Games of the Throne

A recent TV show had a popular tagline “Winter is coming.” And although in the show “Winter” stood for a lot more than weather, snow and cold were often part of the story. And as we transition from a rather harsh winter of our own (although perhaps not as bad as some a long time ago), we so yearn for the green of Spring or the warmth of Summer. It’s the yearning that drives us.

Yearning is the world of religion, poetry, and metaphor. We struggle to put thoughts into words, our ideas in actions, and our actions towards God’s preferred future for creation. Our hearts, minds, and souls seek God on so many levels of consciousness and experience, and that one—usually brief—moment when all is right in the world.

Throughout my life I’ve saved some quotations that have struck me as profound. All of them, it turns out, revolve around a yearning for God’s presence. Some, like St. Augustine’s “Our hearts are restless Lord until they rest in you,” are pretty self-explanatory. Others, like Samuel Johnson’s “It seems that while searching for the meaning of life you have neglected to live,” take some time to ponder and pray about. But in all there is a yearning.

As I now approach the last third of my life (at least according to insurance statistics) the yearning seems more profound. It’s not that I expect answers, or even to satiate the yearning, but rather how grateful I am to still be here to yearn at all. The smile of my grandson transports me to dimensions of reality I had not known existed. Amazing.

My prayer this summer for us, and all our friends, family, and neighbors who are part of lives, is that the yearning finds a home in God. The yearning finds love in the cross of peace. That our yearnings soar on the wings of eagles to bring us to the final throne, the throne of God.

May your tables be full and your conversations be true.

(a little music to pass the time)

My Privilege

I am constantly reminded of my privilege as a male, cis-gendered, heterosexual white person in the United States of America. Over the last 40 years of my life I have constantly changed my behaviors, my language, my attitudes in order not to take undue advantage of that privilege. I still benefited I am sure, but I took every opportunity I could to be less racist, sexist, elitist, and the like.  (Surprisingly, I have rarely had issues with sexuality and privilege. Must be the result of growing up in the 70s?) Whenever somebody called me out, and they did a lot at first, but over the years I have changed to be who I am today. But it has taken 40 years of people constantly reminding me of my privilege.

If I am any example, if you're just discovering your privileges (whatever they may be), you are in for a long haul. 40 years minimum. And if you don't have that long, well you best get started now. And for folks like my many teachers, acquaintances, friends, and colleagues, and my wonderfully amazing wife,  who prodded me along the way over the years, you too, as the current "wakers" (People who try to keep us awake to the reality of privilege and its devastating effects) your job is not done either.

After 40 years I can say that I do not immediately think in the ways of privilege that I thought in the first 15 years or so of my life, but they come back every now then in flashbacks and memories. I don't say this to brag or to show my street cred, but rather just to reflect honestly on how hard, long, and arduous the process for change is in my case, and I presume many others. Because I do know thing that all the folks who have helped me, reminded me, taught me, guided me, shown me, forgiven me, I know one thing all those folks cannot know: how hard it is to give up the privilege. Ever. In fact, we will never give it up. It has to be taken. Or...

But I am reminded that there is a "still more excellent way," as the Apostle Paul once wrote. There is love. And when it comes to privilege the way to love is to surrender the privilege. And, as far as I know, only guy did that. And they killed him on a cross.

And of those of us of privilege who come from the tradition of Jesus of Nazareth on the cross, all the giving up of privilege in our world, whether money, color, status, anything...all of that is secondary to the forgiveness we have in his life, death, and resurrection. In the end, as I look back on it, although I have never wanted to hurt anyone intentionally, I have generally tried to be considerate and helpful in changing our world for the better for all minorities of any kind, I have never really done it for them. Or, for that matter, because I wanted a "better" world.I have tried to change, and I will keep trying to change because of him. I love because he loved me. I give my privilege because he gave his.

If you have privilege of any kind, I invite you to join me in giving it away. And to those who don't have it, I encourage you to not lose heart. And to remind me if I've forgotten. It is appreciated more than you can imagine. After all, when you call me on my privilege, you are Christ to me. Thank you.

May your tables be full and your conversations be true.

Can I be a Pastor?

I spent a good deal of my time in my early adult years asking myself that question. Other people asked the question along with me, and some asked it even of themselves. I had friends who decided they couldn't be a pastor, and they went on to do amazing, generous and helpful things as positive stewards in God's world. I had other decide they could be a pastor, and they have joined me over the years in this vocation. Can I be a pastor?

To be fair, a great many people wondered how I was ever going to be a pastor. Most assumed I was joking. And my lifestyle, to this day, pushes many of the pre-conceived notions people have of pastors. (I must admit the influx of Gen-Xers and Millennials and their lifestyles into professional ministry have lessened the strangeness of my lifestyle choices. I mean, I once had someone evaluate me and one of their critiques was I wore cowboy boots to an interview, even though they knew I was living in Austin, TX. And you wonder why the church was shrinking...)

Being a pastor, much like being a Christian, boils down to about 3 things: being authentic to who God created you; being faithful, yet creative in whenever God calls you; and seeking to help others. Clearly this list is not exhaustive, and there is more to be a pastor than just these qualities; however, without these qualities everything else that might go into being a pastor doesn't really "steward the mysteries" as Paul says.

Let's start with "seeking to help others." Being a pastor is a practical occupation. That is, you are trying to have practical, realistic, pragmatic impact on the lives of people and communities. William James and all the pragmatic philosophers relish the practicality of pastors. Even a pastor who never steps foot out of his or her office is more practical than many others professions "of the mind." That is because, primarily, you are responsible for the practicality of your thought. It is only as people can access, use, and apply your thoughts that one is being a pastor. Let me show you what I mean...

In 451 CE in a town named Chalcedon, the Church declared that Jesus Christ was of 2 natures in 1 person.(Council of Chalcedon) This definition, known commonly as the "Chalcedonian Definition" is pretty important to most Christians of the world. And most Christians of the world use this definition all the time, and you have too, even if this is the first time you've ever heard of it. The Chalcedonian Definition is central to how we worship Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ of God.

Jesus did some pretty human things over the course of his life here on earth. He did things all humans have, and everything about him was completely human. He was so human that he even died. But he is also God. And can do all the things God can do. He's both because the Bible seems to say he's both.

But this is hard to believe. But we do. Every time your pray to Jesus to deliver you from evil, or sin, or death, or the devil, or anything you are making 3 assumptions:
1) Jesus is worthy to pray to. In other words, he's God
2) Jesus understands what you're asking for. In other words, he's human.
3) It's the same Jesus in assumptions 1 and 2.

Christians make these assumptions every time they pray in Jesus' name. And those three assumptions are the Chalcedonian Definition.

This is where being a pastor comes into play. Knowing the Chalcedonian Defintion is not going to do much for you, but using it to help you guide your prayers might. If you're struggling in a situation what do you need from God? Praying to Jesus will ensure that God hears what you need. And all the emotions, feelings, thoughts, and attitudes that are swirling around in you, how can God possibly understand? Jesus does. And Jesus will ensure that God understands your unique situation.

Pastors focus on the prayers and praying part of our spiritual life. There is a huge and deep doctrinal, and in the case of the Chalcedonian Definition, dogmatic tradition that underlies these spiritual practices. Pastors are professionals in these spiritual practices, and have an inkling, at least, of their deeper theological importance. But it's the praying that matters to pastors most.

So for this week, if you ask can I be a pastor? Ask first, if you want to help.

May your tables be full and your conversations be true.

Mental Illness and the Gospel

Today, June 10, 2018, we had as our reading from the life of Jesus in the story of him saying, "Can Satan cast out Satan?" And everyone, especially his family, worried that he was so "out of character." (Literally: lost his mind.) And I told a story about when I  with our SUV almost ran over Anthony Bourdain in Hollywood a few years ago. Anthony Bourdain succumbed to suicide a couple of days ago.

My sermon came to the reality that there is little we can do about mental illness other than to offer ourselves, literally give ourselves away, so that those in the throes of mental illness' power have time to survive another day. It made many people grateful for the power of Jesus to subdue "the devil" (which I use as a metaphor for the negative energy the mental illness brings upon people.) But it also led a few of us into a sense of hopelessness, especially those who want to help those suffering from mental illness. There's not a lot you can do when "Satan" has someone in their power. And what you can do, stay by them, walk with them, love them seems so inadequate.

Mental illness is the one place these days where the gospel is our only salvation. All the people God has sent to bring medicine and knowledge, compassion and care to those suffering from mental illness cannot "subdue" it. They can mollify its effects, re-direct its energy, and even mask some of its pain, but the illness always lurks in the background, and those suffering are never sure when it will strike again. Only something completely from the outside, only something that doesn't play by the rules, only someone who is willing to die so others may live can defeat-- subdue mental illness. And in Christianity that someone is Jesus the Christ of God.

As the Son of God, Jesus does not play by the rules of Satan. He is completely outside of the person suffering; he can die, so someone else can live. But as the Son of Humanity he is completely at ease knowing the destructive power of Satan and negative energy. But he does not succumb, but not because he is God, but because he becomes so human. He lets Satan have free reign over his failures, his regrets, and his blasphemies. He clings to the Holy Spirit, and lets Satan have all the rest of him. And in doing so--he subdues Satan.And his promise is such that he does so for you as well.

Satan thinks he has won because he got Jesus dead. But Jesus knows that is not a win when you are dealing with a God of eternal love. And Jesus gives everything to Satan because he trusts God will give everything to him. And in the end, Jesus got it right, and he conquered because he was weaker rather than stronger.

Mental illness makes bold the Gospel because it is so rife with images of weakness and strength. And always remember when it comes to Jesus and the Gospel weakness is the point, not the problem.

May your tables be full and your conversation be true.

Helping Your Neighbor is a good thing...

...it's just not exclusively a Christian thing. You might say that God created us (or, mechanistically, we're made that way) to help each other. You don't need to believe in God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit in order to help someone out. That much is pretty clear, I believe.

So, if you're a Christian, why do you help other people? Is it only because you're made like the rest of us? Or, does your faith in God through Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit make a difference in why you help people? You can see where I am going with this. If you're helping people, and your faith doesn't make a difference in that helping, why do you practice a faith? If you have a faith, but aren't helping people, how does your faith actually make you LESS human? That is, all humans seem to want to help, but your faith encourages you not to help? So, you're actually denying that portion of your createdness? That seems weird.

So, for this let us assume that we help people, or want to help people, and that we want our faith to make a difference in our "helping." Since everyone helps faith cannot serve as your reason TO help. In other words, it does nothing for your faith to say, "I help because I am a Christian." Clearly, if others without faith are helping, faith cannot be a motivator for helping.

You might say that "faith" in whatever or whomever is required to help. But if it is just faith or "believing in something a lot," then again, your specific Christian faith is irrelevant to your helping. You'd just need some kind of faith in that scenario, and it wouldn't have to be Christian. This, by the way, is the most popular understanding of faith these days. Faith might have a reason to exist, but whatever particularities your faith carries is a matter of taste and opinion.

So the way to ask the question this week after Easter is: does the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ of God, make any difference in whether you help people or not? Although most of us would wish to say to "Yes," to that question, it's almost impossible for us to know if it is or not. If people help without believing in those events, how can one who believes in those events say they impact their helping? As the great Schleiermacher pointed out long ago, you really can't.

If your Christian faith cannot determined why you help other, perhaps it can help guide HOW you help others? Probably not though because helping people is giving them what they need, and so how you help is often determined by the other. Of course, Christians have tried this road too, and this is why you see so many "meals for homeless" that include a Bible study or some kind of Christian teaching. A hungry person needs food, and no matter how you decorate that food delivery, you still gave them food, which was the point of helping.

So if your Christian faith has no bearing on WHY you help or HOW you help, perhaps it can influence Who, or When, or Where you help? These are questions your Christian faith can begin to make a difference in helping. Who you help? Well, that might depend on your faith. If like the prophets or Jesus you are going to help those God has a predilection for, the widow, the orphan, and the poor, you could say your faith a direct influence on your helping then. However, no matter who you help the person is a person in need, the kind of person you help is often the second question.So although answering the "who" question gets us closer to having our faith influence our helping, it doesn't get us all the way there. When and Where questions follow in the same way.

No matter where or when you help someone, they have a when and a where that determines your helping more so than your own Christian faith. So, we are left after all this with the rather unsettling understanding that our faith seems to have absolutely NO influence or bearing on our helping people. It seems like it should be a influence, but it really is not. So what is faith good for in terms of helping people, others?

For me, faith encourages me to persevere and to keep going until there is no more helping left to do. In other words, faith doesn't influence me to start helping, it allows me to keep helping. You may have heard Jesus of Nazareth once said, "the poor will always be with you." It seems like such a defeatist thing to say. But what he seems to be getting at is that there will always be a need and opportunity to help. But the question is whether you will have the energy to help all the time? Faith is the energy that influences your helping out when you no longer have the human desire or need to help.

From my experience this is why people tend to get  more "conservative" as they age. We no longer have the energy we once had to keep helping all the time, so we pick and choose our helping, and that's the definition of "conserve." But people of strong faith in a God for whom death and failure are not the worst things, they keep helping no matter how old they get. They way they help might change because of age, but they are still helping. In fact, in my experience, once people retire they can help even more, especially those convinced of the temporariness of suffering under the power of a gracious God.

So faith is not about why you help, or how or when or where or who, but rather faith encourages you to keep helping. To not succumb to the inhumane-ness (not being human) of not helping, but rather to keep helping even when the rest of your body, your mind, and your community tells you you don't have to do that anymore. The death and resurrection is nothing else if it is not a testament to God who wants to keep helping even though death wants to win. The resurrection is God sticking with us so we can continue to stick with others and help.

May your tables be full and your conversations be true.