Month: July 2016

I spend time in an Abbey and I have visited cathedrals and churches across the world. Of course, the cross is everywhere. Well, not in the Hindu temple, the synagogue, or the mosque, but you get the idea. All of my life I have heard how the cross was and is the answer to our sins. That it is an implement of death.  I get that, but what if that is not quite accurate?

Here is what I mean and please, leave the heretic part out until you think about this. We have been told in church that blood had to be shed to forgive our sins. But the Psalms are clear, that is not what  God wants from us. It did not work for the Israelites did it? They made sacrifices, a lot of them, and still Jesus had to come and show a “more excellent way”.  I know the old hymn, “There is a Fountain Filled with Blood”. I have always hated it because it is not good theology. It is old theology that did not work for the Jews and does not work for us.

What if the point of the Cross was and is to remind us that a Son of God chose to ignore his own ego, his own desires, his own fears and let the authorities take his life. What if the point of the Cross was to show us all that death is not the last word, but love. You see, we are all the children of the Eternal, we all are Beloved. If we are all Beloved, then we will all be resurrected. The Cross is not the end, it is the beginning. Until we understand that we start with the Cross, we will never understand hope.

Christ in you, the hope of Glory. That is the New Testament. That is hope, that we will all be resurrected. The Cross is not about nailing our sins to “the tree”. No, it is about knowing that in spite of what we think of ourselves, what we think we deserve, the Eternal God says no, not even a cross will stop My love for you. It is not the sacrifice we should meditate on, it is the act of pure, selfless Love.

When  I survey the wondrous cross. That begins another old hymn and that is a good thought. Why do we wear a cross (yes I do)? My daughter thinks of it as an implement of torture and I get that. I have come to realize it is the emblem of Hope. I wear it because I want to be reminded that nothing can hold me back from God’s Eternal love!

TMM

Have you ever had the last word? I get to do that a lot because I am a college professor and my last word usually ends class. But, other than the classroom, I am not so sure having the last word is really a good thing. In fact, it is a bad habit that I don’t mean anything by, it is just a habit. My mind runs so fast sometimes that I end up putting ideas together in a staccato fashion that I am sure wears people out.

Children, teenagers most specifically, just have to have the last word. For little ones it is usually no, for teens it is usually intended to be rude, defensive, or insulting. You see, when we have to have the last word, it is our own hurt, anger and poor self-esteem that is doing the talking. Teenagers want to be grown up and when they are confronted with their feelings and know they aren’t grown up, they lash out. So do I and I think you do too. We have to be right, we have to be first, we have to win.

Have you ever noticed how the Gospel of John begins? “In the beginning was the Word…..”. Now, isn’t that interesting, the Living God is the first word. With humankind, God is the first word, not the last. Jesus was the first word, not the last. I wonder what our world would be like if we tried harder to have the first word?  And what would or should that word be? Hmmm, how about “love”. Notice I did not use a question mark, but a period. It makes it open ended as either a choice or a description or a conclusion.

A world where the first word is either spoken or acted out and that first word is love. Christ is the logos, the word and the first word at that. In Genesis, it says that the Eternal spoke the world into existence. Do you realize that you can “speak” another person into existence? By speaking with your life or with a good word of love, you can “speak” others around you into a new life, olne they may never have imagined. Jesus said he was the way to the Eternal, but it means that we have to do it His way. The way of being the first word and that being Love.

We have made the world more difficult than it has to be. The way to the Eternal is already open to all. We must have the first word and it must be love. I love you Eternal One. You love me. Oh, and for those who want to say that Jesus was the “Alpha and Omega”, I will not disagree. I will point out that if he is the logos, then the last word is the first word……Love. If we truly believe, then when we have the last word it will be love. Now, wouldn’t that fix most of those self-esteem issues we have? Wouldn’t that resolve all of those have toos?

TMM

It was a long time ago, but I was once a little boy. I was cute, blond headed, and innocent. I was without care, just loved to run and play and read. Did I mention I was without care? That is what I see when I look at a grandson playing in the living room. At 7 months, he is standing, crawling, getting into everything. And, without care. Just living life as it comes each day.

I long for those days. I wish I knew less about a very difficult world. In the past week to ten days, more African Americans have died at the hands of police and more police died at the hands of a sniper. No, this is not a political or social commentary, that is reserved for my college classes. No, this is about little boys. You see, the people who did these “bad” things were little boys once. Like my grandson, the were without care and just loved to play.

What changed all of that? For each of us it comes down to the family we grow up in and the things that life sends our way. I believe that the Christian life calls us to come, “as little children”, to view life anew. To paraphrase Enzo Bianchi, to be a contemplative is to seek and see the Eternal everywhere. To be “an expert at finding God”. When we grow up, it becomes a choice, to see like a child.

I wish I could unsee and unhear so many things. Listening to the hurts and pains of people for the last 39 years has not made it easy to do so. I am a healer of sorts and to do that, I have to let others tell it all, without judgement of the story. And, I have seen the worst poverty in India, South Africa, Texas and seen the worst that we can do to each other, murder, rape, hatred. It has taken a toll, but it has also helped me to come full circle.

I cannot unsee or unhear. But that fuels my choice to return to innocence. Christ said “suffer the little children to come to me”. I choose to be that little boy, to come back to him as a child, trusting that He knows best. The hurt of my life is safe with Him. Love can heal much and if you look for it, you can find that healing and love in the midst of pain.

In the face of deep poverty in India, I met some of the most innocent and caring people ever. They welcomed me into their homes, offered me food from their meager supply. In the faces of some clients, I have seen that moment of relief and insight that told me they would make it. In each of these moments, it was childlike, it was innocent. And that is what we are called to, to come home to Abba, to Daddy (or Mommy) and just sit and be……innocent and care free again.

I believe that is heaven.

 

TMM

I really hate politics. Even though I teach social policy and have to stay up to date on the current issues, it wears on me to sort through the lies, half truths and semi truths that go on during every political season. But, I am also a veteran of working in large agencies and small ones and the politics are there as well. And, I am guessing you understand where I am coming from, that you have worked in those places where politics are the name of the game.

Sadly, church is the same way and why so many Millenials have left the church or want more. I know a fine minister who had to tell a young teenager they could not go on a mission trip overseas. The child has significant drug issues and it just was not worth the risk. Instead of the parents saying okay, we get it, we will help our child understand this and find ways for our child to serve the church and Christ here at home, the parents (true enablers that they are) have tried to vilify the minister and have actively engaged in the same sorts of acts that our current GOP candidate has used to get his way. Demonize the person, spread mistrust and fear and threaten to “take their money elsewhere”.

Now why would God’s people act this way? I believe it is because they view their life in the church exactly the same way they view their life in society and that both are governed by the same rules. These affluent parents have such a sense of entitlement that they assume the same is true at church. And, frankly, as a mental health expert, I can tell you they are the reason a young teenager has addiction problems. They will not say no. And, church to this type of person is one more thing to check off of the to do list of daily life.

I pray you reading this know that this is not what we are called to, in any community.  It cannot be about us, it must be about the greater good. The current state of affairs in our country says that I got mine, you go get yours. We are not our brother’s keeper (or sister). And, now we see it played out every day in church. Christ calls us to the greater good. Take up your cross is not a phrase, it is a way of life for Christians. But what does that mean? Take up your cross?

It means I must die every day. No, not literally but die to what I think is best, to what I want out of life. This is what it means to remember your baptism: buried with Christ, raised to walk in newness of life. So, take up your Cross is to live each day in belief of those baptismal waters and in the hope of the resurrection. If I die, I will be raised. It is a process of resurrection, not a final event.

I wish these parents would learn that they are not doing their child a favor. I pray they will find that the word “no” is important to children. God says it to us quite often. We pray and pray for something and get one of three answers: no, yes, and not now. May we all love hearing no from the Eternal, as painful as that is, because it means the Eternal cares enough about us to tell us no.

 

TMM