God Bless Craig (Sermon for Father's Day!)

God Bless Craig
Text: Ephesians 6:1-4
Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo
June 19, 2011

In the Manzo family lore, there is a story, a true story, that has been passed on and it’s about my Dad.

My brother was born in August of 1957. Several weeks after his birth, my brother was Baptized and people were coming to our home for a party after the Baptism was held at church. My Dad went to the bakery and ordered a special cake in honor of the day. On the cake, he had the baker put the words, “God Bless Craig.” The baker wasn’t really sure how to spell ‘Craig’ so my Dad spelled it out for him.

The day of the Baptism came and the cake was taken out, and there, perfectly written on the cake were the words, “God Bless Craig.” Everything was great except for one tiny little detail. My brother’s name is Mark. I do have a cousin named Craig and evidently my Dad, who was legendary at messing up names, was thinking of ‘Craig’ and not Mark.

We never really knew how far this piece of family lore had gone until many years later when my Grandmother died in 1993. At the funeral home my sister’s childhood friend, Kelly, came to the funeral home and my sister was introducing her to family members. When she introduced Kelly to Craig, Kelly’s eyes lit up and she said, “Oh wow. God bless Craig!!!”

Dad died in 1997 and at the funeral home we were standing around talking and laughing, and thinking about his immortal blunder that lives on in the life of the Manzo family.

Sometimes, in life, the role of being a Dad is to bring comic relief to a family. The story of my Dad and the cake, however, is a story with humor, but underlies something much bigger. My Dad was a really good Dad. He cared for and loved every member of his family and took care of everyone with everything he had. That is why we found the story so much fun and endearing. It brings back great memories.

Sadly, fatherhood is a tough subject. If there is a parent who bails on a family, most of the time it’s the father. If there is a parent who fails to take responsibility for the care, raising, and loving children, it’s usually the father. I read a statistic the other day that 47% of families with children at home are single parent families, with the largest percentage of the single parents being mothers. Often fathers make themselves the people out of the family picture.

And society doesn’t always treat fathers seriously.

In the early 1980's there was a movie made entitled Mr. Mom, and it was about the unemployed Dad staying home as the homemaker while Mom went to work every day. Mom, despite some starts and stops did just fine in the world of business, but Dad was seen as a total moron at home who could do nothing right. Dad was not taken seriously.

Recently AT&T has had a commercial that really drives me crazy. The Dad, in the commercial does not understand the wireless Internet service in his home and spends most of the commercial being lecture by his wife and daughter like he’s a total moron. Dad is not taken seriously.

St. Paul, in some interesting ways, helps redefine fathers, and in doing so helps redefine families.

Ephesians is, for many, a troubling letter when St. Paul begins speaking about family life. He precedes his words today with the famous passage on women submitting to their husbands----but it is, in many ways, a stunning passage.

When the letter hit the Ephesians they must have been shell-shocked. They wouldn’t have been shell shocked by women submitting to their husbands. Women were, at that time, property of their husbands. They had as many rights as a goat or a cow. Life for women in that era was, in a word, grim. Submission and often even abuse were part of their lives. It was a dreadful time for so many women.

But when the words of Paul came and read, “husbands, love your wives,” and later, “do not provoke your children to anger,” St. Paul was walking on new ground. People did not tell men, in that day and age, to live in a family in such a manner. Men were in charge. Real men didn’t eat quiche, didn’t love their wives, didn’t have to respect their children, or even have any emotional bond with their families at all.

But Paul is saying the opposite. Real men, do all these things. Real men do love their families and have emotional bonds with their family members. And quiche is optional.

But this day reminds us of things beyond Dads. It is a reminder to us about how we adults interact with children in our society.

This whole concept of ‘bringing them up,’ is not a passive process. It’s an active, every day kind of thing. Children do not raise themselves.

Here is one of the great myths of society. I have heard, many, many times, people make the statement that they were not going to raise their children in a church tradition; they want the child to grow up and make the decision for himself or herself.

It sounds good in theory but, in essence, when we raise children in nothing, they will choose nothing. If a child has never gone to church before then there is no reason to believe they will start going later. Increasingly, the younger generation is not only unchurched, but not even close to having a comprehension of a life of faith.

Every time we Worship and we pray, we end the Morning Prayer with the Lord’s Prayer. It is not printed in the bulletin and people do not ordinarily go looking in their hymnals for the prayer. We know it. We have been raised with it. The words are used in church so often that we pray the prayer by heart.

After Funeral Services, most Committal Services at the grave side end with the Lord’s Prayer. Most of the time, for these services, I have the words printed in the program because many people in younger generations do not know the words.

The Lord’s Prayer, the Prayer of Our Savior, the prayer Jesus taught us, is becoming less and less known. Increasingly, in our society, more people know what is on a Big Mac than they know the words of this prayer from Jesus.

The problem is at home and in church because we have forgotten to direct children to God as Paul reminds us. And part of the way we assure children are here is to be here ourselves.
A church in Florida had been having monthly family events for the whole community in an effort to reach new people. They were having a problem, however, with some parents dropping off children but not coming themselves.

To combat this problem, they issued the following announcement: "The Magic of Lassie, a film for the whole family, will be shown Sunday at 5 P.M. in the fellowship hall. Free puppies will be given to all children not accompanied by parents."

For the past several days I have been pondering being a Dad.

On my Facebook page I posted a picture back from 1977 when I graduated from college. My sister, who was just finishing the 8th grade was there along with my parents who, at the time, were both 46. At age 46 they were 10 years younger than I am now.

It was a big day for me but, I suspect, an even bigger day for them. Their oldest child had graduated from college, something neither of them or anyone in their families had done before. I had an opportunity they did not have and they supported me through it, as they did my brother and sister after me. It was a big deal.

My parents are both gone now. Dad died in 1997 and Mom died 5 1/2 years ago. It's hard to believe. You never really ponder life without your parents until they are no longer with you.

The biggest lesson I learned from them is this. Love your children. My daughters are now adults and neither one lives at home with us now. One lives in town and one lives 7 hours away. But they are still, in so many ways, at the core of my being, deep in my heart. I love them dearly and profoundly. And I learned to love them from my Mom and Dad.

In many ways, days like Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are universal days that remind us of love. Sometimes, for many people, the love of their parents was lacking or deficient or even gone. For others, it was profound. For each of us, no matter what our circumstances in life, we are challenged to love others. I learned about love, the love of God, the love of other people, the love of my wife and children, from my parents. And on this day, I celebrate and remember their love, as I attempt to love as well as they did.

Pondering Being a Dad

For the past several days I have been pondering being a Dad.

On my Facebook page I posted a picture back from 1977 when I graduated from college. My sister, who was just finishing the 8th grade was there along with my parents who, at the time, were both 46. At age 46 they were 10 years younger than I am now.

It was a big day for me but, I suspect, an even bigger day for them. Their oldest child had graduated from college, something neither of them or anyone in their families had done before. I had an opportunity they did not have and they supported me through it, as they did my brother and sister after me. It was a big deal.

My parents are both gone now. Dad died in 1997 and Mom died 5 1/2 years ago. It's hard to believe. You never really ponder life without your parents until they are no longer with you.

The biggest lesson I learned from them is this. Love your children. My daughters are now adults and neither one lives at home with us now. One lives in town and one lives 7 hours away. But they are still, in so many ways, at the core of my being, deep in my heart. I love them dearly and profoundly. And I learned to love them from my Mom and Dad.

Be Careful Sermon for June 12, 2011

Be Careful
Acts 2:1-8, 11-13
Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo
June 12, 2011

The Gospel writer Luke, in his sequel to his Gospel, Acts of the Apostles, recounts for us a wonderful story of the coming of the Holy Spirit. On the day of Pentecost, they were all gathered and the Holy Spirit moved through their midst. People were filled with energy, enthusiasm, and great understanding. People could actually understand other's speaking on foreign tongues.

Luke says that they were ‘amazed' and ‘perplexed' by all of these remarkable happenings.

We, in Christianity, have something of a dilemma with the Holy Spirit..

We officially like and approve of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, of God, and we officially like and approve of God.

We read such things of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, such as charity, joy, peace, etc., and they all sound good to us and we approve of them.

We read about gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as wisdom, knowledge, understanding, etc., and we approve of them.

So, Christianity officially approves of the Holy Spirit. Obviously. Easiest thing ever said from this pulpit.

Except.

Here’s the thing. Unofficially Christianity has worked hard to keep the Holy Spirit from running loose. Churches organize themselves so that the Holy Spirit doesn’t run amuck in them.

Popes surround themselves with people who will protect the Pope from people saying crazy, Holy Spirit inspired things, and the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church is established in a way that they don’t have to worry too much that the Holy Spirit is going to run amuck.

The United Church of Christ often seems to be the opposite of this because we are so loosely structured. But down deep, in churches, we work hard to structure and organize ourselves in such a way that the Holy Spirit doesn’t get loose. After all, when the Holy Spirit gets loose, strange things begin to happen. And churches don’t like strange things to happen. In all honesty, pastors don’t like strange things to happen at church.

For one, when the Holy Spirit gets loose, the Holy Spirit proves to be disruptive.

We don’t often like disruption in the church. I found a collection some time back of things to do during boring sermons. Listen to these for a moment:

See if a yawn really is contagious.

Slap your neighbor. See if they turn the other cheek. If not, raise your hand and tell the preacher.

Sit in the back row and roll a handful of marbles under the pews ahead of you. After the service, credit yourself with 10 points for every marble that made it to the front.

Using church bulletins or visitor cards for raw materials, design, test and modify a collection of paper airplanes.

Start from the back of the church and try to crawl all the way to the front, under the pews, without being noticed.

When you sing a hymn, sing the wrong verses and see if you can confuse everyone around you. Or, make up new words for hymns. Being in a Roman Catholic seminary we were not allowed to date or get married. There was a psalm response that went, “Arise, come to your God, singing your songs of rejoicing.” A few of us got creative and changed it to “Surprise, there is no God, you left your girlfriend for nothing.”

They stopped using that song.

Most of us wouldn’t do any of that stuff because we’d be afraid of disrupting the Worship Service.

The thing with the Holy Spirit is that the Holy Spirit is disruptive, and not always predictably so. Sometimes the Holy Spirit messes with long held beliefs and such.

In the latter part of the 1940's a Christian ethicist named Bernard Haring began writing about Christian ethics in a way many people found troubling. Haring has been a Roman Catholic priest who was drafted into the German Army to serve as a chaplain. He spent most of the war in Poland as a chaplain to soldiers, but also serving several small churches as their Pastor.
Haring began to write after the war. He began to write that morality was not based on obedience but on personal responsibility and conscience. His observations of what happened in Nazi Germany, where people followed with blind obedience, was that blind obedience was never good. People had to develop their own consciences.

Since much of Christian ethics, both Roman Catholic and Protestant, was based on some sort of concept of obedience, his words fell like a bomb. As time went on, people began to realize the Holy Spirit was at work and individual responsibility and learning about conscience began to pervade teachings. Of course, Haring was loudly condemned by many because he was seen as disruptive. The Holy Spirit disrupts.

Today, two young women have made a decision. They allowed the Holy Spirit to disrupt their lives and they join with us, in celebrating the disruptive presence of the Holy Spirit.

So my words to them are simple. Be careful. When the Holy Spirit lets loose, things happens. Chaos reigns and the world is disrupted.

But God is served!

Is There One True Church? If So, Which One?

There has been a great deal of effort made, over the centuries, to define ‘the one true church.’ Many groups have, at times, defined themselves as being the ‘true church’ because of various doctrinal items, historic precedence, and biblical interpretation. One of the things I appreciate about being a minister within the United Church of Christ is that it’s not a road we choose to venture.

I don’t believe there is such a thing as ‘one true church.’ I think every church, in some way, illuminates the truth of God; and every church, in some ways, falls way short of God’s glory. The Roman Catholic Church often sees itself as the ‘one true’ or, at least, original church. Early church history, however, is way too nebulous to make that claim with a straight face. Christianity morphed, in time, into what we now call the Roman Catholic Church, but there are many incredibly valid arguments which demonstrate a massive straying from the early church. But, in fairness, they are not the only ones.

The Orthodox Churches, however, not unlike the Roman Catholic Church make the claim they were ‘founded’ on the day of the coming of the Holy Spirit, Pentecost. Others point to 1054 when there was a split between East and West, both claiming to be the ‘true’ church.

Both the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches practice exclusive Holy Communion; only if you are part of that denomination may you come to the Table of the Lord. Within Protestantism, it varies. Most Lutheran Churches welcome everyone, but some do not. Several Protestant denominations have, throughout history, deemed themselves as being founded, also at Pentecost, and are the ‘true’ representation of Christianity.

I don’t believe there is any ‘true’ church and I think trying to demonstrate one truth at the expense of another. There are, however, certain aspects of Christianity that I believe to be important.

First is faithfulness. Often in our desire to be ‘true’ Christians, we forget, first, to be faithful Christians. Years ago the New York Giants drafted a running back who was not working very hard. He was very talented but was a great underachiever. The coach sneered at him one day that the road to the Hall of Fame started by playing well on the field.

Faith is a great deal like that. Often the desire to be ‘true’ means we take it for granted that we are right, that we are correct, to the point that we no longer reflect what Jesus taught.

Secondly, we are driven by real biblical values. Often what passes for biblical values are our opinions with scripture verses attached. Instead, perhaps we need to read the gospels and see where the Bible actually drives us. The gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John speak often of a radical inclusion of all people and a caring for those in need. Until we live those callings, we are not really living biblical values.

Lastly, there needs to be a great sense of humility. There are two eternal truths that are real to Christians. There is a God, and we are not God. Presuming any of us are the real vessels of TRUTH is a foolhardy presumption. Only God is the Truth and we need to be humble enough to accept that.

Sermon for Sunday June 5, 2011

The Presence of Christ
Text: Acts 1:6-11
Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo
June 5, 2011

Up in the sky;

It’s a bird;

It’s a plane,

No, it’s------the Son of God being lifted up into Heaven, ascending into the clouds.

The apostles are standing there, mouths hanging open, gawking, looking at the sky and we have to cut them a break. It was the first time they had ever seen a person just float up into the sky. They stood, absolutely transfixed and bewildered until they are told by that Jesus was taken into heaven, but will come back some day. Of course, earlier in the passage, Luke, the write of Acts of the Apostles contradicts good old Harold Camper when Jesus tells us that no one knows when all will be restored. I’m guessing our rapture friend is missing this chapter from his Bible, but that’s a whole other story.

But they are asked, “Why do you stand there looking up toward Heaven?”

It’s really an amazing question that is pretty much a timeless question. Why are you looking for Jesus up there?

A little boy named Billy, who was quite a handful, by his parents, to a Christian school in the hope that they would be helpful in discipline. After the first day of school the boy came home in deep distress and went to his room, closed the door, and was hiding under his bed.

His Mom went and asked him what had happened. Billy said, “Well, in religion class the teacher began asking where Jesus was. I guess he’s missing. But then she asked me, ‘Billy, where is Jesus? Mom, she thinks I took Jesus!!!!”

It’s a silly story with many variations. One thing, however, is always a constant. People are always searching for Jesus. People try a variety of churches, read books, and take on spiritual practices in search of Jesus. And often we miss the fact that while we are searching the clouds for Jesus, Jesus is always in our midst.

There are two places we fail to look.

The first place we fail to look is around us. Every person here is a child of God and has the presence of Christ within them. Every person here.

If you go out to lunch, look around the restaurant. Every person in the restaurant is a child of God with the presence of Christ within them. As you drive your car and pass by people and have them pass you, take note every person you encounter on the road is a child of God with the presence of Christ within them. Even the one driving below the speed limit in front of you.

One of the great plights of civilization has been the plight of racism. If we had the ability to view every person, no matter what color, what nationality, as God views them, we’d see children of God with the presence of Christ within them.

If you are a Democrat, all the Republicans are children of God with the presence of Christ within them. If you are a Republican, all the Democrats are children of God with the presence of Christ within them.

When we look around us, everyone is a child of God with the presence of Christ within them. It does not matter if we are old or young, gay or straight, male or female, short or tall, bald or hairy, funny or serious, right handed or left handed. Everyone is a child of God with the presence of Christ within them.

Every year, when we have our faith statements, I’m very much reminded of this. Our young people get such a grasp on the presence of Christ in our midst that it inspires me. Today was no exception listening to these two remarkable young women share their journeys with us.

So don’t look at the sky. Look around you and you’ll encounter the presence of Christ.

The second place we look for Christ is when we serve others in Jesus’ name. The presence of Christ is so strong when people are served.

Jesus said that whenever we do something for the least of God’s people, we do it for Christ.

This corresponds with the first point of seeing everyone as children of God. When we see others as truly being children of God, we recognize that no one should go hungry; no one should be without clothing, no one should be without loving care. Every time we have Soup Kitchen, Christ is in our midst in a special way. Every time we have Clothes Closet, Christ is in our midst in a special way. The Health Fair, the trip to Kentucky, Repair affair, Operation Santa Claus, Thanksgiving Baskets, etc., etc., etc.

The presence of Christ is in our midst, in one another, and in our service to others. So don’t look in the sky! Look around you! The presence of Christ is here among us.

Journalistic Integrity?

I often wonder what has happened to journalistic integrity.

During the past week there were major issues in the news, but they were largely overlooked by other things.

Mitt Romney announced that he was going to run for President. Whether you agree with Romney or like him, or not, Romney is a serious man with serious credentials and serious money behind him. His announcement is a big deal and his opinions on things are a big deal.

But, his announcement was overshadowed by Sarah Palin. We know that she ‘tweeted’ about the Statute of Liberty, ate pizza with Donald Trump (who used a knife and fork), and she did whatever one calls it with Paul Revere’s ride.

Sarah Palin did not announce where she was going on her special bus family vacation. She wanted to keep the news media in the dark. The news media, in their infinite wisdom, instead of NOT following her, followed her like a pack of lemmings. Of course, she ended up in New Hampshire on the day Romney was there and completely overshadowed him. So the journalists covered nonsense instead of the news.

Of course, this was overshadowed by Anthony Weiner’s alleged or hacked ‘tweet’ of a bodily appendage to a college student. Over the week, the news media covered Weiner’s appendage like it was the biggest story of the week; and Weiner’s incredibly bizarre responses helped keep a nonsensical story on the front pages. Of course, journalists covered all of this with vim, vigor, and glee.

Of course, we had side trips with the indictment of John Edwards and more stories into his sleazy affair and inept and potentially illegal cover ups. Despite all efforts of the people covering this story, this may actually be a big story.

Tim Pawlenty is trying to run a serious campaign from Minnesota, his home state. He is a thoughtful, serious guy. Again, whether one agrees with him or not, he brings some stature to the table. Michele Bachmann is also from Minnesota and she is the Bizarro World version of George Washington. She cannot tell the truth. She is an amazing dispenser of silliness. Pawlenty, of course, gets no media coverage whereas she gets a great deal.

Meanwhile, American soldiers are still in an active war, in an occupational action, and participating with NATO forces in Libya. The job reports was disappointing. The debt ceiling has been fodder for mostly ridiculous commentary by politicians on both sides of the aisle who never get called out for their ridiculous commentary because everyone is following Sarah’s bus and lamenting Trump’s eating of pizza with silverware.

It makes me wonder of journalistic integrity has become an oxymoron.

Amazing Heroes

I just finished reading Jonathan Jordan’s amazing book, “Brothers, Rivals, Victors: Eisenhower, Patton, Bradley and the Partnership that Drove the Allied Conquest in Europe.” The book is even longer than the title. I am a big admirer of Omar Bradley and his book, “A General’s Life,” is a classic on my bookshelf. I have read it numerous times.

First off, all three are amazing heroes. Ike and Bradley with classmates at West Point and Patton and Ike were old friends and former next door neighbors. The two of them were ardent supporters of armor and Bradley had a background in the infantry. They were all really amazing people who were very human and all made their share of mistakes.

Eisenhower had one of the most difficult jobs of the war. He was the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. He had some amazing bosses. Winston Churchill was, well, Winston Churchill. President Roosevelt was more patient than Churchill, but there was General George Marshall, who, in my opinion is the truly great American of the 20th Century and if you don’t know who he is, shame on you! Marshall was the brains behind the American military operations in both theaters and his confidence in Eisenhower was well placed.

But part of Ike’s problem wasn’t his bosses but his subordinates. Bradley was, in so many ways, the perfect general. He was quiet and unassuming and was, in so many ways, the finest American general on the ground in Europe in terms of combat operations. Patton was brilliant but often reckless. Eisenhower, Bradley, and Patton could irritate each others and often did. They never lost focus, however, of their two great enemies: the Germans and Bernard Montgomery. Monty’s ego, portrayed in this book and many other places, was amazing. He made Patton look humble----and that’s saying a lot.

I learned some interesting things. Despite his gruffness, of the three, Patton had the most tender heart and was deeply sensitive. He was prone to fits of rage and tears. When the three visited a concentration camp, Patton was so overwhelmed with grief, he was the one who sobbed and vomited. He had a very big heart----something not always seen in portraits of him.

Bradley was a lot tougher than often portrayed. Unlike the others, of his subordinates failed, he sacked them. He felt war was truly a dreadful event and failure had to be addressed and soldiers had to be led by experience, capable leaders and not those learning on the job. And Bradley was the planner of Cobra which was one of the most devastating attacks on the Germans in the war.

Ike was the guy who held everyone together. He lived on coffee and cigarettes, and very little sleep. When he was President he had terrible health and, wow, you can really tell why. The poor guy was physically almost destroyed by the war and the stress. Interesting to note, that Bradley, in his book, dismissed Eisenhower’s planning ability militarily, but, in this book, we see his ideas very much come to light. Ike was quite a man.

It was awe inspiring reading about these three amazing heroes. They truly were brothers, rivals, and ultimately victors!

Random Thoughts

Random Thoughts

Okay, first thought I’m going to share is one where I’m going to duck. I watched Oprah’s last show and her final monologue. She’s very accomplished and done well in life and I felt that she reminded us over and over again about this. I know many people were moved by this. I wasn’t. But perhaps that’s just me.

Sarah Palin is playing catch me if you can with the news media and her whirlwind tour. I’d say ‘why bother.’ She said she hates coverage from the mainstream media, so I’d say don’t cover her. Simple solution.

I don’t agree with him about much, but I think Tim Pawlenty is a pretty good candidate. I think the Republicans don’t have their strongest field, but I think he’s the best of the lot by far. Of the group right now, I think he and Romney are the only really serious one’s, and I think Romney has a problem with the base and will struggle in getting the nomination. As for Palin, I think she’s looking to run as a Tea Party candidate and morph that into a third party, but I could be way wrong on that.

I would not be overly excited about this if I were President Obama, however, George H. W. Bush, at this time, was facing a weak Democratic group and Bill Clinton came out of that. In politics, things change rapidly. And the economy is still bad.

I think Amanda Knox would have been acquitted had her first trial been in the United States and her appeal trial is demonstrating that she was railroaded. Could be wrong, but...

Snookie was arrested in Italy. Seaside Heights, New Jersey is praying she stays...

Tiki Barber compared himself to Anne Frank. Tiki used to be a smart guy. Notice the word ‘used’.

Adrian Peterson said that NFL players are treated like slaves. Peterson is an African-American running back who, perhaps, has ancestors who were, in fact, slaves. I wish they could have coffee or something so he could see the difference between being a multi-millionaire running back in the NFL and a slave.

And maybe, while he’s having coffee, Tiki can lock himself in an attack every day in fear for his life.

My patience with the moronic is getting smaller and smaller. You probably can tell...

The Real Lawn King

God said: "Frank, you know all about gardens and nature. What in the
world is going on down there on the planet? What happened to the
dandelions, violets, milkweeds and stuff I started eons ago? I had a
perfect no-maintenance garden plan. Those plants grow in any type of
soil, withstand drought and multiply with abandon. The nectar from the
long-lasting blossoms attracts butterflies, honey bees and flocks of
songbirds. I expected to see a vast garden of colors by now. But, all I
see are these green rectangles."

St. FRANCIS:
It's the tribes that settled there, Lord. The Suburbanites. They
started calling your flowers 'weeds' and went to great lengths to kill
them and replace them with grass.

GOD:
Grass? But, it's so boring. It's not colorful. It doesn't attract
butterflies, birds and bees; only grubs and sod worms. It's sensitive
to temperatures. Do these Suburbanites really want all that grass
growing there?

ST. FRANCIS:
Apparently so, Lord. They go to great pains to grow it and keep it
green. They begin each spring by fertilizing grass and poisoning any
other plant that crops up in the lawn.

GOD:
The spring rains and warm weather probably make grass grow really fast.
That must make the Suburbanites happy.

ST. FRANCIS:
Apparently not, Lord. As soon as it grows a little, they cut
it-sometimes twice a week.

GOD:
They cut it? Do they then bale it like hay?

ST. FRANCIS:
Not exactly, Lord. Most of them rake it up and put it in bags.

GOD:
They bag it? Why? Is it a cash crop? Do they sell it?

ST. FRANCIS:
No, Sir, just the opposite. They pay to throw it away.

GOD:
Now, let me get this straight. They fertilize grass so it will grow.
And, when it does grow, they cut it off and pay to throw it away?

ST. FRANCIS:
Yes, Sir.
GOD:
These Suburbanites must be relieved in the summer when we cut back on
the rain and turn up the heat. That surely slows the growth and saves
them a lot of work.

ST. FRANCIS:
You aren't going to believe this, Lord. When the grass stops growing so
fast, they drag out hoses and pay more money to water it, so they can
continue to mow it and pay to get rid of it.

GOD:
What nonsense. At least they kept some of the trees. That was a sheer
stroke of genius, if I do say so myself. The trees grow leaves in the
spring to provide beauty and shade in the summer. In the autumn, they
fall to the ground and form a natural blanket to keep moisture in the
soil and protect the trees and bushes. It's a natural cycle of life.

ST. FRANCIS:
You better sit down, Lord. The Suburbanites have drawn a new circle. As
soon as the leaves fall, they rake them into great piles and pay to
have them hauled away.

GOD:
No!? What do they do to protect the shrub and tree roots in the winter
to keep the soil moist and loose?

ST. FRANCIS:
After throwing away the leaves, they go out and buy something which
they call mulch. They haul it home and spread it around in place of the
leaves..

GOD:
And where do they get this mulch?

ST. FRANCIS:
They cut down trees and grind them up to make the mulch.

GOD:
Enough! I don't want to think about this anymore. St. Catherine, you're
in charge of the arts. What movie have you scheduled for us tonight?

ST. CATHERINE:
'Dumb and Dumber', Lord.. It's a story about....

GOD:


Never mind, I think I just heard the whole story from St. Francis

Justice without Delighting in It

Like many others, I have spent a great deal of time contemplating the demise of Osama Bin Laden. There has been a great deal of discussion about the event, the morality, and the credit.

First off, I think most of the conversations about the credit are misplaced. The Intelligence Services, the Navy Seals, and the Army helicopter pilots obviously deserve a ton of credit. Three American Presidents have been trying to get to Bin Laden and he has been one of the most elusive people in the world. All three, Clinton, Bush, and Obama deserve credit for the hunt. Ultimately it doesn’t matter who was the President when the job was finished; they all deserve credit. Obama was the one who made the final call; a call any of them, I believe, would have made. So, enough about the credit.

As for the morality of all this, there is a simple fact to be viewed: Osama Bin Laden made war on the United States. He launched attacks against us in the Middle East and on our own soil. Many have wanted to call him a criminal and I greatly appreciate the desire to do so as what he did WAS criminal. He was an avowed enemy, however, of this nation as he made war on us. It was and is a deplorable kind of war that sinks to the lowest form of human behavior, but he made war on us.

In classic morality, when one makes war on another, one loses one’s right to life. It is a harsh reality of war.

In 1943 the American military had learned that Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto of Japan, the man who planned the attack on Pearl Harbor, was going to be in an airplane flying from one base to another. The approximate route was calculated and a group of American fighter planes were launched with the hope of finding Yamamoto’s plane. They did and he was shot down and killed. He had made war on the United States and our military tracked him down and he died.

Interestingly enough, the stories of getting Yamamoto and Bin Laden are a great deal alike. Justice, it can be said, was served.

But justice should not be celebrated.

Again, during World War II, there was another battle in another continent.

After D-Day on June 6th, the often untold story is that the United States and the British were trapped in Normandy for weeks. After a devastating attack to break out, the British were north and the American Army was south. General Omar Bradley was the overall ground commander and he watched how things developed.

The German Army was told by Adolf Hitler to not retreat and not give up an inch of land. That always sounds ‘tough’ but it’s an incredibly stupid strategy for victory. In fact, the ‘never give an inch’ mentality generally is a successful model for defeat as a strategic, well planned retreat often allows people to regather and come back.

In any case, the German Army was staggered and pushed back and they finally came up with a really amazingly bad plan. They counter-attacked into the center of the American and British line. The German Army believed the best trained, best disciplined, and best equipped army would prevail. The Germans were correct. The best trained, best disciplined, and best equipped army did prevail when the American Army stopped the German Army after the Germans had pushed themselves into a deep pocket.

Bradley, who is vastly under-rated and often unknown, saw that the Germans were in a deep but narrow bulge trapped by Americans and British in the west, the north, and the south. There was only a gap near Falaise, France. The American and English Armies began to close the gap. Estimates say that 10-20,000 German troops got out, but the bulk of the German Army was trapped. 50,000 German soldiers surrendered, and between 20-30,000 of them died in the center of the trap.

The German Army in France was essentially destroyed and an entire Army Group was wiped off the planet.

General Dwight Eisenhower, Bradley’s boss, was thrilled and toured the battlefield where so many German soldiers had died. What he saw appalled him. There were no signs of life. French life stock was dead. Horses that pulled German Army items were dead. Thousands and thousands of young German soldiers were dead. It was said that even the flied had not survived the carnage. There was nothing but death.

It had to have been done. The dead soldiers would have done that to American soldiers if the shoe had been on the other foot. But Eisenhower was greatly disturbed. There was no elation----just the grim reminder and fact that was is a brutal business.

Osama Bin Laden was a man of brutality who died brutally. Jesus observed that those who live by the sword die by the sword. If one calls violence on another, that violence will be returned. But we must not delight in it.

In the Jewish Seder Meal there is a moment when people dip their fingers in the wine and drop drops of wine on their plates ten times to remember the ten plagues against Egypt. It is a reminder of the blood of one’s enemy that was shed so the Israelites would be freed. The drops of wine are dropped but there is a command. You must not lick your fingers afterwards to delight in it.

Sadly, sometimes people die for justice to prevail and that is part of the world we live in. But let us never delight in it.

Random Thoughts

It's always fun coming back to work after being away. Graduation and moving my daughter to Cleveland was exciting, fun, sad, and exhausting all in one. I have a bunch of random thoughts.

Newt Gingrich tossed in his hat to run for President. I think there are two groups of people seeking to get the Republican nomination, at least in theory:

The jokers. Michele Bachmann, Donald Trump, Sara Palin, and Newt all fall into this category. For all of them there are serious character issues, most especially in terms of honesty. Frankly, the more time, energy, and money focused on them is good for President Obama.

The really serious people. Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, and potentially Mitch Daniels. I may not agree with them but these are serious people who have good character and actually have leadership skills. They also have a history of honesty.

I pretty much dismiss Rick Santorum who has the charm of a gila monster, but I am intrigued, always, but Ron Paul. His is a wile card as I don't consider him to be a major player in getting the nomination but I do see him as a person who may actually help focus the agenda on real items.

A part of me, by the way, thinks either Trump, Palin, or both will run as a third or fourth party candidate.

I am becoming short tempered over the feuding over which President deserves the credit for getting Bin Laden.

First, off, between Intelligence and the Navy Seals, that is who 'got' Bin Laden. President Obama gave the order. Would President Bush have given the order? Of course. I have no reason to believe otherwise. End of story.

Thinking about parenting. You are a successful parent, it seems, when your children grow up and leave home and begin to make their own mark on the world. I'm proud of both of my daughters because they are doing this right now. It does make me sad, however, because I miss having two little girls in my house. It is a reminder how fast life flies by...

Random Musings

My daughter graduates from college tomorrow. I'm very proud of both my daughters. In my family they are only the second generation of college graduates. It is a big deal.

I read that some of the 'birthers' are now becoming 'deathers.' I mean, what can you say. Cognitive dissonance is not easily cured.

I have been reading the most excellent book, "Brothers, Rivals, Victors: Eisenhower, Patton, Bradley and the Partnership that Drove the Allied Conquest in Europe." It's a very unvarnished and honest portrait of these three incredible man. If you are a person interested in World War II, this book is a must read.

Of the three, the most interesting, to me, has been Eisenhower. The others were great generals, but Ike had the weight of the world on his shoulders and was often the ball in a soccer game. His easy smile and public charm often gave the portrait of a shallow man who seemed to know less than others. Actually, the opposite was true. He definitely had an easy smile and charm, but he was very, very smart and insightful. He had to deal with the politics of two nations, Generals with massive egos, and hounding news people. He also had to deal, regularly, with the very formidable George Marshall who was probably the most influential (and largely unknown) American of the 20th Century. Ike proved himself to be an amazing man whose influence on American society is largely ignored.

Oh yes, and by the way. There was an American General whose troops were the first to reach Paris, France, and he led them through Germany. His troops fought the Battle of Hurtgen Forest and had a major role in the Ardennes Offensive, other...wise known as the Battle of the Bulge. The First Army was the first unit to cross the Rhine River, by using the still standing Ludendorff bridge at Remagen, and to meet with the Soviet Red Army near Torgau, on the river Elbe. Most people, if asked, would presume this General to be George Patton who loved the limelight and is often the star of highlight reels. But, one would be wrong. It was General Courtney Hodges, who was probably the finest ground commander of the war and led the 1st Army. (Patton) led the 3rd Army in Europe, and the 7th Army in Sicily and Tunisia.

And unlike the others, Hodges did not graduate from West Point. He enlisted in the Army as a private and went through the ranks the hard way.

I think George Patton would have loved George C. Scott's portrait of him in the movie "Patton." The persona is very real except the 'real' Patton was very emotionally and easily came to tears. He was far most sensitive and fragile than often perceived----some of which Scott nailed perfectly. One thing Patton would have loved, however, was Scott's deep voice. Patton had a high pitched squeaky voice and he hated it.

World War II had some of America's finest generals. I often wonder if they were great generals in the right place at the right time, or if the events of history made them great. Or a combination of both. Who knows? In the end, it matters little. They were great men at a time the world needed great men.

Human Decency

Human Decency.

I recently read this article:

PITTSBURGH – Police have arrested a 17-year-old boy accused of robbing an usher who worked at the baseball stadium where the Pittsburgh Pirates play after he stopped his car while having a heart attack on his way home from an extra-inning game.
Police aren't identifying the suspect because of his age. They said Tuesday he approached the car and pulled out 58-year-old driver Michael Schacht, who had been slumped over and in distress. They say he stole the man's wallet and drove off in his car, leaving him on the ground.
Police were puzzled by the man's death because he had only a superficial head injury when he was found April 10 a mile from PNC Park.
The suspect doesn't qualify to be charged as an adult. He's being taken to a juvenile detention facility.

When we use words such as depravity, this is the kind of behavior I see. There is an amazing lack of human decency.

I can imagine the conversation with the 17 year old boy would have gone something like this.

He needed the money. He needed the car. He really didn’t do anything wrong. The man was dead and he wasn’t going to be using her car or needing the money any more. But I keep coming back to the belief that the young man probably didn’t believe he did anything wrong.

Where would he have gotten such an idea? If the man was dead, why didn’t the youngster call 911? What was it about his lack of human decency that made him not think that Mr. Schacht may have had a family who loved him and would be devastated by his death, but also even further devastated that this man’s body, this man who they loved, was left on the ground, dead?

Why did he think that Mr. Schacht, even in death, deserved human decency and dignity?

It often makes me think that we, as a society, need to begin re-teaching dignity and respect, and living our lives in a way that facilitates this.

As for Mr. Schacht, I hope he received the kind of funeral he deserved, filled with love and respect.

And as for the young man. I’m not convinced he need to be in prison. Where he needs to be is someplace where he can grow a heart and be taught lessons in decency----in a place where he will be treated with such decency, that he desires to live in that manner toward others.

Bin Laden is Dead

Osama Bin Laden is dead. Three Presidents have been seeking this to take place as he was considered to be the most dangerous terrorist in the world. President Obama was the President when this finally took place which demonstrates that the perseverance of those who have held that office has paid off. The President is not running around patting himself on the back saying, “I did it,” but instead of graciously pointing out to a long line of work that has taken place. It is correct that he do so. This is an American accomplishment that neither party can take credit for. It is an accomplishment of the United States.

It is, of course, a huge accomplishment by our intelligence services and the Navy Seals. The Seals, despite some last minute mechanical difficulty on one of the helicopters dropped in and did their job efficiently and well. While I hate the fact that, at times, killing seems to be a necessity, it is amazing how well these brave Navy folks worked. They dropped in and did their job well with as little collateral damage as they could, and left. They had no casuals and the only ‘innocent’ person who died was a poor woman who was used as a human shield. This woman’s death is a reminder to everyone as to the character of the terrorists happens to be.

As for Bin Laden’s body, he was buried at sea using Islamic traditions. His body was washed, wrapped in a white cloth, placed in a ‘weighted bury at sea bag’ and the ritual prayers were done. It was the right decision. A grave with him in it would be a shrine to terrorists and would, in and of itself, be a place of violence for too many people. Bin Laden has been the cause of enough people’s deaths. In a moment of being personally evil, the fact that fish are feasting on his remains as I write this does not disturb me. This man was evil and deserves no honor and neither does his death. What happens now is between Bin Laden and God.

I’ve been thinking about how awful this kind of decision is to make if one is the President. In the movie, “The American President,” after President Andrew Shepherd orders a military action which will lead to the death of others, an advisor tells the President how proud he is as the President had never been more Presidential. The President’s response is that he had never been ‘less Presidential’ in ordering the killing of others. I would imagine many Presidents have laid awake at night wrestling with the fact that, on their orders, deaths took place. Even when those deaths, those killings seemed like the right thing at the time. Whether we like to acknowledge it or not, the Sixth Commandment is very short and does not offer much in terms of wiggle room. But, alas, people choose to run for this position and so they choose to make these decisions and pray to God they are correct.

Of course, as difficult as this is for the President to make, I think of the Navy Seals who actually carried out the mission. As they headed into Pakistan on the helicopters, these incredibly well trained and brave people did not really know what they would encounter and if the intelligence was correct. Would the mission be a success? Who would live and who would die? Amazing.

And, I think of the people who died on 9/11. Over 3000 people either burned alive or caught in a collapsing building, or jumping to their deaths. When I think of the phone calls made from people at the top of the Twin Towers, telling loved one’s that they loved them and had to say good-bye, before they vanished into the smoke of that day, my heart breaks.

The deed is done. God help us we are glad a man has been killed; but we know he was evil and now we move on-----and pray for peace.

Observations About the Royal Wedding

I admit it, I watched the Royal Wedding. I wasn’t hardcore enough to get up early, but I watched the recording of the event. And, I doubly admit that I really am glad that I did. I came away with several observations.

The comparisons between Kate and Diana are almost endless. The thing is, there are actually very few comparisons. When Diana got married she was a 19 year old girl in what was essentially an arranged marriage to a relative stranger. William married a 29 year old woman who is the love of his life and best friend. From a ‘health’ perspective, there is no comparison. Additionally, let’s let Kate be Kate and not Diana.

I liked the very attractive and very modest wedding gown.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has about the best speaking voice I have ever heard and the wildest eyebrows I have ever seen.

Fergie’s daughters have very strange taste in hats.

The Worship Service was amazing. I think many people were amazed at the beauty of a well done Liturgy. Considering that so many people attend Worship Services that are more like infomercials for Jesus than they are real Liturgies, it was not a surprise. The beauty of an ages old Liturgy is still amazing.

I love, love, love, the English hymn Jerusalem.

It is very obvious that the English people still love their royalty. It’s also obvious that Americans love the English royalty as well. We might not want them as ‘our’ royals, but we seem to like them just fine.

The Mother of the Bride is always such a pivotal character in weddings. However, when the Grandmother of the Groom is the Queen of England, the rules change a little bit.

The siblings of the couple did really well and it is obvious that there is great sibling love on both sides of the family.

I think Prince Charles gets a bum rap on how well he helped raise his sons. I think he did a very fine job along with their mother; and carried it on after her death.

The tragedy of Diana’s life and death still looms. I think the longness of William and Kate’s dating and seemingly slow decision making came, in part, as a result of William not wanting tragedy to befall two women he loved and loves so much.

I found the experience to be incredibly moving and am very happy I watched this moment in history.

The Embracing of Ayn Rand

About 15-20 years ago I began to make what people perceived as startling statements about Ayn Rand. Most of the my statements were met with “Who the heck is Ayn Rand?” My observation at the time was that many of the people who were calling themselves conservative were not really conservative but Randian in their approach. American conservatives most often viewed the philosophy of Edmund Burke as their guide, whereas 15-20 years ago Rand’s philosophy began to prevail. And there are consequences to this.

Rand’s philosophy comes as a result of a series of massive novels. It is no doubt that she was a gifted writer who made some valid and interesting points in her books. Some of her points, made in novels like Atlas Shrugged, which are not inconsistent with Burke’s philosophy are quite valid. But, in the spirit of intellectual honesty, some of the points Upton Sinclair made in his books like The Jungle, which would come from a drastically opposing perspective of Rand’s are valid as well. I am focusing on Rand right now, however, because virtually no one is reading Sinclair.

Rand’s philosophy premise is based on something she calls objectivism. There is an objective nature to life. Much as paper burns and water makes you wet, there are objective realities in life.

Reason, for her, was everything. And the reasoning has to be clear, objective, and totally rational with no sense of feeling. One’s feelings would lead a person astray.

Religion, to her was a fraud. God was a delusion and not an objective truth.

For her, selfishness is a virtue and altruism is seen as a crime against human excellence. For her, self-sacrifice is a contemptible weakness that people have. She said,

“The Objectivist ethics, in essence,hold that man exists for his own sake, that the pursuit of his own happiness is his highest moral purpose, that he must not sacrifice himself to others, nor sacrifice others to himself.” Her thought was this. “Man is a heroic being with his own happiness as the moral purpose of life with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.”

She was very anti-Christian. She felt that Christianity demonstrated the opposite of every human value. Her view of Christianity, which so often lies at the foot of the cross, is this: “The cross, the symbol of the sacrifice of the ideal to the nonideal. . . . It is in the name of that symbol that men are asked to sacrifice themselves for their inferiors. That is precisely how the symbolism is used. That is torture.”

People are asked to sacrifice themselves for their inferiors....

When one uses the expression, ‘Class warfare,’ one needs to begin with Rand. For her, class warfare was not only tolerable and acceptable, it was a moral absolute. For her, the people at the top deserved to be at the top and had no responsibility for those at the bottom as, from her world view, those at the bottom deserved to be there.

Rand’s impact is alarming.

Congressman Paul Ryan with his “Roadmap for America’s Future,” addresses issues like Medicare and Medicaid by majorly cutting them back while reducing the tax level on the highest earners in the country. For him, this is more than a budgetary proposal, it is a way of viewing life in the United States. Ryan, who is an admirer of Rand and requires all of his staffers read Atlas Shrugged, is greatly impacted by her philosophical world view.

To Ryan’s credit, he is being honest about his Randian world view. He admires her and he’s not afraid state it. His “Roadmap” is a clear example of a Randian world view.

If people listen to Rush Limbaugh, Limbaugh espouses a Randian philosophy. I’m not sure that he ever mentions her by name as he seems to like to express her world view as HIS world view and he seems to have too much hubris to give another person credit for ideas. Interestingly enough, I suspect Rand would approve of this as he has been amazingly successful.

Something else very evident is that the poor have been demonized by society.

With the release of the recent “Roadmap” many people have given it a great deal of scrutiny. The cuts on Medicare are incredibly unpopular. The vast majority of Americans are opposed to this. People like Medicare and it ultimately benefits everyone age 65 and over. The cuts on Medicaid, however, aren’t nearly as unpopular. The fact that Medicaid is mostly used for the poorest Americans often indicates that caring for the less fortunate is not the highest priority for most people.

The greatest impact of Ayn Rand, however, is not only politically, but also religiously. The philosophy of Ayn Rand, in the most ironic of twists, is that Ayn Rand’s philosophy has impacted religious life in America.

Michael Gerson, a speech writer for President George W. Bush did a recent ‘take down’ of Rand from a conservative Christian perspective and called her objectivist philosophy merely a move toward societal adolescence.

Roman Catholic author, Vincent Miller recently wrote in the Roman Catholic publication America, these words which I quote extensively:

It’s an appropriate topic during Holy Week. Gerson outlines the conflict between Christianity and Rand’s “Objectivism” which could not be more fundamental. In Rand’s words, her ethics held “that man exists for his own sake, that his own happiness is his highest moral purpose, that he must not sacrifice himself for others, nor sacrifice others to himself.” She disdained the Cross: “It is in the name of that symbol that men are asked to sacrifice themselves for their inferiors.”

Rand's novels sell more than 800,000 copies a year. Her influence goes far beyond “Who is John Galt?” posters and t-shirts at Tea Party rally’s.

Congressman Paul Ryan is a Rand devotee. He calls her “the reason I got involved in public service” and requires his staffers to read Atlas Shrugged. Indeed Ryan’s celebrated budget proposal reads like it was written by John Galt himself. It is one grand shrug of the wealthy--combining further upper income tax cuts with slashes to Medicaid and the conversion of Medicare to a shrinking voucher.

It is worth noting that Ryan is Catholic. I wonder if he knows that both his principles and policies are fundamentally opposed to the social teaching of the Church? Perhaps if his Rand-inspired libertarianism leads him to a pro-choice position, his bishop might take note. But otherwise, he will likely not only be free to pedal his society-shredding fiscal policies, he will never be challenged by his Church to consider the profound error of Rands views. This is a profound failure in teaching the faith.

One wonders if he even knows of the existence Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. It’s wisdom sounds so foreign in the contemporary climate.

354. Tax revenues and public spending take on crucial economic importance for every civil and political community. The goal to be sought is public financing that is itself capable of becoming an instrument of development and solidarity. Just, efficient and effective public financing will have very positive effects on the economy, because it will encourage employment growth and sustain business and non-profit activities to help to increase the credibility of the State as the guarantor of systems of social insurance and protection that are designed above all to protect the weakest members of society.

Public spending is directed to the common good when certain fundamental principles are observed: the payment of taxes as part of the duty of solidarity; a reasonable and fair application of taxes; precision and integrity in administering and distributing public resources. In the redistribution of resources, public spending must observe the principles of solidarity, equality and making use of talents. It must also pay greater attention to families, designating an adequate amount of resources for this purpose.

With libertarianism now fully embraced by a major political party and the social safety net being shredded in states following decades of Rand-ian tax cuts, this seems a worthy topic for the exercise of the Bishops teaching authority. Recall Glen Beck’s urging his listener’s to flee any church that preaches “Social Justice”?

One wishes it weren’t such a fantasy to imagine the Bishops Committee on Doctrine responding to such a widely influential ideology.

Ryan remains unchallenged by his own church. The only Christian bodies that have expressed a concern over his budgetary plan are the churches of the small and mostly ignored Christian Left, and what are perceived as ‘out of step’ Evangelicals.

It should be noted that Vice President Joe Biden and Senator John Kerry, while running for the Presidency, were refused Holy Communion for being personally opposed to abortion but publically voting to keep it legalized. (I can argue about refusing anyone Holy Communion, but that’s a different issue) While Biden and Kerry were denied Holy Communion, nary a word has been spoken about Ryan’s proposal which is as clearly opposed to Roman Catholic church teaching as abortion.

Another interesting aspect of Rand and Christianity is this.

Recently Lawrence O’Donnell ran clips of Rush Limbaugh denouncing the Left for citing Jesus in reference to Paul Ryan’s “Roadmap” and Limbaugh made the statement that the only time the Left was interested in Jesus Christ was when they felt they could use Jesus to bash a Republican proposal. Limbaugh, who does not attend church and does not publically espouse any religious convictions other than when it’s convenient to him, went on to say that Jesus would have nothing to say about Ryan’s proposal. He then went on to say that the appropriate thing to address would not be WWJD, What would Jesus Do, but instead be WWJT, What would Jesus take?

O’Donnell addressed Limbaugh’s question by reading something Limbaugh was obviously not familiar with: The Gospels. Limbaugh, who went on and on saying that Jesus didn’t bash the rich went on and articulated a position that was completely inconsistent with Christianity. And Jesus did bash the rich. A lot. In fact, Jesus’ two primary moral teachings were about caring for the poor and his opposition to self-righteousness.

And most of Christianity in America did nothing in response to Limbaugh’s statements. Albert Mohler who consistently has things to say about American society and how we are all going to hell, said nary a word when the most popular talk show host in America completely mis-represented Christianity.

Interestingly enough the majority, not all, but the majority of mega-churches say very little to caring for the poor and outcast, cast out gay members, and are quick to condemn homosexuality and abortion as well as societal ills like pornography, but are painfully slow at condemning programs that bash the poor. In fact, so many of them promote personal prosperity and the benefits of personal relationships with Jesus and personal salvation, that they appear to be less based upon Jesus Christ and more based on a Christianization of Ayn Rand.

Ayn Rand’s philosophy was a morally bankrupt philosophy that was, and is, totally contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The more we embrace it, the less we embrace Christ.

And we are embracing more and more...

Politifact Grades

Politfact has become one of the most important websites on the Internet as it unflinchingly rates people’s honesty in their speeches and comments. I decided to search out Politifact and give politicians grades. Politfact has certain categories and I decided to assign a number to each score.

If a statement is True, I gave the person 4 points, an A.

If the statement is Mostly True, 3 points, a B.

If the statement is Half True, 2 points, a C.

If the statement is mostly Barely True, 1 point a D.

If a statement is False, 0 points, an F.

If the statement is Pants on Fire, I gave them -1 points for pure deceit.

Like a normal grade, I counted up the total number of points and divided by the number of actual statements the person has on Politfact. The President scored the highest with a 2.2 but this can be attributed to a lot of things. For one, he has, by far and away, the most number of statements because he is the President of the United States and, because he is also the most scrutinized person, he has to be incredibly careful with what he says because he will be called out on it. Or, perhaps he is more honest than most. People can come to whatever conclusions they want. Having said all that, a score of 2.2, in my opinion, is nothing to be proud of.

On the bottom end of the scale is Michele Bachmann who had a score of 0 in True or Mostly True. Her total score was 0.2 which can only mean she’s one of the most overwhelmingly dishonest politicians in the United States. Interestingly enough, she professes herself to be a Christian. If she really is, I’d presume she’s a Christian for whom only 9 Commandments count.

The results are disturbing. Two well known people failed miserably, one beyond miserably. The highest scores were C’s, not even C+. Really awful stuff if you ask me.

President Barack Obama Score 2.22 C

Speaker John Boehner Score 1.97 C

Senator Mitch McConnell Score 1.9 C

Senator Harry Reid Score 1.8 C

Cong. Nancy Pelosi Score 1.86 C

VP Joe Biden Score 2.0 C

Sarah Palin Score 1.6 D+

Mike Pence 1.4 D

Rachel Maddow Score 1.27 D

Glenn Beck Score .86 F

Michele Bachmann Score .2 F

Calming Down

I'm finding that calming down after the recent budget fight, potential shut-down has been difficult for me.

Truth be told, while I obviously lean left, I'm really not an ideologue. I actually don't really trust ideologues. I tend to think hard and fast ideologies are simplistic attempts to solve complex problems. I tend to believe that the truth is found in a variety of ideas and that pragmatism is more important than holding fas to some ideology. But, obviously, I find myself in the minority.

Several things made me angry.

The Democrats failed to pass a budget when they had control of Congress, both houses, and they also passed the health care legislation that had some good things in it. It is mislabled as 'Obamacare' to make it appear like it was the brain child of the President. Sadly, it was the brainchild of committees in Congress with a bunch of modifications made to make it more palatable. The Democrats passed it and ran away from it like scared children. If you pass something good, stand up for it and promote it. They failed and lost the House. Deservedly so.

Some of the Republicans used the current budget time to attempt to make cheap political points. Michele Bachmann and Mike Pence gave speeches practically demanding a shut down and the more radical people in the party made life difficult for John Boehner. I think, of everyone, Boehner has the most difficult job. He's the 'cat herder' in Congress. While I disagree with Boehner on most things, I've come to greatly respect him. I do think he has a lot of integrity.

I'm not sure about the President on this one. He pretty much stayed on the sidelines and tried to be 'Presidential.' From what I've heard, however, he was very much a player and was on the phone constantly.

But the biggest issue is this. It shouldn't have come to this. We elect people to behave like grown ups. Some did----or tried to, but everyone was let down by incompetence and untruths.

I hope I do eventually calm down.

The Gospel

I keep coming to this harsh realization that much of what passes for Christianity these days seems to boil down to two things.

The first is 'sin management.' People sin. People fall short of God's glory. No one lives even close to perfect lives. As a result, God needs to be a God who provides sin management. How do we manage the sins we have committed in life?

The second is 'ticket to Heaven.' The Gospel seems to have been shrunken down to Jesus coming, living, and dying on the cross to pass out tickets to Heaven. Too often the Gospel and our lives here on earth as worthless unless we get a ticket to Heaven.

A big issue with Christianity right now is that it has made God too small to be God. And people wonder why churches are shrinking. When we make our God so small; when we diminish God into one who simply manages sins; when we eliminate the Gospel unto the point of a ticket giver, why are we surprised that Christianity is losing steam in the modern day world?

Sermon for March 27, 2011

Reflecting on Commitment
Text: John 15:18-25
Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo
March 27, 2011

If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you.

These chapters from the Gospel of John are what is usually called Jesus’ Final Discourse. It is a theological rationale for who he was, what he was, and an explanation about his ministry. It is, in so many ways, a classic apologia, a discourse telling the world, who and what he was.

And there are the words. If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you. These are words that cannot have mad the apostles jump up and say, “Wow, we’re really excited about this!!!” These are words to the effect that Jesus is saying, “If you follow me, people will hate you.” Jesus was also correct about this.

Jesus was warning them that following him, being a Christian, was going to be difficult. Making a commitment to follow Jesus is one thing; living out that commitment is an entirely other thing. Sometimes reflecting on the commitment we make to God is worthwhile.

The commitment to Christ has never been an easy one.

In the early Christian church being a Christian was illegal. The Romans persecuted the early Christians, the ancient Jews struggled the early Christians, and the early Christians persecuted each other because they didn’t all agree with one another.

As time went on the persecution of Christians was mostly done by other Christians. The Spanish Inquisition pre-dated the Protestant Reformation and it was Christians persecuting other Christians for often minor variations of belief.

After the time of the Protestant Reformation there was widespread persecution of Christians by other Christians. There was, of course, conflict between the Protestants and the Roman Catholics, but there were also internal conflicts among Roman Catholics and among Protestants. If you lived in Geneva at the time of John Calvin and disagreed with him, you were in mortal danger. Christians not only argued with one another, they persecuted and killed one another.

So being a Christian has never been particularly easy.

In recent years things have changed in so many ways, but in other ways, the same problems that Christianity has wrestled with still remain.

When North Korea became a Communist country they were officially atheists. One day the government announced, however, that all Christians could practice their faith openly and encouraged everyone who really believed in God to attend Worship on a particular Sunday. On that day people excitedly went to Worship and the churches were packed. And in all the churches around the country, the doors were bolted and the churches were burned to the ground filled with worshipers. It was a horrible display of persecution. Christians throughout the world have suffered at the hands of those who hate people who have faith in Jesus Christ.

In our nation and place in time, we celebrate a freedom of religion that is good. But it doesn’t mean that Christianity is thriving. In fact, if you research it, Worship attendance across the country has been on a downward turn for years. The largest religious growth group in the United States are people who call themselves ‘spiritual, but not religious.’ Some are on a journey real of faith and some are not. But one of the biggest problems so many people have is Christianity is seen in a variety of ways, and many of those ways are not very helpful.

People like to blame the government or the news media, or science, or 1001 other things, but, as throughout history, the biggest problem with Christianity has been the way it’s been practiced. A major factor in the diminishment of Christianity has not been from outside of Christianity, but within ourselves.

I want to reflect on two things.

The first is this. Author Scott McKnight argues that one of the primary sins that hinders the progress of the gospel is individualism.

“Individualism is an intentional march away from Eden, away from God and away from others. When the gospel is packaged as attractive to individuals instead of a community, the problem is only compounded. Individualism makes God and others into commodities we choose to further our own ends”


One of the most common words used in the Bible is the Greek word koinonia. It is most usually translated as communion, association, fellowship, sharing, common, contribution, or partnership. Christianity from the very beginning existed as a corporate reality, as a community. To be Christian meant just to belong to the community. Nobody could be Christian by himself or herself, as an isolated individual, but only together with others.

The dictionary defines individualism as, "the leading of one's life in one's own way without regard for others." The definition and recognizing that the church is about community, demonstrates that individualism and Christianity have little in common.

Yet, in recent years, individualism has arisen in Christianity a great deal. In recent weeks I’ve been reading about people attacking a new book by Rob Bell entitled, Love Wins. A pastor in North Carolina was fired by his congregation because, horror of horrors, he agreed with Bell that God’s grace is all pervasive. One critic of Bell said that we are nothing without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Funny thing about that expression, a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. If you ask older people they’ll tell you that they never recall that being talked about in church. The reason is, it wasn’t. It’s usage became more and more popular in more recent years when individualism began to permeate society and Christianity. The expression a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is not in the Bible. When people say we are nothing without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ they are not citing te Bible and they are not citing anything prevalent in historic Christianity.

Christianity has always been communal and being around others and serving others. While I would never tell anyone that they should not develop a personal relationship with God or personally pray or personally make choices about their faith, I would never say that we are nothing without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

And the more Christianity embraces the concept of individualism, the idea that it’s all about me, the more we will diminish.

The second thing is this.

Over the years we’ve come to diminish God.

The other day I was doing some research for this sermon and I was listening to sermons about God and people’s perceptions on God and salvation. One man in Arizona really stood out.

He preached a sermon about Joel Osteen, the Pastor of the largest church in the country and a proponent of the so-called prosperity Gospel. This guy said that Osteen was going to hell.

He preached a sermon about Billy Graham. We’ve all heard of Billy Graham. He’s going to hell as well, according to this guy.

If you read or use any Bible besides the 1611 King James Version. Hell. If you are a woman who wears a head covering----most especially if you are an Amish woman wearing a head covering. Hell. If you’ve ever practiced birth control. Hell. Gay? Hell. Every said hello to a gay person. Hell. Went to college. Hell. The Pope. Hell. Roman Catholics. Hell.

He never mentioned the United Church of Christ, but if I had to guess I’d guess his perception is that our futures are warm.

His perception of God strikes me as being a God who views human life as a Pass/Fail course, and most people Fail. It seems like a really small image of God.

Or there is the image of God as a cosmic Santa Claus. If we ask God for something, we’ll get it. Want a pony----then pray for a pony and God will give you a pony.

If someone is sick and you really have faith, then pray for them and they will get well.

At the casino and want to win big? Just pray and it’ll come true.

Want your team to win the big game? Just pray and they’ll do it.

Again, this is a small image of God. Most of us don’t get the ponies, everyone ultimately dies, and despite the fervent prayers from up the road, most people don’t beat the casino’s odds. And Lord knows I’ve prayed for the Giants during games as so many people have done for their teams, and have had my heart broken.

But my point is this. Whenever people who are Christians make God small, when we make God exclusionary, when we make God into little more than a cosmic Santa Claus, or do whatever it is we do to make God smaller, we make God less Godlike and when God is no longer God, when God is no longer beyond our comprehension and ability to fully understand, we make God easy to dismiss. And when we make God easy to dismiss we make it easy for people to not really have a need to commit----and we make ourselves have an easier time not committing.

What made commitment difficult in Jesus’ time was danger. What made commitment difficult in later times was confusion and danger. And what makes commitment difficult now is losing the communal emphasis of the Gospel and diminishing God down to our size.

The Gospel is not easy. God is not easy. As we travel this season of Lent, let’s not embrace a God who is easy to embrace and easy to understand, but let us together, as a community, embrace the Gospel, and embrace God, for what is really there.

Random Musings

I keep thinking I really need to get back to this and so I'm going to try and be better about my blogging.

Basketball is on. I'm not a basketball fan. I never have been and living in Southern Indiana it seems like I really should be. I am excited, however, that Butler is doing so well again. They are a small, very fine academic school and not a classic basketball factory. Good stuff.

I read a person's Facebook post the other day and the writer cited Barack Obama and his statements about a President going to war. At the time those comments were, in my mind, very critical and appropriately critical, of President Bush's decision to go to war in Iraq. Sadly, President Obama seems to be doing the same thing with Libya. This puts is in THREE wars, and frankly, I'm not convinced we should be in any of them right now. I understood the initial incursion into Afghanistan, but that is all. The continued, even escalated war there bothers me. Iraq always bothered me and Libya does not seem to have any sort of real goal or strategy.

Michele Bachmann may be running for President. To me, her ideological beliefs are not relevant. The woman is a flat out liar. She's been caught in more lies than Peyton Manning has thrown touchdown passes. Liars like her should not hold public office. Period. End of rant.

I have been reading Rob Bell's wonderful book, "Love Wins." I've read a great deal of criticism about his book written by people pre-publication. It makes me wonder if half the people who 'hate' his book have read it. I'm guessing not because half of what I've read is bad about the book doesn't seem to be actually in the book. It strikes me that people who love to ask questions and ask the big questions about God and faith will love this book. The people who demand absolute answers will hate this book. I suspect there will be very few people in between. I just hope people actually read the book before rendering judgments about it.

As an aside, I hope Amanda Knox is found not guilty. I think she's been treated horribly. That's just my opinion....

I saw a news story about a woman rape in Libya by Libyan police officers. When she was crying, weeping with the press, she was arrested. The injustice of this is heart breaking. I'd be surprised if she is still alive. She was guilty of being a rape victim and speaking about it. This kind of injustice is intolerable.

Newt Gingrich seems to believe that telling people he cheated on his previous two wives because he was a 'patriot' is a good excuse and a good rationale. This may rival "a wide stance."

Japan. My heart breaks for the people there. The devastation and suffering are beyond my comprehension. The people of that land need to be held close to our hearts.

Being a Zesty Christian, audio file

http://home.insightbb.com/~johnmanzo/

Mountaintop Experience: Being a Zesty Christian Text: Matthew 5:13-20

Mountaintop Experience:
Being a Zesty Christian
Text: Matthew 5:13-20

Over the years I have heard many people tell me that one of their favorite things in the Bible is the Sermon on the Mount. I’ve often wondered, however, if the people who like the Sermon on the Mount so much have ever read it. It has strange stuff in it like the Beatitudes which are often difficult to explain, a notion of turning the other cheek, and what we read today.

Being salt. Being light. Living so that others may say our good works and living a life according to the way God wants us to live. These commands from the mountaintop are, in so many ways, inviting us to being inspired Christians, potent Christians, zesty Christians, if you will.

As I was contemplating this week, however, I was vexed. I wasn’t quite sure what, exactly, Jesus’ point was.

Does he mean standing on the street corner and preaching the Gospel, loudly, to everyone who passes by. I’ve heard people do this and, frankly, most of them struck me as lunatics and, to be honest, not very interesting.

Does it mean standing on the pews while singing a hymn and singing louder than everyone else around you? I guess it’s possible, but I also would imagine you’d annoy everyone around you, especially if you sang badly.

Or do you hang out at the mall and tell everyone you meet that Jesus is really cool and awesome. Again, I’ve seen this done and felt more annoyed by the people doing it than inspired.

But what might Jesus’ point be?

Within the tradition of Judaism and adopted by Jesus there is a command to love God with all our heart and all our mind. The more I thought about this, loving God with my mind and my heart, fully, is a way of being a zesty Christian.

First, loving God with our minds.

God does not call us to be stupid. God does not call us to check our brains at the door of churches. God does not call us to live bad psychology, speak in poor English, embrace bad science or rewrite history to the way we want it to be as opposed to how it is. God does not call us to be stupid because loving God, fully, requires our minds.

One thing we do well here is have Sunday School classes and Bible study where we want people to ask questions. A questioning faith is a stronger faith.

Centuries ago if you went to a Puritan church their Worship Service was very different from our’s. The men would sit on one side and the women on the other. They would sit in benches with no backs. Hymns would be sung with only the accompanying of a drum. The sermon would be either a one turn or a two turn sermon.

The Pastor would preach with an hourglass on the pulpit. A real hourglass with a full hour of sand in it. A one turn sermon was when the Pastor preached for an hour and turned the hourglass over and he’d preach for another hour. A two turn sermon was he’d turn it over again and preach for a third hour. Imagine coming to church and having a two to three hour sermon! But that’s not all they did. They would spend the next hour or so asking the Pastor questions about the sermon. They expected the Pastor to be able to defend any arguments he made in the sermon. If they didn’t like his Biblical interpretation, they asked him about it. They expected their Pastor to know what he was talking about and they had no qualms in questioning him.

And that is a great thing. Seriously. An unquestioning faith is a faith not being fully lived out.

One of my favorite stories is about an old, very wise Rabbi who was on his death bed. His twelve students were next to the bed, lined up from brightest to dullest, waiting to hear his final words.

He whispered, “Life is like a mushroom.”

The brightest student whispered, “Life is like a mushroom,” to the next student until finally the dullest student was told, “Life is like a mushroom.” To which the dullest student said, “Life is like a mushroom? That doesn’t make any sense!”

So the chain started back, whispering from student to student with disdainful faces at the dullest student for saying such a thing. Then finally the brightest student in the class whispered to the Rabbi, “Life is like a mushroom? That doesn’t make any sense!”

And then the Rabbi said, “So maybe life isn’t like a mushroom.”

That’s an old story and one thing I’ve always wondered about is this. I’ve often thought that, perhaps the dullest student was actually the brightest and most faithful student because he was the only one willing to question things.

The second part of being a zesty Christian is loving God with our hearts. Loving God with our minds us what we think about God; loving God with our hearts is what we feel and how we feel about God.

Let me make a confession about this. This part of the sermon is really difficult for me because my approach to God is mostly through my mind and mostly intellectual and even academic. I can easily talk about what I think about God, whereas what I feel about God is a lot different.

This past week I started my 10th year at St. Marks and I was recalling something that took place not long after I arrived here. I was told that there was a criticism of me that I wasn’t emotional enough at Worship or in my sermons. To be quite honest, even though I remembered the criticism I didn’t take it all that seriously. I’m not really a very emotional person and being emotional during Worship is not my style. I am what I am, and when you see me get emotional, it’s genuine.

But what is striking to me is that it makes it difficult to talking about feelings about God and passion.

But there are things I get very emotional and passionate about. I’m emotional and passionate about my family. And I’m emotional and passionate about what is best for children. I really love children and the other day I found myself in emotional knots.

Years ago I was asked by a math teacher to justify having things like music and art in school. He said that he saw little to no value in having them in school because, after all, who in society really needs music and art. My response to him was that in church we greatly need, appreciate, and utilize music and art all the time. We see it, hear it, and appreciate it all the time.

The other day it was announced that one of the potential cuts was cutting out Phys-Ed, Music, and Art from the grade schools. I’m no athlete, I’m not a musician, and I’m not an artist, but I found myself and still find myself raging. I cannot fathom the devastating this impact will have on churches in the long term.

Imagine, if you will, St. Marks without art and music. Look around out at the amazing stained glass windows. Art. Imagine we removed them and anything artistic in this building.

In addition we will remove the organ, throw away our hymnals, have no pianos, have no choirs, no hymns and no music.

Right now, in our church our organist, Sara, is a retired music teacher. Laura, our minister of music is a music teacher. Susan Adams, one of the people who compiled our hymnal is a music teacher. Sandy Carter who has worked miracles with children has been playing and working with school children, in schools, for years. Ricky Case is a music major.

When does this passion arise?

I learned this lesson many years ago. My daughter Danielle majored in Art Education at Hanover and teaches at Community Montessori and does all the art education there as well as teaching in her classroom. We found a diary of her’s when she was in school and she wrote that she was excited because tomorrow was her favorite class. Art. She was in the second grade.

I realized in the midst of all this angst my passion level was going up and up and up and it dawned on me that when I feel this strongly, and when we feel such strong passion about God and serving God and praising God, we are loving God with all our hearts.

Jesus’ words, in the Sermon on the Mount, challenge us to be zesty, even salty Christians. It doesn’t mean we have to cover ourselves in lemon juice or use salty language. It means to really love and serve God, fully, with our minds and our hearts.

It is being unafraid to question, to challenge, and to think. It is learning to capture our passion and use it in God’s service.

Spiritual But Not Religious.

Social media, such as Facebook is fascinating. Recently, I asked a question.

The largest 'religious' growth group in the United States right now is a group that calls themselves 'spiritual but not religious.' It strikes me that there is a belief in the divine, leaving the divine undefined. Recognizing there are more groups than Christians, but as a Christian my question is this. Has the failure of Christianity to reach or retain people been a result of a rejection of the Gospel or of Christianity's presentation of the Gospel?

There were many compelling comments that were made. Here are some of them:

As someone who has recently become a member of this growing group, it's not that I do not consider myself a Christian, but I have a serious disconnect with organized religion. I have a very strong relationship with God and I have tried very... hard to live my life based on the teachings of Christ, but during some of the lowest points in my life I have felt rejected by the church rather than lifted up.

I am a long time believer who has been on both sides of the issue--I have embraced Christianity and I have rejected it, on both cases because of how I felt treated in whatever church I was involved with at the time. I am again feeling out of touch with God because of how I feel I am being treated in my church. What really makes this sad is that I just graduated from seminary. It bothers me that I was once so on fire to be in the ministry, but now I hate the thought of setting foot in my church.

When I began identifying myself as "spiritual... but not religious," I did so because I vehemently opposed the actions of the church and the folks that perpetuated anger, judgement, and hate. I also respected the beliefs of practitioners of all religions and didn't want to make a "truth claim." A decade later, I realized that I could participate in a faith practice that felt comfortable to me without judging the faith practice of others. It turns out that spiritual community makes all the difference, for me anyway.

Those that do hateful things in the name of Christ leave a bitter taste in many mouths. As many have evoked, if Jesus came today, he would most likely be in a homeless shelter or jail. Whether one believes him the son of God or a great prophet, he preached what so many of us need to work on today...love your neighbor, do unto others, etc.

I don't think it's a matter of rejection at all but rather an opening up to other points of view. Im no expert, but maybe it's enlightenment itself breaking down the lines drawn between different faiths. I myself believe God (or whate...ver one chooses to call Him) is love. Love is the goal and maybe many are choosing to just pursue the goal without the restrictions imposed by ideology. Concentrations of ideology seem to be a product of isolation. Isolation is becoming more impossible to use as a way to concentrate faith in a path to the real goal.

Simple: biblical literalism and fundamentalism make Christians do and say crazy things. The church is more interested in conversion and doctrinal purity than in helping people ponder the wonder and mystery of the God and the universe (and the teachings of Jesus). Thus, the church often fails to meet spiritual needs.

It is a PR problem. Requiring people to believe things that they know can't be factual a la The Creation Museum. The truth in the Gospels is profound, but insisting that the narrative is "factual" is a deal-breaker for most. The selling ...of the Gospels and Old Testament as fact by the "Church" has so damaged it, that I fear the church as a social institution is in real trouble. Following Jesus instead of rule-making, condemnation, is the only hope to reverse the PR nightmare. Jesus commands us to DO. He doesn't give us a list of things to BELIEVE. GET UP and go, your faith has healed you.

I think it goes beyond liberal and conservative. I have felt ostracized by both ends of the continuum for questioning the way a "good liberal" or a "good conservative" might view things. When Christianity is not being actively persecuted, it seems that more and more cultural baggage gets layered on top.I think the recent anti-intellectualism in Christianity has led to a poor presentation of the Gospel and a degrading understanding of it. Now we have a fundamentalism unable to interact productively with other groups on one end, and the rejectors of fundamentalism who have no standard for developing a coherent worldview on the other end--they know what they don't want to be, but what model do they have remaining?

The opinions are, of course, not exhaustive; they are merely illustrative. Whether we agree or disagree with people’s comments, no one is really wrong. They are responding from their own personal thoughts, feelings, and experiences.

I have been reading and listening to a good bit of people about this and I’ve come to some conclusions.

First is this. The failure is never God’s and can never really be the fault of the Gospel. If the Gospel is truly a reflection of God, it stands as what it is. People may choose to believe it or not believe it, but the Gospel is the Gospel. But if we believe God is perfect, this is not God’s fault.

But, Christianity has some huge faults.

First off, the Gospel may not be the problem, but how the Gospel is represented often is. In another recent poll I asked people if they thought the language of Christianity had gotten more mean spirited. The answer was overwhelmingly ‘yes.’ And it truly has, I believe.

Often when the news media chooses to interview people of faith they choose the most controversial people who often use harsh language on people with whom they disagree or choose to not associate with. There is an old Christian adage that says, “Hate the sin but love the sinner.” I have come to believe it is an adage we can no longer use as it has slipped deeper into the ‘hate’ portion. In the New Testament the Greek word for hate is actually a word used in comparison to something else and not used the way we use it in English. Sadly, Christianity is often seen as a religion of hate rather than love.

Secondly, I was distressed by the number of people who have felt rejected by churches. Somewhere, collectively, Christianity seems to have forgotten that Jesus came to embrace everyone. We begin each Worship service with the words “No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here,’ and we do mean those words. It doesn’t mean, however, we are always successful. There are people who have not felt welcome for a variety of reasons.

The last thing is really a question for people within Christianity. How do we respond? Dallas Willard’s great line, “The system we have now is perfectly designed to produce the results we are now getting,” is totally appropriate. If the results of Christianity right now are producing more people who are ‘spiritual but not religious,’ what do we do now?

What Would I Cut?

What would I cut?

If they named me King and told me to cut the Federal Budget, here is what I would cut:

• I would cut, by half, Congressional and Senate salaries. In an effort to reduce the terms of these people without having a Constitutional Amendment for term limits, I’d cut their salaries in half to make this more and more about service rather than benefit.

• I would eliminate Congressional pensions. Same reasons as above.

• Cut Congressional staffs by half.

• Cut the White House staff by half.

• Cut the Supreme Court staff by half.

• I would limit Congressional Postage for free except in responses to constituents’ mail.

• Half of all money donated to political campaigns would be allocated to repair and replace infrastructure within the United States which would allow necessary repairs to take place without raising taxes or increasing the debt.

• I would remove all armed forces from Iraq and Afghanistan and using Intelligence agencies and the military, I’d fight terrorism more in specific instances rather than invading nations. We have to stop pretending these wars have not contributed significantly to our current budget crisis.

• I would raise the retirement age to 70. The only way to address the money issues facing Social Security and Medicare is to actually face the issues. The age of 65 was chosen when the vast majority of people did not live to age 65. People can retire earlier if they have pensions, etc., but they cannot collect Federal benefits until age 70 except for in cases of disability.

WWJC? I’m not sure, but I don’t think he’d object to these.