"My Lady!"

Everything is holy, and the church, which happens to be stuck in the good creation, is holy, just like everything else. Why is the church in being? To point to everything and every moment as significant and full of wonder. To dramatize creation's everlasting goodness. “You are holy!” is its message.

Don Quixote is being the church when he bows before the whore, Aldonza, and calls her “My Lady.” And guess what. It changes her life. ~jpc, “New Evangelism,” 1973

O, to bear good tidings to all. Namaste.

To See What's To See

What is the portent of this burning candle? Someone, anyone answer. ("It is expending itself.") Someone else, what is the portent of this candle? ("It lights up the dark.")

If we put the letters "in-" before the word "portent," then wonder, significance, and meaning are "in" everything, every moment. Or, everything is "in-portent"!

~jpc, "New Evangelism," 1973

O, to see what's to see. Namaste.

Revelation Without End

Recently I read that the future of religion depends on a “new revelation.” I'd be interested to hear why we need a new revelation. For me, the eternal thou, or spirit, has never stopped revealing, when I’ve been given the ears to hear and the eyes to see. For example, I got a new revelation through Joseph Mathews’ articulation of the word; I got a new revelation through Thomas Berry's new cosmology. Spirit’s no less powerful today than ever. That's not quite right: spirit is more powerful today than ever. We have revelation without end, bounteous and transforming. ~jpc

Who/what have been revelation for you? Namaste.

image: from Revelation Series II ©2003 Michael Levy/Flat Earth Photography

That's Not Fair!

Eighty-six years I have served [Christ] and he never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King [and say “Caesar is Lord”]? . . . He who has given me strength to face the flames will also enable me to stay unflinching at the stake. . . . ~St. Polycarp, martyred c. 155 C.E.

I notice my grandchildren, between seven and ten, are saying “That's not fair!” a lot lately. And I notice adults, including me, saying or implying the same. Polycarp did not say "This isn't fair!" before or while he was being burned at the stake. Whom would you refer to Polycarp for counseling? ~jpc

O, to be mature. Namaste.

Everybody Computes Something

This is the time for you to compute the impossibility
That there is anything
But Grace.

~Hafiz, from “Now is the Time,” The Gift, trans. Daniel Ladinsky

Everybody computes something, but to compute it as the quintessence of all that is. Wow! What do I compute? I am left to choose some truth among truths to live out of. Do I compute grace? Or chance? Maybe chaos? Relationships? Everybody has done some computing, but few as audaciously as Hafiz.* ~jpc

O, that our stories about truth – nobody knows for sure – compute meaning, that they sustain and motivate. Namaste.

*Hafiz: name for one who memorizes the Koran; this Hafiz was a 14th century Sufi poet (over 5,000 poems) from Persia (Iran); image: book cover for I Heard God Laughing, trans. Daniel Ladinsky

Ultimately Human

Joseph Mathews wrote that to follow in Jesus' steps was to be and do as a free human ("Christ of History" in Bending History). John Macquarrie writes that Jesus is the authentic human (Christology Revisited). Both answer well Bonhoeffer’s question (Letters and Papers from Prison), “Who is Jesus for us today?” ~jpc

O, to be the free human being it is possible to be. Namaste.

Either Watch or Leap

[T]he ego is deeply invested in the idea that there is a gradual process by which you can slowly prepare for [an] eventual leap. The ego always needs more time. ~Andrew Cohen

We can watch and see how evolution goes. That's the way I act most of the time, as though I don’t have much of anything to do with planetary community. Overwhelmed by the evolutionary role we can play, most of us humans watch. Why leap if there is no safety net? But one way or the other, plus or minus, we all contribute to evolution. I don’t know about ego but I experience a lack of guts has a lot to do with not leaping. ~jpc

Either watch or leap, but don't blame the ego. Namaste.

The Darkness Around Is Deep

For it is important that awake people be awake,
Or a breaking line may discourage them back to sleep;
The signals we give – yes or no, or maybe –
Should be clear: the darkness around is deep.

~William Stafford, from “A Ritual to Read to Each Other”

At the same time we articulate that spirit is at the heart of every moment of creation, we must dare to speak and act against darkness that would blind us to that fact. Hope and courage are born of spirit. Spirit shines on in darkness . . . ~jpc

. . . and the darkness cannot put out its light. Namaste.

photo: Nigel Parry, "Tribute in Light" sculpture, New York City, September 11, 2005

This Holy Age

There were no formerly heroic times, and there was no formerly pure generation. There is no one here but us chickens, and so it has always been. . . . In fact, the absolute is available to everyone in every age. There never was a more holy age than ours, and never a less. ~Annie Dillard, For the Time Being

I was in the doctor’s waiting lounge Wednesday as this guy filled everyone’s hearing with his "woe is us" speech, how bad everything is. He went on to document biblically, quoting his television preacher, that the end of the world is almost here, and who's to blame. What if someone had stood up, hushed the noise, and said Annie’s speech? ~jpc

O, to hear the right speech. Namaste.

cartoon: Mike Smith, www.lasvegassun.com

Blind Us To Integrity

Politics are about such great things that they somehow end up being about nothing. Politics, increasingly, are about winning elections at any cost, via the violent manipulation of human opinion.

. . . The natural systems and elemental forces that give us our bodies and lives are rife with simple integrity and sincerity of purpose. The maneuverings of political factions blind us to this integrity, or make us think we can fool it. But you can’t use a glib skit and laugh track to joke a polar ice cap into not melting. You can’t hire a PR firm to fast-talk radioactivity out of nuclear waste. Watch a mated pair of Bullock’s Orioles* build their incredible hanging nest not in the thirty seconds it takes to brainwash a voter, but in the days and days needed to build it properly. . . . There is no disingenuous bullshitting in the life-giving operations of nature, nothing snide, nothing needlessly clever. ~David James Duncan, oriononline.org

O, for some integrity in politics. I’d vote for it. Namaste.

*photo of Baltimore Oriole (in subspecies with Bullock's Oriole) and top view of hanging nest, with offsprings inside

New Urbanism and Authentic Community

Eric Jacobsen [author of Sidewalks in the Kingdom] speaks passionately about things like sidewalks and storefronts. But he's not an architect or developer. He's a Presbyterian pastor. . . . New Urbanism has become a mantra for people interested in restoring urban centers and reconfiguring suburban sprawl. ~Marshall Allen, "Churches Embrace New Urbanism as Antidote to Isolation,"* via J.P.C. II

Could this be a trend back to parish-centered congregations? Maybe urban designers and sensitive and responsive religious groups are pointing the way. ~jpc

O, to restore a sense of community in the urban world of humanity. Namaste.

*article: http://www.fuller.edu/news/html/jacobsen_washpost05.asp

February 18 is the memorial service for Donna Tracy Times Otto O'Daniel. Blessings on all.

Violent Victims

We recently heard Charles Kimball, who describes himself as a Baptist in the South, not a Southern Baptist. He is chair of the Department of Religion at Wake Forest University and is author of When Religion Becomes Evil. The book lays out five warnings of how religions can violate their traditions by reading their own scriptures narrowly. He says a religion is corrupted and tends toward violence by (my examples):

1. absolute truth claims, e.g., God’s chosen people
2. blind obedience, e.g., German churches' abdication to Nazism
3. establishing the “ideal” time, e.g., "Why worry about global warming? Jesus is coming soon."
4. the end justifies any means, e.g., Gandhi assassinated by Hindu radical
5. declaring holy war, e.g., Crusades

In his presentation he reminded us committed to our religious traditions to step back and consider where we are: “When you are standing on the edge of a cliff, progress is not defined as one step forward.” ~jpc

O, not to be victims to our creeds and ideologies. Namaste.

Image: Reich Bishop Mueller shaking hands with Hitler at Nazi rally (photo from Bonhoeffer movie http://www.bonhoeffer.com/bon2.htm)

First Amendment

In 1919, Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes ruled that the First Amendment does not protect a man falsely shouting "fire" in a theater and causing a panic. Maybe a cartoon that may inflame millions should be described but not shown, as a matter of judgment and taste. ~Daniel Schorr http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0210/p09s01-cods.html

Biggest Business of All

It is as if man [sic] had been suddenly appointed managing director of the biggest business of all, the business of evolu­tion – appointed without being asked if he wanted it, and without proper warning and preparation. What is more, he can’t refuse the job. Whether he wants to or not, whether he is conscious of what he is doing or not, he is in point of fact determining the future direction of evolution on this earth. That is his inescapable destiny, and the sooner he realizes it and starts believing in it, the better for all concerned. ~Julian Huxley, “Transhumanism”

I don’t care whether you believe in evolution or intelligent design so long as we care for the earth and everything in it (proof texts*) as the first priority in our politics and religions. Madness and evil are the alternatives. ~jpc

We pray for wisdom. Namaste.

*“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” (Psalms 24:1); “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” (I Corinthians 10:26)

Earth Charter document -- read if for yourself before listening to its opponents: http://www.earthcharter.org/files/charter/charter.pdf

Awesome Reflection

The brain is wider than the sky,
For, put them side by side,
The one the other will include
With ease, and you beside.

The brain is deeper than the sea,
For, hold them, blue to blue,
The one the other will absorb,
As sponges, buckets do.

The brain is just the weight of God,
For, lift them, pound for pound,
And they will differ, if they do,
As syllable from sound.

~Emily Dickinson

Emily, you were a bit of a quantum pioneer. How did you become so wise (though I'd like to discuss some lines with you)? Did such reflective ability help you to live through the agony of the Civil War? You knew how to help us reflect. ~jpc

We are thankful for all our senses by which we perceive and reflect. Namaste.

image: www.pbs.org

Deeper Take on Valentine Love

[T]he Valentine whose name is oddly commemorated [this day] was apparently a Christian priest in Rome who assisted martyrs during the persecution. . . . He was eventually arrested. . . . When he refused to renounce his faith he was beaten and beheaded [d. 269]. Thus, by offering his heart, he proved himself a true devotee of the God of Love. ~Robert Ellsberg, All Saints

Quantum Truth

The quantum pioneers took an astounding leap when they said that everything visible has roots in the invisible, that all things in time spring from the timeless, and that all certainties are in fact mysteries.... This is ... pure, stark, quantum truth. ~Deepak Chopra

Such truth allows us to transcend and transform the daily news. ~jpc

Clara*, I'm so glad you too are in the quantum swirl. Namaste.

*picture of our granddaughter on the way (stork image NOT)

article: http://www.resurgence.org/2006/chopra234.htm
image: http://www.neuroquantology.com/comingsoon.htm

Eternal Thanksgiving

The function of Christian morality and spirituality is not to earn or deserve this gift of eternal life, but rather to appreciate and express it. The saint is holy not to attain union with God, but to give thanks for it [as gift]. For this union is not, as in pantheism, a necessary and automatic and inherent fact of our being. ~Alan Watts

“Union” is the interweaving of a state of being, a free gift, and our acceptance of the gift. But when we experience the happening of union, if we do not appreciate the fact and express our thanksgiving, woe be unto us, for we miss the transforming power of the gift of eternal life now. ~jpc

If only one thing is demanded of us, it’s eternal thanksgiving. Namaste.

Tiger Is Growing Up (age 30)

Associated Press (usatoday.com) remarks made Friday, Anaheim, California, at the opening of Tiger Woods' $25 million learning center for after school, interactive programs in science, math, and technology for thousands of children:

“This is by far the greatest thing that has ever happened to me,” said Woods. . . . “This is bigger than golf. This is bigger than anything I’ve done on the golf course. Because we will be able to shape lives.” . . . [A]fter the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Woods, stranded in St. Louis where a World Golf Championship was canceled, drove to Florida and said he spent most of that time reflecting on his life and the foundation. . . . Earl Woods [father] referred to him [1996, Sports Illustrated] as the “Chosen One” and said he will “do more than any other man in history to change the course of humanity.” Asked about some of his father’s comments, Woods smiled and attributed them to “proud parents talking. But he’s always told me behind closed doors that ‘You’ll find your way; you’ll choose the direction of the foundation,’” Woods said. “This is a step away from golf. This is certainly more important than hitting a high draw or a high fade. This is getting someone prepared for life. And this (center) is going to do that.”

That Stance of Faith

Jesus said at the end, “Into thy hands I commend my spirit.” That’s the paradigm of trusting faith as he agonized with that power that brings us in, journeys us, and takes us out. It’s saying, “Blessed be, for grace and mercy reign.” Ultimately it’s saying, “All is good and I’m so glad to be at this point and in this circumstance on the great journey.”

We know for sure that such faith is possible and is at the heart of what it means to be obedient to the spirit of Jesus, as he was obedient to that power he reverently called "Father." ~jpc

We commend our spirits this day. Namaste.

Holy and Acceptable Sacrifice

Free is the man [sic] that believes in . . . I and Thou . . . [that believes] in destiny and also that it needs him. It does not lead him, it waits for him. . . . It will not turn out the way his resolve intended it; but what he wants to come will come only if he resolves to do that which he can will. He must sacrifice his little will, which is unfree and ruled by things and drives. . . . [H]e no longer interferes, nor does he merely allow things to happen. . . . [He freely acts] with human spirit and human deed, with human life and human death. ~Martin Buber, italics added (collaboration with Randy Williams)

Through his "I-Thou" understanding Buber pioneered in imaging every other as subject rather than object, "I-It." For Buber this included the human thou, the non-human thou, and the "Eternal Thou." ~jpc

O, to sacrifice the little, unfree will and its rulers and freely act on behalf of thou. Namaste.

Destinal Vision

Our 91-year-old friend, who always stimulates deep conversation, recited the following lines over the lunch table Tuesday, without missing a beat (Lynda asked him to say it again so she could write it down):

In the twentieth century the glory of the human has become the desolation of the Earth.

The desolation of the Earth is becoming the human destiny.

Henceforth all future human institutions, professions, programs, and activities must be judged primarily by the extent to which they inhibit, ignore, or foster a mutually enhancing relationship between humans and the Earth. ~Thomas Berry, 1986 Port Burwell lecture, Ontario

We celebrate Thomas’ vision that transcends and includes all in our planetary life together. Namaste.

No Sermon, Just 5 Grammy Awards

Bono preached last week in Washington (see blog for 2/5). He just sang last night. I like his song of the year, "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own," and notice its words are going transparent for him these days, especially the lines "You're the reason I sing / You're the reason why the opera is in me."

Song lyrics: http://www.u2wanderer.org/disco/lyrics.php?id=611

We Remember Dietrich

This month we celebrate Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s 100th birthday. His life and writings continue to change church and society. Like St. Paul and Martin Luther King, Jr., Bonhoeffer spoke powerfully from prison. From his vantage point in Tegel Prison he wrote:

I should like to speak of God not on the boundaries but at the center. . . . God is beyond in the midst of our life.

"God" is at the heart of this world, full of grace and freedom. Namaste.

Some ways to remember Dietrich this month: see Bonhoeffer (a documentary film: "Powerful and shocking." ~nytimes.com) www.bonhoeffer.com; read "Freedom" from Ethics www.johnpcock.homestead.com/BonhoefferFreedom.html and Letters and Papers from Prison; browse www.dbonhoeffer.org; read high school history teacher’s tribute to Bonhoeffer, via Dick Kroeger: www.madison.com/archives/read.php?ref=tct:2006:02:04:543310:editorial

Photo: statue of Bonhoeffer above the west front of Westminister Abbey, London, among statues of ten martyrs of the 20th century

"86 Evangelical Leaders Join to Fight Global Warming"

"For most of us, until recently this has not been treated as a pressing issue or major priority," [their] statement said. "Indeed, many of us have required considerable convincing before becoming persuaded that climate change is a real problem and that it ought to matter to us as Christians." ~Laurie Goodstein, nytimes.com, 2/8/06

Guidelines for Naming "God"

YAH . . . . It is impossible to express the ineffable, indescribable, unspeakable in words. Yet we must and will keep stammering our poetry, for it is deeply human so to do.

Here are some guidelines for naming "God":

• what is finally and only worthy of faith commitment
• what name helps relate all creation
• what name honors all spirit traditions
• what name communicates deeply to the ones hearing
• what name makes soul sense to the one naming

~jpc, adapted from Motivation for the Great Work

O Thou. Namaste.

We Remember George Yost

Our dear colleague George completed his life today [Feb. 6], on his 85th birthday. We celebrate the strong spirit man that he was and give thanks for the many ways in which he supported the spirit journeys of others. May he rest in peace. ~via Catherine Welch

"For all the saints. . . ." Namaste.

photo: George with wife, Ruthe, who died last month -- see Jan. 7 blog (via Priscilla Wilson)

memorial celebration for George is scheduled for Saturday, March 18 (via Sunny Walker)

Breathing the Name

At the Spirituality and Politics conference, Fr. Rohr told us a story a Jewish Rabbi told him. The Hebrew letters for [YHWH] “Yahweh” are ones that are both consonants and vowels, and ones that cannot be said with the lips closed. To say the letters requires an inhaling and exhaling, i.e., breath. So God is as close to us as our breathing. We are launched into the world when we take our first breath, and leave it when we give up our breath. In between, when we inhale and exhale, we are that close to God, breathing the name. When Rohr was telling us this story, all 1400 people in the hall were absolutely quiet. I think we were all intent upon our breathing and realized we were communing at the same time. ~Ida Forbis

Communion is breathing. Namaste.

Naming "God"

Words are only symbols that point to reality; therefore, all words are poetry, even names for “God”: I Am, Abba, Father, Mother, Goddess, One, All, No Thing, Divine, God above God, Final Reality, Ultimate, Unconditioned, Almighty, Awesome, Being Itself, Self, Heart of Being, Ground of Being, Center of Being, Holy, Numinous, Source, Force, Absolute, Silence, Hidden, Abyss, Void, Emptiness, Wholly Other, Presence, Mysterious Power, Spirit, and hundreds more – words that point to the Power in life that is Verily Not I, and words that point to That Without Which true life is not. What the poetic word “God” points to is absolutely significant to all that was, is, and ever shall be. ~jpc

We bow in reverence. Namaste.

“YHWH” image above signifies early Hebrew name for “God.”

Global Beatitudes

Mr. President, Congress, people of faith, people of America: I want to suggest to you . . . an additional 1% of the federal budget tithed to the poor. America gives less than 1% now. . . . 1% is national security, enlightened economic self-interest, and a better, safer world rolled into one. . . . 1% is the best bargain around.

These goals – clean water for all, school for every child, medicine for the afflicted, an end to extreme and senseless poverty – these are not just any goals. . . . They are the Beatitudes for a globalised world. ~Bono at the National Prayer Breakfast, www.sojo.net, via Randy Williams

And an Irish rock star shall lead them. Namaste.

White House photo by Paul Morse

Rural Computer Training School

Colleagues Nelson and Elaine Stover of Greensboro, NC, spent Christmas day inaugurating the new school in a village development project south of Mubai, India, where 455 tribal children, grades 1-10, board and attend classes at the Chikale Ashram Salla. Read article/see photos www.ica-international.org/India

A Throw of the Dice

With climate change we may be approaching the point of no return. Nature is the timekeeper. . . . One way or another, the decision will be made by our generation. Of that there is little doubt. But it will affect life on earth for all generations to come. ~Lester Brown, “What Is Plan B?” interview, via George Holcombe www.alternet.org/story/31679

You have a great responsibility. . . . You are a throw of the dice on which, for a moment, the entire fate of your race is gambled. Everything you do reverberates throughout a thousand destinies. ~N. Kazantzakis, S.O.G.

We summon our courage. Namaste.

"Cloud of Witnesses"

Over 1,600 people (four I know) from the U.S. gathered for the Politics and Spirituality Conference on January 14 at the nation's capital, which began with the "Cloud of Witnesses": link below to see icons and read text, a powerful portrayal of some contemporary, "unofficial" saints. (History canonizes its saints without any institution's permission.) The book of Hebrews says, "we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses."

H. Richard Niebuhr in Faith On Earth calls them "companions of Jesus in faith in God," and says that through their witness we too can become companions of Jesus in faith -- in God -- a meaningful way to talk about the community of faith or communion of saints. ~jpc

"What a fellowship." Namaste.

http://www.cacradicalgrace.org/conferences/politics/CloudOfWitnesses-with-images.pdf

photo of icons: Sojourners magazine

Another Take on "Namaste"

In India, when we meet and part
we often say "Namaste,"
which means I honor the place in you
where the entire universe resides.
I honor the place in you
of love, of light, of truth, of peace.
I honor the place within you where,
if you are in that place in you
and I am in that place in me,
there is only one of us.

~Ram Dass via Alice Baumbach

Good Life and Good Death

Despite her [Flannery O’Connor] awful struggle with lupus, her having to go home to a tough mother, she was not a whiner or complainer. Her faith was tough; she just railed at the world’s attempt to dilute, to make trivial Jesus’ life and message. And right to the end, too – she said, “Our purpose in life is to die a good death.” She died in an Atlanta hospital, on her back, writing on a shelf that had been set up above her, one of her best short stories, “Parker’s Back.” ~Ida Forbis

Reminds me of the words of the hymn, “For the saints of God are just folk like me, / And I mean to be one too.” Namaste.

Deep Down Knowing

Faith is what you know to be true, whether you believe it or not. ~attributed to Flannery O’Connor by actor/director Tommy Lee Jones*

We are born into the primal relationship of faith. Our senses know we are sustained in being, the universe is on our side, and we can trust the power at the heart of creation – whether we want to be called “believers” or not. This kind of deep down knowing has more to do with faith than a set of learned beliefs. ~jpc

I have faith; help thou my unfaith. Namaste.

*I cannot verify this quote after a search and after asking two persons most knowledgeable of O’Connor’s works. They thought it sounded like her. One added that T.L. Jones did his senior paper at Harvard on her works.