Beyond The Pale

A Wonderful Poem by Mary Oliver

Lately, I have been reading the poetry of Mary Oliver.  She creates wonderful word pictures that allow me to see the wetlands of the East that I love so much. 

Often she writes of the simplest acts of nature but allows us to glimpse the miracle of it all. 

Little Summer Poem Touching The Subject Of Faith

Mary Olive

Every summer
I listen and look 
under the sun's brass and even
into the moonlight, but I can't hear

anything, I can't see anything -- 
not the pale roots digging down, nor the green 
        stalks muscling up,
nor the leaves
deepening their damp pleats,

nor the tassels making,
nor the shucks, nor the cobs.
And still,
every day,

the leafy fields
grow taller and thicker -- 
green gowns lofting up in the night,
showered with silk. 

And so, every summer,
I fail as a witness, seeing nothing -- 
I am deaf too
to the tick of the leaves, 

the tapping of downwardness from the banyan feet -- 
all of it
happening
beyond any seeable proof, or hearable hum. 

And, therefore, let the immeasurable come.
Let the unknowable touch the buckle of my spine.
Let the wind turn in the trees,
and the mystery hidden in the dirt

swing through the air.
How could I look at anything in this world
and tremble, and grip my hands over my heart?
What should I fear? 

One morning
in the leafy green ocean
the honeycomb of the corn's beautiful body
is sure to be there. 

Advent Week 2

This is the sermon I preached on Sunday - Peace Sunday.  There are a few reflections on Advent week 2.

I love the book of Matthew – especially the birth narrative. When I knew that I was to preach an Advent service from the book of Matthew, I was so excited – then I saw the passage – suddenly I am not so excited after all.

 

I mean seriously, I could preach the genealogy of the first chapter better than John the Baptist. Why, I could even do the happy dance if I could have preached about the wise men seeing a star in the East and going West because they knew where to look for the Messiah. But no – I get John the Baptist. I mean really – who wants to preach repentance in the middle of Advent – Go God!!!!!!!! I ask myself – who figures the lectionary any way.

 

But alas, the fact doesn’t change – the Gospel for today is John the Baptist. Yes, I could have preached one of the other scriptures but they are equally about judgment and stuff. Then I came to our Romans reading and it all made sense – repentance, judgment, wilderness – its all about HOPE.

 

One of the key factors in the birth narrative in Matthew is KAIROS – in the Greek language Kairos is a passing instant when an opening appears which must be driven through with force if success is to be achieved. It’s the fullness of time in God’s purpose – it’s when God acts. The birth of the Messiah was definitely such a time but we also see Kairos here with John the Baptist. In fact, it is the first point on which all four gospels agree. They all mention John preaching in the wilderness a message of repentance. They all mention that Jesus’ public ministry began with John and Jesus meeting in the desert. This is a moment when God pushed through with force to act. NOW that makes me want to do a happy dance!!! So what is God saying to us today?

 

Well let’s see – I don’t think God is telling us to market a new diet called JTB diet – although we could probably market it. Perhaps we could find an example here – there are many modern theologians, ministers and preachers that take a view that miraculous gifts have ceased – much like the religious folks of John’s day. The religious leadership of John’s day was probably just as surprised and aggravated when God’s sovereign activity challenged their presuppositions. It is kind of funny to watch the different reactions when God shows up – much less the Son of God!!!!!!!!

 

All of these things are great points but the thing that caught my eye the most was, “the voice of one crying in the wilderness…” It reminded me of my time in the desert. While I lived in the desert Southwest, a Christian musician moved to my neck of the Navajo reservation and we learned a lot together about wilderness. When Rich first came to the Southwest, I wished he had stayed in

Wichita

. Because with him came hoopla and I liked quiet. However after he had been there a bit, we developed a friendship and we learned about the desert. We would go hiking at Canyon De Shelly and we did a lot of exploring there as well. It was great. We came to realize that the significance of what David Douglas meant when he said, “wilderness is not who resides there, but what we ourselves have left behind in coming.” I think John the Baptist knew this and who could know it better then Christ himself.

 

When I first went to the desert, I went kicking and screaming. I had planned my missionary path well and the desert Southwest was NOT in the plan. However, I knew the Lord had spoken and I went but I was not happy and I let him know as often as I could. Why Oh Lord in your infinite wisdom did you lead me to the armpit of Arizona? Don’t you know, I was supposed to be in Croatia? Do you remember how many languages I had to learn to be a missionary in Europe? Did you forget how many ministries wanted me to work for them? God do they have deity refresher courses – I mean really GALLUP, NEW MEXICO to HOLBROOK,ARIZONA! They don’t even know what a brook is in Arizona!!! You get the picture.

 

I also remember the moment I surrendered to the desert. I remember the moment I realized what a wonderful grace God had allowed me in being there. I repented for fighting what was truly a gift from God. It was a truth Rich recognized as well and allowed him to write, “I’ve come to the desert just to find my way to forever…” I found hope in the desert. I found forgiveness. I found grace there. It was the moment I learned that grace rarely comes as a gentle invitation. More often it is the John the Baptist type grace. The grace of a crazy prophet screaming in the desert – REPENT for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Often grace comes as an assault and we are tempted to run.

 

God’s grace comes sometimes comes like a punch in the nose, leaving us broken and wholly unable to deny our need any longer. We are force to recognize that we cannot escape from our sin. We cannot be imposters because the desert doesn’t allow that. There is nothing to prostitute in the desert – it’s a come-as-you-are party with God. In the desert, we come to the end of ourselves and we are ready to embrace God – that’s what repenting is all about.

We recognize our limitations and our deep need of the Messiah. A prophetic function is served and we are disturbed into accepting the fact that we need a Savior.

 

John the Baptist was absurd and that is exactly where grace bursts forth. That is where God is found. We need to reconsider the way we picture God because God is not what we expect. Our image of God often doesn’t prepare us for a truth realized in brokenness. We need to be shaken out of our expectations.

 

God isn’t what we expect nor is he what Herod expected. Herod the Great – King of the Jews – threatened by a babe lying in a manger. I mean it is rather comical when you think about it. Herod was shaking in his sandals because some astrologers from the East came looking for a baby. It is almost as comical as whom God decided to about the baby first. Imagine – the Messiah is born, angels appear in the sky (who wouldn’t listen to them?) Do you think if they appeared to Herod there would have been any questions? But no – the angels show up to tell shepherds standing in a field of sheep excrement that the King of the Universe is born – the long awaited Messiah and he can be found in a cave wrapped in rags!!!!!!!!!! Go figure! It seems to me that Biblically – what you see is not always what you get – God’s funny like that.

 

The God of the Bible is equally revealed in vulnerability and in triumph because both actions are rooted in love. God’s love is incessantly restless until He turns all woundedness to health, all deformity into beauty, and all embarrassment into laughter.  God is funny like that – He brings hope into impossible situations.

In C.S. Lewis’ tale The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, the little girl Lucy is frightened by the dragon like terrors of the White Witch. But when she hears Mr. and Mrs. Beaver speaking of the lion Aslan, a fierce King who’ll come to put things to right, she’s not entirely sure the unknown danger will be any better than the known. Of this Aslan, the wild promised King, she asks with trepidation, “Is he safe?” and Mr. Beaver, as honest as he is wise, responds, “Who said anything about safe? ‘Course, he isn’t safe! But he’s good! He’s the King, I tell you.”

 

Christ isn’t safe either, but he’s good and he is the king and he shows up in the strangest places. He shows up in the desert to begin his public ministry with a crazy prophet who has questionable food and dress. He is hailed in Revelation as the Lion of the tribe of

Judah

yet when all turn to look they see a slain Lamb. He comes as a leper to St. Francis and St. Francis heart is so full of recognition and joy he embraces and kisses the leper. We have to learn to have those “Oh there you are moments” – where we find Christ in the strangest places. Perhaps in the wilderness, our brokenness, or maybe even in All Saint’s Hall. A few weeks ago the youth helped at Martha’s Kitchen and I saw Christ!!!!!!!! A couple of our youth girls were serving ice cream and a young girl came through the line. The girl attends Marshall High and asked Hannah and Jodi if they attended

Marshall

. Hannah and Jodi said yes. The girl felt ashamed and said that she didn’t want anyone to know that she ate here. Hannah looked at the girl and said, “Well, I eat here too.” The girls then grabbed a plate and they sat down with this young girl. They talked and laughed as only Hannah and Jodi can make you laugh. I saw Jesus!!!!!!!!!!! My heart swelled with love, my eyes burned with tears, and I said to myself, “Oh there you are Jesus.”

 

To find Jesus, we have to come to the end of ourselves, we have to let go of our expectations, we have to look for him and then we have to go to him. It is only then that we understand what John the Baptist meant when he said, “Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Advent week 1

Today marks the first day of the new liturgical year.  I can't believe it.  We are almost at Christmas 2007.  It seems like it was just 2000 and everyone was celebrating the new millennium now here we are seven years later.  Time passes so quickly.  A man at church this morning said, "The only thing quicker than time moving is how fast money goes out of my wallet when I fill my gas tank."  Perhaps.

As I reflect on the last year, I am amazed at how I have changed.  I guess going to Africa does that to a person.  I find myself astounded at humanity's capacity to harm each other.  At the same time, I am awed at humanity's capacity to survive the most horrible atrocities.  All the more amazing is a person's ability to hope in the most dire of circumstances.  My heart is full of anticipation on this first day of Advent.  I am anticipating peace, reconciliation, and compassion.  I am hoping for the balm of a loving God to heal the broken hearted.  I am longing for my Savior to make things right in the world.  Here we are at the beginning of the liturgical year anticipating the Messiah's salvation much like those of the first century.  We are waiting , waiting on the world to change.  Even so come Lord Jesus.

Darfur

Unfortunately none of the efforts are enough but a bit of awareness is better than none at all.  Darfur is just one part the problem in Sudan. 

SUDAN: Darfur aid pledge 'not enough,' says Christian leader

October 09, 2007

 

[Ecumenical News International] A Christian leader in the Horn of Africa has welcomed a Sudanese government pledge of US$300 million in aid for Sudan's Darfur region, but said it is insufficient, and should not distract attention from the underlying causes of the conflict.

"It is a positive step but it is not enough," the Rev. Fred Nyabera, executive director of the Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches in the Great Lakes Region and the Horn of Africa, told Ecumenical News International in Nairobi, Kenya on October 3.

Nyabera was commenting on reports that Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir had promised the multi-million dollar aid package in a meeting with a group known as "the Elders," led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. Former South African President Nelson Mandela created the group, which also includes child rights activist Graca Machel, former U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi and billionaire British businessman Richard Branson.

"He [the Sudanese president] promised us there would be US$300 million in all coming to the Darfur region in compensation, US$100 million coming from the government, and US$200 million to be a loan from the Chinese," the Reuters news agency quoted Carter as saying in the northern Darfur town of Kebkabiya.

Nyabere told ENI that churches working for peace in Darfur were often disappointed that the crisis was used as a "bargaining chip," while people were suffering.

"The real issues have never been sufficiently addressed," he said. "The focus has always been on the consequences."

The Elders were visiting Darfur following the killing of 10 African Union peacekeeping soldiers on September 29 in Darfur's Haskanita area after rebels overran their post. More than 20 other soldiers are said to be missing.

Tutu urged the international community to constitute a peacekeeping force adequate for the role it is intended to fulfill. "We need to have the hybrid force deployed as quickly as possible," Tutu told reporters in Darfur on October 1. "It's awful that it should be allowed to be here when it is so inadequately equipped."

Politics

I am sitting here on a Sunday morning.  The city of Nairobi is oddly quiet.  I haven't heard one horn or the normal laugher of the children at a near-by school.  Oh the joys of Sunday morning - the crows however refuse to take a break.

Kenya is getting ready for elections and it's future is uncertain.  The man currently in office has improved the country in many ways but corruption is still very rampant in his government.  His main opposer and probable victor will likely take Kenya back to a dictatorship.  He was a communist but is currently a Muslim.  With 10,000,000 Muslims in Kenya - who will out of religious duty will certainly vote for him - he will win.  It is sad because in many ways Kenya is doing better. 

Politics are everything here in Africa.  Politics are motivated by power, greed, and religion.  Most of the conflicts you find in Africa are for supposed political reasons; however, you will find power, greed, or religion are the true fuel of conflict.  The most publicized conflict in Africa is the conflict in Sudan.  Let me tell you what you will not hear in the news, within the next two years a conflict will break out in Sudan that will make the conflict thus far seems like a walk in the park. MANY people will die and when it is over Sudan (Africa's largest country) will be split in two. 

After that we will know who controls Southern Sudan, will it be China, the U.S., or Russia.  I don't think Russia has a chance but you will notice that lately Russia has tried to reassert itself as a Super Power.   The real contest is between China and the U.S.  Whoever controls Southern Sudan in the end is the real winner and I do mean winner.  WHY?  Because the undeveloped southern portion of Sudan is oil rich.  It is believed that southern Sudan is the #1 oil field in the world.  They are absolutely sure there is oil there but it seems as though Sudan is like a funnel and that when they begin drilling there is will funnel the oil fields of Saudi Arabia and Libya to southern Sudan and Northern Uganda making it top oil dog. 

The area is totally undeveloped and will remain so until after the civil war.  China is backing northern Sudan and guess who is helping the southern portion.  You can see where all of this is going.  It means the humans living in horrible conditions in Northern Uganda and Southern Sudan are doomed to remain so because it is not about the people it is about the oil. 

God help us to live aware.  Help us to quit treating people like objects that are useless because oil is more important.  God help us.

Slums

too tired to blog.

Lacor, Uganda

On Saturday, we were to meet Patrick (Patrick is an aid worker with World Vision) at another village. It was north; therefore, closer to Sudan. It is the same village the short documentary “Invisible Children” was made. The film documented thousands of kids fleeing every night to sleep under the verandas at St. Mary's hospital so as to avoid capture by the rebels. St. Mary’s hospital is the same hospital that saw the horrible Ebola outbreak in 2000. Funny enough, there is another Ebola outbreak in the Congo and a drug resistant strain of TB floating around Uganda.

 
Finally Patrick came to us and we drove to the refugee camp. When we got there, chairs were placed at the edge of a circle.  The children lined up and began to dance.  The first dance they did was an honor dance for a King or Queen.  They said we were like Kings and Queens; therefore, they did the dance for us. They were treating me like a queen and it was moving. kids danced their hearts out. They drummed and danced and sang like crazy. They looked so happy. Many in the camp came to watch the kids. It was amazing. There were so many laughs and smiles. It was fun watching the younger kids on the outside of the dancing circle – they were trying to imitate the older kids. They were concentrating so hard and trying the moves – it was so cute.

 

When they finished dancing, we were asked to speak a few words to the kids.  Once again, I told the kids that they were special and that people are not objects. The kids said a few words to us. They asked us not to forget them. They told us how much  they like the dance group and how much it helped them.

One girl got up and asked us to help the camp. She asked for us to build a small building that would include a store (it would cost about $900 USD to build it). She said it would help the village. She said that the dance group meant a lot to the children there and they wanted to create a welcoming place so when the other abducted children are released and come home they will find a welcoming place. They will find a place where they are not stigmatized and they are loved and welcomed. She wanted them to see her and other formerly abducted children and how well they are doing so they would know that they have hope for healing. Her hope was inspiring.  She had been raped and beaten and taken away from all she knew and love; yet here she stood proclaiming hope with every fiber of her being.  It was so moving. 

While she was talking, the village people brought us cold bottled Cokes and a sweet snack. They didn’t have anything and yet they were blessing us. Their hospitality moved my heart and made me feel so good inside. 

The lady next to me was named Mary and she said, "You should see the dance when they have all the instruments and costumes."  She chuckled deeply and said, "Then one could dance all night!"  I was all about having the kids dance all night, so I asked her to make a list of everything they needed. She did and I talked to Patrick about getting the instruments.  He made a few phone calls and told me that it would cost about $350 to get all they needed.  I immediately reached for my wallet and gave him the money.  Next time I am there, I want to go to an all night dance party!  Wanna come?!

Oh Well

I wanted to post so much more but Internet connections are difficult and slow.  I am trying :)

Gulu

I landed in Entebbe, Uganda after an all night flight from London.  The driver was a little late which was a bit unnerving considering I didn't know anything about Uganda.  When he came, we drove to Kampala to meet with others on the team.  I took a quick shower and a power nap then we were off to Gulu.

The road from Kampala to Gulu is the worst in Uganda and I believe it.  There were so many pot-holes I actually got a headache from the bumps.  Our car didn't just jerk with each pothole - often you could hear the metal crashing as the car bottom-out time after time.  A 2 1/2 hour drive took 7 1/2 hours.  So needless to say I was very tired when we got to Gulu.  By that time, I had been awake about 35 hours.

The next day we did many things but I wanted to share with you about a vocational school we visited.  We met with some of the World Vision staff and Lucy (of World Vision) asked if we would go to a refugee camp with her that afternoon to visit with some children.  On the edge of the camp, World Vision helps sponsor a vocational school and we were going to go there and talk with some of the kids.

While we were driving there, Lucy asked me if I would speak to the children about a former World Vision worker who had died.  No one had spoken to the kids of the death and Lucy felt they should know.  I thought it was a bit odd that the children had not already been told so I asked for some details. 

Margaret of the World Vision staff worked extensively with formerly abducted kids.  "Formerly abducted" children are the kids who were taken from their school or village and made to join with the rebels during the civil war.  Margaret asked the kids to tell their story.  She asked them to go into detail about their abduction and incarceration.  The kids opened up to her.  She began making time-lines for the children and they would go over each section of the time line.  She was actually making progress with the kids.

The details are fuzzy but suffice it to say that someone did not appreciate Margaret's efforts.  About two months ago, she was murdered by poison.  The kids had not been told of her death.  Some of them had already heard but many of them didn't know.  This is the news I was asked to tell the children and I did.  Their faces didn't change.  There was no emotion - it was as if this was normal because in their lives traumatic death is the norm.  A few of their eyes shifted - some eyes tightened in hardness others moistened with tears (just barely) but no one spoke.

After a few minutes, I asked the kids if they had every been treated as objects.  They all immediately raised their hands.  My response was, "People are not objects!  We have been created in the very image of God and you are not an object."  They were reminded that they are important and they matter.  They were told that although terrible things had happened to them their story was important and the most important fact of all is that they are not objects.

As I looked into the faces now, I saw softening.  I saw heads hanging down in contemplation.  I saw a couple of small grins as the statements began to sink in.  I saw kids looking down and shuffling their feet as if they were afraid to believe the truth.  I saw God's love begin to break through.  Their stories matter.  There may be 1000 more like it but each child is an individual with a name, a family and a history.  They matter.

We dismissed the children but they did not leave.  Instead they began lining up to tell me their stories.  The first girl told me that she was abducted at home.  She was made to watch as the rebels murdered her father and beat her mother almost to death.  She was abducted and raped repeatedly throughout her three year ordeal.  She finally escaped but not without a child. 

She made her way home and found that her mother was alive; although, severally weakened from the beatings.  Her child was a small baby but she loved this child.  She knew the only way out of the cycle was to get an education.  The only place she can go to school at this point is the vocational school.  Her training will end in Dec.  With tears rolling down her cheeks, she kept saying I need an education and if it is too late for me my child will need an education to have options. 

I was astounded that this girl loved the child so much.  A child conceived in hate was now so loved by this young mother (who was a child herself).  This young mother and her child are stigmatized.  The mother is shunned by the community and people accuse her of being married to a rebel.  The child is shunned because they think the child is a rebel because it's father is one.  The mother is blamed for crimes she was forced to commit until her escape.  It is so sad.

This young girl recently received word that her mother was very ill.  Her mother has never fully recovered from the beating.  The girl is afraid to go home to check on her mother.  She is afraid she will die or that she is already dead and this girl cannot face that pain.  Therefore, she lives in day in conflict and fear of her mother's fate. 

The second girl's story was much the same.  She also came "back from the bush with a child."  Her family was killed, she was beaten, she was raped repeatedly and she bore a child.  Same old story right - NO!  She is an individual with a story to tell.  A story that needs to be heard.  How can people be treated this way?  Each news story has a name, a face, and a life that has been horribly interrupted. 

The third girl's story was virtually the same as girl after girl came.  They don't have a hope of getting married because of the stigmatization.  What hope then do they have of recovery?  I was overwhelmed at the faces of civil war, HIV/AIDS, rape, murder and abuse.  My prayer was for God to penetrate this darkness with his love.  I believe He does.  I did begin to see sparks of hope through their stories of abuse and anguish.

It was dark by the time we left.  We were not supposed to be in the camp after dark so we had to tell some of the kids we could no longer talk.  I hated doing that because I want them to know they are important too.  But I was told we had to leave and I must admit is was a bit scary leaving the camp at night.  There are many bandits on the road at night and they come to your car when you slow down for the crater sized pot-holes that blanket Northern Uganda.

We were also told that the situation in Sudan deteriorated over the week-end.  The rebels are desperate for weapons and they are angry about the peace talks.  They are kidnapping and murdering Westerners in their anger.  Although we had to go further north in the morning, we were still a good distance from the border of Sudan. 

Lord in your mercy - hear our prayer - O God, the well of love and Father of all, make us so to love that we know not but to love every man in Jesus Christ your Son our Lord.  Amen

Wales

Sunday I went for a drive through Wales with Bro. Thomas from the OEF.  It was so good and refreshing.