No!  Educational, yes.  Preschool, no.

Any teacher or parent of a preschooler can remind you that preschool is less about learning the content and much, much more about the socialization of the child.  Are we being asked to replace other people the content of more stuff?

In my loading and unloading of book boxes I came across the TV remote that I had been searching for for at least a week.  (It’s been six weeks since we packed up and left Memphis.)  That simple discovery brought the following reminder.  Theology books, like TV, are simply a medium of information and thought to be passed along.  Without relationships and without a social outlet, all of our insight and knowledge is useless.  It may edify the self, but the self without others is just as useless.

My challenge:  Read the theology books on the shelf, watch the TV, but don’t let them stand in the way of people.  Family, church, and social circles are far more important.

I can’t post much at the moment.  I’m moving along in the call process with a church on the West Coast.  Though there’s no secret where I’m headed, I also know there are a number of steps still yet to take before anything is completed.  Once the process has worked its course and everyone has had their say.  I do plan to continue and augment this blog and its topics.  Until then, enjoy your summer, and keep an eye on my Webshots site for new family photos.  (Yellowstone and cross-country trip coming!)

A simple sermon, perhaps, but a long audio clip.  It includes the reading/interpretation of the scriptures for the Sunday.  I have occasionally used video clips as a part of my sermons, and this one has the YouTube clip of Susan Boyle’s performance on “Britain’s Got Talent” from April 11, 2009.

(Watch the video on YouTube.)

Listen to “Watch Your Reaction” 5-17-09

Primary scripture reading for Palm Sunday:  Mark 11:1-11

I was told later that I preached this sermon with a lawyer who consults for the Presbyterian Lay Committee in attendance that day.  Hmm… I wonder if I should have pushed the envelope a bit more.

Even after five months I still find myself questioning at what point I’m enabling him and at what point I’m actually helping.  When I spoke to a fellow minister in the presbytery about this question, he responded, “When you find that out, you be sure to let me know, too.”

Some days “MB” looks to me for food assistance.  Other days he looks to me simply for encouragement.  It’s the times when he seems to be seeking affirmation or approval for his poor decisions that bother me.  I can’t approve of him looking for a job that pays cash under the table, yet he has no ‘on the table’ options.  His support system that is ‘above board’ is what’s keeping surviving, as well as what is keeping him from thriving.

I saw the same kind of system in Cuba.  People are receiving lots of assistance from the government.  Food, shelter, healthcare.  Always enough, but never in abundance.  Needs always met, but hopes never fulfilled.

I heard a city councilman in Memphis once say that the church — not the government — should be in the business of meeting people’s needs.  I tend to disagree.  But what, then, is the next step?  Should the State provide for its people’s needs, and the church help fulfill their spiritual hopes?  Or should the church make sure government heeds its moral voice while not impeding its actions?  Or is there a dialogue and interdependence between us all?

Brew:  Loose leaf black tea.  Agony at 212, 4 minutes, with honey and milk.

Witnessing Thunder and Angels MP3

la-familia-redimida-3-08-09

You can listen to the podcasts of their mid-day sermons here.

I went to hear Marcus Borg on Friday and Crossan on Tuesday, and here is what I gleaned:

Borg made a comment—a reminder for me really—that the cross on which Jesus died was a Roman cross.  It was a form of execution reserved for enemies of the state: political revolutionaries and traitors to the empire.

Too often we turn the cross into a spiritual icon:  Jesus died on the cross for our sins.  Yes, but NO!  Jesus was executed by the state because the message he proclaimed was that the Caesar was not a god, and the systems that upheld the empire were hierarchical with Caesar as the head.  Jesus’ message was one of both of spiritual and political freedom.  It chucked systemic oppression away and his direct, non-violent action had serious enough implications in the political systems of the first century that he became a threat to the state.

Borg was clear that Jesus’ actions were non-violent, the primary proof came not just through his teachings, but in comparison with another prisoner held for violent actions against the state: Barabbas.  The text says Barabbas was imprisoned along with his followers (disciples), whereas Jesus was imprisoned alone.

Then from Crossan:  Parables.  Parabolic action vs. Parabolic stories.

Crossan made some assertions I am still ironing out.  I need to listen to his sermon again – or better yet, read his new book.  He reminded us that just as Jesus told parables, so too are parables told about Jesus, and we have these parables preserved in the gospels.  I have little problem believing that; in fact, truth and historicity often bear little connection to one another.  (For more on this, I’ve found David Plotz’s blog on Slate.com to be an interesting read.)  Crossan finished off the presentation with a final claim, saying that Jesus is the parable of God.  I believe that holds true to a certain extent, but it gets a bit close to stepping on the mystery of the incarnation.  For me, Jesus is a parable of God, but he is not just God’s parable – there is something more than that.

Thoughts?

Brew:  Fair trade organic coffee with vanilla.  Half-caf with brown sugar and 1% milk.  I need to reorder Just Coffee – Cafe Justo. I’m almost out.

This sermon draws upon Matthew 21:33-46.

Click here to listen to “Baking and Breaking” A World Communion Sunday sermon.