Walking in the Light

The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness
on them light has shined.
Isaiah 9:2

What has come into being in him was life,
and the life was the light of all people.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness did not overcome it.
John 1: 3b-5

The people of ancient Israel knew the absence of light in ways that most of us have never experienced. Outside of occasional ice storms that cause temporary power outages, most of us living in towns and cities and even rural communities to some extent do not know real darkness. Our night sky is polluted by reflecting lights from cities and such...so much in fact it may be hard to see the countless stars that remind us of the awesomeness of our Creator. I don't think Isaiah or John for that matter could have begun to imagine the world we live in today. Light Emitting Diodes bringing clarity to on-screen displays (I'm writing this using my new LCD monitor) and brightness to decorative and utility lighting with lower energy consumption would, well...blow them away! Tiny lamps filled with preciously conserved oil and left-over cooking fires provided the major source of auxillary light to that of the moon and the stars for Isaiah's hearers. We on the other hand live in a world of light, 24hrs a day, 365 days and nights of the year. For the early audience of Isaiah and John the dawning of a new light for the world, one that is not overcome by the darkness had a much more profound literal meaning than it does for us. Not only was God ushering in a new age of peace, but one of light and moreover abundant light with enough to give it away.

For us, light has become more metaphorical meaning truth, life, goodness, knowledge, certainty, and direction. And yet, having trillions of lights brightly illuminating our world does not mean that we see much of anything clearly. With all that light we still prefer to lurk in the shadows where all that destroys the abundant life of God waits for us. We still prefer to ration God's love for those we accept as lovable. We still stand back when injustice rears his ugly head in our midst. We still wander lost in the insatiable world of consumption.

My hope for all us this Christmas is that we will walk out of the shadows, say no to the deceitful ways of greed and jealousy, say no to the oppressiveness of exclusivity and say yes to life that is adundant, say yes to love that gives without reservation, say yes to the full inclusion of all of God's creation in the light of God's love and ours. May your Christmas be filled with bright warmth and love!

Come Lord Jesus! Come!

A voice cries out:
‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’

Isaiah 40:3-5

The gospel of Luke records John the Baptist quoting this vision of an all-inclusive salvation was the lectionary for the second Sunday of Advent. Here is an expanded version of the words I shared on Sunday...

Every valley shall be lifted up. No longer shall a person’s social inclusion be defined by the deep valley and stigma of disease they carry in their body. AIDS and differing abilities such as Autism will no longer be barriers for the full inclusion of persons in the love and grace of God and thus our love. The culture of fear that is fueled by the falacy of the scarcity of God's love for the world has excluded persons on many bases from being welcomed as full recipients of God's salvation just as they are. God's love is abundant enough for all to have a share and for no one to be left out.

And every mountain and hill shall be made low. No longer shall the mountains of usury and exploitation steal away the abundant life that Christ offers to everyone while those who profit the most blame those who lose the most. When so many people struggle to keep their heads above water economically while very few people control massively insane amounts of wealth, the path to living the full life that Christ proclaimed as good news to the poor is filled with mountains of debt. The abundant life of Christ calls for those who find themselves able to lend financially to be about building up the community such that all may share in the fullness of God's blessings together. Whenever profit is placed before people and communities, the death dealing ways of the world threaten to keep many from experiencing abundant living while they fear for their survival.

And the crooked shall be made straight. No longer shall the crooked paths of self-perception based on a false, retouched world bent on self-destructive behaviors in an effort to be someone we think we have to be.
And the rough ways made smooth. No longer shall the rough ways be allowed to crumble into impassable pathways because no one wanted to get involved, no one wanted to stir the pot or rock the boat, no one wanted to step outside the box of socially defined rules, because no one was excited about the Good News of Christianity. Evangelism is often defined in personal terms...personal transformation and membership and belonging in the church. Being saved, having a grasp on salvation is not just a concept or a warranty for your post-this-here-and-now-life! Being saved, knowing salvation is not just an individual private matter worked out between you and your specialized Savior!


Salvation is not private – salvation is the revealing of the children of God…the realization of God’s peaceful realm in our midst. Salvation changes us and changes the world through us. And, this happens when we choose to be heralds for the beloved community of God's love and grace, when we choose to act on our faith and stand for justice and righteousness, when we choose to reject the perpetuation of institutional and social tyranny (including those within the church) that destroys lives and communities. We must be the change for the world that God calls us to be.

So, come Lord Jesus, come! Come and embolden us to blaze new pathways and build your beloved community where there is enough love and grace to go around with leftovers to spare! Come and deliver us from the vicious lies of exclusivity that preach the scarcity of your love and grace! Come and grant us the strength to carry your good news into action for peace and justice! Come and transform our hearts from selfishness, possessiveness, jealousy, greed and exploitation that all may see the salvation of God!
Come, Lord Jesus! Come!

Doing God's Work in DC

How the faithful city has become a whore!
She that was full of justice, righteousness lodged in her—but now murderers!
Your silver has become dross, your wine is mixed with water.
Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves.
Everyone loves a bribe and runs after gifts.
They do not defend the orphan, and the widow’s cause does not come before them.

Isaiah 1:21-24

The assertion that Washington, DC has ever been a faithful city can certainly be debated. Dan Brown has some interesting insights about the "faith" of the founders and the capitol city in his latest novel The Lost Symbol. Having just returned from another pilgrimage to the "holy city" of free-market capitalism, I am more convinced that Isaiah's harsh indictment was and is right on the money.

The prophet Isaiah, of course, was holding accountable the corrupt leadership of ancient Jerusalem who had misplaced their trust in nationalism, gross national profit, national defense, and institutionalized faith. The powerful elite were using their religion and their roles in government for their own personal gain without regard for those who were suffering as a result of their policies and practices. Religious policies, which claimed the male as the dominant gender and were designed to perpetuate male power had made the widow's life a living hell. Orphans were suspected of being possessed or otherwise bearers of bad luck. Female orphans were simply out of luck. Palace and Temple were selling their souls for personal gain and the nation at the expense of the poor and estranged, all the while claiming to be doing God's work.

I was in Washington DC area last weekend to co-chair the annual National People's Action Leadership Conference at the 4-H Conference Center in Chevy Chase, MD. I was fortunate that Teri was able to join me for the weekend, and as with the Showdown in Chicago I was proud to see her stand up for justice and to begin new relationships with NPA folks. The three day excursion was non-stop activity from the time the plane left Bloomington, IL early Saturday morning to the time it touched back down in high winds and significant turbulance late Monday night. Teri and I owe a debt of gratitude to Rev. Charlotte Dotts for staying behind in Chicago so that Teri could fly home that night!

As a co-chair, I was blessed to work with Lisa Colon from Alliance to Develop Power. She has a deep passion for justice and was fantastic to work with! On Saturday and Sunday we worked to develop our leadership skills and to strengthen our relationships as we prepared to take our big ideas to the hill. On Monday, I chaired a meeting with the Consumer Affairs Department of the Federal Reserve along with Rev. Tony Pierce from Peoria, Rickie Coleman and Monte Shaw from Kansas, Brenda LaBlanc from Iowa, Heidi Hynes from the Northwest Bronx and Jordan Estavo with NPA. After clearing with security, we sat down for a 90minute meeting with the officers of the Fed who had visited nine cities over the past six months to see and hear how the poorly regulated financial industry has crushed neighborhoods with foreclosures, vacant and abandoned properties, soaring unemployment, and predatory lending practices. The Fed officers found the visits extremely helpful and have begun looking at ways the data may influence policy, such as examiner guidelines that grade banks on their performance in Community Reinvestment Act zones. We have asked that those guidelines including grading down any reserve bank that capitalizes predatory lending which would then make the bank less eligible for interest rate discounts when they borrow from the Fed. Why should a bank get cheap money to loan out at usury rates?

Our meeting was intense at moments as we explained that, while we are certainly grateful for the investment in time and resources expended on the field visits, the economic situation in our neighborhoods has not improved since last March when we met with Chairman Bernanke. Instead, 2.1 Million families have LOST their homes in 2009. Let that sink in for a second. Eight Million jobs have been lost. And, big banks are recording record profits in many cases, setting aside billions of dollars in bonuses after WE bailed them out to the tune of a trillion dollars. Eight Thousand people protested in Chicago over three days in October marking it the largest protest for financial reform since the crisis began. Well, here's where we are in our relationship with the Fed: Chairman Bernanke has agreed to meet with us again soon to continue working for solutions to the crisis, a Governor of the Board will be appointed to be our liaison as we work for community economic development, the Fed will continue to work with regional reserve banks (Chicago for instance) to convene banks in an effort to create alternative lending products in place of payday loans, and we will receive formal feedback in a timely fashion.

Our next stop was the US Treasury where NPA held an action calling on Secretary Geitner to clean up the HAMP fiasco that has NOT saved American homes due to systemic failures and lack of direct influence upon lenders by the FED.

Next, we took our action back to the DC offices of Goldman Sachs to call on their CEO Lloyd Blankfein to donate the $23 Billion set aside for bonuses to save American homes from foreclosure. The Rev. Tony Pierce also had a clear message for Mr. Blankfein who claimed in a recent interview that "he's just a banker doing God's work." As the prophet Nathan said to King David indicting him in Uriah's murder, "you are the man" AND YOU ARE NOT DOING GOD'S WORK! While millions of American's suffer, big banks continue to grow and prosper. And, when financial reform is greatly needed for recovery and prevention of another economic disaster, Goldman Sachs and their ABA comrads line the campaign funds for members of the house and senate who serve on financial services committees to insure that the policies, that rape the American people of their hopes and dreams, continue to enact economic violence on our neighborhoods and communities. Congress has sold itself to these too big too fail monstrocities and it is time for the men and women that WE sent to represent US to choose WHOSE side they are on! Too big too fail is too big too exist and it is time for PEOPLE to be put BEFORE profit!

Other meetings were held with FDIC, HUD, Homeland Security on Immigration Reform and with several congressional offices.

As people of faith, we believe in redemption and we believe that the financial industry and federal officials must be held accountable for the disastrous consequences of gambling with our hopes and dreams, squandering the abundant wealth of our nation, preying on the vulnerable, and stealing from our children's future by heaping mountains of debt upon them! Enough is enough! It is time to Make Change Happen and that begins with each and everyone of us! We cannot live the lies of the past that serve to perpetuate corporate profit while they crush the poor and under-resourced. We cannot trust the self-correction of the market that was never free in the first place. We can no longer buy the fallacy that everyone has an equal start in life and can therefore pull oneself up by one's boot straps (if you have boots!) and succeed. We cannot stand by as our elected leaders cave to the big banks and Wall Street firms while neglecting their own communities. We are the change! We can make it happen! And, that my friends is doing God's work!

Making a Difference

We are in the midst of a presidential campaign in our household. No, we are not preparing for a run for the White House in 2012. We are campaigning for Student Council President of Hope Academy Middle School. Earlier this week, our oldest child, announced that he had not only signed up to be on the student council, but that he had also entered the race for president of the council as well. So, this morning we spent the usual cartoon time writing a campaign speech. He made only one promise, to work hard and do his best. We practiced the nearly 60 second oration several times in front of the mirror, making sure that emphases and pauses were in the correct places. Then we packed the candidate into the 'limo' and whisked him to the WHHN TV studio where he delivered his speech to the entire school on live closed circuit television. He reports that the speech went well and that he was “standing in Dad’s shadow.” I am humbled that he was excited to be on the school TV and to do something he has seen me do many times before. I have no doubt that he stood in his own spotlight today! The election is a few days away. For now, our focus turns to the school district middle school band concert and the alto saxophone this evening.

I am extremely fortunate to be the father of two awesome sons who are already developing an understanding of the importance of being involved in their community. I am proud of both of them. I am blessed that they have a growing respect for all people, regardless of differences perceived or real. I am glad that they acknowledge the connection between the things they want and the resources we do or do not have. I am grateful that they enjoy learning, love to read, to sing & dance, to play board games as well as electronic games, to wrestle in our pj’s, to curl up on their mother’s lap for a story or just to be there, and that they sometimes stay awake just long enough to say “Goodnight Dad” when I get home late from work. Children are precious and I pray that I never take that for granted.

I have to admit that I was a bit surprised when I learned of my son’s candidacy for student council president. Having Asperger’s Syndrome, I would have expected him to be uninvolved in school politics and too busy with his many fascinations to consider the possibility. He is very bright and quite articulate and yet the news kind of blew me away. Social responsibility skills are a challenge for him. When I asked him why he signed up, he said that he thought he should try it. There was very little “future responsibility” impacting the decision. I am delighted, however, that he can see himself in a leadership role, whether he really knows what that entails or not.

"One person can make a difference and everyone should try. " JFK


I have hope for the future knowing that a new generation of community minded folks may be on the way. I am optimistic that my children and many of their peers will not be apathetic when presented with challenges and concerns that affect their neighbors, near or far. Like many before them, they will get involved and become a part of the solutions. Jesus was like that. He challenged the systems that perpetuated poverty, he healed the sick, he fed the hungry, he included the marginalized and he challenged us to do likewise. Jesus was also a political leader, proclaiming the Kingdom of God which was in direct opposition to the Roman Empire. His platform was peace that is the result of justice and justice that is the result of being in right relationship with God and with the neighbor.

And, now not only does the Son of God inspire my community involvement, but my own son gives me inspiration to keep working hard and trying my best to serve the Lord and the common good.

Peace & Joy!

Showdown in Chicago: Gospel in Action

“Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

Mark 12:28b-31

Teri and I had an exciting week! Read on to find out what we did and why we did it - and specifically why our faith led us there.

Teri and I left for Chicago on Sunday afternoon to join with several hundred members of the National People's Action for a Showdown in Chicago: the American People Vs. the Wall Street Banks. We stayed in the Hyatt Regency on East Wacker right on the Chicago River and directly across the river from the Sheraton where the American Bankers Association was meeting. We gathered from 20 states to bring a unified voice calling our financial industry and government to account for the economic crisis that they allowed to happen. More on that in a bit. Teri heard from US Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois while I was already at work with the inside action team for our first big action of the three-day protest. Crammed in a regular hotel room with 26 close friends for almost 2hrs waiting for the outside team to show up was - well, 27 people in one hotel room. Teri and several hundred other folks marched across the river as the ABA was beginning their "Roaring Twenties" themed party. Upon their arrival at the hotel, the inside action team descended to the lobby to begin our action and deliver a strong message from our communities where unemployment is as high as 10% and foreclosures are happening every 7.5 seconds.

What a sight! Words fail to describe the feelings that rushed upon us when the inside team was escorted outside where we were face to face with the power of the people cheering us!

On Monday, our group grew and began the day by hearing from FDIC Chair Sheila Bair. I left early once again to prepare for our actions at Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo. GS recently announced huge bonuses for their top executives after we bailed them out. Enough is Enough! Wells Fargo has a lawsuit pending against them by the IL Attorney General's Office for discrimination and leading African American borrows regardless of credit qualifications into high cost loans including sub-prime and adjustable rate mortgages! The stagecoach wasn't robbed this time - the stagecoach was full of bankers robbing us! It is time to hold these institutions accountable and demand that they stop fleecing us!

The action on Wells Fargo's office was a surprise. It was during this action that I met a Deputy Chief of the Chicago Police Department, who helped us deliver a letter to the CEO's of GS and WFB with our reasonable demands. Afterwards we returned to the American Bankers Association convention with a few hundred more folks to let them know that we demand accountability. ABA CEO Edward Yingling said that the community bankers meeting in Chicago were not responsible for the crisis. And, while it may be true that most smaller community banks did not play high risk roulette with their capital by playing the sub-prime and ARM games, the ABA is funded overwhelmingly by large banks that did! Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, Citi Group, and Bank of America hold the lion's share of control and capital and they bully the smaller banks as they hunt them down like prey for the taking. The ABA also uses millions of dollars from their TARP funding (bailout) to lobby congressional officials, by contributing to their campaign funds, to vote against financial industry regulatory reform such as the Consumer Financial Protection Agency proposed by the President to oversee the banking and non-bank financial industry. Basically, the Banks got bailed out, we got sold out! The CFPA would not be comprised of bankers like the Federal Reserve is or Wall Street Execs like the SEC. The CFPA would have community influence and with new disclosure rules would be able to closely monitor for unjust lending practices. Time to Reclaim America and our Democracy! On Tuesday, alongside thousands of friends from labor and other justice coalitions, The Showdown carried a message through the streets to Congress as well...

Time to choose a side Congress! The people or profit? Big Bonuses or Jobs and Saved Homes? Greed or Democracy? During the rally, I presented a PAST DUE invoice for trillions of dollars to a representative of the ABA who was called out of the convention for me by my new Chicago Police Department friend.

Back home today, I had the opportunity to do a live interview with David Shuster on MSNBC to invite everyone to call their congressional reps and tell them to put the people first! I've been on local TV several times and this was my first time on national television - it was a blast!

So what does the gospel or faith have to do with all of this? Everything!!! Jesus said, Love God and your neighbor. That is the gospel - plain and simple! He took action in the courts of the temple when a corrupt financial system was preying upon his neighbors and he praised the widow's mite for she was giving more than most. And, he calls those who would follow to do likewise. Jesus' kingdom ranks ones neighbor before oneself - does not destroy the neighbor by preying on them with high cost, bad loans, foreclosing on them and leaving them jobless while you party like it is the roaring twenties! Faith leads me to do justice, to bring good news to the poor, to support the weak, to return no one evil for evil, and to honor all people - to love the Lord God and my neighbor, the banker and the homeless foreclosed.

What a week this has been!

Self-Service Christianity

"but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Mark 10:43-45



I had no intention of blogging about the lectionary this week - don't want to become too routine - and then it happened again! I had my shower epiphany about the subject for this post and while looking for the Isaiah passage referred to later, I read the gospel pericope for this coming Sunday and to my wonderful surprise, the author of Mark was saying many of the things I was thinking!

Anyway, do you remember when self-service gas pumps were first installed? Do you remember the first Automated Teller Machines were up and running 24hrs a day? And, when Aldi Foods broke us in on bag your own groceries? I may not be forty yet, but I do remember all of those early ventures into the self-service world that we now have come to accept and expect. Some of us even prefer the U-scan aisles over the live cashier at our favorite shopping spots. We select the item, we scan it, we pay without passing our method of payment to a person, we bag it, we forget to take our receipt and we carry it to the car. It is truly all about us. And, we are so proud of ourselves for being able to do it ourselves - like toddlers in potty training - "look mommy, I can do it all by myself."

While our culture may have rapidly adapted to the self-service mentality of business, the church has at least drug her feet kicking and screaming, or has she? Many churches have adapted quite well to the self-service mentality - providing multiple options of times and styles of worship experiences, installing ATM machines, bookstores and cafe's to cater to a parishoner's every need. In many cases, even the gospel has been adapted to the self-service mentality. Follow Jesus and you will be saved - you will defeat the power of death, stay out of hell and achieve your personal salvation. And, what about the church budget as it relates to the mission and ministry of the church? The maintanence of the building and the staff chaplains nearly always overshadows the community outreach and justice ministries of the church.

Last Saturday, Teri and I were fortunate to attend the Mid-Nite at the Oasis celebration and fundraiser at the newly renovated Knights of Columbus hall downtown. We were invited in part because Central Christian Church was a recipient of an award for being one of the top three supporting religious organizations for the Oasis Day Center for the homeless which opened ten years ago this past April. I have been blessed to represent Central on the Oasis Advisory Board since 1998 when CCC gave Oasis - then just a vision of a marvelous collaboration of folks - a major gift from undesignated bequest funding. One of the highlights of the evening for me was when my tablemate, Grady Wilkinson former CEO of Heritage and visionary of the day center, looked at me and said, "Can you believe, ten years?" Grady and I met many times back in 1998/1999 when we were searching for funds to operate the day center. We met with a handful of influential business folks in Decatur, took them on tours of the then storefront operation, and shared the vision of a safe day shelter that welcomes folks unconditionally and offers them opportunities to connect with services to improve their lives. Well, it worked and one of those business folks remains a champion for Oasis yet today. I have always thought of Oasis as an example of how Isaiah's vision is made real in our midst: "The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing...Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp, the grass shall become reeds and rushes. A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not travel on it, but it shall be for God’s people; no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there." (Isaiah 35)

Oasis is a blossom in a desert of despair for so many folks who get lost along the way in our self-service society where community health and wealth are far behind the improvement of self. Oasis is a safe way in the midst of dangerous life intersections and super-highways for so many who are vulnerable prey for those who choose to condemn and exploit others for their own personal benefit. Oasis is an example of the gospel of serving others. We are truly the redeemed when we seek to serve rather than to be served, when our faith is about communal well-being rather than personal salvation, when we no longer participate in self-service Christianity.

Integrity

O Lord, I love the house in which you dwell,
and the place where your glory abides.
Do not sweep me away with sinners,
nor my life with the bloodthirsty,
those in whose hands are evil devices,
and whose right hands are full of bribes.
But as for me, I walk in my integrity;
redeem me, and be gracious to me.
My foot stands on level ground;
in the great congregation I will bless the Lord. Psalm 26: 8-12

My dad has been on my mind a bunch lately. He has been very ill and his prognosis for recovery is not very good. Currently, he seems to be doing OK, however, the docs have told him that there are no more reasonably survivable corrective procedures for his conditions. Well, we've known this has been coming and we've been preparing for these days, weeks, months, however long we have to share life together. My dad has always been a source of strength for me, because no matter what falls his direction he has been able to face it with integrity. He is one of the few real people you meet in this world. Honest and sincere without worry of how the world judges him with all the arbitrary categories humanity has constructed, he lives what he says he believes. He is trustworthy and trusting, even at the expense of loss when trust has not always reciprocated. I am most fortunate to have his nurturing guidance and life examples as sources for becoming the kind of person I have always hoped I will be.

Browsing the Revised Common Lectionary for this Sunday, Oct. 4th, I noticed that one of the themes running throughout the appointed texts is integrity, one of my favorite topics and certainly one of my core values as a person of faith. Integrity is the product of living a completely honest life, honest with ourselves and with everybody else. What I mean by this is simply not being hypocritical or from the word's origins: not ACTING ones core values, beliefs, etc. That, of course, is different from putting one's values and beliefs into ACTION. Putting our beliefs and values into action produces integrity. Saying we are one type of person to the world and being somebody else in the world is the opposite of integrity. And, this I believe to be true in ALL levels of relationships. Not being honest with ourselves or with others produces infidelity in our relationships - distrust - and that is just as true in our business dealings and co-worker relationships as it is in committed relationships such as marriage. Infidelity is too often reduced to the sexual monogamy of a marriage relationship, when in fact it is much more about dishonesty in any relationship than it is about sexuality.

The disciples asked Jesus about the legitimacy of divorce in Mark 10, and being faithful to his Jewish tradition Jesus answered with warnings of adultery, which of course, has nothing to do with breaking another's heart by cheating on one's spouse. Adultery, Biblically speaking, was mainly about stealing another person's property, trespassing on turf that belonged to another - marriage was not built on love and romance - it was for survival and societal organization, which of course was designed for and by heterosexual males. Today, we use the language of mutually satisfying relationships built on love, commitment, honesty and open communication whenever we talk about healthy committed relationships. These are the same terms we use whenever we talk about an intimate or close relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and thus with the Almighty God. Jesus may have broken with tradition when he challenged the double standards of adultery in his time and ours too!

The point of this, for me, is that just as God hopes for integrity in all of our human relationships, God hopes for the same integrity in our relationship with God. Whenever we say that God loves everyone, indeed everything that God has created and that God demands us to love as we are loved - then we cannot distribute our love based on some arbitrary decision on our part. God in Christ says yes, even those we name as enemies - and that has major implications for us! To be honest in our relationship with God means that we cannot decide to destroy our enemies, even when they have caused us harm. I know that's difficult if not downright impossible for most of us and that's why we have sin in the world and grace enough to redeem us. Redemption does not mean that we just run and do the same ole thing over and over and come back for more free grace. Redemption means that we are healed from the hurts that cause us to hate another enough to decide to destroy them in the first place. We are healed by the realization that God's love is bigger than our own sin, our own dishonesty with ourselves, our own failures in relationships, our own infidelity.

Integrity means for me that I cannot lie, mislead, coerce or cheat another to make a social gain or financial profit for myself. Integrity means that I cannot horde resources for myself while others suffer without enough to survive. Integrity means that I must act against hatred, discrimination, dehumanization, and injustice of any kind. Integrity means that I am willing to give of myself even when I don't feel like I have an abundance from which to share. Integrity means that I am willing to risk my own vulnerability by trusting others even when I know they may become my enemies. Integrity means that I am honest with myself.

Perspective

OK, so I was having one of those days. That's right I was having one of those days when the typical stress of life was getting to me. (I won't bore you with the details, they are insignificant anyway and probably not worth your time.) I was simply in a frustrated mood. My first appointment for the day was with a senior nursing student who came by to interview me as a "key informant" on the needs of folks in our community. I'm not sure that I really want the title "informant" in any way associated with my name, but never-the-less I gave him an hour's worth of my thoughts and perceptions about needs in our town: adequate and affordable housing, emergency shelter for the homeless, jobs that pay a living wage, adult literacy education, fair and just lending practices, etc. We had a meaningful conversation and I was impressed with his perceptions as well. He will no doubt make a great nurse because he is able to recognize the challenges folks face living on the fringes of our many societal systems. There is hope to be found in future generations!
Then it was time to put into practice the lessons I learned yesterday about using Facebook and Twitter as a tool for congregational ministry. So, I found a great quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. about serving and posted it on my personal Facebook page. Next, I looked to the lectionary for a quote from scripture for the church's Facebook page. And there it was! The word I needed for the day: "Our help is in the name of the Lord, who makes heaven and earth." from Psalm 124. Now I am not big on believing in supernatural intervention into mundane life or in "help from above." I do believe that there is power in knowing the name of the Lord. What I mean by that is simply knowing that the Lord, God is Creator of all that is, was or will be including "heaven and earth" and that God loves you and me without condition. That's powerful and comforting and even calming, for me.
On the one hand there are all of life's problems and stresses and on the other hand there is God - maker and lover of the big picture - the cosmos with all of the chaos and the order of life. So, one short verse from a short Psalm and the day has perspective - another infinitesimal speck in the midst of the universe of God's love and care for God's beautiful and often chaotic creation. Breathing is easier. Focus may be sharper. Mood definitely better, at least for now.