A Prophetic Voice

The Rapture Baloney

2011-05-21T10:03:00.000-07:00

So, all of the righteous people in the world will be "raptured" to heaven at 6 pm on May 21st; & the earth will be destroyed 5 months later on October 21st (1 day before my 62nd birthday, no less). All this according to the wacko founder of Family Radio Worldwide, Harold Camping. Well guess what, folks? According to Scripture, it ain't gonna happen!

In Matthew 24, when asked about his ultimate return, Jesus says very directly, "But about that day & hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven nor the Son, but only the Father." I guess Harold Camping knows better than Jesus; although Camping has already been incorrect once before about Jesus' return (back in 1994).

In addition to the problem of timing, it needs to be noted that the whole idea of The Rapture--the belief that Christ will take the faithful to heaven prior to a period of tribulation on earth--is non-Scriptural. The Rapture is a relatively new notion (literally "dreamed up" by an English lawyer less than 200 years ago); & most Christians don't beleive it.

Nor should they--or we! The idea of a Rapture is based almost exclusively on misinterpretations of 2 verses in the Bible. In 1 Thessalonians 4, Paul tries to comfort believers concerning their loved ones who have died prior to Christ's return. In verse 17 he writes, "Then we who are alive will be caught up in the clouds together with them (the dead) to meet the Lord in the air; & so we will be with the Lord forever."

Jesus is returning to earth & believers will be lifted "up in the clouds...to the Lord." So, where does the Bible say that Jesus suddenly makes a U-turn & pulls all of us up to paradise with him? It doesn't. In fact, it says just the opposite; for the Greek word apantesin means much more than "meet." It is a technical term in Greek that was used for times when people would go out to meet a dignitary to ESCORT HIM INTO THEIR CITY.

Apantesin is used in only 3 other places in the Bible--in each case to connote meeting someone & accompanying them to the place to which they are already bound. Most notably, it is used in Matthew 25 to describe the bridesmaids going out to meet the bridegroom to accompany him to the wedding (a parable of preparedness for Jesus' return).

Which brings us to the 2nd verse used by the Rapture-promoters, Matthew 24:40, "Then 2 will be in the field; 1 will be taken & 1 will be left." The Rapture folks, of course, use this as proof that the righteous will be "taken" & the sinful will be "left" behind. The problem is that this is NOT what Jesus is saying, when you look at the entire passage.

You see, in the verses immediately preceding 40, Jesus has been comparing the day of his return with "the days of Noah" (v. 37). Let's think about what happened during The Flood. Those who were evil were swept away (taken) & the righteous, Noah & his family, were left. Oops! What the Rapture-promoters say is the exact OPPOSITE of what Jesus says.

There will be no Rapture at 6 pm on May 21st because God has never said that there will be a rapture of any kind. Some day--a day which no one, not Harold Camping nor Hal Lindsey nor Pat Robertson nor Tim LeHaye, can determine--Jesus has promised that He will return to establish his perfect kingdom here on earth. May we live each day in the sure hope of that day & not in fear of some manmade, fictitious rapture.

Fear

2010-10-27T13:01:00.000-07:00

In his first Inaugural Address, during some of the darkest days of the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt said, "This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive, and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself..."

Seventy-eight years later, we appear to have a fresh cadre of politicians who would reject FDR's assessment of this "great Nation." Indeed, they scream at us from TV ad after TV ad that we have much to fear--healthcare reform, gambling, gambling opponents, immigrants, taxes, conservatives, liberals, Nancy Pelosi, Rand Paul and the list goes on and on. Fear-mongering, lying and character assassination seem to be the strategies of the day for garnering votes.

All of this, though, depends upon two major factors: (1) A populace that is so ignorant of current affairs and history that it will believe anything that Fox News or CNBC or the Tea Party pays to put on the air. And (2) A nation that doubts its own ability to "endure...revive...and prosper."

I pray that voters will shed the fear, reject the politics of negativity, and vote this coming Tuesday for women and men who are forwarding positive solutions to troubling and complicated issues. Let us not succomb to the politics of fear and despair, but instead live up to Roosevelt's assessment of the United States as a "great Nation."

Voice of the Day- May 14

2008-05-15T08:32:00.000-07:00

Voice of the Day

I don't care if you're dead! Jesus is here, and he wants to resurrect somebody.- Rumi

I think each of us need to have this saying posted all around our lives. We each have those moments when we feel overwhelmed or overworked--dead to life. We need to be reminded that it is at those moments of "death" that Jesus is still with us, wanting so desparately to "resurrect" us--to restore us to life.

Voice for May 13

2008-05-13T13:31:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

Answer me when I call, O God of my right!You gave me room when I was in distress.Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer. How long, you people, shall my honor suffer shame?How long will you love vain words, and seek after lies?But know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for himself;the Lord hears when I call to him. - Psalm 4:1-3

Voice of the Day

If Christ were coming again tomorrow, I would plant a tree today. - Martin Luther

Luther's above comment flies directly into the face of the popular Rapture/Left Behind mentality of many Christians today. But then, Scripture also contradicts teaching about a Rapture, as well. Nowhere does the Bible say that Jesus is returning to earth to take us with Him to heaven. It states that Jesus is coming again TO THE EARTH.

God has not given up on us or this planet that He created. That is why Luther would "plant a tree"-- he knows that Jesus 2nd coming will be a time when the earth will be restored to its original perfection, not destroyed. God has not ceded this planet as Satan's domain for eternity. This is God's creation; & God still loves it.

We all need Luther's hope & confidence in God & in God's word!

Verse & Voice- April 28

2008-04-28T15:04:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping. The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord accepts my prayer. - Psalm 6:8-9

Voice of the Day

It is so important not to let ourselves off the hook or to become apathetic or cynical by telling ourselves that nothing works or makes a difference. Every day, light your small candle.... The inaction and actions of many human beings over a long time contributed to the crises our children face, and it is the action and struggle of many human beings over time that will solve them—with God's help. So every day, light your small candle. - Marian Wright Edelman Guide My Feet

The quote from Marian Wrigth Edelman is a tough one for me sometimes. I see the "inaction & actions" of so many people, including Christians, in our world that are contributing to degradation of our planet, to continuing (& often escalating war & hatred), to the widening gap between the haves & have-nots, & on & on; & I dismay that my small candle cannot make a difference.

And guess what? What Ms. Edelman is really saying is that it can't...without God's help, that is. Conversely, without my little candle there may be no spark for God to fan into the flame of change.

Doubt

2008-02-14T09:47:00.000-08:00

Verse of the Day

When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."- Matthew 28:17-20

Voice of the Day

Language has created the word loneliness to express the pain of being alone, and the word solitude to express the glory of being alone.- Paul Tillich

These verses from Matthew’s Gospel keep emerging in my life. “When they saw Him, they worshiped Him, but some doubted.”

In her book Amazing Grace, Annie Dillard writes, “…doubt is merely the seed of faith, a sign that faith is alive & ready to grow.” The story of Abraham & Sarah is a prime example of this. Their faith grew through many seasons of trials & doubts & hardships. Obviously, Jesus’ disciples experienced the same.

On Christmas Eve, CBS aired the documentary “In God’s Name,” which featured faith leaders from around the world (& from various faith backgrounds). I think our ELCA Presiding Bishop, Mark Hanson, did a wonderful job throughout; but I was most impressed by his statements reflecting his own continuing journey of doubt & faith.

By contrast, the current President of the Southern Baptist Convention claims to have had absolutely no doubts at all since he “gave his life to Jesus” at the age of 9. If that is true (which I seriously doubt), then this Baptist leader has a very shallow & undeveloped faith indeed.
Doubt is natural. Doubt is healthy. Doubt truly is “the seed of faith.”

Verse & Voice- Dec. 3

2007-12-03T12:50:00.000-08:00

Verse of the Day

"Friends, why are you doing this? We are mortals just like you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. In past generations he allowed all the nations to follow their own ways; yet he has not left himself without a witness in doing good--giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, and filling you with food and your hearts with joy."- Acts 14:15-17

Voice of the Day

People never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.- Blaise Pascal

Pascal is so correct. Just look at Muslim suicide bombers & jihadists today. Or view the long history of Christian intolerance—the Crusades, the Inquisition, the conquest of the New World, & homophobia, just to name a few.

It brings to mind the scene in “The Last Temptation of Christ” in which Satan comes to Jesus as the Lord is suffering on the cross & gives Jesus a glimpse of the atrocities that will be perpetrated in His name. Satan then asks Jesus if the sacrifice is truly worth it. Sometimes you have to wonder…

Was it worth it? What has happened to all that Jesus taught? Why do we so seldom follow Jesus’ example of how to live & how to love?

Verse & Voice- October 1

2007-10-01T14:47:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

May grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. - 2 Peter 3:14-14

Voice of the Day

In modern memoirs written by real people about another real person we would expect just that sort of diversity which we find in the Gospels. If it surprises us there, it is perhaps because we have fallen out of the habit of looking on Jesus and his disciples as really real people. -Dorothy Sayers Introduction to The Man Born to Be King

Sayers is absolutely correct. If we cannot see Jesus as a real person, then we miss the pain he endured, the temptations he resisted, the doubts he must have had, the love that he felt for us. By elevating Jesus to the status of a "superhero," we water down the enormity of God's sacrifice for us.

God risked EVERYTHING HE HAD & EVERYTHING HE WAS because of His great love for humanity.

2007-09-17T14:24:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

[God] frustrates the devices of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success. [God] takes the wise in their own craftiness; and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end. They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope at noonday as in the night. But [God] saves the needy from the sword of their mouth, from the hand of the mighty. So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth. - Job 5:12-16

Voice of the Day

To practice hospitality in our world, it may be necessary to evaluate all the laws and all the promotions and all the invitation lists of corporate and political society from the point of view of the people who never make the lists. Then hospitality may demand that we work to change things.- Joan Chittister

I think this story that I received in an e-mail today speaks eloquently to Chittister's comments:

During my second month of college, our professorgave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious studentand had breezed through the questions until I readthe last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"

Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall,dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.

"Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you dois smile and say "hello."

I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

Verse & Voice- September 4

2007-09-04T15:16:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

Whatever house you enter, first say, "Peace to this house!" And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you.- Luke 10:5-6

Voice of the Day

People say, "What good can one person do? What is the sense of our small effort?" They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time. We can be responsible only for the one action of the present moment. But we can beg for an increase of love in our hearts that will vitalize and transform all our individual actions, and know that God will take them and multiply them, as Jesus multiplied the loaves and the fishes.- Dorothy Day

How often do you & I fail to act because we doubt that our actions will be sufficient to “make a difference”? I love what Dorothy Day says in today’s “Voice.” Each action, however small, can--& will—be multiplied by God. Just look at the witness of St. Paul & the apostles, of the martyrs, of Martin Luther, of Martin Luther King Jr., of Day herself.

Evil depends upon the silence of each individual. If just one of us speaks up, it may well loose the tongues of millions!

Verse & Voice- August 28

2007-08-29T08:44:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." But I say to you, do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you. - Matthew 5:38-42

Voice of the Day

Study is hard work. It is so much easier to find something else to do in its place than to stay at the grind of it. We have excuses aplenty for avoiding the dull, hard, daily attempt to learn. There is always something so much more important to do than reading. There is always some excuse for not stretching our souls with new ideas and insights now or yet or ever.- Joan Chittister Quoted in Essential Monastic Wisdom, by Hugh Feiss

Read that passage from Matthew again, slowly & carefully. What would most Christians say about someone who preached that same message today, who lived a life based on those words, or—worse yet—who encouraged US to base our lives & actions on them?
We’d probably say that such a person is hopelessly naïve & foolish, not acquainted with the ways of the world.
But the person who actually DID utter this message is Jesus Christ! And guess what? He meant it. He lived it. He died because He believed it. But because he preached & lived these ideas, we have salvation.

Verse & Voice- August 17

2007-08-18T00:41:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

For [Jesus] is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. - Ephesians 2:14

Voice of the Day

If you live alone, whose feet will you wash?- Saint Basil

For most people today, the answer to Saint Basil’s question is as easy as it is evident: “My own feet, of course!” Jesus tried to teach us differently. He came to serve; he cam to wash feet; he came to cleanse sins. And Jesus expects the same of us, as his followers.

“It’s not about me,” Jesus exclaimed with all of his life. “It’s about the others.”

Verse & Voice- August 13

2007-08-14T09:49:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

Agree with God, and be at peace; in this way good will come to you. - Job 22:21-21

Voice of the Day

The cost of following Jesus entails not only giving up the past, but also giving up various options for the future.- Vinay Samuel quoted in Cry Freedom, by Charles Ringma

We live in a culture that shuns the "giving up" & embraces the "taking in." Success, not sacrifice, is the measure of one's worth in America today. Sadly, this is even evident within the Church. Just listen to (or read) Joel Osteen or Clenzo Dollar or any of the other perveyors of the Prosperity Gospel. Right here in Prattville there is a new congregation that calls itself The Way of Success Christian Fellowship.

But Jesus never called us to be successful. In fact, he told his disciples over & over again that the world would hate them & that the road to God is the way of the cross & self-denial & sacrifice.

Each time I hear the current Prosperity Gospel or the Theology of Glory preached in the name of Jesus, I tremble & regret that so any are being led so far astray.

Verse & Voice- July 13

2007-07-14T10:37:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. - Matthew 10:8

Voice of the Day

The ones to trust are the ones who give not just their money, but their person, those who give their lives for their neighbor.- Arturo Paoli

It seems that many Christians in our country have forgotten who our “neighbor” is, according to the Scripture. We are becoming a society for whom the neighbor is the person who lives next door to us in our heavily-gated community (provided, that is, that he/she looks like me, talks like me, votes like me, worships like me, etc.).

Jesus tells us that our neighbor is anyone who needs help—regardless of who they are, what their heritage might be, what they look like, whether they are friend or foe. I recently read a retelling of the Good Samaritan story that is titled “The Good al-Qaida.” How scandalous would that be to most Americans?
All of Scripture speaks to the hospitality that we are called to show to everyone, ESPECIALLY to the poor, the needy, the injured, the aliens.

Verse & Voice- July 12

2007-07-13T06:57:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

Moreover I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, wickedness was there, and in the place of righteousness, wickedness was there as well. I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for he has appointed a time for every matter, and for every work. I said in my heart with regard to human beings that God is testing them to show that they are but animals. - Ecclesiastes 3:16-18

Voice of the Day

To me, practicing mindfulness in the act of consuming is the basic act of social justice. - Thich Nhat Hanh

What wonderfully simple, yet profound, statement by Thich Nhat Hanh; but how seldom we keep it in mind as we go about our shopping and comsuming.

Verse & Voice- July 10

2007-07-10T13:59:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

Forgive the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have pardoned this people, from Egypt even until now. - Numbers 14:19

Voice of the Day

At some thoughts one stands perplexed, above all at the sight of human sin, and wonders whether to combat it by force or by humble love. Always decide 'I will combat it by humble love.' If you resolve on that once for all, you can conquer the whole world. Loving humility is a terrible force: it is the strongest of all things, and there is nothing else like it. - Starets [Elder] Zosima, from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

This combatting by "humble love" is almost always difficult. We learn the lessons well that our world teaches us--that force is the surest answer to that which opposes us. And we forget the lesson of Jesus--that love is the only force that truly conquers.

Verse & Voice- June 28

2007-06-28T14:29:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

It is better to be of a lowly spirit among the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud. - Proverbs 16:19

Voice of the Day

The church has only two alternatives in its confrontation with the world: either it adapts itself to the world and betrays the gospel, or it responds to the gospel and enters into conflict with the world.- Rene Padilla

I am reminded of a line from Resident Aliens by Stanley Hauerwas & William Willimon: “In leaning over to talk to the world, the church fell in.” The task of the church is to talk to the world, to engage it in dialogue, so that we might communicate the Good News of Jesus Christ; but we must do this without “falling in.”

Verse & Voice- June 22

2007-06-23T09:50:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king's son. May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice. May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness. May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor.- Psalms 72:1-4

Voice of the Day

[Jesus] says that he’s patient and humble of heart, not because he was submissive to oppression, but because he was able to endure in that struggle. - A teacher in the village of Papaturro

Enduring in the struggle...This is so central to the message of Jesus; & yet, this message has been so seldom embraced in the history of the Church. We do not like the struggle; we do not embrace the cross. Luther wrote a lot about the theology of the cross vs. the theology on glory. Today in our culture, it seems that the theology of glory is winning.

But who ultimately are the "winners"? I suspect that names (& examples) such as Martin Luther, Gandhi, ML King Jr., & Mother Teresa will endure much longer than folks like Joel Osteen, whose theology of glory/abundance are so decidedly non-Christ-like.

Verse & Voice- June 20

2007-06-20T14:32:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

[Jesus] sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on." - Mark 12:41-44

Voice of the Day

The measure of a society’s progress is not whether it can give more to those who have more, but whether it can provide enough to those who have less. - David Lim

Gee, I wonder how our society measures up? (I don't think very well; at least not over the past 20-30 years.)

Verse & Voice- June 18

2007-06-19T07:15:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

Those who are generous are blessed, for they share their bread with the poor. - Proverbs 22:9

Voice of the Day

Prayer and meditation have an important part to play in opening up new ways and new horizons. If your prayer is the expression of a deep and grace-inspired desire for newness of life—and not the mere blind attachment to what has always been familiar and "safe"—God will act in us and through us to renew the Church by preparing, in prayer, what we cannot yet imagine or understand. In this way our prayer and faith today will be oriented toward the future which we ourselves may never see fully realized on earth.- Thomas Merton

Too often, our prayer is for God to do something FOR us. And so we pray & wait & wait & wait. But, as Merton suggests, more often "God will act IN & THROUGH us." If we are truly to be God's instruments in the world, then we must pray, listen (meditate), and act.

Verse & Voice- June 13

2007-06-14T18:09:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

"When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." - Luke 14:12-14

Voice of the Day

There is no dearth of Christian service today. But because much of it is service without prophetic compassion, it is powerless to bring about a radical change in individuals and society.- Vishal Mangalwadi Quoted in "Cry Freedom", by Charles Ringma.

In the movie “Joshua,” a priest name Father Tordone questions the motives behind everything that Joshua (Jesus, who has come into a modern American town) is doing. At one point, Tordone says, “Nobody does something for nothing. Just what does this Joshua want?”

Well, Jesus’ words that we have before us from Luke’s Gospel spell out to us how a disciple of his is to live: We are, indeed, called to do everything for nothing. Actually, not “for nothing” but because it is simply the right thing to do.

“Why did you let that harried mother cut in front of you in the check-out line?” It seemed like the right thing to do.

“Aren’t you afraid that the homeless guy will just keep on begging & won’t look for a job if you buy him a meal?” It doesn’t matter, it’s the right thing to do.

“Are you kidding, 10% of your income to the church???” God tells me it is the right thing to do.

God tells us to do the right thing—to do the generous thing—not because it brings us rewards here or earns us points in heaven, but just because it is the right thing to do. After all, it’s what Jesus did!

Verse & Voice- June 11

2007-06-12T09:01:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but those who are kind to the needy honor [God].- Proverbs 13:41

Voice of the Day

[F]or us the Bible is our main weapon. It has shown us the way. Perhaps those who call themselves Christians but who are really only Christians in theory, won’t understand why we give the Bible the meaning we do. But that’s because they haven’t lived as we have.... I can assure you that any one of my community, even though he’s illiterate and has to have it read to him and translated into his language, can learn many lessons from it, because he has no difficulty understanding what reality is and what the difference is between the paradise up above, in Heaven, and the reality of our people here on Earth. -Rigoberta Menchu excerpt from I, Rigoberta: An Indian Woman in Guatemala.

Far too many of us Christians only take literally those passages in the Bible that are most favorable to us. Dr. Bill Leonard (Dean of the Divinity School at Wake Forest Univ.) once told a class of seminarians in Berea KY that the fundamentalists in his church (Southern Baptist) don’t really take the Bible literally because they do not handle snakes (as Jesus says the faithful will do, in Mark 16), nor do they always fulfill Jesus’ kingdom goals of bringing “good news to the poor” & “release to those in prison,” etc.

It is interesting that the Bible speaks more about treating the poor with justice & compassion than it does about any other subject; & yet, we 21st century Christians of the “First World” obsess over homosexuality & abortion—things that are mentioned only rarely, if ever, in Scripture.

Verse & Voice- June 1

2007-06-04T11:59:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

The righteous know the rights of the poor; the wicked have no such understanding. - Proverbs 29:7-7

Voice of the Day

The biblical use of the word "righteousness" is the moral equivalent of what we mean when we speak of holiness. It incorporates such concerns as a passion for justice and a concern for truth along with the need to live an ethically responsible life. It involves reflection in what we do and the Christian moral vision by which we understand who we are. Righteousness is the human expression of holiness embodying a vision rooted in moral perspective. - James C. Fenhagen excerpt from "Invitation to Holiness."

So much of our “Christian” society today has a much narrower concept of righteousness than does Fenhagen. A passion for social justice & a thirst for truth seem to be severely lacking, especially among the so-called Christians who aspire to high political office in our land. These folk are satisfied defining righteousness as simply living an ethically responsible life—with “ethically responsible” being defined by them, of course.

But the righteousness of God is defined first & foremost by relationships, not by laws. It has little to do with an ethical life, except where those ethics impact one’s relationship with the Divine, with creation, & with one another.

Verse & Voice- May 21

2007-05-22T08:10:00.001-07:00

Verse of the Day

Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions. - Matthew 19:21-22

Voice of the Day

I have the immense joy of being [human], a member of a race in which God became incarnate. As if the sorrows and stupidities of the human condition could overwhelm me, now I realize what we all are. And if only everybody could realize this! But it cannot be explained. There is no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun. - Thomas Merton from Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander

A sermon that is experienced is much easier to understand & incorporate into one's life than one merely heard. I received the following poem as part of an online Midrash of which I am a part.

Sermons We See
by Edgar Guest

I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day;
I'd rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way.
The eye's a better pupil and more willing than the ear,
Fine counsel is confusing, but example's always clear;

And the best of all the preachers are the men who live their creeds,
For to see good put in action is what everybody needs.
I soon can learn to do itif you'll let me see it done;
I can watch your hands in action,but your tongue too fast may run.

And the lecture you delivermay be very wise and true,
But I'd rather get my lessons by observing what you do;
For I might misunderstand youand the high advice you give,
But there's no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.

When I see a deed of kindness, I am eager to be kind.
When a weaker brother stumbles and a strong man stays behind
Just to see if he can help him,then the wish grows strong in me
To become as big and thoughtful as I know that friend to be.

And all travelers can witness that the best of guides today
Is not the one who tells them, but the one who shows the way.
One good man teaches many, men believe what they behold;
One deed of kindness noticed is worth forty that are told.

Who stands with men of honor learns to hold his honor dear,
For right living speaks a language which to every one is clear.
Though an able speaker charms me with his eloquence, I say,
I'd rather see a sermon than to hear one, any day.

Verse & Voice- May 17

2007-05-22T08:06:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

For the needy shall not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the poor perish forever. Rise up, O Lord! Do not let mortals prevail; let the nations be judged before you. Put them in fear, O Lord; let the nations know that they are only human. - Psalms 9:18-20

Voice of the Day

We are not disembodied spirits. God apparently values the material enough to endow it with the spiritual. That's what the Incarnation is all about. We've come at this whole notion of the exaltation of the spirit by losing respect for the vehicle of the divine, which is the body. Where do we see God? We see God in nature and the people around us. - Joan Chittister

This entire notion of the “good” spirit & “bad” body goes back to the Greek philosophers & beyond. The Gnostics tried to make it part of Christianity in the early centuries of our faith; but the early Church fathers rejected the idea because it is contrary to the preponderance of the Biblical witness.

Today, we still have our Gnostics in the church. They would reject anything that bring physical pleasure as “evil.” They denigrate those who would work to save our physical environment, choosing instead to long for the “end of time,” when God will destroy the earth (despite the fact that Scripture does not foretell the earth’s destruction).

We are called by God to a holistic approach to life—to integrate body, mind, & spirit into the creatures God designed us to be.

Verse & Voice- May 16

2007-05-16T14:27:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets. - Luke 6:20-23

Voice of the Day

We fear so deeply what we think other people see in us, so we talk in order to straighten out thier understanding. ... One of the fruits of silence is the freedom to let our justification rest entirely with God.- Richard Foster from Celebration of Discipline

Foster’s words were clearly played out by the two main characters in “Chariots of Fire.” Harold Abrahams (who was Jewish) felt the constant need to prove himself to others (&, I suspect, to himself). When he lost a race to Liddel, he was finally at a loss for words, his self-image shattered.

Eric Liddel (the Scottish Christian), on the other hand, allowed his identity to be totally dictated by God. He was willing to forfeit the chance at an Olympic gold medal rather than to compete on Sunday.

Verse & Voice- May 15

2007-05-15T15:18:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

While he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment of nard, and she broke open the jar and poured the ointment on his head. But some were there who said to one another in anger, "Why was the ointment wasted in this way? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor." And they scolded her. But Jesus said, "Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has performed a good service for me. For you always have the poor with you, and you can show kindness to them whenever you wish; but you will not always have me. - Mark 14:3-7

Verse of the Day

I have glimpsed intimations of baptism being fulfilled in a multitude of unexpected reminders: laughing with the inner-city children I taught as we spashed in the gushing water of a fire hydrant on a sweltering afternoon. Washing dishes at the kitchen sink with my grandmother. Sharing a canteen of icy water with thirsty hikers at a trail junction in a mountain wilderness. Hand watering my dad's newly planted vegetable garden. - Pat Peterson

It takes so little to witness to the Good News of Jesus Christ. The actions that Peterson mentions in "Voice" are all acts of witness to those with whom he shared his time, his efforts, his water, & his love.

A warning to those who are members at Christ Lutheran: You may hear some of this stuff this coming Sunday!

Verse & Voice- May 14

2007-05-14T14:07:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

One sabbath while Jesus was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked some heads of grain, rubbed them in their hands, and ate them. But some of the Pharisees said, "Why are you doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?" Jesus answered, "Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and gave some to his companions?" Then he said to them, "The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath." - Luke 6:1-5

Voice of the Day

In our chatty world, in which the word has lost its power to communicate, silence helps us to keep our mind and heart anchored in the future world and allows us to speak from there a creative and recreative word to the present world. - Henri J.M. Nouwen from The Way of the Heart

What a timely Verse this is. Yesterday, our Movie to Talk About at Christ Lutheran was “Chariots of Fire.” A key ingredient of this true story is the decision by the Scottish runner, Eric Liddell, not to run on a Sunday, when the trials of the Olympic 100 meter were being held.

And then today, a controversy has broken out here in Alabama over a high school football game. Perennial power Hoover H.S. (Birmingham area) was chosen to play in a nationally-televised game on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. However, the head of the Alabama High School Athletics Assn. has ruled that Sunday is a day of worship & therefore Hoover cannot play.

So, what would Jesus say about these events? Or more precisely, what DID Jesus say? Jesus said that “the Sabbath was made for humanity, not humanity for the Sabbath.” Do I wish that all activity would cease on Sunday morning & that all people would be in a worship service? Of course. But it must be of their own FREE WILL; it cannot be coerced.

We owe God our worship & praise. God created the Sabbath because He knows that we need regular times of rest & re-creation. But we must approach our decisions in the light of God’s love & grace, not out of the shadow of legalism.

Verse & Voice- May 7

2007-05-08T08:33:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

If a man is righteous and does what is lawful and right ... does not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge, commits no robbery, gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, does not take advance or accrued interest, withholds his hand from iniquity, executes true justice between contending parties, follows my statutes, and is careful to observe my ordinances, acting faithfully—such a one is righteous; he shall surely live, says the Lord God. - Ezekiel 18:5-9

Voice of the Day

The rhythm of life for a kingdom dweller puts chronos in service of kairos, the cyclical in service of the directional, the calendar in service of the kingdom. ... As we submit our anarchy to a rhythm, in a sort of earthy, mystical way, all of life is lived lucidly, intentionally, and to the glory of God. Every washing becomes a baptism; every eating a Communion. Every sleeping becomes a dying; every rising a resurrection. - Kenneth Gottman from Ministry and Mission

Gottman puts it so well, it hardly needs to be expanded upon, except possibly to explain the concepts of cronos & kairos time to those who have not studied Greek (especially as it applies to Christian theology).

In Greek chronos is the word for time as we normally think of it. It is the measurable time of days & months & years. kairos, on the other hand, is the Greek word for the right moment in time. God stepping into our world in the person of Jesus is the prime example of kairotic time.

As Gottman writes, we are called to live in chronos time, with the full realization that God’s kairos time has burst upon us. As he says, it is Kingdom time that we live in the midst of calendar time.

Verse & Voice- May 2

2007-05-03T11:01:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem in a ministry to the saints; for Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to share their resources with the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. They were pleased to do this, and indeed they owe it to them; for if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material things. - Romans 15:25-27

Voice of the Day

True silence which is creative silence is the most demanding activity God asks of any of us. Here it is that heart and mind and will, memory, and imagination are gathered up and collected in God. - Robert Llewelyn from Love Bade Me Welcome

The silence that Llewelyn talks about is a scary thing for 21st century Americans. We seem to fear silence in our society. When we get up in the morning, when we walk in the door after work, we turn on the television so that there will be noise around us. The moment the engine cranks in the car, on goes the radio or CD player.

What is it about silence that frightens us so? Maybe we fear the loneliness that we suspect will surround us? Or do we fear that quiet time is unproductive time? (And we must be productive to prove our worth.) Are we afraid of the thoughts that might creep into our minds? (Or are we afraid that there will be no thoughts?) Is it the fear that something out of our control—something akin to God—might its way into our lives through the quiet?

It is time to turn to the logic of an old John Denver tune: “Blow up the tv/Throw away the paper/Move to the country/Build you a home/Have a lot of children/Feed ‘em all peaches/They’ll all find Jesus/On their own.”

Verse & Voice- May1

2007-05-02T12:46:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

Ah, you who make iniquitous decrees, who write oppressive statutes, to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be your spoil, and that you may make the orphans your prey! What will you do on the day of punishment, in the calamity that will come from far away? To whom will you flee for help, and where will you leave your wealth, so as not to crouch among the prisoners or fall among the slain? For all this [God's] anger has not turned away; [God's] hand is stretched out still. - Isaiah 10:1-4

Voice of the Day

If I cannot listen to all of life, then any part that I do hear will be only partial or distorted. If I am listening only in chapel, if I am listening only to my peers, if I am listening only to my profession, if I am listening only to my routine, then I have cut out the poor, the children, the needy, the holy where it is calling me to be present.- Joan Chittister

I did the following devotion for our local Minister’s Association meeting. It is based on the Voice of the Day by Joan Chittister. I began by reading her short piece…

Listening to ALL of life. Frederick Buechner, in the daily devotional Listening to Your Life, writes: “There is no event so commonplace but that God is present within it, always hiddenly, always leaving room to recognize him or not to recognize him…”

And yet, all too often, we hide ourselves away; we distance ourselves from the rough, the unattractive, the dark, the brooding. And in so doing, we are missing the call of the holy to be present there. And we miss an opportunity to learn more about God.

There’s a scene in Ingmar Bergman’s film “The Seventh Seal” in which a knight tells a young witch who is about to be burned at the stake that he wants to meet her master, the Devil. She asks him why; and the knight says, “I want to ask him about God. He, if anyone, must know.”

Jesus spent his entire ministry among the poor, the sick, the demon-possessed, the tax collectors, the most notorious sinners of his day. And yet, we Christian leaders of the 21st century see what we consider “the dark side” and we turn away. We hear heavy metal music by folks like Metallica and Korn and Rage Against the Machine, and we run away shouting words of condemnation and scorn.

I remember preaching a few years ago on a song by the band Papa Roach that talks about self-mutilation and teen suicide. The song says, in part: “Cut my life into pieces/This is my last resort/Suffocation, no breathing/Don’t give a f*** if I cut my arm bleeding… ‘Cause I’m losing my sight/losing my mind/wish somebody would tell me I’m fine.”

The reaction of mainstream Christendom to that song was to condemn Papa Roach to hell as Satanists and as evil. But what I hear in those lyrics is a young man who is confused and hurt and doesn’t know where to find hope.

“I wish somebody would tell me I’m fine.” I think that is our joy, as Christians, isn’t it? Tell the world—ALL THE WORLD—that Jesus died to make it fine for all of us…for all of life. Let’s take that message to all…let us listen to all…let us find God where He truly is—in all of life.

Verse & Voice- April 30

2007-05-01T11:11:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

Peter began to say to him, "Look, we have left everything and followed you." Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first." - Mark 10:28-31

Voice of the Day

It is not what happens to us in any day that gives content to our lives, but whether or not we let its experience sink into us. ... It is one of the highest powers given to anyone. In reflection I come upon feelings that I had been too afraid to experience in the moment. In the quiet of reflection I take the risk and the time to let censored thoughts as well as feelings into consciousness, to discover what is causing the uneasiness in me.- Elizabeth O'Connor from Cry Pain, Cry Hope

It’s been said that “experience is the best teacher;” however, experience really teaches us nothing unless it is reflected upon. Socrates wrote, “An unreflected life is not worth living.” That is true, because it is in reflection upon our experiences that we learn and grow.

We are each created for a reason; and that reason is not merely to exist from day to day or to see many “toys” we can accumulate. Our purpose is to grow nearer to God and nearer to what God created us to be. We cannot do either of these without times of serious reflection.

Verse & Voice- April 29

2007-04-29T16:03:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. For you say, "I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing." You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. - Revelation 3:15-17

Voice of the Day

Water ... has an enormous range of meanings for us as human beings. Our bodies are mostly water, and our thirst reminds us to replenish that water. We are born from the waters of the womb, and something about a pool draws us to plunge back into it and covers ourselves. But if we stay under for too long, it means death. Coming up to the surface and breathing again is almost like being reborn. ... Water washes us clean and makes us feel fresh and new again. Baptism takes - and adds to - all these meanings. - Hoyt L. Hickman

Neither hot nor cold. That can certainly be said about most Christians in this country today--at least with regard to the teachings of Jesus. Now, if you want to talk about abortion or homosexuality or the Confederate battle flag or patriotism, these "born-again" Christians are as zealous as you could want. But guess what? Jesus never talked about any of these subjects. Jesus talked about peace, non-violence; he championed the poor, the destitute, the outcast, the foreigner--never the rich or the haughty.

Verse & Voice- April 25

2007-04-26T12:28:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

Surely one does not turn against the needy, when in disaster they cry for help. Did I not weep for those whose day was hard? Was not my soul grieved for the poor? But when I looked for good, evil came; and when I waited for light, darkness came. - Job 30:24-26

Voice of the Day

Martin Luther King Jr. is celebrated as the Dreamer. He was more than a dreamer, however; he was a visionary who drum-majored a liberation parade that challenged and changed the status quo. He was not killed for dreaming. He was assassinated because his vision prophetically spoke truth to a powerful status quo. A God-sized vision will always challenge the territorial custodians of what has been. Change is painful and must be nurtured and negotiated, or the vision or pastoral tenure will be assassinated.- Frederick D. Haynes III

Dr. King epitomized the prophetic life. Contrary to the teachings of the Jerry Falwells & Jack Van Impes of the world, prophecy is not about foretelling the future; it is about confronting misdirected power with God’s truth. It is telling those who abuse their position that God will not be mocked & their future with God is precarious, at best.

King was a master at proclaiming God’s Word not only in his oratory, but in his living. It was his physical & spiritual presence in the face of institutionalized evil that ultimately cost him his life.

Verse & Voice- April 23

2007-04-23T14:19:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

The Lord rises to argue his case; he stands to judge the peoples. The Lord enters into judgment with the elders and princes of the people: It is you who have devoured the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses. What do you mean by crushing my people, by grinding the face of the poor? says the Lord God of hosts. - Isaiah 3:13-15

Voice of the Day

Time catches up with kingdoms and crushes them, gets its teeth into doctrines and rends them; time reveals the foundations on which any kingdom rests, and eats at those foundations, and it destroys doctrines by proving them to be untrue. - James Baldwin from "The Fire Next Time"

Even those of us who “struggle” along as middle class Americans are, to some extent, the “devourers of the vineyard;” we have the “spoils of the poor” in our houses. I think nothing of the fact that I dumped probably a cup of rice into the garbage after lunch today. But that cup of (now-wasted) rice would be cherished by a poor child in Darfur or in many areas of Asia, Africa, or Central America.

We must remind ourselves daily that we should live simply so that others might simply live. We Christians need to remember that God holds the poor deeply in His heart…that more space is accorded to the proper treatment of the poor in Scripture than any other subject.

Verse & Voice- April 19

2007-04-19T12:28:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Preserve my life, for I am devoted to you; save your servant who trusts in you. You are my God; be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all day long. Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you. Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my cry of supplication. In the day of my trouble I call on you, for you will answer me. - Psalms 86:1-7

Voice of the Day

Blinding light assaults the darkness;
Children wait for guns to cease.
In the midst of war’s confusion,
Make us instruments of peace.

Hungry for your visitation,
We are waiting –lost,afraid.
You alone,O God,can save us.
Heal the wounds that we have made.
- Jean McMullan (Written the morning after the war erupted on the Persian Gulf.)

McMullan’s poem rings eerily in our ears as the shadow of the Virginia Tech massacre covers our land. “Make us instruments of peace,” she writes. It is peace that we need right now—more than we someone to blame. Peace is comforting one another with the Good News that, in the midst of tragedy, God is with us and God has already prevailed. Peace is not pointing fingers at past mistakes, but pointing forward to a better future by learning from what has happened.

“YOU alone, O God, can save us.
Heal the wounds that WE have made.”

That couplet needs to be emblazened on all of our schools, all of our churches, all of our hearts. It says so much.

Verse & Voice- Aprill 18

2007-04-18T13:22:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. - Isaiah 58:9-10

Voice of the Day

Yet, for all this lukewarmness, we hunger. And we know well enough the there is a response. There is an answering back to the Grace of God on your part and on mine that is all-important. We know, too, that the redeeming of our time calls for nothing less than the blazing up out of our prostrate bodies of an authentic, original, passionate, interior life in answer to the Living Flame that confronts us - Douglas V. Steere from “Together in Solitude”

Did you notice the juxtaposition of the "then" & "if" in the Isaiah passage. The answering by the Lord & His presence in your life are not dependent upon your doing the things listed after the "if," as many churches would have you believe. God's love for you is unconditional. God loves you first!!! And then you do all those things as a way of saying "Thanks" & allowing your "light to rise in the darkness."

Steele refers to this when he writes, "There is an answering back to the Grace of God..." We should not "point fingers" or "speak evil." We should "offer food to the hungry & satisfy the needs of the afflicted." We should do these things, not to win God's favor, but because God's favor, God's grace, has been given to us.

Verse & Voice- April 17

2007-04-17T14:56:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

For the Lord will comfort Zion; he will comfort all her waste places, and will make her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song. - Isaiah 51:3-3

Voice of the Day

Confronting our feelings and giving them appropriate expression always takes strength, not weakness. It takes strength to acknowledge our anger, and sometimes more strength yet to curb the aggressive urges anger may bring and to channel them into nonviolent outlets. It takes strength to face our sadness and to grieve and to let our grief and our anger flow in tears when they need to. It takes strength to talk about our feelings and to reach out for help and comfort when we need it. - Fred Rogers from "The World According to Mr. Rogers."

Comfort is an item needed desperately across our land today. Yesterday a young man killed 32 people on the Virginia Tech University campus before taking his own life. Parents, students, siblings—no matter who you are, you feel a sense of loss when people are made to suffer simply because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

So where do we turn for comfort? To logic and reason? There appears to be no logic nor reason for these slayings. To psychologists? The can help in dealing with the sense of loss; but they don’t really know precisely what you are feeling.
Isaiah says we should turn to God. God knows our feelings intimately. God has traveled through the valley of the murder of the innocent; & God prevailed over death. God is our solace and comfort in those times when the pain seems unbearable and the world appears to have gone mad.

Verse & Voice- April 16

2007-04-16T13:53:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth... - Isaiah 11:1-4

Voice of the Day

Enough of phrases and conceits and metaphors!I want burning, burning...
Light up a fire of love in thy soul,Burn all thought and expression away! - Jelalludin Rumi

When asked about his preaching, John Wesley once remarked, “I set myself on fire, and people came to see me burn.” The words we say are not as important as the fire that ignites them and that burns all around them. I am not a great preacher; and yet many people have commented that my sermons have touched and moved them. When I ask why, more often than not, they have trouble pinning it down to a single word, phrase, or even thought. It is more common for me to hear that something I said “touched their hearts.” (And perhaps left them singed a little.)

Our task, as followers of Christ, is to allow His fire to burn within us and set us aglow. Then, as Wesley said, people will be drawn to the flame.

Don Imus

2007-04-14T09:18:00.001-07:00

The entire Don Imus affair is disturbing to me in so many different ways. I find his racist and sexist remarks about the Rutgers women’s basketball team offensive on a number of levels.

First, I am offended as a human being. To do violence to another, one must first reduce him/her to sub-human status. That is precisely what prejudicial language, such as Imus used, does. No longer are these young women who are outstanding student-athletes at a major university. They are now “nappy-headed ‘hos,” without status as humans.

Second, I am offended as a Christian. As Christians, we are called to love one another as God loves us. I have no idea what Imus’ religious affiliation is (if, in fact, he has any); but I have heard many so-called Christians who have defended his hate-filled remarks. Christians are called especially to defend and befriend the poor and the defenseless. These young women from Rutgers are the innocent victims of racial and sexist stereotyping.

And finally, I am deeply offended as a father. I have two grown daughters; and I would be greatly distressed to hear anyone call the “whores” or “wetbacks” (their mother is Mexican-American)—especially on national television or radio. I suspect that any parent would be upset if Imus, or anyone, said something so insulting about his/her child.

Should Don Imus have been fired for his offense? I don’t know. I generally try to err on the side of forgiveness and a second chance. I have never listened to Imus’ program; but I understand that this is not his first foray into the offensive and disrespectful.

Closer to home (in Alabama) it is disappointing to hear so many hate-filled and hateful people on talk radio with regard to this affair. I hear people complaining about folks being “too thin-skinned”; but reacting with anger to being berated and addressed as less-than-human with reason or provocation has nothing to do with thin skin. And I am very disappointed with local talk radio host Paul Finebaum, who has encouraged and abetted this thoughtless venom. One caller this week commented that the black exotic dancer involved in the Duke lacrosse team rape case must have gone to Rutgers. Finebaum’s reaction? He laughed heartily and said that this was a great joke. A joke? Obviously, Paul has no daughters.

Racism, sexism, and hatred are all still very much alive in our land, even as Major League Baseball celebrates the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s breaking of the race barrier. We have much work to do. Dialogue is required—dialogue that is devoid of the kind of language that divides and destroys, the language that Imus and Finebaum and so many others seem to find humorous.

Verse & Voice- April 13

2007-04-14T09:16:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

See, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice. Each will be like a hiding place from the wind, a covert from the tempest, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land. Then the eyes of those who have sight will not be closed, and the ears of those who have hearing will listen. The minds of the rash will have good judgment, and the tongues of stammerers will speak readily and distinctly. A fool will no longer be called noble, nor a villain said to be honorable. - Isaiah 32:1-5

Voice of the Day
Prayer leads you to see new paths and to hear new melodies in the air. Prayer is the breath of your life which gives you freedom to go and stay where you wish and to find the many signs which point out the way to a new land,. Praying is not simply some necessary compartment in the daily schedule of a Christian or a source of support in time of need, nor is it restricted to Sunday morning or a as a frame to surround mealtimes. Praying is living.- Henri J.M. Nouwen

Prayer needs to be a way of life for the Christian. To pray is to listen to God and to depend upon God. It is less about the saying the right words and more about being a “right” person. Making prayer your way of life is making yourself available to God 24/7.

Verse & Voice- April 12

2007-04-12T13:23:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

[Jesus] looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury; he also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. He said, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on." - Luke 21:1-4

Voice of the Day

God’s life and our lives are bound together, as a vine with branches as a body with members. So corporate are we that no one can give a cup of cold water to the least person in the world without giving it to [God. - Rufus M. Jones from “The Double Search”

All of creation is a “word” spoken by God. We all emanate from the same source; & ultimately we all desire to flow back to that source. So it seems reasonable that we should help one another (& all of creation) in that quest to be one with God.

Unfortunately, too often we humans look upon parts of creation--& even some other humans—as inconsequential.

Our interconnectedness with one another & with God cannot be stressed too much!

Verse & Voice- April 10

2007-04-10T15:25:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, "Have a seat here, please," while to the one who is poor you say, "Stand there," or, "Sit at my feet," have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? - James 2:1-4

Voice of the Day
Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone - we find it with another. We do not discover the secret of our lives merely by study and calculation in our own isolated meditations. The meaning of our life is a secret that has to be revealed to us in love, by the one we love. And if this love is unreal, the secret will not be found, the meaning will never reveal itself, the message will never be decoded. At best, we will receive a scrambled and partial message, one that will deceive and confuse us. We will never be fully real until we let ourselves fall in love - either with another human person or with God. - Thomas Merton

Relationship. We cannot love in isolatino from one another. As it says in 1 John, "...those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen."

We come to know God by experiencing & sharing His love with each other.

Verse & Voice- April 9th

2007-04-09T14:28:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

You who fear the Lord, praise him! ... For he did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted; he did not hide his face from me, but heard when I cried to him. From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will pay before those who fear him. The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord. May your hearts live forever! - Psalms 22:23-26

Voice of the Day

Without faith, hope, and love nothing sinful is totally abolished, nor is anything good fully attained- St. Maximos the Confessor

“Totally” & “fully” are very important words in today’s quote from St. Maximos. Self-help can take us a long way toward turning away from the bad habits that plague us & damage our lives. But it takes faith & reliance upon God to “totally” keep the demons at bay. That is part of the beauty of A.A.,etc. The 2 gentlemen who first devised the 12 Steps knew that God had to be a central part of the recovery process.

In the same way, our lives cannot be “fully” filled with joy without the presence of Jesus Christ. I tried the path of living a good, moral life without Christ fro about 20 years; & most of that time I was very happy. I had a wonderful family & a successful career. But true joy eluded me until I acknowledged the presence & leadership of the Lord in my life.

Verse & Voice- April 5

2007-04-06T12:06:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

Thus says the Lord: Do not let the wise boast in their wisdom, do not let the mighty boast in their might, do not let the wealthy boast in their wealth; but let those who boast boast in this, that they understand and know me, that I am the Lord; I act with steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the Lord. - Jeremiah 9:23-24

Voice of the Day

At the center of the Christian understanding of revelation and redemption stands the person of Jesus. Of him we say that he not only brings us the revelation of God, but that in his person he is the revelation of God.
- Monika K. Hellwig from Jesus: The Compassion of God

As Lutheran Christians, we believe that it is through Christ that we know God & know about God. All of Scripture, according to Luther, is to be interpreted through the lens of Jesus Christ.

That is why I cannot understand how some Christians (like Jerry Falwell) can be advocates for war. You may be able to read a pro-war message in parts of the Old Testament; but the words & actions of Jesus are consistent & clear: VIOLENCE IS NEVER AN ANSWER.

Verse & Voice- April 4th

2007-04-05T15:49:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

The lover of money will not be satisfied with money; nor the lover of wealth, with gain. This also is vanity. When goods increase, those who eat them increase; and what gain has their owner but to see them with his eyes? - Ecclesiastes 5:10-11

Voice of the Day

When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism, are incapable of being conquered. A true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies. - Martin Luther King, Jr from "A Time to Break Silence", King's address given on this day, April 4th in 1967 at the Riverside Church in New York City.

Our greed, indeed, increases in an ever-destructive ascent. Surprisingly, when Ronald Reagan first told the American people that they deserved all the material wealth they could accumulate & that government had no business taking any of it to help others, his pronouncements were seldom challenged by the Church. As George W. echoes Reagan's "trickle-down" theories 20 years later, we treat them as though they were an eternal truth.

But the eternal truth, at least according to the Scriptures, is that everything--including "personal wealth"--belongs to God. We are not owners; we are stewards. M.L. King was correct that a "revolution of values" is needed. 40 years later, it is long overdue!

Verse & Voice- April 2nd

2007-04-02T16:15:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them. That one is like a [person] building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not act is like a [person] who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, immediately it fell, and great was the ruin of that house." - Luke 6:47-49
Voice of the Day

Reverence is a gentle virtue; it is also strong. Reverence is a tender virtue; it is also tough. Reverence is a patient virtue; it is also persistent. Reverence bears no ill will toward others; it is able to bear the ill will of others when necessary. Reverence is a virtue that prepares us well to belong to one another; it reaches out to thise who have given messages of not wishing to belong.
When we approach others with gentle reverence, we bring gifts and share theirs with us.- Paula Ripple from "Growing Strong at Broken Places"

The virtuosity of "reverence" has everything to do with the object of one's reverence; but I must assume that Ms. Ripple is referring to a positive reverence, 1st to God & 2nd to those who follow God, but who may differ from you & me.

There is a fairly new movement within the church called "Progressive Christianity." It is the feeling of Progressive Christians that, even though we may differ theologically, we can still mutually benefit from being in dialog with one another. That is where I see Ms. Ripple's comments bearing fruit--being gentle, tender, & patient with one another during our interactions.

"Growing Strong at Broken Places," the name of her book, is probably an apt description of what can happen if we on the religious right, left & in-between can approach one another with the proper reverence & learn from one another.

Verse & Voice- March 29

2007-03-30T05:30:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

"You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy." But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. - Matthew 5:43-45
Voice of the Day

Great indeed is the baptism which is offered you. It is a ransom to captives; the remission of offences; the death of sin; the regeneration of the soul; the garment of light; the holy seal indissoluble; the chariot to heaven; the luxury of paradise; a procuring of the kingdom; the gift of adoption.
- Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem (c. 315-386)

Friend, enemy. Righteous, unrighteous. Good, evil. It is so easy for us to toss these labels around. From our human perspective we identify "the other" as one or the other & then act toward him/her accordingly.

It is not so with God. For He sees each of us as we are: friend & enemy, righteous & unrighteous, good & evil. As Luther wrote, we are simul justus et peccator-- at the same time saint & sinner.

Keep this in mind as you judge another human being--be it Hitler, Hussein, or hero.

Verse & Voice- March 28

2007-03-29T07:36:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

There are those who rebel against the light, who are not acquainted with its ways, and do not stay in its paths. The murderer rises at dusk to kill the poor and needy, and in the night is like a thief. - Job 24:13-14

Voice of the Day

To be a follower of Jesus means in the first place to enter by compassion into his experience, with all that it expresses of the divine and of the human. And it means in the second place to enter with him into the suffering and the hope of all human persons, making common cause with them as he does, and seeking out as he does the places of his predilection among the poor and despised and oppressed.
- Monika K. Hellwig from Jesus: The Compassion of God

I think we are sometimes confused about the term "light." It has differing connotations depending upon whether we are discussing things of this world or the things of God. For the world, being "in the light" means happiness & material pleasures; for God, being "in the light" refers to compassion & spiritual well-being.

John's Gospel makes it clear that Jesus brought God's light to the world, but the world elected to remain in the darkness. Too often, we Christians claim to love God's light while choosing to live in the light of the world.

Verse & Voice- March 27

2007-03-27T14:02:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

Those of steadfast mind you keep in peace—in peace because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord God you have an everlasting rock. For he has brought low the inhabitants of the height; the lofty city he lays low. He lays it low to the ground, casts it to the dust. The foot tramples it, the feet of the poor, the steps of the needy. - Isaiah 26:3-6
Voice of the Day

Water comes from its own source which is God. And since God desires to do so ... God produces this delight with the greatest peace and quite and sweetness in the very interior part of ourselves. I don't know from where or how, nor is that happiness and delight experienced, as are earthly consolations, in the heart. I mean there is no simliarity at the beginning, for afterward the delight fills everything; this water overflows through all the dwelling places and faculties until reaching the body. ... It begins in God and ends in ourselves. - Saint Teresa of Avila from "Interior Castle"

I don't think Saint Teresa goes far enough with her "flow chart." The peace which God provides to us is designed to flow from us through all of creation and back to God. That is what makes the relationship complete and whole.

Verse & Voice- March 26th

2007-03-26T14:59:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

Seek good and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, just as you have said. Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
- Amos 5:14-15
Voice of the Day

To show great love for God and our neighbor we need not do great things. It is how much love we put in the doing that makes our offering something beautiful for God.
- Mother Teresaf rom "A Gift for God"

The Gospels tell us that Jesus did many great things--healing the sick, restoring sight to the blind, casting out demons, etc. However, based only on these "acts," Jesus was no more than a localized legend. The greatness of the man was the love that compelled him to do such wonderful things for those in need. The greatness of Jesus was the unbelievable love that kept him on the cross until his body was lifeless.

Verse & Voice- March 23

2007-03-23T15:58:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

For you have been a refuge to the poor, a refuge to the needy in their distress, a shelter from the rainstorm and a shade from the heat.
- Isaiah 25:4-4

Voice of the Day

Wholeness for us, as people of God, is moving ever toward oneness with God, regardless of the condition of our bodies, our lives, our minds. Everyone equally has a capacity to be whole. Wholeness is a gift from God.
- Beth A. Richardson

Discipleship is our call. We must work continually to be more like the Lord & move nearer to God.

Verse & Voice- March 22

2007-03-22T17:32:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

"Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?" Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day, and oppress all your workers. Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to strike with a wicked fist. Such fasting as you do today will not make your voice heard on high.
- Isaiah 58:3-4

Voice of the Day

When shall we have the courage to outgrow the charity mentality and see that at the bottom of all relations between rich and poor there is a problem of justice?
- Dom Helder Camara

Justice requires more than charity or pity; it requires that we have compassion for those in need. Compassion means, literally, to feel with. It is so much more than just feeling sorry for the other.

That is one of the characteristics that singularly separates the Christian concept of God from others. Our God became one of us so that He could "feel with" us fallen & needy creatures.

Verse & Voice- March 21

2007-03-21T18:20:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.
- Matthew 5:23-24

Voice of the Day

Help me, O Lord, to make a true use of all disappointments and calamities in this life, in such a way that they may unite my heart more closely with you. Cause them to separate my affections from worldly things and inspire my soul with more vigor in the pursuit of true happiness.
- Susanna Wesley from "Alive Now!"

How do we truly connect with God? Through "navel-gazing" or burnt offerings or gifts at God's altar? No. We connect through our relationships with God's creation, including one another. Every person, every plant & animal--all of creation--is a "word from God & a book about God" we are told by Meister Eckhard. How we connect with these things & people who are visible parts of our world says much about how we choose to connect--or not connect--with God.

Verse & Voice- March 20

2007-03-20T15:43:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

You shall not deprive a resident alien or an orphan of justice; you shall not take a widow's garment in pledge. Remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this.
- Deuteronomy 24:17-18
Voice of the Day

Do you believe that God is present in the smile of a child, in the tears of a parent's grief over a suffering adolescent, in the sudden breakthrough of understading between quarreling spouses? Eternal truths can be learned by observing the most common elements of life: nursing an infant may be a window into God's nurturing care for each of us; bandaging a cut can help us know the healing desire of God; playing games may speak of the divine playfulness that knows our need for recreation; tending a garden may teach us the dynamics of growth. Families learn that they are sacred communities when they begin to name and claim the many forms of God's grace in their daily life.
- Marjorie J. Thompson from "Family: The Forming Center"

Two of my favorite theological quotes are:
* "Every creature is a word from God & a gift about God."- Meister Eckhart
* "Pay attention, son, pay attention. How are you ever gonna learn anything if you don't pay attention?"- Foghorn Leghorn

Frederick Buechner writes, "There is no event so commonplace but that God is present within it, always hiddenly, always leaving you room to recognize him or not to recognize him, but all the more fascinatingly because of that, all the more compellingly and hauntingly."

I think that says it all.

Verse & Voice- March 19

2007-03-19T14:57:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.
- Psalms 20:7-8

Voice of the Day

Peace demands the most heroic labor and the most difficult sacrifice. It demands greater heroism than war. It demands greater fidelity to the truth and a much more perfect purity of conscience.
- Thomas Merton
from "Thomas Merton on Peace"

"Peace demands more heroism than war?" some may ask. Just ask Jesus. Many of his followers yearned for him to lad a violent uprising against the Romans. But Jesus knew that violence only brings more violence. Jesus knew that the defeat of death would come only by befriending it.

It demands no special courage to "fight fire with fire." But to "turn the other cheek," to suffer without a thought of vengeance (even though you know you are in the right), those are the acts of the truly brave.

Verse & Voice- March 15

2007-03-15T13:50:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?" Jesus answered them, "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me."
- Matthew 11:1-6
Voice of the Day

The identifying of gifts brings to the fore [a] large issue in our lives - the issue of commitment. Somehow if I name my gift and it is confirmed, I cannot "hang loose" in the same way. I would much rather be committed to God in the abstract than be committed to [God] at the point of my gifts.
- Elizabeth O'Connor, from "Eighth Day of Creation"

Can you imagine how John the Baptist & Jesus could have cashed in on their "gifts"? Preaching, healing, motivating, inspiring. They could have made a fortune! But each chose to use their talents to bring the Kingdom of God alive in the world.

The world is eager to indentify those "gifts" in us that will lead to money, power, or success. The church needs to do a better job of identifying people's spiritual gifts & finding ways to utilizing them for the benefit of God's kingdom.

Verse & Voice- March 14

2007-03-14T13:57:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

For the hurt of my poor people I am hurt, I mourn, and dismay has taken hold of me. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of my poor people not been restored?
- Jeremiah 8:21-22
Voice of the Day

Bright Sadness is the true message and gift of Lent: ... the sadness of my exile, of the waste I have made of my life; the brightness of God's presence and forgiveness, the joy of the recovered desire for God, the peace of the recovered home. Such is the climate of Lenten worship; such is its first and general impact on my soul.
- Alexander Schmemann from "Great Lent"

I find Schmemann's phrase "Bright Sadness" to be interesting. We hurt, we moan, we dismay at our condition; but God has, indeed, sent a "physician" to heal us of our spiritual poverty, to bring brightness to our lives--Jesus Christ. As a result, we are called to take this "balm" to those in our world who still are poor & needy. You and I--pretty much everyone who's reading this blog--are the rich & privileged of the world today. "Is there no balm" in the 21st century? Not if we do not take it out & share it.

Verse & Voice- March 13

2007-03-13T16:09:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
- James 2:8-9
Voice of the Day

What God requires of those who call on God's name is responsive servanthood. God wishes to act in and through us, so Christian hope does not relieve men and women of responsibility. We are not primarily responsible for shrewd analysis of problems, for strategic selection of means, for maximizing the chances of success. We are primarily responsible for turning to God, for attempting to know and do God's will. That well may lead us into actions which are not shrewd, strategic, or successful, as the life of Jesus suggests. But as Jesus' life demonstrates, human action which is faithful to God's will can have transforming effect.
- Parker Palmer from "The Company of Strangers"

How often have I seen churches paralyzed by over-analysis & fear of failure? God is a God of action--not of committees. God places opportunities & challenges before His people every day & then watches to see what we will do. Too often we assess our own abilities & probabilities & do not allow God's will to enter into the equation. In this way, miracles are averted.

Verse & Voice- March 12

2007-03-13T08:53:00.000-07:00

Verse of the Day

Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. As it is written, "He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever."
- 2 Corinthians 9:7-9
Voice of the Day
The conversion experience is a personal transformation that involves a change from an old primary allegiance to a new commitment to God in Christ. It is a change which brings about healing and liberation.
- Bonganjalo Goba from the Journal of Theology for South Africa

We are blessed to be blessings to others. This concept is found in Scripture all the way back to Abraham and beyond. However, it is a cocept that is being perverted by many of today's purveyors of Prosperity Gospel. The would say that you are blessed because of your faith and that this blessing is a personal thing, with no implications toward the greater society. This is a decidedly non-Biblical application.

We live in a culture that focuses almost exclusively on the individual. Scripture arises from--and projects--a cultural milieu which is community-focused. We pervert the Scriptural message when we take it out of its context and culture and apply it to ourselves individually. This has been one of the great sins of 20th & 21st century Christianity.

Verse & Voice- March 9

2007-03-09T13:25:00.000-08:00

Verse of the Day

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
- Leviticus 19:18-18

Voice of the Day
For many of us it is not our politics that constrains us to say and do what we do and say in opposition to apartheid and in working for a new South Africa. It is precisely our relationship with God, it is our worship, our meditation, our attendance at the Eucharist, it is these spiritual things which compel us to speak up for God, "Thus saith the Lord ...," to be the voice of the voiceless. For many the spiritual is utterly central to all we are and do and say.
- Desmond Tutu from "Cry Justice!"

Bishop Tutu is SO correct. Our attitude toward others & about ourselves, how we relate to all of creation & to material possessions flows from our spiritual relationship with God. The writer of 1 John says it well: "Those who say, 'I love God,' and hate their brothers & sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God who they have not seen."

Verse & Voice- March 8

2007-03-08T13:11:00.000-08:00

Verse of the Day

With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord; I will praise him in the midst of the throng. For [the Lord] stands at the right hand of the needy, to save them from those who would condemn them to death.
- Psalms 140:12-13

Voice of the Day
For in Christ and through Christ and because of Christ Christians have been given a revealed insight into God's nature and character. ... This understanding of God was vindicated for us in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, whom we acclaim as the Christ, God incarnate. Jesus the Christ thus becomes - in himself and in his teaching - the true hermeneutic, the key to the understanding of the Bible, and beyond the Bible to the understanding of the action of God throughout history. In other words, the Word of God incarnate in Jesus the Christ interprets for us the word of God in the Bible.
- Naim Ateek from "Justice, and Only Justice: A Palestinian Theology of Liberation"

Naim Ateek writes that Jesus is the key to understanding the Bible. That is fundamental Lutheran belief; it is how Martin Luther came to see all of Scripture. We are to interpret Scripture, & all of life, through the lens of the life, death, & resurrection of Jesus the Christ.

Too often Christians take the opposite approach, however. They, especially the 20th & 21st century fundamentalists, seem to project onto Jesus the parts of the Bible that they feel most comfortable with. Hence, Jesus becomes a capitalist, even though his teachings are often diametrically opposed to capitalism's tenets. Jesus becomes a supporter of war, even though he consistently opposes violence of any kind in the Gospels. Jesus even becomes an American, even though he was a 1st century Jewish semite who opposed all efforts at nationalism in favor of inclusion & universalism.

Verse & Voice- March 7

2007-03-07T11:57:00.000-08:00

Verse of the Day

This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.
- Ezekiel 16:49-49

Voice of the Day

The earth provides enough resources for everyone's need, but not for some people's greed.
- Mahatma Gandhi

Pride & lack of hospitality--those were the sins of Sodom. I hear the story of Sodom used so often by the Religious Right to justify their condemnation & exclusion of homosexuals; when, in fact, it is the Right's own self-righteousness & rejection of others that is the blatant sin in God's eyes.

Indeed, Jesus excluded & condemned no one. If I remember correctly, his greatest criticism was reserved for the Pharisees--Jesus' contemporaries who excelled in pride & lack of hospitality.

Verse & Voice- Day 14

2007-03-06T14:17:00.000-08:00

Verse of the Day

"To what then will I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, "We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not weep.' For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, "He has a demon'; the Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, "Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Nevertheless, wisdom is vindicated by all her children."
- Luke 7:31-35
Voice of the Day

With a power given from above we shout, "No!" to him who promises the whole world if we will only worship him. We crucify the old mechanisms of power- push, drive, climb, grasp, trample. We turn instead to the new life of power, love, joy, peace, patience, and all the fruit of the Spirit.

- Richard Foster excerpt from "Money, Sex and Power."

Human sinfulness wants to write the script & have God just read the lines. We wish God would play by our definitions of power & success & justice & life; but God has his own definitions.

I'm reminded of a Shel Silverstein poem:

Hug O'War

I will not play at tug o' war.
I'd rather play at hug o' war,
Where everyone hugs
Instead of tugs,
Where everyone giggles
And rolls on the rug,
Where everyone kisses,
And everyone grins,
And everyone cuddles,
And everyone wins.

Verse & Voice- Day 13

2007-03-05T15:04:00.000-08:00

Verse of the Day

Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for [God] is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
- Luke 6:31-35

Voice of the Day

It is not we who do Christ the favor of worshiping him; it is Christ who empowers us by strengthening us, and enabling us to fight for the things that are worth fighting for, the things that endure; and that is a promise worth fighting for, worth dying for, and worth living for.
- Peter Gomes
excerpt from "Strength for the Journey."

God is the example we must follow; for God loved us long before we ever decide to turn to Him. In fact, God loves us even when we turn away. God loves those who have never heard Jesus' name.

If God loves us thus, how can we do any less?

Verse & Voice- Day 12

2007-03-04T11:52:00.001-08:00

Verse of the Day

Jesus said, “You have heard it said, ‘An eye for an eye & a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also.”- Matthew 5:38-39

Voice of the Day

“An eye for an eye—the whole world goes blind.”- from “Blind” by the Channelsurfers

After century upon century of wars waged by Christians, it seems that the Church must be fully blind to all that Jesus taught by now. Christians in our culture today seem totally oblivious to what the Lord has said.
A supposedly-Christian writer said in a letter in the Montgomery Advertiser recently that Jesus doesn’t care at all about the environment. What Jesus does this man follow???? It almost makes me yearn for the days when I considered myself an agnostic!

Verse & Voice- Day 11

2007-03-04T11:50:00.000-08:00

Verse of the Day

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?- Micah 6:8

Voice of the Day

“So what could I bring/To honor Your majesty?/What song could I sing/To impress the heart of royalty?/When all that I have/Is the life that You’re given me?/So, Lord, let me live for You/This song with humility.”- from “Audience of One” by Big Daddy Weave

God wants us to walk humbly with Him, to love kindness & act justly. In other words, take the good things He shows us in His Word & put them into practice. Have reverence & honor for Him. Enjoy fellowship with Him. Walk with Him daily! That means spending time in His presence, seeking a audience with Him alone.

Verse & Voice- Day 10

2007-03-02T13:37:00.000-08:00

Verse of the Day

When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and for the alien: I am the Lord your God.
- Leviticus 23:22-22

Voice of the Day

We are reclaiming a world precariously on the edge. We take action not with arrogance and certainty, but with humility and uncertainty. It is our giving that counts - not our success. But in selfless giving, we have victories. And through everyday actions, we reweave the web of life.
- Vandana ShivaExcerpt from "Earth Democracy: Justice, Sustainability, and Peace."

What is wrong with this Judeo-Christian God, anyway? Don't harvest every single square inch of your crop? Leave the gleanings for the less fortunate to pick up? You can't maximize your profits (or is it prophets?) that way!

I remember a meeting when I was Quality Manager for a major lawnmower manufacturer. Engineering had developed a new safety feature that would prevent folks from being badly injured or killed. But, at the end of their presentation, the CEO (who was a CPA &, I am embarrassed to say, a "Christian" & an Augustana graduate) said that we would not go forward with the project.

The numbers told him that "It is cheaper to let people get hurt & die than to tool this up & add it to the mower," he said.

Thankfully, that corporation later went bankrupt. Unfortunately, there are many more "Christians" in high corporate positions who still hold this type of attitude.

Verse & Voice- Day 8

2007-02-28T12:21:00.000-08:00

Verse of the Day

You shall not render an unjust judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbor.
- Leviticus 19:15-15

Voice of the Day

In essence, what Jesus imparted to his disciples was that they must strive for true justice on earth as in heaven, as their righteous service to God; that they must honor God by doing indiscriminate justice, by lifting up "the least of these" on the altar of God's justice and mercy; that they must set into motion a revolution of love and holistic spirituality that demonstrates love for God by treating the needs of even the least of God's children as holy.
- Obery M. Hendericks, Jr.excerpt from The Politics of Jesus

God's justice & human justice are two very different concepts. Human justice revolves around ideas such as "an eye for an eye" & punishment that is commensurate to the crime. But God's justice is based on the principles of mercy & compassion.

If God's justice were the same as human justice, none of us would stand a chance for eternity. If human justice were more like God's justice, perhaps this earthly life would be more like God's eternity.

Verse & Voice- Day 7

2007-02-27T13:20:00.000-08:00

Verse of the Day

For [a king] delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence he redeems their life; and precious is their blood in his sight.
- Psalms 72:12-14

Voice of the Day

As an act of love, prayer is a courageous act. It is a risk we take. It is a life-and-death risk, believing in the promises of the gospel, that God's love is indeed operative in the world. In prayer we have the courage, perhaps even the presumption and the arrogance or the audacity to claim that God's love can be operative in the very specific situations of human need that we encounter.
- John E. Biersdorf excerpt from Healing of Purpose.

Prayer, courageous? Of course it is. Prayer could actually work. It could actually change you.

"Oh, no, not me! Change the other guy, Lord. Or you can change your own mind, God; but don't change me! After all, I'm the one who's in the right here."

Verse & Voice 6- The Poor Get Poorer

2007-02-26T14:42:00.000-08:00

Verse of the Day

Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land, saying, "When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain; and the sabbath, so that we may offer wheat for sale? We will make the ephah small and the shekel great, and practice deceit with false balances, buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, and selling the sweepings of the wheat." The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Surely I will never forget any of their deeds. ... I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on all loins, and baldness on every head; I will make it like the mourning for an only son, and the end of it like a bitter day.
- Amos 8:4-10

Voice of the Day
To a nation bent on violence, anyone who claims to be speaking for God's kingdom and who advocates non-violent means as the way to it is making a very deep and dangerous political statement.
- N.T. Wright From "The New Testament and the State"

Yesterday's newspaper had an article about the condition of the poor the U.S. after 10 years of "Welfare Reform." It seems that while some people have been helped out of poverty during this time, the actual number of folks living in poverty in this country continues to grow at an alarming rate!

The words of Amos should be ringing loud & clear for all of the people of this country to hear & heed: "HEAR THIS, YOU WHO TRAMPLE ON THE NEEDY..." This applies especially to those in positions of power!

Verse & Voice- Day 5

2007-02-25T12:31:00.000-08:00

Verse of the Day

Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock.

- Matthew 7:24-25

Voice of the Day

And he works and builds with his own two hands
and he pours all he has in a castle made with sand;
But the wind and rain are comin' crashing in;
time will tell just how long his kingdom stands.

- Song "American Dream" by Casting Crowns

Do you want to have the American dream? You probably could get it, if you try hard enough. But who knows how long that kingdom will stand? Why not pursue a different dream, one that can never be torn down or taken away? That's the dream that is built out of a strong relationship with Jesus.

Verse & Voice- Day 4

2007-02-25T11:46:00.000-08:00

Verse of the Day

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.
- Luke 6:36-38

Voice of the Day

Those called by God to proclaim the good news need to be both faithful and courageous. Our prophetic call, however, does not come without a cost. Managing the enmity of foes and friends requires a teachable spirit and contentment with failure. We are not usually in a very teachable mood until life has whipped us into an attitutde to learn and a willingness to change; then God can get our undivided attention.
- Charles G. Adams excerpt from "The Priestly Faithful and Prophetically Courageous" (essay).

Mercy & forgiveness are not always easy gifts to give. When life has beaten you down, &, finally, you're up, it's difficult to voluntarily give a helping (or forgiving) hand to the very forces that have wronged you.

But that is precisely what God has done. God gave humanity everything--the earth, life, & love; & how did we respond? With disobedience, death, & indifference to the Lord. Through Jesus, God repaid us how? With mercy, forgiveness, & even more love.

Verse & Voice, Day 3- Non Violent Suffering

2007-02-23T14:12:00.000-08:00

Verse of the Day

You shall not follow a majority in wrongdoing; when you bear witness in a lawsuit, you shall not side with the majority so as to pervert justice; nor shall you be partial to the poor in a lawsuit.
- Exodus 23:2-3

Voice of the Day

Nonviolence confronts systematic injustice with active love, but refuses to retaliate with further violence under any circumstances. In order to halt the vicious cycles of violence, it requires a willing acceptance of suffering and death rath than inflicting suffering or death on anyone else.
- John Dear excerpt from "Living Peace: A Spirituality of Contemplation and Action."

"The war to end all wars," it was called. It didn't work; wars continue. Violence only begets violence. Violence furthers a cycle that continues ad infinitum until someone with real courage offers love, compassion, & peace to his/her attackers.

Seldom have we seen a "someone" like that--Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Jesus. Jesus Christ is the paragon--the ideal--of non-violent suffering; & he calls his disciples to follow in his way. Instead, we to often turn to our own human "wisdom," which tells us that to stop "evil" violence we must use "good" violence. But the Lord tells us unequivocally that ALL VIOLENCE IS EVIL, all violence is sin.

BECAUSE/THEREFORE CHRISTIANS

2006-08-16T12:26:00.000-07:00

I recently saw these words on a church sign: “If you accept God’s Son, He accepts you.” That sounds like a perfectly reasonable statement of human fact, doesn’t it? “Quid pro quo”—“If you do something for me, then I will do something for you.” Very reasonable; very human.
But the above thought is also very non-Biblical & un-God-like. You see, our God—the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ—is the initiator of the relationship with humanity throughout Scripture. It is always God who makes the first move to restore the relationship which we humans break.
Paul writes in Romans 5:8, “But God proves His love for us in that WHILE WE STILL WERE SINNERS Christ died for us.” God did not wait for us to ask for His love or forgiveness before sending Jesus to die for us. God took the initiative; God acted first.
Jesus shows this same sequence of actions throughout His life & ministry. He heals & then leaves it to the healed ones to decide whether to follow Him. Not once does Jesus say, “Well, if you accept me as God’s Son, then I’ll accept & heal you.” No. It is always God who reaches for us first.
The Gospel replaces our human “if/then” with the divine proposition “because/therefore.” “BECAUSE God so loved the world, (THEREFORE) He gave His only begotten Son.” (John 3:16) This is unbelievable news for all of us sinners, because it means that God has taken the ultimate action on our behalf even before we asked Him to…even before we admitted that we need His help.
“Because/therefore” is freeing. It is Gospel. “If/then” keeps us always under the ominous thumb of the Law. But there is another “because/therefore” that is a major factor in Christian life. It is the proposition that BECAUSE of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ THEREFORE we should all live lives “worthy of the calling” & grace of God. In other words, the world should truly “Know We Are Christians by Our Love.” Because of the gracious outpouring of love to us, therefore we should take the initiative in reaching out in love to others.
Christians haven’t always been good at this. In fact, Christians in this country aren’t very good at that today. Mahatma Gandhi (who studied the life & teachings of Jesus carefully) once said that he could easily be a Christian (a follower of Christ) if it weren’t for Christians (those of us who say we follow, but really don’t). The reason for this is too many Christians who still believe what the above sign suggests—“if/then.”
Let us be, instead, “because/therefore” followers of the One whose love has been lavished so freely on us.

A Prophetic Voice

2006-06-19T19:40:00.000-07:00

Prophecy is a much misunderstood concept in much of Christianity. Often it is equated with predicting the future; but this is a major misconception. Biblical prophecy has to do with holding a mirror up to society and then comparing that image with the image of the perfect society that God would have us establish.

In Scripture that societal mirror often displayed images that were less than complementary; and subsequently the prophet was disliked or even hated. Most of the Hebrew prophets were rejected, harassed or killed.

It was largely due to their prophetic activity that John the Baptist and Jesus was murdered in the New Testament.

American society in 2006 is desperately in need of prophetic voices, including--no, not including, but ESPECIALLY--the church. Much of the church in this country has sold out to nationalism, power and greed. Many churches in America today are indistinguishable from the right-wing conservative politicians of our land.

This blog seeks to be a place where the actions of American society can be held up in front of the mirror of the life and teachings of Jesus. In so doing perhaps we can begin to move this nation in directions of which God would approve.