Assorted Ramblings

Saturday was the Feast Day of Mary, mother of God. Here's to the woman whose song is powerful enough to start revolutions.

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour;

he has looked with favour on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed;

the Almighty has done great things for me and holy is his name.

He has mercy on those who fear him,

from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with his arm

and has scattered the proud in their conceit,

Casting down the mighty from their thrones

and lifting up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things

and sent the rich away empty.

He has come to the aid of his servant Israel,

to remember his promise of mercy,

The promise made to our ancestors,

to Abraham and his children for ever.
- Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55)

O God, you have taken to yourself the blessed Virgin Mary,
mother of your incarnate Son: Grant that we, who have been
redeemed by his blood, may share with her the glory of your
eternal kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives
and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
now and for ever. Amen. (BCP 243)
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Quote of the day/food for thought:

"I am not in a position to state who is guilty and who is innocent. I am not a judge or a magistrate. Worse still, I am a priest; my duty towards believers is not to try them or sentence them, but to help them find their way." -Andre Sibomana, Rwandan priest who survived the 1994 genocide
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If you missed it, Friday on Facebook I posted a link to a portion of Glenn Beck's show in which he said, "[U]nless Jesus comes down," opens "a clinic and heal[s]" us "himself, there cannot be a right to health care."

Some general observations: I love to post links to things I find interesting. It was terrible during the election and has fallen off since then, but there it is. I like posting. Part of the fun (and anxiety-breeding) aspects of posting is never knowing what will strike a chord with my very talkative (typetive?) friends. This particular post petered out after 18 comments...I unilaterally declared the discussion over when the personal attacks started.

Now particular observations on the link.

Beck is displaying a troubling strain in the conservative evangelical tradition (he is LDS, by the way), namely the overemphasis on the individual to the detriment of the social. The mentality manifests as at least an apathy toward the poor. Frequently, though, there is a conscious loathing of the poor or anyone deemed unworthy. The poor/unworthy obviously deserve their state. The interesting, and sad, thing about the statement is that Beck is overlooking the (at least) eighteen individual healings and (at least) two mass healing sessions that are found in the Gospels. [I know that some of my readers do not believe in the efficacy of the healing stories or miracles, that isn't the issue. The issue is the Christian concern that should be given to healing and suffering if one were to want to follow Jesus' example and teachings.] Further, there is Jesus' admonition to care for the sick (Matt. 25:36). Such statements should leave a Christian with a sense that there is an inherent worth to a human life, well-lived, healthy. Perhaps it doesn't follow under a Constitutional purview of a "right" as conservatives understand it, but it does seem to follow as a moral imperative and a good value. It could even reach to the level of divine command...I tend to think so.

Also, from the point of view of conservative Christianity, this particular kind of statement that Beck made is in bad form. He is clearly putting Jesus to the test (Luke 4:12) on an issue about which Jesus, and by extension God, are very clear: care for others, love them as you love God and yourself. He needs a personal demonstration before he believe God's word.

Finally, I find it grating when conservatives use particularly bad theology to make a political point. But, as my brother-in-law so aptly put it in the Facebook comment thread, " i fail to see how Jesus' miracles equate to "everyone in America has a right to health care." Jesus showing an act of love, mercy, and compassion does not equal "everyone who has money, pay for health care for all those who can't/won't." Liberals and those who follow a social gospel are guilty of the the same thing that conservatives are: putting God to use for political ends. Sometimes they do it well, but they are also sometimes guilty of some poor theology.

My brother -in-law is correct. There isn't a straight line between Jesus' words and actions and universal healthcare for all Americans. Jesus didn't leave a step-by-step political program but a vision of what the Kingdom of God would look like and a promise that it is at hand (Mark 1:14, 15). It could be that close. A poor, imperfect substitute of that Kingdom could be realized here in America, in which the suffering of "the least of these" is alleviated. I'd much rather see the Church (large C) take up the responsibility since it is God's representative on Earth, but too many members feel that they must judge the worthiness of those they would choose to serve. In short, the church has fallen down on the job. The government/ state might be the only entity left with the power and the clout to fulfill the Church's mission. It is ironic that a significantly more secular Europe is closer to God's vision of how people should treat each other.

Universal health care requires a shift in culture to realize it here in America. It is shameful that the change needs to occur precisely where the custodians of such a Utopian vision reside: the Church.

What does the universe say?

On my facebook profile, I recently saw a quote that I had put up that got me thinking again... like I was looking at it through fresh eyes .

A man said to the universe: 'Sir, I exist!' 'However,' replied the universe. 'The fact has not created in me a sense of obligation.'
-Stephan Crane

That quote has been on my profile since my time at North Georgia. I've frequently revised my profile and the quote has often made the cut without much thought from me. Now I'm ready to overthink the quote.

I've mentioned before that in the beginning of my college career I was leaving the Southern Baptist fold. I probably would have made an awesome deist. I read this quote for the first time in Todd Campbell's English 102 course, my second semester at NGCSU, and it resonated very deeply with me. There was a sense that God's work could not be found on Earth in the Church, that Christians had gotten something profoundly wrong. I appreciated that this quote acknowledged that there was some universal consciousness that could be engaged. The poem would have been rather short otherwise..

A man said to the universe: 'Sir, I exist!' The nearby cow looked at him oddly and the sky was silent.

Well, I have no pretension to being a poet, but you perhaps get the drift.

Anyway, it seemed to fit with my own sense of the divine at the time that there was some sort of universal consciousness that could be credited with the mecanisms of the universe, who then stepped away to not interfere with all of the laws necessary to keep the universe running. The quote also seemed to fit with my feeling that, since we are on our own, perhaps acknowledging the universe would be fine, but there isn't much point in a long conversation. "Gee, universe, it'd be nice to pass this test." The universe does not feel obligated. I also didn't want to impose on the universe.

Tonight, after five years of life and the beginning of a formal process of discerning , I feel like I can jettison the quote. It no longer captures the complexity of my concept of the universe/God. Yet it still has merit as a succinct expression of a particular type of theodicy that shaped my views about where God is in my life. Others more ably than I have summarized the problem of evil and where that leaves God (see, for instance, Eric Reitan's Is God a Delusion?) I'll not go into it here.

How do I now rewrite this quote to match my present view? When I affirm my existence to God, what do I hear? What do I see? I look at Matthew 25:34-40 : Feed the hungry, visit the sick and the prisoners, give water to the thirsty, clothe the naked. I look at Galatians 3:28: There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free , there is neither male nor female; for we are all one in Christ Jesus (absolutely no exceptions). Through the mess of human history, I see the long arc of justice that is present, the Kingdom of Heaven that is at hand, ready to be realized, not merely awaited. I listen to the people of God who want to realize this vision. A very influential friend made the point that God will do what God does, we only need show up and realize the possibility. We may be all God has got to count on... when he improvises, will you be ready to be his instrument? Cornel West's voice spins in my mind asking me, personally, "How deep is your love? What is the quality of your service to others?"

It is not merely enough to exist; the universe, God, makes a claim on our talents.