Christmas and Prayer

I have been working on my Christmas prayer for each of our three Christmas services.  I was about halfway through when I decided to see some others...and in my search, I came across a variety of angry articles in newspapers about how hard it is to find a place where Christians are allowed to pray in this country...

My prayer remains half-complete because I am angry and not in the right spirit to write the way I need to.  I'm angry because I am tired of being lied to by these voices complaining that we aren't allowed to pray anywhere.  I'm tired of having the voices of conservative talk show host and editors and fundamentalist pastors lie to our children and the people of our country.  Why are Christians telling our children they aren't allowed to pray?

Am I missing something? If a child bows their head at the beginning of class to dash off a quick prayer, will someone yell at them to stop?  Will an adult come and unfold the hands of kid who prays before he or she starts eating their lunch?  Is a coach going to make the athlete who kneels and prays before a game do extra wind-sprints because that simply isn't allowed?

Hear me now: nobody can stop you from praying anywhere or at anytime.  I'm even going to go out on a limb and say that nobody will ever stop you from praying. 

When are we going to start sending this message to our children?  When are we going to start preaching this message to our people?  When are we going to encourage people to openly practice their faith in simple, personal ways?

So as people line up to say that the shootings in Newtown, Connecticut are the result of prayer being banned in school, I say hogwash.  If our children aren't praying daily as part of their personal faith, we only have ourselves to blame.  If prayer isn't happening in schools, we only have ourselves to blame.

The Lance Armstrong Saga...

Last night's news included a report that Lance Armstrong has decided not to respond to USADA allegations that he used performance enhancing drugs during his cycling career.  As a result, he will be stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and his Olympic gold medal. People's responses have been all over the board, from celebration to anger to feigned apathy...what is my response?

I'm not surprised. Mr. Armstrong fought desperately to have the case dismissed for legal reasons...none of his arguments and lawsuits had no mention of the pursuit of truth but everything to do with jurisdiction and due process...when all were dismissed he had one way to go: no-contest and a statement of innocence.

Let me say that in all probability, Mr. Armstrong participated in dangerous "blood-doping" practices.  The era in which he rode was filled with riders who sought competitive edges, and you either doped or became insignificant.  Trying to find and equitably punish every individual who used PEDs may be impossible and may render the entire era a forgotten asterisk in the history of sport...

So why Armstrong? Why take on the biggest name, who did so much for the sport, the industry, and single-handedly raised crazy money for cancer research?  Why grant immunity or insignificant punishment for people who doped to bring testimony against Armstrong?

I think there is something stinky in Denmark...

Ultimately, I think that Armstrong has become a pawn in a battle between the World Anti-Doping Administration (WADA) and the UCI, which governs international cycle-sports.  USADA, the organization which has brought the allegations, is a part of WADA.  Much of their proof involves evidence that UCI not only knew Armstrong and others were using illegal practices, it often overlooked evidence and actively covered up positive tests. I believe that when the smoke clears, we will see that all along, the real target in these cases has been the UCI.  After all, how can you work against illegal doping practices when the sport governance will not unilaterally and evenly implement the recommended practices?

Which brings us back to Mr. Armstrong.  Nobody likes to see a hero cut-down...yet through the years, evidence and stories of a man who is overly-competitive and narcissistic emerge. Maybe for him, this will allow him to settle down and really put his time and effort into helping the cancer community.  He did manage to fight through and survive cancer; he'll probably survive this.  Maybe through philanthropic activity, a different Lance Armstrong will emerge.  Maybe someday, we will hear the whole story.

Maybe, but until then, all we have is the court of public opinion; and if read the general response of that court, the verdict is one of sadness.

Killing bees

We killed a colony of bees today and it really has me down.  I mean, they were just doing what bees do: establish a colony, collect pollen, make honey...nobody had been stung, but in the name of safety, we had to do something...and according to the bee guy, there was no way of removing them without destroying them.  I could tell that he felt bad about it too.

I feel bad because we have a bee shortage in California...we are losing our honey bee population at an alarming rate, which is bad news for plants and farmers and our over-all eco-system.  We need bees, but they were in a inconvenient place and posed a possible threat to the humans who come in and out of our church...at least those who are allergic to them...but they were just doing what God had created them to do and be.

How often do we destroy or cast-off or kill those things we deem as inconvenient?  How often do we deem something dangerous and overlook its God-created uniqueness and place in the world?  Years ago, something clicked in me about how we humans are not the center of the universe: creation doesn't serve us.  We are a part of the whole, complex system that has ways of balancing and correcting itself when it falls into imbalance...I am tired of the way we move into areas, then eliminate the native, indigenous wildlife as nuisances and threats to safety when all they are trying to do is live where they were born.  I am also afraid, that one day the earth will put itself back into balance and humanity will be reminded who really wears the pants in this world...

visualtheology: Imagining the Lectionary: Going Underground (Easter 2B)

visualtheology: Imagining the Lectionary: Going Underground (Easter 2B)

I love The Jam.  I love Jesus.  I don't like politics...but two out of three ain't bad.  Great article on one of the ways Easter speaks to the world we live in...

the hunger games - reflections

I finished the latest Star Wars novel, Apocolypse, and decided it was time to read something else...I probably shouldn't tell people that I read such pulpy science fiction, but I love the Star Wars universe! Anyway, I decided to see what "The Hunger Games" was all about. The movie is out, its a blockbuster, and I knew nothing about them other than than the main character's name "Catniss."

So I downloaded the trilogy, started reading, and in four days, I was finished...I devoured all three books and let me tell you: "The Hunger Games" is tasty!

It won't be for everyone: the books are violent. The hero isn't perfect. The ending is bittersweet. But herein lies the genius: life can be violent. Heroes are never truly perfect. Most endings are filled with a strange mix of emotions.

I will not review the books in a traditional way so as not to spoil them for anyone else. But I will offer some reflections as to why the books are so poular and why they strike a chord with such a wide audience:
1. The books have a depth that transcends the eighth grade reading level they were written in. As you read them, you will hear echoes of great literature (in particular "The Lottery", "The Most Dangerous Game," and Ralph Ellison's masterpiece "The Invisible Man.") as well as historical parallels (think Roman Empire sending Christians to fight as Gladiators, or the American Colonies fighting for Independence, or even the Cold War Stand-off between the United States and the Soviet Union.) They ask spiritual questions like: Is killing a person different from killing and animal? What effects do long term oppression have upon human beings? Can a system of retributive justice truly bring about peace? Are we aware when we are being fed propoganda?

2. Food plays a huge part of the narrative: both in its absence and in its abundance and richness. I can't help but wonder about how our society is enamoured with cooking shows; calls people "foodies"; and wastes food while people throughout the world are hungry. I love my food as much as the next person, but we do have a strange relatiosnhip with food in our culture.

3. How do we use people? Even in the pursuit of justice and liberty, how often do we lose sight of a person's humanity and use them to further our own hopes and agendas? When people become a product to further a cause or to provide us with entertainment, have we somehow pried their humanity away from them?

I told you they were deep. I told you they aren't for everyone. But if you are looking for a truly provacative read that will challenge you, this is your book. A Great Read!

110 Percent?

I recently overheard a conversation between two men at a sandwich shop: they were arguing over whether or not a person could actually give 110% effort. I found myself smiling at my ham sandwich as they verbally sparred. One man insisted it was possible. The other man said that anyone who gave that much effort would expire because the body would shut down from exhaustion. He said that 90% was about all the effort we could ever expect a human being to give.

So which is it? What do you do you think?

Here are my thoughts:
110% is a euphemism. It was coined to express maximum effort. I grew up with coaches saying over and over that we needed to give 110%. We never questioned if it was possible, we simply knew that we had to give our all...

The best illustration of 110% that I have found comes from the move "Gattica." Two brothers compete against one another: one is a "natural-born" human while the other is genetically modfied to have greater strength and stamina. In their competition, they swim out into the ocean and race around a buoy. Time and time again, the genetically altered brother wins...but one day, the natural born brother wins.

Years later, the loser asks, "how did you beat me all those years ago?"

The natural-born brother looks at him and says, "I didn't save anything for the swim back to shore."

Even when we give our all, I believe we have the capacity for more. We usually hold back, even just a little, for the "just-in-case" and the way home. Its part survival instinct and part wisdom...but the truthfully we never know just how much we have to give until we reach that point that the tank is empty and circumstances do not let us stop.

110% simply becomes that point where you run yourself to where you think you have nothing left to give, only to discover that you do. 110% is that moment where we think we have reached our breaking point, yet we don't break. 110% is that moment when we transcend our own pre-conceived notion of our limits and then push beyond them.

Never forget: you are stronger, more powerful, and more capable than you think.

baptized with fire...

I baptize you with water...

but he will baptize you with fire!

That's what John the Baptist says, knee deep in the Jordan River, crazy-eyed prophet guy.
Quite frankly he scares me.
That baptizer is wacky. He dresses weird. He tells me I have to change.
He calls people terrible names.

I don't know what to do with him. I stand on the banks of the river and stare, frozen in fear that maybe this guy is going to grab me and force me under the water against my will...shake me until I give in and part of me dies there...I'm afraid I will look like him...crazy.

Never mind the fact that for more than fourteen years I have worn that title "pastor" and suited up Sunday after Sunday in my robes, ambled into my pulpit and delivered sermon after sermon about Jesus, God, and our duty as Christians...I'm still afraid of John the Baptist.

I can only speak for myself and my ministry; but I wonder if maybe this fear of John and his proclamations holds us back. John's baptism was never meant to be an end all. It was never meant to impose a status of never ceasing righteousness and eternal life. It was intended to be the way through which we were prepared for that coming fire of the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ...my fear of the Baptizer holds me back from truly being gripped by that fire and dissipates the way and message of Jesus into a tepid intellectual exercise that makes me look good.

Is that our problem?

I can only think of John Wesley's advice to his preachers so long ago: "Catch fire with enthusiasm and people will come for miles to watch you burn."

Its time to be all in, to let ourselves be prepared to recieve the fire of the Holy Spirit.
Its time to be all in...
its time to burn.