Hiatus

Hello! 

Yes, I'm still here.  Just ended up taking a bit of a break.  Work was particularly hectic.  Family life too.  A lot more on my plate than normal.  Something had to give.  Eventually I had to push the pause button on blogging for a while.  That is over now.  I'm back at it.

Taking a step back from every day responsibilities and routines is deeply entrenched in Christian culture.  Jesus took breaks to spend time alone in prayer with his Heavenly Father.  He encouraged others to do the same.  Throughout the ages, Christians have periodically taken a step out of the hussle and bussle of the world for spiritual renewal and reflection.  Those of us who tend to be more like Martha need to follow Mary's example, at least sometimes.

Taking those breaks can be helpful on many levels.  Our weary souls need a little R&R sometimes.  But those breaks to listen to the Holy Spirit can also lead to epiphanies, both great and small.

During my time away from blogging, I read and listened to a lot of perspectives.  I was exposed to a lot of information relevant to the focus of this blog.  I believe I had at least a few epiphanies while I was away.  Some are going to shape the focus of this blog in the future.

For example, I had some time to get back to why I wanted to start this blog.  During my lifetime, I had been perplexed by the use of Jesus's name and teaching in secular politics and in the shaping of public policy. 

My first exposure to this was in the late 1970s.  Ronald Reagan was divorced, rarely went to church and was passionately devoted to his wife, who was an ardent follower of astrology.  Yet he was embraced so vigorously by the "Religious Right." He was touted by many as a president with "Christian values."  This was particularly perplexing to me because they embraced him over Jimmy Carter, who has tried hard throughout his life to integrate his faith and his politics.  You may not agree with his politics in all cases, but he did seem to be walking the walk, not just talking the talk.  I found Mr. Carter's efforts to use diplomacy over militarism in keeping with the teachings of the Prince of Peace.  His concern for the poor seemed to reflect the thrust of much of the Bible, which emphasizes economic vulnerability over and over again.  Yet I still don't understand where the Bible says anything that remotely endorses increasing military spending, tax cuts and trickle down economics.  I've read and thought about these issues a lot.  I just don't see any Biblical support for these political issues.

Then the use of Jesus for political gain seemed to reach fever pitch in the 2000s.  Based on what I've read, I do believe that George W. Bush had a meaningful conversion experience in mid-life that saved him from a life of drunken debauchery.  But with all due respect, his political life has not shown much evidence of his conversion.  As governor of Texas, he oversaw a racist, error-ridden capital punishment apparatus, which he made no effort to fix.  He apparently lied when he told us that he reviewed each case carefully before determining whether or not to intervene.  It turns out he had no interest in more than cursory reviews; human life was not important enough.  As president, he took us into two disastrous wars that were of questionable legitimacy or utility.  Misinformation and the use of fear enabled him to take us into those wars. Because of his policies, thousands of civilians have been displaced or killed.  He has created power vacuums in which the already vulnerable in society lead an even more perilous existence.  During his reign, we came to use torture--TORTURE--against our supposed enemies.  Instead of being a leader on human rights and setting an example for others to follow, we joined the ranks of rogue nations like Iran and the People's Republic of China.  Finally, to win reelection after all these horrors, Mr. Bush and his political cronies demonized gay people because homophobia apparently entices many to the polls in critical swing states.  In sum, Mr. Bush's political legacy is based on a lack of honesty, fear-mongering and disregard for human life.  I don't believe any of that is grounded in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I grew up inside the Beltway.  I'm not politically naïve.  I know full well that politicians embellish, stretch the truth and outright lie.  Those are sad realities.  But when you go exploiting the Son of Man to achieve earthly political power, that is where I have to draw a line.  I find that deeply offensive, more than I can even put into words.  Blasphemy is the only word to describe it.

But politicians get away with that only because Christians let them.  Shame on us if we fail to study God's word, to really dig deep for ourselves and try to understand it.  Shame on us if instead we let ourselves be duped by politicians who use the name of Jesus Christ to convince us to campaign for issues that have no grounding in Biblical teaching, but have everything to do with exaggerating plutocratic trends that are destroying our nation.  Shame on anyone who uses Jesus's blessed name to justify cutting the rates on capital gains, eliminating estate taxes on the wealthy or opposing meaningful efforts to protect God's creation.  If you support those political positions, that is fine by me.  But don't you dare use my Savior to justify those positions.  Jesus said nothing that would support coddling the rich at the expense of the poor.  Nothing in his teachings can justify our callous disregard for the harm we do to the beautiful planet our Lord gave us.

To be clear, I'm in no way saying one cannot be a Christian and also support politicians like Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush or the policies they've championed.  Both Messrs. Reagan and Bush were Republicans.  I'm certainly not saying you cannot be a Christian and a Republican.  I'm also not saying that the Democratic Party is more in line with the Gospel.  What I am saying, however, is that it is blasphemy to use Christ as the rationale for endorsing politicians or political positions when what they advocate is not supported by the Bible.  The Bible was written at different times several centuries ago, and unfortunately it does not speak to every issue we face in modern America.  We have to do our best in the gray areas.  But call a spade a spade.  Acknowledge the gray areas, don't propagate misinformation by saying the Bible supports things that it does not even address.

In that vein, I've decided that I'm going to get back to what I saw as the original focus of this blog.  Many of the hot button issues that have attracted some modern American Christians to the polls are complex.  I've shied away from them to some extent.  Not because I was afraid of wading into such areas of controversy, but because their complexity merits in-depth study and consideration.  In many areas of life, Christianity does not offer easy, quick answers.  Things are not always as clear cut as some of our brethren assert.  In the past, however, I have not had time to really dig deep to explore some of these issues.  I anticipate I will finally have some time this year, so that is the direction this blog will be going.

Memorial Day and Families

Tomorrow is Memorial Day.  Many of us think of it as one of the few three day week-ends when we can have some down time, maybe take a road trip.  For others, it may be a time to hit the stores to take advantage of sales.  It is also widely viewed as the official start to summer. 

But Memorial Day is actually a much more solemn occasion.  As busy Americans we often lose sight of that fact.  Beginning with the end of the Civil War, Memorial Day is the time set aside to remember and honor those who died serving their country in the military. 

To those who have lost loved-ones who served in the military, I extend my heart-felt condolences and sympathy.  The loss of someone we love is one of the most difficult of human experiences.

I don’t have any amazing insights or observations about Memorial Day.  I simply wanted to share two reports I heard on the radio while I was making my family breakfast this morning.  They continue a theme from the prior posts, i.e., the separation of families.  The first involves a soldier and his grandfather.  The second involves children whose father is currently deployed.

http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=153812434&m=153812417

http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=153812436&m=153812419

For more than a decade our country has been engaged in wars of questionable justification.  I come from a family where many have made great sacrifices to serve their country in the military.  My hometown in Texas is a city where for a long time the major industry has been the military.  I’m not from Berkley and I don’t eat tofu with much regularity.  But you don’t have to be a flower child to question our nation’s use of its military in recent years. 

Many have written eloquently about the dire foreign policy and humanitarian repercussions of our invasion of Iraq and our long presence in Afghanistan.  Those ideas do resonate with me.  As a Christian, I am concerned about all of God’s children, not just the ones who look like me or who bear the same passport.

But as we observe Memorial Day tomorrow, I would encourage us to think about these wars in a somewhat different context.  I would ask that we consider the impact on American families when we decide to send our military for dangerous and prolonged periods to other nations’ territory.   

What happens to a family when parents aren’t there when children take their first steps or begin school? 

What happens to their relationships when parents and children are physically separated for a year or more at a time? 

What does it do to kids who see mom or dad broken-hearted and in tears when they look at a picture of their partner or when mom or dad gets off the phone with him or her? 

What does it do to children who fear that their parents may hit an IED at any moment? 

Are these sacrifices of our families worth whatever the benefit is that we’re supposed to be reaping from these military engagements?  With an all-volunteer military, few of us think about the plight of military families who have borne the brunt of these sacrifices.

Job 5:11

The lowly he sets on high, and those who mourn are lifted to safety.

Service and Giving in Advent

Our pastor’s sermon to kick off Advent encouraged us to do things that really celebrated the life of our Savior.  She suggested a number of ideas, but she of course flagged that service is a great way to celebrate Christ’s birth.  She mentioned several ministries at our own church as practical ways to serve others at this time of year.

I really love service and have done a good deal of volunteer work in my life to-date.  But I was talking with some church friends the other day about certain struggles we have with service at our current phase of life.  In the group, we were all parents to young children.  It is very hard to find age appropriate service opportunities to do with children.  Our own family has lived in several towns and gone to different churches while our kids have been young.  At each church, this is a perennial problem.  As a result, it is hard for parents to do service because then child care is needed.  And in our hectic lives, we all already have so precious little time together as a family. 

A friend of mine in the group was saying how guilty it made her feel, she just cannot do enough.  I told her that I used to feel that way, but had eventually come to a realization and a peace about the situation.  I realized that this is only a season in life.  Our kids will not be little and unable to participate in volunteerism forever. They will get bigger and more opportunities will become available. 

And eventually they will fly the nest.  At that point, my husband and I (God willing!) will have plenty of time to devote to serving others.  But I believe at this present season of our lives, God has other plans.  He has put our family together for a reason.  Our children need our nurture and guidance.  So, I am content to be on the service sidelines a lot these days.  I still do things that work logistically like helping with the children’s ministry or ushering at church.  And there are a few other ministries where I only have to help periodically. One ministry even allows our whole family (including the kids) to participate. But I feel that my main area of service right now is to my family—particularly to my young children.

Nonetheless, many parents would like their children to be more involved and to have a better appreciation of the needs and struggles of our brothers and sisters around the world.  It is important—especially when we live in a country of relative wealth—to understand how fortunate we are.  I would like to share two practical ways that my husband and I have helped others while also helping our children understand how privileged their lives are.

First, for a number of years our family has had a tradition of “shopping” for gifts in the World Vision Gift Catalogue.  World Vision is a well-respected Christian humanitarian organization that does an array of practical and impactful things to meet the needs of vulnerable people around the world.  The Gift Catalogue has a number of options.  You can choose from a host of things to bring health, education, nutrition or even a livelihood to children and families in need. Each year, we give each of our children a budget and study the catalogue with them. It always makes tears come to my eyes when they choose to buy things like ducks, blankets, soccer balls, seeds and mosquito netting for other families. I think they have a better appreciation of how difficult some people’s lives are and how our actions can ease their burden.  You can learn more about the World Vision Gift Catalogue at:  http://www.worldvision.org/content.nsf/pages/unique-gift-catalogs-for-gift-giving?Open.

My own theological views on war and the military are complex.  But regardless of that fact, I greatly admire anyone who gives service to others—particularly those who risk their own lives.  As our nation has been involved in two separate wars in the past decade, my heart has broken for the toll that the situation has taken on families.  I mourn for the separation of parents and children especially.  And at this time of year, I can imagine that sacrifice must seem almost unbearable.  I have been a real fan of the site:  http://www.anysoldier.com/. It provides a list of soldiers who are willing to act as the point person for their unit, and lists things that would be most useful and appropriate to send to that particular unit. Our family on various occasions has sent cards, art work and care packages to soldiers serving overseas.  It is a very worthwhile endeavor.

Matthew 7:9-12

Who among you will give your children a stone when they ask for bread?  Or give them a snake when they ask for fish?  If you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.  Therefore, you should treat people in the same way that you want people to treat you; this is the Law and the Prophets.

John 15:13

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.