Oppressed Oppressor

I have been thinking a lot about history lately; our history as humans, as well as my own history.  Now, I just can not believe that I am a result of  evolution….a  goo-man if you will, Iwould rather believe that I am a created man.  So this ‘our’ history I speak of is the story of divine creation, the fall, oppression through captivity, redemption from captivity only to become the oppressors, back into captivity and oppression….you get the picture.  

My thoughts are occupied with the question into which category I fall into: the oppressed or the oppressor.  And that I suppose depends on your perspective.  Most of the oppression I feel is financial in nature and it is a consequence of my own actions.  In a way I have oppressed myself by not following the instruction manual I was given.  No, I am not talking about a  Dave Ramsey book ( although I think he may have referred to the manual while writing his books).

You don’t have to search to hard to find God’s counsel on banking and it would appear He just doesn’t understand our modern financial institutions.  He would have lenders not charge interest!?!  Exodus 22:25   Can you imagine that?  Doesn’t that raise your ire with the evil banks and mortgage companies?  Wait a minute, what is my part in this…do I have any accountability here?  If I truly believe that interest charging lenders are in opposition of God, what was I thinking when I borrowed money from them?  Whether you believe greed or need was the driving force,  I am now dancing with the devil…working two, sometimes three jobs just to feed the beast I helped to create.

Don’t get me wrong here, it is not the work that bothers me….it is knowing what I could be doing different had I followed the instruction manual.  I would have more time to give to service and more resources to share.  The worst part…..the part that haunts me…..is that I know I broke my Father’s heart.

Regretfully, RT

Day One

My morning reading came from Genesis 1 verses 3-5  today.   The Message translation is as follows:   God spoke: “Light!” And light appeared. God saw that light was good and separated light from dark. God named the light Day, he named the dark Night. It was evening, it was morning— Day One.

Now, I have read this passage many times before, but today I had an epiphany of sorts: the order of Day One.  “It was evening, it was morning- Day One.”  Upon further reading, that was the order of all the days in Genesis One.  Do you realize what this means?  We have gotten it wrong all along; our collective cognitive chronological clock is off by 12 hours.  Can you imagine the implications of this revelation?  Does that mean all the times we thought we were watching Monday night football it was actually Tuesday morning football?  And what about my formative years; were those Saturday night cartoons instead of Saturday morning cartoons? Just the thought of this whole time-shift thing makes my head swim.

But seriously, in Light of the season we have just finished (and should still be) celebrating, look at Christ’s chronology condensed: Born in a manger, lived as a poor carpenter’s son, studied and taught God’s will, was crucified, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven.  When I think about it Christ life fits this pattern.  I would consider being born in a filthy animal stable fairly dark…kind of like dusk or early evening.  Christ’s evening continued throughout His life until it reached complete darkness with His persecution and crucifixion.  I don’t know about you, but I would call that the dark of night.  Thank God though for early light of Sunday morning and the resurrection!  I am sure that it was a very bright morning indeed, but I think that the brightest part of Christ’s day is yet to come.  His brilliance and all of His glory will be revealed at His Second Coming!  Hallelujah! 

How does this new time strategy fit with our lives?  We are born into a dark world with the only beams of authentic Light coming from followers of Christ.  Couldn’t this be considered our evening?  Sadly, we often don’t truly accept Christ until we reach the lowest point in our life; isn’t that the dark of our night?  Stick with me here, our salvation then could be seen as dawn bringing morning’s (Christ’s) light.  Then our own death, instead of a dark time is actually the brightness of mid-day’s sun for the believer.  A time when we will see the radiant glory of God Himself.

I am thankful that whether we are in the dimming light of evening or the pitch blackness of night, morning is just a prayer away.  And whether we are in the burgeoning light of early morning or nearing the brightest part of our day, we haven’t seen the purest Light yet.

Enjoying my new day. RT.

Clark or Cousin Eddie?

It is during this most holy of seasons that I stop and ask myself, “Am a Clark or a cousin Eddie?”  If you don’t know who I am talking about then you have been deprived of the pure pixel pleasure of watching a true Christmas holiday classic.  A movie that depicts all of our own family dynamics taken to an extreme Seinfeld could only envy:  National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.

  Clark appears to have it all: good job, loving wife, two kids, and a nice home.  Contrast that with Eddie who has a loving wife and four children, but no job and lives in a rusted out tenement on wheels.  Oh yeah,  he is still the proud owner of a thriving worm farm however.  I have always pictured myself as a Clark, but this year I realize that I might just be a cousin Eddie.  A man whose heart is bigger than his brain.

At first I was appalled at this revelation, then it dawned on me……which of these characters is more in the spirit of Advent?  Clark, who is uptight whether his annual bonus will cover the $7000 he needs for the pool he is giving his family for Christmas.  Or cousin Eddie, who can’t even afford to buy his own children gifts, but delivers to Clark the perfect gift.  Who gave more of himself?  And whose gift came more from the heart?

Maybe, just maybe, being a cousin Eddie isn’t such a bad thing.

Mele Kalikimaka, RT

Blue-Eyed Christ and the gospel of “Meh”

I received an email today claiming to be the results of an NBC morning poll on whether or not to keep the words “in God we trust” on our money and “one nation under God” in the pledge of allegiance.  The email went on to claim that NBC had a higher number of responses on this poll than any other poll and that the results were 86% in favor of keeping the verbage with a mere 14% against.  The email ended with the question of why is the world catering to this 14%?   Oh, did I mention that this email also contained a picture of a blue-eyed Christ?

I find it fitting to have received this email the same week it was announced that the word “meh” will be added to the Collins English Dictionary.  Meh has many meanings depending upon the intonation, however it started out signifying mediocrity or indifference and has evolved/devolved to infer boring, apathetic or unimpressive.  Now, I know I am rambling a bit, so I will try to make my point……

If 86% percent of NBC viewers truly believe what is printed on their money and stated in their pledge, then why is our nation in the shape it is?  I’ll tell you why, because these same people believe in a blue-eyed Christ.  They have accepted a gospel of Meh.  A gospel of mediocrity and indifference to the truth.  They see the  gospel message through the same narrow world view they see their version of Christ.  The view that sees prosperity in terms of temporal riches rather than a flourishing kingdom of God.  Through this same narrow world view the followers of this meh gospel truly believe only 14% of the “world” wants to banish God from our vocabulary, so why listen to them?  However, the US Center for World Missions reports that only 33% of the world’s population claim to to be Christians.  That would make make that 14% who want to strike God from our national liturgy closer to 67%.  So shouldn’t the question really be; why should the world listen to the 33% Christian minority? 

Maybe if this gospel of meh was exchanged for a lot more passion, commitment and action on the Christian minority’s part, we could do away with this blue-eyed Jesus.  Then we could study, follow and honor the true Christ through the blood stained words of the bible. 

Meh…RT

RT on voting.

While monitoring d-hall today and in between whacking knuckles with a wooden ruler, I have been thinking about today’s election.  Not about which way to vote when I leave here this evening, but about all the hype this election has brought with it.  I have been voting since Jimmy Carter was elected president and I have never seen such hand wringing over an election. 

I don’t believe it is just about the candidates’ political views.  We have survived some bad political agendas before.  Some people would say we have just suffered through eight years of one the worst.  I think it is about the candidates themselves and some really deep-seeded racial and sexist bias.  I don’t believe Obama is the anti-Christ nor do I believe McCain equals more of the status quo.  I also don’t believe either one of them is a messiah.

I do believe it is my obligation to vote and not that it will change the world.  That change will come when each one of us takes responsibility for our own actions and starts living in the shadow of the Cross.

Got to go vote, RT

PS: And if I don’t vote, I can’t complain.

I couldn’t do this, could you?

Several friends have sent this video to me over the past couple of days.  I just want to share it with you.  Each time I watch it, I think as a father I could never do this….Thank God our Father did!

God bless you, RT.

At the risk of being labeled…

I am more than a little hesitant to even write this post, but it is something that has bothered me for sometime now.  I know some people will miss the point of what I am trying to express and find a suitable label to bestow upon me.  Regardless, here it goes…..

My church has had several men who have served in Iraq over the past few years, probably not unlike your church.  A couple of Sundays ago one of these men returned home and was welcomed back by the congregation with patriotic pageantry and honor.  Before I go on, let me state that what I am about to say is not meant to be derogatory towards anyone.  This man felt it was his duty to serve is country and he bravely did so.  But I had to wonder how would we welcome those men who over the years have chosen not to serve their country based on their religious beliefs?  Would we welcome these men with the same amount of pomp and circumstance? 

We all operate by a set values that we each hold true.  One man feels a duty to serve his country by taking up arms,  while the other feels a duty to serve his God by laying down his sword.  Remember the incident in the Garden of Gethsemane when one of Jesus’ followers drew his sword to defend Christ Himself?  Christ said not by the sword.  Now I know that this was to fulfill prophesy, but if not for Christ then for whom?   I truly believe we are at the beginning of a revolution, one that will bring substance to that dangerous phrase thy will on earth as it is in heaven.  It won’t be a revolution led by Obama or McCain or their generals, but rather by the followers of Christ living out their lives in His dust.  Following Him so close that their actions will be noticed by the entire world.

Wondering outloud, RT

Is it just me?

As I walked down the school hallway and heard Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA playing on the morning announcements as an intro to the pledge, I wondered if the irony was lost on everyone but me.  The demographics of this district’s website report that there are over 40 different languages spoken in the homes of its students.  This would imply that not all of the students were “born in the USA”.  The district’s ethnicity summary reports that Hispanic is the largest and fastest growing “minority”.  It goes on to report that all “minorities” combined equal 49% of its student population.  Now what message are we sending to these students and others?  Many were not born in the USA, yet we expect that they stand and show respect for the flag during the pledge?  This, after pointing out the difference between us and them through the words of Bruce’s anthem…  I don’t get it.

Now don’t get me wrong, people who know me wouldn’t exactly call me touchy-feely, but I do think we need to realize the impact of our uttered words.  Those words can be in written, spoken, or song form.  We need to be a lot less egocentric and a little more altruistic in our thoughts, words, and actions.  Wait a minute, that is beginning to sound like a Jewish rabbi I have read about.  And you know what happened when people started following Him.

Enough said, RT out.

America, here’s your sign!

This past Sunday I was greeted by this proclamation as I pulled into the church parking lot: America, Bless God!  Was this the work of a dyslexic church worker, an electrical glich or was it an act of divine genius?

I prefer to believe the later.  America, and by America I mean the USA, has long volleyed the call of God bless America in song and war cries.  But I often wonder are we deserving of that blessing?  What are we doing as a nation for God to want to bestow His blessing on us?  When I think of Christ words in the Beatitudes, the answer is not much.

I believe that as a nation and as a people if we truly want God’s blessings we have some dramatic changes to make.  We know what we need to do, the question is are we willing?

As always, RT

Where do you find beauty?

That’s a fair question isn’t it?  America’s definition of beauty is often linked to collagen filled lips, silicone filled breast, lipo-sucked hips and air brushed tans.  Does that do it for you?  If so, there is another 18 or over site waiting for you and your credit card number. 

But I am talking about a true unaltered beauty.  I was fortunate enough to see it the other day while driving to work.  I found it in a mother’s face as she looked back at her young child securely strapped in his car seat while sitting at a red light.  It wasn’t that she was drop dead gorgeous, but the look on her face was one truly reflective of God’s love.  Her eyes reflected a love that every soul longs for.  It was only a moment, but it’s effect still lingers.

So, where do you find beauty?  Let me know. 

As always, RT