TINY RIPPLE OF HOPE

When I was a youngster my heroes were athletes such as Mickey Mantle or Johnny Bower. As a Christian my ultimate hero would of course be Jesus. Another hero of mine is Robert Kennedy, the younger brother of the assassinated John F. Kennedy.

A couple of years ago I filled in as an interim pastor at an Evangelical Covenant Church in Buffalo, NY. I have listened to my sermons online but the one that I felt was my best effort dealt briefly with the life of RFK.

For the next little while I am going to have a bit to say about RFK but I am going to start off with a quote from what is regarded as his most famous speech. It was delivered in Capetown, South Africa in 1966.

It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.

This has been an immense week of spiritual stress and emotional fatigue. This quote has set me back on course.

THOUGHTS WHILE GOING THROUGH A VERY DEPRESSING DAY

I think it is about time America forgot about saving the rest of the world and took care of their own. I read an article in Atlantic Monthly about the economy and how one segment of society in particular is in dire straits. This is the inner city ghetto. Unemployment is at an all-time high in the black communities and people are earning their living in the underground economy. When that low-life Sirhan Sirhan snuffed out the life of Robert Kennedy he also snuffed out any hope of America waging war against poverty. Can you imagine how powerful the American society could have been if the trillions of dollars spent on wars in Vietnam, Cambodia, Iraq and Afghanistan had been kept within their borders? Greedy insurance companies wouldn't have corrupted the health care system. Inner city schools would enjoy the same benefits as white suburban schools. Crime would be greatly diminished because when people have productive jobs they have no need to turn to crime. When the people have hope would they still turn to dope?

 

OBAMA, LBJ AND THE YOUNG BRITISH SOLDIER

The thought has crossed my mind that as the American lead Coalition continues in the futile efforts to reform Afghanistan that President Obama is becoming another LBJ. You know LBJ? He was the President who is always thought of synonymously with the war in Vietnam. I am afraid that the short-lived Obama Administration will leave behind a legacy of digging ourselves deeper and deeper into an unwinnable situation.

When I think of trying to win a war in Afghanistan one always thinks of previous efforts by the British and the Russians. Neither was successful. It is totally illogical to think that we can do any better than our predecessors in the Afghan nation. I will have more on this in the weeks and months and years ahead.

Kipling, well noted for The Jungle Book, wrote the following poem about the young British soldier. The final stanza is most relevant for today.

The Young British Soldier

When the 'arf-made recruity goes out to the East
'E acts like a babe an' 'e drinks like a beast,
An' 'e wonders because 'e is frequent deceased
         Ere 'e's fit for to serve as a soldier.
         Serve, serve, serve as a soldier,
         Serve, serve, serve as a soldier,
         Serve, serve, serve as a soldier,
         So-oldier OF the Queen!

Now all you recruities what's drafted to-day,
You shut up your rag-box an' 'ark to my lay,
An' I'll sing you a soldier as far as I may:
         A soldier what's fit for a soldier.
         Fit, fit, fit for a soldier . . .

First mind you steer clear o' the grog-sellers' huts,
For they sell you Fixed Bay'nets that rots out your guts --
Ay, drink that 'ud eat the live steel from your butts --
         An' it's bad for the young British soldier.
         Bad, bad, bad for the soldier . . .

When the cholera comes -- as it will past a doubt --
Keep out of the wet and don't go on the shout,
For the sickness gets in as the liquor dies out,
         An' it crumples the young British soldier.
         Crum-, crum-, crumples the soldier . . .

But the worst o' your foes is the sun over'ead:
You must wear your 'elmet for all that is said:
If 'e finds you uncovered 'e'll knock you down dead,
         An' you'll die like a fool of a soldier.
         Fool, fool, fool of a soldier . . .

If you're cast for fatigue by a sergeant unkind,
Don't grouse like a woman nor crack on nor blind;
Be handy and civil, and then you will find
         That it's beer for the young British soldier.
         Beer, beer, beer for the soldier . . .

Now, if you must marry, take care she is old --
A troop-sergeant's widow's the nicest I'm told,
For beauty won't help if your rations is cold,
         Nor love ain't enough for a soldier.
         'Nough, 'nough, 'nough for a soldier . . .

If the wife should go wrong with a comrade, be loath
To shoot when you catch 'em -- you'll swing, on my oath! --
Make 'im take 'er and keep 'er: that's Hell for them both,
         An' you're shut o' the curse of a soldier.
         Curse, curse, curse of a soldier . . .

When first under fire an' you're wishful to duck,
Don't look nor take 'eed at the man that is struck,
Be thankful you're livin', and trust to your luck
         And march to your front like a soldier.
         Front, front, front like a soldier . . .

When 'arf of your bullets fly wide in the ditch,
Don't call your Martini a cross-eyed old bitch;
She's human as you are -- you treat her as sich,
         An' she'll fight for the young British soldier.
         Fight, fight, fight for the soldier . . .

When shakin' their bustles like ladies so fine,
The guns o' the enemy wheel into line,
Shoot low at the limbers an' don't mind the shine,
         For noise never startles the soldier.
         Start-, start-, startles the soldier . . .

If your officer's dead and the sergeants look white,
Remember it's ruin to run from a fight:
So take open order, lie down, and sit tight,
         And wait for supports like a soldier.
         Wait, wait, wait like a soldier . . .

When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
         An' go to your Gawd like a soldier.
         Go, go, go like a soldier,
         Go, go, go like a soldier,
         Go, go, go like a soldier,
         So-oldier of the Queen!

MUBAR IN AFGHANISTAN

The temptation is pretty strong to replace the sanitized MUBAR (Messed Up Beyond All Recognition) with the down and dirty FUBAR. If you don’t know what FUBAR is then you are a better person than me, and I won’t explain it to you.
What brings me to this place is the senseless slaughter of the medical workers in Afghanistan – 6 Americans, one German, one British and 2 Afghan translators. The driver, an Afghan, was allowed free because he begged for his life and quoted the Quran. There are strong suspicions that the driver was in on this spree.
There was nothing to be achieved by killing these people. They were solely there for humanitarian purposes. These doctors understood the law of the land and although they may have been Christian they were in compliance of the laws forbidding witnessing for Jesus.
So it was purely murder out of demonic hatred with the purpose of robbery.
MUBAR.
These killers are inhuman. To massacre unarmed and innocent people, people who loved the Afghan people and were bringing relief for sight problems, for no motive other than hatred and thievery tells me a few things.
There is no winning with these people. The British tried, the French tried, the Soviets tried, and they all were humbly defeated.
What makes us think the American-lead coalition will be any different?
My God, can’t President Obama see that he is going to wind up in the history books as another LBJ if he doesn’t pull out soon?
This is the present day Vietnam, and there is no hope for victory.
Even if you drive out the Taliban this is a male-dominated society that has always treated women with great indignity.
Education has never reformed a culture, no matter how much we wish it could.
John Dempsey, who works in Kabul for the U.S. Institute of Peace, says Christian groups will have to consider their position.
He said: "I don't think they necessarily need to withdraw but I certainly think after what's happened earlier this year, and of course today's attack, they have to reassess what it means to be a Christian organisation in a country where they often are the ones singled out and targeted, and there may be measures they could take to improve their security for themselves.
"So I think there is still room for Christian organisations to operate in many parts of the country, but they'll have to be careful in terms of selecting where those might be." (BBC News)
So if we pull out does it mean that all the innocents and soldiers have died in vain? Maybe. But not necessarily so. If it takes the death of these workers, or the death of native Afghans blown to bits by errant coalition missiles, or even the death of professional soldiers to bring us to the realization that there must be alternative ways to deal with the Afghan problem, then so be it.
However, if we continue on the course we are set up currently then there is no hope.
And my friends, this is truly FUBAR.

MARY GAUTHIER, LESBIANS AND JUDGING

I guess I still have a long way to go in the personal standard I have set to treat everyone with equality.
The other day I was listening to the music of Mary Gauthier. She had caught my attention while searching for tracks on emusic.com. Her sound and style reminded me a lot of Lucinda Williams who happens to be one of my favorite performers. I found it interesting that they are both natives of Louisiana.
As I continued my research of Mary I soon discovered that she is a lesbian.
My initial reaction was of disappointment.
Then my secondary reaction was of further disappointment. Disappointment with myself.
Why should I stop enjoying and appreciating the work of an artist because they are homosexual? I shouldn’t and neither should anybody else.
As a Christian, I realize that most of my fellow believers look down at gay people with disgust and revulsion. This is not as it should be. We are all created equal in God’s sight. The scriptures tell us that we have all sinned and have fallen short of the perfection that God requires from His creation. It took God’s son, Jesus, dying on the cross that has broken the wall that had previously kept sinners set apart from a most Holy God.
Now the question was posed to me this evening by my oldest daughter: Are homosexuals born that way? I can go a little further and ask “Are “alternative lifestyles” sinful in the eyes of God?”
A cursory reading of the Bible would seem to indicate that a gay lifestyle is sinful. Which means this “sin” can be lumped in with lying and cheating and bigotry and gossiping and overeating and a host of other vices. I believe that some gays are born that way and if it is sin then why should we treat this situation more harshly than we have other sins when it comes to accepting people into the fellowship of the church?
I became a Christian back in 1980. Before then I drank too much, definitely ate too much, fibbed from time to time, laughed at dirty jokes, looked at women with lust in my eyes and watched bad movies. Since that time, over the past 30 years as a believer, I have occasionally done all these things and even more! Yet I am still accepted as a member in good standing at my church.
Yet gays are not allowed into the evangelical church as members. I have a hard time believing that sexual sin is the most horrible sin in God’s books. The problem is the church puts such a powerful emphasis on perceived sexual sins that these types of sins are far graver than any others. (Though rarely do you hear any messages in the church today about pre-marital sex, or sex among single adult Christians.)
Is being a lesbian worse than being a bigot? Is being a lesbian worse than being a “self-righteous, holier than thou” member in the church? Is being a lesbian worse than being a person always willing to cast the proverbial first stone? Is being a lesbian worse than the one who is so quick to gossip and slander the one who is sitting a few pews over in God’s House of Worship?
Really, honestly, what do you think?
The key to spiritual health is simply to take care of one’s own business before judging others.
Pretty radical, isn’t it?
We are so quick to judge and ban the gay community yet not so willing to throw the self-righteous and the bigot and the gossiper under the bus.
Perhaps this is a good thing or else there would be no one left in our evangelical churches.

GOD OF PHOBIA AND HATE

I had a dream last night
Where God appears to people
At the great judgment
As an object of their
Own personal
Hatreds
And phobias
And paranoia’s

Hence

To the homophobic
God is gay
To the white supremacist
God is black
To the anti-Semite
God is YHWH
To the filthy rich
God is impoverished
To the American Republican
God is a Democrat

Who is God to you?