14th Sunday after Pentecost

Mark 7:24-37

Jesus the Christ has come into our lives
With healing
And miracles of life
Showing us the Kingdom
Breaking into our lives
in a never
--before
----see way
breaking into our lives
with life
with newness
with a wholeness that recreates
with all glory and goodness
that is to be
the kingdom of God
even those with no hope
those who have resigned themselves to
this is the way the world is
--for better or worse
will need blinders
to keep out the
this is the way the world should be
love of God

be strong, do not fear

Sunday Sept. 6th, 2009; Isaiah 35: 4 say to those with fearful hearts, "Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you." How often are we ruled by fear? Remember the threat levels before the election of 04? Look at the rhetoric on healthcare with its “keep the government out of my Medicare” statements. Fear tends to remove all reason, all connection with reality, and is a great tool for manipulating the masses. Into this comes the word of God, “be strong, do not fear, your God will come.” Or on the hills outside Bethlehem, “Fear Not, for I bring you good tidings of great joy.” When the Lord comes, fear goes. And along with the fear, goes the power of manipulation, the control of mass hysteria, and you cease being simply a pawn and start being a child of God. Tea-baggers and town hall disrupters have lost their soul to fear, their soul is not gone mind you, just placed under the control of someone else with an agenda and money. Fear not, God is in control of the big stuff. Live as God has called you to live, loving the Lord your God will all your heart, soul, and mind and your neighbor as yourself, even your neighbor without insurance, and your neighbor who runs an insurance company. Fear not!!

vision and mission

Monday Sept 7th, 2009; Isaiah 35: 5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 6 Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. 7 The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow. A vision of when the Lord comes. But when does a vision become a mission? If indeed this is a vision, metaphorically or not, of when the Lord comes, so it not also be our mission in life as the children of God. Are we not called to work on brining about healing and wholeness both in the lives of the children of God and in the creation of God? Is this vision limited to a narrow tribal or national or ethnic view of God’s creation, or is it for all of God’s people and all of God’s creation? As we remember the story of the “Good Samaritan” we begin to get a glimpse of limitless expanse of God’s view of neighbor.

diversity month??

Tuesday Sept. 8th, 2009; James 2: 5 Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong? 8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. September is the Mayors Diversity month in Anchorage, ironically, it is also when his veto of the anti-discrimination ordinance that would include sexual orientation will be enacted. Is it not power that seeks to keep power at the expense of the powerless? All the pretense of holiness and righteousness is but a front, whether from the mayor’s office or the Anchorage Baptist Temple which is pulling the political strings to maintain discrimination. It is a front, and it is an affront to the God who created all and called it good.

damn good haters

Wednesday Sept. 9th, 2009; James 2: 14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. Luther was not a fan of James. Too much emphasis on works, not enough on Grace. There is some truth in James however. Grace can bring about changed lives, and changed lives make a difference in the world. So far the mega churches in Anchorage seem focused on what others are doing wrong in their eyes, without seeing the wrong they are doing through neglect with those same eyes. Our walk with Jesus is about turning our eyes to the poor and needy, the disenfranchised and disheartened. Who are the ones on the outs, who are the ones denied the fullness of God’s creation? We are called to love good and hate evil it is true, but all too often the emphasis is on the hating, and of damn good haters, the world already has too many.

cranky Jesus

Thursday Sept. 10th, 2009; Mark 7: 25 In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an evil spirit came and fell at his feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. 27 "First let the children eat all they want," he told her, "for it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs." 28 "Yes, Lord," she replied, "but even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." 29 Then he told her, "For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter." By this time my son is in college a little north of Tyre and Sidon in Beirut. This woman was an outsider to the disciples, and therefore, to be ignored. I view this exchange as fishing. Here are the disciples, they hear the words of Jesus, but don’t often get them as they should. Now they are in foreign country and the exchange between Jesus and this foreign woman is curt and cranky. As the disciples, and you and I hear the exchange, we start feeling better that Jesus is finally beginning to set some limits. In the back of our minds we are thinking, “you tell her Jesus, you tell that ‘dog’ that she is not one of us, we are the children of God and she is only a woman from this place.” They take the bait, they swallow the hook, Jesus yanks on the pole and the disciples and we feel the sting of being caught in our own prejudice. Instead of one of “them” she is an example of faith to all of us.

from the west to the east

Friday Sept. 11th, 2009; Mark 7: 31 Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. 32 There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand on the man. 33 After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man's ears. Then he spit and touched the man's tongue. From Tyre and Sidon on the west to the region of the ten cities on the East of the sea of Galilee, Jesus leads the disciples from foreign land to foreign land. The range of Jesus’ healing is ever expanding. Is it ever expanding in your life? It is too easy to view the righteousness of God in the form of limitations. It is comforting to view the righteousness of God in the form of limitations, which are seen as being in sync with our limitations. It takes a bit of blind Bible reading to justify that point of view, but oh we do manage well. The man was a foreigner, Jesus touched the foreigner, bodily fluid, spit, was exchanged and we turn a blind eye to it all and focus on the healing, thereby attempting to negate the healing Jesus has for us, the healing of our heard hearts. Where do you draw your boundaries? Take another look, that is Jesus standing on the other side.

our turn

Saturday Sept. 12th, 2009; Mark 2: 36 Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. 37 People were overwhelmed with amazement. "He has done everything well," they said. "He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak." Jesus has done everything well, and if humanity had its way, that would be the end of it. Jesus has another vision however, a vision where you and I are the hands and feet of God in this world. It is not a matter of remember when Jesus did this and that, it is a matter of look what good we can do in the name of our Lord and Savior. And the good that our Lord is calling us to do it to bring healing and wholeness to all of humanity and all of creation.

Kennedy at Rabin's funeral ...

"On the morning of the day before the funeral of Yitzhak Rabin, Senator Ted Kennedy called the White House to inquire if it was appropriate to bring to the burial some earth from Arlington National Cemetery. The answer was essentially a shrug: Who knows? Unadvised, the senator carried a shopping bag onto the plane, filled with earth he had himself dug the afternoon before from the graves of his two murdered brothers. And at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, after waiting for the crowd and the cameras to disperse, he dropped to his hands and knees, and gently placed that earth on the grave of the murdered prime minister.

No spin, no photo op; a man unreasonably familiar with bidding farewell to slain heroes, a man in mourning, quietly making tangible a miserable connection."

From: http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/08/26/two_lions_when_ted_kennedy_privately_honored_yitzh/?ref=fpblg

Mark 7:1-23

13th Sunday after Pentecost

The young child grew and blossomed
Full of love and joy
Each morning was greeted with a song
And laughter
And a glass of spilled milk
Graciously lapped up
By her best furry friend
Under her chair
And her days were filled with new adventures
Exploding her horizons
With each new discovery
And a fair sampling of dirt
Smeared from soiled hands
To now soiled clothes
Until one day
The clouds seemed to cover the sun
Differently
Than they did before
And she learned not to spill her milk
Though she never did figure out
How
To feed her furry friend
And one day
She learned something new about dirt
And where she could not play
And where she could not wipe her hands
She also learned other things
She could not do
Until one day
While sitting there sad
And very still
She learned
She was a good girl

prophet or profit

Sunday August 30th, Psalm 15: LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart who has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong. The list of what is good and what is evil from God’s view has often been manipulated by those who wish it were something different, perhaps their point of view, perhaps more profitable or supportive of their power structure. Who is blameless? The one who speaks truth from the heart. As we remember the world events of the last several years, I am struck by the fact that in real buying power of those at the bottom of the wage scale are worse off than at any time since 1947 and fewer and fewer people, working and unemployed, can afford decent health care. I am struck by the continued growth of wealth of the wealthiest among us while at the same time the continued growth of those who have to do with less and less each day. I am saddened by the number of U.S. casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan not only reaching the number killed in the twin towers, but greatly exceeding it. And saddened even more by the number of non-U.S. casualties in a war we are now told had nothing to do with September 11th. Who may dwell in your sanctuary? Each of us, but only through your grace. Help us to speak the truth from our hearts dear Lord.

arms

Monday August 31st, James 1: 17 Whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God above, who created all heaven's lights. Unlike them, he never changes or casts shifting shadows. 18 In his goodness he chose to make us his own children by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his choice possession. In the midst of economic collapse and continued wars, people find hope. It comes not from the things you can buy but rather the things you cannot buy. Hope is a gift of God. Hope rebuilds houses, lives and dreams. Hope brings people back together and rebuilds relationships. Hope surrounds each one of us with loving arms and then sends us out with our arms, the arms of God, to bring hope to others. It is that hope which is good and perfect. As God’s children, created in God’s image, our highest calling is to bring the hope of Christ with us as we reach out, serve, and incite miracles.

Danger Will, Danger

Tuesday September 1st, James 1: 19 My dear brothers and sisters, be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. 20 Your anger can never make things right in God's sight. I get angry, sometimes very angry. Jesus got angry, sometimes very angry. Anger is not always a bad thing and sometimes anger, holy anger, is what motivates us finally to work for justice in this world. Anger is sometimes closer to the will of God than that perpetually fake smile often seen on religious TV. But there is a reason the word anger is part of the word danger, anger can easily slip over edge. Righteous anger is only one small step from self-righteous anger. The danger comes when it starts to feel good and a little smug about that anger instead of being bothered by it. “Of the Seven Deadly Sins, anger is possible the most fun. To like your wounds, to smack your lips over grievances long past, to roll over your tongue the prospect of bitter confrontations to come, to savor to the last toothsome morsel both the pain your are given and the pain you are giving back – in many ways it is a feast fit for a king. The chief drawback is that what you are wolfing down is yourself. The skeleton at the feast is you.” Wishful Thinking by Frederick Buechner

tax caps and loopholes and the mayor’s veto

Wednesday September 2nd, James 1: 26 If you claim to be religious but don't control your tongue, you are just fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. 27 Pure and lasting religion in the sight of God our Father means that we must care for orphans and widows in their troubles, and refuse to let the world corrupt us. When you hear the phrase “orphans and widows” keep in mind that in Jesus day, they were the marginalized. Today the marginalized go by different names. The mayor’s veto of the equal rights amendment that would add sexual orientation to the existing equal rights statute is an example of an official declaration of marginalized. You often hear the phrase the God helps those who help themselves. It sounds good, pithy, and biblical, the only trouble is that it is not in the Bible as a phrase or as an idea. It is the antithesis Jesus’ teaching to care for the least, lost and lonely, and to welcome the sojourner among us. The call of the Bible is to help those who cannot help themselves. A living wage, public option in a health care bill, child care, and legalized same sex marriage are things that come to mind, Wal-Mart mentality, tax caps and loopholes and the mayor’s veto do not. In the end, a nation will be judged not by how many millionaires it has, but how it treats the least, lost and lonely. How are we doing on that and who are the ones fighting against it?

lip service

Thursday September 3rd, Mark 7: 1 The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and 2 saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were "unclean," that is, unwashed. 5 So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, "Why don't your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with 'unclean' hands?" 6 He replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: " 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. It’s called lip service. Putting on a good show, but lacking anything of real substance. Sometimes, it is the epitome of evil, and the real reason for the show is just to hide downright deceit. I love a church where people don’t dress up, it seems more real, a bit dirty on the outside and a bit dirty on the inside, like life. Some of our traditions have outlived their usefulness and they need to be jettisoned. Some of our traditions need a new facelift, and some need to be resurrected from the file cabinet and given new life. One thing to remember about churches, a healthy one is always willing to jettison a tradition and take on a new one for the sake of reaching those who are not yet a part of that church, an unhealthy church is always willing to jettison those who are not in the pews for the sake of keeping their traditions. Most of our churches are a combination.

Back to basics

Friday September 4th, Mark 7: 7 They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.' 8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men." Back to basics. When Jesus was asked which was the greatest commandment he stated that we are to love the Lord with all our heart soul and mind and to love our neighbor as ourselves. All of the gospel flows from this. All of the big hot button issues in religion and society have more to do with what some people would like to see as rules and perhaps even the quest for power, than with the commands of God. The equal rights struggle in Anchorage has more to do with the power of Pervo and the political base he provides for the mayor than it does anything found in scripture. If it does not fit under loving God and loving others, it is less than just adiaphora, it is sin.

22

Saturday September 5th, Mark 7: 20 He went on: "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' 21 For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.' " In the original writing there is no numbering. Verse 21 and verse 22 are just one long list. We tend to get caught up on verse 21 and forget all about 22. Perhaps we would be better off putting our focus on verse 22. Wow, how politics as usual would change. Verse 21 tends to give us things in which we can get away with pointing our fingers at someone else. Verse 22 looks and the fingers on our own hand pointing back at us. If I was going to preach on this text, I would take verse 21 out and place it on the end as an addendum. The text was meant to clean up our hearts, not someone else’s heart.

St. Bartholomew, Apostle

John 1:43-51

out of a world of doubt
crashing through
with words still on his lips
of a culture well worn
a people nurtured at the hand of God
and yet
a culture shed at the words of knowing
history set aside
for the sake of all time
(Rabbi)
and all people
called out of a life
of known
to a life of unknown
(You are the Son of God)
that would bring all life
to a newness
promised from before all time
(you are the King of Israel)
for all people

ELCA Assembly Opens Ministry to Partnered Gay and Lesbian Lutherans

MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) - The 2009 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) voted today to open the ministry of the church to gay and lesbian pastors and other professional workers living in committed relationships.

The action came by a vote of 559-451 at the highest legislative body of the 4.6 million member denomination. Earlier the assembly also approved a resolution committing the church to find ways for congregations that choose to do so to "recognize, support and hold publicly accountable life-long, monogamous, same gender relationships," though the resolution did not use the word "marriage."

The actions here change the church's policy, which previously allowed gays and lesbians into the ordained ministry only if they remained celibate.

Throughout the assembly, which opened Aug. 17, the more than 1,000 voting members have debated issues of human sexuality. On Wednesday they adopted a social statement on the subject as a teaching tool and policy guide for the denomination.

The churchwide assembly of the ELCA is meeting here Aug. 17-23 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. About 2,000 people are participating, including 1,045 ELCA voting members. The theme for the biennial assembly is "God's work. Our hands."

Before discussing the thornier issues of same-gender unions in the ordained ministry, the assembly approved, by a vote of 771-230, a resolution committing the church to respect the differences of opinions on the matter and honor the "bound consciences" of those who disagree.

During the hours of discussion, led by ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson, the delegates paused several times each hour for prayer, sometimes as a whole assembly, sometimes in small groups around the tables where the voting members of the assembly sat, debated and cast their votes.

Discussion here proved that matters of sexuality will be contentious throughout the church. A resolution that would have reasserted the church's current policy drew 344 votes, but failed because it was rejected by 670 of the voting members.

Pastor Richard Mahan of the ELCA West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod was among several speakers contending that the proposed changes are contrary to biblical teaching. "I cannot see how the church that I have known for 40 years can condone what God has condemned," Mahan said, "Nowhere does it say in scripture that homosexuality and same sex marriage is acceptable of God."

But others said a greater acceptance of people who are gay and lesbian in the church was consistent with the Bible. Bishop Gary Wollersheim of the ELCA Northern Illinois Synod said, "It's a matter of justice, a matter of hospitality, it's what Jesus would have us do." Wollersheim said he had been strongly influenced by meetings with youth at youth leadership events in his synod, a regional unit of the ELCA.

Some speakers contend that the actions taken here will alienate ELCA members and cause a drop in membership. But Allison Guttu of the ELCA Metropolitan New York Synod said, "I have seen congregations flourish while engaging these issues; I have seen congregations grow recognizing the gifts of gay and lesbian pastors."

During discussion of resolutions on implementation of the proposals, Bishop Kurt Kusserow of the ELCA Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod asked that the church make clear provision in its policies to recognize the conviction of members who believe that this church cannot call or roster people in a publicly accountable, lifelong, monagamous, same-gender relationship. A resolution that the denomination consider a proposal for how it will exercise flexibility within its existing structure and practices to allow Lutherans in same gender relationship to be approved for professional service in the church. That resolution passed by a vote of 667-307.

Homophobia

This is a chapter in the book, "A Passion for the Possible" by William Sloane Coffin, printed in 1993 and 2004

It is a long article, but in light of the discussions going on in Anchorage and at the national ELCA gathering right now, and in light of my sermon on Sunday, Homosexuality and the Bible, an appropriate one. If you like this, please let me know and please purchase a copy of "A passion for the Possible" as well as "the heart is a little to the left" by William Sloane Coffin.

Pastor Dan

Too many Christians use the Bible as a drunk does a lamppost – for support rather than illumination. This includes even the scholarly ones, a conclusion I reach after reviewing much of the writings about scripture and homosexuality. While the research is impressive, the arguments on both sides strike me as either simplistic or too tortuous to be convincing. Why can’t Christians just admit that there is such a thing as biblical deadwood, not to say biblical folly?

To pretend to be shocked at such a suggestion is pure hypocrisy, unless of course you still believe in slavery – “Slaves, obey you earthly masters” (Eph. 6:5); or in the inferior status of wives – “the husband is the head of his wife” (1 Cor. 11:3); and wouldn’t dream of eating barbecued ribs, for to do so would be an abomination, toevah – the same Hebrew word used in Leviticus for homosexual acts.

The one piece of scholarship I did admire was a four-page pamphlet. On the cover side was the question, “what did Jesus say about homosexuality?” the two inside pages were blank, and on the back of the pamphlet was written, “That’s right, nothing!”

It’s time we grew up. It’s time to realize that any belief in biblical inerrancy is itself unbiblical. Read the story of Peter and Cornelius (Act ch. 10) and you will see that scriptural writings do not support the inerrancy of scripture. Besides, Christians believe in the Word made flesh, not the Word made words. Christianity is less a set of beliefs than it is a way of life, and a way of life that actually warns against absolute intellectual certainty: “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are God’s judgments and God’s ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of God” (Rom. 11:33 kjv, alt.)

I think we know far more of God’s heart than we do of the mind of God. It’s God’s heart that Christ on the cross lays bare for the whole world to see. And “God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God and God abides in them” (1 John 4:16) – that passage suggest that revelation is in the relationship. And a relationship with God provides more psychological certitude than intellectual certainty. Faith is not believing without proof, it is trusting without reservation. I think all belief systems that rest on absolute intellectual certainty –be that certainty the doctrine of papal infallibility or the doctrine of the verbal inerrancy of scripture – all such belief systems should go out the stained-glass windows, for they have no proper place in church. They induce Christians to sharpen their minds by narrowing them. They make Christians doctrinaire, dogmatic, mindlessly militant. To such absolute belief systems can be attributed all manner of unchristian horrors such as inquisitions and holy wars, witch burning, morbid guilt, unthinking conformity, self-righteousness, anti-Semitism, misogyny, and homophobia.

Every Christmas I marvel at how the word of the Lord hits the world with the force of a hint. Naturally enough, we want God to be God, but God wants to be a human being, a babe in a manger. We want God to be strong so that we can be weak; but God wants to be weak so that we can be strong. Christ came to earth, not to overpower – he came to empower. He came to provide maximum support but minimum protection, and it is precisely his support that should make Christians stop sheltering themselves between the covers of the Bible as house martins nest under the eaves.

Emily Dickinson wrote: “the unknown is the mind’s greatest need and for it no one thinks to thank God.” Well, I do. I thank God not only for all the wisdom in the sixty-six books of the Bible, but also that “the Lord hath yet more light and truth to break forth from his word.” So I pray that the Lord will save all of us from three things; the cowardice that dares not face new truth, the laziness content with half-truth, and the arrogance that thinks it knows all truth.

Clearly it is not scripture that creates hostility to homosexuality, but rather hostility to homosexuals that prompts some Christians to recite a few sentences from Paul and retain passages from an otherwise discarded Old Testament law code. In abolishing slavery and in ordaining women we’ve gone beyond biblical literalism. It’s time we did the same with gays and lesbians. The problem is not how to reconcile homosexuality with scriptural passages that condemn it, but rather how to reconcile the rejection and punishment of homosexuals with the love of Christ. It can’t be done. So instead of harping on what’s “natural,” let’s talk of what’s “normal,” what operates according to the norm. For Christians the norm is Christ’s love, If people can show the tenderness and constancy in caring that honors Christ’s love, what matters their sexual orientation? Shouldn’t a relationship be judged by its inner worth rather than by its outer appearance? When has a monopoly on durable life-warming love been held by legally wed heterosexuals?

Beware of ministers who offer you a comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought. The worst are the TV “evangelists” (those children of a “looser” God!). Not content with calling homosexuality a sin, they go on to declare AIDS a form of divine retribution on homosexuals. If doctors don’t know the cause of AIDS, you can be sure ministers don’t either. And to suggest that a God of love would root for a virus that kills people, that a God of justice would wage germ warfare on sinners and not go after war makers, polluters, slum landlords, or drug dealers, all of whose sins affect others so much more profoundly, - such a suggestion represents, in an apt phrase from Alcoholics Anonymous, “shinking thinking.”

What AIDS does is raise heavy – duty questions for which many of us are not quite ready. One example: Along with straight children, gay children need to be taught that promiscuity is dangerous to their physical, psychic, and moral health. If, as most of us still think, an example is the best form of teaching, then gay children have the same need as straight children to see loving, stable couples. If gay and lesbian couples show the same deep and abiding love for each others as do straight couples – and demonstrably they do; the evidence is all around – then why shouldn’t the state offer the same civil marriage available to straight couples, with all the benefits that marriage entails, including the all-important-these-days death benefits?

Why shouldn’t the Christian church do the same? Is John Fortunato, an Episcopal psychotherapist, wrong to formulate the issue as he does? “As evidence increasingly emerges that homosexuality is a natural biological variation in the human species, is it not time for the smug heterosexual majority to give up its self-image of monochromatic normality and acknowledge God’s right to a pluralistic creation?”

Much ado is made about ordaining gay men and lesbian women. The fact is, many already are in the clergy and serving altogether as well as straight clergy. Most, of course, are “in the closet.” What’s so sad and ironic is that their congregations’ love for them is based on a deception, and such an unhealthy and needless one.

The United Church in Canada has found a simple solution: it bases ordination on membership. If homosexuality doesn’t exclude you from membership in a church, it can’t exclude you from ordination.

When for ten years I was at Riverside Church, I watched the gay community of New York City, a community drenched in grief, reaching out to AIDS victims. The Gay Men’s Health Crisis instituted hot lines, issued health packages, organized buddy systems so that no one would be alone, developed legal resources to protect their members against eviction and loss of medical insurance and care. And I watched gay members of our church be, one to another, shining examples of pastoral care. As they awaited death, as they all did, for themselves or thier friends, the grace of God shone in their faces.

I think of them whenever the suggestion is made that we build more weapons at the cost of untold billions that could better be invested elsewhere – in the research, for example, necessary to find a cure for AIDS. And I think of them whenever I hear Christians say, “We must be patient; it will take time before the churches and the country accept homosexuality.” Yes, let’s be patient with bigotry at the expense of its victims, those who are suffering the most and least deserved to be abandoned.

Homophobia, the fear and hatred of homosexuals, is bigotry. It is on par with racism and sexism. In some ways it’s worse; I’ve heard teenage gay and lesbian children tell of the pain that comes when the three main institutions of society turn their backs on them. They have in mind their families, their schools, and their churches. That kind of pain deserves to be met not with patience, but with holy impatience.

In a culture as prejudiced as ours is still, it is doubtful that many of us, gay or straight, will completely overcome our homophobia. What did most to help me battle mine, more than the accumulation and analysis of the evidence available, was to spend time with gay people. Familiarity bred only respect, never contempt.

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” (1 John 4:18) It is love that banishes fear and prejudice, that allows us to grow in understanding, freedom, and compassion. It was love that made Jesus draw to himself those whom the world abandoned. We who live in his name can do no less.

Prophets of Deceit "this explains Glenn Beck"

by Scott McLemee

The recent surge of right-wing fantasy into American public discourse should not be surprising. Claims that Obama is a foreigner, that health-care reform means bureaucratic death squads, that “the country we once knew is being destroyed,” as anguished people at town halls have put it – only on the most superficial level are these beliefs the product of ignorance, irrationality, and intractable boneheadedness.

Let’s face reality. An African-American man without so much as an Anglo-Saxon syllable to his name is now occupying an institution called (not on purely descriptive grounds) the White House. What did you think was going to happen? In the 1760s, George Washington complained that the British had a “systematic plan” to render the Americans “as tame and abject as the blacks we rule over with such arbitrary sway.” (An interesting choice of terms, that.) This is a country in which anxiety goes deep, and all the way back. It is not an afterthought.

Mostly, of course, it stays in check. With enough stress on the system, the craziness tends to flare up, like a cold sore. The “viral” political message involved sounds, in part, something like this:

“What’s wrong? I’ll tell you what is wrong. We have robbed man of his liberty. We have imprisoned him behind the iron bars of bureaucratic persecution. We have taunted the American businessman until he is afraid to sign his name to a pay check for fear he is violating some bureaucratic rule that will call for the surrender of a bond, the appearance before a committee, the persecution before some Washington board, or even imprisonment itself.... In the framework of a democracy the great mass of decent people do not realize what is going on when their interests are betrayed. This is a day to return to the high road, to the main road that leads to the preservation of our democracy, and to the traditions of our republic.”

As it happens, this is not a transcript from Fox News, but taken from the opening pages of Leo Lowenthal and Norbert Guterman’s book Prophets of Deceit: A Study of the Techniques of the American Agitator, first published in 1949 by Harper and Brothers. Plus ça change....

The passage just quoted appears in “The Agitator Speaks” – an introductory segment of the book presenting an archetypal harangue by a Depression-era radio ranter or streetcorner demagogue. Father Couglin remains the most notorious of the lot -- perhaps the only one with name recognition today. But scores of them were in business during the worst of the crisis, and enough of them kept plying their trade after the war to worry the American Jewish Committee, which sponsored the study.

full article at: http://www.insidehighered.com/views/mclemee/mclemee255

St. Bartholomew, Apostle

John 1:43-51

out of a world of doubt
crashing through
with words still on his lips
of a culture well worn
a people nurtured at the hand of God
and yet
a culture shed at the words of knowing
history set aside
for the sake of all time
(Rabbi)
and all people
called out of a life
of known
to a life of unknown
(You are the Son of God)
that would bring all life
to a newness
promised from before all time
(you are the King of Israel)
for all people

In America, Crazy Is a Preexisting Condition

Birthers, Town Hall Hecklers and the Return of Right-Wing Rage

By Rick Perlstein
Sunday, August 16, 2009

In Pennsylvania last week, a citizen, burly, crew-cut and trembling with rage, went nose to nose with his baffled senator: "One day God's going to stand before you, and he's going to judge you and the rest of your damned cronies up on the Hill. And then you will get your just deserts." He was accusing Arlen Specter of being too kind to President Obama's proposals to make it easier for people to get health insurance.

In Michigan, meanwhile, the indelible image was of the father who wheeled his handicapped adult son up to Rep. John Dingell and bellowed that "under the Obama health-care plan, which you support, this man would be given no care whatsoever." He pressed his case further on Fox News.

In New Hampshire, outside a building where Obama spoke, cameras trained on the pistol strapped to the leg of libertarian William Kostric. He then explained on CNN why the "tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time by the blood of tyrants and patriots."

It was interesting to hear a BBC reporter on the radio trying to make sense of it all. He quoted a spokesman for the conservative Americans for Tax Reform: "Either this is a genuine grass-roots response, or there's some secret evil conspirator living in a mountain somewhere orchestrating all this that I've never met." The spokesman was arguing, of course, that it was spontaneous, yet he also proudly owned up to how his group has helped the orchestration, through sample letters to the editor and "a little bit of an ability to put one-pagers together."

The BBC also quoted liberal Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin's explanation: "They want to get a little clip on YouTube of an effort to disrupt a town meeting and to send the congressman running for his car. This is an organized effort . . . you can trace it back to the health insurance industry."

So the birthers, the anti-tax tea-partiers, the town hall hecklers -- these are "either" the genuine grass roots or evil conspirators staging scenes for YouTube? The quiver on the lips of the man pushing the wheelchair, the crazed risk of carrying a pistol around a president -- too heartfelt to be an act. The lockstep strangeness of the mad lies on the protesters' signs -- too uniform to be spontaneous. They are both. If you don't understand that any moment of genuine political change always produces both, you can't understand America, where the crazy tree blooms in every moment of liberal ascendancy, and where elites exploit the crazy for their own narrow interests.

full article at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/14/AR2009081401495_pf.html

the last will be first

I think we have see this before....

Income inequality in the United States is at an all-time high, surpassing even levels seen during the Great Depression, according to a recently updated paper by University of California, Berkeley Professor Emmanuel Saez. The paper, which covers data through 2007, points to a staggering, unprecedented disparity in American incomes. On his blog, Nobel prize-winning economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman called the numbers "truly amazing."

Though income inequality has been growing for some time, the paper paints a stark, disturbing portrait of wealth distribution in America. Saez calculates that in 2007 the top .01 percent of American earners took home 6 percent of total U.S. wages, a figure that has nearly doubled since 2000.

As of 2007, the top decile of American earners, Saez writes, pulled in 49.7 percent of total wages, a level that's "higher than any other year since 1917 and even surpasses 1928, the peak of stock market bubble in the 'roaring" 1920s.'"

Beginning in the economic expansion of the early 1990s, Saez argues, the economy began to favor the top tiers American earners, but much of the country missed was left behind. "The top 1 percent incomes captured half of the overall economic growth over the period 1993-2007," Saes writes.

Despite a rising stock market, largely growing employment and a historic housing boom things were not nearly so rosy for the rest of U.S. workers. This trend, according to Saez, only accelerated during the George W. Bush's tenure as President:

"...while the bottom 99 percent of incomes grew at a solid pace of 2.7 percent per year from 1993-2000, these incomes grew only 1.3 percent per year from 2002-2007. As a result, in the economic expansion of 2002-2007, the top 1 percent captured two thirds of income growth."

full article at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/14/income-inequality-is-at-a_n_259516.html

John 6:56-69

12th Sunday after Pentecost

We study the words and signs
--(trapped)
and try to understand
--(trapped)
the Greatness
--that is God
the words come to us
limited
--to a fraction
of the message of Love
by our words
--(trapped)
How can we understand
How can we really know
The expanse
--the expanse of God’s word
when we are trapped by words
and what they mean
only in relation
to what we know
--in this life
trying to understand
--the workings of the spirit
locked in our own intellect
and limited by it
Christ said we are free
Free to see
--to know God
through Christ
through eating Christ’ body
--and drinking Christ’ blood
through knowing Christ
--not from a distance
but right here
now
by what Christ does
to me
--(faith)
from deep within

line drawing

Sunday August 23rd, Ephesians 6: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. It is way too easy for us to fall into the trap of assuming that our struggle is with others with whom we disagree. We make our list of enemies, we draw lines, we decide who is in and who is out, and then we sit back and feel good about it and spew venom from our lips and words. We feel good because we think we are doing this all in the name of God. What we find is that we have just fallen into the trap we were suppose to remain strong against. Once we start drawing lines, we find ourselves on one side with “the powers of this dark world” and Jesus on the other side with those we have excluded. Time to suit up, be strong, and love one another. The Armor is for Amour even if the Amour is not returned.

defensive, not offensive

Monday August 24th, Ephesians 6: Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. First thing of note is that in the midst of all the military language, the armor is all defensive, not offensive. No first strike here, only the power to withstand. The first strike option is the tactic of the afor mentioned powers of darkness, yes I am talking to you who fee you are exercising your rights by disrupting town hall meetings on health care, you are the unpaid cannon fodder of the multi-million salaried insurance CEO’s and are fighting against your own best interests. Isn’t that always the case in first strike tactics? We become the victims in our own in our own venomous attacks? The second thing of note is that we get ready to withstand this onslaught because we hold onto the gospel of peace. Peace is no fun for the powers of darkness, it is also no profit, which bugs them even more. They would much rather we have some enemies to attack, that way everyone loses, except them$$$$$$, and they mistakenly think that is winning.

let's read

Tuesday August 25th, Ephesians 6: Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And we will pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. There is no lack of people trying to tell you what the Bible says on this subject or that, and often it comes in the form of mis-quotes to support a prejudice. “Never do people do evil so cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction. The true miracle is that there is not more downright wickedness in all the religious institutions of the world.” (William Sloane Coffin) The best way to find out what the scripture says is to read it yourself. When someone quotes a Bible verse in support of an issue, especially one that seems rather ideological, call them over, set them down, and say, “Let’s read that verse in context, we will start with the whole chapter and if needs be, expand out from there. You will either prove a point, make a friend or be at the very least, better informed. It also tends to stop people knocking on your door with Bibles and tracks in hand.

closet gods

Wednesday August 26th, Joshua 24: 14 "Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." We all have a closet full of gods we serve. We might not want to admit it, but they are there, in secret, in the dark. Take stock some time on where you spend your money and where you spend your time, and most importantly, where you spend your mental time. Money and time may indicated dedication, but mental time….. that is where you will find your gods. Serving the Lord God, is a conscious effort, conscious in that if you are not serving the Lord God, you are serving your little closet gods. Who will you serve this day, the gods in your closets or the Lord? To not choose is to choose the closet.

three in one

Thursday August 27th, John 6: 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever." We were created in and for relationship. We are related to the God who created us and loves us, related to the earth from which we were formed, and to one another, our brothers and sister in Christ, flesh of our flesh and bone of our bones. We share more in common with one another than most would imagine, but interestingly enough, a google search on DNA and human unity points up more articles on extra terrestrials than on human unity. O how we love to be different, even if we are not. Left to our own devices, we will find how we are different and then it is one small step to devise ways to show we are better than they. In God we find our life and ability to live and love in this world and accept one another as our brothers and sisters. Jesus, as the son of God continues this relationship and calls us into an intimate relationship with himself and this creator God. We are also created in relationship with one another. The creation of the human family is told in the creation of Eve from a part of Adam. We are part one of another, and just as we were created in the image of, and in relation to God, we were created from and in relation to, one another. We are created from the dust of the ground and are created in relationship with this earth from which we were formed, and called to care for and love this creation. This is the threefold creation relationship; Created by God, from the earth, for one another in a loving relationship with all. Our diversity is a fun gift from God, not a reason for hate.

we will be together

Friday August 28th, John 6: 61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, "Does this offend you? 62 What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. John’s Gospel was written to a group that largely consisted of Gnostics who believed in the dualistic nature of humanity, with the pre-existent spirit living within the earthly body. You could call them first century Mormons. For them, the Spirit was good, and the body, or sarks, was evil. Jesus’ talk of eating his flesh and drinking his blood would have been a major offense to them. It most likely turned their stomach. To any Jews listening, this would be a major offense to all of the purity laws they felt were handed down by God. Here John is bringing the dualistic aspect of Spirit and Body together. It is not a matter of escaping the evil of this world in some spiritual journey, but rather, living in and loving this world and those who live in it as brothers and sisters in Christ. That too turns the stomach of some. But in the end, God will prevail; we will be together, brothers and sisters in the image of God. In the end, what will really turn our stomach is how many times in this life we lived the antithesis of that calling.

6:66

Saturday August 29th, John 6: 66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. 67 "You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve. 68 Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." Side note: it is interesting that in John, verse 6:66 is how even the disciples find it difficult to follow Jesus and turn their backs on him. Jesus’ saying was hard for his followers back then to take, just as it is hard for his followers today to take. There are people out there who are hard to love. It would be much easier to only love the loveable and those like us. It is easier to create in and out groups and “axis’ of evil” than it is to love one another. Some in the church talk about those who would choose a different life style as being outside of God’s love, when perhaps it is those who choose to discriminate who place themselves on the outside, turning their backs and no longer following Jesus command to love one another. That is, until we realize that Jesus has the words of eternal life. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and your neighbor as yourself. It’s not easy, it is work. It is also, life.

Help Stop the Veto

Tuesdays evening vote by the Anchorage Assembly is cause for a cautious celebration and is a very brief respite for the LGBT community, and supporters of equal rights in Anchorage, Alaska. AO 2009-64 passed the Anchorage City Assembly, including “sexual orientation” as a protected class, illegal to discriminate against. The vote ended in 7 votes in favor and 4 opposed. This was the culmination of months of public hearings (over 600), tireless grassroots efforts, bitter and well-funded opposition from Jerry Prevo’s Anchorage Baptist Temple, and a city Assembly that conducted themselves brilliantly.

Mayor Dan Sullivan, son of former Anchorage Mayor George Sullivan, has the opportunity to veto this ordinance, just as his father did back in the seventies, when a bill with the same purpose successfully passed the Assembly.

As members of the Anchorage faith community, I call upon you to contact Mayor Sullivan with your input regarding discrimination in Anchorage. Identify yourself as a member of a faith community and mention the name of your church affiliation and ask that Mayor Sullivan Not Veto this important ordinance.

Email Mayor Sullivan.
Call Mayor Sullivan at (907) 343-7170
If that doesn’t work, try (907) 343-7100

Faith Based Health Care info

An excellent faith bases source for discussion of the Health Care debate from Sojourners and PICO.

This two page PDF handout provides an initial resource for congregations to engage in the health care debate in a constructive way, based on faith values.
http://www.sojo.net/action/alerts/Health_Care_Toolkit_2-page.pdf

An eight page dicussion guide
http://www.sojo.net/action/alerts/health_care_toolkit.pdf

The home web site for the above and other information:
http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=action.display&item=HC09-main

11th Sunday after Pentecost

John 6:51-58

You presence we feel
As we gather
At the table you have set
With your life
Where partaking
Is more than just
--the Bread
----and the wine
it is of You
you life
the word of God
that pushes us beyond
our understanding
beyond our comfort
to who You are beyond our life
to what we are
beyond an understanding
that anything could ever be
the same
for to partake of you
brings
--us life

let the simple come

Sunday August 16th, Proverbs 9: Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn out its seven pillars. She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; she has also set her table. She has sent out her maids, and she calls from the highest point of the city. "Let all who are simple come in here!" Wisdom was highly regarded at the time of Solomon and in some cases was considered the calling of what would now be known as the Holy Spirit. Here the calling is for all who are simple to come into the place prepared. All who are simple seems like an odd definition. But think of those who are not regarded as simple, those who weave complex plots to get ahead, to out due the other person, to take advantage, in other words, the movers and the shakers in society, in this context they are the excluded ones. The proof of success in capitalism is getting ahead of, and beating out the other guy, the proof of success in Christianity comes to us in the words of Jesus. In Matthew 5 and Luke 6, Jesus tells us; blessed are the meek, blessed are the poor, blessed are the persecuted, blessed are those who hunger and thrust. Perhaps we should have these words above church doors, as well as congressional doors, let all who are simple come in here, let you and I come in here, let the ordinary and not so ordinary people come in here.

can you see the face of God?

Monday August 17th, Proverbs 9: Wisdom says to those who lack judgment. "Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of understanding. There is an old saying from the world war days, “there are no atheists in fox holes.” It is the simple, those without all the know it all demeanor that are open to learning, just as it is the person in a fox hole, with bullets flying overhead, who finds themselves stripped of all pretense of being in control, who can finally hear God. That is why the born again experience, while in practice in the 21st century west is a bit theologically suspect, is so powerful an experience. It is often the moment we hit bottom, when we find ourselves stripped of all pretenses, that we can finally see God who was there with open arms all along. What they are open to learn is the way of God. It is very hard to teach someone who knows it all, the first step to hearing the word of God is to drop what you think it says. Today we have a religious atmosphere in which the fundamentalists of all the major religions are busy fighting other fundamentalists, and sometimes calling them names like terrorists. Fundamentalists see black and white, for us or against us. It is the simple that see a sea of gray and are willing to ask God to help them navigate the ups and downs of life and know that God is with them through it all who can see the face of God.

whose path?

Tuesday August 18th, Ephesians 5: 15 Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully, worthily, and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise, sensible, intelligent people, 16 Making the very most of the time, because the days are evil. And we could add to that, as have people since the begging of time, that these days are evil also. The advice stands, live purposefully, worthily and accurately. Laura Beth Jones in her book “The Path,” points out that in life we all live a mission statement. The question to pursue is what is Your mission. We either live our mission in life, or we live someone else’s mission in life. The call of a Christian is to find the path that God has for you in your life. Where are you called to do in life? How are you called to serve in this life? Where is that intersection between your passions and the teachings of Christ that will bring to life all the gifts God has give you for service? These gifted people are not the few, they are all people potentially and the real gift is when you discover what your gifts and your calling to use them in the Kingdom, are. Instead of following along dumbly, open your Bible, think, read, and pray, and then do it again, and again and again. There are many churches that distribute voting guides near election time to tell Christians who to vote for, I refuse to let them in the church. What I ask everyone to do instead is to take a block of time and sit down the week before the election, pick one of the Gospels, read it all the way through, pray and then go vote. During this screaming opposition to providing healthcare to all instead of only the wealthy, perhaps it is a good time to also sit down and read and pray before you write your representatives a letter. Instead of listening to the AM hate mongers, try listening to the Gospel love mongers, chief among them being Jesus. Make the very most of your time by making it your time and your agenda and your calling in conjunction with God’s calling. When you are on the path you will know it, it comes with a feeling of peace.

Rhubarb crisp

Wednesday August 19th, Ephesians 5: 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but ever be filled and stimulated with the Holy Spirit. Ever since the garden experience we have been trying to fill that emptiness inside with something we ingest. Whether that be the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, rotgut whiskey, super sized fast food or finely aged Pinot, we try to get back to that connected garden feeling. The only ingesting that works is ingesting the word of God. Remember the food pyramid, starting with sweets and fats with one serving and working its way down to 6 or more servings of grains? The bottom or base of the pyramid is often missing, the one that says that a healthy diet, one that will fill you up and take away those hunger pains, is to add 8 or more helpings of prayer and scripture reading every day. If you want to supersize anything, you can super size that without negative consequences and the hangover of either the head or the gut kind. Frequently however we find ourselves raiding the frige for a case spiritual malnutrition, and it doesn’t work on so many levels. Keep in mind however that I am eating Rhubarb crisp and ice cream as I am typing this which I could easily rationalize as a gift from God.

the flip side

Thursday August 20th, Ephesians 5: 20 At all times and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father. One of the true joys in life is to live in a state of blessedness. To be able to look around and truly see that all that you have and all that surrounds you is a gift from God and as a blessing in your life. In that state you can even seeing a blessing in some of the things that do not seem so good, the hard times, the struggles and yes even the pain. Not that everything is a blessing from God, but sometimes, just the ability to make it through today in spite of all the rough terrain is the blessing. Call upon the Lord in everything in your life, and even if your life does not change around you, your perception of it will. After a while the woe is me gets really tiring, even if it is my woe is me. So instead of living a woe is me life, trying living a blessed is me life, in many cases it is simply the flip side of what we have been focused on all along, the side with beauty in it.

intimate presence

Friday August 21st, John 6: 53 But Jesus didn't give an inch. "Only insofar as you eat and drink flesh and blood, the flesh and blood of the Son of Man, do you have life within you. These words would have been very offensive to his hearers. The idea of eating flesh and being in contact with blood was an abomination and against all the holiness and cleanliness laws of the Hebrew people. All the safety nets we surround our life with, our rules, our customs, even many of our belief systems, they can be roadblocks that keep us from Christ. Making Christ the very essence of our being however, that is where life comes from. Being a Christian is less about doing, or a way of doing than it is about a way of being. It is about Christ being the very center of our life, our all in all. What rituals, beliefs, rules, customs get in the way of having Christ the center of life? If it does not fit into loving God and loving others, it is just a distraction. It is in the eating and the drinking of Christ’s body and blood that we intimately live out the presence of Christ within us, within ever cell, thought, idea, action and breath. It is in being conscious of this intimate presence that we find the life around us changed closer and closer to God’s will each and every day.

live in the kingdom

Saturday August 22nd, John 6: 54 The one who brings a hearty appetite to this eating and drinking has eternal life and will be fit and ready for the Final Day. The disciples were sent out to announce the Kingdom is near. Knowing that deep down in every aspect of your life is the realization of that reality. It is not about getting ready for Christ, it is about living, being ready for and living in the Kingdom always. Rather than making sure everyone else is doing things right according to our standards, we need to focus on whether we are living as a child of God and treating others as the children of God. Rather than making sure everyone else is living a moral life by our standards, we need to focus on whether we are living a moral life by God’s standards. God’s standards are simple, love God with all your being, and love others as brothers and sisters in Christ, whether you like them or not. That rather excludes war doesn’t it? That rather includes healthcare for all doesn’t it?

Mary, Mother of our Lord

Luke 1:46-55

Sing of the Joy that has come
Sing in the hearts of all the people
that now is the time
and the place
for the greatness of the Lord
to come to the people
Sing for the mighty of this world
given new life
toppled from their self made towers
of pride and anxiety
Sing for the powerful of this world
who have been given new life
brought from their mighty thrones of power
with eyes opened toward Christ
seen face to face
in the eyes of poor and hungry
Sing for the humble
in the new hope that life brings
in a world that offered no hope
and Sing for the hungry
who hunger no more
but who are filled with life
and hope
at the one carried in the womb
of Mary
to a world never the same again
filled with Song

Prayer of the Day

Almighty God, in choosing the virgin Mary to be the mother of your Son, you made known your gracious regard for the poor, the lowly, and the despised. Grant us grace to receive your word in humility, and so to be made one with your Son, Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen!!!

choices

Just submitted letter to the editor for the Anchorage Daily News.

The Bible condemns homosexual acts, as well as wearing two different kinds of cloth, such as elastic in your underwear, and eating of certain foods, like Alaskan king crab and halibut. We Choose to discriminate against those who may love in a manner that is slightly different from ourselves. The irony is that while in a free country we can choose to discriminate and hate, many are not free to love and marry or even enjoy some of the basic rights that come with such freedoms. As a people we can choose to discriminate against those for whom who to love was no more of a choice than it was for you and I, but make no mistake, it is discrimination. If indeed the Christian Taliban wishes to quote the Bible to make strong their case in favor of discrimination, then let them follow the example of Jesus and say nothing on the subject. As for non-Christians, don’t judge us all for the antics of a few.

Grace Notes Radio

Don't forget Grace Notes Radio. Click on the link to the left.

Surprise

Surprise! I came home last night and Jan told me to look on my footstool for a surprise. It was opened to the latest issue of Seeds for the Parish, "the resource paper of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America." Grace Notes is one of the eight Lutheran blogs listed. Seeds for the Parish is sent to all ELCA congregations and church leaders six times each year. Check out the other blogs listed below from this article.

Lutheran blogs (reprinted from Seeds for the Parish, page 5, July-August 2009)

A quick Google search returns more than 51,700 results for “ELCA Lutheran Blogs.” There are bloggers from all walks of Lutheran life, from the 2009 Bishops Academy to a “Sarcastic Lutheran” in Denver. There is no doubt that Lutherans are blogging in unprecedented numbers. Listed below is a sampling of what is going on in the blogosphere.

The Lutheran Zephyr 2.0: “The semi-regular reflections of Chris Duckworth, a 30-something rookie pastor encountering God, faith, and mission. . .all over again.” http://www.lutheranzephyr.com

A Pastor in the Parish: “A Lutheran pastor seeks to reclaim the role of pastor as theologian. Excerpts and reflections meant to generate discussion and devotion are posted.” Blogger Brian Bennett is an ELCA pastor serving the congregation of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Morgantown, West Virginia. http://intheparish.blogspot.com/

One Mission Blog: Reflections on the ELCA’s Ministry of Publishing—Augsburg Fortress—from president & CEO Beth Lewis. http://www.augsburgfortress.org/blog

Music at Bethany: Maintained by the organist at Bethany English Lutheran Church in Cleveland. Focuses on Lutheran hymns, musical heritage, and liturgy. http://musicat-bethany.blogspot.com

Grace Notes: Lectionary poems and daily meditations along with other thoughts and reflections of Pastor Dan Bollerud, from Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church, Anchorage, Alaska. http://www.coslcgrace.blogspot.com

Protestant Blog Ethic: Lutheran singer/songwriter Jonathan Rundman reflects upon the media, show business, family and church life at http://jonathanrundman.blogspot.com.

The Seminarian’s Sojourn: A blog from the Office of Vocation, Admissions & Financial Aid at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, written by LSTC seminarians. http://www.seminarians-sojourn.blogspot.com

Sarcastic Lutheran: The cranky spirituality of a postmodern gal—written by Nadia Boltz Weber, the mission developer for House for All Sinners and Saints in Denver, Colorado. http://www.sarcasticlutheran.typepad.com

poor grandpuppy

I am home puppy sitting the grandpuppy today. Poor Daisy, she had surgery to remove a cancerous growth on her chest and now has to wear this stupid shirt and avoid doing her usual flat out running of laps. The old schnauzer tolerates her better in this somewhat limited state.

Dogs sometime remind me of people. We want the youth in the church, we want their life and enthusiasm, we just wish they were a little more restrained. Of course the problem is that the youth are smart, they can smell it a mile away and they go to that church down the road that welcomes the enthusiasm and teaches them a limited grace decision theology. Perhaps there is a compromise somewhere in the middle?

O by the way, the vets report was good, they got it all.

10th Sunday After Pentecost

John 6:41-51

We ate from the manna
Provided
For all to eat
When the people were in need
And were filled.
We were given the land
And the knowledge
To make our people Great
And were filled.
We were given the word
Sustaining us
Through time of hardship
Forgotten too often
Through times of prosperity
It added a richness
--to our lives
a wholeness
without which
--we would not exist
and we were filled.
We hunger Lord
For the living Bread
That will sustain us
Through hardship and prosperity,
We long to come to You
Drawn by
The love that has been
And the love that lives now
Eternal
And to be full.

corrections and lutherans

Sunday August 9th, 1 Kings 19: 3-5 When Elijah saw how things were, he ran for dear life to Beersheba, far in the south of Judah. He left his young servant there and then went on into the desert another day's journey. He came to a lone broom bush and collapsed in its shade, wanting in the worst way to be done with it all—to just die: "Enough of this, God! Take my life—I'm ready to join my ancestors in the grave!" Exhausted, he fell asleep under the lone broom bush. There are times when I am just worn out. I remember being hassled by a Canadian border guard late one evening as I was leaving Alaska to drive to Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa. After about a half hour of inane questions he asked what work I had done in Alaska. I told him I primarily work in Juvenile corrections. He then asked why I was going to Dubuque, I told him I was going to Wartburg Seminary. He asked what a seminary was, I told him it was an educational and training center to become a Lutheran Pastor. He smirked that going from Juvenile corrections to being a pastor was quite a switch. I couldn’t help myself, I just blurted out laughing that he hadn’t been in many Lutheran congregations or he would know it was not much of a switch at all. Little did I know how fortuities that smart-aleck comment would become. Following the will of God is not all smiles and happiness, and sometimes even the best and strongest just get worn out, or more probably, worn down. It is worth noting however, that like Elijah, even when we think we have hit our limit and run, God does not leave us alone in our pity. God seeks us out, renews our strength and sends us on our way, whether we like it or not.

what are you doing here?

Monday August 10th, 1 Kings 19: 7 The angel of God came back, shook him awake again, and said, "Get up and eat some more—you've got a long journey ahead of you." 8-9 He got up, ate and drank his fill, and set out. Nourished by that meal, he walked forty days and nights, all the way to the mountain of God, to Horeb. When he got there, he crawled into a cave and went to sleep. Then the word of God came to him: "So Elijah, what are you doing here?" First thought is that must have been some meal. Afater being exhausted, God feeds him and he is good for a 40 day walk. Reminds me of Jesus’ baptismal blessing being preparation for his 40 days in the desert, or Israel’s 40 years of wandering. A time of preparing, of getting ready for what lies ahead. So, what are you doing here? God has fed you, nourished you, and blessed you beyond belief, now, what are you doing here? You have been prepared, but for what? What was, or is, the outcome of your time of testing? Or did you just take a side road into personal prosperity? You have been blessed, now in the kingdom of God how are you to be a blessing? What a Joy it must be for God when we sometimes get it and respond in love to the world God has created. Why not try it today?

not enough hell

Tuesday August 11th, Ephesians 4: 25 We are part of the same body. Stop lying and start telling each other the truth. I remember a sermon by a local TV preacher, Jerry Prevo from the Anchorage Baptist Temple, expound on the story of the rich man and Lazarus. His concern was that preachers do not tell the truth and preach on hell. The portrayed the horrors of hell and expounded on how all must be saved in a Bible Believing church, such as his, that teaches and warns about hell or else they will go to hell themselves. He lamented that this was the case with his father, who although he claimed to be a Christian, was not a born again and therefore saved Christian. I feel sorry for Pastor Prevo, and I feel sorry for his dearly departed father. For me the story of the rich man and Lazarus is about the breakdown of the family of God, our failure to see each others as brothers and sisters in Christ and to seek the justice that relationship fosters. The rich man’s sin was that even in hell, he still saw Lazarus only as someone to be used and do his bidding. Isn’t that one of the great human sins, that we are always putting asunder that which God has joined together? I agree with Pastor Prevo that we do need to start telling each other the truth, and the truth is that there is more said in the scriptures about the evils of social and economic separation than almost any other subject except the need for faith. Believe and care, or as Christ put it, love God and love others. We are all part of the same body, the Body of Christ. We are all part of the creation God created and called good. We are not called to be our brother’s keeper, with one on top and one on the bottom, we are called to be our brother’s brother, our sister’s sister, in relationship with one another. It is the very argument that is at the basis of most of our political arguments today. Are we going to recognize one another as brothers and sisters and share with one another not only assets, but more importantly, opportunities? Will we all, from top to bottom, and from bottom to top, act in accordance with what is best for all, rather than what is best for me? There are no golden parachutes in the kingdom of God, nor are there deadbeats gaming the system. Live your life as if you love God and love others, all the rest is window dressing.

the power to give

Wednesday August 12th, Ephesians 4: 26 Don't get so angry that you sin. Don't go to bed angry 27 and don't give the devil a chance. 28 If you are a thief, quit stealing. Be honest and work hard, so you will have something to give to people in need. 29 Stop all your dirty talk. Say the right thing at the right time and help others by what you say. 30 Don't make God's Spirit sad. The Spirit makes you sure that someday you will be free from your sins. 31 Stop being bitter and angry and mad at others. Don't yell at one another or curse each other or ever be rude. 32 Instead, be kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ. Christians too often succumb to the temptation to worry about what others are doing wrong rather than what we could do better. Ephesians used to be one of the main texts used in weddings, and it was often used as a “power over” text, pulling out the “woman be subservient to your husband” part. In reality, Ephesians is about what each of us should be doing, not about how we think others should act. It is a text about the oneness of God’s creation and the unity we share with one another. It is a text about following the law, but doing so in such a way that we see in one another, a child of God to be loved, to be cared for, to give of yourself for. The list given above is simply how we go about treating one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. The power expressed is the power to give of one’s self.

therefore I am

Thursday August 13th, Ephesians 5: 1 Do as God does. After all, you are his dear children. 2 Let love be your guide. Christ loved us and offered his life for us as a sacrifice that pleases God. Descartes has had his mark on society. In a rational, post-enlightenment world “I think therefore I am” rules the day. It is after all all about the “I.” God calls us instead to live by the phrase, Amo, ergo sum, I love, therefore I am. In a post-enlightenment world it is about as counter-cultural as you can get. But it is in loving that we are connected to the love of God. It is in loving that we live out the fullness of the connectedness of all of creation. It is in loving that we experience the fullness of God’s grace as we show that grace to others. Our calling is a calling into relationship, with God, with one another and with the creation from which we were formed. Let love be your aim in life, and live by the motto: Amo, Ergo Sum.

live the love of God

Friday August 14th, John 6: 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. God created the heavens and the earth and called it good. At each stage of creation God looks at what has been created and it is pronounced good. God’s word creates not only the world, but also the goodness that holds it together. It is the same with humanity, we are not loved because we are good, we are called good because we are loved. It is Gods will that that very same goodness of creation be extended to the world today. Christ said to love one another as I have loved you, and when Christ loved, he reached out, he healed and he gave of himself. We live the love of God when we love one another as the brothers and sisters in Christ they really are.

a little bread and on our way

Saturday August 15th, John 6: 47 I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." A little bread and we are on our way, a little bread of life and we are on our way forever. Salvation and goodness come from God. They are given to us in the message and ministry, the death and resurrection of Jesus. We are the ones who receive that goodness. As receivers, we are not in charge of who else might be on the receiving end of things. God so loved the world he gave his only son, and that is good enough for me. The grace that comes from God, if indeed it be grace, extends to all. Our job is not to judge, but to live as brothers and sisters in Christ.