“Jesus is just a story” - read on a fb post this a.m.
just + story = does not compute
When it comes to story, nothing is ‘just’, diminutive, reductive, only, merely, or ‘just’.
Story continues to be the way we humans make sense of ourselves and our world. The narrative framework sets up how we share ourselves and others with each other.
You may know my father, if at all, only through my stories of him.
Granted, that’s not the same as knowing him, but it’s as good as I’ve got, and at that, it’s actually pretty fine. When I tell of his life-shaping trip to buy his first pair of shoes (for school), you will know some of his sadness. When I add the context of the Depression, you will know of his shaping. If I told you of his penny-pinching ways as an adult without adding the story of the shoes, you would know something of him, but in a very real sense, what you would know would be wrong; worse, it would be false.
So to the unknown fb commenter, all I can say is that Jesus may well be a story, but never just a story. And what a fine story he is.
Love and hate . . . sinner and sinned against . . . we've been having a FB conversation about the tension (if any there be -- I land on the yes side of that equation) between love and admonition. What follows is my ruminating on love and sin. It is a would-be peacemaker's perspective. What do you think, I wonder? Is love more present in our challenges, admonitions, judgments, and condemnations? Or in our understanding and compassion? Must there be a choice? Which are we better at? I'm guessing we're really not very good at either most days and I wonder why that is.
Loved
Love – how disarming a thing
to behold in actual practice –
the sinner, the sinned against,
even the sin itself – so ready for
the other thing – the admonition,
the condemnation, the judgment –
oh, sin is ever ready for those –
fully armed, protective vest donned –
no chink in the armor to be found –
but when love is lobbed instead,
it finds its target, for the sin
always somehow forgets to protect
the heart against the onslaught
of love
Taking my anger, my self-righteousness
taking all the slings and arrows in my quiver
disarms me completely and I am left not
bereft, not shamed, but filled – filled with
a new thing – there, in the hard place that
was my heart, something warm and
butter-melting finds its way in and
I – am – changed –
love me, love me not
change me, change me not
____________
*Interestingly, in entering labels, I discovered that this is the first time I've used the label 'sin'. Hmmm.
Maybe it’s always been about being
with the one that needs us.
Or maybe it’s just that we forgot
how to define family
Maybe family is
whoever needs you
most at the time
And so it is that God’s Holy Spirit
tapped a few folks on the shoulder today
and whispered in their ears . . . Check your facebook Justin has need of you
And while I, the usual
keeper of the FB for our
church, sit with my mother
as she every so slowly
recovers from a car accident –
taking phone calls from
far away family while she
and I keep ICU nurses and docs
occupied on this Christmas Day,
while all that goes on, Justin
sends out a cry for help
and people come running
Jim and Bonnie and Diane
Janine and Vicki and Tabitha
Jeanne Lou and Lisa
the saints gather round
and pray and breathe
and pray and comfort
and pray and share
It is Christmas Day
a day for gift-giving
I pray Justin is getting
the gifts he needs
I know I am
as I read through
tears all this
yes
family
gathered round
keeping him
safe
and
loved
and
comforted
and
loved
and
held
from afar
yes – that’s family I’m seeing
And I’m wondering if any
of the reaching out ones
have considered that today,
Justin is God’s gift to us?
The local mosque in Harrisonburg, Virginia, was defaced on Friday, as Muslims in many other parts of the world demonstrated against the film whose name I do not know, dishonoring the Prophet Mohammed, with outbreaks of violence reported. And we all know what happened earlier in the week in Cairo and Benghazi.
Defacing a mosque might seem ‘small’ in light of these other events, but they all bring to light the inherent problem with enacted anger and the desire for vengeance in the form of violence: it never hits the ‘rightful’ target (if there be such a thing).
Thus do folks around the world give vent to their spleen by attacking people who had nothing to do with the film and may not even have known of its existence and, as many of the targeted folks have made clear, disagree with its contents.
And in counter-attack, unknown people closer to home for me attack a building and thereby the people who worship there, none of whom have anything to do with the demonstrations and violence around the world. The Muslim community in Harrisonburg simply has the misfortune of being handy by virtue of proximity.
So to the Muslim community around the world engaging in violent demonstrations, I would say that most Americans have not even heard of this film, most will not view it, of the ones who view it, most will find its contents disgusting and disturbing, and none of those you are attacking had anything to do with the film or its publication. If there be an enemy, you’re aiming at the wrong one.
And to my fellow American citizens (presumably most of whom self-identify as Christian) who are speaking anger and rage at all Muslims, who are engaging in vandalism and violence (yes, our words can be as violent as our fists), take a breath and take a moment to watch the counter-demonstrations in Libya, where thousands of Muslims have gathered to protest against the violence to our embassy officials there, holding signs in a language many do not speak (English) in order to show their solidarity and support with us. And remember that like Christians, Muslims around the world number in the millions, if not billions. Yesterday, most of ‘them’ behaved like most of ‘us’ – by going to work, to worship, loving their families, praying for peace.
The outbreak of violence anywhere has the potential to bring out either the best – or the worst – in each of us. The vandalism against the mosque in Harrisonburg is an example of the worst.
In response to the vandalism, the Muslim community there has invited the Harrisonburg community to an Open House at the Mosque from 4.30 - 6.00 p.m. for gathering and celebration of the best of that community. Visit We Are All Harrisonburg on FaceBook or the Mosque's web site at IASV.org for more details.
Our Muslim brothers and sisters in Harrisonburg are modeling to rest of us the spirit of the best of us in response to this violence. If you’re in the area, I hope you will attend. If you cannot, I hope and pray you will send them messages of love, encouragement and support.
1.It's a way to engage in conversation about touchy or controversial subjects in gentle ways that sometimes lead to change – if not of ideologies, at least of how we engage each other. Sure, the opposite happens where we go off on rants, but more often than not, I am finding wonderful conversation partners about a whole host of subjects I wouldn’t be able to engage in otherwise.
2.Inspiration in the form of the shared thoughts of the greats and not-so-greats, beautiful photography from friends far and near that lift my spirits (special shout out to Linda Elsdon and Celia Rutt) and food for thought. There’s a lot of chaff to sort through, but the wheat is definitely there.
3.A way to stay connected with folks I don’t run across often even in my own very tiny corner of the world.
4.Outreach from friends and strangers seeking a friendly voice, a kind ear. It’s my job, but even more, it’s my privilege to be seen as someone to talk to.
5.Candor across the generations that never seems to happen in real time.
6.A way of knowing what others who see the world differently from me are thinking and saying.
7.Some great laughs. There are many wonderful humorists out there and they make me smile every day.
8.A way to stay in touch with family in a different way, sometimes just peeking into their page to see what they’re up to, reassuring me that all is well, or that I’ve missed an important birthday.
I have a love-hate thing going on with the South. Of course, my congregant from Mississippi would tell me (rightly) that I am nowhere near ‘The South’ here in Virginia – she’d be right as far as that goes, but she’d be wrong too.
Today, I have to say that the stereotypical Southern approach to conflict – avoid, change the subject, cajole, agree to disagree, offer up prayer (for anything, it really doesn’t matter much what) as a way to get folks to just shut up – that of avoidance, the coming-at-you-sideways way of life, while useful from time to time, is exhausting for this gal of ‘The North’.*
So I’m going to forgive my Southern friends for having absolutely no idea how to do direct conflict – they were taught a very different way. But I am going to suggest to them that they take some lessons before entering such fraught arenas as FB.
Otherwise, when they post an “I support Chick-fil-A” call to support the franchise chicken chain and their friends from far away start posting “I’m gonna gay-kiss in front of Chick-fil-A” responses, they will be woefully unprepared.
Most, if not all, of my Southern friends will protest that this is not a North-South thing. I beg to differ: it’s fried chicken, for heaven’s sake!
And only in the South (of the United States) would anyone (1) buy something and (2) have the something bought be fried chicken and (3) call that a protest.
Just sayin.**
_________________
* ‘The North’ – I know, I know: West Virginia isn’t the north. Except it is – at least when you’re living in the South. It’s only the South when you’re living in the North. (Try explaining that one to a visitor from another country).
**Here’s a hint at what’s going on here: I’m trying to do the Southern indirect thing and I am woefully inadequate to the task (Exhibit A: what I’ve written above). So here’s the direct skinny: I’m guessing you, my Southern buds, will be offended by the above. Don’t be: it’s actually an example of what I’m talking about. This is not bating, hating, speech. It’s humor as a way to express a disagreement, which leaves wide open what the actual disagreement is/might be.
Does that make me needy? Maybe, although I don’t think so.
I just get a real sense of connection and affirmation when something I post gets liked by folks in the FB world. I appreciate the shout out and expect that most folks are as busy as I am with other things, so even the millisecond it takes to click ‘like’ feels like a gift.
So to the author of the recent FB pass-around of the top ten FB ‘personalities’ (i.e., the one who never says anything, but always ‘likes’ everything - well, you get the idea), I have to say that I love those likers.
They let me know that they read the post even if they don’t have the time or energy to post a written response. They make me smile. And that’s a good thing.
So to all the likers out there, you’re good with me and I hope you’ll keep clicking away.
My Top 10 international stories of 2011(not necessarily in any order of importance)
1.Osama bin Laden - dead. US college students party in the streets like it’s 1999 and I am embarrassed by and for us as a nation.
2.Arab Spring
3.Purported end to US occupation of Iraq. Irony: those in the US who supported its war against the people of Iraq (claiming it was to depose tyrant Saddam Hussein), opposed the Arab Spring, out of so-called concern about what would fill the vacuum created by the loss of dictatorial leadership in places like Egypt - apparently, that was not a concern when it came to Iraq.
4.Occupy Wall Street
5.Tsunami in Japan with the attendant nuclear power disaster, the long-term effects of which remain unknown. Related story: failure of governments of the world to reach agreement on further climate-change strategies.
6.US proving that any boy really can grow up to be president, as many in the very party she personifies will not support Michele Bachmann because she is a woman – irony may not be news, but it sure is interesting.
7.The US wages yet another undeclared war in the Middle East in the deposing of Gaddafi of Libya and calling it a NATO action (as if NATO is something different than the US).
8.World-wide economic tail spin
9.Death of Kim Jong Il, the effects of which for North Korea, its neighbors and the world, remain unknown
10.Oh, and apparently, the most interesting thing for the world to check out online was making a 13-year-old girl’s attempt at fame (Rebecca Black sings Friday) an international joke.
My Top 10 Personal Stories of 2011
1.My son got a job and moved away from home . . . again . . . and I must admit how much I miss him.
2.The lights were on at Obaugh’s way too often this year. . . Obaugh’s is the local funeral home in the community where I live and when someone dies, owner G. W. turns on the front porch light. In this tiny place, we said far too many good-byes, including from our own church and the families in our church . . . Bobby McCray, Sonny Smith, Ruth Wade, Eugene Hodge, Levi Armstrong and Joey Roberts. Levi and Joey were young, killed within weeks of each other in car accidents.
3.Chris & Heather Scott and their girls Ruth and Esther moved away, leaving me with one less ministerial playmate . . . I still feel their absence.
4.I stayed close to home most of this year but did manage to visit friends in Chicago and have friends visit me from Scotland and Pennsylvania. Oh, and I went on my first and maybe my last cruise (I didn’t get seasick, but that was just way too much ocean for me)
5.I got a new car, well, new to me, anyway . . . and a new computer.
6.Inspired by RevGalBlogPals and my good friend Liz Crumlish I started to blog. And technology came to our church by way of Podcasts (temporarily suspended while we get a new web site up and running) . . . we’re on FB now, and I’m a guest blogger on the Thoughtful Christian’s blog Gathering Voices (shout out to David Maxwell for thinking I’ve got something to say)
7.At age 56, I began cello lessons and am even learning to read music for the first time!
8.There was an earthquake in Virginia and Ben and I felt the shocks
9.I saw an abundance of butterflies, squirrels and deer, insects and bunny rabbits.
10.I went to my first film festival
History may be writ large, but it is lived small . . . in the everyday-ness of our existence, we find our meaning, purpose and place in the world.
This year mine has been less about the larger world and its events and more about home and family and friends.
In the small as well as the large, so many have suffered so much and my heart aches for them all.
But as for me, it has been, by and large, a very good year. For that, I am thankful.
And I am wondering . . . what have been your Top 10's for 2011?
Where I live . . . a neighbor brings by a couple of garbage bags full of black walnuts just because he picked them up and knows I love them even though I was too lazy to join him in picking them up from the ground the other day
Hulled, they lay on newspaper in the garage drying out a bit waiting to be shelled
Where I live, if I get too frustrated or too lazy to shell them myself, I can always call Lucy down the street busy shelling her own nuts oxygen tank at her side hammer and the skill of generations in her hands
Where I live, Keri is busy making applebutter and when I FB to ask if I can come over just to inhale she laughs and messages me back to go stand outside the window’s open so I should be able to smell all the applebutter I want
all I have to do is stand in the cool night air and breathe in
Where I live when tragedy strikes as it did this week with Levi's death in a car accident
Everyone pitches in to help food comes unbidden and even out here in the country FB messages of love and comfort fly across the cyber lines of connection
even as we all reel from the news the loss three young men in a year
Anyplace the loss is writ large on the hearts of those close in a small place, the loss is writ on the hearts and faces of everyone . . . because everyone is close
Where I live. . . black walnut cracking time and applebutter making time and crying-for-the-ones-who-died-too-young-time are all coming in at once this year . . .
Pray for us, won’t you . . . as we pray for you . . .
I friended (don’t you love that ‘friend’ is now a verb, as in “I friended you. Why didn’t you friend me back?”) someone today and he responded so quickly that it seemed simultaneous, the asking and the acceptance.
And I ponder prayer . . . and how our prayers are answered (whether to our liking or not is another matter) virtually as the prayer leaves our mouths or hearts . . . as if all God was waiting for was for us to ask.
Wonder what it would be like if we thought of prayer as friending God?
I friended God today . . . and just as I hit ‘enter’ God accepted me as a friend . . .
Turns out that God had already friended me a long time ago . . .
Turns out God’s been keeping up with my status all along
Turns out God’s been liking what I’ve been up to . . . most of the time . . .
Turns out God just loves how we all gossip about God on our FB pages She actually reads every post every update checks out every link
I friended God today Turns out we’re already friends
I don’t know how that works but I love that it does.
