Oh, the taste of compromise

Bittersweet...Isn't that how they describe it?

America is an interesting place to live--an experiment in which people with opposing views can live peaceably together. The conception was, and continues to be, bold and exciting. But the actual ways in which this works out can be spooky and nauseating.

Consider the recent controversy over choosing Rick Warren to offer the opening prayer at the Inauguration for the new president. The left is galled by the thought of someone who is openly judgmental of gays and lesbians commencing the era of an inclusive leader. The right is no doubt wondering about the motivation behind the decision.

Is this what Jefferson had in mind? Remember the idea of democracy? Open and honest dialogue even among the most divergent opinions. But it turns out that this kind of thing takes a lot of time. It's usually messy. And people seldom change their minds, even when the opposing argument makes better sense. So, it's expedient compromise... politics over persuasion, coalition over conscience, victory over value...

So then? What is the real meaning in all this? Was it simply inevitable that the rising star of the secular world would choose the rising star of the religious world to solemnize the occasion? Or is it more a symbolic statement? A glimpse of the future wrapped in an obvious compromise. Most of us are warming to the reality of sacrifice and it looks like no one is going to get out of this unscathed. So who better to usher in the season of change than the prophet of purpose?

A half-win? Almost certainly, and all the way around. But given the circumstances, it's probably not so bad. Now if we can just get used to the taste.

What goes around...

Despite what some would like to believe, the Bible is not always consistent. In fact, it is sometimes in conversation with itself. Or rather, one writer is looking at a particular question in one way; while another writer is seeing or emphasizing something else. This does not mean that the Bible is unreliable. It rather means that life on earth is sometimes complex. There is more going on than our minds can comprehend. Or to use the language of the Bible itself, "God's ways are not our ways."

Take for example, the matter of justice. We read a great deal about justice in the Bible. Some of it is straightforward and serves as a healthy warning: You shall not... And if you do... This is commonly associated with the book of Leviticus. The Levites were the tribe of Israel chiefly responsible for the temple and the priestly activities of the nation. This Priestly Tradition is also responsible for the more defined laws of the Hebrew Scriptures--the specific consequences for particular infractions. Things like, what you can expect should your oxen gore someone in the community...

It is probably out of this Priestly Tradtion that one of the prominent theologies of justice emerged--the notion that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. This is a very strong tradition that is still with us today. In a sense, it is the rationale for our own system of law. And much like ancient Israel, it applies well enough for us to accept it as true... If you do good things, good things will happen to you...If you do bad things, bad things will happen to you. Essentially, the argument is that suffering is directly related to sin.

Yet, while this may be true and seems to apply well enough for us to accept it, it is not a perfect model. Sometimes justice is a bit more elusive...sin a bit more complicated. This is the side taken by what is often called the Wisdom Tradition. The book of Job, for example, challenges the suggestion that suffering is simply a matter of sin. Ecclesiastes seems to reject the connection altogether suggesting rather that suffering might be just a matter of ignorance and luck. And just like we see evidence supporting the Priestly Tradition, we also see evidence supporting the Wisdom Tradition. We've seen the good suffer under the rule of evil and we've seen evil prosper under the rule of the good.

So here is the dilemma. We can see both sides, can't we? We know that sin can definitely invite suffering--in any number of ways. But we also can see that just because a person is suffering does not necessarily mean that he/she deserves it.

So what can we do? How do we live as faithful people--knowing that sin is real and destructive and yet also understanding that innocent people do suffer? I suggest two things: First we are wise to know and remember the story of Jesus. His story is, I think, an important window into God's justice. The way that he dealt with people, especially sinners, suggests that God might be more interested in repentance than blood. In the same way, his death is by all measures a miscarriage of justice. And yet, it is overcome by God's capacity to bring good out of evil. In other words, God is the final judge--even though we may not be able to see it in the present. The Resurrection is a glimpse into the justice of God. Justice is not lost but it might come in a way that we are not expecting.

This brings us to the second thing to remember. We are all in this together...but... We are all sinners to one degree or another. But those degrees are not insignificant. Those who would have us believe that all sin is the same are perhaps trying to excuse themselves from some urgent matter of restitution that God is working on.

There is an interesting story in Genesis 18. It comes just after God has reiterated his promise to Abraham. The Lord is on his way to destroy the city of Sodom for its wickedness. Initially, the Lord wants to hide Abraham from the darker side of his work but ultimately a conversation emerges--primarily out of Abraham's concern for any decent people who might be living in the city. The conversation is about justice and the suffering of the innocent. I encourage you to read the story yourself but basically it is a question of whether or not God will spare the many for the sake of the righteousness of the few. This is an important question and an important reminder that though we are all sinners, there are distinctions.

It is important for us to see the wheel turn from time to time. It reminds us that we live in a world where God is still paying attention.

We are all sinners but there is also that matter of justice--especially for the innocent and for those who have sought to do right when others were doing ill. As we watch the good suffering along with the wicked, we should be praying for them. Not only for the sake of justice but also for the sake of mercy.

The Pain of Some Else's Joy

When I went to college, I was assigned to a dorm room with three roommates. Two of these joined a fraternity within the first two weeks of school so I was able to enjoy a relatively large suite with just one other person. His name was Mike.

Mike was from a small rural community in the Southwestern part of the state of Iowa. He had a sister and played football. He had a decent sense of humor and was actually the valedictorian of his graduating class. All in all, Mike was a good, randomly assigned roommate. While he was not my closest friend at college, we did a lot together and by and large got along quite well--except for one thing.

As the year progressed, I began to notice that Mike had a terribly hard time celebrating anything good that might happen to somebody else. Worse yet, there was a disturbing joy that came upon him when bad things would happen to others, especially me.

I had never seen anything quite like it. Mike's emotional state seemed to be inversely related to the people around him. Generally, he was low key and not particularly responsive. He could sit through an entire meal without saying a word. However, if I entered the room with a broken arm or even a particularly poor grade, it was like party-time for this guy. Although I have yet to meet anyone else who's joy was quite so dependent upon the misfortune of others, I have encountered lesser degrees of this affliction. I cannot really explain it, although I am sure that it is more common than I realize.

It turned out that Mike flunked out of his freshman year of college. It wasn't because he couldn't do the work. He was, after all, the valedictorian of his high school class. It was rather that as the year wore on, Mike spent more and more time in our dorm room and less and less time attending class. I would come home from the library or from watching MASH in the commons and Mike would be sitting at his desk drinking a six-pack all by himself.

I honestly felt bad for him. I did not find the joy in his suffering that he seemed to find in mine. But ultimately I could not break through. I heard that he transferred to another school and I am sure that he eventually graduated. I hope that he is doing well. I hope that he is still alive.

We still hear that ongoing debate--do we live in a world of scarcity or a world of abundance? Is there enough for all? Or does it really come down to us or them... yours or mine...

My experience that year in the dorm taught me something about myself. I've got all kinds of weaknesses for sure but I just can't bring myself to celebrate misfortune. I just can't believe that God has created a world where there is only so much blessing to go around.

Parable of the Kingdom on the road to Disney

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.)

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.

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.

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.