a Word spoken in due season ..

back when it all began
the Expression was there
with God ..
truly, the Expression was God
   everything created was by the word of the Expression of God ..
and the Expression of God became human
and lived among us   ( John 1 )

how on Earth does that work ..
i mean, there's spiritual dimension in human
but .. human dimension in God ?

`|`

and God said " let's make human creatures ..
let's make them in our image, to be like us "

and the resounding reply
" yes! lets! "

and so the confounding event ..
God bent down and drew in the dirt with a finger
and then piled the dirt into a dirty 3D form
   to image Godself ..
stepped back
eyed it
knelt beside the imaged dirt and breathed out the breath of God ..
and the image drew breath
   the breath of Godself
and the image became
   lived
   moved

that's the storytelling in the beginning ..

`|`

later ..
GodExpression split the image agape
   made another Godimage from the first
and God gave the images to each other
to further image God
   rejoining into oneness
   creating other images in their image
      like them
      like God
..

later ..
God said " let's make ourself human
   in their image
   to be like them "

and the resounding reply
" yes! lets! "

and God Expressed as human ..

   God Expressed flesh

      and lived among us

and we could behold Godglory in the person of GodSon

the glory we would expect of an onlychild

filled full with grace 

and truth

   for the true God is filled full of grace

`|`

God

created human 

in God's image

God 

became human

..

God Expressed as human

baby

vulnerable
exposed

needy

defenseless

reliant 

trusting

   just like us

how does Word Express as

flesh ..

limit

relinquish

unbecome

morph

to become

?

likely we will never know

this we do know ..

that baby grew

   in stature

   in wisdom

immersed in reliance on God

and the life of that One

revealed God to us

in a way we likely would never have understood otherwise
.. we don't speak Godlanguage

God showed Godself

perfectly represented in human form

.. and the world has never been the same

his name is Jesus

Emmanu-El

God among us

with us

for us

in us ..

we are privileged beyond measure to know this One

   to finally know what God is like in Godfullness

for the fullness of God dwelt in him

and that fullness consists in

   grace

   truth

the world will never be the same

neither will i

neither will you

allelu-Jah

..

" It used to be that God would occasionally communicate in one way or another with our Jewish Fathers through prophets. But God now speaks to us through a Son, the powerful Utterance of God who not only brought the ages into being but also bears them along.
God has appointed him to be heir of everything.
This Son is the effulgence of God, the outshining of God's glory.
He is the perfect expression of God's substance. " ( Hebrews 1 )
..

the GodWhoIsThere
   the unnameable IAmWhoIAm
   the Ineffable (Heschel)
speaks a Word
   Expresses
in the only language in which we could ever understand God
.. Jesus

Son of Human

" a fitting reply brings joy ..
a word at the right time - how good it is " ( Prov 15:23 )

" at just the right time, God sent the Son into the world, born of a woman .. " ( Gal 4:4 )

praise God

`|`



_______________________________________________

now then ..

how do we live in our words ..

how do our words live through us ..
..

am i the words i speak

do i enflesh what i say

am i the incarnation of my talk

am i, like him, full of truth
   or do i belie my language

is what i say a fair refection of the me i truly am ..

..

God graciously revealed
in truth ..

God is here ..

i suppose if God was walking around down here, showing up here and there, shopping in the local supermarket, that we'd get to know him/her eventually
or know about ..

we'd hear all the news about how God did this or that good thing - healed that child, got the homeless off the streets of new york, spoke at the standing rock rally, told-off the government for all those damned drone strikes that were killing innocent people, upended the climate change denial .. that sort of thing - that we'd probably be well on the way to believing God and being on God's team

and we'd all be trotting off to the local church on sunday hoping God would show up there like (s)he did in that church in baltimore last weekend ..
kinda thing

and, too, maybe we'd be a bit more careful how we lived - what we said in public or in Publix, not to shoot the bird to the stupid woman that just pulled a lefty right in front the car without so much as an indication ..
God might be in that car, or in the next aisle in the supermarket ..
and wouldn't that be something if God turned the corner at just the wrong time ..

maybe we'd even think of not even thinking of those things
'cause Jesus made a point of saying that even entertaining the thought is tantamount to doing it
as in, it's the same thing ..

`|`

but God doesn't live here as such
you're not likely to bump into God this evening when you pick the children up from school ..
as such ..

strange thing though ..
according to those in-the-know, God was here at some point
or at least (s)he sent someone
someone trusted
someone trustworthy ..

GodSon entered the scene
showed up just like we all do
as a baby
born to a very humble (imagine) couple in a nondescript town in the backwoods somewhere
..
and he grew up like we all do
and as he did, he learned like we all do
experienced life here
walked and worked and ate and slept and went to the toilet and died
like we all do ..

people recognized him too ..
they didn't recognize that they recognized him
   but they saw a very different, very real human
   that struck them as " this is what a real human is "
      even though they never said it ..
and he traveled from this town to that like we all do
   'cept he walked or rode an ass

in his living he showed-up in very different ways
   human ways we recognize, but don't recognize we recognize ..
he healed people !
   i mean he made people walk that never walked
   and see even though they'd never seen
      stuff like that
and one time he fed like thousands! and all he had to work with was a boy's lunch-for-one
and the things he said were offthecharts
   even at a young age
   even to the religious experts
      the ones who guarded the gates of Godstuff

what a guy!

`|`

his life still haunts us ..
   breaks normal into a thousand disconnected shards
   turns the expected and the revered into so much garbage
   unleashes a think that undoes the generally accepted mindset
somehow his words awoke recognition in us
   even though what he said was so very contrary
      contrary to power
      to religion
      to wealth and the right to master the masses

we understood him because he spoke a kind of truth that doesn't originate in the cerebral
that strikes recognition at the core of who we are

God was here somehow
and we just knew it
we could feel it in our bones

`|`

God doesn't live here
but God lives here
even if we have a hard time recognizing it ..
'cause God did something very special
   and i'll have to mention a bit of 'history' here
      pardon me ..

when this GodWhoIsThere decided to make all the stuff we know
   like Earth and trees and birds and flowers and stuff
   and planets and wormholes and blackstars
   and amoeba and coral and worms-in-holes and pets
God got to the point of saying to Godself
   " look, this isn't done yet. how about we make a creature that's like us, resembles us " ..
and that's when God made us
cool huh ?
   end history
..

so here we are
and like i said GodSon became one of us

now here's the thing ..
God made us like God
and then God made God to be like us
.. let that simmer a bit

`|`

and then this Godperson-person did something else really cool ..
just before leaving here Jesus told God he wanted us to have the same kind of relationship that God had with Godself
and that God had with GodSon
same !

that's wild
.. that is very wild

so when he left here and went back home
Jesus said " listen, i'm leaving but don't freakout
i'm coming right back
and my spirit will live in you and i will be with you all the time, 24/7 " ..
.. now
   let that simmer

`|`

so that, ya, God doesn't live here as such
but God lives here ..
because if we really do have the same oneness with GodFather that Jesus has
   and that Jesus called-for in us
and if Jesus' spirit lives in us ..
then .. God lives here
   walks around down here
   shops and works and drives and visits the vet and puts out the garbage
'cause we are the presence of God
   in the next aisle in the supermarket
we
us

`|`

while the christmas season doesn't hold the same thrill for me this year
   because of the utter madness and absurdity of what-has-been 2016
      and the foreboding that clings like some swampy smell i can't forthelifeofme get off ..
i'm trying hard to turn my mind to the awesome reality that God became a human
lived among us ..
and we recognized Godintheflesh
      even though we didn't
   full of grace
   full of truth
and we recognized human
      passionate, zealous, lovingkind, caring, sharing ..
   even though we didn't recognize that we recognized

so, ya
i celebrate one of the most phenomenal events ever in the birth of the Christchild
..

it's Jesus birthday ..
the one i aspire to
the one i revere
the true Human i want to emulate
   even though the bulk of that still hauntingly
   lies in my future

the one i want to recognize me

how could i do otherwise ..

a wonderful read ..

" Beatitudes

If we didn't already know but were asked to guess the kind of people Jesus would pick out for special commendation, we might be tempted to guess one sort or another of spiritual hero — men and women of impeccable credentials morally, spiritually, humanly, and every which way. If so, we would be wrong. Maybe those aren't the ones he picked out because he felt they didn't need the shot in the arm his commendation would give them. Maybe they're not the ones he picked out because he didn't happen to know any. Be that as it may, it's worth noting the ones he did pick out.


Not the spiritual giants, but the "poor in spirit," as he called them, the ones who, spiritually speaking, have absolutely nothing to give and absolutely everything to receive, like the Prodigal telling his father "I am not worthy to be called thy son," only to discover for the first time all he had in having a father.

Not the champions of faith who can rejoice even in the midst of suffering, but the ones who mourn over their own suffering because they know that for the most part they've brought it down on themselves, and over the suffering of others because that's just the way it makes them feel to be in the same room with them.

Not the strong ones, but the meek ones in the sense of the gentle ones, that is, the ones not like Caspar Milquetoast but like Charlie Chaplin, the little tramp who lets the world walk over him and yet, dapper and undaunted to the end, somehow makes the world more human in the process.

Not the ones who are righteous, but the ones who hope they will be someday and in the meantime are well aware that the distance they still have to go is even greater than the distance they've already come.

Not the winners of great victories over evil in the world, but the ones who, seeing it also in themselves every time they comb their hair in front of the bathroom mirror, are merciful when they find it in others and maybe that way win the greater victory.

Not the totally pure, but the "pure in heart," to use Jesus' phrase, the ones who may be as shopworn and clay-footed as the next one, but have somehow kept some inner freshness and innocence intact.

Not the ones who have necessarily found peace in its fullness,but the ones who, just for that reason, try to bring it about wherever and however they can-peace with their neighbors and God, peace with themselves.

Jesus saved for last the ones who side with heaven even when any fool can see it's the losing side and all you get for your pains is pain. Looking into the faces of his listeners, he speaks to them directly for the first time. "Blessed are you," he says.

You can see them looking back at him. They're not what you'd call a high-class crowd-peasants and fisherfolk for the most part, on the shabby side, not all that bright. It doesn't look as if there's a hero among them. They have their jaws set. Their brows are furrowed with concentration.

They are blessed when they are worked over and cursed out on his account he tells them. It is not his hard times to come but theirs he is concerned with, speaking out of his own meekness and mercy, the purity of his own heart. "

Matthew 5:1-12

frederick buechner

hope's reach .. advent and communion

we are indeed in dark times ..
humanity is struggling to find hope
we live in fear
   and for the rest of us, we live in fear of living in fear

..

it's a dark time too on the christian calendar
   the time of advent
it's winterdark
colddark
the time of longing
   and lament
the time of wait

and too a time of hope
   when faith kicks strong against the colddark
   when eyes roam
      in search of Light
         release
         redemption
anticipation
eager piercing eyes roaming the landscape
   for the arrival of Him
      the One
      the long-awaited prince
         of peace

Emmanu-el
God
   among us

he comes
soon he comes

`|`

3 years or so ago i was privileged to hear the welcome words
" all are welcome to the table "
..
i was overjoyingly shocked
this was my first experience of being in a christian place where everyone was invited to join in the christian festival of Communion, Eucharist
.. it was an unexpectedly pleasurable emotion for me
i, who for all my life was told why i should consider not participating
dreading every Communion Sunday
often refusing the cup and the bread because i was not ' worthy '
   unworthy
   "unclean!"
..
and they came
the rich and the poor
the house-dwellers and the homeless
the sober and the hungover ..
and the not-so-obvious addicted held hands with the needled arm by their side
and someone said " God is good "
   and the chorus rang back, " all the time! "
and i was delighted beyond words
thanking God for Godgrace and the kindness of God's people in this place
to all
everyone ..
welcome!

everyone is welcome ..

`|`

how did we ever see the incredible 'communion'
   fellowship
      intimate spiritual oneness with one peculiar unthinkable thought in mind
         that we celebrate the death of the very creator of life
as particular
as elitist
as limited
as restricted
as something for which people must qualify
..
how is it partitionable ?
ever

everyone qualifies
because that Man gave his life
   for the world
he initiated release
   for the world
he consummated freedom
   for everyone
      everyone

`|`

advent

..

allofasudden people are smiling in this coffeeshop
   when just a couple weeks ago they were 'minding their own business'

.. happens every year
people just change with the changing of the seasonal guard
christmas seems to lighten the air
   brighten
even in the anticipation of it
even for those who don't believe
..
some fairy flies around waving a magic wand
   and many-coloured stars fly free
   while multicoloured people change somehow

`|`

ISIS and Boko Haram
republicans and democrats
melting ice and burning planet
israelis and palestinians
refugees and refusees
wicked rich and dreadfully poor
the politics of the corrupt and the corruption of politics
drug lords and the lords of the drugcompanies
lies and assassinations
hatred and violence
   and the weapons that permit war
      and paint bloody holes in people
         some innocents
            eating lunch at school
..

darkness
black holes in black souls
black spaces where souls once lived
   in hope

`|`

who will rescue us from this madness ??
who will trump the darkness ?
is there anyone ?
anyone?

i thank God
through the Lord Christ we shall be released !

`|`

a warm welcome in from the cold lonely streets of needles and bottles
an invitation to join-in to the wicked in heart
   the liars and the pretenders and the hateful
   the pulpiteer preaching something borrowed
      something foreign to their own heart
      some lie
         while furiously wielding a bible
         one eye on the 'offering'
   the tunnel-visioned artists who only draw lines
      to segregte
   the adulterers
      in heart too
   the cheaters-on-the-tax-forms
   the destroyers of the Earth
      that deny the destruction of the Earth
   the stingy
   the judgers
the pretenders
 
..
all are welcome

even me

`|`

advent
a time of dark hope
a cold reminder of warmth
a dread begging for Life
a resonant creation-call for green, for colour, for rebirth

`|`

communion
a time to one
a warm reminder that the Christ lives
   out of death
a beggar's hopeful rejoin
a loser's reach for Light
   for hope
a sinner's plea for God
   in the hopelessness of lost and lonely

`|`

pray for rebirth in us all
a new creature
a new creation
under the wise and gracious hand of that Man
   the Creator Himself

pray for peace

pray for the advent of the prince of peace in each of us
in you
in me

for this i pray
in Jesus' name

like, for real ..

aside from the magnificence of John's opening words in his telling of the good news, the end of chapter 1 relates a memorable comment by Jesus ..

someone brings a friend to meet Jesus
before an introduction can be made, Jesus remarks " look at this - a real Jew!, a man with no deceitfulness in him .. "

something about Nathanael struck Jesus before they ever shared a sentence
and it was significant enough for Jesus to exclaim
notable enough for it to be recorded
for us to read
in 2016
..

Jesus was impressed with Nathanael's genuinity
he could read him from a mile off, see right through him
   don't think " well of course, he's God "
   rather, consider the quality in this man that attracted Jesus' attention and comment
   kinda like .. like recognizes like

Jesus saw something of himself in Nathanael
Jesus saw something of Nathanael in himself
and the recognition was apparently refreshing .. remark-able ..
..

maybe Jesus was saying
   " this is the mark of a true Jew "
   or maybe he was reflecting on this sadly uncommon trait among Jews, his own people

here was Jesus, Godperson become human, understanding the reality of who humans are, of human nature (John 2.25), marking Natahnael's authentic self, his realness - like what you see is what you get with this guy ..
and Jesus was impressed ..
integrity
no deceit
guileless
real
..

when Jesus says something like this
you get out your pen
it's underlineable, starable, highlightable
..
i've made this a favorite verse since like forever
it jumps off the page
nails me
as in bullseye ..
..

i finally landed in the place where i understood the gravity of being myself
such that i am who i am whenever and wherever with whoever
   ( i learned some of the significance of this from a dear friend, who became a model,
   a mentor to me in this area .. sadly, only after his passing .. my bad )
'cause the other side of that being is pretense
   put-on
   masking
   hypocrite (from Greek 'hypokrites'='actor')
   trying to impress

'course understanding and doing land in different courts
and i fail regularly
   desperately so
.. nevertheless i try again
to be genuine
   eschewing games
   running like hell from pretense
   burning the masks
      and then reburning them when they despairingly reappear ..
         like i can't believe they came back from the pyre
            where i burned them last time
         to hustle me back into my dungeon
            where i apply the already-blooded whip to my own backside again

`|`

last evening a friend and i talked
we spoke of the danger of being genuine
.. really
and it wasn't me that initiated that dicussion ..
but i totally enjoyed it
because i saw my friend stepping on to a path i've been on
and it gave me hope
hope for him
and for me, 'cause maybe there are others out there
and that's big, 'cause maybe i'm not a fool after all
   or simply antagonistic
      or antisocial
      or hateful
..

being an ordained pastor, my friend spoke from educated experience in the church as a leader ..
he was questioning whether the people could accept that genuine in a leader
or whether there had to be some dumbing-down in order not to come across offensive
.. and that is a huge sign that my friend is really working through this
his considering the effect on others of his strive to be real
whether it was fair to others who hardly see the real in this life
whether it would scare them off ..
.. and while that may sound strange
it actually is a very real consideration
'cause people get offended by it
.. absolutely

`|`

thank God for my friend's foray
   into the core of christian
hear that ..
for it's my understanding of things God
that the issue with us humans is being genuinely human
human the way God intended
human according to Jesus the Man
.. HUGE

if God wanted to tell us more stuff, there would be more scripture, more prophets ..
more writing on the wall a la Daniel
or on stones a la Moses
or maybe God would write it in the clouds
or appear on international tele
or speak through the mouth of an ass a la Balaam
   or one of us asses ..

the fact that ' in these recent days God has spoken to us by a son .. through whom God created the worlds ' (Heb 1) is a grand statement of the purpose of God's speaking
the apostle John refers to this Son-who-appeared as the Word
this was God expressing Godself in the clearest possible way
as human
to us humans
so we could recognize the God that is there
the God in whose image we are created
so we could say " Aha! "
   as in " Wow! this is God?! but .. he's quite like me .. "
and then we could diss the other weird convoluted visions of a god made like unto our debased cruel imaginings
and embrace the True Way, the Life
the person that is Jesus
   who leads inexorably to God
      right into the presence of Godself
who has chosen to live among us
and to live in us
..
what an amazing thing!
that my friend is Good News
   wonderful almost beyond words
   the best news ever ..
it bursts with delight on the senses
   in every direction
      across all boundaries
      traversing the seas
      shouting from the mountain peaks
   in every language
   to every creature under the light of the sun ..
the Son is come!
   and he is quite like me ..
      astonishingly .. like me
.. and ..
i am like him somehow

`|`

there must have been something 'holy' about Nethanael
   (think 'whole', 'integrated')
that set him apart from the rest ..

whatever that was
i want it
i want the i am that i am
   to be for real
and i want who Jesus is
   to be me
      for real ..

authentic
genuine
integrous
real

         imagine if Jesus had been anything other than genuine .. .
..

let's be Jesus
for Jesus' sake

peace to you

the rotting of stuckness ..

one of the marks of a conservative/fundamentalist in any religion is the penchant for being fixed
the need for stability
the matter of being sure, unassailable
.. such that something that could potentially disrupt their security in their religion is seen as a threat, a challenge to their 'truth' ..
inevitably the hackles raise
   the adrenaline runs
      and they either run from it
      or they draw weapons to defend themselves and their truth

..

that sensibility about life and faith has its own roots in christianity
much of it roots in what today is popularly termed 'calvinism'
a think based in the fixedness of God
   a God who never changes, immutable
   a God who is timeless, as in outside of time
   who is everywhere all the time (omnipresent)
   who is allpowerful ..
and the natural fallout of those characteristics (regardless of to-what-degree there is truth there) is a concreted God, a 1,000 ft. feelingless graven image with furrowed brow and a long long whip, the 'crack' of which reaches every corner of the universe
..

sad that

i was one of those people

and then i began to open my ears and eyes to thoughtful careful caring people on the other side of the lineinthesand ..

i had drawn that line
i stood on the one side alongside anyone who believed just like me
and everyone else was shunted to the other side
they were my enemies
they were enemies of God! for God's sake
heretics who were leading people into the dark fires of hell
and my job in life was to defend God
to shoot those people
to save as many as i could ..
   .. how do you save people by shooting them ?
i lived in my absurd christianity
and the tension, the confusion, the confrontation and conflict within myself nearly killed me

as i opened up my self to those other views
i realized these were dedicated christians expressing what they saw in the scriptures the best way they could
they weren't heretics
they were good people looking for God, refusing to rely solely on someone else's take on it

i decided to engage my mind, listen to the other side on whatever issue
and consider

sure, it challenged those truth-mountains i had built
and proudly summited
but .. perhaps i was wrong .. hmmm ..
perhaps i wasn't god after all ..
maybe i was only a manufactured idol of my own design
eating the fruit from that tree of knowing good from evil
and my being right was the flaky crumblesome foundation of a 'faith' that wasn't faith at all ..
because, in my newfound think, faith is not certainty
faith is the eye that sees
   even where there is uncertainty
   even in the dread feeling of insecurity in what i built

`|`

today i received an email from a longago friend who lives in the same place i used to camp
where 'thus saith the word of God' and 'repent or face eternity in hell' is served at every meal
and i was reminded of the far-reaching difference in my mindset then and now
and how awful a person i must have seemed to those around me ..
who the hell wants to be around an assassin

it's out of that email that i write this
..

please know that God is unchanging in character
but .. BUT
God engages
relates
adjusts
cares
because God loves
you
me
everyone
God embraces
and weeps
is overjoyed
hurts
   with me
sympathizes
   with you

( a friend recently told me about a friend of theirs who has virtually abandoned God, because where was God when this awful thing happened, and that life-altering tragedy .. and she didn't know what to say in response ..
there's not a lot that can be said really
much of that will become clear when we meet Jesus facetoface
nevertheless, my take on it is that God was there with her when 'it' happened
right there
and God wasn't watching
God was suffering the abuse of her friend
blow by blow
venomed spittle running down God's face
too ..
" .. it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. " (Isa 53;:4)
there may be more to this verse than we credit ..
i know that Jesus became my sin (2Cor 5:21)
perhaps he became my suffering too, the abuse that was forced on me, the losses that killed me
perhaps he became my hurt too )
..

God didn't develop a legal system of laws and just-recompense to punish the disobedient
God didn't crack the whip
God reconciled the world to Godself by taking the fallout of the world's disconnection from God in the person of Jesus
all the horror
the evil
the anger
abuse
manipullation
violence
.. God took it all on Godself
took it full-force, maxed-out

so that when we look into the face of God we see the face of a crucified Jesus
a lamb that appears to have been slaughtered (see Revelation)
..
the true character of this God is there revealed
on a cross
for us
.. that love is the power of God
not anger
not wrath
not fixity or concrete
not retribution
but
reconciliation in love
out of a love that embraces the image of Godself in every one of us
God's power is God is love

that has to be my focus when i look at God
when i look at myself
when i look at another

Jesus, the perfect imaging of God in a human form, defines God
in all

go there
look at that Man
look at the cross

it is there you will definitively find God
   not a god manipulated and twisted into a manmade idol
   but the God who works in tandem with the humanity Godself created
      to look like and be like
         God

this is the God i've come to know

this is the God Jesus came to reveal
for us to know

i love this God
i follow Jesus

please consider doing the same ..

peace to you

a tale of 2 kings, or the real Good News..

there's more than 1 way to look at stuff
.. we seem to like surety a lot
as in, my way is the way and the other ways are wrongevil

if you live in the ocean it's difficult to imagine landlife
   your think is waterlogged
if you've only ever ridden donkeys and horses it's a strain to imagine cars
   clippityclop rules

even for those of us who live near the sea, life in a waterworld is virtually unthinkable

and a muslim just walked past me ..

and i sat next to a wealthy man today ..

and africa is about as far away to me as the moon
   'cept for the internet, i suppose
and iran
syria

..

as the rich richen and poverty expands in this country, it becomes more and more difficult for either to imagine the other
both live in the fear of the other, and in fear of their state - the one scrambles for food and shelter and clothing while the other scrambles to secure what they have

..

point is, i suppose, that apart from the desire to understand the other, whomever that other may be for us, there will usually be
   the fear of the other
and fear is a serious obstacle to understanding and wisdom
and to love Jesus-style

`|`

for some time i've struggled with the question of whether someone born into and growing up in a place where the name of Jesus has not been known can know God
as in the God i know, the God who manifested Godself as Jesus
   ( and ya, i know about creation reveation
   and conscience
      .. got that )

that think can lead all kinds of places
like, if i grow up in a country where the religion is muslim (or hindu or brahman or ..) and my parents are and my schoolfriends are and my place of worship is and i learn that think as the think and observe that life in my daytoday ..
then the life of the other, christian (or hindu or ..) will be strange to me
   and not only strange, but perhaps even reprehensible

when women in my society are taught to cover themselves, and then i see uncovered and barely-covered women, it's an offense to me
   even if i don't express that openly
when pork is seen as an unholy/unclean meat, and i see people freakin' over bacon, it's strange and uncultured to me

..

muslimism is much like judaism is many ways
in ancient israel people had 'laws' to live by, and not to live by those laws entailed punishment, sometimes stoning
   stoning
   to death
..
that wasn't that long ago in the grand scheme of human history

..

so then, there's more than 1 way to look at stuff

and i have to choose a way
or be blown about by every wind of doctrine, of somebody's morality, of social norm
and end up being a nobody
   or an everybody
and who wants to be a nobody
   or an anybody ..

but ..
.. i somehow have to allow the other to choose their own way
   and not be quick to judge
'cause my way may be the 'right' way
   but their choice has to be their choice, or it's not a choice
   and no choice is to live in love not
     
      even though they might not have Jesus as a choice ..
..
Jesus was the most unconventional person ..
he went to temple
   but he regularly upended religion
      his religion
he lived in a community that believed that God's blessing on people was manifested in their wealth
   but he oftentimes, as in lots, demeaned the value of money,
   and warned seriously about its power to draw a person
   away from God and neighbour

yet
he was the sinless One
   who spent his life among the sinners; he was their friend
he knew the boundaries of Judaism
   but he opened doors to roman oppressors and to hated samaritans
   and secondclass women
   and he loved children
his life led to breaking-down walls of separation, bustin' them loose
   so that there is no longer jew vs gentile, or slave vs free, or rich vs poor or man vs woman ..
broken down
lines gone
all in
no more lines
all in

and that was Jesus ..
the Jesus

and if that was his MO
   then who am i to ..

..

so that when we hear of why the government should not support the poor and provide homes for the homeless, including vets and women and children
   because that's a threat to me and my view of life
when we hear that medical care should only be for those that can pay for it
   because "i missed one-damned payment on my med bill
      and they sent a collector after me"
   and "whythehell should i pay for someone else's medical"
when i think of what a free education for everyone
   will cost me in taxes
when i see mosques in every major city
   and the offense that is to my understanding of god
      and correlate that with jihad

then ..

but Jesus ..

who opened doors
broke down walls
embraced the sinner
welcomed the oppressor
   gave up his life for
      me
..
me
the sinner
the wall-builder
the hater
the prejudiced
covetous
selfish
liar
cheat


`|`

i can lock-out
   or unlock
block-off
   or demolish
accumulate
   or share
pull my weapon
   or be willing to lay my life down
      " Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower,
      you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily,
      and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you
      give up your life for my sake, you will save it.
      And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world
      but are yourself lost or destroyed? "
         that was Jesus btw ..

..

Jesus could have been a famous rabbi and lived well, garnered much respect
   he chose to live on the street with the people
he could have been a 'king' and challenged imperial rome
   he chose a donkey and sandals
   a basin and cloth to wash feet
      wash feet .. get that
he could have built a religion with many followers
   he chose to create a family powered by love for one another
   empowered by his spirit
      and let it run

because his way was 'toward' the other
   not walled-off
'for' the unclean
   not walking on the other side of the road
'with' the sinner
   not berating them
'embracing' the margined, the outcast and the alien
'inviting' and welcoming any

there's this passage penned by apostle Paul
   " And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself
   through Christ.
   And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.
   For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself,
   no longer counting people’s sins against them.
   And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. "
      (2Corintians 5:18,19)
wow
no longer counting people's sins against them ??
really ??
wow
..

who am i
   that i get to mark-off the other
   berate
   judge their circumstance and motivation
   hate them
   abuse them ..
when i am so deserving of judgement
   when there is nothing worthy in me
   when, in my puny respectability and workethicity and christianity
      i am in the place of 'depart from me, Lord .. i am a sinful man .. '

i (should) love
them
and them over there
neighbors they are
as deserving of love as i
even
   and especially, says Jesus
   my enemy

love
for love covers a multitude of sins
   a ton of sins labeled with my name
      mine
   as well as theirs

      and who wants exposed sins ? ..
   as in naked
   stripped of all respectability
      'cause sins can be respectably clothed, ya know
who indeed ..


' this is how people will know you're my disciples
   when they see your love for each other '
      Jesus

..

so then .. God does not count people's sins against them
because reconciliation has been accomplished through Jesus the Christ
and this incredible message of reconciliation, of release, of freedom
   has been entrusted to me ..
      not a message about sin
      their sin
      sins
         not


the Good News is reconciliation
wrapped in musty brown paper that looks a lot like me
..

may the peace of the Lord Christ be with you ..

a thanks ..

yellow and orange and shades of red and brown and used-to-be-green colour the walls
walls you can walk into and through
enchanted again
   thanks

and a zillion of those colours just zigzagged down from where they used to hang out
tagging each other on the way
gently sounding as they go
   thanks

the sun walks up invisible stairs into blue
where birds soar and angels dip
   thanks

today, despite the awful hidden history that attaches like bloody leeches
folks will join themselves around tables arduously laden with 'share' in many delectable flavours and (hopefully) try to find commonality among themselves
   thanks

and for those who have noone to sup with
or no supper
i pray You a special gracious benevolence on their soul this day
and a full belly
   thanks

for forgiveness and mercy and Your lovingkindness all the days of my life
   thanks

.. and assist me in this: even as the leaves in all their varied shapes and colours join in such glorious display, may my heart be open to all your creatures, even the ones that scare me or irritate me around the table
   i'm just one leaf
      thanks


may the least be especially blessed, the lowest, the last, and in this may tomorrow be for them a new Thanksgiving, and the day after, and ..
   thanks

for this set-aside day of reminder to be thankful, dropped poignantly in the middle of a very terrifying prospect of what the future holds for america and for our friends everywhere
   thanks

the blood we share
this planet we share
the likeYouness we share

the very thin line that separates
   hostility and hatred from embrace
      amid all the un-otherness of us
may we together smudge its defining separating as our feet cross over to receive each other
   even as You receive us
      thanks

may those in illness
those shut-in
those who feel so very alone
those without viable family
those in prison and in prisons of their own making
those innocents facing new life without parents
those who will try to sleep in the shelter of a bridge tonight, or steel themselves against the icy glare of the stars
those who flee their homeland, bombed bruised bewildered ..
.. may they each somehow sense the sheer pervasive grace and beauty of You and know they are indeed loved
   thanks

thank You, o God, for You
thank You for Your unveiling in Jesus
thank You for caring in such a way that You put yourself at great risk for us very unseeing and unthankful people
   when all You asked from us is love
   because You love, regardless

i thank You

christian ? who dat ? .. reflections on lost sundays and who am i ..

uhmm .. sunday morning .. .

used to be i was up at the ungodly hour of 6 to get us all moving for church meet at 8:30
that ran into sunday school
we made it home by noon-thirty
then prep lunch, eat, paper or telenews or such
nap
5:30, prep for 7:15 service
home 9:30
   as in p.m.
..
sundays were long days
.. and burdensome
think about that ..
sunday is the new saturday in the judeo-christian calendar
   and saturday was sabbath
      a day of rest
      .. and rest does not equal burden
burden is weight
sabbath is release, freedom ..
.. it was also the day they gathered to celebrate their Christness in community, in freedom while under the gun
methinks sabbath was intended to be a joyous celebration of life and God and all things good

..

it took this stuckinthemud fundamentalist-of-the-first-order like a looooong time to recognize the burden i was carrying
   and the incredible load with which i loaded-up my family ..
take it from me, it ain't worth it

.. and too there's this, the first sunday question from a very good friend is " did you go to church today? " ..
.. i get that
i get that the Assembly is supposed to be like the one place i get to be in my christianity
i get the excitement the anticipation the longtobethereness of it
..
so, question ..
you feel that way about your Assembling ?
?
..

thing is, i put all my eggs in a basket labeled " this is your Godduty list "
and i drug everyone within arm's reach along with me
.. it took me far too many years and way too many hurts and affected-lives to realize the utter absurdity of my totally clumsy christianity
hobbling, ducking, face-on, stand with the standing, sit when the seated sit, sing sing sing, put money in the open plate soeveryonecanseewhatyougave, shake hands, smiley smiley, dress-up, lots and lots of masks, and all that tags along with the christian thingy ..

sorry ..
it wasn't all bad, believe me ..
there was tons of good teaching and a well-rounded perusal of the scriptures as a whole, which taught me to respect the older testament too
there was in-depth study, and a lot of practical too
and they were good people who were looking to be good christian people

and i'll stop there with my personal religious history ..
..

point is .. what the hell is a christian anyway ..  . ?
just thought i'd ask my self on this fine finally Fall sunday in this 'ere ol' south
.. 'cause i ask my self crazy questions all the time
it drives me insane
but it keeps me sane
makes me rethink me
like, dude, who are you anyway ..

you gotta do this
you just have to
because this .. the day you stop is the day you give-in to whatever concrete-pouring went on in your life, and life ain't about concrete
it's more about water and wind and fire
   cool smells
   and turning-leaves that absolutely assault your eye
   that dog who knows you better than you
   long walks on a warm beach with seaspray in your face and God in your whistle
and discovery that derives from a persistent drive to discover you
   and God
   and where you fit-in on this amazing planet
   in this crazy world where you count
      where you count

because
if God did in fact create you/me in Godimage
   and i-for-one am convinced of it
then there's something about God in us
and to let that simply float downstream like so much Fall leafery
   is to diss your life
   diss God
   disparage who you're meant to be in the intertwined artistry of that hilariously
      extravagant Grandmaster who tossed planets and erected mountains
      and feathered flying creatures and leaved poplars ..
and how do we get away with that ?

we count
because we are Godlike creatures
   we have privilege
   influence
   words
   choice
   2 feet to stand on
   imagination and creativity
   minds that can glide the galaxies
      and a soul that knows the reality of the Divine
         somehow
      sees that the Divine is anchored in unbridled freeflowing love
..

maybe a christian is someone who is truly human
   or trying their damnedest to be
because human is who God made us to be
.. that's my abbreviated description

it drips from a compendium of Genesis and Jesus
a correlation of Eden and Advent
a comparison of Adam and ' last Adam '
an attention to ' the second man '
   Jesus
      the Man
      the Human

when God wanted to show the world what God looked like
   Jesus the Human was that look-like
he was our template
our prototype
he is our Exemplar
.. Godimage is our origin
      and our destiny

a Christian is a person who aspires to the Christ
wants to be like Jesus, the Christ
is being progressively changed back into his image
   even in the midst of all the potholes we misstep into
      and the garbage bags that we grudgingly drag along
   even when we fall
      sometimes hard, face-on
   especially when we fall ..
..
a christian knows Jesus intimately at-whatever-level-they-are
   like good friends on the way to being better friends
and persistently looks toward Jesus
for life
for an understanding of life
for motivation for real life
to live life to the fullest in the gaze of the God who is there
to lead other people in the Way
   remind them of this Jesus who is the Prototypical Human
      in whose image we all are created
   define what human is from God's perspective
   and show them how human we can be in the embrace of the Spirit of Jesus

not concrete ..
flowing, moving, changing, growing, reflecting, rising and falling
discovering Godlikeness wherever we can as we go
looking for the Image to show its face wherever, in whomever
embracing Jesus all the way
..

christian is a new creature
   actually a reformat to the original creature God had in mind in the first place
a changed person
   with an intense desire to be just what God wants
   the perfecting image of God in the Christ

it's been called another birth
   new born
   spiritual awakening
it's been well-described as following that Man
..

thing is
duty never did anything for me
wearing christian colours never did either
sporting bibles
cool fish stickers
i ended-up drawing lines in the dirt
   pointing
   eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil
      pretending like i'm god
      telling people when they're right and mostly when they're wrong

that isn't christian
it's cultic
it's disturbing
it's some sort of control freakishness
a clumsy christianity
..

christian is love and grace and embrace and accept and encourage and walkalongwith and help and compassion and forgive and listen and consider-yourself-to-be-less-than and push justice and supporting the least
   cause the last will be first
      the last
      first ..
up is down
common is holy
holy dwells among the common
   within the ordinary

christian is true human against the runofthemill shallowness and escapism and fear and grasping-for-something-real and chase-the-almighty-dollarness of life in this life
   which is a veiled running-scared
      a blind grasping for meaning in this very terrifying life
      where everything hangs on proving you're good enough
      successful enough, motivated enough, hungry enough to fight
         for your right to exist and to excel and be liked
   .. which really is a very false, very misconstrued representation of human
      a pugilistic shadow
      a haunting of the you that lies hidden beneath the folds of your flesh
         a you that intrinsically has value, just by the mere fact of your existence
            'cause you're human
            created in Godimage
               that's why
..

christian is taking on the image of the Christ of God
..
there's no list of rules
no defining lines
no go-to or fit-in
no box to climb into
..
it gets gnarly sometimes
kinda like a stairway in shadow i'm not sure i want to climb
the few steps i see scary
'cause i cant see
but ..
i follow this Man who cut a narrow path
walked a conspicuous line with religion
defended the lowest
pointed directly at Godgoodness
despised the church politics
   and pretense-to-godliness
   and lading people with burdens they were never meant to bear
stuck-up for the hurting
healed
fed
loved everyone
everyone
to death

that's my form of christianity ..
and i get to choose
because this: if i allow you to define for me what a disciple of Jesus is
then i relinquish my personal connection with God to your intermediacy
and i don't need an intermediary, thank you very much
'cause Jesus told me to go to God directly
   in his name
   'cause there's one only mediator between God and man ..
      the Man, the Christ, Jesus
and when we meet he's so not going to ask me about my theology
   or my church or whereonearthdidyougetthatidea? ..
he's going to talk directly to us
   him and me
      as in our history
      as in what we had going on all along while i was wandering around
         down here
and i want that conversation to be clear and clean, free of excuses
because
i don't serve a religion
or a book
or a church
i don't follow a preacher
i have no excuses to offer
   and neither do you
..
i have to be able to stand on my own 2 feet and face that Man
that incredible person who went the distance for me
who hangs out in my neighbourhood
cares about my stuff
courts my attention
wants relatedness ..
.. imagine that !

i strive for that
i aim there
i look in that direction

for me, this is the life of a christian
and there's absolutely nothing like it in this life
nothing

and you ?

does God care about climate change ..

when God created the heavens and the earth and all the stuff that populated them, God then, in a very peculiar manner, created humans
the scriptures note that " the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. " (Gen 2:7)

something very different went down that day
according to the story, God spoke creation into being 

   the powerful word of God did this (Heb 1:2,3) ..
when it came to the humans it seems God took a more personal approach
- forming the creature, as in using Godhands to pull the dirt into a shape
- breathing Godbreath into the formed dirt

it really is of no consequence whether you approach the creation story as a story or as a literal rendering of the event - regardless, the creation of the human is presented in particular, if from no other ground than this : " Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; " (Gen 1:26) ..
no other created creature bore this remarkable resemblance

it's an astounding thought .. that we could be somehow formed in some semblance of God's likeness, God's image ..

that's something to meditate on ..

.. .

it follows then that, since the human is on somewhat of a different plane than the rest of God's good creation, that something of the exalted character and authority of God flow into the human phenomenon ..
   and God told the humans to multiply, create others like themselves
   and to have dominion over the earth, rule over it, reign

there's a lot packed into that thought, but it is seen by the people that should know as a delegation of divine authority by the Divine to those created to be divine-like ..
a certain responsibility attaches to the story whereby the humans are to attitude and act in a manner reminiscent of  the Creator in relation to the rest of creation - they are to live in close relation to creation and to manage it, nurture it, order it

.. . 

the upshot of this is a remarkable embracing of the creative activity of God by the humans
   as Godrepresentatives they act for God
      - the Creation looks to them for Godcare
      - they themselves respect God's trust in them to do this, and in turn 

            trust this beneficient CreatorGod, their Source, to be the director 

            of their being and delegated activity in the good earth .. 

   and the very Creation desires to participate in the goodness of God

      mediated by the GodImages on its behalf
..
or that's what we should be doing anyway ..
.. that's what we should be doing

and yet we've snubbed creation, and in so doing thumbed-off the Creator
   as if there was no creation, no Creator
   as if we are the overlords and the creation exists for our use
      like some disposable camera or coffee cup to be littered

      unworthy of our care or consideration ..

.. .

of all the people on the earth christians, as in Christ-ians, little Christs

   should be the most concerned caretakers of the good creation of God ..
christians ..
we should be in the forefront of any move to protect and preserve and foster and care-for and nurture the creation of which we are a part, a prominent and privileged part
..
instead ..
we have joined the destruction
invested in the rape
encouraged the depletion and depreciation
we even deny it happens ..

how did that ever happen ?      ?

it happened because we lost connectivity with Creator
it happened because we diss'ed our responsibility
it happened because we lost our trust in the Source
   treated the Source as a common thing
      as if we are the Source
      as if everything exists for us and for our disposable use

.. .

i was raised in a fundamentalist religious mindset, and somehow the disposable use of creation snuck into that philososphy
after all, this world would one day be destroyed by God, and we would be zapped into outer space to escape that destruction and to live in heaven happily ever after ..
   except Isaiah and The Revelation present an entirely different picture

      one where the earth is renewed

      and God takes up dwelling among the people on the earth 

         on   this    Earth

      

somehow that translated into utility and non-care for the creation
   somehow ..

.. .

i repent

i've come to see that all good things come from the hand of God
i've relinquished my attitude of disposability
i've radically about-turned and faced the truth of the responsibility that attaches to my association with the Creator, the Word of God, Jesus himself ( John 1 )

this Earth is not here at my disposal
   it exists out of the hand of a gracious and loving creatorGod
       who looks to me to do my part in its preservation, its protection
          its propagation, its very valid glory
       and to play my very important part in supporting those that do

so that when i see an entire segment of my community denying the very valid truth of climate change, when i observe that a major block of that segment are apparently the rightleaning evangelicals 

   i shudder ..

the very people that CreatorGod looks-to to uphold God's magnanimity in the earth are the ones that denigrate God's good creation
   treat it as a common thing
   treat God as a common thing

that sucks .. bigtime

even if we somehow believe that there is no climate change, that this is some natural anomaly, that things will all revert to 'normal' ..
   how dare we allow the continual depletion of the atmosphere 

      (where millions have to wear masks to breathe), 

   of the water 

      (1 in 10 people lack access to safe water)

   of the planet's species 

      (some scientists estimate 90% of living species will become extinct shortly .. 

      ok, so even if you half that estimate ..) ..
how dare we 
   us
   God's people
..

i repented

i stand for treating all of God's good creation as worthy of my attention and care
i'm moving in the direction of kingdom

   where this Earth will be renewed, refurbished, and indwelt 

      by the person of Godself
   where all the Earth will manifest the beauty and glory 

      of the Creator

i'm headed there

diss the denial
embrace God's good creation
   it's not pagan
   it's not Eastern religion
   it's not worshipping Mother Earth
it's God's Earth
and God loves God's good creation

we say we love God
how can we love God and not love God's creation
how can we love God and not love our neighbour
   the one that wears a breathing mask
   the one that has no clean water
   the one that can't grow food
   the one that runs like hell from war
   the one that watches while their coastal land is swallowed by water
   the one that watches their animal foodsource migrate to greener pastures
how can we love God and nor love out children and grandchildren

   who are left with the drastic effects of our dereliction
..
not possible
and any nod to it being possible is bare pretense
a denial of the good God who stands watching us
   in dismay
   in disbelief
   despondent at our simple uncaring attitude
   looking for us to lead the rebellion against the destruction of it all
      lead, not deny or allow or pretend it isn't real

abuse of God's good creation is tantamount to abusing God

think about it ..

peace to you

roots and burning and repentance and getting real

sometimes
   the light shines brighter in the dark
      if we'd just uncover it
..

i remember reading books about the thrive of christianity when christianity was the whipping-boy of the world
seems that when things got tough - like people sawn-apart, burned in hot oil or set on fire, cut into pieces kinda thing - the christians stood taller somehow, stronger, more determined to glory in their testimony to the Lord Christ
an amazing thing, methinks .. utterly amazing
   when you consider how easy it would have been to say like " nah, mate .. don't know no Jesus .. who dat ? " and walk away, life intact, family intact .. all cool
   kinda like that Peter guy back in the day the fowlcock blowed the whistle

..

there's a whole lot of despondency going around since the most powerful ever , most wealthy ever nationstate decided on its next leader ..
not sure i've seen anything like it
some of the people are really scared, and a review of the international take-on-it reveals a similar fear


christians in the circles i pay attention to are beset with righteous indignation, particularly at the white evangelical vote, 'cause the way they see it, the pres-elect is a radical distance from the move towards a democracy that embraces, uplifts, supports ..
the funeralistic dirges are coming fast and furious like
..
which gets me back to opposition and persecution

i've watched over the years as chrsitianity in the west as-i-know-it has walked away from the God of the scriptures, twisting that god into some misshaped effigy to be burned at the feet of our youth who are so done with christianity-as-it's-been .. so done
and for damned good reason too ..

so maybe, just maybe, it's 'time' for chrstianity-as-it's-been to burn

maybe this seemingly apocalyptic event will serve as the fulcrum, the repent event
when christianity rebels and reverts to its roots
..
it'll be tough
there will be massive opposition
the comeback will blow hard, all kinds of dirt in the face
.. but the revelation of the real tangible authentic church that Jesus built is the telos of that
and there's nothing more needed today in this world than for the christianity of the Christ to be renewed, the wood/hay/stubble to be burned-up, the light to shine, the salt to purify

..

for those of us who've fled the church in search of the church
   those who've been abused
   who've watched the charade, tired of the put-on, longing for the genuine
this could well be a good time in our history

although that might sound cynical or morbid, the almost cyclical nature of biblical history allows for hope in this time of depression ..
the period of the Judges, for example, was a repeated wandering from God towards defeat and suffering, followed by repentance and rededication to the God that led them out of the land of Egypt, out of slavery into freedom ..
perhaps this is one of our defining times when the sheer madness of our world causes us to ardently consider what's important in this life, to repent and move in that direction

yes, there's the depressing debilitating down of what-seems-to-be-on-the-face-of-it
but opportunity sometimes disguises itself as oppression
and it's the brave, courageous disciples who are tuned-in to the God that is there, is here, who will recognize this as an opportunity to serve the Lord Christ in a way we've not known in recent history ..

may we all, with unveiled faces, reflect the glory of the Lord as we are being transformed into the image of the Christ
and may that reflected image lighten the atmosphere and enlighten the minds of our fellow humans, for all of whom the Christ gave his life

may we pray ' thy kingdom come, thy will be done, here on earth, as it's done in heaven ', and then move in that very direction
now
summoning all the passion and caring we can for those that are so very depressed and for those that are so very deluded into thinking that any government wherever could ever surrogate for the kingdom of our God and of the Christ of God
remembering the very basic truth that all people are created in the image of the God who created them

may our light shine in such a way that people will see our good works and glorify our Godfather in the heavens ..

peace to you
and love
in Jesus' name

when you're wrong and other good news ..

the book hit the street and there was lots and lots of chat about it
but, being the stuckinthemud conservative christian i was, i listened to the naysayer conservatives and decided not to read it, 'cause it was a 'fail' theologically ..

well, i was wrong

recently i ran into it again for the umpteenth time, and this time i decided to read
and like wow ..
what a book

i don't say this for any other reason than to lay a groundwork for the comment to follow ..
i've spent much of my life reading and studying the bible and theology
i read those nerdy books, half of which i have to skip over half the stuff in the book because my simple brain can't handle it
but i've read a lot


The Shack is an astounding work
that's about as close as i can get to rating it

by the 30th page or so i was sucked-in, and never looked back

as to the theology .. i found more sound theology in The Shack than i've found in many many formal theology works
it's a wonderful story, quite uninterested in formal theology, yet bursting with truth in a plebian sortofway
and it is an absolutely delightful denial of much of the misrepresentation of the god i serve in these 'ere days

i have enjoyed it immensely and very highly recommend it
i intend to reread it and reread it
finally, i would rank it in the top 10 books i've read

please do yourself the pleasure of reading it

peace to you

a call to prophets, good read ..

one of the better articles I've read recently ..
I post it for your benefit

find it here

life preservers ..

life preservers come in all sorts of shapes, they're not all orange or smell like burgundy truffles ..
sometimes they fall in swirly descent on a misty morning, shades of red orange salmon yellow
sometimes, but not often, they smell like fresh-baked bagels with 'everything' seasoning, or like the salty spray washing between your toes as they goofily sink into the white sand ..

they're thrown, flown, driven
can be made of rubber or metal or wood or flesh or cotton
some are furry
some don't smile
some of them are tall and dark with broad white mouths the scent of fine aged rum
..


life preserved ..
something like salted meat my grandad stored in a wooden barrel behind the counter, or the bundled weight of a tiny wet body held close to the chest on a churning wailing sea ..

a coat-off-a-back can be a life preserver, or a piece of pizza, a pair of warm socks, a "good morning", a flask of hot whiskey to weather the dark night under a bush

blurred memories
the aroma of mac 'n cheese
the sight of a mountain range or a tiny bird awash in spring
a passing comment
a thought timeily floating into your mind
an imagined bliss
a hope

life preservers preserve life, like they're wont to do ..
the tiny wet body muscles
the thought grows hard edges
you lie on the white sand
eat the pizza
sip the whiskey
cook the salted meat with rice and split peas
.. bliss for the moment

that black-splotched white four-legged friend lying just there close by or chasing a squirrel up a tree
a small room where everything matters, even the window that hangs from the canvas ceiling

some days life preservers take the shape of a phone call or a package in the mail
sometimes a package you mail

a song - you just now got the lyric
a reflection in the coffee shop window
the color of spring
two shoes standing just there
the surprisingly loud banging of a nosy woodpecker or alarming shriek of a tiny screech owl
an aged woman working to climb a few steps
a faded photograph
a familiar verse come to mind

(i wish more) often my life preservers float to me in the undefined face of a brown-skinned long-haired friend with calloused touch and a slow steady gait, soft-spoken, with very intense eyes that appear to bore right through my calloused heart, making holes for the light to shine through to the other side ..
i have never seen him face-to-face, but I recognize his shadow as he walks just there, a few feet in front of me ..
sometimes he stops, looks around and holds out his hand to take mine
sometimes I reach out mine to take his
.. we're easy like that
i just wish it were much more often ..
and we didn't let go
I didn't release

life preservers don't always preserve life - that same calloused brown hand once said "if you hold onto life you lose it ; you have to let go to find it"

sometimes, many more times than we like, life preservers come shaped like death - some dying's got to happen before life comes floating your way, bright colored, tossed and flipped, and sometimes doused by the waves of wrath ..
but it comes, ya?


reach for it
especially if it's a brown-colored hand with very intense eyes
.. he could save your life

your you and people-cutters ..

I thought I might jot-down something intelligent to remind myself I still have a brain this late October morning, sitting here in a tank top when I should be shivering over coffee ..
and then I remembered I am not good at that, so I figure I'll spill my soul for a minute and see what color the vomit wears ..

when the God idead to make tiny two-armed two-legged thin-skinned blooded creatures with some sort of resemblance to Godself, God didn't look in the mirror first..

and when God told them to create creatures of their own with a semblance of resemblance to them, God didn't open a huge photocopy center or design a people-cutter
instead GodMom made 2 ..
God could've made one and a copier ..
God can do anything under the sun, under any sun ..

2 ..
and they weren't the same, hence
" Jack Sprat could eat no fat
his wife could eat no lean
and so between them both
they lick'd the platter clean "

2 that resembled each other
yet not the same ..
2 that resemble God
yet not the same
2 to create other tiny two-armed two-legged thin-skinned blooded creatures
yet not the same..
because there weren't any copiers alive back then

thus, a bit of Jack, a bit of Jane
mix it up real good and see what pops out..
surprise !
..

and then you look around
as you sit slurping a Slurpee under some wide ungainly tree dropping color-splotched leaves all in your drink
and you wonder why it is people want you to be like them
to fall into the same damned bucket
fit in just this slot
wear this color
eat that food
read these books
go to that church
vote
smoke weed or drink beer
drink weed
smoke the beer ..
..


consider the flowers of the field
they neither toil nor spin, yet GodDad adorns them all gloriously, this flower differing in glory from the glory of that one there, or this one over here..
if all the flowers looked like all the other flowers - maybe short stemmed, maybe blue-petalled, all with yellow stamens .. hmm .. maybe God is boring, or God's paint palette can't bring green out of blue and yellow, or God's flower-design studio caught fire after the first draft  ..
..

so consider. .
while we're ' like '
we're not the same
not the same ..

never ever be ashamed or beat yourself down or cower or allow your you-colour or your you-shape or your you-faith to make you feel diminuted .. ever
you are the you that you are
and there's no other quite like you
and the only other person who ever gets to say anything to you about you that you should consider of any real import is Jesus
ever

let the people-cutters whisper and toss their darts and make their jokes and undercut you for not being them
not being like them ..
you are beholden to one Man only, the Man Jesus, the Christ, the son of the living GodPapaMamaCreatorLover
and that, my friend, is the good truth of Godself to you
be yourself without apology to the sneerers
..

be careful then how you judge
because what goes around comes around to smack you right in the ass
and the latter end of that is worse than the first ..

a call for balanced outrage ..

.. sadly, a political comment 

albeit with Jesus in mind .. .

..

“We cannot stand by and allow the Jerry Falwells and James Dobsons of the world claim to speak for God regarding Trump and sexism … When this election is over—and Hillary Clinton is the nation’s first female president—I hope that we will finally get beyond the idea of ‘Christian women leaders’ being some special subset of Christian community."

so says Diana butler bass

the anti-evangelicalsfortrump christians are leaving a gaping hole in their commentary on american politics in this 'ere day

as they trumpet their disapproval of the candidate's horrible morality, and the unbelievable support he gathers from the evangelical-right so-called, they generally refuse to say anything about the candidate on the other side

(significant in this scenario is the organised refusal to admit other candidates from other parties, under a system put in place by the same 2 parties on the platform)

this silence in the light of who hrc is in terms of the nagging, itching horrors which attach to her public/private mix of political tenure is, to put it in the most vulgar (original meaning) terms, dangerous

the reason i say that is this: it leaves the readers of these christian writers with the impression that the lady is not a tramp
and that, in view of their responsibility as leaders/advisers/commentators to the church, is scary

it's also a matter for which they must bear responsibility, because they represent the God who will hold them responsible for their ommission .. 

and i'm being kind in calling it 'omission'

these are well-educated theologians and christian commentators

sadly, some, like the one quoted up front, are stepping-up in support of hrc, and apparently part of the reason is that she's a she ..

now i get that
i get the she-thing, women having been domesticated like forever and treated as leftovers
i'm all for erasing that crap

but to posit that even A reason to vote for someone as president of these 'ere united states is their gender is, to render it in bloggable wording, bare boo ..
the same way that A reason to vote for someone is their color or race ..
those are characteristics that they did not develop
they were born he/she, black/brown/white, etc
that's not something they earned

what they did earn is the history they produced during the life they've lived
and that, along with any claims they might currently make towards this or that position on the political issues, should bear the preponderance of the weight in their pandering for presidency

watching these christian influencers during this very un-presidential campaign has been another form of religious crap, only this time from the other side, the anti-evangelicalfundamentalistconservatives

and i am saddened by it all

yes, mr. trump is a poor poor approximation of anything in the realm of political leadership, but the balanced reality is that hrc is too
and the failure to balancefully present that to their readership is tantamount to suggesting they vote in a way that, to this writer, demonizes the person of Jesus

.. and, to put it bluntly, he's the only one tells me how to move

so i'm very disappointed in you all
benjamin corey
rachel held-evans
john pavlovitz
diana butler-bass
etc etc

the reason i don't link their names in this post is that i don't want to start a battle
i think they're good people with good intentions and good theology, generally ..
if you want to investigate their positions for yourself, they're very public figures, and it's easy to do

i'm simply sickened by the posturing of the nouveau anti-standard form of american christianity in this matter, which movement presumably exists to undo the misrepresentation of God within christianity-at-large
.. 'cause they're now evidencing the same kinda thing, sadly

if you believe that you should be involved in the politics of this nation, something Jesus did not appear to do (his focus was on an other-worldy kingdom), then please be fair in your involvement, balanced ..
.. let Jesus be the author of your mindset

it matters, because you represent Jesus
you are a Jesus person, and people are (should be) looking your way to see him ..

the world is becoming a bleaker place before our very eyes
and the significance of our role as kingdom-people is glaringly allthemore obvious
.. may we fairly and honestly and gracefully and evidently portray the Lord Jesus as we move among and within, knowing that this present darkness calls even more for visible light
   light that can be seen
      and not hidden under a basket
         what use for that ?
            none

.. we are that candlelight
may your light shine in such a way that people will see your good works and glorify your father in heaven

peace to you
in these troubling confusing times ..

choose life ..

two primary interpretations of Genesis 3 exist in theology

the most common is God's judgement for disobedience ..
the snake is cursed
the woman too, in childbearing and submission to the male
and the Earth (and, by extension, the man) which, although playing no part in the disobedience, now produces restrictive troublesome hindrances to human life
the man bears the result of that in his labour to now get 'produce' for life

the other more-recent and less-told view focuses on the grace of God
whereas God had warned of death as a result of the disobedience, the humans live past the event, able to continue, and to produce offspring to boot, even though now under a troublesome environment

so, one view roots itself in judgement, the other in gracious mercy
..

as it is the first story in scripture, the attitude of the reader/hearer is bent in one or the other direction from the outset as they move forward into the other readings ..
God as Judge
God as Gracious
..

with that in  mind, consider the concept of 'life' in the story

God, who is consistently expressed in scripture as the God who IS, as in without beginning or ending, as in forever God, magnanimously expresses Godcharacter by creating life outside of Godself ..

the telling of the story is full of thoughtfulness and creativity expressed in abundance through variety and plenty ..
this God, powerful beyond our conception, expressed God's nature through producing life in all sorts of forms -
flying, swimming, running, crawling
erupting from the very ground to leaf and fruit
all of it endowed with ability to reproduce itself ..

additionally, the endowment of functionality and economy is artfully adorned -
colour, trait, sound, feather, fur, tail, beak ..
vision, taste, hearing ..
soar, dive, speed, stealth ..
long or short-stemmed, purple or blue or red or yellow or pink, petal upon petal, scentuous ..
mammoth or tiny, scaled or skinned,
piercing the heavy watery medium that covers two-thirds of the incredible Earth
   Earth now ordered by this awesome
   Being whose majesty is painted into
   every glorious pass of the creative
   brush, dipped in this or that spot of
   blended creativity ..
the sheer variety of life evolving from that unfathomably brilliant mind is incomprehensible
imagine the consciousness of this Creator-God .. well .. it's beyond imagination ..

life unfolding in all its wonderfilled glory at the hand of this One ..
life

the epitome of this life is the creature human ..
it appears from the story that Creator is pointedly laying-out an environment for the final creation, a being created in the very image (think physical) and likeness (think non-physical) of the Creator ..
astounding
God creating Godlike creatures, expressions of God in creaturely form ..
marvelous

everything is in place for thriving abundant reproductive life in a plentitude of forms, coexisitng in wholeness, the entire Earth a self-supporting organism, a flourishing Wonder of Life, dwelling in unison, balanced

the chaotic haphazard that was there in the beginning is incredibly transformed into an incomparable work of living art, abounding in life, giving life
..

.. and then .. the concept of death is introduced ..

after all this wonderful creative expression, this outpouring of life, death is placed just there, interposed at the end, as a contrast, a potential towards the very chaotic haphazard void from which God had brought life

death
life

with privilege comes responsibility
   and gratitude
   and trust in the Privileger
..

for the Godlike humans to be truly godlike, the core aspect of God must be endued ..
love

the love of Creator - expressed in creative self-giving and sharing and opening-up and life, self-propagating life, thriving verve expressing its own creative love-sharing - could only exist in freedom, the uninhibited right to choose ..
apart from choice the human creature would be a pre-programmed being, quite un-like the Godimage they represent ..

thus the 'tree of the knowledge of good and evil' and the counsel of the Creator to not eat, "for in the day you eat you will die" ..
   on that very day
the 'tree of life' was there, poignantly juxtaposed to the tree that brings death ..

choose ..
choose life
why choose death ? ..

in the presence of the pervasive blessedness of such an incredible abundance of life, why would they (you/we/i) choose death ..
why indeed

if for no other reason, the graciousness of the Endower of Life 'demands' the return of loving acknowledgment from his creatures, willing respect for this God and this God's desire to not eat
it may be framed as obedience
it rather may be framed as a gratitude flowing from loving respect and adoration for the Grand Giver of life
..

the rest of this prequel is well known ..
the choice was death - not directly of course, but as consequence
the true choice was to disrespect the Lifegiver, to deliver self as autonomous authority, to ply my will of choice
exert my own sovereignty ..
   death
   over life

the massive undoing of Eden's glory is told in God's words to Deceit and to the human image bearers
in contradiction to God's own warning, God grants life in the new reality of encroaching death
all creation suffers the impending result of choice - atrophy into death.

by Creator's grace, life continues through propagating life, but it now inevitably ends ..
misery out of blessedness ..
perennial stormclouds now lie on the horizon for all life ..
eventually the storm always arrives
darkness ..

what madness
life given
   death chosen
   light out of darkness turned on its head
      darkness wins
..

the Expression was there in the beginning where God was
   in fact the Expression was God
all things were made by him
   he was creator
life was inherent in him, and Life gave life
   and enlightened humanity
the Life shines wherever there is darkness
   and cannot be extinguished ..
and the Light of Life came into the world of humans
   they did not recognize him ..
the Expression of God became a human
   and took up residence among us ..
we see the glory of his life
   glory as of the only-ever born son of God
      abounding in graciousness
      Expressing truth
         (John 1)

the creator of the universe takes human life as his own
to shine a light on life in the ever-present all-encompassing inevitability of death
   death to which we all are in bondage
to free us from the dark void of death
   and translate us into the kingdom of Light and Life ..

the disrespecting distrust we invoke for the One who gave us life cannot undo the love of that One ..
the Light of Life will not be deterred by our unfaithfulness to his love and graciousness ..
he pursues relentlessly, humbly calling us to recognize ourselves in him
to live in the light of that recognition
   full of grace and truth

Philippians 2:5-11 poetically portrays the mind of the Christ Expression expressed in humility for the Love of us
   for the undying love of us
      even to his death

the Light has shined in our darkness
bringing life
promising life in abundance
   eternal life.

that life lives in us such that, even in the ugly scary face of imminent death, we can peer through the darkness at the Light that will not be extinguished
and journey, after light is lost by the eyelids' final fall, through death into Life to be with him, the Light of Life
..

nothing can death us from the love of Christ..
nothing
not trouble or persecution or hunger or want or danger or threat
not death or life
not angels or demons
not fears about now or worry about tomorrow
not the very powers of hell ..

no power in the heavens or in Earth will ever separate us from the love of God revealed in Jesus the Lord Christ
.. nothing
      (Romans 8:35 ff.)
..

life out of death spells grace
grace in abundance

Creator himself dies for the life of us ..
that is the love of God in pure Expression

life in abundance is the Good News of the Gospel ..
life
not death

choose Life