Merry Christmas. To celebrate so far, when I got up, I turned on the Christmas tree lights, and ate the last of the fruit cake. I then opened the shades onto a sun-filled yard which will be 75 degrees warm by mid-afternoon. I saw three large birds, a Great Blue Heron, a Snowy Egret, and an Anhinga. Yes we have "snow flowers" (Large Flower Pusley, a new alien species of ground cover) but I've been able to restrict them to one small patch in the back yard.

No, Virginia, we definitely are not in Wisconsin! But we are doing well. looking forward to being with friends later today and then having family later this week when we will celebrate the holiday together.

How blessed we are to be able to enjoy life, both where we are and with whom we are friends and family. And fellow apostles.

May your holidays bring you the sense of God being with us.

Disgust Phenomenon and Homosexuality

DISGUSTING! The difference between liberals and conservatives is the degree of disgust they feel about many things.

That is simplifying the differences and does not cover the complexity of how people take their political stances. But research* is showing that the "disgust" reaction is a built-in self-defense mechanism. Those who are different, have a different appearance, or have some other physical traits that are unfamiliar and not proven to be safe tap that self-defense mechanism in our psyches.

"Disgust" is a close cousin of fear. And as people learn from experience that something is not worth being afraid of, experience with things that appear to us to be disgusting like leprosy or physical deformities on people, helps us discover that our first impression of "disgust" diminishes the more we are with them.

"Disgust" is as potent as fear is when we decide to feed it with excuses, rationalizations, false theories . . . and religious beliefs. I remember when I finally realized that my feeling of distaste about homosexuality was unfounded. I didn't have to be homosexual and deal with the behaviors I imagined they had. Then I discovered people who were homosexual found my heterosexual impulses were distasteful to them. That was a surprise!

I have always believed that the ""Yuck Factor" was an important part of why so many people believe homosexuality is wrong. What this science about disgust is saying is that it is not just a matter of taste but a full-fledged defense mechanism which keeps us separate from something strange that we are afraid could cause us harm. It is not something that is easily overcome with rational discussion, especially when those feelings are buttressed by Scripture and church leaders who speak out against homosexuality as if they were speaking on behalf of God.

There's an irony there in that God is described as both male and female in Genesis!

The way I was able to continue my journey toward overcoming the "disgust" my body provided as a shield was to have a couple years to know a political science professor, a janitor who had severe cerebral palsy, and a fantastic singer, all of whom were gay and I would not have known it if they had not told me. I attended a Metropolitan Church service attended by many people, some gay, mostly parents and siblings of gay people because they were made to feel unwelcome in mainline churches. The pain I felt there among those folks really hammered home just how much our "disgust" was both misplaced and unreasonable.

I know this bit of information that the natural "disgust" response to the unfamiliar is something like fear that can (and should) be overcome will not be enough to change anyone's mind about the seriousness of the split within our denomination over homosexuality. But maybe it will help us all move a little further along in our Christian journey.

*I discovered the research in a report on NPR today which I cannot further document. I've been around social sciences since college over 60 years ago and the report sounded valid. And it adds a new layer to the research noted when one Googles the phrase "disgust research."

Am I Anti-Semitic?

Those who happen upon my support of Palestinians may be tempted to say I am anti-semitic.  

I am not.  

Both Palestinians and Israelis are semitic.  

Also, I am not anti-Jewish. Jews as a culture and as individuals are part of the formation of middle eastern and western cultures that enrich us all.  

It is Zionism, now as bad as supporters of apartheid and, by adding occupation and usurpation of Palestinian lands are, becoming Nazi-like.  

I feel I stand with that part of the Jewish and Christian populations in Israel that chose to resist their fellow Israeli citizens who have an inhumane ideology of nationalism that is tearing up the middle east.  

Perhaps the American "resistance" movement needs to consider its international implications and support Israeli anti-Zionism.  

Without reigning in the Zionist Likud and settlement militias, the middle east will be unstable and peace will never come to the Holy Land.

My daughter's sermon for Laity Sunday, 2018

Good morning!

To start, I'd like to remind everyone that I am not a biblical scholar.  I haven't studied at seminary so I'm no expert.  But I'm hoping you will find something that's useful for you in what I'm about to say.

I'd like to talk about the Commandments.  When you think about the Ten Commandments, the words that come to mind are "Thou shalt not" and "Thou shalt."  We all have a good idea what they are, but we often seem to unconsciously add an extra word at the end of all of the commandments.  That word is "UNLESS."

We seem to think there are exceptions to all of these rules and we make up these exceptions as they suit us.

For instance, "Thou shalt not commit adultery"  (Yes, I started with that one. :)) "unless my spouse cheated on me first, unless my marriage was over years ago, unless it was a moment of weakness, and didn't mean anything."  The only case in which those "unlesses" will help you might be with your divorce lawyer.

What about "Thou shalt not steal?"  I'm sure everyone here has heard the story of the man who stole a loaf of bread because his family was starving as an acceptable "unless."  What about this?  Thou shalt not steal unless it's from a big corporation who makes billions of dollars using ethically questionable practices?  They'll never miss it and probably get their money by cheating other companies and gouging the consumer.  Is it okay then?

"Thou shalt not bear false witness unless" . . . unless it could hurt someone's feelings.  Has anyone asked your opinion on how they look?  Do you always say "Oh yes! You look fantastic!" even if it's the most horrendous thing you've ever seen?   What about if lying could save a life?  As a parent I have imagined worst-case scenarios and what I would do in those situations.  I imagined as a single mom if someone broke into the house and asked if someone else was there, I would lie through my teeth, no question.  Surely this is acceptable, right?

"Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy."  How many "unlesses" do we have for this one?  Unless my child has a soccer .game, unless I stayed out until the wee hours of the morning, unless I have a huge deadline that needs to be taken care of.I think most people have forgotten how to keep the sabbath holy.  There are even arguments as to which day, Saturday or Sunday, is the "right" holy day.

What about "Thou shalt not kill?"  Our laws tell us we cannot kill someone unless they are trying to kill us, and in some cases if we even think they might try to kill us, and other defenses that will at least keep us out of jail.  What about war?  In Ecclesiastes it states that there is a time for everything, and included in that list is a time for war and a time for peace, an acknowledgement that war is expected.  There is no valuation placed on it, just that it's going to happen, and people kill each other during war.  That's just the way it is in this world.

There are other commandments but those are the most common ones people think about when the subject comes up.  

If you think about it, God doesn't give us these "rules" so he can control us or boss us around.  If we follow these commandments, our lives will be better.  Breaking any of these commandments can bring consequences whether those consequences only affect you personally or carry real legal consequences.  If we think of ourselves as children of God, this is kind of the equivalent of God telling us not to touch the stove because it is hot.  God knows that if we make excuses not to follow his rules that we could hurt ourselves.

I'd like to move to the New Testament and the Greatest Commandments which are "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength AND love your neighbor as yourself."  Sounds easy, doesn't it?  Then why is that second part so hard?  Maybe because loving someone can be a lot of work.

I'm fairly certain everyone here is familiar with First Corinthians 13 which contains a description of what love should be.  Most people associate this definition with romantic love because we most often hear it in wedding ceremonies.  Some of you have probably used it in your wedding.  I'm sure some of you received these verses as a wedding gift, in a lovely frame or as a wall hanging.  However, these verses are not meant for couples only.  These are instructions for how we are supposed to treat everyone.

Here is the definition of love found in Corinthians.  "Love is patient, kind, it does not envy, does not boast, is not proud, it does not dishonor others, is not self-seeking, is not easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth.  It always protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres.  Love never fails."

This is how we are supposed to treat everyone, as I'm sure we all agree that we should consider everyone our neighbor.

Now what about that word "unless?"  "Love your neighbors . . . unless they're gay, unless they're anti-gay, unless they're Black, White, Muslim, Jewish, racist, closed-minded, way too open-minded.  Love your neighbors unless they are poor and on welfare, and it's their own darn fault.  Love your neighbors unless they have a criminal record, unless they don't speak English, unless they don't care about the environment, unless they believe in evolution.  Love your neighbors unless you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are 100% right and the other guy is completely wrong and that if God were standing here right now, He'd smite them where they stand.

What's comforting to know is that God loves us and doesn't use "unless" on us.

Why?  Because He knows our hearts.  He knows everything about us.  He sees our baggage.  He knows everything that has happened to us in our lives and how that might affect how we feel about and treat other people.  He made all of us different and knows that that can lead to conflicts.  He knows that as imperfect human beings we will often fail.

So, where does that leave us?  I know I don't follow the Commandments like I should.  I try to love my neighbor, but I know I fall short every day.

Luckily for me and everyone here, God offers forgiveness and mercy if we ask for it.  In a few months, we will celebrate the birth of Jesus Chrst who was born so that we will be forgiven whenever we fall short of what we know we should be doing, when we don't follow the rules, when we use the word "unless" without even realizing it.

Should this be considered a free pass to do whatever we want to do?  Of course not.  These Commandments are there to make our lives better, to help us get along better with other people.  When we use the word "unless" with any of the Commandments, we are only hurting ourselves.  When we find little reasons to bypass the "rules," we shortchange ourselves. God wants us to love one another, no strings attached, because our relationships here on earth are what make life worth living.  God loves us completely even though we are far from perfect.  What a great gift!  

It is our job as children of God to love one another as best we can so that life is better for all of us. 

My opinion about the decline of young pastors entering ministry

Speaking of there being dearth of young people willing to go into the ministry, let me suggest what a major part of the problem is.

First let me say something I think is not the major factor: fear of the #MeToo environment. We have had the issue of susceptibility to accusation by women hovering over us since the 1980s. While there are clergymen who take advantage of their "power" as pastor, male ministers tend to be the nicest men in the lives of women in their congregation and some of those women then tend to develop a special sense of relationship with the pastor. Most men clergy realize this and quietly and gently maintain their distance. We leave the door open to where the church secretary can easily be alert to any possible inappropriate behavior. We do not meet with women alone in any private setting. We've learned and now taught new clergy the ways to care without becoming tempting themselves or inadvertently tempting the women they serve as pastor.

What we have not learned nor taught is how to deal with conference leaders who through incompetence or ambition become Trump-like, willing to lie, willing to bully, willing to abuse their power. Seminarians see how that kind of leaders are operating and refuse to enter into conference relationships where they would be unable hold their leaders accountable. Some new members know how to thrive in that power-oriented environment by accepting subservience to such leadership and become "company men," male or female.

Such a bad work environment repels many aspiring pastors and eventually debilitates those who follow God's call into the ministry in a conference even knowing that they face that unhealthy work setting.

Will God help restore a Church facing such impediments? Yes, eventually, but with no help from conference leadership in those especially bad conferences.