THE SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

Sorry I haven't been able to post lately. It's near the end of the quarter and I'm up to my neck in research papers. Mom's fine but requiring some extra time, which I'm more than glad to give. And life is hectic. I'll be glad when summer gets here.

The sermon is based on the lessons for the day:
Acts 17:22-31
Psalm 66:7-18
1 Peter 3:13-22
John 14:15-21

Enjoy!

Last summer, we were invited to a party of some good friends of ours. Nice people. They throw great parties. They’re not wild parties, but the food is good and we know most of the people who attend and it’s usually the proverbial good time that was had by all.

After we’d made the rounds, another friend flagged us down and invited us to sit with him and some other fellow we’d never met before. After some polite pleasantries, our friend mentioned to the other fellow what I did for a living. I always cringe when people do that: I know what’s coming. The man looked a bit puzzled and then said, “You don’t look like someone who would believe all that stuff.” I replied, “What stuff?” He said, “You know, all that stuff about an infallible book that tells you that women are inferior, that the world was made in six days, six thousand years ago by an old man with a long, grey beard, about some zombie born of a virgin that saves sinners who believe in him, and that all gay people and everyone else who doesn’t believe in him is going to hell.” I smiled and then replied, “I don’t believe any of that stuff.” The fellow said, “But you have to! That’s what Christians believe, don’t they?!”

I have to admit to guilty pleasure over the last couple of weeks: I’ve been following the goings on of Harold Camping and his followers. And for those of you who don’t know, the Rapture has been postponed until the 21st of October. So, Martin, you don’t have to plan anything or All Saints Day or after. I’ve found this whole thing rather fascinating as well as sad. I’m still not sure what to make of the thousands who sold all their belongings and gave the money to Harold and now have absolutely nothing.

In the process, I’ve been watching the discussion boards on CNN and Yahoo as well as just listening to people in the grocery store and on the streets. And it’s become apparent that over the last thirty years or so, due to the influence of such people as Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, may he rest in peace, and poor Jimmy Swaggert, not to mention Tammy Faye and Jim Baker and a whole host of other “preachers,” much of the American populace has come to believe what the fellow at the party had articulated. In many ways, the term “Christian” has become a bad word and anyone who ascribes to it is perceived as a naïve, closed minded, bigoted simpleton. Much of this perception is rooted deep in American history which was and continues to be highly influenced by our Puritan roots and the teachings of Calvinism. But I digress.

It is no wonder that Mainline Churches are becoming emptier and emptier. People really don’t know us, what we stand for, what we believe. It’s also no surprise the churches of our Fundamentalist brethren and sistren are bursting at the seams: we live in a world that becomes more complex by the second and cheap answers to complex questions make some feel safe. Being the kind of Christianity the fellow at the party knew about may make one feel good, but doesn’t work.

What has become apparent is that the God to whom Jesus bore witness and what Jesus taught have been replaced by religious and theological systems which are nothing more than reflections and projections of the human fears, values and prejudices of those who hold them. And, since they have the resources to proclaim their message loud and clear, it’s the message that gets heard. And many on this continent and in Europe have decided that they want none of it. And rightfully so.

And at the same time, people wouldn’t be so vitriolic towards Christianity in particular and religion in general if they didn’t give a rip. It’s pretty obvious that people in our time have a deep and chronic yearning for a connection to something beyond themselves, something greater than themselves, something which is timeless, enduring and gives meaning to life. Science has continues to wonderfully articulate and unfold the mysteries of the physical world, but people are beginning to realize that it can’t answer the mysteries of the inner world. And our consumerism and materialism have proven empty at best. We live in a world of a spiritual vacuum yearning to be filled.

In many ways, it feels like St. Paul standing in the Areopagus, which was where the legal courts were located on the Acropolis, preaching to the Athenians. The Athenians and the rest of the Greeks as well as the rest of the ancient world were quite devout people. They offered their devotions to the gods as was required of each deity. But nearly all of ancient religion was based on appeasing the gods so that they’d do what you asked as well as not send some sort of calamity on your on account of your transgressions or just because the gods felt like it. Much of ancient religion was based on the cycles of nature. But it was also based on fear: fear of calamity, fear of famine, fear of war and fear of death. And the Athenians were pretty scrupulous about trying to keep the gods happy. Why, they even had an altar to an unknown god just in case they’d missed one. Don’t want to tick HIM off!

This was just the opening St. Paul needed. Obviously, the Athenians were open to the idea of at least one more god. So, St. Paul took the chance to tell the Athenians about a particular unknown God. St. Paul knew that our knowledge of God is minutely incomplete; that understanding the actual Being of God is beyond the human mind. But he also understood that deep within the human soul is an instinct that is able to connect with its Source and that this connection brings life and hope and peace. And, St. Paul also knew that what we can “know” about God had been revealed in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, his Lord (and ours!) who had preached love instead of fear, compassion instead of greed, mercy instead of vengeance, peace instead of violence, hope instead of despair. It was this Jesus that revealed not just “a” god, but “the” God of the entire universe whose love and mercy and forgiveness are a given, who doesn’t require incense burned at his shrine or sacrifices offered on altars, but requires humans to love the unlovable, to embrace the outcast, to care for those in need, to seek justice for the vulnerable and to stand up to abusive authority, both secular and religious. And to the Athenians, this God was something entirely new. They’d never heard of such a Deity before. Plus the fact that since there was just one, it cut down on the how many gods one had to keep happy!

And so, it is time for us to take on the mission of St. Paul himself as he spoke to the Athenians. I have to admit that the Blessed Apostle is not one of my favorites. He can be a bit rigid and cranky at times. But in this instance, he’s who we need. It’s time for the Church to proclaim to the world the unknown God to our own society, to our own culture; the God who has become unknown in favor of the one we have made, the One whom Jesus proclaimed and the message which he preached. It’s time for those outside the Church to hear an alternative and faithful proclamation of the Gospel, a gospel not based in fear and judgment and guilt, but the Gospel: of love and mercy and forgiveness and peace, a Gospel which can fill the spiritual vacuum to overflowing.

They say that charity begins at home. Well, I believe that the beginning of change also begins at home. I suspect that you are like me: that, when people ask, you too have to explain that you’re not “that” kind of Christian. But then, what do we do?

We need to learn how to articulate what we believe. I know that such a thing is difficult for us Episcopalians. We’re traditionally introverts when it comes to our faith. We verbalize it through ritual and the words of the Prayer Book. And there’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, it’s marvelous and a gift from God. But, we also need to learn to become functional extroverts about our faith. We need to be able to articulate in a concise, frank and unapologetic manner what we truly believe with no strings attached for the one to whom we are speaking. We need to be able to more clearly offer to others the God whom Jesus was and proclaimed because that’s what people in our day and age yearn for and for which they are starving. We need to be like St. Paul and offer the God our culture has forgotten or maybe even never known as the viable alternative to the false gods that our culture and even our religion have created.

In this morning’s Gospel lesson, Jesus says, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” I have no doubt of our love for God. I know that we introverted Episcopalians are “doing” those commandments all the time. We may be introverts at verbally articulating the faith, but we’re extroverts when it comes to living it. We’re keeping his commandments – as best we can. And the promise is that we don’t have to do this alone. Jesus goes on to promise his own Spirit to accompany us, to give us courage to be the heart and the hands to reach out to a world starving for the Divine.

Giving witness to the unknown God, but known to us in Jesus, is something we have to learn to do. Most of us are afraid of doing so and being lumped together with the purveyors of the known god the TV preachers and Harold Camping talk about. It’s a valid fear. So we have to learn to do it in a manner that is non-threatening, inviting and not coercive. We need first to begin to articulate what we hold dear and how God has transformed our own lives to each other. We need find alternatives to apologizing for being people of faith; alternatives which reveal that some, dare I say most, Christians – and people of faith and goodwill in general - are not naïve simpletons but rather people of depth, compassion, open minds and listening hearts.

We have our work cut out for us. And it’s not easy work. In fact, it’s hard work. But it’s the work deeply rooted in what life is all about. And it’s work we will not do alone. We will do it with each other and with the promised Spirit to give us courage and comfort and openness to whatever may come our way. We will proclaim the unknown God with boldness and clarity; that unknown God made known to the world in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Happy Mothers Day

I usually find Hallmark Holidays rather annoying. Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Secretary’s Day, National Hemorrhoid Week and the like. They seem to be holidays made up to sell cards, candy and schlock.

But Mother’s Day does have a less commercial side to it. During the sixteenth century, people returned to their mother church for a service to be held on Laetare Sunday, the Fourth Sunday in Lent. Its widescale revival was through the influence of American and Canadian soldiers serving abroad during World War II; the traditions of Mothering Sunday, still practiced by the Church of England and Church of Ireland (Anglican) were merged with the newly-imported traditions and celebrated in the wider Catholic and secular society. British based merchants saw the commercial opportunity in the holiday and relentlessly promoted it in the UK; by the 1950s it was celebrated across all the United Kingdom. So, in the long run, I think Mother’s Day is a good thing especially in and for the Church. It reminds us of the essence of God and the attributes we assign to “Him.”

In many places, the Blessed Mother is venerated on this Sunday which seems especially appropriate. To me, St. Mary has always been the feminine side of God anyway. I never bought into those strange notions our Roman Brethren and Sistren have like Mary’s perpetual virginity and such. St. Ambrose was so taken with the idea that he claimed Jesus had been born from Mary’s ear in order to preserve her…um…uh….well, you get the picture. What caught my imagination about the Blessed Mother is that she was just that: a mother – and a healthy mother at that. Healthy mothers love their children no matter what. They may not understand their kids or even like what they do, but healthy mothers never stop loving their children. Healthy mothers will gladly give their own lives to save the life of their children. Take the animal kingdom as an example: don’t get between a Mama Grizzly and her cub. It won’t be pretty.

And Mary was no different. There were times when her Son was an enigma. At times he even annoyed her – take the wedding at Cana for example. (In the Greek, Jesus’ response to her is much more nasty than it’s translated into English.) When she and the kids went to fetch him because people thought he was a loonie, he denied her saying that those who do the will of his Father were really his mother and brothers and sisters. But she kept loving him. Why? Because she was a mom and that’s what moms do.

I have this notion that Mary was also the author of the Good News. As an unwed mother, she’d’ve never been totally accepted in Nazareth social circles. She was always an outsider even though Joseph had married her. She know what it was to be on the outside looking in. And one day, when Jesus is about twelve, he comes home with a bloody nose. He says to his mother, “Mom! Do you know what they’re saying about me? Do you know what they’re sying about YOU? Well, I showed’m.” And his Blessed Mother replies, “We don’t behave that way. Let them say what they want. Violence is never an option. AND, they’re God’s beloved children too whether we like it or not. So, no more bloody noses.” Of course, at twelve, it took a few more years for it to finally sink in. And when it did, Jesus went out and preached it from the roof tops.

And that’s why I see Our Lady as the feminine side of God. God has that maternal instinct, if one can say the Divine has instincts, which loves us no matter what. When we’re being saintly, or when we’re being immoral, illegal and fattening, God continues to love us with no strings attached. It’s just the way it is. We might deny God, but God will never deny us. And when life has reached its end, God will welcome us home like mom does when we’ve been away for a long time – no matter what, no matter what we’ve done, no matter who we’ve been.

Maybe I have this concept because I’m fortunate enough to have a great Mom. At almost 92, she’s spry, bright and sharp as a tack. I go to visit her just for fun and we have a grand time. (OK, so I have to hear the stories more than once. Is that such a big deal???) And my Mom loved and loves me like God does: with no strings attached. And I guess that’s who taught me about God.

So, Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms out there. Happy Mother’s Day to those who are still with us. Happy Mother’s Day to those who rejoice with but upon another shore and in a greater light. Happy Mother’s Day, Mom! You deserve it. You put up with ME all these years. And Happy Mother’s Day, Mother of us All. Your love influenced one heck of a Son.

A RECIPE FOR GROWTH

I ran into this online.  It’s about how to get young people into
Church.  However, the 20th step makes it clear that it works for just about everybody. 

Our parish is growing, but not with the people we'v been told we are to recruit. They're more of the grey heads that seem to populate the pews and it's a good thing; those who seem to come to be with us - those for whom youth, at least physical youth - is a memory.  I can only speak for myself, but I have a tendency to see those who retur

n to the Church in their 40s and 50s as bright, energetic, intellectually astute, successful people.  And usually I’m right.  But my blind spot is that I forget that they’ve returned to the Church because their spirits are hungry.  They’ve begun asking the questions of life that only come with years.  The passion of human love affairs may be of the past, but the passion of God’s love affair with them is becoming clearer.  And they wonder what to do next. 

With these returning folks – of any age but our demographic in mind – we might want to think about offering a community gathering to talk about who we are, where we’re going and what we value.  I find the steps below very hopeful. 

the owls & the angels

silence and breath, we wing to the air, words split open to flight

http://owlrainfeathers.blogspot.com/2010/11/ah-church.html09 November 2010

ah, the church
 
When I was an Episcopal chaplain--for four years--all the time people in the church would ask me, "Why don't young people come to church?" or "How do we get young people to come to church?"  I have some suggestions now, so listen up.

 Here is a step-by-step plan for how to get more young people into the church:

1.  Be genuine.  Do not under any circumstances try to be trendy or hip, if you are not already intrinsically trendy or hip.  If you are a 90-year-old woman who enjoys crocheting and listens to Beethoven, by God be proud of it.

2.  Stop pretending you have a rock band. (Not sure this is pertinent to our situation)
 
3.  Stop arguing about whether gay people are okay, fully human, or whatever else.  Seriously.  Stop it.  (We have and need to be up front about it without being “in your face.”)

4.  Stop arguing about whether women are okay, fully human, or are capable of being in a position of leadership. (Ditto to #3.  We have a woman as a Presiding Bishop!  Hello!)

5.  Stop looking for the "objective truth" in Scripture.  (We’re Anglicans.  Need I say more?)

6.  Start looking for the beautiful truth in Scripture. 

7.  Actually read the Scriptures.  If you are an Episcopalian, go buy a Bible - preferably the New Revised Standard Version) or dust the one on the shelf off and read it.  Start in Genesis, it's pretty cool.  You can skip some of the other boring parts in the Bible (like Leviticus!).  Remember though that almost every book of the Bible has some really funky stuff in it.  Remember to keep #5 and #6 in mind though.  If you come from an evangelical background, you may need to stop reading the Bible for about 10 years.  Don't worry:  during those ten years you can work on putting these other steps into practice.
 
8.  Start worrying about extreme poverty, violence against women, racism, consumerism, homophobia and the rate at which children are dying worldwide of preventable, treatable diseases.  Put all the energy you formerly spent worrying about the legitness of gay people and women into figuring out ways to do some good in these areas.

9.  Do not shy away from lighting candles, silence, incense, laughter, really good food, really good movies and extraordinary music.  By "extraordinary music" I mean genuine music.  Soulful music.  Well-written, well-composed music.  Original music.  Four-part harmony music.  Funky retro organ music.  Hymns.  Taize chants.  Bluegrass.  Steel guitar.  Humming.  Gospel.  We are the Church; we have an uber-rich history of amazing music. Remember Thomas Tallis, Wm Byrd, and the rest of the English Choral Music tradition. Remember this.

10.  Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  (Hmmm.  Who said that?  I used to remember his/her name.  Now let me see……..)

11.  Learn how to sit with people who are dying.

12.  Feast as much as possible.  Cardboard communion wafers are a feast in symbol only (though actual bread may transcend the cosmos!)  Humans can not live on symbols alone.  Remember this.

13.  Notice visitors, smile genuinely at them, invite them to the 8th Sacrament of Coffee Hour and include them in conversations, but do not overwhelm them (like vultures on fresh meat!)

14.  Be vulnerable.  Jesus was and expects no less from us.  It’s hard, but we’re at least supposed to give it a try. This includes men, including straight men.

15.  Stop worrying about getting young people into the church.  Stop worrying about marketing strategies.  Take a deep breath.  If there is a God, that God isn't going to die even if there are no more Christians at all.

16.  Figure out who is suffering in your community.  Go be with them.

17.  Remind yourself that you don't have to take God to anyone.  God is already with everyone.  So, rather than taking the approach that you need to take the truth out to people who need it, adopt the approach that you need to go find the truth that others have and you are missing.  Go be evangelized.

18.  Put some time and care and energy into creating a beautiful space for worship and being-together.  (We have that already!)  But shy away from building campaigns, parking lot expansions, and what-have-you.

19.  Make some part of the church building accessible for people to pray in 24/7.  Put some blankets there too, in case someone has nowhere else to go for the night.  (Hmm.  We may get flack from Church Insurance, but should that be an issue?)

20.  Listen to God (to Wisdom, to Love) more than you speak your opinions.

21.  (My own)  Have a sense of humor.  Don’t take life more seriously than it needs to be.  Remember God has a sense of humor too – where do you think WE got it from???  

This is a fool-proof plan.  If you do it, I guarantee that you will attract young people (and the young at heart and older in body) to your church.  And lots of other kinds of people too. But remember that growing the Church isn't about butts in pews, pledge cards and such things. It's all about being together in and sharing Christ. It's about living into the Gospel. It's about being a safe and challenging place to grow in love and life.

"Snickering Jesus" by the Blogmeister!

CREDO IN UNUM DEUM

I received a nice email yesterday from a reader who asked what I believed. This wasn't a test of my orthodoxy. I'm an Anglican and for us "orthodoxy" covers a broad spectrum. Personally, I tend to fall on the more Catholic side of that spectrum, all with a sense of humor and knowing that what I know is at best only very slight and partial.

So, I replied with this Affirmation of Faith from my book, New Daily Prayer, www.newdailyprayer.net ( which you have to cut and paste into your address thingy above since the Link tab on this contraption doesn't seem to work) in case you'd like a copy but I'm not really here to be hawking books! The next reprint is in progress.) The text of this Affirmation is below.

I might add that while I am a follower of Jesus of Nazareth, whom we call the Christ or the Messiah, and affirm him as the full Incarnation of God (whatever that really means) I have no doubt that God has been present in the other great prophets and sages through out history with the exception of Joseph Smith who really wasn't either. I also buy into the doctrine of the Trinity as the best we humans can do to explain that which is unexplainable. Ultimately, God knows who He/She/It is which, I guess, is the most important part of it all.

In any event, here goes:


We believe in One God as revealed in the Scriptures
and the ancient Tradition
of the Catholic and Apostolic Church:
the Source of All, the Word made Flesh and Giver of Life;
the Wellspring of all life and mystery
who created and creates all things great and small
n the beauty of holiness.
We believe in Jesus Christ, God With Us,
who was born of Mary, lived, and was raised from the dead;
who reveals God’s heart of peace and forgiveness,
tenderness and compassion, power and might,
which is stronger than even death itself;
We believe in the Spirit who floods us with courage,
and empowers us to be God’s presence in the world.
We believe in our calling to respond to others
as God responds to all:
with mercy, hope, and Grace,
n trust and openness, wonder and joy, peace and simplicity
and in solidarity with the poor,
the marginalized and the outcast.
We rejoice in the new life which bread and wine,
water and oil communicate to us,
and that through them and in us, Jesus is truly present.
We participate in and await the fulfillment of God’s dominion,
in which all find their final rest in union with
the Source of All, the Word made Flesh,
and the Giver of Life,
who lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

Rublev's Trinity

THOMAS DOUBTED. WOULDN'T YOU??? EASTER II

I’ve always thought Thomas got a bad rap. I don’t blame him for doubting. Wouldn’t you???

By this time in the lives of those of us who are “mature,” we’ve all lost someone dear to us. I lost a spouse almost twenty-five years ago – it’s ancient history so don’t go getting all condolency on me. We’ve all had equally significant tragedies. But, if a week after Jeffrey had died, someone came up to me and said, “Hey! We saw him walking around and talking to people,” I’d’ve replied, “That’s not funny! It’s CRUEL! AND we’re no longer friends! Have a nice life!!” It’s a cruel prank and not one that a “friend” perpetrates. And it was the take that Thomas put on the Apostles telling him that they’d seen Jesus. He wasn’t amused. He was broken hearted and these “friends” of his were pulling a cruel joke. And it wasn’t funny.

Of course, this all took place in the Upper Room where the Last Supper had been held. The week before, the guys had been all holed up there in fear of the Jews… not ALL of the Jewish nation, but the Temple Authorities and the priests, as well as the Romans. They were scared out of their minds that they’d suffer the same fate as their Rabbi. Add to that, Jesus kept appearing to them which didn’t help any. These are the guys who’d scattered in his hour of need and even denied him. The women hadn’t. They seem to have understood the Resurrection. But these guys were so terrified and guilt-ridden that they couldn’t comprehend what was going on.

In the midst of all this fear and angst, appears the Risen One. And it’s a tender but tense moment. Into the midst of their multi-emotional mess, the Risen One comes and says to them, “Peace be with you.” Not, “Where the $$$$ were YOU!?” He greets them with tender love and bids them peace. And at that moment, they get it. They understand what’s going on. Here, in the middle of their fear and guilt, there is no condemnation, no judgment, no bitterness, just love. They now begin to comprehend what the past three years had all been about, what the crucifixion had all been about, what the Resurrection was all about. They know that they are not condemned but loved, unconditionally, and that the source of that love is the Source of All Things standing in front of them as the Risen One.

But Thomas wasn’t there and he couldn’t buy it because he hadn’t yet experienced it. So, the Risen One comes again the following week and bids them all, including Thomas, peace. And Thomas is blown away. And it’s these guys and the women who find their lives totally transformed, so much so that they and their descendants go on to change the course of human history.

But back to doubt. I don’t blame Thomas. He had a right to doubt. And, ultimately, doubt is a good thing, maybe even a grace. Each time we doubt, we go on an adventure, a scavenger hunt for the truth, for certainty to answer our doubt. And when we find it, we rejoice and it feels great. Then, in time, we begin to doubt the new truth, so we go searching again, but this time we find even deeper truth. And in time, we doubt that deeper truth and we go searching again and the cycle goes on and even deeper. And in the process, we find even more refined and clearer truth and that truth brings us deeper into the mystery of God, of the Risen One, of the truth of the fact that we’ve never been condemned, only loved with a tender love which one has for the beloved, the love we continue to have for those we’ve lost and for those who are still with us.

So, go ahead and doubt. And, doubt boldly that grace may abound! (Forgive me, St. Paul!) Doubt with clarity and fortitude and go on the search. And you will find the truth: the truth made known to us in Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord.

Amen.

ALLELUIA! CHRIST IS RISEN!!!
CHRIST IS RISEN INDEED!! ALLELUIA!!!!

REST IN PIECES, OSAMA

OK, Osama’s dead. Yeah! Hooray! and all that stuff. He wasn’t a nice guy. And he was about a good of a Muslim as Pat Robertson is a Christian. They’re both terrorists. Hopefully they’ll meet soon. And while old Osama’s getting acquainted with Attila, Genghis and Adolf, don’t forget that God’s love is stronger than their evil and that eventually they’ll be reconciled with the Almighty. It may take a gazillion years, but that’s the way God seems to work.

Osama was a bad man, to put it overly mildly. At the same time, while he probably meant something different, his words were correct: “America is a decedent society.” If we look at where we are and what we’ve been doing for the last thirty years, it’s no wonder that we’re in the state we’re in. We’ve become a nation of narcissists for whom “it’s all about ME! I want it now! I want something better than you have! I deserve it because I’m ME!” Multiply that by 300 million and you have chaos.

But the Gospel isn’t about ME! It’s about US! (and I don’t mean the U. S.!) Jesus’ message is that we are all sisters and brothers bound together by the fact that we live on this planet and that our job is to look out for each other. And when we make decisions, we’re supposed to make those decisions based not only on how they will benefit “me,” but what the consequences will be on us as a whole. Unfortunately, we’ve forgotten all of that. Even American Christianity by and large has bought into the “me” thing. It’s all about me and my Jesus and my salvation. Yet, in the Early Church, “salvation” was a communal thing. One was “saved” by being part of the Christian community, being baptized into it and eating at the common table.

And the other Sages were all about the same thing: Buddha, Mohammad, Moses and Abraham, the writer of the Tao te Ching, Kung Fu Zu aka Confucius, etc.. Jesus is unique in many ways, but on this topic, he's one of many.

I had tea with my friend Mother Rebecca this afternoon and we talked about the fact that Osama may have killed 3,000 people on 9/11, but in the ensuing years, the previous administration then murdered over a million people - people who got the blame but had absolutely nothing to do with 9/11 - just so they could reap billions personally for the sake of almighty oil. It makes one wonder who the real terrorists are. Are they in a far away land with rags on their heads or are they in our own back yards?

I was, for the first time in a long time, impressed by President Barry last night. His words weren’t about “me” but about “us.” So, I hope he takes his own words to heart. I hope and pray that he is able to show the same leadership in standing up to the Republicans and their plan to dismantle the American republic in favor of the rich at the expense of the rest of us. The Republicans are all about “me!” because “I” deserve it. But they don’t; not any more than the rest of us do.

So, Barry, keep that spine you just grew moving. Keep on talking about “us” and confront the “me’s.” Whether you know it or not, last night you stood on the side of Christ...and the rest of those folks. My prayers are with you.

Blessed Mother of God, pray for us. We need all the help we can get!