Paula Fredriksen, Sin: The Early History of An Idea, September 6-10 on Religion For Life

This week on Religion For Life we get the down and dirty on sin. Where did this idea come and from and why and how did it develop? Dr. Paula Fredriksen, The Aurelia Professor of Scripture Emerita at Boston University, is my guest. She talks about her new book, Sin: The Early History of An Idea and traces the development of this idea from Jesus to Augustine.





Thursday, September 6th at 8 pm on WETS, 89.5.
Sunday, September 9th at noon on WEHC, 90.7.
Sunday, September 9th at 2 pm on WETS, 89.5.
Monday, September 10th at 1 pm on WEHC, 90.7..
Via podcast beginning September 11th.

Still Searching

Still I am searching.   Searching for sense from no sense.   I am gathering up photos of Zach perhaps thinking that somehow I will learn something, but more than that, change something.   I know it is absurd, yet I do it.   This is a photo I took on my phone.  I think this was taken on Father's Day, the last day we saw him.  He was sitting under his high school portrait.  His right arm is in the same position as in the portrait.    I thought it was funny so I teased him and took his photo.

Here is another day in which I tortured the children with my phone camera.  That is my job isn't it?   

I miss you, Buddy.

Cronies of Jesus--A Sermon

Cronies of Jesus

John Shuck

First Presbyterian Church

Elizabethton, Tennessee

September 2, 2012

Luke 7:31-35

What do the people of this generation remind me of? What are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, but you wouldn’t dance; we sang a dirge, but you wouldn’t weep.’ Just remember, John the Baptizer appeared on the scene, eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He’s possessed.’ The Human One appeared on the scene both eating and drinking, and you say, ‘There’s a glutton and a drunk, a crony of toll collectors and sinners!’ Indeed, Wisdom is vindicated by all her children.’”

The Fellows of the Jesus Seminar wrestled with this saying attributed to Jesus. It is also found in Matthew’s gospel, but not in Mark. If Mark is written first and Matthew and Luke each copy Mark and add to it, where did the sayings and deeds of Jesus originate that Matthew and Luke share in common but not in Mark? The hypothesis is that these sayings and deeds are from a separate source. Scholars call this hypothetical source “Q” which is the first letter of the German word “quelle” that means source.

Did this saying originate with Jesus? The Fellows voted and it received a gray vote. This can mean that it sounds like Jesus but there are some problems. The problem is this label “Son of Man” or “Son of Adam” or as the Jesus Seminar translated it “the Human One.” The Gospel authors use the phrase “son of man” to refer to an apocalyptic figure who will come to establish the kingdom of God. They applied that designation to Jesus. Did Jesus think of himself as such or did he think there was another “son of man” yet to come or is Jesus here using that phrase as a parallel to “yours truly” and speaking about himself in the third person? The Fellows of the Jesus Seminar couldn’t agree.

This is from The Five Gospels published by the Jesus Seminar:

Most Fellows were convinced that Matthew, Luke, and Q understood this phrase in a messianic sense, in which case the saying cannot be attributed to Jesus. Other Fellows argued that son of Adam was Jesus’ way of referring to himself in the third person. The difference between a pink and a gray designation hangs on the thread of that single expression. P. 303

But they did agree that this sounds like Jesus. This sounds like the difference between Jesus and John the Baptist.

John the Baptist is like the children who play the dirge and Jesus is like the children who play the flute. John the Baptist tells people that the kingdom of God is coming and that the wrath of God is as near as the axe at the root of the tree so repent! The basic message of John is to stop behaving unjustly toward your neighbor.

Jesus sees things differently. He tells people that they are the light of the world and the salt of the earth, that the kingdom of God is not coming, but is already within them. Dance.

As the comparison continues, John is an ascetic. He takes no pleasure from wine or food. Jesus, on the other hand, is a party animal. He is accused of being a glutton and a drunkard. John the Baptist tells the sinners to repent. Jesus parties with the sinners.

If this saying does go back to Jesus, Jesus is scolding the religious leaders. They call John possessed because he is an ascetic. They call Jesus a drunk because he celebrates with his cronies. The religious leaders aren’t happy with either one or with either message. They won’t mourn when John plays a dirge. They won’t dance when Jesus plays his flute. All they do is complain.

Jesus is saying there is no way to communicate to you. John couldn’t and neither can I. Both John and Jesus were trying to communicate the kingdom of God or the presence of God, in their own distinct way. The religious leaders would have none of it.

Both Jesus and John were in their own ways holy fools. John wore his camel skin and leather belt, eating locusts and wild honey in the desert. John challenged the powerful, including the king to repent of their injustice to their neighbors. This is the content of John’s sermon according to Luke:

The crowds would ask [John], “So what should we do?”

And he would answer them, “Whoever has two shirts should share with someone who has none; whoever has food should do the same.”

Toll collectors also came to be baptized, and they would ask him, “Teacher, what should we do?”

He told them, “Charge nothing above the official rates.”

Soldiers also asked him, “And what about us?”

And he said to them, “No more shakedowns! No more frame-ups either! And be satisfied with your pay.”

That is John the Baptist. He is playing the dirge. He is the prophet crying out in the wilderness calling on people to do justice.

Jesus’ approach was a bit different. This is how Luke reports Jesus’ first sermon. Jesus goes to the synagogue in Nazareth and reads from the scroll:

The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to announce pardon for prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind;

to set free the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s amnesty.

He puts the scroll down and he says that he is going to be doing these things not in his hometown but elsewhere. Jesus plays the flute.

Jesus wanders the countryside healing, telling stories, casting out demons, befriending the friendless.

Different approaches. Different messages. Different ways of understanding God and the way God acts in the world. They are not mutually exclusive. It isn’t that one was right and the other wrong. They are both calls

to awaken,
to open mind and heart,
to crack the hard shell of cynicism and prejudice,
to feel the pain of the neighbor as one’s own pain.

That is the role of the holy fool. Both John and Jesus played this part. The holy fool calls attention to himself or to herself for the purpose of challenging conventions or to communicate wisdom.

Saint Juniper is an example of a holy fool. Listen to this description:

Saint Juniper, an early follower of the Franciscan order, was known for taking the doctrine of the Franciscans to the extreme. Whenever anyone asked for any of his possessions, he freely gave them away, including his clothes. He once even cut off the bells from his altar-cloth and gave them to a poor woman. His fellow Franciscans had to watch him closely, and strictly forbade him from giving away his clothes. While such behaviors were embarrassing to his brothers, he was also recognized as a pure example of the Franciscan order and thus esteemed.

John and Jesus as well as other holy fools each in their unique way invite us to uncover the vulnerable, sacred quality of life. They encourage us to remove that protective layer of propriety or status and discover the human within us and embrace that human being, that beloved you. When we are able to discover that holiness within we can connect with others at the deeper level of feeling. We can connect with people quite different from us, or who we thought were different from us.

The political contests are so shallow whether they are the contests of secular or church politics. They are little more than people covered in heavy armor hitting other people who are covered in heavy armor. Even as we might participate in it or observe it, we feel cheap, sickened and used at the end of the day. There is no content, no humanity, no vulnerability, no holiness.

When that becomes normal, when beating each other while wearing our armor is all that life has become, the holy fool has to play a dirge or play a flute, something, anything, to create feeling once again. The holy fool breaks convention, regards the outcast as royalty, pokes fun at pretentions, calls the righteous “sinners,” and the sinners “saints.”

“Mourn, dance, do something!” pleads the fool.

To be a holy fool can be a dangerous calling. John the Baptist was beheaded and Jesus was crucified. People don’t like it when you try to remove their protection. If you take a risk to remove your armor someone might attack you when your defenses are down. That does happen. I would be lying if I said it didn’t. Nevertheless, what is life if we never take off our armor? What is life if we never see another person without her or his armor? What is that life? It is lonely. And it is never-ending war.

What gift can we offer another or ourselves? What if we could be a person, or if we could create a space, or could form a community that was safe for people even if just for a little while, to remove armor and to be human with one another?

I think we can and I think we have. I have seen this community be that. It is something that cannot be taken for granted and that needs nurture and attention. It takes a courageous person to be the first to remove the helmet, put down the sword and shield and step out of the armor.

It takes a courageous, holy fool to say:

“This is who I am.
This is where I hurt and this brings me joy.
This is what I fear and this is what I hope.
Tell me about you.”

It is risky. There are no guarantees.

The religious leaders, “this generation” as Jesus called them could neither mourn nor dance. I understand it, but I find it sad nonetheless. There must be more to life than polishing our armor. I think we all deserve better than that.

May you heed the call of the holy fool,
     to take a risk and find your heart.
May you find other cronies of Jesus
     who will give you the gift to be yourself.
May you find the courage to remove the armor,
     even if just one piece at a time.
May you find yourself mourning and dancing
     in the company of sacred and holy fools.

Amen.

Religion For Life in Kingsport-Times News

Thanks to the Kingsport Times-News and to Wes Bunch for this article on the front page of today's Times-News, "Religion For Life": Show Strikes Chord with WETS-FM Listeners.  Today's Johnson City Press also included the article.

Nearly nine months ago, the Rev. John Shuck hosted the first episode of his show, “Religion for Life,” on the airwaves of public radio station WETS-FM.

In the 30 or so episodes he has recorded since then, Shuck has interviewed a variety of guests on topics ranging from how science and religion can coexist to one-onone interviews with local leaders of various faiths.

Shuck, who has served for the past seven years as pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethton, said the show — whose subtitle is the intersection of religion, social justice and public life — is not designed to act as a sermon, but to educate listeners about religion itself and all that it entails.

“The idea is to look at the influence of religion, which is a huge topic, in terms of how it affects the way we think, our culture, our religious practices, our politics — all kinds of things that fall under the heading of religion,” Shuck said. “So we look at religion from a variety of perspectives, both positive and negatively.

“A big part of it is to introduce some of the voices in our community that we may not know about from different religious perspectives, whether it’s Muslim or Jewish, Buddhist or Hindu.”

Shuck added: “My show’s goal is not really to promote religion, or one religion in particular even though I happen to be a Christian minister. I really want to have voices critical of religion as well.”

Episodes of “Religion for Life” — which air on Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons on WETS-FM 89.5 in the Tri-Cities and on WEHC-FM 90.7 in Southwest Virginia — have featured interviews with the Rev. Jacqueline Luck of the Holston Valley Universalist Unitarian Church and Dr. Jay Mehta of Kingsport’s Regional Indian-American Community Center. Shuck said he hopes to one day host Muslim Community of Northeast Tennessee Director Taneen Aziz.

While exploring different faiths and beliefs is an important part of the 30-minute show, Shuck said he also uses it as a platform to have discussion topics, or groups, that are tangentially related to religion.

“There are faith groups that are interested in a lot of different types of things from a social justice aspect, or environmental or economic aspect, that are interesting to talk to as well,” Shuck said.

One of those guests was Anthony Flaccavento, the Democratic candidate for Virginia’s 9th Congressional District, who discussed the role of religion in creating sustainable economies. Others have included controversial religious figures like Bishop John Shelby Spong, or authors like Sarah Sentilles, and even doctors and scientists.

The key to conducting a good interview, Shuck said, is to find a subject with an interesting take on a topic that many people can relate to, whether they realize it or not.

One example of a compelling interview, Shuck said, was his discussion with “Breaking Up With God” author Sentilles.

“That was more of a theological book and about her struggle with religion,” Shuck said. “She was going to become an Episcopal priest, and through the course of it she said ‘I don’t really believe in God the way it was presented to me.’

“The reason she was interesting is she was very engaging as an interviewee, but she also talks about a topic that I think is really on people’s minds in terms of what do we mean when we talk about God today and looking at faith. The most interesting guests are the ones that touch on a topic that many people feel who might not have voiced them yet.”

No matter what the topic of discussion is, Shuck said his goal is to provide his guest with a forum to share what religion means to them.

“It isn’t an adversarial show, and I don’t come at it that way,” Shuck said. “The model that I look to is someone like Bill Moyers who talks about religion and public life in a lot of positive ways. I really admire him. Also on NPR, Terry Gross and ‘Fresh Air,’ I like her style of things. It isn’t a talk show where they get up there and yell at each other. It’s more of a conversation, and I really want to hear what these folks are saying — what their view is.”

Shuck said the fact that the show is recorded and produced by WETS is one of the main reasons he is able to touch in depth on such a wide array of topics.

“They’re really great at WETS. They don’t tell me anything about content,” Shuck said. “I just go with who is of interest to me and go with it from that. The goal overall was to make it educational instead of a sermon. But it gives you some real freedom to talk about different things. It’s only a half hour, but even at that level it’s more than the three- or fiveminute clips you get from the news.”

WETS Program Director Wayne Winkler said locally produced content like “Religion for Life” and “Your Weekly Constitutional,” which is hosted by Appalachian School of Law professor Stewart Harris, are not only a natural outgrowth of a two-year-old format change to news programming, but also help carry out the station’s goal of providing quality radio to its listeners.

“I believe that local content is essential, especially in a public radio station,” Winkler said. “I believe it would be a misuse of our license if we didn’t try to do something that reflected our local community , some of the ideas, or a local take on national issues. We do have a great number of people here who do have expertise and knowledge in a wide variety of topics, so we want to capitalize on that whenever we can.”

Winkler, who produces the shows, said they both have been well-received in their relatively short histories, with listeners providing lots of positive feedback and the longer-running “Constitutional” even finding its way to new markets.

“(‘Religion for Life’ is) a great program and is one that brings us lots of attention, and it’s something that people talk about,” Winkler said. “So we’re really pleased with both of our locally produced programs because they are of a quality that people would expect from a radio station in a much larger market.”

“Those two programs probably get more comments than even the NPR programs too in terms of listener feedback,” Winkler continued. “It tells you that people are listening, and we are getting a surprising level of feedback on those two programs.”

While the sometimes controversial nature of religious topics has drawn some detractors, Shuck said he too has received largely positive feedback from his listeners and congregations.

“I get emails and calls to the church, several a week, from people who listen to it,” Shuck said. “Some people don’t like it. I’ve had a couple of negative ones.... But that’s okay, as long as they’re listening. But then one day we had a gentleman come into the radio station and say ‘Here’s $100. I really like that show “Religion for Life.”’ And he wouldn’t give his name or anything.

“So I think what the show does is it gives a voice to people who have these ideas but haven’t really heard it said in a local setting.”

Birthday

My birthday is today.   I am 51.  I remember my father's 51st birthday.  It is the first birthday of his that I remember.   I was seven.   The previous summer we had moved to Butte, Montana from Winthrop, Washington.  My father decided that seven years of cattle ranching was about enough fun and returned to teaching.  He taught Chemistry at Montana Tech in Butte until his retirement.

On his 51st birthday, my mom made him a cake.  It had five big candles and one little candle.   I remember this so clearly.  She counted them off:  "Ten, Twenty, Thirty, Forty, Fifty, and one."   Blowing out 51 candles would have been vulgar.   Once you hit fifty you start counting in decades.   

Longevity is in the genes.  I celebrated with my father his 94th birthday this summer on June 6th.   I can't remember if we had a cake for him or not.  If we did I am sure we used those candles that are shaped liked numbers, 9 and 4.   Funny, I really don't remember if we had candles for him or not.  After 94 birthdays he may have graduated from having to blow out candles.   Just give him his favorite, pecan pie, already.

My father has had a lot of birthdays.   I haven't been there for all of them but for a good number of them.   I am lucky that way.   I have to remember that today.    Because it is going to be a sad day.  Zach won't be at his old man's 51st birthday, let alone his old man's 94th should that unlikely event occur.

It is those little things like memories of birthday candles that come out of nowhere and heat up that burning hole in the chest. 

Here are a couple of photos I just found in my Facebook collection.  Here are my parents and me from three years ago in Montana. 

Zach and I (and Lovely in the background) waiting outside Grimaldi's in Brooklyn, NY on Thanksgiving 2010.   That was a good trip.

Birthdays still happen until they don't.  As impossible as it seems, we still have memories to make.    

And...she cooks!

Our own Sandra Garrett (known as "Snad"on the blog comments) was featured in the Elizabethton Star regarding her culinary talents.  Check it out:

Sandra Garrett and her husband, John Dewey, are big fans of the first meal of the day.

“Since my husband works nights, and I work part-time in the afternoons, we get to luxuriate over breakfast a lot,” Sandra said. “We enjoy our breakfasts.”

She enjoys experimenting with recipes. For instance, she enjoys combining different ingredients in her omelets, including pepperoni and cottage cheese as well as smoked salmon and cream cheese.

Sandra now has an extensive menu she has compiled around the breakfast meal.

“I have some favorites that I’ve developed: baked oatmeal, oat flour-spelt pancakes, baked eggs with greens, tofu scrambler, oven-baked pancakes with apples, sausage biscuits, and of course, milk gravy and biscuits.”

Sandra’s an enthusiastic breakfast advocate.

“I encourage people to have fun with breakfast, to slow things down and enjoy it,” she said.

Sandra laments the notion for some that breakfast is a “throw-away” meal. “I’m happy to be part of a breakfast renaissance,” she said.  (Read More)

Great article, Sandra!   She even included a mention of your favorite congregation.

Rev. Jacqueline Luck, Encore Presentation, What Is Unitarian Universalism, August 30 - September 3 on Religion For Life

Rev. Jacqueline Luck is the minister at the Holston Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Gray, Tennessee. Among many projects, Rev. Luck is active with United Religions Initiative and the Green Interfaith Network. She talked with me about the history and commitments of Unitarian Universalism, and practicing a liberal faith in East Tennessee.



Listen...

Thursday, August 30th at 8 pm on WETS, 89.5.
Sunday, September 2nd at noon on WEHC, 90.7.
Sunday, September 2nd at 2 pm on WETS, 89.5.
Monday, September 3rd at 1 pm on WEHC, 90.7..
Via podcast.

Gary Barrigar Receives Lifetime Environmental Award

Our own Gary Barrigar who along with his wife, Nancy Barrigar, co-chairs our congregation's Peacemaking Committee, received a prestigious award from the governor of Tennessee.  It is the Robert Sparks Walker Lifetime Achievement Award for Gary's work with environmental awareness, education, and advocacy.  Here is the story:

The Robert Sparks Walker Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Carter County native Gary W. Barrigar, an award-winning science teacher and long-time advocate of Tennessee’s environmental heritage.

“Each year, we recognize an individual who has devoted a lifetime of exemplary service to environmental protection or conservation stewardship in Tennessee,” said Martineau. “Gary Barrigar has imparted the value and importance of the natural world to thousands of students, parents, administrators and various organizations throughout his 40-year career by using nature as a classroom and integrating environmental education into daily curriculum.”

In 2000, Barrigar was selected to chair the Tennessee State Board of Education Science Standards Committee that developed standards for high school courses in Ecology and Environmental Science that remain in use to this day. Barrigar also served as the president of the Boone Watershed Partnership from 2005-2012, growing the multi-faceted partnership from a loosely organized group to a highly effective 501(c)(3) organization that works to identify and address water resource issues in the Boone watershed, located in East Tennessee and parts of Virginia.

Barrigar also has served in a number of leadership roles with various environmental and conservation groups, including the Southern Appalachian Highland Conservancy, Friends of Roan Mountain, the Buffalo Creek Watershed Alliance and the Overmountain Chapter of Trout Unlimited.

Alongside his wife, Nancy, Barrigar has led the “Peacemaking Committee” at First Presbyterian Church in Elizabethton, Tenn., for more than 20 years – a group that involves church members in a variety of projects and activities focused on improving our natural environment. 

Congratulations, Gary!  We are very proud of you!

 TDEC Commissioner Bob Martineau and Deputy Governor Claude Ramsey present Gary Barrigar of Elizabethton (center) with the Robert Sparks Walker Lifetime Conservation Achievement Award at the 2012 Governor's Environmental Achievement Awards.

Chasing Happiness--A Sermon

Chasing Happiness

John Shuck

First Presbyterian Church

Elizabethton, Tennessee

August 26, 2012

“His disciples said to him, ‘When will the Father’s empire come?’ ‘It won’t come by watching for it. It won’t be said, ‘Look, here!’ or ‘Look, there!’ Rather, the Father’s empire is spread out upon the earth, and people don’t see it.’”

--Gospel of Thomas 113

Happiness is the theme for this summer’s worship services. For the past few years I have coordinated the worship services around the four paths of Creation Spirituality. I connect a path to a season of the year. Summer with its abundance seems logically connected to the via positiva. The way or the path of wow and wonder. It is a path of fullness. It is life and light and fruitfulness. It is royalty and celebration. It is music in 4/4 time. It is joyful. It is happy.

This summer I thought it would be good to examine happiness. What can we learn about happiness from the sages in our past as well as from our present knowledge. What is happiness from the perspective of science and spirit? A helpful guide has been Jonathan Haidt and his book, The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom.

In one of his chapters he introduces the happiness formula:

H = S + C + V

H is happiness.

S is our biological set point. According to Dr. Haidt, happiness is set for us biologically. Happiness for the most part is in our genes. It isn’t only in our genes. We can adjust our set point or our set range. Dr. Haidt says we can cheat and push up that set point in three ways,

1. medication
2. meditation and
3. cognitive behavioral therapy (ie. “fake it ‘til you make it”).

The sages past discovered early on, long before medication, that meditation was the principle way to increase happiness, to raise that set point. They knew of medication too. But it is trickier. It can have side effects. Drink that gladdens the heart can also cause other problems. The medication that the psychologist, Dr. Haidt is referring to is modern medication such as Prozac. That has been helpful, in many cases life-saving, but also tricky. Of course, CBT or cognitive behavioral therapy was probably linked to virtue in the past. The ancient form of CBT would be in the Book of Proverbs. The wisdom found there is about changing behavior. Such as:

Do not love sleep, or else you will come to poverty;
open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.

All cultures have sage wisdom, much of it having to do with modifying behavior. For the most part, happiness is set biologically. From a modern perspective, these are three things that can boost up that set point and provide a head start: Medication, Meditation, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.  That is the S in the equation. There is more.

H = S + C + V

C represents the conditions of life. While the Buddha might have insisted that happiness is within, there are some external things that can affect our happiness, and we would do well to change them if we can.  According to the serenity prayer:

Give me the courage to change the things I can.
The serenity to accept the things I cannot change.
The wisdom to know the difference.

Some of the things to change if you can are exposure to noise, commuting time, amount of control over your own life decisions and stressors, body image, and the one that trumps them all:  

“the strength and number of a person’s relationships.” P. 94 

This is what Dr. Haidt says about it:

“…having an annoying office mate or roommate, or having chronic conflict with your spouse—is one of the surest ways to reduce your happiness. You never adapt to interpersonal conflict; it damages every day, even days when you don’t see the other person but ruminate about the conflict nonetheless.” P. 94

So externals matter. There are ways to increase happiness by working on the conditions of life, particularly our relationships. That is the C in the equation. The most important condition or C is love—not just love in the abstract but loving relationships with real flesh and blood human beings.

H= S + C + V

V is action. These are voluntary activities. V stands for those things we voluntarily choose to do. They include activities that seek pleasure and that build on our skills and strengths. Haidt writes:

“So V (voluntary activity) is real….You can increase your happiness if you use your strengths, particularly in the service of strengthening connections—helping friends, expressing gratitude to benefactors.” P. 97-8

If C is love then V is work.

To put it simply in our happiness formula,

H = S + C + V

Happiness equals your set point plus loving relationships plus meaningful work.

That was a sermon I already preached on June 24th the first Sunday of summer when I started this series.

Four days later on June 28th, my 25 year old son, Zachary, died unexpectedly.

How do I fit that in the formula?

Happiness equals set point plus love plus work minus tragedy.

Jonathan Haidt does say that the set point is called set point for a reason. People win the lottery and after the initial euphoria wears off they tend to drop back to their initial happiness biological set point. People experience tragedy and after a time of grief then they tend to move back up to their biological set point.

I guess we’ll see. I am not so sure about that but I’ll keep you posted.

To prepare for this series I bought a bunch of books on happiness. They have titles such as:

• Stumbling On Happiness
• The Pursuit of Happiness: Discovering the Pathway to Fulfillment, Well-Being, and Enduring Personal Joy
• Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life’s Most Important Skill
• Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment
• The Happiness Project: Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun

I think those are all probably very good books. I haven’t opened any of them.

Recall this scene in The Wizard of Oz.   The scene is near the end when Dorothy, the Lion, the Scarecrow and the Tin Man have discovered that the Wizard is a phony. He is no wizard. He is a blowhard from Nebraska. He does know a few things, though. He proceeds to pull out of his black bag a diploma for the scarecrow, a testimonial for the tin man, and a medal of valor for the lion. He knows that they had all those virtues already. They just needed them recognized.

Then it is Dorothy’s turn. Dorothy sees the helpless look on the wizard’s face and she realizes she is in a different universe from her friends. She says,

“I don’t think there is anything in that black bag for me.”

No there isn’t. She is from a different world. A tornado ripped through her life. Her friends can watch and try to comfort her from a distance but there is nothing they or the phony wizard can give her that will help her get where she needs to go.

Like Dorothy, there is nothing in that stack of happiness books for me. At least for now. They are from a different world. Maybe they will be helpful someday.

In a day or two lives will be ripped apart along Florida’s coast and the Gulf Coast due to Hurricane Isaac. Hopefully there will be enough warning so people can find safety but no amount of forecasting and television coverage can communicate the pain of loss. It is surreal watching the before knowing there will be an after.

This life is fragile. I wonder if the only way we can protect our sanity is to pretend it isn’t.

When I selected the texts for this summer, I chose this saying for today from the Gospel of Thomas. It is a quote attributed to Jesus that sounds a lot like one from Luke 17:20-21:

When asked by the Pharisees when the empire of God would come, he answered them, “You won’t be able to observe the coming of the empire of God. People won’t be able to say, ‘Look , here it is!’ or ‘Over there!’ On the contrary, the empire of God is among you.”

I like the Thomas version more:

“His disciples said to him, ‘When will the Father’s empire come?’ ‘It won’t come by watching for it. It won’t be said, ‘Look, here!’ or ‘Look, there!’ Rather, the Father’s empire is spread out upon the earth, and people don’t see it.’” --Gospel of Thomas 113

One question is whether or not Jesus is right. Is the empire of God spread out upon the earth and among us or is it something that needs to come? That is a big question. Is God going to make it better someday or is what we got what we got and you ought to find the the empire of God within it?

Scholars cannot agree on what Jesus thought about that. The texts attribute both views to him. Some say Jesus was apocalyptic, that is that God will intervene and make life better. Others say no, Jesus believed that life is what we see and what we make it to be.

So what view is likely to make us happier? Will we be happier if we believe that the empire is something that will come in the future or will we be happier if we believe that the empire of God is spread out everywhere right now?

I tend to think that people believe what they need to believe. For what it is worth, I say, believe whatever gets you through.

This came in an email to me today. I liked it so I will share it with you:

Hope is not pretending that troubles don't exist.
It is the trust that they will not last forever,
that hurts will be healed and difficulties overcome.
It is faith that a source of strength and renewal lies within
to lead us through the dark to the sunshine.

I suppose this empire thing is both/and for me. Sometimes the sadness and pain are too great to see the beauty and hope that is present, but I have trust or faith that it is there and that it will come. Maybe, in time, we will find it--in a happiness formula, maybe in someone’s black bag, a stack of books, a song, a scripture verse, a journey inward, or maybe through the eyes of a friend who can help us see it.

Amen.

Bitchy

The song that keeps running through my head is "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" by the Beatles.   Before all the Beatlemaniacs tell me what the song "means" or "meant" for me it is about grief.   Grief is Love.   Grief is Love that has lost its object.   It doesn't matter whether the grief is over a breakup or a death, the song speaks about the loneliness of grief, its shame and its social stigma.     Here are the lyrics. 

Here I stand head in hand
Turn my face to the wall

No that won't do.  You've got to hide your grief away.  Hide it away.  We don't want to see it.  Take it to a shrink or to a group or to your momma but don't show it.   Your time is up.  We have to move on.  When are you going to get better?  When will you be your old self again?   When are you going to get to that "new normal?"   No one is saying this.  This is my projection even as it isn't just my projection.   No one wants to see people grieving forever.   So for those who do wonder when I am going to be my old self again, I do have an answer.   Here it is.   I will be better on April 1, 2075 at 3:30 p.m.  Can you wait that long? 

The astute observer will note that the patient is starting to get in touch with his anger.   It reveals itself in sarcasm and painful witticisms.    When approaching the patient take care not to do the following or you may lose your eye teeth.

1. Mention God.  The patient and the Divine Master of the Universe are not on speaking terms.  No theological acumen on your part will do anything to change that.
2. Attempt to cheer up the patient or say something "hopeful" such as "Someday you will grow from this."   Grrrrr.
3. Give advice to the patient of any kind about any thing.  Period.

I know this is confusing.  It is one thing to respond to someone's hurt and pain.  It is totally another to try to respond to anger.   The most important thing to know about "the patient" is that if you do run into anger, remember it is not about you.   You could note that the sky is blue and I might trip out on you.   I have changed, not anyone else.    Those of us who are grieving may not even know what these feelings are about and where they are directed.    The sad part is that "the patient" may drive away those s/he needs most.  At least that is what the patient fears.

So, please, hang in there with the patient and keep trying.

For those wanting to be present with someone in grief, here are some suggestions.