Morally corrupt

An amoral person who lies all the time and when called out says, "I lied, So!" A morally corrupt person calls the truth about his or her self fake news. A morally corrupt person thinks only of self and wants personal loyalty from others but does not return that loyalty. A morally corrupt person talks of hatred of others as a way of distracting attention from ones own problems. A morally corrupt can not stand it when someone else is in the lime light.

On the Eighth Day

Then On the Eighth Day The book of Genesis tells us that God created the heavens and earth in six days and rested on the seventh. After that the record is silent. So what happened? Now comes the eighth day after creation and we might say what happened next? At that point the book begins to tell about human activity but we also learn that God was still busy overseeing creation perhaps even adjusting things a bit here and there. Astronomy tells us that new stars are constantly being created so one might conclude that God is still working on creation even now. One would not want to limit God's activity so we can not say that God has stopped creating. This of course brings up the idea that perhaps God has created other beings in other places in God's image like us. They may not look like us but still have the spirit with in them. We have to say we don't know but that it is a possibility.

POTUS

Lately I have noticed some of my "friends" both real and on line, write about the president using the term POTUS. At first I scratched my head and wondered what is this. Then I remembered that when I was in the Navy acronyms were the order of the day. The military used the acronym POTUS for President Of The United States. It is a perfectly good acronym and has been applied to all of our presidents for a long time.

The interesting thing about its current use is that those applying it to our current president are those who are very anti Obama. I have to ask why do this now? It is clear that they use it as a derogatory measure perhaps to keep from using his name. They could do that simply by saying the president. As I ponder possible motives I notice that PONTUS when pronounced sounds like pontiff as in one who pontificates. What ever the motive it is an interesting way to use the acronym established by the military for communications shorthand.

True Worship

Many people believe that going to church is worship and it can be worship. One can also attend a church worship service and not worship God at all even though they go through the rituals. Private personal devotions can be either worship or an act of piety for its own sake. This is a very narrow concept of worship of God. So what constitutes true worship?

I like the broader found in the "Two Great Commandments" found in the Gospel according to Matthew chapter 22:37-39. Jesus said, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." This is the greatest and first commandment, and the second is like it; "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." On these two commandments hang all the law and prophets.

Worshiping God is much richer than anything found in a worship service at a church. True worship of God involves our being in a relationship with God with every thing we have and are mind, body and spirit. To worship God means to have my whole being oriented toward God in my emotions, desires and activities at all times.

The true worship of God has two objects God and neighbor. When we love our neighbor we worship God indirectly. These two parts of worship are interrelated for you can not hate your neighbor and love God at the same time. When we truly worship God we live our whole lives in the presence of God. Every aspect of life even our most personal relationships are part of our loving God.

The Way of All Flesh

This year we have endured too many family funerals and we have one more to take care of before the end of the year. The older I get the more common these life events become. The term “The Way of All Flesh” refers to the fact that all who are born also die. This is part of the master’s plan and I am comfortable with the fact that at some point my physical body will cease to function and my soul will return to the creator of the universe.

"Doctors think that you only call palliative care when your patient is about to die," says Diane Meier, M.D., director of the Center to Advance Palliative Care at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York City. "Patients don't know what it is and don't demand it. They don't realize they have a right to care focused on improving function and quality of life."

As a pastor I have watched many people go through the process of moving from their physical life to their spiritual life. Some people make that journey suddenly because of accident or a swift illness. Others go slowly with advanced age or by way of a slow painful illness. When it comes to the later most doctors don’t like to give up on finding a cure and that is their training.

We each do have a choice to make now before the event of our death is close and emotional. Do I want to fight for life to the bitter end no matter the cost or pain? Do I want to choose the conditions where I can say enough is enough let me go? I have already done that by creating and signing my “Advance Directives” and informed my family and my doctor.

It is your right and your choice, either way you want, to choose how you prefer to die given a terminal illness. The time to make that decision is now while you have a clear mind and are in control. My death and yours is not a matter of "IF" but "When and how."

Where was Jesus born?

In the Gospels Jesus is born in Bethlehem and that is all we really know for sure. People over the centuries have assumed that Jesus was born in a stable but the Gospels do not say that. People have added to the story the stable with cows and donkeys but they are not noted in the scripture. It tells us in Luke only that they laid him in a manger but that does not necessarily mean in a cave or a wooden stable out back of the house. That could have happened but we are not given that detail. A manger could have been brought inside a home.

We are told that there was no room in the "inn" as though the motel six was full. Many people in the Jerusalem area had a second story that they rented out to travelers especially during the high holy days when a lot of people made the journey to the temple. It was a good way to make extra money. Remember the upper room that Jesus and his disciples used during Passover? So the rented space or inn may have been full but seeing that Mary was about to deliver the home owner/inn keeper may have welcomed them into the lower part of the house.

Some first century homes also had a place for animals in the lower section of the house, see the picture below of what it might have looked like.

The Words of Christmas

We can all see the sights and sounds of Christmas all around us carols and decorations fill our senses. We can also speak the words of Christmas, words that carry power and feeling. Most of us are most comfortable with the Familiar words like family, friends, fellowship, feasting, trees, lights, surprise and memories.

There are also Bible words like love one another, love our neighbor, love the stranger, love our enemies, and love the Lord with all your heart. These all come from the love God shared with us on that first Christmas.

Then there are the Season's words like peace, service, sharing, gifts, fairness, honesty, greetings, and have a happy. These are words that flow like a gentle stream from Thanksgiving through New Years.

At last there is the Supreme word: Christ, without whom there would be no Christmas. Preachers always want to remind us to keep the Christ in Christmas and I am no different. When ever you are speaking the words of Christmas remember that one supreme word that gives us all the rest.

John The Baptizer

Growing up I remember bible stories about John the Baptist as a crazy Jewish wild man wandering in the desert. So strange was this preacher dressed in camel hair cinched with a leather belt eating locust and honey. So many people came to hear him preach and be baptized thatI often wondered why they would do that. Well we have a lot of crazy preachers that people flock to today so we have not changed all that much.

As a student of bible history I later discovered the real reason that so many people, including the elite, went out to the Jordan to hear John preach and be baptized. It was so unusual for ordinary people to be baptized that John was known as John the Baptizer. Because the ceremony was mostly for the ritual cleansing of the priest and for converts to Judaism it was most unusual ordinary people to be baptized. Yet here was John baptizing lots of people every day and not for ritual cleansing but for forgiveness of sins.

The Gospel According to Luke gives us some clues in the first chapter when we are introduced to the father of John the Baptist who was Zechariah a Priest who worked in the Temple. His wife Elizabeth is also a descendant of the tribe of Aaron the first high priest of Israel. That by itself makes John the Baptist a priest of Israel by birth so he was not just any wild man preaching in the desert.

As if that is not enough Luke’s description of what Zechariah was doing is most intriguing for the student of bible history who pays close attention. It puts Zechariah in the sanctuary of the Lord alone while all the others are out side. You may read that as the Holy of Holies where he offers an incense offering. WE note that because of his encounter with the angel his stay in the Holy of Holies was a lot longer than usual and the other priest outside were wondering what was going on. They could not go in to find out because only the High Priest was allowed in there.

This tells us that John was the son of a high priest and would have been in line to become a high priest him self. Truly he was no ordinary man preaching to the people. Even though the Gospels don't say so, John likely spent time as a priest serving in the temple. So one can imagine the talk of the people when the son of a former high priest shucks his priestly garb and puts on camel hair to go preach in the wilderness. No wonder they went out to hear him and be baptized.

On a side note we also learn that Mary the mother of Jesus was relative of Elizabeth perhaps a second cousin so that she also was of the house of Aaron and Jesus would be too. Very interesting!

Fundamentalism Its Own Religion?

I have been reading David Brooks of the New York Times writing about the Religion of Fundamentalism. Almost all religions have their own fundamentalist groups. They have so much in common that they could be their own religion. I do not mean to paint all people who identify themselves as fundamentalist with the same brush, but most follow the same pattern.

Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist or Hindi fundamentalists see themselves as the "True Faith." They are literalist and are not tolerant of any one who does not think like they do. They lack compassion for those who are different and unwilling to convert. Often, they are willing to kill those who are different, seeing them as a threat to the true religion. Quite often they attack members of their own faith who are moderate.

As one who has studied world religions, it appears to me that fundamentalists become so ridged that they wind up going against the founder of their faith in order to promote the narrow view of their particular group. The preaching of hate and killing in the name of god must be countered by faithful people of all religions who know that the true faith preaches love God, love others, and get the word out.

The Term God

The Term God

The English word god is generic and can be applied to any deity but it is not the only term that can be used correctly. Every language has it's own word that can be translated into English as god.

French is Dieu
Bosnian is Bog
German is Gott
Italian is Dio
Arabic is Allah
Greek is Theos
Finnish is Jumala

The list goes on and on and no matter what language is used the idea is the same. There are many religions that have many "gods" and three religions that claim only one god.

Jewish, Christian, and Islam all worship the same God that Abraham worshiped.

Faith and Works

I read the Scripture for today in worship. It was from James chapter two. "Faith without works is dead."

How do we apply that idea today? First comes faith and out of our faith in Jesus comes an understanding of how to live a Christ like life. It is easy for a person to say the right words of faith and many do and then do nothing about it. If we truly belong to Jesus we will then do what He calls us to do. Jesus not only taught the Gospel but lived it out as an example. We will help people in need with out being asked. We will love the unlovely with out question and we will be generous with what ever we have.

Today I see people who claim to be Christian doing and saying hateful things when Jesus taught love for all people. I remember in the Gospel of John, the self-righteous religious leaders brought to Jesus a woman caught in the very act of adultery and said to him, "The scripture says this kind of woman must be stoned. Now what do you say?" Jesus said, "Let the one of you who is without sin cast the first stone." They all went away.

When we do not accept the call to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and show hospitality to the stranger, we forget that Jesus said, "When you did it to the least of these you did it to me." In anger many Christians say to turn away people from our country who need our help. When there are millions of refugees in the world seeking a place to live in safety how can Christians turn them away?

It is a chilling thing to read the words in James, "Faith without works is dead."

Marriage License Issue

With the recent issue of marriage license in Kentucky our junior Senator stated that perhaps the state should get out to the marriage license business altogether. I think I agree with that.

Until the mid 1800's the states did not issue marriage licenses at all. It was totally the realm of religions to perform marriages. In the mid 1800's some states began to raise revenue by requiring a license to get marred. That had the advantage of registering the marriage as a legal event. Perhaps divorce lawyers serving as state lawmakers saw an advantage in that. It was not until 1923 that all states required couples to register and get a license to marry.

So here we are today with the state involved in the marriage business and caught up in ways they never dreamed of dealing with when they chose to create a new revenue stream. Any time the government is involved it needs to treat all citizens equally. Drivers license, marriage license, gun license, hunting and fishing license and all the rest are to be open to all citizens on a equal basis.

So our question of the day is does the state really need to be issuing marriage license?

Police and Fire Fighters

Police and other emergency service personal put their lives on the line every time they go to work. Over the more than 40 years of my ministry I have volunteered my services as a chaplain to these services. I am currently a Fire Chaplain but I have also served as a Police Chaplain and Emergency Room Chaplain.

Most of Police and Firefighters are honest hard working people who love what they do and they do it well. They keep us safe and serve the public with out regard to status when the need arises. There are a few who come to work with issues that can create problems when they loose control of their moral compass. This usually happens under a great deal of stress and that is when chaplains can help them. Once they loose control the results can cause a lot of trouble for them, their department and the community. As a country we are dealing with that loss of control. It is not an easy thing to deal with in advance but most departments are working on it all the time.

Pray for them all.

What's Next

All through life we move from one stage to another and not always by choice. We start of as infants with almost no choice except to cry when were not happy. The early stages of life are exciting choices around growth and change. Our parents guide us as we go through school and our teen years.

Then it happens - life! As I turned 18 I was faced with the "What is next?" question. What do I do now? How do I do what I want to do? Because of some family issues I choose to Join the Navy and for the next six years the navy made all my choices. Then life changed and I once again had some choices to make.

Where do I live? What kind of career do I choose? I felt the urges to love some one else and that brought on other changes and children. Talk about choices changing your life! When you are responsible for a new life the question of what is next is not always your choice. I am still responsible.

What is next comes at retirement and a set of different choices and then things to choose from is not always good stuff, just necessary stuff. Here we are again asking, "What's Next?"

When Christian Leaders Fail Us

It was all over the news that a priest of a church near my home had abused his position as pastor of the church. He had a lot of child porn on his personal computer including inappropriate pictures of the congregations children. He was a much loved pastor but is now reviled. In this age of awareness how did he think to get away with doing that? His church has changed from covering up for priest to exposing their evil actions.

Human beings often fail to live up to their most important ideals. The failure to realize ideals is often a mixture of apathy, baseness, cynicism, self-interest and ego. Even in our increasingly secular culture there is a conscious desire for people to find a spiritual dimension to their lives. Early Christians were first called the “People of the Way.” Christians are in essence members of a community of faith who follow a definite and certain path of the way of Jesus the Messiah. Church traditions sadly sometimes confuse the issues of following the way of Christ faithfully.

We say amen when something we see or hear confirms our own impression. We also become agitated or furious when something we hear is out of kilter with our personal beliefs. What are the truly basic beliefs of the Christian faith? There is a sense of beauty in the ideals of the total commitment and submission to God, the ideal Christian community, justice and peace.

It is sad that these same ideas are frequently corrupted to justify and legitimize the authoritarian and even brutal actions of people who contend that they are right. We must not confuse the ideal of the Christian faith with its misuse and abuse by people with political or power issues. This problem is not unique to Christianity as other religions are also hurt by mean spirited, power hungry; ego centric people who miss apply the tenets of our faith to their own perverted needs.

We as individual Christians must focus on what the Gospels teach us and seek to truly be people of the way of Jesus. We are each capable of focusing our lives on the teachings of Jesus first and saying AMEN to following those teachings. The way of Jesus was never easy for Jesus calls us to a different way of living than the way of the world. Say amen [ may it be so] and be a follower of the Way of Jesus.

I pray for the healing of that congregation as they deal with the results of a leader who was all too human and failed to live up to even his own Christian ideals. He is now under arrest and will face time in prison where his fellow inmates will not take kindly to his actions.

Interesting Scripture Translations

One of the many things I enjoy about reading Biblical Archaeology Review is some authors come up with a new way to translate a word in the Bible. When I studied New Testament Greek and Hebrew I discovered that English translations leave a lot of room for opinions. Language scholars can come up with a variety of ways to translate one word. How a word is translated can make a significant difference.

So it is with the September/October issue of BAR An author questions what really happened in the garden of Eden when Eve was created. She states that the Hebrew word "tsela" in the context of the story does not mean rib as it is usually translated into English. Adam did not give up his rib for Eve to be created but his "baculum" and I will let you look that up.

Part of her argument is that human males still have an equal number of ribs but they do not have a baculum. Just because a male looses a rib in one generation does not mean that succeeding generations will not have that rib as DNA will still create equal ribs. I got a good laugh out of the article and yet she may be correct but it makes no difference to me.

A Nation of Immigrants

For most of its existence North America did not have humans wandering over the land. Then about fifteen thousand years ago Asians came across the Bering land bridge into what is now Alaska and became the first immigrants into this land. From time to time since then other people from almost every where made it to these shores.

All of us are either descendants of immigrants or are immigrants ourselves. Each group of people have added to the mix that makes us Americans. What a mix it is! We have inter-married or have created babies in such a way that we share a lot of different DNA. This has been a good thing and has proven that there is only one race, the human race.

With this in mind I am amused by the anti-immigration rhetoric going around in this political season. In the American Southwest politicians are calling people from Mexico all kinds of bad names. I remember when we forced a war on Mexico and took their lands the inhabitants were mostly Mexican and native Americans. Anglos were the unwelcome immigrants who didn't bother to learn Spanish.

From the time we founded the USA people have come from all over the world to settle here and help make us what we are. Each new wave of people were met with suspicion and hate. Irish, Italians, Chinese, Poles, Germans and many more met derision and hate from those already established. When ever we act as though the immigrants don't belong here its time to look in the mirror as we are all immigrants.

Tough Questions and Answers

Most of us know that if we have questions about faith that we can go to the Bible and find answers. Sometimes it takes a bit of searching to find the correct answer but we know that the answers are there for us. The correct answer is not always the answer we want to find but there it is for us to deal with.

Some people are very surprised to discover that the Bible also can confront us with questions that we would rather evade. The Bible is capable of asking the kind of questions that slice through the protective veneer that we build up around us. As along as we evade these questions we remain spiritually immature and weak in faith. Actually facing these super tough questions will make us stronger and more aware of our inner spirit.

Spiritual maturity and strength of faith develop out of the process of personally dealing with the difficult and often painful questions about life and faith. Do not be afraid to consider the hard questions about your faith. It is not being weak to ask any question that bothers us. It is instead the way to become stronger when we confront and struggle with our doubts, confusions, fears and lack of understanding.

Some people are afraid to ask questions about faith thinking that they will be showing doubt or lack of faith. God is not afraid of our questions and we should not be fearful either. For our faith to grow stronger we need to confront both the questions and answers that the Bible presents to us. A growing understanding of our relationship with God is available through constant Bible Study, Prayer and Reflection. Open your mind to the power of of the Holy Spirit to lead you in your quest for understanding.

Christian Sunday Worship

In an email I was asked why Christians call Sunday the Sabbath when clearly it is Saturday in the bible.

In the very early days of the church the followers of Jesus were all Hebrews. As such they followed the tenants of Jewish worship. For the Hebrew people of Jesus day Sabbath began at sundown on Friday and lasted until sundown on Saturday. Most worship was done in the home or synagogue on Saturday.

For Hebrew Disciples of Jesus they would fulfill their worship as Jews on the Saturday Sabbath. Then at dawn on the first day of the week they would gather to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus. At this worship the Gospel was preached, prayers said, new believers baptized and communion celebrated. As Sunday was a work day then they would go off to work.

Later when Gentiles, that is the non-Jews, joined the growing ranks of the Disciples of Christ they would forgo the Hebrew worship and only attend the Sunday gathering at dawn to celebrate the resurrection. As the percentage of gentile Christians increased First Day or “Lord’s Day” worship became the most common form of Christian practice. Later Christians would begin calling Sunday the Sabbath even though that was not strictly true.

Today most Christians, but not all, practice Christian worship on the first day of the week to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus the Christ. I do every Sunday.

After I Die

I am now in my eighth decade of living on this earth and I know that I am at least half way to the end if not much more. At some point I will breathe my last breath as we all do. I believe that my spirit will return to God and I will not be in the shell that is left behind.

What then?

Recycling has been an important part of my life and in that philosophy I have listed myself as an organ donor for over thirty years. So what ever can be used to enhance the lives of others should be. I have reached an age when not everything is in a condition to be recycled but it can be used for research and that is OK with me.

What ever is left over should be burned and my ashes recycled into the earth to provide new nourishment for plants. If there is something of me that must be buried and forgotten it is my faults and sins. Let them rest!

If I have lived my life in such a way that you wish to remember me you should know that I have believed in paying forward. If I have blessed you remember that and bless others that cross your path. I know that which is really me will live with God forever and the memory of my life will live on in the hearts of those people whom I loved. I am at peace with that!