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!

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. 

The person nearest you

"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time and always start with the person nearest you."                                                                                              ~ Mother Teresa 

This week Mother Teresa was declared a saint by Pope Francis.  I downloaded her book this past week on Audible "A Call to Mercy: Hearts to Love, Hands to Serve." After listening for a bit, I realized that this is a book I should have just bought in print.  

Mother Teresa was not perfect. Sainthood is not about perfection. It is about faithfulness. This book reveals struggles that she had, but more than anything it reveals her heart for G-d and for people.  It reveals her faithfulness in such a humble way.  

In today's western Christianity, as much as we say it is not about numbers, the reality is that it is.  As a pastor, I go to conferences, meet new people, and the first question is always how big is your church? How many people attend on a Sunday? Numbers are the proverbial pissing fight and the person with the largest count gets to pat themselves on the back as the day's success story.  We justify this with quick comebacks, like "each number is a soul for Christ." Numbers matter in religion because the belief is that numbers pay the bills.  And there's some truth to that, but it's not really how the Kingdom of G-d works. 

What if all of it is bull? What if Mother Teresa is right? What if we are never to worry about numbers, but instead just love the person next to us? What if keeping buildings doesn't matter? What if the latest technology doesn't matter? What if all that matters is the people in your life? What if all the mess of world was redeemable through simply loving our neighbor as ourself? 

One woman who dared to ask these questions and had the audacity to look at the one in her care, changed the world for thousands and left a shockwave of compassion in her trail.  She was a trailblazer! A pioneer! A faithful follower of G-d...following Him into the gutters of India with courage and humility to help and serve the one nearest her.  

In my world, I needed this reminder.  My role is not about numbers, but it is about loving those in my care. My struggles are real, as they were for Mother Teresa, but I find rest from those cares in pouring my life into the people whom G-d loves passionately.  I needed a reminder to just love G-d with all that I got, and love others with His help.  

May Mother Teresa's life be an inspiration to us all to live faithfully to the call of love! And may we be reminded that the one in front of us is enough.  

Turning Tables

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, "who is this?" The crowds answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee." Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there.  He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. "It is written," he said to them, "My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a 'den of robbers.'"  The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, "Hosanna to the son of David," they were indignant.  

~ Matthew 21:10-15 

Imagine with me for a moment this scene.  Jesus, a well-known man enters the city. The crowds are yelling out "Please save! Please save us, we pray!" That's what "hosanna" means. The word is a paradox.  It's a cry from the depth of their beings for a Savior and yet a cry of celebration because this Savior was present. "Hosanna, Please save us to the son of David." "Hosanna, please save us, in the highest." The people were in desperate need of a Savior, and they had some sense of that reality, enough to gather and cry out.

So this man, this Jesus, the prophet, after a long journey and a steep ascent to Mt. Moriah, where the temple was located. He enters. Now, Jesus was not a high priest and because of that he could enter no further than any other Israelite.  Being an Israelite male gave Him access tomuch deeper courts than most others.  The first court was for Gentiles. All along the inner walls and gates that led to the next court were words forbidding any Gentile or unclean person from proceeding any further.  If they did, the punishment was death.  It is in this court that we find Jesus - the court of the outcast, the most outer court of the temple that was reserved for the lowest of people. Here we find this Savior.

The teachers of the law and the chief priests valued this court so little that instead of being a place of worship for the outcast, the sojourner, the Gentile, it became a market that lined their pockets.  It became a place where little, if any at all, worship could be done. Crowded. Constant commotion.  Confusion. Noise. Contention. Fraud.  These things served only to build bigger walls between the people who came to worship and G-d. The powers that be created a space that allowed for walls of oppression that were bigger than the physical stones that towered over all who entered. There was no chance for this space to be a safe-haven. There was no ability for this space, this temple court, holy and sacred, to be a house of prayer. "Hosanna, please save us." The crowds needed a Savior. 

The teachers of the law and the chief priests, the money-changers, the people who held power, put their rights above all else, including their neighbors. Their complete disregard for the outcast brought on a righteous turning of the tables. The cries of the people would be answered, but not in the way that those holding the power liked.  Jesus created space.  In His turning of tables,  He lifted the oppressed. He restored their place in worship.  He tore down walls.  He welcomed the outcast, the sinner, the Gentile and He welcomed the blind and the lame to sit at His feet and be healed.  This is appropriate ministry for the house of G-d. He made the temple an oikos - He made it a home, a family. In these moments, He created a safe place for ALL! 

Are we creating safe places for ALL? Are we tearing down walls of oppression? Or are we protecting our own rights? The teachers of the law, the chief priests, the money-changers, the people who held power, well, quite frankly, they were pissed! They were indignant. They were angered and infuriated that their rights had been squelched.  Funny thing about anger is that it's really hard to be virtuous and righteous, to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly when our anger incites shameless acts of self-defense.

Jesus created safe places for ALL.  We are called to manifest Him.  We are called to lay down our rights, to turn the tables of oppression and bring freedom to ALL. When we do that, the Kingdom comes! 

Midnight ramblings

"Know therefore that the Lord your G-d is G-d; he is the faithful G-d,keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments."

~ Deuteronomy 7:9 

Over and over I fail myself

Over and over I fail G-d

Again and again He never fails me

Again and again He reaches down into my soul

He lifts me to His mountain tops.  

Again and again 

His covenant proves true

Unconditional love

Love that speaks to the heart

Love that heals the wounds of the past 

Love that reminds me I am alive 

I am not dead 

I am not dead

I hold His life 

I hold His love

I hold His very breath

Even when I fail 

when His laws escape me

even when it seems I have not loved him

He restores my soul

He calls my name

He speaks His love

When I fail, He re-signs

When I waiver from the path

He redeems the course 

His grace is bigger 

I know it to be true.  

For a thousand generations

He lives His covenant of love...

He lives it in me

Two things we should get right

It has been so hard to have words to speak about the Orlando massacre. Sunday morning I did not see the news. I got up, got ready and did my Sunday morning routine.  I didn't know what had happened until after the worship service when people were already leaving. 

My daughter came and said "mommy, you didn't see this this morning?" Questioning my lack of acknowledgement and showing me her news feed...My immediate response was heartbreak and tears. All I had seen in that moment were brief facts - 50 dead, Orlando gay bar, largest mass shooting in US history.  I grabbed a microphone. (It took a bit to get it back on, as our sound people were already shutting down.) I was shaking and in tears, but I called my people back to the center, gathered in a circle and I led my church to pray...feeling helpless and absolutely crushed. Prayers of repentance for the hatred humanity harbors for one another, for the horrible things that we do to one another. A prayer of lament. A prayer for people we never met and will never be able to. A prayer for families and friends of those in Orlando. Prayer that seemed to be completely inadequate. 

In Matthew 22, Jesus the Messiah delivers the great commandment to his followers, which echoes the commandments given to the Jewish people in Deuteronomy in Leviticus: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments." 

Speaking not just to Christians, but to all of humanity, hear me when I say: if we get no other commandment right, we will have done well just to complete these two. If we fail at everything else in life, but we love one another, we have succeeded.  

The LGBTQ Community is made up of our neighbors. They are our brothers, our sisters, our cousins, our aunts, uncles, mothers and/or fathers. They are human beings created in the very image of God and worthy of dignity and respect. 

How we, as followers of Christ respond in tragedies... How we respond as followers of Christ in every moment of every day must be in love. I struggle to find words to adequately communicate what is going on inside my heart.  My heart has been crying since I heard. It has been hard to fight back tears every single moment. I have had the urge to just hug random strangers (I haven't). I have been more kind. I have been slower to speak, acknowledging God in every face I have seen, pausing to see the unseen, and seeking ways to love others, because prayer, although powerful and needed, doesn't seem enough. 

We are called to break the chains of injustice, to untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free. These things inherently make us uncomfortable because they make us lay down our own expectations, our own rights, our own freedom, our own lives, so that others might have freedom. I believe that in times like this we must find a faithful path in the words of Paul in Romans 9 when he says, "I would wish myself cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people." Basically, I would go to hell if it means that one person might know the love of my God through me.