Where are we? Where is the fear?

What in the world is happening to us? What in the world is happening with faith based communities? What is it that we think we ought to be getting from our religion? What do we think we owe to the Holy?

I suspect that religion has always had a very large dimension of what is in it for us. All kinds of various religious practices have been developed to obtain from God what we want. Fertility, Rain, Prosperity, Peace, Victory, Success, have been but a few of the things we have wanted God to give us. We have made the sacrifices and we have fulfilled the vows in the hopes that our behavior would gain God's blessings.

The religious practices which have been performed to obtain what humans wanted have most often, had a large dimension of fear or apprehension as a part of them. We wanted to get on the good side of the gods because we had a very deep and pervasive fear of the Holy ones. We wanted to do it correctly because the gods had a temper and did not take kindly to shoddy work or carelessness.

From what I read in lots of articles and commentaries by others is that some how the fear has gone out of American Religious practices. We act like the Holy is a buddy. We want God to make us happy, we want happy music and successful programs, and lots of smiling faces, and we do not seem to have much fear that God has any anger or power that might be used destructively. We are chummy with God. We are informal and causal and familiar with the divine. From what I read there has gone missing that dimension of fearful thing to be in the hands of the Almighty.

Frederick Buechner, a well respected religious novelist, wrote in a message called Home, about is conversion experience under the preaching of George Buttrick in New York City. Buechner talks about Buttrick, "These were the days before ministers were supposed to be everybody's great pal and to be called by their first names from the word go, the trouble with which, at least for me, is that it's not another great pal that I go to church looking for,but a prophet and a priest and a pastor. I have never met a warmer, kinder man, we never became pals, for which I was grateful, and if there was anybody in his congregation who called him George, I never happened to hear it."

But the word is that few people want to have a prophet who has words of judgment about a self-indulgent society. Nobody wants to hear a prophet who condemns a nation which spends more on military than it does on health, education, and peace. The word is out that we go to church to be made happy and to have the life we are living blessed.

From what I see and what I read, it does not look like those who go receive any blessings.

A Child is Given

"For unto us a child is given..." is at the heart of what I understand Christmas and the Christian faith to be about. It is about a blessing that is given that we could not demand or make on our own. It is a gift. A gift that we may not be prepared or adequately trained to receive, or we may not even really want when we get it.

The "child" is given by someone or something else. It is not something that we could demand or require or earn. My son and daughter-in-law have given us a grandchild and another one on its way. But we knew early you did not talk to them about "When are you going to have children?" It was their decision and it is a gift to us. Even people seeking adoptions have to have someone who is prepared to "give" them a child.

The "child" is given to us is a reminder that life is a gift to us. Even those who are angry at life and claim they never asked to be born, acknowledge that life is a gift. That what we have is a remarkable gift of amazing variety of blessings and joys. That the best things in life really are gifts to us that are free. As the poet says, "Getting and spending we lay waste the powers that are ours." Christmas focuses on the gift that is given to us, and the gift is all creation, given to all of us, given to us free to enjoy and to share and to give to others.

The "child" is given to us as a free gift. It is to be shared. It is to be celebrated. It is to be valued. It is a gift given to all creation. It is a gift given to all people. It is a gift, and we have to confess that we all have real trouble with receiving and accepting gifts. Somehow so often we think gifts come with strings or obligations or duties. "You have to give a gift to get a gift. You got to give a gift if you got a gift." What kind of gift is that.

Unto us a child is given... and the world is still not really comfortable is just accepting a gift and sharing it with others.

Terrible Two's

We had a wonderful time during Thanksgiving of visiting with our children and sharing some time with our grandson. Our grandson is at that delightful age of two years old. Most of the time he was a pleasant and adorable grandson, but there were a number of occasions when he demonstrated all of the negativity and stubbornness of a two year old. There are good reasons why two year old are called Terrible. During those times when our grandson was terrible, all he could say was “No. No. No. No.”

Upon reflection as I drove home, it seemed to me that we have a lot of terrible two personalities in public life at the moment. Leaders and decision makers who can only say NO. A lot of people in public office who are acting like two year old. They are all negative.

There was a major crisis in our financial markets a few years ago. The possibilities of a second great depression was supposed to be on the horizon if these financial institutions collapsed. The proposals were put forward to try to protect them and to bail them out. There were a lot of people who said No. No. Let them fail. No.

The reports out of Detroit this year are that the major automobile companies are enjoying an increase in sales and are headed towards a record month. The auto industry seems to have found its footing again. But there were a number of public officials who said often and loud NO to the proposal to bail them out.

We have a major, major issue in this country about immigration. We have a lot of people in this country who are illegally here. It is estimated that that number is more than eleven million. When it is suggested that a solution has to be found for that problem. The Farming industries are having a horrible time finding workers to harvest crops. There has to be found a way to deal with this issue, but there are leaders who just say NO. NO. Arrest them. Send them home. NO.

Everybody in the country agrees that the number one issue facing us right now is getting our people back to work. To find jobs for those who are unemployed. When proposals and legislation is presented that would put people to work on bridges, roads, harbors, rail tracks, grids, and lots of infrastructure, the response of lots of our public officials is NO. NO.

Our dependence on foreign oil continues to be a concern, but suggestions and alternative solutions to that dependency are put forward, lots of NO’s come out. When public health talks about the need for a cleaner and healthier environment, the response is NO and many even want to do away with Richard Nixon’s department of Environment. Concern about weather changes and global warming? NO. No. No such thing is happening. When there is recognition that the playing field is tilted in favor of the 1% wealthy in this country and proposals are made to balance that by increasing the taxes on the wealthy and the Fortune 500 companies, the two year old personalities cry NO.No.

The good news for my son and his wife is that my grandson will grow out of his terrible two condition. The only hope for the rest of us is that we can find some more mature people to elect the next time there is an election. The good news for 2012 is that there is an election.