Why I have Hope in 2020

 You know what I like? Good people. 

Good people are whats up! 

Good people just make things better don't they? 

If there were more good people everything would be ok, wouldn't it?

In the beginning, as it happens, God creates. God creates many many good things. But the thing God creates that is "very good" ... well you know. Check the mirror. 

That's you. 

That's us. 

That's humanity. 

"Let Us make humankind in our own image," it goes. 

The Triune, perfect, loving, creative, holy God says let's make this one like Us!

Reflections, image bearers, loving living parts of creation that look most like their Divine Creator. 

This is the reason I have hope in the year 2020. 

Let's face it 2020's got problems. 

2020 walked into class and took our lunch money. 

Like 5 times. 

2020 has been a bully.

Today I would say that there are more divisions than seemingly ever before. Somehow as technology has given unprecendeted ability for humanity to gain oneness... our expanding knowledge feels as if it's just giving us depression and further isolation. 

Ofcoure much of this is due to media. The depressing stuff sells tickets and the "good news" doesn't, right?

Yet still, politically and pandemicly, the world feels more divided than ever. 

After years of living into community with those around me i've never seen so many folks depressed, anxious, and in need of a hug that they just can't have. 

People are afraid. People are scared. 

And fear always, without fail, brings out the worst in humanity. 

When all our decisions come out of a place of fear... it never ever goes well. 

Frankly, we just don't trust... the Others. 

You know, those people. The Others. You know who I'm talking about. 

The people who believe... that. Who somehow, though I'll never wrap my mind around it, believe that that thing is good. Vote for that person. Is a part of that party. Adheres to those beliefs. 

I thought that person was more level headed... turns out they're with them. 

Let me ask you, have you ever seen an Other up close? I mean like real close? Like nose-hairs blowin' in the wind close? 

You know what's funny? If you stop and spend enough time with an Other something odd begins to happen. 

You realize that you both like the Golden Girls. 

You both are a little far-sighted.

They eat pizza too. 

Their heart beats like yours does.

But even more than all that - they're also reflective of that Divine Creator. 

They're also created in the Image of God. 

But not really "also" ... but more like the two of you - together - are a reflection of the Divine. 

Humanity. The collective. The whole reflects the Whole. 

We - are created in the image of the holy "Our Image" of Genesis 1. 

God is Collective. So are we.

God is One. So are we. 

This is our starting place as humanity. As Divine Image bearers... good people. 

You are good. 

We could spend our entire life just marinating on that one... Just the realizaion... that you are good. At your core that is who you were created to be. 

Our story doesn't begin with a fall. Our story doesn't begin with sin. Our story doesn't begin with wretchedness. 

But yet again, wretchedness sells. And we've most definetely bought and sold that T-shirt. 

The gospel always begins with the Good. That's literally what it is. Good News. 

Jesus has always been in the business of reminding, reconciling, returning, resurrecting us into who we are created to be. 

The reason I have hope in 2020 is because I believe people are good. 

We spend far too much effort trying to name people as bad. Trying to label and name them as "Others" 

There's no such thing as Others. Only Othering. And Othering is what sin does. 

Togethering is what the kingdom of God does.

The longer that we choose to allow fear to drive us to school... the longer we're going to get stuffed into the locker of life. 

The longer we choose to see folks as "those people" rather than seeing our fellow Divine Image bearers... the longer we will be participating in the breaking of the world rather than the mending.

The reasons people live and vote the way that they do is because they believe something about it reflects something good. Trust that. No one is choosing their live's values because they think they're aweful! 

If you're voting for something, someone, some policy, or structure is because you believe that there's something good in it. 

So maybe, let's start there. 

Let's be more curious. 

Maturity asks questions and grows even more.

Immaturity locks down and decays.

Ask more questions. 

I wonder why she believes that?

I wonder what is in there that they're fighting so hard far?

Is it possible that there's something I've missed here? 

Is it possible that there's something I don't know?

Could there be more to what they're saying?

And regardless of any questions asked, if the posture is love for your neighbor, you can't go wrong. 

Because that's how good people behave. In Love. 

And I believe we live in a world with billions of good people, we've just got to remind each other of that sometimes.

Ofcourse though, my hope isn't simply because God's people are good... 

Because God's reflections are good...

We have true real solid hope, because the One we are reflecting is Good.

How's that go?

God is good... 

Earth Day 2020

Earth in me. Earth in you.
Earth in all we do.
Every belonging. Every device.
Extracted from Earth.
This is the price.
From dust we’re made.
Sacred Adamah.
Breathed into life.
Divine Lungs.

Each part of the whole.
The whole part of each.
Wholiness, what we seek.
Resurrection, redemption,
Recycle, reuse.
Roll away the stone.
Look, it’s empty of refuse.

All made new – every single bit.
When all is one -
One is it.
If you other the Earth
You’re othering you.
Love one another
And you’re Earth-loving too.

Behind the Wall

We can build a wall.
Walls are big.
Walls are tall.
We can control
With a wall.

Concrete minds build concrete walls.

Hard heads build hard walls.
Us and Them.
Their side. Our side.

Be afraid of what you don’t know.
Love your neighbor as yourself…
When they are on your side of the wall.

Big egos like big walls.
The largest wall is around their heart.
The wall that prevents love.
But its worth it to keep our stuff safe…
Behind the wall.

The other might come for me,
Take my life or take my job.
Too risky, Higher walls!
The only cross I’ll be carrying is red, white, and blue.
Behind the wall, Amigo!

Holy week begins
Jesus comes through the wall
Holy week ends
Jesus is dead.

But not one stone will be left upon another.
These walls won’t last.
Because love wins.
But for the wealthy on the other side
Entering Heaven will be trying to drive their Lexus
Through a small hole Behind the Wall.

Today

The sun rises each day, and again later darkness falls.
Each day.


Each moment we must inhale life giving breathe into our lungs, and yet also release it back out.


Each day we must drink our water and eat our bread to survive.
And each day we must rid ourselves of the excess and waste that our food produces.


Each morning we must open our eyes, rise, and be about our work in the world... Yet every night we must lay our bodies down once again and drift away, carried by rest itself beyond our control.


We are daily people.


Each day we must pray.


There is zero coincidence that Jesus teaches his disciples to pray in this way,


Our Father in heaven
hallowed be your name
your kingdom come
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.


How often do you think we should pray this prayer?

Everyday, hallowed be your name
Everyday, your kingdom come...
Everyday, heaven come to earth!
Everyday, our daily bread
Everyday, forgive us the debts we owe
Everyday, we must forgive
Everyday, deliver us!


Our Salvation is an Everyday Salvation.


Creation itself is designed to exist in daily rhythm, life is given a day at a time.
What makes you think that everything "spiritual" would be any different?
Every day I am rescued from evil.
Everyday I am fed.
Every day heaven comes to earth as God's will be done.
Every day I learn how to breathe and be and do again.


Perhaps what is left for us mostly to do, is let yesterday and tomorrow be...
and learn how to be grateful for today.

"To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us - and He has given us everything." -Thomas Merton

Desire Holy Week Woke Silver and Sugar

If you want to know how to train a 4 year old in my house... you get treats. Treat is not just some word you throw around in our house. Treat has the power to build up or destroy... the power to create or the ability to cause chaos. One of the things I love and struggle with the most with our beautiful amazing little 4 year old girl... is her pure desire.
Children have that in heaps.
But I think we do too. 

This Holy Week I'm caused to pause at the story of Judas.
In Matthew at the Passover meal Jesus announces that "one of you will betray me."
One after another come to the question, "Surely, not I, Lord?" ... "Surely, not I, Lord?"...
Finally Judas comes around and we see him asking as-well, "Surely, not I Rabbi?"

Really? Surely not I? ... Really? Earlier in the story Judas was cutting a deal with the chief priests to bag Jesus for them... Now he sits intimately with the other disciples and his "Rabbi" and asks, "Surely not I.." !? Jesus replied, "You have said so."

Now there are many I know that through their framework of reading Scripture say things about Judas never having had an option... "prophecies were foretold" etc... if you believe in that sort of pre-determination of a life. There are other camps who simply look at the Judas story as a fleeting thing that happened to get to the cross narrative and demonizes Judas...

We will completely miss what this story of Judas has to offer us unless we can see his humanity. 

Which brings me to sugar.  

I love sugar. If its sweet I'll probably eat it. If you want to talk prophecies I am currently fighting the prophecy of diabetes. Specifically sugary bread is my number! I'll ring that phone three times a day!
... (side note for anyone reading, if you want to get me something for my birthday this year I'm putting on the list Little Debbies and Lucky Charms) So I may have a problem.

Most of us though I think tend to be a little on the unaware side of our desires. Well, perhaps not unaware of them as much as unaware of how powerful they are in our lives.

This Lenten season for some reason I have felt a hyper awareness of my desires more than usual. Perhaps I am desire-woke for a moment. All my desires seem they have lifted to the surface and I see their heads rearing each moment.  Honestly, I feel a level of disgust by it all. A frustration that I have so many desires... and what's more that seemingly every decision made is a reaction of desire. Sugar. Sleep. Coffee. Burritos. (most of my desires are food and sleep related if you can't tell) Once you're desire-woke, you catch a glimpse of just how oriented your whole life is around your next desire.

There is so much that we want in life, so much we believe will bring us pleasure if we simply had it. 2,000 years later most of us are still playing the slot machine with Judas... Whether its silver or sugar, if it means pleasure... "I'll take two!"

When you're fasting something, the lack of that thing will inevitably bring the desire of the thing to the surface. In a culture when we mostly just have desires and then immediately seek to fulfil them without question, fasting is pretty tough.
I believe Judas' temptation has more to say to us here in Western culture today than ever before... Judas was a man torn by desire. Contextually we see how Judas, being the keeper of the purse was continually keeping score, continually conflicted and struggling with the generosity of the Kingdom he was walking into with Christ. Judas I believe is somewhat of a mirror in the Gospels for the plight of Western Evangelicalism. (oh snap!)...Yet you can't spend that much time with Jesus and not be moved... are you with me?

I think that when Judas asks the question, "Surely not I?" ... he meant it. Even though he was with Jesus, his desires had festered subversively. Perhaps in the presence of Jesus much of his desire was even hidden from himself. Many of us are like vampires... our desire comes out at night, alone in the dark, and we are different. Just as the next time we see Judas he's with a more venomous group late that night... like a different person has come out.

So - I wonder, this week as we journey to Good Friday and the Crucifixion, when it seems even the best of disciples are running another way...
What is the Silver? What is the Sugar? What are the desires in our own lives that we just might rather have than Jesus?

Maybe the part most fearful of this whole story is, we may not really be that different than Judas.

...
A quick note, bodies and desires are not bad things. I'm pro-embodiment (in fact there is a great Liturgists podcast out about that). Most of us aren't even that in touch with our bodies.
Specifically what I'm simply attempting to point at in this brief reflection during Lent is that sometimes, we actually may not be that woke to our own humanity and level of desire.
It is when we fully receive our humanity, the ups and downs, falling and rising, in the person of Jesus, that we will also discover the actual enjoyment of all desire lies within. 

Happy Holy Week.

Jesus - Enneagram - Moose

I grew up with hymns, with altars, with choir robes, with stained glass and giant crosses. The God we worshipped was Great and Mighty and Holy and we were invited into that Divine Presence.

Nowadays the place where I worship looks more ordinary, a house, a living room, children dancing to the music, food shared in a kitchen, sweatpants and t-shirts… and we are invited deeper into the relationship with a God who we also know as Human.

The Divinity and Humanity of Christ are both fully and equally who we are as the church and so reflective of how we worship. The moment we find ourselves worshipping a Jesus who is solely Divine… we’ve missed it. We’ve missed the Jesus who eats with others constantly, who takes off His robe and washes dirty feet, and who hangs out with all sorts of people in all kinds of places.

Yet likewise, the moment we try and worship a Jesus who is solely Human, we have equally missed it. Because Jesus is The Christ. The Messiah. God Incarnate. He is The King of Kings, The Lord of Lords!
He is Creator of the Universe. Alpha and Omega.

Jesus is fully God fully Human.
The moment we forget one or the other… the moment we become the dualist… we are no longer reflecting the God of the Bible…. But some other god made in some other image…

This is why the church has fleshed out in such a multitude of ways over the years.
Because we have to.
We must.

If we are going to reflect our God…We must be diverse, we must be colorful and different. AND we must be cohesively the church. 

I love how the Enneagram has nine points.  There are a variety of types of individuals out there!  And even among each number there can be different variations of each one. It reminds us that we are not created to be this one type of person… but created to be different from the other. To give a different angle and refraction.

One of my favorite kids books we have is called Morris the Moose, It’s a story of a moose named Morris who mistakes a cow for a moose because he has four legs, a tail, and things on his head just like Morris! Solid logic! Then they go talk to a deer and the deer thinks they are both deer! Because, naturally, they have four legs, a tail, and things on their head… You see where this is going…

They finally see all their different reflections in the water and realize though they are similar, they are each different. Morris made a Moosetake!    (so good!)

Francis de Sales, a sixteenth-century bishop in France wrote,

      “Each of us has his own endowment from God, one to live in this way, another in that. It is an impertinence, then, to try to find out why St. Paul was not given St. Peter’s grace, or St. Peter given St. Paul’s. There is only one answer to such questions: the Church is a garden patterned with countless flowers, so there must be a variety of sizes, colors, scents – of perfections, after all. Each has its value, its charm, its joy; while the whole vast cluster of these variations makes for beauty in its most graceful form.”

The Divinity and Humanity of Jesus Christ seems contradictory to our western minds. Its no surprise that we would find this a struggle. This is why every December we are once again baffled by the manger… It just doesn’t add up. Here’s the deal: The Kingdom of Heaven will never add up.

It’s not math its mystical. 

I see clearly a tension between a generation who came to know almost exclusively a Jesus who sits enthroned in heaven, and a generation who now seems to know a Jesus who sits at an ordinary table eating ordinary food with ordinary people.

There’s one who after 60 years of Sunday School seems to have mastered Personal Holiness.

There’s one who doesn’t go to Bible study at all and works with homeless and refugees in the name of Social Holiness.

Each one has concerns about the other. Honestly it’s a shame that we need further categories in what is all… Holiness. Indeed both… all kinds even, are required.

May the Person of Jesus the Christ remind us, as all of creation gives reflection of, that no ground is not sacred. That there has never been a this or a that. And that our worship of The LORD must continually take us to our knees and to our streets. Because as God said way back in Genesis, It’s All Good.

Ashes to Ashes and Candy Hearts

Ashes on your heart this year? Mortality got you down this Valentines day? Flowers looking a little wilty?
This February 14th our celebration of love seems to be overshadowed by the dust and darkness of Ash Wednesday. The day we might dress in pink giving giant teddy bears and chocolates stands in seeming conflict with ashes spread across our foreheads to remind us of our mortality. Yet of course if you happen to be single and wearing black anyway this really just works out for you!

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, our 40 day journey to Easter. It is the time we remember that from dust we came and to dust we shall return. It is the day we remember what it is that we are human...

It is the ashes that remind us that struggling is a part of the journey. That conflict is part of the story. Death finds us. Life is short. Skinned knees and bloody lips will happen. Things get broken. We break. We bleed.

With ashes on our heads and chocolates in our hands... how do we proceed forward then? Honestly it sounds like it could put are real damper on your Valentines date plans!

Have you ever noticed that every great love story are the ones that are dangerous? The ones that face down struggle and leave scars? And somehow the greatest ones are the ones that face down death...




Isn't it ironic that the most compelling love stories are the ones that break your heart?
Isn't it always the love that endures through the frailty of what it means to be human that we find most inspiring? Its why the Notebook will get you EVERYTIME!

(Just look into those eyes!)

Because in our aging... in our fragility... in our humanness... we enter into the narrative of love even more.

We learn even more what Hesed is... That love itself though beginning with a box of chocolate or some candy hearts is only fully received and understood fleshed out through covenant faithfulness... as we embrace the humanity of the other we are with and decided that together we shall until death do us part.