I LOVE to practice music with gifted musicians...

So tonight is the penultimate practice for our Thanksgiving Eve 2010 gig: a few players were MIA but I didn't expect everyone to make it until next Tuesday night. But what happened tonight was extraordinary:

+ Andy, Dianne and Jon made CS&Y sound like nursery school with sweet, sweet harmonies on "Teach Your Children."

+ Andy, Grahm and the gospel singers made my version of "City of Ruins" sizzle - so soulful in this version.

+ Brian's new song, "Get a Little Closer" is totally Motown in all the right ways - and our singers and instrumentalists cut a Stax/Volt sound that can't be beat: in-freakin-credible!

+ And Grahm turned us on to a sweet new song by Colin Hay as well as a beautiful orignal tune that is heavenly.

Who says white New Englanders can't cook? Make rock and soul music? Signify for god's sake! And one of the totally sweet treats is that this is an intergenerational groove: a couple of this year's guests bring in a whole different aesthetic given their 30-something context. And I have two smokin' little 10 year old junior bluesmen paying their dues in a most righteous way. OMG...

I truly can't wait until NEXT Tuesday when Hal, Linda and Bert get her and add their voices and guitars to the mix. It will be a little bit like the Springsteen Seeger Session meets Little Richard, the Band and T Bone Walker's band for "O Brother Where Art Thou" and the early Eagles. I'm not kidding... you gotta be there!

One of the treasures of my life - and one of my deepest encounters with God's grace - is making music with talented and loving friends. And this is as good as it gets...

These are the days...

Today was one of those days that was like a whirlwind and made me think of this great old tune:

And some days are just full to overflowing:

+ A young woman friend at church delivered her first child last night

+ A man my age - who has been having complications after prostate cancer surgery - did NOT have to have dialysis after all (thanks be to God!)

+ Three different people stopped me to check in while I was visiting the hospital

+ We made a deposit on a new/old car which we'll pick up tomorrow

+ And my musical partner, Andy, purchased airline tickets for next year's peace-making trip to Istanbul

So, I'm going to return thanks for it all - cook my honey a dinner that can't be beat - and try to let all soak in. Fr. Ed Hays once put it like this in a prayer:

Blessed are you, Lord Our God, who in the richness of divine love, blesses us with good things. O Lord, we bless You and are filled with gratitude for the numerous gifts that come to us from You.

Your blessings come in times of joy, in times of success and honor,

And they come as well in times of pain and sorrow, in sickness and defeat.

Your blessings, however, come always a LIFE.

We take pleasure in the fruit of Your creation,in the earthen blessings of fish and bird, tree and flower,

each the harvest of Your divine heart.

We take delight in our eyes, in our ears, arms and legs....

And in winning or losing - in being last as well as first -

we relish in the challenge and adventure of your great gift of life.

So as this day comes to a close, we thank you for all that gifts

that flow lfully, day and night, into our lives.

With full hearts, in the compnay of Jesus, Mary and all your saints,

we bless you for all the good that has come to us.

Amen.

What a challenge...

Our stewardship drive ended today - well, in reality we will still be doing follow up well after the first of the new year - and my chair tells me we are 12% ahead of last year. Given careful investments and prudent use of our endowment, we are likely to NOT serious spend down the endowment for the first time in decades! And with pledges up... hmmmm.

I know from experience that it is important NOT to draw too many conclusions from these things. At the same time, it is clear that our small congregation has turned the corner; where once we were struggling and afraid of failing, now we sense our small part in God's bigger mission and have enthusiasm for being a part of it, too. What's more, not only are the historic members embracing the direction of this renewal, but we have lots more new friends and supporters who are choosing to be a part of the experiment, too. Today, for example, in a worship celebration numbering 100+ I counted more than 14 folks who have cast their lot with our faith community over the past few years: not only are they supporting our ministry with their presence, but they are pledging financial support and active participation, too.

And just to underscore this reality, this afternoon - after our thanksgiving luncheon to thank everyone who made this year's stewardship effort a blessing (including a smokin' little clarinet and guitar player) - a friend of a friend help me set up our Thanksgiving Eve sound system. He isn't part of the fellowship, but he support our work in music, the arts, beauty and social justice. I spent two hours with him getting things in shape for this week's rehearsal. Which was confirmation to me that building deep and compassionate relationships - without a whole lot of energy given to the institutional survival questions - is the way to move forward in these strange and challenging times.

BTW I am really getting excited about this year's Thanksgiving Eve show: not only are the group songs beautiful and powerful, but we have some of the BEST local musicians in the area coming forward to donate their time and talent towards our commitment of raising funds to help Berkshire residents with emergency heating fuel this winter. On Tuesday, Ani DiFranco will be in town so some of our bandmates will be away boogie to her groove. But the rest of us will be pumping up the volume and getting the BIG numbers into shape. Damn, I can't wait!

There is much more to be said - and I don't want to celebrate prematurely - so I will keep you posted as this unfolds, knowing that today feels like the challenge of the past few years is being embraced and supported at a DEEP level.

First jazz gig is an exercise in faith...

Tonight, after a church supper, I am headed out to play my first jazz gig EVER! I've been working at the bass again - practising and taking lessons as well as doing my own study and drills - but tonight is trial by fire time. I should be fine on the oldie pop tunes - and I can cut a decent reggae groove - but when we start doing "Take the A Train" or "Fly Me to the Moon" I know I am out of my depth.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE those songs, but I don't know the genre well enough to feel truly confident. So, this is all about flying by faith and trusting that what I know will be good enough - and that I will learn from my mistakes. Richard Rohr of the Center for Contemplation and Action has been writing about "adult spirituality" of late - learning about the way of the heart during the second half of life - and he is very clear: unless you are open to learning from you mistakes, you'll wind up a cranky, tired old grouch who is afraid of life.

I expect that sometimes tonight I'm going to be totally bewildered. At other times, I'll get the root notes but not a whole lot more. And when I least expect it, too, something wonderful is going to happen. That's the thing about faith: we are not in control. All we can do is watch and wait and respond when the moment is right. I am grateful for the chance to start playing with my jazz buddies so that I can get some good mistakes under my belt... and really start to swing!

PS: so the gig went reasonably well. LOTS of mistakes for me - but not more than some of the other guys, too - which was humbling and encouraging. I still have ENLARGE the charts so I can really read them in the dark. And I have to start listening to some of the jazz standards so I can get a feel for them. And I have to keep practising my scales and turn arounds. But... for a first time gig, I have done LOTS worse! What's more, Andy is a killer at working the crowd and we threw in tons of old rock and roll which made me feel right at home. A very sweet night and I am grateful. We even did "Play That Funky Music White Boy" by request!

Some more thoughts about Advent, music and peace-making...

Today's is Veteran's Day in the US - Remembrance Day elsewhere - and my thoughts keep moving towards peace. Most of the soldiers and sailors and air corp folk I have known have been the most honest, humble and realistic peace-makers I have had the privilege to know: they've put themselves on the line for others and know first hand how horrible war always is for everyone involved. And more than most, they are also committed to avoiding armed conflict - unless it is is the best of horrible alternatives - much more so than many of the ideologues or so-called peace activists I have known.

That said, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me to go deeper into the peace-making through music realm and here are a few thoughts about this Advent. If you get a chance, I would value your insights and/or reactions:

+ Advent One: The Isaiah 2: 1-5 text speaks of God’s mountain as the place of welcome for ALL people; together they will learn the way of peace-making together. The gospel text – Matthew 24: 36-44 – is a call to be alert to those hidden place where God is breaking into our ordinary lives with something of the sacred vision and light. It seems to me that the introduction to the series should both highlight these theological insights AND suggest some ways that music advances the cause. The work of “Playing for a Change” could be a good example here.

+ Advent Two: The Isaiah 11: 1-10 text speaks of the unexpected child who shall come to bring reconciliation to the world and creation while the Matthew 3: 1-12 text tells the story of John the Baptist and his call to change our direction. It seems to me that the Daniel Barenboim story advances both the texts and the theme concerning reconciliation, changing direction and teaching peace-making through music.

+ Advent Three: The Isaiah 35: 1-10 text is filled with images of God’s healing the wounds of the world within the wilderness; the Matthew 11: 2-11 text continues the John the Baptist theme but shows how Jesus is different: he brings compassion rather than judgment. This is the week to share examples from U2, Bob Franke, Pete Seeger, Sarah McLaughlin and others.

+ Advent Four: Isaiah 7: 10-17 speaks of the birth of a child who will advance the cause of the Lord and Matthew 1: 18-25 recasts this prophecy through the story of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. My hope is the Pittsfield Jazz Ambassadors will be with us this day and share a little of their mission along with lots of music.

Add to this mixture the traditional use of the Advent Wreath ceremony and the hymns of the season - filled with longing, waiting and quiet hope - and something very interesting might just be born within and among us...

The music and peace connection for Advent...

Tonight my church council supported the idea of helping the local "Jazz Ambassadors" raise funds to bring the group to Istanbul in the summer of 2011. We will host them during Advent for a "jazz worship encounter." Which set me to thinking about an Advent series grounded in the peace-making realities of sharing music across cultural lines..

+ I heard this morning that Wynton Marsalais is already in Cuba doing peace-making work through the cultural arm of Lincoln Center(www.wyntonmarsalis.org/2010/10/05/wynton-marsalis-chucho-valdes-cuba-havana-jazz-concerts/)

+ There is, of course, the ground breaking work of Daniel Barenboim and his West-Eastern Divan Orchestra that brings together Jews, Muslims and Christians to make beautiful music together beyond the confines of their culture and history. (www.danielbarenboim.com/)

+ And let's not forget either Pete Seeger's life's work or the coexistence ministry of U2.

So what I'm going to work on is a four-part Advent series about how our mysterious, still speaking God - who is so often hidden beyond the obvious - is bringing to birth the seeds of peace through a whole bunch of musical experiments. I think of the powerful music of "Playing for Change" as a paradigm: not only do they advance beauty, peace, truth and goodness throughout the world, but they also live into the healing changes they advocate. (http://playingforchange.com/)

You HAVE to dig this...

So what are some of the songs or ideas that YOU know have promoted and advanced the cause of peace? Classical, jazz, world/rock/folk... I would LOVE to hear from you as I explore this idea for Advent.

A total blast and blessing...

So tonight we're getting down to it with the band practicing for our annual Thanksgiving Eve gig - and it was sweet and smokin! In addition to my regular three bandmates - Dianne, Brian and Sue - we've put together an "Ad Hoc Revelation Gospel Choir" of 6 additional singers: Sue, Jon, Renee, Bonnie, Dick and Carol. Add to this mix my dear friend Andy on banjo and guitar and it makes the music really cook! Over the next two weeks we'll also add Linda and Grahm along with Hal and Bert... and damn - I can't wait!

This year is so much fun: the music is so freakin' soulful and tons o fun, too. It really is a little bit Prairie Home Companion, a healthy dose of country revival/hymn sing along with a whole lotta of Springsteen in the Seeger Session band incarnation. And all for a good cause as we're raising funds for the Emergency Fuel Assistance Fund of our local interfaith group.

And what delights me beyond comprehension is getting together with some of my favorite - and best - local musicians for a chance to just have fun with some of the best American music ever written. I think of it as what might happen if The Band got together with Jesus, the Edwin Hawkins Singers, the Boss and Pete Seeger.

You see, nobody sings together any more - all to our collective loss - so, like a dinosaur, I'm fighting the trend of just playing music on an IPOD (which I love) and working to reclaim group singing to its righteous place in our crazy, weird, wounded and beautiful society. I've even got two of our little 10 year old guitar dudes playing a guitar break on JT's "Steam Roller Blues" - and let me tell you both Zak and Ethan are hot little rockers! When everyone is in the groove there will be 18 people on stage makin sweet, soul music so...

If you are in the area, I really hope you'll stop by and support the song and the cause: you will have a blast.

Jesus is the sign...

NOTE: Here are my worship notes for this coming Sunday, November 14, 2010. This is the conclusion of our stewardship drive and after worship we will share a light luncheon together. I hope that if you are in town, you will stop by and join us starting at 10:30 am.

This morning I want to think out loud with you about how Christ invites us to live in such a way that we are a blessing, not a curse. As he prepared himself for the suffering to come, Jesus told his disciples: Look… there will always be doomsday deceivers: watch out for them. There will also always be those who are going to show up with forged identities claiming, 'I'm the One,' or, 'The end is near.' Don't fall for any of that. When you hear of wars and uprisings, keep your head and don't panic. This is routine history and no sign of the end… What’s more, nation will continue to fight nation and ruler fight ruler, over and over. Huge earthquakes will occur in various places and there will be famines. You'll think at times that the very sky is falling… So never forget this truth: every detail of your body and soul—even the hairs of your head!—is in my care; nothing of you will be lost. Staying with it—that's what is required. Stay with it to the end and you won't be sorry: you will be a blessing, not a curse – made whole and holy by the grace of God. (Luke 21: 5-19, The Message)

Did you hear that? There will always be suffering – there will always be war – and there will always be natural disasters and pain and confusion, too. So what in the world is the prophetic poet, Isaiah, talking about when he tells us in our other reading for this day that:

I, the Lord your God, am creating new heavens and a new earth. All the earlier troubles, chaos, and pain are things of the past, to be forgotten. Look ahead with joy. Anticipate what I'm creating: No more sounds of weeping in the city, no cries of anguish; no more babies dying in the cradle or old people who don't enjoy a full lifetime; One-hundredth birthdays will be considered normal— anything less will seem like a cheat. They'll build houses and move in. They'll plant fields and eat what they grow. No more building a house that some outsider takes over, no more planting fields that some enemy confiscates, for my people will be as long-lived as trees, my chosen ones will have satisfaction in their work.

Has he flipped? Has the suffering gotten the best of him? Is he on drugs or delusional? Or worse, is the prophet lying to us – offering us a false hope based upon the theological equivalent of BS – because he is either too weak or sentimental to face the facts? Religious people do that sometimes, you know? Lie to those they love in order to spare them more pain saying, “It will be alright” – when it really won’t. Or “things will look better in the morning” when, in fact, they will look worse. Or the all-time winner of deceitful spiritual aphorisms: God never gives us more than we can handle. BS – all of it – cruel, manipulative BS: so is that what is driving the poet Isaiah?

I don’t think so – although it is healthy to ask those questions of scripture and tradition from time to time – but I don’t think BS is what is taking place today. Rather, I sense that both Jesus and Isaiah are speaking about the same truth – living as a blessing within the kingdom of God no matter what our circumstances – but they are starting at different places.

• Isaiah begins by acknowledging the pain of his people but then quickly moves on to the assurance of God’s consolation; while Jesus wants his friends to know that no matter what happens – joy or sorrow – God is always within and among them. So, like the modern musical prophet, Peter Gabriel, likes to say: don’t give up!

• Both are speaking of joy and sorrow and both see God’s presence, too. Which is paradoxical, to be sure, and easily misconstrued as opposing insights. But an adult faith holds both truths in tension and sees beyond the obvious, yes?

And that is the first insight I would like you to consider: the invitation to grow up in the spirit so that we leave childish notions behind. This is the call to search for the light within the darkness, the eagle within the egg and the beauty amidst the sorrow so that we can be a blessing rather than a curse. I think of the story of the young Zen student who once asked his teacher, “Master, why is it that BS smells so bad?” only to be told by the wise one, “Well, if you were a fly, it would actually taste like candy.”

• Hmmm…. are you with me here? This is an adult insight – two truths held in tension simultaneously – like our saying that Christ Jesus is both God and man. Or that the Word of God has taken up residence within and among our flesh as God has intended since before the beginning of time.

• Or what about the recognition that sometimes during worship – especially in Advent and Lent – there can be a mutual chorus of celebration and solemnity singing simultaneously to us that is not a contradiction, but a deeper truth – like the way “O come, o come Emmanuel” shifts from a minor to a major key in the same song?

New Testament writers like St. Paul express this adult spiritual insight like this in Ephesians 4:
No prolonged infancies among us, please. We'll not tolerate babes in the woods, small children who are an easy mark for impostors. God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love.

Or more simply in I Corinthians 13: “when I was a child, I thought like a child and spoke and acted like a child, but when I matured I put childish things away… for now we see as through a glass darkly, later we shall see face to face.” The first insight for living as a blessing rather than a curse has to do with growing up in faith and putting childish things away.

Now look, it isn’t easy to put childish or simplistic notions of God away because all too often our spiritual poetry is riddled with either/or thinking. Poet, Stephen Mitchell, is on to something when he writes that “both Judaism and Christianity often ache with a nostalgia for the future.”

A vision of the Golden Age, the days of perpetual summer in a world of straw-eating lions and roses without thorns, when human life will be foolproof and fulfilled in an endlessly prolonged finale of delight… this vision is deep and has inspired political and religious leaders from Isaiah and Martin Luther King, Jr. but it is a kind of benign insanity. And if we take it seriously enough, if we try to live in it twenty-four hours a day, we will spend all our lives working in anticipation and will never enter the Sabbath of the heart… (The Gospel of Jesus, p. 11)

And the Sabbath of the heart is the second insight for today as it promises us rest even within the life’s turmoil – true joy no matter what the sorrow – and a place in the kingdom of God even while we dwell within the wounds of the world. For, you see, when Jesus spoke of the kingdom of God, he was talking about a state of being:

Not prophesying about some easy, danger-free perfection that will appear someday… but a way of living that is at ease within the realities of this world. It is possible, Jesus said, to be as simple and beautiful as the birds of the sky or the lilies of the field who are always living within the eternal NOW… (Mitchell, p. 11)

Think about that – the beauty of a Sabbath of the heart – and what comes to your mind? Do you recall what the Sabbath is all about? It is a time for rest and refreshment that goes back to the very beginning of time according to our tradition. The great Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel is so helpful when it comes to Sabbath when he writes:

When God began creation… the Lord blessed the seventh day and called it holy. There is no reference in the record of creation to any object in space that would be endowed with the quality of holiness. This is a radical departure from accustomed religious thinking. The mythical mind would expect that, after heaven and earth have been established, God would create a holy place – a holy mountain or a holy spring – whereupon a sanctuary is to be established. Yet it seems as if to the Bible it is holiness in time, the Sabbath, which comes first. So when history began, there was only one holiness in the world, holiness in time… In this the meaning of the Sabbath becomes clear: the Sabbath is to celebrate time rather than space. Six days a week we live under the tyranny of things of space; on the Sabbath we try to become attuned to holiness in time. It is a day on which we are called upon to share in what is eternal in time, to turn from the results of creation to the mystery of creation, from the world of creation to the creation of the world.

In other words, the Sabbath shows us how to practice growing up so that we experience in our time the essence of God’s time and learn to trust that the Lord is in control so we don’t have to be. We can live in gratitude not anxiety. We can rest in time – embracing a Sabbath of the heart – where just as Isaiah said: “Before they call I will answer and while they are yet speaking I will hear.”

• Small wonder that throughout time Jesus continues to tell us: come to me, all ye who are tired and heavy-laden and I shall give thee… what? Rest!

• Calamity will happen – suffering will not end – death and fear will remain and yet, at the very same time: “every detail… is in my care; nothing of you will be lost. So stay with it—that's what is required. Stay with it to the end. And you won't be sorry; you'll be saved.”

That is, your life will be integrated into the very purpose of God’s creation: as you grow up – and learn to put away childish things – you will discover how to nourish the Sabbath of the heart. The second insight for living as a blessing rather than a curse is grounded in God’s rest and the Sabbath of our hearts which brings us refreshment and release.

And let’s play with this notion just a bit by exploring just what it is that takes place on that Sabbath that we might want to incorporate into our hearts, ok? Do you know what I’m asking? What are some of the traditional practices of honoring the Sabbath?

• Feasting is a natural, right? Gathering together with loved ones to be nourished by food and friendship is a fundamental Sabbath practice. Small wonder that the word companion is born of two French words meaning bread fellow – or mess mate – from com and panis.

• Resting, of course – claiming refreshment as an essential aspect of wellbeing – is another Sabbath essential. But what about sharing? Banishing worry? Burying complaining, gossip and condemnation for a season? Prayer? Reading? Returning thanks and worship? Do you see where I’m going with this?

If these ingredients are important for a traditional Sabbath, so much more the case for a Sabbath of the heart – God’s gift of rest within the ups and downs of real life – which brings me to the third insight for today: when people ask for a sign of God’s plan all we are to do is point to Jesus. Outside of the Temple, when the people asked him, “When will these things take place and what are the signs?” what did Jesus tell them?

• Not a lot – just watch out for the phonies and trust God. And I think that the reason for that is that he is our sign – his birth, his life, his death and resurrection – all show us what God’s will looks like.

• You know, it is not coincidental that the same word – symeion – which we translate as sign is used here as well as during the birth of the Lord in the manger. In Luke 2: 12, the shepherds are told by the angels of the Lord, “This will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”

And if Jesus is our sign of God’s presence – the way into the Lord’s rest and the Sabbath of our hearts – then we need to practice this Sabbath the way he did, yes? So do you know how to do this? Do you know how to integrate this Sabbath of the heart into your ordinary life in the manner of Jesus?

Let me teach you a simple prayer that the masters have been passing down to one another for thousands of years. You can use it anywhere – at any time – to open your heart to the kingdom of God in every moment.

• Have you heard of breathing prayers? Using your breath to help ground you in God’s peace? There are two parts – breathing in and breathing out – something you already know how to do but now can you grow in grace.

• When you breathe in, say to yourself, “Lord Jesus Christ,” and when you breathe out, “Fill me with peace.” Do you know it? Breathe in – Lord Jesus Christ – and breathe out – fill me with peace. Try that a few times…

The Lord has given us the promise of peace in Jesus Christ – a peace we can access within our hearts and our lives – if we claim the gift and grow into it. And as you grow in grace, my friends, you will become more and more of a blessing rather than a curse – a source of joy and integrity in a broken and wounded world – and that is always the good news for today for those who have ears to hear.

Masters of war...

This evening I watched news clips of former President George W. Bush talking about his decision to both commute the sentence of Scooter Libby and invade Iraq. In both cases not only did he rewrite history to excuse his poor judgment, but he did so in a way that deepens the wounds he has brought to contemporary America and the wider world, too.

+ First, re: Scooter Libby: yes, Mr. Bush challenged Dick Cheney who wanted Libby pardoned; President Bush refused and chose to let the conviction stand. But contrary to what Mr. Bush says this is not the same as honoring the will of the court who found Libby guilty of two counts of perjury, two counts of lying to federal investigators and one count of obstructing justice. The court had intended to make Libby pay for his crimes, but Mr. Bush commuted his convictions to time served claiming this was the compassionate thing to do. And now, in his memoirs - and the marketing campaign that accompanies the big sell - Mr. Bush is trying to have it both ways claiming that he not only honored the will of the court but also acted compassionately. This is simply untrue.

+ Second, re: the invasion of Iraq: Mr. Bush continues to claim that although no weapons of mass destruction were ever found in Iraq, it was still the right thing to invade because it has kept America safe from further terrorists attacks. This is the same twisted subterfuge that drove the Bush administration's prosecution of this cruel and unnecessary war from the start. And the fact that he continues to link the September 11th attacks with Iraq - all the while celebrating that the war is what kept America free from further attacks - is unconscionable for moral vindication is never the result of ideology or propaganda. Jesus puts it like this in the Sermon on the Mount:

Be wary of false preachers who smile a lot, dripping with practiced sincerity. Chances are they are out to rip you off some way or other. Don't be impressed with charisma; look for character. Who preachers are is the main thing, not what they say. A genuine leader will never exploit your emotions or your pocketbook. These diseased trees with their bad apples are going to be chopped down and burned. (Matthew 7: 15-20)

Mr. Bush's cynical manipulation of our fears would be tragic enough if the costs were simply limited to the social chaos he has caused to the United States as we struggle to pay for education, infrastructure and adequate health care for the most vulnerable of our citizens while the war drags on. But the US invasion has killed over 107,000 Iraqi civilians in addition to the 4,427 US military deaths and the nearly 320,000 vets who have sustained brain injuries in Iraq.

What troubles me boils down to this: President Bush continues to try to mask his deceptive and destructive decisions with personal charm and down home sincerity. Look, I know that good people can make bad choices; it happens every day and does not mean the person's soul is corrupt. And I understand that in the heat of the battle truly bad decisions can be made or mistakes can happen. I've been there and done that myself. We all have.

But there comes a time of reckoning - a time when we must face our worst actions with honesty and humility - a time to own the pain we have created in confession so that we can make amends and atone for our actions. And Mr. Bush appears to be choosing the cheap way out of the terror he has cause hoping that a marketing campaign of personal sincerity will hide the horrific consequences of his profoundly twisted decisions. Again, the former president's "favorite philospher" - Jesus of Nazareth - cut to the chase:

Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don't make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won't be applauding. When you do something for someone else, don't call attention to yourself. You've seen them in action, I'm sure—'playactors' I call them— treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that's all they get. When you help someone out, don't think about how it looks. Just do it—quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out.

Onwards to All Saints' Day...

Thirty years ago, while studying in Costa Rica, I had the privilege of hearing Carlos Mejia Godoy sing the songs of Nicaragua's liberation. About half way through the performance the names of the martyrs of the revolution were read out loud - including the recently assassinated Bishop of El Salvador Oscar Romero - and after each "saint's" name, the gathered faithful prayerfully responded: presente! They are present - they are still with us - in memory and spirit. And as a part of the "great cloud of witnesses," they continue to pray for us as we move forward towards justice, hope, compassion and real life.

I have treasured that time - and this song - which recasts the story of Jesus into the reality of pre-revolutionary Nicaragua. Onward to all saints' day...

Thinking about the election...

Like many folk, I have been curious about the meaning of our recent election. While I see neither the eminent collapse of the republic as some suggest, nor the beginning of a wild new era of prosperity as other have postured, there is much that concerns me - especially the fear and frustration that is all around us. Some of that fear has been exploited - this is nothing new in politics - but given our current context of vast unemployment - and the sense that our nation is in a downward spiral - it would be prudent to recall that toying with economic fear for political gain can quickly spin out of control.

Christians do not create policy or politics based upon fear. St. John, mirroring the message of the angels to Mary and the shepherds and the testimony of Jesus to his disciples, says: Fear not! There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love. (I John 4:18 in The Message.) One question that begs asking ourselves as well as our newly elected officials - especially those who sometimes seem to exploit both fear and their own religiosity - is what place fear plays in the new politics and policies? This is one place progressive people of faith might build common ground with evangelicals and Roman Catholics, yes?

Another question that concerns me has to do with authentic bipartisan governance: with the changes in the House of Representative and Senate it is clear that both Republicans and Democrats are going to have to get serious about finding common ground. This, too, is a place where people of faith have something to teach the body politic. St. Paul made it clear that in Christ we are no longer "Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free, male nor female" (and as you have heard me expand, that means we are also neither "gay nor straight, Republican nor Democrat, rich or poor" if we are serious about our faith.) It would appear that Americans are sick of politicians talking about cooperation but never delivering - and this applies to all branches of government and both political parties. As Brother Roger of the Taize movement used to say: the church has been called into being by God to be a parable of hope in the world. Now would be a great time for us to hold our elected officials feet to the fire about discovering genuine common ground.

And third, an issue that no one spoke of during the election but continues to be the elephant in the living room, what about peace making? Nicholas Kristoff in the NY Times has recently written about how everyone in Afghanistan agrees that the cost per US solider does nothing to advance the cause of peace, hope, women's education or the social well being of that society. On the other hand, Greg Mortenson's school building - along with those schools built by the Red Cross - are not only bringing hope and healing to that world, but dollar for dollar get better results than all the money poured into supporting the war. Isn't it time - in light of the budget deficits to say nothing of Christ's mandate - to start holding our elected officials accountable for using tax dollars in ways that advance our values? How did Jesus put it in the Sermon on the Mount: Blessed are the peace makers... you will be blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family. (Matthew 5: 9)

I don't pretend to understand politics - and I know there are no rules in the rough and tumble world of getting elected - and that is fine: I do know, however, that Christ calls me to pay attention to those who are hungry and thirsty and naked and alone because THAT is where I will find him. These three areas seem to me to be places where our public witness could - and should - impact public policy. What do you think?
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(note: Di and I head out tomorrow for a few days away in Keene, NH to take in the beauty of late autumn, get some rest before the holiday celebrations and just enjoy one another's company in love.)