Thursday Theology

I know -- this meme over simplifies the issue of religious control over its adherents. That's kind of what memes do. They are not comprehensive thoughts; just brief bits to make you think.

So let's think about it.
Although only three characters are mentioned, there are four men pictured. I am guessing that the fourth is representative of the Jewish religion and is supposed to be Moses. I don't know that. It's just an assumption on my part and an apparent afterthought of the meme creator.

I have read the teachings of some Buddhist monks and teachers.
I have read the gospels and the teachings of the New Testament.
I have not read the Quran nor many Islamic teachings. I probably need to.

As a follower of Jesus, I do need constant reminders of what he taught. Reading and understanding what he taught versus hearing what religious leaders have to say about it is often tricky and contradictory.
Many of the teachings of the Buddha and Jesus are very similar. As I have said, I don't really know much about the teachings of Mohammed. 

There are many more people that have influenced large and small sections of humanity with philosophies of how to live with one another. Some (like Buddhism) tend to be more philosophical than religious. And there are, of course, humanists that are more focused on using science, reason, and compassion to live ethically and achieve the best by everybody making contributions to living in society and community with one another.

The Christianity of most of my life taught me to believe certain things, say certain things, and to judge people and life based on what eternal reward or punishment one might receive after death. But as I read the gospels without the controlling bullshit of religion, I find that the teachings of Jesus are more about how we should live with one another daily than they are about what happens when we die.

There is a derogatory saying about Christians being too heavenly minded to be of any earthly good that brings that thought to reality. Following Jesus today (for me) is more about how I live and love today and less about what is going to happen when I die.
Even my concern for others today is more about how they live and love (and even hate) today than it is about what will happen to them when they die. 

What would happen if we were less worried about what happens after death and more concerned with the world we live in today?
I hope that whatever guides your life will lead you to live well -- today.
I hope that it will lead you to love well -- today.

John

Hard Work Leads to Hard Sleep

I know that I have said this before, but I will say it again -- I am glad that I didn't have to do physical labor throughout my working years. I did work in a lumber yard and in an aluminum factory back in my 20s when I was in good shape to do so. And I know that hard work now would be much easier if I were in better shape. 
As it is -- well let's just say that I have slept well the past couple of nights!

To be fair -- I do sleep well most nights, but after a few hours of pulling weeds and digging in the clay and rocks of SWMO I slept exceptionally well. I don't think today's work will be as strenuous as the past two days, so maybe I will work a little longer than my usual two to three hours. 
Then again, maybe not.

Yesterday was the first time that I have separated peonies. There were a few large tubers that broke off solo, without the recommended three eyes for replanting. I replanted them anyway. My understanding is that they may take a couple of seasons to produce flowers. I guess we will see in the spring.
I find that separating and replanting the gladiolus bulbs and the iris tubers as well as the peonies to be very rewarding. I have also thinned and shared the hostas we have and am trying to propagate some hydrangea and coleus, as well.

I don't think I would go so far as to call flower gardening fun, but it is quite enjoyable and very rewarding. I think I'm going to give roses another go. They are beautiful and smell nice, but the thorny little buggers can be a little challenging in this poor Missouri soil. 

There is more mulching and fall garden work to do today so I am expecting another work induced good night's rest tonight. I am convinced that not all of the good sleep goes to the hard work, but that much can be attributed to the energy flow of just being outdoors. Walking barefoot in the grass, sitting and listening to the birds and night critters, digging in the dirt -- all have a way of soothing the soul and relaxing the body. 
It could be that I would sleep just as well without the hard work, but the work needs to be done and I'm too cheap to pay somebody else to do it. Besides, it is both enjoyable and rewarding.

No wisdom for this Wednesday other than to suggest some time with plants -- even a potted house plant can bring some calming energy.

John

Front porch morning

It's a cool morning in the Ozarks of SWMO, a brisk 57 (14C) at wake-up. The front porch faces to the NNW and is a little cooler than the back deck. I just felt like a little change would be good. 
I thought about a coffee at a coffee shop this morning -- because I haven't done that for a couple of weeks and I do have some errands to run, but decided that home coffee and quiet time was the way to go today. The movie to the front of the house is enough change for me. 

I've been doing some fall work in the flower beds to prep them for winter and the coming spring. I have let them get away from me in the last couple of months and they need quite a bit of work. I may need to put in more than my 2-3 hours on days when I'm working and I may need to actually do something every day for a little while. There are some things that need to be done sooner rather than later -- like planting bulbs and tubers and separating or thinning some plants. Other things can wait -- like mulching and general clean up, maintenance, and seed harvesting.
Unfortunately, they often overlap and the later stuff needs to be done so that I can get to the stuff that needs to be done now. I am privileged to have the time and fortunate that nothing is truly imperative. I will still have plenty of time to sit and write, read, enjoy an afternoon cigar, and just live out the life of a retired guy. 

I am often amused at how excited I get over some of the simple things about gardening. Thinning the irises and replanting the abundance of tubers in a different location is pretty cool. I can't wait to see them growing in their new location next spring.
Also, digging up the gladiolus bulbs to separate and replant gives me more than twice as many for next year as I had this year.
It really doesn't take much to make me happy.

In some ways, I look at flower gardening as my kindness to the world -- well, at least in my small corner of the world. My flowers provide food for the birds and pollinators, and beauty for the neighbors that drive past our yard. The work keeps me busy and away from people that might be offended by my sarcasm and insensitive wit. It's pretty much a win for everybody.

It may not be a good thing when you consider it a kindness to stay away from people.

John

Monday (It is Monday, right?)

It's a little weird how often I have to check to see what day it actually is before I hit publish for a Monday Meditation, Wednesday Wisdom, or Thursday Theology post. I still haven't decided if not knowing what day it is is a good thing or a bad thing. Maybe not needing to know is the good thing; actually not knowing is neither good nor bad most of the time.

Mostly, mornings are just mornings. 
The sun is shining on my face as I squint to make out the words I am typing on my Chromebook. My coffee is good and the noise from the highway seems unusually loud today. And I think the hummingbirds are gone. I only saw one yesterday, none yet this morning. 
I will see you soon, my little avian friends -- PV in a month!

I'll keep better track of days when winter gets here and I have the regular responsibility of working at the shelter again. There are shelters for women only and men only. A few allow couples or singles of either gender. I believe that the shelter where I work is the only all inclusive shelter and it is the only one that takes pets. All of the shelters have a great need for volunteers. Without volunteers, we cannot open. 

In Springfield MO the crisis cold weather shelter season is from November 1st until the end of March. During that time, dinners are centralized to a single location where shelter sign up takes place. Transportation to the shelters is provided by City Utilities via the Springfield bus system. Since buses do not transport pets, our shelter needs volunteers to transport pets (crates can be provided). Morning buses pick up guests to transport them to a central breakfast place. 

In addition, our shelter needs people to set up cots, prepare the kitchen area and serve drinks and snacks, stay overnight, open the kitchen for coffee, hot cocoa, and oatmeal in the morning, morning pet transportation, store cots (when necessary), clean up, and laundry drop off and delivery.

All-in-all, our facility alone uses 15 volunteers every night that we are open!
Some tasks take less than an hour and have no actual contact with our unsheltered friends. Other tasks are for two or three hours and a couple are for a 12 hour overnight shift. The overnight shifts can accommodate a four or five hour sleep time if needed.
If you are interested in volunteering this winter or are a part of a church or organization that can provide shelter or a steady stream of volunteers -- please let me know. We would gladly have somebody come talk to your group about serving our community with us.

When we reach the point of collecting donations for our shelter pantry and closet I will share that info and links in a future post.

Be well, my friends.
And find a way to serve your neighbors.

John

Friday Fun Facts

Some of the unexpected spoils from WWI

Did you know ...
(click it to big it)

and...

One final one today

Have a great weekend!

John

Following Jesus

In the bible, Paul tells the church in Corinth that they can just follow him since he is following the Christ (Jesus). I can see where that makes some sense back in the day. The Corinthian church didn't have the bible to teach them what Jesus taught, only the few people that taught what Jesus had proclaimed.
That's not the case today.
If you want to follow Jesus, you don't have to (and probably shouldn't) follow a person that claims to be following Jesus. In bible-speak we would call that idolatry. 

I mention this today because I see a lot of that type of idolatry within the church in the US these days. Honestly, it's always been there. 
Pastors know that oftentimes they are idolized by their congregations and do little to discourage it. Perhaps they secretly enjoy that kind of admiration.

Back when I was doing pulpit supply (filling in for pastors) I would often find myself preaching at churches where only a few people knew that the pastor would be gone. Pastors figured that if they weren't going to be there, the people would also take the week off from church. Perhaps the great tragedy from that is that if the people don't show up, neither does their money.

I get it. 
We get used to how a particular person teaches and preaches and that is what we want to hear. But we need to ask ourselves -- Are we going to church to worship God or for some other reason like worshiping the pastor or being with certain people? 
In my own mind, those alternative reasons are okay as long as we are honest about it. I don't think The Venues calls their Sunday morning gathering a worship service, maybe just a service -- probably some kind of church-y language to let non-Venues people know this is when they meet. When I do actually attend on Sundays (which isn't very often), I can honestly say it doesn't feel like I've been to church -- at least not in the way that going to church once felt like. I'm not sure if that is a good thing or not. I am sure that it works for a lot of people -- especially for people that have been hurt by churches and church people.

My following Jesus today looks much different than it did when I was trying to convince others to follow Jesus. Today I follow Jesus because I believe it is a better way to live rather than a better way to die. I see being a Christian as embracing the Christ-spirit within me, within others, and within the world around me on a moment by moment basis rather than waiting to die to be in His presence.
I don't go to church to sense the presence of God.
I sit here on my deck, surrounded by plants, looking out at the field and the trees beyond it.
I breathe deeply.
I hear the nearby bluebirds and sparrows, and the distant crows.
And I sense the presence of the Creator.
This is my church.
This is where I connect with God.
From here, I follow Jesus and his teachings.

I know it is not a theologically sound way of Christianity, but I'm only sharing it as my own. There isn't enough room on my deck for very many others so you will need to find your own way to connect to God. And if you are interested in learning what Jesus taught, I'd recommend starting with the beatitudes from The Sermon on the Mount. You can find them here.

John

You, be you.

I think we are too often stressing ourselves out by trying to be the person others expect us to be.
On the other hand, we often expect other people to be a certain way to live up to our expectations.

If you are kind to people because they are kind to you -- that's not kindness. That's business.
Maybe we should feel free to be the person we are without letting other people make the determination for us.
You can be kind to people that are not nice people. 
You can be generous to people that can't pay you back.
You can be respectful to people that might not be respectful themselves.
You only get to determine who you are.
You do not get to determine who they are.

You might want to read those last two lines again.
Here's a suitable meme for that...

And because recent events in the US have been focused around free speech, I thought I'd include a bonus gem. You get to have your opinions and free speech, but others get to freely disagree, laugh at you, and mock you if they are ridiculous.

Be you
but be careful.

John

A Final Summer Meditation

Shortly after 1PM CDT the earth will reach that spot in its annual orbit around the sun that marks the astronomical beginning of fall -- the autumnal equinox.
I guess it is time to break out the flannel shirts, hoodies, and long pants. Fall is here.
The fog is thick this morning and I am a little disappointed that the summer sun didn't make an appearance to say goodbye, but everything goes spinning along as planned. 

This morning I am wondering if the dense fog and not being able to see the field and the trees will help or hinder my meditation. I often begin with eyes open and both seeing and feeling the energy of nature. It is easy to say that the fog makes it so there is nothing to see. 
But what about the fog?

Being in the present this morning means embracing the fog -- seeing it as something other than a damp, oppressive grey thing that overwhelms the morning. This morning's fog is an appropriate beginning to the new season. It is a remnant of last night's rains and it cools the day as it guards against the quick evaporation of the needed moisture of summer's final rain shower. 
I don't know if the fog amplifies the backgrounds sounds or if I am just more aware of them because hearing is the best sense to interpret the world this morning. Background sounds from the nearby highway and even the jet that flew far overhead seem louder today. 
I am aware of the coolness the fog brings to the air as I feel it on my skin and as I breathe it in. 

I typically think of fog being oppressive, but it doesn't feel that way this morning. This morning's fog brings no sense of good nor bad. It isn't depressing nor is it encouraging. It simply exists. Maybe seeing the fog this way is a good lesson in viewing other things that tend to obscure the priorities of life -- identify them for what they are, understand that we are the ones that determine if they are good or bad, helpful or harmful, and allow them to just exist.

Hey, that's not bad for an unplanned meditative learning.

I hope you find peace in your day.

John

"Who loves ya, baby?" -- Kojak

I know.
I'm old.
Many readers have never heard of Kojak or the actor Telly Savalas that played the NYPD detective that sucked on lollipops and and always used the line -- "Who loves ya, baby?"

I started by thinking about -- Whom do you love? and How do you show it?
I could ask -- Whom do you hate? -- but people would just lie about that. 
So how about this -- Who loves you, baby? 
And how do you know it? What do they do to demonstrate their love for you?

I ask these questions because it seems that so much of what people say these days doesn't match up with what they do. Christians often use the line -- Love the sinner, hate the sin -- but they don't really love the sinner. They exclude people with certain sins from their fellowship. They vote for politicians that actively oppress those sinners. Their actions tell their truths while their words are just lies that they justify with some bullshit made-up religious garbage.

There is no hate like Christian love.

Is it really fair to say you are not a racist when you support, follow or defend someone that is?
Can you really say that you love a queer person when you support legislators and legislation that actively oppresses them and may even make life less safe for them?
If someone is working against your best interests, would you think that person loves you?

Honestly, today's John doesn't even care if you claim to be a Christian or not. I would stand with, work with and defend a hundred persons of different faiths or of no faith or atheists that actually care about and love their fellow humans rather than stand with the hypocrites that claim to love in the name of Jesus but do nothing to prove their words true.

If people knew you, if they watched you and you couldn't tell them anything -- would they feel like you love them?

It is a struggle for me to spend a lot of time with people. I am learning to see good in people and that isn't really the issue. I think that oftentimes it is more about whether or not they will see the good in me or will Ugly John make an unscheduled appearance and destroy what I have built on the ashes of that old, judgmental creed that I have set aside.

The funny thing about growing past your past is that it is always back there lurking and waiting to drag you back -- even if only for a moment. I suppose it is a good reminder that I was there and that I need to have grace for those that still are, and hope that they will evolve or grow, as well.
I believe that as I have become more contemplative I have also become more caring and more loving. I am grateful for the privilege to have the time and means to be contemplative and meditative. God knows (and so do most people that know me) that I have a long way to go. 

Figuring out who loves me is way easier than demonstrating love towards others.
I'm going to go ahead and post this now, on Saturday night. Tomorrow is National Back to Church Day and while many churches have been busy inviting people and will be hoping to welcome large numbers of people back to church -- The Venues isn't doing church tomorrow. We will be being the church. 

No church service tomorrow, just community service. We will gather together early at The Venues and then disperse throughout the city and take care of different needs in our community. Then we will meet back at The Venues around lunchtime and we will have a party. 
Serving the community and having fun.
James, the brother of Jesus said something about showing our faith by what we do. I think it also works if you take out faith and put in love.

John

Spiritual Warfare

I need some help in understanding this concept of spiritual warfare.

First of all -- Is this a battle between spirits, for spirits, or by spirits?
And secondly -- How has this spiritual battle often turned into actual physical violence between human beings?

It seems a bit sci-fi-ish to talk about a battle between the spirit realm and the physical realm, but that is the image that I always come up with when confronted with the topic of spiritual warfare. 
Do we physical beings sit this one out while waiting for our souls to be divided or won by powerful, eternal beings (angels and demons) of the spiritual realm?

Or are human beings active participants in this battle, winning and losing souls for our side?
How do we do that? 
Doesn't killing the infidels put them permanently on the other side?

From a simple human perspective I am having a really difficult time reconciling that we must do battle for the powerful spirit forces that are engaged in some epic battle for control of the earth and all of its resources (both people and riches).
It sounds an awful lot like our own wars -- rich and powerful people using the lower classes to do battle so that they have more stuff and control more people.

Could it be that spiritual warfare is as much bullshit as actual warfare?
Could it be that the idea of this great spiritual battle is just another lie told by religious leaders to bring followers under control?
Why would a god of any realm need to use mere humans to do battle?
Or are we just collateral damage; a resource to be won or lost in their epic battle?

Or maybe we are just a vile and violent people that will use anyone and any means to take from others.
What if there is no spiritual war?
What if there is no battle for the souls of humanity?
What if the battle for religious control is just a fight for control?
What if we are mere pawns in a chess game of powerful people?

Can we decide not to participate?
Can we decide not to hate?
Can we decide that violence isn't the way?
Can we decide that we don't need to be in control of other people, or nations, or religions?

I hope you didn't come here today seeking answers.
All I have are questions.

John