The Greatest Irony of All

Planned Parenthood is trying to build a new Infant Killing Center on Claiborne Avenue in New Orleans.  Fortunately, New Orleans, despite its reputation for being loose and easy and forgiving in almost every area of life, has deep roots in Catholicism.  So Planned Parenthood has had a devil of a time trying to find contractors and sub-contractors to work on its new Abortion Center.

River Parishes Disposal originally had the contract to dispose of construction debris, but when the President of the Company learned the real purpose of the building being constructed, he withdrew from a very lucrative contract and had all the disposal bins removed from the property.  The story has been repeated again and again with contractors and sub-contractors in the New Orleans area.

Now Planned Parenthood is appealing to "minority and disadvantaged" businesses (translation: those owned by Blacks and women) to join in the effort to "build better healthcare" for the women of New Orleans --- notice, nothing is said about the healthcare of the unborn infants.

But here's the ultimate irony:  One of the points of appeal to these businesses is that Louisiana ranks first in the nation in "infant mortality," and we can reduce infant mortality by building an abortion center:  "Let us kill your baby before birth, and Louisiana's infant mortality rating will be reduced."

If we would begin keeping statistics on abortion as part of the total of "infant mortality" ratings, we would overshadow India and every 3rd-world nation in infant deaths.  Surely, we can do better than this!  What if we put all the money we spend on government-subsidized abortion into making adoption affordable and possible for all those who ache for an infant?  Many families have much love to give but cannot afford the $30,000+ adoption fees. 

Couldn't we build centers to take in, house, and care for pregnant women, give them a safe place to live if they needed one, and help them to get back on their feet after giving birth instead of killing their babies -- the most "expedient" way to handle the problem of unwanted pregnancies.  I know that not all unplanned pregnancies are to poor women, but even those to privileged women could be handled with a safe end to their pregnancies.  Doctors could keep lists of would-be parents, and counsel women to bring the child to birth as their gift to those who ache for a child.  Maybe not all women would choose this route instead of abortion, but I believe many might.  No one in their right mind wants to kill an innocent child -- or so I would hope -- if there is another alternative.

Slavery in this country was a national policy and a national disgrace -- and we paid for "every drop of blood drawn by the lash with blood drawn by the sword," in the words of Abraham Lincoln.  I believe that America will and is paying for the blood of its children "crying out from the ground," as God spoke to Cain about his brother Abel.  I am so proud of those businesses in New Orleans that refuse to put money above their principles.  I would hope that no business in the future, whether "disadvantaged" or not would emerge from this venture with the blood of untold infants on their hands.    The Daughters of Charity are addressing the "infant mortality" rate by building clinics in poor neighborhoods and providing low-cost or free mother and infant care to all who walk in the door.  That is the alternative we are looking for!

The Purpose of Religion

So then, what is the purpose of religion?  The pagans thought it was to placate an angry god with sacrifices of blood and of their own children -- the fruit of my flesh for the sins of my soul.  If we go to the ruins of South America and of Mexico, we find temples built for the purpose of blood sacrifice.  The priests would pierce their penises and the priestesses their breasts, letting the blood flow to appease the gods.  When crops failed, when storms raged, more blood would flow.

In the Old Testament, God had to require animal sacrifice both as a type (or education over a period of time) of Jesus' sacrifice to come, and as a source of communion -- God and man "eating" of the same food.  In a world of pagan sacrifices of all kinds -- throwing children into the arms of a heated idol to roast their flesh, etc. -- God had to gradually teach his people that this is not what He required of them.  Animal sacrifice was part of the "substitution" system, but it also provided food for the journey.  Temple worship was actually part of the butchering system that provided food for those traveling long distances to worship in Jerusalem -- and it provided food for the priests who ministered in the Temple.  Everyone sat down to the feast, after the animal had been consecrated and offered to God as a "sweet-smelling aroma."  Temple worship was a community meal, with God Himself "sitting down at table" with His people.

That is why "food offered to idols" was such a problem for the early church:  should invited guests partake of such food?  What if they knew that the idols were nothing -- were they still free to eat, knowing that others at the table with them believed in the idols?  Could they sit at table with idol-worshippers and eat of the same food, offered to strange gods?

Is the purpose of religion to make of us "good people" by obeying the law?  Many people who have no religion at all are obviously "good," following some sort of moral or internal law.  Many of them would put regular church-attendees to shame if we went only by external behavior.  And besides, all of Paul's epistles make it perfectly clear that the purpose of the Law is to reveal our inability to keep the Law -- to show us our own sinfulness.

So, if the purpose of religion is not to placate an angry god, and if its purpose is not necessarily to make of us a civilized people (although that is surely one side-effect), what then is its purpose?  By studying the effects of religion in general, and of Christianity in particular, we can be amazed at the results in every era and culture: people dwell in peace with one another; they stop age-old feuding and wars.  Hospitals are erected to care for the sick and dying; schools are built to educate the young; farms are started in times of peace to provide food for the community -- a whole culture is lifted from primitivism; human life is cherished instead of eliminated; even the weak and the poor find a place near to the altars of a living God. 

Many secular movements -- without any religion at all -- are begun to achieve these same effects:  World Pulse, World Vision, The Peace-Corps, Teach for America, etc.  But most of these organizations are started and maintained, if not by a religious group, by those who have been brought up and influenced by some form of Christianity or by Judaism.  The Eastern religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, and all of its forms cultivate a peaceful soul within, but not necessarily a better society without.  Humanism cultivates a better world for all, a "Great Society," hoping that men will somehow conform themselves to good causes without first overcoming the selfish nature within.

The one thing that separates and defines Christianity from all other forms of religion, and its ultimate aim, is the union on earth, in this life, of God and man -- a divine intimacy and union reflected by the union of marriage -- two in one flesh -- a divine indwelling.  Jesus Christ is not only the "model" of this union, a model to be "copied," as it were.  He is indeed the Way, the Truth, and the LIFE of this union.  That is, we can live this marriage ONLY in Him, with Him, and through Him.  He extends His hand to us and says, "Come to Me."  If we take His hand, if He dwells in us and we in Him, we begin even as we are sinners to live His union with the Father and with the Spirit.  He continually cleanses us, making more room inside us for the Divine Indwelling.  We are become the Living Temples of the Divine Presence on earth.

St. Augustine said, "Love God and do what you will" --- because as God dwells in our flesh, we will become and "do" more and more of what He does -- bringing peace and harmony to the earth, to our relationships, picking up the weak and untended sheep, and shedding His light in the darkness.  That is the purpose of religion -- to bring us into a divine marriage, a relationship that bears fruit on the earth.  No matter how naturally "good" we are, of ourselves, we can do nothing of God's work on earth.  Our only hope is to allow His Presence in us to do all and more than we can ask or imagine.

Kaddish!

I praise and thank You, O my God, for the wondrous things You have done for me!

You have set me free from guilt and condemnation and set my feet a-dancing every day of my life!

You have given me to drink of the waters of eternal life and of the Presence of Your Holy Spirit!

You have given me Your Word, and written it on the tablets of my heart!

You have shown me great things hidden from the foundation of the world!

You have given me confidence in Your Love and Mercy!

You have made Jesus Christ my eternal Teacher and the Shepherd of my soul!

I will not go astray, for He leads me with quiet and gentle guidance.

Pour out the same gift of Your Holy Spirit on all who know me and for whom I now pray!
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One of the saddest things about atheism is that those who do not know God must rely on themselves and their own meager resources.  When their resources, including the resources of their friends, fail them, as they inevitably must, the response must be fear, anxiety, resentment, anger, and lashing out in disappointment.  God has not designed man to be independent of Divine Resources -- He has designed us to walk with Him, talk with Him, and to know the strength and joy that comes from knowing Who is in charge.  He wants to share with us, as any good Father, His eternal resources of strength, joy, wisdom, understanding, peace, and love.  But you would not!

Jesus wept over Jerusalem:  How I longed to gather you into my arms as a mother hen gathers her chicks.  But you would not!  Jesus is the Face of God, who longs to give good things to His children, but you would not!  What is it that keeps us from receiving the "Living Water," "the Gift of the Father-- the Holy Spirit" from the God who longs to pour it out?

Part of the answer is pride-- but you would not!  Part of the answer is fear, and part of the answer is guilt.  Jesus Calling for Sept 7 says this:

....I abhor the use of guilt as a means of motivation among Christians.  Some pastors try to whip their people into action with guilt-inducing sermons.  This procedure can drive many people to work harder, but the end does not justify the means.  Guilt-evoking messages can undermine the very foundation of grace in a believer's heart.  A pastor may feel successful when his people are doing more, but I look at their hearts.  I grieve when I see grace eroding, with weeds of anxious works creeping in.  I want you to relax in the assurance of My perfect love.  The law of My Spirit of Life has freed you from the law of sin and death (Romans 8).

 



The only guilt Jesus imputed was to the Pharisees who "laid heavy burdens on peoples' backs and who did not lift a finger to help them."  To the "sinners," He gave a song of praise and thanksgiving as He freed them from their heavy burdens and hearts.  He placed in their mouths a song of praise to their God -- just as He does today, again and again.  Millions of people are still singing their Kaddish today, just as I am.  Would that everyone I know join me in my song!

The Paradox of Power

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you...and you will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth  (Acts 1).

I have good news and bad new for those trying to be Christian -- and it's the same news:  You (and I) don't have the power to live the Christian life.  After three years of being taught by Jesus Christ Himself, after watching Jesus "up close" and personally, after practicing casting out demons and healing under His tutelage -- still, Jesus had to tell the Apostles not to leave Jerusalem until they had been endowed with "the Gift of the Father."  He knew that with all the human and divine energy He had poured into them, that they still had no power to carry out His mission --- until they had received the Spirit of Truth, of Power, of Witness, of Holiness.

Power has a bad name because people use it to advance their own cause, to manipulate others for their own advantage.  We are either about ourselves, or we are about the common good, under God.  And it's not too difficult to tell the difference; it takes only about 5 minutes of being with another person to know who or what it's all about.

True, humble, and confident power is the definition of a well-grounded person.  The reason General Honore could put the City of New Orleans back together in the midst of chaos and confusion after Katrina was that it was about the people of the city, and not about him.  He told the National Guard to lower their rifles, even while they carried them:  "these people are not criminals," he told the soldiers.  The rifles were necessary to control the evil element and to protect life, freedom, and personal property -- but they served the benefit of the common good, not the benefit of those "in power."

We draw life from the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, from knowing that our power comes not from ourselves, our own personalities, our own positions in life -- but from the willingness of God to place His own power for good within those who will use it for His purposes.  A truly spiritual woman, a truly whole man, is a very powerful person -- and yet these are the very people who will not "lord it over" others.

We are called to be powerful people:  "Not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit," says the Lord of hosts (Zeph. 3).  God is not interested in keeping us children; He wants adults who can handle His own power.  They can handle it because they don't need it and because they know it is not their own.  When you know you are being used by a Higher Power, you don't take your own small power too seriously (Rohr, Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality, p. 98).

People who use their power for the common good are the best at sharing power; they do not need to claim recognition for their own ideas or plans.  The person who does not know who he or she is from the inside is dependent on titles, costumes, precedence, roles, and perks --- but the one who knows he/she is "sent" (like Jesus, like John the Baptist) does not need any of these things.  He goes without script, extra tunic, sword, etc. because he/she knows that the God Who sent him will provide what he needs along the way.  He does not need a loud voice or extra strength, because he knows the Source of power and strength.  He is confident; he is not called to success, but only to "do whatever He tells you." 

Those who filled the water jars at the Wedding of Cana had no idea what the water would be used for.  In fact, they could never have imagined what would happen next.  All we need to do is to carry water to desert areas; it is not up to us to change it into wine.

Learning to Listen

You have two voices with which you speak: your Mindvoice and your Soulvoice. 

These two voices are also – all the time – speaking to you.   

Which voice you listen to will determine which voice you speak with. 

God invites you to listen to, and speak with, your Soulvoice.

This will vastly improve your personal communications – to say nothing of your mood.

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Last week, I had the incredible privilege of driving for 8 hours with a close friend, a recovering alcoholic.  She told me about going on a women's retreat in California; the purpose of the retreat was to get in touch with the inner world that determines who we are and what drives our actions in the outer world.  The first or second day of the retreat, they were asked to maintain absolute silence for 24 hours.  That night, or the next morning, my friend dreamed that a number of dragons were coming at her from different directions, threatening to overwhelm and destroy her.  I have forgotten some of the details of the dream that she related, but what I do remember was that instead of killing the dragons, she was able to transform them into friends, there to protect and guide her instead of killing her.  She grew to love that which had terrorized her for so long. 

 

My friend is convinced that without the imposed silence, she would never have come to this dream and the revelation it contained for her.  The next morning, she and the other women were able to reveal and discuss with one another what had happened to them after a period of silence.

 

The word "educate" comes from the Latin "educare," which means "to draw out."  Most of us think of education in general, and religious education in particular, as "telling," but actually a good education should give us the tools with which to listen to and balance our inner worlds with the outer world.

 

Our mind-voice is always busy; in fact, one of the things I learned while studying language acquisition is that it is impossible to shut off the language center of the brain.  We think; we rehearse our words; we review our emotions and the reasons behind them; we solidify the patterns of resentment, anger, bitterness, jealousy, and ego that carve deep ruts in the brain, changing us physically, and not only psychologically.  If we are to begin to listen to our soul-voice, the one connected to the Spirit of God, we must find a way to still and to silence the mind-voice.

 

It is easy to recognize the soul-voice within us; it is the voice of peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy, and truth.  It is the "small still voice of God" speaking in our innermost being.  If we are to coax the invisible world within us to the visible world without, we must find ways to nourish the soul voice -- to give it the space and the silence it needs to begin to speak.  We can actually train our spirits to hear both the Voice of God within us and what the Spirit is speaking to us.

 

If we are addicted to the external world and to the constant chatter of our mind-voice, we will never hear the soul voice speaking to us, but we will be haunted by what it is trying to reveal.  We will become hungry with a hunger that nothing in the outer world can satisfy -- no food, no friend, no adventure.  We hunger for the world of the Spirit.

 

Jesus promised us "living water" so that we would never thirst again --- the water He gives us "springing up to eternal life" is His very own communion with the Father and with the Spirit, a conversation born in friendship, compassion, and total acceptance of who we are, with all our quirks, sins, hang-ups, and inhibitions. 

 

Friends long to communicate with one another, to reveal to each other the inner world of their souls, the unique landscape that belong to them alone.  God longs to approach us as Friend, as Counselor, and Teacher and Guide.  He longs to reveal to each one of us His own "inner landscape," and He longs to embrace who we are in the depths of our being.  None of this can happen until we can embrace the silence and solitude that allows our souls to emerge and to speak. 

 

There are many ways to strengthen the voice within, the voice that reveals a world so beautiful we cannot imagine it.  In the next few days, I will explore some of the ways we can "be still and know that I am God."