Moon

In my spare time I've been reading through Reallivepreacher.com. It's well worth a look, even if you regularly read rlp. Tonight, I had one of those moments when I could really believe that God is real, that He's actually paying attention and in some small way leaving His fingerprints around like footprints in the dust of my life. I was thinking about the book tonight as I drove home with my 5 year old son. The moon was big and bright in front of us, showing off as she likes to do from time to time. It reminded me of the essay from the book, I'm Sorry for What I Said About the Moon. If you haven't read the story, rlp relates a story of his daughter asking why the moon follows the car, and his answer. I was thinking about the story, and about childhood, and about how I sometimes feel that my boys' lives are slipping through my fingers ever too quickly. Out of nowhere, I heard the small voice from the back that my son uses when he's deep in thought: "Daddy, why is the moon following us?"

Thanks, preach, for letting me know. I think I answered him well. I hope his childlike wonder will last another day in the face of the relentless assault of reality. And thanks, Lord, for letting me walk with him for a time and watch him come of age - but not too quickly.

Mark 3:20-35

Read It

This passage has generated more than its share of controversy because of Jesus' reference to sin that cannot be forgiven. In reality, though, it doesn't seem that the point of Mark's inclusion of this story was to give his readers a perspective on Jesus' thoughts on sin. Rather, this particular narrative focuses again on the opposition to Jesus' mission. The twist? The key players are Jesus' family.

Mark states the intentions of the family at the beginning of the narrative, in verse 21. They believed he was out of his mind. Think about that - even his family thought he was crazy. His mother, Mary, who was visited by an angel and knew the remarkable truth of his heritage, believed he needed to be contained. Now, read again Jesus' words: "A house divided against itself cannot stand."

What is the difference between Jesus' own family and the religious leaders in this tale? In truth, nothing. When Jesus warns against resisting the Holy Spirit, he is speaking not only to the religious power brokers, but also to his own mother and brothers. He goes so far as to place himself in opposition to them, should they continue to resist his mission. The point of this story? Nobody is exempt from judgment if they choose to oppose God's kingdom, not even Christ's own flesh and blood. However, nobody who embraces his mission will be left out. It's a powerful story of inclusion and opposition that highlights the cost of being a part of the kingdom of God.

Unbelievable

In the You Can't Make This Stuff Up category:
Grilled Cheese

In the Not To Be Left Out category:
Do It Yourself

I had a soft pretzel this morning. It was very good and entirely unmystical.

Mark 3:7-19

Read It

There are a number of ways that I could talk about this passage. But I like one verse here in particular from the Message: "He climbed a mountain and invited those he wanted with him. They climbed together."

I really just want to stop and hang out there. They climbed together. There's a sense of belonging there, of friendship and identification, of shared sights and shared dreams. And, in truth, that's what he was choosing - guys he could climb with, who he could walk with, live with, minister with, and be with. It makes me think of Jeff's writings (which, I must say, keep getting better and better) about Jesus and his wild invitations to come and ride with him.

They climbed together. But even here, there's a foreshadow of a darker climb. They climbed together, Jesus and Peter, who would later be known as Rock (and, a few verses later, Satan). They climbed together, Jesus and James and John, Sons of Thunder (who wanted to call down fire on his enemies). They climbed together, Jesus and Judas, who betrayed him.

They climbed together. But later, he would climb another hill alone.

Voting

Of all things to get me off my blogging hiatus - I'm actually going to write a political piece. I promised myself I'd never do this, mostly because politics usually doesn't do much for me except piss me off. My basic take on politics is this: Politics is the vehicle by which liars take money from hard working people to create the illusion of helping other people. Some people get into the whole political process, excited and activist like they personally are being elected, like they're going to be homecoming queen or student council president. Personally, I think the whole process just distracts us from the important things, like hot fudge sundaes and model rockets with your kids and trick-or-treating.

I went to vote and was confronted by a woman with a huge sign that said, "Be Merry, Vote for Kerry!" Which I thought would have been clever, if the election were held in the middle of December. As it was, I thought it was just annoying, like I was being patronized or something, like I'm an idiot who can't understand the issues well enough to think for myself so I'll be convinced by something clever.

I was also handed (or at least they attempted to hand) enough literature to make me pause and check on the health and welfare of the local foliage. Some guy wanted me to take the sample Republican ballot. I thought that was annoying too, like I can't read down the column on the machine or push the little button that says "Vote for All Republicans!"

The whole process has long ago ceased to be about issues. It's about who's cool, or who's powerful, or who has the most money, or who can get a rock star to stand on the stage with them. I'd be impressed with the candidate that lets the oppressed people he or she has helped speak for them - but there aren't any of those, just people they met an hour ago who play to the crowds and do well with focus groups. It sucks, really.

But I voted, and my opinions and positions will remain mine alone, because in the long run if you're coming here to read my writing you deserve better than my halfhearted attempts to convince you of the validity of my political opinions, and to be honest, I'm just not that interested. I will say that I despise big government, and I distrust big business, so I don't really think any candidate really reflects the sum of my opinions. In truth, I don't know how those basic tenets fit together - it's sort of a catch-22, to be honest. I think that, in the end, all systems are broken and sinful and so to find the "right" system is a fool's errand. Some trust in horses, some in chariots, some in elephants or donkeys...

It would be a shame if we who are citizens of another Kingdom let matters of this system and this election divide us and cause us to stop listening to and loving one another.

By the way, I think that Christy's post on the election is one of the most intelligent pieces of writing I've read in a long time. (If you don't read Christy's blog, you should!)

Quiet

I've been more quiet than usual of late. It's been a good silence, though - time to reflect and examine, pray and listen. I'll post some thoughts soon, as well as return to Mark. For now, I am enjoying the brief pause. Be back soon.