Dogs, cats, and the least of these

I just returned from a week back home in Alberta. My lovely niece got married, and that gave me a great reason to go back and visit the family. Once my sister had recuperated from her mother of the bride duties, I spent a few days out relaxing at their place in the country. I missed seeing some of the friends I usually get to see, but that’s how it goes sometimes.

My sister’s family includes two gorgeous Golden Retrievers. They are about 11 months old, close to full grown physically, but still puppies—and therein lies the tale.

The dogs are siblings—the male is larger than the female, and each has quite distinct personalities.

As most puppies, they are very playful and attention seeking. The female has this unconscious need to put her paw up on whatever is close—your leg, your arm, the chair, and she doesn’t realize that her claws have a bit of a bite. No matter how much love and attention she is getting, she seems to need to put her paw up to make sure that you know she is there.

And the male. He is definitely becoming an alpha male. He doesn’t do the paw thing. He doesn’t have to. He just barges into the middle of the action, pushing the female to the side.

In both cases, they seem to need the reassurance of your love. No matter how much you might be focused on them already—scratching, rubbing, talking, playing—they need to see that love in their own way.

It rather reminds me of God and us. No matter how much his love and attention are aimed our way, we seem prone to have to see it expressed in our own language. Even though we already have his undivided attention, we still barge in. “See me God? Here I am. I love you. See how much I love you? Do you hear me? Do you know I’m here? Did you know that I love you?” etc. etc.

And we don’t even realize it if we run over someone else as we push ourselves onto God’s lap. It’s not that we aren’t already the apple of his eye, but we need to be reminded constantly even when our methods might be a bit obnoxious like the incessant paw or constantly licking tongue.

We can rest in his love, we really can. Like a conscientious pet owner, God has our best interests at heart, loves us faithfully, and loves to be with us. We don’t need to fight for his attention, or try to put on the best show in order to be loved.

In the same household is a cat.

Cats, of course, are different. They don’t tend to ask for the constant affirmation, but they do like hanging out, being scratched and loved on. But the dogs run roughshod over the poor cat who often just walks away, back into her own little world. Just as appreciative of love, but not so pushy.

The cat is kind of like the ‘least of these’ the Jesus talked about. Not strong enough to push their way to the front. Not so self-centered as to expect to be the center of attention.

But just as capable of expressing love, especially when being cared for one-on-one.

And maybe that’s why I care so much for the ‘underdog’ (or under cat). I know how capable of love they are, how deserving, and yet how much of a challenge it can be for them to get treated equally.

Now, if only those two attention seeking canines would quit hogging the limelight, there would be space for the feline to get some loving.

Your love makes me…WHAT???

A few weeks ago I was singing the Doerksen/Brown song Hallelujah (Your love makes me sing). I’ve sung it millions of times (OK, perhaps only thousands), but this time one line really tripped me up.
-The song is about the awesome, amazing love of God. Check
-It’s strong, gentle, mysterious, good and solid. Check
-It hits us in many different times and circumstances of life. Check
-And as I realize how incredible this love is, when I begin to respond to it, when I recognize the magnitude of this love, what is the most appropriate, most stupendous thing I can do in response?
Sing.
Sing?

The most incredible demonstration of affirmation and compassion has exploded into my life, and the best I can do is get together with some other like-minded people and sing.
Does that sound rather feeble to you?
And perhaps less than appropriate given the power and purpose of love?
Sure, I have always loved music. There are wonderful examples of great music. And music is a great tool for communicating ideas.
But is a song the best way to respond to something as powerful as the love of God?

Here are some of my thoughts:
• In recent years the church has been inundated with ‘worship’ music. Worship (among other things) means worthship. But is talking/singing about something wonderful the best way to demonstrate that it is wonderful? Is the best form of worship our voices? Or is it our actions?
• We refer to God as Creator. Is talking the best way to honor the Creator? Or maybe being creative ourselves, and maybe by valuing the creation around us?
• We speak of God as gracious. Do we sing about grace? Or extend that grace to others?
• I believe the best way to honor the worth-ship of someone or something is to reflect that which we value back out into our world. We have experienced the love of God. We honor and desire to declare the worth of that love. What better way to demonstrate how incredible that love is than to reflect that same love to someone else?
• The love of God isn’t just to make us feel good, just to give us a theme for a song. It is to change the world, to bring the Kingdom.
• What do you think warms God’s heart more? Us gathering in our clubs, singing our pep rally songs, or us showing the value we place on His love by passing it along to someone else?

In Luke 6 Jesus teaches about trees being known by their fruit, and good men being known by the good treasure that comes out of their heart. Then he says; “Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46)
As I thought about that verse, I wondered what Jesus would say about what we call worship. Are we just saying/singing nice things about him, or are we actually following his teaching?
When he tells us in Matthew 25 that we are to care for the least of these, are we putting our energy into doing that? Or are we spending our time, effort, talent, and finances singing nice songs in a nice sanctuary with some other nice people (not even aware of the least of these on our doorstep)?

What a riot!

Last night’s nonsense in Vancouver caused many of us to re-think some of our loyalties. Not so proud to be a Canadian male right about now. Of course, those few hundred testosterone and alcohol filled, brain cell emptied specimens are in no way representative of the majority, but they do raise a few questions.

Some I direct towards my 20- and 30-something friends. These fine upstanding citizens are from your generation. What can you tell the rest of us that will help us understand their psyche? I mean this question honestly—how do you read the general tone of your peers? What do you think last night’s shenanigans tell us is important to your demographic? Every generation likely has its own sense of what is important, and what isn’t. My generation needs to have a better understanding of yours, so help me out here.

My generation reacted to life around it with the hippy movement—a strong statement that the values of our parents weren’t necessarily our values. And each generation since is probably responding against what it sees are the errors of the previous ones.

So, does the apparent lack of valuing personal property say something about how your generation perceives the values of previous generations? How about the apparent lack of value for human life? What else do you see in last night’s actions--what motivated them? What about the apparent need to be part of the crowd, to be part of something bigger than oneself?

And how about the value being put on getting your face splashed across social media. That seems to be part of the goal—‘Look at me, I’m breaking a store window! I’m going inside and ripping stuff off of the shelves! And I’m proud of myself!!’ Or, ‘Look at me! I can tip a car over! I can light it on fire! Aren’t you impressed!!’ What does that say is important to your fellow humanoids? Let me repeat—I’m not saying everyone 20 or 30 years old is likely to cause a riot, but that generation has values that I am trying to understand.

To all of us I ask: What are we doing about it? If we see a negative shift in the things we feel are important, what are we doing to promote and revitalize what we see as valuable? If some of us are part of the generations that potentially gave rise to this shift, how are we making amends? If others are part of the generation that now is wreaking havoc, how are you influencing your peers in a positive way?

And what can we learn from this generation? Maybe we need to learn that there are more important things in life than possessions, and big corporations. Maybe we need to learn to live more in the moment, and less for the $$$.

What do you think? I’d really like some feedback.

So, what have we learned?

In the light of yesterday’s non-event (judgment day), what have we learned?
It seems every second month some self-proclaimed messenger of God makes statements that make many of us wince.
These past days it has been Harold Camping. Before that it was Terry Jones, the Koran burning pastor. Then it was Fred Phelps of Westboro Baptist Church. In times past Pat Robertson made a stir with his words about Haiti. And on it goes.
But do we learn anything from the ill-advised comments/pronouncements of some who consider themselves followers of Christ? Are we gaining ground?
Or rapidly losing it?

For some, the back pedaling from Mr. Camping goes no further than repeating the mantra that the Bible itself tells us not to set dates. As if everything else Mr. Camping has been preaching is A-OK, but he shouldn’t have put a date on it.
And that Mr. Jones just shouldn’t have actually burned the Koran although his inflammatory rhetoric against Muslims is fine.
And that Mr. Phelps probably shouldn’t be picketing funerals—but his theology is otherwise kosher.
In other words, many are still holding to the main thrust of these ‘prophets’, just not the last step that put them over the top.
Many still totally see God as a terrible being, ready to toss his lightning bolts at anyone who doesn’t line up with some arbitrary interpretation of the Bible. They still preach that the ‘Good News’ of the Gospel is that God is anxiously waiting to judge almost everyone—except them. That his strongest desire is to populate hell with as many people as possible.

As long as we think the main thrust of the preaching of the Gospel is judgment,
we haven’t learned anything from the likes of Messrs. Camping, Jones, Phelps, Robertson et al.

An open letter to Mr. Harper and Mr. Layton

Dear Mr. Harper and Mr. Layton;

The most important thing I took away from both of your speeches last night was that you plan on working together for the good of the country. You will support good policies, even if they come from a different party. That is what will make this country work.

Mr. Harper, 60% of the people who voted did not vote for your party, so your party does not represent a majority of Canadians. However if you choose to listen to and work together with ALL of the other members of parliament, we truly can begin to see our democratic system working again.

Many people voted for change. 2% more people (than 2008) wanted a Conservative government . 12.4% more people supported the NDP’s call for change. Although overall Green Party support dropped, they were able to elect their first ever MP. So, in many ways many people indicated a desire for change that did not point to the Conservative party.

Mr. Harper and Mr. Layton, the ball is about to be played in your courts. You can choose to hog it or fight over it, or you can choose to use it for the betterment of our country. You can use it to keep your friends happy, or to strive for the good of all.

We will be watching you both. We still don’t have a lot of faith in our political system, because we have been burned many times. You can help restore faith in our system, or you can give us every reason to say “I told you so.” It’s up to you.

The times (part 3)

I’ve already written a couple posts on changing times (here and here.

Less concrete in terms of dates and magnitude, but earth shattering none the less are the underground explosions on the theological front.
Much of the Christian church seems (at least on the surface) to be continuing on as it has for years. The liberals are being liberal, the conservatives conservative, and both pooh poohing each others' stance on various issues. Both camps seem to be entrenching themselves more deeply in their positions, both quite sure that God is on their side. (And that is just assuming that there are only two points of view on any given question.) Religious/political alliances are solider than ever, and it might look like the status quo will remain.

But the tremors are coming from within, and ripples are becoming evident. Sacred, long-held and strongly supported views on a wide variety of issues (homosexuality and hell to name a couple) are coming under fire. Sermons are being preached, books are being published, blogs are being posted, and discussions are happening in coffee shops everywhere. In many ways, this proliferation of conversation is in itself a sign of change. Rather than trusting a few elite folk to determine what is important, and what is orthodox, anyone with a voice or a keyboard is making their thoughts known. The rank and file as well as the deeply studious are recognizing their right and responsibility to question some of these established positions.
(This is probably the place to mention Fred Phelps (Westboro Baptist Church) and Terry Jones (Koran burning pastor) who are doing a lot of shaking on their own.)

One of the very sad results is that parts of the church are not open to questions. The Protestant church came into existence because of the courage of certain people to question the status quo. Now some elements of that very Protestant church can’t handle people within it protesting or questioning. It seems that we still have a long way to go to live out the passionate desire of Jesus: "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." Asking questions isn’t unloving, it’s being honest. What is unloving is excommunicating someone because they have the insight to ask questions.
What strikes me as refreshing is that these discussions are not springing from an indulgent, over-permissive way of thinking, but very often from a renewed concept of a God of grace and compassion. Surprising as it may seem, most of these disturbers are truly seeking to better grasp what the Bible is trying to tell us, what God may now be prompting us to discover.
Sure, there are multitudes who wouldn’t see it that way, who believe their maintenance of the way things have always been is a firm allegiance to the fundamentals, and to God himself.
But those who desire to question that foundation claim to also be building on something very fundamental—the character of God.

Suffice it to say that the times they are a-changin’, and that Japan isn’t the only place rumblings are happening below the surface.
My forecast is for continued unrest and scattered conflict, giving rise to wide-spread turmoil and upheaval, probably ending with a readjustment of the traditional theological tectonic plates. But, like all seismic activity things will always be shifting.

How did we get here from there?

In the beginning was Jesus. A man with a simple vision statement: to live a human life exemplifying the character of God. So he was probably more than a little exasperated when Philip said: “Show us the Father.”
He had a few committed followers, and many more who traveled around to hear him teach and watch him live out his vision.
He didn’t set up any plans for a structured system for keeping his vision alive within his followers after he died. He didn’t even dictate or write out his memoirs.
The echoes of his voice had hardly died out after he left the earth before his followers had begun to create a system for keeping his message alive.

Of course, they were following a tradition hundreds of years in the making. From the early days of the Jewish people’s experience of dealing with the Divine, they had Pomp and Circumstance. Commandments, sacrifices, offerings, traveling sacred space, and then the permanent temple. Gold, holy days, Sabbaths, festivals, and hierarchy. Politically they had moved from a theocracy to a monarchy.
Then came the disruption of foreign oppression, captivity, and trying to keep the faith alive in a strange land. The temple had been back home in Jerusalem, and now it was destroyed. They were miles and miles away, so they needed to establish new systems for remembering their God.
Synagogues developed—places where history could be remembered, the writings could be read and expounded on, the past kept alive until the temple could be rebuilt. By the time the people were back home, this system was alive in Jewish communities everywhere, and even worked well back in Israel.

So, when the followers of Jesus got together to talk about what Jesus had taught, they had this structural system already in their DNA.
The converts from Judaism to ‘The Way’, and even converts from the Roman Pantheon all came with similar religious institutional experience. Starting a new religion with its sets of rules and observances wasn’t a conscious choice. It just flowed from the systems already in place.
The Jews met in the synagogue, particularly on the Sabbath. We’ll start our own meeting places, and meet on the first day of the week.
They had their sacrifices and observances, we will celebrate the Eucharist.
They had their statement of faith (Hear O Israel, the Lord is One). We will develop our own list of things we believe to be true about Jesus. If you agree, you are part of us.
They had systems of leadership and a priesthood. Paul helped develop a system of bishops, pastors, etc.
It all made sense, especially from their background and experience.
And that was all within the first few years.
Although the Roman empire was initially the enemy, by the time of Constantine the church and state had become best of friends. The church had taken on a decidedly Empire-like structure and authority. The office of ‘Caesar’ was replaced by ‘Pope’, with all of the levels of governance needed underneath. Palaces and ornate places of gathering and government were replaced by cathedrals and the like. Oaths of allegiance and creeds became the way to keep the faith pure, or at least consistent.

Fast forward through centuries of refinement to the time when protest, division and separation became the new definition of what is the church.
As if one set of structures, doctrine and practice wasn’t far enough removed from the simple (but potent) teachings of Christ, now we had an ever expanding list of off shoots. Each quite sure that they are closer to the fundamental truth than anyone else. Each feeling that it is their responsibility to let the others know how they are wrong, and to continually narrow the definition of who is a ‘true believer’. Each much more concerned about doctrine than daily life. Each more convinced than ever that pure doctrine is the only vital ingredient of being a part of the right religion. Each promoting the importance of this ‘right belief’.
And over the centuries, we haven’t done much to separate the Siamese twins of church and state. In many places religion is still in bed with empire, and neither is willing to admit it.

So here we are today. This is how we got here from there.
But what an infinite distance we have traveled from the teachings of Jesus. The one who told us to “Follow me”, the one who gave us only 2 commandments: Love God, and love each other.
He didn’t come to establish a new religion. Sure, he was quick to point out the many shortcomings of the old one, but didn’t put his energy into building a new one.
He announced The Kingdom. A new paradigm which he spent his time living and teaching. A way of life that he invited people to follow. A radical lifestyle that we are still invited to live out.

But it isn’t really that simple. We can’t just jettison church denominationalism, and figure that we now have what Jesus wanted.
If Jesus didn’t give us a detailed schematic for constructing a new religion, what did he have in mind?
Was he planning for his message to die with him? That doesn’t make sense.
So what was his plan? Would he have hoped that his kingdom message would bring about a utopia, that as individuals changed, society would change in an onward and upward spiral towards perfection?
That would be a wonderful dream, but Jesus certainly knew the weaknesses of humanity. Just as friction slows down a moving object, so the selfishness of humankind stops us from reaching the ultimate perfection of the whole world bearing the likeness of God. The great kingdom lifestyle of ‘otherliness’ gradually morphs back into ‘me first’.
Jesus said: “I will build my church.” (Gk. Ecclesia—meeting, congregation, assembly, synagogue.)
He said: “I am leaving, but I will give you my Spirit.” because he knew that we couldn’t do it on our own.
He left his message in the hands and hearts of 12 guys who were only beginning to catch on. Maybe his death was premature—if he had had more time with them, he could have been able to more completely instill his message within them. Maybe a new religion was OK, it just needed a different flavor or style than what did develop. Maybe instead of a new religion he wanted to permeate all religions with his universal kingdom message.
However it appears to you, here we are a couple thousand years later. The baggage of those 2000 years is a bit heavy, and not just a bit unwieldy. We need more than a luggage trolley to deal with it. Maybe a couple sticks of dynamite might be more appropriate.
I’m very grateful for people who are nudging and nagging us to go back to Jesus’ message and example. Whatever ‘church’ means to you, make sure it doesn’t take up so much space that there’s no room for a life of love.

Stained glass windows and scripture texts and baptisms and choirs all have a place in our collective history.
They can inform our effort to follow Christ…
or confound it.
They can serve that lifestyle…
or get in its way.

Let’s just remember Jesus, and continue to figure out what it means to be his follower. And not spend all our energy fortifying our defenses against someone else who is also trying to figure out how to be a Christ-follower.
This message of Jesus is still alive two millennia after Jesus’ words and actions echoed across Palestine. So it still has the inherent power to continue to change us.
And the rest of the world.
Thanks be to God!