In the beginning.........the cross

Christian theology of a Lutheran bent is centered on the cross.  At the cross, where Jesus died a criminal's death, God is present.  At the face of evil, God still reigns. The face of a suffering Jesus is the face of the Creator God of life.  The powers of this world were no match for the power of the Divine Creator even though the symbol of that strength is the weakness of the cross.

There are lots of ways to say it, but, in the end, the cross was not the end, but a step along the pathway.  The end was but a beginning as the Creator God brought all creation to resurrection again.  Yet this cross can never be ignored nor discounted or ....foolishness of all foolishness....considered long ago and far away.

It is before this cross and this Jesus that we stand to confront the system of race relations in our country. Or should I say 'race non-relations.'  Stained by slavery a century and a half ago, interactions between white and black have been skewed.  It is a part of our history, and our society and culture have been built on this long standing reality.  In the final analysis, our system counts black Americans as not only different, but as less.

This is not a situation we have asked for.  We did not cause it.  But it is still there, under it all.  We avoid conversation about it and confession of it because we hate to be held responsible for something we didn't do.  Yet it is this system that has continually privileged our lives, and we do so want to hold onto those privileges even as we deny that they exist.

Some among us will answer, "well that's the way I was taught" as if that is either an explanation or excuse for behavior that clearly divides others into worthy and less worthy.  Some among us will answer, "I always treat others kindly" as if that denies the systematic oppression of an entire race that is quantified by research.

There is a similar problem with white privilege. Some among us will say, "look at where I live.  I'm not privileged." and yet they have never been denied a hotel room, an apartment to rent or steered away from a particular neighborhood by the realtor because of the color of their skin.  Some among us will say, "I worked hard for what I have" without thinking that from the quality of the schools attended, to the internships received, to the job interview that you landed, to the job that was offered, your whiteness was counted as a plus.  We can look at advertising and see all white faces; we can walk into a store and never think about what others are thinking of us (unless you went in your pajamas); we can walk down a street without police thinking we are in the wrong neighborhood.  That is the privilege of our race.

Now let us take that to the cross.  If you can't find the words for confession, even if you don't think that confession is needed, sit quietly before the cross (our cross at Luther Memorial is particularly helpful here) and listen for the Spirit's leading.  That guy up there was targeted because he was the wrong race under the wrong powerful people who ruled his land.  That guy up there was a threat to religious and secular leaders alike and really irritated regular folk like you and me because he taught us that forgiveness was the first step to real wholeness.........and we didn't think we needed to be forgiven.

So we crucified him.  He loved us.  Right there, on the cross.  Where death meets life and God reigns. Where weakness is strength.

In the beginning...........again

These are the opening words of a story of life and love and failing and falling and brokenness and death and then life and life again.


These are the opening words of the first story of creation to be found in the book of Genesis and they point us to a God who has a beginning point when it comes to a relationship with this particular earth.  This God who could have passed it all by, gone on to do other things, but instead,

in the beginning

God began creating.  It was an act out of the Divine Energy that gave us a safe and nourishing place in which to live and procreate and dance and sing.  Humans were made in the image of this Divine One - and even if we have absolutely no idea what it means to be 'made in the image' of the Divine One, so it is.

At the end, when God had created water and light and trout and giraffes and fire ants and whales and bluebirds and brussel sprouts and sequoias and YOU and ME and EVERY LIVING HUMAN being, God looked at it all and called it very good.  Very good.  Very good.

In looking at where it all started, we can see how far we have fallen.  We have fallen into a place where we disrespect the earth, destroy its ability to nourish animal and human alike.  We have fallen into a place where species have gone extinct and whole tracks of land and ocean have been defiled.  We have fallen into a place where those humans who were created in God's image have decided to count some more 'godlike' and some 'less'.  Some of God's beloved creatures are given privileged status; some are targeted by the system and its powers.  

It is no longer very good.  Many days it isn't really good.

We can wait - watching the sky for Jesus to return and fix this mess, and someday Jesus will do just that.  But until then, we are to act just as Jesus taught:  free the oppressed, feed the hungry, love your neighbor.  All your neighbors.  Especially the ones targeted by the system.

God has no categores, neither racial categories nor income categores nor religious categories.  God only has those who were created in the Divine Image and for whom Jesus died.  In the face of every human being is the reflection of the Divine Creator.

If you can look at another human being and discount them as children of God, it's time to have a long talk with the one who loved you from the beginning and forgives you even now.

In the beginning..........

In the beginning...........that is how the story starts for us.  In the beginning when God began creating....God said, "Let there be light" and there was light.

Lately, it has been fairly difficult to hold on to this image of God's created light, the first movement of this God of life.  We are surrounded by a creeping darkness that threatens the great enlightenment of God's outstretched arm.  Our 24 hour news cycle which brings all that is happening around the world to our fingertips in a flash is now bombarding us with images of violence and protests, leaving us raw with too much information and too few ideas about how to move forward.  Certainly this is not the first time that this world has been threatened by descending darkness.  One epoch of our history was even named the Dark Ages.  There have been tyrants and pyschopaths, barbarians and fanatics throughout recorded history.

When I was serving St. Johns-St Marks Lutheran Church in Canajoharie, NY I listened as one of the elders spoke of the dark days of the second World War.  Canajoharie is a small town filled with folks whose roots go back generations.  They know each other; they knew each other's parents and grandparents.  Evelyn said that each Sunday the names of all who were serving overseas were kept in prayer.....not just those who were members at St. Johns-St Marks, but all those known by those members who gathered.  An entire village of soldiers were prayed for in the village churches each week.  Death was ever present; life was precious.

Each time the bread and wine of communion was shared the gift of life in Jesus, a promise made out of love and in the pouring out of his life, was ever more poignant.  Those hours on a Sunday morning were crucial - they renewed hope, provided strength and sustained in times of loss.  They cemented community.

Our faith is grounded in this story of life out of death, of life beyond life, of death defeated by the Creator God.  In those dark days of combat, there was no where else to cling but to this promise, this Christ, this God. With their men far away and in danger, resurrection was no longer abstract.

Each Sunday they experienced that deep darkness into which God spoke these words "Let there be light" and for a moment or two they could hold onto that image of God's divine light.

In these times of great darkness, when we are challenged to confront our role in creating the darkness and sustaining systems which keep others captive in the dark, let us pray for God's light to shine into our hearts and show us our own shadows, and then lead us again to Jesus, who is the light of the world.

Who are you? Mary? Martha?

Depending on where I am in my life when I read this story about Mary and Martha, I identify with either one. There are times when I sympathize with Martha; she is doing as she has always done. She is the consummate host extending hospitality to Jesus and catering to him as is her duty in that time and place. She is irritated at her sister Mary who she thinks is slacking in her duties, just sitting there listening to Jesus. There would have been a lot of little details for Martha to attend to and having the extra set of hands of Mary would have been helpful. Sometimes I sympathize with Mary. Martha seems like a bit of a taskmaster and it couldn't have been easy for Mary to work under her when it appears that they have very different personalities. Mary wants to take advantage of the rare opportunity to listen to the words Jesus is sharing at her own table. I always think it must have been humiliating for Mary when Martha drags Jesus in to her dramatic display and asks him to make Mary work. We (in the church) frequently talk about the need for action when we are talking about doing God's work.  We preach mission and involvement and those are both action items. One could argue that the church has been a bit idle in the past and has neglected doing the "get your hands dirty" work required for mission; this is a good thing. Just not the way Martha is doing it. Martha is doing this hard work because she is supposed to - it is her station in life as a woman in this context. Martha is not doing this hospitality for the glory of God. She is worried and she is distracted by trivial details.  We too get worried and distracted by all the to-do's and task lists. Mission doesn't happen by itself - we must work at it and not be idle. However, when we lose focus of the big picture, too distracted to hear the directions, we are doing the work but at the expense of listening to the word of God. How often do we long to be like Mary; to quietly listen to the voice of Jesus? To mindfully focus on only one thing? To lay aside the worries and drudgery of work in favor of the peace and good news that Jesus brings? Being like Mary is a possibility for all of us if we can learn that it is ok to rest and meditate and simply listen for the voice of God. We need to give ourselves permission to close our eyes, to step away from the work distraction and listen. How else can we ensure that we are on the right path? I think in many ways it is easier to be like Martha - ticking items off her to-do list one by one. She feels that Mary was sitting idly, but quietly listening, focusing and absorbing is not easy to do. And yet, Jesus says, "Mary has chosen the better part." Mary and Martha are a good balance for each other, but I feel like it's important for both of these aspects to be present in each of us - to know when to get our hands dirty, to work hard for the big picture and for the glory of God but also to know when to simply sit and listen. thanks to Samantha Rossi, guest blogger and seminarian from Upstate NY Synod. This first appeared in the Upstate Update Midweek Musings.