Righteousness

In my reading, I've discovered something interesting about the ancient Hebraic concept of righteousness. Often, we get hung up on the idea that to be righteous was to dot i's and cross t's in Judaism. However, that may not be the way the ancients saw it.

Tsadiq which is the Hebrew word used for righteousness in the first 11 chapters of Genesis (my current focus of study) is the same word used for making an animal sacrifice to God. The idea here is that the animal must be physically perfect, without blemish. We've taken that to mean moral perfection in humanity.

However, it doesn't mean that at all. It means someone who is in right relationship with God, with others. Someone who doesn't interfere in the relationship their neighbor has with God, and doesn't interfere in his neighbor's relationship with others either.

Since Westboro Baptist was in town this weekend, I started to wonder... how much "righteousness" do these people have really? What damage have they done to the relationship of gay persons with God? What damage have they done to the relationship of Christians with others as we allow this hatefulness to become representative of us by not speaking out, showing up and in short, allowing them to define us? In the Book of Common Prayer, our common confession includes the phrase, "for what we have done and left undone". We CAN sin by omission.

I come back to one of the first things: If ministry is defined as any act a Christian (or one who identifies as such) does to another... then what exactly does this ministry look like? Personally, I think it looks a lot like sin.

Today...

I am thankful for clean, potable running water.

I grew up in northern Minnesota. We had pipes that would freeze every winter in our bathroom, and once a week, my father would thaw the pipes in the tub so that we could bathe. Once a week! Now, you must understand... Dad was born in 1907 so weekly bathing was not an uncommon or odd occurence for him as it was for those of us growing up in the 1970's.

When we moved in... we didn't have running water. We had a hand pump. All of which makes me a throwback to another time in many ways. But it does make me appreciate some conveniences that many of us take for granted. Running water is one of them.

If you're looking for a worthwhile cause, and trying to find a way to put more Christ in your Christmas... you could do worse than the Advent Conspiracy. And, you'd be blessing more people in the world with the gift of clean, drinking water.

Thankful Thursday!

Aldous Huxley once wrote: Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted.

In an effort to alter that about myself... I'm focusing on gratitude for the next few days as we lead up to Thanksgiving.

Today I'm thankful that:

I have legs in my stockings so that I can run, and walk. (Thanks, G.K. Chesterton!)

I have hot coffee.

The sunrise was beautiful this a.m.

There's a new choral evensong available on the BBC 3 Radio iPlayer.

Oatmeal exists. Hot, filling and delicious with just a lil butter and salt.

How about you? What are you thankful for today?

Gratitude

Real thankfulness... it's never been in high supply. Shakespeare's King Lear says: "How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child." In the Bible, we see 9 of 10 lepers healed who do not turn back to thank Christ but instead carry on their way... the one who is doubly outcast by leprosy and by heritage (being Samaritan) is the only one who thanks Jesus.

Why am I thinking about this? Well, you might surmise that as a parent of teenagers I've encountered my fair share of ingratitude. That's true! However, I recognize fully how blessed I am by my children and I want to express/and will in another post on another day how grateful I am to have had the privilege of raising of them thus far.

No, the reason for this blog... is to call myself out. I am very blessed and thankful to live in a place and time where I and others have the luxury of debating what are very small doctrinal issues (in the scope of things) in our faith. Should women be pastors? Should we ordain gay/lesbian/bi/transexuals? Enmeshing ourselves in such dialogue indicates that we are not concerned with: a) persecution, or b) simple survival.

So... thanks God. Thank you for allowing me to live out my faith in a place and time where I am safe, protected, and have what I need to live. Thank you for others of faith who have the same and for our disagreements. They enable us to grow as iron sharpens iron.

Menu Planning Monday on Tuesday!

Tonight... oh good heavens, what shall I make??? I think since I need to do a live lecture at 7 p.m. that a good choice is one that is EASY. So, I'm actually planning on rice/Kashi pilaf, trout, and frozen veggies.

Wednesday... basic potato chowder with crusty bread and a green salad

Thursday... Spaghetti

Friday... date night so???

Saturday... leftover spaghetti

Sunday... Feast of Thanksgiving-- I'm making a turkey, and there will be sides a plenty. Mass at 12:00 noon, dinner at conclusion... please come!! All are truly welcome!

Monday... tomato soup and grilled cheese. I'll have the soup in the crockpot and the grilled cheese can be made to suit.

Tuesday... Shrimp Scampi

Wednesday... Catfish gumbo over hot rice

Thursday... THANKSGIVING...

And that should get us through for a bit.

A Line from the BCP of the Church of Ireland

Let us pray for those who hate us as we pray for those who love us. (Taken from a Late Evening Office BCP Church of Ireland 2004 edition)

Wow. This line is stuck in my head today after using it in worship at EFM last night. There is something so... aware in it. First, it acknowledges that we need God's help in order to pray for those who hate us.

We cannot do that on our own power. The only way it happens is if we give up ourselves and let Jesus shine through. As St. John of the Cross indicates and I paraphrase here: it is about becoming less of us, so that He might be greater.

Second, it acknowledges that even if we do pray for those who hate us it is most certainly not as we pray for those who love us. It is easy to pray for those who think like us, and agree with us, and who love us. Often, because we love them too.

Prayer for those we hate... is hard with a capital H. We do not understand them, and do not know how to pray for them. We do not believe that they think like us, and often they do not agree with us.

I suspect that part of the reason I'm turning this over and over again in my poor brain is that... when called out by another for the undeniable consequences of his words, a man I respect has responded by justifying them due to church politics and his own feelings of rejection. Maybe because we've just finished looking at Cain and Abel, I feel a sense in which there was an opportunity to build community/communion. And instead, the response is... am I my brother's keeper? Or more accurately, I don't need to worry about/have empathy for my brother because I am also hurting.

If we focus on the hurt... we turn away from each other and the lack of empathy very quickly becomes hate for opposing viewpoints.

So I come back to that line again...

Let us pray for those who hate us as we pray for those who love us.
Lord, have mercy.

So... today... I'm busy.

I'm baking. The bake/book/craft sale to benefit our United Pangyang school in South Sudan is coming up tomorrow and as usual, I find myself busy.

I'm baking: banana breads with chocolate chips, but without nuts!, irish soda bread (my fil's request), a pumpkin and apple pie, a cherry tart, and my dd is making rainbow cupcakes. Yeah.

So... I'm afraid... I've got next to no time!

This is too good not to share...

Anglican Bishops are turning to Rome

*whistles a little tune*

No Place for Moderates

On the one hand, I'm really glad that there has been a check on some of the crazy liberal actions and figures as a result of yesterday's election. However, I am disappointed at the number of middle of the road candidates who lost. I am confident that extremism on both sides is not the answer.

Unfortunately, that appears to be what our political system does best. We get rid of the people who can cross aisles. We get rid of the people who are level-headed, able to see both sides, and therefore able to create intelligent compromise.

I know, I know... many are not in favor of compromise. Winner take all, right? We do need to remember, though, that power shifts in politics are inevitable. And cramming down dissent does backfire.

I am mourning the loss of Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin. She was a good representative for South Dakota. She voted against most of the left's agenda. It wasn't enough, though.

So now we get Kristi Noem. A woman who's had issues with honesty throughout the campaign, who doesn't feel the need to follow traffic laws if she's in a hurry, without a college degree, and who doesn't appear to grasp the need for compromise. Nice.

I'm sure SD's voice will be heard now. NOT.

All Soul's Day today!

In The Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion we recognize that all our Lord's faithful servants are worthy of and need remembrance. Not just those who have been canonized as saints!

On All Soul's Day we remember all the faithful Christians who have gone before us. This All Soul's Day, I'm remembering especially:

Walta Gill
Wava Ness
Otto Lotz
Marie McNally
Penny Gullette
Maxwell Gullette Sr.
Ed Haggar
Christopher Claude

Menu Plan:

Sunday- Tacos
Monday- Bratwurst and all the fixin's
Tuesday- Steak, mashed potatoes and greenbeans
Wednesday- Catfish gumbo, cornbread
Thursday- Leek and Cheese tart
Friday- Datenight
Saturday- Spaghetti