Headlining 50th annual Martin Luther King breakfast, Presiding Bishop decries political injustice - Episcopal News Service

Headlining 50th annual Martin Luther King breakfast, Presiding Bishop decries political injustice - Episcopal News Service: [Episcopal News Service – Boston, Massachusetts] Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s keynote address at the 50th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Breakfast on Jan. 20 was full of Scriptural interpretation, …

Prayer, meditation

"When I sit in the darkness of meditation,
Even the darkness and coldness of prison,
Quietly ...
My life communicates with God.
He whispers within when other forms
Of communication are lost.
I see him within
When outerness is darkness.
Creator, create anew love within me.
Broken am I; begin by repairing.
The triumph is this:
God, through my consciousness,
Begin a new world-reformation.

Amen.

- Toyohiko Kagawa (1888 - 1960)

From:
For All the Saints
A Prayer Book For and By the Church
Volume IV pages 234 -5

LOGS, SPECKS, AND ASYLUM SEEKERS

As Christians we are admonished not to judge. We are reminded by Jesus about the log in our own eye and the speck in the other’s. But, as a human being, as a Christian I can observe. And in my observing I can see the actions of others. In observing I do not have to judge the actions of others. I do not have to judge the other for the one doing the action judges him or herself by their actions. So when “asylum seeking parents” have their children taken from them, when Trump gropes, forcibly kisses, ogles and demeans women he judges himself. When he calls other human beings animals, rejects asylum requests from people fleeing violence, and hunger in their own country, he judges himself. When he rejects and demeans people because of the religion they practice he judges himself. When he embraced murderous dictators, demagogy, and oligarchs he judges himself. When he looks at White Supremacists and says some are good people he judges himself.

I recently read where an author of an article said that some faithful Christians see what they regard as “good fruit” from Trump: saving “unborn” babies, stimulating the economy, and protecting American citizens from potential danger from those crossing our borders. Given Trump’s demonstrated character of “Trump First” he is not doing this for humanitarian reasons. He is appealing to his base, stimulating the economy to line his own pockets, and protecting Americans so his cronies can manufacture more guns, planes and implements of war to enrich the 1% Club of which he is a member (or at least says he is).

Trump is judged by Trump; we only need to observe and then decide on peaceful actions to counter what he and his administration are doing, what they stand for and what they embody; a new personification of evil.

The author of the article I mentioned previously says that God loves Trump. That may be (did Jesus love the demons He cast out?) but it is far past my capacity to love Trump or anything he stands for. I do leave this one up to God.

Returning to where I started; Trump judges himself by his actions, by the fruits he produces. I don’t have to judge.

“A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.

Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Thus you will know them by their fruits.”

(Matthew 7:18 – 20  NRSV)

HOPE, FAITH AND THE CURRENT SITUATION

In the novel the Rule of Four there is this quote, “Hope, Paul said to me once, which whispered from Pandora’s box after all other plagues and sorrows had escaped, is the best and last of all things. Without it there is only time. And time pushes at our backs like a centrifuge, forcing outward and away, until it nudges us into oblivion.” Without hope there is only time. Pandora’s box contained only one good thing, that being hope. But is there more than hope, because hope seems like such a static thing. It is like wishing. “I wish this or that would happen.” There is no action only sedentary hope. Given the current state of affairs in our nation today we hope that there will be change away from the negativity that pervades the life of our nation. But events continue to spiral downward in a series of events that ignore the needs of the widows, orphans, and the poor among us that Jesus said we must care for.

So is there anything past hope? I feel that there is and it is Faith. Reading that hope was the last item out of Pandora’s box it seemed that there was a scripture fluttering at the back of my mind that had the word hope in it. Typing, “hope” into the search engine of an online concordance several scriptures popped up. Her are four of them:

           Jeremiah 29:11 (NRSV) 
For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.

            Hebrews 6:19 (NRSV) 
We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters the inner shrine behind the curtain,

            Romans 5:5 (NRSV) 
and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

     Hebrews 11:1 (NRSV) 
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

So is hope that static thing or is it something more? Is hope the motivation to action, to be the hands and feet of God in the world? One of my favorite scriptures is Hebrews 11:1 that speaks about not only hope but faith. Reading it it seems that hope and faith are very close to each other. But faith is stronger than hope because hope seems ethereal while faith is more concrete. As Hebrews say, “… faith is the assurance of things hoped for…” even though we may not see it at the present time. If there is faith and if we are the hands and feet of the Almighty then we have work to do to change what was earlier described as,”… the current state of affairs in our nation.”

So what are our hands and feet to do? They are to get to work. Start with prayer and consider what ideas will emerge during a time of quiet contemplation. Write legislators; some actually care what their constituents feel; others are swayed by votes that they may garner. Write the editors of a local newspaper and express how you feel. Peacefully demonstrate, the power of group protest can still change things. (One example is Trump signing an Executive Order stopping the separation of children and parents at the border; although previously separated families need to be reunited). Talk to other, non-confrontationally, even when passionate about a subject. VOTE, VOTE, VOTE this November for those who support a democratic, humanitarian, ethical approach to the life of our nation.

War, Peace, Military Options, Pacifism; What is the Christian Response?

I have been reading Marcus Borg's book Convictions: How I Learned What Matters Most on my Fire Tablet. The morning after President (I find it difficult to use that title for this president) Trump went on television to announce air strikes on Syria the title of Chapter 10 was ironically, "Christians Are Called to Peace and Nonviolence." The chapter begins with these words, 

"I wish All Christians knew Christian teaching about peace and nonviolence as the alternative to reliance on military power and war. It is especially important for American Christians to know this. ...The United States accounts for almost half of the world's military spending.

Our armed forces are as powerful (as) those of the next dozen nations combined. No one is surprised that the U. S. Air Force is the most powerful in the world. But consider that the second most powerful is the U.S. Navy Air Force.

Moreover, we use military power not only as a deterent and as a response to violence, but also preemptively, as in the war we initiated in Iraq.

And yet, statistically we are the most Christian country in the world. About 80 percent of Americans identify themselves as Christian, and that means there are more Christians in the United States than in any other country. Is our reliance on massive military power for our security and the way we use it consistent with being Christian? Are war and the threat of violence against enemies consistent with being Christian? Sometimes? Always? Never?"

This book is about how Marcus Borg matured as a Christian. It could be considered a Christian - Faith memoir. He said that as a child, "It never occurred to me to wonder whether there was any conflict between being Christian and fighting for one's country. Christianity and patriotism went together." (Emphasis mine.) It was later in life as he begins to think more deeply about the subject that he discovers this was not necessarily true. He continues this section by writing, "Only in college did I first learn that there were several Christian attitudes toward war, including pacifism. ... I also took it for granted that our country would never wrongly become involved in a war. The United States was not only great but good. ... My conviction lasted until the early years of the Viet Nam War. In 1965, I was still justifying our involvement." Later in the chapter he writes, "My easy Christian acceptance of American use of military power vanished." he then asks, "What does it mean to give one's primary allegiance to God, as known especially in Jesus, and to be an American today? (Again emphasis mine.) 

Borg explores scripture to understand this question about clashes between violence, war, patriotism, love, and Christianity. He says, "Jesus was among those who advocated nonviolent resistance. His teaching and actions provided 'a third way' between the options of violent resistance to and submissive acceptance of domination, injustice, and violence. 

So also Paul was an advocate of nonviolent resistance." 

The various alternatives are explored in the balance of the chapter including Just War Theology, Holy War Theology, and Conventional Acceptance of War. He says that the last one, "... is seldom named but is probably the most common." As I think back to the various military conflicts that the U.S. has been involved in during my life, this last one is the most common. Given the society and the accepted norms that are part of this society I can understand why this is true. What I have more trouble understanding is how the people of this country do this with little or no thought because it is easy. More important is, "What do I make for dinner?, I can't miss my football game, what time is Sally's dance recital, etc." All important considerations during our day-to-day life, but they should not take presidence over, or completely negate how we react to questions of war and peace and what we do about it. We can't simply "go along to get along" peoples lives and suffering depend on it.

Marcus Borg also explores the various Biblical options that form a Christian's opinion about war and violence. After exploring his journey from childhood to an adult life about this subject and also  the various options available he concludes the chapter this way, 

"Following Jesus and taking seriously early Christian pacifism and subsequent teaching about justifiable war radically calls into question the widespread American Christian support of and acquiescence to our country's pre occupation with military power. ...

My own journey has not led me to the conviction that pacifism is the only legitimate Christian option. ... But I have become convinced that Christians who oppose war are more often right than wrong. Nonviolent resistance to evil, including the evils of injustice should be the primary Christian response." (Again this emphasis was mine.) 

I hear the author saying in the last quote above that the default position for Christians should be nonviolent resistance to war; not automatic acceptance of whatever our government decides to do. 

I can recommend this book to anyone who is interested in how this Christian author matured in his faith and how it might inform you about how you grow as a Christian; not only about this subject of war, peace, and violence but also about how to demonstrate a meaningful Christian witness. 

Mary; Out of Her Shell

On Day 27 of The Social Justice Bible Challenge the author of this reflection chooses Luke 1:39-55 as her text. This is the beautiful "song" of Mary, the Magnificat. The author describes Mary as, "... impulsive, brave, and radical" and admits that we more often think of her as, '... meek and mild..." But given the solique that Mary has in Luke's book "brave and radical" are apt descriptions.

     "Mary sings that God is not only lifting up the poor but also that God is tearing the rich and powerful down from lofty places. This is radical indeed, particularly in our time in which the wealthy are emulated." (page 104)

On this 20th day of December 2017 with a wealthy, self-centered, wannabe despot sitting in the White House who cares nothing for the "lowly" Mary's words that, "He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty" (v. 52b-53) in many ways seem no nearer now than it did 2000 years ago. And although we can today see organizations, both NGOs and religious institutions, who work to help to feed the hungry and cloth those in need the forces of greed and Earthly power claim victories even in this "Christian nation" where forces opposed to Mary's sentiments push for legislation that deprives those most in need and pushes wealth upward to further enrich the wealthy, currently labeled as the "1%".

What are we to make of this contrast between Mary's vision and what we think of as reality now in this time? We can look with hope at history that tells us that the despot, the extremely greedy, and those who grasp for power at the expense of others, who build their houses on the sand of these goals (gods) will see their mansions crumble and be exposed for their hollowness. But we can not wait around for history to bring this about. We must do what we can to push history along toward Mary's better vision of society. We push whenever we can by "speaking truth to power" in our conversations with others, by writing letters to Congress persons, and news outlets. By challenging the new normal when ever and where ever possible in a myriad of peaceful actions.

Reality tells us that greedy, unscrupulous people will try and sometimes succede in gaining power again and again even after others have struggled to construct a just society. So it is an on going task.  But, as Christians, it is a task that we are called to. The radical Jesus championed the poor underclass all during his time on this beautiful blue marble and he called on his disciples (that includes us) to do the same. His message at its most basic is to love God and to love our fellow human beings. He made this clear when challenged by those in authority and when he called for God's kingdom to come in a prayer that he taught his disciples.

If we ask God will give us the wisdom, and courage to help, "... thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven."

Bartimaeus or the Rich Young Ruler

On Day 26 of the little book The Social Justice Bible Challenge the author of the piece uses as her scripture reference the incident that occurred between Jesus and Bartimaeus. The first thing that caught my attention in the scripture in verse 52b of chapter 10 of Mark was this: "...and he [Bartimaeus] followed him on the way." I like this phrase because I think that it incapsulates what discipleship is. I like it for another reason as well. Today there are those who take the name of Christian, in the church , in government, and others, and who then do not then"follow the way" of Jesus. They are more like another individual that the author of the meditation cites, the Rich Young Ruler. To quote the Rev. Canon Callaway, "... the prosperous young man who zealously kept God's law is trapped by his wealth." Trapped by his wealth seems very contemporary. That is the contrast that the author emphasises; Bartimaus gives up his sole possession, his cloak, to follow Jesus while the Rich Young Ruler can not give up his wealth. Those who preach the Prosperity Gospel, the current administration in D.C. and others who finance politicians who champion laws that favor the rich at the expense of the less fortunate are modern day versions of the Rich Young Ruler who do not follow "the way". (The encounter with Bartimaeus is found in Mark 10:46-52 and with the Rich Young Ruler in Mark 10: 10-22.)

At the end of each section of The Social Justice Bible Challenge there are questions for the reader to ponder. The first question at the end of Day 26 was, "The recent wave of refugees is one of the world's most explosive social issues. There are now 100 million refugees representing 1% of the world's population. What does Jesus' encounter with Bartimaeus and the rich man say about how we see and respond to refugees?" I'll leave you to ponder that question for yourself. However, in my estimation it speaks volumes about how the current administration in Washington treats and labels refugees; and that treatment and labeling does not reflect the direction Jesus would have us take. Those who support it do not "follow the way".