Notes from Sunday's Homily I think we as Christians have the challenge of changing the debate in our country. This thought, and the poem below, inspired my most recent sermon at Trinity. You can watch the sermon here.

One of the Lucky Ones A recent article by Paul Vitello, “Taking A Break From the Lord’s Work,” published in The New York Times has some in the church world buzzing. I thought I would add my two cents to the bit… Here is Vitello’s opening paragraph: “The findings have surfaced with ominous regularity over the last few years, and with little notice: Members of the clergy now suffer from obesity, hypertension and depression at rates higher than most Americans. In the last decade, their use of antidepressants has risen, while their life expectancy has fallen. Many would change jobs if they could. ..”

Being Life, Being Good, Being Merciful and Opposing the Forces of Evil  Two stories to get us thinking today:

Just this Thursday, I was on my way to visit a parishioner in the hospital. The train got delayed, and I was anxious to get to the hospital and get back in time to meet my son at some engagement I had promised him. It had been a long day already. Walking three blocks from the hospital, I noticed a man flat out on the street with a cane next to his side and his hand on his head. He was not bleeding, and he had his clothes on, however, I could not tell if he was dead or alive. There were several people approaching the spot at the time. I felt they were all looking on me or looking to me; but I had a patient to see, and I was already late, so I said a prayer and kept walking. I don’t know what happened to the man, because in my haste to get to my next appointment, I took a different route.

The story is told that somewhere in Africa, villagers noticed bodies washing down stream with bloody heads. Every Sunday morning a body or two would wash down stream and the compassionate villagers would take the body out, attend to the wound. It so happened that there was no way of finding out what had happened because the person was from a different tribe. One day, a child in the village asked, “Why don’t we go upstream, go to the village and find out what is happening?” That is a good idea, the villagers said, but they did not go, because they were afraid.

I think at the heart of today’s gospel is an invitation for all of us to think more deeply about our life, what it means to be good, what it means to be considered bad, what it means to hold the good and bad and be non-judgmental; what it means to be merciful and what it means to oppose the forces of evil.

We hear that a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. Now this is not a lawyer, the way we understand lawyers today. Lawyer in Luke means a scribe. A scribe in Luke meant one who dedicated his life to the Torah, meant one who dedicated his life to knowing the ways of God, meant one who was consulted when there were issues about interpretation of the Law.

And so this lawyer stood up in order to try and put Jesus down. This lawyer stood up in order to discredit God, this lawyer stood in order to prove that he knew more than God. O Lord Have Mercy, do you hear me? This lawyer stood up so that he could put Jesus down, this lawyer stood up so that he could discredit Jesus, and to prove that he knew more than God. Dear friends in Christ, this is what we do as religious people. We stand up and put God down. We stand up and put God out. We stand up and try to show that we know more than God. And so the lawyer had a question for Jesus. But dear friends, little did the lawyer know, that Jesus had a question for him. Do you hear me church? You might think you have a question for God, but God has a question for you.

In the Greek, the question of Jesus runs like this: WHAT IS WRITTEN IN THE LAW? HOW READEST THOU?

How you read the Scriptures makes all the difference. How you read the Law makes all the difference. Because if we read it with a desire to oppress others, if we read it thinking we are God, if we read it thinking that it is simple and clear and obvious and justifies our self-righteousness then we are in big trouble. So how do you read the Law? Does the Law make you more compassionate? Does it make you more grateful? Does it make you more forgiving?

How does British Petroleum read the Law? How does the state of Arizona read the Law? How does the state of Israel read the Law? How do the Palestinians read the Law? How do members of the Tea Party read the Law? How do you read the Law? What must you read to bring you eternal life? How you read the law determines how you know god, how you know your neighbor and how you have eternal life…

And the lawyer answered: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.

Thou hast answered right: this do and thou shalt live. But he willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbor? Now call me stupid, call me crazy, but if I stood up to Jesus, I was not going to ask who is my neighbor? I would go for the mega-millions. I would ask the question, who is my God?

Oftentimes, it is what you don’t ask which is most important.

Now, here is the wisdom of God, because what nobody has ever told you, I will tell you.

This parable is an answer to the question: who is my God? This is what cements the divinity of Christ; his ability to give us what we are not even capable of asking. You see for Luke in Jesus we see, we meet, we know and encounter the very salvation of God. And that is why in Luke chapter two, we read the words of in reference to Jesus: my eyes have seen your salvation… the glory of your people Israel.

Who is my neighbor? And here we get our gospel reading today.

A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded, and departed, leaving him half dead. O Lord of Mercy, I don’t hear any preachers talking about these thieves. Who are these thieves that keep stripping the people of God? Who are these thieves who keep wounding the people of God? Who are these thieves who keep leaving the people of God in a ditch, half dead?

Pay attention, dear friends, there are actions and policies that guarantee that people will never be debt free. There are actions and polices that guarantee that people will never have decent housing. There are actions and policies that serve only to make the poor poorer. There are actions and policies that ensure that America will remain segregated, racist and not a place where all are created equal. Who are these thieves who keep wounding and killing the peace process in the Middle East? Who are these thieves who keep wounding and killing Islam? Who are these thieves who keep wounding and killing women, minorities and immigrants? Who are these thieves who keep wounding and killing God?

Mature human beings, mature Christians, mature people of all faith are able to focus on who is my God and who is my neighbor? Mature human beings, mature Christians, mature people of all faith are able to focus on the thieves and the Good Samaritan.

Now who is the Good Samaritan? Who is the good Jew? Who is the good Muslim? Who is the good man, woman, pope, teenager, illegal immigrant, Tea Party member, Republican, Democrat, homeless, Wall Street executive, rich and poor? Who is the Good Child Molester, the Good Ex-Con, the Good Priest Abuser? Who is the Good Ku Klux Klan, President, Ahmadinejad, Netanyahu, Abbas, the Good Bigot, the Good Racist, the Good Abortion Doctor, the Good Terrorist, the Good Killer, the Good Suicide Bomber, the Good Pimp, the Good LeBron James, the Good You, the Good Me…

Unless we can imagine that God is capable of accomplishing good through any and each of these people, then we need to sit down and stop trying to question God…

I think Jesus wanted the lawyer to deepen and widen his imagination. If you cannot imagine an enemy doing good to you; it makes it a lot harder for you to do good to your enemy. If you cannot imagine your enemy doing acts of kindness and love; it makes it much harder for you to do the same…

This is why Jesus is Divine, because he challenges us all to go and do not what the priest does, not what the Levite does, but to go and imitate the good actions of the person or thing we love to hate.

You know I sometimes think that God is the person beaten, robbed, stripped and left half-dead. God needs a Good Samaritan. God needs to be taken up and taken to an inn. God needs your help. God needs you. Sometimes I think we are the ones beaten, robbed, stripped and left half dead. May God send us a Good Samaritan.

Will you in your bad self get down and help God? The lawyer stood up, but the Good Samaritan got down and that made all the difference. Be the difference. Amen.

Poetic Heat

Get up stand up, don’t give up the fight.
--Bob Marley

Did you hear it, fluting and whistling
A shrill dark music - like the rain pelting the trees - like a waterfall Knifing down the black ledges?
And did you see it, finally, just under the clouds - A white cross Streaming across the sky, its feet Like black leaves, its wings Like the stretching light of the river?
And did you feel it, in your heart, how it pertained to everything?
And have you too finally figured out what beauty is for?
And have you changed your life?
--Mary Oliver

Be like Hafiz: Get up and make an effort. Don't lie around like a bum.
He who throws himself at the Beloved's feet is like a workhorse and will
be rewarded with boundless pastures and eternal rest.
--Hafiz

Freedom's just another word for nothing left to loose Nothing, I mean nothing honey if it ain't free, no no Yeah feeling good was easy Lord when he sang the blues You know feeling good was good enough for me Good enough for me and my Bobby McGee.

From Kentucky coal mine to the California sun Yeah Bobby shared the secrets of my soul Through all kinds of weather, through everything we done Yeah Bobby baby kept me from the cold world One day a near Selina Lord, I let him slip away He's lookin' for that home, and I hope he finds it But I'd trade all of my tomorrows for one single yesterday To be holdin' Bobby's body next to mine

Freedom's just another word for nothing left to loose Nothing, and that's all that Bobby left me, yeah But feeling good was easy Lord when he sang the blues
--Janis Joplin

I keep on dying again.
Veins collapse, opening like the
Small fists of sleeping
Children.
Memory of old tombs,
Rotting flesh and worms do Not convince me against The challenge. The years And cold defeat live deep in Lines along my face.
They dull my eyes, yet
I keep on dying,
Because I love to live.
--Maya Angelou

you mustn't be afraid of death
you're a deathless soul
you can't be kept in a dark grave
you're filled with God's glow
be happy with your beloved
you can't find any better
the world will shimmer
because of the diamond you hold
when your heart is immersed
in this blissful love
you can easily endure
any bitter face around
in the absence of malice
there is nothing but
happiness and good times
don't dwell in sorrow my friend.
--Rumi

Feature photo courtesy of joeduty via Flickr.

Stop the General, Stop the War?

So Obama fired the General. In meetings since the news of the Rolling Stone article started emerging, Obama in a stern manner commanded his staff, the military personnel and the whole country to put aside “pettiness,… personalities or reputation…” Almost sound biblical. However, what I found lost in all of this is the unanswered question about the war: What in God’s name are we fighting this war for? What is fighting? What is war? Where is the victory? What do we hope to accomplish? Comforting to have General Petraeus in charge, however, does this not feel like déjà vu all over again? I keep hoping to hear of bigger changes and one big change would be to stop the General and stop the war…

One of the things I like about the Episcopal Church is that we pray for the President every single day. With slipping approval ratings (some would say tanking); the President, like all Presidents, needs our prayers. He has a plateful. However, I guess, being a president is like being a bishop: you better know what you are getting into. (I would have no desire to do either, well I could never be president anyhow, and bishop… good lord, I am serious; I do not have that vocation…) I cannot help but think how hard it must be to be president in the technological. I see the president having to look stern, contrite, happy, relaxed, presidential, priestly, upbeat – looking at him in the words of T. S. Eliot “preparing a face to meet the faces that he meets” makes me want to go fetal… God bless America and God don’t forget the President…

And the oil keeps gushing
And the bridge keeps burning
And people keep losing
And people are birthing
And people are dying
And the music keeps playing
And the soldiers keep fighting
And you?

The King of Kings and the King of Pop

This blog post is about Michael Jackson, but first I want to give a plug: if you're in the area on Tuesday the 29th, come to a new listening group called "Belief." We'l be asking in what ways do our ideas about God help us reach out to others and deeply into ourselves.

One year after Michael Jackson's death, my son still gets up and dances to Michael Jackson’s music. And in his dancing, and in his love for the King of Pop, I see a glimpse of the Christian faith. Everyday, I get up and try to dance to the music of the other King, the King of Kings. However, it is the reality of watching a child learn what you teach and become better at it than you: my son dances better to Michael Jackson than I can, and he probably dances better to the music of Michael than I to the music of JC.

So what gives with Michael Jackson? Well that is truly what you call living a life with impact. The man, the King of Pop, managed to touch many with his music. He touched the young, the old, black, white, Christian, Muslim, Jew, those who spoke English and those who don’t. “If music be the food of love, play on,” Shakespeare said and Michael has managed to do that. One billion dollars since his death, good lord. Michael Jackson’s genius lay in his ability to craft words and music that could seep into the heart, mind, soul, and body and cause people to love him and his music with all their mind and heart and soul.

The ongoing question and lesson from all that is why shouldn’t our lives have a similar impact? And the question to and for the church: how do we capture the imagination of this world? Long live the King. Watching my son, I know Michael will live forever, because he also has had a hold on my life for a very long time. I hope my son will always dance to Michael, whose name by the way means, “like unto God…”

 

The Spirituality of the Los Angeles Lakers

The Society of Jesus, aka, Jesuits
Get called the Companions of Jesus in other places
In Latin places they get called
And call themselves too, I guess
The Company of Jesus, and one could say,
Friends in the Lord
And I think that is what Ignatius intended
That these men would be friends in the Lord
Because
Because
Because if you seek to follow God
If you seek to follow Jesus
And you have friends who journey with you
And (when following Jesus) you have a company of people with you
If you follow Jesus and give your life for the Reign of God
And you have friends with you
You will always find God walking with you
You will always find God in your society
Always find God as a companion
And there is nothing greater than having God as a companion
In truth, that is the best definition of God:
Companion to humanity…

So, the Jesuits always remind each other that God can be found or noticed or discerned in just about any and every thing. “Finding God in all things” is a phrase that a Jesuit is likely to hear at least once a week.

Though, I am no longer a Jesuit, there are many things that still stay with me. After all, I went to Jesuit High School (in Jamaica, the British form of education) at ten, graduated at sixteen, taught at that same high school for three years, entered the Jesuit novitiate at nineteen, and stayed a Jesuit until I was thirty three. So I have many memories of those glorious years and I thank God for them every single day.

I found God in the Lakers game last night. The Lakers won, and that made me happy, however, I could not help but notice a few things that reminded me of what it means to follow God. I think I learned a few spiritual principles.

The Lakers won because they believed in each other in the good times and bad. In the victories especially in Game 1 and 3; you could see that as a team, as companions, they believed in each other and loved each other and were committed to the same goal.
Then there were losses: the Lakers lost game 2 at home, then they lost game four and five. Watching the Lakers I saw a group of companions or friends or teammates who still believed that they could win and would win.   

Watching game seven was hard, because being a Lakers fan is hard. Watching game seven it was hard for me to believe that the Lakers would win (though I kept hoping they would) – the Celtics played like champions. The Celtics played well together and many of the things that I admire in the Lakers I admire in the Celtics: the game had epic proportions.

I found God in the Lakers because they trailed in three quarters and then came back. Who among us does not need to keep believing?

I found God in the Lakers because they did not win by a huge margin, but win they did. Who among us does not experience epic emotional, spiritual and psychological battles and barely hold on in order to remain faithful and experience a victory?

I found God in the Lakers last night because Kobe was tired and trying too hard, however, his teammates supported him by doing their part. It is like the Nicene Creed when we say, “We believe.” We say we believe because there are days when it is hard to believe individually.

I found God in the Lakers game last night because Kobe won the MVP though he did not play his best game. Who among us does not need affirmation when we are not at our best? I think Kobe winning the MVP is a testament that there is a wideness in God’s mercy.

Okay, I have to confess that some Jesuits, especially those from Boston where I belonged, might call all this an inordinate attachment or a disordered affection. That means, if I remember correctly, that I could have been praying and asking God to make me indifferent and asking God to make me pay attention only to God instead of getting in a funk after the Game 2, 4, and 5 losses: disordered affection. And some Jesuits would ask me if I would be as happy today (and seen spiritual lessons) if the Lakers had lost.   

This is where I am happy that I am Jamaican: No problem. The fact of the matter is that the Lakers won…

They won and I think we can all learn some spiritual lessons about being a winning team and remaining committed in losses and victories and championships.

And I did find God in the Celtics, however, I did find God more in the Lakers… maybe that is why I am not a Jesuit anymore. I am not always good at finding God, though God is getting better at finding me (How Jesuitical is that?)

Photo courtesy of Chris Dever via Flickr.

BP Spill vs PB Chill

So the British are on my radar for two reasons: the British-based global energy company and the British-based Archbishop of Canterbury. Some of us have been more focused on the oil-spill, and rightly so. Lord have mercy, there is a lot of disaster yet to come from this spill. Who will save us? What will save us? Will the hemorrhaging of oil ever end? And when it ends, will life ever be the same? The President is furious, the residents are furious, the nation is furious, everybody with a brain is furious. Even the Coast Guard is furious, well, especially, the Coast Guard, who just sent BP a letter that the efforts to stop the spill have been “too slow." So yes, we have been focused on the spill.

I have been more focused on yet another reminder that we are humans. We are not as powerful as we think. With all our might and power, when push comes to shove, as we say in Jamaica: we can't do Jack. “Mortal pride and earthly glory, sword and crown betray our trust; though with care and toil we build them, tower and temple turn to dust” (from the hymn All my hope on God is founded). So this spill reminds us that we are dust, finite, and will never be able to solve every problem under the sun.

I have been focused on another spill, call it an ecclesiastical spill or maybe I should call it an “episcopate spill.” Or maybe it is not a spill but a chill. Yes, I like that (it just came to me…the chill).

Let me be clear, I stand with the Presiding Bishop. I support and stand behind the wisdom and prophetic actions and words of the PB Katharine Jefferts Schori. The PB has described many of the statements coming out of Lambeth as unfortunate. Many in the Anglican Community would like to spill their oil over the Episcopal Church for consecrating a lesbian bishop and a gay bishop. The spill from Lambeth and the chill throughout the Church has more disaster potential than the BP spill. Can you imagine trying to pretend that advances have not been made in civil rights? Can you imagine trying to pretend that the Enlightenment did not happen? Can you imagine trying to have every one in the Communion act the same way, think the same way, spill the same way, or chill the same way?

Trying to deny the dignity of every human being sends spills and chills down my spine. It is a moral, ethical, spiritual, ecclesiastical, and religious disaster of humongous proportions if the Episcopal church does not unite behind the PB and proclaim to clean up years of “spills” and sins in human relationships. We need to guarantee that we agree to disagree, that God is doing a new thing, that gays and lesbians have equal rights, that all people have equal rights and that to wait, to wait to give people their God given rights is a natural disaster that has no place in the Church.

Spills, Chills, Flotillas and a Sinking Feeling…

Madame Sosostris, famous clairvoyant,
Has a bad cold, nevertheless
Is known to be the wisest woman in Europe,
With a wicked pack of cards. Here, said she,
Is your card, the drowned Phoenician Sailor.
(Those are pearls that were his eyes. Look!)
Here is Belladonna, the Lady of the Rocks,
The lady of situations.
Here is the man with three staves, and here the Wheel,
And here is the one-eyed merchant, and this card,
Which is blank, is something that he carries on his back,
Which I am forbidden to see. I do not find
The Hanged Man. Fear death by water.
I see crowds of people, walking round in a ring.
Thank you. If you see dear Mrs. Equitone,
Tell her I bring the horoscope myself;
One must be so careful these days.
Unreal City
Under the brown fog of a winter dawn,
A crowd flowed over London Bridge, so many,
I had not thought death had undone so many.
Sighs, short and infrequent, were exhaled,
And each man fixed his eyes before his feet…
(excerpt from T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land)

Every so often we are reminded how impotent we are. You see, it is easy to believe that we are powerful enough to do anything. It is easy to believe that as a country we will always be on top. It is easy for us to believe that the American values are the best, worth imitating and worth exporting. It is easy to believe that we are always right, will always be bright, and will always have our might on which to rely.

September 11, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Katrina, the BP spill and the financial crises remind us that “it is God who created us and not we ourselves.” Or for those who are not in the “God-business”; recent challenges remind us that we are finite and there are many things we will just have to suffer through or struggle with. Let us write a Broadway play about the BP spill – worth exploring. The whole thing is unfolding like a comedy, tragicomedy. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.

So we fear death by water. O Katrina. Lord, have mercy.
And now we fear death by oil. O BP. Christ, have mercy.
We do well to fear what will come next. Lord, have mercy.
You have to take bad things and laugh – that is what we say in Jamaica. We laugh at bad things; we live with bad things and bad people all the time. We laugh when the ants show up at the picnic table.

And what in God’s name is Israel doing? Do I dare ask that question? Come on, where are the parents? Where are the adults? Where are the people who are able to say, if you live by the sword you will die by the sword? Well, maybe there is no one to ask that last question. I am increasingly aware how militaristic Christians have become. Jesus save us. Some of these Christians will rip your cheek off if you turn and yes, they will cut you off and cut off your limbs. Will the Middle East keep their blow for blow, eye for eye, body for body and waste land for wasteland? “I had not thought that death had undone so many.” 

And then there is the Church or the church. Talk about impotence. However, we do have it in us to accept the mustard seed reality. The power of Christ was always impotent. The power of Christ was seen at the feet of the disciples. The power of Christ was seen on the cross in death. MMMM. Makes me want to say, “Death to America!” In the Waste Land, unless the grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies… laugh, weep, live, die and remember we are the sheep of God’s pasture (if you don’t believe in God just “fix your eyes before your feet”).

Image by the U.S. Coast Guard. 

Jamaica’s Emergency State of Mind

Have you heard the news about my homeland’s security?

It might surprise many to know that violence has always played a part in the history of Jamaica – that the recent news is not really new news. Yet if a brother could kill a brother in the Garden of Eden, imagine what is possible in the Paradise I will always embrace as my home. Yes, Jamaica has struggled with violence, and for years.

I have seen a lot of it firsthand. I have seen individuals stabbed to death and body parts hacked in fights. I have seen police beat people senseless and seen acid thrown on people – and some of this happening among children.

We could look back, way back, for the genesis of the problem. But a somewhat recent history is telling enough.

The political system has played a huge part in the dance of violence in Jamaicans. Politics of the Crowns, politics of the colonizers, and the politics of the sons and daughters of Independent Jamaica have led to division, impoverishment, and bloodshed.

Neighborhoods have aligned themselves to certain politicians and many politicians have carved up communities and imported supporters to shore up their support. In each of these communities, politicians set up their managers, or dons. The dons knew they could count on the protection of the corrupt politicians and police. During the 70’s and 80’s, very turbulent times in Jamaica, many involved in the drug trade were sent to the United States to “cool out” or escape from the local political or crime scene.

Meanwhile, the young live in fear and parents spend much of their time wondering whether their children will be caught in gun battles, seduced into violence and drugs, or threatened by gun-toting bullies.

An international demand for drugs has fuelled much of the violence. Increasingly, gangs have moved away from their political allegiances and turned to protecting their drug sales and dominance by any means necessary.

Fast forward to today: Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke, wanted in the United States on drug and gun charges. Dudus is accused of orchestrating killings and drug deals in New York. The US government has long pressed for his extradition. The Jamaican government, loyal to this particular don, refused.

Facing increasing pressure, the Prime Minister of Jamaica did an about-face and decided to arrest Dudus. Hence the recent spike in violence: guns firing, police stations attacked, heightened fear, and gangs blocking the roads. Hence the state of emergency scheduled to last a month, as the supporters of Dudus try to prevent their leader, their don, from being arrested.

Ordinary Jamaicans live with violence all the time.

More disturbing is the role of the powerful, the wealthy, and history in the day-to-day violence. Tragically, the powerful and wealthy, who benefit from the mayhem and violence, are almost never touched by it. Poverty is an eternal state of emergency in Jamaica.

In this state of emergency our prayers are with the Jamaican people and their leaders. May true wisdom be granted from above so all may live in peace.

Feature image courtesy of airbourneshoden via Flickr.