A Fool

Democracy has serious flaws.  I know of a congregation that held a vote over a controversial issue.  The outcome was twenty nine votes in favor and twenty eight votes against.  Ideally the majority rules, but realistically the congregation was left with twenty eight losers and twenty nine winners and being a winner isn’t what Jesus preached - in spite of what is being heard from Americanized Christianity. 

In his genuine New Testament letters, Paul speaks of “the foolishness of the gospel.”  Jesus led people away from “conventional wisdom” and back to risk-taking responsibility for our sisters and brothers who are “the least of these,” in other words the losers within our society. 

(Now here we run into a bump.  There are those who maintain that this spiritual “foolishness” involves taking a stand for biblical world-views and cultural mores over against the findings of science.  This is a distraction from the real issue and it has no legitimate basis in scripture.) 

In spite of the words that drown Jesus’ message with a litany of victory-language and a constant drive to dominate society, the gospel stands with those who would serve rather than rule, and who strive for an even playing field for rich and poor alike: genuine justice. 

So let those rule who insist on ruling.  It marks them for who they are.  As for me, I would rather bear the mark of a fool who would give of himself so that others might have the hope I live by. 

Meal-Ready-To-Eat

I ate an MRE a few days ago.  It was supposed to be some sort of pork rib, kind of like a McRib without the bun.  And there was this clever arrangement where a heat packet could be activated by pouring a couple of canteen caps of water into it.  It worked… got too hot to touch.  The taste of that meat stayed with me all day. 

A packet of applesauce with raspberry was delicious, although suspiciously over-sweet.  And there was a pouch of dry cappuccino and another of pretzels – all perfectly preserved.  Included were all the needed tools, condiments, and a paper napkin.  Everything was kaki colored and sealed in a heavy plastic bag. 

Then like I needed a revelation, I read the label. 

If our troops in the field need two thousand grams of salt in each Meal-Ready-To-Eat, and enough sugar to make a tray of brownies, that’s fine, but it’s poison to me. 

So, taking this to the next level, a brief and mild episode of hate in my life might be the impulse for some serious thought, a new perspective, and maybe betterment as I return to love.  But making hate and anger a substantial and regular part of my spiritual diet is going to make me a sick person.  In that state I could do a lot of damage to myself, to others, and to God’s creation. 

We can’t make hate go away, but we can recognize it when it erupts.  What we see is what we get. 

As you ramble on through life folks,

Whatever be your goal. 

Keep your eye upon the doughnut,

And not upon the hole. 

Oh.  Doughnuts are unhealthy too.  Let me start over…

Getting By...

I had just put out my hand to open the door to my doctor’s office when I heard a loud, long drawn-out “Craaaash!” 

I turned around just in time to see a barbecue grill skidding down the northbound lane of Interstate 55 and a cloud of dust as a pickup loaded with household goods was pulling down into the grassy median.  Nothing on the pickup was tied down. 

My German professor stared down at me in class and said, “Herr Zeilinger, you are certainly refining the concept of brinkmanship in your academic endeavors.”  He then handed me the “D” exam I had taken the previous day. 

Getting by… It’s a fine art promoted by people disinterested, out of touch, in a hurry - and thrill-seekers.  I think some of life’s most unexpected results come from people who are getting by – at least in the sense that failure is the anticipated result. 

What’s wrong with taking a risk when you’re not sure you can accomplish your goal?  How many good deeds aren’t even started because someone didn’t want to face the possibility that things would turn out failed or sloppy?  Please.  We can’t always have tidy outcomes.  I think the Spirit of Jesus can bless even those of us who aren’t sure what we’re doing. 

"What You Draw Is What You Are"

“What you draw to you is what you are…”  Iyanla Vanzant

Well, maybe. 

Is God going to be God in spite of what we think or desire of God? 

Ms. Vanzant was referring to a choice of life-partner.  I think it also speaks to our relationship with God and with others. 

A high-ranking military officer recently told the media that Jesus is coming soon, carrying a weapon.  A favorite theme of some Christians, from about the second century to the present time, is a returning Jesus violently destroying people who have rejected him. 

There’s a lot of anger out there from people who feel they are losing their power over society.  Racists, homophobes, Bible-beaters, misogynists, warmongers, are all being questioned.  Some actually claim they are being “persecuted” for their “faith.” 

When power is slipping away, when loveless attitudes are being questioned, when reason, logic, or ethics don’t support an idea or tradition, people are tempted as a last-ditch effort to draw God onto their side, saying, “God says that we are right.” 

It’s kind of like one kid saying to another, “My dad can whip your dad.” 

So, when we shed this earthly coil, is the God we face going to be the God we’ve manufactured?  Please, anybody… Who wants to spend eternity with an irrational, angry, jealous, insecure, unpredictable deity?  Oh, wait, that’s us. 

Eye for an Eye?

We all have holes in our heads, or rather in our brains, or rather in our selves.  I never could learn to play music in spite of the heroic efforts of three different piano teachers. 

There’s just some stuff we can’t do, can’t comprehend, can’t motivate ourselves to approach.  It’s like there are voids in there where there should be neurotransmitters and it’s not just about learning.  It’s about how we behave toward others.  With that in mind I therefore think that murder can be committed on both sides of the badge. 

Isn’t it varying degrees of self-centeredness, that is, a lack of bond with others, that often define the criminal mind?  Is there something missing there that prevents that person from identifying outside their own self?  Isn’t it just a matter of degree, ranging from the successful sales person or business executive who is actually indulging in a desire to hurt people by cheating them, to the hardened psychopath who commits torture and murder? 

What would happen if we shifted our thinking away from analyzing the criminal, and instead set our sights on our own behavior – those of us who have escaped public accountability for things we have done in our lives - we, the respectable and honored members of society?

Humans who are a danger to others need to be isolated until, if ever, they can function harmlessly.  That’s a given.  But in my view, the taking of a criminal’s life no matter how egregious the crime, crosses an ethical boundary and puts the executioner in a similar position to the criminal: that of intentionally taking a human life.  And the life of the criminal is not the only life taken.  That person may have a family, children, someone who actually loves them.  And the lives of those people may also be taken in part: impacted, twisted and broken by an act of ritualistic murder on the part of the state. 

I don’t see eye-for-eye as justice.  I see it as revenge, and revenge is not a Christian concept.  An eye for an eye in the Old Testament was not a requirement, it was a limitation on revenge.  Jesus taught that at some point someone has to say, “Stop!” My broken brother or sister has holes in the head.  It’s just that they are located in different places than my own.