Ron Cole : off the map...navigating life.

R(EVOLuTionary ) Faith...in a crisis

It's hard to imagine anyone coming across Jesus in the midst of the " world crisis " of his day thinking that Jesus was about reforming religion; maybe some institutional changes, a revamp of the worship style...more culturally relevant. They would have seen the tide changing, an uprising on the margins of an empire. It was simply a revolution.

 

 

 

Fast forward to today. Empire is still with us, and continues to spin a story of illusion, one of prosperity, security and hope. The empire parades through the streets of the the global village proclaiming capitalism and globalization are still the way forward. Through it's corporate icons, it's incomprehensible economics, it's military power and it's controlled media...a dumbed down world has been fooled.

Mass protests, throughout history have come at a time when enough of the population has been affected by policies of the rulers and elite. They have often been met with brutal, efficient crackdown by the guardians of the elite...as was the case in Jesus day. It was an empire with a global plan to expand it's borders, it's wealth and power...whatever the costs. Also, a religion, a faith community that collaborated with the empire...or at best washed its hands and turned a blind eye.

This was the situation in Jesus day, and certainly even more magnified and amplified today. If you want to get a grasp of what is going on in the world from social, political, economic and environmental issues that effect us " all "...I encourage you to browse " Global Issues."

Jesus, the God-man being birthed into the margins of humanity has always mystified me. We are so fixated with religion as a navigation tool to get from " us " to God. We all have our maps, and compasses and charted our bearings and declared " our " route the only way. But God, in a sense seems to ignore all paths and births the God-man of the grid. Jesus strangely is birthed outside of is own religion. God births the God-man in the humus of humanity...in the midst of the poverty, the injustice, the brokenness...in the midst of the unloved.

I wonder if God didn't birth himself outside of religion to show us that it really isn't that important? Maybe religion says more about us than God? Maybe we view Jesus like some helium filled balloon, that the more lines we have anchored to him, the less of a chance he'll drift off to non-existence. Maybe God won't allow himself to be owned like a piece of property by " any " religion? Maybe that is one of the most profound realities of the incarnation is that God puts himself into the midst of " humanity " not a religion.

Process theologian John B Cobb made this comment recently, " We become devoted to Christianity instead of Jesus. Jesus taught us to be faithful to Christianity is found no where in the Bible." And Bono reminds us, " God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house...God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them."

We know where Jesus planted his life, and throughout the gospels we see Jesus not promoting, trying indoctrinate people into a religion...we see him revealing what it is to be fully human. We see Jesus bringing a new world to life, an alternative, subversive world that stands in stark contrast to the world of the empire. And around us today we see a church that continues to to sink into absolute irrelevance.

" In many churches today, the primary question being asked is, how do we get more members? Behind this is often a painful awareness of the patterns of institutional decline and the need for more bodies and buck's in the pews to sustain things. This is not the primary question we should be asking. Instead, we should be wondering, what is God up to in our neighborhood? How do we join up with it?" ( Dwight. J Zscheile )

God is not concerned about sustaining christianity, ensuring you have someplace to go on Sunday mornings. God is concerned about sustaining life...about redeeming the brokenness of the world around us into this new creation, this alternative world...where justice reigns; where oppression ends, where there is universal health care for all; where there is no hunger; where religion embraces " all " humanity...not the god's we've created; where we become stewards of the earth and it's resources again, where we truly love our neighbor...and where there is no more "us" and "them", but where we live life as one.

Christianity continues to decline in the west depite trying to make it more culturally relevant, putting a new coat of paint on the surface...people are still trickling out the back door. It's not that we've lost faith in Jesus...we've lost faith in the church. We are consumed with the idea that worship pleases God, if we can just get it right...sing the right things, say the right things, we'll turn it around. People will be pounding at our doors to get in.

Incase we've forgotten what pleases God...Jeremiah 7:5-7:11, Amos 5:21-24, Hosea 6:6, Micah 6:6-8, Isaiah 1:11-17...one wonders if God hasn't left the building all together.

Today, to say, we stand in the midst of a crisis is an understatement...maybe it's time to awaken to the reality that God doesn't care about our religion, this Christianity that resembles so little of Jesus, and imagines so little of this profound redemptive alternative world he spoke about and lived in. It is time for a revolutionary Christianity that gets beyond faith in beliefs, but to risk faith on life. Jesus came that we might have abundant life...not just for church folk, nice behaving Christians...but for all humanity. It was about a faith that changed the world, literally to build a new creation. Jesus challenged the worldly empire of the day it's lie, its narrative of prosperity, and security and false hope for the deserving...he was constantly in there face telling a profoundly more redemptive story for everyone. But more than that he was willing to set aside religion this obsession of trying to turn ourselves into pious self-righteous gods...to just be more fully human.

God is out there in the brokenness, in the midst of the oppression, injustice and poverty in the global village...this is where revolutionary faith begins. Jesus was birthed, lived and died in this place. It is only here that the reality of any new kind of creation can take place. Jesus didn't come to start a new religion...he came to bring heaven to earth now. He came to start a revolution, to turn the world " right " side up...where a new alternative world would capture the imagination of " all " humanity.

 " For the revolutionary, those goals and objectives are directed toward changing reality and toward redemption of humanity. It is humanity itself, ones fellow human being, the redemption of ones fellow human being that constitutes the revolutionary's objective. If we revolutionaries are asked what matters to us most, we will say: the people, and we will always say the people. People in their true sense, that is, the majority of those who have had to live under exploitation and the cruelest neglect. Our fundamental concern will always be with the great majority of the people, the oppressed and exploited classes. We view evrything from this standpoint: Whatever is good for them is good for us; whatever noble, useful and beautiful for them , will be noble, useful and beautiful for us. If one does not think in this manner, if one does not think of the people and for the people, if one does not think and act for the great exploited mass of the people, for the great masses we seek to redeem, then one simply does not have a revolutionary attitude." ( Fidel Castro: Words To Intellectuals, Havana June 30 1961 )

" By breaking the rules of the game, he has disrupted the game as such, he has exposed it as a mere game. he has shattered the world of appearances, the fundamental pillar of the system. He has upset the power structure by tearing apart what holds it together. He has demonstrated that living a lie is living a lie. He has broken through the exalted facade of the system and exposed the real, base foundations of power. He has said that the emperor is naked. And because the the emperor is infact naked, something extremely dangerous has happened; by his action, the greengrocer has addressed the world, He has enabled everyone to peer behind the curtain. He has shown everyone that it is possible to live within the truth. Living within the lie can constitute the system only if it is universal. The principle must embrace and permeate everything. There are no terms whatsoever on which it can coexist wuth living within the truth, and therefore everyone who steps out of the line denies it in principle and threatens it in its entirety." ( Vaclav Havel: The Power of the Powerless 1936 )

Christianity will not save the world...living into Jesus as the way, the truth and the life...of what it is to be fully human...should spark the imagination of all humanity to where we look for hope on the horizon of history.

Chris Hedges says, this at the end of his new book. " Days of Destruction Days of Revolt "...

" They went first. We are next. The indifference we showed to the plight of the underclass, in Biblical terms our 'neighbor', haunts us. We failed them, and in doing so we failed ourselves. We were accomplices in our own demise. Revolt is all we have left. It is the only hope."

The revolutionary faith of Jesus is all we have left...his way, his truth and his life. A faith beyond belief...a faith profoundly and humanly lived. It really is our only hope.

OK! No more Kingdom language...something more culturally relevant and conservative.

 

There has been some grumbling, and whining around the word " Kingdom " the language and it's use, like ( here ) and ( there). For some it's just not culturally relevant enough...and for the Evangelicals are fearful it's just too liberating. So some, figure people just aren't smart enough to get " it ", and the others its just too grace-filled, like a house with an open door that " anyone ' can walk into. So, here is my attempt to help these people fix the problem of the " Kingdom."

So really if we really want to solve the problem you can't just do a patch job like repairing a leaky roof...as Mike Holmes says, " gut it ", you have to go right back to the start. Now, I'm not going to re-write the whole Bible...I could, but I'm not. I'll just sort of pour a foundation we can build on. Well, hang on, here we go...the beginning.

In the beginning God was lonely, productivity between the other 2 partners was down. Not much was happening except grumbling. The Spirit guy was like he had ADD, just couldn't settle down. " Let's build something ", the Spirit said. The Word guy, " OK, I'll say it and you build it."

Finally there was some creativity among the three partners. 

God said, "Light!" And light appeared. God saw that light was good and separated light from dark. 
God named the light Day, he named the dark Night. It was evening, it was morning—Day One. " Now, we will have daily sales, weekly sales...seasonal sales " God looked at what he made and said, " This is good...very good."

 God thought. " Land to develop!" And the Word guy spoke, " Bulldoze." And the Spirit guy, frenzied went into action. There was dirt flying every where in all directions. " Not good enough!" shouted God. The Word guy stuttered momentarily, but out came the word, " Pavement." Again, the Spirit guy brooded over the ground waving is arms, and suddenly like rolling out carpet, there was a hard surface. God smiled, scratching his head and suddenly shouted, " Parking lot." Day Two. God looked at what he had made and said, " This is good...it is really getting good."

God thought, lost for words put his hand over his head, then moved his arms along his side. Frustrated like a game of charades, shouted out, " sounds like?" Mr. Word, excitedly jumped up and down, shouted, " Building!" Again, like a kid that had eaten far too much candy Mr. Spirit was spinning like a hurricane. Suddenly, there was an enormous building that seem to spread out for miles. God looked on amazed and said, " Yes!...W-mart." Day Three. God looked at what had been made so far and said, " This is better than good...this is freaking awesome."

God looked on stroking his long white beard, " It's a lot of empty space." Mr. Word closed his eyes as if imagining something . Suddenly, out it came, " lets fill it ", he proclaimed, " With stuff, crap and all kinds of junk." Suddenly, there was screaming and yelling, his body twisting and contorting like a crystal meth addict, Mr. Spirit was moving like the wind in and out of the W-mart. In a matter of hours it was filled with everything and anything imaginable. Again, God gave the partners the thumbs up and said, " Merchandise." Day Four. God looked at what had been made so far and glee-ly rubbed his hands and thought, " Marketing!"

Day Five was not a very creative day but it was productive. It was a round table discussion of what to do with this huge mega-building of stuff, the utopian garden, W-mart. The three partners wandered around the immense building, aisle after aisle counting and taking stock, and puting price stickers on all the merchandise. It takes a lot to impress this tri-union business team, but, they were astounded at what they had built. But they were still stumped as what do do with their creation. So God said, " let's call it a day." Day Five. God looked around at what he had made, his eyes flickering like candles ready to go out...suddenly he was snoring.

God dreamed all night, but in the morning he awoke bright-eyed and refreshed. He quickly nudged the other two partners waking them up. He then shared his dream, " let's make people that sort of look like us, but that aren't as smart...and really like the stuff in W-mart." Mr. Word looked at God, then at Mr. Spirit and said, " lets call them consumers." So God dug his hand in the filthy dirt and dug out a clump, coughed on it, threw it down. And there before there eyes stood the first consumer. Day Six. God looked around at everything he had made, and then looked at the first consumer and smiled from ear to ear saying, " I have a plan!"

This was the end of a busy busy week, so God said, " Let's rest...before we put our plan into motion." Day Seven.

God looked on at the male consumer wandering around W-mart confused and frustrated not knowing what to buy. This saddened God, but not only that, he was loosing on everything the partners had invested in. So he said, " It is not good for the male consumer to be alone, he needs a partner." So God created the female consumer...the ultimate shopper.

So God took the two of them aside and said, " all this is yours to manage...everything in the Mall." " But what ever you do, by no means open the safe in the middle of W-mart that contains the book of Knowledge, " The Perfect Business Plan ", God said looking at them sternly, " For if you do, you will surely die." " Now go forth and multiply, fill the earth with more and more consumers."

I think we know what happened...they did open the safe. It was her fault, always just had to have the best deal. God threw them out of the W-mart. And they did multiply...but it continued to be a series of failed small franchises, mom and pop operations. Finally sick of the failed operations, poor productivity and no profit, God decided to erase everyone of the face of the earth. But while fluttering around the earth Mr. Spirit happened to notice one consumer with potential so he went back and told God about Noah and his family.

God spoke to Noah and told him of his plan to erase this lot of consumers from the face of the earth. God told Noah to build a super tanker and fill it with two of everything from W-mart. When the task was completed it would rain for forty days and forty nights, the earth would be flooded erasing the old lot of consumers. At the end of the forty days, the earth would dry again. But God would make a promise, a rainbow would appear to indicate it would never happen again.

But as always, it's a continuation of the same old shit, failure after failure...failed businesses, poor productivity and no profit. All through history God sends prophets, or shrewd business managers to steer the consumers back in the right direction. It doesn't help...the unruly consumers beat, them up, kill them...and just run some out of town.

As the hands of time keep ticking along and history unravels, things just don't get any better. Thinking back to the beginning God wonders if he shouldn't have mixed a bit more " smart " into the consumers. But finally fed up with all the crap that has been going on...he sends Mr. Word to speak some common sense into the consumer. Mr. Word shares this parable with the consumers from Matthew...

Here's another story. Gather around and listen closely. There once was a an owner ( God, creator), a shrewd aggressive business man, abundantly wealthy, who built a mall, W-mart ( creation). He fenced it, with a cash register and safe, and turned it over to the managers and consumers ( humanity ) and then left for a far away trip.

When the time arrived for it to bear profit ( the fullness of the Kingdom ), he sent his regional managers ( the prophets ) to check on them. But the consumers ( humanity, the empire, religion ) beat some and killed others. The managers/consumers grabbed the first servant and beat him up. The next one they murdered. They threw stones at the third but he got away. The owner tried again, sending more regional managers. They got the same treatment.

Finally, the owner ( God ) sent his son (Mr.Word ), saying, “Surely they will reverence my son.” But this was not the case. They laid hold of him, cast him out, and killed him.

  "Now, when the owner of W-mart arrives home from his trip, what do you think he will do to the mangers/consumers?" ( my paraphrase Matthew 21:33-46 )

OK. No more " Kingdom Language " because people just don't get it, can't relate to it. From now on the new Kingdom...is W-mart. We all get that. Also, to avoid any connection with the old Kingdom language being too liberating...now it is serious business.

 ( Remember, this is satirical writing...put down your stones )

Christmas...for Christ's sake let's leave Jesus out of our ritual

Yeah, I Know...Bah! hum bug. I'm a party pooper. I haven't always been this way...it's been a forty year journey to this point. It's been processing, digesting the word of God. Sometimes it stays down. Sometimes you puke it up...because it's too unsettling in the pit of your stomach. But this year, what I've metabolized has likely turned into what for many will be a heretical revelation. For anyone that would like to hear, join me...for those of you that don't, press escape.

I've never been big on predestination. That life is somehow a scripted play, that we are all actors living it out on a big stage word for word. Do we really enter and exit the stage as directed? Can we the actors change the course of the play, or are there really strings attached to each one of us that limits our movement.

Maybe...there is no script. Maybe, it is one of the most mysteriously profound relationships that anyone of us can imagine, including God. Maybe, faith is this fragile relationship in which we are willing to chance trust in God...and God trust in us.

And, if there is something that holds this relationship together...it is " Justice and Righteousness ." This is the strand, more than anything that seems to knit God and Humanity together. Through the prophets, through to the prophetic revelation of Jesus becoming a fulfilled reality. The strand of Justice and Righteousness holds it all together.

How often, maybe we unconsciously recite the Lord's Prayer, the opening words...

 

Our Father, which art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name;

thy kingdom come;

thy will be done,

in earth as it is in heaven.

 

The words of Isaiah and Jeremiah should haunt us. " The Lord is exalted," proclaims Isaiah, " He dwells on high; He filled Zion with justice and righteousness." ( Isa 33:5 ) And, Jeremiah speaking in the name of God, " I act with steadfast love, justice and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight."

The reality, and life of the relationship is that Justice and Righteousness flows from God to us...and from us through out all creation. This is the reality of " Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." In this profound mysterious truth " God and Humanity " dwell together in the most powerful vibrant harmony. This is the power and beauty of the Kingdom that defies all imagination.

Prophet after prophet spoke the same thing, God's will for " Justice and Righteousness." Our lofty worship, our pious words, our legal rituals and laws...our sacrifice...brought no delight to our heavenly Father. One thing he delighted in, and one thing he desired...Justice and Righteousness.

But in our " Self " fixation. We with our myopia have only been able to see Justice and Righteousness as being about " Us." The apple thing in the garden. Bad deserves punishment. If the bad are punished, justice has been served...things are made right.

Big question...could things be put right if humanity radically took God at his word and lived out " Justice and Righteousness." You can't help but listen to the prophets...and begin to think, maybe.

Micah, I think wondered and asked the same question...

How can I stand up before God 
   and show proper respect to the high God?
Should I bring an armload of offerings 
   topped off with yearling calves?
Would God be impressed with thousands of rams, 
   with buckets and barrels of olive oil?
Would he be moved if I sacrificed my firstborn child, 
   my precious baby, to cancel my sin?

 But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do, 
   what God is looking for in men and women.
It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, 
   be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don't take yourself too seriously— 
   take God seriously. ( Mic 6:6-8 )

And from the prophet Jeremiah, " This is God's Message: Attend to matters of justice. Set things right between people. Rescue victims from their exploiters. Don't take advantage of the homeless, the orphans, the widows. Stop the murdering!" ( Jer 22:3 )

I think the tragedy of Christmas, is it is so much about " us "...God entered into the midst of humanity to forgive us our sin. When incredibly it is about the divine redemptive imagination of the God of ALL creation, birthed into the midst of humanity...recreating, speaking and breathing a new Genesis into humanity. It is the pulse, and passion of His heart...His delight in justice and righteousness. It is the profound reality of His Kingdom."

That has become our fixation, " Sin. " Him being punished on our behalf, our debt to God paid.It is something we worship so much that we are blind to Justice and Righteousness...the reality that truly restores our relationship with God.

Could it be God grew weary of sending prophets, repeating the same message over and over again...to a humanity that was growing increasingly deaf to anything God had to say.

Could it be that God got to some point between the beginning and the end and said, " @#$% ^* ", And grabbed his mustard seed of faith...a profound incredibly mysterious part of himself...birthing himself into the womb of humanity. 

If humanity couldn't listen to the prophets words about Justice and Righteousness...maybe humanity could see and hear the reality of God's Justice and Righteousness in their midst. That seed that was birthed into the womb of humanity was the Son of God. Jesus was birthed outside religion, birthed on the margins of humanity, birthed in poverty, injustice and oppression. It was here Jesus became the living reality of God's Justice and Righteousness. It is here, he called humanity to follow into God's Righteousness and Justice. If we believed, if we followed, if we lived it...it would be God's Kingdom on earth as in heaven.

The question that haunts me this Christmas is...could it be that Jesus didn't sacrifice himself for our sin, but we killed him, because...Justice and Righteousness are just too costly? This Christmas, are you thinking more about worship...or Justice and Righteousness? I wonder what gift God would delight in?

 In the radical scandalous redemptive imagination of Jesus...I think he imagined that something would be birthed much more redemptive than a christmas ritual. Sadly, we think he came for our forgiveness...when he came to reveal the Father's will, the Father's passion, what the Father truly delights in. Justice and Righteousness for " ALL " humanity.

Living...radical christianity::podcast with Jarrod McKenna

 

I first came across Jarrod McKenna a few years ago reading the writing of John Dear. You could also say that Jarrod is the Australian version of Shane Claiborne. I don't think Jarrod would mind the comparison, seeing as he and Shane are good friends. He is part of a radical element on the the fringe of the church that sees faith and works, the practice and action of faith as being critical. The teachings of Jesus put into practice must be lived out, as radically today... to dilute them, co-modify and embed them in western church culture is not the redemptive vision and imagination of Jesus. This radical fringe believes Christianity is in trouble because it has become to passive and culturally accommodating. They are stirring the luke warm pot of status quo Christianity.

Jarrod is also part of " Empowering Peace Makers in Your Community." EPYC is an exciting initiative to give young people the opportunity to learn about nonviolence in theory and application. In our troubled world, this is a timely offer. We must find ways of dealing with conflicts at the personal and political levels other than through violence.

Around the world there is an emerging generation of young leaders who are rediscovering the radical implications of Jesus message and are letting their lives speak of these alternatives to the cycles of violence, poverty and environmental destruction. 

I invite you and encourage you to listen to a recent podcast from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Sunday Night with John Cleary where he interviews Jarrod McKenna. If your wondering what deep radical Christianity might look lived out today, Jarrod McKenna gives us a great vision, to encourage us all, to live and dig deep.

You can listen to it here, and come back...I'd love to hear your impressions.

God's Economy...the redemptive imagination of the Kingdom

The tactics of Jesus have the power to liberate our imaginations and inspire creative subversions of the status quo. They carve out a space where we can ask questions we never knew we could ask:

What if it's possible to live as citizens of

God's abundant kingdom no matter

what government we live under?

What if it's possible to work against the

principalities and powers of this age

without being captive to them ourselves?

What if it's possible to live God's good life

here and now, no matter what economic

situation we find ourselves in?

What if another world is possible?

What if it's already here?

To interupt the logic of scarcity by trusting Jesus in our homes, churches, and communities is to proclaim the only true economy --- the Kingdom that has broken into this world and will one day utterly consume it in a new heaven and earth. ( God's Economy: Redefining the Health and Wealth Gospel by Jonathon Wilson-Hartgrove; pg 75 )

Nick and Josh round table conversation...a faithful response to the oil spill & creation care

In my most recent post, " the empires new clothes...the naked truth " I skimmed the slippery surface our relationship with the empire. Our insatiable appetite for oil at any cost to the exploitation and destruction of creation, and a global economy in which money is thrown into it like a slot machine and financial experts pull the lever of luck. Where is the prophetic voice of radical subversive faith that critiques, corrects, that reveals an alternative view to that of the empire?

Larry Schweiger, president of the National Wildlife Federation (and a person of faith), raised a prophetic word when he spoke of our “addiction” to oil. Addictions, as many people have discovered, eventually make your life not work anymore. And that is what has happened to the U.S. and the world -- our oil addiction is making things not work. The list of consequences is long -- from critical climate changes, to the loss of jobs, to supplying money for terrorists, to sacrificing the lives of our young people in wars over oil, to watching an oil spill that nobody seems to know how to stop pour hundreds of thousands of gallons each day into the Gulf of Mexico. ( Sojourners GOD'S politics; Jim Wallis )

On Monday Nick and Josh brought together 3 prophetic voices, in this podcast Josh grabs another round table podcast with the likes of Julie Clawson, Ben Lowe, and Tom Sine. The four of them discuss the (lack of a) Christian response to the oil spill in the gulf of Mexico as well as other issues facing the American Christianity’s move towards more active caring for creation.

For more on the three guests click below: Julie Clawson, Everyday Justice
Ben Lowe, Green Revolution Tom Sine, The New Conspirators and Mustard Seed Associates (also, see Christine Sine’s blog)

This is likely one of, if not the best conversations I've heard on faith and it's relationship with creation care. Tom Sine, Julie Clawson, and Ben Lowe speak with great wisdom and passion. They critique. They encourage, and they offer hope with practical solutions.

Do yourself a favor, listen alone or get together with a few friends and listen...but do listen!!!

[Direct link to ep 151 - Oil Spill Roundtable with Ben Lowe, Tom Sine, and Julie Clawson]

You can also sign a petition ( HERE ) against offshore drilling at AVAAZ.org the world in action.

The empires new clothes...the naked truth

From a recent interview on Democracy Now with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzales talking about how the US government exempted British Petroleum from environmental review...

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s announcement comes on the heel of a Washington Post exposé revealing that the Minerals Management Service had approved BP’s drilling plan in the Gulf of Mexico without any environmental review. The article notes that the agency under Secretary Salazar had quote “categorically excluded” BP’s drilling as well as hundreds of other offshore drilling permits from environmental review. The agency was able to do this using a loophole in the National Environmental Policy Act created for minimally intrusive actions like building outhouses and hiking trails. ( Read more/ here )

And then earlier last week, on Thursday this story on the mysterious Wall Street melt down in the Huffington post...

At this point no one knows why. Some say it was sudden burst of worries about Greece's debt and the increasing possibility of a default that might cause a run by global investors. Others point to a "trading error." Giant high-speed computers generate millions of trades based on instructions embedded in computer programs designed to move fast enough to beat everyone else. So when there's a glitch in one of them it can immediately spread to all the other programs designed to move just as fast. Some say it was an erroneous trade entered by someone at a big Wall Street bank who mistyped an order to sell a large block of stock, and that the big drop in that stock's price (Procter & Gamble?) triggered "sell" orders across the market.

Regardless of why it happened, it's further evidence that the nation's and the world's capital markets have become a vast out-of-control casino in which fortunes can be made or lost in an instant -- which would be fine except for the fact that most of us have put our life savings there. Pension funds, mutual funds, school endowments -- the value of all of this depends on a mechanism that can lose a trillion dollars in minutes without anyone having a clear idea why. So much of the market now depends on computer programs and mathematical models that no one fully understands, so much trading is in the hands of a few people whose fat thumbs or momentary carelessness might sink the economy, so much of global wealth now depends on who can move their money quickest at the slightest provocation -- that we are toying with financial disaster every day. The luck or foolishness of a few traders, and inside knowledge and information that some possess and others don't, combined with ultra high-speed computers, put us all at the whim of a system whose risk is way out of proportion to any public benefits. ( Read more/ here )

You're probably wondering what do these events have in common? The demonstrate the reality of the empire, its exploitation of creation; it's obsession to serve the god of money and greed. The government and corporate industrial giants use " Green " the same way criminals launder dirty money. There communications specialists stick the label and lingo into everything. BP trying convince onlookers that it is investing big in " Green " all the while the Gulf continues to fill at a rate of over 200,000 gallons of crude oil per day. The plan that should such a disaster should occur has come down to nothing more than trying to put a band aid on a severed artery under water. A three week moratorium on drilling is nothing more than time for the spin doctors to weave their magic and tell us, the emperor has his finger in the dike and the empire is great.

Since the financial melt down of 2+ years ago, we've learned nothing. We have an idea what caused it, but really have no idea or understanding how it works. It is a casino where people drunk with greed continue to pull the leaver hoping for the big pay out. Sitting at the table with pockets turned inside out, penniless, while governments continue to throw money to these pigs at the trough like BP pumps oil into the Gulf. The empire is recklessly out of control and crumbling.

(image courtesy of Deviant Art )

But the spin doctors like in the story of the " Emperor's New Clothes ", the emperors seamstress continue to weave there magic...

Your Highness, you'll have to take off your clothes to try on your new ones." The two scoundrels draped the new clothes on him and then held up a mirror. The Emperor was embarrassed but since none of his bystanders were, he felt relieved.

      "Yes, this is a beautiful suit and it looks very good on me," the Emperor said trying to look comfortable. "You've done a fine job."

      "Your Majesty," the prime minister said, "we have a request for you. The people have found out about this extraordinary fabric and they are anxious to see you in your new suit." The Emperor was doubtful showing himself naked to the people, but then he abandoned his fears. After all, no one would know about it except the ignorant and the incompetent.

      "All right," he said. "I will grant the people this privilege." He summoned his carriage and the ceremonial parade was formed. A group of dignitaries walked at the very front of the procession and anxiously scrutinized the faces of the people in the street. All the people had gathered in the main square, pushing and shoving to get a better look. An applause welcomed the regal procession. Everyone wanted to know how stupid or incompetent his or her neighbor was but, as the Emperor passed, a strange murmur rose from the crowd.

      Everyone said, loud enough for the others to hear: "Look at the Emperor's new clothes. They're beautiful!"

      "What a marvelous train!"

      "And the colors! The colors of that beautiful fabric! I have never seen anything like it in my life!" They all tried to conceal their disappointment at not being able to see the clothes, and since nobody was willing to admit his own stupidity and incompetence, they all behaved as the two scoundrels had predicted.

      A child, however, who had no important job and could only see things as his eyes showed them to him, went up to the carriage. "The Emperor is naked," he said.

Probably what saddens me the most is that supposedly radical subversive communities that are called to live in, and imagine another alternative have remained for the most part silent. They are called to be prophetic voice critiquing the empire, a voice of correction. A child can see the emperor and empire are naked, and we at best turn the other way, and at worst nod our heads. Faith communities committed to the reality of Jesus and his Kingdom, of revealing, redeeming, restoring and building the world upside down would expose and reveal the alternative of the Kingdom. We would connect the dots that lead to the redemptive imagination of Jesus. We would rally humanity to awaken that we are all children of God called build the stunning redemptive beauty of the Kingdom, the home of all humanity. Is this even on the radar of your faith communities conversations?

I close with these powerful words of subversive preaching in a postmodern world, a targum based on Colossians 1:15-20 by Brian Walsh.

Whether it be the institutionalized power structures
of the state, the academy or the market
all things have been created in him and through him
he is their source, their purpose, their goal
even in their rebellion
even in their idolatry
he is the sovereign one
their power and authority is derived at best
parasitic at worse
In the face of the empire
in the face of presumptuous claims to sovereignty
in the face of the imperial and idolatrous forces in our lives
Christ is before all things
he is sovereign in life
not the pimped dreams of the global market
not the idolatrous forces of nationalism

the church is
the flesh and blood
here and now
in time and history
with joys and sorrows
embodiment of this Christ
as a body politic
around a common meal
in alternative economic practices
in radical service to the most vulnerable
in refusal to the empire
in love of this creation
the church reimagines the world
in the image of the invisible God
In the face of a disappointed world of betrayal
a world in which all fixed points have proven illusory
a world in which we are anchorless and adrift
Christ is the foundation
the origin
the way
the truth
and the life
In the face of a culture of death
a world of killing fields
a world of the walking dead
Christ is at the head of the resurrection parade
transforming our tears of betrayal into tears of joy
giving us dancing shoes for the resurrection party
And this glittering joker
who has danced in the dragon's jaws of death
now dances with a dance that is full
of nothing less than the fullness of God
this is the dance of the new creation
this is the dance of life out of death
and in this dance all that was broken
all that was estranged
all that was alienated
all that was dislocated and disconnected
is reconciled
comes home
is healed
and is made whole
everything
all things
whatever you can imagine
visible and invisible
mountains and atoms
outer space, urban space, and cyberspace
every inch of creation
every dimension of our lives
all things are reconciled in him
And it all happens on a cross
it all happens at a state execution
where the governor did not commute the sentence
it all happens at the hands of the empire
that has captivated our imaginations
it all happens through blood
not through a power grab by the sovereign one
it all happens in embraced pain
for the sake of others
it all happens on a cross
arms outstretched in embrace
and this is the image of the invisible God
this is the body of Christ

Surely we we can imagine and see something radically more alternative and subversive to the empire that surrounds us, and speak and build it into existence. The Kingdom is about ...NOW!!!

2010, Faith, Hope...and challenge

Well we've just ticked across the threshold of a new year, and a new decade in which I think of hope. Not just sentimental hope, but hope which requires faith...and which challenges me. It challenges me to live better, to live life that makes a difference. To realize that how I live has an impact, even if I can convince myself that I can't see it. That humanity and creation are woven into such an intimate fabric, that even the smallest tear effects us all. That we, all humanity, are brothers and sisters and need to live as a family. I need to live differently. I need to move from being a Christian, to being a radical disciple of Jesus. I need to move from believing the gospel, to living it fully no matter how difficult it might seem. That the more I live the gospel, the more the Kingdom comes into the world around me.

2010, Hope, Faith and challenge...to live life better.

Think of no one as " them"

Don't confuse your comfort with safety

Talk to strangers

Imagine other cultures through their art, poetry and novels

Read the sacred texts of other world religions

Have an inter-faith conversation

Get involved in inter-faith missional projects

Listen to music you don't understand

Dance to it

Think local and global...Act in both worlds

Notice the workings of power and privilege in your culture

Question consumption

Know where your lettuce and coffee are grown: wake up and smell the exploitation

Look for fair trade

Help build economies from the bottom up

Acquire few needs

Learn a second ( or a third ) language

Visit people, places and cultures...not tourist attractions

Watch films with subtitles

Learn people's history

Re-define progress

Know physical and political geography

Look at the moon and stars and imagine someone else, somewhere else, looking at it too

Read the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Understand the global economy in terms of people, land and water

Know where your bank banks

Never believe you have a right to someone else's resourses

Refuse to wear corporate logos: defy corporate domination

Question military/corporate connections

don't confuse money with wealth, or time with money

Have a pen/e-mail pal

Honor indigenous cultures

Judge governance by how well it meets all peoples needs

Be skeptical about what you read

Eat adventurous

Choose curiosity over certainty

Know where your water comes from and where it goes

Pledge allegiance to the earth: question nationalism

Assume that many others share your dreams

Know that no one is silent though many are not heard: Work to change this

the ebb and flow of the inner city...

In all life there is an ebb and flow. Circumstances of life are like a tidal force, that have the ability to change our personal landscapes. On the inner city streets the tides are dramatic, with mountainous highs, and cavernous lows. Every second Wednesday is a high tide, welfare cheques feed addictions and fill the wallets of dealers. Everyone seems to know the rhythm of the tides. Dealers know exactly when the high tide is, when cheques have been cashed and they wait for the bodies to wash ashore where they wait like beach combers. Even the police understand the ebb and flow of the inner city, their presence far more visible when the tide is high. Many might call it a sea of despair. But in the dramatic ebb and flow I see calm...I see hope.

We had a couple of new volunteers on Friday, ( M ) who suffers from schizophrenia and addiction has finally got his life back on track. He's received lots of help dealing with his problems, and would like to give a little back. He works as a janitor for a local restaurant in which his work day begins at 7:00 am. He's excited to have the job and a fresh start. But, he has a bit of a glitch. He commutes by bus from out in the Western Communities, and the issue is getting to work on the weekends. Bus schedules on weekends are notoriously bad, so it means he rides his bike, about 20 miles. Yes, he could take a cab, but making  $8.86 / hr...you do the math. He's got an ad on Craigslist, so if you know of anyone coming into town that early on the weekends, check it out.

Also a couple of young ladies who work with mental health ( D ) and ( T ), it was great to have someone with there experience.

CARTS = Christian Action Reflecting The Spirit, and on the street we move in the truth of that Spirit, and it moves in and around in the midst of everything, and everyone. It is dangerous, and it is exciting to live in that mysterious moment. Before we headed out on the street from the parking lot Al gathered everyone for prayer. There was a pause while we settled and out the silence came the voices of a couple of our street community friends, asking if they could pray. ( S ) prayed a prayer of thanksgiving, and gratefulness for what we had, and prayed for Godspeed among his friends. Another friend, intoxicated, could still find some clarity to pray for the lives we have received, to live life...and for freedom. Al, closed affirming the words of all our friends, and off we went on to the streets.

This night I was manning the cart with toques, mitts, gloves, scarves, and for the past week there has been a really bright red, almost Santa Claus red toque and scarf to be given out. Red does not appear to be a popular color on the street. So by the time we got down to Street Link some asked me if I had got rid of the red toque. " Nope ", I said, " no one wants them." Minutes later this old guy, maybe in his mid to late 70's comes over to me and asks, if I have a red toque. For sure, I thought one of my friends put him up to it. No, he seriously wants the red toque...and the scarf.

I have to tell you. Yes the guy has white hair and white beard. He tells me a story of when he was a bit younger, of when his hair was longer, and his beard was full. He used to wear a red jacket, and red toque he'd be sitting in the park while out walking, and kids would come over, want to hold his hand thinking he was Santa. We talked a little more, and Charon took our picture. I think I'll use it in my Christmas cards next year.

So on the inner city streets there is an ebb and flow of high and low tides in which we see the geography of personal lives change. But also in the midst of it all the Spirit moves in and around, in the midst of everything...touching people in ways in which we can't perceive. Jesus said, what ever you do for the least of these you do for me. I say hold your idea, your image of Jesus very loose and gentle, because he might shatter your shiny image. You just might meet Jesus on the street, he might even look like Santa.

subverting Christ(mass) consumerism...

This image is from a news story from a couple of years ago of a local rural artist that wanted to say something graphically about the consumerism and over consumption of Christmas. So, he placed this piece of subversive art in his front yard. Over the head of the cross is written something to the effect, " King of the Empire; Sumptum Fac Donec Consumptus Sis." Which means " shop till you drop."

Some neighbors were outraged, local municipal politicians came to visit...and a local Anglican minister came to visit. But, the art stayed up.

My question to you is, is this subversive art ? Does it speak into the prevailing culture of rampant consumerism, and at the same time provide a revelation of an alternative. Or is it just tasteless and gruesome?

I couldn't find Canadian shopping stats for over the November/ December period, but this from USA Today, for expected American spending over those 2 months...

 

"U.S. consumers are expected to spend $437.6 billion in the November and December period, a 1% drop from $442 billion last year." This is one country, I suspect if we were to add all the rich nations spending to the tab...it would be mind boggling.

 

As for Santa, I guess it's not really fair to nail him to the cross, he is only the messenger...so to speak. But, I don't think we can avoid the cross in the face of Christmas, it truly is a revelation of an alternative way...of profound sacrifice. It seems at Christmas we don't sacrifice much.

This image is from a news story from a couple of years ago of a local rural artist that wanted to say something graphically about the consumerism and over consumption of Christmas. So, he placed this piece of subversive art in his front yard. Over the head of the cross is written something to the effect, " King of the Empire; Sumptum Fac Donec Consumptus Sis." Which means " shop till you drop."

Some neighbors were outraged, local municipal politicians came to visit...and a local Anglican minister came to visit. But, the art stayed up.

My question to you is, is this subversive art ? Does it speak into the prevailing culture of rampant consumerism, and at the same time provide a revelation of an alternative. Or is it just tasteless and gruesome?

I couldn't find Canadian shopping stats for over the November/ December period, but this from USA Today, for expected American spending over those 2 months...

 

"U.S. consumers are expected to spend $437.6 billion in the November and December period, a 1% drop from $442 billion last year." This is one country, I suspect if we were to add all the rich nations spending to the tab...it would be mind boggling.

 

As for Santa, I guess it's not really fair to nail him to the cross, he is only the messenger...so to speak. But, I don't think we can avoid the cross in the face of Christmas, it truly is a revelation of an alternative way...of profound sacrifice. It seems at Christmas we don't sacrifice much.