Putting It All To Gather!

I composed most of these thoughts in this post while sitting poolside at the Treasure Island in Las Vegas. Sin City. An adult playground. Would this be a disconnect with a proclamation of Social Justice and the Cosmic all inclusiveness of Christ? I think not...maybe so, a little...but if so this would be one of the least of my sins of which I'm guilty of in this life of mine. And I know that Christ is present all ways and everywhere. I would like to close this message with a couple of long quotes from Rob's book. I'm playing a bit with the word Together in the title for a reason. I'm hoping to "gather" a bit of commonality I see and have tried to relate to the combined work of Bell, Rohr, and McLaren. To me it is much clearer to view a difference between Jesus and the Christ. We have the omnipresent Christ from the dawn of creation and the incarnation of the man/God Jesus into history. And then the Cosmic Christic Nature of the Resurrected Jesus leading us all onward and upward into the Kingdom of God. I really appreciate the message of Rob but it seems to be more clear to me when viewed with a difference between Jesus and Christ - Not that there really is a difference. Except when viewed with the hindsight of what We As A Species have done to creation in the name of Jesus. Subjugating the earth and her inhabitants in His name. We have the "Holy" Roman Empire, the "Holy" wars (talk about an oxymoron), "Purifying" inquisitions, witch hunts and the like. We created a Warrior King to the sorrow of the Prince of Peace. We can do so much better; In the Name and Spirit of Christ! Pax Christi! RV

"When people use the word "Jesus", then, it's important for us to ask who they're talking about...Are they referring to a token of tribal membership, a tamed, domesticated Jesus who waves the flag and promotes whatever values they have decided their nation needs to return to?....Are they referring to the supposed source of the imperial impulse of their group, which wants to conquer other groups "in the name of Jesus"? ...Are they referring to the logo or slogan of their political, economic, or military system through which they sanctify their greed for lust and power?

Or are they referring to to the very life source of the universe who has walked among us and continues to sustain everything with his love and power and grace and energy?

Jesus (I would say Christ) is both near and intimate and personal, and big and wide and transcendent."

"...a crown, much like a mansion or a car, is a possession. There's nothing wrong with possessions; it's just that they have value to us only when we use them, engage them, and enjoy them. They're nouns that mean something only in conjunction with verbs.....That's why wealth is so dangerous: if you're not careful you can easily end up with a garage full of nouns."

"When we baptize, we lower people into the water, and then bring them back up out of the water. The water signifies death; being raised up out of it signifies life." Interesting that the name Las Vegas means The Springs. It was an early watering stop for pioneers moving West and North. All things will be reconciled to Life..Love..Christ!

Real enemies are fear and intolerance | DailyTidings.com

Real enemies are fear and intolerance DailyTidings.com

Well this is disturbing. I thought I had finished this post the other day and published it to the blog. But come today I looked and it wasn't there. So I'll try to reconstruct the guts of what I said and get it out there this time. The link above was written by the son of my friends Earl and Charlotte Peterson. It kind of is in the same vein as what Alexandria was saying the other day so thought I would include it here. I appreciate what he says and he will soon have a whole bunch of degree letters after his name so he deserves my respect. The only place I would kind of differ with Eric is in the nature of the United States health. In my opinion we have been (and continue to been) very blessed. With that blessing does come great responsibility. We do have our ills but we have done great things. And we have the potential to do exponentially greater things in the future. One of the reasons I supported President Obama has been not so much to support a Democratic candidate but to support a man whom I believe has the potential to be one of the great statesmen of our history. How he deals with the Middle East and other international diplomatic opportunities in the next short while will have a huge impact on world peace and the mitigation of the threat of terror in the foreseeable future. I pray for that reality. As one of Eric's areas of study is that of "Native American Studies" I am reminded of a movie. In the latest remake of "The Last of the Mohican's" three Mohican's in the opening scene are pursuing a deer for food. After they mortally wound the deer the father says a prayer of thanks to the deer for nourishing their travels. I thought it was a great element of connection between human and other elements of creation. One of respect not dominance. Now replace the deer in the story with a cougar and the prayer to one for peace. And then instead of a cougar think Osama Bin Laudin. Pax Christi! RV

As The Bell Tolls!

Cute little title for this post, don't you think? I'll be referencing a few final quotes from Bells "Love Wins". First a couple of other quick notes. Couple of days ago the bell tolled for Osama Bin Lauden after almost ten years. If there was ever a good case for capital punishment, and I'm not sure there really is, Bin Lauden would be the one. It seemed to give a lot of people closure over 9/11. The most impactful part of this news event came from Alexandria, my daughter. The next morning she expressed remorse that so much was made of the death of a human being, even him. And of course, Justice was served. But it didn't reverse any of the consequences of that fateful September day or bring any of the lives back. She also commented that the energy of the people in the crowds seemed eerily like those one may see in a jihadist rally. Out of the mouths of babes. Even twenty something Babes. I really do hope and pray that we as a human race may be able to mitigate this cycle of violence in the future. In spite of all the steps backward we seem to take I do believe that in the grand scheme of creation we really are getting better and hearing this come from my child gives me much hope.

Both Richard and Rob speak of the need of a catalysis as a precursor of positive change. Richard tells of a need for either Great Love or Great Tragedy (pain, loss) to see a move toward positive transcendence. In Love Wins, Bell writes on page 35.."For there to be new wine, someone has to crush the grapes. For the city to be rebuilt, someone has to chop down the trees (sustainably of course, my insert :O)) to make the beams to construct the houses."

Many of us have experienced such events in our lives and can attest to that truth. Our world in recent decades certainly have such experiences as well. I pray for positive steps and hope for the future. Another quote from page 195 expresses our need to embrace our past and then move upward. "...the indestructible love of God is an unfolding, dynamic reality and that every single one of us is endlessly being invited to trust, accept, believe, embrace, and experience it....As we experience this love, there is a temptation at times to become hostile to our earlier understandings, feeling embarrassed that we were so "simple" or "naive," or "brainwashed"....These past understandings aren't to be denied or dismissed; they're to be embraced. Those experiences belong. Love demands that they belong.....Love frees us to embrace all of our history, the history in which all things are being made new."

Bells work deserves a good read and it is best understood when looked at from the lens enunciated by or polished by Richard and Brian. Pax Christi! RV