End of the first half of 2023

 

July 1, 2023

                Hard to believe that half of the year is over. So far, what a year it has been. So much has happened and the US has set some interesting firsts. But before that, war continued throughout the world. It seems that war has been a constant for almost all this century and most of the last. The latest is the Ukraine and Russia. There appears no end in sight to the loss of untold people on both sides and the amount of economic costs beyond measuring. I’m not sure what can be down to find some accord and peace regarding this situation. I also wonder what it would take to maybe have a decade of peace in the world and especially here at home.

                Let’s turn to the number of firsts here in the US. I must preface this with a sermon my pastor gave last Sunday. It was on the topic of judgment. I realize that I am judgmental and can become obsessed about what I will be talking about. There is a balance between being judgmental and desiring for justice. So as I write, I hope that this is more than a rant but more about seeking justice and peace. So here goes.

                The first thing is that we have set a new record for mass shootings. The last time I checked there were over 300 mass shootings. One may ask what mass shootings are. According to the FBI, mass shootings are when 6 or more people are shot at one time. This is different than mass murder. Not everyone is killed but wounded. Indeed, some have died. In almost all cases, there was the use of semi-automatic weapons. This is here in our country that is not at war or are we. The shooters for the most part have been extremists. They have had access to AR15 or other weapons within a day or two before their attacks. I am not opposed to responsible gun ownership which a majority of gun owners are. What bothers me is that those who commit these heinous acts seem to be able to purchase weapons legally or to take them from parents who are negligent in securing their weapons. I know that many feel such people are mentally ill. I would feel that to fire into a gathering of people who one might have problems with would have to be mentally unfit. I, also, know that many people say that guns don’t kill people, but people do. I suggest that there may be some truth regarding that, those who would say that forget that there is a common denominator which is guns. How many more people who gather together can do so with being relatively free of fear. I am also not against the 2^nd amendment no matter how changed it has been since the founding fathers. What I want to know what about my 1^st amendment rights to gather peacefully. My question is how many more people need to be shot and/or killed before the powers that be do something about this. Somehow, justice depends on both prayers and action.

                Another record has been the warming of the world. Lately, that has been a record heat wave in the South, extreme weather events here and abroad, and droughts. I am concerned that there are those governments that continue to deny, and rather vehemently, that climate warming is a myth. I wonder what the costs of this will be for the future, especially for our children’s children. Recently, the pollution from fires in Canada have affected the air quality throughout the US even in my hometown of Omaha. The pictures from NYC paint a picture of what can happen if we don’t listen to the scientists and not fringe opinions.

                The last of my rant deals not with just record setting, but with the lack of civility. I may disagree with someone’s opinion, but it does not mean that I need to belittle them or call them names. This seems a lost art at all levels of our society. One sees this at neighborhood level, cities, states, and our country. One can even see this in social institutions such as churches and other social groups. Social media is rampant with this lack of civility. One can also see this in the news media, especially a certain “news” station. A good study would be how this lack of civility affects the above concerns and the milieu of our nation.

                I realize that much of what I have written goes to a minority of people. So my next entry to my blog, I will work to focus on what is healthy and good about who we are. Stay tuned.

Shalom

               

May 6 2023

 

                My oldest granddaughter was wondering why I haven’t updated my blog for some time. The truth was I didn’t think anyone was reading it. Apparently, she and a friend have been. So, I need to try to be more diligent about writing.

                Looking at my journal, I realized that I had been spending so much time focusing on what is wrong with the world, that I haven’t spent more time thinking about what is right. I have been as bad as the media and the nightly news. Yet, hope is close at hand and is all around us. There are numerous acts of mercy that often go unnoticed. And very few are celebrated. Rarely, they make the front page or opening sound byte of the news. But they do happen. I know that the church that Nancy and I are members of participate in numerous projects both locally and internationally. The church, though in an affluent part of Omaha, reaches out in ways to be the Matthew 25 type of church. I also know of other churches that are equally committed to acts of mercy and of justice.

                What is amazing about our church is that despite differences in one’s political views, we have learned to reach understanding. We can dialog with one another with respect. I feel that we are living out John Wesley’s statement that there be unity in the essentials and diversity in all else.  So, what is essential not just for us but for everyone. Micah 6:8 says, “But he’s already made it plain how to live and what to do, what God is looking for in us. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbors, be compassionate and loyal in your love, and don’t take yourself too seriously- take God seriously. (The Message Micah 6:8).

                So, who are our neighbors? Jesus answered that question in the gospel of Luke in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Essentially, all are our neighbors. Jesus also stated that two most important (hence essential) are to Love God with everything we have and to love our neighbor as ourselves. This is what Wesley preached and talked about. Why do we feel that we need to make more complicated than that?

                Can one imagine what the world would look like if we would live this out? How this might effect the way we choose to relate to one another. Would politics take one more concern for others? This does not mean that we all have to agree on what we need to do, but it could lead to discussion rather than denigrate those who disagree with us. Stephen Covey in his book, “The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People”, points out that one should first seek to understand the other and then to express our views.

                Keeping in mind Micah 6:8 and Jesus’ command, all I can say is wow. The rub is that I would need to work on myself and be willing to listen to others that I might disagree with and be willing to change. That is the challenge for me and for the reader.

Moltmann 1

 

Jurgen Moltmann

                I am switching from Coffin’s Credo to Jurgen Moltmann’s “In The End—The Beginning: the life of hope. As I had stated, he was one of my favorite theologians that I studied in seminary. He was a professor of systematic theology at the University of Tubingen, Germany. Between he and the Latin American liberation theologians, they shaped my theology and challenged me to be willing to challenge the ultra-orthodoxy of the church. This book is a series of lectures was written and translated in 2004. I wanted to share some of his insights about transitions and hope.

                I will start with a quote in the introduction. “Christ’s hope-less end became his true beginning. If we remember that, we shall not give ourselves up, but shall expect that in every end a new beginning lies hidden.  Yet, we shall only become capable of new beginnings if we are prepared to let go of the things that torment us, and things we lack. If we search for the new beginning, it will find us.” As I think about this, I cannot but help thinking about what I am doing that prevents me from letting go and opening to a new beginning. What are the torments, the old hurts, the present hurts, the guilt, and regrets, that tie me to my past and not to a life of hope? I recently preached on this passage from Isaiah. “Do not remember the former things or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert (Isa 43:18-19).”

                One of my favorite hymns from the United Methodist Hymnal is the Hymn of Promise #707. The lyrics are as follows:

Stanza 1]
In the bulb there is a flower;
In the seed, an apple tree;
In cocoons, a hidden promise:
Butterflies will soon be free!
In the cold and snow of winter
There’s a spring that waits to be,
Unrevealed until its season,
Something God alone can see.

[Stanza 2]
There’s a song in every silence,
Seeking word and melody;
There’s a dawn in every darkness,
Bringing hope to you and me.
From the past will come the future;
What it holds, a mystery,
Unrevealed until its season,
Something God alone can see.

[Stanza 3]
In our end is our beginning;
In our time, infinity;
In our doubt there is believing;
In our life, eternity,
In our death, a resurrection;
At the last, a victory,
Unrevealed until its season,
Something God alone can see.

Copyright Brett Piper, 2014-2020

We have used this hymn in several services and even in funerals. Pairing this with what Moltmann said, indeed it is in what appears to be the end is the beginning.

                I leave with these thoughts. What is hindering you from opening to a life of hope? What are you holding on to that prevents you from what new beginnings God has in store for you? We are reminded that despite what appears to be the end, there is a new beginning and it does spring forth around us.

Shalom

 

Reflections 8/29/2020

 

                I am writing about some of the recent events that have happened in the last week. To say our nation is in turmoil is an understatement. It is not just the natural disasters, but also the propensity of our nation to violence which in my estimation can be evil. To top that off, those who could speak up about the violence focus on the wrong things. I want to clarify that I am not just referring to the police or military, but to all people. We glorify violence as a means to resolve differences. We have political campaign that do not seek to understand the injustices that many of our citizens face each day but focus on continuing to promote more violence and more restrictions of those who are marginalized in our society.

                Edmund Burke stated, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men [sic} to do nothing.” I am concerned about how our nation is addressing the treatment of those who have little to no voice. This is not just an issue of right vs. left, republican vs. democrat, conservative vs. progressive, this is an issue of us, you and me. We can deplore violence and yet support BLM. We can support police officers and deplore that actions of a few. We can protest and deplore the wanton destruction of property (though I can certainly emphasize in the anger).  This is not an issue of 2^nd amendment right, as misunderstood as they are, and registration of guns. This is an issue of the future of our nation and of our children’s children.

                I continue to read some of the texts from seminary. One of my favorite theologians was Jurgen Moltmann. I am reading his book “In the End—The Beginning: the life of hope.” In the chapter title, Does the future belong to the Young?,  he talks about his youth. He grew up in Germany during the reign of Hitler. He described that all children and youth were forced into such groups as the Hitler Youth. He, too, was forced and indoctrinated into the Hitler Youth. What he came to understand was, “The nationalization of young people we experienced in the dictatorships of the twenties century dispossessed children in their childhood and destroyed their youth. The youth cult of modern dictators did not open up a future for the young, it destroyed that future. Because dictators permit no innovative future, they deny the whole of society its chance for renewal (pg. 25).” I started to think about what that would look like today and what I saw was the image of a 17-year-old with a rifle that had murdered two people.

                What made me reflect and saddened me, was that this youth has been so indoctrinated that he would throw away his future and his life for what? It also saddened me to see how certain commentators of a particular news agency seemed to condone his actions. I wonder is this youth at any time realized that what he had done was wrong. Was he capable of understanding to fight against what he had been taught? And it is not just youth, though they are more susceptible, but others who justify their actions based on their misconception of the truth of love. How does the images and sound bites affect our children? Does fear permeate our nation? What is the answer to these questions? Where is justice?

                I may not have the answers, but I hope that I am one of the good people who will stand against injustice and evil. I may not be able to protest injustice, but I can support. As I take time to reflect, I can be in prayer for those who are marginalized, for those in power to open their eyes and to seek justice.

                I am going to close with this, “With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on High? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousand of rams, with ten thousands rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has told you, O mortal what is good: and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:6-8)? My prayer is that I and you do all we can to seek justice, to show and share kindness, and most of all walk humbly with God.

Shalom.

               

Credo 8-25

 

Credo 8-25-2020

                Today I wanted to share about living and about what we are called to do to enter the kin-dom of heaven. Coffin offers two insights about life. The first is “The trick of life is to die young as late as possible.” The other is to offer an insight as to what Jesus had to say.

If it’s immature to be childish, to remain childlike may be a function of maturity, for as Jesus said, “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will not enter therein.” Discussing this passage, biblical commentators like to dwell on the natural humility, the basic obedient and trusting quality of children; and I have no quarrel with such emphasis. All of us could profit from being a little more humble, trusting and obedient, although Christians have to recognize that obedience to God has more to do with being love abiding than law abiding. But, why, I wonder, don’t these same commentators talk about the natural idealism of children? It’s children who want to save the seals, the whales, and all the rest of us to boot. It’s kids who sell cookies for causes, bake bread for brotherhood [also sisterhood}, save pennies to fight pollution. It’s kids who have walkathons against the war [or is sues such as racism]. And of course, we encourage them. We believe in being generous. But it’s also true that we encourage them to outgrow it, as though generosity were a pair of short pants. Do you think Jesus would bless that view of growing up?[1]

                I sometimes wonder about telling our children and our youth to grow up. Yes, we must mature and learn, but can we do so without losing our sense of wonder and curiosity. I believe that we could all benefit from talking to a 2-year-old about their sense of the world. For it is through a toddler eyes that we can catch however briefly a vision of heaven. It is one of the reasons I believe that Jesus came to us as a baby. That at age 12, he was teaching the priests in the temple. Throughout his ministry, in his teachings, healings, and feedings, he maintained that wonder of God’s creation. Sometimes, I am concerned that we train children away from that wonder and creativeness. “Draw with in the lines, you have to do it this way, etc.” I know that there were times that I told my children, “You need to grow up and take responsibility.” Which may be true, but did it stifle them?

                I am also aware some of the greatest innovations occur with those who kept their curiosity. I think of Einstein, Tesler, Edison, Jobs, Gates, Buffet, etc. Who did not just do the things that others told them to do but were willing to color outside the lines. Think of the greatest artists, musicians, poets, and writers.  Even in churches, one can encounter the same type of concerns. I have heard from well-meaning Christians, “We have never done it that way. We only like hymns written in the late 1800’s or earlier. We want traditional services, etc.” This harkens back to the comments on tradition, which is important to help us, but it should not be our only definition. I imagine what the Pharisees might have said to Jesus as he defied their traditions. It is about abiding in love not law.

                That is a lot to mull over. Take time to be with children and to learn from them that it is ok to color outside the lines.

Shalom

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[1] Brackets are my addition

Credo 8-24-2020

 

Credo 8-24-2020

                I am continuing my journey through some of the insights that I glean from William Coffin. Even though many of these comments come after, in some cases 50 years, I still find them to beneficial. Today I wanted to share two of them from the Chapter Life in General.” The pursuit of truth rightly implies that a gap exists between ourselves and truth. But what’s hidden and evasive? Is it we or truth? Maybe it is we who evade truth’s quest for us…. Relationships—not facts and reason—are the key to reality. By entering those relationships, knowledge of reality is unlocked (Parker Palmer).” Truth is often difficult to ascertain because it can become at times truth is what I make of it. So the real question about truth is that it is what I make of it. I find the statement by Parker Palmer to approximate a closer understanding of the truth that it is not my interpretation but what I find in relationship of others.

                So, I am left with what is the truth. When Jesus came before Pontius Pilate before he was condemned, he said “What is truth? (John 18:38).” Pilate was in the presence of truth but could no see it as it did not conform to what he believed about truth. For him and for many of us, truth is defined by power, economics, and the people that we tend to hang with. Palmer has some insight but ultimately truth, at least for me, lies with Jesus. It is not based on the sound bits of social media, headlines, and opinionated others rhetoric, but on the gospel of God and Christ.  And maybe Coffin is right that it is me that evades truth’s quest. For if we seek the truth, that means are I am going to be moved by the truth as it seeks me out. The ultimate truth is Christ and to respond to that means that I need to begin to live my life more Christ-like. And that dear readers is often easier said than done.

                So, as we live out the commands of Jesus, we can approximate the truth. Those commands come back to loving God with all we have and to love our neighbor. Surround oneself with relationships that seek that same. Find those who care about the truth of Christ and be together. Study scripture and other writings that build one another up as well as the community in which we live. Pray for discernment of God’s Will not just ours. Who knows what that truth might bring?

Shalom

Credo 8-22

 

Credo 8-22-2020

                I plan to continue with some insights from William Coffin. I, also, plan to not write anything tomorrow as a sabbath. I will be moving on in the book on his comments about life in general and about the church. First this quote from the chapter on Social Justice and Economic Rights. Coffin was always concerned about the marginalized, particularly the poor. There are several statements about being the richest nation in the world with the number of homeless and those who live in poverty. But this quote stood out not just about economic disparity but sometimes for the church and for each of us. “Believers know that while our values are embodied in tradition, out hopes are always located in change (pg. 59).”

                The talk of tradition brought to mind the Wesleyan Quadrilateral: scripture, tradition, experience, and reason. Sometimes, I think we can overvalue tradition and at the same time one does not want to throw it out. Tradition does inform us as to who we are whether church, nation, and even family. Who I am comes in part from family of origin as does everyone’s.   Truth is seen through the lens of the Quadrilateral. In my Wesleyan study bible, this what was written as a Wesleyan Core Term. “Tradition is what is passed down through generation of believers for the instruction of doctrine and life, belief and practice. For Wesley tradition is on the criteria (the others being Scripture, reason, and experience) by which we judge our interpretation of the truth of the gospel. When Wesley speaks of tradition he means, above all, the ‘early church,’ the pre-Constantinian church, and he particularly esteems the Greek theologians. Though his thought on tradition has some likeness to restorationist views of pietists and Anabaptists, he came to understand that even the ‘primitive’ church was not free from false doctrine and unfaithful practices and thus had to be subordinated to the norm of Scripture. Tradition, in Wesley’s eyes, is be no means simply a history of Christian though. It is also a record of holy lives. The lives of saints instruct our faith and give us courage and stamina to remain in faith. Tradition is alive and pertinent as to our struggle to be faithful disciples of Christ (1406).”

                As important tradition is, it is equally important that tradition be examined. There was a book Generation to Generation by Ed Friedman. The premise is based on family systems theory and that we are shaped by the previous generations of our lives. This also applies to all institutions whether church, government, cultures, etc. To grow, we must become aware of the forces that have shaped us. We do not have to live unexamined lives that are trapped in previous traditions but through hope can reach out to a better tomorrow. Our challenge is how to do the work of examination and not just repeat what we have learned. This is the great insight of Wesley. What can we learn from the Scriptures, what is our experience, and what do we reason, informs us and helps to determine what traditions are worth keeping and teaching and what are ready to do the nasty word change.

Shalom