In the beginning

In the beginning was the blog, and the blog must not become a god but an attempt to lead people back to literacy and involvement.

I started this blog at the urging of church members at Trinity United Methodist Church where I am a pastor. The idea is to spread the word via blog so that younger "wired" folks may know what we really want to accomplish as parishioners at Trinity United Methodist Church (TUMC from now on!)

It was also felt that I needed to expand the pulpit beyond the walls of the church into the virtual world in the hopes of attracting people to some of our activities but, at a minimum, make them aware of a kind of Christianity and Spirituality that is not as visible as more conservative forms but that offers a passion for peace and justice based on Scriptural integrity.

I am part of a movement that is committed to theological clarity, meaning that we aim to account for our faith using the best tools available to us. These tools go back into our past, our tradition but we also want to couple them with electronic media in order to spread our word in effective and attractive ways.

As we find ourselves in the middle of the Advent season it is good to remind -or instruct- readers that the Christian Year was created to indicate that believers measure time in a different way and march to a different drummer. Our year starts on the first Sunday in Advent, usually late November or occasionally the first Sunday in December. With this simple move we wish to signal that our faith leads us to be in juxtaposition to the dominant culture. Christianity was co opted by the Roman Empire but it is basically opposed to all governments. It is obedient to the secular rulers but it also speaks boldly and lovingly when those in power act in ways that are opposed to the vision that Jesus brought into the world as he presented a God that could be addressed in the babbling sounds of babies relating to their parents.

This Advent season I am engaged in preaching a trilogy on Hope against hope. The traditional theme of Advent is Hope. All texts, songs and liturgies promote Hope in various ways. The lighting of the Advent candles stand for the ways people ought to anticipate the birth of Jesus as the bearer Hope, Peace, Joy and Light. The Gospel readings come from the Gospel of Luke this year and the Old Testament lessons come from the prophets who announce that a better world is possible and it is coming. For Christians that better world was ushered by Jesus and his birth, celebrated in December, is a way of connecting with ancient customs of anticipating the return of the days with more light at the darkest moments of the year. Symbolically Advent acknowledges the dark times in which we are living but announces that dark nights will be followed by ever increasing days of light, love, joy and peace.

President Obama made a strong case for war in Oslo today, ironically while accepting the Nobel Peace Price. Yet, even in that apologia for war Obama acknowledged that the examples of Gandhi and King cannot be ignored. He did not mention Jesus but without Jesus' example King would not have had the theological strength that sustained him. Gandhi acknowledged Jesus influence in his work as well. So in the spirit of Advent we affirm the path that Jesus, Gandhi and King trod and denounce the war path that President Obama so cleverly defended.

On this Human Rights Day I invite all to look in the direction of the religious impulses that provided the impetus for the belief in human rights. From Judaism we learned that all human beings are made in the image of God. All three Abrahamic faiths, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, accept this teaching and secular forces adapted this concept to argue in favor of human rights. But we need to build on human rights to include the rights of animals and the rights of plants and, ultimately the rights of the environment. We cannot simply advocate for Human Rights nor defend animals and the environment because of their effect on humans. We must reach back to the idea that the One who created humans had previously created other entities which in Genesis are pronounced "good." We must also learn from other sages from Christianity and from other faiths to love and respect all life forms. Ahimsha, the respect for all living creatures, may come from Hinduism but it has resonance for westerners who understand what the writers of Genesis proclaimed, that all creatures ultimately belong to God and that humans must interact with them with the greatest of respect. I once heard the great African American Mystic, Howard Thurman offer grace for a meal with these words: God, we thank You that so many life forms have been sacrificed so that our life form may continue. In this spirit we conclude today.