Civility: Making a comeback or the topic de jour?

Ah, civility!  Once the hallmark of the Western world, the trademark of the elite classes.  Civility, we hardly knew ye.  It is gone, lost in a world where shrillness, absurdity and vulgarity have obliterated respect for truth and pass for clever communication.  As long as the message is received, who cares what it looks like, sounds like or who it embarrasses or ruins!  The point must be made, at all costs. Not only that, but isn't schadenfreude a delicious treat?

Today, I see that the University of Arizona is opening a National Institute for Civil Discourse, a center for the debate and study for civility in our culture.  The fact that we need such a Center is embarrassing enough, but even as the announcement of its opening is being made, the discourse regarding the Institute for Civil Discourse is rash with sarcasm, scepticism and out right incivility (see the comments on the link above, and just about any other source of this news clip.)(Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/21/national-institute-for-civil-discourse_n_825825.html?ir=College)

The biblical lectionary for the Seventh Sunday after Epiphany, read yesterday in most liturgical churches around the globe, presented a very timely bit of gospel on this subject.  Jesus is teaching the beatitudes, the very heart of the message of God and is quoted thus:

43 ‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.” 44But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45so 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. 46For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax-collectors do the same? 47And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Matthew 5.

There are not many ways to look at this and come away with a message that does not promote civility, if not compassion, forgiveness and acceptance of others, enemies included.  What could today's world, or any other time in the history of mankind, do with a widespread acceptance of this message?  Not an acceptance of Christianity, or even of Jesus as Son of God- just this message alone?  Why is it so difficult?

It certainly isn't difficult to think of civility and to profess that civility may be achieved by having the right person or people in power.  Plato certainly thought so, as did St. Augustine.  The Muslims of the world see it in their cultural way of thinking.  So why is it so hard?  And why is it so easy to make fun of this idea and the people who sincerely pose the idea in our time?

Could it be that our foundation as a culture and of species is so soft that belief in the motives of others to extend beyond personal survival, fear and selfishness is just not smart?  Doesn't everyone want to take what I have, hold me down, push me away, impose on me, eliminate the very threat of me...?  And even if I began to look at the world the way that this message suggests, that doesn't mean that anyone else will!  I'll be a laughing stock, a target! 

I don't know how to solve this problem and I don't believe that the centuries of contemplating it  will culminate in utopia this week.  But I do know that I can try, and keep trying.  I can comment and I can see that God lives in every thing and everyone, and that alone is enough to give it a shot.  I don't have to find my enemies and get smoochy with them, I just have to be willing to try and leave presumption and fear behind when we are walking the second mile, remembering as Father Thack said yesterday, we have to be willing to walk the first mile to get to the second one.   I must remember that I alone don't have to twist facts, or lie, or make absurd points using extreme examples just to have my voice heard, I just tell the truth, over and over again.

Thank goodness people are trying.  I pledge to try as well.

The one real thing

Every now and again, my mind gets tired, and my thoughts spin out of control like a stack of papers in a whirl-wind.  So many things so often, can one escape the news of the world these days?  And what are we to make of it when everything that happens in the world is immediately descended upon by experts who explain to us what they think this or that means.  The wind twists and turns, the papers fly and the trees bow.  What do I hold on to?

The journey of life takes one to so many interesting and beautiful places, that nailing down something as simple as an identity can be tricky. The "is this really me" thing can become like a person in a department store fitting room. Hmmm. Too tight, to loose, too old fashioned, too new, too young, too brown, too red. Its easy to hang it all on a rack and walk out into the world in the same old clothes we wore in, forgetting that at some point, we had to choose those too.


I struggled with this identity question for many years .  I felt that Christianity was my foundation, after all, I was born this way, baptized into the body, and had been a member, sometimes even dues paying.  But the question remained, where is my foundation, where is the most fundamental source of my strength?  Especially in times of uncertainty, which, as everyone knows, come along about every day.  There were many things to hold on to, to be sure, but there was still that lingering question, what is the real source of all this?

God showed me something recently.  Not something literally as a picture, but something in my heart that shuddered through my entire being.  It's all about redemption.  That's it.  That is the foundation.  It is not about me or my wants, my fears, my social blindness or excesses.  It's about redemption.  Jesus, the man, dying a very real death, and each and every one of us given a chance for new life.  The life that we all so very desperately seek.  The life promised by so many creeds, cultures, religions, cults, what ever, the life of freedom, peace, and joy.  The life of being God's own.  It is truly here.  A lot has to be pulled away in order to see it, a lot has to be learned and then unlearned to know it.  But it is there.

That is the foundation.  Without it, a swirling mess in a tempest.  With it, the ability to be.  And now that I can be, I will finally be able to live.

Another year over, and a new one...

A new year is on its way.  Time does fly, and it is true what people say, the older you get, the faster it flies. 

I haven't written much here in 2010, and I regret that.  The year was one of confusion and uncertainty.  I reached depths that I never thought I would see in some aspects of my life, and learned lessons that were far too late in coming.  Writing during that time would have been beneficial no doubt, but in the end I made it through with God's help.

So, no more looking back.  Jesus said, that if we put our hands to the plow and continue to look back, we're not fit to move forward into God's kingdom.  One may interpret this passage many ways, but for me it means that there should be only one goal in mind once the Holy Spirit has spoken in our lives.  Anything else just clouds the picture.

Thus, my resolution for the new year, don't look back.  Move forward and walk in light.  God knows where I am headed, as the Psalm says, I will commit my path to the Lord and live in the land and feed on its riches.  What more is there to do really?

Happy New Year!

Who's side are you on?

There is so much talk these days about identity. Who am I? What is my group? What is my affiliation, were do my roots reach? This isn’t something that I’ve spent a lot of time fretting about, I am a country boy from south Alabama, after all.


However, in our world, affiliation appears to be very important. It isn’t a new thing, people have always chosen sides or aligned themselves based on race, tribe, regional identity, etc. Many people have made themselves very powerful propagating the idea that like needs to be with like. Germany in the early Twentieth Century comes to mind. Of course, one mustn’t forget the Romans, the Greeks, the Jews, the Arabs, the Persians. In Africa, the rape and destruction of fighting tribes still makes the news. Here in the South, where I grew up at the end of the segregation era, memories of whites only facilities and the lie of separate but equal still stir in my memory. All of this for what?

It is my opinion that where there is segregation and animosity, there is no God. Yes, religious differences do account for a lot of violence and destruction over time, but this is the work of desperate, fearing people.

This, asinine factionalism in politics? My theory is better than your theory? Yeah, and my Dad can buy me a better bike than yours. Please. There is no good end in that, it always boils down to who gets to control and receive the money.

I used to be a devotee of talk radio, listening every day, even to the point of hungrily scanning the radio dial for my favorite programs when on the road. That is until one day I found a broadcast emanating from the “other side”. After listening for awhile, I realized that, with very few exceptions, the vitriolic verbiage I was hearing on that program was almost exactly the same as what I heard on my favorite programs. Substitute a couple of nouns and adjectives, and everything else was the same. I realized that this was nothing more than third grade level grandstanding by both sides- accusations, ad hominem presumption, nothing that served any purpose other than keeping both sides angry at one another, which of course leads to ratings, which in turn leads to huge salaries for the talking heads. Where ever we are on the political or denominational spectrum, we are all being played like dime wax whistles. I vowed then and there that I will never listen again.

The realization also came that, as spiritual people, we have to move beyond this silliness. As a professing Christian, I can’t be part of this. Jesus instructed me to love my neighbor. Who is my neighbor? He answered that too. (Look it up if you don’t know.) If our goal, along with every other religion is not to bring all people together in God, then God is not in the plan. If our goal is not to able to exist together on this small planet , then what have millions of years taught us?

Being the one who refuses to cross the line drawn on the playground sand is not the one who is weak. That person is the one who knows him/her self and knows that God is greater than anything we can argue, maim or kill over.

It's relationships, stupid.

A catch phrase from some past political campaign was designed to remind everyone of the most important concept to push: "It's the economy, stupid". The imagined response is "Oh yeah, that." I felt this way last Sunday, Palm Sunday to be exact, when our priest presented his sermon on the relationship between Jesus and the Apostle Peter, and how Peter denied him on the eve of the Passion. Somewhere in the back of my mind I heard that, "It's relationships, stupid", followed by my own, "Oh yeah, that."

If I imagine that the events of that night never actually took place and if I were to suppose that someone made this story up just to make a point, I couldn't imagine a more clever thinker and story teller. In this one episode, the relationship between Peter and Jesus portrays everything we need to know about Jesus and his ministry, everything we need to know about what God wants from us.  Even though we tell God, perhaps as frequently as daily, that we believe in Him, love Him and are willing to serve Him, we can hear or maybe even feel the words of Jesus in the Garden, "..before the rooster crows three times you will deny me." And we do. Consistently.

I believe very strongly that sin is not defined by activities or words. Sin is defined by how our own selfish motivations damage our realtionship with God. Sin is me being out of phase with my God Nature, with the Holy Spirit in me. The words and actions which follow are a symptom of the failed realtionship. It is then that I am doing damage to myself and to the people I profess to love, and through the law of unintended consequences, even people I don't know. Jesus knew that Peter was out of phase that night and he knew he would be back. Peter had to have his moment to see that he was not the master of his destiny, and that only by fully surrendering his powerful desire to the love of Jesus could he get that realtionship back. He did.

The two greatest commandments according to Jesus were to be in relationship with God and our fellow humans. How simple is that? The only requirement, I have to give my self away in order to do it. That is the difficult part. How many of our "unique" societal problems today would be solved if we could all live this? "Hah!", comes the response, "that will NEVER happen!" OK. It never will as long we believe it will not. At least there is a chance.

Peace

We are living in times that could become violent in a moment's notice. Political, religious, social systems- all are under stress. And why? We have reached another great period of turning. It is no accident.

This year we are 500 years out from Martin Luther's posting of the 95 Thesis which sparked the reformation movement in Europe. The movement impacted not only the Roman Church, but every aspect of life in the culture of that time, including soical systems and politics. The culture changed, radicals arose from every corner, people died in the name of what was "right".

Fundamental change never takes place without severe, radical activity of some kind. The activity usually involves a violent reaction in the physical world, and also in the world of people. Enemies will go so far as causing violence and blaming it on their foes in order to stir more violence and create chaos. Liars thrive on chaos, deflection and accusation.

Jesus caused fear in his time by upsetting a well established hiearchy and by encouraging people to see beyond the status quo. He was too radical for the powerful, came too close to upsetting their deal. His weapons were love, forgiveness and redemption. His motto was inclusion, his method was healing. His mission was truth, the thing liars fear most. And, like most people who shine light in the dark corners of corruption, he was killed for it. But, as we believe, the tables were turned in his case. His resurrection showed that even the ultimate human contrived punishment, the intentional taking of one's life, can not stop the power of God.

As Christians, it should make no difference to us who is in control, what government we have or what amount of tax we pay in this time and place. Our Saviour told us plainly, these things are of the world and gaining the world is not our goal. If we live in God, we live for him, not for political gain, control over people, or possessions. And, as Jesus said and as the Psalmist sings, those who make these things their God have already received their reward.

I believe we are all about to be challenged. Those who resist change are going to be put in the place of the scapegoat, the obstructionists, the people who are not willing give to the good of the order. As a people, if one may indeed call something as diverse as Christianity a people, we should be used to this. And, if we stick to the teachings of the Bible, we are easy targets. They, the liars, know this. And they will use this to their advantage. Our reaction will determine the future of more than the current attempt to change an already corrupt and feeble culture. Like Luther's list of complaints, it will reach far beyond anything we can imagine.

It is time to be awake, time to look for the bridegroom in the early hours of the morning, and most importantly, time be at peace.

Remain spiritually tenacious

"If our hopes are being disappointed just now, it means that they are being purified. There is nothing noble the human mind has ever hoped for or dreamed of that will not be fulfilled. One of the greatest strains in life is the strain of waiting for God. "  From Oswald Chambers, "My utmost for His highest".  His point for today, we must remain "spiritually tenacious" while we wait.

As Lent begins, I find myself once again, waiting.   Waiting for something to happen to propel me in the direction I need to go.  Something to carry me through the ups and downs of the economy, the fickle job market, the political uncertainties.  I've asked, if not demanded that God help, to fix the problem, even.  Then I wait.

Yesterday at the Eucharist for the First Sunday in Lent, and again later in the day at the closing service for a Cursillo, I heard the message repeated- Lent is a time for reflection, at time to face the question, who am I, really? To examine whether or not I could ever have a fraction of the spiritual tenacity demonstrated by Jesus when he faced temptation in the desert. 

Then I think again about the lessons I've learned in this life and the fact that I am where I am because I drove the car that delivered me to this spot.  I drove it, filled it with gas, kept the tires inflated, changed the oil- I did every thing I could to keep it moving and personally chose the roads upon which it traveled. Now it crashes and I ask God to fix it?

God is doing that.  God is showing me that I drove the car into the ditch and that only I can pull it out.  Then I have a choice.  Continue down the same road, or chose another.  Or better yet, to allow him to drive. 

I am waiting, but I know that while I wait for the driver, there are plenty of things I need to do for myself.  So in the meantime, I will be busy doing just that.