Poet Luis Rodriguez @The Well, July 19

"Art is the heart's explosion on the world. There is probably no more powerful force for change in this uncertain and crisis-ridden world than young people and their art. It is the consciousness of the world breaking away from the strangle grip of an archaic social order." - Poet and Author Luis Rodriguez

@The Well on July 19

"The Well, a gathering place for conversation" is a new ongoing dialogue about faith, life, community, mind, body, and the world. We believe that regular dialogue over time and in community creates a more just and compassionate society. "The Well, a gathering place for conversation" is an intimate space for big conversation. Join us.

Our schedule continues to grow and change. Be sure to keep checking back: www.qaumc.org/the-well

15 Reasons Why I Am Tired of Lists of About Leaving Church

Recently, the internet has been replete with a spate of lists about why people left/leave Church. They contain nothing new, really. Just yesterday, as I was driving and listening to the radio, NPR aired an interview with Anne Rice about her surprising return to the Catholic church and her equally abrupt departure from it. Everywhere one turns there are more people giving voice to the failures of Church.

We are living in a time of deep change as Christendom gives way to...well, we don't know what it is giving way to. That, in part, is what drives Christian conservatism to flail ever more wildly as it tries to keep Christendom alive and well. What the folks involved in this failing flailing haven't figured out is that Christendom is already dead. And, good riddance, as far as I am concerned.

It is important not to confuse Christianity, or, (even more broadly) being followers of Jesus, with Christendom. Christendom, in its most broad definition, refers to the worldwide community of Christians. However, the word is very rarely used this way. It has become synonymous with geopolitical power in the West. Once Christianity and Empire became entwined, their separation was impossible. That is, Christendom more often than not refers to a political manifestation of Christian symbology and ideology intrinsically bound to nationalistic pride, culture, Western values, and Empire. In short, Christendom is the political Christian world, a relatively hegemonic expression of what life is and how political life should and will be ordered. As the Western world grew in influence, Christendom was its main expression. We are living in a time of power redistribution and demythologization. The fact that people defend Christendom is evidence enough that it has already died. One doesn't have to defend, protect, or even name that which is taken for granted as real.

In her book Christianity After Religion Diana Butler Bass takes on the waning influence of churched Christianity as it has been incarnate in our world. The structures - denominations and other identity labels - are being broken down as the categories no longer suffice in mediating the world and God and us, presenting a coherent world view, or in facilitating spiritual life. People are transgressing categories which used to help us understand who we are and who the "other" is. Words like post-Evangelical, post-denominational, Emergent, emerging, Emergo-_____, and neo_____ are being thrown around in Christian communities with wild abandon. People are starting to describe themselves as post-theistic Christian or Jesus follower rather than Christian at all. The "taken for granteds" within certain categories can no longer be counted on. Protestants are taking up Benedictine patterns of life and faith. Evangelicals are not necessarily Republican. Conservative Roman Catholics and conservative Evangelicals are forming alliances that once would have been unheard of. The neatly arranged religious world that helped, significantly helped, us shape our political and social worlds is giving way as old and insufficient meanings are eroding and new ones have yet to emerge. What results is chaos.

The death of Christendom is something I applaud and I mourn. Nothing is more dangerous than a government - an Empire - which can rely upon the persuasive language of religion. Once a government can rally the people on God's behalf, there is no campaign that won't be undertaken. When nationalistic symbols and religious symbols are wedded, the potential for Empire expansion, the abuse of power, and the marginalization of the minority is exponentially increased. And, yet, I was formed in Christendom. Beautiful cathedrals amaze me. Churches full of families make me happy. I am reflective enough to know that as much as I cheer the divorce of the Empire-Christian marriage, I am a child of it.

Given the reality in which we live, it isn't a surprise that people are finding it easier to name the failings of Church - of Christianity. What does surprise is how invisible the Mainliners are in our national dialogue about Christendom and Christianity. After all, the Mainline Church was the primary incarnation of Christendom in the US. In her list about why she left church, Rachel Held Evans includes things like: "I left the church because I believe the earth is 4.5 billion years old and that humans share a common ancestor with apes, which I was told was incompatible with my faith" and "I left the church because I had learned more from Oprah about addressing poverty and injustice than I had learned from 25 years of Sunday school." Her list includes the fact that she never saw a woman behind a pulpit. I don't doubt that her list is genuine and an accurate reflection of her experience. And, this article isn't about her. What amazes me is how typical her list is on the interwebz. I'm amazed because, while there are very many reasons to leave church, these lists seem to be completely unaware of the Mainline Church. I grew up with a woman pastor, and I am 43 years old. I have a science degree as well as a theological degree. I grew up in the South and evolution was never challenged in my school or my church. I grew up in a Mainline Church that was a bit country club like, but as a youth I went on mission trips, worked at food banks, and was taught to love my enemy and give generously to the poor.

How is it that the Mainline Churches (to be more accurate), which have well over 20 million members in the US and which have been the main incarnation of Christendom in the US, have at the same time made no impact on how Christianity is viewed in the US? When Christianity is represented on television today, almost invariably the representative is a megachurch pastor, a televangelist, or the most conservative representation of a recognizable denomination. When people write their lists about leaving Church, they are not reflective of life in Mainline congregations. The millions of people who attend regular ol' Mainline churches that host food banks, shelters, are served by women priests and pastors, run day cares, build affordable housing, promote women's health, and base their communal life on the teachings of Jesus rather than focus solely on his death, are completely ignored. I find that simply incredible.

So, I thought I would list 15 Reasons Why I Am Tired of Lists about Leaving Church.

1. The Church, like all institutions, is flawed, filled with imperfect people, and will never be a full reflection of God's inclusive love. To think we can have a perfect Church is a lovely idea, but it won't happen. Ever.

2. Women pastors have been around a long time. In the United Methodist Church, we have been ordaining women for over 50 years. Want to see one? Come on over and worship with us.

3. Jesus spent his whole ministry healing, teaching, reconciling, confronting, challenging, and upsetting others. He never left. He went deeper in.

4. Individual spirituality is lovely. Communal spirituality is messy, difficult, challenging, boring, and the most wonderful thing a person will ever experience. It demands that we set aside what we want and requires that we focus on the need of others. Can't do that alone.

5. Lists about leaving Church include some kind of wrong done to people. (See reason number 1 above) People hurt one another; it happens. Now, the institution as a whole and the leaders in particular should be accountable for real abuses, but people often leave over little hurts as well as over legitimate real woundedness. It takes discernment to know the difference. One should never stay in a wounding experience. Yet, I challenge people to think about commitment to relationship before they leave over "someone was rude to me" reasons for leaving. Entering into covenant with others assumes the risk of being hurt, let down, and disappointed. Inasmuch as we do love one another, we also disappoint one another. The challenge is to find ways to extend and seek forgiveness.

6. Lists about leaving Church often include something about "boring" ritual. Yes, church can be boring. Everything isn't entertaining. Should worship always be boring? Absolutely not. Worship is intended to bring us into relationship with God and help us mend our relationships with our neighbors. Sometimes that is hard work. Sometimes that means the worship service is geared toward a topic more relevant to the person sitting next to me. Sometimes my mind is some place else. Sometimes it is a bad service. Sometimes I might get to encounter the Divine.

7. Lists about leaving Church are focused on how "I" have been affected. What about the church you leave? Perhaps they need your wisdom, your challenge, your words, your prayer, your presence, your time, your talent, your gifts. Just sayin'.

8. The Church as an expression of Christendom is dying, well, already dead. Kicking it when it's down seems mean.

9. The single largest provider of social services in the US, behind the government itself, is the Christian Church. As more people leave, all of those little food banks, shelters, lunch programs, and so on suffer. Recently, the governor of my state said that in the budget crisis that we face, churches will need to do more to plug the holes in social services. I laughed out loud. Really? And how might we do that with fewer and fewer members? People say churches aren't doing anything good in the world. They have certainly done bad in the world. But, today, Church houses, feeds, treats the ill, cares for the elderly, provides mental health services, runs clothing banks, runs after school programs, helps immigrants, assists people leaving domestic violence, mentors children, and so on. Not at a church helping people in need? Look a block over. There is one there that needs you to help them manifest the love of Christ in real and significant ways.

10. Childhood Sunday school lessons will not prepare one for adult challenges. Leaving the Church because a faith formed as a child is insufficient in the real world is like saying one is not going to the doctor because the bandaid purchased at the local drug store isn't stopping the hemorrhage on one's leg. A faith that questions and can withstand the assaults of real life must continually be formed, challenged, deconstructed, reconstructed, and explored.

11. Sacraments are wonderful expressions of God's love incarnate. Sacraments live with the Church and are found among the people. Water, wine, and bread. Things needed for life's road. Feast on them. Splash in them. They are pretty wonderful.

12. Lists about leaving Church describe an understanding of God which is pretty one dimensional. The Church is reimagining the meaning to which we are attached. Throughout our history, people have had to reimagine the character of God and our relationship with God. God is much more interesting than a one dimensional Santa character. Stick around and help us with holy imagining.

13. Lists, like this one, cherry pick easy things to target. Boo lists!

14. Lists often include something about music. To be sure, there are some horrendous songs sung in Church. Yet, I love hymnody. It's okay for sacred music to be different from what we listen to on the radio. But, should one need to rock out, there's a church out there that does that.

15. Lists about leaving Church almost all include something about being made to feel awkward when visiting. I can't refute this. This is legit. Straight up. No one should be asked to sign up for a committee, join the choir, or be chased down the sidewalk and begged to come back. My list is really 14 reasons.

*Throughout this article, you find the word "Church" and the word "church." "Church" with a capital "c" refers to the big organization of Church - all of us together. The little "c" church refers to local congregations.

Also, this article is not about Rachel Held Evans' post. She also has written a list of 15 reasons why she returned to church, which you can read here. Christian Piatt offers a different list here about leaving church. These are just two examples of a much wider phenom.

New Ministry - "The Well" Welcomes Robert V. Taylor April18

The second conversation leader at "The Well, a gathering place for conversation" will be Robert V. Taylor, former dean on Saint Mark's Cathedral in Seattle and current Chair of the Board and Executive Committee of the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation.

Born in South Africa, Robert left his home under threat of imprisonment because of anti-apartheid activity. His mentor, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, helped him come to the United States.

He attended Union Theological Seminary in New York and worked in the diocese in New York until he was elected dean of Saint Mark's Cathedral in Seattle, WA, making him the first openly gay man to serve as dean in the Episcopal church.

Robert follows Wes Howard-Brook and Sue Ferguson Johnson to "The Well." The conversation will focus on his new book "A New Way to Be Human." Bernie Siegel, MD and author of "A Book of Miracles and Love, Medicine & Miracles" has this to say about the book:

“The wisdom of the ages is available to us from many sources. Robert V. Taylor shares his story and the lessons he has learned and makes this wisdom easy to understand through practical lessons and experiences. He is a wounded healer and in love’s service only the wounded healer can serve. So read his words and grow, bloom and blossom.”

To join the conversation, RSVP to www.thewellqueenanne@gmail.com or call 206-282-4307. Free tickets will be issued to you. Donations are welcome to help us continue inviting conversation partners.

For more information about the well, visit the website for Queen Anne United Methodist Church, home of "The Well."

Prayer of the Day for Lent 2B

Holy God, all that you promised your people came true in the person of Jesus Christ. He is your Word made flesh, your Wisdom in human form, your Justice in poverty, and your Covenant with breath. Through our Lenten journey, help us to examine our hearts fully and without prejudice that we might wholly embrace your covenant of grace. In these days, give us the faithfulness of Sarah and Abraham, that we might trust you to lead us and use us for your holy purposes. And, sustain us in the hope of Jesus Christ and by the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Bully Project is Coming - Check it Out!

In October of 2010, two other United Methodist clergy and I posted an "It Gets Better" video on youtube. Over the course of the past year, I have heard from many people about how moving it was for them to hear three pastors apologizing to queer youth for damage done to them by church. Even my more theologically conservative colleagues and friends agree with me that a child should never be bullied for being LGBTQI (or simply perceived to be LGBTQI). Bullying is not a Christian virtue!

We made the video because 2010 was a particularly bad year for queer identified youth. A helpful move is that attention is being paid to all kinds of bullying, not just bullying of queer identified youth. The horrible tentacles of bullying extend far beyond the LGBTQI community. Kids are bullied for all kinds of reasons - for being fat, thin, dark, freckled, pale, tall, short, male, female, poor, rich, smart, dumb, physically challenged, socially awkward, introverted, shy, or any other thing that sets them apart from whatever the dominant culture is in their particular situation. If a kid is Jewish in a Protestant area, odds are that he or she has been made fun of, even bullied, for being Jewish. If a kid is African American in a predominantly Euro school, odds are that she or he has been pushed around, been told at best insensitive things and at worst been subjected to painful verbal assaults. Being "different" puts us in the position of being examined, and all too often that results in awkward, insensitive, and even threatening situations. Let me say once more to any one who reads this blog: If you are different (whatever that means), it doesn't mean that you are less than those around you. If you are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or intersex, you do not deserve to be demeaned, threatened, or harassed. Ever. Period. And, for all of those who mistreat you in the name of religion, I am both ashamed and deeply sorry. If you are mistreated for being an ethnic minority, a girl, poor, shy, awkward, or anything else, I hope you find a safe adult and tell them their plight. There are more of us out here than you might think.

I find it amazing that any of us make it through childhood and adolescence. Even those of us with loving families and mostly easy lives still go through growing pains, awkward adolescence, body image issues, and confusion about the world. For those kids who do not benefit from loving and supportive homes or who suffer silently with secrets or in fear, the situation becomes much more complex. Despite the awkwardness of growing up, let me be clear, bullying is not a normal part of growing up. It is not a normal stage of development. It should not be expected or tolerated in our homes, schools, faith communities, or community groups. Adults who become aware of bullying behavior have a duty to stop it in the moment and to make it crystal clear how very unacceptable the behavior is. That's our job as adults.

In their new documentary, filmmakers Lee Hirsch and Cynthia Owen focus on the stories of five families who have lived with the effects of bullying. These are just five families out of an estimated 13 million kids who are bullied every year. Simply entitled "Bully," the documentary will be released in select theaters on March 30 with a wider release in early April. Check your local listings. If you live in a small town, encourage your local theater to show this movie. Some movies are for entertainment; others are for life. This is the latter. For more information, the website for "Bully" is at www.thebullyproject.com.

New Ministry - The Well

I see that I haven't posted anything since January 24. That's a long time. Too long. But, the length of my time away doesn't reflect the amount of activity that has had me captured. One might say that the quieter I am here then the more active I am out in the physical world. What has kept me at bay? A new ministry. The Well.

"The Well, a gathering place for conversation" is a new ministry that will take place at Queen Anne United Methodist Church in Seattle. Geared to provide an intimate space for big conversation, "The Well" will bring scholars, teachers, activists, poets, dreamers, and all the rest of us together to delve into those things that touch our souls, minds, bodies, and communities.

Meeting weekly, at its simplest, The Well offers people an opportunity to go deep about issues affecting them, to ask questions about life and faith, and to enter into dialogue about these things. When does The Well meet? That will vary, depending upon the speaker, the topic, and the format. In general, meetings will take place on Thursdays from 6:30-8:30 in the church's sanctuary. Sometimes we will head out for a beer or a coffee. Sometimes we will meet on different days altogether. You will have to keep abreast of our calendar (still emerging).

Why The Well? In our highly partisan country, real discourse is becoming all too rare. In our churches, going deep is often difficult to do. The goal of The Well is to offer people who want to genuinely go deep in exploring matters of faith and life the opportunity, frame, and space to do so. The Well seeks to offer clergy a space to come and find community. It seeks to reach people who have left church because they have experienced sentiments that are anti-science, anti-question, anti-love, anti-inclusion. The Well is the opposite of all of those "antis." It is the perfect place to bring questions, loves, dreams, hopes, and concerns.

The Well is always open to the public. No expectation will be placed on anyone coming to The Well other than for them to honor their neighbor in conversation.

This is what we have lined up so far. The calendar will continue to evolve.

Schedule:

• March 1, 8, 15, 22 – 7-9 PM. Wes Howard-Brook and Sue Ferguson Johnson. Topic:“Coming Out of Empire, Moving into Christ”

March 1: “It was necessary to go through Samaria” (John 4)

March 8: “All I know, is I was blind and now I see” (John 9)
March 15: “Come out!” (John 11)
March 22: “I have given you an example” (John 13-17)
Wes Howard-Brook has an article in the Tikkun Daily that discusses his own Jewish-Christian experience.

• April 18 - Robert V Taylor. Topic: "A New Way to Be Human" Time TBA.
• May 12 – 3:30 PM and 7:30 PM. Grammy winning Singer/Songwritier Carrie Newcomer. Topic: Afternoon conversation on "Life as Sacred Story." Evening Concert.
• May 26-27 -- John Dominic Crossan. Topic: "The Lord's Prayer."
• June 6. Kathleen Norris. Topic: "Acedia."
• June 10 -- Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove. Topic: "The Wisdom of Stability in a Mobile World."
• Summer - Jan Richardson.
• October 22 - Alexander McCall Smith.
• March 14, 2013 - Phyllis Tickle.

More to be announced soon. Not every week will be a conference or a structured workshop. Sometimes, we will just gather, pray, and talk. A website is being formed. Keep your eyes open. Send recommendations of topics and facilitators my way! I hope you enjoy this new ministry.

Daddy Dudes: Why I Love the PNW

Today I had a couple of conversations about people I affectionately call "Daddy Dudes." These are the guys who know how to use a circular saw and also how to love their children. One of the great joys of living in the Pacific Northwest is the sheer number of men I see every day who are equally comfortable in their masculinity and their role as a nurturer. (Before I receive emails telling me that men don't have conform to any particular picture of masculinity, STOP, and read on.) One of the many things that I like about the PNW is that for many of the men I know, see, and meet, conforming to such standards is simply a nonissue. Whether they like power saws, musicals, rock climbing, sewing, movie watching, or bowling, they are comfortable in their skin, and they are comfortable being hands on loving parents with their kids. That's what I'm talking about.

It isn't uncommon to see guys with babies strapped to their chests or backs walking Green Lake or riding a bus. Every day I see men pushing strollers, jostling crying babies in restaurants, and getting up (before their wives do) to change diapers. I know several men who decided to be stay at home dads while their wives continued with their day jobs...and they are completely unfazed by this arrangement. I know men who take their daughters rock climbing and pack up all three of their kids to go to the zoo. I know men who are contractors by day and bath time daddies at night. The men who reach out with their calloused hands to offer the gentlest of loving hugs to their children, you are magnificent! These are men who understand that their "manhood" isn't conditioned on their testosterone. These are men who awe me.

The reason this is on my mind is that Seattle megapastor Mark Driscoll of megachurch Mars Hill Church recently co-authored a book with his wife Grace on marriage and sex (not referencing it directly, sorry). The reviews have been passionate, simply fascinating to read. Like most things undertaken by Driscoll, this book has heated up quite a debate. Such attention is not new for Driscoll. Occasionally, he steps into the national spotlight because of his less than "orthodox" (pun intended) use of language, i.e. "harsh" words, his theology, and his off the cuff remarks. For those of us in the Seattle area, we hear more about Mark Driscoll than probably the rest of the world does, but he has made and continues to make an impression in the lives of new Christians all over the country.

Driscoll and his church are what are known as "complementarians," which is a word that describes people who believe that men and women are ordained by God to serve complementary but different roles in life. The flip side to complementarianism is often referred to as "egalitarianism" - men and women equal in all things. In complementarianism, men are the leaders of their churches and their homes and should love them as Christ loves the Church. Women are to serve men and to support them as the Church does Christ. This is an oversimplification, but you get the gist. There are many forms of complementarian thought. Mark Driscoll's form, and thus Mars Hill's form, not only prescribes roles, but teaches that "real" men behave, move, and act in very particular ways, and this view has periodically put Driscoll in the hot seat with other Christians, including Evangelicals and even other complementarians.

I don't want to take this whole post and focus on Mark Driscoll. Rather, I started this post because I wanted to thank those loving men whom I know and those whom I will never meet but see every day. I thank them for their kindness, their ability to withstand the Mark Driscolls of the world, their complete comfort in being who they are and loving the ones close to them. For all of the guys out there who have not been held prisoner by examples of brutal dads, distant dads, stern dads, harsh dads, and hands off dads, thank you. Every time you tuck in a child, give a bath, teach a child a song, show a child how to ride a bike, say I'm sorry, kiss your partner with gentleness in front of your child, hold hands, read a book out loud, embody humility, wash the dishes, laugh with joy, make the bed, do the laundry, cry, throw a ball, build a birdhouse, plant a garden, pray with your family, take out the garbage, celebrate your spouse's success, or do any of the millions of other things that you do every day, you are teaching the world what it really means to be a man - a responsible, comfortable in your own skin, adult man. When you embody these things without apology and with grace, you make the world a better place.

For all of the pastors out there who have told guys that they have to like and do Mixed Martial Arts, shoot animals, like guns, swear like a sailor, use anger as a first defense against all vulnerable feelings, or belittle others, I apologize. They may not know the damage that they have done, but I do. You may like some of these things. If so, go for it. But, if you don't, your worth as a man is not predicated upon your affinity for all things testosterone driven.

So, to all you Daddy Dudes, thanks and keep up the good work! For the men I see every day in the PNW, keep showing the world that you can build a house, a great community, and a lovely family all at the same time. We need heroes like you.

PS Another reason I love the PNW: Seattle Stay At Home Dads. Check them out!

TS Eliot and the Magi

Here is the crux of this year's Epiphany sermon at Queen Anne United Methodist Church. It seems to me that Epiphany calls us to go down new paths. More than that, though, in our time of intense international conflict and uncertainty, the idea of all nations seeking light to lead us all to peace is a wonderful thought.



Soon after his conversion and baptism in 1927, TS Eliot wrote “Journey of the Magi,” which begins:

‘A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.’

Eliot wrote this poem during a time of deep personal and spiritual struggle. His marriage, which had been difficult for a number of years, was coming to a close. His newly forming faith demanded that he leave behind parts of himself to which he had grown accustomed. Everything was changing. New life was born out of a series of deaths. The poem concludes:

'All this was a long time ago, I remember,
And I would do it again, but set down
This set down
This: were we led all that way for
Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly,
We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.
We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death.'

The story of the Magi, which culminates in the Adoration of the Magi on January 6 – Epiphany – is a story about uncertainty, journey, death, and birth. Many of us look back to the story of the Magi believing it to be part of our spiritual history, but, a more mature faith looks to the story as something much more meaningful. It is about us searching for God. We struggle. We search. We come to what feels like unsatisfactory endings to our travels only to be led down yet more paths to unknown destinations. We go through periods of deep uncertainty. Like the Magi, we little understand the culture or the ways of Jesus and his family. Like the Magi, we are distanced from them by space. Unlike the Magi, we are also distanced by two millennia; time is its own ocean we must cross to meet the Christ-child. Like the Magi, we must die to our gods in order to enter into the presence of the God of the Most High.

Epiphany is our celebration of the gift of ourselves to God. We bring all that we have – our best, our most precious selves and we kneel in awe and wonder at the miracle of the Divine One right here among us. Epiphany is for all who struggle and weep, for all who wrestle with God, for all who question whether we will find God at all. Epiphany is our way of experiencing together, if only for one day, a reality that is both in and outside of our world. God is here. In the humble places. In our fear. In our dreams. In the dirt, slime, and muck of the world. God is here. Despite our doubts. Despite our wars. Despite our greed. Despite our proclivity to wound one another. God is here. God knows the pain of birth, life, and death. God knows all that we experience because God experiences it with us. Birth and death. So close together. As we start our new year together, I wish you healing deaths and vibrant life. I hope that we, like the Magi, learn to die that we might live. I hope that we, Queen Anne UMC, can hear the beauty and the calling of the words of TS Eliot, whose own journey to the manger led him to realize:

'I had seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.
We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death.'

The Oddity of Christmas Eve

With Christmas Eve, Christians fall into a rather odd tradition of waiting for a Prince (of peace), a King, and a pauper (He was, after all, born in manger under threatening political circumstances). Let no one convince you that what we do is rational or what we celebrate is normal. Let no one rob you of the wonder of a child born into a feeding trough who becomes nourishment and strength for our world. Let no one explain away the peculiarities of this holy day. It is odd, indeed. We sit vigil to welcome a king born in lowly estate, and we pray with all that we have that his reign of peace will finally come to all peoples living under all flags. We sit vigil to experience God's holy breath that spoke creation into being miraculously become flesh. The holy and everlasting Divine breaks into our imperfect and finite existence to dwell with us in our suffering and to lead us to life eternal - life wholly and fully lived. O come, o come, Emmanuel.

Advent Theme

This past July I was appointed to a different congregation. That means that this year Advent is a brand new experience. This year I am in community with a whole new bunch of folks as we prepare for, wait for, and anticipate the birth of the Christ-child. So, since this has been a season of entering into new community, our Advent theme has been [ENTER].

We started the first week with [Enter the Challenge]. We talked about the challenges presented by scriptures that portend the end of things when we are ready for happy and hopeful scriptures about the beginning of things. We explored how staying with the challenging scriptures can lead us to a more mature faith and a deeper understanding of the incredible grace that God extends to the world by choosing to enter into it radically and fully.

Advent 2 was called [Enter the Reality]. We invited a speaker to come and share about Mary's Place and the Church of Mary Magdalene, which serve homeless and formerly homeless women in Seattle. A woman shared about her journey from a life of homelessness and hopelessness. She now lives in a home and has been reunited with children from whom she had been separated. She stays active at Mary's Place as a mentor and example of what change can occur. Reality is something we often try to escape, but faith keeps us radically present in reality. God is radically present in reality by being born into our flawed and hurting world. God enters reality and so should we.

Advent 3 brought us to [Enter the Dream]. Relying upon the lectionary scripture Isaiah 61, we explored God's dream of a healed world. We also played with the lectionary and changed the gospel reading to Zechariah's Song, which also offers a dream of a different world.

On Advent 4, we will move to the theme [Enter the Song]. Mary and her Magnificat will take center stage. What song does our world need to hear? What song is in our hearts? We will use icons to explore moving through that which is right in front of us to something sacred and wondrous. Music does this, too. Music can take complicated ideas and dry and dull words and elicit deeply powerful emotions. Music helps us move deeply into experience. This week we [Enter the Song].

And, on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day we [Enter the Mystery] and [Enter the Poetry]. We arrive at our destination, and we enter fully into the miracle of God with Us.

I don't know how clear these themes have been to the people in the congregation, but they have been primary for me. I am trying to enter into their lives. We are trying together to enter into ministry with each other. We are trying to enter into a new year with hope and joy and trust. It seemed [ENTERING] would be a good fit for us. It is, after all, what we are doing with one another, and it is what God is doing with us all.

[ENTER...]

Our Struggles are (Sadly) Not New

The feast day for Saint Ambrose was last week on December 7. Properly named Aurelius Ambrosius, he lived in the mid and late 300s and was the bishop of Milan. Legend has it that at his birth a swarm of bees landed on his tongue foreshadowing that he would become a great orator whose words would be sweeter than honey. St. Ambrose is the patron saint of bee keepers, bees, students, Milan, candle makers, and domestic animals. And, he was outspoken on social issues that affected the people living in the late 300s, including economic inequality and how inequality relates to the God of our scriptures.

St. Ambrose said, "Wealth, which leads men the wrong way so often, [should be] seen less for its own qualities than for the human misery it stands for... The large rooms of which you are so proud are in fact your shame. They are big enough to hold crowds—and also big enough to shut out the voice of the poor! ... The poor man cries before your house, and you pay no attention. There is your brother, naked, crying, and you stand there, confused over the choice of an attractive floor covering"
(... St. Ambrose of Milan (Aurelius Ambrosius) (339-397), De Nabuthe Jezraelite [ca.395], in Journal of the History of Ideas, v. III, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1942, XIII.56, p. 461 (see the book; see also 1 Kings 21:1-19; Luke 12:15; more at Man, Poverty, Pride, Shame, Sin, Way, Wealth, Wrong)).

Ambrose, along with many other early Mothers and Fathers, did not have and were not trapped by the language of or political and economic systems of our time. How we understand our world is a product of Modernity. We are post-Industrial Revolution. We are the children of the Enlightenment. Not them. Church Mothers and Fathers were neither capitalists nor communists, not socialists or anarchists. This nomenclature and the systems to which they refer are modern inventions. Rather, the early Church Mothers and Fathers were simply Christian. They looked at the plight of the poor in their towns and villages, and they knew that something was wrong.

To come to this conclusion, all early Mothers and Fathers had to do was turn to scripture and search their hearts. They knew that capricious wealth and voracious greed are not part of God's good kingdom. From the 8th century prophets to first century epistles, the Bible speaks against usury, wealth accumulation, latifundialization, deceptive weights and measures used against the poor, corrupt justice systems, and neglect of the most vulnerable (known in the Bible as the widow, orphan, and stranger). We are incorrect if we call leaders of the early Church socialists; they were not. They were biblicists.

Wealth, in and of itself, is not the problem. It wasn't in the Bible. It wasn't to the early Church. And, I would say that wealth isn't the problem today. The question asked in the Bible - the judgment leveled at the extraordinarily rich- concerns the manner by which wealth was accumulated. How, the prophets ask, did you become so wealthy and by what means are you protecting that wealth? Have you charged unreasonable interest on the poor (usury)? Did you confiscate ancestral lands and drive the poor from subsistence living into slavery or indentured servitude that results in a system of poverty and indebtedness that cannot be escaped (latifundialization)? With your power and privilege, did you simply cheat the poor by weighing their crops with false weights and measures in order to pay them less or to require them to produce more to pay back debt? And, when they fell into debt, were you merciful or merciless? Did you meet at the city gates to arbitrate justice and rely upon your position of power to secure a favorable outcome regardless of truth or justice? Did you take all you can, hoard all you have, and withhold from the weak and vulnerable? These are the issues that riddle our sacred texts. They are not about partisan politics. They are unconcerned with specific economic policy except insofar as those policies affect and impact the poor and weak. Once again, the problem isn't wealth but the ethics used to justify the accumulation and protection of wealth. St. Ambrose also said, "It is the poor who mine gold, though they are denied gold; they are forced to work for what they cannot keep." This is at the heart if the gospel.

To my fellow Christians who believe that the Bible is primarily or even solely concerned with spiritual matters (meaning, not physical) and the afterlife, let me refer you to the 10 Commandments, Exodus, Leviticus, the rules about Sabbath, the prophets, the Apostle Paul, the Book of the Revelation, and Jesus as given to us in the gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. These writings are replete with stories, examples, and teachings about economic ethics. Why? Because God's kingdom is real; it is physical. It is lived out among people on this earth. One cannot speak about God's world without addressing the difficult details that determine how we live together.

To my sister Christians who want to cast Jesus, the prophets, and the early Church as socialists, I must also correct you. God's kin-dom does not conform to the economic models of our making. To elevate our economic systems above God (whether those systems are capitalism, socialism, communism, or anarchy) is at best foolish and, more accurately, idolatrous. We must do what the early Mothers and Fathers did - what the prophets did - we must measure our systems against God's vision. We must, of course, always be aware of cultural conventions in the Bible and avoid becoming biblical literalists. Yet there are some overriding principles in the Bible that have found themselves embraced through the ages. Like the authors of the Bible, we, too, can ask ourselves how wealth is gained and maintained. And, our answer will tell us whether to support or confront, to embrace or reject. Let's resist the easy opportunities to use God for our own political and personal ends, for God is not a means to and end. God is the ultimate end. We are not the Ultimate Being; we are laborers on behalf of the Ultimate One.

As we move through this week toward Mary's Sunday on this fourth week in Advent, I may add to this post by including more and more quotes from the Bible and the early Church about God's kingdom and economics. The problem, sadly, is that even in cyberspace there is not enough room to include all of the quotes because our struggle with economic disparity is nothing new.

-------------

"Feeding the hungry is a greater work than raising the dead" (St. John Chrysostom).

"Houses of hospitality must be built for the poor in every city of every diocese" (Council of Nicea).

Why I Want Gifts for Christmas (by Katie M Ladd)

This essay is entitled "Why I Want Gifts for Christmas (by Katie M Ladd)" because I want gifts. For Christmas. This year. As I scroll through Facebook and read editorials, I see many people writing about their desire to forego gifts. "All I want is time spent with family." Really? That's all they want? I am clearly a bad person. I don't just want that. I want a new Blu-Ray player, Harry Potter movies to play on that Blu-Ray, the dent in my car fixed, my car detailed, maybe a new blender, a coat (my one coat is several years old), some pants that fit, underwear, gift certificates to go to the movies, hiking shoes, fig preserves (the best food on earth), an itunes gift certificate, good smelling candles, and a new pair of gloves. Okay, I won't be shy. I also want a scooter to drive to work, a signed piece of art by Charles Schulz* (my favorite art of all time! Go, Charlie Brown!), renovations done to my house (heck, a new house), an electric car, a new electricity panel at my house that could handle an electric car, solar panels on my house, a wi-fi fob on my tv so I can stream television shows, a fenced in yard, a puppy in my fenced in yard, a trip to Turkey and Greece, and a lot of money. I want all of these things. I am not exaggerating. I want every single one of these things.

I like things. I don't like shopping. But, I like things. I want things. I do.

And, yet...

I am not asking for these things (well, most of them) because even though I want them, I know that there is a better way to mark this holy season - there is a better way to live my life. One problem we seem to have in this country is that we have acquiesced to the premise that if we want it, we should have it. That is not an ecological ideal. It is not a communal idea. It is not an ethical virtue. It is not a Christian value. We can rise above our wants. We are, after all, sentient beings capable of reflection, thought, planning, and empathy. Despite the misguided resurgent devotion to Ayn Rand, the proper moral pursuit for a human being isn't necessarily that person's personal happiness or self-interest. We belong to groups - families, communities, churches, synagogues, mosques, prayer circles, hiking clubs, book clubs, alumna associations, alumnae associations, parenting groups, 12 step groups, circles of friends, and so forth. We do not belong only to ourselves. Pursuing aims, including "things," for our own self-interest without regard to how this pursuit affects others should not be lauded. Sorry, Ayn. You were wrong. Those who follow you today are wrong. I am more than a collection on wants or even needs. I am more. We are more.

For those who feel the need to pepper spray fellow shoppers, camp in tents in order to buy a new PlayStation, stand in long lines to get a deal on a pair of jeans, I wonder, "How much did this enrich your life and the life of your community?" Aren't you more than this?

The ethics of my faith and the mystery of the Christmas story remind us all that we are more than our basest selves. Human beings are capable of immeasurable kindness and compassion. Human beings are able to step away from self-interest for the sake of another. We are. You are. I am. We are able to ask this Christmas for a different kind of gift, not because we don't want other things, but because we are committed to something more.

The Christmas story is fundamentally a story about God bringing life from a place where no life should be. It is a story that parodies the birth stories of the great. It makes a farce of the powerful and the rich. The great song of Christmas is Mary's Song, the Magnificat. How ironic that the song of the soul of Christmas includes, "[God] has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty" (Luke 1:51-53) when we grapple and fight, scratch and claw our way toward a new toaster. Let's not allow Christmas to be ironic this year. Let's look with hopeful hearts for Christ's light to shine in our darkness, for God's Son to be born. Let's do Christmas differently this year. With joy. And simplicity. And love for neighbor. Let's approach Christmas with a hope for life in our lifeless communities.

I want things. I bet you do, too. Here's my actual Christmas list. Notice, it still includes a few things.
*Blu-Ray Player
*Harry Potter on Blu-Ray
*Donations to UMCOR
*Donations to the Woodland Park Zoo - specifically for the Western Pond Turtle
*Donations to Heifer International
*Donations to the Church of Mary Magdalene/Mary's Place
*Donations to the Trevor Project
*Donations to Jamaa Letu
*Donations to Nothing But Nets
*Donations to Wildlife Direct - Mountain Gorillas
*Donations to Operation Nightwatch
*Fig Preserves

Feel free to buy me gifts. All of you. I welcome the stranger reading this post to give me a gift, but don't get the Blu-Ray or the Harry Potter (I'm very particular, you see). Get the rest. Fig preserves are welcome.

*It was brought to my attention that I originally posted that I wanted art from Howard Schultz. Um, in my defense, I was drinking a Starbucks coffee at the time. Cross-contamination. I don't particularly care for art from him, unless coffee counts. I want art by Charles Schulz, the creator of Charlie Brown and his crazy gang of friends.

Hobbling the Occupy Movement

Forty days ago I was struck by a car while I was walking. Thank goodness my injuries were not life threatening. For this I am very grateful. However, I have been left wounded; I am still hobbling on crutches, limping without crutches, and going through the too long and arduous process of healing. All of this has taken place as the Occupy movement has come to Seattle and set up its tent. I have been forced to watch from the sidelines shaking my crutches in frustration that I am unable to offer my time and presence. It has been my sense that I would not be a pastoral presence to the occupiers, a mediating influence between them and the police, or an effective witness in the street. All I have been able to do is pray...from a distance. And pray, I have done.

Seattle, by its nature, is a liberal city. For assistance during the most recent election, I turned to a progressive voting guide. Where else would one do this and find candidate after candidate equally acceptable to the progressive voter? Mostly, a person had to choose the issues that were of most importance and vote for the candidate that shared a passion for it. It was a liberal v liberal election, a progressive v progressive election. Given the overall liberality of the city, it didn't take long for the city council to consider divesting money from big banks and explore more ethical means of banking. The mayor praised the movement and committed to ensuring its ability to maintain its presence. A town hall was held to discuss the city council's decision to affirm and support the general principles of the movement. But, like so many things, the Seattle-Occupy relationship fast became complicated.

Skirmishes with police dotted daily proceedings. The town hall was interrupted by occupiers who decried the process. The daily worker grew frustrated that protests ostensibly geared for their benefit were disrupting their sleep and obstructing their streets. I have followed the conversation and watched it unfold, but I have not been able to be part of it.

Then, yesterday afternoon, the Occupy Seattle Facebook page indicated that the afternoon's protest was being met with an even larger police presence. This lit up the Livestream conversation as people wondered if Occupy Seattle would be going the way of Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Oakland, and Occupy Portland. Was the tension about to reach an untenable level? Would the police, militarized and frustrated, about to ratchet up the confrontation? "Come down," the cry went out. I looked at my crutches, felt my swollen knee, and knew that I could not come down. I could neither parade nor process, much less carry a sign or wear a robe. I read the feed.

As most in the nation know, tensions did finally mount to a breaking point. The police, claiming to do nothing more than keep the streets clear, pepper sprayed the group and arrested several people. Among those in the melee were a pregnant woman, a United Methodist colleague, and a wonderfully prophetic 84 year old Seattle woman. Dorli Rainey is a character who cannot be summed up in a sentence or two. If you want to know her, visit her website. Yes, she has a website.

Agitating for change is a dicey process. On the one hand, change won't occur without agitation. On the other, the desired change will be elusive if the agitation shakes off needed support. The Occupy movement has struggled to find the balance between too little and too much agitation. Those who maintain that protestors "should" do it legally without upsetting anyone don't understand that the goal of the movement is not simply to vent frustration "at the man." Rather, the goal is to question and demand change in political and economic decision making processes and the policies which they create. Any system that consistently and relentlessly values the rich and powerful at the expense of the poor and vulnerable is a corrupt system. To those in the Abrahamic traditions, it is an evil system. Moreover, it is such an ensconced system that a lot of agitation is needed to force it to change. That is why agitation and even confrontation are needed. That is why lawful protest won't work. It won't agitate enough to upset large and deeply rooted institutions, processes, or policies. Heck, lawful protest wouldn't even garner attention of the press, which is vital in creating change. On the other hand, those who yearn for confrontation for the sake of confrontation do so at the peril of the overall goal. Commuters are part of the 99% as are police, fire fighters, and neighbors trying to sleep. Neighborliness must be a part of the movement if the movement is going to really be about a better society - a better community.

I have not been able to be part of Seattle's Occupy community - to either turn up the heat of agitation or provide a calming presence that fosters neighborliness. This timeout for me has been a great lesson in humility and patience. Despite daily hopes of heading out to be present with folks, to hear their stories, to pray with those who need, or to witness the yearnings of so many who hope for so much better, I have been sidelined. And, somehow, miraculously, the people continue to walk, chant, and agitate...all without me. Amazing. (I hope you are reading the sarcasm in my fingers that type this.)

Movements like this need us all. Yet, movements like this are bigger than any one of us. The church is like this. It needs every caring hand to reach out and every gospel changed heart to pray. But, church is bigger than any one of us. It is about a dream, a hope, a vision of another world, a new heaven and a new earth. We are not indispensable as individuals. Yet, we are vitally needed. I don't know what will wind up happening with the overall Occupy movement, especially as cities begin to crack down on them. On this point, the Occupy movement could learn from the Jesus movement. We certainly faced steep odds in the face of enormous empire, and we found a way to thrive. What I do know about the Occupy movement is that its work is not done. It has achieved an amazing amount by casting the whole nation into conversation about banks, the economy, the intersection between greed and the environment, and the ruthless treatment of the poor. Mazel tov! There is more to be done, though. Money is still the language of politics. Money still flows to the wealthy and not to those in need. Money will always threaten to displace honest and sincere dialogue about the common good. The goals of the Occupy movement will still be there when my leg finally heals and I can walk with them down this journey. But, part of me wishes that this were not so. The better part of me wishes that all of the concerns would be addressed so that my ambulatory self would be unnecessary. The better part of wishes that the powers and principalities that so desperately want to hobble the Occupy movement would themselves be hobbled such that their limitless power no more could hurt, foreclose, outsource, defraud, and impoverish the working class and the unemployed.

I am in a reflective mood these days. it is hard to let go. It is difficult to know that all that I have to offer are my prayers. But, perhaps that is my lesson this time around. Perhaps it is my gift. I have prayer to offer. I have perspective, distance, and prayer. I do not need to hobble the Occupy Seattle scene with my presence. Rather, I can use my wounded body to remember all who are wounded, all who struggle to make it through a day, all who cry out in pain. I can carry my crutches as a reminder that our culture leans on oil and other dirty energy. Every time I lean forward to swing my hurting leg onward I can think of how we lean on the least and the last and allow them to hold the rest of us up and provide us with cheap goods. Every time my knee spasms or my back hurts I can feel the pain of those without work, those losing their homes, those who do not think there is anything good left to feel. And, I can hope for the time when I will be free from these crutches, unencumbered and truly myself once again just as I hope for police who act with restraint and city councils who do not turn deaf ears to the cries of pain in their communities and a Congress that will seek a common good and a president who will move the country toward peaceableness, clean(er) energy policies, and neighborliness throughout the world. I cannot be in the streets right now, but I can pray for those who are. And, pray I will.

I will not hobble the Occupy movement by withholding my prayers.

Women, Men, Media, Rape, and Perception

Recently, I've been in a number of conversations about gender with guy friends, congregation members, and colleagues during which I hear that women cry foul too frequently. Men, they say, are just as likely as women to be subjected to negative stereotypes; they are presented with images of the perfect male body that they, like women, can never achieve. I believe that I surprised my male conversation partners by partly agreeing with them. Air brushed photos of male models portray ideals of the male body that the typical man will never have. Media and culture consistently parade before us the hero who can withstand an inhuman beating and then rise, unaffected or (even better) sexily battered, to find victory. Again and again, men are told what strength, manliness, and courage mean, and frequently they have something to do with the ability to beat up, overcome, dominate, or subjugate another. I agree with my conversation partners. Men are subjected to bad images of what it means to be a "real man." And yet. And yet...

Women still face obstacles that men don't. Women make up 51% of the United States and yet they constitute 17% of Congress. There have been 44 US presidents, all of them men. While women are closing the gender gap in highly competitive fields, they are still resoundingly outpaced by men. Only twelve Fortune 500 companies are headed by women. Women are going to medical school and into specialties like General Surgery in increasing numbers, but they have a long way to go to reach parity with their male counterparts. Even in my own field - my own denomination - women make up only 29% of United Methodist clergy. This is just data. None of this speaks directly to attitudes, workplace hostility, or social pressures, other obstacles women face in work and culture. However, this data do point to those things. Women, by choice or by coercion, still have a long way to go to find parity with men in the workplace.

The movie "Miss Representation" takes a hard look at the depictions of women in media. These depictions have consequences. They inform how boys view girls. They affect how girls view themselves. Images are powerful things. They are painted with brush strokes, through camera clicks, on TVs and movie screens, and they are described in words. Images of women in general and depictions of specific women affect how we as a culture view and value women, and they become the lenses through which girls interpret themselves.

In tonight's GOP debate, Herman Cain, despite battling accusations of sexual harassment, did not find it necessary to censor himself when speaking about Nancy Pelosi. He referred to the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, one of the most powerful women in the world, as "Princess Nancy." Following up on Cain's inability to self-censor, Todd Kincannon, former executive director of the South Carolina Republican Party, posted a series of other nicknames that could be used to describe Nancy Pelosi. They ranged from "The Botox Bitch" to "The Crabby Cunt from the California Coast." In what universe should this be allowed out of the mouths of people running for office or advising and influencing those in office? And, what does it tell boys and girls about women when they hear people as powerful as Nancy Pelosi referred to in such a dehumanizing manner?

Of course, the big news of the day (the week, actually) is the ever evolving and horrific story of a former Penn State football coach's serial sexual predatory behavior against boys. As horrific as the abuse was, as long lasting as this abuse is and will remain in the lives of these now young men, I can't help but think that it is considered worse because a man abused boys. Sexual assault against women and girls is considered heinous in the country, but not as heinous as assault against men and boys. Why is that? Look at our media. Music videos by both men and women routinely portray women on the receiving end of violence in general and sexual violence in particular. Rape of women and girls? Bad, but, you know, part of our culture. Rape of men and boys? Repugnant. Stomach turning. Deserving of the death penalty. Moreover, religion, including Christianity has been complicit in promulgating the idea that women are subordinate to and therefore less than men.

Wrong. Rape of any kind is repugnant, stomach turning, and evil. Rape leaves life-long scars. It robs people (men and women) of the ability to bond in healthy ways, to enter into intimacy, or to see themselves as beautiful and wonderful beings. Rape does not affect women less. Women are not better made to accept the violence done to them.

I don't want to overstate my position. Men are subjected to idealized images. They are dismissed when they are too handsome. The are ridiculed for being too fat or too short. Men are given a set of acceptable ways to express themselves in society. It's simply that the ill treatment of women, whether overtly or implicitly, is more accepted by society. Implications of violence, especially horrific sexual violence, against women remain within the bounds of acceptability in our culture. This is true despite incredible gains made by women over the past few decades.

It seems to me that this is an issue for our churches. If it is part of our goal to continue Jesus' culture challenging and earth changing ministry, if it is part of our mission to continue his work of healing, lifting up, and reconciling, then we have to look at how our churches and our faith have helped support unhealthy images of women. We must change the messages that our little boys are learning about the value of little girls. We need to teach our boys how to respect girls and how to relate with them in ways that are not relegated to that of potential sex partner. We have to teach our girls that God has given them creativity, joy, intellect, and strength, and that it is part of their lives as faithful beings to cherish those most wonderful and holy parts of themselves.

A core teaching of Christianity is the resurrection of the body. Paul uses quite a bit of ink discussing the importance of real live bodies. New life in Christ is not just in the afterlife. Neither is it wholly concerned with inner life. We are embodied beings. We relate with the world and with one another in only one way - through our bodies. We experience the world through our bodies. Embodiment - incarnation - this is crucial for our faith. Since this is so, it seems that for our churches to be faithful, then they need to spend time better talking about, addressing, caring for, and celebrating bodies. This includes teaching both boys and girls about healthy ways to treat bodies, healthy ways to honor one another, and healthy ways to imagine what it means to be a person with real integrity.

To address this, Queen Anne UMC will be screening "Miss Representation" on November 18 at 7:00 PM (1606 5th Ave W, Seattle, WA). There will be a conversation about the film and the themes it covers. Come join the dialogue. For more information, visit our website at www.qaumc.org.

Reformation Sermon: The Giant Rummage Sale

Joshua 3:7-17, Matthew 23:1-12

A lot of people sat on the edges of their seats when game 6 of the World Series went 11 innings. It ended in an upset with the Cardinals scoring in the bottom to take it 10-9. The Cards followed up in a much less interesting seventh game to win their 11th title. But, even as many in the country had their eyes on baseball this weekend, another professional sport has held the attention of others: the NBA. Embroiled in a lockout, players and owners remain in a standoff, both sides hoping that the other will flinch first. In the center of the conflict is how to divide the league’s revenues: the owners want a 50-50 split. The players want a 52.5 take. At their last collective bargaining agreement, players were guaranteed 57 percent. According to NBA players, going down from their 57% to 53%, would transfer $1.1 billion from them to owners over six years. The difference between 50 percent and 52.5 percent totals about $100 million. We are talking huge sums of money, even if the percentage points are not very wide. Because the two sides can’t come to an agreement, games have been canceled for November creating a loss of $350 million, twice the amount of the difference between what the owners and players want.

We seem to live in a world in which immense sums of money are tossed around all the time. Whether it’s Congress discussing the deficit, tax rates and breaks, infrastructure costs, energy costs, foreclosure costs, unemployment costs, war costs, or sports costs, regular people - people like you and me - (we) talk about hundreds of millions of dollars, even billions of dollars as though we can in any way conceive of what this really means. People have become used to having little while moving in a world with a great deal of money.

We live in a time of deep conflict - I don’t mean Conservative-Liberal conflict. I mean, we live in a time when we are constantly told conflicting messages: to be afraid because there isn’t enough to go around and then to live immersed in excess. Too little. Too much. Too little money. Money everywhere. Not enough food. Too much food. Food insecurity. Gas too high to buy, but still too many cars on the roads. Too many people on the planet (7 billion now, I hear). All around us are messages of too little and too much. Because we focus on the too little, we forget that excess is everywhere; it takes force to resist it, to try to live humbly and simply. Sometimes that force comes from the outside in unexpected and unpleasant ways. We are forced to live more humbly because we don’t have enough money. We sell our car. We sell our house (or we try to). We let go off cable. We don’t have a microwave. We make the decisions because circumstances dictate that they are necessary. Yet, sometimes external forces aren’t enough; despite not having enough, we still spend and spend, whether out of wants or due to needs. That is how many of us wind up in deep debt. Other times, we yearn for a more simple and humble life. We try through the force of will to live in ways that deeply resist a culture that continually promotes “more, more, more.” Choosing no cable. Growing our own food. Eating simple, whole foods. Living in smaller houses or condos. Shopping at Goodwill. Using the library. Investing in a local economy. Tying ourselves to a neighborhood. Whether or not we personally choose simplicity, our culture is steeped in a cycle of boom and bust, excess and deprivation. All around us is too little and too much.

This is not new. Throughout history, too much and too little have resided next to each other. When they rub up against each other too much and the friction grows too hot, change occurs. Excess gives way to reformation. Prophets rise. The people revolt. New worlds are made. Jesus ushered in one such time. With his life, death, and resurrection, a whole new way of living in the world was introduced. Author and teacher Phyllis Tickle says that every 500 years, the world and the Church have a giant rummage sale. We let go of conventions, traditions, and institutions that have been the backbone of our world. We get rid of the stuff we no longer need, we keep the stuff that works, and we make something new. Five hundred years after Jesus was born, the Roman Empire fell (at least the Western part did) and a new world order was established. in 1054, the Church split into Eastern Orthodox and Western Roman Catholicism, and political and social structures in those regions reflected that split. Five hundred years later, the Byzantine Empire fell and the Protestant Reformation occurred. We are now 500 years after that. We are living during one of the world’s giant rummage sale, and our culture is feeling the shocks of change. That is why our cycles of boom and bust and our lifestyles of excess and deprivation are being felt so acutely right now. The little is way to little, and the too much is way too much. They can no longer exist in any form of harmony together. Something must give way.

Today is Reformation Sunday on the Church calendar. On October 31, - on the eve of All Saints Day - in 1517 in Wittenburg, Germany, a priest by the name of Martin Luther nailed what has become known as the Ninety-five Theses to the door of Castle Church. While the specifics of his complaint centered around the selling of indulgences - or pardons for sins - Luther’s larger complaint concerned what he believed to be a gross perversion of the gospel as a whole. A gospel of grace had become a mockery. God’s free gift of grace was being peddled by the very institution set aside to safeguard the gospel. Pope Leo X in Rome had mired the church in an outlandishly expensive renovation of St Peter’s Basilica, and pressure filtered down to various regions to put in their share of money to pay for it. This resulted in widespread corruption, the buying and selling of high rank within the church, and the selling of indulgences - letters of forgiveness - for sins. Martin Luther’s Ninety-five Theses is now considered the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. This act changed history. We have been the beneficiaries of this change for 500 years.

For 500 years, the Protestant Church has grown and expanded. In the United States, Protestantism has become the civil religion of the country. As our country prospered, so did Protestantism. But, no longer. This rummage sale in which we live has us tossing out long held traditions and ways of doing things. This has been necessitated by a rising tide of complaints that the Church has become staid, hypocritical, hyper-critical, and irrelevant. We could just as easily hear today Jesus’ complaints of his own religious world. Just as Jesus castigated the religiously pious for their public displays, the same is happening today. Regularly on television we see televangelists in large megachurches decrying the immorality of others while they lead their own corrupt lives. Mainline denominations have become torn apart over sexual ethics while not protecting the laity from sexual predation from many clergy. We have become ensconced in debates about peripheral issues while neglecting the poor, the vulnerable, and the marginalized - whom the prophets and Jesus called widows and orphans. We are more preoccupied with church structure than with spreading the gospel and bringing people into the presence of the Divine. The Roman Catholic Church continues to make moral pronouncements and denouncements about others without getting its own priesthood in order. Local congregations that for so long existed because they maintained the de facto way of live have found themselves floundering as more and more Americans don’t live the same way - don’t celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas or his Resurrection at Easter, that don’t care about Pentecost or the Trinity or the Resurrection. Because we haven’t had to know our story - it simply was a part of the fabric of our culture - we now don’t know how to live it in this increasingly secular and diverse world.

Jesus, though, tells us how to live through this rummage sale. Martin Luther understood how. John Wesley, Methodism's founder, did as well. Be humble. Be humble. Be less preoccupied with your own status and your own well being and your own self and your kind and your own way of living than you are about the least of these. For those who are the least among us, hear these words as comforting ones God. God sees your plight. God knows the wealthy and the powerful, including the Church, do not honor you well. But, God does. Jesus says that the Church will not find its power and its authority in large basilicas. It will not find its redemption is renovated worship spaces. Christians do not find salvation in public acts of religious piety, of shouting “peace, peace, when there is no peace” (Jer 6:14) or “Lord, Lord with malice in their hearts.” Christians find redemption because God gives it. It is that simple. God saves us. The Church finds its power in living the gospel, in returning to the Word so powerful that the ark of covenant stopped the waters of the Jordan. When Jesus decries the use of larger phylactaries, he, in essence, is telling us to live out the wrapping of ourselves in the Law, not simply to do the ritual act. That is where we find our power, by wrapping ourselves in God's saving instruction and to have it inscribed in and on all that we and all that we are. This same instruction stops the waters of the Jordan. This same instruction will change the forces of our world today. Our Old Testament and our gospel lesson tell us that no sum of money, no matter how large, can compare to the vastness and the power of our God. Both scriptures tell us that God’s glory is magnificent and that our proper response to it is humility and service. God claims us. That is good news. But, when God claims us, God puts a claim on us. God forgives. God redeems. God loves. God also sends us to be servants in a broken world. To be voices of peace when there is no peace. To show by our lives and not through empty words that we follow the Lord. To seek not places of honor at banquets, but to eat with the poor in solidarity and in love. Hear these words one more time, “All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themsleves will be exalted.” This is the Gospel of our Lord. Thanks be to God.