Grace Notes Radio

On Monday evenings from 8-9pm Anchorage time, Grace Notes Radio is on. Music, commentary and call-in. If you use Windows Media Player there is a link on the left for a free download of a patch so WMP can pick up the program. All other media players should work without a patch.

Listen in

Give a call

Pastor Dan

On the road to Emmaus

Luke 24:13-25

I don’t know if it’s true
I have my doubts like everyone else
I’m a pilgrim
a stranger
searching for that
for which my soul yearns
and when I hear the Word
and sing the songs
something happens within me
and I begin to feel at peace
there are times the words seem written
for me
and when I hear them
my heart burns with a peace
and love
and discomfort
I can’t explain
but it is in the coming forward
and taking that piece of bread
that cup of wine
and hearing the words
This is my body
This is my blood
Given for you for forgiveness
For life
that my heart leaps
and I know Christ

the brave new world

Sunday April 6th, Acts 2: 38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call." Welcome to the brave new world, Peter style. No more hiding behind the locked doors, no more looking over the shoulder to see if the Romans were coming, but out there, bold and on fire, sort of. Not much of a speech, and yet, thousands were baptized. The trick is not in eloquent speech, but in God speech. The trick is not in wonderful programs, but in God’s program. God is already out ahead of the church just waiting for us to respond with the message of and offer of forgiveness for the masses of hurting people. The biggest obstacle is helping them face the hurt they and we have shoved down so deep we don’t even know it is there. What the church needs then is the voice of honesty not agendas. A good thing to know in this year of elections. A good book to read in this year of elections is “God’s Politics” by Wallis, it will help set that agenda thing straight. Step out in boldness, follow where God has already set the stage and preach the good news of forgiveness.

the silver tongued devil and I

Monday April 7th, 1 Peter 1: 17 You say that God is your Father, but God doesn't have favorites! He judges all people by what they do. So you must honor God while you live as strangers here on earth. No favorites, not even you or me. Hard to believe isn’t it. But then maybe it is the we have it right and they have it wrong mentality that is the problem. It is one thing to claim God as your father, to say the Lord’s prayer every Sunday, or at least the ones where you show up at worship, it is quite another to claim that love deep down so that every moment is lived as a child of God. God prefers changed lives to silver tongues.

Oops, did my wall just fall

Tuesday April 8th, 1 Peter 1: 21 And when he did come, it was to lead you to have faith in God, who raised him from death and honored him in a glorious way. That's why you have put your faith and hope in God. 22 You obeyed the truth, and your souls were made pure. Now you sincerely love each other. But you must keep on loving with all your heart. 23 Do this because God has given you new birth by his message that lives on forever. God has given you new life, and what you are to do with that new life is to love one another. This is not an easy task; many of those who need to be loved the most seem to be the least lovable. They have up their walls of protection the same way we do. In the process of loving the seemingly unlovable we often find that walls do come down, usually they are our walls. In loving others, what we discover most is our self. Perhaps the other discovers the same thing. An so it goes round and round. Christ empted himself in the world and our joyous journey is the discovery of that at every turn. Especially the ones we never intended to take.

Don't I know you from somewhere?

Wednesday April 9th, Luke 24: 13 That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them. 16 But God kept them from recognizing him. In our walks in life, Jesus also comes and walks with us. We don’t often recognize him. He usually looks like someone we know or someone we work with. Often there is something about this person that draws us to them. Sometimes it is a need or perhaps just someone to talk to. Sometimes it is just being there. Just the two of you, on the road or on the job or at the gym or school, walking and talking about nothing in particular, and yet you sense something going on. What is going on most likely is that Jesus has already been there and the other person is waiting for you to speak the words they have been longing to hear, “the Kingdom is near.” It might not be those exact words, it might be so simple as, “do you want some cream for your coffee?” but you both know somehow it is about the kingdom. Now is the time to mention worship and invite. It is not up to you to talk the person into wanting to hear more about where you worship, Jesus has already been there and set the stage. Showing up and announcing the kingdom is your job, however it happens.

Talk with Jesus, not about Jesus

Thursday April 10th, Luke 24: 17 He asked them, “What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?” They stopped short, sadness written across their faces. 18 Then one of them, Cleopas, replied, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days.” 19 “What things?” Jesus asked. Talking about faith often gets in the way of practicing one’s faith. Jesus is with us each and every day in all our walks of life. In those places we want Jesus to be, and in those places we would just as soon he not show up. Jesus is there, calling us, prodding us, to move from conversation about, to conversation with, the risen Lord. Tell me, what is your faith story? Where did Jesus meet you when you least expected it? How can you be there for others? The revelation is in the relationship.

JESUS or Jesus?

Friday April 11th, Luke 24: 25 Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. 26 Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?” 27 Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. 28 By this time they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey. Jesus acted as if he were going on, 29 but they begged him, “Stay the night with us, since it is getting late.” So he went home with them. They were talking to Jesus, learning about Jesus, enjoying being with Jesus, and didn’t know it was Jesus. Sometimes we want to substitute an idolatry of Jesus for a relationship with Jesus. We want the WOW and in the process of looking we tend to miss the Jesus that is right in front of us. There was something about this person they were talking too, something that made them want to invite him to stay longer, something that drew them to move from conversation about, to relationship with. We are called to be both listener and talker in this story. Jesus is with us each and every day, in the people we meet and in the places we go. Many times each week we entertain Jesus and don’t even know it. Don’t let your drive to find JESUS stand in the way of Jesus finding you.

Heart burn

Saturday April 12th, Luke 24: 30 As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. 31 Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared! 32 They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” When Jesus was breaking the bread and saying the words, this is my body, broken for you, was he looking at the bread or at those gathered? Is it the bread that is magical or the relationship? The Passover meal is a celebration of the angel of death passing over the houses of the Hebrew slaves in Egypt. The sign was the blood of the lamb on the door. The celebration is for the liberation. When we gather with one another, whether in our homes or in our churches and we share a meal, a relationship, a conversation with one another and in the process recognized Christ is there with us, then we too recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread. When was the last time your hearts burned within you? Look around next communion; you will see the true body of Christ.

Grace Notes Radio

On Monday evenings from 8-9pm Anchorage time, Grace Notes Radio is on. Music, commentary and call-in. If you use Windows Media Player there is a link on the left for a free download of a patch so WMP can pick up the program. All other media players should work without a patch.

Listen in

Give a call

Pastor Dan

Musicians wanted

Our web radio plays music, readings from the Gospel of Matthew and readings from Coffin, Erlander and Buechner as well as some comments by me. I would like to also showcase new talent in Christian music. If you could provide music with an introduction of who you are and how to contact you I would like to put it in or current playlist. If interested leave a note in the comment section of this post along with an email address to contact you.

Thanks,
Pastor Dan

new links

I just added two new links. The Kevin Powell blog and Kelly Fryer's blog, Reclaiming the "F" word. Give them a look, I think you might like them. On Kevin's blog, go down and listen to the TED confrience speach on creativity in education.

Cheney and Iran

One of the concerns that I have voiced in this blog in the past is that the current administration in the US would find a way to attack Iran before the end of the Bush term in office. The theory being that a continued and ongoing war scenario would be an advantage to the election of conservative Republicans and would continue the money flow through industries and channels that promote what Rove has talked about as a permanent Republican majority. Whereas I do not see Bush getting the go-ahead for a pre-emptive strike in Iran in the current congress, I do feel that Israeli involvement in Iran would result in the US coming in to support Israel and resulting in an endless war fueling permanent conservative majority. Therefore with Cheney in the Middle East it is worth watching the news that follows his visits and watch for rhetoric similar to that which was prevalent during the lead-up to the Iraqi invasion. Out of today’s news comes this ditty from the JTA news service.

Israel also figures that the chances of the Bush administration ordering a pre-emptive military strike against Iran are virtually zero. The only such scenario the Israelis envision is if the Democratic presidential candidates appear to be far ahead of their Republican rival and Bush senses a "now or never" strike option.

The full article can be found at:
http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080324cheyneyiran03242008.html

John 20:19-31

2nd Sunday in Easter

I sit in darkness
late at night
the kids are asleep
quiet now
--after a day of fun
oblivious to the adult world
--as we have made it
of war and hate
and children very much like themselves
loved very much like themselves
without enough
--of their share
--to survive
I want to venture out
To help in this world
--of too much
----and not enough
but I often find myself
----------hiding
here in the darkness
----------comfort
-------------safety
of my own walls
when
--into this sanctuary
--of my
------awareness fear
comes a voice
----(peace)
of disturbing comfort
that seeks to destroy
------------my little kingdom
-------of what
--------------can
------------------I
--------------------do
-----------------------anyway walls
I am heralded again
----(peace)
from that voice of life
----(be with you)
I long to
--but wish not
------------hear
peace
in the midst of your world
and because of it
as the words still ring
------in my mind
I remember the one who came
To make all things new
And I long
--for that contact
that would take me by the hand
and lead me
--down the path of what will be
lead me
----(as the Father sent me)
somehow to show
--that Christ lives
show it to others
------and myself
Help me Lord to do thy will
----(I send you)
today

Shoulda known you can't keep a good man down

Sunday March 30th, Acts 2: 2 Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. That old rocker who passed away last month, Larry Norman, used the line in one of his songs about the resurrection, “but you shoulda known, you can’t keep a good man down.” There's nothing wrong with playing blues licks, But if you got a reason tell me to my face Why should the devil have all the good music. There's nothing wrong with what I play 'Cause Jesus is the rock and he rolled my blues away. I ain't knocking the hymns, Just give me a song that has a beat. I ain't knocking the hymns, Just give me a song that moves my feet. I don't like none of those funeral marches I ain't dead yet! Jesus told the truth, Jesus showed the way There's one more thing I'd like to say. They nailed him to the cross, they laid him in the ground, But they shoulda known you can't keep a good man down. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BznsjIe5sMk&feature=related A bit crass, but true. God raised him, in spite of us, because of us, for us. Life goes on, Christ is out there ahead of us. Go and tell, whatever means you use.

You, Me, and our Enemy

Monday March 31st, Acts 2: 29 "Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. That resurrection is the gift for all humanity. It is the gift of life for us all. All the striving, all the conniving and trying to get ahead, all the attempts to cast the life of Jesus as something that supports our, or anybodies political agenda, is false. Jesus came not to say someone is right and the rest are wrong, Jesus came to save humanity, all created humanity, all life. What we come together to celebrate is that all of life is redeemed and in the last day, you, me, and our enemy all rise to be with the Lord.

Always good interest

Tuesday April 1st, 1 Peter 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you. I have watched the market take away a good hunk of money this year. I have watched the cost of filling the tank make me glad I bought a Civic. My neighbors have dropped the price of their house $200G and it is still on the market after a year. Jesus calls us to put our faith in him, to store our treasures in heaven where there is no recession, no war profiteers to wreck the economy for everyone else. There is only Jesus, my interest in him always pays beyond my expectations.

Whatever it takes

Wednesday April 2nd, 1 Peter 1: 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. It always seems that it is the darkest times of our lives that we are closer to Christ, and it is the good times that we seem further away. Perhaps it is not the good life that is the blessing, but rather the adversities that are the blessing from God. I find when the going gets good, the people get going, fishing, to the cabin, to sports, anywhere but church. May your life result in Praise, Glory and Honor of Christ, whatever it takes.

and Jesus waits.................

Thursday April 3rd, John 20: 19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. I imagine that the first response, right after Jesus came among them, inside the locked room, behind the locked doors, and spoke Peace, and then showed them his hands and side, that the first response was not one of being overjoyed. That might have been the second response, but not the first. Jesus comes into our lives each and every day. Jesus comes with the message of sending us into the world. Our response is to ignore. But Jesus does come, Jesus does show us the cost, the hands and feet and Jesus does say Go, it’s your turn. And Jesus waits………………………….

Balance before Blessing

Friday April 4th, John 20: 21 Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." Again, scary stuff. Stuff we all tend to shrink from. After seeing the hands and feet, the cost of discipleship, we are told that it is now our turn. We might not have to hang on the cross, but we might be asked to give up one of those things that takes all our time and energy. We might just be asked to achieve balance before blessing.

He is risen, he is not here

Saturday April 5th, John 20: 26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." 28 Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" 29 Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." I love this story; it is after all so human. Thomas was the only one who dared to be out of the room when Jesus came the first time, now he is the scapegoat for what they were feeling before Jesus came to them. How often we project our issues on others. How often we look for scapegoats to take the heat off what we should be doing. Jesus had sent the disciples out a week ago, now Thomas gets the rap for doubting. We too look for scapegoats to avoid what we should be doing. We too look for reasons, out there, why we are avoiding doing the ministry we are called to do. Come to church to celebrate Christ’s work through you and others in the world, don’t come to find him, he is risen, he is not here.

What will you do with your 30 pieces of silver?

Soon many of you will receive a check as part of the Governments stimulus package. For some in these difficult economic times the money will indeed be a great help in keeping a roof over your head and food on the table. For most, it is simply a nice addition to discretionary spending. The trouble is that the ones who will be asked to pay it back are your children and grandchildren. For those who are able I would ask that you consider placing a tithe of that amount in a fund through your local church that would help those whose need is greater than yours. Then I would ask you to consider placing all of the amount (yes that is 110%) in an account for your child, or grandchild, or niece or nephew or a scholarship fund through your congregation that will help those in need when payment on this giveaway comes due.

Good Friday Cross of Iron 2008

From Eisenhower’s “Cross of Iron” speech

Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children...This is not a way of life at all, in any true sense. Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron.

Senator Harry Reid's office: The Cost to Our Forces in Iraq

3,990: American troops who have died in Iraq since the start of the war. [icasualties.org, 3/17/08]
29,395: Number of U.S. service members that have been wounded in hostile action since the start of U.S. military operations in Iraq. [AP, 3/11/08]
60,000: Number of troops that have been subjected to controversial stop-loss measures--meaning those who have completed service commitments but are forbidden to leave the military until their units return from war. [US News and World Report, 2/25/08]
5: Number of times the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment has been sent to Iraq. They are the first Marine Corps unit to be sent to Iraq for a fifth time. [San Francisco Chronicle, 2/27/08]
2,100: Number of troops who tried to commit suicide or injure themselves increased from 350 in 2002 to 2,100 last year. [US News and World Report, 2/25/08]
11.9: Percent of noncommissioned Army officers who reported mental health problems during their first Iraq tour [Los Angeles Times, 3/7/08]
27.2: Percent of noncommissioned Army officers who reported mental health problems during their third or fourth Iraq tour [Los Angeles Times, 3/7/08]

The Cost to Our Military Readiness
88: Percent of current and former U.S. military officers surveyed in a recent independent study who believe that the demands of the war in Iraq have "stretched the U.S. military dangerously thin" [Foreign Policy/Center for New American Security, 2/19/08]
94: Percent of Army recruits who had high school diplomas in Fiscal Year 2003 [Larry Korb, The Guardian, 10/12/07]
79: Percent of Army recruits who had high school diplomas in Fiscal Year 2007 [Larry Korb, The Guardian, 10/12/07]
4,644: Number of new Army recruits who were granted moral waivers in Fiscal Year 2003. [Houston Chronicle, 10/14/07]
12,057: Number of new Army recruits who were granted moral waivers in Fiscal Year 2007. [Houston Chronicle, 10/14/07]
67: Percent of captains the Army managed to retain this year, short of its goal of 80 percent, and in spite of cash bonus incentives of up to $35,000 [Armed Services Committee Hearing, 2/26/08]

The Cost to Our National Security
1,188: Number of global terrorist incidents from January - September 11th, 2001. [American Security Project, "Are We Winning?," September 2007]
5,188: Number of global terrorist incidents in from January- September 11th, 2006. [American Security Project, "Are We Winning?," September 2007]
30: Percent increase in violence in Afghanistan from 2006 to 2007. [Reuters, 10/15/07]
21: Number of suicide bombings in Afghanistan in 2001. [Center for American Progress, "The Forgotten Front," 11/07]
139: Number of suicide bombings in Afghanistan in 2006, with an additional increase of 69 percent as of November 2007. [Center for American Progress, "The Forgotten Front," 11/07]
30: Percent of Afghanistan controlled by the Afghan Government according to DNI Mike McConnell. [Associated Press, 2/27/08]
2,380: Days since September 11th, 2001 that Osama Bin Laden has been at-large.

The Cost of Funding the War in Iraq
$50-60 Billion: Bush Administration's pre-war estimates of the cost of the war. [New York Times, 12/31/02]
$12 Billion: Direct cost per month of the Iraq War. [Washington Post, Bilmes and Stiglitz Op-Ed, 3/9/08]
$526 Billion: Amount of money already appropriated by Congress for the War in Iraq. [CRS, 2/22/08]
$3 Trillion: Total estimated cost of the Iraq War. [Washington Post, Bilmes and Stiglitz Op-Ed, 3/9/08]
$5 Trillion - $7 Trillion: Total cost of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan accounting for continued military operations, growing debt and interest payments and continuing health care and counseling costs for veterans. [McClatchy, 2/27/08]
160: Percent that the cost of the Iraq War has increased from 2004 to 2008. [CRS Report, 2/22/08]

The Cost to Iraqis and Journalists
8,000: Number of Iraqi military and police killed since June 2003. [Brookings Institute, Iraq Index, March 13, 2008]
82,000-89,000: Estimate of Iraqi civilians casualties from violence since the beginning of the Iraq War. [Iraq Body Count]
4.5 Million: Number of Iraqi refugees both inside and outside the country. [Washington Post, 3/17/08]
61: Percent of Iraqis that believe the U.S. military presence makes the security situation in Iraq worse. [Agence France-Presse, 3/17/08]
127: Number of journalists killed in Iraq since March 2003. [Committee to Protect Journalists]

Economic Costs of War in Iraq
$33.51: Cost of a barrel of oil in March 2003. [Energy Information Administration]
$105.68: Cost of a barrel of oil on March 17, 2008. [NYMEX]

U.S. Troops and Contractors in Iraq
132,000: Number of U.S. troops in Iraq in January 2007, before President Bush's escalation. [Brookings Institution, Iraq Index, 3/13/08]
155,000: Number of U.S. troops currently in Iraq. [Brookings Institution, Iraq Index, 3/13/08]
140,000: Number of U.S. troops projected to be in Iraq in July 2008. [Associated Press, 2/26/08]
35,000: Number of private security contractors operating in Iraq. [Human Rights First, Private Security Contractors at War]
180,000: Number of private contractors operating in Iraq. [Human Rights First, Private Security Contractors at War]

Progress Towards Political Reconciliation Made By Iraqis
3: Number out of 18 Bush Administration Benchmarks Met by Iraqi Government As of January 24, 2008. [Center for American Progress, 1/24/08]
18: Number of provinces President Bush said would be secured by Iraqis as of November 2007. [President Bush Speech, 1/10/07]
8: Number of provinces actually secured by Iraqis as of January 2008. [NPR, 1/7/08]
Bush-Republican Intransigence on Staying the Course in Iraq
8: Number of times a majority of the Senate has voted to change course in Iraq.
7: Number of times Bush Republicans in Congress have blocked changing course in Iraq.
1: Number of vetoes issued by the White House over changing course in Iraq.

Post text study thoughts

The followers of Jesus, Mary and Mary, come to the tomb to find Jesus only to find that he is not there, he has gone on ahead of them to Galilee. On the way to Galilee the encounter Jesus and told not to hold on to him, but to go on to Galilee and tell the others. Galilee invokes many of the stories of Jesus ministry and is home to many of his followers. Christ is not at the tomb, Christ is not one to be held onto, Christ is ahead of you where you live and where you work and where you spend your time. Christ is present in the day to day life and helps to transform that life. Christ is the one who helps you look at and face the difficulties of day to day existence and brings new hope to live changed lives, as individuals and as an extension communities in ever widening circles, in the midst of our fears, concerns and hopes. The celebration of Easter is the celebration of Christ with us in the day to day lives and decisions and joys and fears. The celebration of Easter is the celebration of hope that in facing the issues in our lives and in our communities, and in recognizing the presence of Christ not only in our lives but also in the multiplicity of lives that make up our communities, that we can help build better more hopeful lives for all the children of God, both those who recognize they are the children of God and those who don’t. Easter is a call to actively live our lives with the knowledge that Christ is present in all we think, do and say in our day to day lives and to let that knowledge guide both our private and our corporate lives.

Full text of Obama's speach

“We the people, in order to form a more perfect union.”

Two hundred and twenty one years ago, in a hall that still stands across the street, a group of men gathered and, with these simple words, launched America’s improbable experiment in democracy. Farmers and scholars; statesmen and patriots who had traveled across an ocean to escape tyranny and persecution finally made real their declaration of independence at a Philadelphia convention that lasted through the spring of 1787.

The document they produced was eventually signed but ultimately unfinished. It was stained by this nation’s original sin of slavery, a question that divided the colonies and brought the convention to a stalemate until the founders chose to allow the slave trade to continue for at least twenty more years, and to leave any final resolution to future generations.

Of course, the answer to the slavery question was already embedded within our Constitution – a Constitution that had at is very core the ideal of equal citizenship under the law; a Constitution that promised its people liberty, and justice, and a union that could be and should be perfected over time.

And yet words on a parchment would not be enough to deliver slaves from bondage, or provide men and women of every color and creed their full rights and obligations as citizens of the United States. What would be needed were Americans in successive generations who were willing to do their part – through protests and struggle, on the streets and in the courts, through a civil war and civil disobedience and always at great risk - to narrow that gap between the promise of our ideals and the reality of their time.

This was one of the tasks we set forth at the beginning of this campaign – to continue the long march of those who came before us, a march for a more just, more equal, more free, more caring and more prosperous America. I chose to run for the presidency at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together – unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction – towards a better future for of children and our grandchildren.

This belief comes from my unyielding faith in the decency and generosity of the American people. But it also comes from my own American story.

I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas. I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Patton’s Army during World War II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas. I’ve gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the world’s poorest nations. I am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slaveowners – an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.

It’s a story that hasn’t made me the most conventional candidate. But it is a story that has seared into my genetic makeup the idea that this nation is more than the sum of its parts – that out of many, we are truly one.

Throughout the first year of this campaign, against all predictions to the contrary, we saw how hungry the American people were for this message of unity. Despite the temptation to view my candidacy through a purely racial lens, we won commanding victories in states with some of the whitest populations in the country. In South Carolina, where the Confederate Flag still flies, we built a powerful coalition of African Americans and white Americans.

This is not to say that race has not been an issue in the campaign. At various stages in the campaign, some commentators have deemed me either “too black” or “not black enough.” We saw racial tensions bubble to the surface during the week before the South Carolina primary. The press has scoured every exit poll for the latest evidence of racial polarization, not just in terms of white and black, but black and brown as well.

And yet, it has only been in the last couple of weeks that the discussion of race in this campaign has taken a particularly divisive turn.

On one end of the spectrum, we’ve heard the implication that my candidacy is somehow an exercise in affirmative action; that it’s based solely on the desire of wide-eyed liberals to purchase racial reconciliation on the cheap. On the other end, we’ve heard my former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, use incendiary language to express views that have the potential not only to widen the racial divide, but views that denigrate both the greatness and the goodness of our nation; that rightly offend white and black alike.

I have already condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of Reverend Wright that have caused such controversy. For some, nagging questions remain. Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course. Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely – just as I’m sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests, or rabbis with which you strongly disagreed.

But the remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren’t simply controversial. They weren’t simply a religious leader’s effort to speak out against perceived injustice. Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country – a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America; a view that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel, instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam.

As such, Reverend Wright’s comments were not only wrong but divisive, divisive at a time when we need unity; racially charged at a time when we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems – two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy, a chronic health care crisis and potentially devastating climate change; problems that are neither black or white or Latino or Asian, but rather problems that confront us all.

Given my background, my politics, and my professed values and ideals, there will no doubt be those for whom my statements of condemnation are not enough. Why associate myself with Reverend Wright in the first place, they may ask? Why not join another church? And I confess that if all that I knew of Reverend Wright were the snippets of those sermons that have run in an endless loop on the television and You Tube, or if Trinity United Church of Christ conformed to the caricatures being peddled by some commentators, there is no doubt that I would react in much the same way

But the truth is, that isn’t all that I know of the man. The man I met more than twenty years ago is a man who helped introduce me to my Christian faith, a man who spoke to me about our obligations to love one another; to care for the sick and lift up the poor. He is a man who served his country as a U.S. Marine; who has studied and lectured at some of the finest universities and seminaries in the country, and who for over thirty years led a church that serves the community by doing God’s work here on Earth – by housing the homeless, ministering to the needy, providing day care services and scholarships and prison ministries, and reaching out to those suffering from HIV/AIDS.

In my first book, Dreams From My Father, I described the experience of my first service at Trinity:

“People began to shout, to rise from their seats and clap and cry out, a forceful wind carrying the reverend’s voice up into the rafters….And in that single note – hope! – I heard something else; at the foot of that cross, inside the thousands of churches across the city, I imagined the stories of ordinary black people merging with the stories of David and Goliath, Moses and Pharaoh, the Christians in the lion’s den, Ezekiel’s field of dry bones. Those stories – of survival, and freedom, and hope – became our story, my story; the blood that had spilled was our blood, the tears our tears; until this black church, on this bright day, seemed once more a vessel carrying the story of a people into future generations and into a larger world. Our trials and triumphs became at once unique and universal, black and more than black; in chronicling our journey, the stories and songs gave us a means to reclaim memories that we didn’t need to feel shame about…memories that all people might study and cherish – and with which we could start to rebuild.”

That has been my experience at Trinity. Like other predominantly black churches across the country, Trinity embodies the black community in its entirety – the doctor and the welfare mom, the model student and the former gang-banger. Like other black churches, Trinity’s services are full of raucous laughter and sometimes bawdy humor. They are full of dancing, clapping, screaming and shouting that may seem jarring to the untrained ear. The church contains in full the kindness and cruelty, the fierce intelligence and the shocking ignorance, the struggles and successes, the love and yes, the bitterness and bias that make up the black experience in America.

And this helps explain, perhaps, my relationship with Reverend Wright. As imperfect as he may be, he has been like family to me. He strengthened my faith, officiated my wedding, and baptized my children. Not once in my conversations with him have I heard him talk about any ethnic group in derogatory terms, or treat whites with whom he interacted with anything but courtesy and respect. He contains within him the contradictions – the good and the bad – of the community that he has served diligently for so many years.

I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother – a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.These people are a part of me. And they are a part of America, this country that I love.

Some will see this as an attempt to justify or excuse comments that are simply inexcusable. I can assure you it is not. I suppose the politically safe thing would be to move on from this episode and just hope that it fades into the woodwork. We can dismiss Reverend Wright as a crank or a demagogue, just as some have dismissed Geraldine Ferraro, in the aftermath of her recent statements, as harboring some deep-seated racial bias.

But race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now. We would be making the same mistake that Reverend Wright made in his offending sermons about America – to simplify and stereotype and amplify the negative to the point that it distorts reality.

The fact is that the comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of race in this country that we’ve never really worked through – a part of our union that we have yet to perfect. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American.

Understanding this reality requires a reminder of how we arrived at this point. As William Faulkner once wrote, “The past isn’t dead and buried. In fact, it isn’t even past.” We do not need to recite here the history of racial injustice in this country. But we do need to remind ourselves that so many of the disparities that exist in the African-American community today can be directly traced to inequalities passed on from an earlier generation that suffered under the brutal legacy of slavery and Jim Crow.

Segregated schools were, and are, inferior schools; we still haven’t fixed them, fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education, and the inferior education they provided, then and now, helps explain the pervasive achievement gap between today’s black and white students.

Legalized discrimination - where blacks were prevented, often through violence, from owning property, or loans were not granted to African-American business owners, or black homeowners could not access FHA mortgages, or blacks were excluded from unions, or the police force, or fire departments – meant that black families could not amass any meaningful wealth to bequeath to future generations. That history helps explain the wealth and income gap between black and white, and the concentrated pockets of poverty that persists in so many of today’s urban and rural communities.

A lack of economic opportunity among black men, and the shame and frustration that came from not being able to provide for one’s family, contributed to the erosion of black families – a problem that welfare policies for many years may have worsened. And the lack of basic services in so many urban black neighborhoods – parks for kids to play in, police walking the beat, regular garbage pick-up and building code enforcement – all helped create a cycle of violence, blight and neglect that continue to haunt us.

This is the reality in which Reverend Wright and other African-Americans of his generation grew up. They came of age in the late fifties and early sixties, a time when segregation was still the law of the land and opportunity was systematically constricted. What’s remarkable is not how many failed in the face of discrimination, but rather how many men and women overcame the odds; how many were able to make a way out of no way for those like me who would come after them.
But for all those who scratched and clawed their way to get a piece of the American Dream, there were many who didn’t make it – those who were ultimately defeated, in one way or another, by discrimination. That legacy of defeat was passed on to future generations – those young men and increasingly young women who we see standing on street corners or languishing in our prisons, without hope or prospects for the future. Even for those blacks who did make it, questions of race, and racism, continue to define their worldview in fundamental ways. For the men and women of Reverend Wright’s generation, the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away; nor has the anger and the bitterness of those years. That anger may not get expressed in public, in front of white co-workers or white friends. But it does find voice in the barbershop or around the kitchen table. At times, that anger is exploited by politicians, to gin up votes along racial lines, or to make up for a politician’s own failings.

And occasionally it finds voice in the church on Sunday morning, in the pulpit and in the pews. The fact that so many people are surprised to hear that anger in some of Reverend Wright’s sermons simply reminds us of the old truism that the most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning. That anger is not always productive; indeed, all too often it distracts attention from solving real problems; it keeps us from squarely facing our own complicity in our condition, and prevents the African-American community from forging the alliances it needs to bring about real change. But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races.

In fact, a similar anger exists within segments of the white community. Most working- and middle-class white Americans don’t feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race. Their experience is the immigrant experience – as far as they’re concerned, no one’s handed them anything, they’ve built it from scratch. They’ve worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseas or their pension dumped after a lifetime of labor. They are anxious about their futures, and feel their dreams slipping away; in an era of stagnant wages and global competition, opportunity comes to be seen as a zero sum game, in which your dreams come at my expense. So when they are told to bus their children to a school across town; when they hear that an African American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed; when they’re told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment builds over time.

Like the anger within the black community, these resentments aren’t always expressed in polite company. But they have helped shape the political landscape for at least a generation. Anger over welfare and affirmative action helped forge the Reagan Coalition. Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism.
Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze – a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many. And yet, to wish away the resentments of white Americans, to label them as misguided or even racist, without recognizing they are grounded in legitimate concerns – this too widens the racial divide, and blocks the path to understanding.

This is where we are right now. It’s a racial stalemate we’ve been stuck in for years. Contrary to the claims of some of my critics, black and white, I have never been so naïve as to believe that we can get beyond our racial divisions in a single election cycle, or with a single candidacy – particularly a candidacy as imperfect as my own.

But I have asserted a firm conviction – a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people – that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice is we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union.
For the African-American community, that path means embracing the burdens of our past without becoming victims of our past. It means continuing to insist on a full measure of justice in every aspect of American life. But it also means binding our particular grievances – for better health care, and better schools, and better jobs - to the larger aspirations of all Americans -- the white woman struggling to break the glass ceiling, the white man whose been laid off, the immigrant trying to feed his family. And it means taking full responsibility for own lives – by demanding more from our fathers, and spending more time with our children, and reading to them, and teaching them that while they may face challenges and discrimination in their own lives, they must never succumb to despair or cynicism; they must always believe that they can write their own destiny.

Ironically, this quintessentially American – and yes, conservative – notion of self-help found frequent expression in Reverend Wright’s sermons. But what my former pastor too often failed to understand is that embarking on a program of self-help also requires a belief that society can change.

The profound mistake of Reverend Wright’s sermons is not that he spoke about racism in our society. It’s that he spoke as if our society was static; as if no progress has been made; as if this country – a country that has made it possible for one of his own members to run for the highest office in the land and build a coalition of white and black; Latino and Asian, rich and poor, young and old -- is still irrevocably bound to a tragic past. But what we know -- what we have seen – is that America can change. That is true genius of this nation. What we have already achieved gives us hope – the audacity to hope – for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

In the white community, the path to a more perfect union means acknowledging that what ails the African-American community does not just exist in the minds of black people; that the legacy of discrimination - and current incidents of discrimination, while less overt than in the past - are real and must be addressed. Not just with words, but with deeds – by investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing our civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system; by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations. It requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper.
In the end, then, what is called for is nothing more, and nothing less, than what all the world’s great religions demand – that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Let us be our brother’s keeper, Scripture tells us. Let us be our sister’s keeper. Let us find that common stake we all have in one another, and let our politics reflect that spirit as well.

For we have a choice in this country. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can tackle race only as spectacle – as we did in the OJ trial – or in the wake of tragedy, as we did in the aftermath of Katrina - or as fodder for the nightly news. We can play Reverend Wright’s sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words. We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she’s playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies.

We can do that.But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we’ll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change.
That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, “Not this time.” This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can’t learn; that those kids who don’t look like us are somebody else’s problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy. Not this time.

This time we want to talk about how the lines in the Emergency Room are filled with whites and blacks and Hispanics who do not have health care; who don’t have the power on their own to overcome the special interests in Washington, but who can take them on if we do it together.
This time we want to talk about the shuttered mills that once provided a decent life for men and women of every race, and the homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from every religion, every region, every walk of life. This time we want to talk about the fact that the real problem is not that someone who doesn’t look like you might take your job; it’s that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit.

This time we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. We want to talk about how to bring them home from a war that never should’ve been authorized and never should’ve been waged, and we want to talk about how we’ll show our patriotism by caring for them, and their families, and giving them the benefits they have earned.

I would not be running for President if I didn’t believe with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for this country. This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected. And today, whenever I find myself feeling doubtful or cynical about this possibility, what gives me the most hope is the next generation – the young people whose attitudes and beliefs and openness to change have already made history in this election.

There is one story in particularly that I’d like to leave you with today – a story I told when I had the great honor of speaking on Dr. King’s birthday at his home church, Ebenezer Baptist, in Atlanta.

There is a young, twenty-three year old white woman named Ashley Baia who organized for our campaign in Florence, South Carolina. She had been working to organize a mostly African-American community since the beginning of this campaign, and one day she was at a roundtable discussion where everyone went around telling their story and why they were there.

And Ashley said that when she was nine years old, her mother got cancer. And because she had to miss days of work, she was let go and lost her health care. They had to file for bankruptcy, and that’s when Ashley decided that she had to do something to help her mom.

She knew that food was one of their most expensive costs, and so Ashley convinced her mother that what she really liked and really wanted to eat more than anything else was mustard and relish sandwiches. Because that was the cheapest way to eat.

She did this for a year until her mom got better, and she told everyone at the roundtable that the reason she joined our campaign was so that she could help the millions of other children in the country who want and need to help their parents too.

Now Ashley might have made a different choice. Perhaps somebody told her along the way that the source of her mother’s problems were blacks who were on welfare and too lazy to work, or Hispanics who were coming into the country illegally. But she didn’t. She sought out allies in her fight against injustice.

Anyway, Ashley finishes her story and then goes around the room and asks everyone else why they’re supporting the campaign. They all have different stories and reasons. Many bring up a specific issue. And finally they come to this elderly black man who’s been sitting there quietly the entire time. And Ashley asks him why he’s there. And he does not bring up a specific issue. He does not say health care or the economy. He does not say education or the war. He does not say that he was there because of Barack Obama. He simply says to everyone in the room, “I am here because of Ashley.”

“I’m here because of Ashley.” By itself, that single moment of recognition between that young white girl and that old black man is not enough. It is not enough to give health care to the sick, or jobs to the jobless, or education to our children.

But it is where we start. It is where our union grows stronger. And as so many generations have come to realize over the course of the two-hundred and twenty one years since a band of patriots signed that document in Philadelphia, that is where the perfection begins.

Matthew 28:1-10

Easter

Watching from the margins
From the dark edges of the world
As the representatives of power
Guard the rock
Not letting anything happen by chance
Lest the people
In hope
Longing for something better
In the darkness of the morning
The earth rattles
The stones roll
The guards freeze
And hope is born
Watching from the margins they see it
Mary and Mary
Still and silent
They see the stone move
They see the angel appear
They see the Messiah raised
They see the future of a universe
That has never been
And can never
Return
To what was.

Mary and Mary
Don’t freeze
Don’t hold on
Don’t stand still
Run and tell
And the church is born
To
Run and tell.

Help in the desert

Sunday March 23rd, Jeremiah 31: "At that time I will be the God of all of the tribes of Israel," announces the Lord. "And they will be my people." The Lord says, "Some of my people will live through everything their enemies do to them. They will find help in the desert. I have been in the desert of life, and most of you have also been there would be my guess. Dry times, no love, no hope, nothing feeding your life, you are in a state of mere existence where even taking a breath is work. If you have not been there, you will. And yet there is something strangely pleasant in that place. Facing our darkest hours, we find ourselves comforted somehow. Without even realizing it we become aware that every breath we take is somehow a prayer. In that abandoned forlorn place, we are not alone. I will be the God of all the tribes of Israel, says the Lord, by that statement it is a short hop to the promise made to Abraham and realize that God will also be the God of all the tribes of Abraham. So put down those rockets, give back the land, stop selling arms and everybody just get along, you are brothers loved by the same God whether you like it or not. All this bickering and fighting does to God the same thing your children bickering and fighting does to you. So knock it off and go to your room until you can get along.

Won't it be a wonderful day?

Monday March 24th, Jeremiah 31: "Once again you will use your tambourines to celebrate. You will go out and dance with joy. Once again you will plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria. Farmers will plant them. They will enjoy their fruit. There will be a day when those on guard duty will cry out. They will stand on the hills of Ephraim. And they will shout, 'Come! Let's go up to Zion. Let's go up to where the Lord our God is.' " Won’t it be a wonderful day when peace among the children of God will be in the land and the children of Isaac and the children of Ishmael and the followers of Jesus go up to the hill together, once and for all accepting one another as brothers and sisters in the family of God. Won’t it be a wonderful day when the children of God grow up and give up the childish ways of bickering and fighting and recognize that for all our differences we only reflect the vastness of a loving God and father of us all. Won’t it be great on that day when we gather on the hills of Ephraim and shout not insults to one another but invitations to come and gather as one people and recognize that the Lord our God is indeed Lord and God of all. Won’t it be great? Until that day, work for peace and justice.

No favoritism

Tuesday March 25th, Acts. 10: Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. When the spirit came Peter started to get it. The "It" he got was that God does not show favoritism any more than you show favoritism to your children. They are each different, they each have unique needs and talents and wants and foibles, and you love each and every one. Some you wish would grow up and do this, others you wish would grow up and do that, but in the end you love them and recognize they are each on a path to becoming what they are called to be. So too God loves humanity, the creation God formed, breathed Into and called Good, not part of humanity, not the ones that look like this or that or the ones who express their love for God this way or that way, but humanity, all of humanity. When we recognize that and find ourselves on the path to reconciliation we find ourselves on the path to the love of God.

Preach the Good news

Wednesday March 26th, Acts 10: He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." Jesus comes as the one promised from of old. All the prophets testified to the love of God coming into the world. Now in this person of Christ, the love is manifest and lives among us. What of those who don't believe? What of those who may use another name or may not recognize Jesus as the Messiah? If grace is the order of the day and the message of Christ, then it is not dependent on belief to be manifest in the world or even in the unbeliever’s life. It is about Christ, not humanity. Our job is to preach the "good" news, sometimes the church gets that mixed up with judging or claiming exclusive rights to the love of God. For that we apologize, it just goes to show how much more work there is to do.

Watching from the margins

Thursday March 27th, Matthew 28: After the Sabbath, as the first light of the new week dawned, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to keep vigil at the tomb. Suddenly the earth reeled and rocked under their feet as God's angel came down from heaven, came right up to where they were standing. He rolled back the stone and then sat on it. Shafts of lightning blazed from him. His garments shimmered snow-white. The guards at the tomb were scared to death. They were so frightened, they couldn't move. Why do you think God always seems to use the marginalized in society as the witnesses and messengers of the good news? The disciples never seem to get it, but the Samaritan woman does, Mary and Mary seem to get it, Nicodemus seems to get it, the woman anointing Jesus with the bottle of ointment seems to get it, the list goes on and on. I think that Jesus is good news only for those who in the deep reaches of their souls long for something different, long for hope that things will change. The mainstream often seems to be vested in maintaining, the margins looking for lives that will change, especially their own. Mary and Mary, keeping watch, waiting for the dawn while others are sleeping soundly, they see. And what they see is hope reborn.

Status Quo

Friday March 28th, Matthew 28: The angel spoke to the women: "There is nothing to fear here. I know you're looking for Jesus, the One they nailed to the cross. He is not here. He was raised, just as he said. Come and look at the place where he was placed. "Now, get on your way quickly and tell his disciples, "He is risen from the dead. He is going on ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there.' That's the message." And the Angel said to them, fear not!!! Where have heard that before? Every time the messengers of God come into the world, they start with “fear not.” One reason is that the church of the day as the church of our day, seems to preach more fear than faith. The status quo lives in fear that the status quo will no longer be the status quo, so any intrusion of God would indeed be a fearful moment. To the least, lost and lonely, it is always hope, not fear, is reborn and the message is that the status quo may not be the status quo forever.

Forgiveness is the name of the game

Saturday March 29th, Matthew 28: They ran to tell the disciples. Then Jesus met them, stopping them in their tracks. "Good morning!" he said. They fell to their knees, embraced his feet, and worshiped him. Jesus said, "You're holding on to me for dear life! Don't be frightened like that. Go tell my brothers that they are to go to Galilee, and that I'll meet them there." It is not about hanging onto Jesus, it is about telling others the good news. Jesus is risen and now the ball is in our court. Go tell the good news that hope is reborn. Go tell the good news that death ultimately holds sway over us no more. Go tell the good news that life begins anew each day and the sins that so often plague our lives plague them only when we let them, because forgiveness is the name of the game and Christ is alive.

Good Friday John 18:1-19:42

Who is this man
They cried
This one
--welcomed just three days ago
as the Messiah
the one who would bring peace to the nation
peace to the world
who is this man
who claims to be the Son of God
who would dare to tempt
the systems we have set in motion
we are
--they cried with a voice united
civilized people
we have our laws and order
--and our punishments for those
--who like our friend here
--choose
----(or are chosen)
----to be more than we have room for
this Jesus from Nazareth
hung up there
in pain and death
--just like any common
--------------(scapegoat)
------------------criminal
the King of Jews
with no kingdom of this world
and few to follow
Our
--------(law and order)
------------------Justice has a way
to keep things from getting
out-------------of----------------control
with anyone
------(God)
who would disrupt
this life of ours
who
-------is this Jesus of Nazareth
-------(Father)
that he should come here
where we have things
as we want them
-----------(forgive them)
and want nothing more
------(for they know not what they do)

Happy Birthday Brian

My grandson Brian is one year old today. He has come a long way from 2 pounds 2 ounces to the little chunk he is today. If you have time send a prayer his way.

Could your tax dollars be better spent?

From the National Priorities Project. You can go to the following site and find out the information for your location.

http://www.nationalpriorities.org/costofwar_home

Taxpayers in Alaska will pay $143.3 million for additional proposed Iraq War spending FY 2008. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided:

20,146 People with Health Care OR
199,834 Homes with Renewable Electricity OR
3,010 Public Safety Officers OR
2,302 Music and Arts Teachers OR
34,658 Scholarships for University Students OR
13 New Elementary Schools OR
908 Affordable Housing Units OR
27,445 Children with Health Care OR
18,359 Head Start Places for Children OR
2,018 Elementary School Teachers OR
1,638 Port Container Inspectors

Copyright 2007 National Priorities Project
http://www.nationalpriorities.org/cms/contact_us

Repenting from Sojourners

I would like to pass on this email I received from Sojourners.

Next week will mark five years since the United States invaded Iraq. We all lament the suffering and violence that continue after these five heartbreaking years.

To commemorate this anniversary, many Sojourners board members are joining with me to issue a statement calling on the U.S. church to repent for the war and to commit ourselves to a new path toward peace.

Would you join us in signing it? Just click here.

We all share in responsibility for a war that has been waged in our names and with our tax dollars. The fact that fewer U.S. soldiers have died in recent months doesn't change the fact that this war should never have been waged. Our country should end this war, not try to "win" it, and we must help the Iraqi people build a safer and more peaceful country.

And so, in this season of Lent, I believe the time has come for us to repent for the Iraq war. But repentance means more than just being sorry. It means admitting that the course we have been on is wrong and committing to begin walking in a new direction - starting with an end to the U.S. occupation of Iraq.

Support for U.S. wars and foreign policy is still the area where Christians are most "conformed to this world" (Romans 12:2). We must commit to put our love for Christ ahead of obedience to a misguided government and ask our brothers and sisters to join us in working for peace.
That's why we've put together a statement that issues a call to the U.S. church to lament and repent of the sin of this war. We're planning to promote that call widely to Christian audiences of all theological and political stripes.

So far it's been signed by friends like Brian McLaren, Mary Nelson, Richard Rohr, Barbara Williams Skinner, and Ron Sider. But we don't just want prominent leaders to sign on - we want you.

If everyone receiving this e-mail signed the statement and recruited friends, family, and congregation members to do the same, we could show that millions of ordinary Christians are seeking a world in which our Lord "guides our feet into the path of peace" (Luke 1:79).

Click here to read and sign the statement lamenting and repenting of the Iraq war.

I hope you'll join us in committing to pray and work for peace.
Blessings,

Jim Wallis and the rest of the team at Sojourners

Passion Sunday

Matthew 26:14-27:66

Ride on Ride on in Majesty
Through the dusty streets
The crowds raise up their voices
And with hosannas greet
The horseman and his mighty legions
Law and order to keep
Solders
Leather, shields and swords
Marching in perfect step
Behind
The one who represents the son of god
His symbol leads the way
All the dignitaries were there
As he entered through the gate
Pilot rode in up the white horse
Onward solders marching
As to war
Ready to keep the peace and any cost
Life was secondary
Marching on in majesty
The flexing imperial power of Rome
On this powder keg celebration
of liberation
and the leaders came to see
on the other end of the holy city
a simple procession
down the hill and through the dusty streets
no armor, helmets or swords
only their voices, cloaks and a few palm branches
to line the way
of the
This is My Son
My Beloved
In whom I am well pleased
Riding on a small gently colt
While the shouts went up
Hosanna to the Son of David
The stones ready to roar
Quiet
Pilot will be sore if he hears
Hosannas from the heart
The stage is set
Majesties ride on
To the climax of the ages
New beginnings, fresh start
Betrayal
A meal
And coins change hands
And soon the beginning of the end
For the son of man
The dark night
Denial
Three times before the dawn
Another procession
A man dripping red
No hosannas this time
Only shame
Only dread
And soon the sound of spikes hammered
And blood being drawn
While silent
From a distance
The people looked on
Jesus remember me in paradise today
Forgive them
It is finished
Some heard him say
The darkness
The earth quake
The curtain torn in two
Hopes dashed and power roared
As the body was laid to rest
The tomb sealed
Life back to normal
And yet
Off in the distance a glimmer of light
Fresh breeze in the air
In the dark early morning
The body wasn’t there….

two kingdoms

Sunday March 16th, Matthew 21: They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest!” As Jesus was riding into Jerusalem from Cesaria Phillipi in the North East, Pilot was coming into Jerusalem from his palace in Cesaria Mauritania the North West. Two processions entering the City, each representing a kingdom. From the West was the power of Rome. The royal Roman eagle on the staff, magnificent horses, regal attire followed by a mighty army, entering the city to keep order during this week of celebration of the liberation of the children of God from the rulers of power in Egypt. From the East came the one called Jesus. He was greeted with shouts of Hosanna and Son of David and came in the name of, and represented, the Kingdom of God. Two kingdoms, entering the Holy City during the Passover week celebrating liberation, conflict would follow.

Hope always a threat

Monday March 17th, Matthew 26: At that very moment, the party of high priests and religious leaders was meeting in the chambers of the Chief Priest named Caiaphas, conspiring to seize Jesus by stealth and kill him. They agreed that it should not be done during Passover Week. "We don't want a riot on our hands," The Chief Priest and Caiaphas were not evil people, just politically motivated and resourceful. They were in power, and a tenuous power it was. In this occupied land they were able to rule over the people only because Rome allowed them to do so as long as they kept order. It worked for Rome, it worked for the power structure of the Hebrew people. Maintain order your way or Rome would maintain order their way, and so the politically expedient balancing act was the norm. Jesus was a threat to that balance, he had already gathered a crowd of his own who dared to greet him as the liberator king during this liberation celebration. To the ones at the top, it was maintaining status quo. To the ones at the bottom, it was hope. Hope is always a threat to the status quo when maintaining power is the bottom line.

Honor God, care for those in need

Tuesday March 18th, Matthew 26: When Jesus was at Bethany, a guest of Simon the Leper, a woman came up to him as he was eating dinner and anointed him with a bottle of very expensive perfume. When the disciples saw what was happening, they were furious. "That's criminal! This could have been sold for a lot and the money handed out to the poor." When Jesus realized what was going on, he intervened. "Why are you giving this woman a hard time? She has just done something wonderfully significant for me. You will have the poor with you every day for the rest of your lives, but not me. First the question; who is Simon the Leper? Some commentaries make the leap that he was someone who was healed by Jesus of his leprosy, others that it is a mis-interpretation and means he was a pottery maker, and some that he was a Pharisee with that name. All I know is that is what he was called and Jesus went to his house for dinner. While there, a woman came in and using very expensive perfume anointed Jesus. Simon seemed to say nothing of note. At least some of the disciples were concerned that they were not in charge of the money this could bring, and Jesus was grateful for the anointing before his burial. He then points out the task of the Church, first and foremost is to worship God, as did the woman with the perfume. The second is the reminder that we will have the poor with us the rest of our lives, and I take that as a call to do something about that also. It is the echo of Jesus answer to what is the greatest commandment, to love God and to love others, and love being used as a verb not a noun. Sometimes the church gets all caught up in other agendas and fights and comfort levels. For each church question the counter question needs to be asked, how does this move forward the agenda of honoring God and caring for those in need. If it doesn’t fit into those two areas, it still might be a good thing to do, but it is not central to who we are and what we are called to do.

freedom for all

Wednesday March 19th, Matthew 26: During the meal, Jesus took and blessed the bread, broke it, and gave it to his disciples: Take, eat. This is my body. Taking the cup and thanking God, he gave it to them: Drink this, all of you. This is my blood, God's new covenant poured out for many people for the forgiveness of sins. "I'll not be drinking wine from this cup again until that new day when I'll drink with you in the kingdom of my Father." They sang a hymn and went directly to Mount Olives. The disciples are gathered with their teacher, some by now even know him as the Christ, and they are celebrating together the meal of liberation. The bread is broken, symbolizing the liberation of the people, is it shared for all to eat, for all are in bondage to sin. The cup is shared for all to drink, the blood of the sacrifice of the Passover lamb, the blood of Christ, bringing freedom to all. We gather in the name of the Father and we celebrate these moments in our worship. Freedom rings, no matter how power tries to rob us of it, no matter how we run from it into the arms of self satisfaction and false hope. Life is given to all, and we, you and I and all are invited to the table to partake in this ultimate gift of freedom. We are called to bring this ultimate gift of freedom to all, not just those who understand, or belong, or even believe, but to all. It is the gift of God calling all that exists into being and calling it good. It is life.

we need more guns!!!!!!?????

Thursday March 20th, Matthew 26:Then they came on him--grabbed him and roughed him up. One of those with Jesus pulled his sword and, taking a swing at the Chief Priest's servant, cut off his ear. Jesus said, "Put your sword back where it belongs. All who use swords are destroyed by swords. Don't you realize that I am able right now to call to my Father, and twelve companies--more, if I want them--of fighting angels would be here, battle-ready? But if I did that, how would the Scriptures come true that say this is the way it has to be?" How quickly we turn to the sword, how quickly we doubt God and replace God with Power. How quickly we justify our sword with doing God’s will, bringing freedom, democracy, hope, when in reality it is always about power, death and greed. School shootings are met with the solution of more guns, staggering economies with more debt and weapons. Jesus brings freedom from the need to be in control and freedom for the promotion of a world in which guns and swords no longer exists.

King of all

Friday March 21st, Matthew 27: -After they had finished nailing him to the cross and were waiting for him to die, they whiled away the time by throwing dice for his clothes. Above his head they had posted the criminal charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Along with him, they also crucified two criminals, one to his right, the other to his left. People passing along the road jeered, shaking their heads in mock lament: "You bragged that you could tear down the Temple and then rebuild it in three days--so show us your stuff! Save yourself! If you're really God's Son, come down from that cross!" This is the ultimate insult, the king of the Jews. Meant as the insult by the powers laughing, the real joke is that it does not go far enough. Instead of king of the Jews, Jesus was at that moment king of all creation, including those who would both laugh and feel relief at his passing. The laughing, the mocking, the jeering and you and I, all recipients of God’s love in spite of those things we are all quite capable of. This is the message, Christ died for you, and did not stay there. The rest of the story is next week.

what happens next

Saturday March 22nd, Matthew 27: After sundown, the high priests and Pharisees arranged a meeting with Pilate. They said, "Sir, we just remembered that that liar announced while he was still alive, "After three days I will be raised.' We've got to get that tomb sealed until the third day. There's a good chance his disciples will come and steal the corpse and then go around saying, "He's risen from the dead.' Then we'll be worse off than before, the final deceit surpassing the first." Pilate told them, "You will have a guard. Go ahead and secure it the best you can." So they went out and secured the tomb, sealing the stone and posting guards. Not understanding the power of God, we think only of the human quest for power. In the human power equation there is manipulation and sleight of hand. In the human equation there is concern for what is in it for me. In the God side there is hope for a future, there is forgiveness, and there is a calling to treat one another as we would our own flesh and blood. The King of the Jews was buried in that tomb. What happens next if for all the world to see.

half a trill

Watch the counter folks. Only 90+ million to go and we will have spent half a trillion in Iraq. See how well it is working?

Agnus Day

I like these guys, they can be found at: http://www.agnusday.org and they do a weekly offering that fits nicely in a bulletin. Check them out.

pd

New Statistics on Church Attendance and Avoidance

click on the title above to read the entire article, excellent stuff from Barna

March 3, 2008

(Ventura, CA) With Americans pursuing a growing number of "church" options, some of the traditional measures of church health are being redefined. According to a new study released by The Barna Group, which has been studying church participation patterns since 1984, popular measures such as the percentage of people who are "unchurched" - based on attendance at a conventional church service - are out of date. Various new forms of faith community and experience, such as house churches, marketplace ministries and cyberchurches, must be figured into the mix - and make calculating the percentage of Americans who can be counted as "unchurched" more complicated. The fact that millions of people are now involved in multiple faith communities - for instance, attending a conventional church one week, a house church the next, and interacting with an online faith community in-between - has rendered the standard measures of "churched" and "unchurched" much less precise.

The latest national surveys by The Barna Group address these new behavioral patterns and provide a different approach to evaluating church participation.

New Measures

According to Barna, one way of examining people's participation in faith communities is by exploring how they practice their corporate faith engagement. Unveiling a new measurement model, Barna identified the following five segments:

Unattached - people who had attended neither a conventional church nor an organic faith community (e.g., house church, simple church, intentional community) during the past year. Some of these people use religious media, but they have had no personal interaction with a regularly-convened faith community. This segment represents one out of every four adults (23%) in America. About one-third of the segment was people who have never attended a church at any time in their life.

Intermittents - these adults are essentially "under-churched" - i.e., people who have participated in either a conventional church or an organic faith community within the past year, but not during the past month. Such people constitute about one out of every seven adults (15%). About two-thirds of this group had attended at least one church event at some time within the past six months.

Homebodies - people who had not attended a conventional church during the past month, but had attended a meeting of a house church (3%).

Blenders - adults who had attended both a conventional church and a house church during the past month. Most of these people attend a conventional church as their primary church, but many are experimenting with new forms of faith community. In total, Blenders represent 3% of the adult population.

Conventionals - adults who had attended a conventional church (i.e., a congregational-style, local church) during the past month but had not attended a house church. Almost three out of every five adults (56%) fit this description. This participation includes attending any of a wide variety of conventional-church events, such as weekend services, mid-week services, special events, or church-based classes.
Cross-Pollinating the Church

In addition to those five segments, the Barna report revealed that there is a growing degree of ministry crossover in America. When examining the spiritual participation of adults during the past month, the Barna team discovered that more than one out of every five adults had been involved in two or more types of churches: a conventional church, a house church, a marketplace church, a real-time ministry event on the Internet, or a live ministry event in the community.
Demonstrating the complexity of measuring people’s faith commitments, the Barna study identified the nature of people’s overlapping faith practices.

Among adults who were churched (either conventionally or alternatively) 15% had experienced the presence of God or expressed their faith in God through a faith-oriented website within the past month. Half as many (7%) said they had such an experience through a real-time event on the Internet.

One out of every eight churched adults (13%) said they had experienced the presence of God or expressed their faith in God through a ministry that met in the marketplace (e.g., their workplace, athletic event, etc.) during the past month.

Twice as many churched people (28%) said they had experienced the presence of God or expressed their faith in God through their involvement with a special ministry event (such as a worship concert or community service activity).

A majority of the public claimed to have experienced the presence of God or expressed their faith in God through some form of interaction with religious television or radio programs.

John 11:1-53

5th Sunday in Lent

Life, Death
in the span of things
they are all part of the one
all part of who we are
Life limited to the here and now
Death, beyond that
and loving yet
by a God who loves on this side of the grave
and beyond
Come out Lazarus
Come out that the world me see
not so much one risen
but the one for whom
rising and living and dying
are all part of love
May the love of Christ
be with you now and forever more
Amen!

Dust and bones

Sunday March 9th, Ezekiel 37: 1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "O Sovereign LORD, you alone know." 4 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. There are times when my ministry feels like a valley of dry bones, now is one of those times. To look around and feel utterly helpless, all you want to do is sit in the dust and weep at the frustration. Sometimes in the midst of that frustration there is a still small voice that says to prophesy that the dry bones come to life. It seems futile, and maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t. Prophesying alone is futile. Prophesying and praying with the family of God opens the door to hope. Pew research says that people are leaving the denominational churches, and my experience confirms that. Can the good solid theology of the denominational churches survive the draw to fun worship? Is it possible to have good theology and fun worship? I don’t have any answers right now, I am busy sitting in the dust, looking at the dry bones with tear in my eyes.

Pew Potatos

Monday March 10th, Ezekiel 37: 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army. 11 Then he said to me: "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.' 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.' " The prophesying was the act of Ezekiel, the breath was the gift of God. This same breath moved over the waters in creation. This same breath entered in the lump of humus and created humans, or as it says in the Hebrew, it entered into the adamah and created adam. Breath on us Lord, bring your recreating spirit to this place and fill us anew with your spirit. In a world that sees the message of Christ as being against, help us to bring for the message of being for; for the sake of the needy, for the lost and the lonely, for the dispossessed, for the children who suffer from too much and not enough, for the lives that are hollow and dry, for….. Help us to be the voice that prophesies to all whose lives are so busy that they are empty that there is more than just keeping busy, your kids deserve more than just another activity or sport or vacation or lesson, without a connection to God, they lose more than just a little free time. Fill your Church O Lord with the mighty wind of your spirit and blow away the complacency of pew potato christianity with a small “c.” Fill our lungs and our hearts and our souls once More O Lord and fill us not with your peace, but with an uneasiness that keeps us moving. Amen.