For the past week I have been on my back with an ugly flu bug and not able to do much writing (I know, I know, stop your whining life could be worse!) Today, as the old song says, "I can see clearly now..." Well, a little more clearly to be sure as this damned thing is finally giving up the ghost. Made me think of Johnny Nash from back in 1973 (dig his clothes!)
In addition to practicing what I often preach about self-care, however, this little break from work has kept me from preparing for Sunday's message. Over the years sermon writing and study has become the heart of my week: it is both a spiritual discipline for me personally - as it grounds me in prayer, scripture, tradition and challenge - and a way for me to be prayerful and strategic about the people I serve in this small congregation. To say that my inability to get on with it this week has left me a little unfocused would be an understatement.
My theme for Sunday is compassion - this is part 3 of a 4 part series on our new mission and vision statement - and curiously these words from Marcus Borg keep coming to mind:
Some people find the experience and practice of compassion as a spiritual discipline to be a more direct route to the transformation of the heart than prayer. It is not that prayer does not or should not play a role in their lives, but their way to the opening of the heart lies through deeds of compassion. "Just do it" summarizes this path of transformation.
I have also identified 4 key portions of scripture that seem to be calling to us as we wrestle with how to go deeper into the commitments of compassion:
+ Psalm 51: a cry for God's compassion and inner healing so that we might advance the cause
+ Jeremiah 31: a call to a new covenant written on our heart and filled with compassion for the world
+ Matthew 9: where Jesus invokes Hosea's admonition to learn that God desires compassion not religion and rule-keeping
+ And Luke 10: the story of the Good Samaritan - with MLK's insights from his very last sermon preached the night before his assassination
Well, that's what is clear to me right now: I am grateful for the chance to lay low and get better. I am grateful, too, for so many of your kind prayers and encouragement. And now, for those in the USA, on to MLK Day and the Inauguration!
Blessed is the Compassionate One who gives us compassion as a way of touching and being touched by the world around us.
About four years ago I came down with pneumonia. It was awful. Apparently after spending time in the New Mexican mountains, I was exposed and totally run down. But for about three weeks kept avoiding what everyone else understood: something was wrong and I was hurting. So, my dear friend and colleague in ministry, Debby, forced me to the doctor's and within 10 minutes he confirmed that I had pneumonia and had to be out of the loop for 3 weeks and then only part-time for another month.
Part of me hated this hurting and waiting and down time: after all, I'm a man of the Baby Boomer generation - not some slacker - and I had things to do, god damn it! It isn't any wonder that one of my favorite passages from Scripture is Peterson's reworking of Romans 12:
So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. Ever since my calling into ministry at 16 - in the aftermath of Dr. King's assassination in 1968 - I have been wrestling with doing precisely this: presenting my body as a living sacrifice to use the old words. And now in my illness, I couldn't do it. I couldn't finish writing my doctoral dissertation, I couldn't preach or teach, I couldn't visit - man I could barely pray - because I was always falling asleep. (NOTE: it was only during this enforced sabbatical of sickness that the words of an old monk started to make sense; when asked, "Is it wrong that I fall asleep almost every time I pray?" the old one said, "oh my dear no - you are getting God's reply in the most clear way - because apparently you need to sleep.")
So for almost two months I rested - and slept - and prayed a little. I watched tons of foreign movies - slept through most of them - and became a fan of the TV program Homicide: Life on the Street all over again. And, I got used to living in my own skin again. Apparently there was really something to this away and quiet time; thankfully I was able to listen a little more carefully. For during that waiting two more scriptures became part of my heart, too:
+ Matthew 11:Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."
+ John 21:Peter was upset that he asked for the third time, "Do you love me?" so he answered, "Master, you know everything there is to know. You've got to know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep. I'm telling you the very truth now: When you were young you dressed yourself and went wherever you wished, but when you get old you'll have to stretch out your hands while someone else dresses you and takes you where you don't want to go." He said this to hint at the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. And then he commanded, "Follow me."
A Zen master helping me with spiritual guidance once said, "Don't expect to make BIG changes in your life, ok, man? Inner change is incremental. Slow. Be gentle with yourself - and others - because you don't want to make things worse by your striving, ok?" So, I am relearning this right now - this week - once again when there are a TON of things that need to be done and addressed and I want to be a part of them all. But, after waking up and aching like I had been hit by a truck and having a low grade fever, it is quiet waiting time, yes?
T.S. Eliot put it like this in Four Quartets:
I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hope For hope would be hope for the wrong things; wait withoutlove For love would love of the wrong thing; there is yetfaith But the faith and the love and the hope are all in the waiting. Wait without thought, for you are not yet ready for thought: So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing. "What we strive for," said Jean Hardy, "in the effort to resolve the tension between our sense of inferiority and our grandiosity is not modesty, but humility - that is, spiritual dignity." I love that: staying closer to the ground - humility - is what spiritual dignity is all about. And it often takes a time of hurting and waiting for me to recall this timeless truth. Like St. Alanis Morissette said so perfectly: "thank you dissillusionment... thank you silence..."
Back in the middle 60s - in what seems 1000 light years from home - there was a group of recovering Beats who formed a group called The Fugs. Ed Sanders and Tuli Kupferberg were the founding members with periodic support from the Holy Modal Rounders and others. They had a song, "I Feel Like Homemade S***" that is the best description of how I feel today with a flu bug that WILL NOT QUIT! They were a fascinatingly unmusical, highly poetic pre-punk conceptual gathering of anti-war, anti-establishment types who were mostly funny in a totally irreverent way that doesn't seem to happen much anymore. (For those who are HIGHLY motivated, check out: http://www.thefugs.com/)
Now I wasn't planning a trip down memory lane - I was actually going to share a little about the spiritual blessings of coming down with the flu and rest and prayer and all that - but recalling the Fugs takes me to my very first concertEVER: Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. My dearest friend at the time, Ross, who taught me to play guitar before and after our confirmation class in 9th grade,LOVED the Mothers of Invention.
In fact, another friend, Hal, who later became the lead guitarist in our band (Creepin' Jesus) turned me on to the Mothers in 8th grade (the doors and tolkien, too. Interestingly, I just reconnected with Hal on facebook!) But it took Ross to help me go crazy over Zappa and during the summer of love ~1967~ we went to see them over and over again.
Now for those who don't know, the Mothers were outrageous, irreverent brilliant jazz/rock musicians who were advocates for total freedom beyond the confines of left or right. I think I loved them because they were so freakin' smart AND funny. I have always appreciated good humor - in fact I have come to think of it as a spiritual discipline - if you can't laugh at yourself, well you are in real trouble. Small wonder that one of the first rock songs I ever played in church was Zappa's "Trouble Comin' Every Day" about the Watts riots in 1965.
I loved the Airplane, I was on on fire for Hendrix and Cream, I learned to finger pick like Mississippi John Hurt but it was Zappa and the Mothers that ALWAYS fed my soul.
Now I have NO idea how any of that relates to being down with a flu bug and resting... but that's what I am going to have to do for the next two days: lay low and get healthy. Our band is going to join in the MLK day of service on the 19th so I need to be in shape. After worship on Sunday I came home and was totally knocked down by a flu bug and it hasn't let up one bit. So, I am going to practice a little self care and rest a lot and drink plenty of tea. And as I do, I am going to give thanks for unexpected down time - even head colds - for they keep me balanced and grounded. Time to go to sleep with a little... Hendrix!
It was a cold, snowy day in Pittsfield - and our numbers in worship showed it! Some smaller places out in the hills and valleys cancelled rather than risk driving in 7 more inches of snow. After worship, we held an informational meeting to share insights about new by-laws, mission/vision statement and the 2009 operating budget.
Now ordinarily I think by-law work is deadly boring and who gives a rip anyway - but reworking ours this time was really a lot of fun and very informative, too - because the people are so bright, loving and committed. What our small team created is a streamlined document geared for mission and ministry in the 21st century. It is highly democratic and strives for effectiveness. It is a big step forward...
...but the challenge that has me most troubled has to do with money. When we left Tucson for the Berkshires everyone understood that we had 7 years of resources left before we found ourselves in over our head: seven years for building up the membership, doing the work of renewal and mission and turning the finances around. Seven years is a good biblical number and gives everyone time to get it right.
Well, the global economic collapse has now rendered that old timeline obsolete - cut it in half - which means we can only maintain the status quo for 3 more years before our reserves dry up.
I am by nature a very optimistic man. By faith I understand Christ was raised from the dead by God's grace. I have seen and experienced healing within and beyond the limits of linear thinking. I choose to live by faith and still it is not clear to me - despite membership growth and some important changes in financial giving - that we have enough time to turn this around. It would seem that we were held up without a gun...(cut to Springsteen circa 1984!)
What is called for is bold creativity: is there a way to liberate ourselves from the massive costs of maintaining this beautiful, historic and demanding building? I think part of the work in 2009 will be exploring ALL the creative options. First Church has a mission and ministry in this town -Pittsfield needs a church that is progressive, focused on grace and engaged in acts of justice and fun - but maybe not in this huge old building. Or maybe not in the same old way - could we do a clergy co-op with other congregations so that one person took on 3 charges? This is going to be the hardest challenge I have faced both within and beyond.
Way back in the day, Clarence Jordan retranslated Hebrews 11 as "now faith is the turning of dreams into deeds" and I think he is right. But God do I feel schizo - one day I am certain we're on the right path and the next the finances kick me in the ass - up and down, back and forth, dark and light. I know ministry is an emotional roler coaster but Jesus... this is getting exhausting! So what goes through my head but this prayer...
This year it took us a while to put up our Advent/Christmas decorations given the death of a dear woman colleague and friend. It just didn't feel right - and besides we just didn't have the energy. About the middle of December I finally found a tree and put up the outdoor lights late one evening - they were beautiful - and we kept them bright until Epiphany.
And now the tree is down (and in the back yard), the garlands and decorations boxed and in the basement and the ornaments wrapped and stored away for another year. Looking at the ornaments as I took them off the tree reminded me of my story and so many parts of it:
+ there were ornaments from Los Angeles and San Francisco where the girls were born... + there was one remnant from the Farm Worker days... + there were a few home-made treats from NYC and Saginaw when the girls were small... + a few from trips to West Virginia... + a collection from my first trip to the former Soviet Union plus one from Sweeden, too... + a variety from the Southwest... + a great collection from London, Scotland and Montreal... + a small Christmas tree from El Salvador + some from Dianne's childhood... + and a new New England country doll ornament that evokes Appalachia
Taking these sweet images down was prayerful for me - time to reflect and remember - as well as say a blessing for those who have touched my life. I am grateful for this time today. Here is how Sara prays it...
Ever since I heard Elvis Costello beat the crap out of the song,"What's So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding," I have LOVED it! It is primal. It is anguished. And it says in under 3+ minutes what I preach about for more than 20 - the call to a gentle life of justice and grace. This version - the first - is a heart-sick lament to all that is sacred...
But there are two other versions that continue to grab my attention. I really appreciate what Springsteen, Michael Stripe, Eddie Vedder and others did with it in their challenge to W in 2004. They made it the closing of their "Vote for Change" tour - a call to action, if you will - that brought the 80s punk energy to a 21st century challenge. And this totally modern groove gets the heart of the song right, too.
My current favorite version, however, is the way the composer, Nick Lowe, is doing it now in a much more mellow and haunting style. It has that Cowboy Junkie thing that I adore...
I guess you can say this is my prayer mantra these days... Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
The TV show, "The Sopranos" always began with a totally hot groove tune by A3. It is always just too kewel for school... and I've included it below for the uninitiated. But this morning I woke up to THIS...
...which beats the Sopranos hands down, and that's just the facts, Jack!(Photo by Dianne.)
Now, as with all things, there is pain with the beauty and I had to dig our way out of the driveway. But as the scripture says, "To everything there is a season" and THIS season is stunning here in our new home. Thanks be to God!
Part Two: it continues to snow big, beautiful snow flakes in a stunning display of what looks to be the most beautiful winter I have ever seen! And one more surprise: affirmations come in the strangest ways, yes? After working hard for the last 8 months - but not really knowing if the connections were happening - I met this afternoon with a dedicated church person doing recruitment for our volunteer ministries next year. She reported that she was able to get LOTS of helpers - people want to be connected - and they want their time to matter. In fact, they were eager to help.
Hmmmm.... that's not to say that this renewal work is going to be easy but, it is to say that it looks like we're on the right track. Same with money and worship participation. We're not out of the woods yet but we are probably headed in the right direction. Made me think of this song by Over the Rhine...
NOTE: Here are my notes and reflections for this Sunday, January 11th 2009 - Part Two in a series re: a proposed mission/vision statement. Join us if you can.
Churches are funny places: a gathering of sinners who sometimes think they are saints – and vice versa; a collection of strangers aching to be community; people of different histories exploring the common denominator of God’s love for the world in Jesus Christ; and adults and children who have been invited into a new way of living that asks us to stand in bold contrast to consumerism, violence, utilitarian ethics or bottom-line thinking.
Like Jesus himself in this morning’s text, the Church has been called by God to humbly kneel in the waters of ordinary life, receive the assurance of God’s living presence within and among us and then head out to be the evidence of God’s healing and life-giving love. The gospel puts it like this: Jesus came from Nazareth to Galilee to be baptized in the Jordan River by John. And the very moment he came out of the water, he saw the sky split open and God's Spirit, looking like a dove, come down on him… saying: "You are my Beloved, chosen and marked by my love, pride of my life." And immediately afterwards, this same Spirit sent him out into the wilderness. (Mark 1: 9-12)
Today, in my second reflection on the mission/vision statement our Church Council would like you to adopt at our up-coming annual meeting, I’m going to look at why Council insists upon using the word justice as an essential building block of our mission. You may recall that the proposed statement reads: In community with God and each other we gather to reflect on our Christian faith, to do justice and to act with compassion. What I want to underscore is why it is crucial for us to be a community of God’s love doing justice in the real world.
+ So, first let me remind you of a theological truth that is often left out of the conversation when it comes to justice.
+ And second let’s look at four biblical texts that inform a commitment to justice from within the insights of our tradition.
One of the great interpreter’s of God’s call to justice and peace in the 20th century was the late William Sloan Coffin, once chaplain to Yale University and later Senior Minister of the Riverside Church in NYC. And Bill liked to remind us all that:
There are those who prefer certainty to truth, those in the church who put the purity of dogma ahead of the integrity of love. And what a distortion of the gospel this is to have – and listen carefully – limited sympathies and unlimited certainties, when the very reverse – to have limited certainties and unlimited sympathies – is not only more loving and tolerant but far more Christ-like… No wonder the biggest stumbling block for most sensitive nonbelievers is not Christ but Christians, not God but suffering and the fact that the church in its hour of prosperity has worked so little for its alleviation.
Oh St. William – where are you when we need you most? Makes me think of St. Paul Simon singing, “Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio our nation turns its lonely eyes to you…” What both saints are getting at is the fundamental connection between grace and justice – and let’s be clear about this because everything else is built upon it.
Once, when I was getting ready to lead a group from the National Council of Churches in Ohio to the former Soviet Union to study and celebrate the Millennium of Christianity in that place, I was walking with a Russian Orthodox priest who asked me, “Why do you American Christians always insist upon a God of justice? Why not grace? After all, who do you want to meet when your time on earth is over: the Lord of justice or the Heart of mercy?”
And for a long, long time I thought this monk got it right because let’s face it, I don’t know about you but when my days are over I KNOW I want to be embraced by the God of mercy and NOT justice! There is simply NO question. But…
My Russian friend’s pastoral insight is a false dichotomy because grace and justice – mercy and fairness – are just two sides of the same coin as our Jewish fore bearers teach us over and over again.
+ Think of Zechariah 7: "This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.”
+ Think of Exodus 3: the Lord said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.”
Or think about my favorite Psalm 85:Mercy and Truth meet in the street, Right Living and Whole Living embrace and kiss! Truth sprouts green from the ground, right Living pours down from the skies! Oh yes! God gives Goodness and Beauty; our land responds with Bounty and Blessing. Right Living strides out before him and clears a path for his passage.
This is the first biblical text we really need to own for it tells us that while grace is an inward and spiritual blessing, there is also an outward and social expression to this very same blessing called justice. Listen to the way the Psalmist shares this time-tested insight:
+Hesed – compassion or mercy – ‘emeth – truth – meet on Main Street – that is, in the middle of our real lives.
+ Tsedeq– right relations or social justice – and shalom – complete safety and social well being – nashaq – embrace and connect with intimacy.
Are you with me? In a poetic and spiritual way we are being told that the will of the Living God is for all creation to know the blessings of grace inwardly and outwardly: in our hearts and in our nation – in our prayers and in our politics – in our private places and on Main Street. Because grace and justice are entwined like lovers – embracing and intimate – alive and passionate.
You see, our way of doing church and religion is not obsessed with questions of life after death. In fact, we’re more interested in finding out whether there can be true life before death. We are not Gnostics who fear and hate what is material and long for only spiritual truth. No, we celebrate the integration of spirit and flesh. We honor compassion, truth, justice and peace embracing us in a cohesive whole – within each person but also within our community and world – for we trust, like Jesus at his baptism, that we are God’s beloved sent into the world.
And that brings me to our second biblical text: Micah 6:8. You might even be able to say this out loud with me. “What does the Lord require? To do justice, to love mercy and to walk in humility with your God” Again there is an integration of grace and justice, mercy and right relations between real people in the real world and between individuals and the Lord. What does the Lord require?
+ To do justice – that is, to actively accomplish mishpat – the Hebrew word for making a fair judgment between aggrieved parties. One of the best teachers in our tradition, Walter Breuggemann, tells us that our Jewish ancestors understood fair judgment in a way we have forgotten. Not only is this fairness designed to bring life into balance, it is also dedicated to discovering what has been taken from another and restoring it.
+ We’re talking about restorative justice here – finding out what has been taken away and returning it – be it land, or dignity or hope or even forgiveness. First we are required – not asked or invited – we are required to be people of restoration.
Second, this justice is to be bathed in hesed – that same word from Psalm 85 – which is better translated compassion than mercy. And compassion has to do with sharing another’s burden, taking away their shame and making the hope of grace visible. It has nothing to do with pity and everything to do with solidarity.
And third, the call is to walk – yalak – which means to travel and accompany the Lord with humility – tsana – close to the earth – not puffed up.
Three qualities and commitments – three calls to action – that teach us about justice: restoring what has been taken away, bathing our acts in compassion and doing so throughout our whole life so that it is a humble journey with God. Do you see how different the Hebrew notion of justice is from what we ordinarily get on “Law and Order?” As much as I like that TV show – or Jack Bauer on “24” – the call is for mercy and healing as the way to bring hope and restoration to our broken world. How did Gandhi put it? “If everyone practiced an eye for an eye justice, the whole world would be blind!”
Let me give you two other important texts to round out our study: Matthew 11. This chapter of Matthew’s gospel ends with my favorite verse in all of scripture – Jesus teaching us about the unforced rhythms of grace – but it begins with an equally satisfying story. Here’s the set up: John the Baptist has performed a ritual cleansing on Jesus in the Jordan River and sent him out to be a sign of God’s coming kingdom.
+ But there’s a problem: Jesus isn’t acting like John thinks the Messiah should act. He isn’t judgmental but hospitable; he doesn’t separate out the clean from the sinners, he has supper with everybody. In fact, he is acting so scandalously that John is wondering whether he baptized the wrong person.
+ So Jesus answers him – gives a very clear testimony based on the poetry of the prophet Isaiah about the Messiah – making it clear that he has been spending his time so that: The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the wretched of the earth learn that God is on their side."Is this what you were expecting,” he asks John and those allied with him? “If, so, then count yourselves most blessed!"
Do you see the restorative work involved in Christ’s actions? Do you see how they are bathed in mishpat and shalom – hesed and humility? The words we heard earlier from the poetic prophet Isaiah are yet another way of saying this same thing:
The Spirit of God, the Master, is on me because God anointed me. God sent me to preach good news to the poor, heal the heartbroken, announce freedom to all the captives, pardon all prisoners. God sent me to announce the year of his grace— a celebration of God's destruction of our enemies— and to comfort all who mourn, to care for the needs of all who mourn in Zion, give them bouquets of roses instead of ashes, messages of joy instead of news of doom, a praising heart instead of a languid spirit.
There is an integration here of message and the messenger – hope and blessing – compassion and justice. And this type of justice is not only restorative, it is attractive. People want to be around those who share this kind of justice. Sometimes justice people of the left or the right get preachy – self-righteous – a total pain in the butt, right? You’ve met them; we see them on the news all the time. At their worst they become terrorists who kill for peace, who destroy as they try to celebrate life, who wound and divide rather than heal and rebuild. They act like John the Baptist and not Jesus – which is why, of course, the old man was perplexed.
So what does this type of justice look like? I’ve given you three examples – two from the Hebrew text and one from the ministry of Jesus – let’s wrap up with St. Paul in Romans 12. Last week I urged you to consider the beginning of Romans 12 and its challenge to think differently about life as the start of our mission and vision. Today let me give you the conclusion as a practical guide for getting our kind of justice right:
If you preach, just preach God's Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don't take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don't get bossy; if you're put in charge, don't manipulate; if you're called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don't let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face. Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.
Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality. Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they're happy; share tears when they're down. Get along with each other; don't be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don't be the great somebody. Don't hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you've got it in you, get along with everybody. Don't insist on getting even; that's not for you to do. "I'll do the judging," says God. "I'll take care of it." Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he's thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don't let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good. These very clear guidelines about justice are embedded in the work your Church Council did in crafting this proposed mission and vision statement. A mission and vision statement, you see, not only speaks of how we understand God calling us into action at this moment in time, it also tells us who we want to be as disciples of Christ. That is, it articulates our hopes and dreams for this church.
I give thanks to the humble servants of this congregation who worked very hard to craft this call to action. I pray that it will help us become our best selves and guide us into a new way of being Christ’s beloved in the world.
Our little band got back together tonight for the first time since Thanksgiving. That was a LONG break but necessary given life, death, Advent and Christmas - and it was a blast to be back together. I love these guys and really enjoy making music with them. I give thanks to God for Dianne and Jenna, Brian and Norm, Liz and Paul - you guys are the BEST!
The first gig that's upcoming for us is on Martin Luther King Day. A group of artists and activists in South County of the Berkshires is pulling together a new way of honoring this holy day: music, arts, dialogue and raising money for the area hunger centers. Part of the juice comes out of the blessings of the Obama campaign. Part of it comes in trying to reclaim MLK day for a new generation.
And part of it is just the mix of artists and activists coming together in this neck of the woods at this wild ass moment in time. Lots of fun. There will be classical pianists, a children's dance ensemble, our folk/rock band and some jazz friends plus a silent auction of art done by prisoners in this area. Too kewel for school! AND...we get to host the whole gig at our church. All I can say is: Hallelujah and Amen!
We worked on three new songs tonight: "Pride (In the Name of Love) by U2, "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen but DEFINED by Jeff Buckley and "All Together Now" by the English dance band The Farm. Lots of fun... lots of depth... and LOTS of groove.
Made me think of the line, "shake your groove thing, shake your groove thing" from back in the days of KC and the Sunshine Band. Music is a blessing in my life - especially making music with dedicated and loving people. This band, "Between the Banks," is a parable of the Jesus life for me: hard working, talented souls sharing the gifts they have in a way that when combined with other gifts makes beautiful and joyful sounds that can inspire and encourage others.
This is so beautiful... John Legend's version of U2's magnum opus...
Stanley Hauerwas has taken the progressive church to task on more than one occasion for emphasizing the "all you need is love" approach. He says that in a modern liberal context a "love ethic"offers no clarity and guidance when it comes to making hard ethical decisions - especially if modern believers confuse Christian justice with the way of the state. What is needed, he argues, is training. Discipleship. Practice with thinking and living in a different way from the status quo. (for a good overview, please see Nathan Clendenin's essay at: http://web.archive.org/web/20030705135542/http://itw.sewanee.edu/philosophy/Capstone/2000/clendenin.html Now more often than I am comfortable with I tend to agree with Hauerwas: the challenge of the church has always been equipping the saints with the tools to think and live like Christ. This training begins with worship - it includes the experience of forgiveness, baptism and eucharist - and then goes on to embrace and document what servanthood and acts of compassion in Christ's spirit look like.And yet...
And yet... without constantly revisiting the love ethic as made wonderfully clear by Paul in I Corinthians 13 our local churches often descend into nests of triviality and habit hiding under the guise of "tradition." Don't get me wrong, like Tevye, I love tradition - but not when it becomes idolatry. "All that love talk by Paul - and his morality catalogues, too," said my wife last night,"are essential to keeping us in the local church on the right track." How quickly we forget...
If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.
Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end. Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled. When I was an infant at my mother's breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant.
When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good. We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us! But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.
Such love keeps me from saying mean or overtly stupid things to another. Such love shows me what my best self looks like. It gives me a path through the wilderness, too. So I am all for discipleship training, but I would have to say that it BEGINS with a love that looks a lot like this...
ategic about the people I serve in this small congregation. To say that my inability to get on with it this week has left me a little unfocused would be an understatement. 
ategic about the people I serve in this small congregation. To say that my inability to get on with it this week has left me a little unfocused would be an understatement. 
ragement. And now, for those in the USA, on to MLK Day and the Inauguration! 
ragement. And now, for those in the USA, on to MLK Day and the Inauguration! 
as a cold, snowy day in Pittsfield - and our numbers in worship showed it!
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