Seeking approval....Galatians 1:10

Am I now seeking human approval, or God’s approval?

Or am I trying to please people?

If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

- Galatians 1:10

..

Lent - Meditation - 4th Sunday of Lent - from "God's Politics" blog by Barbara Born

Fourth Sunday of Lent: Faith into Action

by Barbara Born 03-22-2009

Bible readings from the Revised Common Lectionary: Numbers 21:4-9; Psalm107; Ephesians 2:1-10; John 3:14-21

As you travel along your Lenten journey of discovery, don’t let the soles of your shoes insulate you from pebbles God places on your path — all the things that nudge you from being complacent in your faith: The invite from a friend to attend a prayer service. Sharing a simple meal of soup and bread with fellow church members. An insightful word of scripture contemplated via lectio divina. In all these ways, let friendship, fellowship, and the unfolding Word illuminate your Lenten path.

read the rest HERE.

10 Reasons We Don't Like to Talk About Race, Eugene Cho at "God's Politics Blog"

On the "God's Politics" Blog, Eugene Cho offers his top 10 Reasons We Don't Like to Talk About Race. I thought his observations were quite apt...what do you think?

Here's an excerpt, check out his whole post HERE.

In Christ’s family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ. (Galatians 3.28/The Message)

Why is racism such a difficult topic and issue — including for Christians? Well, here are some of my reasons:

1. It’s hard work. And people can be lazy. And talking about racism is an exhausting conversation because it brings up some deep questions. Reconciliation is hard work.
2. Something called ‘Life.’ There’s lots of other things going on — umm, like the financial recession.
3. Confusion. People don’t like confusion. Folks like clarity and certainty. We like answers.
4. Conflict. People don’t like conflict and, well, the conversation of racism provokes conflict and strong opinions.
5. Fear. People are afraid. Afraid to consider the possibilities that we’re racist, prejudiced, or implicated by our silence. Afraid to consider that we live as victims in a “victimized” mentality. Afraid to consider that we need to “give up” something. Afraid to “count the costs.”
6. Apathy. People don’t care. We’re apathetic. And this is probably the scariest reason.
7. What? We don’t think it exists. What racism? What prejudice? And this is probably as scary as #6.
8. How? People don’t know how to talk about racism. We don’t have an agreed upon framework to engage the conversation and move toward peace and reconciliation.
9. We want to forget the past and just “move forward.” It’s over. Heck, Obama is president. It’s a new day.
10. [Insert additional reasons].

The topics of racism, prejudice, and reconciliation are indeed painful conversations. While I don’t necessarily believe that the answer lies exclusively with the church, I do believe the answer lies with the gospel. It lies ultimately with the message of ’shalom’ that God intended for humanity to live in fellowship with God and with one another — because we are created in the image of God.

Check out the post at God's Politics, and also check out Eugene Cho's own blog at http://eugenecho.wordpress.com

Politics of Fear...

I often wonder if we had been better served in these last years by a president who might have embraced something other than the politics of fear. Further, for this president who claims to be such an evangelical, I wonder whether he really has spent enough time with the scriptures, which seem to state, in no uncertain terms that we are to "Fear NOT"! The psalms reiterate over and over the fact that we are really only to fear the Lord, and Jesus was trying to lift his followers out of their own fearfulness and reactivity. Maybe these leaders should set down the Wall Street Journal and pick up the Good Book for 30 minutes before bed!

Many people are living these days in fear that is perhaps quite justified with the financial markets in such turmoil. It is a time for leadership, it is a time for realism, but it is a time to set aside fear .... we have seen worse times, and leaders sometimes rise to the challenge. I do hope our president does ... in the meantime, I can't but wonder what another president might say, and do...

~ The Rev. Peter M. Carey

"the gracious mercy of God," from Desmond Tutu

We are always justified and we are always sinners. We depend not on our goodness, but on the gracious mercy of God.

- Desmond Tutu

hat tip to God's Politics Blog

put on the armor of God

quote of the day on God's Politics blog....

Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

- Ephesians 6:11-12

Sunday Blogrollin' .... some blogs I read

Sunday Blogrollin', Logrollin'....on a Sunday in the Fall...

To give this blog a little (but not too much) structure, I'm going to start giving some blog recommendations on Sundays...themes for other days of the week to come soon....

Here are some of the blogs that I read, described here for your amusement and enjoyment, and (sometimes) edification and learning...

CoreyHarris.com
Corey Harris is an absolutely incredible blues and reggae musician who also was an honors graduate of Bates College in Anthropology back in 1991. He was featured in a PBS Documentary by Martin Scorcese on The Blues, and has won numerous awards. He and I graduated from Bates together and I knew him a bit at Bates and had some mutual friends in common. He's currently on tour in France. September of 2007 The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced that Harris is among 24 people named MacArthur Fellows for 2007. The award comes with $500,000 to be given over five years, with no strings attached. You really should check out his music! Here is the video from the MacArthur Foundation.

Father Matthew Presents
Matthew Moretz is an Episcopal priest up in the Diocese of New York and has an amazing ability and gift with making short videos on elements of the church. He can boil down Anglican Theology to a 3 minute YouTube clip, or can breathe life into a visit to a church attic. He is funny, brilliant, and down to earth. Check him out, whether you give 2 bits about the church, or not.

Sojourners and God's Politics
I have long loved to read Sojourners Magazine and their online work at "Sojo.net," now, with a partnership with Beliefnet, Jim Wallis and others are presenting some challenging and wonderful stuff over at "God's Politics Blog." Really helpful stuff for people who want to see transformative change in the world in order to help the poorest of the poor, and all those who are oppressed. There is a lot of good stuff going on here, and some wonderful visionaries are featured here as well. From the Blog's own descrition, "Join the God's Politics dialogue with Jim Wallis and friends Brian McLaren, Diana Butler Bass, Becky Garrison, Gareth Higgins, Shane Claiborne, Mary Nelson, Gabriel Salguero, Tony Campolo, and others."

A Guy in the Pew
I really like this blog that looks at religion, science, and a nice variety of subjects, but many of the posts are about the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. Chuck Blanchard has a really fine take on many of the controversial topics in our church and in our world. I tend to read his postings nearly every day and I marvel at his ability to analyze and reflect upon some important issues. Check out his stuff!! He also writes for the "Episcopal Cafe" Blog over at the Episcopal Diocese of Washington (DC).

PoetProph
I really like this blog by Dr. Kathleen (or Kathy) Staudt. She is a wise spiritual director, great poet, and wonderful teacher. She played a significant role in my own spiritual and religious development while I was in seminary at VTS, and I thank her for her tremendous wisdom and courageous witness. Check out her blog, it's really good. She also blogs every time and again at the "Episcopal Cafe" hosted by the Episcopal Diocese of Washington (DC).

Episcopal Cafe
Ok, now that I've mentioned the "Episcopal Cafe" blog which is hosted by the Episcopal Diocese of Washington (DC, that is), I need to give them some props. The blog started (I think) as a reflection on that short-lived TV Show "Book of Daniel" (or, something of that sort) but now has morphed into a really great Blog site with art, poetry, a daily reading, video clips, and some great Episcopal Church gossip and discussion and dialogue and stuff. I have a good time on this blogsite, but then, I am a church geek. But, I think there is a lot here for just about everyone on the church-geek spectrum...

Slow Leadership
I'm not sure where I first heard about this blog about "slow leadership," though it may have been on the Episcopal Cafe blog (go figure). Wherever I heard about it, this is a blog I read often, as it offers an incredible corrective to the hyperspeed life of a leaders and managers. I find this philosophy of leadership to be harmonious with a Christian theology of leadership while also reminding me of my academic studies of Taoism and even reminds me of the Sufi mystic, Rumi. The blog has some great posts, and some wonderful reflections.

Seminar on Conflict Ecclesiology
I recommend this blog, not just because I am one of the members of this seminar (though I have only written very infrequently on the blog). The reason I really like this effort is that there is some really good analysis and reflection on the issue of Ecclesiology, or "theology of the church," that is, I think so essential for Christians to consider and debate and discuss and pray about in these days that some have called "post-Christian," or at least "post-Christiandom" ... I urge everyone to take a good look at the blog, and then offer your thoughts ... there is a lot here, and it lands pretty far up on the "Church Geek" meter, but I think the discussion is getting into some really interesting and cool topics. Check it out!


Ok, that's about enough for today, but I"ll highlight some more good blogs next Sunday...have a great week!

peace and blessings, Peter

Stephen Colbert: Running for President!? ;)

Stephen Colbert has "guest written" Maureen Dowd's New York Times opinion letter this week, and,...he's running for president (but only in South Carolina)...he cracks me up:

I Am an Op-Ed Columnist (And So Can You!)

By STEPHEN COLBERT

Surprised to see my byline here, aren’t you? I would be too, if I read The New York Times. But I don’t. So I’ll just have to take your word that this was published. Frankly, I prefer emoticons to the written word, and if you disagree :(

I’d like to thank Maureen Dowd for permitting/begging me to write her column today. As I type this, she’s watching from an overstuffed divan, petting her prize Abyssinian and sipping a Dirty Cosmotinijito. Which reminds me: Before I get started, I have to take care of one other bit of business:

Bad things are happening in countries you shouldn’t have to think about. It’s all George Bush’s fault, the vice president is Satan, and God is gay.

There. Now I’ve written Frank Rich’s column too.

So why I am writing Miss Dowd’s column today? Simple. Because I believe the 2008 election, unlike all previous elections, is important. And a lot of Americans feel confused about the current crop of presidential candidates.

For instance, Hillary Clinton. I can’t remember if I’m supposed to be scared of her so Democrats will think they should nominate her when she’s actually easy to beat, or if I’m supposed to be scared of her because she’s legitimately scary.

Or Rudy Giuliani. I can’t remember if I’m supposed to support him because he’s the one who can beat Hillary if she gets nominated, or if I’m supposed to support him because he’s legitimately scary.

And Fred Thompson. In my opinion “Law & Order” never sufficiently explained why the Manhattan D.A. had an accent like an Appalachian catfish wrestler.

Well, suddenly an option is looming on the horizon. And I don’t mean Al Gore (though he’s a world-class loomer). First of all, I don’t think Nobel Prizes should go to people I was seated next to at the Emmys. Second, winning the Nobel Prize does not automatically qualify you to be commander in chief. I think George Bush has proved definitively that to be president, you don’t need to care about science, literature or peace.

While my hat is not presently in the ring, I should also point out that it is not on my head. So where’s that hat? (Hint: John McCain was seen passing one at a gas station to fuel up the Straight Talk Express.)

Others point to my new bestseller, “I Am America (And So Can You!)” noting that many candidates test the waters with a book first. Just look at Barack Obama, John Edwards or O. J. Simpson.

Look at the moral guidance I offer. On faith: “After Jesus was born, the Old Testament basically became a way for Bible publishers to keep their word count up.” On gender: “The sooner we accept the basic differences between men and women, the sooner we can stop arguing about it and start having sex.” On race: “While skin and race are often synonymous, skin cleansing is good, race cleansing is bad.” On the elderly: “They look like lizards.”

Our nation is at a Fork in the Road. Some say we should go Left; some say go Right. I say, “Doesn’t this thing have a reverse gear?” Let’s back this country up to a time before there were forks in the road — or even roads. Or forks, for that matter. I want to return to a simpler America where we ate our meat off the end of a sharpened stick.

Let me regurgitate: I know why you want me to run, and I hear your clamor. I share Americans’ nostalgia for an era when you not only could tell a man by the cut of his jib, but the jib industry hadn’t yet fled to Guangdong. And I don’t intend to tease you for weeks the way Newt Gingrich did, saying that if his supporters raised $30 million, he would run for president. I would run for 15 million. Cash.

Nevertheless, I am not ready to announce yet — even though it’s clear that the voters are desperate for a white, male, middle-aged, Jesus-trumpeting alternative.

What do I offer? Hope for the common man. Because I am not the Anointed or the Inevitable. I am just an Average Joe like you — if you have a TV show.

Democrats know their Bible better than Republicans; Horrors!!!

Watch out:

pigs fly!
hell freezes over!

My former professor and friend Diana Butler Bass has written a very interesting piece on the "God's Politics" blog in which she offers important reflections about Democrats running for president who may know their theology and their Bible better than Republican candidates. This observation is in concert with her claim that the linear (and simplistic) description of Left/Liberals on one end with Right/Conservatives on the other end of the spectrum is an inaccurate and unhelpful model in both politics and in theology. In my own understanding of politics and theology I cannot any longer place myself in solely "one camp" and I find myself often disagreeing with knee-jerk liberals on many issues, while also finding hard-line conservatives to be unsatisfactory much of the time. Does this mean that I am in the mushy middle? I do not know, and reserve the right to change, develop, listen to a variety of opinion, and find an approach that makes sense to me. Some of the discussion of "Generous Orthodoxy" that Brian McLaren discusses appeals to me, but I am no expert on what this actually means, and need to explore it further

One of the great gifts of seminary was that I developed close friendships with people that "on paper" I should not have been friends with, based on some simplistic theological or political or regional "litmus test." I wholeheartedly believe that God's view is wider and broader and deeper than my own limited understanding, so who am I to judge harshly those who might have a different view. I also believe that at the foot of the cross and on the Eucharistic table there is room for all of us to bring our burdens, lay them down, and find forgiveness, fellowship and reconciliation.

It seems to me, that the Holy Spirit is at work in our presidential politics and doing, perhaps, surprising, new things in unexpected ways ... I am curious about the next chapter of this "book" in which we are all characters!

Tuesday, October 02, 2007 (from the God's Politics Blog)

What Will Dobson Do? (by Diana Butler Bass)

With James Dobson and major conservative evangelical leaders threatening to bolt the Republican Party if Rudy Giuliani is nominated for president, conventional wisdom about God and politics has been turned on its head. For the last 25 years, conservative evangelicals could reliably count on the Republicans to choose a candidate acceptable to their version of Christian politics. This year, however, the leading Republican candidates seem unable to articulate any convincing religious message, much less a strongly biblical perspective on issues. All the while, the three leading Democratic candidates can testify to personal faith, possess robust theological views, and ground many policies in broadly biblical principles.

In recent weeks, Rudy Giuliani has awkwardly quoted scripture ("let he who is without sin cast the first stone") to defend his personal record with adultery, multiple divorces, and family dissension. John McCain, an Episcopalian, said he was really a member of a Baptist church in Phoenix for the last 20 years—only to later confess that he had not been baptized in that tradition, thus excluding him from membership in the congregation. Fred Thompson rarely attends church.

Read the rest HERE.

merton on nonviolence

I could quote Thomas Merton every day of the year, ... there is so much there for the picking, the following quote was on the "God's Politics" blog ... and I am very aware of how much we need to re-examine and lift up some theologies of nonviolence, of peacemaking, and reconciliation as it seems war is becoming more and more entrenched. We seem to be reaching a point of nearly perpetual war in the Middle East and elsewhere. Merely singing, "ain't goin' to study war no more" will not be enough, and church people need to grapple with the complexities of war in this 21st century. I commend Rowan Williams' book, "The Truce of God" which takes a thoughtful, full, deep and complex approach to war, peacemaking, and issues today. I will write on Williams' book in a later post, but until then, here is Thomas Merton's quote:

Very often people object that nonviolence seems to imply passive acceptance of injustice and evil and therefore that it is a kind of cooperation with evil. Not at all. The genuine concept of nonviolence implies not only active and effective resistance to evil but in fact a more effective resistance... But the resistance which is taught in the Gospel is aimed not at the evil-doer but at evil in its source.

- Thomas Merton
from Passion For Peace

Quotes from Thomas Merton...

I ran across these two quotes from Thomas Merton, one (on the God's Politics Blog) that speaks to me as we try to settle into our new home, search for cheap furniture, try to resurrect the yard, unpack boxes, play with our children, put food on the table, and begin also to work. The mountaintop experiences are not where I am now, but I am striving (with some greater and some lesser success) to see God's hands at work all around me ... even, and especially, in the "everyday" moments in which God is (of course) already present....


Better just to smell a flower in the garden...than to have an unauthentic experience of a much higher value. Better to honestly enjoy the sunshine or some light reading than to claim to be in contact with something that one is not in contact with at all.

- Thomas Merton
Quoted in Essential Monastic Wisdom, by Hugh Feiss


The other quote I ran across on the Inward/Outward Blog from the Church of Our Saviour, risking for the gospel, and living the gospel as NEW, BRAND NEW!




The Gospel is handed down from generation to generation but it must reach each one of us brand new, or not at all. If it is merely “tradition” and not news, it has not been preached or not heard - it is not Gospel…. If there is no risk in revelation, if there is no fear in it, if there is no challenge in it, if it is not a word which creates whole new worlds, and new beings, if it does not call into existence a new creature, our new self, then religion is dead and God is dead.

Source: Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander