Presente, Roberto!
"If you can help others, and you fail to do so, you are wasting your time on this earth." - Roberto Clemente ( ball player ).
A plain Quaker folk singer with a Juris Doctorate in his back pocket, salt in his blood, and a set of currach oars in the closet, Ulleann Pipes under his arm, guitar on his back, Anglo Irish baggage, wandering through New York City ... in constant amaze. Statement of Faithfulness. As a member of the Quaker Bloggers Ad Hoc Committee I affirm that I will be faithful to the Book of Discipline of my Meeting 15th Street Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends.
"If you can help others, and you fail to do so, you are wasting your time on this earth." - Roberto Clemente ( ball player ).
"You blog too much," a Friend said. Well, what do we wish from life? Honesty, truth, an open heart and a loving soul... or to have lots of friends? For me, I would not trade the first four for the last, though I can't say that it does not hurt when fFriends turn from me. I can print sheafojockie ( nonsense) and be really well liked. I knew a lot of folks in law school like that, gone to Harvard, born into the right family... say nothing to offend anyone, hang out in the right circles. My soul is too high a price for that model of success.
You Should Get a JD (Juris Doctor) |
You're logical, driven, and ruthless. You'd make a mighty fine lawyer. |
Took the in which European city should you live... was pissed that in the arts catigory they did not list music, and yet... it came out...
You Belong in Dublin |
Friendly and down to earth, you want to enjoy Europe without snobbery or pretensions. You're the perfect person to go wild on a pub crawl... or enjoy a quiet bike ride through the old part of town. |
You are Ocean Blue |
You're both warm and practical. You're very driven, but you're also very well rounded. You tend to see both sides to every issue, and people consider you a natural diplomat. |
Where do I hear God's voice the loudest? Certainly not in myth, huddled about the fire, talking tales to dispel the fears of the night. I once looked to the fire, now I seek the trek into the dark, eyes and ears open... senses ablaze. God's voice is in the panting cry of the leopard. What did we turn to when we were the hunted, thee and me? Venus figures, idols to fertility to make enough of us that some might survive. Roll back, roll back through the generations of time... to our foremothers, the God who replaced our young dragged away by the head by the cheetah's teeth to the pile of bones... to the communion feast with her young. then there were Gods of war, when we built walls around our fields which we guarded from each other, Gods who hurled thunderbolts and arrows... then the God of the seeded earth, the God who was killed and planted to rise in the spring.
Go Here... Read this...
Monday, May 22, 2006
Parousia...Heathens and Tax Collectors
Jesus’ closest friends seem to have been surprised the most by him. We find one surprising occasion in Matthew 18. Here, Jesus teaches his friends a scandalous lesson.
"Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.' And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.”
This passage seems pretty straightforward…a formula for church polity. If a church member is caught in a fault, bring it to her attention. If this fails to bring about true repentance, invite some witnesses to assist in resolving the conflict. If that doesn’t work, call the offender to the attention of the entire believing community. If this approach of last resort falls short, treat the wrongdoer like an outcast. ...
Now, that last line contains the cryptic surprise. At first glance, it may seem that Jesus advised the twelve to announce an anathema. Heathens and tax collectors are unclean and should be avoided at all costs.
Or should they?
How did Jesus treat heathens and tax collectors? With disdain and avoidance? No, he welcomed them…talked with them…touched them…ate with them…forgave them. Just ask Matthew, a tax collector who was one of the twelve.
This week, you may encounter someone who offends you. Someone who seeks the spotlight at your expense. Someone whose language, ethnicity, politics, work habits, appearance, smell, economic status, or lifestyle insults you. When this occurs, follow the words of Jesus. Treat that person like a heathen and tax collector. Love them, welcome them, and forgive them.
When do we wake up? One out of everyone hundred and thirty six Americans are presently in jail, 2.2 million of us. Add to this civil incarceration, the numbers are staggering. Yesterday an eight year old was playing with the brakes of a parked bus, and it rolled down hill and killed a little girl. He has been arrested and is being charged with criminally negligent murder. How the hell can an eight year old be criminally negligent. Frankly, if asked, I would say that a nation that uses jails for every thing imaginable while committing mass murder overseas... a nation whose educational system is so poor that we become a breeding ground for fundamentalist beliefs that fly in the face of modern science, because our people don't know the difference between science and myth... this is a criminally neglect society.
A little shaky, on wondermeds today, met Laura and Paula of "Leading or Led", today. If felt a very gathered meeting today.
Genie convinced me to go to the doctor... fever and the like, the coughing convinced me to back to bed... don't remember when the coughing began, over a month ago... I'll dream about going to the doctor instead.... night all.
Music... can't seem to run from it. I have been asked to do two gigs to which I can't say no... one is a benefit about the church Genie and my wedding was in, slated by the Catholic Church to be destroyed.
Oh well... another gig... I forgot, a yearly event... a must do, big audience, and what can I do? I tried to sing a bit today... a voice like sand blowing through an empty hall... a dead thing trying to appear alive.