Descriptive, not prescriptive

This is a commentary on part of the lectionary for Sunday, September 3, 2006: Deuteronomy 4:1-9, Psalm 15, James 1:17-27, Mark 7:1-23

I am just noticing in the readings for this Sunday the language of law and proper behavior. On Tuesday, after I read the passage from Deut. 4, I flipped ahead a chapter and noticed another account of the 10 Commandments in Deut. 5. This week's reading also contains my favorite passage from James about being doers rather than hearers of the Word (1:22). This legal, behavioral code as embodied in these readings has seeped into fundamentalist sects of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, drawing clear lines of who is part of the group and who is not. I still cling to a theology of "I should" when I expect more from myself in a situation, and not allow myself the grace to grow into something more and learn from my mistakes.

It strikes me though that the legalistic, "you should" practices lack the "sweetness of Jesus" that friends of mine, as well as myself, are attracted to. I am drawn to the grace, kindness and shepherding guidance of Jesus. Yet, there are times I prefer a theology of "you should" when Jesus came to say otherwise, such as in Mark 7:1-23. Jesus emphasized that what is important is not the letter of the law, but the spirit of the law; not what is seen on the outside, but what motivates a person inside. Said another way, the codes of moral behavior in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures are not prescriptive behaviors one must follow to enter into the kin-dom of God. Rather, these behaviors are descriptive of how a life centered on the Spirit of God through Jesus is lived. In the kin-dom of God, God and God's love are the only God, people are treated with love and are equals, and everyone is provided with what they need.

Jesus knows it is not easy. After all, he became human. That is why we have been given grace as we towards a life described in the words of Deuteronomy, Psalms, Jams and the Gospels. As we mature in Godly living, being doers should not be an issue, because we will "be in" the Word of God.

The Old Rugged Cross

This reflection comes from my ordination paper entitled "I am a Pilgrim."

A long time ago in Christian history, on a hill far away stood an old rugged cross. It’s an image that is maybe one of the universal symbols that the various strains of Christianity share. Some people debate whether or not a cross displayed in a church should depict Christ on it. There are some feminist theologians who wonder if the cross is nothing more than symbol of divine child abuse – pointing upward to an angry God in the sky who sent his only son to take on the burden of sin in the world by dying a vicious death to atone for humanity.

When contemplating the cross, I have to ask myself “Which God is this?” Is the God that Jesus is pointing to on the cross a punishing, angry father, or is it the God who entered the human experience through Jesus in order to help remind humanity that we are called to something more than just depravity?

Douglas John Hall says in his book The Cross in Our Context,

The cross of Jesus Christ is God’s claim to this world – the claim, however, not of a despot, yearning for greater power and glory, but of a lover yearning to love and be loved, and thus to liberate the beloved from false masters… The cross of Jesus Christ is the end-consequence of the divine determination to be "with us" (Emmanuel) unreservedly… God, in the biblical tradition is with us voluntarily – through love alone.

Because humanity was, and is, trapped in ways that push away from God, God entered human history in the form of Jesus in a display of compassion to suffer with us. Through Jesus, God became human and suffered under the principalities that govern the earth, the principalities that we humans are subject to everyday.

For me, the cross of Jesus does not point to a God in the sky, judging and condemning humanity. Instead, I believe that the cross of Jesus points directly to where God wants to help humanity the most, that is, amidst the despair and tribulations that daily attempt to kill the human spirit. God uses the cross to point to the pain in our lives, to remember despair, but to also find grace, hope and new beginnings.

Hosanna!

I always find it peculiar that around the time of Easter, the media coverage around the life and ministry of Jesus always spikes and then recedes. There is the brouhaha around the found Gospel of Judas, and the debate whether part of The Davinci Code was plagiarized. This morning on a news network, an anchor asked why all the recent focus on the life of Jesus. My response is just that this is not new, but it is the one time a year people give lip service to being Christian.

Since tomorrow is Palm Sunday, I guess I should be glad to be waving a palm branch, but I am not. As a follower of the path of Christ Jesus, I will admit my faith influences my activism and how I vote. However, I am by no means a Republican. When Jesus appealed to his followers to love the outcast, I don't think he envisioned a hard-nosed stance on illegal immigrants.

Because of my faith, I often find myself in progressive circles. I do not do this because I contend Jesus was a left-wing subversive (though, I do believe Jesus subverts our dominant values), but because I feel the Republicans on the Religious Right have defiled the ministry of Jesus to meet their own needs. This is my guess, but the Jesus I see in the first chapter of Mark who healed an entire town might advocate for healthcare for all.

In the days and weeks that followed the presidential election of 2004, I felt I was in a veritable Palm Sunday procession amongst my Democratic friends. The revelation that religious values matter to voters seemed like a new discovery to many on the left. Books like God's Politics by Jim Wallis and became the rage on the left, and George Lakoff (whose work admire) became the new darling of the left. The message was simple, yet profound: religious discourse matters in the public realm. "Hosanna!" yelled the Democrats, for the savior of the party's future had arrived -- the outcast who championed the rights of the dispossessed, Jesus.

November 2004 was almost a year and a half ago now, and it seems that the party who had found Jesus after the election has now abondoned him as things are beginning to shape up for the 2008 election. Granted, things are beginning to look promising for Democrats for the 2006 Congressional races, but 2008 is still a long way off, and a viable Republican that opposes Bush can still emerge, and such a person could easily appeal to a religious base. What I am saying to my Democratic sisters and brothers is not to lose your religion. Jim Wallis is right, Jesus is not a Republican or a Democrat, but I believe Jesus' teaching of love, compassion, and justice are more at home in the contemprary Democratic party. May I suggest the Beatitudes as found in Luke 6:20-26 as a good place to start.

untitled, no. 6

god is change...
there are times when it
seems i am in the pit
feeling
the burn of the
fire... however

god is present, and
god is change, and
change is present in each moment, thus
god is present each moment... so
i can turn from the fire and run, or
i can be shaped into something new.

set intention. pray. face the fire.
let god shape you into something new.

sometimes what we think is the fires of hell
are the flames of the holy spirit
wanting to mold us into something new...

A not so guilty pleasure...

Recently I took some time to take a stroll around my neighborhood; I wanted to savor being able to walk around the block and pass through the intersection of Haight & Ashbury. Don't get me wrong, I will still find myself at key locations in the Haight: Goodwill, the Booksmith, Bound Together, and of course, Amoeba Records. For those unfamiliar with Amoeba, it is a religious experience for those of us who like to spend way too much time developing our music collection -- trying to find just that one thing for my collection.

Since I listen to a cross-section of music, I have several cd's I am looking for: I can find myself bouncing from bluegrass/gospel, country, ska, rock, metal, soul, dance, classical just to name a few sections I can be found scouring. Some of my treasures found in recent weeks include: Reno & Smiley (bluegrass gospel), a promo copy of Dressy Bessy's new disc (indie pop), and as of yesterday, the Hee Haw Gospel Quartet.

Though the Hee Haw Gospel Quartet is not bluegrass per se, it leans heavily on those roots enough for me to add it to my collection. Actually, I have been searching for it for a few years, and did not want to cheat and use Ebay; for me, finding this was like finding a buried treasure. And besides, it was used.

I am deliberate when I use the word tresure to describe what this cd is for me. On the one hand, these songs were in the hills where I grew up. These songs nourish my soul, touching me deeply, and I feel a sense of reverance and contentment as the songs wash over me. The other part of this buried treasure are the memories of my family. Hee Haw was a part of my childhood Saturday night, just like Lawrence Welk. I cherish those memories now that my grandfather (Pepa) is gone, and my grandmother (Mema) has been battling Alzheimer's for well over decade. This simple disc warms my heart as I remember my family this time of year as Christmas looms near. This disc reminds me of the reason for Christmas, the celebration of hope amidst the longest night of the soul.

Music of the Season

Music + Christmas, they go together like Halloween and Linus and his security blanket. More and more, I find I need the music of this time of year to remind myself that it is actually Christmas -- to remind myself to wait expectantly for the hope, new life, and regeneration that is promised in the time of greatest darkness. I'm sorry, but shopping for just the right video streaming iPod does not remind me of that. Christ, not the dollar, sustains my soul.

That said, there are three songs that help remind me that Christmas is near:
1. "Linus and Lucy" -- when I hear the piano in this familiar piece from Charlie Brown, I am reminded of the Christmas's growing up at my grandparent's house in South Carolina, especially the years before my grandmother developed Alzheimer's. I remember the joy friend's and I had showing off our new toys to each other, and the joy that came from sharing them. Ok, it makes me long for a innocence I never really had... but it helps to remember to count the blessings I received growing up.

2. "Santa Baby" -- I am sorry, only the Eartha Kitt version will do for me -- I am a queen after all.

3. Anything from Bruce Cockburn's "Christmas" disc -- Granted this is pretty general, but this reminds me of the great radio station I miss from back home, WNCW, and being able to sit with friends with the radio playing in the background. Besides, Cockburn's disc is just wonderful, but if I have to pick a favorite track, it would be "Les Anges Dans Nos Campagnes."

Does World AIDS Day still matter?

Yesterday, December 1, was World AIDS Day. The question I asked myself, especially living in San Francisco, is does it, World AIDS Day, still matter? In a word, yes. I was shocked the other day when a friend asked me a simple question about HIV transmission -- in SF!! It matters to me because I see lack of basic info here in SF around transmission. It matters to me because I see homeless folk not get the treatment they need. It matters to me because I turn on the news to see entire populations around the world being decimated by AIDS. It matters to me because Jesus said to "love your neighbor as yourself," and some of my neighbors here and around the world have AIDS.