There once was a kingdom not far from Interstate 95 on the way to Orlando.
It was a beautiful land with many beautiful people who enjoyed many blessings. Everyone loved the king because of their blessings. Then one day a fire appeared in the kingdom and scarred some of the land. No one was hurt but the fire did burn away some of the vegetation. It turned out it was mostly just poison ivy and kudzu but it still irked some of the people because the landscape no longer looked the same.
No one really knew who or what actually started the fire. Though the kingdom remained very beautiful and the people continued to be blessed, an angry spirit came upon them. They began to accuse one another and even the king of starting the fire. And they refused to venture near the spot that had been burned.
Meanwhile, signs of life began to appear in the burnt spot. Hardwoods, evergreens and wildflowers began to break through the earth as did a plush green carpet of new wheat that characterized the rest of the kingdom. But of course no one was there to see it.
Then one day a minivan pulled off the Interstate and happened upon the kingdom. It was filled with just a handful of castaways on their way to Disney World. Seeing the explosion of life in the spot that had burned, they left off their plans and decided to camp right there in the emerging vegetation. Finding themselves blessed in new and remarkable ways, they decided to make the place their home. But of course no one was there to see it.
Years went by and more minivans broke down and more castaways joined the community. The spot that had once been only poison ivy and kudzu was now a thriving community living among the new wheat. But of course no one was there to see it.
Meanwhile the rest of the kingdom continued to discuss the matter of the fire—who had caused it and how it had so ruined the landscape. Until one day, the decision was made to send a group back to the site to access the damage that had been done all those years ago. No one wanted to go. So the entire kingdom was forced to participate in a lottery—every family was given a number and all the numbers were placed in a sugar bowl.
Lo and Behold the number that was drawn was that of the king and his family. Many people believed that this was in fact a sign of his guilt so his family was shoved into a minivan with a week’s supply of food and sent off to assess the damage of the area that had been burned.
The minivan never returned.
(This also appears as "A Parable of Advent" in the December Newsletter.)
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
Strength in Weakness
The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each one to his home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. 33I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!’ (John 16:32-33)
O.K., this one is overtly and apologetically Christian.
The market goes up for a day or two and then tumbles for the next three in a row. The U.S. is still entangled in two distant wars. The auto industry is teetering on collapse and the creative solution is to throw money at it. Jobs are being lost and hearts are growing weary. It's gloom and doom everywhere we turn. Of course all this bad news is good news for the media. Nothing sells and thrives like fear, evil and blood.
I remember reading Neil Postman's, Amusing Ourselves to Death. The book is an insightful look at how television has come to dominate our lives. But I think today of something that Postman points out very early in the book relating not to the television but the telegraph. He suggests that the telegraph imposed information upon us that we didn't even ask for and that it changed the way that we gain knowledge. “To the telegraph, intelligence meant knowing lots of things, not knowing about them” (69-70). Postman points out that photography, which appeared at about the same time, fit well with the telegraph's “news from nowhere” and provided an illusion of context for the unknown names and places that we suddenly had to deal with. The television is now a super-telegraph imposing a limitless stream of information and images--all of which are well beyond our neighborhood and influence.
The overwhelming experience of all this is futility. The more we see, the more we are reminded of our weakness in the world. This is because the world is no longer a neighborhood or a city. It is literally The World. And the constant stream of images pouring into our minds demands that we deal with it.
Postman's book was initially published in 1985. This is now a very long time ago--at least in terms of the entertainment industry and the rise of electronic media. It seems fair to say that we are not going to escape from the super-telegraph and all of its dark power over us. It is the loudest voice in the world. And because bad news sells so much better than good news, we can expect to be hearing about our weakness for as long as we walk this dusty planet.
As depressing as this might be (and it is depressing), there is a great hope in the midst of all this. The Christian message is a consistent affirmation that there is strength in weakness. Of course, we see it in the story of Jesus and we hear it in the preaching of Paul but it is also a consistent refrain that extends all the way back to the beginning of our story. Futility was familiar to Abraham and Sarah, Moses, Jeremiah, Hannah, David and pretty much all of the Biblical characters. Yet, these people were not overcome by the forces that threatened them. Whether it is Moses before Pharaoh or Jesus before Pilate, there is a consistent insistence that the appearance of strength is really only that. True power comes from someplace other than The World.
This is the thing that we want to cling to in these dark and stormy days. Who knows, maybe they're not even that dark and stormy but even if they are...Remember, it's just The World.
O.K., this one is overtly and apologetically Christian.
The market goes up for a day or two and then tumbles for the next three in a row. The U.S. is still entangled in two distant wars. The auto industry is teetering on collapse and the creative solution is to throw money at it. Jobs are being lost and hearts are growing weary. It's gloom and doom everywhere we turn. Of course all this bad news is good news for the media. Nothing sells and thrives like fear, evil and blood.
I remember reading Neil Postman's, Amusing Ourselves to Death. The book is an insightful look at how television has come to dominate our lives. But I think today of something that Postman points out very early in the book relating not to the television but the telegraph. He suggests that the telegraph imposed information upon us that we didn't even ask for and that it changed the way that we gain knowledge. “To the telegraph, intelligence meant knowing lots of things, not knowing about them” (69-70). Postman points out that photography, which appeared at about the same time, fit well with the telegraph's “news from nowhere” and provided an illusion of context for the unknown names and places that we suddenly had to deal with. The television is now a super-telegraph imposing a limitless stream of information and images--all of which are well beyond our neighborhood and influence.
The overwhelming experience of all this is futility. The more we see, the more we are reminded of our weakness in the world. This is because the world is no longer a neighborhood or a city. It is literally The World. And the constant stream of images pouring into our minds demands that we deal with it.
Postman's book was initially published in 1985. This is now a very long time ago--at least in terms of the entertainment industry and the rise of electronic media. It seems fair to say that we are not going to escape from the super-telegraph and all of its dark power over us. It is the loudest voice in the world. And because bad news sells so much better than good news, we can expect to be hearing about our weakness for as long as we walk this dusty planet.
As depressing as this might be (and it is depressing), there is a great hope in the midst of all this. The Christian message is a consistent affirmation that there is strength in weakness. Of course, we see it in the story of Jesus and we hear it in the preaching of Paul but it is also a consistent refrain that extends all the way back to the beginning of our story. Futility was familiar to Abraham and Sarah, Moses, Jeremiah, Hannah, David and pretty much all of the Biblical characters. Yet, these people were not overcome by the forces that threatened them. Whether it is Moses before Pharaoh or Jesus before Pilate, there is a consistent insistence that the appearance of strength is really only that. True power comes from someplace other than The World.
This is the thing that we want to cling to in these dark and stormy days. Who knows, maybe they're not even that dark and stormy but even if they are...Remember, it's just The World.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Behind the Curve
I remember people saying how great the 80's were. They called it the decade of decadence. Whenever we see footage from the era, it looks like everyone is having a great time. But I actually remember quite the opposite. I remember suffering through what seemed to me as an era of ignorance. Everything seemed so shallow--the music, the culture, the politics. It was depressing.
Then came the 1990's--flannel shirts, long and greasy hair, angry kids...The world seemed to be a much more sobering place. But I felt much better! I loved the 1990's--even though I spent most of the decade raising kids and probably missed a lot, it just seemed a better time... more honest and less urgent.
As for the last 8 years, pay your money and take your choice. I am sure that there are some who feel that things have been great; while others feel just the opposite. I don't know what any of this means except perhaps to support the old adage, "You can please some of the people some of the time but you can't please all of the people all of the time..."
Now that the onslaught of campaigning is over and we know that some kind of change is on the horizon, I wonder how people are feeling. The day after the election, it was clear that there was a lot of excitement in the air. But now that the news has shifted back to things like global recession and wide-spread unemployment, it seems that the enthusiasm is a bit more tempered.
My sense is that we probably have no idea what is around the corner. It may be that everything we have been worrying about has now come and gone and we are just waiting for the smoke to clear away. Or it may be that what we have been witnessing is only the tip of a much larger iceberg--although I certainly hope this is not the case.
The intellectual in me wants to hold back, wait and see...but there is also something that tells me that life is too short to be waiting until we know its safe to go outside. Besides, I have no sense of timing anyway. I am usually depressed at parties and my best years have come when everyone else was whining.
Then came the 1990's--flannel shirts, long and greasy hair, angry kids...The world seemed to be a much more sobering place. But I felt much better! I loved the 1990's--even though I spent most of the decade raising kids and probably missed a lot, it just seemed a better time... more honest and less urgent.
As for the last 8 years, pay your money and take your choice. I am sure that there are some who feel that things have been great; while others feel just the opposite. I don't know what any of this means except perhaps to support the old adage, "You can please some of the people some of the time but you can't please all of the people all of the time..."
Now that the onslaught of campaigning is over and we know that some kind of change is on the horizon, I wonder how people are feeling. The day after the election, it was clear that there was a lot of excitement in the air. But now that the news has shifted back to things like global recession and wide-spread unemployment, it seems that the enthusiasm is a bit more tempered.
My sense is that we probably have no idea what is around the corner. It may be that everything we have been worrying about has now come and gone and we are just waiting for the smoke to clear away. Or it may be that what we have been witnessing is only the tip of a much larger iceberg--although I certainly hope this is not the case.
The intellectual in me wants to hold back, wait and see...but there is also something that tells me that life is too short to be waiting until we know its safe to go outside. Besides, I have no sense of timing anyway. I am usually depressed at parties and my best years have come when everyone else was whining.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Loyalties
Last night I was flipping through the channels and came across "All The Presidents Men," the 1976 film adaptation of the Washington Post's coverage of the Watergate scandal. The film reminded me that there was once a time when people in movies actually looked and behaved like people in the real world. Today it's mostly about perfect bodies doing super human things.
The film suggests that Woodward and Bernstein had to interview dozens of average folk to get even the slightest information on what had really gone on behind the scenes. Most of the time, they had doors slammed in their face. But on the few occasions when they actually found someone who was willing to talk to them, the interview was surprising. Far from haughty conspirators trying to win at all cost, these were largely goodhearted men and women who found themselves a part of something that just didn't sit right with them. They were simply caught up in the machinery.
Although these people were saddened, even sicked, by the some of the activities they had been associated with; they were equally sicked by the prospect of ratting out their superiors. At one point, Woodward and Bernstein are interviewing a woman. Here is the section from the screenplay:
A MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN--kind of an honest, hard-working face.
WOODWARD and BERNSTEIN are standing in her doorway.
WOODWARD
A friend at the Committee told us to contact you--
WOMAN
--who was it?
BERNSTEIN
We never reveal our sources, which is why you can talk to us.
WOODWARD
It's safe, try it, you'll see.
[She doesn't talk at first, but she doesn't slam the door either.]
BERNSTEIN
We understand your problem--
WOODWARD
--you believe in the President, you wouldn't ever want to do anything disloyal.
BERNSTEIN
We appreciate your position--really.
[And now she starts, at last, to talk, and they expect it to be their first breakthrough, but when it turns out to be the most withering onslaught yet, they are stunned.]
WOMAN
You people--you think that you can come into someone's life, squeeze what you want, then get out.(to BERNSTEIN) You don't appreciate a goddamn thing, mister. (to WOODWARD) And you don't understand nothing. (voice rising) But the Committee's briefed us on you--so get the hell out of here-- (big) --do you like scaring the life out decent people?--'cause if you don't, in the name of God--stop it!
[And she slams the door--]
From http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/all_the_presidents_men.html
The woman knows that her loyalties are suspect but she also knows that the same is true for the reporters. Even though they imagine themselves to be on a righteous crusade, there is also a degree of self-deception and dirt about it. At times, the reporters reflect the same win-at-all-cost ambitious that we see in the Watergate villains.
This is tough stuff. Loyalty is a character trait. It is a good thing to stand by your friends and your values. And the fact is, it is not always easy to find such things. But at the same time, this can turn out to be our end. Sometimes we find ourselves choosing between our loyalties and our conscience. This is no easy thing.
The film suggests that Woodward and Bernstein had to interview dozens of average folk to get even the slightest information on what had really gone on behind the scenes. Most of the time, they had doors slammed in their face. But on the few occasions when they actually found someone who was willing to talk to them, the interview was surprising. Far from haughty conspirators trying to win at all cost, these were largely goodhearted men and women who found themselves a part of something that just didn't sit right with them. They were simply caught up in the machinery.
Although these people were saddened, even sicked, by the some of the activities they had been associated with; they were equally sicked by the prospect of ratting out their superiors. At one point, Woodward and Bernstein are interviewing a woman. Here is the section from the screenplay:
A MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN--kind of an honest, hard-working face.
WOODWARD and BERNSTEIN are standing in her doorway.
WOODWARD
A friend at the Committee told us to contact you--
WOMAN
--who was it?
BERNSTEIN
We never reveal our sources, which is why you can talk to us.
WOODWARD
It's safe, try it, you'll see.
[She doesn't talk at first, but she doesn't slam the door either.]
BERNSTEIN
We understand your problem--
WOODWARD
--you believe in the President, you wouldn't ever want to do anything disloyal.
BERNSTEIN
We appreciate your position--really.
[And now she starts, at last, to talk, and they expect it to be their first breakthrough, but when it turns out to be the most withering onslaught yet, they are stunned.]
WOMAN
You people--you think that you can come into someone's life, squeeze what you want, then get out.(to BERNSTEIN) You don't appreciate a goddamn thing, mister. (to WOODWARD) And you don't understand nothing. (voice rising) But the Committee's briefed us on you--so get the hell out of here-- (big) --do you like scaring the life out decent people?--'cause if you don't, in the name of God--stop it!
[And she slams the door--]
From http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/all_the_presidents_men.html
The woman knows that her loyalties are suspect but she also knows that the same is true for the reporters. Even though they imagine themselves to be on a righteous crusade, there is also a degree of self-deception and dirt about it. At times, the reporters reflect the same win-at-all-cost ambitious that we see in the Watergate villains.
This is tough stuff. Loyalty is a character trait. It is a good thing to stand by your friends and your values. And the fact is, it is not always easy to find such things. But at the same time, this can turn out to be our end. Sometimes we find ourselves choosing between our loyalties and our conscience. This is no easy thing.
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