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.

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.

Removing the Log of Racism from Our Eyes

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana's chief federal judge said Wednesday that he forwarded an email that contained a joke involving bestiality and President Barack Obama's mother, but he did so because he dislikes the president and not because he's racist. (Click here to read the full Associated Press, March 1, 2012 article.)


But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. (Luke 6: 35a NRSV Click here to see this passage in context.)


Why do you see the speck in your neighbour’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? (Luke 6:41 NRSV Click here to see this passage in context.)


***

Judge Richard Cebull

According to the Associated Press, "The judge apologized and acknowledged that the content of the email was racist but said he does not consider himself racist..." 

Judge Richard Cebull's response is problematic because it ignores that to grow up a white person in this country is to have internalized some racism. To grow up white in this country is to have benefited in multiple, often unnoticed ways, from a culture that systematically overvalues those of European especially Anglo backgrounds while undervaluing those of color.

This Montana judge needs to remove the log from his eye, and admit that he has some racist attitudes. Until Judge Cebull does, he doesn't have a chance of monitoring his own latent or not-so-latent attitudes and behaviors enough to treat others fairly in the courtroom. The email he sent - and admits is racist - is an example of his lack of self-awareness. 

The distaste for the President is not the question here. Most Americans have had strong dislike for politicians at one time or another. Yet, those who are self-aware do not resort to racist jokes about other human beings. 

When we lack awareness of our racist or other culturally-ingrained sinfulness, we give them power. The log in our eye prevents us from seeing the Divine in others and makes it impossible to love those with whom we are politically "enemies". It prevents us from criticizing policies that we disagree with in constructive ways that might very well improve the lot of humanity. 


God calls us to love others...even our enemies. The arc of the biblical text is one of an ever-widening hospitality to those who are not like us. It is a story of the ancient peoples learning to love as the One would have us love.


We must strive to remove the log of racism from our own eyes. The first step is to admit it is there. Only then are we choosing to be a part of the unfolding of the loving, welcoming Realm of God

God of Open, Loving Arms;


Help us to see our failings,
   not so that we feel bad about ourselves,
      but so that we might overcome them with your guidance.


Tickle us to forgive one another,
   not only our beloveds,
      friends, family, and lovers
         but those we dislike.


Open our hearts that,
   your image is apparent within us,
      and that we can perceive your image in others.


Continue encouraging us to open our circles wider,
   and wider.

Amen.


***


Related Posts


God Met Me on the Bus Today (January 10, 2012)
Respond or Ignore? Racism (April 28, 2011) 

Emptying Barns of Preconceptions

 "Selling our house and becoming renters will allow us to respond quickly to wherever the Spirit calls us."  I said this while my wife and I were in the midst of actively giving away possessions. 

But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life

 is being demanded of you.  And the things you have 

prepared, whose will they be?” So it is with those

 who store up treasures for themselves but are not 

rich towards God.’ Luke 12: 20-21 NRSV

Seventeen months ago yesterday, my wife and I began our journey of Emptying Barns. Emptying Barns is the name we dubbed our conscious journey of simplifying and letting go of possessions. (The term refers to a parable told by Jesus in Luke 12.) I confess we've been on a bit of a lull since arriving in Portland on Labor Day. Having managed to fit all of our possessions into our then two cars, we've gotten rid of very few things since arriving here. (We did sell my beloved car but that had more to do with financial concerns than simplifying.) 

I won't reiterate all of the details of why we feel letting go of things is important. (If you want that detail, please read Emptying Barns at One-Year.) I will, however, say that this is primarily about removing the clutter that keeps us from God. It is about using our share of the planet's resources and being faithful stewards. Emptying Barns is an attitude that says, God's justice and God's extravagant love is about relationships not things. 

When I said, "Selling our house and becoming renters will allow us to respond quickly to wherever the Spirit calls us, I perceived that we might move to a different neighborhood in Portland when our lease expired. I certainly didn't think God would send us packing - after only five months - to a small town sixty-five miles east in the Columbia River Gorge. I also was talking big when I said that; I had a romanticized view of my ministry-in-formation. 

That's the nature of responding faithfully, though, isn't it? It's rarely like we think it will be. God tends to continually challenge us to do more than we thought we could. God stretches our perceptions in surprising ways. For example, I've been quite self-satisfied that we moved from a three-bedroom home to a two-bedroom duplex, and then to a studio apartment. Yet, I've learned that the downside of a 250 square foot studio apartment is that it is very difficult to provide hospitality. 

We will be moving into a one-bedroom apartment in the Hood River area this week. I confess I feel a little guilty. It's a very nice apartment. Very nice! It doesn't fit with my image of Emptying Barns but, I confess, I'm excited about the opportunity we will have to provide hospitality. I can imagine folks gathering in the our living room overlooking the Columbia River. I can imagine using this space for my ministry-in-formation.

Yes, Emptying Barns is about letting go of possessions but it is also about letting go of preconceptions. It is about being still, listening for the voice of the One, trusting and responding, and sometimes it is about having the physical space to be hospitable. 

God of Surprises,

Your abundant love never ends,

    as You challenge me to be truer to Your will.

Just when I think I've got it all figured out,

    You show me my arrogance and,

        turning it all around on me.

I feel so overwhelmed lately,

    You beckon me to places that surprise me,

         that require I trust in You.

Heighten my senses that I can feel,

    Your loving embrace around me.

Open my heart and mind to You that,

    I can see what I need to see,

        trust You where I can't yet see,

            and still reflect Your love to others.

In the name of the rabbi who surprised the world,

   by opening himself fully to You.

Amen.       

    

What's the Point of Giving Away Your Stuff?

But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life

 is being demanded of you.  And the things you have 

prepared, whose will they be?” So it is with those

 who store up treasures for themselves but are not 

rich towards God.’ Luke 12: 20-21 NRSV

     Awhile back, Maggie and I made a public commitment to give all of our stuff away except for what will fit in our two cars. We’ve been trying to let go of possessions and simplify our lives for decades. The impending move to Oregon has given us an opportunity to truly step out and do what we’ve dabbled in for years. So, what’s the point? 

     In my meditative readings of scripture, the Spirit has seen fit to repeatedly return me to one message: let go of your stuff and your life of earthly security. This is part of my journey as a follower of Jesus. According to the writer of Mark, the brothers James and John left their father, their hired hands, and their fishing business to follow Jesus (Mark 1:16-20). They did so “immediately.” 


     Likewise, the Spirit has focused my attention upon the writer of Luke’s emphasis on ministry to the outcast, to the poor, to those on the outside. Writes Luke, “None of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions” (Luke 14:33 NRSV). While I do not prescribe to a literal interpretation of the Bible, the gospels are filled with Jesus talking about wealth and money. When taken as a whole the point is this: wealth is not intrinsically bad but it has a nasty habit of getting in the way to salvation. 


     When James and John heeded Jesus’ call, leaving their fishing business behind, their actions became metaphors for each of us. We are each called to let go of those things (physical, emotional, or spiritual) that prevent us from following the Spirit’s push to do God’s will. In my case, I am discerning a push to do God’s will through new church ministry in Portland. 


     Pragmatically, beginning a new church means financial insecurity. It means that I will not have a paid ministerial position for years. It means that I must fully trust the Spirit to guide me as this vision of a new community of people who follow Jesus develops. I am convinced by the nudges of God in scripture, within creation, and within my own life, that to start a new “church” requires me to give away most of what I own. My stuff must go so that it cannot prevent me from doing God’s will. 


     The developing vision for Embracing (the name for the new church) is one of a “church” that looks nothing like the institutional structures that we associate with “church.”  Embracing God’s vision and collaborating with others, requires me to let go of images of church committees and stone edifices. From this loss of past associations, I am convinced God will create something remarkable.


     Giving away possessions is an act of living into my faith in an abundantly loving God. It requires trusting in God and the unfolding future God holds for us. As we seek to be ready for the next chapter in our lives, I am reminded of a quote from theologian Henri J.M. Nouwen. He said, “You don't think your way into a new kind of living. You live your way into a new kind of thinking." I believe God is creating a new kind of thinking as Maggie and I strive to change the way we live. So, what’s the point of giving away most of our possessions? Doing so will enable us to more fully respond to God’s inexplicably extravagant love.

The Year of Letting Go of Stuff

     Today officially marks the beginning of The Year of Letting Go of Stuff. My wife Maggie and I have tried for years to eliminate the clutter in our lives. We know that maintaining stuff separates us from joy, from life, and from God. To this end we have spent decades of letting go, getting back, and letting go.

     Within the last two years we've upped the pace of letting go of stuff. We've let go of our two living room futons leaving us with one rocker in our living room. We've let go of ten boxes of books. We've let go of some of our school yearbooks and other mementos. We let go of all our televisions, only to buy a new one 18-months later. We let go of college notes from 25-plus years ago. Fading posters from going away parties. Rubber bands. Old phones dead electronics. Record albums, cassette tapes, and old newspapers saved for unknown reasons. 

     But today we are choosing to increase the pace of divesting ourselves of stuff. Instead of building barns, we will strive to be rich toward God:

Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me." But he said to him, "Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?" And he said to them, "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions." Then he told them a parable: "The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, "What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?' Then he said, "I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' But God said to him, "You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God." Luke 12: 13-21 NRSV

     To "keep us honest" we will be listing on this blog each of the items we let go. Some days, we will likely keep all our stuff. Other days, we will get rid of many items. From time to time we will blog about our experience. How did it feel to let go of that treasured item, that dusty trinket, or that annoying toy. Keep us honest. The rules are simple: 1) Some items will be grouped; 2) The item must not be replaced during The Year of Letting Go of Stuff or it must be added back in...twice. 3) Items get listed the day they go in the give-away box. Oh, and kind-of an unwritten rule is that whenever possible the item must be given to someone we think would appreciate or value the item.

     Please let us know if you think we're slacking in our effort to eliminate at least 1000 big and small items by this time next year.

Today we let go of...

1.      small battery operated alarm clock

2.      AM/FM clock radio

3.      3 small "antique" trinkets

4-7.   4 books we have not looked at for years

8.      a help video

9.      1 full dresser drawer of AAA maps and Tourbooks

10.    clothes brush/lint catcher

11.    a chest of drawers

12.    2 old watches

13.    3 pair of old eyeglasses 

14.    key chain

15.    an old tie

16.    several pair of footies

17.    an ace bandage

18.    two message buttons ("Cherish Children" and the other with a quote on it)

19.    one expired Ohio County, West Virginia dog tag from 2006

Is it Any Wonder that Anne Rice "quit Christianity"?

The following is the sermon I preached for the folks of Bethany Memorial Christian Church worshiping at Alexander Campbell's Meetinghouse in Bethany, West Virginia on August 1, 2010. Because the sermon was preached from notes, this manuscript is not exactly the words said but it is a close approximation. The texts for the sermon were Hosea 11: 1-11 and Luke 12: 13-21.

Sins in the Name of Christ

In the early 1600s, in name of the church, in Christ’s name, Friar Juan Ramirez enslaved the native people’s of the Acoma tribe in New Mexico to build a mission church on top of the mesa on which they lived. This meant the hauling of timber thirty miles in the desert and up the steep sides of the 367 foot mesa. Because there is no soil cover on the top of the mesa it also meant hauling sand, dirt, and other building supplies up to the top. Many died. Despite this, amazingly, there are still those in this tribe today who follow Christ.

In the late 20th and early 21st century the Roman Catholic Church was--and is-- involved in child abuse coverups. Children were abused and the hierarchy was more concerned with the institution’s survival than the lives ruined and forever changed. Protestants looked on smugly, with an attitude of “it couldn’t happen here.” Yet, friends this is simply not true. It can and it does. As a percentage of members, more abuse occurs in Protestant Churches than in Catholic Churches. Protestants also looked on smugly, in their denial, forgetting that we are all ONE church all the while refusing to pass and enforce strict policies to prevent the abuse because the topic makes us uncomfortable.

In the second half of the 20th century, Rev. Jim Jones, an ordained Disciples minister, led his parishioners to central America where they drank poison. No one in the church, in our own denomination, was paying attention to the pastor’s growing mental illness that led to the tragedy.

My former pastor Liz Myer-Boulton writes in Christian Century this week about a church in Chicago that was embroiled last year in a fight over maroon versus green carpet in the church parlor. On the Sunday that the congregation voted on the color, the people of Haiti, who had just endured an earthquake of epic proportions, gathered to worship outdoors to praise God. The pastor of the church called her friend, my former pastor, in the afternoon and confessed that with the crisis and angst about carpet color, she had forgotten to even lead her people in prayer for the people of Haiti.

Is it any wonder then that this past Wednesday, novelist Anne Rice “quit Christianity”? On her Facebook page, the author of vampire novels, wrote:

For those who care, and I understand if you don't: Today I quit being a Christian. I'm out. I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being "Christian" or to being part of Christianity. It's simply impossible for me to "belong" to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I've tried. I've failed. I'm an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else.

As I said below, I quit being a Christian. I'm out. In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen.

Folks, the Church is in trouble. We are increasingly irrelevant to people. The ways of being church are dismissed by our young as so much baloney. Then we turn around and blame them--the victims of our failure of relevancy. We worry more about budgets than about seeing the Image of God in each and every one of our sisters and brothers.

Hosea: God is Fed Up

Not unlike now, the people of Hosea's time had fallen away from God's will. God’s people had torn themselves into two kingdoms, the northern and the southern, Judah and Israel just like we are tearing our churches apart over carpet colors. The people were worshiping Baal, a fertility god, and turning their backs on YHWH, the one God whom we worship today. God tried to get their attention over and over again but they stubbornly stayed on the wrong path.

In our passage today, God has had enough. God is irritated, aggravated, frustrated, and downright ticked off. God laments that God’s people have forgotten all God has done for them. God’s people have forgotten the story of their faith. God cries out: “My people are bent on turning away from me.” (Hosea 11: 7 NRSV)

God should DESTROY the Israelites & Judeans based on what they deserve just as God destroyed the cities of Admah and Zeboiim for their transgressions. But God is merciful to the Israelites & Judeans:

How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute my fierce anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and no mortal, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath. (Hosea 11: 8-9 NRSV)

The Good News

But the Good News is that even though God should destroy us based on what we deserve, just as God should’ve destroyed the people of Hosea’s time… Even though we fight about carpets instead of giving aid to those after an earthquake… Even though, we go into debt for our own well-being but we can’t afford a few pennies for a beggar on the street… Even though we allow our children to be abused rather than have our feelings hurt by requiring those who work with our youth and children to be fingerprinted… Though, we agonize about the dwindling numbers but we refuse to sing songs that appeal to the young...

Despite this, the Good News is that God sent God’s Son to us. And though Jesus suffered, was tortured, and was nailed to a cross where he died, on the third day, Jesus rose. God did this for you, for me; God did this for us! This is indeed Good News.

The Good News is that we serve a merciful and abundantly loving God. A God who instead of giving the Israelites and Judeans what they deserve, mercifully invited them back. And instead of giving us what we deserve, God mercifully sent Jesus who teaches us. And now, after the resurrection, the Holy Spirit remains to guide us if we but listen.

Being “Rich Toward God”

In our Luke passage for today, Jesus tells the story about the man who is so focused on himself… Jesus tells the parable of the man who is so focused on his own stuff and his own control that he plots to build new barns to hold his wealth so that he can live in comfort. Like the wealthy man, sometimes we, too, build barns or throw things in the attic rather than share it with our sisters and brothers.

We store up material possessions as if they can give us security. We hold back our love as if it is a fossil fuel, afraid to show ourselves to others. We hold back our time pretending we can somehow squeeze more hours into a day. We pretend that we own time forgetting that every moment is a gift from God. And we hang on to our hurts and pains, afraid that we won’t have anything at all without at least our bad stuff. We’re so afraid to be hurt again.

But at the end of the parable Jesus reminds us that after the rich fool boasts that he has, “‘ample goods laid up for many years; [so that he can] relax, eat, drink, [and] be merry.' But God said to him, "You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God." (Luke 12: 19b-21 NRSV)

So, instead of filling our attic with things for our future, for our own comfort… So, instead of filling our attic with things we fear to show, instead of holding back the Image of God within ourselves, if we are truly God’s people on earth we must be “rich toward God.”

Being “rich toward God” goes for us as individuals but it also goes for us as church. When we respond to God’s merciful and extravagant love, we let go of the stuff in the attic. When we’re “rich toward God,” we don’t have to argue about carpeting. We can let go of agonizing about what the beggar is going to do with the five we give him. (That is between he and God.) When we’re “rich toward God,” we don’t have to anxiously worry about the budget when we are focused on doing God’s will.

There was a church that was near closing their doors on the west coast. They had less than twenty folks worshipping on a Sunday. The Holy Spirit used a tragedy that had been thrust upon them as an opportunity for this church to do ministry. A homeless man was murdered. The people in this church responded to the active Holy Spirit who used this tragedy to reinvigorate them. The people in this church reached out to the family of the murder victim. They reached out to the family of the murderer. Instead of holding back their limited resources of time and money, instead of keeping it in the attic for themselves, they shared what they had with a hurting community. As a result, the church grew through ministry WITH the homeless folk in their city.

People at the Missiongathering Church in San Diego, a church that is doing a new church in a new way, were distraught after the repeal of Proposition 8 and marriage rights for their friends and neighbors. They were especially upset about how Christians had venomously worked in the repeal movement and hurt GLBTQ people. This was not the Christ they served. The Holy Spirit guided them to place a billboard up in town that read,

Missiongathering Church is sorry for the narrow minded, judgmental, deceptive, manipulative actions of those who took away the rights and equality of so many in the name of God. Our hearts are with you. Christianity for all.

The result is a growing vibrant church where I had the opportunity to worship in June. Let me assure you that the Holy Spirit’s presence was palpable. Christ was truly present in this church.

Still, reaching out to the other, doesn’t mean the Holy Spirit is guiding us to care for only some of God’s people. Reaching out to young folks doesn’t mean forgetting older folks. At the Ohio Presbyterian Retirement System, with a dozen sites, believes that no matter where you are at on life’s journey, God has a way for you to serve. A spiritual life committee of residents,staff, and community people at each site works to support people’s growth in service in God’s world regardless of their age or infirmities they might have.

Being Christ’s Church

Being church doesn’t mean just what we do within the walls of our buildings. Being church is what we as followers of Christ do every day and moment of our lives. We don’t have to argue about carpet, or enslave people, literally or metaphorically, to build monuments for institutions. We can be Christ’s body today. In this moment.

This week you will be Christ’s church when, one of you, despite your own stress, despite your busyness, listens to a co-worker who needs to talk. This week you will be Christ’s church when one of you, smiles at the cashier at Kroger and asks about her day. You’ll be Christ’s church when you walk away from church gossip and when you make a contribution to Week of Compassion for disaster relief. And you will be Christ’s church when one--or more of you--invite someone, someone who is very different from you, to this very church. And when you do these things and many other little things, you are being church. You are being Christ’s body on earth.

In our Hosea passage today, God was angry and hurt that God’s children had forgotten all that God had done for them. They had lost sight of God’s will for their lives. In Jesus’ parable this week, the rich fool was rich toward himself, forgetting to be “rich toward God.” And the Good News is that even though we don’t deserve it, God’s love is extravagant. God sent Jesus, who suffered, died on the cross, and rose on the third day. And when he ascended, the Holy Spirit remained to guide us, to teach us what Jesus did not. We don’t have to do it alone. We have the Spirit and one another

Pray, listen, act. Strive for God’s kingdom. Amen.

Ancestral Shame

The bright, hot desert sun bore down on me as we toured the top of the mesa where the Acoma people have lived since the 1100s. As uncomfortable as the heat was, it was the deep ancestral shame I felt that caused my discomfort. My people, European Americans conquered the North American continent, killing and enslaving the people who already lived here. Worse, my people, those calling themselves Christians, often did so in the name of the Jewish prophet from Galilee. I am deeply ashamed of what my European ancestors have done, especially in the name of Jesus Christ.

In the early 1600s, in the name of the church, in Christ's name, Friar Juan Ramirez enslaved the native peoples of the Acoma tribe in present day New Mexico to build a mission church on top of the mesa on which they lived. This meant the hauling of timber thirty miles in the desert and up the steep sides of the 367 foot mesa. Because there is no soil cover on top of the mesa, it also meant hauling sand, soil, and other building material up to the top. Many people died. In the name of Christ.

Is it any wonder that the kingdom of God on earth seems so elusive? The church, people who call themselves Christians, have a long history of heinous acts in the name of Christ. As a follower of Jesus, I hereby confess my ancestral sins and accept the shame. It is right to feel shame for actions such as those of Friar Ramirez.

What now?

While I know that the Divine offers me undeserved forgiveness, the shame remains as a reminder, that sin and evil are real. The shame remains as a reminder that I must guard against my own greeds, against my own arrogance in a world of many paths to the Divine. I seek guidance from the Holy Spirit that I might speak and act in ways that bring about justice and love in a fractured world.

He answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."

Luke 10:27 NRSV

He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Micah 6: 8 NRSV