Tag Archives: politics

Searching for Messiah

05 Monday Jun 2017

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I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to make the statement that it appears that our society is in search of a messiah figure.  Too often that ends up being a search in the political realm of life – a search for a political and/or partisan messiah who will save the nation/party/etc.

I also don’t think that this is anything new.  We’ve actually been doing this for some time.  I remember when Obama got elected and all the adulation for him, with some going so far as to call him a messiah.

But this isn’t even an American sin.  Go back through history, the search for messiah and the foisting it on a human is ancient.  Emperors of old were considered gods sent to save their people.  But only their people. Everyone else is an outsider and doesn’t deserve saving supposedly.  And of course, that person died and then the search for a new messiah began.  It’s the story of human history.  And yet we think this time it will be different.

Maybe part of the reason we do this is because we don’t want to recognize that the Messiah looks far different from what we want.

The Messiah who saves us isn’t interested in nationalism or America first.  Just like the Messiah wasn’t interested in Israel first or any other nation first.  The Messiah didn’t come to save just a select few people – the Messiah came to save all of creation.

The Messiah who saves isn’t interested in advancing a political party in the 21st century.  At some point, all of these political parties and entities will die off and be replaced with some other sin-filled party or entity.  The Messiah isn’t interested in seizing and holding onto power, something that political parties and politicians live for.

Instead, Messiah has a different agenda.  It’s an agenda that calls us into a new relationship – a changed relationship.  A new relationship with one another, with God, with creation, with ourselves.

So often we want change, but we want those “other” people to change to be just like us. We love hearing the Gospel, but we think that a call for repentance is a call for other people to radically reorient, not us.  However, Messiah invites us to change as well.  How can anything else change is it doesn’t start by changing us, changing our hearts and minds, and then changing what we do and how we do it.

We don’t start this change, God does.  We do however have the ability to respond.  We have been given that by the Spirit who guides us to a new life and new relationships.  How will we respond – with fear? by setting aside God in favor of a god we choose who will be more concerned with power and separation?  Will we hear God’s call and follow, or will we decide that we think we know a better way – a failed way, a way that has been tried through most of human history?

I pray that this generation responds differently.  I pray that I have the courage to respond when God calls me to ways that the world thinks are insane – to respond with love, mercy, forgiveness, and peace.  That is the way of Messiah.

 

Jesus is calling…

19 Wednesday Apr 2017

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Ring, ring…

Ring, ring…

(Humanity answers the phone…)  “Hello…”

“Yeah, it’s me…Jesus.  I have a few things to tell you.  I just have to get these off my chest.”

“So, I’ve been thinking.  I’m thinking that you all have a slight problem. Ok, a big problem.  Many of you claim to be my followers.  Yet, when I look around, I’m not seeing much following going on.  I’m seeing a lot using my name and pretending to be followers going on.  You know, the whole consumerism thing going on in the West.  Yeah, that’s not something I’m really about.  Remember how I taught to give away all the stuff that got in the way of following me?  No…I’m not surprised.”

“Yeah, and about enemies.  You don’t seem to understand what I was saying.  I said to love your enemies.  Yet you seem intent on killing them.  But not with kindness…or love.  No just killing them.  I think we have a failure to communicate here.”

“Yeah and the poor, the marginalized, the persecuted, the defenseless.  Yeah, do I really need to go into detail here.”

“Oh, and you’re not going to like this one – putting country or political party above me is not my cup of tea.  We had this same problem in the past.  Just in case you haven’t learned this, no worries, you will.  The end result is always the same.  Country and party end up as something else.”

“Hello…are you still there?  Figures.  I’ll try again later.  Maybe you’ll listen.  Regardless, please hear this.  I still love you.  Even when you ignore me.  Even when you stop listening.  Even when you use my name but go on your own path.  Oh, and I’ve got you covered.  Just in ways you may not understand.”

“And for the few of you who are listening and doing your best to follow…thank you.  Keep it up.  Trust me, it’s worth it.”

“By the way, the dinner invitation every week stands. You can come to my place and you’ll be fed the best food and drink ever.  And we’ll talk about things that make you feel so very alive and ready to face the week. And of course the company will be interesting and sometimes challenging.  But like them, you’ll be my guest.”

“Talk with you again soon. Peace.”

(The call ends…)

Hey, let’s talk past each other

21 Tuesday Mar 2017

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Have you ever been in a “conversation” where the other person just talks past you?  You know what I’m talking about – they say something, then wait for you to say something and while you are speaking, they are thinking of what they will say next.  They are concerned with either making a point, or shooting down your idea or argument, or having the last word.

This happens more often than we like to admit.  I’m not sure why though.

I wonder if social media has anything to do with this, or if it just a symptom of it.  I don’t know.  Maybe it has nothing to do with it.

When it comes to politics and religion, this happens a great deal.  We talk past each other on important and unimportant issues.  We talk past each other on immigration and health care and a whole host of topics.  Why though?  Are our beliefs about these things so shallow and weak that we can’t handle some questions and criticisms?  Do we believe that we must have all the answers and that our beliefs must be air tight?  Do we believe that if our opponent finds a weakness somewhere in our argument that the whole thing will fall apart like a house of cards?

This happens in religion and theology too.  We talk past each other when it comes to abortion, the existence of God, and high church vs. low church.  Why?  What do we have to gain by talking past the other person?

Talking past someone is a completely defensive posture.  In a sense, there is a belief that we have nothing to gain from the other person – nothing to learn.  We are afraid of losing something.  Here’s the real deal though – if this is your posture, you’ve already lost.  It’s just a matter of time until it all comes tumbling down.  You can’t survive by contracting and becoming smaller.  You thrive by expanding and growing.  Not necessarily in terms of literal numbers, but rather in terms of growing relationships, knowledge, wisdom, experience, being open and vulnerable.

So, what do you do if someone is talking past you?  Change things up.  Stop and ask questions.  Be honest about what is going on and confront the other person too.  Is there a willingness to change the conversation so it is really a conversation?  If not, you’re wasting your time.  If they are and you are, then you’ve just entered something great.

Confrontation

08 Wednesday Mar 2017

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We live in an age of confrontation.  Of course, I don’t think this is new.  I think it’s a part of the human condition actually.  A major part of humanity’s history and experience is based in confrontation.

My own country, the US, was founded on confrontation.  The founding fathers did not like how the British were treating them and so they fought them.  They created a system of government that included checks and balances – a nice way of saying that they didn’t trust people and that the best way to handle government was to create a system of constant confrontation.

For just about all of my adult life I have seen confrontation in politics and religion – two areas that are so important to many people’s identity.

The right didn’t like Clinton and impeached him. The left didn’t like Bush and called him an idiot and an evil genius at the same time.  The right didn’t like Obama and called him a Socialist.  The left doesn’t like Trump and what he stands for.  Back and forth, back and forth.  Leave the policies aside, if you can.  The only constant in politics is confrontation.  Who’s with us and who’s against us.

How do we deal with confrontation?  How do we deal with someone who thrives on confrontation?  I don’t have the magic answer.  Every circumstance will vary.  But here’s a guiding principle – how you approach the confrontation and how you react to it will play a big role in the outcome.

Here’s a simple (and I’m sure flawed) example. We have a just turned eight-year-old boy in our house, along with an older brother and two older sisters.  He’s the baby of the house and as you probably know, the littlest one is often the one who thinks they are in charge and gets what they want.

What if it’s something they shouldn’t have?  I’ve tried direct confrontation.  That doesn’t turn out so well – just a lot of anger from both him and me.

Instead, the times when things turn out well, there is a different approach.  It’s the times when I stop right at the beginning and become aware of what’s going on.  I realize that there is something he wants.  I start to ask questions, I don’t respond to the pitching of fits with my own fit.  Instead I talk calmly, or I do something that changes the situation – try to bring humor in to the situation.  Or I state what my position is, and leave it at that.  In the end, any of these responses usually turns out much better.  Sometimes my son even gets what he wanted all along, but it’s more a win-win situation.

Now, I know what I just laid out is different from the national political environment.  I’m not the one in power – the politicians are.  But here’s the thing – we can either act like my eight-year-old son and pitch a fit and get an appropriate response from those in charge.  Or we can act like adults, stop before we react to every little thing that comes down the wire, think through what we should do (if anything), and then carry that out.  Sometimes confrontation will be the best option.  I’m just not convinced that it is the best option as often as we use it in our society.

Being different in a world that requires you to pick sides

28 Tuesday Feb 2017

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I’m going to clarify this a bit.  Not everywhere requires you to pick sides.  That’s because most of the world isn’t caught up in just two options.  It’s more an American thing.  We have this strange fascination with only offering two options for so many things.  It’s weird given how much we supposedly love freedom and choice.  But really, we pretty much love forcing people to choose one side or the other.

There are some exceptions of course – the most important being ice cream, but beyond that, most important decisions are limited to two “practical” sides.  Maybe this isn’t true across the board, but it seems true when it comes to things dealing with our identity.

You have left vs. right in politics, Democrat vs. Republican, liberal vs. conservative.

In religion here in the US, most people see the dichotomies of Christian vs. atheist, or conservative vs. liberal Christian, or fundamentalist vs. progressive Christian.

Even when we get into sex and sexuality, there’s two choices of male or female, “normal” vs. “abnormal”, straight or homosexual.

Of course we know that so often, many people don’t fit into these definitions, regardless of whether we think they should or not.  The mere fact that they claim that they don’t means that our A or B choice has flaws in it.  We see that in the sexuality discussion.  I think we’re aware of it when it comes to religion, although we aren’t good about talking about it, and we seem to be oblivious to this when it comes to politics.

So what’s a person to do when we they don’t fit into the “required” norm of picking a side?  Let’s just focus on religion and politics for now.

First, Expect that other are going to try to force you to pick.  Doesn’t mean you have to, it’s just that you should be prepared for this.  Just realize, this is the norm of society.  So many can’t even conceive of there being other options.  That’s not a judgement against others, it’s a recognition of reality around us.

Second, decide on a course of action.  You can either pretend to go along with this expectation, or you can chart a different course.  What might that different course be – looking at the ideal and moving towards it.  It might be lonely, and it might raise criticism.  But, really, is just sticking with the norm a good option?  If we ever want to change the dynamic, how is that going to happen unless there are people willing to step outside of the norm and just start living differently?

When forced to pick sides, you have another option usually.  Listen, express understanding, and invite people to see the world differently. Expect resistance and even harsh attacks.  But don’t give up.  Keep inviting and keep living.  Keep moving towards the ideal.  When people get tired of fighting and being attacked and attacking and being hurt and hurting, they will want another option.  That’s when people who refuse to pick sides will be heard.

 

Jesus’ politics

23 Thursday Feb 2017

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Yesterday I introduced you to The Shadow of the Galilean by Gerd Theissen.  Here’s another snippet from the book.  It’s actually from the author writing to a friend who is reviewing his book, chapter by chapter.

Jesus expected radically changed political circumstances but did not expect that they would be brought about through political change. His aim was “political,” but it was to come about without politics.  God would realize this aim. And that meant that people were not to achieve this aim by treating others violently. Nor, however, were they to be completely passive.

(pg. 92)

If you’ve read my blog for any length of time you know that this paragraph caught my attention like a crazy man.  This may be, in my opinion, one of the best summations I have ever read on Jesus being political.

This is the separation between being political and being partisan.  Jesus was here to unfold the Kingdom of God, to bring out a new reality – a reality that has a new governance too.  He wasn’t here to do this through violence.  He wasn’t here to exchange one empire for another. He isn’t involved in our world to shift power between two faulty and failing political partisan forces who only care about power.

Jesus has a different aim.  And we are a part of it.  We participate in Jesus’ aim when we live out his call for us – to be peacemakers, to love our enemies, to pray for those who persecute, to offer mercy, to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, the visit the sick and imprisoned, to care for the widow and the orphan.  That’s Jesus’ political platform in a nutshell.

Noise

16 Thursday Feb 2017

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America is a culture of noise.  Noise and anxiety.  So often we pump the noise and anxiety willingly into our lives.  We keep within reach, like a blanket.  I half wonder if we think we would be bored without the noise and anxiety.

We see it in our politics.  There is an issue that “needs” to be addressed right now – an emergency we are told.  The president does something – it gets covered breathlessly and commented on, and criticized.  The president reacts breathlessly to his opponents, goes on Twitter and it gets covered breathlessly. And the cycle continues.

We’re out of breath.  No wonder it feels like we are suffocating.  We are. We don’t seem to realize that we need to breathe.  It’s almost like we are hyperventilating and we don’t know how to stop.

But if we wait for someone else to stop, to be silent, to breathe, we will be waiting forever.

Today I encourage you to stop, to be silent, to breathe.  I encourage you to pray.  If you can’t bring yourself to pray for your enemies and opponents, then I would encourage you to pray for your family, your friends, your religious leaders.  Pray for you coworkers, your boss.  Pray for yourself.

Even better, pray with someone else.  Then live out the prayer.

 

This is torture

03 Friday Feb 2017

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I’ve heard that phrase before.  In fact I’ve said it many times.  It usually comes out of my mouth when I’m listing to a political speech – so often these speeches are torture to me because they don’t actually say anything but use words that allow the hearer to interpret it in ways that matter to them.  Here’s two example – “hope,” “family values.”  That covers both left and right.  Another one is “common sense.” Actually, it’s not that common.

At any rate, this past week we heard that the use of torture was back in the news again thanks for statements by the president supporting the use of torture against enemies.  Apparently he’s all for an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but doesn’t like turn the other cheek and take up your cross and follow me.

An eye for an eye is so satisfying.  You get your revenge.  You get the last say.  You get to feel righteous and justified.  You get the last hit.  An eye for an eye does wonders for your ego.  You get to call others names when you disagree with their point.  You get to judge others.  An eye for an eye is just giving people what they deserve after all – they started it.

Torture fits into all of this.  It must be so satisfying to bring pain to another human being that has caused pain and suffering to our side.  It must satisfy the rage within our hearts to see someone else suffer for their sins.  In a way, we get to be God – or rather a god.  A wrathful god at that.

Yet, this isn’t who we are called to be.  Not as individuals, nor as leaders over others.  If all we are going to do is respond in kind to any violence that happens to us, then how is that leading?  How is it leading us to a better future?  How is it living out the values that we claim to cherish?

But maybe this goes back to another post I wrote the other day about the ends justifying the means.  If the ends are all that matters, then torture is no big deal.  You do what you have to get what you want – it’s the end result that only matters.  But if the process of how we get to the end matters, then torture matters too.  Apparently our current leadership thinks the ends justify the means when it comes to dealing with our enemies, our neighbors, and a host of other issues facing us.

The problem with this, and with an eye for an eye way of living is that we forget that the “other side” can quote the passage as well and use it against us.

Have you ever felt like the only adult in a room of three year-olds?

01 Wednesday Feb 2017

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That’s how I feel right now when it comes to politics.  I’m just sick of it all.  Left, Right, you name it.

Buffalo Springfield had a great line in one of his songs that summarizes the situation:

There’s battle lines being drawn
Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong

(Source:  Buffalo Springfield, For what it’s worth. Released Jan. 1967.)

I’m tired of the political maneuvering and distractions about things that don’t matter.  I’m tired of people pitching a fit over these things and not paying attention to things that do matter.  I’m tired of policy that divides people and appears to back up the claims of those who hate us.

I’m tired of people all of a sudden discovering the constitution and being opposed to executive orders when they had no problem with them just a couple of months ago.  I’m tired of people all of a sudden forgetting the constitution and being silent on the use of executive orders when they were vocally opposed to them just a couple of months ago.

The hypocrisy is getting to me.  The lack of respect in how we treat each of is getting to me. The finger-pointing, blaming, shaming, and demands for conformity of thought are getting to me.  I don’t know if I’m in a first grade lunch room with no lunch monitors or if I’ve been plunged into a psych ward where the patients are running the show.

Christians – I have some pointed questions for you.  Does what Christ calls us to be only impact the private part of our lives?  Does it go beyond that?  All the way to politics?  Or is there a wall a separation between our private lives and politics and partisanship? I’m not talking about whether we have a responsibility to oppose unjust policies.  I’m talking about the way we do that.  The same applies to those Christians who support these controversial orders – how are you interacting with opponents?

I’m starting to think that there are many Christians who have interpreted Christ’s call to love each other as only applying to those who think correctly – which happens to match up with their political ideology.  That’s not Christ’s teaching, that the Pharisee’s teaching.  We are called to love our enemies because they are children of God too.  That doesn’t mean you have to like them or what they stand for.  It doesn’t mean you have to agree with them.  You could very easily think they are completely wrong.  That’s not the point.  They, as a person, still deserve respect.  Forget about how they treat you.  Christ’s teaching isn’t about that.  Christ doesn’t teach karma, but rather grace.  It’s a call for each one of us to live what Christ teaches.  It’s not about going around and trying to change everyone else.  You can’t.  Take a look around at our political discourse, that’s proof enough isn’t it?

Do you honestly expect to change someone’s opinion on a religious or political matter?   How do you go about doing that?  Do you focus on being right?  Do you expect people to give up a belief about politics or religion and adopt your way of thinking on any given subject by approaching them as an enemy, attacking them with facts and figures like they are bullets and bombs, and then throwing insults at the person like hand grenades?  How well do you think that will work?  If this is your method, how well has it worked so far?  Made any converts?  Or maybe you’re just not interested in converting anyone – you just want to point out how wrong they are and assume they will figure out that you are right and come on over on their own.  This is insanity.

Imagine if I wanted to convince you, an apple eater, that oranges are better.  Using the above method, I’d probably throw around a few facts about vitamin C, about the benefits of citrus, etc.  I’d also probably then want to point out how terrible apples are and then throw a few insults at you for be such a Neanderthal for continuing to eat apples – I might even through a few dehumanizing labels at you for added effect along with a meme that has a snappy one liner that essentially claims that anyone who believes that apples are better is an idiot.  I wonder, would this be convincing to you?  Did I convert you?

Yet, this is the method that I see play out every single day – in conversations, on the radio, on social media, on TV, in churches, with sports, regarding politics, etc. We’re verbally hitting each other in the gut, over the head, in the face, and kneeing each other where it hurts and expecting the other person to just give up their beliefs and come to our side.  Why?  Who in their right mind would?  When did “might makes right” become a Christian virtue and teaching of Christ?  When we attack someone or make threats against them and their identity, their human nature to fight or flight kicks in.  There is not human natural reaction called “let’s sit down and talk about this like adults.”  That’s a learned behavior that apparently needs a great deal of work.

Yesterday I asked a question – do the ends justify the means?  If the ends justify the means, then you should have no problem with the attack approach and you should expect it from your opposition.  Never mind that there are people along the journey.  When our beliefs become most important, people are just check marks, or tools, or bumps in the road – objects to be dealt with.

But if the process and how we get to the end matters, then the people along the way matter.  And when people are involved, it’s going to be messy and take a greater amount of time, require forgiveness, reconciliation, listening, and understanding.  There’s no nice and easy straight path from point A to point B.

But I can hear the whining now – “But they started it.” Enough already.  When will this cycle end?  Waiting for someone else to take the first step?  Why can’t you?  Or is this whole Christianity thing a bit too much for you?  Maybe you’re starting to get an inkling of what Christ meant when he said “take up your cross and follow me.”  It’s not fun, it’s not easy.  It’s not feeling all righteous.  It’s not about being justified in responding to violence and hatred with hatred and violence – either verbal or physical.  It’s not an eye for an eye.  It’s an end to the way of death that all of that leads to.

If we treat people with respect, even and especially those who are our enemies, by listening, forgiving and asking for forgiveness, showing mercy, etc., the message you are sending is that you care very deeply about the person.  It’s also a huge risk.  Apparently a risk not enough Christians are willing to take.  You don’t have to agree on anything else, but I can tell you that over time, this method will work much better thank bashing other people.  It works because what really happens is we let go of believing that we have all the answers and instead we learn and we care and follow Christ’s self-emptying example.   We learn how issues are about people and are messy and that what we thought we knew for sure is just not that simple.  And so do those that interact with us.  And we move closer to the truth – which is what we’re really seeking isn’t it?  It’s just that so many would rather believe that they have the Truth already and they are not required to change ever – those other wrong-headed people need to change.  But that isn’t a recipe for life.  Things that are alive grow and change and adjust.  Things that are dead never need to grow – they just decompose and fall apart and are consumed and disappear and are forgotten.

I’m tired of feeling like the adult in a room full of sugared up three year-olds.  I’m tired of listening to the name calling, the insults, the power struggles, the drama, the power plays, the screwing with people’s lives, the anger, the fear, the mistrust and disrespect.  I’m tired of feeling anxious every time I open Facebook because I see the level of interaction getting worse and thinking about where that inevitably ends.  I’m tired of the demands for conformity of thought and belief.  I’m tired of the left vs. right.  I’m tired of trampling on people because they are different.  I’m tired of the spin and lies.  I’m tired.

Yet, I’m also called to be in this world, just like you are.  I can’t do this alone and neither can you.  We have to find a way to live in the same neighborhood.  The only way that I know of where people can live peacefully with differences is the way that Christ laid out.  The focus of his message wasn’t on badgering and beating people into submission – but to change the world by being different, thinking different, and as a result acting differently towards one another, ourselves, God, and the rest of creation. Can we just give it a try?  We’ve been trying this whole war/conflict model for a long time now and it doesn’t seem to be working.

I’m not going wait for your answer – I’m just going to start.  I hope you’ll join, but regardless, I’ll still listen, seek understanding, ask questions, attempt to show mercy, forgiveness, and love to you.  I may not agree with you – I may think you are wrong on any given subject.  That’s ok.  You probably think I’m wrong too.  Great.  Let’s talk like adults.  I still love you and want the best for you and your family.  I’ll pray for you – an honest prayer, not one that tries to manipulate God into changing you to be like me.  I’m going to screw up along the way, and I hope I have enough courage to ask for forgiveness.  This is what I understand Jesus’ call to be for my life.  And with the Spirit’s guidance and God’s help – I’ll respond.