As September Ends
Last Saturday I wrote briefly about the change in colors going on all around us in the northern climates. They are now predicting a major cold front to come across the state on Friday with temperatures plummeting into the low 30s. We have had a remarkably warm month, but the truth is, especially in Minnesota, those warm temps are about to fall. There will be warm days still. There will be the lingering feeling that if we just wish hard enough it will stay like this until March- and then warm up.

But we know better.

The colors I talked about last week are now changing some more. The gold of the bean fields is now a light, but dull rusty tan. The maroons of the sumac have deadened. The trees will follow soon in a burst of energy, but it is only for a passing.

But the one thing that I think of every single fall is that when faced with death- their own death and the death of everything around them- the leaves show their true colors. I learned this scientifically years ago. The actual color of the leaves is what we see in the fall after the leaves have stopped producing their chlorophyll. That green has been a covering, a mask- although a useful and essential mask. The green represented the life-giving forces in and around the leaves. The green showed that they were producing oxygen and providing for the growth of the tree.

Now their work is accomplished. Well done, good and faithful leaves. You have done as you were called and appointed to do. Take a moment before the end to relax. Stop the chlorophyll production. You have nothing left to do. Enjoy the last moments in the golden autumn sun.

Relax they do- and the true colors hidden beneath the green shine forth. No, often they burst forth. A maple in our backyard, one of the last to turn, will look like captured sunshine well into October. It is a show-off among the trees. Look at me, see me- I am a creation of the Creator who has given me beauty- wonderful beauty- even in death.

When faced with death, perhaps, we as humans may also show our true colors. Whether it is first the death of a loved one, our reactions show what we are made of. When going through the grief process that may accompany our own deaths, there, too, is the strength of who we truly are. It is worth pondering what kind of colors I will show when those times come, as they have in the past, are happening now, and one day will come to an end.

Perhaps the words of Job are appropriate:

The Lord gives, the Lord takes away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.

More to come.

In Israel Christians Can't Get Along
From Ireland On-line

Priests arrested after Jerusalem church brawl
27/09/2004 - 16:02:29

Rival priests got into a fight in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Christianity’s holiest shrine in Jerusalem, after arguing over whether a door in the basilica should be closed during a procession.

Dozens of people, including several Israeli police officers, were hurt in the brawl at the shrine, built over the spot where tradition says Jesus was crucified and buried.

Jerusalem police spokesman Shmulik Ben-Ruby said four priests were arrested.

Custody of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is shared by several denominations that jealously guard territory and responsibilities under a fragile deal hammered out over the last centuries.

Any perceived encroachment on one group’s turf can lead to vicious feuds, sometimes lasting centuries.

Today’s fight broke out during a procession of hundreds of Greek Orthodox worshippers commemorating the 4th century pilgrimage by Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine, to Jerusalem. Tradition says that during the trip, Helena found the cross on which Jesus had been crucified.

Church officials said that at one point, the procession passed a Roman Catholic chapel, and priests from both sides started arguing over whether the door to the chapel should be open or closed.

Club-wielding Israeli riot police broke up the fight, witnesses said. After the brawl, the procession continued.

I remember when we visited Israel a number of years ago, the tour guide made the observation that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is as perfect a model for the Christian church as anything. The different segments of the building each overseen by different groups who can't or won't even worship together. I would add to that insight that it is still stuck on the importance of the individual rituals and, the general evangelical Protestant view says it didn't take place there anyway.

What an image. It fits the church thoughout most of the centuries. Perhaps even all the centuries since even in the New Testament letters of Paul we find intra-community disagreements, arguments, and early versions of schisms. We Christians may look and shake our heads at the spilts in the Muslim faithful, but a quick look at Northern Ireland or the Church of the Holy Sepulchre should bring us to our knees in silence and repentence.

Facing the New and Unknown
It is now official. For various and sundry reasons my wife's ministry at the church she has been serving for the past 5 years has ended. She has been on a respite leave for the past 60 days and it was announced on Sunday that she will not be returning from the leave.

This is not all that unexpected. It has been a difficult time for quite a while and it is probably better for all concerned that she now move on. I, of course, did that in January when I left the parish ministry to become a school-based chemical health counselor. Now it is her turn.

There is a lot of sadness and missed opportunities, inability to move into new ministries and directions. There was personality conflicts, theological disagreements, and just plain who knows what. It just didn't work almost from the very start. Not every ministry does, needless to say. For these and thousands of other reasons.

She doesn't want to leave the ordained ministry and find a "secular" job like I did. The denominational leadership has a few things in mind we are told. But at this point we don't know what that may be. So, as I have said here many times over the past 18+ months, we wait. As patiently as we can. I have a hunch that patience may be the most elusive of the fruits of the Spirit. At least for me at times. I am always looking for directions, answers, leads, understanding. In that I am still a product of my times. But I do enjoy mystery- when it doesn't have to do with my future.

So we wait. A friend said the other day that they are sure that God has some great stuff in mind for her ministry. I am convinced of that, too. She has far too many gifts and abilities and a great love of the church and its future in Jesus. But I just wish we knew.

On second thought, maybe not. If we knew the future we might be tempted to mess it up. After all, we are human.

Garden State
At first I thought I had been misled by Rotten Tomatoes. They had compiled an 89% rating. But another stoner film, is what I thought as the early scenes of drugs and sex and dogs. Or maybe American Pie.

Fortunately, Zach Braff and company do a remarkable job at bringing together the angst and comedy and uncertainty and willingness to grow into life that is the hallmark of the 20-somethings today. My 20-something daughter saw the movie with me and commented that she could have been looking at her life. It is a story of the youngest of the Gen-Xers coming to grips with life.

The music blends well. It is acoustic, with even a very appropriate Simon and Garfunkle thrown in at an opportune moment. The style of the scenes changes to meet the needs and the moment and atmosphere. There is a wierd collection of characters that I found reminiscent in style, though not in substance of The Royal Tennenbaums. It is a coming of age story set in suburban New Jersey- The Garden State. It takes you where so many other coming of age stories take you. But it does it in its own way.

Its way is to lift the lithium fog and search for perfection that the Xers parents have often put on them. It brings together quirkiness and hope and the tears and joys that come when you realize life is life- it doesn't get any better than that so find the ways to take it and live it and make it yours. Yes, you've heard that before, but maybe The Graduate or The Big Chill aren't the only ways to tell it.

It is rated R, for language (the big one is used a lot), drug use and a scene of sexuality. See it and let life happen to you.

All He Ever Talks About is Money

Most preachers have heard that at one time or another- even if they only preach on money once a year. My wife, before she was even a pastor, used to give me a hard time about how I refused to say the "M" word- money- in a sermon. Finally I turned that into a sermon. But then someone would comment, with all seriousness, that all the church wants is their money.

I'm glad they weren't around when Jesus was preaching- or maybe they were. The story of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16 really hits too close to home for most of our comforts. The nameless, anonymous lost soul- the rich man in contrast to the known and named and comforted beggar Lazarus. His wealth couldn't get him anywhere, especially when you remember that he never helped Lazarus. His wealth couldn't get him comfort across the abyss. His wealth couldn't even buy a telegram back to his family.

Hey, they wouldn't believe it anyway, says Jesus.

'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not
be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'

The irony in that statement must have hit Luke and the early Christians like a brick. Even the most incredible miracles- like a man named Lazarus being raised from the dead- or the resurrection of the Lord- won't convince many people. It is far more than that. It will take breaking through their pride and self-centeredness and even self righteousness. Kenneth E. Bailey, Author and Lecturer in Middle Eastern New Testament Studies Research Professor of NT at the Ecumenical Institute, Jerusalem (Emeritus) Canon Theologian of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, has these words about it:

At the end of the story, the rich man retains his class pride, his total self centeredness and his indifference to any suffering other than his own. He recognizes the resurrected Lazarus but doing so makes no impression on him. Thus, his claim that such a vision will bring his brothers to repentance is hollow and vain. Mammon continues to rule his life.

Throughout the Bible it is clear that material possessions belong to God and not to humans. What we do with our possessions profoundly influences every area of our lives in this world and the next.

What the rich man did with his mammon, colored, shaped and finally destroyed him. Like an alcoholic he was unaware of his self-destructive behavior even after it came to its bitter conclusion. What Lazarus was able to do without mammon becomes an inspiration for all. When John Wesley died his entire estate was one silver spoon. Was it worth more than one seamless robe?
by Kenneth E. Baile at Shenango.com linked from The Text This Week.

Tan, Gold, Maroon- It's Fall
It is a remarkable time of the year. More explosively beautiful than any other season. It is fall and you can't capture it, just enjoy it.

Drive up the Minnesota River Vally where the wildlife preserve has preserved more than animal widlife. Drive along the bluff where higher-end suburban developments flow from the farms and fields that once were far more plentiful. Spring has it's slow growth of green that seems to show up suddenly when the temperatures finally warm up. There is a subtlety to spring that fall doesn't know.

  ** The matte-finished tan of the corn stalks.
    ** The rich gold of the bean fields.
      ** The deep maroon of the sumac.
        ** The lightened yellow-green on the trees, hints of the show soon to come.

Fall. Autumn. Reminding us that life is here and does not go gently into the night of winter.

We Need a Constitutional Amendment to Protect the Sanctity of Marriage
I hear absolutely no one in Congress or the Religious Right screaming for a Marriage Sanctity Amendment making this illegal:

Wife Swap:Wednesday, September 29, 10/9c, ABC
Series Premiere...In the premiere episode, 37-year-old New York mom Jodi Spolansky, a multi-millionaire heiress with a husband and three children, swaps lives with 45-year-old Lynn Bradley, a woodcutter from rural New Jersey with a husband and two teenage daughters.

Of course, not to be outdone in the reality department there's also Fox:

TRADING SPOUSES: MEET YOUR NEW MOMMY
TWO MOMS MIX IT UP ON PART ONE OF ?TRADING SPOUSES: MEET YOUR NEW MOMMY? TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, ON FOX

Now whether or not these are true, full-fledged wife-swaps is no doubt left to your imagination. I didn't watch the other night and am not planning on watching next week either. The play on marriage and infidelity is part of the attraction of shows like this. Do these possibly harm that sacred institution? Do these make a mockery of marriage? Or is it just harmful fun unlike that whole gay marriage thing which will harm marriage?

Personally, I don't think a constitutional amendment is what is needed. Make it illegal or unconstitutional to mess around with the definition of marriage? No, that's not the issue. There are many other things at work that have put pressure on marriage. Some good things in our society (more money?) and some not so good (working long, long weeks) have worked against marriage. They always have. Marriage as an institution as we know it is a modern concept. It is not a Biblical idea.

In some ways, we should rejoice that around half of all marriages make it. Many of them are even happy marriages. Many, of course, are not- marriages on convenience, marriages held together by mutual addictions, marriages held together by fear of abuse or reprisal. But there are enough good, solid marriages that we should rejoice and perhaps find out what it is that makes marriage work for them.

Some states, Minnesota is one, gives a discount on your marriage license if you have completed a marriage counseling program. I did pre-marital counseling from the very beginning of my ministry 30 years ago. I learned early on that pre-marital counseling does not often raise the serious issues that would indicate whether a marriage would work or not. It is simply an attempt to raise issues for the couple to be aware of- issues that they will forget not long after leaving the office because, of course, they are in love.

George Barna recently published results of one of his polls that showed that Christians and non-Christians, evangelicals as well as atheists, all have about the same statistics on divorce. Even faith doesn't keep people together, although I know it can help.

To truly support marriages, to reduce the stress and strain that can lead to breakups takes more than a politically motivated constitutional amendment. It takes work and commitment on the society's part to uphold the couples. It takes commitment on both spouse's parts to not give up at the first sign of trouble. Commitment is the key. Commitment to the relationship and to each other and to being true to oneself. Commitment to an ideal that can never be reached, but which is certainly worth striving for.

When Talking is Suspicious
An item in the paper the other day caught my eye. The police were called to a local address where it was reported that a man was walking up and down the street talking to himself. Yes, that would be wierd, especially in the downtown area. Was he mentally unstable? Was he dangerous? Was he drunk and disorderly? The date on the call was September 11, so the anxiety might be understood.

Well, the police came and investigated, as one would expect them to.

The man was talking on his cell phone.

I have to admit that there hae been times when I see someone walking along the street talking and no one is with them that I have been taken aback. But it usually doesn't take long to realize what the person is doing. Yes, it does look suspicious or dangerous or crazy. But it is certainly a part of our modern world, especially since September 11. My wife and I had cell phones before that and used them quite appropriately. But September 11 proved their value. Not just with those last goodbyes from the hijacked planes. But in making it easy to check in with out daughter in Spain at the time.

She had left 12 days earlier for a semester overseas. She was so far away that at first it was painful. When an only child goes that far away, it can be anxiety producing on the parents. Fortunately, Spain, as with much of Europe, was far ahead of where we were in this country in cell phone usage. She immediately got a cell phone that we could call easily, anytime, wherever she was. And she could call us.

Which she did not long after the Twin Towers fell. She was panicked and wanted the news. Her Spanish hadn't gotten that good yet. We kept in touch a number of times that day and the next few as we all decompressed from the shock. I never again have seen the cell phone as a hindrance or a bother. Sure some people allow it to become that. But it is truly a high-tech way to maintain really high-touch.

Scary- or Safety?
From ZDNET:

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday that it will order airlines to hand over the complete records of all passengers who traveled on a domestic flight in the month of June.

In an "emergency" notice, the department's Transportation Security Administration said that the requirement is necessary to test a controversial computer "prescreening" system that attempts to identify terrorists before passengers are permitted to board their flight. The system is called Secure Flight.

The information that airlines will be required to divulge by Oct. 29 includes, at a minimum, the passenger's name, reservation date, travel agent, itinerary information, form of payment, flight number and seating information.

TSA said that it will use those passenger records in two ways. First, it will verify that Secure Flight is able to match information on air travelers with records stored in government databases. Second, it will combine the passenger records with data purchased from unspecified "commercial data aggregators who provide services to the banking, home mortgage and credit industries" to see how much it may help the data-mining process.

On the one hand, this sounds really great. I am glad that they want to make sure that the system works like it is supposed to. I am glad that there is a way (however small) to begin to screen/identify possible threats to airlines, etc. Our national freedoms depend to some significant degree on safety.

But there's the other hand. Do we lose some of that freedom in the name of safety? Are we willing that government screeners and airlines know what our mortgage payments are? Are we comfortable with "data-mining" that puts more and more of who we are into a database that can be recalled, misused or abused? There is some fear on my part of the uses to which this data can be put. Is that fear greater than my fear of the terrorists on airplanes? Is there any way to ever be 100% sure that we can catch every terrorist or even domestic crazy who may want to pull some stunt? Is that extra little bit from this data-mining worth the loss of some of our liberties?

A friend of mine tells me not to get hung up on this. They said to me one day that the government already knows all that stuff and if it wanted to use it, could at any time. They are government conspiracy theory lovers. They don't trust government any further than they can throw it. I'm not that bad. I still have trust that our government, overall, is working for what our leaders feel is the national interest. But only a remembrance of the "enemies" list of Nixon, for example, and his attempt at an "imperial presidency", gives me pause.

Of course, the disclaimer why this hit me so strongly: I flew on a domestic flight at the end of June.

I have nothing to hide, as far as I know. Who knows what someone of a radically different political persuasion might think. So I haven't made up my mind yet. But I have this nagging worry that this could be a slippery slope all in the name of something that we will never have to our complete satisfaction again- 100% peace and security.

Made It Before Midnight
Okay. I almost broke the string of posts. Got home late last night and, well, watched the football game. This die-hard Packer fan sure enjoyed seeing the Vikings lose- just like the Pack did on Sunday.

Actually, we may be on the edge of the end of the world as we know it. Just consider:

The huge number of hurricanes and tornadoes in recent months...
The slimy way this political season is going...
The Bears beat the Packers in Lambeau field...
Detroit is in first place in the division at 2-0.

Anyway, it sure is fun to have both football and baseball at the same time, especially when the Twins have clinched the division for the third year in a row.

All Things New- Including "Religion"
Thanks to Blogs4God which led me to Dispatches from Outland for a truly challenging quote from a Charlie Peacock book:

Despite the overwhelming human opinion and evidence to the contrary, Jesus did not come to start a new religion. He did not come to create a two-hour-on-Sunday parasite culture that pious people can stick on the side of their otherwise busy lives. Jesus came to subvert every aspect of live and culture with the relational Word and will of God--what he announced as the kingdom. The kingdom, or God's rule, is what brings a person's life into alignment with reality. To live in the kingdom way is to live a real and everlasting live, beginning the very moment you follow Jesus. This means that everything is overhauled or restructured to fit the kingdom way, the new way to be human. Knowledge, education, romance, marriage, sex, parenting, work, play, money, ambition, business, social services, caring for the earth, even being the church in the world--all of these areas and a thousand more now come under kingdom rule and authority. Following Jesus faithfully means seeing to it that all of these areas in our lives are subverted by the kingdom and rebuilt in the new way.

Them is some tough words:
::- Contrary to popular opinion;
::- parasite culture;
::- subvert every aspect of life;
::- new way to be human.

Jesus was not out to win a popularity contest among the leaders and the establishment and the military and the pious. He was after the earthy people who struggled daily with hope and meaning. He was after the seekers who knew they were down and out spiritually. He was after those who could leave behind everything and follow. I know there aren't many like that. There weren't then. There aren't now. I don't consider myself among them. Most of us are simply struggling to do that more and more each day in tiny little increments. Perhaps that is another one of the advantages of being older.. I have had more minutes in which to make tiny, little, incremental steps. Most days now and then in the right direction.

I say that so that I remind myself that i am no better off than anyone else. Some of us may be closer to the Way, others may be heading in the opposite direction. In the end it is the words of the song that the people who wrote and produced Godspell took from a very old prayer:

Day by day
Day by day
Oh Dear Lord
Three things I pray
To see thee more clearly
Love thee more dearly
Follow thee more nearly
Day by day.

Actually, this is based on a prayer by St. Richard of Chichester, 13th Century English Bishop, and a deeply spiritual man. The whole prayer, which puts it all in the Gospel context was:

Praise to thee, Lord Jesus Christ, for all the benefits thou has won for me, for all the pains and insults thou hast born for me. Most merciul redeemer, friend and brother, may I know thee more clearly, love thee more dearly, and follow thee more nearly, day by day. Amen.
--from 200 Years of Prayer, compiled by Michael Counsell

Either way it is a reminder that we must make the decision anew each day to on that day follow Jesus.

Welcome Back, Ganns
Ganns Dean is back with an updated version of his blog- Superblessed. As always he is fun to read and a great online presence to boot. Welcome back!

Honesty and Ethics
The message is at first about money. The closing portion of the passage makes that clear:

Luke 16:13- "No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."

Money, symbolic of greed and selfishness and self-centered gain, can be a harsh and compelling master. No wonder God says in the Ten Commandments that He is a jealous God. The other "gods" like money are even more so. It is impossible to be selfish, greedy, and aiming for self-centered gain and still be God's follower.

But this parable is also about knowing someone's ethics and standards. Can they be trusted? How do we know?

Luke 16:10-11:"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?

Simple. Watch them. See how they live and act and respond in the little, everyday things of life. Watch the way they deal with too much change at the checkout line. Watch the way they respond when caught speeding. Watch the way they spend time with people. Watch the way the do their expense account. Watch what they put in their lunch pail on the way out of work. The little things tell the story. When one learns to stretch the truth and the ethical guidelines in the little things, it generally becomes easier to do so in the big things.

Sadly, too often the standard of ethics is "getting away with it." Hey, man, I didn't get caught. What's the big deal? But you did get caught- by yourself, by the action, and by God. Will you, or me, now be trusted by God with the important things of life- the true riches? Will we see these "true riches" as means to another end- our own self-centered drive for power or wealth? No, it's not easy to always be ethical and 150% honest. The temptations are always there. But how we handle the tiniest penny or dime can be an important indicator of how we will handle treasure when handed to us.

That is why God is watching. Not to find reasons to punish and send lightning bolts crashing out of heaven, but to find the ones he can give the treasure of the Kingdom to share and live. In the end, the true riches Jesus spoke of are not for us alone. They are to be lived and shared, unselfishly and with grace.

Being The Same Age Gets Scary
A week or so ago Bill Clinton had multiple bypass surgery. His birthday (day and year) is the same as my wife.

David Letterman had multiple bypass surgery a few years ago. He is about a year older than I am and a about year younger than my wife.

Johnny Ramone, the punk rocker, died the other day of prostate cancer. He was my age.

Two years ago my brother, three years younger than I am, had prostate cancer.

One of the toughest things of growing older is that you know that these kind of things are no longer exceptions- flukes- that you can pass off and ignore. When my college roommate died of cancer in his mid-20s that was out of the ordinary. When my best friend died of AIDS from a blood transfusion in his early 40s that was a fluke. Times haven't changed. I've passed the line into an older age group. I am eight years older than my mother was when she died and only 3 years younger than my father was.

What brings this on? Well, seeing the birthdate of Johnny Ramone was one. There are a few other things that I will talk about in the next week or so. Another may be the coming of fall. It is the time of final brilliance before the end and the quiet of winter. Will probably work on that one, too.

And perhaps the recent bout with my back has reminded me of how fragile any of us may really be. It didn't take much, simply a small turn of the body while setting an empty gas can on the ground and I was all but laid up for weeks. One of the great lessons of life I have come to realize is that it is precious and fragile, common and irreversible, hopeful and uncertain. As I seek to find ways to face and understand life and death as two faces of the same thing, I also come to grips with myself and my life. It is not a morbid subject. It is intriguing. For me the question that comes out of it is always- "What is the meaning and purpose of life since it ends in death?" The older I get, the more I am aware that this is the most important question I live with daily.

For me the answer is that in all I do, say, express, live, and breathe, I am to glorify and praise God. Life was around before me- it will outlast me. God is life and keeps it all together. Praise God from whom all the blessings of this life flow.

Calming the Storm?
Talking to my daughter yesterday she told me about a new item she had seen. It was a series of four ideas on how to stop dangerous hurricanes like Ivan. They were:

:: Build a string of huge fans on the shore to blow the storm away.
:: Spread olive oil on the beach to prevent evaporation and thus the feeding of the storm.
:: Drag a chunk of polar ice-cap into the storm to cool the water and stop the weather machine that feeds the hurricane.
:: Set off a nuclear bomb to tear the storm apart (or something like that.)

I went Googling and found a website called Wild Weather that had a page on these crazy ideas which seem to have come from the 50s of the 20th Century. Needless to say the ideas were all shown to be as wacky as they sound. For example on the nuclear bomb (of an) idea:

Pro: Military could "test" nuclear arsenal while destroying storm

Con: Probably would not alter the storm. Winds would likely blow radioactive materials across populated areas leaving millions with a much bigger problem then a natural disaster.

Oh, the ultimate dream- to control the weather to make it benign (translation: it wouldn't harm us.) It is what the story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis is also about. Building the tower to God to talk to face to face is not all that far from wanting to stop a powerful hurricane in the middle of the Caribbean. It is always the desire to have power- to be like God.

There are at least two things that strike me about that. First, we don't have the power. Period. We never will. Not in the ways that God has it. We may be able to destroy life as we know it, but the power of God creates life from nothing. We will never do that. The incredible self-centeredness of humanity.

Which is the second thing that strike me. The anthro-centric view of life- it's all here for us- makes us think that if it hurts us, it must be bad. We forget that there are powerful forces in nature that keep the world in balance. Hurricanes, I am sure, have an essential place in that balance. The churning of levels of water and food, the movement of energy and water from one place to another, the dissipation of water and energy in another place. These are essential ingredients. We cannot stop them without even greater damage to us and our world.

We build in the fragile shorline, highly susceptible to damage. We build skyscrapers on earthquake-prone faults, highly susceptible to damage. We stand in thunderstorms and then our family sues the National Park Service for allowing us to be killed by a lightning strike.

This does not diminish the extend of tragedy that occurs in these and similar disasters. This does not minimize the pain and fear and sadness that comes with these disasters. It simply reminds us that we are as fragile as the earth's balance. We are part of the balance and we can upset it or be hurt by it. It helps me put it into perspective. As I have said before and may say it again, it brings me to Psalm 8 and to my knees:

O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
above the heavens.

From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise
because of your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.

When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,

what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?

You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.

You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
you put everything under his feet:

all flocks and herds,
and the beasts of the field,

the birds of the air,
and the fish of the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.

O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

If You Don't Have Anything to Write About...
I told my wife a moment ago that I can't think if anything to write. She responded, in typical non-blogger/non-writer fashion: "So why write something and make a fool of yourself?"

Some people just don't get it.

Of course, neither do I in many ways. Writing a blog like this one is more like a journal/diary than the pundit blogs, political blogs, etc. I just write because I like to write and I like to see what comes out in the end. Unlike writing a book or story, a blog doesn't have to be consistent from post to post. It isn't finely-edited and fine-tuned. At times it is rambling (like this one) with no fixed direction. Other time I know exactly what I want to say and just start writing it.

It has become a spiritual discipline. It is a regular memory dump. It is a practice of putting words together about some issue and hope it makes sense. It is an attempt to make sense of things around me, put a spin on others, and seek the absurd or the wonderful in still others. That is why I write.

An even stranger question is why do we read other people's blogs like this one? Why take the time to go leaping around the blogosphere reading at random? Even the ones we like to read- why? For me as a blog reader I find other people's blogs good places to discover new things about human nature, to read about things that might interest me, to get to know someone else, if only superficially and virtually. Much has been written about blogs and their power. For me one of their most unsung powers is the ability to know that there are others out there who are as interested in life and its ramifications as I am.

Even if I have to force myself with the old writing trick of saying I have nothing to write, well, sometimes it works. Thank God for curiosity. Even if it did kill the cat- an old urban legend if you want to know my opinion.

Thirty Years Ago
September 15, 1974 at Grace Moravian Church, Center Valley, Pennsylvania.

I had been the student pastor of the church for the previous year while I finished seminary and did my chaplaincy at a nearby mental hospital. We were already living in the parsonage next door to the church.

It was a small church building. With a shoehorn on Christmas Eve you could probably get 120 people in the building. On this date 30 years ago there were well over 140 people present, spilling out the front door into the small lawn. Family, friends, colleagues gathered as Bishop Ed Kortz ordained me into the ministry of the Moravian Church. It was an increible day.

We spent another three years in Center Valley before moving west to York, PA, ministering there for 7 years where our daughter was born. We went even further west 20 years ago when I became the pastor at the Watertown, WI church (where they just celebrated 150 years of ministry.) Watertown became home. We left there 5 years ago to move to the Twin Cities. West again.

January of this past year I went on a leave of absence to work as an alcohol and drug counselor in the local school district. So I spent 30 years in the church and nearly a year outside the church. Today I remember and celebrate. It has been incredible to be able to serve God in so many different ways. It is an honor to be used by God in ministry.

Fortunately one of the great things that has been happening in Christian circles these past 30 years is that the joy and awe and experience of ministry is no longer seen as the work of an elite. Ministry happens and it happens more when you don't limit it to the church or church building or church people. Ministry happens when Jesus Followers do what He wants us to do instead of what we think should be done.

I am on the front lines of an exciting work. It is ministry- it just isn't happening in the established (or even Emerging) church. So far it has been where it is often ignored- outside the doors in the world.

Bishop Kortz used the wonderful passage from Ephesians 4 about "equipping the saints" as my ordination text. I learn more and more about how important that is. I am humbled and awed to still be used in exciting new ways even (and perhaps especially) after 30 wonderful years.

Trust
From Brennan Manning's Ruthless Trust:The Ragamuffin's Path to God:

The faith that animates the Christian community is less a matter of believing in the existence of God than a practical trust in his loving care under whatever pressure. The stakes are enormous, for I have not said in my heart, "God exists," until I have said, "I trust you."

Quite an insight! Our "modern" world thinking is more interested in proving the existence of God. As Manning says here, that isn't enough. Until we can trust- a deeply practical and essential action, the community is not animated- alive in action. Without trust we are a debating society built on philosophical underpinnings. With trust, there is no stopping the work of God through us.

Ready for Football Again


Go Pack Go!

Well, the season begins. It actually began on Thursday, but the Packer Season is tonight. If you are not aware of the Packers and Green Bay, you need to know that in most of Wisconsin this is far more important than life or death. It is the center of the universe for the next several months. Win (or God forbid, lose)- the Green Bay Packers are the reason for Sundays (or as today) Mondays.

Traffic disappears, crime drops, non-football fans go shopping since there's nobody in the stores. Everyone wears green and gold. Back in the year leading up to Super Bowl XXXI, counselors and psychologists actually noticed a drop in their caseload. No one got the January Blahs with Packer Football every weekend of the month.

Excessive? Well, if you lived in the world of the frozen tundra, you would realize that with so little to do in winter, football is a good substitute. You also have to know that the team is owned by public stockholders, not some wealthy "owner." People will their tickets to their children.

Excessive? Well, maybe. But don't ask me that again until sometime in February.

All the Rejoicing
~~ The sheep wandered aimlessly away.
~~ The coin was simply misplaced.
~~ The son had to find himself- the hard and expensive way.

:: The shepherd lets the other sheep wander on their own in the open country while he searches for the lost.
:: The houswife turns her house upside down and even super-cleans it until she finds that precious piece of silver.
:: The father stands in wait, the fatted calf at ready, for the return of the one he lovingly let go of.

As with the sheep and shepherd:

I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

As with the coin and the woman:

I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

And as with the son and the father:

'We had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'

This certainly has been a theme in one way or another this week. Whether it's loving enemies or dealing with life on life's terms, it comes down to going on our way rejoicing that people return from their lostness through grace. They are searched out by God- not to punish or to get even with- but to love as that father stands and waits, day after day, perhaps even month after month.

May God's grace open us up to returning to wherever we have left God behind-

and open us to rejoice with others when they, too, discover anew or for the first time that they are loved by the creator of the universe.

150 Years of Ministry
This weekend we are returning to our previous congregation to join them in celebrating their 150th Anniversary. They were the 2nd congregation in the community all those years ago in what was then the wilderness of Wisconsin. One pastor with a church-planting vision arrived in the area, planted a church outside of town. Then the next year moved into town and planted a second one. Both churches still exist and still provide ministry. The one in town, the one we served, is one of the larger congregations in the Western District.

I had the great joy and honor of serving as the pastor there for 15 years, joined them with my wife after she graduated from Seminary 5 years after we moved to town in July, 1984. We left five years ago to move to Minnesota. It is humbling to think that we were there for 10% of their life and ministry.

Like most mainline churches in this evolving postModern world, they struggle to understand and cope with the changes. They have had their disagreements and conflicts. But they have not been known to "shoot their wounded." They maintain a strong sense of ministry and mission beyond their walls. They were one of the first (if not the first) in our district to pioneer the short-term mission trip for adults and youth. From Alaska to Latin America, New York to South Dakota, California to the Caribbean they have sent mission crews to build buildings, relationships and faith.

When I entered treatment for alcoholism 16 years ago they were there in love and support. If they thought that this disqualified me from continuing as their pastor, they never said it, showed it, or acted it. Instead they gathered around my wife and myself, helped her finish her seminary work and then we continued another ten years. What a graceful gift.

We are looking forward to a wonderful weekend of renewed memories and celebration. We praise God for their witness and life and their care for us.

The Day Before the Remembrance
I write on 9/11 today. I want to stay away from the jingoism and patriotic wanderings that many will give to tomorrow. I write knowing that while the world did change on that Tuesday three years ago. The American awareness of that world changed. The American sense of invulnerability changed. The American fear changed. Many of the results of that are being shown in this year's elections.

I also write knowing that the world did not change three years ago. The world is still in God's hands- and we have no idea how that all applies to this American Day of Memory. God's great gift of grace is still as real and powerful and reminds us that sometimes we have to love our enemies into grace, even with gritted teeth, and tears in our eyes.

As I was pondering this I picked up Brennan Manning's gritty book, Ruthless Trust: The Ragamuffin's Path to God. In his preface he says it far better than I can:

Alert to the manipulations and machinations of pharisaical self righteousness, ragamuffins refuse to surrender control of their lives to rules and regulations. They see that the stale religiosity of legalists, trapped in the fatal narcissism of spiritual perfectionism, obscures the face of the God of Jesus. They will not barter their souls for the false security of fear-filled pieties that cripple the human spirit. The motto on the New Hampshire license plate, "Live free or die," is the ragamuffin motto.

Boy, Am I Glad I Quit Years Ago
Came across an interesting report from BBC News earlier in the week.

Smokers 'should not get NHS care'

A quarter of people want the government to ban smokers being treated by the NHS for smoking-related illness, according to a BBC poll. ICM conducted the phone survey of 1,010 adults in England, Wales and Scotland for the BBC Healthy Britain poll on a range of public health issues. Some 27% said the government should discourage smoking by introducing the ban while 71% opposed the move.

Obviously this is not a majority, but can you imagine if the idea would catch on here in the United States among insurance companies and health care management organizations. What a wonderful way to cut their expenses. Just refuse care for anyone who smokes.

It is actually not far from some things already in existence. For example, after I became sober 16 years ago, my life insurance went up when I was honest on my yearly renewal to the question- "Have you been in treatment in the last five years?" Then I had to be smoke-free for five years when I quit that habit. I was able to be insured (or my "death" was- after all, that is when life insurance pays out) but I had to pay for it.

Lifestyle illnesses are tough. We have become acutely aware of them from heart and cancer and stroke related to all kinds of things- cholesterol, smoking, drinking too much, etc. Or HIV from sharing needles or unsafe sex. They are all so preventable, yet the activities are so enticing that we ignore the risks.

The key is not to make persons with lifestyle-related illnesses outcasts or unable to get affordable medical care, the key is to work in greater ways to help people make wiser decisions.

I work with teenagers who are constantly making destructive decisions. They drink, smoke, use illegal drugs, or have sex. Some do all, some do a few. All know they are playing with danger. But they started- and continue whatever activities they do- because it is fun and then it is a habit and then it is an addiction and they don't know how to change and stop.

~~ Why did they start in the first place? Let's work on protective factors.

~~ Why did they continue in spite of consequences? Let's work on risk factors.

~~ Why do they think they are invulnerable? Let's work on education.

~~ Why do they think they are unloved? Let's become communities of support and care and acceptance of our outcast teens as well as our successful ones (some of whom do these things, too.)

Let's Remember This
After working on yesterday's post about Willy Loman and Death of a Salesman, I scanned some of my recent email newsletters and discovered a link to Vineyard USA magazine, Cutting Edge, and its spring issue on Justice. (Thanks to Mark van der Woude and his Joel News International newsletter). Here's a quote he pulled out from Jim Wallis:

"Will we be Christians willing to stand up against the things in our culture that are contrary to the Kingdom, or will we be simply obedient consumers and obedient citizens? The litmus test the Old Testament prophets used for a country's righteousness was not its Gross National Product or its military fire-power, but how that country treated the poor and most vulnerable. The word justice and oppression is throughout the Bible. Karl Marx didn't make up that word. Read Amos, Isaiah or Jeremiah. There is oppression in this world, unfairness. There is hard-ness of heart, structures and policies and attitudes that are unjust. The Biblical cry challenges them all the time. It is Biblical, part of that prophetic tradition, to speak the language of justice."

Tough words, as Wallis has been known for over these many years at Sojourners Magazine. Disturbing words. It is a reminder that when God wanted the ancient Hebrews to defeat an enemy he had them march around the walls blowing trumpets or he cut their ranks to less than a bare minimum. It is a reminder that how we (any of us) treat the poor and the oppressed and homeless and sick and imprisoned and outcast is quite important to God and needs to be a part of our mission as Christians. Let us not get sidetracked or seduced by the gospels of success or popularity or whatever that masquerade as The Gospel.

A Towering American Classic
Went to see the Arthur Miller classic drama, Death of a Salesman at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis over the weekend. I have read it, seen the TV production with Lee J. Cobb many years ago, and have always felt this was the iconic classic American drama. I feel so even more so after seeing it for the first time in person.

The Guthrie production and cast were magnificent. Willy, Linda, Biff, and Happy Loman were brought to life. Only a few times did the age of the play (55 years old) show through. The excitement over a "wire recorder," the old Studebaker, the original-style stage settings, the open smoking on stage did not seem to me to break the spell, perhaps because I am only a year older than the play, but I think it is deeper than that.

Great drama is timeless. The medium carries the message regardless of the time or place. Shakepeare is still as powerful and real as he was in the Elizabethan era. We have to work to understand the characters in ancient English, but we know we will walk away with much. The original Romeo and Juliet is still more powerful than even the almost as powerful version told as West Side Story.

Death of a Salesman is an indictment, in many ways, of the rush for material happiness as the way to being liked. Willy was always talking about "being liked, well liked." He thought it came in popularity from succeeding and telling yourself or your family how successful you were. He thought it came in pushing his sons to be what he knew he himself never was. It is a riveting play, even 55 years later. I can imagine how "scandalous" it must have been then with sexual affairs and challenging the very ethos that was driving the post-World War II economy.

Has it really changed all that much? In a post-Enron and post-Halliburton world, maybe we can hope so. But I doubt it. Just look at the Fine Living channel or even the Food Network. They are often at levels of wealth and desire and appearances that would make Willy Loman want to emulate. Even if we live it vicariously through these TV shows, it is just as real.

No, this is not a judgment. I read the Sunday ads for more and more of my expensive toys, my version of the wire recorder in the play. I watch the value of my house so I know how much money I'm worth. It is a constant struggle for many of us as Americans to downsize our desires. "Are you better off today than you were four years ago?" is a campaign mantra.

My answer today is a resounding "Yes!" Not because of something a President as done, although that may play a small part, but because I have in the last four years learned a great deal more about following Jesus, taking care of my soul, and discovering what's important. It may be argued that I can do that because I have a job I love and a wife who is just wonderful and food on the table. Yes, that may also have something to do with it.

But I also know that I have to lay up treasures in places they can't be stolen.

Willy Loman never learned that. I hope I don't forget it.

Another Marriage Debate
From Israel:

Jailed Assassin 'Weds' Using Loophole
Fri Sep 3,10:25 AM ET By Dan Williams

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Defying a life prison term in isolation, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's assassin has secretly married by proxy, his bride said Friday.

Larisa Trimbobler said she hoped her in-absentia wedding to Yigal Amir last month would help overturn a court ban on conjugal visits for the ultranationalist who shot Rabin at a 1995 rally in a bid to block peace deals with the Palestinians.

This is causing quite a stir. Earlier in the year, Amir had requested marriage but was refused. Many felt he shouldn't be rewarded. Others felt that marriage is a basic human right. The government is worried about security that would be involved in conjugal visits. Here's more of how he managed this:

Jewish law requires that two men witness a bride receiving her ring and marriage contract from the groom. According to Israeli media, Amir empowered his father to carry out the ritual in his stead and may have joined in by telephone.

"He (Amir) simply empowered as emissary a relative who had permission to visit him," Trimbobler told Channel Ten television, adding that two rabbis endorsed the proxy nuptials.

"There is no sin here, no crime. We await word from the courts on consummation," said Trimbobler, her hair covered in accordance with religious tradition for married Jewish women.

Quite a different take on the marriage debate. Or is it? Is marriage a "right" as well as a "rite"? Is marriage something that anyone has legal access to, regardless of their prison/legal status? If so, perhaps you need to make sure you define marriage in such a way as only some people can get married (i.e. opposite sex couples, non-imprisoned?) otherwise just anyone will want the right. If not, then you still better define who can and can't otherwise anyone will want to do it.

I remain confused, ambivalent, and unwilling to take a political side on this issue here in the United States. The religious issue is probably separate from the political which is probably separate from the moral. I applaud VP Cheney for his stance in opposition to the amendment. I am saddened that this is such a political football when issues like the economy and the war in Iraq are far, far more important to determining the future of our nation and what kind of a nation we will be.

But this story from Israel sure raises many of the same issues from a different point of view. Including the one that none of us was willing to ask out loud. So one final quote from the story:

"As far as we are concerned, this couple can consummate via emissary as well," Prisons Service spokesman Ofer Leffler said.

Let Me Get This Right. Did You Say "Everything?"
Jesus just never seems to let well enough alone. He never lets me off the hook as a disciple: A couple of one-liners from Luke 14:

26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple.

27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

33 ... any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.

A number of years ago we hosted a unit of the drama troupe Covenant Players. One of their plays picked up on this cost of discipleship. It was titled The Last and Final Atom- which is what God wants from us when we decide to be Jesus' Disciples. Nothing, absolutely nothing, can be left out of the commitment. He wants everything, down to the last and final atom of our being.

As we often point out in trying to make sure we don't fall into works righteousness and the ability to earn our place in heaven- this isn't what Jesus is talking about here. There is a difference in being a Jesus-Believer (a Christian) and a Jesus-Disciple. Do I truly want to be a follower of Jesus? Then I have to pay attention to what he says. Do I just want to get into heaven? Then all I have to do is believe. I know that sounds like some get the easier, softer way into heaven. Just say the words and you're in. That is grace. That is the free, no-strings attached gift.

But if we choose to respond to that gift and think it is worth sharing and living and help in extending- that leads to discipleship. James, the brother of Jesus, in his letter talks about these differences. Faith without works, he says, is dead. Is he talking about our deeds getting us into heaven? Or is he simply talking about the difference between a faith that talks the talk and one that both talks and walks?

These are issues that the church and Christians have argued about over and over since at least the First Century when James was writing. I do not expect to answer the dilemma or the paradox that may be inherent in these questions.

All I know for sure is what Jesus said and he wants disciples who will be ready and willing to give up everything to follow him. The rest is just debate. As hard as it may be, I will try to follow Jesus.

On a Diet
Yes, again. I got tired of being the right weight for someone over 6' tall. (I'm a mere 5'9".) Getting over 190 was too much again. It is time to lose weight. They (the proverbial "they") say that I should be around 170 or less. I haven't been that in 20 years! (And I have been as high as 200.) But the steps were getting too much and I didn't enjoy looking at myself in the mirror.

It is interesting, though, how people react to you when you say that you are on a diet. "You? You don't look like you need to lose that much weight." Perhaps it is a reflection of the diet that we have all become used to. Perhaps we have become accepting of what is, in reality, overweight. No, not obese. We all think we know what that looks like. Everyday people like me with a stomach too large and a body too small for that weight.

It is also interesting how when you begin to become aware of your own weight, you also begin to notice it on others. Again, not obese people. Everyday people like me with a stomach that extends farther than it should.

And now we have former President Clinton with heart problems and everyone rushes to talk about his attraction to fatty foods and his constant battle with being overweight. (Remember when David Letterman used to refer to him as "Tubby"?) Someone said that he may have been on the South Beach Diet which will also mean a boost for that already popular book.

Now the real diet should be one where you simply "eat less, move more" as my wife reminds me. But I am not good at that. I need some direction and help. I have started a NutriSystem plan. They send you a month of entrees for all three meals. You add the extras like fruit or veggies or milk and you lose weight. They do strongly suggest that exercise and a mental change are involved. They are quick to say that the main benefit of their plan is to train you to think in smaller portions and balancing "good carbs" and fat and protein. And drink lots of water! They don't promise that you will lose weight quickly, but if you follow the plan you will lose weight.

It has been working. In three weeks I have lost a little over 5 pounds. Not drastic, but it is a start toward the 20 pounds I want to lose. Actually, it 25% of the way there. I'll keep you posted.

Leave it to Mother Nature
About the only thing that could trump the Republican National Convention is good, old Mother Nature with the second of a one-two tropical punch to Florida. Even George W. couldn't stop a hurricane. Hurricane Frances is bearing down with incredible force on Florida's east coast. Charley did a number on the west,and, for the first time in over 50 years two back-to-back hurricanes will be in the news.

The sight of 2+ million people evacuating is incredible. It is a relatively narrow peninsula. There a lot of people crammed in there. But hurricanes don't care. Hurricanes are guided by forces that even the supercomputers at NOAA don't fully understand. Charley suddenly intensified, turned right and slammed into Punta Gorda. What will Frances do? Where will Frances have her greatest impact? People will complain that the weather people didn't do a good enough job. Others will wonder why the world is so cruel.

It happens every time there is a major natural disaster. Someone will complain and someone else will find a way to try to take advantage of someone else's suffering. But hurricanes don't care. Mother Nature doesn't care. This is a bigger cycle of life than any of us will ever be aware of. This is part of something that no one will ever be able to explain to everyone's satisfaction.

Which made me think of Jesus' words from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:

He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good,
and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous

This, believe it or not, is as fair as it gets. No one is spared or singled out for punishment in this world, seems to be what he is saying. The grass isn't greener on the other side, it may just have more manure. Life is fair. As long as you don't define fair as getting whatever I want. Frances will again prove that to a great extent. No one will be spared the uncertainty and fear. Some because of choices may have more devastation or consequences, but that, too, is fair.

What is interesting in the passage from Matthew is that Jesus uses this fairness of nature to tell us that we should love our enemies. Here's the whole passage in context:

43 You have heard that it was said, "Love your neighbor and hate your enemy." 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Odd isn't it, how Jesus' words can have such a different ring when put back into context. And how uncomfortable they can get as he challenges us to live HIS life as HIS disciples.

Even a Hurricane can be a lesson in humility and ultimately love.

The Inhumanity of Humanity
It was the first day of school in Beslan, a town in Southern Russia. Children are children and school is school anywhere in the world, especially the first day of school. But this, this is not what it's supposed to be as the headline screams:

Gunmen seize Russian school, taking 400 hostages

Perhaps 200 of those hostages were children in this latest act of terrorism connected to Chechnya and Chechen rebels/terrorists. There is no peace treaty with people who have no respect for the life of another human being. There is no way to negotiate with those who see children as tools to be used and even killed simply in order to get some political advantage.

When I heard this on the radio after work yesterday afternoon, all I could do was shake my head in deep sadness, fear, and anger. How, HOW, can any human being be so cold and ruthless? How can anything be so important that the life of innocent children is worthless except as a bargaining ploy?

Admittedly I do not understand the mind and thinking of terrorists. I have enough trouble justifying some wars. I have never been placed in situations where something I want or believe in is worth me dying, and certainly never have I been in a place of taking innocent children's lives.

But take any position to an extreme and you can get terrorism. It may be economic or spiritual or political. It may include guns and bombs or words and prisons and torture. Terrorism is an extreme of some fairly acceptable behaviors. Which is why it may be so scary. Perhaps deep down we know that in some unthinkable way we might be pushed to that same level of extremism. We can see in some unspoken or even pre-conscious way that we have the capablilty of horrible things.

Christianity has called that "original sin." There are many interpretations of that phrase, but just take a look at the evening news and you can see it played out.

Sinful man that I am, how can I be freed of this pain and anger and extremism that can lead to inhumanity?

Thanks be to God who gives me the victory in Jesus Christ.

From the Newsroom
Bush is a politician.

You didn't know that? Well, he proved it the past couple days. One day he gets honest about the inability of any nation to win a war against terror. It was true in the broadest and most important senses of the word "true." As he then said today, there will never be peace talks at a negotiation table with terrorists. If they believed in negotiations, terrorists wouldn't be terrorists anymore.

Today he's trying to backpedal and spin and give a different answer. Mr. Bush got in trouble for his honesty- so he changes his tune. Just as Kerry or McCain or any of them would. The other side is always looking for something to jump on. The loyal opposition is always looking for the misstatements and missteps. Of course they are. That's politics. It always has been. It always will be.

Even our much honored Founding Fathers were great at the dirty tricks and nasty statements. In fact, they make even this year's campaign look like a mutual admiration society. Yes, it is sad. Yes, it takes away from the issues. But often in politics the issue is making your opponent look bad.

The idealist in me wants to scream at both sides and tell them to get over it- get real- talk about the issues- talk about plans and not just the other person's shortcomings. Surprise, both candidates have shortcomings. Isn't it sad we decide based on which one's shortcomings are less or more acceptable than the other one's?

But that's the idealist. The realist just shakes his head and prays that the better candidate wins- whatever that will mean. Maybe it will become more clear as the campaign goes on- but being cynical, I doubt it.

And There Go the Yankees
Cleveland Indians -22
New York Yankees - 0
The worst loss in the team's history. What a way to start the Pennant Race of September. But don't worry- the Twins are going to take it anyway.

Web Site Lost
You may notice that the graphics have been missing from this blog. For some reason as of this writing, my postModern Pilgrim website has disappeared, which is where I store those. Now, by the time YOU read this, they may be back. Such is the way of the Web.