Entries tagged with “love” from Trans-cendental

I was worshiping with a fairly progressive congregation and the pastor was preaching on the great commandment and the second one like it (Matthew 22, Luke 10).

He asked "How do we love God?" I was surprised at the answers.

People offered "giving to charity", "working for justice", "volunteering", and "mission work".

Of course, this left little for the second question: "How do we love our neighbors?"

Now, in the Evangelical church where I grew up, the first question would be answered with "study the Bible", "obey God's law", "do not sin", "pray", and "go to church". And that got me thinking:

As much as some progressives call out Evangelical, conservative, orthodox, and traditional Christians on being legalistic, moralistic, and failing to love their neighbors, I wonder whether the log in the eyes of those of us who are progressive is a lack of a relationship to God as a person.

During the sermon mentioned at the top of this note, I thought of prayer, praise music, worship as a whole.

How do you love God?

If you're reading this on Facebook, myUCC, or other space, I invite you to come to Trans-Cendental to continue the discussion,

Year C, Third Sunday after Pentecost.
Scripture: 1 Kings 21:1-21a, 2 Samuel 11:26-12:15

Those of you who are liturgically inclined may know that we're in "the season after Pentecost". This, and the season after Epiphany, are considered "ordinary time". "Ordinary time" just means we're not in a special fast or feast time like Advent, Christmas, Lent, or Easter.

The lectionary is a set of readings on a three year cycle. Many churches use the lectionary to determine what scripture will be read each week; some, like Hope, don't always follow the lectionary.

In ordinary time, the lectionary ordinarily provides two sets of old testament readings: one that follows the scripture in the order it appears in the Bible, and another that chooses readings based on harmony with the new testament theme.

Ordinarily, only one old testament reading is used.

Ordinarily, the two old testament choices do not line up.

But this is no ordinary church, we are no ordinary people, and this is no ordinary set of readings.

I originally posted this on Pam's House Blend

So we now have several states where we can get married.

It's time we start thinking about how to have good, healthy same-sex marriages.

I am no expert, but my partner and I (we've had a Holy Union and are hoping to take an out-of-state nuptial trip next year) have been together for over two decades. I'm going to share what we've learned, and hope some others will share as well.

Progressive churches need to build up support for all families, not just the most common constructions.

(More after the page break. If you're reading this on a mirrored site like community.ucc.org or facebook.com, click the title to see the rest)

Thanks for the birth
And the feeding, and bathing, and changing
And the teaching, and loving
And the worry about my transition
And the eventual acceptance of who I am
And the worry about who I loved
And the acceptance of her into the family
And the worry about my future in the church

I know it is all because you love and care for me.

I love you, Mom.

I'm rarely this eloquent, but every once in a while I accidentally say something I feel is worth repeating. The following is from a post I made on a United Church of Christ discussion board:

Marriage isn't a piece of paper issued by the government. That paper is legal recognition of a marriage.

Marriage isn't a piece of paper signed by a pastor and/or issued by a church. That paper is a religious recognition of a marriage.

Marriage is a covenant between two adult people to care for, nurture, and love each other. Alone, this is still marriage. Without this, no piece of paper can hold two people together.

True, marriage is a legal term in the United States of America, and clergy cannot legally say they are marrying two people unless the state authorizes it. But Adam and Eve, and Cain and his wife, and Seth and his wife, were all married without church or state.

Neither the church, nor state, can prohibit marriage between two people. All they can do is fail to recognize when it happens.

I know that, historically, the threat of Hell has been a powerful tool in bringing people to the church. But I suspect it doesn't work so well anymore.


For those who do not believe in the supernatural at all, the threat of Hell probably sounds something like this:

There is a place of eternal torment (I can't prove this scientifically). That's where you're going after you die (I can't prove this scientifically). But there's another pace you can go where everything is wonderful (I can't prove this scientifically). You will go there if (you believe in Jesus/give your life to Jesus/are baptized/stop drinking/stop being gay/stop believing in evolution/go to my church/tithe/etc.)

I don't think the threat of Hell is very powerful for those who don't believe in an afterlife.


For those who believe there is more to existence than what they see, is the threat of Hell working? If an evangelist is a messenger of the Gospel, or good news, then how is "you're a sinner and are going to Hell" either good (who wants to be told they're going to be punished forever) or news (when this is preached via television, radio, film, book, and billboard)? Yes, I know the good news follows - you can be saved - but if you have to deliver the bad news of damnation to preach the good news of salvation, a lot of people are going to opt for not listening at all.


More importantly to me, however, is how the early church attracted people. People seemed to be attracted to how Christians cared for each other and community. I don't see a lot of Helfire preached in Acts.

I'm wondering whether that's what we ought to be doing: preaching the good news of capital L Love. And in preaching, I mean first living the Love between us: our family members, our congregational members and friends, across congregations, associations, conferences, diocese, synods, and denominations. If we can first practice that Love and concern between each other, and then expand that circle so it becomes so large that everyone is within its perimeter, people will come to see us as a loving people. Then we can talk about a god whose Love is even greater than ours, and maybe we're starting the work Jesus called us to.


I don't recall the citation for the Bible verse that said "Go ye into all the world and tell people they're damned". If there is such a verse, let me know. Until then, I will take up the version of the Great Commission that says I am to preach the Gospel, the Good Word, that everyone is loved.

Youtube: Vimeo:

The Language of God from United Church of Christ on Vimeo.

I was watching a rerun episode of South Park ("Make Love, not Warcraft") the other night. In it, the boys find a player who is just "killing" other payers' characters for no good reason, ruining the game for everyone.

Have you ever played a game with someone who doesn't play fair? Maybe it's someone who hides a card up a sleeve, or has a hidden stash of Monopoly money, or uses a non-regulation bat. Doesn't that take the fun out of the game?

But it is just a game, after all. So does it really matter if someone cheats?

I think it does matter. It matters to those who have been cheated and, if we're honest, it takes some of the fun out for the cheater. In some cases, not playing by the rules can raise the risk of physical injury to players.

So why do we play fair? Not because of some reward or punishment, but because playing fairly makes the game more enjoyable.

I think life is like this. There are some who believe in a single afterlife, some who believe in many reincarnations, some who believe this life is but a dream, and some who believe that the only reality is the one right here. One thing that is true for all of these ways of looking at life is that playing fair makes life better, and cheating makes it worse.

We need not rely on the carrot of Heaven nor the stick of Hell to tell us to be respectful and honest in our dealings with each other. All we need to understand is that life is better when we play fairly, even when we are in competition with each other for resources, ideas, or respect.

Love builds up. And what builds up helps everyone.

Ten years ago today, Mary and I promised ourselves to each other in Holy Union in a church in Oak Park, IL.  Twenty years ago,  we met in a bar named Suzy B.'s in Chicago. In those two decades, we dealt with a lot of things:

I was thinking today about our tendency to help when it's convenient.

When we have a few extra dollars, we contribute to charity.

When we have extra food, we give some to the food bank (some of us offer the dented cans or things we don't want to eat).

Yet need does not wax and wane with availability. Homeless people don't disappear when there's a shortage of beds in shelters. People don't magically have enough winter clothing when there are no coats available. People aren't magically filled when there is no food available. And the needs of people for community don't disappear when churches decide they have no room for "people like that".

Evangelicalism on the outs, says author

Could this be the end of Evangelicalism as we know it?

I grew up in an Evangelical church. I believe that Evangelicalism done well can be powerful and good. Unfortunately, it has largely been done poorly, viciously, and cruelly. Many evangelical groups have taken the easy way of creating an enemy and fighting against it, rather than using the church to heal and grow individuals to be caring members of society. The former is easy but weak, the latter is more difficult but hardy.

Like the financial giants made up of easy money in the form or bloated, empty investments, there are many churches that are filled with lots of people who haven't been given what they need to be part of effective communities of faith. And so there will be a huge contraction, recession, perhaps even depression.

The real tragedy here is not in the collapse of giant churches and the loss of income for their pastors. It's in the disillusionment and spiritual homelessness of the people who went to these houses of worship looking for something meaningful and came back with emptiness.

Whether these people seek another Christian community, another religious community, or a non-religious community, they are going to be looking for something to hold on to. I urge those of you who will be meeting these people to not hold their previous affiliations against them, and to instead embrace these brothers and sisters of ours as they seek to remake their worldviews. They will be very vulnerable, and they need the love they may - or may not - have shown us.

Let us be the example many Evangelicals could not.

In nearly every language, there is a variation of what Christianity calls the Golden Rule.

What is hateful to you, do not to your fellowmen. That is the entire Law; all the rest is commentary. --- Judaism: Talmud, Shabbat, 31a

That nature alone is good which refrains from doing unto another whatsoever is not good for itself. --- Zoroastrianism: Dadistan-i-dinik 94:5

This is the sum of duty: Do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you. --- Brahmanism: Mahabharata, 5:1517

Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful. --- Buddhism: Udana-Varga 5:18

Surely it is the maxim of loving-kindness: Do not unto others that you would not have them do unto you. --- Confucianism: Analects 15:23

Regard your neighbor's gain as your own gain, and your neighbor's loss as your own loss. --- Taoism: T'ai Shang Kan Ying P'ien

All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the Law and the Prophets. --- Christianity: Matthew 7:12

No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother what which he desires for himself. --- Islam: Sunnah

*In that it harm none, do as ye will. --- Wicca/Pagan: Wicca Rede 1

* --- Shintoism:

* --- Native American

My duty towards my neighbors is to love him as myself, and to do all men as I would they should do unto me. --- Book of Common Prayer: Catechism

All things whatsoever that thou wouldst not wish to be done to thee, do thou also not to another. --- The Diache, Teachings of the Twelve Apostles

Do as you would be done by. --- English Proverb

What thou avoidest suffering thyself seek not to impose on others. --- Epictetus: Encheiridion

Do not do to others what would anger you if done to you by others. --- Isocrates

This is the sum of all true righteousness: deal with others as thou wouldst thyself be dealt by. Do nothing to they neighbor which thou wouldst not have him do to thee hereafter. --- The Mahabharata

To do as one would be done by, and to love one's neighbor as one's self, constitue the ideal perfection of utiltarian morality. --- John Stuart Mill: Utilitarianism

Treat you inferiors as you would be treated by your betters. --- Seneca: Epistolae ad Lucilium, Epis. XLVII, 11

Be excellent to each other. --- Bill and Tedism


This is a very nearly universal idea. And yet, we are willing to apply this only to people who believe in our own version, and sometimes only a subset of that group.


So what of waterboarding?

Waterboarding was developed to help in converting people to Christianity by the Spanish Inquisition, so it does have a Christian basis. I wonder how many of the inquisitors were subjected to waterboarding?

Kaj Larsen was waterboarded as part of his training, and had it done again to demonstrate what was happening. I think this person may be able to judge what he would have done to him.


When will we learn to treat other human beings as human beings? When will we learn that torture encourages torture? When will we learn that killing encourages killing?

And when we we learn that mercy encourages mercy ?

Have mercy, been waitin' for the bus all day.
Have mercy, been waitin' for the bus all day. - "Waitin' for the Bus", Gibbons, Hill

In the Chicago area, riders may be waiting a bit longer for the bus. In fact, depending on where they're waiting, it could be months... or years. Deep service cuts are about to take effect due to a lack of funding for public transportation.

So the candidates were asked when children should be told about homosexuality. In programs like "It's Elementary", we're not talking about telling kids to be gay, or how to have gay sex. We're talking about different relationships. The fact is that there are kids who have same-sex parents - and it's good to teach kids to not beat up on the ones with same-sex parents, just as it's good to teach them to not beat up on children of divorced parents.

But the way some talk about tolerance, it would seem that it is the worst form of child abuse.

And isn't learning about other people a big part of elementary education? I remember learning about the people of Pompeii and about Umskikuk the Eskimo in Social Studies class. Learning about different people - and to not hate or be afraid of them - is an important part of growing up. After learning to respect people who are different, (we hope) adults will be less likely to attack people based on differences.
 
Of course, some people are afraid that such programs indoctrinate children into a lifestyle. Perhaps the Pompeii part of 6th grade social studies is what led to toga parties. I don't know - I've never been to a toga party. I have, however, been to Alaska and visited Inuit there. I didn't join them to live there the rest of my life, though.

Perhaps what people really fear is that a broad public school education will counteract the narrow training they give their children at home. It may really be about control - if we limit a child's knowledge, the child will only see limited options as an adult.

"Train children in the right way, and when old, they will not stray." - Proverbs 22:6

So what is the right way? Is it the way of judgment of others, or of love for others?

It saddens me that people who are followers of Jesus need the help of public schools to teach their children to love their neighbors. Parents, teach your children to do what you believe is right - but also teach them the love that Jesus had for others - even (perhaps especially) for those who were scorned.

References:

• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-heffernan/why-not-ask-presidential-_b_66683.html
• http://www.bilerico.com/2007/10/antigays_protecting_gay_kids_worse_than.php
• http://www.newday.com/films/Its_Elementary.html
• http://www.bilerico.com/2007/10/its_still_elementary.php

     A young man of only thirteen years wrote an amazing essay, entitled "An Experience that Changed Me". I will just quote the closing paragraph:

I know people from lots of different kinds of families. Some families are divorced, so some of my friends only live with one parent at a time. Other families have someone who is mentally challenged in their family. But no matter how different they are, they are all people. My goal is that some day everybody will be treated with love.

     No wonder Jesus said "suffer the little children to come unto me". The openness of this young man shows great promise. I pray he does not lose sight of his goal.