The Parable of the Tenants

Matthew 21:33-46
The Parable of the Tenants

It has been a long time really
Since the beginning of time
We just need a bit more time
To fix things
make the right
the fruit is not cooperating
and we are not sure we like it anyway
we have some suggestions for improvement
what fruit to let in
and what to keep out
and then there is that big stone over there
it is in the way
we are trying to build a wall
keep others out
and after all this time
don’t you think it should be ours anyway
don’t you
and Jesus looked down from the cross
and said
Father, forgive them
For they know not what they do

Oh, good grape

Sunday October 5th, Isaiah 5: 1 I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. 3 "Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. 4 What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? God created the world and called all that was created not just good, but very good. God loves this world and has cared for it. The world has not done so well by God however. Waiting for the fruit of justice and caring for one another, it has returned mainly war and greed. This creation has all that is needed to be called once again, very good. What is needed however is for you and I, the worker tenants, to do a little weeding and pruning, starting with our own lives.

sit and wait

Monday October 6th, Isaiah 5: 5 Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. 6 I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it." 7 The vineyard of the LORD Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of his delight. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress. Sometimes, the best one can do for one’s children is to let them go on their own and experience the fruitlessness of a non-connected life. (one irony is that the word non-connected life ended with a word count of 666) It is painful to watch, often times because it reminds us of our own experiences. Buechner points out that Christians aren’t any better than anyone else, they just have some half baked idea who to thank, and what a difference that makes. Buddhists would call it mindful presence. Farmers know that sometimes it is the best thing you can do for a field if you want long term production out of it. But as a parent and I imagine as God, it is tough thing to watch.

I,I,I,I,I,I

Tuesday October 7th, Philippians 3: a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. 6 I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. 7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. How many “I’s” did you count? Have you ever known someone who fills their conversation, about God, the church, family etc. with “I” after “I”? The trouble is that we listen to them and then go away and use “I” less often and think we have it made. Garrison Kelleher would point out that most Lutheran have the opposite trouble, we are so worried that we might slip an “I” in there that we never volunteer in anything. Somehow it would be nice to strike a balance between “Look what I did” and “I will just sit here and wait for God to do it, I don’t want to seem too prideful”, which has more “I”s in it than the first statement.

only grace

Wednesday October 8th, Philippians 3: I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. It is not my doing that brings about any righteousness. If it were my doing, it would be self-righteousness and the world already has too much of that. No, I walk in the presence of God, doing my best day in and day out, being thankful for what I have and asking for forgiveness for those turns that take me to the self side of the world. What comes is from Christ, what goes out, I pray it has some of Christ in it and forgiveness for what is left in-between.

small and sour

Thursday October 9th, Matthew 21: 3 3"Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. 34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. This world has all that is needed to live as God intended. The call is to live as the children of God and to show mercy, love justice and walk humbly before our God. We have a little trouble with the mercy part, and now that it is mentioned, the justice part also, and we don’t do so well at walking humbly before God. There are times we even blame God for our part in the mess, but that doesn’t work so well. The fruit is collected, but sometimes it doesn’t look so good. I think we can do better. There are a few shining examples but most of the fruit is kind of small and sour.

thank God for grace

Friday October 10th, Matthew 21: 35 "The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. 'They will respect my son,' he said. 38 "But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance.' 39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. In the beginning was the temptation to eat of the tree and be like God, knowing good and evil and everything in-between. Since partaking of that tree, we have been learning, albeit a bit more on the evil side than on the good side of the equation. Lest this become only history, look back on the times in your life when you rejected those prophets who brought you sage advice about the kingdom from time to time. Think back on the times when the Gospel was similarly shunned, and how even now there are parts of it that if not shunned are at least placed sort of on the back of the shelf. This is not so much a lesson in public or even private humiliation and shame as it is in self realization. If you and I are saved by grace, is it outside of the realm of anyone?

don't undermine it

Saturday: October 11th, Matthew 21: 43 "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44 He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed." Oh, you mean all that grace is suppose to produce fruit? The corner stone, when building a building, that is the one on which you line up everything else. You measure from it to get the length and width and you measure from it diagonally to square and true things up. Without that starting point as a reference, you are just plain off. If you are a builder like me, there will be times when you will be looking at something else as you are walking about and you will trip over it (believe me, this is not just a metaphor) Whatever you do, you have to be aware of it. Trip over it a few times and you will be aware of it, it will break all your preconceived ideas and teach a little humility. I think the message of the cornerstone falling on someone is what happens when you try to undermine it. God will get our attention somehow.

Election Taxes

With all the talk about the financial situration and how the candidates will differ on taxes, I found this nifty little web site to help you figure your tax liability under the proposals by each candidate. Let is load for few minutes and the screen will switch to a place to imput aproximate tax info.

http://www.electiontaxes.com/

Dear American:

I need to ask you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a transfer of funds of great magnitude.

I am Ministry of the Treasury of the Republic of America. My country has had crisis that has caused the need for large transfer of funds of 800 billion dollars US. If you would assist me in this transfer, it would be most profitable to you.

I am working with Mr. Phil Gram, lobbyist for UBS, who will be my replacement as Ministry of the Treasury in January. As a Senator, you may know him as the leader of the American banking deregulation movement in the 1990s. This transactin is 100% safe.

This is a matter of great urgency. We need a blank check. We need the funds as quickly as possible. We cannot directly transfer these funds in the names of our close friends because we are constantly under surveillance. My family lawyer advised me that I should look for a reliable and trustworthy person who will act as a next of kin so the funds can be transferred.

Please reply with all of your bank account, IRA and college fund account numbers and those of your children and grandchildren to wallstreetbailout@treasury.gov so that we may transfer your commission for this transaction. After I receive that information, I will respond with detailed information about safeguards that will be used to protect the funds.

Yours Faithfully

Minister of Treasury Paulson

Dirty Secret Of The Bailout: Thirty-Two Words That None Dare Utter

September 22, 2008 02:06 PM

Jason Linkins of the Huffington Post

A critical - and radical - component of the bailout package proposed by the Bush administration has thus far failed to garner the serious attention of anyone in the press. Section 8 (which ironically reminds one of the popular name of the portion of the 1937 Housing Act that paved the way for subsidized affordable housing ) of this legislation is just a single sentence of thirty-two words, but it represents a significant consolidation of power and an abdication of oversight authority that's so flat-out astounding that it ought to set one's hair on fire. It reads, in its entirety:

Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.

In short, the so-called "mother of all bailouts," which will transfer $700 billion taxpayer dollars to purchase the distressed assets of several failed financial institutions, will be conducted in a manner unchallengeable by courts and ungovernable by the People's duly sworn representatives. All decision-making power will be consolidated into the Executive Branch - who, we remind you, will have the incentive to act upon this privilege as quickly as possible, before they leave office. The measure will run up the budget deficit by a significant amount, with no guarantee of recouping the outlay, and no fundamental means of holding those who fail to do so accountable.

Is this starting to sound familiar? Robert Kuttner cuts through much of the gloss in an article in today's American Prospect:

The deal proposed by Paulson is nothing short of outrageous. It includes no oversight of his own closed-door operations. It merely gives congressional blessing and funding to what he has already been doing, ad hoc. He plans to retain Wall Street firms as advisors to decide just how to cut deals to value and mop up Wall Street's dubious paper. There are to be no limits on executive compensation for the firms that get relief, and no equity share for the government in exchange for this massive infusion of capital. Both Obama and McCain have opposed the provision denying any judicial review of decisions made by Paulson -- a provision that evokes the Bush administration's suspension of normal constitutional safeguards in its conduct of foreign policy and national security. [...]

The differences between this proposed bailout and the three closest historical equivalents are immense. When the Reconstruction Finance Corporation of the 1930s pumped a total of $35 billion into U.S. corporations and financial institutions, there was close government supervision and quid pro quos at every step of the way. Much of the time, the RFC became a preferred shareholder, and often appointed board members. The Home Owners Loan Corporation, which eventually refinanced one in five mortgage loans, did not operate to bail out banks but to save homeowners. And the Resolution Trust Corporation of the 1980s, created to mop up the damage of the first speculative mortgage meltdown, the S&L collapse, did not pump in money to rescue bad investments; it sorted out good assets from bad after the fact, and made sure to purge bad executives as well as bad loans. And all three of these historic cases of public recapitalization were done without suspending judicial review.

Kuttner's opposition here is perhaps the strongest language I've seen used, pushing back on this piece of legislation, in any publication of repute, and even here, Section 8 is not cited by name or by content. McClatchy Newspapers also alludes to Section 8 with concern, citing the "unfettered authority" that Paulson would be granted, and noting that the "law also would preclude court review of steps Paulson might take, something Joshua Rosner, managing director of economic researcher Graham Fisher & Co. in New York, said could be used to mask previous illegal activity." Jack Balkin also gives the matter the sort of attention it deserves on his blog, Balkinization.

But elsewhere, the conversation is muted. The debate over whether Congress is going to pass the Paulson bailout package, or pass the Paulson bailout package really hard seems to have boiled down to a discussion of time and concessions. The White House has made it clear that they want this package passed yesterday. Congressional Democrats seem to be of different minds on the matter, with some pushing back hard, and others content to demand a small dollop of turd polish to make the package seem more aesthetically pleasing, at which point, they'll likely roll over and pass the bill. Neither candidate, John McCain or Barack Obama, seem all that amenable toward the bailout, but neither have either demonstrated that they are willing to risk their candidacies to do much more than exploit the issue for electoral purposes.

Sunday morning came and went, with Paulson traipsing dutifully from studio to studio, facing nary a question on Section 8. Front page articles in the New York Times, Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal detail the wranglings, but make no mention of this section of the legislation. On TV, cable news networks are stuck in the fog of the ongoing presidential campaign.

Throughout the coverage, one catches a whiff of what seems like substantive pushback on this power grab, but it largely amounts to a facsimile of journalistic diligence. Most note, in general terms, that the bailout represents a set of "broad powers" that will be granted to the Department of the Treasury. Yet the coverage offsets these concerns through the constant hyping of the White House's overall message of "urgency."

But one cannot overstate this: Section 8 is a singularly transformative sentence of economic policy. It transfers a significant amount of power to the Executive Branch, while walling off any avenue for oversight, and offering no guarantees in return. And if the Democrats end up content with winning a few slight concessions, they risk not putting a stop-payment on the real "blank check" - the one in which they allow the erosion of their own powers.

Over in the Senate, Christopher Dodd has proposed a bailout legislation of his own, which critically calls for "an oversight board that not only includes the chairman of the Federal Reserve and the SEC, but congressionally appointed, non-governmental officials" and would require the President to appoint an "independent inspector general to investigate the Treasury asset program." In Dodd's legislation, Section 8 is effectively stripped from the bill.

Nevertheless, the fact that Section 8 of the Paulson plan seems to strike few as a de facto dealbreaker can and should astound. The failure of Congress to hold the line on this point would be truly embarrassing. But if we make it through this week with nobody in the press specifically informing the public about the implications of this single sentence - in the middle of a complicated bill, in the middle of a complicated time - then right there, you have the single largest media failure of this year.

The Authority of Jesus Questioned

Matthew 21:23-32

We had things all arranged
just the way we like them
and then you
who
you
do you think you are
by what authority do you speak
and change the way we had changed things?
Abraham had been given the promise
And we
Over time
Had whittled it down to something
We could live
Not them
With
We have said all along we would bring out the good news
We would gather in the nations
Beyond number
Beyond the sands of the desert
Beyond the stars in the heavens
We would bring them in
And include them
As soon
As they
Learn
To live, look, dress, talk, think
Like us
By what authority to you include
Them?

Drink deeply and act

Sunday September 28th, Exodus 17: 1 The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 So they quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us water to drink." Moses replied, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the LORD to the test?" 3 But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?" Either they thought that Moses had a semi loaded with all those plastic drinking bottles of water or that he was their pastor and should do it all for them. There was despair, things had changed and they did not like it. Things were tough and they forgot how it was back in Egypt. But change does not come from the top down, it comes from the bottom up. What was needed more than water was a change of heart. In our baptism we use water to bring about a change, without the congregation continuing to pray for and call upon that young family however, both become thirsty for more than water.

God, Where are you?

Monday September 29th, Exodus 17: 5 the LORD answered Moses, "Walk on ahead of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink." So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the LORD saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?" When we read the exodus story it is easy to wonder how the people could grumble about their liberation from Egypt. Had they forgotten the slave labor, the loss of the promise given to Abraham, the killing of the first born, had they forgotten it all? Then we turn to real life. Do couples remember their wedding vows in times of stress? Do congregations remember their promise to the children baptized in their midst? Do you remember all your promises in life? The answer is no. It is also easy to forget that the Lord Is among us, not just at the times of promise, but at the times of broken promise. Especially at the times of broken promise. If you have ever, in the midst of despair, asked where God is, that is most likely when God was closest.

One is the lonelists number

Tuesday September 30th, Philippians 2: 1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Note this political season, being likeminded does not mean agreeing on everything. It does mean that the love of God grounds you and connects you to one another so the question is never about “me” but about “us.” When we focus on what is best for “us” then we start to get what is best for “me.” When you only focus on the “me” you never get to the “us.” And as the old song goes, One is the loneliest number…

fear and trembling

Wednesday October 1st, Philippians 2: 12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Do we work out our salvation with fear and trembling? For most of us I would say the answer is no. But if fear and trembling is on one end of the spectrum, what is on the other end? It is Joy? No, Joy comes somewhere in the middle, in a place of good balance. On the other end is “ho-hum.” On the other end of fear and trembling is “I believe in God and all that but…. Well…..I’m busy….Sunday is a bad day for me, so is Wednesday….I have been meaning to get more involved……it is the only day the children have to sleep in with hockey practice on Saturday….and on and on and on and on. I believe in a God of grace and I believe that all of creation is saved by this grace and I don’t think we exactly need fear and trembling, but let’s face it, ho-hum is just another way to telling the God that created you to take a hike.

mind change

Thursday October 2nd, Matthew 21: 28 "What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.' 29 " 'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. In Matthew’s society, telling the father no is a major act of shaming a father in public. In this case, the son said no but then changed his mind and later went. For Matthews’s church this would be the ones who rejected the word of God, not only verbally, but with their actions and lives, but later came to God. The church was a little suspect as it begin filling up with those of not the best reputation. In Jesus ministry however, he was always going to the outsiders to show the Gospel to the insiders. Outsiders are hungry for the Gospel and want to hear all about it. Insiders can sometimes begin to think they have heard it all and don’t even realize their road has just taken a turn. The trouble with insiders is that they sometimes forget why they are there.

My church

Friday October 3rd, Matthew 21: 28 "What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.' 30 "Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go. Not as many people saw the young lad not show up for the work, but the father has still been shamed in the community. For Matthews’s church, these are the ones who have been there all along. They know church inside and out and have this unspoken idea that they know it all. Adult Bible Study is no longer important and they drop the kids off at the door for their Sunday School. Confirmation was boring for them so they don’t make their children go; just a little pushback is all it takes. They want to make the decisions and choose the music to fit their comfort zone and mission is something they send money to but not something they do. Church has become a social club with religious language in which they pull all the purse strings. It has ceased being church.

Saved by Grace

Saturday October 4th, Matthew 21: 31 "Which of the two did what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered. Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him. Welcome to the new church. It is filled with outsiders, the lowly, but the salt of the earth. It is the place where gay couples teach married couples what commitment is all about. It is a place where drug users and abusers teach the upright and uptight what grace is all about. It is a place where the poor teach the rich what giving is all about. It is a place where God has turned our world upside down with three simple words. Saved by Grace.

The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

Matthew 20:1-16

And I will be taken up into the highest heaven
And from there…..
I will get to look down
(each received)
On all those Johnny come lately’s
In this game of heaven
And hell
I won
(labored under the burden)
Or at least came out on top
It was tough
Not much fun
But boy oh boy
Will it be worth it in the end
There is an end
Isn’t there?
Out there somewhere
An end
That will make it all worth while
The reward
Consummate upon my performance
Better than most I might add
(are you envious)
Grace?
(because I am generous)
I earned it????
(the last)
The kingdom of God
(be)
Is
At
(first)
hand

So you wanna go back to Egypt

Sunday September 21st, Exodus 16: The whole company of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron there in the wilderness. The Israelites said, "Why didn't God let us die in comfort in Egypt where we had lamb stew and all the bread we could eat? You've brought us out into this wilderness to starve us to death, the whole company of Israel!" Oh, for the comfort of home sweet home or my dear old friend “yustabe.” How we want the comfort of what was while Jesus is trying to send us into what can be. We even want the “what was” even if it means things was not all that good back there. We want them because there is comfort in the familiar. God offers comfort for the afflicted, but also offers affliction for the comfortable. Once we are comfortable in a situation, we no longer move forward. Once we are in a church we want the music to stay the same, the liturgy to stay the same and the place to look the same. Then we want others to come and join us and be happy, even if it means accepting our worldview over their own world view. visit the song, "So you wanna go back to Egypt" by Kieth Green

So you wanna go back to Egypt, where its warm and secure.
Are you sorry you bought the one way ticket when you thought you were sure?
You wanted to live in the land of promise, but now its getting so hard.
Are you sorry you’re out here in the desert, instead of your own backyard?
Eating leeks and onions by the Nile.Ooh what breath, but dining out in style.
Ooh, my life’s on the skids, give me the pyramids.
Well there’s nothing to do but travel, and we sure travel a lot.
Cause its hard to keep your feet from moving when the sand gets so hot.
And in the morning its manna hotcakes.We snack on manna all day.
And they sure had a winner last night for dinner, Flaming manna soufflé.
Well we once complained for something new to munch.
The ground opened up and had some of us for lunch.
Ooh, such fire and smoke. Cant God even take a joke huh? .(no!)
So you wanna go back to Egypt, where old friends wait for you.
You can throw a big party and tell the whole gang, That what they said was all true.
And this Moses acts like a big-shot, who does he think he is.
It's true that God works lots of miracles, but Moses thinks they’re all his.
Well I’m having so much trouble even now.
Why’d he get so mad about that cow, that golden cow.
Moses sits rather idle, he just sits around.
He just sits around and writes the bible.
Oh, Moses, put down your pen.
What oh no, manna again?
Oh, manna waffles manna burgers, Manna bagels, fillet of manna,
Manna patties bamanna bread!

wilderness school

Monday September 22nd, Exodus 16: 4-5 God said to Moses, "I'm going to rain bread down from the skies for you. The people will go out and gather each day's ration. I'm going to test them to see if they'll live according to my Teaching or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they have gathered, it will turn out to be twice as much as their daily ration." The wilderness experience is a learning experience. In the old world, they thought they knew the rules and they pretty much boiled down to every man for himself. In the new world of God’s, there are new rules. Manna was a teaching tool. Everyday everyone was told to gather what they needed for the day. They learned that God provides. They learned that everyone had enough and no one had too much. They learned to be comfortable in God’s justice economy. On the sixth day they gathered for two days, again God provided, there was enough for everyone and the seventh day was a day of rest. If they horded the manna, gathering more than their share, it rotted and the lesson was that hording stinks. They learned that all the people were equal before God and that God provided and that hording stinks. Since that time we have forgotten those lessons.

Life giving

Tuesday September 23rd, Philippians 1: 27 Meanwhile, live in such a way that you are a credit to the Message of Christ. Let nothing in your conduct hang on whether I come or not. Your conduct must be the same whether I show up to see things for myself or hear of it from a distance. Paul is writing this letter, but it could also be seen as a message from God to us. In the face of the farce of the end times theology that permeates the fundamentalists world, just live your life as it should be. It is not a matter of getting ready for the big event, it is a matter of living each and every day of your life the big event of salvation by grace. Let nothing in your conduct change whether you think Christ is coming or not, because if that is the reason you are living the way you are living, you are still not getting it. It is the difference between living as a couple knowing the other loves you and living as a couple afraid that if you get out of line, the other will leave you. One is life giving, and one is death dealing.

gift of purpose

Wednesday September 24th, Matthew 20: 1 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. 3 "About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' 5 So they went. First notice that the landowner doesn’t wait for others to come to him, the Landowner goes to the people and seeks them out. Secondly, the wages were enough, not too much. It was what it took to get by for that day. The real gift was purpose in life rather than standing around doing nothing. What was offered was what was right or just. But just in our eyes and just in God’s eyes can sometimes be miles apart. Why is there no political conversation about that?

it's not fair

Thursday September 25th, Matthew 20: 9 "The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 'These men who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.' This all could have been avoided you know. If only the steward who paid them paid the ones hired first, before he paid the ones hired last. They would have had their money and been on their way happy and content and any negative fallout could have been covered in the media. But No, he had to make an issue out of it. Why? Well, perhaps it is because the lesson was more important than the pay. And the lesson, all grace is amazing grace, and if you are working in the kingdom for special reward, you are here for the wrong reason. If church must remain your church and not their church, then you gather for the wrong reason. The reward is the work, and all are sought out and put to work. That is the Kingdom justice, and you are right, it is not fair, it is grace.

God's world is run by grace

Friday September 26th, Matthew 20: 13 "But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?' Is the church envious because God is generous? The Church wants to “Pray away the gay,” God wants to invite them in. The church wants to “keep worship as it was when I was young,” God wants to invite them in. God wants us to work in the fields because that is the reward, the church wants to say I understand that in the right way and others do not. The church wants to be in charge, God is in charge, and God’s world is run by grace.

new life

Saturday September 27th, Matthew 20: 16 "So the last will be first, and the first will be last." So as Jesus heads off to Jerusalem and the cross we are once again reminded in Matthew that the first shall be last and the last shall be first and that unless we enter the kingdom as a little child, it is going to be rough going. It is the call to invite, include and adapt. It is the call from comfort to mission and a church filled with friends to a church filled with new faces and new ideas and new life. Come, serve, enjoy and grow.

Wasilla rape victims billed when Palin was the mayor

When Sarah Palin was mayor of Wasilla, the city billed sexual assault victims and their insurance companies for the cost of rape kits and forensic examinations. Full article in the Anchorage Daily News at: http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/523708.html

Messages from Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

“But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.... Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you....” (Isaiah 43:1-2,4a)

As I write, yet another hurricane is threatening the Gulf Coast. This one is only the latest in a seemingly endless series of storms that have brought hardship, destruction, fear and even death to brothers and sisters in the Gulf Coast and the Caribbean, especially Haiti. The relentless destruction reminds us that the rebuilding of lives continues in other areas that have been affected by floods, tornadoes, fires and other disasters.

I call on you to respond in the midst of danger and loss. While some are preparing for storms yet to come, others are fleeing from storms, and still others are rebuilding in the aftermath of disasters. I ask you to respond with your prayers, your generous gifts of time and money, your volunteer hours and skills, the open doors of your homes and churches, and your commitment to a sustaining presence for the long haul. Visit ELCA Disaster Response for updates, for downloadable bulletin inserts, and for ways to make contributions online.

These expressions of our faith remind us that we are called by name and are bound together by our baptisms into community with those who suffer. Thank you for your generous and sustaining response in the midst of the disasters.

God’s work. Our hands.

The Rev. Mark S. Hanson

Presiding Bishop

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Americans should understand what Palin is offering

The following Editorial appeared in the Anchorage Daily News today, it is well worth reading. You can find the full article at: http://www.adn.com/opinion/story/523623.html

My question is: Is the proper way to respond to Islamic Fundamentalism Christian Fundamentalism?

While it's exciting to have Alaska's popular governor on the Republican presidential ticket -- and a woman to boot -- Americans can't ignore how Sarah Palin might steer the country on divisive social issues.

Sarah Palin is asking Americans to elect a vice president who is an extreme social conservative. She opposes abortion rights. She favors the teaching of creationism. She preaches abstinence-only sex education. She is open to the possibility of banning books from public libraries. She opposes gay marriage. She personally opposes benefits for gay partners of public employees.

How often must I forgive?

Matthew 18, the Gospel this week responds to Peter’s question of how many times to forgive. Peter was generous in his rhetorical answer of 7. The number 7 was after all the considered the number for perfection or holiness. Jesus reminds him that in the new covenant the answer is not just Holiness, but beyond holiness without end.

We have just passed the 7th anniversary of 9/11. The painful memories are still with us. In the midst of these memories we are also asked to wrestle with this Gospel text for this week. What does it mean looking back, to forgive beyond holiness without end, and in light of the saber rattling remarks regarding Iran and Russia, what does it mean looking forward?

The Gospel is not just for Church.

Matthew 18:21-35

We share this world
this life
with the many who are the
Children of God
We live
and sin
and hate
and love
as do our brothers and sisters.
in forgiveness
Christ makes us one,
in envy
we try to become two
forgive one another
live not as the master
or gatekeeper
lest you find yourself one day
facing the gate from the other side
forced by your own insistence
on the upholding of the law
rather
than forgiveness
it is in forgiveness
that our division is united
and our soul healed once again
to see the glory of God
shinning into our lives
in love

No More

Sunday September 14th, Genesis 50: 15 When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?" 16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, "Your father left these instructions before he died: 17 'This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.' Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father." When their message came to him, Joseph wept. Lies tend to need lies to back them up. They were right in fearing that Joseph might try to act the same way they acted, and so compound the damage done with more damage. It would be nice to be able to point only to the other when saying that, but alas, it is not always the case. How many times have you been caught in a bit of a cover-up only to find you need more of a cover-up to keep the façade going? In the national arena there is the perception that if you repeat a lie often enough it becomes the truth, and swift-boating becomes a verb to describe that process. When the message came to Joseph, he wept. Good plan! Sometimes that is all you can do, weep for the depths to which we are all capable of stooping. Weep, and then try to change the cycle and forgiving, saying, “no more?”

Name, Forgive, Pray

Monday September 15th, Genesis 50: 19 but Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. Step one, get it out in the open and name it. You intended to harm me!!! Let us make that clear, very clear. Without that out in the open, forgiveness might be able to happen, but reconciliation cannot. Step two, forgiveness. It is needed for your sanity as well as for the sanity of the other. Forgiveness even needs to happen if step one is contested, if it is not a benefit for the other, it is a benefit for you, and sometimes, it is what is needed first in order that step one might come about, maybe, someday, maybe. Step three, no matter what happens, if it is covered in prayer, and you are open, God can use it for good. So, always name, always forgive, always pray.

but does it sell?

Tuesday September 16th, Romans 14: 5 One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. I must admit, there are times in this election season when it is easy to forget that we are talking about the president of the United States and not the most popular kid in second grade. Sometimes I just want to scream both to the one I support and to the one I don’t support, Stay on Topic, I want to hear about your policies and who you will surround yourself with, not just across the aisle, but who and why. It is so easy when we are unsure of ourselves to simply blame the other. It gets us nowhere. God calls us to respect and honor the other, even the other we disagree with. It is OK to respect and disagree, but it doesn’t sell media time.

on your knees

Wednesday September 17th, Romans 14: 10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written, "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God." 12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. We seldom see the connection between the passing of judgment and the statement that every knee shall bow to God and every tongue confess to God and everyone giving an account before God. We confess in the Lord’s prayer our need not only for forgiveness, but also our need to forgive, but are they just words or do we mean it. Sometime new wording helps us to see what we are saying. Try this version: God of Heaven, Holy is your name. Let your Kingdom come and your will be done here on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us what we need for today and forgive our sins as we go forth and forgive the sins of others. Help us avoid temptation and keep us out of the clutches of evil. For the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory belong to you alone, and to you forever. Amen!!

scorecard

Thursday September 18th, Matthew 18: 21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" 22 Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. How would a marriage work if there was a notebook keep somewhere where each party could make a note each time forgiveness is granted? Let me see, 7x70=449, or the literal used above of only 77 times. That is all you need to forgive and then, Wham!!!!!! The big “D.” I have never tried that in pre-marital counseling. For most of us, it would not take long to fill the page and be on our way. If that were the way God did things, we all would be on our way a long time ago. How long shall I forgive my brother or sister or friend or enemy or…… until there is no longer anything to forgive. Anything else is just keeping score.

After all we say and do, this is what we think of you

Friday September 19th, Matthew 18: 23 "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. 26 "The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' 27 The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. The Kingdom is like, mustard weeds, unclean bread, net full of good and bad stuff, a crook who gets away with a huge debt forgiven. Not the usual picture of streets of gold and St. Peter as the gatekeeper. The kingdom is like a king talking to a scumbag who stole billions of dollars from the treasury, begged for mercy and received much much more. If you add up all you have received in your whole life and compare it to what you have given back, where do you fit in this story. A pastor friend of mine (not Lutheran) reminds his congregation that God has already given you the tithe and is waiting to see if you will give it back along with offerings, or if you will take the money and run. I am not quite with him on that but I have used the offertory prayer as I hold the offering plates up high before the altar: After all we say and do, this is what we think of you. Amen!

Personal

Saturday September 20th, Matthew 18: 28 "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. 29 "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' 30 "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. 32 "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35 "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart." And forgive us our trespasses as we for those who trespass against us. Nice noble words, old English enough to be holy, nice and clean without sounding personal. With God, it is personal!! How important is forgiveness, just read 32 to 35 again. It is at the center of the Kingdom. Add it to the mustard weed, moldy bread and dirty net, a place where forgiveness happens even when we don’t feel like it and when it comes as a personal cost to us. So go and forgive as if your life depends on it. In some ways, it does!!

Jesus was a community organizer, Pilot was a governor

I found it ironic that we just started a community organizing ministry at our church and then see it get blasted at the RNC. I also find it ironic that while blasting community organizing, her office was canceling her attendence at a community organizing action by AFACT (Anchorage Faith in Action, Congregations Together) to discuss increased funding for Denali Kid Care which provides health insurance for uninsured and under-insured children in Alaska. I would like to remind Sarah that Jesus was a community organizer, Pilot was a governor.

I recieved the following letter from PICO www.piconetwork.org

Organizing. A gift that keeps on giving.

Americans have been organizing to build community and hold government accountable since our nation was formed, but last week there was more talk in the national media about modern community organizing than at any time in recent history.

When speakers at the Republican National Convention repeatedly mocked Senator Obama's work as a community organizer many of us witnessed not just another political attack, but mean-spirited disrespect for people who give of themselves to improve communities and expand opportunities for families.

As Bishop Roy Dixon, former president of the PICO board of directors, said, "As a life-long Republican, the comments I heard last night about community organizing crossed the line. It is one thing to question someone's experience, another to demean the work of millions of hard working Americans who take time to get involved in their communities. When people come together in my church hall to improve our community, they're building the Kingdom of God in San Diego. We see the fruits of community organizing in safer streets, new parks, and new affordable housing. It's the spirit of democracy for people to have a say and we need more of it."

Fr. John Baumann, who founded PICO 35 years ago, said in an Associated Press story that ran in papers across the country that "If people in office were doing their jobs, perhaps we wouldn't need community organizers."

Now, those of us who organize – both as volunteer leaders in our communities and as professional organizers – have been handed a gift – a unique opportunity to explain to a much broader audience the value that community organizing plays for us in making government work effectively and in building character and leadership among ordinary people.

Across this country, families are grappling with tremendous challenges – skyrocketing health care costs, rising cost of living, stagnating wages, ballooning mortgage payments, failing public schools, increasing violence in their neighborhoods, to name just a few.

While these issues have a direct impact on millions of Americans, you'd be hard pressed to find many ordinary people who feel like they have the power to have a meaningful impact on most of these issues. These problems feel overwhelming. Where do you even start to get some leverage on them?

For PICO, community organizing begins with the belief that, when people come together, get to know one another, share their common concerns – and their common dreams – and then decide to take action, something amazing happens. People discover that they can solve community issues that once seemed overwhelming. Organizing unlocks that inherent power of people to organize themselves, identify widely shared needs and petition the government.

PICO's community organizing is rooted in the Civil Rights Movement, American democratic principles and the values of family and faith. PICO National Network has grown to encompass 53 faith-based community organizations and more than 1,000 religious congregations working in 150 cities in towns in 17 states, and in Central America and Rwanda. In the process, PICO affiliates and state networks have created innovative solutions to some of the most challenging problems facing our nation. Some recent examples:

• 
  In Colorado this year, 55,000 uninsured low-income children now have health insurance because PICO's Denver affiliate, Metro Organizations for People's community organizing.
  In Oakland, California, nearly 15,000 children now attend 48 new small public schools that are out-performing traditional schools serving similar students, due to a ten-year organizing campaign by Oakland Community Organizations.
• 
  In Camden, New Jersey children can now walk to school more safely because of a long-term organizing campaign by Camden Churches Organized for People which has eliminated abandoned houses, brought $175 million in reinvestment into the city and worked with the State to root out corruption in Camden City Government.

No issue is too big or too small for community organizing. As Bob Rastorfer, a long-time leader in Communities Creating Opportunity in Kansas City, said in a YouTube video last week, "community organizing has changed the size of the water lines that go to our fire hydrants in Kansas City...it has changed the fees and interest charged by pay day lenders statewide."

While people should decide for themselves which candidate would make the best president, we disagree with the suggestion made by Rudy Guliani and Governor Palin last week that being a community organizer does not prepare someone to be an effective public servant and leader.

For PICO, every aspect about the work of community organizing – from taking the time to listen to people, to researching solutions to problems, to bringing people together across race, religion and party affiliation – is engineered to develop the skills and leadership of ordinary people. PICO teaches that devoting yourself to developing the leadership skills of others is what a true leader does.

In PICO we don't ask whether someone is a Republican or Democrat, but whether they are doing their job. We reject any suggestion on the right or the left that community organizing belongs to any one political party. All across the United States both Republican and Democratic elected officials have worked with PICO organizations and other organizing groups to reduce crime through community policing, build public will for schools reform, revitalize neighborhoods and create affordable housing.

There are always those in power who dismiss people who want to get involved. That arrogance is folly. Those who understand the history of the United States, those who hear the call to witness God's love in the world, realize that mayors and governors and presidents alone cannot solve the problems we face as a nation. Only when people get involved, only when people have the power to hold the powers that be accountable can we create a world that respects each of us in God's image.

Join us as we work to transform the political culture of the United States so that every person's voice can be heard and government serves the needs of all families.Organizing. Pass it on!

Matthew 18:15-20

As I gather myself to pray
I remember those around me
those in need
who are praying also for me
and together
you and I
we make up the church of God
gathered in Your name
Brothers and Sisters in Christ
Children together in the family of God
no longer strangers
or lone rangers
but the forgiving and the forgiven
gathered at the table of the Lord
once again to renew our strength
for service
of You

refund and reconcile

Sunday September 7th, Romans 13: 8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. To have a debt in Paul’s society was often to put the one to whom the debt was owed in jeopardy. When you live day to day, there is always a cash flow problem. To leave a debt unpaid among the mostly poor was to take food from their mouths and the mouths of their family. Paul is concerned for the survival of the community, and paying up on any debts was a way for the community to survive and someone who mooched off the others, while not to be confused with someone who is in genuine need, was a detriment to the survival of that community. Paul’s double urging is to maintain the health of the community and to deal with one another out of brotherly love. How much better off we would be if we had as our focus the maintenance of a healthy community and the caring for one another out of brotherly love.

flip the switch

Monday September 8th, Romans 13: 11 And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Many things can hide in the darkness. Paul goes through quite a list and it consists of greed for food and drink, greed for sexual encounter, and greed for power. These human strivings are not always seen for what they are. Most often they are under the cover of darkness and deceit. On the political sphere, games are played, on the sexual sphere, games are played, on the financial sphere, games are played, and on the personal sphere games are played. Game playing destroys community. Games have winners and losers and the ratio is never one to one. The solution is to bring things to the light, to bring things out in the open because it is there that things are seen for what they are, there that we are seen for who we are, and there that there is the possibility of hope for change and reconciliation. Hidden, there is all sorts of festering that can take place, revealed, healing and reconciliation have a chance.

humble humble humble

Tuesday September 9th, Matthew 18: 1 at that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" 2 He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3 And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Children tell it like it is, sometimes painfully so. Any pastor who has an open mic for the children’s sermon knows that. Children also know that they are children. Last Sunday one child talked about his ability to fly and lift heavy items, but in reality, he, I and the congregation knew it was a little boy’s fantasy. The trouble with adults is that we say things, perhaps not as grandiose, and then we, and others believe them. Little boys want to fly, the Adam and Eve in each one of us has within them, the desire to be like gods, knowing good and evil and all things. It’s called original sin.

Dude, what's that thing around your neck?

Wednesday September 10th, Matthew 18: 5 "And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. 6 But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Today’s fast fact from the ELCA “One in six people worldwide lacks access to safe drinking water." From www.thehungersite.com "Hunger and malnutrition are the underlying cause of more than half of all child deaths, killing nearly 6 million children each year." Cost of the war in Iraq so far is just under $551 billion. How does the millstone feel?

bring em back into the fold

Thursday September 11th, Matthew 18: 12 "What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13 And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost. By using this story, part of the lost and found triptych in Luke, Matthew is calling the early church to gather those who are lost. Written after the destruction of the temple, it is now the communities job to restore and reconcile the lost and the sinner who wander off. It is less about being right than about being whole. Put down you self-righteousness and go after the lost ones. Either that or get fitted for a millstone. Gods dwelling is not longer in place, temple, but in persona and in the multitude of persona that make up the community. It is there that sins are forgiven, relationships built and restored, and hope renewed.

Eat with them

Friday September 12th, Matthew 18: 15 "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. 16 But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector. On the practical side…. If someone sins against you go and try to work it out, if that works, reconciliation happens. If it doesn’t work, according to Jewish law, take some others along so they can listen to both sides. Often times in the case of disputes, the truth resides not on one side or the other, but somewhere in the middle, an impartial group can help sort that out and reconciliation happens. If that doesn’t work, take it to the church and have the whole body of Christ work on getting things worked out. The goal is not vigilant justice, but reconciliatory justice, to restore the relationship between you, the other and the community. It that doesn’t work, treat them like a pagan or tax collector, you know, the ones Jesus ate with, forgave, restored and went to the cross for.

not individual

Saturday September 13th, Matthew 18: 19 "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." This is not about individual Christianity, me and God, kind of stuff. This is about community, prayer partners and getting together with others because each of us has the capacity to go astray if left alone. When we gather, Jesus is there. That does not mean that every gathering listens to Christ, but at least the possibility is there. And there is no greater way to build community than to pray together with Christ.

October Surprise' could affect election

JOHN HAVELOCK COMMENT(09/01/08 22:23:11)
Anchorage Daily News

"October Surprise" is a term used to describe a potential, external event that can control the outcome of a pending American election. We have had (so far) a mini October Surprise with the Georgia affair.

Another may be coming up. The surprise scenario presumes the deliberate creation of a national security crisis by a small group of persons or even one person. Control over the American election may be purely incidental to the event or the surprise may be an effort deliberately focused on American politics. Either way, it is an "October Surprise" by consequence.

To take an obvious example, a terrorist group might schedule or postpone an attack depending on the group's assessment of its effect on a U.S. election.

America is particularly vulnerable to the surprise scenario this year because, according to well-publicized polls, the uncommitted electorate currently perceives Sen. McCain as substantially more capable of dealing with a military emergency than Sen. Obama, while believing Sen. Obama to be far more capable of dealing with the country's domestic problems. Thus anyone, in or out of the country, in a position to precipitate an emergency with military overtones, has the capability of influencing the outcome of the U.S. election.

Though the American press painted the affair largely as a Russian invasion of Georgia, the Georgia crisis was precipitated by President Saakashvili's commitment of military force to suppress independence forces in the longtime breakaway provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, both of which contain majority populations of Russians. Pictures of dead South Ossetians killed by Georgian army shelling were rarely found in American newspapers, which characterized the Russian army reaction as an unprovoked invasion. The facts were more ambiguous and do bear some comparison with the Kosovo situation.

However, the merits of the dispute between Georgia and Russia are not the nub of a surprise set-up. The key question is: did American intelligence (we equip the Georgian army after all), know that President Saakashvili was planning this risky venture and, if so, why did the White House not stop him? A secondary surprise scenario would implicate President Saakashvili alone. When he planned his foray, did he by any chance have the American election on his mind? He is reported by the New York Times to have talked to Sen. McCain, "as often as twice a day." Fair question for Senator McCain: "What did you know and when did you know it?"

Whether the Georgian affair will tweak the candidates' standings, is unknown. It may be turning out to be a tempest in a teapot or it may become a step in a Cold War revival, indirectly supporting a McCain candidacy.

Another October Surprise, still only potential, that has engaged the attention of seasoned observers, is the possibility that Iran's uranium enrichment facilities will be bombed by Israel. Iran is well along in construction of numerous centrifuges at diverse locations that together can produce the fissionable material used in a nuclear warhead. Though this fuel can be used in the peaceful production of electrical energy, most observers believe that the processing effort is involved with Iranian strategic military intentions.

The situation and the analysis of intentions can best be described in terms of factions struggling for policy control in the three primary governments involved: the United States, Israel and Iran. The details of this policy issue are best left for another column, but it is worth examining the fallout if Israel delivers on its threat.

When Israel bombs Iran, Iran will close the Straits of Hormuz and Americans will be at war with Iran as we also bomb and perhaps land a force in Iran to keep the straits open for the passage of oil tankers to the world from our Gulf allies and Iraq. This will be no tempest in a teapot.

The White House does have the power, if it cares enough, to rein in the Israelis on a proposed bombing of Iran. Could the American election possibly be a consideration in the thinking of influential factions in either Israel or the United States? Let us hope not.