America the Beautiful

Happy Independence Day, America! 

Have you ever heard Ray Charles' version of America the Beautiful? If not, click the link and take a listen.  It is a beautiful rendition.  He takes some artistic liberty to change the lyrics a bit, which changes the author, Katharine Lee Bates, intention when she wrote the poem in 1893, inspired by her journey to Pike's Peak in Colorado.  Read these lyrics: 

O beautiful for spacious skies 

For amber waves of grain

For purple mountain majesties 

Above the fruited plain!

America! America!

God shed his grace on thee

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea! 

O beautiful for pilgrim feet 

Whose stern impassioned stress

A thoroughfare of freedom beat 

Across the wilderness! 

America! America!

God mend thine every flaw

Confirm thy soul in self-control

Thy liberty in law! 

O beautiful for heroes proved 

In liberating strife

Who more than self their country loved 

And mercy more than life!

America! America!

May God thy gold refine

Till all success be nobleness

And every gain divine! 

O beautiful for patriot dream

That sees beyond the years

Thine alabaster cities gleam 

Undimmed by human tears!

America! America!

God shed his grace on thee

And crown thy God with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea! 

O beautiful for halcyon skies 

For amber waves of grain

For purple mountain majesties

Above the enameled plain! 

America! America! 

God shed his grace on thee

Till souls wax fair as earth and air 

And music-hearted sea!

O beautiful for pilgrims feet 

Whose stem impassioned stress

A thoroughfare for freedom beat 

Across the wilderness! 

America! America!

God shed his grace on thee

Till paths be wrought through 

Wilds of thought

by pilgrim foot and knee! 

O beautiful for glory-tale

Of liberating strife

When once and twice

For man's avail

Men lavished precious life! 

America! America! 

God shed his grace on thee

Till selfish gain no longer stain

The banner of the free! 

O beautiful for patriot dream 

that sees beyond the years 

Thine alabaster cities gleam 

undimmed by human tears! 

America! America! 

God shed his grace on thee

Till nobler men keep once again 

Thy whiter jubilee! 

Now, the lyrics are dated and perhaps 125 years later there are things we should not care to understand about it.  But there is something within this song that I believe we have missed.  

I grew up singing this song as an acclamation of what G-d has done for America.  We sang it as a declaration of America's greatness. Ray Charles sings it as such; however, Bates wrote this song as a prayer, as a longing for G-d's intervention.  Doesn't that change it quite a bit? Re-read it. Read it as a cry to G-d for mercy.  

You see, I think Bates, a woman living a fairly bountiful life, yet still oppressed for her gender and her orientation, understood something. That day standing on Pike's Peak she realized that for as beautiful as this nation was, for all that had happened to get us to that day 125 years ago, where she could pen these infamous words; there was still so far to go.  

This poem was NOT etched as a declaration of superiority, but instead it was penned as a supplication for mercy, for humility and for freedom. It was a prayer for something more than what was.  It was a prayer for America to be the land of the free that it longed to be when it adopted these words on July 4, 1776:  

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." 

May this song become a prayer again! May we today stand, like Katharine Lee Bates, on the beauty of the world that G-d has created and cry out to G-d for something more, for our nation to be the nation of freedom for all; a nation of brotherhood; in which more than self we love others and seek mercy for all; a nation that dreams paths that are wrought in wilds of thoughts; a nation that selfish gain is no longer our stain, but instead we fly the banner of the free and continue become better beyond what our eyes can see!

Joy Overcomes Sorrow

Truth: I have cried a great deal over the last three days. I have felt hopelessness. I have felt sorrow, a deep sorrow. In the middle of this hopelessness and sorrow, I know that G-d was right there with me and I know that God’s heart broke with mine. Just as my tears flowed, I know that Jesus wept.

Today, I decided that I would seek joy, that I would embrace the very people that are being rejected, that I would stand alongside them, in the midst of them and just breathe; being present to people. So I did two things:

1) I went to Paisley Park. This is Prince’s recording studio/sanctuary/home in Chanhassen, MN. When I walked in the gentleman at the door said to me, “Oh, you are going to love this. This is going to mean the world to you. I can see it in your eyes.” He continued to tell me that what he saw in my eyes was something different than any person that walked through that door today.  It was an utter joy and he could see that I knew I was walking on holy ground. It was holy ground because if Prince was nothing else, he was someone who knew who he was and embraced it as best he could, living a meaningful faith that he shared with the world. I cried a bit in this place, but not tears of sorrow. 

2) While I was in Minneapolis for meetings, it also happened to be Pride weekend. Today, I went to The Pride Festival. I did this alone. I took time to listen to people I did not know about their businesses, their stories, and their lives. I had the privilege of listening and the honor speaking words of love and encouragement (a drastic difference from the hate-filled sign holders standing on the outside). I spoke with LGBTQ persons of faith who have been harmed deeply by others and yet have not given up hope in Jesus. And I spoke with some who have been harmed deeply by others and blame Jesus.  I am certain that I walked through this festival with that same look of awe in my eyes as I did walking through the doors of Paisley Park.

Today I sought out holy ground, the ground that Jesus would have sought out had he been there. And it was there that I saw Jesus and it was there that joy overcame sorrow and hope began to silence hopelessness.

I do not have all the answers to the questions of life, but I know the answers, whatever they are, must be rooted in love, if they are to be valid.  We are called to love G-d with all we got and to love people...all people.  I just want to do that. I want to love passionately, unconditionally.  I want the world to know me and my G-d for love. Lord, help me love more deeply, care more passionately, and listen more intensely.  Open me up to your world that you so desperately love.  

Disrupt me

Luke 8:26-39 

“They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes,[a]which is across the lake from Galilee. When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?I beg you, don’t torture me!” For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”“Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.
A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission.  When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet,dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured.  Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left.The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him”

What are we afraid of? 

That our power and privilege might go off a cliff, if we allow freedom and liberation to those living naked and bound in chains, to the outcast, to the unwanted...but Jesus frees the man and allows the livelihood of one group to be taken away so one man might have freedom!! And their response is "get out of my town before you turn any more of my world upside down" 

Lord, turn my world upside down! Move in our midst, dance in our assemblies, dance in our hearts, dance on the floors of our nightclubs and on the floor of our congress, may your spirit dance in our souls. 

Come Holy Spirit and disrupt me!!!

Lost in Irrelevancy

The Church collective has lost its relevance.  

Before you go giving me a line of bull crap that sounds something like, "I'm not called to be relevant. I'm called to not be a part of the world,"  take a step back and consider the last time you gave any thought to something that did not directly impact you or something that you felt was irrelevant in your life.  You, like most humans, tuned it out because it was not relevant to the world you have created for yourself.  (I could write a blog post entirely about the ways in which we have abdicated our responsibilities because of our selfishness, but for now, I move on.)

Jesus was relevant when he positioned himself at a well and spoke with a woman that all religion at the time said he had no business speaking with (John 4:7-26).  Jesus was relevant when he followed a man to his home, touched his daughters hand and brought her back to life (Mark 5:35-42).  Jesus relevant when on the way to that home a woman reached out touched the hem of his garment finding a healing she had been missing for years (Matthew 9:20-22). Jesus' life and ministry was one of relevance.  His very coming was out of a choice to be relevant to the humanity he loved (John 3:16).  In fact, it was in his dwelling with us that he become all the more relevant, closely connected to us.  His final commission to his followers was to go and be relevant, to go and be love to the world, to heal, to listen, to share, to be closely connected. 

And yet, the Church collective has lost its relevance.  

We have chosen our rightness, our "truth," our own dependency on certainty over proximity and relevancy. We are like the Pharisees in the text and have shunned people who do not look like us or act like us.  We have told people they are less than ourselves because they do not live like we live.  We have withheld unconditional love for the sake of the Gospel...an act that actually forsakes the Gospel of Jesus, which is love and we have become irrelevant to the world. 

And again before you give me some bull crap that sounds something like, "I'm called to speak the truth in love," take a step back and consider the last time Jesus used those words with you.  Has he? I'm sure people saying they represent him have, but let me just say that Jesus' speaking the truth in love was his laying down his life, so that ALL would know his love.  His final words were tied directly to the task of being relevant, of loving people to the grave just as they are. He proclaimed "It is finished."  Mission complete.  UNCONDITIONAL LOVE POURED OUT FOR THE WORLD.  

Call me crazy. Tell me to shut up.  But all day long, I am going to be relevant to those around me and I long to be relevant to this world that is crying out for hope...for something to believe in...something that inspires, not chastises; that embraces, not defaces; that loves, not hates; that gives light, not darkness and that changes the world.  

Church, we can be that light. We can incarnate that love. We can embrace ALL, as they are. We can inspire hope! If we get over ourselves and become relevant to our world. 

Commander’s Intent

I was recently approached and asked about my faith.  The person inquiring was pondering how I

might really believe that there is this big plan out there, created by some G-d that violently and forcefully directs it all.  They wondered how I could live believing in a G-d that dictates my every move and is just looking for me to fail the plan, so I can be punished. I had a simple answer for him: I don't. 

That's not the G-d that I find in my sacred text. That's certainly not the G-d that I have found in my life experiences.  That is, however, the G-d that many a pastor or many an evangelical have propositioned to me, but it is not the G-d that I have faith in.  Let me explain and let me doing it using some Army doctrine and language that is helpful for all, not just Soldiers.  

In the Army, there have been a few different styles of command authority.  Each of these styles has a varying level of autonomy.  Autonomy can be summed up as the ability to self-govern or the freedom from external control.  Autonomy is the ability to not only have free will, but to exercise it in a way that is not just self-serving, but meets a common goal.  It's really what we should be raising our children to: to a place where they can function independently in the world and yet live within the community as a contributing member of that community.  They can make their own decisions after going through a decision-making process of some sort and they can execute the decisions, as well as bear the good and bad consequences of their decisions they have made. 

The style of command with the lowest level of autonomy is Command by Directive.  This style of command is slow and top-down leadership.  All decisions are made by upper leaders and those below take step-by-step instructions. This is strenuous not only on those being directed, but also on the commander.  This is the classic high control command environment. You're told when to eat, when to sleep, how to move, how to dress, what is right and what is wrong.  For season, in learning new rhythms and skills (like in basic training), this type of leadership has some necessity, but it is never the goal to stay in this realm of command.  

The next style of command has a little more freedom. Command by Plan is more supervisory.  The commander gives steps and contingencies. The person being commanded has some decision making abilities within the given plan.  There is a little more room for wiggle, but overall the plan is the plan.  Again, this style of command has its place in leadership. However, it does not offer full autonomy and still leaves a pretty heavy burden on the commander to make plans and details. It also allows for them to be upset when it doesn't happen as planned. 

These two styles of command line up pretty closely with the view of G-d that was presented by the gentleman questioning me about G-d.  However, human beings were created with free will. Part of what makes us unique is that we have the ability to make choices. The G-d that created humans does not commanded by directive or by a plan. G-d created with free will and with free will comes autonomy.  So let's look at the last command style: Command by Intent.  

Command by Intent is guided by goals, resources, and constraints given by the commander and it is the standard.  Decisions are made at the point of action, by the person doing the action. The Commander clearly defines their definition of success, detailing what constitutes success for the operation at hand.  The Commander gives the operation's purpose and the conditions that define the end state. So those under her, will know what success will look like when the job is complete.  They have freedom to make decisions that accomplish the Commander's Intent in the ways that they see fit.  

That's the G-d that I know and love.  There's a season that, I think, we all need to be commanded by directive and/or plan, but that's not G-d's end state.  G-d's command is by intent.  We shouldn't read Jeremiah 29:11 as a hard-fast "G-d's got a detailed plan for my life." "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." This is Command by Intent. G-d intends these things, but G-d didn't predetermine your every move.   Even Adam and Eve were placed in the garden with Commander's Intent.  They were told the Commander's goals. They were given the resources and they were given one constraint.  They unfortunately, like us too many times, missed the Commander's Intent for success and blew through that constraint. 

One of the most beneficial ways I have found to view my holy text is to see it as my Commander's Intent.  The Bible is like an operations order that details the Commander's Intent giving full autonomy to all human beings to seek and find mission success within this life.

At the time of Jesus, the teachers of the Law were commanding by directive and by plan. They were putting forward an image of G-d that very much matched the question that sparked this post.  There was no autonomy. There was no mission command, just control and tight supervision.  Their frustration with Jesus was that he was functioning in a completely new way than what they had been taught.  He was presenting G-d as a G-d who commands by intent.  This was seen most clearly when these teachers came to Jesus and asked "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" Jesus response is the most succinct Commander's Intent there will ever be: "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our G-d, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your G-d with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." 

The beautiful thing about this imagery is that in the Army if you know the Commander' intent and you follow it and live for it, you can "get away" with a lot of stuff because it is in line with the Commander's Intent.  So how freeing it is to know the Commander of my faith's intent is simple - love G-d with all that I am and to love people (and myself) with that same passion.  G-d isn't a G-d who's dictating my life, but instead has a beautiful intent for it. I just get to lean into it, enjoy the ride and live with  no regrets. 

God of Darkness

SCRIPTURE:

"He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him, thick clouds dark with water...He sent from on high, he took me, he drew me out of many waters. He rescued me from my strong enemy and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me...He brought me out into a broad place, he rescued me, because he delighted in me."

Excerpt of Psalm 18:1-19

THOUGHTS:

Maybe that's a stretch for you? Maybe you've never heard it put that way before? But God is the God of darkness.

   God uses all things for his glory - even the darkness.  He moves in dark places. He transforms the darkness. In fact, the darkness is the very place he's seeking to rescue.
   The God of the universe steps down into my darkness, into yours - into the mess of our lives. He does not run from it, but instead runs to it.  And it is there in the darkness that we find him.
   It is there in our darkness that he becomes our Strength, our Rock, our Fortress, our Deliverer, our Shield and our Salvation.
   It is in our darkness that he thunders and utters his voice on our behalf.  He spoke light and life out of darkness at the beginning, creating a world for us.  This Psalm proclaims the truth that he values us so much that he is willing to deconstruct that creation to get to us...he takes the things he has created and reorders them for our sake.  He commands waters to split, mountains to crumble, skies to part to create space for you, for me.
   This God of darkness moves the heavens and earths for me.  He rules and reigns in the darkness of our lives. He brings us out from what is closing in, from what is crushing and puts us into a wide, open, sacred space. Simply because he delights in us. He delights in you. He delights in me.
 
ACTION:

May we be a people who allow the God of darkness to deconstruct our brokenness, to enter our abysses and to speak love and light into our depths.

Unsettling Coffee Shop Thoughts

I speak passionately.  I speak boldly what I feel and believe.  This reality often times frustrates people, thus the blog called "Shut up, Sharon!" I find particularly that the strength of my voice and my personality threatens those who maintain certainty in their beliefs.  The thing about my speaking, even when it is passionate and bold, is that I hold these most sacred thoughts in open hands. I am willing to let them shape and transform and in speaking them I am actually inviting doubt and questions to enter the equation of my thoughts.  My passion and boldness must not be confused with certainty or rightness.  It instead speaks to my faith and strength, not necessarily wisdom or knowledge.

I am currently reading a book by Rabbi Hayyim Angel called, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi: Prophecy in an Age of Uncertainty, as I prepare for a sermon series on the book of Haggai.  As we develop our faith, we must not hold to things, moments, ideas with such great certainty.  We cannot reach a mountaintop and camp out there, like Peter attempted at the Transfiguration.  We must seek the value and treasure of each moment and allow them to speak to our faith and strength, building us up, but not binding us to that place.

In a sense, true learning is unsettling, since it is difficult to maintain a view passionately when we are conscious that at any moment we may learn a new opinion that challenges our conviction.  At the same time, precisely this energy is one of the most invigorating aspects of Torah study. When kept in balanced focus, the tensions and conflicts that confront us in traditional study afford constant opportunities to learn from the past wealth of interpretation, while forging ahead in our attempts to enter the infinite world of Tanakh, so that we may encounter God in His palace.

 The life of faith is one of continual motion, of constant transformation, of perpetual wrestling or it is simply not a life of faith at all.

May I be a person who continues to hold open my heart, mind and soul to the mysteries of faith, embracing doubt and living passionately.

The Four Chaplains

"Not for my safe return, that wouldn't be fair. Just pray that I shall do my duty...never be a coward...and have the strength, courage and understanding of men.  Just pray that I shall be adequate."  

~ Chaplain Poling to his father before board the Dorchester 

     Today marks the 75th anniversary of the sinking of the USS Dorchester, an American military transport ship. Six hundred and seventy-five people died that fatal morning. Among them were four Army chaplains - George Fox, Alexander Goode, Clark Poling, and John Washington.  In the moments of terror that followed the torpedo strike, the Four Chaplains selflessly gave their life vests to four soldiers.  This action was a choice to die.  Over 40 eyewitnesses confirm that, after sealing their own fate of death, the Four Chaplains linked arms, sang hymns and offered prayers in their own faith tradition as the ship sank into the frigid waters.  The Four Chaplains, each of different faith traditions, gave their lives in the hope that four others might live.  

     These Four Chaplains became immortal heroes that cold night. They became chaplains because they believed they were called to serve and love Soldiers.  They fulfilled that mission with a valor and strength that leaves me personally inspired and in awe.  

     Learning this story had made me ponder some things.  Where we are today is because of the people who have come before us.  When we take titles or positions, we take them with the history that they bear.  Those history's become a part of our story or rather, we become a part of their story.  We become fruit of their labors. 

    The Four Chaplains knew their identity. They knew their call and they knew the sacrifice they were making.  I wonder if they knew their story would live on for generations to come? I wonder if they realized the lasting legacy they would be leaving for every chaplain who would come behind? Sometimes we never see the fruit of our labor, but good or bad, it is always there. We all produce fruit of some sort. Our choices and decisions impact not only ourselves and those around us, but they go on for generations.  Our stories are not our own, but are instead a part of a  story that transcends time and space. 

     

     

Why Chaplaincy?

Source: Unknown

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.  If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends."

John 15:9-13                

     

     I was recently given occasion to briefly answer a question -- "Why do you want to be an Army chaplain?" The following was my formal, written response: 

           

     My desire to enter the Army Chaplain Corps is rooted in three central principles that guide my life and shape my identity: family history and tradition, my call to ministry and my core belief to love   G-d and love others without reservation. 

     Growing up I was surrounded by veterans.  My dad and his brother served in the US Navy.  Their dad, a first generation American, served in the US Army before them.  In addition, my maternal grandfather served in the US Navy, as well as many others on that side of the family.  Today, I have nephews who serve or have served in the Navy and the Air Force.  I was blessed to marry a Navy veteran, who also has a rich family history of service to our nation.  These men have modeled to me the value of sacrifice and integrity; not only through their service, but in every aspect of their lives beyond the military.  Through them I learned of the honor it is to love others through military service. My grandfather’s inspiration and influence in my life did not stop at his military stories.  In fact, I do not even remember many because although he was a World War II Veteran, he died at 95 years old believing that he was not a hero.  He could not have been more wrong.  His time spent in service to our country shaped and molded him into the man that would eventually become my grandfather – my hero.  That man, more than any other person in my life, helped to form and nurture my call from the young age of five years old. 

     My call to ministry, like that of many, is a lifelong journey with steady, strong steps and even some quirky, little sidesteps.  Nevertheless, it is a story that has led me to respond affirmatively to the call of being a pastor.  Over the years, I have served in many different ministry contexts, to include anti-trafficking efforts, homeless shelters, street-level ministry, national speaking engagements and local congregations.  All of this was because of foundations that were laid in my life through my grandpa.  I want to reciprocate the love and sacrifice that I have seen by caring for and guiding people.

     As diverse as my ministry contexts have been, there have been two constants in each of them.  The first is that entering into each context was motivated by my deep desire to love  G-d with all that I am, and "to love my neighbor as myself" (Mark 12:30-31, NIV).  This is my core belief.  It is the commandment that Jesus said is above all else.  In the book of John, chapter 15, Jesus is recorded as saying “greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” 

     The second constant of my ministry experience is the presence of Veterans.  No matter the stage I was standing on, the kitchen I was serving food from or the rooms that I have washed feet in, Veterans were present.  Some simply present, listening for whatever reason brought them, but many suffering from loss or trauma that left them addicted, homeless, trafficked, or just needing someone they could trust.  G-d began to break my heart for Soldiers.  I was left asking myself, “Could you love, care for and serve these people who  daily lay down their lives for others? Would you being willing to follow their example and serve them?”

The answer to that question was easy and yet, I am certain the process is going to be one of the most difficult things in my life.  Regardless, I am confident that becoming an Army chaplain will be one of the greatest steps in my journey because it flows from my identity that is rooted in my family history and tradition, my call to ministry and my core belief to love G-d and love others without reservation.