Now and then we all need a mental break from the stress of life. In our imperfect world, imperfection rambles on day after day, problem after problem, one crisis following another. Even Jesus said to his disciples, “Come apart and rest a while.” He himself would disappear from time to time and no one knew where he was. Even Jesus needed a break!
This past week our news has been full of Japan’s disaster, Libya’s war, and more arguing about budgets and unions and boycotts. These are all serious matters, but I wonder if we’re not feeling some “crisis fatigue.” I know I am. Sometimes it’s all too much . . . too much pain and suffering, too much anger and hate, too much nonsense.
Now some people deal with crisis fatigue by getting drunk or using drugs or going on a shopping spree or maxing out their credit cards or going to movies or concerts or whatever. Yard work is nice way to get some space and forget the world, too. But it’s too early for yard work. Rats!
This is why I love the silliness of the NCAA basketball tournament. Think about it. Football season is over and baseball hasn’t really started yet. The NBA is a joke and I don’t know anyone personally who takes hockey seriously (doesn’t hockey last through June now?). So I wait for March Madness and hope my Wisconsin Badgers do well in the tournament.
I fill out my brackets and keep my fingers crossed. I don’t watch most of the games, but I keep up on the scores. It’s a nice mental break from crisis fatigue. Reality will be there when it’s all over. Japan will still be a mess, Libya will still be on the brink of self-destruction, the budget still won’t be balanced, and people will still either love or hate Gov. Scott Walker. Republicans and Democrats will still not get along with each other, the rich will still be getting richer and poor poorer, and Charlie Sheen will still be sounding stupid and deranged.
But for now, I’m following the advice of Jesus: “Come apart and rest a while.” For me that means filling out my brackets and watching some good basketball.
So far, so good. I’m 20-12 in my picks—62.5%. That’s better than most politicians and their predictions about the future.
March 19, 2011
March 10, 2011
“You must be born again”—The Rebirth of Democracy
Anyone trying to live a spiritual life knows that we are not converted once but many times. Salvation is an ongoing process, at least for Christians. The “mind of Christ” penetrates the soul step by step, here a little, there a little, as we submit to God’s Spirit and overcome selfishness incrementally. This means we must be “born again” over and over again, like moving from 1st grade through college—never stopping.
Jesus said to Nicodemus, “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8). If God’s Spirit is like the wind, then the Spirit can be active anywhere in human life. We must look for the Spirit at work not only in the church and in our personal lives, but throughout all dimensions of our social life, including politics.
How can someone fail to see God’s Spirit at work when oppressed people rise up and stand for justice? Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “The universe is on the side of justice . . . This belief that God is on the side of truth and justice comes down to us from the long tradition of our Christian faith.” In other words, Good Friday may reign for a day and the righteous may be crucified for a time, but Easter is the fundamental belief of Christianity. The kingdom of God is the goal. This kingdom relates to our social life.
Thus, democracy must also be “reborn” in every generation. Organized sin must be countered by organized righteousness. Corporate evil must be stymied by corporate justice. Partisan lies must be exposed by truth. Liberty is a God-given human right that is maintained only through struggle against the demonic forces of oppression.
If there is anything positive in the chaos in Madison, Wisconsin, right now, it is the rebirth of a dormant democratic spirit. People are rising up. Many of them are being reborn. Young people are beginning to see democracy in action. Complacent Americans are realizing that our liberties are at risk and it is time to be “born again.”
What about complacent churches? In 1917 Walter Rauschenbusch wrote, “The saving power of the church does not rest on its institutional character, on its continuity, its ordination, its ministry, or its doctrine. It rests on the presence of the kingdom of God within her.” I would argue that the eyes of faith will recognize the kingdom of God at work right now in Madison, for God is on the side of justice and righteousness.
But in order to see this, we must be “born again.”
Jesus said to Nicodemus, “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8). If God’s Spirit is like the wind, then the Spirit can be active anywhere in human life. We must look for the Spirit at work not only in the church and in our personal lives, but throughout all dimensions of our social life, including politics.
How can someone fail to see God’s Spirit at work when oppressed people rise up and stand for justice? Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “The universe is on the side of justice . . . This belief that God is on the side of truth and justice comes down to us from the long tradition of our Christian faith.” In other words, Good Friday may reign for a day and the righteous may be crucified for a time, but Easter is the fundamental belief of Christianity. The kingdom of God is the goal. This kingdom relates to our social life.
Thus, democracy must also be “reborn” in every generation. Organized sin must be countered by organized righteousness. Corporate evil must be stymied by corporate justice. Partisan lies must be exposed by truth. Liberty is a God-given human right that is maintained only through struggle against the demonic forces of oppression.
If there is anything positive in the chaos in Madison, Wisconsin, right now, it is the rebirth of a dormant democratic spirit. People are rising up. Many of them are being reborn. Young people are beginning to see democracy in action. Complacent Americans are realizing that our liberties are at risk and it is time to be “born again.”
What about complacent churches? In 1917 Walter Rauschenbusch wrote, “The saving power of the church does not rest on its institutional character, on its continuity, its ordination, its ministry, or its doctrine. It rests on the presence of the kingdom of God within her.” I would argue that the eyes of faith will recognize the kingdom of God at work right now in Madison, for God is on the side of justice and righteousness.
But in order to see this, we must be “born again.”
March 6, 2011
Governor Walker, Jesus, and “Outside Agitators”
I can’t help but chuckle whenever Governor Scott Walker complains (whines?) that many of the protestors in Madison are outside agitators. Many of them are, but the vast majority of protestors are Badgers standing up for justice in our state.
Why all the complaining about people from out of state joining the movement for workers’ rights and social justice? First of all, Gov. Walker has received enough “outside” money to help his cause. “Americans for Prosperity” out of Washington, D. C., has also been visiting our state, renting a bus, and running radio ads promoting their right-wing agenda. It’s a bit hypocritical for Gov. Walker to whine about outside agitators when he himself uses them for this own political purposes.
Gov. Walker comes from a strong Baptist background. His dad is a Baptist minister. Maybe this will help him understand this issue from a biblical perspective. For example, many of the Old Testament prophets were outside agitators. Elijah the Prophet went all the way up to Samaria to confront Ahab and Jezebel. King Ahab said, “Are you the one who’s causing so much trouble in Israel?” Elijah, answered, “No, you are.”
Gov. Walker the problem isn’t the outside agitators; the problem is YOU.
Everywhere Jesus went he was an outside agitator: Capernaum, Tiberias, Tyre and Sidon, Samaria, and especially Jerusalem. He was kicked out of Samaria and even his home town of Nazareth. He was crucified in Jerusalem. The Apostle Paul was imprisoned at least three times for being an outside agitator. He was stoned almost to death numerous times and was kicked out of countless synagogues. The whole history of Christ and the Apostles and the early church is a history of outside agitators.
But what about America? I will use only one example, Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1963, King wrote his famous “Letter from the Birmingham Jail.” He went to Birmingham from Atlanta to protest (nonviolently) racial injustice. He was jailed as an outside agitator. From his jail cell he wrote one of the finest social justice documents ever written…on a few scraps of paper brought to him by a friend:
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere . . . whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial ‘outside agitator’ idea. Anyone who lives in the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.”
Martin Luther King, Jr. was being true to Jesus and to the spirit of democracy. Gov. Walker isn’t. His complaints about ‘outside agitators’ are hypocritical, unbiblical, and undemocratic.
Why all the complaining about people from out of state joining the movement for workers’ rights and social justice? First of all, Gov. Walker has received enough “outside” money to help his cause. “Americans for Prosperity” out of Washington, D. C., has also been visiting our state, renting a bus, and running radio ads promoting their right-wing agenda. It’s a bit hypocritical for Gov. Walker to whine about outside agitators when he himself uses them for this own political purposes.
Gov. Walker comes from a strong Baptist background. His dad is a Baptist minister. Maybe this will help him understand this issue from a biblical perspective. For example, many of the Old Testament prophets were outside agitators. Elijah the Prophet went all the way up to Samaria to confront Ahab and Jezebel. King Ahab said, “Are you the one who’s causing so much trouble in Israel?” Elijah, answered, “No, you are.”
Gov. Walker the problem isn’t the outside agitators; the problem is YOU.
Everywhere Jesus went he was an outside agitator: Capernaum, Tiberias, Tyre and Sidon, Samaria, and especially Jerusalem. He was kicked out of Samaria and even his home town of Nazareth. He was crucified in Jerusalem. The Apostle Paul was imprisoned at least three times for being an outside agitator. He was stoned almost to death numerous times and was kicked out of countless synagogues. The whole history of Christ and the Apostles and the early church is a history of outside agitators.
But what about America? I will use only one example, Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1963, King wrote his famous “Letter from the Birmingham Jail.” He went to Birmingham from Atlanta to protest (nonviolently) racial injustice. He was jailed as an outside agitator. From his jail cell he wrote one of the finest social justice documents ever written…on a few scraps of paper brought to him by a friend:
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere . . . whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial ‘outside agitator’ idea. Anyone who lives in the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.”
Martin Luther King, Jr. was being true to Jesus and to the spirit of democracy. Gov. Walker isn’t. His complaints about ‘outside agitators’ are hypocritical, unbiblical, and undemocratic.
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