Verse of the Month — July 2009

Fulfillment

Love does no harm to its neighbor.  Therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Romans 13:10

Not dead yet

Regular readers (assuming for the moment there are any; kind of like assuming there really are unicorns, I know) of this blog will have noticed that my output/production has slowed to a mere trickle or less in recent months.  Not to worry, I have not met with any disasters or any such thing.  It’s just one of those seasons of life where there is more absorbing going on.  I continue to follow current events with keen interest, devote myself to the ongoing task of the interpretation of ancient texts in the context of modern situations, and engage in the daily tasks of visiting the sick, encouraging the downhearted, interfering in local politics, and pretending that I’m several decades younger than the calendar would allow.  So:  an interesting observation, coming right up.

For reasons completely mystifying to me, I find that as an individual human being, I, the writer of this blog, am, on the whole, more happy than not.  This is an astonishing revelation, and it runs counter to the assumptions under which I have operated for a long time.  A colleague recently made this observation to me, though, and I could not easily refute him:  that I come across as one who operates from a center of deep contentment.   I laughed (a deeply contented belly laugh) when I heard that.  It’s true that all the things that I think should worry me (household bills, the state of my own and others’ health, how well various groups and organizations are doing, the economy, the environment, local politics, international politics, whether I can really get something worthwhile accomplished before I die, and on and on) don’t actually worry me as much as some part of me thinks they should — and I’m not even all that worried about this lack of worry.  Something has changed, some corner has been turned within me.

I am content, but I am not satisfied.  I cannot be satisfied while others are hungry, in danger, depressed, discouraged, at risk.  So today, for example, in one hour I will be at a local community center where groups of citizens will come together to try to match  needs and resources with regard to adequate housing.  Later, I’ll be on hand to rejoice with a neighbor’s family as they celebrate a high school graduation.  Tomorrow, I’ll think out loud in the presence of others concerning the vision of Isaiah the prophet, and how in a time of change and turmoil (and what time is not?) he had a glimpse of holiness and renewed and deepened his own sense of his place in unfolding history.  It is to be hoped that this great vision will be renewed in someone at our own moment in unfolding history.  I am content, not satisfied, but hopeful and somehow confident.

Could we be entering the generation where the word of God is no longer twisted to serve the interests of nations and individual peoples, at the expense of others, but in which the truth that “the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein” (Psalm 24:1) is indeed recognized and followed up with “He makes wars to cease to the ends of the earth” (Psalm 46:9)?

The ninteenth century saw the end of the institution of slavery as an accepted part of the normal life of nations, for the first time in the history of the planet.  I am now praying that something comparable will happen in the twenty-first century with regard to the institution of warfare.  There is more biblical foundation for the latter than for the former.

Content, yes, for myself; but for this old world there’s a lot of work to do.  I’ll do it online, on the ground, and in the secret place of prayer.  I am confident that I won’t be the only one.

Verse of the Month — June 2009

Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

—Psalm 37:4

Verse of the Month – May 2009

Self-promotion?

For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord,
with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.

2 Corinthians 4:5

Statement by the President

This post updated April 28, 2009.

I took note of this in September 2006 and posted it here at that time ( Published on: Sep 21, 2006 @ 21:02):

From the official White House website, a reminder of what was advocated by our then- Chief Executive, George W. Bush, in a speech to the United Nations just a little over three nearly six years ago. (the Statement by the President has scrolled off the White House website since the change of administration; but can be found several places on the Web.)  [emphasis added by blogger, April 2009]

Today, on the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the United States declares its strong solidarity with torture victims across the world. Torture anywhere is an affront to human dignity everywhere. We are committed to building a world where human rights are respected and protected by the rule of law.

Freedom from torture is an inalienable human right. The Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment, ratified by the United States and more than 130 other countries since 1984, forbids governments from deliberately inflicting severe physical or mental pain or suffering on those within their custody or control. ….[]

[] …..The United States is committed to the world-wide elimination of torture and we are leading this fight by example. I call on all governments to join with the United States and the community of law-abiding nations in prohibiting, investigating, and prosecuting all acts of torture and in undertaking to prevent other cruel and unusual punishment. I call on all nations to speak out against torture in all its forms and to make ending torture an essential part of their diplomacy….[].

…No people, no matter where they reside, should have to live in fear of their own government. Nowhere should the midnight knock foreshadow a nightmare of state-commissioned crime. The suffering of torture victims must end, and the United States calls on all governments to assume this great mission.

[blogger's comment, 2006]: Those are good words, and represent a noble standard. Leading by example is, on this issue, definitely the way to go. Let us both work and pray that the substance of United States policy and practice exemplify such leadership without equivocation.

[same blogger, 2009, under a different administration]:  Amen!

De-cision

If we think of the future as a multiplicity of possibilities, or, more accurately, of the present moment as a vantage point which looks out over a horizon of undetermined possible futures, and if, moreover, we posit that we have the capacity to exercise what is called “Will” —

Will == the future tense of the verb “To Be”, understood as the present manifestation of a future existence

— and if we note that “decision” is related to words like “incision” or even “scissors” and thus rooted in something that means “to cut” (as a quick check of any dictionary will confirm) — then a de-cision is a cutting off of one possible future from all the others, by an act of “will” which can only be brought to bear when that “will” is “present.”

Understood in this way, decisions — that is, intentional acts of will which are determinative for the future — seem to be relatively rare among humans. Why? Perhaps it is because of the felt sense that taking responsibility for narrowing one’s options (shrinking that universe of possible futures) is frightening?

random image

…..you are getting sleeepyyy……

Verse of the Month – April 2009

Ambition

He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all, and servant of all.”

Mark 9:35

Questions Jesus Asked —4 (John)

As above, Questions Jesus asked from the Gospel of John.

John 1:38a        When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?”

John 1:50        Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.”

John 2:4        And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.”

John 3:10        Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?”

John 3:12        If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?

John 4:35        Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting.

John 5:6        When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”

Observation

Seen on the wall of a Sunday School classroom