Search This Blog

MyFreeCopyright.com Registered & Protected

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Black Hole-- A poem

I wanted to talk about mother,
how she can't see anymore, of nurses
who bruise her arms and legs
when they bathe her. You fold your paper
butter rye toast while you read
Maureen Dowd, Thomas Friedman.
I read your horoscope out loud.

You're talking about quasars, pulsars
or some goddamn thing while I remember
the zoo when we were small, how we walked
for hours in heat while I squinted
through thick lenses to see tiny animals,
pictures on wooden signs,
Look, there it is you would say
I would search logs, long grass
but nothing moved.
Even now I cannot see.

I told you mom was proud of your prize,
your discovery, black holes
gravity swallows light
I asked how how we could know about something
we can't see, without looking up
you answer by observing its effect on things around it.

I told you mom was forgetting our names
but you do not hear
at home with your numbers
geometric proof
that the universe will continue to expand
until one day collapses on itself.

Friday, January 29, 2010

Caption Contest

If you like this sort of thing I would invite you to visit www.newyorker.com/captioncontest.

Each issue the New Yorker offers a caption-less cartoon and invites readers to supply the caption. Three finalists are selected and then readers vote for the winner. The winner gets a signed copy of the cartoon.

I have entered but, alas, never won. Never been a finalist. But I keep trying.

Take a look at this week's offering at the above address. What would your caption be?

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Rain- A poem

RAIN


"Papa, where does that river go?"

The papa, eager to teach,

speaks of flow and surge

of rivers converged

seas receiving

water as vapor

ascending to the heavens

descending as manna and dew

to a needy earth.


"Papa, does that river go around that tree?"


And so it is for the preacher

whose people strain to see

around the river bend while

she speaks to them of the rain.

The Jesus I Know

One of the gracious people who have decided to follow my blog made a comment that, for her part, she leaves politics out of her blog. I believe this was simply a comment reflecting her own preferences and was not related to my style or lack of style in any way.

But it did raise for me some interesting questions. I do not think of myself as "political" but I do have a lot of comments that seem "political".

I am a Christian/theologian/preacher. But what is a Christian? The word means many things to many people. If one says they are a Christian--if they are to be understood and seek to understand in return--they are obligated to be a bit more specific about what the word means.

The New Testament contains at least three versions of Jesus. The earliest is the work of Paul. He sees Jesus as the first Adam in an act of New Creation. Jesus is the cosmic reconciliation of creation and the creator. He is the one who overcomes the last enemy--death--and promises a relationship with God in Jesus for the believing community.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke present Jesus as the one proclaiming the Kingdom of God. This is a political term with political meaning because Jesus is proclaiming a Kingdom other than the Roman Kingdom which occupies Jesus' time and place. Throughout these three gospels Jesus advocates for justice and peace with acts of healing and liberation. The Kingdom of God, whose roots reach back to the prophetic activity of the Old Testament, is oriented toward the wholeness of human persons as children of God, which includes liberation from physical and political oppression.

John is the existential Jesus. John's Jesus never doubts his purpose or his union with the Father. John's Jesus is the eternal logos (word) made flesh who draws people to himself. For John, to know Jesus is to believe in him. To believe in him is to believe in the Father. To do so leads to eternal life. In John there is very little talk of Kingdoms and very few acts of political liberation. In John---it is the existential choice.

So what Jesus do I know? Well, all of them. Each of them has formed and shaped me but the Jesus portrayed by the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke seems the most enduring to me. I lean on that Jesus, the Jesus who preaches good news to the poor and release to the captives and the acceptable year of the Lord. So when I say I am a Christian--that is more the Christian that I am. The other Jesus' remain complimentary. Like the Trinity---the same but separate.

So if I write from a Christian perspective as outlined above, no doubt the observations will, in the end, sound "political".

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Come to Jesus

Fox newsman Brit Hume caused a stir recently when he suggested on his network that Tiger Woods would benefit from coming to Jesus Christ. Hume suggested that it was only in Jesus Christ that Tiger would find the forgiveness and redemption that he needed. Those who objected to this comment did so on a variety of grounds. Some thought Hume should not use his position as network newsman to proselytize and others found the remark insulting to Buddhism, Tiger's reputed faith of choice.
But I say Hurrah! for Brit Hume. Is it not true that Jesus Christ offers forgiveness and redemption? And given Tiger's indiscretions, he seems a good candidate for forgiveness and redemption.
My problem with this scenario is that it doesn't go far enough. Why stop at Tiger? It seems to me there are many people Fox News covers who could benefit from a "come to Jesus" meeting. In fact, it seems to me a good idea for a new show. Come to Jesus with Brit Hume. The first guests can be Wall Street Investment Executives. Brit could chat with them about Jesus' commitment to the poor and his condemnation of the abuse of wealth that wrongly inflicts poverty on others. They could have a round table on Luke 16--the story of the rich man and Lazarus.
The next week Brit's special guest could be the Pat Robertson and Joel Osteen. Brit could introduce them both to Jesus. With Pat Brit could discuss how Jesus would feel about the idea that God causes innocent suffering as a result of sin and with Joel he could discuss how Jesus might feel about his opinion that the power of prayer always gives him the best parking spot.
After that could be a series featuring various congressmen and maybe even the governor of South Carolina and the whole topic of infidelity could be revisited.
Yes, as I see it, the possibilities are endless. Your right, Brit! Bring on Jesus. Because if you are going to confront any newsmaker with the truth of the Gospel, you should confront them all.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Who Am I Really?

My dear friend, Polly, was kind enough to promote me on her blog. If you are reading this you probably already know her.

Our conversation prompted me to reflect more on what I am really about here. Polly is conservative and she says I am liberal which, given those choices, is true.

But really I am pretty independent and have conservative and liberal friends. I read David Brooks and Gail Collins in the NYT and occasionally drift over to Foxnews.com to see how they are spinning things.

In the end what I oppose is idiocy. I do not want idiots running the country. I do not want corporations running the country.

I object to dishonest discourse-- people who disagree on issues have a responsibility to represent the opposing view in such a way that the one holding that view would recognize it has their view

I object to corruption and greed and the lust for power in whatever form it takes

I object to ideology substituting for critical thinking

I object to the lack of critical thinking by leaders and the inability or lack of desire to make important critical distinctions

I object to those who feel entitled by privilege and those who feel entitled by sloth

Enough ranting.

I am independent, Christian, and an intellectual snob.

About Jamie

Today is my daughter Jamie's 12th birthday. Wow. This is the first time I have ever had a child who is twelve. I have always said that the age of child we are most qualified to parent is the age our youngest child just left. That means I am good to go with babies through 7 years.

12 seems the start of something new. Even more than 13, which is the beginning of "teen" (although girls seem to be getting scarily more mature earlier than when I was younger). 11 seemed to still have its roots in the early years....stretching back to cradle days. 12 seems more like a branch.... reaching out towards the fullness of bloom when little Jamie will leave home.

Its not just that I have lost the kid's menu. Its that Jamie is now in that strange place where she contemplates both playing with dolls and going to the school dance with a boy. (please insert here the Rodney Atkins song about cleaning his gun).

Jamie is beautiful, intelligent, creative, imaginative, and loyal. All of this works against her in middle school. She cares about justice and how other people are treated, which leads to nothing but misery. She is trying to figure herself out which is impossible and I am trying to figure out what are hormones and what is a serious problem and what I can possibly do about any of it anyway.

But I am so proud of her and could explode and I love her so much it hurts and I pray that she be happy, healthy and whole and that God will give her the strength to overcome my inadequacies as a father.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

The Corporation-The Person

An interesting idea from Facebook... if Corporations are protected as people for free speech should they not also be held responsible, like people, for all of the criminal behavior?

Friday, January 22, 2010

Just Wondering

The stock market has dropped 5 percent since President Obama began talking tough about bank regulation. For some reason this creates the image in my mind of some movie villain with some innocent tied to a rack with the hero standing near. The villain says "Say anymore about bank regulation and she diess........."

Don't know why, just the image that comes to mind.

A Little About Me

My name is Jim and I am a Presbyterian Minister and teacher in Nebraska. I currently serve a church and from time to time teach in the English department of the University of Nebraska, Kearney.

I have never blogged before and am not very technically talented so hang in there with me as I get started.

My primary reason to blog is a need to express myself against a world increasingly hostile (so it seems to me) to reason and critical thinking. Perhaps I am not any good at it either, but as the blog's title suggests, its this or go crazy.

Thanks for reading and I hope you will record your visit in some way.

A Quiz

With Lent coming up next month I thought I would offer this quiz to test your knowledge of the liturgical season.

What is Lent?

A Anything that a person wants to borrow.

B A liturgical season of the year emphasizing penitence in preparation for Easter.

C A biblical time of 40 days and 40 nights with a lot of rain.

D A season relevant only to people who like fish.

How many days are there in the season of Lent?

A 40 days exclusive of Sundays

B 40 days inclusive of Sundays

C 6 days exclusive of Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays

D I gave up counting days for Lent

Why do we call it “Ash Wednesday”?

A Originally it was known as Cash Wednesday and the Priest expected extra compensation for doing the service. Over the centuries the C fell away (but not the expectation)

B It is the first day of Lent. Ash represents repentance.

C It follows Fire Tuesday and is the inevitable result

D Both A and C

What biblical story is read on the first Sunday in Lent?

A Jonah spends 40 days eating fish

B The disciples give up listening to Jesus for Lent

C Jesus spends 40 days in the wilderness being tempted by the Devil

D John 21 wherein Jesus cooks fish at a Lenten Men’s Breakfast


Answers: (no peeking) B, A, B, C

Capitalist Hill

I have often taught college freshman to understand the difference between capitalism and democracy. One is an economic system, the other a political system. They do not have to go together. Look at China....looks pretty capitalistic and yet is communistic.

Well, the Supreme Court has changed all that. With a 5-4 vote the Supreme Court has blurred the lines between capitalism and democracy by placing congress on the open market. By allowing corporate donations to political candidates (on free speech grounds) the Supreme Court has essentially listed congressmen and women on EBAY. I agree with those who say (such as the minority opinion) that it is ludicrous to equate corporate interest and financial resource with the typical voter on the street.

Welcome to Capitalist Hill

On Tiger!

Tiger Woods is now officially a role model. This week the New York Post published a grainy telephoto picture of Tiger Woods reportedly at a facility in Mississippi for Sexual Addiction. The implication of the picture, as I understood it, was "look! We caught Tiger Woods again!"

What Tiger did to end up in the rehab clinic may be deplorable, but his presence there is certainly not. And the media--and by that I mean largely the tabloid world--had better back off.

Addiction--be it drugs, alcohol, or sex--is a disease. It is treatable. It should be treated. By entering rehab, Tiger Woods is doing the right thing, the honorable thing. Unfortunately many in this country cannot discuss sexuality without sounding like sixth grade boys in the bathroom, so it is likely that Tiger's time in rehab will be played out in less than dignified terms.

But that is scandalous. It takes great courage to enter any rehab for addiction no matter what led up to the need. Many should and do not. Tiger's willingness to truly work to fix his life is commendable and laudable.

So if you are still laughing at Tiger---shut up. It is time to leave Tiger alone and learn from him.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

My First Day

Well, the title should about say it all. After a long time imagining and a longer time bordering on crazy I have decided to take my missives beyond the local constituents and share with a broader audience. Whether a broader audience will ever show up remains to be seen, but as the name of the blog indicates, just having this is step in the right direction.