Words kill, words give life - You Choose!

The text above that makes up this title comes from Proverbs 18: 21.

In the NRSV, it is written as:

Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
and those who love it will eat its fruits. (Proverbs 18:21)

In the Message, it is written as:

Words kill, words give life;
they're either poison or fruit—you choose. (Proverbs 18:21)

Today's actions are most assuredly the actions of a disturbed individual or group. The little we know at this time is that the boy who did this was rambling and extremely disturbed. While you cant stop folks like them from acting in destructive and violent ways, we can and must stop contributing to it.

Lately, we have had a lot of words floating around that dehumanize or call for violence against those that are different/disagree/speak out against a perceived majority or cultural group. For minds that are looking for something to latch onto, these words act as both a beacon and a call to action. These words motivate them and they dwell on them. These words lead people to go into churches and shoot doctors, crash planes into buildings, and finally shoot little girls who were there to see her congresswoman.

What is worse is that when we dont speak against these words or those that say them, we cover ourselves in the blood of the actions these words breed. When we give them a pass, we cover ourselves in the blood these words spill. Because words precede deeds. Words are the kindling.

Therefore, We must choose what words we use and whose words we listen to and repeat. WE must hold not only ourselves, but the speakers of these words accountable. We must stand and say no this isnt acceptable. When they say others have done it in the past, we must say SO WHAT we wont do it anymore.

In the end, like in the prayer of Francis of Assisi, we choose life or death. For me, I choose life.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.

Epiphany 2011

Matthew 2:1-12

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’” Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.”

When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

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A thought...

The Wise men had a star to point out where Jesus was and even they got it wrong. They went looking in the centers of power for God, but God was out amongst his people. We need to remember that God isnt in temples or places of power but there amongst us.

CREDO: God Created the World

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth,”

I believe that God created the Heavens and the Earth. I don’t believe that it all came to be by chance without design. It might be easy to label me as either a Creationist or an Intelligent Designer, but hear me out for my reasons. You can decide for yourself after you hear where I am coming from.

I have worked at a game company for nearly 8 years. In that time, the company I work for has developed and enhanced virtual worlds. In these worlds, they have laid out the ground; planted trees and animals; placed people and even developed a sky dome. They have even laid out the “physics” that the world operates under. In that time, I have seen designers, programmers and others painstakingly create a world that people can move and talk and interact with. Every aspect of that world was built with an intelligence guiding it and shaping it. There are aspects of that world that get written out and new ones applied still leaving the old code/graphic there but made dormant or hidden.

Given this, I cant deny to God that which we are learning to do in some small way.
I believe that God created the universe with intelligent design, no more than we are learning to do.

Now, I don’t believe that the world is less than 10,000 years old. I frankly don’t know how old it is, but I think God is a designer of consummate skill. Recently, I read a book by Francis S. Collins called The Language of God. He worked on the human genome project. We carry within us the language of all of creation. This to me isn’t a failing of God’s, but incredible foresight. The history of our planet doesn’t discount God existing, but confirms that he can design and build in the software that makes us who we are our eventual form. Every aspect of creation hearkens to an order that shows us more than randomness at its core.

New Year: New Commitment

Hi

2011 is the year I am committing to writing more here and posting more here. I need to find a way to express the voice in me that is talking and it will be here I hope to do it.

I am going to start the year with looking at some of the homilies of St.John Chrysostom. After that I am going to explore and comment on other works and develop my faith.

Also over the year, I will do a series of posts called CREDO. These will outline where I am on my faith and what I believe. My posts will touch on history, have politics, critique society because I think that is what an active faith does.

My goal is to do 200 posts in 2011. I invite your comments and feedback. Only by questioning our faith daily can we hope to grow in it and grow with each other.

I Was There To Hear Your Borning Cry

I Was There to Hear Your Borning Cry

I was there to hear your borning cry,
I'll be there when you are old.
I rejoiced the day you were baptized,
to see your life unfold.
I was there when you were but a child,
with a faith to suit you well;
In a blaze of light you wandered off
to find where demons dwell."

"When you heard the wonder of the Word
I was there to cheer you on;
You were raised to praise the living Lord,
to whom you now belong.
If you find someone to share your time
and you join your hearts as one,
I'll be there to make your verses rhyme
from dusk 'till rising sun.

In the middle ages of your life,
not too old, no longer young,
I'll be there to guide you through the night,
complete what I've begun.
When the evening gently closes in,
and you shut your weary eyes,
I'll be there as I have always been
with just one more surprise.

I was there to hear your borning cry,
I'll be there when you are old.
I rejoiced the day you were baptized,
to see your life unfold.

Walter Rauschenbusch - Quotes and Thoughts On

Rauschenbusch is one of the luminaries of the Social Gospel Movement. He lived from 1861 till 1918 and was a Baptist Minister. Some of the quotes he has that have really struck me are:

"Christianity is by its nature revolutionary."

"Because the Kingdom of God has been dropped as the primary and comprehensive aim of Christianity, and personal salvation has been substituted for it, therefore men seek to save their own souls and are selfishly indifferent to the evangelization of the world. "

"Christ died to substitute love for selfishness as the basis of human society."

"The Kingdom of God is not a matter of getting individuals to heaven, but of transforming the life on earth into the harmony of heaven."

These quote embody some of the concepts that I have been dwelling on over the last few months. He is well worth a read if you can find some of his stuff online. I know Google books has a couple books scanned in.

God Is Still Speaking...

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Living Not Dying

We are often more pre-occupied with the Death of Jesus than His Life. Jesus didn't come to die, He came to show us how to Live. It is because of His Life that he was executed. His life's actions and message is why he was murdered. Simply put, the message of Easter isn't about the death of Jesus, but the Life of Jesus. He Lives means that more than he conquered death it means His Life matters more than his death. His Life was victorious over death and goes on.

We have come more to hallow Jesus suffering and death than his Life, which I don't believe is what God wanted. The Apostles realized it was Jesus life that mattered and that is what transformed the ancient world. It was a life lived that meant death had lost its sting, the grave its victory because a life lived as Jesus did transcended death and the grave. This is why they went out of the Upper Room and preached and changed the world. This is why they didn't run from death when it came and it is why they were murdered. They embraced the Life of Jesus and lived it wholly. For this they earned the same punishment as Jesus and the same reward.

2 Timothy 3: 12 Indeed, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

Jesus' death had to happen, but it wasn't the purpose of his life. Similarly, it wasn't the death that changed the world but the Resurrection. The salvation of the world is with the Living Christ, not the dead Jesus. It is that Living Christ which transformed Saul into Paul. It is that Living Christ who speaks to us still and calls us to follow.


Colossians 2:6-7 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

Romans 8: 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

Easter

Yeshua HaMashiach!
Iesus Christos!
Immanuel!

Joy rose this day and Love won! We have entered into the Kingdom of Our God! May we live in the Light of Our Savior all the days of our life!

A thought for Good Friday 2010

Recently, I read that Christianity is the only major world religion whose Founder was tortured and executed by the established authority of his day.

The question arises how do we leave from recalling and remembering His suffering and agony for us and then go forth to do it others?