I preach and put together the worship service once a month, and last year in May, my turn came on Mother’s Day. Spurred by the news of that week regarding gay rights (North Carolina vote to ban gay marriage, President Obama public support of gay marriage and rights, and a debate over Columbian Theological Seminary’s policy that excluded committed gay couples from living in “married” on-campus student housing) I preached a sermon that shocked several, inspired many and angered a few in the congregation. Some of the latter were not phased by talk of gay rights and being loving and accepting of all “mothers, sisters and brothers” so mucha s they were upset that I chose Mother’s Day to talk about such topics. In short, it would’ve been more pleasant to preach a nice sermon about moms. I suppose there are many Christians in today’s society who expect (and largely prefer) that the sermons on Mother’s Day (and Father’s Day for that matter) be a lovely commercialized messages of inspiration for parents. But what sounds edifying to biological moms who conceived healthy children in the most normal of circumstances can be horrific to the ears of women who are unable to give birth; who have had still births or a child die in infancy; who haven’t found the person they want to settle down with and have a child; who became mothers because they were raped; who had abortions; who consciously choose to adopt; who have estranged relationships with their children; who were abused and/or abandoned by their mothers; who consciously choose to not adopt or give birth but still “mother” children by being a teacher or a pastor or missionary or a director of Christian Education in a church or volunteering to lead a Girl Scout Troop or help out at the Boys & Girls’s Club. As we observe Mother’s Day, it’s important that we consider new ways in which we can out of the occasion and find ways to honor all women as mothers for the real and tangible ways in which they create, nurture, transform and inspire the world …and be sources of comfort, love, healing and grace for any and all women who have felt pain as it relates to motherhood:
When we lost Micah and Judah, and I began to blog about my journey through grief so openly onDazedDad.com, I had so many older women come up to me at church and tell me stories of children they’d lost, miscarriages they’d had and other stories of infant loss that they’d never told anyone before. If you haven’t thought much about this before, you would probably be shocked at the high percentage of women who will be sitting in your pews this Sunday who have suffered these types of losses.
And as the years have gone by, I have gotten married, I’ve given birth to two more wonderful sons who also get to know Eric. And each year Mother’s Day has continued to be a day of contradictions. It makes me think of my birth mother as I call and tell my mom that I love her. I have sent Mother’s Day cards to Eric’s mom, thanking her for both welcoming me into his life and for doing such a great job being a mom. And I’ve become more sensitive to other women for whom Mother’s Day is painful. For women who would give anything to overcome their battles with infertility so they can become mothers. For women who would be mothers if they had partners with whom to raise them. For women whose children have died. For women who have never become mothers in the first place. Whether you’ve noticed it or not, we live in a world where women are rewarded and validated for being mothers. People assume that non mothers just haven’t become mothers yet. I have become more sensitive to women with difficult relationships with their own mothers or with their children. For women whose mothers have died. And so, in any church where I am leading worship, I do what I can to make sure that Mother’s Day is a safe space for women like me. Worship should not be a place where people feel excluded, feel less than, or feel unsafe.
What I’d love to see is the same love and care for childless women in our churches. So the question presents itself: How can the church reach out to women struggling with this very private battle? In my experience, the church was the most difficult place for me to be during this struggle. We as the church must have that same godly grace, sensitivity and love towards those struggling with fertility issues. When we take God’s word and act upon it, we can show women that their worth is far more than a pregnancy test.
Christian communities can be especially harsh because of their tendencies to show favoritism to the idea of motherhood — as if mothers are somehow more holy and righteous than non-mothers. In an effort to praise and empower marriage, healthy parenting, families, and the sanctity of life, Christian subculture often mistakenly and unintentionally alienates those around us — especially women.
We jokingly ask our friends and relatives “So, when are you guys going to have kids?” Grandparents chide “Hopefully you’ll have some little cousins to play with soon!” We tell people to “enjoy the sleep while you can, because once you have kids all your freedom is gone,” as if having kids is a pain. When we do this, we attach negative stigmas on people who don’t have children, and individuals can feel debilitating amounts of pressure, guilt, stress, and worthlessness when they’re expected to have children but don’t — or can’t.
And then there’s Suma from Nepal, an aspiring songwriter who, at the age of 6, is sold into indentured servitude (i.e., slavery) as a kamlari (or house girl) while her brothers are sent to school. By learning to read she also learns that kamlari is an illegal practice, eventually wins her freedom, and goes on to work for the emancipation of other enslaved children.
She said imagine you’re a stick of gum and when you engage in sex, that’s like getting chewed and then if you do that lots of times, you’re going to become an old piece of gum, and who’s going to want you after that?
I am so grateful to Elizabeth, who has dedicated much of her time to protecting and educating children about violent and sexual crimes through the Elizabeth Smart Foundation and spreading the good word that “ you will always have value and nothing can change that.”
While there are numerous popular stories and series of epic proportions, none quite captures the imagination as Star Wars. The franchise is deeply embedded in the lives and culture of multi-generations around the globe. Even if you’re not a huge fan or have never seen the films in their entirety, Star Wars still manages to make a connection through rich and symbolic characters like Darth Vadar, Yoda, C3P0 and R2D2 (among others).
They are as familiar as Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny, and immediately recognized for who they are: personifications of evil (and redemption); whit and wisdom; and comedic duos. And the characters and story continue to get better with age. Even my wife, who is not a Star Wars geek or science-fiction fan, can find the humor in the endlessly fun Star Wars parodies, mash-ups and humorous homages:
And there is that sense of super-cool-awesome-wonder that speaks to our inner creativity, reflected in the things we build around us:
Star Wars’ success is due largely to its ability to draw heavily from myth, of beloved stories about morality, spirituality and good v. evil, light v. dark–tales that have been passed down and retold through the centuries (The Bible, Greek tragedies, the way of the Samurai, King Arthur & the Knights of the Round Table, Shakespeare, westerns, crime noir, mystery, adventure, etc.) as American mythologist Joseph Campbell explains to Bill Moyers in the exquisite 1988 PBS series “The Power of Myth.”
And it has had a major impact on the many popular stories and films that have come in its wake. Without Star Wars there wouldn’t be J.J. Abrams’s LOST and Fringe; Steven Moffat’s reboot of Doctor Who; Peter Jackson’s cinematic re-imagining of The Lord of the Rings; or Spielberg’s ET and Indiana Jones; the Wachowski’s The Matrix; the re-launch of Battlestar Galactica (BSG); Marvel and DC’s movie versions of Spider-Man, Iron-Man, The Avengers, Batman and Superman; Josh Whedon’s Buffy and Firefly; Pixar’s Toy Story, The Incredibles, Wall-E, and Up;JK Rowling’s Harry Potter; and Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games (and everything in between).
At its core Star Wars is a universal (and quite honestly a profound spiritual truth) about humanity and the meaning of life–of a journey of faith and transformation that forces us to look beyond ourselves and to the hope of something good for all in the here and now…and beyond.
Beneath all the stuff, the whimsy and the hip geek factor, is a desire to use our gifts, “our force” for good, to champion wrongs, to mock evil and to help redeem the things that have been lost to the side of the dark.
That is why Star Wars Day on May 4th is important even as we also remember the historical events that took place on this date.
May the Fourth be with you. And may goodness, love, peace and justice (albeit through non-violent, sacrificial means) come to the galaxy…
Seeing the beauty in all whom God has created, via the website ufunk.net, “an amazing photo project of photographer Mark Laita that focuses on the contrasts between people, the lives and cultures through beautiful portraits in black and white.”
Beauty is transcended in this moving story of Carmen Tartleton from CNN.com, pictured here with her boyfriend whom she says “was able to see me through my scars.”
An excellent column by colleague and writer extraordinaire, the Rev. Emily Heath, on the beautiful faith and courage of Jason Collins. Also read Jason’s exquisite essay in this month’s issue of Sports Illustrated in which he describes how a relative saw the beauty within him since he was a child: “The first relative I came out to was my aunt Teri, a superior court judge in San Francisco. Her reaction surprised me. ‘I’ve known you were gay for years,’ she said. From that moment on I was comfortable in my own skin. In her presence I ignored my censor button for the first time. She gave me support. The relief I felt was a sweet release.”
This preview in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution of a new exhibit at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens shows that often seeing and imagining beauty go best together.
Phillip Council’s fan-made video of Gungor’s Beautiful Things
The chorus of the song goes: “God makes beautiful things out of dust” ’Nuff said.
Sermon For Sunday April 14, Exodus 3:1-5, 9-10, 13-15; John 8:12-15, 18:33-38
[Note: This is part 2 in a month-long sermon series "Bad With Religion, Good With God" Last week, Dr. Dave Fry, the head of staff, explored the idea that many people feel Church is a place where they have to be perfect all the time and say and do the right things to fit in. Compounding this is the belief that God demands perfection and that we are to think and speak about God in a certain prescribed way.]
Over the last couple of months, the adult church school class that (associate pastor) Holly and I teach, has been exploring the big questions of Christianity through a video series called Animate Faith.
The first lesson, offered by public theologian and author Brian McLaren, focuses on a common struggle among people of faith:
Who exactly is this God we worship?
Is God a mighty fortress, solid and unchanging?
Is God a mystical, unknowable force that floats around us like a vapor?
Is God (in the words of the Westminster Confession of Faith which we affirmed moments ago)
“infinite in being and perfection, a most pure spirit invisible, without body, parts, or passions, immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, most wise, most holy, most free, most absolute?”
Yes? No? Maybe?
Truth be told, none of us actually know whom God is 100 percent of the time, which makes it challenging to discuss matters of faith if we are unable to speak of God with any certainty.
And yet there are those who speak about God with such certitude that it actually prevents honest and loving God talk and distract us from the reality of God in our lives and world.
During the 8-minute Animate Faith video, McClaren explains:
Sometimes, when I hear people speak about God, I feel like an atheist. The God they speak of I don’t believe in: A God who loves Christians but hates Muslims; or a God who pours luxuries on the rich but consigns the poor to poverty; or a God who cares about human souls but doesn’t care about conserving and protecting our beautiful, fragile planet. So if you ask me, ‘Is God real?’ I first have to ask, ‘Which God are we talking about? And what do you mean by God?’
Let’s first take a look at the Kataphatictradition of using words and images to talk about God, which most Christians practice on a routine basis:
Image from “Animate Faith” lesson on “God: Faith As A Quest.”
As seen in the image above, many depictions of God come from scripture. God is referred to in the books of The Bible as
YHWH,
Creator,
heavenly Father,
king,
and the almighty.
Others illustrations come from a mix of life experience, knowledge of how the world works, a particular theological view and modern twists on biblical descriptions. God is a
watchmaker,
chess master,
the man upstairs,
a still, small voice,
a mother bear,
and what is likely considered the most popular representation of God throughout history—The Old Bearded Man.
There are as many portrayals (if not more!) of the Bearded One as there are words and images for God:
The stern workaholic Old Bearded God as illustrated by the 16th Century Renaissance artist Michelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel AND 21st Century LEGO builder Brendan Powell Smith in the book The Brick Testament.
Portrait of God on the Sistine Chapel by 16th Century Renaissance artist Michaelangelo
God creating man by Brendan Powell Smith, “The Brick Testament” 2013
The wise, wistful and witty grandfather Old Bearded God as played by Morgan Freeman in the 2007’s Evan Almighty and 2003’s Bruce Almighty, and George Burns in the classic 1977 comedy Oh God!
Morgan Freeman as God in 2007′s “Evan Almighty”
George Burns as God in 1977′s “Oh God!’
The whimsical Old Bearded God as presented in literature,
the best-selling satirical book The Last Testament: A Memoir by GOD in which God makes snarkycomments about everything from the creation of the world to American Idol,
and the beloved children’s book Cat Heaven, in which God, dressed in a colorful outfit, reads to cats that curl up on his bed in heaven.
The Last Testament: A Memoir by God (with David Javerbaum), Simon & Schuster, November 2011
“Cat Heaven” by Cynthia Rylant, Blue Sky Press, September 1997
And the silly fun-loving summer music festival Old Bearded God—a barefooted guy with brown skin, a beard, and a Dr. Seuss hat—my favorite because it’s the description my 4 and half year old daughter Katie gave me (and which I drew) on Friday when I asked her what God looked like.
“God According To Katie Acton” illustration by Andy Acton, Friday April 12, 2013
There are many forms and expressions for God, some of which attempt to explain how God interacts with human beings (a few gleaned from scripture, others from particular religious beliefs) like:
Law Enforcement God who is watching and waiting for us to screw up so he can punish us.
Scorekeeper God who is tallying our good and bad deeds to determine whether we fall on God’s good side or God’s bad side.
Lightning-Bolts-From-The Fingertips God who delivers wrath …in dramatic ways.
These views of God’s personality or character, while commonplace,
are also problematic. They do a great deal of damage to the image of God and Christianity in the world. The distorted notion that God
relishes the opportunity to punish,
keeps score of good deeds,
delivers electrifying wrath or,
flippantly causes bad things to happen,
come from certain Christians (most notably influential religious and political figures) who have scared other Christians into believing such nonsense so they can sit in righteous indignation and power over everyone else.
They project these views of God in the public sphere in a vain attempt to keep people in line—to adhere to an absolute correct way of thinking and talking about God, of interpreting God’s word in scripture, and living out one’s faith in God.
They ultimately try to contain God in a box and only let what they want of God to be pulled forth from their box.
But God cannot and will not be contained, confined or controlled.
God is, in the words of the Exodus story, a flame of fire in a bush that is blazing, but not consumed.
And from that fiery bush, the indistinguishable God chooses the shepherd Moses to go into Egypt:
The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen the Egyptians oppress them. 10 So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”
Moses says to this Divine Spark burning in the desert wilderness:
“If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?”
God replies:
“I am who I am. …Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I am has sent me to you.’”…‘The Lord,the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’: This is my name forever, and this my title for all generations.
“Iam whoIam”
That is God’s name. That is who God says God is. Not
The Holy Burning Bush
The Old Bearded Man
The Man Upstairs
The Creator
The Almighty
All wonderful nicknames and descriptions but not the official name of God,
The name of all names,
“Iam whoIam”
“Ehyeh aser ehyeh” in the Hebrew
The word ehyeh is the first person singular imperfect form of the word hayah, which means “existed” or “was.”
So “Ehyeh aser ehyeh” literally means, “I will be what I will be”
“Iam whoIam”
God’s name for all eternity. Not the
judgmental,
punishing,
score-keeping,
wrathful deity
that some Christians want God to always be to scare others into belief.
“Iam whoIam”
God’s title for all generations. Not solely the
Creator,
heavenly Father,
king,
man upstairs,
still, small voice,
or
old bearded deity
that some Christians want God to always be to simplify or water down faith.
“Iam whoIam” is not easily seen, felt or touched.
“Iam whoIam” is not accessible in the same way that you and I are accessible to one another.
When we pray to God or worship God, it is difficult to form the most exact, concrete and consistent image in our minds.
But still, many of us have this feeling that there is something more going on in life that allows us to experience such amazing depths of
knowledge,
creativity,
joy,
love,
mercy and hope
in our relationships with one another and the universe. We have this sense that there is some mysteriously divine and benevolent source behind it all.
And that sense that there is something greater than all of us which also desires to be intimately connected to all of creation is what it means to practice the Apophatic tradition.
Held alongside the Kataphatic ways of speaking about the God, we are reminded through the Apophatic method that “God can never be reduced to images or contained by words.” At the end of the day, when all the God talk has subsided, “reverent loving silence is sometimes the most eloquent form of theology.”
In his recent book What We Talk About When We Talk About God, author and pastor Rob Bell points out that:
When we talk about God we’re using language, language that employs a vast array of words and phrases and forms to describe a reality that is fundamentally beyond words and phrases and forms.
Words and images point us to God; they help us understand the divine, but they are not God…When God is described (in scripture) as father or mother or judge or potter or rock or fortress … those writers are taking something they’ve seen, something they’ve experienced, and they’re essentially saying, ‘God is like that.’ It’s an attempt to put that which is beyond language into a frame or form we can grasp…And sometimes language helps, and sometimes language fails.
When God-in-the-flesh, Jesus, dwelt among humanity more than 2,000 years ago, language about who God was and what God was doing failed the religious leaders and the Roman Empire.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus says to the scheming scribes and Pharisees whom he has just stopped from stoning a woman caught cheating on her spouse:
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
The indignant Pharisees tell Jesus that his testimony is garbage. And Jesus calmly responds:
“Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge by human standards;[a] I judge no one.”
The Pharisees and the scribes are unrelenting in their view that God will come among the people of Israel as a mighty warrior and king like David or in the form of sinister storms and plagues (just like in the old days) to vanquish their foes, the Roman Empire.
The religious leaders in Jesus’ time are absolutely certain God is a Law Enforcement/Score-Keeping/Lighting Bolts type deity; never would God come in the form of a peaceful-loving, mercy-bearing carpenter’s son from the two-bit town of Nazareth in Galilee.
And so the language the Pharisees and scribes have for understanding God fails, preventing them from recognizing that
“Iam whoIam” the light of the world
that shines through darkness,
that comes and goes on its own accord,
that judges no one,
is standing before them.
Later on in John’s gospel, Jesus—betrayed, beaten and bound in chains—is brought before Pilate, the Roman governor and figurehead for the Empire.
Pilate asks somewhat condescendingly if Jesus is “the king of the Jews,” which triggers a dialogue between the two about who Jesus or God is:
Jesus answered, ‘Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?’ Pilate replied, ‘I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?’ Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to (The Jewish authorities) … But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.’ Pilate asked him, ‘So you are a king?” Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’ Pilate asked him, ‘What is truth?’
Pontius Pilate’s allegiance is to multiple Roman gods and to self-proclaimed savior emperor named Caesar who seeks to conquer the world through violence and oppression.
Pilate could care less about the God of Israel and even less about a man who has been brought forth on charges of blasphemy. But he is certain that Jesus’ kingship cannot overshadow Caesar’s throne.
And so the language (or lack thereof) that Pilate has for understanding God fails, preventing him from recognizing that
“Iam whoIam” whose kingdom is not from this world,
whose followers are not called to fight violently for their rabbi’s release,
who embodies the truth that is God,
is standing before him.
God can never be summed up in one word, phrase or idea to serve our own agendas or fit into our nicely wrapped packages.
God is beyond anything we can deduce and imagine.
“Iam whoIam” is the one who hears the cries of those in pain and liberates the downtrodden and oppressed
“Iam whoIam” is the one whose light comes into the world and radiates love in the darkest of places
So this new feature “Week Links” is becoming more of a Friday-Saturday posting instead of Friday only. But, hey it’s better than posting the following week. Without further adieu, here is a round-up of stories that recognize the “The Artists”–those who are creating and those who will create no more but leave a legacy of beauty and whimsy for the rest of us:
Your mama always says “Don’t play with your food!” But when you are an adult with artistic flare and a camera, that rule gets tossed out with uneaten, spoiled leftovers.
For almost every day last month Malaysian artist/architect Hong Yi (who often goes by the nickname Red) created a fun illustration made with common (and occasionally not so common) food. Her parameters were simple: the image had to be comprised entirely of food and the only backdrop could be a white plate.
Why just dream of being part of a comic or a superhero movie? Just draw and photograph yourself into one!
Gaikuo-Captain, has put himself in the middle of his creations. Apparently he originally just wanted to make a profile photo for himself and then ended up with this series of awesomeness!
The modern superhero look we are familiar with today was largely due to the incredible talents of Carmine Infantino who worked at DC Comics during the Golden and Silver Age of comic books (late 50s to mid 70s).
It’s not a stretch to say Carmine was one of the most influential artists of our time. Whether he was bringing the first appearance of Barry Allen to life, or building a bridge between Earth-One and Two in the legendary “The Flash of Two Worlds” story, chronicling the adventures of Adam Strange and reinventing the look of Batman and his entire family, he breathed new life into every character he encountered, and also made a name for himself as a respected and skilled publishing executive. A supreme talent and versatile creator, Carmine stands tall among the legends of comics.
Behind every visionary is a grand encourager and partner. For Jim Henson, the creator of the beloved Muppets and Sesame Street characters, his muse was his wife Jane:
Cheryl Henson, who is president of the Jim Henson Foundation, said her mother had provided ballast for her father’s creative freedom and was his artistic collaborator throughout their life. “She encouraged him to take risks,” she said, “always urged him not to compromise.” In the Henson family lexicon, she said, “We called her the great maza shelaza of the Muppets.”Roughly translated, she added, that meant the mother of all Muppets.
Although his health had been in decline due to a valiant battle with cancer, the news that legendary movie critic and Pulitzer-Prize winning writer Roger Ebert had died rocked a lot of people this week. He was the average day movie goers reviewer and a great lover of film. I will miss his reviews and his writing which was never dumbed down or condescending to the reader/movie-goer.
Roger loved the movies and big ideas and great conversation and hard work. He loved the very idea of living a full and examined life, and he was an inspiration to millions of others. Movie fans adored Roger, of course, but so did all of us who at times can feel that electric surge that is life itself.
There are numerous articles on the web regarding Ebert’s death and his impact on pop culture. I recommend this tribute by another legendary movie critic, Peter Travers and this wonderful piece on Ebert’s religion.
9 years ago this evening, the beautiful, wise and all-around amazing Elizabeth and I got hitched. The marriage has had it’s ups and downs but the challenges have helped us grow as a couple. And we’ve shared a lot of adventures and incredible moments of joy (even in the midst of time of sorrow). We are blessed to be in each others lives and parents to a precious and precocious 4 and a half year-old girl.
Elizabeth and I celebrated by going to dinner at Gary’s Bistro in a local strip mall. (I highly recommend the shrimp and grits with bacon bits and the side order of sauteed spinach.) Afterwards, we perused at Barnes & Noble.
However, the big gift (thank you Charleston Atlantic Presbytery Middle School Retreat for inviting me to keynote in February) is two tickets to The NCAA Men’s Final Four this Saturday at the Georgia Dome! We’ve always been big fans of college basketball and especially enjoy March Madness tourney time. Incidentally, Elizabeth grew up rooting for the 1991-1992 Duke Blue Devils team led by Bobby Hurley (Jersey No. 11) and Grant Hill and the 2000-2001 Duke squad led by Shane Battier and Carlos Boozer.
Elizabeth introduced me to her silly version of the hymn Holy, Holy, Holy (No. 11 in the pre-1980s dusty red Presbyterian hymnals) called Hurley, Hurley, Hurley. We included the hymn in our wedding of course. (The actual words and theme of the hymn are special too but not quite as hysterical to us). During our wedding reception, we all paused for several minutes to gaze up at the TV screen to watch the end of the two NCCA Men’s Final Four games: Duke v. Connecticut and Georgia Tech v. Oklahoma State. There were a few Duke fans like Elizabeth and me, but a lot of Georgia Tech fans considering the good size delegation of friends who came to our wedding from Georgia and were classmates at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur. Duke lost their game, but Georgia Tech advanced to the National Championship.
This time around, we don’t have a particular favorite but are super thrilled about going. The fun adventure of marriage dribbles and bounces right along!
I have often viewed this time between Good Friday and Easter as Dead Saturday (also known as Nothing Saturday, Dark Saturday or Holy Saturday) and typically I spend the hours feeling depressed and morose while contemplating the death of Christ. I am not the only one as I discovered (yet again) while reading a friend’s status and subsequent comment thread posted this morning on Facebook:
I agree with every comment and yet as I read them, I felt something stir inside me. A new idea.
A new idea that began with the question: “What if we’re are looking at ‘Saturday’ all wrong?”
Certainly living in the tension of this ambiguous day is appropriate. Reflecting on how the disciples and world felt at the time of Jesus’ death is important for understanding and deepening one’s faith. But should we spend the entire day stuck in a funk–especially when we know how this is all going to turn out?
It’s hard to forget or unlearn what we know so remaining in the doldrums of this Saturday for any number of hours seems to be a waste of time. After-all many of us preacher types are familiar with the phrase: It’s Friday/Saturday now…but Sunday’s coming!
I’m not suggesting that we immediately and prematurely jump to Easter Sunday or push people too quickly out of a necessary stage of grief and pain. I do believe wholeheartedly in the wisdom shared in yesterday’s Jaweed Kaleem’s Huffington Post column:
If you are not clear in your head about your understanding about somebody dying tragically, if you cannot reconcile that with the higher power of God or force of nature, this will be tough work for you,” said Handzo, who teaches chaplains and palliative care specialists. “You will probably not do it well, and you will burn out. You have to go through death to get to resurrection.
It’s important for me to be reminded that this part of the of the Christian story. … It’s painful, but it’s also what can make things meaningful,” he said. “We can make a mistake a lot of times with people who are dying. We can take our beliefs and say ‘the resurrection is coming,’ or ‘things will get better.’ But some people are not ready for that, they are still hurting and mourning, and they don’t need that happy good news stuff. They need to be allowed to be where they are, to have that Good Friday time.
However, it seems that I and others are more inclined to believe that we have to spend this day mired in guilt, sadness and lament when it would be much more fitting to move through the suffering as a way of observing this Nothing/Dark/Dead/Holy Saturday.
Again, this doesn’t mean we should start shouting “Chris is risen! He is risen indeed!” and burst into loud choruses of Ode to Joy but it perfectly reasonable for us to be happy on this day and embrace the joys of life and God’s creation. True, God is dead, the Trinity is broken and the cosmos is torn…but simultaneously it’s not. God is still ALIVE, otherwise existence would’ve ceased to exist at the moment Jesus uttered his last breath. The world kept turning. The active and present God stayed on the move. There was a process that occurred between cross and empty tomb. There was something that raised a living body from the dead, that conquered death and exposed the cruel and violent powers and principalities. That process. That something. That was God!
God who entered the world in human form (but still remained the holy and mysterious God) died and then raised God-self from the clutches of death–thus transforming the world and creating a new reality, vision, kingdom of God on earth and heaven.
It’s crazy and mysterious and yet true, none the less. God in Christ told the disciples this is exactly what would happen. He would be betrayed, abandoned, killed, die and in three days, be resurrected (Matthew 20:17-19, Mark 10:33-34 and Luke 18:31-33). The disciples were too bound up in the trauma and drama of those three days that they forgot Jesus’ words. But we have the benefit of hindsight, of being able to look at the texts and remember…again, and again, and again that death will not have the final say in this story of God and humanity.
Even though there will be pain, dying and death today and tomorrow on Easter and throughout the Easter season to come and beyond, death. never. has. the. final. say. NEVER. But God does:
No matter how much the mess and distortion make you want to despair, you can’t abandon the work because you’re chained to the bloody thing. It’s absolutely woven into your soul and you know you can never rest until you’ve brought truth out of all the distortion and beauty out of all the mess—but it’s agony, agony, agony—while simultaneously being the most wonderful and rewarding experience in the world—and that’s the creative process which so few people understand…You can’t create without waste and mess and sheer undiluted slog. You can’t create without pain. It’s all part of the process. (Rob Bell quoting characters in a favorite novel in his book Drops Like Stars: A Few Thoughts on Creativity and Suffering, 2009)
So instead of sitting around and feeling numb, let us be a part of the God-process that is shaping something out of suffering, that is transforming mess into beauty, death into life…
Pull out a carton of boring dusty-white looking eggs and dye them with an assortment of colors, either with your kids or by yourself.
Help your 4 and a half year old create a dio-rama with the small plastic safari animals she bought yesterday at the zoo.
Bake bread and take it to a neighbor who has been sick or who you’ve never spoken to.
Make some sandwiches and take them to the homeless men and women nearest to wherever you live.
Call up someone you disagree with and tell them you love them.
Plant some flowers in your yard.
Paint a picture.
Shovel snow from the walk.
Take photographs of the world around you.
Write a song.
Craft a story.
Create. Create. Create. (And) Re-create
Don’t stop creating.
Soap carvings, from “Drops Like Stars” by Rob Bell, 2009
I suppose there are many Christians in today’s society who expect (and largely prefer) that the sermons on Mother’s Day (and Father’s Day for that matter) be a lovely commercialized messages of inspiration for parents. But what sounds edifying to biological moms who conceived healthy children in the most normal of circumstances can be horrific to the ears of women who are unable to give birth; who have had still births or a child die in infancy; who haven’t found the person they want to settle down with and have a child; who became mothers because they were raped; who had abortions; who consciously choose to adopt; who have estranged relationships with their children; who were abused and/or abandoned by their mothers; who consciously choose to not adopt or give birth but still “mother” children by being a teacher or a pastor or missionary or a director of Christian Education in a church or volunteering to lead a Girl Scout Troop or help out at the Boys & Girls’s Club. As we observe Mother’s Day, it’s important that we consider new ways in which we can out of the occasion and find ways to honor all women as mothers for the real and tangible ways in which they create, nurture, transform and inspire the world …and be sources of comfort, love, healing and grace for any and all women who have felt pain as it relates to motherhood:
