Reinstatement of the place of the Legislature

I think we all enjoy a strong and good leader. There is something inspiring about a John Wayne. We always need heroes. But it is time that the USA restore its confidence in the power of the Congress. (yeh, I saw that smirk).

Since WWII every major military action of the US has happened without a declaration of war and under the guise of a police action by the President.  This stands for the growing power of the imperial presidency. And that’s a problem. A real problem. The center of governmental power should be in the legislative branch and the President executes its will. The more powers the President assumes to himself the less is the will of the people expressed.

The legislative process is messy, slow, deliberate and maddeningly petty. We have to hear all sides of a debate and end up screaming at out TVs. Who wants that? Let’s just elect a President who will get the job done!!! We will often elect Presidents just to stick our thumb in the eyes of Congress. But this doesn’t help. In fact, the more we invest in Congress, the safer we will be. And the more we will be heard.

See the recent article in Chrsitianity Today, Long Live the Law. It reflects on our “out of control” imperial presidency and how it floats above the law, sometimes a law unto itself.

I think citizens should spend a bit less time in Presidential politics and put more emphasis on who they elect to the House of Representatives and to the Senate. These people respond to emails, letters and phone calls. They visit where you live and you can visit where they work. Good luck with visiting with the President.

Sometimes I hate my default positions

I am preparing for my message tomorrow on the parable of the two sons. That older brother gets under my skin. He is me. Me, as Don. Me, as pastor. Me, as morals enforcer. Me, as “let me tell you what real religion is.”

I am a steward of the Gospel of Jesus. It is a privilege and an awesome responsibility. I have the wonderful privilege of weaving grace into this broken world. But too often my default responses to moral brokenness and rebellion is to get very right and righteous. I hate when I do that. And some other people hate it, too, I am sure.

Yes, there is something to protect here. There is such a thing as virtue, and a life of holiness leads to wonderful blessings. I care when we live carelessly, ruthlessly, and when we live as if there is nothing to be gained or to be lost. I do have convictions.

But at the root of all of this is I have had to cast myself upon the mercy of God, too. Yet, I have found it all too easy to point at and not to point to. It’s an occupational hazard of the pastor/preacher. I too often go over the line and squeeze out hope and redemption. I forget that the people who have really helped me were not like that. Somehow in the midst of their own consecration to God they didn’t do a number on me and stamp out the flickering wick. They cupped that small flame from the blowing winds of my own self-condemnation and helped me understand the restorative grace of God.

Jesus got a hearing from people who had lost all hope from religion. And that’s the difference between Jesus and me.

Chronicles of the Worst Buddhist in the World

Judith Warner in the New York Times wonders if the mindfulness of Buddhism is the way to really stay connected with your reality. She writes:

I have no doubt that this meta-connectedness feels real, and indeed is real, in the abstract at least. But in real-life encounters, I’ve come lately to wonder whether meaningful bonds are well forged by the extreme solipsism that mindfulness practice often turns out to be.

She is responding to the book, “Seeking Peace: Chronicles of the Worst Buddhist in the World,” by Mary Pipher. People who are so “in the now” as they say, so “mindful” and at “peace, have perhaps not in touch with the ragged edges of reality that keep us in touch with one another. What they are often mindful of is themselves rather than others and cannot enter into the feeling states of others that makes the connection that says, “I am here with you.”

Jesus was not a Buddhist. He cried, kicked, struggled, screamed and sometimes tore out in a terrible wrath. He wondered, prayed, sweated and in general was not always a good example for those of us whose primary instinct is to stay calm. Jesus’ instinct was to enter into the human condition, not avoid it.

The Wright Stuff

I like this post about NT Wright. I think it captures pretty well his contribution to the church. And, after all, not too many theologians get to appear on Colbert.

I think Wright is one of those writers about whom, after reading, you say “Of course. This is what I believe.” Even though you have not believed it, or thought you didn’t, but which you wanted to believe, and might not know you did. (What did I just say?) He is particularly good at not only pointing to biblical texts but demonstrating the ground from which a text sprung and how it connects to other texts (way over there on the other side of the Bible). This is always delightful to me.

The God we worship