What is the United States?

Traveling around LA this week, my class and I have seen a lot of the history of oppression and injustice in this country. In particular, we spoke to Japanese-Americans interred during World War 2, and saw a museum dedicated to their history, as well as hearing from Latino immigrants who are currently the victims of a serious wave of hatred in this country. Some of the horror stories were enough to prompt one of my classmates to say that they hated the US – a sentiment I completely understood after having just heard about black ops ICE raids that were tearing families apart.

One thing I have noticed at many of the immigration rallies I have attended, though, and also in talking to Japanese-Americans who fought in WW2, is how patriotic and pro-America they are. Through all of these experiences, they still love to wave the Stars and the Stripes. And I could never figure out why, given how poorly Americans have treated minorities throughout our history. But I am starting to think the answer revolves around the question, What is the United States?

Is the USA the people who have come here from all over the world, seeking to find a better life for their families? Working hard to ensure that their kids, and their grandkids, are able to get an education and take advantage of the opportunities they find here? Is it people coming to a place where they have a new sense of hope and a dream for future generations? Or is it, on the other hand, the systems that have exploited that optimism and idealism? Is it the politics of fear that has used the differences of these people – whose diversity is truly our strength – to get themselves elected on platforms of hatred? Is it the corporations that see, not the strength of these immigrants, but the chance to turn them into cheap and easily exploited labor to help feed their bottom line?

The answer to that question is so important. Because, if the US is defined by those systems, and the people who support them, then yes, anger is well deserved. That side of our country is very real, and absolutely horrific. But if the US is the immigrants, and the hope and opportunity they represent, then by all means – God bless America.

A More Perfect Way

Steve and I went out to Santa Monica on Saturday and visited Arlington Memorial West, pictured above. It was a very somber and moving scene. Arlington West is put on by Veterans for Peace, and each white cross represents an American solder who has died in Afghanistan or Iraq. Right next to the Santa Monica pier, it was a place of sadness in the midst of such a loud and rowdy beach. Families walking by with their beach chairs and coolers would suddenly stop, taken by the scene of white crosses stretching across the sand. And in the middle of the crosses were caskets- one for each American soldier that died this week in Afghanistan or Iraq. Last week there were six. How many will be there this week?

I had a large lump in my throat the whole time as I walked among the crosses and read the names of those who had died. Almost all were young, younger than me. A lot of the crosses had notes written by friends or family attached, messages of love and sadness to the one who will no longer be coming home. My heart feels heavy now just thinking about it.

Behind the crosses were lists of all the men and women who have died. But in addition were partial lists of all the Iraqi and Afghan civilians who have died in the fighting. If they had included a cross for each civilian that has died, a sign on the beach pointed out that crosses would have filled the whole beach, spreading as far as the eye can see. 300,000+ people dead. The lists of civilian dead showed whole families wiped out. Abdul Hussein, dead. Daughter and son of Hussein, dead. Wife of Hussein, dead. Grandchildren of Hussein, dead. A whole family, gone. What were they doing when they died? Having lunch? Celebrating a birthday? Going to the market? Whatever they were doing, they were a family loved by God and are now gone.

When will we fully grasp how destructive war truly is? Evil begets evil. Violence begets more violence. Death leads to more death. As Americans, as citizens of a nation built on war and violence, we believe it is the sure answer to solve our woes. Our history is a long story of one war after the other. We have been misled into believing that it solves our problems and can bring about change. However, they are only temporary fixes. The shattered lives and bodies remain, the anger and hatred simmering below the surface, increasing in magnitude every time another friend or family member’s dead body is carried through the street.

As Christians, we know there is a better way. A way of non-violence, a way that professes love and forgiveness for those who wrong us, and the knowledge that someday God will bring justice to those who have been wronged. This is not just passive, sitting back and letting people take advantage of you. This is saying we will not fight with your weapons, we will not fight with your methods and your destruction. No, we WILL fight, but in a way that sees the image of God in every person, and a way that seeks to bring about real change. This is the way of Christ. Not war. Not violence and death. Death is the enemy. Life is in Christ.

I need to make it clear that I mean no disrespect for the men and women who have served in our military. They have truly given and sacrificed more than I can imagine. I just want us to know a different way- a more perfect way- than war. We have been deceived by Evil into thinking this is the only way. No, we as Christians should say. Let us honor our veterans by no more war. No more suicides. No more PTSD.  No more collateral damage. As Paul says in Romans 12:20-21,
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” ²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Let us celebrate Memorial Day, remembering those who have died, and crying out for no more.

Hearing the Voices

In our efforts to be open-minded, we frequently try to listen to every side of an issue presented to us. It’s a good thing to listen to everyone and make sure that everyone has an opportunity to present their arguments.

In so doing, however, we often make a critical mistake, and forget that not every voice is weighted the same in our society. Some voices speak louder than others: voices of fear, voices of hatred, voices of violence, voices of greed, voices of racism and exclusion – all of these tend to make themselves heard. They usually support the status quo, and tend to either be so loud because they can make a lot of money doing so – our media corporations are well aware that angry, over-the-top, fear-inducing rants against others are what bring in the ratings – or because they are voices which have been “purchased,” as it were, by those who already have plenty of money.

And these voices, which are so loud, so angry, and so wrapped up in fear and hatred – end up drowning out voices that we really do need to be hearing. The stories that get missed by the media, the viewpoints that don’t get a whole lot of press – the perspectives of every day people, working through real problems, trying to find real solutions. Those voices – the most important, and usually the ones most grounded in reality – are the ones that, unless we’re deliberate and intentional about it, are the ones we’ll miss. And we’ll believe we’ve listened to every side, when in actuality, all we’ve heard is hatred, fear, and anger.

(Steve)

Faith Speaks Out For Immigrants

Check out http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1986320,00.html – a great article in Time about the work of faith leaders to bring about immigration reform. (My thanks to Hal for sharing this.)

This is what we need to be doing in our church – recovering and expressing the true “prophetic tradition.” This was people like Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Jesus who would speak out against the injustices of their society, regardless of whether or not people wanted to hear it – or, for more contemporary examples, what people like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther King Jr., and Archbishop Desmond Tutu have done. And it’s an encouragement that, eventually, when we choose to stand outside these systems and call them out for what they are – “a racial and social sin,” as Wallis called SB 1070 – we can be heard, and we can start to have an impact. So my heartfelt thanks to Cardinal Mahony, Bishop Kicanas, and all people and leaders – of faith or otherwise – who are standing up for humane immigration reform. May SB 1070 become a turning point for our churches and for our country on the issue of immigration reform, showing us how desperately we need to address the grip of fear on our country.

(Steve)

Partying, Persecution, and Perseverance

(This is a brief outline of a sermon that I gave on May 2nd. I’d love to hear your comments, thoughts, or questions on it, whether you were able to attend the service or not. To provide some context, my main texts were John 13 and Revelation 18-19.)

In today’s sermon, we looked at two different ways of partying in the first century (specifically, the 80s and 90s AD). The first was the Roman Empire’s way of partying. They used tons of food and wine to convince people that Rome had given them everything that they wanted – peace, economic prosperity, and equality – even though their armies were creating war, most people were struggling to get by while others lived in beautiful villas, and the “important people” were being honored and celebrated, to the exclusion of slaves, non-citizens, low-wage workers, and despised ethnic minorities.

And then there was Jesus’ way of partying. Parties where serving others, by washing their feet, was celebrated. Where allowing yourself to be tortured and executed meant that you were being glorified, because God would raise you from the dead. And parties where loving one another, as sisters and brothers, was the most important rule of the party.

But these two parties were in conflict with each other – Rome did not want people getting together to have their own parties and showing people that the Empire could not, and would not, give them everything they wanted. So they started arresting the Christians and shutting down their parties, while making their own banquets bigger and better – and, for some of the Christians, it worked. The result was a broken, divided, and compromising church.

To this church, Jesus delivered a message through John: Rome (called Babylon, to keep it secret from the authorities) was not going to last forever; its time to fall would come. And when it did, those who had benefited from all of the things it had done would be weeping and mourning. But for those who had been faithful, they would be invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb – the greatest celebration the world has ever known. They were going to be part of a huge party, with loud singing and awesome food and wine.

The message Jesus sent, through John, was the same message that we need to hear today, as we also experience a broken, divided, and compromising church – there is hope. We have reason to continue believing, and to continue to celebrate Christ in our parties while keeping ourselves away from the parties of the Empire, and – most importantly – to continue loving one another, no matter what the cost. Because, if we do so, one day we will find ourselves part of that loud multitude singing at the top of our lungs, “Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!” And that will be a truly great day.

(Steve)

Worshiping in Unity

I, and thousands of others, had an amazing opportunity Thursday night to be part of an historic Black and Brown Unity Worship Event. Pastors and other faith leaders from these two communities – African-American and Latino – had been working together to talk about many of the common issues that faced them, eventually deciding to focus on three areas: preventing youth violence; making our immigration system just and humane; and bringing economic opportunities to their neighborhoods, especially good jobs and good food. One night, as they were working through these tough problems, one of the pastors suggested – in a moment of divine inspiration, I would say – that what they needed was to come together and worship with one another. And so, many months later, here Heather and I were, invited to attend this service and to see what God was doing in these communities.

The event was hosted by two major churches in LA – Iglesias de Restauracion, a large Latino church at Crenshaw and Adams; and West Angeles Church of God in Christ, an African-American Pentecostal congregation only a few blocks away. The pastors of these two churches – Pastor Rene Molina and Bishop Blake – had, before that night, never worked together, despite their close proximity. But now they were preaching in each other’s churches – Bishop Blake preached at Iglesias for the first part of the service, and then Pastor Molina spoke at West Angeles after the more-full-than-standing-room-only crowd processed its way from Iglesias down Crenshaw to get there. Their worship teams worked together as we sang songs in Spanish and English, mixing estes dos sabores de alabanza (these two flavors of worship) into an absolutely incredible church service. The night focused on a Call for Unity, bringing people together – and as hollow as the word “united” often is, in the middle of church services where we are anything but, it certainly was not that way on Thursday. Because as people worshiped together, and prayed together, and listened together, it was clear that something different was happening here – that God was really showing up, and working to heal the divisions and the fractures in the Body of Christ. Here, there were people truly brought together by God, to love one another, to worship Jesus with each other, and to confront and deal with the problems facing their communities: violence, poverty, exclusion, hatred, racism. None of these things could stand in the way of God’s people, and on that night you could feel it in a way that I don’t think I’ve ever felt before.

One last thought: At the press conference before the event, one of the pastors spoke about how, whenever there is a shooting, the news media are quick to report it – if there had been a shooting at the corner near the church, every station would have been there. But when thousands of people come together from their different communities to say that it’s time to stop gang violence, and work for a more humane immigration system, and to bring good food and good jobs to their neighborhoods… nobody’s there; it’s not a news story. For me, it was an encouraging reminder: just because we don’t get the chance to see God doing powerful work in the news, doesn’t mean that it isn’t happening. Because on Thursday night, it definitely was.

- Steve

Following Another Path

Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, which we celebrated two days ago. This event (in Luke 19:28-40) marks Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem for the final days before he is crucified. As Jesus comes into Jerusalem, a huge crowd gathers to celebrate the coming of their King, probably thinking that he is about to throw the Romans out. As he’s going down the road, this crowd of people starts to cry out – “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”

What fascinated me about this is what exactly it is about Jesus that makes him a “king.” He’s not a conquering general, or a great Senator. He has no special amount of influence and power in the Roman Empire. He doesn’t even have some kind of special rank within occupied Israel. To put it another way: he hasn’t led an army out in battle to kill those who have been labeled as “enemies.” He hasn’t lied to, confused, and manipulated a majority of the electorate into voting for him (and I mean that about the entire political process, not a particular party or candidate).  He’s not in charge of some major corporation that gives him the money to buy power and influence. When Jesus makes his big move into the capital, he doesn’t even have a nice car of his own to drive, let alone a huge motorcade parade. Nope, he’s just driving a car that he’s borrowed from the village up ahead.

All of that, more than anything, gives me hope. Because it means that there’s another way of doing things; another way of being a leader. Jesus is the King precisely because he doesn’t do any of the things we expect of our leaders. Instead of accumulating wealth, power, and fame, Jesus focuses on fulfilling the one requirement of being a leader in God’s way of doing things: love. He chooses not to pursue his own ends, and to do things for his own benefit, because he actually cares for and loves the people that he has come to serve. And that shows me that I don’t have to put my trust in the status quo and the normal way of doing things, which have just served up disappointment after disappointment. No, there’s another way of doing things, another path to take – and it’s the same path that Jesus trod down, riding a borrowed colt into the city of Jerusalem.

- Steve

Prayer for the immigrant

I (this is Heather) love California, but for just this one weekend, I wish we lived near Washington D.C. That’s because on Sunday, thousands of people will be marching in D.C. to show Congress and the President that we want immigration reform now! This was supposed to be one of the main focuses of President Obama’s presidency, yet it has been completely eclipsed by the never-ending circus of health care reform. So hopefully this march will encourage Congress and the President to action.

Probably what Sunday will look like...

Catholic social teaching has a lot to teach Protestants about immigration. The heart of this message is that Christ himself was an immigrant as he and his parents fled to Egypt to escape the coming massacre. He too was mistreated and looked down upon because he came from backwoods Galilee. And he too went through horrible abuses and humiliation as he hung on the cross. We should be reflecting on things things as we think about immigrants and what reform should look like in our country. As Christians we should be thinking about how we should be responding: not just as citizens of this country, but first and foremost, citizens in Christ’s kingdom.

We bought a booklet from a Catholic bookstore called The Way of the Cross of the Migrant Jesus. This is a retelling of the stations of the cross from a migrant’s perspective. It designed for a church to use this during lent in place of their normal stations of the cross, but I thought I’d share some of these stories from this book over the next few days as a devotional.  Immigration reform is a topic that people get very emotional and angry about, and I think we should all be seeking Christ in how we should be responding as He would.

Day 1 from The Way of the Cross of the Migrant Jesus: Matthew 2:13-15

How many times have we casually read Matthew’s narrative? When we open our eyes and begin to relate this story to what is happening now in our countries, we realize that the Holy Family’s flight to Egypt is not just a pretty painting that we like to hang in our homes. Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus are the thousands and thousands of parents and children who have to leave their homes in order to survive, to protect their own lives, and to search for a better future. The Holy Family is the migrant family we see in the city streets.

The flight to Egypt also reminds us that the majority of migrants do not leave their homelands as tourists. They flee their own country because the situation in which they live leaves them no other choice. War, violence, and discrimination of all types- social, economic, political and racial- are forcing millions of people to leave their countries, and often their own families, to search elsewhere for security and a better future. As Christians we have to look for concrete ways to transforms these unjust realities, so that no one is forced to migrate.

Beloved Jesus, who in the company of your mother Mary and Joseph learned the trials of migration in your exile in Egypt, we pray for the countless migrant, refugee, and dispaced children who are so much like you. May their parents find work, food, and shelter. May they be received everywhere with love and find ministers and teachers who will work with them. May all those who come from afar find in us brothers and sisters who love them, in the same way that you do. Lord Jesus, free them from all spiritual and bodily danger. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

My musings on food

Steve and I have been talking a lot about food lately. We decided to go on a semi-strict diet during Lent in an effort to be more healthy and treat our bodies better. Last year we did the traditional give-up-your-favorite-food thing for Lent, and I can’t say I felt very transformed. I gave up desserts for Lent, and the main thing I remember about the experience is the freakin huge piece of chocolate cake I ate for Easter brunch.

So needless to say, we thought this year instead of giving up something, we would try to take on Christ (in the words of Father Jose). Taking on Christ by eating more healthy (lots of fruits and veggies), exercising (grueling walks around Pasadena), and doing devotions regularly (not quite as regular with this one unfortunately).

This new lifestyle has had unexpected consequences. The food aspect has taken center stage, particularly because this has been a big shift from our very unhealthy eating habits. As I’ve watched calories, searched for yummy looking veggies and fruits, I’ve found myself thinking a lot about the fact that we have this option to go healthy. Sure, these things cost a little more, but it’s not breaking our budget at all. We can totally afford to spend more on fruits and vegetables and really enjoy it. But there are so many people, even in our country, that cannot afford to eat well. In some communities in Los Angeles, there isn’t a grocery store for miles. There may be 10 fast food restaurants, and a dozen liquor stores with jacked up prices on food, but the nearest grocery store with healthy food could be several bus rides away. And then the healthy food is so much more expensive…they can either spend a dollar buying a burger at McDonalds, or an…apple. When you have only a few dollars to spare, you can see how that would be a difficult choice to make. When your child is hungry, and you can barely afford to feed them, you don’t have the luxury to look at calories and make sure they have veggies with every meal.

I’ve known about this problem in our cities for a while now, thanks to Steve’s tireless efforts working for CLUE last year. But eating better has just brought these things to the surface. How should I respond? Just continue munching on my apples and grapes and with a passing thought hope inner cities communities will eventually get grocery stores? hmm.

And then there’s the whole issue of farm workers. Who harvested my fruits and vegetables? Are they paid well?  Do they have shade in the blistering heat of summer? Do they get adequate breaks, and plenty of water? Or are they taken advantage of by their employer because some of them are undocumented, and fear deportation if they report abuses? Do the very people who work on the farms that grow my food get to eat any of these healthy, vitamin rich foods? Or are they so poorly paid they can’t even afford what they grow? Hmm. My carrots suddenly don’t taste as yummy anymore.

I could go on and on. I’ve begun to think about the chickens I eat, and how they most likely spent their whole life in some tiny cramped cage. I think about the grocery store that I shop, and wonder if their employees are treated fairly, and get living wages. I think about how our restaurant industry is killing people with their sodium laden, calorie filled dishes. Good grief, my brain is starting to hurt…

I’m starting to realize that Jesus is showing me what it really means to take on more of him. It means you start seeing what he sees: the injustice everywhere. The pain and suffering that we can all too easily ignore. We are all God’s children, all connected to each other by our humanity and our shared life on this planet. A seemingly unimportant decision- what should I eat today?- reverberates around the world. I CANNOT be so wrapped up in the plate directly in front of me, I cannot be so wrapped up in making sure that I eat healthy, that I forget that there are others, right here in my country, in my state, that had a hand in bringing that to me.That may not have much to eat themselves.

Let’s all stand up for food justice! Where do you shop for food? Do they treat their workers fairly? Do they have a commitment to opening stores in inner city communities that need those jobs and those healthy foods? Do you daily pray for the workers that picked your fruit and vegetables? Do you support labor reform so that government agencies like the NLRB actually stand on the side of workers instead of corporations and agricultural interests?

Just some food for thought

Church Planting?

For us Anglicans, “church planting” is the latest and greatest thing. Everybody in my diocese is talking about it; almost every other 20-something priest or seminarian I know is involved with it; we’re having conference after conference to discuss it; we’re even celebrating Pentecost this year as “Church Planting Sunday.” The goal: plant 1,000 Anglican churches within the next five years.

I’m all for church planting, and I certainly see myself being involved with it, especially once I finish at seminary. But I still have a lingering question that seems not to be getting answered: Why? What is the point of planting 1,000 new churches? It seems that, for a lot of people, “more churches” is self-evidently a good thing. I have to admit, I’m less than convinced.

As I see it, a lot of places in the States are already glutted with churches. There’s plenty of buildings that you can go to on any given Sunday morning, and find just about any “flavor” of church to fit your unique consumer profile – church growth science has basically taken on the American corporation’s way of doing things, and has anything and everything to satisfy your spiritual wants and desires the same way the market “satisfies” your other wants and desires.

And those tendencies – towards running churches the same way we run corporations – can easily enter into our thinking. So when we’re doing church planting, we have to think about that big “Why” question. If why we are planting churches is to continue to move away from the inner cities and into the affluent suburbs, as grocery stores and other businesses have done; or to accumulate more members – and with that, money and power, the gods of the marketplace; or to “beat the Episcopalians,” our corporate rivals; or for “church consumers” to find a new “product” to keep them interested (try the new style of American evangelicalism – now with a more liturgical flavor!)… and we’re doing so at the expense of real Gospel mandates, like ministering to the poor, the imprisoned, and the sick, and making true disciples, and seeking peace and unity within the Body of Christ… then I’m not sure we’re moving forward. In fact, I’m pretty sure that’s going backwards.

But we don’t have to do it that way – and if we’re really thinking about it, I don’t think we will. I believe that we can plant churches that are actually Gospel communities that will live out all of those mandates… and in the process, challenge the warped values of the American corporation, rather than accept them wholesale.

So maybe, just maybe, we can take a break from talking about “how” we’re going to plant a thousand churches… and figure out why we’re doing it in the first place. And then, once we’ve done that, we can get out there and do it the way we should.

(Steve)