Schadenfreude

But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?” And he said, “Yes, angry enough to die.” Then the Lord said, “You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?” Jonah 3:10-4:11 

Good news here. God is big enough for us all. Jonah has been asked by God to go and tell the Ninevites (the arch enemies of the Children of Israel) to repent. He tries to escape God on  a boat, gets thrown in the sea, swallowed by a whale and then washed up on Nineveh. THEN- he gets a meeting with the King and tells him God's message- "REPENT OR ELSE" and the King says, "OKEY DOKE!"

Jonah, all along, didn't want to go on what he thought was a suicide mission. Also, he hated the Ninevites and figured they would not listen, and God would blow up their city. They not only repent by smearing the men with ashes and having them wear sackcloths- the women, children and even animals got in on the gang. THEY HEARD HIM.

So now, at the end of the story, we see him upset about this and even grumpier that the shade he was enjoying dried up. He is so upset about the shade that he says to God "Take me now." God says, "Let me get this straight. You are upset about not having shade, but you do not give two hoots about a city full of human beings?" The story ends on this cliffhanger.

Who among us has not had what is called schadenfreude- or "pleasure at someone else's pain"? How great it was that a King decided to repent of being a jerk. How great it was that he heard God's message of mercy. Yet, who among us cannot relate to taking more pleasure out of seeing someone "get what they deserve" versus someone else experiencing mercy? We are all guilty of this, to some degree. 

Take this in:
The story of Jonah means for us that God is not a God of a tribe or a people but a God for everyone whose love extends to everyone (even our enemies). A life's work for us, then, is working on repenting of our hatred and being curious about how we can love our enemies. For starters, we can try not to feel happy when something bad happens to them. We can be curious about why the enmity exists. 

Later, in the person of Jesus, then, we get an example for how this works. We can look to his example of love and the multitude of ways that love can be played out when we let go of our ancient hatreds. Jonah couldn't let go. We can.

T 

Not Fair!

“…When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” Matthew 20:12-16

Jesus’ parable of the workers is a good news-bad news kind of parable. 

First the bad news:

What we notice about the parable is the unfairness of it all. Jesus plays into our  all-too-human tendency to think, first off, that the universe is arranged with us in the center (it isn’t).  Good people die when they don’t deserve it, cheaters win the match, and people do not get what they deserve. At some point, all of us will be the worker who worked all day and then watched someone who walked on in the last hour get paid the same wage. A fundamental truth is that life is not fair.

Now, the good news:

If we make his parable even more cosmic, though, Jesus is reminding us that God’s love does not work within human equations of what is fair. God loves us all— equally— without measure— regardless of how good we are, how much Church we attend or what religion we follow. God’s love works beyond our comprehension of being merited or evenly given out. 

We will never deserve anything God gives us because we were made to be loved by God, not to earn that love with any kind of work. Whether you show up late or early, you will be loved. 

Control Yourself

Happening, New Beginnings, and DYC are diocesan retreats that can be life-changing. I went to each of these weekends while growing up as an “Episcopal Kid”  as an attendee, a team member, a chaperone, and a babysitter. We are taking groups to all of these weekends, so sign up. While many of the details of the experience might have faded, the relationships I formed with people from all over the Diocese of Atlanta continue. You will learn on the weekends that “you are now a part of a welcoming and loving community.” Whenever I’ve needed a shoulder to lean on or an ear to listen, I’ve relied on friendships formed on a Diocesan retreat at Camp Mikkell. If you’re feeling unsteady or unsure in your faith, want to explore your many questions, or just want to try something totally different, join us at Happening, New Beginnings or DYC. (Look for details in the weekly email for signing up, etc.) Take the first step and register at eycdioatl.org

Thinking about how grateful I am for making the choice to be a part of these experiences reminds me of something interesting we learned in my Psych class called “Locus of Control.” LOC refers to the extent to which people believe that they have control over their lives. So, if you have an internal locus of control, you would likely believe that you have free will and that most things that happen to you are due to yourself. Someone with an external locus of control, however, would believe that things that happen to them are mostly due to fate, or to luck, or maybe God.  Statistical studies have shown that people with an external locus of control are more likely to get injured or die in natural disasters. Sometimes, during natural disasters, for instance, people with an  external locus of control are more likely to stay put, refuse help, and just ride out them out because they may have a “whatever happens- happens” sort of outlook on life. But people with an internal locus of control would tend to take action and get out of harm’s way. (This is, of course, a generalization and may not always be true for everyone).

Yet, there were many people in the path of Irma who had no choice about being able to get out of the way. Certainly, none of the folks who lost their homes had any control about where the storm landed. (And God certainly did not direct Irma towards any particular place).  Paul, in his letter to the Romans, recognizes that , in the end, there are many things we are not always in control of. He says, “We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. “ Whatever the outcome, he says, we all belong to God, and we should act as such.

Which leaves us with this: many of us have more control than others. We who have  electricity, for instance, might find room in our house for someone who has been in the dark for days. We might take some of our money and send it to Episcopal Relief and Development or even help an older neighbor clean out her yard. When we are the ones who have some control over our environment or lives we are called to direct ourselves towards being the hands and feet of Christ to those who (their fault or not) have not been so fortunate. Wherever we are in our “locus of control” we belong to God.

Hurricanes: Holy Eucharist,Prayer and Action

As Irma barrels towards and across our brothers and sisters (and us, probably), we first want to remind you that you will be OK. There are many around you whose primary concern in life is to make sure that you are OK.

We had some other thoughts :

+Limit media intake: Outside of needing practical information, (like when, exactly Irma may hit us or other folks in our lives) we do not need to obsessively watch video of the storm or soak up images of the aftermath. The first 25 times we see it are enough for us to know that Irma is scary and that  lots of people are suffering. In time, we can respond. In the meantime, we can best care for others by caring for ourselves, too. 

+Pray: Prayer connects us to those we do not know and those we care about during these times. Ask God for what you want - however ridiculous or self-serving it may seem. God values honest prayer. When we open up our hearts to God, prayer really works on us  in a profound way. (It’s science!)

+Get to Church: All Saints’ is going to be working hard to figure out how we can best leverage our abundant  resources to offer refuge and relief for people affected by Irma and other natural disasters (like Hurricane Harvey). Mother Kim will be leading a group who will begin to figure out how we can minister to the Saints who are seeking refuge from this and other natural disasters. God and her church can use our energy, talents , time and money to help our brothers and sisters.

Stay tuned for details.

+Get Communion: You might be surprised at what happens when we  show up and share space, prayer and Holy Eucharist with others who are worried about the same thing(s). When we worship together we offer God our cares, concerns and worries. God  blesses, feeds and unifies us through our Holy Eucharist. Whether we perceive it to be helpful or not, we are strengthened and transformed by being here together and sharing this holy meal. 

+Get in Touch: You know how to find us. If you feel like you just cannot handle what is happening around you (now or any other time, for that matter), we are always available to talk. There are many others in this community available as well. 

+Open your Prayer Book:  We have a wealth of prayer at our fingertips. If you don’t have a Book of Common Prayer at home and want one, just let us know. You can also use online resources like this or this.

Here is one prayer, found in Evening Prayer and in Compline to use when words fail you. (A good one to memorize, too. Works when things are rough and when they are OK).

Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and  give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love's sake. Amen. 

All will be well, 

Tim and Joel

Here I Am

A burning bush? Parting the sea? Plagues? Moses’ story is made for Hollywood, isn’t it? (The only thing it is missing is zombies. Zombies would have made it perfect). 

Back when we got TV signals on huge antennae and only had 3 channels, a yearly, 2-night showing of “The Ten Commandments” was a big event. When Moses (played by the late Charlton Heston) took his staff and it turned into a snake and ate all the other snakes it freaked me out. I was terrified when the angel of death drifted through ancient Egypt in the form of a fog. My favorite part, though, was the talking, burning bush. Even at age 8, I thought it was kind of funny and littlegoofy that God almighty came to visit Moses as a piece of shrubbery that was on fire. 

Rabbis  say that what was most remarkable about the burning bush was not that God spoke through it but  that Moses stopped at all. A bush on fire would not have been an unusual thing the desert. Something made Moses go and look. Even more remarkable is that fact that when a voice says to him, “Moses!” he doesn’t run away in terror (like I probably would). He responds with “Here I am!” 

 “Here I am” (in Hebrew it is pronounced “hey-na-knee”) shows up over and over in some of the big stories and scenes of the Torah. People like David, Solomon, Jessie, and others are called out to by God and every time they answer, “Here I am!” God calls out, and they respond. Our story with God, then, is that God has constantly been calling out to humanity. The “heroes” of scripture also did stuff like part seas, kill giants and build temples, but what was most heroic about them was that they stopped answered God’s call with a “hey-na-knee.”  

Like Moses and our Fathers and Mothers who came before us, we too are invited to answer God’s call in our lives with a “Here I am”  and a life of spent pursuing and working for what is of ultimate worth.  In Jesus, though, we also see God’s desire to be a part of us by becoming one of us and continuing to live among us and within us. Our story with God continues, and even in stories of burning bushes and parting seas we can see that God finds us of ultimate worth and is saying to us at all times and all places, “Here I am.”  

An End to Scapegoating

Jesus dealt with a lot of people who were pretty sure they were right about most everything. They had lots of rules that they followed that functioned to help a small tribe of folks keep separate from the Romans or whatever culture was oppressing them in the moment. The rules helped them have an identity and they made them feel very safe (and sometimes) very superior.

While they were perhaps "right" about the rules, Jesus insisted that  the fruits of their rule following were pure hatred in the form of scapegoating. 

The rulers of Jesus’ culture even thought that people who were unclean or violated rules angered God. What followed for them is that they thought that game them the authority to  blame someone for their problems. 

Scapegoating addresses a problem, tension, issue, misfortune, etc. by investing energy in violence and retribution. Many of the people who marched in favor of white supremacism in Charlottesville were more than likely energized by their belief in the scapegoating mechanism. When human beings employ scapegoating, all we do is suppress violence, hate and other evils even while the root cause of them remains. We do nothing to address the fear, sorrow, anxiety or despair infecting our own hearts and driving us to live in a state of anxiety. 

Even those of us who arise to march against hatred have to guard our hearts against the tendency to scapegoat others. St. Martin Luther King, Jr. of Atlanta and his friends worked intentionally to deal with their own hatred and anger (and believe me, they were right to have plenty!) before marching or counter-protesting. King believed that “self purification” was always a precondition for any kind of action against hatred or injustice. Before we can resist evil, we have to do the hard work of looking what of it exists in our own hearts and lives, he reasoned, lest we fall in to the same patterns of evil we are fighting against. Otherwise, we are participating in the same mechanism of scapegoating that perpetuates violence and division and continues to keep our world broken.

Please, do not hear me aligning myself with the "there was hatred and bigotry on all sides" argument here. I observed that the origins of must of the publicly visible hatred in Charlottesville came from the individuals marching in favor of racist ideas. When the public symbols you carry, the dress  you choose to wear, and the things you chant are, from the start, in support of a return to a world in which things like "racial purity" were ever acceptable, you are automatically aligned with hatred and worthy of protest. While some people from the counter-protest side did resort to violence (some in self-defense, others out of their own anger), I am not of the opinion that those people were, in any way, "equal to" the racist marchers in their hatred or bigotry. What I am speaking of here is just a way forward for those of us who want, passionately, to push back against this kind of evil. We have to love those who hate us.  

Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection communicates that scapegoating is not God’s way. Jesus was the last scapegoat because he demonstrated that it just does not work.

The White Nationalist marchers in Charlottesville, rather than working to solve problems through dialogue and peaceful means, elected to project all of the problems in the world upon the other. Swastika flags stand for an age when a charismatic leader once mobilized an entire nation by blaming all the problems it suffered on people who were Jewish. As Americans, we honor their exercise of free speech, but we have to reject not only the content of their message, but the greater spiritual ill that lies beneath it. Sometimes that will mean showing up, chanting our own slogans, and being prepared to resist the urge to strike out.

Even in the face of the violence and hatred of other people, what comes out of our mouths will be indicative of the work we are doing in our hearts, minds and souls to repent of hatred. Pray that God gives us the strength and courage to gather together as a church, undergo our own “self-purification” and begin to address scapegoating for what it is- evil’s oldest trick for keeping the world broken, in darkness, and full of pain.  Shalom- Tim

           

Through thick and thin

I have found, in my life, that most places in this world can be split into two categories: thin or thick. If these terms don’t mean anything more to you than physical attributes just hold tight. I’ll explain. I’ve heard the term “thin place” thrown around quite a lot among my church and camp friends; most often when talking about Camp Mikell. A thin place is a place where God’s presence is most apparent. And if we have thin places then it would stand to reason that we also have thick places. A place where God’s presence seems to be lacking or perhaps even nonexistent. Perhaps a place like the DMV or a filthy gas station bathroom in some podunk town in the middle of south Georgia. I can honestly say I’ve never felt the powerful and moving force of the Holy Ghost in either of those places.

A thin place is something wonderful, though. A place to find peace. A place to pray. A place to learn and love and grow. A place to fill and be filled. The thinnest I place I’ve found in my life has been Camp Mikell, which is the camp for the Diocese of Atlanta. I’ve been a regular attendee at Mikell since the summer of 2006. I have been a camper, a counselor, and now a summer staffer. At Camp Mikell, the Holy Spirit doesn’t just move. It creates and transforms.

There’s one activity we do at Camp that I find particularly moving: the Creek Hike. The creek hike is a strenuous and physically demanding trek through the Little Toccoa Creek. You start by walking about a half mile out from main camp to the spot where you get in the water. Once you get in the creek, you don’t get out for about a mile and half. You have to tread carefully over the creek bed, navigate obstacles such as fallen trees and boulders, and finish by climbing up a 15 or so foot waterfall. As difficult and exhausting and dangerous as it is, I find it to be both cleansing and relaxing. I leave from the creek hike feeling refreshed. It’s the one of the few places I’ve ever been where there is no evidence of human activity. There’s no trash anywhere, no signs or trail markers. It’s a perfect example of the raw, natural beauty of God’s creation, unmolested by human hands. Being out in nature always helps me to recenter myself, but something about that specific chunk of land in the northeast Georgia mountains has a profound effect on me that I haven’t yet found any where else. I feel God’s presence as the water rushes past me. I see his power portrayed in the enormous boulders laid in the creek. I can hear him speaking in the water trickling down the cliffs, in the birds and the frogs, and in the wind blowing through the valley. I hope you have found a place like this, and if you don’t, I encourage you to go seek it out.

Peace!

Joel Smith