"How does your life match up to the teachings of Jesus?"

by the Very Rev. Robert V. Taylor

[SpiritWarriorSky@aol.com wrote: "Does the image of Jesus, King of Love, provoke you into taking certain actions with your life? If so, what actions does the idea of Jesus influence you to do as you live your life in the here and now?" -- Sky]

"How does your life match up to the teachings of Jesus?"
A sermon at St. Mark's Cathedral, Seattle, WA

The Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost, October 9, 2005 Isaiah 25:1-9; Philippians 4:4-13; Matthew 22:1-14

Friends of Jesus -- Challenged and Provoked?

"Religion made me feel bad." It's a comment that I've heard from more than just a few newcomers to the Cathedral over the past few weeks. They've spoken about previous church experiences, perhaps even from childhood, that made them feel so bad that they stayed away from institutional religion for a long time. Like many of you, my skin crawls at the way in which 'Christian' or 'Christianity' is affixed to things that Jesus would never have recognized.

I'm sorry for any religion that makes people feel bad. But I am glad for this being a place of safety, of healing and of re-connecting with God. I hope that the safety and nurturing of this Cathedral community allows us to be deeply engaged with what it means to follow Jesus. The question of what it means to follow Jesus in this time and culture will provoke, challenge and make us mighty uncomfortable. But there is a huge difference between feeing bad, being made to feel bad, and being so challenged and provoked by the love of Jesus that we feel uncomfortable.

The difference is discovered in relationship: in relationship with God, in relationship with one another as members of a community of faith, in relationship with the rest of Creation. Almost one hundred years ago, at the end of the First World War, members of Saint Mark's Cathedral had a vision of a new building that would express a hopeful world of people reconciled to one another. A Victory Cathedral is what they called it.

The prophet Isaiah offered a vision of God's reconciliation and justice. At the time of Isaiah, there was a strong Canaanite belief that people were swallowed up by death. And so Isaiah says: Hold on, not so! You won't be swallowed up by death; God will swallow death up! The very thing that alienated people from God would be removed.

So we have Isaiah's vision of a reconciled world where all people will gather at Mount Zion, at the place where God was believed to rule. And there would be a lavish feast. There would be a new experience of communion, of intimacy with one another and with God.

Isaiah says: This is the God we have waited for, the God who brings us together and who even takes away the thing that kept us from God -- death. This God wants life and communion and relationship. It's a stunning image! It is about people being reconciled. And so a feast was put on with rich, delicious food and fabulous wines. That is the central image and invitation of our worship every Sunday.

But when we get to today's Gospel, the metaphor of a lavish wedding feast doesn't seem like sweetness and light. Right in the middle of the story a war is declared. At the end of the story we hear about harsh judgment. How does Isaiah's reconciling feast morph into this story that Mathew attributes to Jesus?

Well, Matthew was writing his gospel at a time when he was deeply distressed about the state of the church. He was concerned that people's practices did not match up to what they preached and that their ethics were not what they should be, as followers of Jesus. Matthew doesn't throw out the image of the fabulous feast. Instead he asks, "How does your life match up to the teachings of Jesus?"

Paul asks the same question in the reading that we heard from his letter to the Philippians. Paul believed they were being led astray by leaders who were pushing legalist understandings of faith. They were demanding external signs of faith, such as circumcision. And Paul writes that what happens to their hearts, to the way they live life, is what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Paul promises that following Jesus leads to transformation, which brings a deep inner joy.

I think we miss that transformation and that joy because we are so often obsessed by our own selves. I worry about how easily any church can become self-absorbed. We're not here to make anyone feel bad. But we're not here to simply be about feeling good. We're here because we've responded to some often intuitive, unspeakable yearning to discover spirituality, to know more about God, maybe even to fall in love with Jesus! And of course, every one of us is at a slightly different place along this journey. But there is something about being in a community of faith, in this community of the Cathedral, that says we are here to be transformed, to be friends and followers of Christ.

This comes with an expectation that we're not left the same as we were before. We are changed by God, by one another, by putting into practice the love, the mercy, the justice and the reconciling hope of God. That provokes us. That challenges us. That makes us uncomfortable. That change, that transformation, keeps leading us to new life with God, and in ourselves and with others and with the life of the world. That is very different than feeling bad. Jesus is about life, and God invites us to be here, not only for our own sake, but for the very life of the world and of Creation.

Some of us heard Jim Wallis speak last week. Jim said that Christians are very good at showing up in the offices of their elected officials to talk about how to spend money on addressing social issues and injustices. But he said we're normally too late. He said too many people of faith stay away from the first conversation, which is the crucial one, because it is about spending and tax policy. Wallis challenged us, for the love of Jesus, to show up in the offices of our legislators and to talk about taxes and economic policies that give voice to the Bible's drumbeat about justice and mercy for all.

The journey of being a follower of Jesus is always deeply personal, but it is never something private. Today's Gospel says that that judgment comes when we do not live out the wedding feast invitation. In a few weeks, Jonathan Kozol will preach and lecture at the Cathedral. I suspect he will ask us how the lives of children and families are affected by what we believe about Jesus, and how that challenges and provokes us to get involved in education.

If religion has made you feel bad, I am sorry about that. If it makes you feel bad, be aware! But expect that if you walk as a friend of Jesus, his hope and love will provoke and lead you to justice and mercy and reconciliation.

The way of life with God brings joy and peace and gladness to our own lives. It also always challenges, provokes and leads us to be part of the healing of the injustices around us, of being part of the human conversation and dialog that is at the heart of reconciliation. You become part of God's vision of feasting on the mountain of God, with all people. Together, in community, our feast strengthens us for the life and the hope of the world. And God says, "Please. Please. Be my partner."?

And if it makes you feel bad, beware of it! When you are invited in to such life-changing, hope-filled love, expect it to challenge and provoke you to live it by way of mercy and justice, in ways that take you and us way beyond our own selves.

Democracy for America - sign the pledge!

by Rick Mitchell

As the number of dead American soldiers approaches 2,000 (and God only knows how many Iraqis -- including many thousands of innocent civilians), we continue to have resistance and controversy around the issue of admitting we made a colossal mistake (in believing G. W. Bush) and cutting our losses. There is an economic principle that says, "Don't spend good money after bad," meaning if you make a bad investment decision, accept it and chalk it up to experience -- don't keep pretending it was a good decision. Another saying is "If you're in a hole, stop digging."

How much more serious and compelling these concerns are when it is human lives that are at stake, and the chief reason given for them continuing to risk their lives is "political stability."

One wonders just whose political stability is of most concern here, and one might even suspect it is that of the administration that has yet to admit that it misled the American people in starting the war on Iraq. This is an administration that regularly misleads on all sorts of questions and which seems to be plagued with the problem of defending against vote fraud whenever it is involved in any kind of election (most recently the election to ratify the proposed Iraqi constitution, where in some areas there were more 'yes' votes than there are people). But, perhaps I quibble.

The very idea of conducting a democratic election is questionable in a country where 'political instability' justifies the daily sacrifice of our young men as supposed 'peace-keepers' -- in a place where there is no peace and may not be any hope of peace for a long time.

Heck, we can't even seem to have an undisputedly democratic election in our own country after almost 230 years of practice. It seems to have become more of a problem in recent years, actually.

There is a pledge that we are being asked to sign by the organization, Democracy for America:

I pledge to only support candidates who:
Acknowledge the U.S. was misled into the Iraq war
Advocate for a responsible exit plan with a timeline
Support our troops both at home and abroad

You can find this pledge and sign it (and send it on for others to sign also) at the following URL:

www.democracyforamerica.com/iraqpledge

I urge you to do so and let politicians in Washington know we want an end to the killing in Iraq and the corruption here at home.

Rod Romney: Living in the Now, Even in Retirement

by Dr. Rodney R. Romney

When I retired five years ago, I devised for myself three simple prayers for this new time of freedom in my life. These prayers are:

I ask to be useful
I ask to be vital
I ask for wonder

I did not merely ask for these. I chose them as components of my life. From time to time I review these prayers to see if I am fulfilling them.

I ask to be useful. As long as I am on this earth, I want to be useful in ways that count for others and for the world. Life takes many unpredictable turns, but no matter what happens, I want to rise above these "unpredictabilities" and still be useful. Our world is being impacted by too many people who have lived beyond their time of real usefulness. Perhaps if we begin now consciously and regularly to claim usefulness for ourselves, whether retired or not, we can always have it in some form.

I ask to be vital. Being vital is a necessary component for being useful. It requires that I work mentally to keep my mind alert and that I work physically to keep my body active. Reading and studying each day keeps my mind working with new ideas. Going to a gym at least four times a week keeps my body in better physical condition than if I did nothing. Maintaining physical vitality helps me maintain a mental vitality and increases my opportunities to be useful.

I ask for wonder. "I Asked for Wonder" is a spiritual anthology of the writings of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. In it he says that we humans often view prayer as a means of accosting God. But do we really need to inform God of anything? Nor, he says, do we possess a magical gift of power that allows us to direct God what to do. I agree. Contacting God and figuring out who God is and what God wants is not our achievement. Instead we can merely witness the wonder and the mystery of the Eternal, and let God comes to us by whatever path we manage to clear.

None of us has the full and final truth. There is much we do not yet know. But we can know enough truth to keep moving forward in its direction. Harassed and oppressed we may be by the world's bustling and boasting, the pomp and power of government leaders, the threats of war and reprisal. But overarching and above all is the Power of a God who has a plan for all our lives, who loves us, and who will not let us go, no matter what we do or don't do.

Eckhart Tolle in his book, "The Power of Now," said, "Realize the present moment is all you have. Make the Now the primary focus of your life. You may pay brief visits to the past and future, when required to deal with the practical aspects of your life situation, but always say 'yes' to the present moment. Surrender to what is. Say 'yes' to life, and see how life suddenly starts working for you rather than against you." (New World Library, 1999, page. 28)

Maybe we need a new word for retirement, which suggests being put away, out of circulation, no longer important to the world at large. Maybe a better word than retired could be reactiviated. Freed from what seemed to be an endless necessity of making a living, we can start a new life by seeking new ways to be useful, vital and filled with wonder.

The poetry reading that changed America

by Keith Jennings
SojoMail 10-06-2005

Fifty years ago, on Oct. 7, 1955, five unknown poets stood among 150 friends in a small art gallery in San Francisco and declared war on America. The event, which was billed, "6 Poets at 6 Gallery," included readings by then-unknown poets Philip Lamantia, Michael McClure, Philip Whalen, Allen Ginsberg, and Gary Snyder. It was on this night that Ginsberg first read his now classic poem, "Howl," to an awestruck audience.

The 6 Gallery reading launched the literary careers of these young poets and began a San Francisco Poetry Renaissance that evolved into what would become known as the Beat Generation. Unfortunately, the 50th anniversary and ad hoc celebrations of this seminal event in American literary and pop culture history will go largely unnoticed by an America in need of the challenge thrown out by the Beats.

Derived from street slang meaning "beaten" or "down-and-out," the Beats were products of post-World War II America and found themselves in the Cold War '50s alienated by McCarthyism, national conformity, mass consumerism, radical dissent, and the threat of nuclear war. They set out on what Jack Kerouac would call a spiritual quest: to break the chains of censorship and Silent Generation quietism, living spontaneous lifestyles focused on experimentation, liberation, and celebration.

Today, the Beat Generation poets continue to influence and inspire new generations of writers, poets, and musicians. Ironically, we live in an America not unlike the one that produced the Beats. The nation is polarized and under the fear influence of conservatism and consumerism. Ecological issues remain ignored in the name of growth. The national deficit is being run up to the cost of future generations. The poor and suffering, swept under the rug of wealth, have been exposed to the rest of the world world through Katrina and the AIDS pandemic. America is ripe for revival or revolution.

In a 1952 article for The New York Times Magazine, "This is the Beat Generation," John Clellon Holmes wrote, "...unlike the Lost Generation, which was occupied with the loss of faith, the Beat Generation is becoming more and more occupied with the need for it." It is this challenge and the echoes of Beat voices that are as relevant today as they were in their time. Challenging future generations to rethink, reinvent, and revive what it means to be an American.

There are a smattering of relevant, but near-invisible, Christian literary journals crying from the wilderness today. They are drowned out by commercialized Christian music and publishing. A great opportunity is being missed in an America humbled by disaster, wanting to do something about it and not knowing how. The Beats were occupied with how, not why, life should be lived.

Stewardship-minded Christians, with a firm grip on why they are living, can pave new roads for how to live by breaking the stereotypes of Christian Americans and showing others how to see the familiar in unfamiliar ways.

Despite having been exploited by commercial interests, ridiculed by the media, and snubbed by academia, the Beat Generation has survived and established its legitimacy. What will history write of our generation?

[Keith Jennings is a nonprofit health care marketer and freelance writer, who has researched and studied Beat Generation literature for 14 years. For information on "Howl" readings and celebrations, visit www.citylights.com.]

The Dark Side of Faith

by Rosa BROOKS

October 1, 2005

IT'S OFFICIAL: Too much religion may be a dangerous thing.

This is the implication of a study reported in the current issue of the Journal of Religion and Society, a publication of Creighton University's Center for the Study of Religion. The study, by evolutionary scientist Gregory S. Paul, looks at the correlation between levels of "popular religiosity" and various "quantifiable societal health" indicators in 18 prosperous democracies, including the United States.

Paul ranked societies based on the percentage of their population expressing absolute belief in God, the frequency of prayer reported by their citizens and their frequency of attendance at religious services. He then correlated this with data on rates of homicide, sexually transmitted disease, teen pregnancy, abortion and child mortality.

He found that the most religious democracies exhibited substantially higher degrees of social dysfunction than societies with larger percentages of atheists and agnostics. Of the nations studied, the U.S. — which has by far the largest percentage of people who take the Bible literally and express absolute belief in God (and the lowest percentage of atheists and agnostics) — also has by far the highest levels of homicide, abortion, teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

This conclusion will come as no surprise to those who have long gnashed their teeth in frustration while listening to right-wing evangelical claims that secular liberals are weak on "values." Paul's study confirms globally what is already evident in the U.S.: When it comes to "values," if you look at facts rather than mere rhetoric, the substantially more secular blue states routinely leave the Bible Belt red states in the dust.

Murder rates? Six of the seven states with the highest 2003 homicide rates were "red" in the 2004 elections (Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, South Carolina), while the deep blue Northeastern states had murder rates well below the national average. Infant mortality rates? Highest in the South and Southwest; lowest in New England. Divorce rates? Marriages break up far more in red states than in blue. Teen pregnancy rates? The same.

Of course, the red/blue divide is only an imperfect proxy for levels of religiosity. And while Paul's study found that the correlation between high degrees of religiosity and high degrees of social dysfunction appears robust, it could be that high levels of social dysfunction fuel religiosity, rather than the other way around.

Although correlation is not causation, Paul's study offers much food for thought. At a minimum, his findings suggest that
contrary to popular belief, lack of religiosity does societies no particular harm. This should offer ammunition to those who maintain that religious belief is a purely private matter and that government should remain neutral, not only among religions but also between religion and lack of religion. It should also give a boost to critics of "faith-based" social services and abstinence-only disease and pregnancy prevention programs.

We shouldn't shy away from the possibility that too much religiosity may be socially dangerous. Secular, rationalist approaches to problem-solving emphasize uncertainty, evidence and perpetual reevaluation. Religious faith is inherently nonrational.

This in itself does not make religion worthless or dangerous. All humans hold nonrational beliefs, and some of these may have both individual and societal value. But historically, societies run into trouble when powerful religions become imperial and absolutist.

The claim that religion can have a dark side should not be news. Does anyone doubt that Islamic extremism is linked to the recent rise in international terrorism? And since the history of Christianity is every bit as blood-drenched as the history of Islam, why should we doubt that extremist forms of modern American Christianity have their own pernicious and measurable effects on national health and well-being?

Arguably, Paul's study invites us to conclude that the most serious threat humanity faces today is religious extremism:
nonrational, absolutist belief systems that refuse to tolerate difference and dissent.

My prediction is that right-wing evangelicals will do their best to discredit Paul's substantive findings. But when they fail, they'll just shrug: So what if highly religious societies have more murders and disease than less religious societies? Remember the trials of Job? God likes to test the faithful.

To the truly nonrational, even evidence that on its face undermines your beliefs can be twisted to support them. Absolutism means never having to say you're sorry.

And that, of course, is what makes it so very dangerous.