July 26, 2017

So if it seems to you that you have understood the divine scriptures, or any part of them, in such a way that by this understanding you do not build up this twin love of God and neighbor, then you have not yet understood them.

St. Augustine, Teaching Christianity, Book I

People are awfully good at picking and choosing their favorite bible verses, and/or bible verses that uphold their particular viewpoints, biases, prejudices, and fears.

Slavery was upheld in many churches because of its biblical support, and abolitionists were labeled as the worst kind of sinner for going against the direct word of God.

Women were, and are, relegated to second-class citizens in and out of the church based on scriptural quotes.

Equality of almost any kind, whether racial, gender, sexual orientation, or economic, is often denounced by Christians as being unbiblical.

The poor and destitute are told they must remain that way due to not only a limited reading of scripture, but due to a simple mean-spirited attitude of those espousing such views.

In my opinion, if you quote scripture to support racism, you are doing it wrong; if you quote scripture to keep women in their place, you're doing it wrong; if you quote scripture to lift up the rich and put down the poor, you're doing it wrong; if you quote scripture to support ideas based on separation and hate, you're doing it wrong.

The message you have heard from the beginning is that we should love one another. (1 Jn. 3:11).

Whoever says, “I am in the light,” while hating a brother or sister, is still in the darkness. (1 Jn. 2:9)

For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment. (James 2:13)

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. (Hebrews 13:16)

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. (John 15:12)

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Matt. 22:37-40)

Some people may condemn me to hell for not being exclusionary enough, or for allowing “those people” to taint the church, or for leading others astray; but if I stand condemned, I also stand with St. Augustine.

How do your dealings – financial, social, political, professional – build up the twin loves of God and neighbor?

Blessings,

July 19, 2017

92, 92, 88, 100.

Preseason Test Results

My new officiating group does things a little differently than I'm used to. For starters, they begin meeting in May. Another thing they do is send out preseason tests. The above numbers are my test scores for the first four tests we've been given.

My friend Jane saw those scores and said, “So you're not perfect, but you're consistently good.”

That not only sums up officiating (we're not perfect, but we're consistently good), but it's also a good way to look at our life.

Do we always to the right thing as individuals, as business people, as parents, as children? The answer, of course, is, “No.” We make mistakes. We get angry. We may sometimes act unethically. We may be more selfish than we should. We are not perfect; but if we look back over our life, have we been consistently good?

This can also apply to our life in the church and as disciples of Christ. Do we pray regularly, or only on Sundays or when facing trouble? Do we make Sunday worship a priority in our lives? Do we follow through on our pledges of time, talent, and treasure? Do we work to live into our baptismal vows of loving God, loving neighbor, and respecting the dignity of every human being? Again the answer to how well we do these things is probably, “Not as well as I would like.”

The good news is that we are not asked to be perfect. We are not asked to be mistake free, but we are asked to learn something from each mistake. We are not asked to always be the nice guy or gal, but we are asked to respect the dignity of every human being. We are not asked to be in attendance at every worship service the church offers, but we are asked to make worship a priority.

Some days we score a 92. Some days we only score an 88. Some days go right and we manage to score a 100. But it's important to remember that it's not necessarily the scores that matter, it's whether or not we are working to improve. Are you better today than yesterday? Is the sum total of our life more positive than negative?

What areas of your life would you like to improve? What areas of your life would you like to make a priority? And how do those things mesh with our baptismal covenant?

Because in the end, we aren't asked to be perfect, but we are asked to be consistently good.

Blessings,

July 12, 2017

The Bible is not a series of metaphysical claims, but is primarily a story of how communities of faith have responded to the presence and activity of God in their midst.

Samuel Wells, What Episcopalians Believe, p. 47,

This sentence came in a larger discussion about a variety of acts recorded in the Bible – things such as creation, the origin of species, the virgin birth, and any number of other miracles. This sentence stood out to me because, once again, I happened to come across yet another church that advertised itself as a “Bible believing church.”

I don't know about you, but when I see or hear those words my first instinct is to run away.

When a church advertises itself as “Bible believing,” it tells me that one of their core beliefs is that other churches do NOT believe what the Bible has to say.

When a church advertises itself as “Bible believing,” it tells me that they focus more on segregation than on inclusion.

When a church advertises itself as “Bible believing,” it tells me that what they believe are the verses confirming their preexisting prejudices.

St. John's in particular, and the Episcopal Church in general, is also a Bible believing church – we just don't feel the need to advertise that fact. But maybe we should.

It seems that Christianity has been hijacked by fundamental dominionists with loud voices and platforms that spread a particularly segregated and virulent form of the faith. Things like a six-day creation, the sin of Ham, women must remain silent, women should submit to their husbands, a lack of care for creation because Jesus is coming soon, or any number of efforts to protect the powerful as blessed while ignoring the less fortunate for any number of real or imagined sins, are just some of how the Bible is used as a weapon by a certain segment of Christianity.

But I also am a Bible believing Christian. I believe that in the beginning, God created; the how and the time-frame are immaterial. I believe that Ex. 22:21-22, Deut. 10:16-18, Amos 5:24, Jonah 4:10-11, Micah 6:8, Matt. 22:34-40, Matt. 25:31-46, Luke 2:7, John 10:16, Acts 10:9-34, Gal. 3:28, 1 John 4:16b-21, Rev. 7:9, and Rev. 22:1-2 (among others) are just as valid today as when they were written. I believe that the Bible is not to be used as a weapon to tear down, abuse, and cast out, but that it is to be used as a tool to build up, heal, and restore. And I believe that the Bible is not only a record of how communities of faith have responded to the presence and activity of God in their midst, but that it also challenges us to live in faithful relationships with God and others in the here and now.

We are a Bible believing church. It's up to us to cut through all the noise and help people understand that that isn't a bad thing.

July 5, 2017

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. -- Declaration of Independence, second paragraph

Yesterday was the 4^th of July and the annual celebration of those thirteen colonies that declared (among other things) themselves “to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved . . .” That celebration probably included some form of fireworks, too much food, music of varying tastes, and, hopefully, a recognition that in this country all men are created equal.

But if we are honest with ourselves, we must also recognize that those self-evident truths spoken of so eloquently 241 years ago are still far from being realized. We still have far to go when, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, the death penalty was sought in 38.7 percent of cases in which the defendant was black and the victim was white, with that percentage dropping to 0.0 percent when the defendant was white and the victim was black (https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/chattahoochee-judicial-district-buckle-death-belt-death-penalty-microcosm). We still have far to go when a local HOA states in its bylaws that a house may not be sold to a person of color. We still have far to go when the Texas Supreme Court voted 9-0 that the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality is not all-encompassing and still up for evaluation (http://fusion.kinja.com/texas-all-republican-supreme-court-delivers-a-big-blow-1796552886). We still have far to go when access to healthcare is based on income rather than need. We still have far to go when women consistently draw lower salaries than men.

It's not often that the secular and sacred intertwine, but when we look at the lofty ideals stated in the Declaration of Independence in conjunction with our Baptismal Covenant, they do.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal . . .”

When you see the evil of discrimination rising to prominence, whether that be based on gender, race, sexual orientation, or nationality, will you persevere in resisting that evil?

When you witness the condemnation of others, will you proclaim the Good News of God in Christ?

When you see acts of hatred being perpetrated in the name of whatever cause calls for violence, will you love your neighbor as yourself?

When you witness the ostracizing of others due to any difference or lack of perceived purity, will you strive for justice and respect the dignity of every human being?

It just may be that when the Church can live into the ideals of the Baptismal Covenant, our nation might finally live into the ideals of the Declaration of Independence.