Righteous Indignation, Ch. 8 (p 60-66)

Righteous Indignation, Ch. 8 (p 60-66)
Jewish Textual Practice and Sustainable Culture -- Rabbi Natan Margalit, PhD

(1) "As my wife nurses our infant, I wonder about the reports that a mother's milk may contain dangerous levels of pesticides--one small example, but perhaps no better symbol, of how the sacred circle of life that connects us all has been badly damaged. Largely due to human intervention, the earth is out of balance" (p 60).

What other examples of our damaged connections are most meaningful to you? When did you first realize the interconnectedness of life?

(2) "...we will need more than technical solutions to solve this crisis" (p 60). The rest of the paragraph develops this idea.

I have met some resistance to this idea when talking with people, even environmentally conscious ones. There is this idea that we don't need to change our lifestyles and ways of thinking, only our light bulbs and sources of electricity. That is, new technology will discover ways for the American way of life to continue without disruption. We don't need to travel less; we just need electric cars with more nuclear generators. We don't need to break the consumption addiction; we just need to buy organic and recyclable merchandise.

What do you think? Will technology mean that no deeper changes are needed? Many of us are driven to buy and consume--Shop worker killed in sale stampede. What drives this? What can change it/us?

(3) "In the modern world, we've broken that pattern of connection. We isolate, separate, and distance ourselves from one another, from the world, and even from our own being" (p 64).

Besides automatic garage door openers (and online book clubs), how do we distance ourselves from others? What impact does this have on our sense of fulfillment? In what ways do you work to connect with others, the world, and yourself?

(4) In describing the "gardener's ethic," Rabbi Margalit states that "our task is not to worship pristine wilderness, but to work the land with stewardship and caring" (p 65). He continues, "The good gardener knows that to vanquish nature would be self-defeating, as he ultimately depends on nature's bounty for the fertility of his garden. The gardener, the garden, and nature are actually all parts of a larger whole." "A Jewish eco-theology starts from this same sense of belonging to a larger whole."

What do you think of the "gardener's ethic" versus the "wilderness ethic"? How do you react to these paradigms? How can we apply the gardener's ethic to society--economies, food production, manufacturing, etc.? What does this look like compared with what is commonplace?

(5) "It is a spiritual practice to construct economic, agricultural, and social modes that work together in dynamic patterns. When we do this, the whole world will be as happy as a new creation and as sweet as new life" (p 66).

God bless your spiritual practice. May our hearts and minds be open to wisdom, change and new patterns. May we bring a little happiness and sweetness to those people, plants and animals in our sphere of influence.

The Irresistible Revolution, Ch. 13 (p 341-358)

The Irresistible Revolution, Ch. 13 (p 341-358)
Crazy But Not Alone

(a) "In a world of smart bombs and military intelligence, we need more fools, holy fools who insist that the folly of the cross is wiser than any human power" (p 343).

That reminds me of Michael Card's old song, "God's Own Fool" (watch the simple revolutionary who goes before us + bonus).

Seems I've imagined Him all of my life
As the wisest of all of mankind.
But if God's Holy wisdom is foolish to men
He must have seemed out of His mind.
For even His family said He was mad
And the priests said a demon's to blame.
But God in the form of this angry young man
Could not have seemed perfectly sane.

God, keep us a little crazy. Don't let us settle back into the normal that you are delivering us from.

(b) Community of Communities (p 348): www.communityofcommunities.us. Even if you're not in an intentional community housing situation, what is your community like? What kind of support group of fools have you put together?

(c) "Because it is small like the old mustard seed, it is possible to miss the little revolution spreading across our land, cross-pollinated by an ongoing web of relationships and a common vision--of alternatives to existing worldly structures, of bartering economies, of money collectives for emergencies (instead of insurance), of prophetic interruptions to war and theft, of sustainable urban gardening and eco-energy alternatives, of using trash and wreckage of the consumptive world to create things that bring life and beauty" (p 348-349).

That is one long and beautiful sentence. For those who want to pursue this in other venues, check these out: Papa Festival, A Sustainable Faith, School(s) for Conversion, CCDA Institute, Word and World, Geez Magazine, Sojourners, SC Faith in Action and Fight with Tools.

(d) "So to the young 'uns: we have to remind ourselves to stay anchored in the church, for we need roots and wisdom" (p 353).

Charissa reminds me of St. Augustine's quote from time to time: "The church is a whore, but she's my mother" (p 354). I found that quote again today in an article by Tony Campolo--Why the Church is Important (Christianity Today, 1 May '07). It's a good article to go along with this chapter.

Why is the church (i.e., the body of Christ, the community of disciples) still important to you, even if you have a bent away from institutional religion?

(e) "We believe poverty can end even though it is all around us. We believe in peace even though we hear only rumors of war. And since we are people of expectation, we are so convinced that another world is coming that we start living as if it were already here" (p 355).

Increase our faith! (Luke 17:5)

: : :

Thanks for sharing the adventure of processing this book together.

Grace and Peace,
Jeff

The Irresistible Revolution, Ch. 11a (p 289-305)

The Irresistible Revolution, Ch. 11a (p 289-305)
Making Revolution Irresistible

(a) "I got this [burn scar] making stuff for you" (p 292).

Though not Claiborne's main point in this chapter, still you can find fair trade businesses in this pdf (published by the Fair Trade Federation) or at this site (Fair Trade Certified). These related sites may also guide you: Corporate Critic, Ethical Consumer, EthiScore, Ethical Shopping and Get Ethical. Or learn to sew like Shane.

Production and trade aren't necessarily bad, whether local or (maybe even) international. They just need to be done in a fair manner with respect to all parties and the planet. Once every four years, (some) U.S. citizens vote in the presidential election. But we vote for the world of tomorrow with every dollar spent. Will it be fair trade or indifferent? Organic or carcinogenic? Win-win or win-lose?

(b) "There are times when injustice will take us to the streets and might land us in jail, but it is our love for God and our neighbor--not our rage or our arrogance--that counts" (p 293).

What issues take you to the streets? In the midst of protest, are you able to embody love and peace, or do rage and arrogance take over?

From a different perspective, Rob Bell talks about what we do with our anger in Store. Do I use it to make the world a better place like Jesus did (Mark 3:5)? Or do I get destructive?

The words of Kaj Munk on pages 294/5 fit this concept brilliantly.

(c) "Just as 'believers' are a dime a dozen in the church, so are 'activists' in social justice circles nowadays. But lovers are hard to come by. And I think that's what our world is desperately in need of--lovers, people who are building deep, genuine relationships with fellow strugglers along the way, and who actually know the faces of the people behind the issues..." (p 295).

Am I a believer? What do I believe about God and justice? Am I an activist? What actions and what attitudes will achieve the results God desires? Am I a lover? Of whom? Why? Who else needs my love today? How do healthy boundaries help me love more completely?

(d) View the life of Immokalee Workers (p 298-300). That cheap produce in the grocery store suddenly doesn't look so appealing. The answer isn't to stop eating it, but to help those harvesting it for us to get what they need. Our wage scales (both in the U.S. and for multinational corporations) may be legal, but God has a different perspective.

Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. (James 5:4-5)

(e) "Degrees of separation allow us to destroy human beings we do not know except as the enemy" (p 304).

Smart bombs keep war de-personalized. "We have guided missiles and misguided men" (Chris Blake, Swimming against the Current, p 109).

The Irresistible Revolution, Ch. 5c (p 136-146)

The Irresistible Revolution, Ch. 5b (p 136-146)

Another Way of Doing Life
By Travis, O.R. Conspirator Extraordinaire

(1) "We've been very careful at the Simple Way never to claim that we have the corner on the market for "radical Christianity." Nor have we even tried to spread a brand or model." (p 137) (italics & bold mine).

I'm so glad that I don't see "IR" mouse pads or coffee cups. I'm sorry to offend anyone but give me a break. Just go to Amazon.com come and search Purpose Driven Life or Your Best Life Now and see what comes up. Do we need calendars and planners promoting this stuff? Daily devotions? I tried to find a link to the mouse pads. I know I've seen the Purpose Driven Life mouse pads but I could not find them online. I know that the intentions are good but when someone without a christian background sees this stuff, what does it communicate? Personally it turns me off and makes me feel like I'm being sold another product. Another brand. Another model.

What do I buy into? In a highly consumer driven society how do I determine what is needed and what is junk? How do I vote with my dollars?

(2) "And the incredible thing is that the stories of ordinary radicals are all over the place, stories of everyday people doing small things with great love, with their lives, gifts, and careers." (p 137)

What am I doing? How am I doing small things with great love?
Last week after church myself and some friends went to the hospital to visit an older woman from our congregation. The idea was birthed out of the sermon topic. We have been doing a series about how God interacts with us through our 5 senses and how we use those senses to interact with the world. We wanted to sing songs to this woman (who loves praise and worship time) and be a sweet fragrance in a dying world (we studied the sense of smell at church). She ended up ministering to us and touching us (I think) more profoundly than our ministry to her.

(3) "Some may leave their jobs. Others will redefine them." (p 140) "So not everyone responds in the same way, but we must respond." (p 142) (italics & bold mine)

How are you responding? I love how he gives many examples all throughout the book about people ministering in many different and unique ways. Amazing. Beautiful. Freeing. Inspiring.

I'm constantly reviewing this one. Right now I'm considering taking a job at the church. Is this what God wants? Is this the best use of my talents? Is this where I need to focus? Am I doing it for a paycheck?

(4) Jesus was not simply a missionary to the poor. He was poor -- born a baby refugee from the badlands of Nazareth, wandered the world a homeless rabbi, died the rotten death of insurrectionists and bandits on the cross, executed by an oppressive empire, buried in a borrowed tomb. Jesus was crucified not for helping the poor people but for joining them. That is the Jesus we follow." (p 144) (italics his)

Do you follow this Jesus? Does it make you uncomfortable?

These facts really disturb me. They rail against the Jesus I learned about at church in my little bible class growing up. It's not pretty. It's not clean. It's too real.

But I'm learning more about, and my heart is being moved to follow this Jesus. To see this Jesus. It's hard. It's uncomfortable. It's exciting.

(5) "What the world really needs is not more churches but a Church" (p 146)

I love how he talks about this concept. That we are all the embodiment of Christ on earth. It reminds me of the story about someone asking C.S. Lewis (I think) which church they should attend and he says that you should go to the one closest to your house! Interesting. How many of us drive out of our community in order to be in another community? Just a question. Questions are good.

I still pose the question: What would it look like if a church impacted the community within its mile radius? Imagine every church on every corner.

That's all for me......until next time. Peace be with you.

The Irresistible Revolution, Ch. 5a (p 115-126)

The Irresistible Revolution, Ch. 5a (p 115-126)
Another Way of Doing Life

(1) “…what people are really wondering is whether there is life before death” (p 117).

Does my life show the world another, a better, way to live?

(2) “And the kingdom that Jesus speaks so much about is not just something we hope for after we die but is something we are to incarnate now” (p 117).

Sometimes I’ve heard or read people express the idea that Jesus’ teachings sound good, but they just don’t work here on this planet—love your neighbor, forgive, turn the other cheek*. But Shane brings up a good point in the quoted paragraph. These teachings don’t fit heaven; they were expressed specifically for planet Earth with its sin problem. We don’t need the teaching “turn the other cheek” in heaven because no one will slap the right cheek to begin with. Jesus’ hard words might not sound like actions we can live here, but clearly he wasn’t giving us advice on how to live later. It is meant for here and now.

(3) “We knew that the world cannot afford the American dream and that the good news is that there is another dream” (p 119).

This is so true. Already the world is feeling the pinch of limited resources with growing demand. Prices from steel to corn are rising as countries grow their economies in ways patterned after the United States. Demand for oil, food, water and all value-added resources will continue to rise. It has been estimated that for the entire population of the planet to live like North Americans, we would need seven more planets of resources. The U.S. style of life and production is simply not sustainable on a world-wide scale (or even within our borders, but that’s another discussion).

(4) “We narrowed our vision to this: love God, love people, and follow Jesus” (p 121).

That about covers it. What is my mission statement? What guides my decision-making process? How do I decide what to say yes and no to?

(5) “We share life with our neighbors and try to take care of each other” (p123).

What a great statement; reminds me of Galatians 6:2. This line is in the fun description of The Simple Way on pages 122 - 126. I want to quote the whole section here. It’s like the Sermon on the Mount to me.

Our upstairs neighbor is a retired gentleman who likes to garden. He knocked on the door the other day to see if we wanted another tomato plant. He had a couple extra and wanted to share because Charissa’s tomato hadn’t made the move so well. It’s a little thing, but it was really kind of him.

Neighbors can build community with the smallest of kindnesses. Charissa had taken him a plate of homemade cinnamon roles when we moved in, and that had opened the way to more conversations. How can I build community with people around me today?

*As explained by Walter Wink in Jesus and Nonviolence: The Third Way.

The Irresistible Revolution, Ch. 4b (p 103-114)

The Irresistible Revolution, Ch. 4b (p 103-114)
When Comfort Becomes Uncomfortable

(1) "Rather than accumulating stuff for oneself, followers of Jesus abandon everything, trusting in God alone for providence" (p 104).

Do we? Do I? How closely am I following my rabbi? "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal" (Matt 6:19-20).

(2) "...Jesus warns people of the cost of discipleship, that it will cost them everything they have ever hoped for and believed in--their biological families, their possessions, even their very lives. He warns them to count the cost before putting their hand to the plow. And Jesus allows people to walk away" (p 106).

There's this line, "Jesus doesn't call us to the easy thing, just the best thing." Carrying our cross isn't easy, it's just the best. Because there's a reason for the cross, it helps our brothers and sisters. "Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2). What problem can I shoulder for someone today? How can I make someone's walk easier? Someone at work? Someone in my family? Someone in my community? Someone in Sudan?

(3) "God comforts the disturbed and disturbs the comfortable" (p 107). Classic. May we ponder this over the week.

(4) "I was convinced that what we do is not nearly as important as who we are. The question is not whether you will be a doctor or a lawyer but what kind of doctor or lawyer you will be" (p 108). I love this line. What kind of event planner am I? What kind of husband am I? What kind of friend am I? What kind of disciple am I?

(5) "Somehow I had missed the fact that singleness was a beautiful means of discipleship..." (p 111). "We can live without sex, but we cannot live without love, and God is love" (p 111). This for singles and wed to meditate on.

(6) "We can admire and worship Jesus without doing what he did.... I had come to see that
the great tragedy in the church is not that rich Christians do not care about the poor but that rich Christians do not know the poor" (p113).

When I came back from Korea with my neck injury, I was sitting outside my motel room waiting for a friend to pick me up so I could stay with her while I was in treatment. A cleaning lady noticed I was reading Walking with the Poor, and commented as she walked by, "Nice book."

I didn't know how to respond, and then she was gone. I leaned against my one suitcase and said, "I'm not walking with the poor; I am the poor. One suitcase. No car. No home. No job. No hope of having a job soon because of medical problems. Only a little cash left over from my last paycheck that has to last."

But I had two things that truly financially poor people don't have--rich friends and rich family members. I knew I'd be okay. I had a huge safety net.

Bottom line: People without financial support are my family. Are they my friends? How good am I doing at being their safety net?

I love the last line of the chapter. But I've already quoted too much.