9 11 Remembered

Tuesday morning, I drove to church, and only there, did I learn what was happening. A TV was on in the office.

As we watched, in stunned silence, tears flowing, I felt a great, horrible, hideous, anger ... "nuke 'em" I thought ... maybe even said it aloud.

By Sunday morning, when we were scheduled to celebrate the church's 50th anniversary, and some of our guests were unable to make the journey because of the airline shut-down, I had to preach and I did.

I don't recall how I stitched together the joyous celebration of a 50th anniversary, with a full congregation of guests who were able to gather by car from afar, and the tragedy of 9.11.

I recall saying something about restraint and trust ... not giving into the darkest thoughts occasioned by the present terror.

And I remember a young woman at the door afterward scolding me for not damning the Muslims.

She and her husband never again returned to the church.

A New National Motto

I wish we could rid ourselves of the motto, "In God We Trust."

Why?

It's a ruse, a blind, a cover.

A deception of mind and soul ... to lull us into some kind of unreasonable stance, that because of our motto, we have a leg up on just about everyone else ... and the great God Above looks upon us kindly, and will offer us unstinting protection against our foes, whatever and whoever they may be.

Micah the prophet alludes to this, as to the other prophets, as well.

The ease with which the people count on God to save them, because they have filled their lives with easy slogans and easily performed rituals.

Reminds me of Little Jack Horner, sitting in his corner, eating his Christmas Pie, and delighting in a plumb pulled from the dessert, and concluding, "What a good boy am I."

The fact that he sits in his corner, all by himself, eating the whole damn pie, makes clear to me that he's not such good boy after all.

Though he may be no better or worse than any other boy ...

Sadly, all of our god-talk has blinded us to our sordid history.

Sure, I'm glad to be an American - it's suited me just fine ... me and mine.

But for millions, the bright American Dream has been mostly a nightmare of poverty and loss.

Can't we be a bit more honest about all of this?

It's in our guns we trust, and in our bombs, and in our second-to-none technology, satellites above and drones a-flying ...

Rather than saying, "In God We Trust," how about a new national motto, "We have a lot of work to do!"

"In God We Trust" ... I Dare You!

"In God We Trust." Heck, every "Christian" nation has made that claim. But it's obvious, I think, that "God" has a lot of variety. The God of the Germans told them to kill the French. The Russian God told them to kill Germans. The British God said "Kill." And so did the American God. And kill they did in countless wars to this very day. These days, Muslim nations also express "trust in God." Hindus and Buddhists in India claim divinity, too. How we love to kill in the name of God, the Gods, our divinities.

I've long felt that America's claim befits a nation burdened with self-righteousness, as if we could do no wrong, because "we trust in God." But, then, so do so many other nations and movements.

Even in America, the God of a right-wing NRA supporter is rather different than the God of a life-wing Occupy Wall Street advocate. And what about those who have no God? Oh well ...

All across the battered landscape of God-trusting history, defeat, death, disease, and victory, too, and gloating and pride, and parades and bunting. But

With all these "Gods" floating around, which God shall it be?

I guess the one with the biggest army and the most bombs.

Yet, there's another story here ... a deeper, darker one, an ironic element. Yes, trust in God - go ahead, I dare you.

The God of the Prophets who allowed the Assyrians to destroy the Northern Kingdom and then allowed the Babylonians to destroy the Southern Kingdom. They trusted in God for victory, but such was not the case.

Or the God of Jesus, who allowed Rome to level the city of Jerusalem and end all claims to land.

Beware of this God - not owned or manipulated by any earthly power. At no one's beck and call.

Trust God - go ahead.

I dare you.

Basic Advice for the day!

Be of good cheer; watch your tongue; be alert to one another; pay attention to your soul; don't worry about how you pray, just pray as you can; read your Bible a little bit every day, or most every day (just five minutes: no more or no less - and it'll add up); count your blessings; give at least three compliments a day; stop now and then and say, "I'm really glad to be here!" ... savor your food; stop, look and listen; don't be nosey; trust the people around you - they're doing their best, and let them know you appreciate their labor; don't be in a hurry all the time; look at yourself in the mirror and pull a few faces and have a good laugh at yourself; eat a good breakfast; and remind yourself to trust God a little bit more every day!

Three Words

Three words for the day, three words for life:

Devotion

Courage

Trust

And three questions:

To whom or to what are you devoted?

Does your devotion give your courage?

Does your courage make sense? Can you trust it?

As you ponder these questions, try this answer: Christ!

Devoted to Christ, we find a solid, godly, courage to live – to face what comes, to endure against the odds, to bear up under crushing defeat and to wait patiently for the LORD. In Christ, we trust God’s love in all things for good, leading us to the best outcome!

Three words for life!

Failure - It's Just a Word

I'm adding to the earlier piece about failure, because I "failed" to make clear a critical point: namely, the word "failure" is just that, a word, just like chair or warm, without any clear content.

But we use the word specifically when we conceive of ourselves, our efforts, as failures.

Or when we label someone "a failure."

How do we know?

The point of our faith: only God knows the difference between good and evil, between failure and success.

Our task: render up to God the data of our lives, just as they are. Only God knows for sure, and in the end, God is at work in all things for good.

None of us are what we shall be in Christ. But until that time, we press on, as Paul did, to the upward calling, forgetting what lies behind.