Weighty with Max Planck's Quanta

Make no mistake:
if he rose at all
It was as His body;
If the cell's dissolution did not reverse, the molecule reknit,
The amino acids rekindle,
The Church will fall.

It was not as the flowers,
Each soft spring recurrent;
It was not as His Spirit in the mouths and fuddled eyes of the
Eleven apostles;
It was as His flesh; ours.

The same hinged thumbs and toes
The same valved heart
That--pierced--died, withered, paused, and then regathered
Out of enduring Might
New strength to enclose.

Let us not mock God with metaphor,
Analogy, sidestepping, transcendence,
Making of the event a parable, a sign painted in the faded
Credulity of earlier ages:
Let us walk through the door.

The stone is rolled back, not papier-mache,
Not a stone in a story,
But the vast rock of materiality that in the slow grinding of
Time will eclipse for each of us
The wide light of day.

And if we have an angel at the tomb,
Make it a real angel,
Weighty with Max Planck's quanta, vivid with hair, opaque in
The dawn light, robed in real linen
Spun on a definite loom.

Let us not seek to make it less monstrous,
For our own convenience, our own sense of beauty,
Lest, awakened in one unthinkable hour, we are embarrassed
By the miracle,
And crushed by remonstrance.

John Updike, "Seven Stanzas at Easter"

The Soul of Survivor

The king of reality television is Survivor. It was one of the first and it remains one of the most popular. One could argue that it created the genre. For nine years American audiences have watched players outwit, outlast, and outplay one another in a game in which people are “voted off the island.” Double-crosses, alliances, tricks and strategies are standard in getting rid of others so that the winner is the last person left. The Sole Survivor takes home a prize of $1,000,000.

I struggle to succinctly state what it is about Survivor that bugs me. I believe that Survivor taps into the “Survival of the Fittest, Dog-Eat-Dog” mentality that embodies the worst values in our culture. It’s not just a game. Long before Survivor, unrestrained competition with others has been a problem. We fear the stranger. We fear those who can harm us. We fight over what we regard as limited resources. Outwit, outlast, and outplay is more than a catchphrase for a game show. It is a marketing of our basest impulses.

I don't like the end of Survivor. The final outcome is all wrong. After all the alliances and backbiting, the game comes down to two people. A jury decides who will get the $1,000,000. This is revealed on a built-up final episode in New York where the winner celebrates and all the losers usually act like good sports accepting their 15 minutes of fame as a consolation prize. If Survivor is going to be true to its creed (Outwit, Outplay, Outlast) then I think the sole survivor should be left alone on the island with the $1,000,000. After all, if the point is to get rid of everyone else, then really do it. Vote the runner-up off the island, then leave the winner with the a briefcase of cash and a note that says, “Congratulations. You got rid of everyone else. You outlasted them all. Here’s the cash. Now use it to get off the island.”

That would be a more fitting conclusion I think.

Zombie Apocalypse

My 15-year-old son has a plan for the coming Zombie Apocalypse. I asked him why everyone is discussing Zombies so much. He named it: "People are bored." Well said. Still, here's my contribution to the problem that could be potentially be more important than swine flu . . .

1. Name one FICTIONAL character you'd most like to be with when zombies attack.

Popeye. I'd have to try to beat up as many of them as possible without spinach at first. They would would gang up on me and beat me until I had a black eye and birdies flying around my head. However, right when they start to eat me brains, I would eats me spinach -- the theme music would play and my fists would turn into piledrivers and spurred on by John Phillip Sousa's "Star and Stripes Forever" I would smack the zombie hordes and with each punch I would turn them into gravestones and little mounds of fresh dirt with lillies on them. All the zombies would be destroyed and I would blow "toot-toot" on the pipe - circle out.

2. Name one FICTIONAL character you would not want to be with when zombies attack.

The girl from the Twilight series. She would fall in love with a zombie and beg to become one of them.

3. Name one REAL person you'd most like to be with when zombies attack.

Keith Richards. The zombies would be confused by Keith Richards. They would think he's one of them and he's probably immune to them. He could walk among them and totally destroy them.

4. Name one REAL person you would not want to be with when zombies attack.

A Jainist. It could be confusing. I would naturally want to have compassion for the zombies and respect them as living creatures - but then zombies aren't alive, are they?


5. Name one FICTIONAL place you'd most like to be holed up in when zombies attack, why?

Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. 1) The Oompa Loompa's could take the zombies easily. 2) The Wonka-vator could outmanouver a entire zombie army. 3) Even zombies would be freaked out by the boat ride.

6. Name one FICTIONAL place you would not want to be holed up in when zombies attack, why?

Sherwood Forest. Zombies seem to do well in the woods and especially at night. Even Robin Hood would have a tough time with them.


7. Name one REAL place you'd most like to be holed up in when zombies attack, why?

Congress. Zombies want to eat brains. They will avoid the Capitol.

8. Name one REAL place you would not want to be holed up in when zombies attack, why?

Haiti. Zombies would have home court advantage.

9. Name one FICTIONAL weapon you'd like to have to use against zombies, why?

The EM-50 Urban Assault Vehicle from Stripes (1981). Destructive power and comfort combined. Maybe the seats are covered in rich Corinthian leather.

10. Name one FICTIONAL weapon you'd like to NOT have to use against zombies, why?

The Heart Ring used by the littlest Planeteer on Captain Planet. Zombies have no heart.

11. Name one REAL weapon you'd like to have to use against zombies, why?

A can of Gumout Carb + Choke Cleaner and a Zippo lighter.

12. Name one REAL weapon you'd like to NOT have to use against zombies, why?

Saddam Hussein's WMD's. You can't find them when you need them.

13. What's your favorite zombie movie?

Gone With the Wind (1939). I love it when the zombies burn Atlanta.

14. Do you ever want to be an extra in a zombie movie?

How do you know I haven't been?

15. Do zombies scare you?

No, I just find it irritating when they keep clicking their ballpoint pins at meetings.

16. Could we control zombies?

Public schools have been working on this for the last 20 years.

17. How would zombies take over the world?

They don't want to take over the world, they just want equal rights for the living dead.

Harry Potter and . . . .

"Harry Potter and" combined with various Christian references that when combined actually sound like they could be genuine J. K. Rowling novels:

1. Harry Potter and the Apostles' Creed
2. Harry Potter and the Archbishop of Canterbury
3. Harry Potter and the Deacon's Bench
4. Harry Potter and the Rose of Sharon
5. Harry Potter and the Shape Note Hymnal
6. Harry Potter and the Emergent Church
7. Harry Potter and the Council of Chalcedon
8. Harry Potter and the Limited Atonement
9. Harry Potter and the Great Schism
10. Harry Potter and the Number of the Beast

The Easter Rescue

I don't claim to be a mystic, but I felt deep in my bones that Capt. Richard Phillips would be rescued today. Perhaps it just seemed perfectly poetic that the rescue of a man who sacrificed his life for others should take place on Easter.

The convergence of this breaking news drama with Holy Week and Easter Sunday should not be missed. In the gospel, Christ sacrificed his life for the sake of the world he loves. In doing so, Christ entrusts his life to God. There is an element of risk. Too often the surrender of Christ is portrayed as a magician's trick in which Jesus has a divine escape hatch and is never truly in danger. A simple reading of Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane communicates Jesus' anxiety and his request to maintain confidence in God's power to raise him from the dead. As Jesus goes to the cross, the future is in God's hands. The power to raise Christ from the dead resides in God.

The victory on Resurrection Day is a crushing blow to the powers of death and destruction. The rules of the game are changed. The one who sacrificed his life is not simply given back his life, his rescue and vindication mark the beginning of the end for the powers of evil.

17 Connected Things

1. One of the earliest Christian missionaries in Iceland was Thangbrandr. He arrived in Iceland in 997 with the backing of the King of Norway. Thangbrandr wasn't too successful. He got into fights with the pagans. Thangbrandr killed a berzerker and a poet who wrote derogatory poems about him. His enemies used swords, but Thangbrandr killed his foes with a crucifix. A sorcerer cast a spell that would cause the earth swallow up Thangbrandr. The spell worked, but Thangbrandr escaped the pit. He eventually went back to Norway and told the king that the people of Iceland were too pagan to be converted.

2. Bjork might be the most famous Icelander in modern times. Everyone seems to remember her swan dress from the Academy Award. Bjork started out in a band called the Sugar Cubes.

3. Sugar cubes are a recurring visual device in the Watchmen graphic novel. The masked vigilante Rorschach is constantly chewing on Sweet Chariot brand sugar cubes. The sugar cubes become a clue at one point in the story.

4. The characters in Watchmen were variations of little known super-heroes in the Charlton Comics line in the 1960's. The author of Watchmen, Alan Moore, wanted to use those heroes and write a story that would presume what the world would genuinely be like if super-heroes were a reality. DC Comics had recently acquired the rights to the Charlton characters and had other plans for them. Moore invented other heroes based on the originals. Here's the substitution list with the Watchmen character named alongside his Charlton original: The Comedian = The Peacemaker, Dr. Manhattan = Captain Atom, Rorschach = The Question, Nite Owl = Blue Beetle, Ozymandias = Peter Cannon/Thunderbolt. Silk Spectre is an amalgam of every 1940's/1950's scantily clad super-heroine.

5. The Rorschach Inkblot Test was developed by Hermann Rorschach, a Swiss psychiatrist, in 1921. Making symmetrical inkblot patterns on paper was an art form and pastime long before Rorschach used it in psychoanalysis. Hermann Rorschach's nickname in high school was "Klecks," which is German for inkblot, because he often made inkblot art.

6. Switzerland grew out of a confederacy of small communities. The earliest documentation of this confederacy is the Federal Charter of 1291. This charter is consider the founding document of the Swiss Confederacy.

7. Also in 1291, May 10 to be exact, the nobles of Scotland agreed to let Edward I of England negotiate their crisis of succession when King Alexander III of Scotland died without an heir. He died from being thrown off his horse. He had stayed late at a meeting a meeting of royal advisers in Edinburgh. He wanted to get home and see his wife in Fife. His advisers begged him not to ride during the night as it was not only dark, but also inclement weather. He found dead the next day.

8. The nobles would come to regret their decision to trust Edward I. Edward refused to relinquish his control of Scotland. This led to the Wars of Independence and rebel uprisings led by William Wallace. Robert the Bruce eventually succeeded in turning the English back and establishing independence for Scotland in 1314 at the Battle of Bannockburn.

9. Robert the Bruce is mentioned in an episode of the original Star Trek (The Savage Curtain). Of course it was Scotty who mentioned him. In the scene, Scotty and Dr. McCoy are incredulous that Abraham Lincoln is going to beam aboard the Enterprise. Kirk has ordered everyone to stand ready in the transporter room in dress uniforms and take the event seriously. McCoy says, "President Lincoln, indeed!" To which Scotty replies, "No doubt to be followed by Louis of France and Robert the Bruce."

10. I once worked with a fellow who honestly believed that the government had developed the the technology for teleportation but it was ultra-top secret. I asked him why it hadn't put us out of business (we were working for a trucking warehouse) and he pointed out to me that the technology was unpredictable and objects were often teleported into the side of buildings or ships. I think he was getting his story from the urban legend about the Philadelphia Experiment, especially because he talked about test subjects being beamed into the side of a battleship. When I asked him how he knew about this top-secret information he told me that he reads a lot.

11. The Philadelphia Experiment is a fascinating conspiracy theory/urban myth involving the U.S. Navy's attempt to develop a cloaking device that rendered the USS Eldridge invisible. This allegedly took place in October 1943 at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. In some accounts, the Eldridge was surrounded by a glowing green fog. Other accounts claim that the Eldridge was displaced in time. A more pedestrian explanation is that the Eldridge, or a ship docked nearby, was undergoing a degaussing procedure that would make the ship invisible to magnetically guided torpedoes and mines.

12. The process of degaussing is named after Carl Friedrich Gauss, a German mathematician and scientist in the 18th and 19th century. Gauss was a child prodigy and mathematical wizard who calculated logarithms in his head rather than relying on charts. Gauss contributed to the discovery of the dwarf planet, Ceres that lies between the orbit of Mars and Jupiter.

13. The existence of dwarf planets and hidden planets are often presumed before their discovery. The behavior of other planets and objects in the solar system give a clue to their existence. Since the 5th century BC, astronomers and mathematicians have imagined the existence of another planet that lies directly opposite of Earth on the other side of the Sun. Writers from antiquity forward have imagined what this "Counter-Earth" would be like.

14. One of the earliest notable female astronomers and mathematicians was Hypatia of Alexandria. Although she was pagan, she was respected by many of the Coptic Christians of her homeland, Egypt. Yet, she was killed in 415 by a mob of angry Christians stirred up by a zealot.

15. Some of the earliest copies of the New Testament are written in Coptic. Coptic is the language of the Egyptians written with Greek letters. Writing in little images likes birds and snakes probably got old. Coptic had to invent seven additional letters in order to make sounds not available in Greek.

16. Likewise the Icelandic alphabet had to create four letters not available in the Latin alphabet to produce all the sounds in the Icelandic language.

17. In the year 1000, the nation of Iceland converted to Christianity. The ruling council, the Althing, decided that two religions was not in their best interest. So they appointed a pagan priest named Thorgeirr to decide whether Iceland should be Christian. Thorgeirr spent a day and night in meditation under a fur blanket and finally decided that Iceland should be Christian. The Althing accepted his decision but allowed pagans to worship their faith in private. Thorgeirr later took his pagan idols, threw them into a waterfall and became a follower of Christ.

25 Random Things

There's a part of me that finds this Facebook meme interesting. It's interesting to read so many random facts about friends and acquaintances. I know that some folks would never bring these topics up in conversation. I like that part of it. I want to hear the stories. You people are good storytellers and you may not even know it.

However, I feel like something is missing. Where's the time and place in our culture to sit around and tell these stories in person? Facebook is a poor substitute for that sort of interaction, but where else does that interaction take place? We have made our lives and culture too busy. I fear we are soon on our way to becoming like the humans on Wall-E who sit in their floating recliners communicating to everyone via our laptops.

The Good Earth

[Note: This is a copy of the editorial in Northwest Arkansas Times for Dec. 24, 2008]

Far too few people today know what it really feels like to be inspired by human ingenuity, to be awed by the sheer chance of existence and to actually see God's hand before one's eyes, all at the same moment. Forty years ago tonight, with the nation at war and old realities falling by the wayside, millions paused to reflect on the beauty of this world - if only fleetingly.

On Dec. 24, 1968, the three astronauts of NASA's Apollo 8 - Mission Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot James Lovell and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders - turned their cameras on the Earth as they circled around the moon. The images they sent back looked nothing at all as one with feet firmly stuck to the ground might have expected. The tumult of 1968 was lost in the great cloud-swept oceans and land masses and the massive, truly massive, curtain of blackness surrounding this little swirly marble in the heavens. The vast emptiness of space was a silent reminder of an obvious truth: that we only have one Earth, and probably ought to spend our time on it appreciating life.

Forty years ago today that was certainly not the game plan. As the Vietnam War raged, GIs were coming home in body bags with heartbreaking regularity. The assassinations of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and U.S. Sen. Robert Kennedy sent the youth of America reeling; one byproduct of their deaths sent voters everywhere searching for a safe, moderate message, thus fueling Richard Nixon's phoenix-like rise from the ash-heap of history all the way to the Oval Office. Meanwhile, fires and protests and outrage took hold of urban centers. The United States has seldom seemed so torn up, so confused, as it did in the closing days of 1968.

Forty years later, it's strange how little things have changed. Once again the country is at war. Once again the country is largely defined by its cultural divisions. Yes, Barack Obama's election to the White House is proof that progress is afoot. But with so much of humanity hurting as the end of 2008 approaches, there's little doubt that humanity's ancestors would be depressed to learn that the species has progressed no further than flat-screen televisions and iPods.
Happily, some still take comfort in the wisdom of old stories. That was certainly the case for the crew of Apollo 8 who, with a world watching the planet Earth spin on its axis, closed that night's broadcast from space by reading from the Book of Genesis. William Anders went first. He began, "For all the people on Earth the crew of Apollo 8 has a message we would like to send you."

"In the beginning God created the heaven
and the earth. And the earth was without
form, and void; and darkness was upon the
face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved
upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God
saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness."

It was Jim Lovell's turn next ...
"And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day."

Finally, there was Frank Borman ...
"And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas and God bless all of you - all of you on the good Earth."

When Did Presidents Start Smiling? - Part 2

Searching the archives of Presidential images in the continuing quest to find the first consistent portraiture of a "smiling" Commander-in-Chief . . .

Part 2

Woodrow Wilson

President Wilson is the bitterest looking President of the Twentieth Century. Maybe the bitterest looking president ever. If Charles Dickens had written a story about a grumpy president, he would look like Wilson. Notice the famous photo of Wilson at his desk in the Oval Office. He seems perturbed. We've interrupted him while he is busy signing the Treaty of Versailles. Or maybe he was busy calling up folks and asking them to join the League of Nations. That would make anyone bitter.

Personally, it reminds me of being called into the principal's office. I feel like a freckle-faced ruffian who's been caught shooting spitwads on the bus. I can imagine Principal Wilson saying, "What do you have to say for yourself you unrepentant scalawag? Tell me why I should not give you a thrashing young man!"

"Forgive me guv'nor," says I, "'twas just a 'armless spitwad! 'Twern't like I shot the Archduke Ferdinand or 'nuffin."

Yet, there is another side of Woody. He becomes a rather jaunty fellow out on the campaign trail. He's sporting a big grin. This urged me to search for more pictures of Wilson and I think I have found a common thread in quite a many Smilin' Wilson images: Wilson smiles when he's wearing a top hat.

All it takes is the top hat and he magically becomes the cheeriest president we've ever known. Maybe Frosty the Snowman's magic top came from Wilson? That magic hat changes Woodrow the Woodman into Woody the Ritzy Prez! The clue is in the song: "There must have been some magic in that old silk hat they found, for when they placed it on his head, he began to dance around."

He does look like he's about to dance, don't you think? He looks like the singing frog from the Warner Bros. cartoon. "Hello my baby! Hello my darlin'!"

However, upon further research, I found that in a few instances other hats also make the Woodster smile a mile. Here he is at a baseball game. Maybe he's just smiling because he's enjoying America's favorite past time? Maybe he found a lick and stick tatoo in his box of Cracker Jack? But notice that he is wearing a hat that isn't top. I suppose it was considered bad form to wear a top hat to a baseball game.

His official portraiture is too grim and serious for him to be considered the first Smiling Prez. After all, he is the World War I leader of the U.S. That's not the sort of thing to smile about. But Wilson does seem to understand that when one is campaigning it is good to smile for the camera! We're getting closer.

The quest will continue . . .

When Did Presidents Start Smiling?

I have a ruler in my desk that features the portraits of all the Presidents of the USA. The Presidents of the late 20th century seem to be much happier than the grim-faced leaders of previous decades. Not really sure why since there seems to be as many worries now as then. This casual observation made me wonder "At what point in history did Presidents start smiling?"

I cannot fix a watershed moment when Presidential portraiture seems to lose it gravitas and devolve into a class yearbook. On my ruler, there's a noticeable change from LBJ with his hound dog visage to Nixon's toothy grin so large that he seems to be losing a set of false choppers. This is not the moment though as there are definite smilers predating LBJ.

I realize that other factors are at work such as the style of portraiture and the nature of early photographs that required long exposure. The state of dental care may have had something to with it. Who really wants to see Washington's (wooden?) teeth?

Of course, the picture used for each president can make a difference. My promotional ruler from Workmen's Insurance Group cannot be considered the official cannon of Presidential portraits. So, I have decided to search in the field like an archaeologist. I have been looking for the earliest appearance of a Presidential smile. Smiles should not be confused with their genetic cousins the "smirk" or "grimace." Likewise, one must be careful not to confuse a posed smile with a candid moment of laughter.


For instance, there is this photo of Teddy Roosevelt that has become the quintessential image of TR. It is the template for caricatures and clip art of Teddy. Yet, this photo is uncommon. It's an unguarded moment. Probably taken after someone told Ol' Ted a knee-slapping joke about how many Spaniards it takes to screw in a light bulb. (Wait, did they have light bulbs then?) This photo is not the "pose for the camera portraiture" similar to modern portraits of Presidents. TR is much more serious in his official state sanctioned White House photos.

I will rule out Teddy, but perhaps TR is a benchmark for the quest. There is very scant eveidence of a smiling Commander-in-Chief before TR. Certainly not in the official portraiture. (Although the case can be made that James Buchanan is smirking. He is the only bachelor president, but I don't know if that has any relevance.) Tracking the history from TR takes us into the 20th century and we can narrow the range to the early half of the 20th century since Nixon and Reagan are always smiling and all the others have followed suit. So, who among the 20th century Presidents is the first smiler?

William Howard Taft

What about Taft? He's fat so he ought to be jolly, right? That is the stereotype, yes? If he was jolly, he kept it off-camera. It's hard to tell if Taft is even smirking with his handlebar mustache in the way. He is the last President to sport facial hair by the way - unless you count eyebrows as facial hair.

I can understand why Taft may not have been so jolly. He probably did not feel too much like smiling after getting stuck in the bathtub of the White House. No, Taft doesn't really smile but he makes us smile. For example, before weighing in as President, Taft weighed in as Governor of the Philippines at a healthy fighting weight of 350 lbs. One day he sent a telegraph (that's a form of early email) to Secretary of State Elihu Root, "Rode forty miles on horseback today; feeling fine." Root wired back, "Glad you are feeling fine; how is the horse?" I love it that the Secretary of State has a sense of humor.


The search will continue . . . .

Why I'm Not Worried

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them." (Jesus, Matt. 6)

How secure are your securities? So how is your money and commodities? Are you using them, or are they using you? Are you weary of being a consumer consumed with worry? Are you tired of anxiously running after all these things? Then take a walk . . .

Just go outside and walk around and you will see the world that God runs. Maybe there are some blooming of flowers nearby, or maybe you will see the master’s artistry in the fall colors – colors that inspire the great fashion houses. You will have to pay thousands of dollars for designer clothing. The trees pay nothing for God’s care.

Go outside and walk around and you will see birds building their houses and collecting food. You and I may ring up a hefty bill for lunch and get anxious if the meal isn’t ready in fifteen minutes. But the birds pay nothing for God’s care.

And God isn't exhausted after taking care of birds, trees, flowers. He know what you need. He knows better than Obama or McCain or Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae. He knows what you need because he knows you. Do you know him?

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Breaking Out in Blessedness

Peace is a rare thing in our world. Russia and Georgia have been in the throes of armed conflict. Some wonder if this singals the return of the Soviet Union and the Cold War. Conflict in the Middle East continues. The surge in Iraq may be working, but it remains a nation in need of being rebuilt. The United States has been at war with terror since 9/11. There are other breaches of peace not as high profile. In Uganda young children are conscripted into the Lord’s Resistance Army. Their name sounds holy – their practices are not. We pay a little more attention to Sudan now. In Sudan’s Darfur region over 50,000 people are displaced because of conflict - - even aid workers are in harm’s way. Making peace is so difficult in a world devoted to violence. The world is at war even in places away from the news camera and places that do not seem to be in the interest of the U.S. government. Precious souls are being lost forever because there is no peace.

We may not feel threatened by violence, but the power of poverty can be overwhelming. Even if you have a job you can feel powerless. Katrina Gill has a job. She is a nursing aide in a care center and she works long hours monitoring vitals, turning patients to avoid bedsores, and changing adult diapers. But she and her husband, a mechanic, have no health benefits. They pay $640 a month for a family policy. They have racked up $160,000 in debt – medical expenses – because their son Brandyn has cancer.

Katrina is just one example of what it means to be meek and powerless in our age. Many of us labor in a setting of maximum insecurity, where one missed bus, one stalled engine, one sick kid means the difference between keeping a job and getting fired. At any moment, a company pressured to pump profits can slash hours, or layoff workers, or even cut loose jobs. This isn’t a labor vs. management issue. It’s a human issue. Managers and owners are caught up in the faceless and non-personal economic and political forces that make us feel powerless.

Have you ever felt powerless? Have you at least sensed that something about our culture and society just isn’t right? It isn’t right for a credit card company to stick a person who can’t pay bills with a 30% interest rate. If a thug in an alley does that it’s called loan-sharking. If Chase or Citibank does it it’s called “a change in agreement.” Something isn’t right. Joe Francis is the millionaire producer of the Girls Gone Wild soft-porn video series. He claims it is just innocent entertainment. He claims it is protected by the First Amendment.

How can Francis be protected by our laws when violence against women is a serious problem in our society? Have you ever felt that something just isn’t right? Have you ever felt the pangs for righteousness in your gut? You know it if you feel parched waiting for the waters of justice to roll down like a mighty river against the stifling heat of injustice.

It is difficult to forgive the worst offenders of justice let alone forgiving the friend who hurts us. It is difficult to forgive. It is difficult to be merciful - especially when people take advantage of our mercy. That’s why we want to surround ourselves with people we can trust. People who strive to have a purity of heart. But even in the church we meet those who hurt us. Every time we hear a story about disciples that condemn the suffering rather than help them, we grieve. Every time we hear a story about disciples that exclude rather than invite, it makes us grieve.

And we have enough to be sad about already, don’t we? We have lost loved ones. We have suffered because of sin. We are suffering because of illness. There seems to be no end to the tears, pain, and sorrow.

I confess that I have nothing to say. I am at a loss for words. I cannot even write a sermon to speak to the problems and sorrows of the world as we know it. But I want to lead you to another preacher. I want to begin preaching someone else’s sermon. This preacher spoke to the word as we know it – the world I just described – but he proclaimed that something was going to change. He spoke of a new order of things in which those who experienced the kind of discomfort we just spoke about will instead be happy.

I would like you to follow me over to the hillside where this preacher has just sat down and he begins to speak . . .

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

What you have just heard is the opening of a sermon from our founder, our Lord, Jesus Christ. In our difficult times, I think it is fitting that we should hear from Him. In the midst of the trials and hopes we have shared as a church family I think it is fitting that we should hear from Him.

Sure, you’ve heard this before. But you’ve probably heard these phrases broken up and scattered. Like gems that have been popped loose from their settings; they still glisten, but you don’t get the full effect. These “beatitudes” are not little nuggets of moral advice. These are not the appetizers before the main course. And Jesus isn’t using “bless” or “blessed” the way Southern culture does. It’s been said that you can say anything mean and nasty about someone in the South as long as you say “Bless their heart.” ["He just isn’t very smart, bless his heart. She looks so old – and fat, bless her heart." Get it?]

Jesus is not condescending or patronizing when he says “Blessed are the poor.” Blessed means that “God’s favor is resting on you.” So he’s saying, “God’s kingdom is breaking into this world. It’s coming to you, and today you have the favor of God.” What a way to open a sermon!

Taken together, this set of “blessings” is an official notice. A notice – like those ominous looking signs that get posted by our city councils that say – “We’re building a shopping center here. If you don’t like it, you can come tell us.” Christ is putting the world as we know it on notice. He’s saying that things are going to change. And like an official notice, some people welcome it – and some do not.

If you are poor and know that something is wrong with economies that keep people poor, then you welcome the notice because God’s favor rests on you. If you are sad or have ever known sadness, then welcome the notice, God’s favor rests on you. If you have ever felt helpless and powerless against forces too great to describe, then welcome the notice because God’s favor rests on you. If you have felt the anxiety of losing worldly security, then welcome the notice because God’s favor rests on you. If you have ever wanted justice and righteousness so bad you can taste it, then welcome the notice, God’s favor rests on you.

If you have ever forgiven others even though it cost you, then welcome the notice. If you are weary trying to help others live at peace with each other, then welcome the notice. If you have long desired to overcome sin and draw close to God, then welcome the notice because God’s favor rests on you!

These beatitudes are an extended way of saying that the kingdom of God is near. He is saying that the kingdom of God is breaking into the world and setting up shop. The world as we know it is breaking out in blessedness.

But be on notice! There are forces in this world that do not welcome the Kingdom of God. There are those who are invested in keeping the poor just as they are. There are those who are invested in activities that cause some to be sad. There are those who are invested in keeping some people powerless and insecure. There are those who are invested in unrighteous enterprises and unjust practices. There are those who cannot show mercy because they stand to lose. There are even those who are invested in war and conflict.

And it is not because they have dark sinister hearts, rather it’s because they have built their house on the foundations of the world as we know it. Christ is putting these people and powers on notice as well. He’s warning them that it is time to re-invest! And Christ is saying that if you are one of these who need to re-invest or even if you are one of these who welcome that change it won’t necessarily be easy. The forces and powers that like things as they are will insult you, lie about you or persecute you. But even if that happens, God’s favor rests on you!

Jesus, the teacher, is going to show us the path to start living in the world of God’s blessed favor even now – before it comes in all of its glory. This is a notice – an invitation for all of us. Will we invest in the world as it is? Or shall we live for the world that’s breaking in all around us? Shall we strive to be merciful, pure of heart, and make peace? Will we commit to living out the virtues of the world that is coming?

Jesus notifies us that there is going to be an outbreak of blessedness. Who dares to live out the teaching of Jesus Christ?



Questions:

What do you think it means to be blessed?

Look at each group that is mentioned (poor in spirit, those who mourn, etc.). Who do you identify with most? Is there any group of people that you would associate with any of these groups?

The kingdom of heaven is the blessing at the beginning and end of this series (v. 3 and 10). What does the coming of the kingdom of heaven mean for us?

Are the conditions described in the beatitudes (poor in spirit, etc) virtues that we should strive to develop or are they situations and circumstances in which we find ourselves?

This section is usually titled “the beatitudes.” You have the job of re-titling it with a phrase that is more common and ordinary. What will you call it?

Dara Torres is 41!

Have you heard? Dara Torres is 41-years-old! I don't believe it! She's 41 and has a kid and she's winning medals and swimming in the Olympics at the age of 41.

But she isn't supposed to do that, becuase she's like 41! That's really, really old. I'm not even that old. I'm only 40. But Dara Torres is 41. She could be the mother of all those other women she's competing against. In fact she's old enough to be the mother of say 20 of them because she is 41 and she could be having a lot of babies in that time.

But there she is swimming and winning medals at the age of 41. That's just so bizarre. She is so old. I think she's like 41. It is just so great to see an Olympian and someone so fit even at the age of 41. She is keeping up with girls half her age, which would of course be 20 years and 6 months because Dara Torres is 41. Actually, she's not only keeping up with them but she is actually beating them. Beating them wouldn't be such a big deal except for the fact that Dara Torres is 41. 41!!!! Can you believe it!?! 41! Which Dara Torres is - she is 41. She's better than ever and she is 41.

Hey, did you know that Dara Torres is 41?

Dracula by Abercrombie and Fitch

When did vampires and werewolves become sexy teenagers in love? I haven't read Stephanie Myers books. She's probably a great writer and I won't diminish her popularity, but please permit me to be clueless and just not get it.

Dracula and the Wolfman are monsters. They were the primo movie villains. Wolfman was a poor schmoe who ended up with a curse. Dracula on the other hand was King of the Vampires. He was calculating and grim. He might steal your girlfriend just because he wanted to show off - not because he was in love.

Maybe it started with Lost Boys. They were hip teen vampires. However, they didn't have the pouty lips and tired eyes of this current bunch of underwear and blue jean models. Twilight is Dracula as reimagined by Abercrombie and Fitch.

One monster is being left out of this trend. Long before these newcomers, he had pouty lips and the sunken, heavy-lidded eyes. Where's the young, sexy Frankenstein? I think this may be my opportunity. Now if I can only figure out how to write stories that teenage girls will buy -- hah, good luck!

Esmerelda (Esme) felt out of place at her new school. Making friends was not easy. Her world changed when she met Franz. He didn't say much, but she longed to hear him say, "Friend . . . good." Esme was so in love with Franz that she was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. She would not be happy until she had bolts installed in her neck and then she and Franz could live happily ever after and raise children with flat heads and thick shoes.

Sign of the Apocalypse

Fort Smith is in the news as the location of "Borat's" latest prank. We've been Punk'd. (I know, that's Ashton Kutcher, but it makes a point). If you want details, read the full report at The Smoking Gun. This has made the news worldwide.

The last time Fort Smith was in the news on this scale was two summers ago when a rainbow appeared in the sky with lightning. A different kind of rainbow and thunder was the focus of the recent prank. Attendees at a cage fight were enraged by two actors who engaged in PDHA - "public display of homosexual affection."

Here's what I find interesting about this imbroglio . . .

1. In America, Sasha Baron Cohen is known as Borat. Most Americans wouldn't recognize Cohen's real name. Congrats with that Borat.

2. Rumor has it that Sasha Baron Cohen filmed the prank eliciting the homophobic response as part of an effort to promote gay marriage. This is just a rumor, but assuming it has some element of truth, why would a parody of homosexual behavior make any sort of argument for gay marriage. Does "Borat" expect us to believe that his exaggeration is a representation of gay marriage? There are problems regardless of how one answers that question. If the goal was simply to expose redneck homophobia, how does that advance the legitimacy of homosexual marriage? This is a flawed causality.

3. Understandably, people are angry that Cohen has made them the butt of a joke. However, there's not a lot of redeemable content in an event that brags about "hot chicks, cold beer, hardcore fights." In other words, the event was deserving of contempt even before the actors stripped down to their underwear and started kissing.

Could This Be Postmodern?

The Bishop of Durham, N. T. Wright, appeared on "The Colbert Report" tonight. I am a fan of Wright and I appreciate his work. His interview with Stephen Colbert (who I remind myself is the voice of Prof. Impossible on the Venture Brothers) is on the subject of heaven and the resurrection.

Here's a popular scholar and high ranking clergyman in the Church of England chatting about the matter of extreme eschatalogical significance on a "mock" news show. And the interview came off pretty well; perhaps better than it would have on 20/20, Dateline, or some other network news magazine.

To top off the surrealism, the other guest on the show was Cookie Monster.

Iron Man and Pop Culture

The summer movies are off to a good start. I revived my work over at the Magic Lantern Show with an entry about Iron Man

Here's the link http://magiclanternshow.blogspot.com/

This summer, as a part of our VBS, Shane Hughes and I will feature a class for adults on Gospel and Culture. It is very similar to the goal of the Magic Lantern Show.

Right now we are thinking about four discussions: 1) Rap and Hip-Hop (that's Shane); 2) Country Music (I am not a fan, but this is me); 3) Lost (definitely me); 4) reality shows (Shane's turn).

I am also way behind in writing a paper for the Christian Scholar's Conference in Nashville this June. My subject will be "As Seen On TV: Developing a Christian Hermeutic for Television."

Le Car

After my senior year of high school I was ready to get my first bona fide car. I had driven a Chevy Vega that we bought from my grandparents for a dollar. I had driven my folks cars, the Buick Skylark and the Chrysler LeBaron; but now it was time for me to take the wheel of my own transport. I was going to be driving to college every day and it did not make much sense to continue to be a "renter."

My dream was to own a Jeep. In my eighteen-year-old mind that would be the perfect drive on the road and off the road. I wanted something rugged enough to handle the dirt roads on our hills but still be cool as ice when rambling up Dickson Street. The more mature adults in my world did not see my point. Everyone kept telling me, "Jeeps tip over." I think of this everytime I watch The Christmas Story in which Ralphie has his heart set on a Red Ryder BB Gun and the adults keep saying, "You'll shoot your eye out!" Ralphie got his BB Gun. I didn't get the Jeep.

If I had been able to come up with my own money to purchase a car worth anything over a dollar I could have been choosy. Not having enough money I had to depend on a complex money laundering scheme that involved a family loan, mysterious benefactors, and my uncle the bodyshop man. The car they came up with would not be my first choice. It was practical, extermely good on gas mileage, and would not tip over in a hurricane. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the 1983 Renault LeCar.

I felt a swirl of disappointment. Small, economical micro cars were not cool in the mid-eighties. This was way before the current popularity of the Mini-Cooper. Volkswagon Bugs were still cool in a hippie sort of way, but even Bugs did not look like something the Weebles would drive. Then there's the fact that this was a French car. If it were wine or dessert that would have been great, but French cars don't rate high with teenagers. And then the name . . ."Le Car?" It reminded me of the pseudo-French of the the Peppy LePew cartoons wherein every object has the article "Le" attached to it: "Le Skunk, Le Cat, Le Voom Voom!" At least this particular car did not have the words "Le Car" emblazoned on the doors like some (like the one in the photo). Of course it did not help that my relatives kept joking about the name calling it a "LEE-Car" with a definite emphasis on the "LEE" pronounced with backwoods Arkansas gusto.

I held on to the Le Car for quite a few years. It started college with me and graduated college with me. It survived a direct hit from a Buick Roadmaster in Hot Springs. When the clutch went bad my father labored tirelessly to work in the compact mess of French engineering to keep the little roller skate running. Le Car got the "just married" treatment from friends before Karen and I drove off from our wedding. It was broken into by a neighbor's relative and the $10 radio was stolen. I got my radio back and built a better relationship with the neighbor. Le Car made the trip with us when we moved to Abilene. It lasted for a while and that's where it finally died.

I wheeled the little car that could into our front driveway on Judge Ely Boulevard. It sat there for a few weeks until I finally sold it to a man for $150. He was buying it for his daughter. He thought it would be a practical and economical car. I pointed out that at least it didn't have "Le Car" emblazoned on the side of it.

I cannot say that I miss Le Car. If I could have any of my old rigs back this one would not be top of my list. Nevertheless, this car was there for some of my happiest years and it was a gift from family members who made an effort to provide for me.

They Shall Take Up Serpents

A couple of friends have asked me about a statement on my Facebook profile. I had never listed my religious views until recently. I avoided stating my religious views because I find it difficult to condense my religious views into a single word or two. I could fill in the blank with "Christian." That would probably be enough, but Christian is quite a broad category and others might want to ask what particular sub-set of Christianity I adhere to. Even that is hard to answer as it all depends on which way one chooses to slice the "Christian pie."

I could have simplified things even further by stating that I am a member of the Church of Christ. Yet my heritage in the Church of Christ compels me to resist such a "denominational" identification. One of the more inspiring slogans of the Churches of Christ has been "Christians Only." In the earliest years of the Stone-Campbell movement, Rice Haggard and Barton Stone advocated that the name Christian was enough. I appreciate that sentiment.


Nevertheless, I did not want to leave the "religious views" entry on Facebook empty. So with my frustration building over my inability to define my faith and practice as a follower of Christ in a single word, I began to wonder if anyone could truly reduce their spirituality to one term. Then it struck me that the most honestly and simply labelled of any faith groups are those backwoods literalists the snake-handlers. They take the whole Bible quite literally - including Mark 16:18 which encourages the truly faithful to take up poisonous snakes without harm. No wiggle room here. This bunch truly believes that if God said it that settles it. I don't know if these churches accept the label "snake-handler" or if they find it derogatory, but somehow I don't think a person who regularly carries a live copperhead around in worship really gets offended by too much at all.


My Facebook entry is a sort of nod to the snake-handlers. I suggest that snake-handling has been overlooked for too long and more congregations should consider the practice. Forget the worship wars and the endless debates on contemporary versus traditional worship; just bring in the box of angry rattlers. I doubt that there would be too much concern about praise teams or clapping during hymns if we opened a box of cobras in the assembly. Preaching takes on new vistas when one considers snake handling. Who cares about the proper execution of homiletical moves when you are holding a cottonmouth above your head! Of course the greatest potential for snake handling is in the area of church discipline. Church members might strive to be more charitable and sober-minded when given the option of personal accountability or a dance with a diamondback rattler.

So, my sarcastic, self-imposed religious tag on my Facebook profile is simply a jab at any attempt to reduce one's Christian faith to a few words. No, I am not really snake handler. I couldn't do it. I am just not a good enough biblical literalist.

A Teachable Moment

The following article is taken from the Granbury Church of Christ website. John Knox is a good friend who survived the Doctor of Ministry program with me. His wife Jan is a gifted writer and teacher. Her article inspires us to think about the people who taught us and the people we teach.

A Teachable Moment
Jan Knox

The miles seemed to fly beneath the wheels of the small, white car as mother and son traveled down the interstate. The Lord had granted us one last opportunity for an extended time of dialogue before I was to entrust my firstborn to the care of the college officials waiting at the end of this journey. What do a middle-aged mother and her 18-year-old son talk about for two hours while confined inside a vehicle stuffed with all his earthly possessions?

To my surprise, conversation flowed easily. We started off with the typical topics of movies, games and music. Then the discussion took a nostalgic turn as we reminisced about the various places we had lived and the people we had grown to love in those places. Somehow the subject of teachers came up, and my now “adult” son proceeded to reflect aloud about three Christian ladies he considered to be the best Bible class teachers he had been privileged to learn from as a young child.

I was struck by a couple of thoughts as he shared this revelation. One was the fact that a knuckle-headed, elementary schoolboy had not only taken notice of his Bible class teachers, but even remembered specific lessons they had taught. As a teacher attempts to impart Scriptural wisdom week after week, she sometimes wonders if it is ever sinking in. This conversation renewed my faith that all of the preparation and hard work is not in vain.

Second, as I pondered these godly women who comprised my son’s “Bible Teacher Hall of Fame,” I marveled at how diverse they were. Their teaching styles were very different. One focused on telling the stories of the Bible; another emphasized memorization and the accumulation of background information and Biblical facts, while the third utilized a hands-on, experiential approach. Yet each of them, in her own unique way, had left a tremendous and lasting imprint on my child. These teachers also differed significantly in other areas, such as age and level of formal education. In spite of their divergence, however, they all had one thing in common – they loved the Bible and had a strong desire to instill that love for God’s Word in the children they taught.

As I look now toward my own future as a teacher of the Lord, I am rejuvenated and inspired to put greater thought and effort into my task. May the Lord use me as His special instrument, “…as one speaking the very words of God” (1 Peter 4:11), to make a meaningful and eternal impact for Him on the lives of those I teach.