All old posts from Tim's Talk have been moved to the new location.
8.07.2012
Please move with me.
All old posts from Tim's Talk have been moved to the new location.
8.04.2012
Chicken: Free Speech or Justice?
I didn't mean to step into the Chick-fil-A brouhaha but I did. The following is a comment I posted at Rebecca Hamilton's blog, in response to her post, It’s Eat a Chicken Sandwich for Freedom of Speech Day ! « Public Catholic.
***
I've been thinking about this post off and on over the last several days. Perhaps, it's because I keep getting notices that someone else has commented. More likely it's because of my discomfort with my last response. I think it was incomplete.
This is indeed a free speech issue when mayors and others in elected or bureaucratic positions seek to keep a legitimate business from operating in their city or other jurisdiction. People also need to learn to talk with one another civilly. We do too much screaming and not enough listening.
The owner of any business has the right to express his own religious and political views. Whether he was asked or not is irrelevant; he chose to state them. At this point those with differing perspectives have as much right to express their views as Dan Cathy. He may spend his money how he chooses but as an outspoken business leader he can expect some to choose not to support his business. They may also exercise their constitutional rights to protest in a variety of ways.
This becomes a justice issue when he expresses opinions and spends $5 million on oppression of a minority. Some of that money has been spent on a program to "fix" people who are GLBTQ. That is, he denies that their sexuality is God-given. It is a gift just as my heterosexuality is a gift from God.
Mr. Cathy goes further, though, and seeks to deny the rights of those with whom he diminishes. He tells my child, my friends, and my human kin that because of their sexuality -- which hurts no one -- that they are not worthy of the right of visitation as family when their beloved is hospitalized. He tells them that they must pay higher taxes because they are not legally married and so cannot file jointly. He tells them that their loving relationship is less valuable than someone who is married to someone of another gender. He implies that they are less than the beloved children of God.
I am saddened by the display of Christians lining up to eat chicken in the name of free speech that hurts so many of our human kindred. Though, I fully support their right to do so it is hard for me to comprehend why this issue which gets marginal treatment (even if interpreted as condemnation) in the Bible, rallies so many to eat chicken. The biblical witness is chock-full of the importance of hospitality and welcome of the other. Jesus is persistent in his call for us to reach out to the poor, the marginalized, and the despised of society.
The body of Christ is not about hatred. It is about love. My friends and family who are GLBTQ do not feel loved by the Christians who went out to eat chicken.
***
I've been thinking about this post off and on over the last several days. Perhaps, it's because I keep getting notices that someone else has commented. More likely it's because of my discomfort with my last response. I think it was incomplete.
 |
| Image from New Columbia Heights blog. |
The owner of any business has the right to express his own religious and political views. Whether he was asked or not is irrelevant; he chose to state them. At this point those with differing perspectives have as much right to express their views as Dan Cathy. He may spend his money how he chooses but as an outspoken business leader he can expect some to choose not to support his business. They may also exercise their constitutional rights to protest in a variety of ways.
This becomes a justice issue when he expresses opinions and spends $5 million on oppression of a minority. Some of that money has been spent on a program to "fix" people who are GLBTQ. That is, he denies that their sexuality is God-given. It is a gift just as my heterosexuality is a gift from God.
Mr. Cathy goes further, though, and seeks to deny the rights of those with whom he diminishes. He tells my child, my friends, and my human kin that because of their sexuality -- which hurts no one -- that they are not worthy of the right of visitation as family when their beloved is hospitalized. He tells them that they must pay higher taxes because they are not legally married and so cannot file jointly. He tells them that their loving relationship is less valuable than someone who is married to someone of another gender. He implies that they are less than the beloved children of God.
I am saddened by the display of Christians lining up to eat chicken in the name of free speech that hurts so many of our human kindred. Though, I fully support their right to do so it is hard for me to comprehend why this issue which gets marginal treatment (even if interpreted as condemnation) in the Bible, rallies so many to eat chicken. The biblical witness is chock-full of the importance of hospitality and welcome of the other. Jesus is persistent in his call for us to reach out to the poor, the marginalized, and the despised of society.
The body of Christ is not about hatred. It is about love. My friends and family who are GLBTQ do not feel loved by the Christians who went out to eat chicken.
8.02.2012
Soon
For some time now, I've been cross-blogging all my posts between Blogger and my Wordpress site. Soon, I will stop the cross-posting. When I do you can find me at http://beingtim.wordpress.com or type in http://www.timgraves.us and you will be forwarded.
8.01.2012
Letting Go: Yep, We Need to Go that Far
Mindi Welton-Mitchell writes that the church needs to "let go of the building" in Letting Go. She builds her case well but stops short when she states, "I’m not suggesting everyone go out and sell their buildings."
Until we give up our property, the church will continue to be viewed as -- and in fact be -- hypocritical. When Jesus called his first disciples, "immediately they left their nets and followed him." (Matthew 4:20 NRSV Read in context.) They left the security of their fishing business.
They left security and control behind to follow a scruffy messiah who didn't seem to know how royalty should act. Jesus was the President without secret service protection or Air Force One. He took on tasks considered beneath royalty. Jesus washed the filthy feet of guests, went to the outcast, ate with them, touched the untouchable, and in the process gave hope to the oppressed.
He did not build a synagogue and call people to him. He walked among the people.
The cost of discipleship to Jesus is ceding control to God. Following Jesus requires disruption of our lives of consumerism to seek justice in a world of unjust actions and systems that oppress. Leaving our safety nets behind, we hear the Spirit along a path that branches away from material security.
Followers walk among the people, learning from and with them. Though we sometimes fail, we strive to be God's loving, empathetic presence in a world of indifference. The church, however, is too often about security. The institution of the church itself possesses capitalism's symbols of success: property and financial investments.
Property has become Christians' idol that keeps us from God. We feed our property-god with new roofs while people sleep under bridges. We slash Educational ministries, missions to those in need, and even Evangelism budgets when our golden calf demands new paint, carpet, or stained glass. With every expenditure we fear opening our doors to those in need will spoil the splendor we've created.
The time has come for the church to leave our nets and business behind and risk it all for the One we claim to follow.
7.27.2012
The War on the Poor
My wife and I recently downsized to pay-as-you-go dumbphones. I'd like to say that our movement toward a simple lifestyle is the primary reason. (See Emptying Barns for posts on our journey of letting go of possessions.) But, if I'm honest we've done so to save money. With my continuing non-paid lifestyle, we can use an extra hundred bucks a month.
I thought of this when I heard that an internet bitch session has begun over a photo of a poor child with an iPad. Can you hear the uproar? "I can't even afford an iPad and I pay for people on welfare to have one!" Embedded in this comment and others like it is a judgmentalism about the poor. The poor are lazy, the poor are manipulative, and live in luxury on the back of hardworking taxpayers, goes the judgement.
Until our contracts were complete with the big corporate phone company, we did not have the choice to downsize to affordable phones. Though our finances dictate that a pay-as-you go basic phone is the wise choice, until earlier this week I carried an iPhone. If you knew my income and saw me with an iPhone you might ask yourself, "Where'd he steal it?" or "I can't even afford an iPhone and I pay for someone on welfare to have one!"
Or you would if you perceived me as a poor person.
We have a disdain for those who are poor in this country. We blame the victims of this complex social issue. When we oversimplify it, we oversimplify the role that personal responsibility plays. Yes, personal responsibility matters but poverty has far more to do with oppressive systems within our culture and economy.
Having spent decades in educational and social service agencies, I have known some people who skirt ethics and legalities. Some of them have been poor. Most have been from middle-class or upper-class socioeconomic groups. This is to say we are all human with our faults regardless of our income.
Judging another by an object they own (or simply possess) is dubious. I have had my eyes opened more than once as I visited the homes of children's families who were poor. I'm not convinced I wouldn't spend a tax refund -- that might be better spent -- on an iPad for my child if I raised her in some of the hope deserts I've visited.
But, for those who profess to follow Jesus, none of these facts are the reason to refrain from our harsh, disdainful judgment of the poor. Never mind that pesky little ol' passage about not judging others (See Matthew 7:1-5), the Gospels (and the Old Testament, too) are chockfull of passages about how we treat the poor. Many argue convincingly that Jesus has a preferential option for the poor.
Just & Loving God,
Soften our hearts,
open us to your love,
that we might breathe it in and,
breathe out its compassion, empathy, and
burning desire for justice.
May we leave judgment to you,
and exude your extravagant love for the poor,
in our actions and words.
Amen.
***
Related Reading
The author of the original Times-Picayune article discusses the reaction in a newspaper column. An interesting discussion of what the poor deserve as explanation for the reaction can be found here.
 |
| This photo by Rudy Costanza of the Times-Picayune created a stir in New Orleans and the Internet. |
I thought of this when I heard that an internet bitch session has begun over a photo of a poor child with an iPad. Can you hear the uproar? "I can't even afford an iPad and I pay for people on welfare to have one!" Embedded in this comment and others like it is a judgmentalism about the poor. The poor are lazy, the poor are manipulative, and live in luxury on the back of hardworking taxpayers, goes the judgement.
Until our contracts were complete with the big corporate phone company, we did not have the choice to downsize to affordable phones. Though our finances dictate that a pay-as-you go basic phone is the wise choice, until earlier this week I carried an iPhone. If you knew my income and saw me with an iPhone you might ask yourself, "Where'd he steal it?" or "I can't even afford an iPhone and I pay for someone on welfare to have one!"
Or you would if you perceived me as a poor person.
We have a disdain for those who are poor in this country. We blame the victims of this complex social issue. When we oversimplify it, we oversimplify the role that personal responsibility plays. Yes, personal responsibility matters but poverty has far more to do with oppressive systems within our culture and economy.
Having spent decades in educational and social service agencies, I have known some people who skirt ethics and legalities. Some of them have been poor. Most have been from middle-class or upper-class socioeconomic groups. This is to say we are all human with our faults regardless of our income.
Judging another by an object they own (or simply possess) is dubious. I have had my eyes opened more than once as I visited the homes of children's families who were poor. I'm not convinced I wouldn't spend a tax refund -- that might be better spent -- on an iPad for my child if I raised her in some of the hope deserts I've visited.
But, for those who profess to follow Jesus, none of these facts are the reason to refrain from our harsh, disdainful judgment of the poor. Never mind that pesky little ol' passage about not judging others (See Matthew 7:1-5), the Gospels (and the Old Testament, too) are chockfull of passages about how we treat the poor. Many argue convincingly that Jesus has a preferential option for the poor.
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because [God] has anointed me to bring good news to the poor." Luke 4: 18a NRSV (Read in context.)
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, ‘You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions. Mark 10:21-22 NRSV (Read in context.)
‘But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and herbs of all kinds, and neglect justice and the love of God; it is these you ought to have practiced, without neglecting the others. Luke 11:42 NRSV (Read in context.)
Just & Loving God,
Soften our hearts,
open us to your love,
that we might breathe it in and,
breathe out its compassion, empathy, and
burning desire for justice.
May we leave judgment to you,
and exude your extravagant love for the poor,
in our actions and words.
Amen.
***
Related Reading
The author of the original Times-Picayune article discusses the reaction in a newspaper column. An interesting discussion of what the poor deserve as explanation for the reaction can be found here.
7.25.2012
Zen Ice Trays
Any drink is improved with ice. I put ice in my drinks in the hot summer, the warm spring, cool fall, and even the cold winter months. At least a couple of times a day the ice trays in my fridge need refilling.
Turning the tap on to a fast, steady stream does a poor job of filling the trays, it not only wastes water as it splatters, but I get wet. There is no fast way to fill the trays.
Turning the tap on to a fast, steady stream does a poor job of filling the trays, it not only wastes water as it splatters, but I get wet. There is no fast way to fill the trays.
Instead of whining and complaining about my lack of an icemaker, I've turned this time into a spiritual practice. I pause as I approach the sink, turning the faucet on to a near-drip.
I breathe in and I breathe out.
The water we rely on to live, fills each compartment of the ice tray one drop at a time. I focus on the yellow-green ice tray, the water, and the task at hand. If my mind wanders to other thoughts, I redirect it to the source of life, water. If my emotions shift to impatience,
I breathe in and I breathe out.
Spiritual practices do not have to include incense, candles, or chanting. They have their place but small, daily practices are what help me to be centered. Filling the ice trays helps me to be present in the moment. I strive in my faith journey to focus on being, rather than doing. My particular challenge is to define myself by who I am rather than what I do. It's challenging in our noisy culture; I don't always succeed.
But, I breathe in and I breathe out for a few minutes everyday as I pause to fill the ice trays.
7.21.2012
It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's God! No, That's My Wife.
No, I'm not really suggesting that my wife is a god. That heresy is even beyond me. I suggest that it is in deep love that we glimpse the nature of the divine.
This is our double-trinity anniversary. My beloved, my imzadi, my soulmate and I were married thirty-three years ago today. In our three decades + three years the following are ways in which I've glimpsed the one I call God in our relationship.
Presence. Since the day we committed ourselves together Maggie has been present. When not able to be physically together she is within me. Even during my seminary years when we were separated by 350 miles and weeks, she would text me about little things in her day, seek my empathy, to check on something with which she knew I struggled, or to rejoice in my successes!
Unconditional love. Maggie's love for me is unconditional. Even when I don't deserve it, she offers me grace. Though, sometimes she must cool down, her love for me never wavers. The slammed car door as I drop her off unsettles me but not to my core. This is because I feel the depth of her love even when she's angry with me.
Sustaining love. In the 70s, Harry Nilsson sang "I can't live if living is without you." The love that Maggie and I share sustains us. Her love transforms me. I am not the person I would be without her. I could more readily give up food than the love of my beloved.
Reciprocal love. She needs me as much as I need her. I don't know why; it makes no sense to me. In the giving to her, I find a boundless supply of love. There's nothing I wouldn't do for her. I know that the same is true of her love for me.
Knows me & sees me. Maggie's love, like that of God, is inexplicable. She loves me not despite my faults and annoying habits but through them and, because of them. What is more inexplicable than that?
Calls me out. Because Maggie knows me at the soul-level, she also knows when I'm taking the easy path. She sees when I've been sleeping, she knows if I'm awake, and knows if I've been bad or good. She's also not afraid to make it crystal clear that I need to be the person I'm capable of being.
Takes my side, protects me. When the world hands me lemons, Maggie makes the lemonade for me. I know that no matter how bad a day I've had she will take my side. She will wrap me in her arms and hold her fist to the world at the same time.
Never gives up on me. Ask our kids. We've been known to have some metaphorical "knock down, drag outs" in our time as a married couple. Throughout it all, Maggie doesn't give up on me. She can sometimes get pissed -- beyond pissed -- but we always reconcile our differences and do the work necessary to heal our conflict.
So, though my imzadi is not God, it is within our relationship, within the nature of her love for me, that I so often glimpse the extravagant love of the One.
Related Posts
The Core Secret of Our Marriage
Keeping Covenant When the Storms Roll In
7.19.2012
Sacred Ground
Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’ Exodus 3:5b NRSV (Read in context.)
My mother taught me that God is everywhere. Most Christians would agree with her; the One we call God can meet us anywhere. Indeed the sacred surrounds us, enveloping us. Each human being even reflects the divine (Imago Dei), according to most followers of Jesus.
We often co-create sacred spaces with the divine, the one I call God. In churches and other places we invoke the spirit with candles, prayers, or incense. (I often burn incense and light a candle to remind me of God's presence. They help me to remember that my gifts are from God.) Some indigenous people burn cedar or sage. Most faith traditions of which I am aware have ways to draw our distracted human minds to focus on the One, on the sacred. These rituals are not limited by location.
But there do seem to be places in which God's presence is palpable. As I've been hiking the Columbia River Gorge this year, I have happened upon places that draw me in, call me to prayer and meditation. Some of these places are simply pretty spots where the artistry of the Creator's brush compel me to awe.
 |
| "Some of these places are simply pretty spots where the artistry of the Creator's brush compel me to awe." Photo by Tim Graves |
Others have been co-created by human beings. Another person has felt compelled, for reasons I am unaware, to modify the location. The zen rocks along the Coyote Wall trail, for example, demand a sabbath along the journey to the peak.
 |
| The Coyote Wall Zen rocks are flanked by Mt. Hood. Photo by Tim Graves |
Sometimes the sacred ground I encounter is long, narrow, and winds through Mother Earth's majesty. The experience of putting one foot in front of the other -- of the journey -- is itself holy. Being present on that trail as it wanders through the forest, meadow, or along the river, the One walks with me. The God who loves extravagantly heals me, prods and challenges me, and reminds me that the majestic unfolding realm of God includes each of us.
 |
| Photo by Tim Graves |
Note: As I begin the long-term project of creating a spiritual guide to various trails within the Columbia River Gorge, I will be highlighting Sacred Ground that I encounter on my hikes.
7.17.2012
Idolizing the God of Moderation
So God created humankind in his image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
Living closer to nature, we live closer God. By slowing down, we see the subtleties of creation. We see the nonstop transformation of the world. There are deaths and resurrections all around us. Dry creek beds, surging waterfalls, ice storms and debilitating heat all come to an end. The Divine energy pulses and vibrates throughout it all. (This is also reflected in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.)
We experience and observe the resurrecting nature of the One I call God in Creation. It is where we can take our rightful place as one creature among many. We are called to practice a dominion over the earth that reflects the image of God (Imago Dei) within us. That god does not control us. The One who loves us with abandon and feels our every emotion creates and transforms with us. Without pausing, God prods us to reflect God's loving creating nature.
 |
| Nature is filled with death and resurrections. Photo by Tim Graves |
Responding to this call requires empathy. Empathy with the salmon struggling upstream and with our kindred humans fighting for dignity and justice. Without empathy we fail to reflect the Imago Dei.
Yet, we idolize a god who does not feel or transform. We isolate ourselves from the opportunities to empathize and love.
In our modern world of air conditioning we forget that a little sweat is a good thing. Instead of feeling the warm summer blowing on our face, we insulate ourselves. If we feel moisture on our skin with the thermostat set to 78, we sequester ourselves at 72 degrees. We live in a world insulated from the nature of God and one another.
Moderation and comfort are our idols. But without the highs or the lows, the anguish and the exuberance, we do not experience the One who is always creating, the One who dances in joy and weeps in despair with us, the God of the ancient Hebrews who heard cries and responds in mercy. The God who grows through the crack in the asphalt demanding that beauty win, that love win.
7.15.2012
Extravagant Community
I cringe when I hear Christians respond to the "spiritual but not religious" by extolling the importance of community. Yes, we all need community for spirituality. We are social creatures.
 |
| They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Acts 4:35 NRSV Photo by Tim Graves |
But, while there is truth in this response it is based upon an unproven assumption. That is, that the "spiritual but not religious" lead the lives of hermits never talking with friends about their faith journeys. The community-defense also assumes that community must take an organized form. It does not.
More troublesome about the community-defense, however, is that it allows followers of Jesus to avoid our own failings. Too often churches are not places of community. Community is about caring for one another in deep ways. It is about assuring that everyone has their basic needs met. The reality is we spend more time worshiping consumerism and capitalism than we do sharing with our neighbor--even those within our churches.
Too many churches have within their midst those struggling in very real ways while others live in relative laps of luxury. Aside from this being contrary to the teachings of our purported savior, the attitude of the relatively wealthy community members disturbs me. In my experience, when help is provided it comes with strings and pettiness. We reflect the resentment of a culture that elevates rugged individualism to idolatry.
Within this context of blaming the victim, we operate not out of extravagant love but out of begrudging duty. We do not believe that Jesus fed the whole crowd with a few loaves and fish. We fear that if we give too much to someone, even someone within our own community, there will not be enough for us.
Jesus answered, ‘The first is, “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” The second is this, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.’ Mark 12: 29-31 NRSV (Read in context.)
Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Acts 4: 32-35 NRSV (Read in context.)
Trustworthy God of Abundance,
You give extravagant,
undeserved grace.
We give out of love,
limited by our human fears and worries.
Help us to trust in your abundance,
help us to love you as you love us.
Help us to give lavishly to others,
within the koinonia,
and to the whole human family.
Amen
7.12.2012
A Trip Up the Mount
A trek along the rocky trail through the cool damp woods,
Finally within sight of the summit,
the walls of earth fall away leaving me vulnerable to craggy rocks,
above the emerald river.
The sun above rises predictably toward mid-day,
warming my skin in the cool morning.
Blowing and gusting winds from the west,
threaten to take,
my hat (or life) with one swift powerful burst.
Fearful of a trail-less descent, I continue my climb baboon-style,
finally sitting before reaching the apex.
The rock beneath my bottom is,
hard, jagged, and solid.
Between sky and heavens,
I exist on a narrow swath of earth.
Encompassed by the cloudless azure,
I rest in the home of the eagle,
the creature who soars closest to the Divine.
The topmost crest taunts me with its proximity;
it is only twenty-five steps away.
The windy breath of God,
whispers in my ear that peaks are not journey.
Ahead, a few paces beyond reach, is the land where the birds meet the One.
It is where God,
Yahweh,
Allah,
Father Spirit,
Jehovah,
the Holy One communes with the winged.
The pinnacle above the raging waters,
atop the weathered rocks,
and guarded by billows that move my body against my will,
is the place where love culminates.
Yet it is not time to reach the One.
It is time to follow,
to rest,
meditate,
to learn to be.
Vulnerable.
Desirous.
Frustrated.
I sit.
I yearn for the view from above,
the vista that answers all.
Like the wanderers, I whine in the wilderness.
At least as a slave I had regular meals, I rage!
I contemplate opposing the very gusts of the One,
to be reminded that on this precipice my humanity could cease.
Stopping. Being. I trust.
I listen to the heedfulness, the spirit within, that tickles my core and spine,
and prevents my bodily ascent.
I sit on solid rock in the land of broad-winged birds,
and feel the extravagant, loving breath of God on,
my neck,
my face,
and my heart.
And I journey.
leads me across a meadow of swaying grasses and wildflowers.
Finally within sight of the summit,
the walls of earth fall away leaving me vulnerable to craggy rocks,
above the emerald river.
The sun above rises predictably toward mid-day,
warming my skin in the cool morning.
Blowing and gusting winds from the west,
threaten to take,
my hat (or life) with one swift powerful burst.
Fearful of a trail-less descent, I continue my climb baboon-style,
finally sitting before reaching the apex.
The rock beneath my bottom is,
hard, jagged, and solid.
Between sky and heavens,
I exist on a narrow swath of earth.
I rest in the home of the eagle,
the creature who soars closest to the Divine.
The topmost crest taunts me with its proximity;
it is only twenty-five steps away.
The windy breath of God,
whispers in my ear that peaks are not journey.
Ahead, a few paces beyond reach, is the land where the birds meet the One.
It is where God,
Yahweh,
Allah,
Father Spirit,
Jehovah,
the Holy One communes with the winged.
The pinnacle above the raging waters,
atop the weathered rocks,
and guarded by billows that move my body against my will,
is the place where love culminates.
Yet it is not time to reach the One.
It is time to follow,
to rest,
meditate,
to learn to be.
Vulnerable.
Desirous.
Frustrated.
I sit.
I yearn for the view from above,
the vista that answers all.
Like the wanderers, I whine in the wilderness.
At least as a slave I had regular meals, I rage!
I contemplate opposing the very gusts of the One,
to be reminded that on this precipice my humanity could cease.
Stopping. Being. I trust.
I listen to the heedfulness, the spirit within, that tickles my core and spine,
and prevents my bodily ascent.
I sit on solid rock in the land of broad-winged birds,
and feel the extravagant, loving breath of God on,
my neck,
my face,
and my heart.
And I journey.
7.05.2012
Good Soil Among the Rocks
‘Let anyone with ears to hear listen!’ Mark 4: 9 NRSV
In our too-human rush to judgement, we can miss the central point of the teachings of Jesus. In the parable of the sower, Jesus emphasizes the receptivity of the soil - of our hearts - to hearing the Good News of love for all. He does not suggest the sower should withhold seed. Rather, he describes what we see all around us. Not all seeds or love we share take root.
Nonetheless, Jesus calls us to plant seeds of love extravagantly. We may fear there is not enough love, withholding seeds from those we deem unworthy or bad risks, but this is not what Jesus teaches. It is not our role to pre-judge others and withhold our love-seeds from the rocks. To do so, is to assume that we know where the Realm of God will take root and blossom. Sometimes the seed planted among the rocks, finds good soil where we least expect.
 |
| Photo by Tim Graves |
Again he began to teach beside the lake. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the lake and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the lake on the land. He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: ‘Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.’ And he said, ‘Let anyone with ears to hear listen!’ Mark 4: 1-9 NRSV (Read in context.)
7.03.2012
Wings
You have seen . . . how I bore you on eagles’ wings
and brought you to myself.
and brought you to myself.
Exodus 19:4 NRSV (Read in context.)
 |
An eagle as seen from Coyote Wall in across the
river from Mosier, Oregon. Photo by Tim Graves.
|
When I walk along the Columbia, I eye the shore where they sometimes perch just beyond human reach. When I journey to hike the Coyote Wall and Labyrinth trails across the river in Washington state, they follow me reassuring me that I am not alone nor far from home.
And, today, a feather lay across my path reminding me that the One is blessing my journey.
6.26.2012
What if?
What if it is in each of these moments we allow God to speak through us? What if this is truly following Jesus, the One who took the very breath of God (1) into himself, and breathed it out into a broken world? What if we can be the very breath of God?
It could change the world.
...and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters.
Genesis 1:2a RSV
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(1) Robert Alter, The Five Books of Moses, Kindle Book edition, loc. 994. Robert Alter translates the Hebrew rua as breath. It is variously translated as wind, spirit, and breath.
6.19.2012
I Couldn't Have Picked Anyone Better!
One of amazing things about fatherhood is that my adult children have increased the size of my family. I'm not talking about grandchildren; that joy may come in its time. I'm talking about my children's significant others.
As my daughter and son have found life-partners, I've been blessed by a doubling of my children. It wasn't until Frances and, now, Breetel joined our family that I felt the depth of my father's words the first time I brought my beloved home. He said, "We couldn't have picked anyone better for you."
My daughter and son are remarkable, phenomenal individuals. (This is a fact not a father's pride.) Still, the love of another, somehow reveals a depth, a wholeness that I never saw in Isaac or Jessica before. Their love is more than a skin-deep affectation. Their love has added a vibrancy to who they were before.
Love is powerful in all its forms. Love transforms, makes us each more than we were. It defies the laws of physics. There is always an abundance and extravagance about love. Love reveals the Divine within us and in our relationship with others.
As my daughter and son have found life-partners, I've been blessed by a doubling of my children. It wasn't until Frances and, now, Breetel joined our family that I felt the depth of my father's words the first time I brought my beloved home. He said, "We couldn't have picked anyone better for you."
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| My amazing children...all four of them! |
Love is powerful in all its forms. Love transforms, makes us each more than we were. It defies the laws of physics. There is always an abundance and extravagance about love. Love reveals the Divine within us and in our relationship with others.
"...and the greatest of these is love."
6.14.2012
It's All Made Up Anyway!
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| Painting by Anthony J. Kelly. Image retrieved from Rev. David Eck's blog. |
I perceive a divinity that connects us, that flows through us, and encourages us to lovingness. Our stories and theologies -- including trinitarian theology -- reveal truths that are beyond the rational, scientific explanation. They are not, nor were they ever intended to be literal, historical retellings of facts.
Through the Christian biblical narrative, however, God continues to speak. For me, Jesus is,
"the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you have really known me, you will also know the Father." (John 14:6-7b CEB Read this passage in context.)This is the path upon which God has lured me. This is the only way for me to be the loving, unique person that God created me to be. It is in the life of Jesus, that I enter into a relationship with the love that underpins all of creation. It is in the human Jesus that I learn how to be who God calls me to be.
Jesus functions as a gate for me (John 10: 1-10 CEB). However, just as it is naive and ineffective to expect all children to learn via only one modality (e.g.; visual, auditory, or kinesthetic), it is naive to think that God's love only opens through one gate. The arrogant teacher is one who thinks there is one -- and only one -- way to reach all children. This assumes the gifts, skills, challenges, and experiences of each individual is the same.
Arrogant Christian spirituality, is one that projects its own gifts on all. When we do this we deny the truth reflected in Paul's writings to the Corinthians. That truth is that as we seek to follow the One, we each have unique roles and gifts.
Certainly the body isn’t one part but many. If the foot says, “I’m not part of the body because I’m not a hand,” does that mean it’s not part of the body? If the ear says, “I’m not part of the body because I’m not an eye,” does that mean it’s not part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, what would happen to the hearing? And if the whole body were an ear, what would happen to the sense of smell? (1 Corinthians 12: 14-17 CEB Read this passage in context.)
Though Paul wrote to a squabbling community of Jesus followers, to expand this truth beyond Christianity is to hear the voice of God in a new time and place. Paul -- and the other authors of the canon -- wrote contextually. That is, the biblical writers spoke to specific people in a specific era, place, and culture. When we read and study the texts thoughtfully, communally, and prayerfully, we hear God's voice for today. We can find truths.
The gospels interpret the life of Jesus as he challenged the prevailing human-defined circle of acceptable behaviors and the people that were worthy of God's love. The Good News of the unfolding Realm of God (love) is that it is for all of us. God's love is expansive and extravagant! The One is love. The One, who I call God, reflected in the Hebrew Bible and the Christian New Testament reveals an arc of loving inclusiveness and justice for all.
To find God through Jesus, does not require dismissing others. On the contrary, to follow the teachings of Jesus is to engage in loving, respectful relationship with others. Other peoples have stories, metaphors, and narratives that describe their experiences of the One, the divinity that I perceive. Just as the Christian Bible reveals truths, the sacred writings (or verbal stories) of Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, Rastafarians, and others reveal truths. They reflect the ways that others have experienced the One. Is it really that hard to believe that the mysterium tremendum that is God, might speak to others in ways that make sense to them?
Rather than limiting God, I accept the Trinity as a metaphor that helps me to describe how I experience the One. It helps me to follow the Divine's call on my life. I don't need to idolize it into a literal fact anymore than I need Jesus to be the only way to the extravagant, expansive love of God.
6.06.2012
The Journey of the Bent Tree
Another rainbow crosses the Columbia River as I write this morning. I do live in a magical land filled with rainbows. It is also a place in which trees are deformed by the same robust winds that lure windsurfers to the area.
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| photo by Tim Graves |
These are not the model Christmas trees, shaped like so many isosceles triangles. Giving up their westward facing branches, they more accurately resemble right triangles. Hunched over, they bend away from the wind.
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| photo by Tim Graves |
This is particularly true of those trees on the edges of groupings, along the river, or at the top of hills. Exposed, they match the persistence of the wind as they reach upward toward the energizing sun. Sometimes damaged, or appearing dead, the trees resurrect in the spring.
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| photo by Tim Graves |
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| photo by Tim Graves |
The trees remind us that beauty is not found in chiseled abdomens or wrinkle free skin but in the Divine journey.
Though I am barraged by fierce winds,
I will reach upward to the One.
Matching the tenacious gale,
I persist under blue skies and grey, wet blankets.
I dance with the wind making him my partner.
As I journey toward the One,
the Divine is already with me,
surrounding me in the mossy green of winter,
and the purples and reds of spring and summer.
And when I finally succumb to el viento,
I will be the soil that feeds my offspring,
living within all those who follow,
and seek the divine One.
Matching the tenacious gale,
I persist under blue skies and grey, wet blankets.
I dance with the wind making him my partner.
As I journey toward the One,
the Divine is already with me,
surrounding me in the mossy green of winter,
and the purples and reds of spring and summer.
And when I finally succumb to el viento,
I will be the soil that feeds my offspring,
living within all those who follow,
and seek the divine One.
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| photo by Tim Graves |
6.03.2012
Hope in Wholeness
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| photo by Tim Graves |
Focusing on the One whose love envelopes me and connects me to each grassy blade, each sea anemone, and each human being, results in optimism. I find hope in wholeness. That wholeness -- that for Christians emanates from the Table set by Jesus and manifest in love that overcomes death -- is powered by the extravagant love of the Divine. When I focus and respond to that loving grace, I am compelled to act for justice, love with abandon, and strive to be my best self.
Attuned to the divinity that coarses through you, me, and all of creation, I see see goodness despite human frailty. Filled with hope, I strive to do my part for the whole knowing that I am not alone. Goodness is within every annoying bureaucrat, murderer, and abusive parent. When I respond in love, love multiplies and ripples powered by the One.
At its core this is the Good News, love always wins in the end. It is more powerful than death, conspiracies, or greedy politicians. When we respond from the divine love within us, justice will "roll down like waters, and righteousness an ever-flowing stream." (Amos 5: 24 NRSV Read this passage in context.)
6.01.2012
Heroic Wife Kills Dust Bunny
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| Chaplain Magdalyn Sebastian recently protected her husband from a dust bunny similar to the one in this photograph. |
Said the husband, "I was nagging her to leave the poor bug alone as she reached for a tissue. She defended herself by telling me it wasn't an ant, that 'it's one of those multi-leg things that freak us out.' Of course I had the last laugh."
The wife captured the invading creature only to discover it was a dust bunny. Just lint. She said of the experience, "I wasn't impressed by Tim's sarcastic remark about feeling safer. Maybe he should sweep the bedroom more often!"
***
Not everything is what it first seems to be. Not every perceived threat is real. Like interracial marriage before it, marriage equality for LGBTQ peoples is one of those dust bunnies. It will not harm my marriage of nearly thirty-three years. It will not result in the crumbling of western culture or spur God's fiery vengeance on America.
We are presented with choices every day of our lives. Will we respond to others out of love or will respond out of fear and hatred? I choose love. God will undoubtedly hold me accountable for many failures and sins. I am very human. I am convinced, however, that acting out of love will not be one of those sins.
5.30.2012
Identity without Exclusion
I always stumble over the question. You know that simple one, "Where are you from?" Not only have my wife and I lived on both coasts and lots of places in between during our thirty-three year marriage, I moved around a lot as a kid.
The failure to provide a simple answer, I know, confounds people. We use place as a marker of identity. We also use education, skin color, political party, Myers-Briggs score, and religion as ways of labeling and identifying others. We seem to be hard-wired to define ourselves. The problem is that we too often define ourselves in contrast to others.
At their best, identity markers start a conversation. At their worst, these labels exclude and demonize those who are different. Labeling puts people into a definition. When we label others (or ourselves) we diminish the divinely gifted uniqueness of an individual.
Political or religious fundamentalism has a tendency to define itself in contrast to the other. If you subscribe to the tenets of the inside group, you're accepted. If you do not you are evil or, at best, misguided and naive. Fundamentalism preys on exclusion and fear setting impenetrable boundaries around itself.
This approach to identity, can result in grandiose claims that hurt others. For example, Dennis Marcellino said in a recent post that "The Bible does say that if a person votes for a democrat (the promoters and supporters of sin) and were to die without repenting of that, he or she is going to hell." Marcellino is identifying his beliefs against the beliefs of others.
A positive identity does not rely on putting others down. While I share a professed Christian faith with Mr. Marcellino, I identify my beliefs positively. For example, the primary Christian narrative of inclusive, extravagant love and resurrection helps me to make sense of my experience of the Divine. It gives me hope for the future.
Regardless of someone else's beliefs, I find meaning in the Gospel of Jesus. This positive identification does not dismiss another person's journey or experience. My faith is not contingent upon your agreement or disagreement. (Though, my faith is challenged within the faith by the checks and balances of the Koinonia.)
In our efforts to psychologically and emotionally cope with our changing culture and uncertain times, it is critical that we define ourselves positively. When we define ourselves against others, we risk falling into hatred and dehumanization of others. To fall into hatred or dehumanization of others is to fail to live up to the potential with which we were created.
‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ He said to him, ‘ “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ Matthew 22: 36-40 NRSV (Read this passage in context.)
At their best, identity markers start a conversation. At their worst, these labels exclude and demonize those who are different. Labeling puts people into a definition. When we label others (or ourselves) we diminish the divinely gifted uniqueness of an individual.
Political or religious fundamentalism has a tendency to define itself in contrast to the other. If you subscribe to the tenets of the inside group, you're accepted. If you do not you are evil or, at best, misguided and naive. Fundamentalism preys on exclusion and fear setting impenetrable boundaries around itself.
This approach to identity, can result in grandiose claims that hurt others. For example, Dennis Marcellino said in a recent post that "The Bible does say that if a person votes for a democrat (the promoters and supporters of sin) and were to die without repenting of that, he or she is going to hell." Marcellino is identifying his beliefs against the beliefs of others.
A positive identity does not rely on putting others down. While I share a professed Christian faith with Mr. Marcellino, I identify my beliefs positively. For example, the primary Christian narrative of inclusive, extravagant love and resurrection helps me to make sense of my experience of the Divine. It gives me hope for the future.
Regardless of someone else's beliefs, I find meaning in the Gospel of Jesus. This positive identification does not dismiss another person's journey or experience. My faith is not contingent upon your agreement or disagreement. (Though, my faith is challenged within the faith by the checks and balances of the Koinonia.)
In our efforts to psychologically and emotionally cope with our changing culture and uncertain times, it is critical that we define ourselves positively. When we define ourselves against others, we risk falling into hatred and dehumanization of others. To fall into hatred or dehumanization of others is to fail to live up to the potential with which we were created.
‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ He said to him, ‘ “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ Matthew 22: 36-40 NRSV (Read this passage in context.)
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