From A Distance
What is friendship? I believe, as the great Jewish Hassidic theologian Martin Buber, that it’s all about relationship. The problem is that relationships are complicated. We disagree with each other sometimes. And if those disagreements are about values, it’s very difficult to maintain a sense of comfort and mutual respect. It wasn’t always this way, but I perceive that I live in a culture that is very polarized right now. This is the same polarization that was seen prior to our Civil War, which I don’t think ever really ended.
Our political, religious, and economic differences seem to keep us separate and apart from each other. A recent author wrote a book about how we Americans are doing a lot of “clustering”. The author’s research indicated that we cluster ourselves around people of like-minded opinions for comfort and perhaps a sense of safety or validation. My experience is that the culture has gotten so emotionally reactive and mean spirited that I find myself not even talking about certain issues that are very important to me with other people. The result of this is that I hold back a large portion of who I am and that keeps others from really getting to know the real me.
In my opinion, what seems to be lacking is grace. I don’t see a lot of graceful respect or mutual grace in spite of the differences we hold. I would like to believe that the quality of the relationship and the Christian respect we are supposed to show for each other would over-ride our differences and our anxiety.
We are a very media-driven society. And the political campaigns remind us, every time we turn on the TV or radio, of our differences. A few years ago, I don’t exactly know when, but liberal and conservative became dirty words, depending on the camp from which you voted. Experts in the manipulation of opinion know how to create phony cultural norms, fears, rumors and subtle half-truths in order to help their candidate/client win elections. And we are the lab rats for all of this. Sadly, the reason so much negative campaigning, personal attacks, outright lies, and just pure meanness continues is that with the public it seems to work.
I think as Americans, as humans, as earthlings, we are much more alike than we are different. A bumper sticker I see everyday has a picture of the planet earth on it, with the words “We are all in this together”. And of course we are. Truth is, we all have the same spiritual source and we need each other. If we cannot learn to live together peacefully and constructively, we will perish. Just look at all the species on the planet that are now extinct because they could not adapt to change. As the song goes, From a Distance, God is Watching Us. I wish we could all believe that and live it out. - RSP
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Matthew 26:36-46 “Let this cup pass from me.”
Matthew 26:36-46 “Let this cup pass from me.”
36Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." 37He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. 38Then he said to them, "I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me." 39And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want." 40Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, "So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? 41Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." 42Again he went away for the second time and prayed, "My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done." 43Again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words. 45Then he came to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand."
What is happening in this scripture? - Jesus has gathered his closest followers and after the emotional meal in the upper room, he takes Peter, James and John and goes to a garden called Gethsemane. He asks these three to sit while he goes a little distance to be alone and pray. Some say John was the closest of his friends, and James and John were the two who had asked of Jesus to sit at his right hand when he was exalted. Jesus becomes very agitated and sad. He tells his friends how he is feeling, “even unto death”, and asks them to stay awake with him. He is ambiguous about what he is to face, throws himself onto the ground and asks his Abba, if there is any other way…but adds “but not what I want but what you want.” He finds Peter and the others asleep and asks them twice to please stay awake. The third time he doesn’t even try to wake them. The third time he returns and seems resolved to his fate now. With anger and frustration now sounding more like gentle tenderness he asks them, “Are you still sleeping?” He tells them to awaken and get up as he sees Judas and the soldiers approaching.
If anyone wanted to see the difference between stories about so-called divine kings, such as Caesar, or heroes like Hercules, or the Greek or Roman gods and the stories about Jesus, let them read these passages. This is not a dramatic soliloquy of a warrior about to go into battle, or a gladiator about to die in a blaze of glory. This is more the talk of a man facing execution, abandonment, humiliation, shame, and annihilation. This is a man staring a painful agonizing death and utter betrayal in the face. In the gospel of John, we see a Jesus in charge, but here, we witness a Jesus fully human.
How is this about you and me? - Do you ever feel not quite up to the task of being a follower of Jesus? Do you feel like saying, as Peter once did, “Leave me, for I am a great sinner?” These lines remind me that Jesus was a person, and had doubts just like we do. Otherwise, where would the connection to us be? He is not a marble statue in a temple. He is not a stained glass picture. He is not even a wooden figure on a cross. He is real. And the mission he gave us continues. Thanks be to God.-RSP
36Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." 37He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. 38Then he said to them, "I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me." 39And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want." 40Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, "So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? 41Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." 42Again he went away for the second time and prayed, "My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done." 43Again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words. 45Then he came to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand."
What is happening in this scripture? - Jesus has gathered his closest followers and after the emotional meal in the upper room, he takes Peter, James and John and goes to a garden called Gethsemane. He asks these three to sit while he goes a little distance to be alone and pray. Some say John was the closest of his friends, and James and John were the two who had asked of Jesus to sit at his right hand when he was exalted. Jesus becomes very agitated and sad. He tells his friends how he is feeling, “even unto death”, and asks them to stay awake with him. He is ambiguous about what he is to face, throws himself onto the ground and asks his Abba, if there is any other way…but adds “but not what I want but what you want.” He finds Peter and the others asleep and asks them twice to please stay awake. The third time he doesn’t even try to wake them. The third time he returns and seems resolved to his fate now. With anger and frustration now sounding more like gentle tenderness he asks them, “Are you still sleeping?” He tells them to awaken and get up as he sees Judas and the soldiers approaching.
If anyone wanted to see the difference between stories about so-called divine kings, such as Caesar, or heroes like Hercules, or the Greek or Roman gods and the stories about Jesus, let them read these passages. This is not a dramatic soliloquy of a warrior about to go into battle, or a gladiator about to die in a blaze of glory. This is more the talk of a man facing execution, abandonment, humiliation, shame, and annihilation. This is a man staring a painful agonizing death and utter betrayal in the face. In the gospel of John, we see a Jesus in charge, but here, we witness a Jesus fully human.
How is this about you and me? - Do you ever feel not quite up to the task of being a follower of Jesus? Do you feel like saying, as Peter once did, “Leave me, for I am a great sinner?” These lines remind me that Jesus was a person, and had doubts just like we do. Otherwise, where would the connection to us be? He is not a marble statue in a temple. He is not a stained glass picture. He is not even a wooden figure on a cross. He is real. And the mission he gave us continues. Thanks be to God.-RSP
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
The Jesus I Want To Know
We have a lot to overcome if we want to really think about the man. We know the ending of the story, and we are surrounded, haunted, by icons, carvings, paintings, stained glass windows, songs, movies, plays, theories, arguments, books,sermons, even rock operas, about Jesus. Most of this is about a divine Son of God.
When I was a very young child in the Baptist church I was taught some wonderfully simple and beautiful stories of Jesus. As I got a few years older as a child I was introduced to Jesus as a perfect, more than human Son of God. I really didn’t think of him any longer as a real man, and the only picture I had of him as vulnerable was in the manger. But even there he was always quiet, or always sleeping, never crying or pooping in his swaddling clothes. And of course I know why. We were supposed to know that he was different, not like any person who had ever been born before, or since. My point here is, as I said before, It’s hard to think of Jesus as fully human too.
One so-called Jesus historian, John Dominic Crossan, has helped me at least to feel okay about asking questions that I would maybe ask about a human in history, but not a Son of God. Questions like what was the social and political context of his life? What did living in Nazareth, under Roman occupation, and under Herod Antipas tell you about life? You wouldn’t ask this about God would you? God is the source of the context, not a figure woven into it. Or is He? If Jesus was God in the form of human being, then that means he hungered, thirsted, bled, cried, ate, got sick, defecated, perspired, slept, maybe snored, got angry, got scared, just like we do. In my earlier years I think I sensed that it wasn’t proper to think of Jesus in those ways. I know adults who still feel that way. They see him with reverence and as part of the Holy Trinity. He is too perfect, too divine to think of as a human being. But at least sometimes I like to think of him as human, because otherwise, in my mind, he’s the quintessential goody two shoes, the perfect child or student, who always made straight A’s and always knew what to do and say; walking around Jerusalem and Capernaum spouting platitudes; nothing like me. And if he was nothing like me, how could he really understand or teach me? But he was like me. So he knew, and still knows.
Another central question seems to be, what do we get from Jesus, not just what does he expect from us? He apparently taught in the form of parables, stories that were an old oral tradition in those days. In telling those stories, it wasn’t like a minister giving a homily or sermon, in a church with a congregation politely quiet and with no two way exchange. There would have been dialogue, questions, reactions, laughter, anger, people saying phrases in response like “That’s crazy!” or ‘Now, wait a moment. What do you mean by that?”, whispers like “You know, he’s right!” or “He’d better be careful what he’s saying. It’s really going to offend some powerful people, and then there will be hell to pay!”
That is why I prefer reading the Bible to seeing movies about the Bible. Movies about divine figures tend to make them one dimensional, greater than reality, super stars. I really don’t want my Jesus to be a super star. I want him to be enough like me that I am able to identify with his joy, his sorrow, his frustration, and his pain. This makes Jesus a fleshed out real being for me, not just a pretty Sunday School painting.
No. I don’t think Jesus was a real life human with the exception that he was the divine son of God, complete with special effects. I think he was a real life human who God chose to connect with my humanity like no other leader or prophet or teacher had ever been able to do. I think he made mistakes, I think he changed his mind, like the story of the Canaanite woman tells us, and I think he got really really terrified when he realized he was on the verge of being abandoned, arrested, beaten, tried and crucified for insurrection and blasphemy. I think he was a Jewish mystic who, because of his close relationship to God, could heal, transform, and bring people back to life who were thought to be dead. If that makes him the Son of God, then I’m okay with the term. And he didn’t do his teaching, healing, and debating in a church building with a cross on top of a steeple. He did these things in the countryside, people’s homes, on the dusty hot roads, near the shore of lakes, and on the sides of hills, and in hometown synagogues or the great Temple itself.
In other words, he lived his life, his mission, out there, in the real world, the ugly world, full of thieves and prostitutes and lepers, and homeless beggars, and crazy, screaming people, some of whom had no power in the culture and weren’t even Jews. He might as well have been in Harlem, or Watts, or Calcutta, or New Orleans, or Gastonia. But he was so close, so close, to his God, that he called him Papa (Abba). And he loved the Psalms and the laws of Moses so much, that he couldn’t help but confront the culture he lived in when he saw these laws twisted, watered down, broken, or ignored. He couldn’t ignore the sick, the dying, the marginalized, the ones cast out. He would rather be with them because he knew that’s where his Father’s justice and love would be. And he couldn’t resist being close to his Father. God and everything God loved, which was everything in the world, was irresistible to him. He saw the holes in life and he went around filling them, empty stomachs, empty hearts, empty souls. And he kept doing it until they started punching holes in him. They killed him, and put him in another hole. And he filled that one too. He filled it until it couldn’t hold him. It still can’t. He simply won’t die. And that’s the part of him that wasn’t like me. He did everything he did from pure, unadulterated love. And he wants to give that to me too. That’s the Jesus I want to be more like. That’s the Jesus I want to know more about. -RSP
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Re: Talking About Love
I received this letter from my minister and one of my best friends, Chuck. I want to share it and the amazing poem and the woman who wrote it with you all. Thanks, Chuck, and thank you Becky. And in her honor, here is the letter, and the poem. -RSP
Ron,
I've just gotten back from attending the funeral of Barbara's college suitemate and closest college friend, Becky. She died of leukemia last Friday. For you to understand the context of this poem, I need to give you a little background. She was first diagnosed with leukemia 5 years ago, and went through radiation, chemo and then the ordeal of a bone marrow transplant. All seemed to be working, and she was declared cancer free. Then in early '05 her husband was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He battled it for three years, but he died in February of this year. A month ago, we learned that her leukemia had recurred. She went back to Houston hoping that there might be something that could be done, but she died last Friday. She has two children--25 and 28. I cannot imagine the grief they must be feeling and how overwhelming all of this must be to them.
Anyway, Becky--like you--was a poet. She wrote this poem after her transplant ordeal and after learning that her husband had cancer. It was read at her funeral. Your comments about love brought it to mind, and of all people I know you will appreciate it!
"No Small Thing" by Becky McCutchen (December, 2005)
God loves me.
I sit quietly
and let it soak in.
God loves me.
No matter what
I have done or left undone.
This Abba Father
This Mother Creator
loves me.
Before time began
beyond infinity.
I am known. I am loved.
It is too deep to grasp
too deep to feel
too deep to believe
It could possibly be true.
And...yet...
I do know.
And in that split second of knowing
I am a perfect being
created in her image.
A perfect being
of grace and love
a quiet stillpoint of light.
In that second
I am the fullness of time
I am sure of my feet
I am at peace
I am all things
and they are me.
I am the perfect balance
of what has been
and what will be.
I am loved.
It is no small thing.
Ron,
I've just gotten back from attending the funeral of Barbara's college suitemate and closest college friend, Becky. She died of leukemia last Friday. For you to understand the context of this poem, I need to give you a little background. She was first diagnosed with leukemia 5 years ago, and went through radiation, chemo and then the ordeal of a bone marrow transplant. All seemed to be working, and she was declared cancer free. Then in early '05 her husband was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He battled it for three years, but he died in February of this year. A month ago, we learned that her leukemia had recurred. She went back to Houston hoping that there might be something that could be done, but she died last Friday. She has two children--25 and 28. I cannot imagine the grief they must be feeling and how overwhelming all of this must be to them.
Anyway, Becky--like you--was a poet. She wrote this poem after her transplant ordeal and after learning that her husband had cancer. It was read at her funeral. Your comments about love brought it to mind, and of all people I know you will appreciate it!
"No Small Thing" by Becky McCutchen (December, 2005)
God loves me.
I sit quietly
and let it soak in.
God loves me.
No matter what
I have done or left undone.
This Abba Father
This Mother Creator
loves me.
Before time began
beyond infinity.
I am known. I am loved.
It is too deep to grasp
too deep to feel
too deep to believe
It could possibly be true.
And...yet...
I do know.
And in that split second of knowing
I am a perfect being
created in her image.
A perfect being
of grace and love
a quiet stillpoint of light.
In that second
I am the fullness of time
I am sure of my feet
I am at peace
I am all things
and they are me.
I am the perfect balance
of what has been
and what will be.
I am loved.
It is no small thing.
The Parable of the Untrustworthy Slave
Matthew 25:14-30 The Parable of the Untrustworthy Slave
14"For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; 15to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.
16The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. 17In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. 18But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, 'Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.' 21His master said to him, 'Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.' 22And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, 'Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.' 23His master said to him, 'Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'
24Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, 'Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; 25so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.'
26But his master replied, 'you wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? 27Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. 28So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents.
29For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.
30As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
Who is the hero of this story? – I have never agreed with what I hear most people say the point of this parable is. Most tell me this is about using what God has given you and making the most of it. But the slave owner in this story is a man, and a distant owner, who rules by remote control and fear. Not my image of God. Not my idea of the nature of the Kingdom of God, which is what these parables describe.
I think the hero of this story is the slave who did not participate in the system, the way things were set up, by the wealthy man who would both own and control people, even if he did entrust them with some of his money. That is why I changed the name of the parable from the Parable of the Talents, to the Parable of the Untrustworthy Slave.
The untrustworthy slave admits to the master upon his return: "Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed". The master responds with “You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter?” Jesus, the author of the parable, puts these words into the slave owner’s mouth in the story: 29 "For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away."
The uncooperative slave pays a big price for his failure to go along and is thrown into the outer darkness, a place of weeping and gnashing teeth.
What makes the untrustworthy slave the hero? In the Torah, the kind of financial transaction the slave owner expected his slaves to participate in was called “usury” and it was forbidden by the Jewish tradition to lend money at interest and at the expense of those needing the money, especially the poor.
I was surprised to discover that a relatively famous theologian and author, William Herzog, agrees with me. Herzog is a scholar who has done much study on the parables as subversive speech given by Jesus against the economic domination system of Herod and Caesar’s “systems”, which were taking land away from families and marginalizing many peasants into dire poverty and day labor status.
I don’t think Jesus was trying to teach us to be wise investors, at least in this story, and I don’t think he was telling us to “Be all we can be” in this story. I think he was a faithful Jew, faithful to the Torah, and telling people not to allow their greed to overshadow God’s expectation that the poor and those in needed to be treated with compassion, and that once we get in bed with profit oriented thinking, it is easy to lose the hearts we need to live with others, especially those on the margins of life.
Edmund Burke once wrote, “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” I think Jesus is saying here, “All that is necessary for evil systems to triumph is for good men and women to quietly go along with the status quo, especially if it’s going to make you rich, even if it’s on the backs of the unfortunate".
Look at what has happened in our country lately with the mortgage industry. Amazing how these ancient parabolic views of the Kingdom of God are so relevant to us today.
Is there room for the Kingdom of God in business? What would need to change?
What price would we pay for not cooperating? Where might we be thrown? - RSP
14"For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; 15to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.
16The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. 17In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. 18But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, 'Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.' 21His master said to him, 'Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.' 22And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, 'Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.' 23His master said to him, 'Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'
24Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, 'Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; 25so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.'
26But his master replied, 'you wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? 27Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. 28So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents.
29For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.
30As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
Who is the hero of this story? – I have never agreed with what I hear most people say the point of this parable is. Most tell me this is about using what God has given you and making the most of it. But the slave owner in this story is a man, and a distant owner, who rules by remote control and fear. Not my image of God. Not my idea of the nature of the Kingdom of God, which is what these parables describe.
I think the hero of this story is the slave who did not participate in the system, the way things were set up, by the wealthy man who would both own and control people, even if he did entrust them with some of his money. That is why I changed the name of the parable from the Parable of the Talents, to the Parable of the Untrustworthy Slave.
The untrustworthy slave admits to the master upon his return: "Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed". The master responds with “You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter?” Jesus, the author of the parable, puts these words into the slave owner’s mouth in the story: 29 "For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away."
The uncooperative slave pays a big price for his failure to go along and is thrown into the outer darkness, a place of weeping and gnashing teeth.
What makes the untrustworthy slave the hero? In the Torah, the kind of financial transaction the slave owner expected his slaves to participate in was called “usury” and it was forbidden by the Jewish tradition to lend money at interest and at the expense of those needing the money, especially the poor.
I was surprised to discover that a relatively famous theologian and author, William Herzog, agrees with me. Herzog is a scholar who has done much study on the parables as subversive speech given by Jesus against the economic domination system of Herod and Caesar’s “systems”, which were taking land away from families and marginalizing many peasants into dire poverty and day labor status.
I don’t think Jesus was trying to teach us to be wise investors, at least in this story, and I don’t think he was telling us to “Be all we can be” in this story. I think he was a faithful Jew, faithful to the Torah, and telling people not to allow their greed to overshadow God’s expectation that the poor and those in needed to be treated with compassion, and that once we get in bed with profit oriented thinking, it is easy to lose the hearts we need to live with others, especially those on the margins of life.
Edmund Burke once wrote, “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” I think Jesus is saying here, “All that is necessary for evil systems to triumph is for good men and women to quietly go along with the status quo, especially if it’s going to make you rich, even if it’s on the backs of the unfortunate".
Look at what has happened in our country lately with the mortgage industry. Amazing how these ancient parabolic views of the Kingdom of God are so relevant to us today.
Is there room for the Kingdom of God in business? What would need to change?
What price would we pay for not cooperating? Where might we be thrown? - RSP
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Talking About Love
Talking About Love and Loving God
The thing that we all want, the thing that people are all looking for, the thing that many of us substitute other things for, (and these things never work) is love. The problem with love, especially being loved by God, which I think is the source of all love, is that the very second you try to talk about it, you’re off the mark. I think that is the problem with all discourse, all debate, all talk, and all theology. And once you start down the road of thinking or discussion about something as intangible and ineffable as the encountering of this transcendent, immanent “thing” we call love, you are at least once removed from the encounter itself. I think that is why people like Jesus taught in parabolic language, and why he and others tried to talk about love by telling stories. But the stories, the texts, the scriptures, the parables, aren’t the reality of God. They simply point towards God.
Ever tried to write a love letter, or love poem? Ever tried to explain to a your child or best friend what they mean to you? It’s always a challenge and it never carries the full message you are trying to convey. Music or art probably come closer.
Maybe, for the sake of authenticity, and because as we all know, talk is cheap, it is better to participate in the reality of love by the way we act, the way we live. If we love God, then we love what God loves. If we want to know about the nature of God, maybe we ought to pay attention to the nature of love in its purest form. How do you know when someone loves you? First of all, they are, for some reason, interested in you. They seek out dialogue and relationship. Secondly, they are sensitive to your feelings and your welfare. Thirdly, they accept you, even your faults, and they are willing to forgive you when you are really sorry for harming or offending them. In other words, they love the behavior you show to them that tells them the same thing: you love them. The spiritual word for this is grace, and as a counselor I have witnessed that it truly is amazing, just as the song says, and it truly does transform us from wretches to those who are given a new chance, a new life, a second birth.
The other difficult thing about love is that we cannot accept it unless we face our own human failures, admit that we have them, and accept that grace that is offered. Sometimes that fact is made even harder, if not almost impossible, because we aren’t around anyone who is graceful enough, and humble enough, to give us another chance, at least on any given day. That is why, for me, the invitation given to me by the love of God I experience through the life and death of the one we call the Christ, is irresistible and the most real thing I have ever encountered in my life. It may not be the only path towards God, but it’s the one I was given.
Maybe the reason it’s hard to talk about love is the same reason it’s hard to talk about God. We sense that the minute the conversation begins, we are once removed from the reality of the encounter. That is why I know that the only way I can really experience the reality of God’s love is in relationship, with the world he created and loves, the people he created and loves, and in learning to accept his graceful acceptance of me, warts and all. This is the cross Jesus told us to pick up and carry, if we wanted to follow him. It’s not easy. It’s not convenient. It’s not cheap. We have to decide. And it’s something I have found that I simply cannot live without and feel really alive, completely happy or at peace in this crazy world.-RSP
The thing that we all want, the thing that people are all looking for, the thing that many of us substitute other things for, (and these things never work) is love. The problem with love, especially being loved by God, which I think is the source of all love, is that the very second you try to talk about it, you’re off the mark. I think that is the problem with all discourse, all debate, all talk, and all theology. And once you start down the road of thinking or discussion about something as intangible and ineffable as the encountering of this transcendent, immanent “thing” we call love, you are at least once removed from the encounter itself. I think that is why people like Jesus taught in parabolic language, and why he and others tried to talk about love by telling stories. But the stories, the texts, the scriptures, the parables, aren’t the reality of God. They simply point towards God.
Ever tried to write a love letter, or love poem? Ever tried to explain to a your child or best friend what they mean to you? It’s always a challenge and it never carries the full message you are trying to convey. Music or art probably come closer.
Maybe, for the sake of authenticity, and because as we all know, talk is cheap, it is better to participate in the reality of love by the way we act, the way we live. If we love God, then we love what God loves. If we want to know about the nature of God, maybe we ought to pay attention to the nature of love in its purest form. How do you know when someone loves you? First of all, they are, for some reason, interested in you. They seek out dialogue and relationship. Secondly, they are sensitive to your feelings and your welfare. Thirdly, they accept you, even your faults, and they are willing to forgive you when you are really sorry for harming or offending them. In other words, they love the behavior you show to them that tells them the same thing: you love them. The spiritual word for this is grace, and as a counselor I have witnessed that it truly is amazing, just as the song says, and it truly does transform us from wretches to those who are given a new chance, a new life, a second birth.
The other difficult thing about love is that we cannot accept it unless we face our own human failures, admit that we have them, and accept that grace that is offered. Sometimes that fact is made even harder, if not almost impossible, because we aren’t around anyone who is graceful enough, and humble enough, to give us another chance, at least on any given day. That is why, for me, the invitation given to me by the love of God I experience through the life and death of the one we call the Christ, is irresistible and the most real thing I have ever encountered in my life. It may not be the only path towards God, but it’s the one I was given.
Maybe the reason it’s hard to talk about love is the same reason it’s hard to talk about God. We sense that the minute the conversation begins, we are once removed from the reality of the encounter. That is why I know that the only way I can really experience the reality of God’s love is in relationship, with the world he created and loves, the people he created and loves, and in learning to accept his graceful acceptance of me, warts and all. This is the cross Jesus told us to pick up and carry, if we wanted to follow him. It’s not easy. It’s not convenient. It’s not cheap. We have to decide. And it’s something I have found that I simply cannot live without and feel really alive, completely happy or at peace in this crazy world.-RSP
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Out of the Depths
Psalm 130:1-8
1Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD.
2Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my supplications!
3If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities,
Lord, who could stand?
4But there is forgiveness with you,
so that you may be revered.
5I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
6my soul waits for the Lord
more than those who watch for the morning,
more than those who watch for the morning.
7O Israel, hope in the LORD!
For with the LORD there is steadfast love,
and with him is great power to redeem.
8It is he who will redeem Israel
from all its iniquities.
What is happening in this scripture? - This isn't one of the pretty ones, this Psalm. This is a song of pain that sounds familiar to us all. How often have we cried from some place so deep down in our selves that we are sure no one can hear? One theologian wrote that you don't just find God "up and out". You more often find God "down and in", or maybe I should say, when you're "down and out".
1Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD.
2Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my supplications!
3If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities,
Lord, who could stand?
4But there is forgiveness with you,
so that you may be revered.
5I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
6my soul waits for the Lord
more than those who watch for the morning,
more than those who watch for the morning.
7O Israel, hope in the LORD!
For with the LORD there is steadfast love,
and with him is great power to redeem.
8It is he who will redeem Israel
from all its iniquities.
What is happening in this scripture? - This isn't one of the pretty ones, this Psalm. This is a song of pain that sounds familiar to us all. How often have we cried from some place so deep down in our selves that we are sure no one can hear? One theologian wrote that you don't just find God "up and out". You more often find God "down and in", or maybe I should say, when you're "down and out".
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Hypocrites
Matthew 23: 13-15 Hypocrites
15"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.
What is happening in this scripture? This line is taken from the tirade that Jesus leveled against the temple elite in Matthew. The lines are about those who have the knowledge yet lock people out of the kingdom. Here Jesus blasts them by his conviction that they are spreading their perversions of his beloved Judaism to new converts, telling them they make their new members twice as bad as they are. The distortions of God’s laws gradually grow even worse and farther and farther away from what God has told his people. Jesus railed against those who focused on the letters of the law instead of the spirit.
How is this happening in the world today? Do we realize how much we can influence other people? Have you ever noticed that when you walk around looking for someone to be angry with you can always find them? Have you ever felt pretty good until someone’s rudeness or unkindness or downright mean-ness brings you down into anger and despair? What do our children hear from the adults in their household? What do our coworkers hear from our mouths? What about our neighbors? How do others, who know you go to such and such a church or profess to follow Christ, how do they feel about the faith you espouse? Who are we converting, and what are we converting them into?
Seems to me that some of the meanest sounding people I encounter in today’s world are supposed to be Christians. Are you noticing that too, or is it just me? I’m not one of those who think Christians are supposed to be some kind of milk toasty folks with not much of an opinion about anything, or someone who never seems to get angry or upset, BUT…. I do think we are specifically and intentionally called to be forgiving, patient, generous and loving. I don’t think this works from the outside in. I don’t think you can fake it till you make it. I believe it is an inside job. When you really encounter the grace and love of God in Christ it feels good! It is joyful. It brings a peace and a feeling of fulfillment with it. In other words, it is transforming.
Maybe we ought to ask ourselves, often, “How does it feel to the other guy to be around me? How does it feel to my spouse, my kids, my co-workers? As TV’s Dr. Phil likes to ask, “How much fun are you to live with?” And if we are re-born by the grace of God, and we aren’t showing it today, why not? I know sometimes there is a very good answer. Perhaps we are in grief. Maybe we are struggling with an addiction, or some other private hell. Life is hard. But one good thing about being a follower of Christ: you don’t have to suffer alone. There are plenty of brothers and sisters who care about you and who will walk through the valley with you. Just being reminded of that, just feeling that grace coming from God and through them, sometimes is enough to get you through that valley.
The other way is hypocrisy and people can spot it a mile away. And when we carry it around with us, it influences others like mosquito carrying malaria. What makes it hypocritical? Remember the Pharisee in Luke who thanked God in prayer that he wasn’t like all those who are righteous or who don’t keep the laws, especially those tax collectors. Remember the prayer of the tax collector who sat in the synagogue saying, Lord have mercy on me, a terrible sinner? Jesus said that tax collector would be justified before God before the Pharisee would. He keeps taking us back to those two commandments: Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. He never spent a great deal of time on the pages and pages of rules in Leviticus or Deuteronomy. Honor your parents. Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not covet. Do not kill. Love God and your neighbor. Do not use God’s name for unholy purposes. That was pretty much it for Jesus. He made a point of breaking some of the Sanhedrin’s rules about who to eat with, whether or not to talk to women, or those outside of the faith, like Samaritans.
In my experience as a professional counselor, most of the anger people express is secondary to the fear and pain they are feeling. What Jesus requires of us is to be open, open to our pain and fear, and open to letting someone else who cares know about it. It is hard to live with an angry person, but we hasten to help someone in pain or fear. It is as if it creates a little crack for the light of God to shine in, and that’s where the work of transformation takes place, from the inside out.
How does this scripture pertain to me? Lord, I know that I am one breath away from spreading the disease of hate. Help me to be not another son of hell, or to create new ones. I know I can be a carrier of hate or of love. Help me to be what St. Francis of Assisi prayed to be: an instrument of your Peace. Where there is hatred Lord, transform me and help me to sow love. -RSP
15"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.
What is happening in this scripture? This line is taken from the tirade that Jesus leveled against the temple elite in Matthew. The lines are about those who have the knowledge yet lock people out of the kingdom. Here Jesus blasts them by his conviction that they are spreading their perversions of his beloved Judaism to new converts, telling them they make their new members twice as bad as they are. The distortions of God’s laws gradually grow even worse and farther and farther away from what God has told his people. Jesus railed against those who focused on the letters of the law instead of the spirit.
How is this happening in the world today? Do we realize how much we can influence other people? Have you ever noticed that when you walk around looking for someone to be angry with you can always find them? Have you ever felt pretty good until someone’s rudeness or unkindness or downright mean-ness brings you down into anger and despair? What do our children hear from the adults in their household? What do our coworkers hear from our mouths? What about our neighbors? How do others, who know you go to such and such a church or profess to follow Christ, how do they feel about the faith you espouse? Who are we converting, and what are we converting them into?
Seems to me that some of the meanest sounding people I encounter in today’s world are supposed to be Christians. Are you noticing that too, or is it just me? I’m not one of those who think Christians are supposed to be some kind of milk toasty folks with not much of an opinion about anything, or someone who never seems to get angry or upset, BUT…. I do think we are specifically and intentionally called to be forgiving, patient, generous and loving. I don’t think this works from the outside in. I don’t think you can fake it till you make it. I believe it is an inside job. When you really encounter the grace and love of God in Christ it feels good! It is joyful. It brings a peace and a feeling of fulfillment with it. In other words, it is transforming.
Maybe we ought to ask ourselves, often, “How does it feel to the other guy to be around me? How does it feel to my spouse, my kids, my co-workers? As TV’s Dr. Phil likes to ask, “How much fun are you to live with?” And if we are re-born by the grace of God, and we aren’t showing it today, why not? I know sometimes there is a very good answer. Perhaps we are in grief. Maybe we are struggling with an addiction, or some other private hell. Life is hard. But one good thing about being a follower of Christ: you don’t have to suffer alone. There are plenty of brothers and sisters who care about you and who will walk through the valley with you. Just being reminded of that, just feeling that grace coming from God and through them, sometimes is enough to get you through that valley.
The other way is hypocrisy and people can spot it a mile away. And when we carry it around with us, it influences others like mosquito carrying malaria. What makes it hypocritical? Remember the Pharisee in Luke who thanked God in prayer that he wasn’t like all those who are righteous or who don’t keep the laws, especially those tax collectors. Remember the prayer of the tax collector who sat in the synagogue saying, Lord have mercy on me, a terrible sinner? Jesus said that tax collector would be justified before God before the Pharisee would. He keeps taking us back to those two commandments: Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. He never spent a great deal of time on the pages and pages of rules in Leviticus or Deuteronomy. Honor your parents. Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not covet. Do not kill. Love God and your neighbor. Do not use God’s name for unholy purposes. That was pretty much it for Jesus. He made a point of breaking some of the Sanhedrin’s rules about who to eat with, whether or not to talk to women, or those outside of the faith, like Samaritans.
In my experience as a professional counselor, most of the anger people express is secondary to the fear and pain they are feeling. What Jesus requires of us is to be open, open to our pain and fear, and open to letting someone else who cares know about it. It is hard to live with an angry person, but we hasten to help someone in pain or fear. It is as if it creates a little crack for the light of God to shine in, and that’s where the work of transformation takes place, from the inside out.
How does this scripture pertain to me? Lord, I know that I am one breath away from spreading the disease of hate. Help me to be not another son of hell, or to create new ones. I know I can be a carrier of hate or of love. Help me to be what St. Francis of Assisi prayed to be: an instrument of your Peace. Where there is hatred Lord, transform me and help me to sow love. -RSP
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
"Oh My God! What Have I Done!"
Romans 7: 21-25 – “Oh My God – What Have I Done!”
So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. 22For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, 23but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
What is happening in this scripture? – Paul is writing to the church in Rome. The more we study ancient Rome at this time, the more we learn that in addition to the taxes, the enslavements, the conquering and invasion of other lands and peoples, there was much debauchery and economic injustice going on in Rome. Rome was a large, sprawling city, and like any other large, densely populated city, you could participate in just about any behavior you wanted, if you had the mind and the money. Paul was a human being, and like all human beings Paul had weakness of the flesh. Here in this letter he seems to be addressing some of the practices accepted in Rome at that time, and delineating how Christians are to behave, even in the midst of what might be accepted by the larger culture. In so doing, Paul indicts himself, as a man. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. 22For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, 23but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24Wretched man that I am! Then Paul asks a universal question to himself and to the church: Who will rescue me from this body of death?
How is this happening in the world today? – I’m no goody two shoes. I know no honest man or woman who is. Whether it be public or private, deeds or thoughts, all of us are capable and participate in thoughts or behaviors that separate us from our own relationship to God’s grace. It’s not easy to be “good” sometimes, maybe most of the time, and it’s not easy to accept the strange logic of God’s grace. As a professional counselor I hear this question that Paul expresses from a lot of people: When I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me? Another way to put this is, “I want to be accepted and acceptable, but I don’t want to change, or “I’m no damned good and neither is anyone else!”, or ‘Oh my God! What have I done?” When I survey not only my life, but the world which lies in front of me, via the evening news or the papers, I sometimes ask myself, “Where is the hope? Can things ever turn around? Can it ever get better? Are we doomed?”
How is this story our story? - Paul called it a law. When I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. Sometimes its because I think I think I know what doing good is, what’s good for someone else, and put myself in God’s place to judge. Lord help me to remember the only way out of this trap is to remember it is a trap, and to be graceful, in accepting my need for acceptance, and being graceful to others.
So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. 22For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, 23but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
What is happening in this scripture? – Paul is writing to the church in Rome. The more we study ancient Rome at this time, the more we learn that in addition to the taxes, the enslavements, the conquering and invasion of other lands and peoples, there was much debauchery and economic injustice going on in Rome. Rome was a large, sprawling city, and like any other large, densely populated city, you could participate in just about any behavior you wanted, if you had the mind and the money. Paul was a human being, and like all human beings Paul had weakness of the flesh. Here in this letter he seems to be addressing some of the practices accepted in Rome at that time, and delineating how Christians are to behave, even in the midst of what might be accepted by the larger culture. In so doing, Paul indicts himself, as a man. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. 22For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, 23but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24Wretched man that I am! Then Paul asks a universal question to himself and to the church: Who will rescue me from this body of death?
How is this happening in the world today? – I’m no goody two shoes. I know no honest man or woman who is. Whether it be public or private, deeds or thoughts, all of us are capable and participate in thoughts or behaviors that separate us from our own relationship to God’s grace. It’s not easy to be “good” sometimes, maybe most of the time, and it’s not easy to accept the strange logic of God’s grace. As a professional counselor I hear this question that Paul expresses from a lot of people: When I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me? Another way to put this is, “I want to be accepted and acceptable, but I don’t want to change, or “I’m no damned good and neither is anyone else!”, or ‘Oh my God! What have I done?” When I survey not only my life, but the world which lies in front of me, via the evening news or the papers, I sometimes ask myself, “Where is the hope? Can things ever turn around? Can it ever get better? Are we doomed?”
How is this story our story? - Paul called it a law. When I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. Sometimes its because I think I think I know what doing good is, what’s good for someone else, and put myself in God’s place to judge. Lord help me to remember the only way out of this trap is to remember it is a trap, and to be graceful, in accepting my need for acceptance, and being graceful to others.
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
The Road to Hell is Paved
Matthew 21:23-32 The Road to Hell is Paved With Good…
23When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?" 24Jesus said to them, "I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. 25Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?" And they argued with one another, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?' 26But if we say, 'Of human origin,' we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet." 27So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And he said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
28"What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' 29He answered, 'I will not'; but later he changed his mind and went. 30The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, 'I go, sir'; but he did not go. 31Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.
What is happening in this scripture? – Jesus goes to the temple of his faith. He begins teaching. There is a hierarchy in the temple system. The chief priests and elders come to him, while he is teaching and ask him what gives him the right to teach there in the temple. The message here is “We didn’t give you permission to do this! Who do you think you are?” Jesus counters the question with one of his own. “I will tell you who gives me that authority if you will tell me if the baptizer, John, was anointed by God to preach, or by humans?” The chief priests and scribes argue with each other. The author of Matthew lets us know what is in their minds: “If we say John was ordained by Heaven, Jesus will ask why we did not believe him. If we say he was self-ordained or ordained by humans the people, who loved him and responded to him in droves will do who knows what. The best answer, the safest answer is “We don’t know.” They say this to Jesus and he responds with “That is a non-answer, so I will not give you an answer either.”
Then Jesus offers them, and supposedly the people listening, a parabolic story of a man with two sons. The first son was ordered to go to the vineyard and work. He told his father he would not go, but later he changed his mind and went. The second son promised his father he would go, but did not follow through. Jesus asks who did the will of their father. They answer, the first son. Jesus tells them that even the most marginalized and sinful of their villages, tax collectors and prostitutes, who believed John entered God’s kingdom before the chief priests and elders or those listening who felt they were more righteous. For…”even after you saw it (John’s way of righteousness (the command to ‘turn back to God’) you did not change your minds and believe him.”
How is this happening in our world? - Some questions to ponder:
Where are the temples that Jesus might enter to preach today?
Who are our chief priests and elders?
Who longs to be heard, but are given no authority to proclaim or teach?
By whose authority to those who do get heard, get heard?
What does the parable of the two sons say to you?
How are we, like prostitutes, selling ourselves to the world?
How are we, like tax collectors, doing Herod or Caesar’s dirty work?
How would turning back to God transform the prostitute or the tax collector in us all?
How is this story your story?
23When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?" 24Jesus said to them, "I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. 25Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?" And they argued with one another, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?' 26But if we say, 'Of human origin,' we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet." 27So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And he said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
28"What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' 29He answered, 'I will not'; but later he changed his mind and went. 30The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, 'I go, sir'; but he did not go. 31Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.
What is happening in this scripture? – Jesus goes to the temple of his faith. He begins teaching. There is a hierarchy in the temple system. The chief priests and elders come to him, while he is teaching and ask him what gives him the right to teach there in the temple. The message here is “We didn’t give you permission to do this! Who do you think you are?” Jesus counters the question with one of his own. “I will tell you who gives me that authority if you will tell me if the baptizer, John, was anointed by God to preach, or by humans?” The chief priests and scribes argue with each other. The author of Matthew lets us know what is in their minds: “If we say John was ordained by Heaven, Jesus will ask why we did not believe him. If we say he was self-ordained or ordained by humans the people, who loved him and responded to him in droves will do who knows what. The best answer, the safest answer is “We don’t know.” They say this to Jesus and he responds with “That is a non-answer, so I will not give you an answer either.”
Then Jesus offers them, and supposedly the people listening, a parabolic story of a man with two sons. The first son was ordered to go to the vineyard and work. He told his father he would not go, but later he changed his mind and went. The second son promised his father he would go, but did not follow through. Jesus asks who did the will of their father. They answer, the first son. Jesus tells them that even the most marginalized and sinful of their villages, tax collectors and prostitutes, who believed John entered God’s kingdom before the chief priests and elders or those listening who felt they were more righteous. For…”even after you saw it (John’s way of righteousness (the command to ‘turn back to God’) you did not change your minds and believe him.”
How is this happening in our world? - Some questions to ponder:
Where are the temples that Jesus might enter to preach today?
Who are our chief priests and elders?
Who longs to be heard, but are given no authority to proclaim or teach?
By whose authority to those who do get heard, get heard?
What does the parable of the two sons say to you?
How are we, like prostitutes, selling ourselves to the world?
How are we, like tax collectors, doing Herod or Caesar’s dirty work?
How would turning back to God transform the prostitute or the tax collector in us all?
How is this story your story?
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