Back in the days of the Russian Cold War, when it was patriotic for Americans to hate Communists, I knew a simple southern preacher by the name of J. C. Paulk. In some of his preaching he got on this subject of people and referred to Isaiah 2:4:
“And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”
My friend Paulk wrote:
“God’s people lay down murder, killing, war, all of those things, except as they are conscripted by their governments. Today, if you would turn the righteous people in Russia and the righteous people in America together in a peace conference, they would make peace immediately.
“In the early church, when the Christians were in the vast majority, they did not try to overthrow the Roman Empire. Tertullian wrote to one of the Emperors saying, “We could destroy you by simple divorce. Go on you good Emperors and kill us. You will be more popular with the masses. Our blood is seed sown. You may count your armies. We have more in a single province. If such a vast horde of people were to remove to some remote part of the earthy, you would wonder of whom you were rulers.
“This is all brought about by a noiseless book. We are in your forum, in your Senate. Who is it that hears of our religion and will not investigate it? Who is it that will investigate it and not embrace it? Who is it that will embrace it and not lay down his life for it?” These words may not be verbatim but it is the gist of one of the letters Tertullian wrote to one of the emperors.
“If the Christians had not beaten their swords into plow shares and their spears into pruning hooks, they could have taken over the Roman Empire.”
I am sorry to say that Christians have not always lived up to the one whose name they profess to follow. I’m also sorry that some of my Christian brothers and sisters are not entirely popular in today‘s world. Throughout the Muslim world, as well as states like Orissa (India), China and elsewhere, some of them are violated, left vulnerable, and considerably abused. That is an undisputable fact in this present culture.
Whether or not J. C. Paulk was right, I have been around Christians long enough to know to know that you can find a few counterfeits around, but most are genuinely real. They are not all perfect; just look at me.
But I agree with Paulk, that real Christians “are the most harmless people in all the world. They do not steal, they do not lie, they do not commit adultery, they bear not false witness, they pray for the rulers, and all that are in authority. They visit the sick, they live pure lives, they don’t even go to prison unless they are put in by their enemies for doing right.”
Global events today cause me to wonder, what would happen if governments got out of the way today and let Christians from around the world sit around the table of diplomacy, listen to each other, iron out people’s differences, and forge friendships for the common good of all. We might all be ahead in this hate-filled, peace-forsaken garden God gave us to farm together.
One thing I know for sure, whether we be atheist, Christian, Hindu, or Muslim, we need to put our differences aside and listen to one another, with acceptance and for the common good. We don't have to agree, but we do need to learn to accept each other and live together.
Wayne
Monday, January 26, 2009
Responsible Government
According to a congressional report scheduled to be released today, federal workers in the District and New York City failed to pay $176,000 in fines for 1,147 tickets issued last year to their U.S. government vehicles.
Leading the way in the District were the Army, Navy and Air Force, whose employees ignored 158 tickets for $28,000 in 2007. Most were racked up by recruiters working at the Armed Forces Recruiting Center near 13th and L streets NW.
In New York, FBI agents set the worst example, accumulating $35,000 in fines and comfortably besting the Department of State ($28,000) and the Marine Corps ($20,000) in unpaid violations.
Almost half of the citations were issued during morning and evening rushes, increasing congestion and creating safety hazards, the report concludes. Other violations included parking on sidewalks, in handicapped zones and in front of fire hydrants and bus stops. Only 6 percent were for expired meters.
There are numerous, and far more flagrant, examples of irresponsibility on the part of our government over the past fifty years. All of which suggests that one of the biggest favors President Obama can give the American public is a new policy of governmental openness, equality, and responsibility. I like being an American, but I abhor irresponsible government that leaves citizens taking the flack for its irresponsibility.
Wayne
Leading the way in the District were the Army, Navy and Air Force, whose employees ignored 158 tickets for $28,000 in 2007. Most were racked up by recruiters working at the Armed Forces Recruiting Center near 13th and L streets NW.
In New York, FBI agents set the worst example, accumulating $35,000 in fines and comfortably besting the Department of State ($28,000) and the Marine Corps ($20,000) in unpaid violations.
Almost half of the citations were issued during morning and evening rushes, increasing congestion and creating safety hazards, the report concludes. Other violations included parking on sidewalks, in handicapped zones and in front of fire hydrants and bus stops. Only 6 percent were for expired meters.
There are numerous, and far more flagrant, examples of irresponsibility on the part of our government over the past fifty years. All of which suggests that one of the biggest favors President Obama can give the American public is a new policy of governmental openness, equality, and responsibility. I like being an American, but I abhor irresponsible government that leaves citizens taking the flack for its irresponsibility.
Wayne
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Politics vs Principles or People and Peace?
When will politicans discover that war is not about principles but about people? Amira’s story from Gaza illustrates that people mean more than either Israeli principle or Hamas politic. Take for example: Amira al-Girim, 15, found in a hospital bed with her leg in traction.
According to Jeremy Reynalds of Assist News, Amira was found alone, bleeding in a house, about four days after she saw her father killed by an Israeli tank shell in front of her. Her brother and sister died - she thought in an air strike - as they ran to get help.
Her remaining family thought she had also died, and had already buried the scraps of flesh they thought were her remains in a box. Tears ran down her face, as she described to a BBC reporter in a weak voice punctuated with sobs, waiting stranded after an Israeli tank shell killed her father and his friend.
She said, "I looked outside, I found my father's car crushed, and his legs cut off. The floor was covered with blood from my leg."
The BBC said by the time she was found - she wasn't not sure if it was three or four days later - she hardly knew her own name. But she remembered details.
Amira told the BBC, "I got a glass of water; I wanted to fill it with water from the tap, but it fell down on the floor, and then there was blood all over the glass so I couldn't use it. I waited a bit and then I drank directly from the tap."
She said she wanted to leave, but her father was lying across the door. "I didn't want to step on him in case I hurt him," Amira said."
She said she slept in the street for two days, but then found her way into another house. The BBC said Amira had struggled about 500 meters with a badly broken, bleeding leg, in search of shelter as fighting raged nearby.
The BBC said that ABC producer Sami Ziyara, who found Amira with his colleague Imad, said doctors told him she had only a few hours left to live at the point they found her in Imad's house.
He watched an emotional reunion after the remaining family members were located.
"I can't describe how it was when the mother came to see her daughter. She lost three - her husband, her son and her daughter - when she found Amira, she was almost in a coma," Ziyara told the BBC.
He added, "Amira is traumatized. She will need treatment forever. Even if they do everything for her, she will never ever be like she was before."
Bodies are still being recovered from the rubble of buildings, the BBC reported. Jimmy Carter has made the case and others have spoken. Keith Ellison explained the unsettling nature of Gaza when he noted that, while he believes Israel has a right to defend itself and has in the past voted for resolutions highlighting that right: "For the U.S. Congress to simply reiterate its statement that Israel has a right to defend itself, to me misses the critical issue before the world at this moment, which is the humanitarian crisis" (emphasis added).
We must always be more concerned about conflict resolution, human relationships, and peace, than about political principles and diplomatic policies. Peace and people must always take precedence to politics and perceived principles.
Wayne
According to Jeremy Reynalds of Assist News, Amira was found alone, bleeding in a house, about four days after she saw her father killed by an Israeli tank shell in front of her. Her brother and sister died - she thought in an air strike - as they ran to get help.
Her remaining family thought she had also died, and had already buried the scraps of flesh they thought were her remains in a box. Tears ran down her face, as she described to a BBC reporter in a weak voice punctuated with sobs, waiting stranded after an Israeli tank shell killed her father and his friend.
She said, "I looked outside, I found my father's car crushed, and his legs cut off. The floor was covered with blood from my leg."
The BBC said by the time she was found - she wasn't not sure if it was three or four days later - she hardly knew her own name. But she remembered details.
Amira told the BBC, "I got a glass of water; I wanted to fill it with water from the tap, but it fell down on the floor, and then there was blood all over the glass so I couldn't use it. I waited a bit and then I drank directly from the tap."
She said she wanted to leave, but her father was lying across the door. "I didn't want to step on him in case I hurt him," Amira said."
She said she slept in the street for two days, but then found her way into another house. The BBC said Amira had struggled about 500 meters with a badly broken, bleeding leg, in search of shelter as fighting raged nearby.
The BBC said that ABC producer Sami Ziyara, who found Amira with his colleague Imad, said doctors told him she had only a few hours left to live at the point they found her in Imad's house.
He watched an emotional reunion after the remaining family members were located.
"I can't describe how it was when the mother came to see her daughter. She lost three - her husband, her son and her daughter - when she found Amira, she was almost in a coma," Ziyara told the BBC.
He added, "Amira is traumatized. She will need treatment forever. Even if they do everything for her, she will never ever be like she was before."
Bodies are still being recovered from the rubble of buildings, the BBC reported. Jimmy Carter has made the case and others have spoken. Keith Ellison explained the unsettling nature of Gaza when he noted that, while he believes Israel has a right to defend itself and has in the past voted for resolutions highlighting that right: "For the U.S. Congress to simply reiterate its statement that Israel has a right to defend itself, to me misses the critical issue before the world at this moment, which is the humanitarian crisis" (emphasis added).
We must always be more concerned about conflict resolution, human relationships, and peace, than about political principles and diplomatic policies. Peace and people must always take precedence to politics and perceived principles.
Wayne
Monday, January 19, 2009
The Hope of Divine Grace
My friend Ron is the very caring owner-operator of a residential care facility. A converted alcoholic--Baptist. He has a good mind uncluttered by academics. He wrote me questioning the changes coming tomorrow, with the inauguration of Barack Hussein Obama.
Mr. Obama resulted from a black-white marriage. He is half white, half black. Culture marks him as a black man, brilliant, gifted, discerning, and unproved, tho’ a man of faith. President-elect Obama campaigned and won on change. People were weary with war, political corruption, ideological self-interests, and lack of focus on the common good.
Thus change became Ron’s subject to me. His writing touched me; I felt a deep longing for truth and righteousness, but also a deep cynicism--felt by many. I found that difficult to relate to, and I excerpt from Ron:
Does pureness touching that which is not pure, become pure, and the answer is No". Simply said, pouring pure water into dirty water, will not make the dirty water clean. In our political system, the dirt has crept into every crevice of our political machinery, run by blind bureaucrats, boasting of brilliance, when yet in fact they are "Bullies", beating the innocent public into a blind submission. For the sole purpose of securing their own well being, rather than the interests of a public at large.
I responsed:
Pouring pure water into the dirty water will not make everything pure again; that is true. It is also true that the political system is corrupted with a great deal of filth. Your post suggests a great and hungering thirst for God, but I cannot relate to the cynicism and pessimism I sense in your writing.
My experience is that God makes things new; he transforms people, he enables transitions through impossible situations. Above all, he promises peace, the peace of his presence, and a reconciled state with others, along with a contentment that cannot be purchased with what you can buy. With Him as my hope, I continue in the faith that (1) with him all things are possible, and (2) my faithfulness will eventually carry me into his eternal presence--where evil has no existence.
That exercise reminds me I have lived in places where white fathers would deprive their children rather than allow them to be educated with black children. I have lived where white preachers were beaten and left for dead for educating young black preachers. Thus, I feel the audacity of hope as this black president-elect takes the oath of office tomorrow. I am grateful for the change achieved by our nation; I am proud to accept as president, the son of a single parent, from a mixed marriage, raised by his grandparents. If he can become the president of our great nation, anybody can.
I don’t expect utopia tomorrow, but I sense new purpose within our nation, a return to stronger moral values, opportunities for uniting and pulling together for the common good, as opposed to selfish and special interests.
Idealistic? Yes! Simplistic? Maybe. Impossible? Absolutely not! My faith is solidly anchored in the Judaio-Christian tradition. I believe in the early Americans that created the American Revolution to maintain religious and protect political freedom.
That rebellion against the unjust politics of King George resulted in a “Promisory Note” called the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Martin Luther King dreamed of the day when his Negro people could cash that check of equal opportunity.
The dream King dreamed, but never realized, was ignited by his Baptist faith in Jesus as the Christ who laid down his life for others rather than disobey the purposes of God the Father. A novel approach, but it provided Dr. King a basis for non-resistance and the Civil Rights Movement. The seed came from Jesus who declared Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends … and much more.
Accepting current hubris for what it is, and ignoring the dissonant cynicism and doubt of others, I affirm the audacity of political hopes fed by the promised changes of tomorrow. My hope is not in Barack Obama, nor in the politics of America; my hope is in God Almighty, known to some Muslims as “Allah.”
Had God Almighty not been filled with a vision of creative hope, He would long ago have discarded this selfish, sinful humanity that favors selfish-interests and refuses to discard war, ethnic cleansing, genocide, economic determinism, and other such malfeasance that prevent peace on earth.
God Almighty reigns as the author of change and transition, restoration and reconciliation. The very audacity of Divine grace stunts us with unbelief and doubt, Yet, that very Divine Audacity compels me to reject human doubt and cynicism and cling to Him with audacious hope.
Wayne
Mr. Obama resulted from a black-white marriage. He is half white, half black. Culture marks him as a black man, brilliant, gifted, discerning, and unproved, tho’ a man of faith. President-elect Obama campaigned and won on change. People were weary with war, political corruption, ideological self-interests, and lack of focus on the common good.
Thus change became Ron’s subject to me. His writing touched me; I felt a deep longing for truth and righteousness, but also a deep cynicism--felt by many. I found that difficult to relate to, and I excerpt from Ron:
Does pureness touching that which is not pure, become pure, and the answer is No". Simply said, pouring pure water into dirty water, will not make the dirty water clean. In our political system, the dirt has crept into every crevice of our political machinery, run by blind bureaucrats, boasting of brilliance, when yet in fact they are "Bullies", beating the innocent public into a blind submission. For the sole purpose of securing their own well being, rather than the interests of a public at large.
I responsed:
Pouring pure water into the dirty water will not make everything pure again; that is true. It is also true that the political system is corrupted with a great deal of filth. Your post suggests a great and hungering thirst for God, but I cannot relate to the cynicism and pessimism I sense in your writing.
My experience is that God makes things new; he transforms people, he enables transitions through impossible situations. Above all, he promises peace, the peace of his presence, and a reconciled state with others, along with a contentment that cannot be purchased with what you can buy. With Him as my hope, I continue in the faith that (1) with him all things are possible, and (2) my faithfulness will eventually carry me into his eternal presence--where evil has no existence.
That exercise reminds me I have lived in places where white fathers would deprive their children rather than allow them to be educated with black children. I have lived where white preachers were beaten and left for dead for educating young black preachers. Thus, I feel the audacity of hope as this black president-elect takes the oath of office tomorrow. I am grateful for the change achieved by our nation; I am proud to accept as president, the son of a single parent, from a mixed marriage, raised by his grandparents. If he can become the president of our great nation, anybody can.
I don’t expect utopia tomorrow, but I sense new purpose within our nation, a return to stronger moral values, opportunities for uniting and pulling together for the common good, as opposed to selfish and special interests.
Idealistic? Yes! Simplistic? Maybe. Impossible? Absolutely not! My faith is solidly anchored in the Judaio-Christian tradition. I believe in the early Americans that created the American Revolution to maintain religious and protect political freedom.
That rebellion against the unjust politics of King George resulted in a “Promisory Note” called the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Martin Luther King dreamed of the day when his Negro people could cash that check of equal opportunity.
The dream King dreamed, but never realized, was ignited by his Baptist faith in Jesus as the Christ who laid down his life for others rather than disobey the purposes of God the Father. A novel approach, but it provided Dr. King a basis for non-resistance and the Civil Rights Movement. The seed came from Jesus who declared Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends … and much more.
Accepting current hubris for what it is, and ignoring the dissonant cynicism and doubt of others, I affirm the audacity of political hopes fed by the promised changes of tomorrow. My hope is not in Barack Obama, nor in the politics of America; my hope is in God Almighty, known to some Muslims as “Allah.”
Had God Almighty not been filled with a vision of creative hope, He would long ago have discarded this selfish, sinful humanity that favors selfish-interests and refuses to discard war, ethnic cleansing, genocide, economic determinism, and other such malfeasance that prevent peace on earth.
God Almighty reigns as the author of change and transition, restoration and reconciliation. The very audacity of Divine grace stunts us with unbelief and doubt, Yet, that very Divine Audacity compels me to reject human doubt and cynicism and cling to Him with audacious hope.
Wayne
Thursday, January 15, 2009
GAZA
Following is a portion of a news report from Jeremy Reynalds, Corres-pondent for ASSIST News Service. He quotes the priest of the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza, Manuel Mussallam describing conditions in Gaza. I offer several excerpts.
"From the valley of tears, from Gaza that is sinking in its blood, the blood that has strangled the joy in the hearts of one and a half million inhabitants, I send you this message of faith and hope. But the message of love is imprisoned; choked in our throats as Christians; we do not venture to even say it to ourselves. The priests of the Church today are raising hope as a banner, so that God will have mercy on us and have compassion on us and keep a remnant for himself in Gaza so that the light of Christ that was lit by Deacon Philip at the establishment of the church will not be extinguished. . ."
“The children of Gaza and their parents are sleeping in the corridors of their home, if there are any, or in the toilets and bathrooms for their protection. They are trembling with fear at every voice, movement and bombardment and the heavy shelling of the F-16 planes. “The planes in most of their flights have targeted the main government and Hamas headquarters, these buildings are as close as six meters from people's homes.
“As a result, people's homes have been severely damaged and many children have died because of this. Our children are living in a state of trauma and fear. They are sick from it and for other reasons such as the lack of food, malnutrition, poverty and the cold. Our people in Gaza are treated like animals in a zoo, they eat but remain hungry, they cry, but no one wipes their tears. There is no water, no electricity, no food, but fear, terror and blockade."
Mussallam asked those who read his letter to remember the suffering in Gaza. "We want you to raise your continuous prayers to God . . . I am sending short messages from the Bible to our parishioners to increase the hope in their hearts."
He concluded, "In the midst of all this, our people in Gaza remain rejecting war as a means for peace and confirming that the road to peace is peace. We in Gaza are steadfast and have resolution in our eyes, 'between slavery and death, we have no choice.' We want to live to praise the Lord in Palestine and witness for Christ, we want to live for Palestine, not die for it, but if death is imposed on us, we will die honest, brave and strong."
I can scarcely comprehend the inhumanity of humanity. Having experienced the holocaust and countless indignities and dispersions, Israeli’s of all people, should feel for other human beings. They reason that they have a right to defend themselves, yet they have national recognition only because the Western powers carved out a chunk of Palestine and named it Israel in 1948--by decree--and that for selfish reasons. Moreover, they continue to occupy lands not really theirs, and they barricade Gaza residents, preventing them from obtaining the essentials of life.
On the other hand, Hamas (if they believe in God at all) are militant Islamic resistors. Muslims, worship God (Allah in Arabic) on whom they cannot agree as to whether he is peaceable or justifies jihad and converts by force. Hamas does not accept the national rights of Israel and they justify launching rockets into Israel as being their only means of protesting their destitute circumstances from Israel‘s blockade.
I protest the suffering on both sides and acknowledge the rights of humanity on both sides, although I agree with neither when it comes to God. This battle is centuries old and it only proves rather conclusively that neither Israel nor Hamas have an adequate answer, politically or religiously.
Only reconciliation is powerful enough to destroy the powers of greed, hatred, and hostility. Only the power of love that God expressed through the Christ is sufficient to transform the human heart. It is time to consider a second opinion. It is time for all of us to help both parties to come to the bargaining table and work out an equitable and humane solution that provides a place for both Jews and Palestinians.
Let us pray to that end.
Wayne
"From the valley of tears, from Gaza that is sinking in its blood, the blood that has strangled the joy in the hearts of one and a half million inhabitants, I send you this message of faith and hope. But the message of love is imprisoned; choked in our throats as Christians; we do not venture to even say it to ourselves. The priests of the Church today are raising hope as a banner, so that God will have mercy on us and have compassion on us and keep a remnant for himself in Gaza so that the light of Christ that was lit by Deacon Philip at the establishment of the church will not be extinguished. . ."
“The children of Gaza and their parents are sleeping in the corridors of their home, if there are any, or in the toilets and bathrooms for their protection. They are trembling with fear at every voice, movement and bombardment and the heavy shelling of the F-16 planes. “The planes in most of their flights have targeted the main government and Hamas headquarters, these buildings are as close as six meters from people's homes.
“As a result, people's homes have been severely damaged and many children have died because of this. Our children are living in a state of trauma and fear. They are sick from it and for other reasons such as the lack of food, malnutrition, poverty and the cold. Our people in Gaza are treated like animals in a zoo, they eat but remain hungry, they cry, but no one wipes their tears. There is no water, no electricity, no food, but fear, terror and blockade."
Mussallam asked those who read his letter to remember the suffering in Gaza. "We want you to raise your continuous prayers to God . . . I am sending short messages from the Bible to our parishioners to increase the hope in their hearts."
He concluded, "In the midst of all this, our people in Gaza remain rejecting war as a means for peace and confirming that the road to peace is peace. We in Gaza are steadfast and have resolution in our eyes, 'between slavery and death, we have no choice.' We want to live to praise the Lord in Palestine and witness for Christ, we want to live for Palestine, not die for it, but if death is imposed on us, we will die honest, brave and strong."
I can scarcely comprehend the inhumanity of humanity. Having experienced the holocaust and countless indignities and dispersions, Israeli’s of all people, should feel for other human beings. They reason that they have a right to defend themselves, yet they have national recognition only because the Western powers carved out a chunk of Palestine and named it Israel in 1948--by decree--and that for selfish reasons. Moreover, they continue to occupy lands not really theirs, and they barricade Gaza residents, preventing them from obtaining the essentials of life.
On the other hand, Hamas (if they believe in God at all) are militant Islamic resistors. Muslims, worship God (Allah in Arabic) on whom they cannot agree as to whether he is peaceable or justifies jihad and converts by force. Hamas does not accept the national rights of Israel and they justify launching rockets into Israel as being their only means of protesting their destitute circumstances from Israel‘s blockade.
I protest the suffering on both sides and acknowledge the rights of humanity on both sides, although I agree with neither when it comes to God. This battle is centuries old and it only proves rather conclusively that neither Israel nor Hamas have an adequate answer, politically or religiously.
Only reconciliation is powerful enough to destroy the powers of greed, hatred, and hostility. Only the power of love that God expressed through the Christ is sufficient to transform the human heart. It is time to consider a second opinion. It is time for all of us to help both parties to come to the bargaining table and work out an equitable and humane solution that provides a place for both Jews and Palestinians.
Let us pray to that end.
Wayne
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
There's Power in Reconciliation
Robert H. Schuller of the Crystal Cathedral‘s Hour of Power offers this positive assessment:
Failure doesn't mean you are a failure, it does mean you haven't succeeded yet.
Failure doesn't mean you have accomplished nothing, it does mean you have learned something.
Failure doesn't mean you have been a fool, it does mean you had a lot of faith.
Failure doesn't mean you have been disgraced, it does mean you were willing to try.
Failure doesn't mean you don't have it, it does mean you have to do something in a different way.
Failure doesn't mean you are inferior, it does mean you are not perfect.
Failure doesn't mean you've wasted your life, it does mean you've a reason to start afresh.
Failure doesn't mean you should give up, it does mean you should try harder.
Failure doesn't mean you'll never make it, it does mean it will take a little longer.
Failure doesn't mean God has abandoned you, it does mean God has a better idea!
I have followed Schuller since meeting him in the late seventies and I believe he is right. When Richard Nixon took office, he received the following note that adds a further clue to the wisdom we need (which Nixon unfortunately did not adequately take to heart).
“…DEFEATS ARE POISON TO SOME MEN” wrote Robert O. Reynolds to Nixon, quoting a favorite College Professor, adding “Great men have become mediocre because of inability to accept and abide by a defeat. Many men have become great because they were able to accept and abide by a defeat.
“If you should achieve any kind of success and develop superior qualities as a man, chances are it will be because of the manner in which you meet the defeats that will come to you just as they come to all men. (Wm. Manchester/The Glory And the Dream, A narrative History of America 1932-1972/Vol two. Boston/Little, Brown and Company, 1974/1084-1085).
Lack of Personal integrity remains our greatest human failure. This is a theological problem because nowhere outside of theology can we find an adequate solution. It currently shows itself in the newest message from Osama bin ladin, in the bail-out news, in the Gaza crisis, and the Islamic conflict with Christians in India and elsewhere.
We have not yet learned how to deal with this theological problem of our human failures. We refuse to learn how to convert our failures into usable cash that we can roll over into dividends with a future of hope.
RECONCILIATION OFFERS A MOST POWERFUL TOOL. I loved watching THE STRAIGHT STORY, the true story of Alvin Straight. It related the tragedy of two brothers separated by a drunken quarrel that resulted in ten years of silence and separation. No longer able to drive his car without a license, Alvin walks aided by 2 canes.
Wishing to reconcile with his stroked brother before it is too late, Alvin rigged up a trailer, connected it to his riding mower, and launched a 300 miles drive from Laurens, Iowa to Mt Zion WI--to reconcile with his brother Lyle.
The journey proved arduous, a hazardous adventure, but Alvin rolled into Lyle’s yard safely, calling, Lyle.” After a lengthy silence, Lyle finally responded, “Alvin.” The two strangers--once brothers--silently sat on Lyle’s porch, neither able to vocalize his hurts. Finally … Lyle looked at the well-traveled mower and asked, “Did you ride that thing all the way here to see me, Alvin?”
“I did that, Lyle,” replies Alvin.
Reconciliation is never easy, but efforts pay huge dividends. Three of the world’s great religions look to the Patriarch Abraham for rootage. Two of them--Judaism and Islam--are locked in mortal combat to the death. Christianity alone offers the hope of converting centuries of hatred and hostility into any wholesome hope.
Centuries ago, “quarreling arose between Abram‘s (Abraham) herdsmen and the herdsmen of Lot”. Abram sought resolution: “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me. . .Is not the whole land before you?” Abram, the stronger, gave Lot the choice, saying “Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right. . .”
Lot chose--be it selfishly. God blessed Abram--greatly. Both men prospered. Later, Abram had to rescue Lot from an enemy raider. Meanwhile, Abram, built an altar to God, becoming the father of the faithful (Genesis 13-15).
True Christians still pursue Christ’s way of reconciliation, exercising the power of love as uniquely expressed in the life and message of Jesus. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you. . .by this all men will know that you are My disciples” ( John 13:33-34; cf Romans 4).
Wayne
Failure doesn't mean you are a failure, it does mean you haven't succeeded yet.
Failure doesn't mean you have accomplished nothing, it does mean you have learned something.
Failure doesn't mean you have been a fool, it does mean you had a lot of faith.
Failure doesn't mean you have been disgraced, it does mean you were willing to try.
Failure doesn't mean you don't have it, it does mean you have to do something in a different way.
Failure doesn't mean you are inferior, it does mean you are not perfect.
Failure doesn't mean you've wasted your life, it does mean you've a reason to start afresh.
Failure doesn't mean you should give up, it does mean you should try harder.
Failure doesn't mean you'll never make it, it does mean it will take a little longer.
Failure doesn't mean God has abandoned you, it does mean God has a better idea!
I have followed Schuller since meeting him in the late seventies and I believe he is right. When Richard Nixon took office, he received the following note that adds a further clue to the wisdom we need (which Nixon unfortunately did not adequately take to heart).
“…DEFEATS ARE POISON TO SOME MEN” wrote Robert O. Reynolds to Nixon, quoting a favorite College Professor, adding “Great men have become mediocre because of inability to accept and abide by a defeat. Many men have become great because they were able to accept and abide by a defeat.
“If you should achieve any kind of success and develop superior qualities as a man, chances are it will be because of the manner in which you meet the defeats that will come to you just as they come to all men. (Wm. Manchester/The Glory And the Dream, A narrative History of America 1932-1972/Vol two. Boston/Little, Brown and Company, 1974/1084-1085).
Lack of Personal integrity remains our greatest human failure. This is a theological problem because nowhere outside of theology can we find an adequate solution. It currently shows itself in the newest message from Osama bin ladin, in the bail-out news, in the Gaza crisis, and the Islamic conflict with Christians in India and elsewhere.
We have not yet learned how to deal with this theological problem of our human failures. We refuse to learn how to convert our failures into usable cash that we can roll over into dividends with a future of hope.
RECONCILIATION OFFERS A MOST POWERFUL TOOL. I loved watching THE STRAIGHT STORY, the true story of Alvin Straight. It related the tragedy of two brothers separated by a drunken quarrel that resulted in ten years of silence and separation. No longer able to drive his car without a license, Alvin walks aided by 2 canes.
Wishing to reconcile with his stroked brother before it is too late, Alvin rigged up a trailer, connected it to his riding mower, and launched a 300 miles drive from Laurens, Iowa to Mt Zion WI--to reconcile with his brother Lyle.
The journey proved arduous, a hazardous adventure, but Alvin rolled into Lyle’s yard safely, calling, Lyle.” After a lengthy silence, Lyle finally responded, “Alvin.” The two strangers--once brothers--silently sat on Lyle’s porch, neither able to vocalize his hurts. Finally … Lyle looked at the well-traveled mower and asked, “Did you ride that thing all the way here to see me, Alvin?”
“I did that, Lyle,” replies Alvin.
Reconciliation is never easy, but efforts pay huge dividends. Three of the world’s great religions look to the Patriarch Abraham for rootage. Two of them--Judaism and Islam--are locked in mortal combat to the death. Christianity alone offers the hope of converting centuries of hatred and hostility into any wholesome hope.
Centuries ago, “quarreling arose between Abram‘s (Abraham) herdsmen and the herdsmen of Lot”. Abram sought resolution: “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me. . .Is not the whole land before you?” Abram, the stronger, gave Lot the choice, saying “Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right. . .”
Lot chose--be it selfishly. God blessed Abram--greatly. Both men prospered. Later, Abram had to rescue Lot from an enemy raider. Meanwhile, Abram, built an altar to God, becoming the father of the faithful (Genesis 13-15).
True Christians still pursue Christ’s way of reconciliation, exercising the power of love as uniquely expressed in the life and message of Jesus. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you. . .by this all men will know that you are My disciples” ( John 13:33-34; cf Romans 4).
Wayne
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Following the Light
Following a pathway of peace made brighter by his Christian faith, former President Jimmy Carter was heard to say “The advancement of human rights around the world was a cornerstone of foreign policy and U.S. leadership for decades“ … until the attacks on our country on Sept. 11, 2001 (WP, Jimmy Carter, December 10, 2008; Page A25).
Since that horrific event, Carter observed that while Americans continue to espouse freedom and democracy, “our government's abusive practices have undermined struggles for freedom in many parts of the world.” Our politics have interfered with our peace processes.
Abusive practices at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay cost the United States its mantle as a champion of human rights. Our internal political struggles eliminated much of our national ability to speak credibly on the subject and have resulted in a global backlash against democracy, leaving human rights activists targets of abusive scorn.
Noting the need for the advancement of human rights and democracy, for global stability, Carter further noted that the United States should lead, not impede--as the outgoing administration has done.
If the early warnings of human rights activists had been heeded and tough diplomacy and timely intervention mobilized, the horrific, and in some cases ongoing, violence in Bosnia, Rwanda, Sudan's Darfur region and the Democratic Republic of the Congo might have been averted. With the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights now history, the new administration can follow up by following through on its promises of a new vision from the White House. The opportunity to move boldly to restore the moral authority behind the worldwide human rights movement is now.
A new year and a new administration offers people of faith from all religions a time to agree together on the common good of humanity. Only when peaceable people of good will unite can the challenges of selfish, sectarianism, and selfish greed be challenged and confronted. The moral footprint of the United States has always been vast but it will take respectful bilateral dialogues on the protection of human rights as central to world peace and prosperity.
Dwight Eisenhower said it as only a soldier could say it: “I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity.”
As a Christ follower struggling for civil rights, Martin Luther King expressed it this way: “We meet the forces of hate with the power of love … We must say to our white brothers all over the South, we will match your capacity to inflict suffering with our capacity to endure suffering … Bomb our homes and we will still love you … We will so appeal to your heart and conscience that we will win you in the process.”
No where has the power of love been more powerfully proclaimed than in the Gospel according to Jesus: This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light (John 3:19-21).
Wayne
Saturday, January 3, 2009
The Passing of a Friend
Some of us lost a friend this week and I share this excerpt of a message from David Coolidge:
"A few minutes ago we received a phone call from Susan (Brallier) Kaspar telling us of the passing at 8:30 this morning from this earthly life to eternal Life in heaven of her father, Rev. Calvin Brallier (WPC: BA '50, SOT: MDiv '81), husband of Martha (Cox, WPC: BA '50, AU: BS '62) Brallier.
Cal and Marty are the parents of Rev. Michael (AC: BA '74, SOT: MDiv '77)(wife, Patti Pierce, AC: BA '73) Brallier, Stephen (wife, Erma) Brallier, Susan (Brallier, AC: BA '77)(husband, Russell) Kaspar, Carol Ann (Brallier, AC: BA '82; RN) Griffin, and the late Janet Lee Brallier; the grandparents of Ryan (wife, Lauren) Brallier, Jessica Brallier, Caroline Brallier, S. Carter Brallier, Michael (wife, Lindsey) Kaspar, David Kaspar, Benjamin Kaspar, Katie Griffin, and Laura Griffin.
Cal and Marty are the parents of Rev. Michael (AC: BA '74, SOT: MDiv '77)(wife, Patti Pierce, AC: BA '73) Brallier, Stephen (wife, Erma) Brallier, Susan (Brallier, AC: BA '77)(husband, Russell) Kaspar, Carol Ann (Brallier, AC: BA '82; RN) Griffin, and the late Janet Lee Brallier; the grandparents of Ryan (wife, Lauren) Brallier, Jessica Brallier, Caroline Brallier, S. Carter Brallier, Michael (wife, Lindsey) Kaspar, David Kaspar, Benjamin Kaspar, Katie Griffin, and Laura Griffin.
Cal and Marty are a brother-in-law/sister of Rev. Dr. G. David (AC: BA '55, SOT: MDiv '58, AC--DD '78)(wife, Jeanette Pylate, AC: '59) Cox, Ruth (Cox)(deceased husband, Rev. Glenn) Henrichs, and Betty (Cox)(husband, Wes) Benefiel, and the late Mary Ellen (Cox)(husband, Carroll) Reinhart."
David comments, "For those who may not be acquainted with the ministry of Calvin and Marty, they pastored a number of Church of God congregations over the years and served as Church of God missionaries to Kenya, East Africa from 1950 to 1962. It has been my privilege to have known Cal as a close personal friend and esteemed colleague for many years.
I first met him in early 1950 at the time I came to live in the home of Marty's parents, the late Rev. William & Lola Cox, while I was finishing high school ('50-'53) at the time my parents, the late Revs. Ralph & Ruth Coolidge, were in missionary service in Trinidad, B.W.I. Marty is like one of my sisters to me.
Let us give thanks to God for the gift of Cal to his family and many friends and for his long life of faithful witness for his Lord and service to God, the church, and to humankind. Only eternity will reveal the far-reaching influence of the pastoral ministry and missionary service he shared with his wife had on the lives of the many children, youth and adults in places in which they served."
Let us give thanks to God for the gift of Cal to his family and many friends and for his long life of faithful witness for his Lord and service to God, the church, and to humankind. Only eternity will reveal the far-reaching influence of the pastoral ministry and missionary service he shared with his wife had on the lives of the many children, youth and adults in places in which they served."
Cal is the lastest in a list of several friends who passed on during the Christmas holidays ... friends we shall miss ... but we celebrate the lives of positive uplift they modeled.
My wife and I met Cal and Marty in Portland, OR in our student days. My wife still jpoyfully remembers when the Bralliers got their call from the Mission Board to prepare for duty in Kenya--5 years. My wife joined Marty's sister (Ruth Cox Henrich) and they sewed like crazy, preparing for a 5-year tour of duty in Kenya. They made the deadline, completed the necessary preparation and packing, and departed via ship for Kenya.
They served 12 years, during which tme Cal & Marty buried their first born on a African hill--an infant that could have survived stateside. They served God and the global community with valor. Wherever they were, they served with a global vision in view, they gave God their best, and we were their beneficiaries. My prayer is one of thanks to God for them, and for others like them that have given their best in humble service.
When the fullness of my time comes, may I be able to say I lived up to the best that I was capable of, and may others have benefited because I walked along the same path of global humanity.
Thanks Cal ...
Wayne
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