Monday, March 19, 2007

Lent Reading Day 23

Plucking Grain of the Sabbath:

Luke 6:1-5

Today's story seems so distant and different than what we live today. I mean who goes into the field to eat grain...you go to Farmer Joe's or Safeway to buy some bread, or if you're lucky enough walk to La Farine. Who cares if these guys were picking stuff on the sabbath. The pharisees aren't angry that the disciples were stealing, extorting from farmers, or protesting the national farm bill...but that they were disrespecting God by "working" on the day of rest. Jesus reminds them that the sabbath commandment wasn't about following rules, but about celebrating life, recognizing our inter- dependence upon others, and honoring God for creating us with such honor. How often do we turn things around....making rituals that invite us to live life fully into rules that regulate our livelihoods to death. What in us makes us so often choose death over life in that way? Whether parents with children, seniors with younger folks, or leaders with those they govern, we tend to dumb things down, destroy creativity, energy and liberty with rules, nitpicking, and regulations that beat us down and divide us. Why is LIFE so hard to choose? What is it about freedom with purpose that's so often so scary to us? What are we - like the Pharisees in this story - afraid of losing?

What I learned in getting ready for kindergarten:

Fight or Flight

For months now I - like hundreds of families in our city of Oakland - have been actively pursuing and searching out the options we might have for kindergarten. Along with these colleagues in this journey of school visits, web searches of databases, interviews of teachers, administrators, and friends our family received the news for next year this past week. Like many families we received none of the 6 options we had chosen as potential public schools for our 5 year old daughter. (An article in today's Oakland Tribune discusses how the School District Lottery Received Mixed Responses). Last Wednesday we discovered that despite my deepest fears and proactive visiting, networking, and research to find a good school, that my daughter had been sentenced to receive an education at our local neighborhood school (which we had purposely not chosen for it's 30% academic proficieny ceiling of acheivement).

In the midst of 24 hours my wife and I had to make a seemingly simple decision about kindgeraten that in a fubar-ed way has existential consequences for all of our life. Sending her to our local school was not an option. So do we send her to preschool again - a good place - but she's ready to move forward? Do we try to appeal, risking and betting everything on getting into a better school - the second time around? Should we even bother when we felt so screwed over the first time around - despite all the assurances of fairness and equity? Do we send her to a 20k/year private school - we applied to 2 as back-ups and sought financial aid - knowing that we can't afford it, yet choosing it as a short-term solution to our problem for next year? Do we move from Oakland because of the sad schools? Do we move back to Europe to give our kids a free (as it's normal there) bilingual education? Do I give up my job for one that pays better? Does this decision about kindergarten end up being an indirect form of family planning for us in terms of more children? Should we feel guitly or wrong about now supporting public schools with our family when we do so with our words, actions, and relationships?

I'm pondering over all of this as I sit on the front porch watching my daughter joyously riding her big wheel up and down the street, unaware - thankfully - of our decsion, the ramifications, and the ways in which it haunts and dominates my thoughts in my waking and sleeping. How in the world did kindergarten become such a key and foundational choice for the coming years in our life? And we have another daughter...who'll be at this point in 3 years. YIKES! Is this the cost of urban living? No wonder everyone flees to the suburbs and fly-over states when stuff gets difficult. In ancient times cro-magnum families had to choose between fight or flight in terms of being attacked by a sabor tooth tiger or the coming ice age....now with all of our 21st century sophistication, cultural imperialism, and technological prowress we're faced that same choice in terms of kindergarten.

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Lent Reading Day 22

Baptism of Jesus:

Matthew 3:13-17

What does it mean to be "beloved"? In the end baptism is all about love - the experiential and sensory statement of a nearly-invisible-proclamation that God loves us before we're aware, before we're asking, before we love God back. Even in the story we see that John says to Jesus basically "you're coming to me, before I can come to you!?" Isn't that what it means to be beloved? I feel that the most in my life knowing that my partner is going to pursue me, ask me about what's going on, encourage me when I'm discouraged, fight for and alongside me sometimes before even I fully grasp the fight that needs to happen in life for more freedom and fullness. Baptism is one of my favorite experiences - and such a privelege to do as a pastor with others....yesterday in church we used the baptismal font during the confession time in service, remember the words of St Patrick's Breastplate - a promise of God's solidarity, presence, and before-baptismal love - like the words, the water of baptism surrounds, engulfs and inundates us on all sides - before, after, left, right, under, above. What better experiential metaphor for being beloved!

St Patrick's Breastplate

I arise today Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through the belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the onenessOf the Creator of Creation.

I arise today Through the strength of Christ's birth with his baptism,
Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,
Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,
Through the strength of his descent for the judgment of Doom.

I arise today Through the strength of the love of Cherubim,
In obedience of angels, In the service of archangels,
In hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In prayers of patriarchs, In predictions of prophets,
In preaching of apostles, In faith of confessors,
In innocence of holy virgins, In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today Through the strength of heaven:
Light of sun, Radiance of moon, Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning, Swiftness of wind,Depth of sea,
Stability of earth, Firmness of rock.

I arise today Through God's strength to pilot me:
God's might to uphold me,God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,God's shield to protect me,
God's host to save meFrom snares of devils,
From temptations of vices, From everyone who shall wish me ill,
Afar and anear, Alone and in multitude.
I summon today all these powers between me and those evils,...
Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me abundance of reward.

Christ with me,
Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today Through a mighty strength,
the invocation of the Trinity,Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness, Of the Creator of Creation.

Friday, March 16, 2007

Lent Reading Day 21

The Birth of Jesus:

Matthew 1:18-25

"GOD IS WITH US." Someone in my church tells me this every time I have her on the phone or talk with her in person. It strikes me for she says it as a reminder, to give encouragement to others, to confirm that good stuff is happening, and even to give herself - and others - hope in hard times. What then does it mean that the name of the savior in the Christian tradition, of God becoming human, is God with us - a statement, a proclamation, a reminder, and a challenge. What does it mean for me?

This week has been a roller coaster of ups and downs: emotional, physical, mentally, and socially. Our 2 year old daughter broke her leg - on my watch of course! - and then we heard the final word about our daughter's placement for kindergarten both in the Oakland Public Schools and the Private Schools of the East Bay. I've been moving anxiously towards this week for about 3 months now...terrified of what we'd learn, of the choices we wouldn't have to make. Feeling so hopeless, I forgot and still do this promise that "God is with us." If anything I've gone from moments of feeling that "God is absent" even to the extreme that "God might be against us" or at best "indifferent." I think the challenge for me in all of this is that I struggle with what it means that "God is with us" - does that mean protection, blessing, solidarity in hard times, a guardian-angel presence on our shoulders, or an invitation to risk radically in challenging situations?

OUSD

Anti- or Pro-Choice?

The past months I've been working on the possibility of choosing a school for our kindergarten bound daughter in the schools of Oakland Unified School District. In the midst of the searching, numerous school visitations, and way-too-often sleepless nights of anxiety there was an article published in the Oakland Tribue about the School Choice Process and how things are looking up for the district as more and more families are deciding that the right school for their children is a public school as opposed to continuing the cycle of a massive exodus of Oakland families to the Private Independent Schools of the East Bay. Read the article here.

While the article was thoughtful and seeking to empower folks to choose OUSD schools I found it to simplisitc and naive. Do we really have a choice? Or is it merely just a mirage to make OUSD folks feel good? Who has a choice... is it only those families that have the money to comfortably choose between private and public education, or who can either afford or managed to buy early into expensive gentfiying neighborhoods in which the public schools are transforming and improving in relationship to the explosively escalataing house values in the past post-dot com years in which numerous families moved into many Oakland neighborhoods? I sure don't feel like my family really has a choice...and yet we have much more of a choice than many other families of preschoolers we're journeying with....

Here's the letter I sent to the author as my response to the article......
________________

I read with anticipation and trepidation your article on the front page of the Oakland Tribune this morning about the search for a right school as my wife and I are also currently traversing the same journey of school choice for our 4 year old daughter.

As I read, I felt increasingly disappointed. The Larson-Moore family do indeed have a difficult choice to make, private school for $14-19,000 a year or a local OUSD school. But what you overlooked in your article is the reality that they have a choice, as opposed to the many middle class families that live in the part of East Oakland below HWY 13 strectching from the Glenview to the Millsmont Neighborhood. Many are the families there, like my own, that don't have such a choice, let alone any choice, in terms of where their children will go to school. Our half-a-million dollar homes sentence us to the enslaving necessity of dual incomes, which preclude any fantasy of affording an independent school. Simultaneously we're also stuck in neighborhoods where the local school options top out, at best, with the elementary schools succeeding in increasing the rate of proficiency in language arts and mathematics among their students to the incredibly low ceiling of 30%.

I myself have visited Glenview, along with nearly a dozen others OUSD schools these past several months, scrambling to see what the odds are that the OUSD School Options gods might entertain my prayers and grant my daughter a preciously rare spot in a school that seeks to and is actually achieving academic proficiency in more than just a third of their student population. The other reality is that many of these families, in this part of East Oakland, are increasingly multi-racial couples who fled San Francisco as Housing Refugees clinging to the dream of buying a home in Oakland. Having survived the roller-coaster nightmare of bidding for a home in Ivy Leagu-esque competitions of the past six years, they no longer question if they should leave Oakland because of the mortgage possiblities, they now do so because for all their financial stretching, their children are doomed to an inadequate education in neighborhoods where the average home price far exceeds the national mean.

I applaud your efforts to bring such important stories to light, but would have prefered to read an article going beyond the stereotypical story of the single-wage-owner caucasian family risking the choice of sending their child to an OUSD school to explore the stories of the dual-wage middle class multiracial families of teachers, social workers, police officers and small business owners, who have no choice but the luck of the draw in this month's school options lottery.


Respectfully yours,
____________________

Thursday, March 15, 2007
Lent Reading Day 20
The Fiery Furnace:
Daniel 3:1-30

This is one of my favorite stories of the Bible...and has my favorite name - Meshach. I'm amazed at how the wise and all-powerful king is so quickly stumped, surprised and succumbs to the experience of true power. The story is grounded in the topic of faithfulness and obedience. What does it mean to be obedient to what you believe is true? What might it cost for you or us to be faithful to the call of God for our lives and in our world?

I don't know if I could step in the furnace like those three young guys... Did they assume they'd die? Were they not afraid of dying? Did they expect God to save them from the fire? Were they ready to die? In any case I'm sure that they didn't expect what happened to happen. It all leads me back to the question of obedience....am I willing to be obedient to God's call of and for me? Do I even want to? When things get sticky, costly, and sacrificial...how faithful have I been in the past?; how faithful am I today?....what will I be like in the future? It seems like were surrounded by a culture in which the easy-way-out is the best option, or that we choose what feels good in the moment....I do that with my cell phone plans, making a purchase a target, or deciding what I'm going to eat at a given meal. But those extra minutes, the debit cards totals, and the extra trans-fats do all add up...they do have cost....you can't simply move our total-due from one credit card to another forever. I'm not talking about the fear of the trumpet call and the fires of hell....but the consequences of my actions, the results of my decisions, the ripples that my person, passion, and purpose make on the water surface of life, the communities I live within, and in my own personhood. Asking if I'm (or you're) faithful or obedient is the easy, false piste question to ask....what's harder to answer is the question...where in my (our) life (lives) do I not want to be faithful, or refuse to be obedient? And why?

Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Lent Reading Day 19
Isaiah:
Isaiah 9:1-7

We live in a time of gathering darkness...there seems to be growing injustice in terms of the priveleges awarded the hyper-rich and the suffering of the expanding population of the poor-er class, war has become so common that we seem almost complacent to change in the world (I'm not just talking about the Middle East, and Iraq in particular...but also Lebanon, the Lord's Resistance Army of abducted children in Uganda, and the violence in our cities). More and more we seem to wonder if anything can change, if anyone can bring transformation to our broken world, bringing healing to what is shattered, unity to what is divided, sight to the places where we're blind, and rivers of justice to the dry-places dominated by the lack of justice. But it's not just in our day and time that such darkness seems onmipresent.



Isaiah's prophecies were recorded nearly 2,500 years ago when

the powers of Babylon and Assyria were rearing their head in the
ancient Middle East....they were dominating the "known world" establishing an empire that the Israelites could not resist nor vanquish even though they fantasized that God would deliver them (despite his warnings of the contrary).

Hear Isaiah offers an oracle that justice - peace - light in the darkness - hope in the hopelessness - would emerge in the birth of

child - an event first-and foremost - about relationship, interdependence, mutuality, and growth. In a world yearning for change - God doesn't ask them to settle by simply waiting for it - but to live fully - to anticipate that God's zeal would accomplish something so new, so different, so beyond-the-imagination that it could only be imagined as the using of the uniforms and weapons of armies as fuel for fires to warm the cold, and make food for the hungry.



Looking back the early church community saw with clarity that Jesus of Nazareth who they knew and experienced as Messiah and Savior - was this baby born into the world like light illumnating a room engulfed in darkness. How do we experience this same baby today? We often fight over what specifics to believe, over the historicity of this or that event, or the translation of this or that word in the original Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek....yet what the prophetic oracle is first and foremost about is HOPE. How does faith bring hope? How does our common faith, that in Jesus of Nazareth God does something unique, authoritative, and world-changing, gather us together into a transforamtive community, equip us with new HOPE, and send us into the world as peace-makers, and bridge-builders with that same hope? Such hope can't be limited to programmatic declarations of what is or isn't a family value, what is or isn't righteous, or what is or isn't proper according to tradition. Such radical hope is the currency with which deep, radical, hope-giving, life-sustaining, and world-transforming are built, strengthened, and shared. How does your faith give you hope? How does it give you new hope? How does it inspire, encourage, and equip you to share such hope in active peace-making and bridge-building ways with those in our homes, neighborhoods, cities and across the world we share with each other?

Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Lent Reading Day 18
Test of Solomon’s Wisdom:
1 Kings 3:3-28

Today's scripture story tells of King Solomon asking for wisdom from God and then the most famous example of his wisdom in resolving a problem within his kingdom. Two mothers. One dead baby. One living baby. Who's is who's? Who is lying? Who is telling the truth. Solomon wise reply is both horrifying and smart beyond imagination. He knows the hearts of the women as mothers. He knows how to recognize true life-giving love is like. He accepts the truthfulness and honesty of what are our limits and strengths as human beings in relationship with each other, ourselves and with the living God.

As I mediate on the story I wonder what is the God given wisdom that this passage might be birthing in me, in our church community, or calling us to discover as a community of faith? Where in my life, where in our church life (our mission, our purpose, our established - or traditional - identity) are we stuck...insisting on holding on to the past, the familar, or the easy-answers in the face of the massive cultural change and general transformation happening all around us? Where am I - where are we - insisting that both babies die...because we lost ours? What am I - what are we - so attached to that we refuse to give it up in order to accept the past, live fully in the present NOW moment, and receive something new in the coming-to-us present?

"Judgement of Solomon" by He Qi, China

Monday, March 12, 2007
Lent Reading Day 17
Advice from the Proverbs:
Proverbs 10:15, 10:20

WISE - do you consider yourself to be? Who of us thinks that we're foolish, and yet we all do foolish things. Tradition says that King Solomon wrote the Proverb sayings of this book following the wisdom that he gained as King throughout his life and in particular the wisdom that God gave to him. A pastor once told me that there are only 2 resources that we have and can use - our money and our time. Today's passage talks about our money and our words. How do you use them to build rather than destroy, to bless rather than curse? Are you governed by your money, or by your lack of control over your words? How so? Why?

Saturday, March 10, 2007
Lent Reading Day 16
Advice from the Proverbs
Proverbs 10:7, 10:12

What is wisdom exactly? Do you have to be old to be wise? If you've lived a lot and you've learned from all your many mistakes - does that automatically mean your wise?, or does it hint at your learning style?

Today's proverbial selection reflects on the power of memory and love. History - as they say - is written by the winners. So what does it mean to say that "the memory of the righteous is a blessing"? When I hear the word righteous in this verse I think more of honesty, integrity, authentic humaness seeking to walk in the sacred peace-making ways of the living God, than I do of morality related boasting, family value proclamations or battlecries for societal change. The blessing is not in the winner's history, but in the living memory of those seeking to live fully, wholly, and authentically.

The second proverb talks about hatred created strife and love doing the opposite. It's not that love is a gushy sort-of-politically-correct-tolerance-hug-a-tree passive agressive feeling, but rather an active, creative, and transformational way of living, knowning and being known. It makes me think of an article in the Tribune today about the division and hatred being generated by the increasingly over-the-top and blatantely hyper-provocative comments of Ann Coulter (and Bill Maher) who talk and scream hatred in order to keep the media attention focused upon them. Rather than loving to talk and write, they seem to talk and write because they love the spotlight.

The underlying word for me in these proverbs is why do we do what we do? - whether it's as an individual or as a community of faith?

Friday, March 9, 2007
Lent Reading Day 15
The Voice of the Lord Psalm
Psalm 29

Voice...what power there is in it. When we pick up the phone and that instant in which we recognize the voice on the other end. The tension in anticipating if it will be friendly, that person that really gets to you, or the more-than-familar silence followed by a click and then a salesperson's voice. There is power in our voice - power to thunder over the brouhaha of a crowded room, the authority in a silent whisper, the soothing gentleness of a "i love you" when tucking a child in, the violence of verbal abuse littered with explectives, and the anxiety-inducing silence that comes when we expect or await a reply.



We're so inundated with noise, speaking, talking, chatterings, conference calls, ever-on radios and tvs, that we often no longer hear others. The well known cell phone marketing strategy asking, "Can you hear me now?" indirectly asserts that we tend to block everyone and everything out as white noise to be avoided. This ancient poem, called Psalm 29, speaks of the power of God's voice. Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures God creates, redeems, recreates, heals, saves, and invites through the power of the divine voice. It's that voice and God's creative power in speaking that the psalmist celebrates in psalm 29. God speaks the universe and us into action - in creation, the call to Abraham, the revelation of the burning bush, the call to Joshua, in the falling of the walls of Jericho, and in the consecration of David as the king. We take that for granted...I know I do. I expect God to speak - and if I miss it for God to leave me a voice mail or something so that I can know what I missed. We're so busy that we barely hear each other, let alone are centered enough to recognize when God is speaking and then listen with all our being.

The Methodist and UCC churches have the campaign saying that "God is still speaking..." It seems that the problem is that our reception is bad (does God need of more cell phone towers?) or we're simply unable, or unwilling, to listen. During Lent this year I'm taking on the spiritual discipline of "centering prayer" seeking to spend more time just listening. (Centering prayer is more about listening to God and sitting in God's presence than talking or offering verbal prayers). If you want to try an online prayer practice check out "sacred space."

What are you doing, being, or envisioning in order to be a better listener of God's Voice?

Thursday, March 8, 2007
Lent Reading Day 14
The Shepherd Psalm
Psalm 23

This just might be the best-known scripture among those that have read, or heard the Bible read. I find it's the passage that is most request at memorial services - either by the family, or by people who tell me that when they die that want that read. Why is it so popular and well loved? I mean who of us has really ever worked as a shepherd? or can really identify with the life, work, and world-view of a shepherd? Granted the city of Oakland moves sheep around the Oakland hills in the Summer months in order to help keep the wild grasses under control in terms of another potential urban fire - but other than that connection....few and far between are the experiences we've had of shepherding.

As I surfed the internet look for some sort of photo to visualize my thoughts about psalm 23 I realized that what grabs us maybe is the image of green pastures, of a God that wants good for and with us; a God who blesses us so that we might bless others in return and start some sort of pay-it-forward, upward-sprial of blessings in our all-too-often parched and burnt-up world. More often than not we tend to hear more about Faith as a battlefield (see the great article in today's SF Chronicle linked here) then about Faith as what me most experience it to be: some sort of life-transforming oasis of strength, hope, grace, rest, and sanctuary, a mission much more of regegenerative and empowering resurrection than a militaristic battlecry to purge the darkness we see all around us. Maybe what's so powerful about this faith poem is the imagery of the valley of the shadow of death? I mean it's just there, well-known, not taken for granted. Oftentimes it has something to do with who we are, or related to consequences of our own actions, worldviews, or broken relationships. We've all been there, traveled through it, can name what it has been for us and our communities. Whereas so often in our more militaristic churches today we blame everyone else for the darkness: our culture, this or that group, rock music, sex in advertising, materialistic consumerism, or the fact that we need to return to the golden years of morality and family values (whenever that was). Maybe the power we experience in these words comes from the pictures it paints in our memories - beginning with the affirmation that the Lord is the one that cares for us, wants good for us, desires to see us grow both individually and corporately as we live together in a community. It then continues asserting that we all WILL walk through the valley of the shadow of death - and that God is with us in a solidarity - not a hallmark-gift-card - way, transforming our fear into something else, in the midst of our darkness and despair.

Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Lent Reading Day 13
David and Goliath
1 Samuel 17:1-54

Today's selection as we continue the Lent Challenge to read through the Bible again reveals the heart of God and the unifiying believed-in promised-reality of the people of Judeo-Christian Faith. The small overcomes the big. The seeminglly insignificant is more essential than the boasting tyrant. The humble overturns the proud. God is not seen or heard in the loud storm, the strong wind or the violent earthquake, but in the silent stirring whisper. David is the ultimate hero of the Bible, along the lines of Abraham, Moses, Debora, Ruth, and Esther.


The story is deep - granted it's a perfect made-for-tv sort of story in which the young amost-king-arthur-ish boy vanquishes the nastry and brustish giant of a man. It's a story meant to shape the people of faith, to shape the way that we envision and experience greatness, authority, faithfulness, and perseverance. It's a counter-cultural, revolutionary story that reminds us of the worldview we are shaped by and the faith community in which we are formed by our common faith in Christ. Ironic that this is our passage the day after the news about the falling of Libby. The story of David, who rises from the pastures of shepherd-om to become hero of the people in a nearly survivor-ish story, and then on to become the Hebrew Idol as the chosen king to replace Saul when the latter becomes proud, arrogant, and self-suficient, is crucial in the Hebrew Scriptures. Is it any wonder that our ancestors in faith claimed that Jesus the Messiah who overturns the proud, and lifts up the poor, was a descendent of the King David? How does this story shape you? How does it inform the way that you see the world, anticipate God to act, imagine the way in which God invites us to particpate in the kingdom-revolution in our world?

Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Lent Reading Day 12
Anointing of Saul
1 Samuel 9:15-10:1

The Israelites clamor to be like everyone else, giving into to the peer pressure of fitting-in as an emerging nation in the ancient world, they beg God for a king to rule over them. They trade the direct relationship with God (through the priest Samuel) for one in which God rules them but through the power and presence of a human king.

As I read this story I wonder how Saul felt? I mean he doesn't seem to know that he is going to become king, and that Samuel has been instructed by God to annoint him to this newly created position in the Israelite community. How does it feel to hear "God wants you to be king." I wonder how it felt for Samuel to say it?

I'm struck by Saul's comment, "I'm only a Benjamite..." It seems to me that such a phrase shows up in nearly every major story of a transformational experience of God's presence and purpose in the Hebrew Scriptures. Abraham. Sarah. Moses. Hannah. Samuel. "But I'm only...." It's amazing how God transforms the humble "I'm only..." into something more.

"Samuel annointing Saul"

Monday, March 5, 2007
Lent Reading Day 11
The Call of Samuel
1 Samuel 3:1-4:1

The story of Samuel hearing God's voice in the night strikes me as a tragic-comedy - along the lines of an episode of Three's Company integrated with ER. Eli - the chief priest - the one that is supposed to know God and to recognize God's voice is not the one that God speaks to. Instead the voice of God comes to the child Samuel, whose mother Hannah entrusted him to Eli to live in the temple in the service of the Lord. Samuel mistakes God's voice for Eli's who then is irritated that the boy keeps waking him up in the middle of the night. But then Eli realizes what is happening and teaches Samuel to recognize the call of God and to repsond to God's presence and purpose. The story challenges us about the voice of God...do we recognize when God comes calling? Or are we too busy?; too distracted?; too doubtful?; or maybe waiting for God to speak to us on our own terms - like in a podcast or a cell call.

God calls and his call of Samuel means that God is not calling the deliciously and seflishly gluttonous sons of Eli. The authority of being the priest of God passes from Eli to Samuel. God's call doesn't have to do with birthright, genetics, social standing, or even already being in a place of political power. Rather God calls the unexpected. God speaks to those that are listening for God's voice, not saying what they think God wants for others only to get ahead themselves. Samuel as we'll see in the subsequent readings for Lent becomes a great and wise priest of the Lord, leading the people, listening to God's Voice, obedient and in the service of God's will. In our own lives - and in our denomination - we often think that God most speaks to those with a Masters degree of Divinity, with a particular background, extensive knowledge of the Bible, or who are repeatedly in positions of power. Yet the story of Samuel reminds us that God calls according to God's vision - not our resumes, pedigrees, or power-hunger. The God we've seen so far in the readings of the Bible is one that is revolutionary, overthrowing the power structures by speaking to the people of the margins - the prophets, children, the barren, sick, excluded, overlooked and forgotten. In our own lives, and in our own church, who do we look to to speak for God? In doing so are we looking to those people or looking to God to speak?

"God calls Samuel"

by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1851-60. World Mission Collection

go outside and testify
An editorial from Monte McClain

Pastor, Fruitvale Presbyterian Church

The past weeks have seen a surge in political activity. From the positioning of multiple candidates on both sides of the spectrum, you would think that the presidential election is slated for next month. Several are already the darlings of particular groups – whether that be Hollywood, the Political Parties, the Red States, the Blue States, or the Evangelical Lobby. Each claims to speak for the whole, for the diverse people of our nation. In the same time period, Molly Ivins, the prolific nationally syndicated columnist, died of breast cancer. In her final column she encouraged her readers – and all citizens – to remember that “We are the people who run this country. We are the deciders. And every single day, every single one of us needs to step out and take some action…” Granted, Molly Ivins spoke and wrote from one side of the political spectrum, but in meditating on those final words of a long career, as she faced her imminent death, I’m struck by the power of her thought in terms of being a disciple of Jesus the Christ and living my faith out in the context of our Fruitvale Presbyterian Church faith community.

It seems that faith is being spoken of wherever you look. The possibility that Jesus’ tomb was discovered along with Mary Magdalene’s and their baby’s in Jerusalem is the subject of a current Discovery Channel Show. Several outspoken conservative Christian leaders lambaste the front-running Republican nominees for not being Christian enough. The power of a good life – the ideal life – is being heralded as the secret knowledge contained in the latest best-seller called The Secret; if we simply envision and focus upon the things that we want, we will supernaturally attract them to us – good jobs, cash, the perfect car, and a leaner body will simply appear as we think about them. All of these events are occurring and being discussed as we journey through Lent – the church season in which we take the time to focus, or maybe re-focus, on who Jesus of Nazareth was, what he said, and how he lived in a way that revealed that he wasn’t just a good teacher, possessed a secret for material wealth, or was the foundation of DaVinci code related mysteries; but rather that he was and is the Living Christ who transformed the universe through his death and resurrection, and invites us to transformation by living in that same resurrection power today, here, and now.

How often is it that we let others – politicians, Hollywood stars, day-time TV divas, or best-selling authors – speak for us? In a generation in which many people have no personal experience with the church community or the faith we profess and possess in Jesus Christ, how can we be surprised when we seem to often let others speak for us because they have a title, following, or celebrity? We tend to believe – and rightly so – that God will provide the testimony, spread the good news that the resurrection of Jesus Christ brings power, purpose, and passion to our daily lives, meaning to our work, and transformational community to our congregations. We tend to think that God will provide someone else to do that testifying. We don’t want to be a bother in the line at Safeway, a nuisance in our workplace, or a lightening rod in our neighborhood. I’m reminded of the story of Esther in the Hebrew Scriptures, in which Esther becomes the queen. She wonders how God will save her people, and her uncle Mordecai plainly states to her, “who knows but that you have come to the [position in which you are] for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14)

If there is a secret to faith it’s that God also has faith in us, that through Jesus we too can spread the good news of God’s love and justice through our words, actions, presence, relationships, and silence. God doesn’t simply entrust this mission to the professional clergy, the PhD’ed, or Nobel Prize-winning writers. We are the people that make up the church. We are those invited to share the story of resurrection and our stories of spiritual transformation. And every single day, every single one of us needs to step out and take some action to testify to what we believe and how it changes the world. We need people in the streets standing for justice, voicing the concerns of God’s heart, and working to make the Peace of God the Peace of our World.

Peace to you and yours,

Monte

March 3, 2007

Lent Reading Day 10

Joshua and the Battle of Jericho:

Joshua 6:1-20

The Israelites have made it out of their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, leadership has passed to the next generation from Moses to Joshua. They enter the promised land and take Jericho the first main town they encounter. Bloody and destructive - it can seem like a bizarre story of the people of God finding the home that God promised them in their pillaging the home of another. What's the point then of this story? Is it reinforcing the idea that the Hebrew Scritpures are merely written to advance and justify the perspective and worldview of a particular people? Or is there more?



What strikes me in the story is that Joshua and the Israelites trust that God will provide. In seemingly unbelievable ways that first meet Rahab, remain faithful to her hospitality...and God provides for the Israelites in a miraculous and mysterious way. How often do we truly believe that God will provide? In our day and age it's much more common for us to feel entitled to something, believing that we deserve it and must take it by our own means. Yet the sotry of Jericho reminds us and invtes us to trust that God will provide.

March 2, 2007

Lent Reading Day 9

The Ten Commandments:

Exodus 20:1-17, Deuteronomy 5:1-21

Simple yet profound, the ten words given from God to Moses for the Israelites serve as a foundation for their community life together. Not just a set of rules, of do's and don'ts, they serve as guiding ethic by which the Israelites life-in-community is shaped. They value life, respect the other, and integrate that in the belief in the God that freed the Israelites from oppression in Egypt. They tie together in a deeply interdependent way relationships between God and people, between people and each other, and the way that we consider ourselves. They serve as a reminder of God's priorities, the purpose of creation, and the way that we ourselves want to live in freedom, solidarity, and community.

As you read them what strikes you, grabbing your attention? Why is that? Read the texts again. What is the difference between the Exodus version and the Deuteronomy version? Hint: look at the commandment about the Sabbath. What does it mean to be free? What does it mean to rest in a sabbath-way? How are you missing those values in your life? How are we neglecting them in our society? The commandments are given to remind the Israelites of who they are and who God is calling them to be in their new-found freedom. How do we forget who God calls us to be and how we called to live as a people?

Sculpture "The Tablets of the Law" from the Ratner Museum

March 1, 2007
Lent Reading Day 8
Moses and the Burning Bush:
Exodus 3:1-22

Moses has fled his past, fled his future, and chosen a present that enables his to hide from his fears, failures, and family situation in Egypt. Alone in the wilderness, tending the flock of animals he cares for, he stumbles suddenly upon a bush that burns yet is never burnt up. Seeminlgy indestructible, Moses is intrigued and as he approaches comes into a face-to-face encounter with the living God of the past, the present and the future, who was, and is, and is to come. Moses experiences an epiphany, an experience of God revealing himself in the midst of our world. He takes off his sandals as a sign of respect for this holy ground, but it's more than his footwea that changes. Trasnformed by his encounter of the God of his ancestors - who now is clearly the God of Moses too, he cannot simply go back to business as usual. The voice and word of God has gone out, the call has been extended and Moses accepts - even if he still bickers and complains abit in the rest of chapter 2 because he stutters.

How often do we walk past holy ground epiphanies in our own lives? Maybe we don't see burning bushes, or hearing booming voices from on high. But I have to believe that we're not all that different than Moses. Often when God comes calling, inviting us to stand up, lead, and stand for justice - freedom - community solidarity - we too are often afraid. But what was Moses afraid of? Was he afraid of failure? Or was he afraid of himself, afraid to have his stuttering fear transformed into clear leadership, prophetic word? It reminds me of an often quoted poem by Marianne Williamson

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world.

There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do.

We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

What was Moses afraid of? What are we afraid of when we have our own burning bush epiphany encounters and are invited to be vital participants in what God is doing in the world?

Sculpture "The Burning Bush" from the Ratner Museum

February 28, 2007
Lent Reading Day 7

Moses in the Bulrushes:

Exodus 2:1-10

A children's Bible we read at home describes this story as "the baby in the basket." The imperialistic Pharaoh has set out upon a program of ethnic cleansing, using all his power to wipe out the numerous Israelites. And yet his own daughter is the person to pull out from the jaws of death the child that will grow to lead the Israelites to a freedom at the expense not only of Pharaoh's pride but also his power.

It's a cute story. That's why my daughters enjoy it. That's why the Prince of Egypt was such a success in the movie theaters. Yet it's deeper than just cute, trite, or sweet. Pharaoh's daughter makes a choice - she seems to me to clearly know what she's doing and who is the biological mother of the child. She makes a choice to protest against her father's policy, to speak her mind, what she believes to be true - not only with her words, but also with her actions. She not only saves the baby in the basket that day, but his mother and sister as well. Her compassion and mercy are actually acts of justice and revolution. A recent newspaper column, the last written before her death from cancer, of Molly Ivins invited readers to politcial action, to acts of justice in simple, coherent, seemingly cute yet revolutionary ways.

How is God inviting us today to stand up and go outside like Pharaoh's daughter and take some action?

Art by He Qi, "Finding of Moses"

February 27, 2007

Lent Reading Day 6

Jacob’s Ladder:

Genesis 28:10-17

Jacob, the son of Isaac, experiences the power, purpose and passion of God in a new, unavoidable way in today's passage. Read Genesis chapters 25, 26, & 27 to get the background of today's scripture story. Jacob's history is literally catching up with him. Like his grandparents he trusts more in himself to provide, than in God. So he has repeatedly taken things into his own hands, ensuring his safety, status and survival by trickery, deceipt, and self-reliance. But here as his vegeneful brother is closing in on him, and after giving up his family to his angry brother, he is overwhelmed by this vision of God through this ladder. It's from this point on that he changes - his life, perspective, and world-view is transformed. Better late than never we'd say. You might also say that it's easy to do that when you've already sacrificed your wife and children to save your own skin....but Jacob does literally see the light and change.

With all his blindness Jacob is able to discover, discern and understand that he is in a holy place, that God is present - not just in that square yard of land, but in all of life. How are you aware of God's presence? How would you like to be aware? It's in Jacob's dreams that God comes to him - the one time in his day in which he lets go of his total control over the way he reacts to all of life. It's in his dreams that God is able to come to him and be heard. How are you open to God coming to you, speaking to you God's power, purpose and passion?

February 26, 2007
Lent Reading Day 5

Abraham and Isaac:

Genesis 22:9-14

The story of the barren Abraham and Sarah journeying through the desert towards a new promised land and the promise of a child climaxes with the birth of Isaac by God's grace. Of course between this gift there were many times in which Abraham and Sarah scheme and sneak their own ways, trying to make what God promised happen by their own grit, greed, and guts. Isaac is born - the child of laughter - what his name refers to, reminding the proud parents each time that they call their son by name that they laughed when God made the promise of a child, doubting, disbelieving and discrediting that God could do such a mysterousily miraculous thing.

God then paradoxically invites and commands Abraham to take Isaac into the wilderness, and there to offer his only son, the long-awaited promise of future life, the fulfillment of his present moment, and the deep trust in God's goodness, in sacrifice. Some would say this is a demented and destructive God, asking parents to sacrifice their own child for God's glory. Yet it's a test - a cruel one in a way - to see what Abraham trusts in. Does Abraham trust only in his own power to provide for himself and his family (which is what he seems to do in most of his life)? To what extent does Abraham trust that God will provide?

We live in a time of great narcissim. One of the fastest selling books at the moment, the Secret, asserts that we can attract the future - the money - the looks - the body size - the material goods - that we want. Heralded by Oprah and Ellen, the divas of day-time tv, this new book, describing old thoughts, proclaims that we make the positive and the negative things happen in our life. It sounds catchy and encouraging...imagine yourself in that Porsche that has been prius-ed to get 150 mpg, and you'll soon be in it. Yet what about the downsides, that we make negative things happen by our thoughts? Is this really true when we think of what it means for those that lost everything in New Orleans, who live trapped in the Sunni Triangle in Iraq, or seeking to thrive in the midst of HIV-infected countries in southern Africa? Do we really have that much power over the universe?

Instead I'm struck by the memory of this story - which is foundational in Christianity, Judaism and Isalm - reminding me that God will provide and does provide. In fact the place where this story supposedly happened has become both the temple mount in Jerusalem and the site of the Mulsim Al-Aqsa Mosque. As I dwell on the invitation to trust that God will provide in the midst of our radically narcistic culture (check out the Oakland Tribune article that describes a study detailing the increasing rate of narcissim among college students and the possible negative effects on our culture) I'm pushed to look for different examples of trust, gratitude, and other-centerdness in our culture. I think of the acceptance speech of Supporting Actress Jennifer Hudson at the Academy Awards this past Sunday, when she said repeatedly, "I thank God." "God is so good."

In whom do we put our trust? How do I believe that God will provide for me, my family, and our church community? How do I second-guess God, by ensuring by my own powers and schemes - in an AbrahamSarah-ish way - that I'm provided for when God doesn't seem to be acting, or doing things the way that I'd like them to be done?

February 24, 2007

Lent Reading Day 4

The Call of Abram: Genesis 12:1-9

What does it mean to be called out from your people, tribe, nation, and culture to go to a new place, to make a new home, that God will show you? I find it hard to imagine. How would I respond it such a circumstance? How would you? And yet - is it really so unlike what we all live?; what we all are invited to? I was watching Grey's Anatomy tonight whch begin with the statement that Doctors believe in Science, not things such as miracles. The next philisophical musing was a post-modern response saying that science is wrong, that miracles do happen. The miracle in the Abraham and Sarah story isn't so much that they were old, worn, and baren and yet birthed a nation, but rather that they said, "yes" to God's invitation to relationship - one that led to new discoveries, unexpected journeys, and out-of-the-box ways of knowing and being known. The truest miracle of the journey of Abraham and Sarah is that they lived their life of blessing being a blessing to others... Blessed doesn't mean happy-go-lucky, or that everything is easy or turning-up-roses, but that life is full, whole, and meaning-full. I'm much quicker to want to take the blessings that come my way, than to pay them forward, to be a blessing to others. What does it mean to bless others in our actions, words, relationship, presence, and prayers? Maybe - just maybe - when we're so quick to want God to do miracles for us - to make life easier, to grant our wishes, to wipe away our challenges, we're overlooking the mystery that maybe God is inviting us to be miracle-doers - blessing others when both we're happy and healthy, and when we're broken and lost.

February 23, 2007

Lent Reading Day 3

The Flood: Genesis 6:5-8:15

The story of Noah, the Ark, and the great flood is well known, in particular when you visit stores that sell decorations for baby rooms. It always strikes me that we often decorate children's room and dress them up with figures from this story that at first-glance seems so destuctive, and divisive. Is the story about a God who destroys everything that God created because things don't go as God planned or imagined?; or is it about a God that takes the initiative, inviting to a deeper relationship?



The story of the great flood existed in the myths of many of the ancient cultures in mesopotamia. Many scholars assert that the Israelites adopted this story from their neighbors, transforming it, claiming it for their own faith community. The selection for the day leaves out the part of the stoy that reveals God's heart, passion, and purpose. Genesis 8:15-22 talks about the unique aspect that the God of the Bible promises to never bring about such cataclysmic destuction again, making a covenant with Noah and his family to be in relationship with them.



What does it mean for us that God makes a covenant to be with us, to be for us, and to be among us? How does such a promise change how I live my day, the decisions I make, and the way I invest in my relationships?

February 22

Lent Reading Day 2

Creation of Man and Woman

Genesis 2:4-2:25

I've heard, as probably many of us have, multiple negative comments about this text. God is mysoginist - seeming to hate women, and the story protrays the woman as the only "bad" person - the tempter. Others have said that God is unfair, setting Adam and Eve up for a fall, tricking them into being disobedient. Others have said it's just ridiculous to think - in our post-modern, post-industrial, scientific-worldview-based-world, that such a ridiculous story could explain the creation of the world that took hundreds of thousands, in not millions, of years to evolve, emerge, and exist. Plus no one has ever found this "garden of Eden" - so it must be an ancient myth told and re-told be pre-enlightenment peoples to make themselves feel better.

These comments all miss the point of the story - at least how the story of creation strikes me. Yesteday's reading (Genesis 1:1-2:4) also tells the story of creation. So the Bible actually has two versions - side by side - of the story of the beginning of the universe. If the writers of the Bible were trying to offer a conclusive, evolutionary and scientific explanation of the genesis of the cosmos I doubt that they would have included 2 stories - unless their editor was on vacation the week they put Genesis together. The first chapter tells the story of creation as an invitation to a conversation with God - a God who speaks things into being, speaking with creation as co-subjects, equal, and with whom God seems to be interdependent. The second chapter - today's text - tells the same story with a different theological point - that we are created in God's image - but are not God. The man and woman are equal in creation. For God doesn't create Eve from Adam's foot - but from his rib, his side - the part of the body that will be side by side with her when they are standing together side by side. I think this shows God's intention for interdependence, mutuality, and equality in creation from the get-go. (Of course this isn't my idea - it comes from several French medieval theologians). The fruit in the garden - the temptation of the snake - and the evenutal banishment of Adam and Eve are not meant to paint an unloving portrait of the God of the univese as without mercy, grace, and patience, or meant to justify the latest jockey or 2xist underwear marketing schemes. Rather they remind us of the human condition - that we all are part of what a friend calls the "circle of life." We all are born. We all will die. Adam and Eve seek to change that, with some suggestive encouragement from the snake. Curiously the world "devil" comes from the Greek work "diabolos" which means "the one who divides." And isn't that what happens in this story? In the beginning Adam and Eve are living in interdependence with God and with each other...but by the end they have turned on each other (who else do they have to blame in the garden?) and on God.

How often do I - and we - turn on each other when we're afraid or confronted with our own mortality, brokeness, fears, or uncertainties. As mythical, distant, or destructive (read Sam Harris' latest book) we might suspect these ancient stories to be - there is a reason that these two chapters; two versions of the same story, are at the beginning of what became the collection of testimonies about God that we now call the Bible. They remind us that the God of the universe is seeking us out, taking the initative, inviting us into a conversation - a dance of co-creation and interdependence, and that we in our human-ness somehow learn radical mistrust from one another - what the Biblical writers call sin - fearing that there won't be enough for us, to go around for me to get some, or that God will or even has forgotten us. In this second day of Lent - we have to ask ourselves - how does mistust of God, of others, and even ourselves - rule our lives, reign over our decisions and actions, and govern the way our cultures and nations deal with one another?

Ash Wednesday

February 21, 2007

Lent Reading Day 1

Genesis 1:1-2:4

The first reading in the Read Through the Bible Lenten Spiritual Discipline Blog Entry starts in the beginning - the first words of the Bible in the book of Genesis are actually, "In the beginning...", not "in the first instant," not "in that moment before the big bang," not "before the process of evolution emerged," simply "in the beginning." We often read the text putting our values, expectations, and worldviews upon the text, making it speak our language, talk to us on our terms, or even tell us what we want to hear. In light of our scientific world-view and knowledge, we struggle with accepting that the world was created in 6 days or that God's word could create something out of nothing. But what I hear the text saying is that God speaks, taking the initative, addressing the first word in a dialogue. God's speaking organizes, transforms or shapes what already was - the darkness and the void - into something that is alive, dynamic and good. God speaks and the universe responds, joining into the conversation. God speaks and man and woman are created in God's image - creatures empowered with the gift of gab - able to participate in a discussion. God doesn't talk down to them, but rather with them. God doesn't begin creation with a dictation, or a speech, but rather with a conversation. A dialogue requires two actors or speekers, who are able to listen and speak, to interact in mutuality, interdependence, and relationship. If this is the first story of the Bible - then what I hear it saying is that from the beginning God has sought to be in relationship with us, speaking to us, taking the initative, so that we might respond, join the conversation, and become co-creators with God. I find that quite different than simply imagining that the creation story justifies this or that political party platform, a pro- or anti- position vis-a-vis science, or even a line-drawn-in-the-sand approach to faith in the Judeo-Christian perspective. How radical to imagine that God is still speaking (as the Methodists say in their marketing) - and speaking to us - to me - inviting me to join the conversation. If that's the case how often do I approach life: my decisions, actions, relationships, and words in the view that I'm part of a conversation and not simply the center of my own private world, or in a dog-eat-dog world, or a complacent cog in the midst of a meaningless machine? If God is still speaking - what am I saying?

is the period of 40 days before Easter (not including Sundays) that begins on Ash Wednesday. Since the first days of the Christian Church Community, nearly 2,000 years ago, Lent has been as season of spiritual growth, discipline, and maturation. Early converts to Christianity underwent a time of catechism, or faith instruction – including fasting – during these 40 days. This became a practice of “giving something up” during this time in order to be more mindful of the sacrifice that Christ made on the cross and in the crucifixion so that sin and evil might be overcome by resurrection grace and transformational faith-relationships with God. Instead of “giving something up” to be mindful of Christ and the new way of being in our world and relating to God and one another, thechurch community I serve (Fruitvale Presbyterian in Oakland, CA) wants to invite you to “take something on” during Lent.

Throughout Lent you can discover a new spiritual discipline that you can practice on your own in order to grow your faith and nurture your spirituality. These will be presented each Sunday by a special insert in the worship bulletin (which you can download on the church website). I'll also upload these inserts - including links to online resources - each Sunday until Easter (April 8th)

Throughout Lent, beginning on Ash Wednesday, February 21st, I'll be blogging on a daily basis, briefly sharing my thoughts about the sciptures that comprise a snap-shot overview of the entire Bible. If you'd like to try this as spiritual practice during Lent this year, simply tune into my blog each day. You'll find a link to the scriptures as well as a short reflection piece.

Here's the List of Scriptures that you can read through and which I'll be blogging about.

A Lenten Spiritual Discipline: Read the Bible on a Daily Basis
Readings for Lent “Through the Bible”

Day 1 Creation: Genesis 1:1-2:4
Day 2 Creation of Man and Woman: Genesis 2:4-2:25
Day 3 The Flood: Genesis 6:5-8:15
Day 4 The Call of Abram: Genesis 12:1-9
Day 5 Abraham and Isaac: Genesis 22:9-14
Day 6 Jacob’s Ladder: Genesis 28:10-17
Day 7 Moses in the Bulrushes: Exodus 2:1-10
Day 8 Moses and the Burning Bush: Exodus 3:1-22
Day 9 The Ten Commandments: Exodus 20:1-17, Deuteronomy 5:1-21

Day 10 Joshua and the Battle of Jericho: Joshua 6:1-20
Day 11 Call of Samuel: 1 Samuel 3:1-4:1
Day 12 Anointing of David: 1 Samuel 9:15-10:1
Day 13 David and Goliath: 1 Samuel 17:1-54
Day 14 The Shepherd Psalm: Psalm 23
Day 15 The Voice of the Lord Psalm: Psalm 29
Day 16 Advice from the Proverbs: Proverbs 10:7, 10:12
Day 17 Advice from the Proverbs: Proverbs 10:15, 10:20
Day 18 Test of Solomon’s Wisdom: 1 Kings 3:3-28
Day 19 Isaiah: Isaiah 9:1-7

Day 20 The Fiery Furnace: Daniel 3:1-30
Day 21 The Birth of Jesus: Matthew 1:18-25
Day 22 Baptism of Jesus: Matthew 3:13-17
Day 23 Plucking Grain of the Sabbath: Luke 6:1-5
Day 24 The Golden Rule: Matthew 7:12
Day 25 The Great Commandment: Mathew 22:36-40
Day 26 Healing the Ten Lepers: Luke 17:11-19
Day 27 The Widow’s Mite: Mark 12:41-44
Day 28 Lazarus and the Rich Man: Luke 16:19-31
Day 29 The Lost Sheep: Luke 15:3-7

Day 30 Laborers in the Vineyard: Matthew 20:1-15
Day 31 Calming the Storm: Mark 4:36-41
Day 32 Entry into Jerusalem: Matthew 1:1-11
Day 33 The Last Supper: Matthew 26:17-29
Day 34 Garden of Gethsemane: Matthew 26:36-46
Day 35 Arrest of Jesus: Matthew 26:47-56
Day 36 The Crucifixion: Luke 23:44-49
Day 37 The Resurrection: Luke 24:1-11
Day 38 Pentecost: Acts 2:1-3
Day 39 Paul’s Conversion: Acts 9:1-9
Day 40 God Wipes All Tears: Rev. 7:9-14

PEACE – WHAT DOES IT COST?
An editorial from Monte McClain – Pastor, Fruitvale Presbyterian Church

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” – Jesus of Nazareth (John 14:25)

February is filled with celebrations that affirm our identity in community. You might watch the Super Bowl with your closest friends, celebrate Valentine’s Day with a significant other, celebrate Black History Month in our schools, faith communities or neighborhoods, or participate in Lunar New Year Festivities in different and diverse Asian backgrounds. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday the 21st, marking our 6 week journey towards the resurrection promise of Easter for us and our world. The month is filled with festive Feast Days in which we gather together in community to celebrate who we are culturally, historically, relationally, and also spiritually.

As Christians we gather together in our common belief that something universally unique and authoritative happened in Jesus the Christ. As disciples we share a common hope that in Christ the God of the Universe has given us a peace beyond all understanding, and that through Christ on the Cross this is made possible, and that by Christ we are invited and called to not only talk about such peace, but to work to make it the reality of our world. In the Christian perspective peace isn’t merely just the absence of War, rather it’s the fullness of God’s presence, purpose and passion in and for all of creation. It’s not a temporary surge, but a constant universe-transforming gift of grace, love, and wholeness. When we discover God’s peace we ourselves are transformed, finding the fullness of who we are created to be and become. It’s in the peace that God gives in Christ that we come home – not to become a couch-potatoes, but to discover and deepen our discipleship as ambassadors of Christ’s love for all the world. It’s not sanctioned by Congress, nor a mayoral policy, but rather God’s deepest desire for us and invitation to us to be co-participants in the continuing work of creation.

We are in need of such radical and life-transforming peace, aren’t we? The surging death rate of young men and women (as well as not so young) dying in conflicts around the world from the neighborhoods of Baghdad to the corners of Somalia remind us of our need for peace. The rate of violent crimes and thefts in our city of Oakland are surging towards new potential records in only the second month of the year. A recent article in the Tribune highlighted the gentrification in our own church neighborhood – the Dimond District – and the “rebirth” of an historic city district. Yet at what cost will this gentrified fullness come? Who will be forced out by the surge of skyrocketing housing costs? If Christ gives us his peace – and does it differently than the world does – what does that mean? In a time in which many of us are fearful of what can happen and what is happening, what does Jesus’ invitation to “not be afraid,” mean for us?

February is filled with holidays and celebrations that invite us to peace – either in wishing us peace and prosperity for the new year, to share a peace-full moments with friends and family, or to remember and claim our diverse history in order to prevent the horrors or racism and xenophobia to tyrannize our society. As Christians, Lent invites us to fathom the cost at which God makes peace with us, and the universe through Christ. What does that mean for us? And how are we invited – or challenged – to pay forward our gratitude by being peace-makers in the name of Jesus the Christ in our world, our city, and in our church community – in words, actions, and relationships?

Peace to you and yours,

Monte