“The great Western empire of today is perfectly happy to have Christianity deconstructed into some form of neoBuddhism or whatever. Whereas, if Jesus actually rose from the dead, then Caesar in the first century and today’s Caesars should be shivering in their shoes, because this is going to make a difference in the real world.”
- Bishop N.T. Wright, The Forum at Grace Cathedral
In memory of my Daddy
I love you and I miss you
The flowering of Spring and the anniversary of my father’s death prompted me to publish this entry, which I originally posted on Conversation at the Edge last year.
I learned a beautiful lesson from nature a few years ago from a scene that unfolded outside my living room window during a very difficult time in my life…
In May 2003, my Dad died suddenly of a brain aneurysm. He was 56 and very healthy - a runner, cyclist and mountain climber. He just dropped dead one day and the coroner had his body for three days before they even found the cause of death. Dad was single and I’m the eldest child so the responsibility fell to me to take care of things. The shock and grief I felt were overwhelming and I had no clue what to do. The coroner said to me, “When we are ready to release his body, you will need to tell us where to send it.” That was when I realized, “Oh my God, I’m in charge here.” There was some family crap which exacerbated things and made it all more stressful and painful. I missed Dad desperately and felt helpless. But I’ve learned that you can do what you have to do.
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“Sweeter even than to have had the joy of caring for children of my own has it been to me to help bring about a better state of things for mothers generally, so that their unborn little ones could not be willed away from them.” - Susan B. Anthony
“When we consider that women are treated as property, it is degrading to women that we should treat our children as property to be disposed of as we see fit.” - Elizabeth Cady Stanton
“Abortion is the ultimate exploitation of women.” - Alice Paul
“When a man steals to satisfy his hunger, we may safely conclude that there is something wrong in society - so when a woman destroys the life of her unborn child, it is an evidence that either by education or circumstances she has been greatly wronged.” - Mattie Brinkerhoff
Source: Feminists for Life
A few weeks ago I had the privilege of doing an interview for the Justice and Compassion blog with one of my favorite author/activists Shane Claiborne. Check out the write-up from my telephone conversation with Shane here.
When I decided to undertake the spiritual exercise 10 People to Pray for to Start Changing the Word, prepared by my friend John Lamoreau, I really didn’t think it would be all that difficult. After all, I think I’m a pretty nice person. And I don’t really have any “enemies.”
But John’s list was disturbingly practical – pray for the family member who bugs you the most, your most obnoxious co-worker, the most abrasive person in your church. And the guidelines said to not pray for these people to change in the way I want them to, but to pray for God to bless and guide them.
This exercise turned out to be more difficult than I thought. The list also included the politician you most dislike and the most evil person in the world who comes to mind. But it was actually harder to pray for the people in my own life that I struggle with, than it was to pray for a nasty dictator! Some of the prayers were said through clenched teeth.
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On his new website The Jesus Gospel, my friend John Lamoreau lists 10 People to Pray for to Start Changing the World. John invites those of us who follow the Way of Jesus to join him in praying for our enemies each day for one week.
I’ve printed out John’s list and I’m going to start my week of prayer tomorrow morning. I’ll report back on how it goes…
The following quote is taken from a speech given in 1973 by Senator Mark Hatfield (R-OR) in support of Senate Joint Resolution 183, to proclaim April 30, 1974, as a National Day of Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer. In reading over it, I am struck by how his words apply to our situation today, just as well as they did over 30 years ago.
“We are all troubled by the continual erosion of the American people’s faith and trust in their leadership in all parts of life. The current fuel shortage has caused us to reevaluate the legitimacy of our excessive use of the world’s natural resources. We witness a country torn apart with division and lacking the spiritual foundation that would restore its vision and purpose. We, as a people, through our own acquiescence to corruption and waste, have helped to create a moral abyss that produces a disdain for honesty and humility in high levels of national leadership…
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“What a tragedy it would be if amidst all the movies and memorials celebrating the life of Wilberforce in 2007, Christians missed out on the chance to actually be Wilberforce in 2007—to be used of God to set slaves free, to bring an end to slavery in this generation, and to bring honor to the mission of Christ in the world.”
- from On a Justice Mission by anti-slavery activist Gary Haugen
I’m excited to announce the debut of the new Justice and Compassion blog, sponsored by Off The Map. I will be co-hosting the blog with my friend Benjamin Ady. I hope you will join us for a conversation about how to create a more just, compassionate and peaceful world.
