taken a new sphere. We have assumed a global form of cynicism. We hold all apologies as suspect automatically, and forgiveness is given too easily or not at all/
Now, granted, with many in the public/political arena, the practice is to speak/act first, apologize after. It is akin to the courtroom practice of asking the witness a question that will be objected to, but the very act of asking it will hopefully bring up a forbidden subject. The idea is: I will say this or that, and the audience I am aiming at will hear only that and pay no attention to the apology.
This has contaminated the very concept of sincere repentance, much less forgiveness. Even though we Christians are supposed to pray regularly that we forgive and are forgiven, we seem to have difficulty receiving, much less giving. And the category of the unforgivable has become broader and broader.
The deeper problem is that we are unwilling to accept others. We cannot forgive because we do not want to open ourselves to others. Or we may be overly aware of our own flaws and failures so that we expect them in others/fear others will know them in us.
It is sad but true that we do not trust others now. There are people who can be bad, but we tend to go beyond that to include people we disagree with politically, spiritually, geographically, even what baseball team you root for. (Uh, go Red Sox?) Yet there are people I love that I disagree with about some or all of the above.
There was a time in my life when I hurt some of the people I love. (Story for 'nother time.) And I apologized. Boy, did I apologize. Over and over. Finally, a person I loved and had hurt told me: stop. The very act of repetitive contrition was having the opposite effect from what I intended. The point is we need forgiveness but we also should forgive ourselves. And we should forgive others, not worrying if they accept our forgiveness. (Or even feel they need it.) The whole point is letting go.
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