What Are You Spreading These Days?

There’s a lot of stuff going around lately - illnesses, I mean - around here, at least. My stomach has been bothering me since Monday morning when a friend sent me a text to warn us that her son, who had spent the weekend with us, had just thrown up all over the bathroom.

If only we spread good will and compassion as freely as we spread our germs. Imagine what the world would be like.

I’m the editor of my church’s newsletter. I was looking through the lectionary readings for the month of May this morning, working on ideas for the newsletter.  The lectionary is an organized approach to Biblical scripture that many churches use.  In it, scriptures are arranged in a three-year calendar that covers a good portion of the Bible. The lectionary scripture readings for the next three weeks, which will be used in many Christian churches, are from three different books: Acts, Psalms, Revelation and John (with a few others thrown in). Acts tells the story leading up to the birth of the church, which is called Pentecost. At Pentecost, the disciples were filled with the spirit of God (the Holy Spirit) and they were able to speak and be understood in all languages. The Psalms for this period proclaim the wonders of God. Revelation speaks of God’s kingdom coming to Earth. John says that Jesus came to teach us. Jesus is of God and he came so that we can all be one; Jesus in God and God in us. So now, we can all be one with God.  Running through this group of passages, I see a theme of God teaching us, though Jesus, how to fill ourselves and the world with the wonder and beauty of the great spirit of God. 

When I dropped my son off at baseball practice tonight, he looked a round and asked, “Why don’t we drive a big car?” I said, “Because big cars use more gas and that’s bad for the Earth.” He said, “Everything people do is bad for the Earth. The Earth would be fine if there were no people.” I nodded my head in agreement. 

But it isn’t supposed to be that way. We are supposed to cherish the Earth and all that is in it. We are supposed to cherish the blue sky, the grass, birds and animals and each other. If only we could learn to spread compassion, wonder and awe as easily as we spread germs, hate and jealousy. If only we could spread faith, hope and love.

The Church of My Choosing

Dissatisfaction, for me, breeds imagining. I imagine the source and the solution. This is often a frustrating endeavor, as I have no means to turn my imaginings into reality. However, sometimes my imaginings become real, independent of my actions, and that is very satisfying. The appearance of my once imagined object or situation gives me the impression that I was right all along!

Lately, I have been imagining how church should be. I was trying to write a fictional story in which a crisis led to the formation of a new community which, in turn, generated a new church - quite different from the old.  It seems that I am too impatient and selfish to work through the details of the story, for I have abandoned it.

Instead, I wish to simply describe that idealistic church here.

First, in my imaginings, the church would arise from a real and acute need within a community, a need to interact more intimately and share more openly. This would then lead people to respond with help. It seems that the situation would lead to resentment only if the need were not universally felt and the help was not universally (within the community) shared.

Of course, this is my philosophy and sounds right to my ears, because it reflects my own personal reactions. I have observed that I am quite willing to help another if I know that they have helped me in the past. I also am much more willing to ask for help from someone that I have previously helped. This acknowledgement of mutual dependence relieves me of guilt and obligation.  I don't feel guilty, because they have helped me in the past or I anticipate their help in the future. I don't feel the weight of obligation to help them, because I have already done so or can easily see future opportunities to help them in the near future.

So, we have a group of people, a small enough group that they know one another's names, places of residence and situation. They come together to offer mutual aid. When they experience help and gratitude, they want to celebrate. They are spending time together and must eat, so they decide to eat together as a way of celebrating and enjoying their new-found success.  They break bread and sip wine and give thanks.  Their hearts swell with joy to the point of wishing to sing, and so they do.

During this gathering, they do not over-eat to terrible excess, although a few may pat their bellies and feel quite full. They do not drink with abandon, because they are responsible and know the consequences.  Their singing is not meant to impress or out-do, but to experience and express their joy.  They are enjoying themselves.

When they have had their fill, they clean up, express their hope that all will be well and their desire to gather again.  They say their goodbyes. 

During the ensuing days, if one of them has a difficulty or success, they communicate it to others in the group.  They give aid and receive congratulations and aid, where appropriate.  They make plans to gather again, decide it is a good thing and plan to meet on a regular basis for fellowship, to keep their relationships strong and to enjoy spending time together.  They support one another. They care for one another.  If someone is doing something that they think is wrong or ill-advised, they speak to that person, because they are concerned for their well-being.  They are friends.

If asked, by someone outside the community, how they decide what is right and what is wrong, they refer to a collection of books that were written a very long time ago.  They say that many things in the books are old fashioned and reflect the views of an ancient society, but like all good stories and poems, they contain timeless nuggets of truth.  These timeless nuggets help the community to sort out how to live.

This is my vision of church.

If You Give a Person a God

If you give a person a god, they will try to understand it in terms that they know.
They will imagine that it looks like a grandfather, because it is supposed to have been around for a long time. It is supposed to be wise.

If you say it is all-powerful, they will ask it for things.
If you say it will make all things new, they will beg it to come back soon.

If you say it was born of a virgin and made people all better, they will think it is wonderful. 
They will want to hear the story again and again.

When they get a little older you will tell them that there are no monsters, no magic, no Santa Claus. 
They will start to think that the stories about god sound a lot more like fiction than fact.

They will read hero stories and rejoice that good triumphs over evil.
Then, they will look at the world and wish it were true.

They will wonder what to do about all of the confusion.
They will want to re-invent god, so they can believe the stories again.

World Religion 101

I have been doing lots of "religious reading", lately, meaning over the past six months or so.  It started as a search for devotional meat - something I could chew on - which I wasn't getting at church on Sundays.  First, I listened to Thomas Sheehan's "Historical Jesus" lectures through iTunesU.  Then, I read his book and several books he listed in the required reading for the course.  While searching for a book by Marcus Borg at the library, I saw "Religious Literacy" by Stephen Prothero on the shelf.  It's that particular book that prompted me to post here, because I want to take note of something and this seemed like a good place to keep the notes.

My musings about religion have led me to wonder about common religious themes, archetypes, core ideas.  Prothero's book traces the historical development of American religious illiteracy and then ends with a dictionary of information he considers essential for public discourse and understanding.  This begins with "Religion by the Numbers", which I hope to summarize here, for later consideration. 

4 Gospels.  Matthew, Mark, Luke and John narrate the life of Jesus (the Christ or Messiah), who lived around 2 BC - 33 AD.  Gospel means good news.  Each book emphasizes a different aspect of Jesus' life or teaching (and is thought to have been directed toward a different audience).  Matthew - how Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecies; Mark - the secret that he was the Messiah; Luke - his concern for the poor and women; John - his divinity.  Other noncanonical (considered unofficial) gospels have been re-discovered.  They tell the story differently and have raised a stir.

4 Noble Truths. Core truths of Buddhism, delivered by the Buddha in Sarnath (northern India)  around 560 - 480 BC are Existence of Suffering - human life is characterized by dukkha (suffering, unsatisfactoriness); Origin of Suffering - suffering is caused by clinging, which is caused by ignorance of the impermanence of things; Cessation of Suffering - the chain of suffering can be reversed producing nirvana; Path to the Cessation of Suffering - outlines the way to nirvana.

5Ks.  Symbols that identify male members of the Khalsa, a Sikh order. kes - uncut hair; kangha - comb; kirpan - ceremonial sword; kara - steel wrist bangle; kachh - short pants.  They were instituted in India in 1699 by Guru Gobind Singh to distinguish Sikhs from Hindus and Muslims.

5 Pillars of Islam. Key practices of Islam. Shahadah - witnessing that there is no god but God and Muhammad is the messenger of God; Salat - prayer in the direction of Mecca at dawn, noon afternoon, sunset and evening; Sawm - daytime fasting during Ramadan (lunar month, which migrates through the solar year, and is currently in July); Zakat - giving alms to the poor; Hajj - pilgrimage to Mecca.

7 Sacraments. A religious rite or ceremony that conveys God's gift of salvation to participants.  Baptism (water), Holy Communion (bread and wine), Confirmation (affirmation of Christian belief by someone who was baptized), Reconciliation (Confession followed by Forgiveness), Marriage, Ordination of Priests, Anointing of the Sick (oil).  Catholics recognize all seven, Protestants classically recognize the first two. Quakers reject all.

7 Deadly Sins. Listed by Pope Gregory the Great (540-604 AD).  Pride, envy, greed, anger, sloth, lust, gluttony.

8-Fold Path of Buddhism. Charts the course from suffering to nirvana. Wisdom (right view and intention), Morality (right speech, conduct and livelihood), Concentration (right effort, mindfulness and concentration). 

10 Commandments.  Religious and moral laws given to Moses on Mount Sinai on two stone tablets.  They are found in Exodus and Deuteronomy (Jewish Torah/Pentateuch, Old Testament Bible) and throughout the Quran (religious text of Islam).  I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods besides me. Do not swear falsely by my name. Keep the Sabbath day holy. Honor your father and mother. Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Do not covet your neighbor's wife or property.

Well, I have no trouble with any of them.  They all seem wise in their intent.   I can also think of instances when people have twisted them. 

And now, in order to avoid sloth, I must get on with my day.  May your reading of this post bless you and keep you.

Happy New Year.