Hallmark

Two great reflections from Genesis Chapter 2

First: God’s great design in creating and connecting Man and Woman.

And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam,

and he slept; and He took one of his ribs,

and closed up the flesh in its place.

Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man

He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. 

Second: Man’s response to God’s design

And Adam said:

         “This is now bone of my bones
         And flesh of my flesh;
         She shall be called Woman,
         Because she was taken out of Man.”

Here we have a man’s first words spoken to woman: the first words of a husband to a wife. Adam essentially means that he believes the truth that he and his wife are so spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically connected that it is like they are one person. This is grand, intimate poetry.

Yes ladies, a guy said that.

Those Poor Bastards

I’d like to talk to you about, Those Poor Bastards.

I mean this is in a spiritual sense, a biblical sense and so, you know who I mean don’t you?

I am referring to men who do not have God as their Father.

They have no community, no belonging. They have no help. They will never be complete men.

Some of them know this, they sense their need and some, the artist, the musician, the poet have given voice to their pain.

Hear this poem by William Stafford, A Ritual to Read to Each Other 

If you don't know the kind of person I am


and I don't know the kind of person you are


a pattern that others made may prevail in the world


and following the wrong god home we may miss our star.



For there is many a small betrayal in the mind,


a shrug that lets the fragile sequence break


sending with shouts the horrible errors of childhood


storming out to play through the broken dyke.



And as elephants parade holding each elephant's tail,


but if one wanders the circus won't find the park,


I call it cruel and maybe the root of all cruelty


to know what occurs but not recognize the fact.



And so I appeal to a voice, to something shadowy,


a remote important region in all who talk:


 we could fool each other, we should consider—

lest the parade of our mutual life get lost in the dark.



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 us is deep.

The darkness is deep and they are to be greatly pitied and we, we should think of ourselves incredibly blessed for we once were those poor bastards.

When I consider my state, being with you, living among others who will watch my back and speak into my life—you are my true wealth; you are my treasure. 

So, lift a glass with me…

To Jesus, the Alpha and Omega male,

who by His sacrifice made us no longer bastards—

but sons, sons of God.

And since we be all sons of God…we are all brothers.

   (Birthday speech, Sidetrack Tobacco/November 24^th 2014)

Laurence's Guest Lecture At Apple

So in my dream I poured some vanilla and then some cream into a glass of ice. Then I filled the glass with club soda, stirred it a little and was very satisfied with the sweet, refreshing taste. Then with concoction in hand I crashed the latest board meeting at Apple.

They were, as you might imagine, stunned to have a stranger suddenly show up out of nowhere—but that is how dreams tend to play. It was then that I riffed like Nietzsche’s madman. “You are fools to try and imitate Personality because it is disingenuous.” I took another sip of my homemade cream soda to let the spoken truth sink in. “It is not only disingenuous,” I continued, “but it is impossible. Imitate Principle…that you can do; that can be done.”

I’m still not sure why I would care enough to share wisdom like that with Apple but maybe I’ll send them a letter.

Maybe.

But I am definitely going to try making that drink.

The Gospel At Home

Too often our motivations are effectively set for us by others and by this, I mean, we behave as they behave. If you are grumpy toward me then I will in turn be grumpy toward you. You’re not smiling today? Then don’t expect any smiles from me coming your way. If you aren’t doing your job then why should I do mine…and on it goes: Action, then Reaction.

How utterly tragic.

Jesus came to radically change this cycle. You are a sinner—I’ll save you. You are lost—I’ll find you. You are guilty—I’ll take your place, I will take the blame, I will be the one cursed, I’ll die instead of you.

When we ‘get’ the gospel then we will always be deliberately acting like Jesus instead of reacting toward others as if Jesus didn’t exist. Consider these admonitions from Romans 12.    

Let love be without hypocrisy.

Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.

Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.  

Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.

Be of the same mind toward one another.

Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble.

Do not be wise in your own opinion.

Repay no one evil for evil.

Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.  

If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,”[a] says the Lord.

Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

And do try this at home.

Doctor Mom

So, I am on Day 8 of suffering from a sinus infection and have resolved to go to the doctor in hope of getting some anti-biotics to combat the evil-biotics that presently hold power in the front of my head. Pondering this decision caused me to remember how my mother dealt with different cold symptoms for my siblings and I.

There was the Vick’s Vapor Rub; every kid’s first experience with menthol back in the 60’s. That stuff was the closest thing to magic with its combination of warmth, intrusive vapor, and exotic smell.

Then there was the combination of honey, lemon juice, and whiskey, mixed by the tablespoon, for coughs. Again, another mysterious combination, this time of something fabulously sweet, incredibly sour, and absolutely forbidden. 

And for the most part, these worked, at least temporarily but the experience lingered in pleasant memory as we would lie in bed having been dosed by one or had the other rubbed shaman style on our chest.

Inherent in these rituals and connected to their efficaciousness was trust. Momma was taking care of us.

But not all of her remedies worked as well as she thought. Somewhere along the way our mother discovered another concoction for chronic coughing that involved boiled onions mixed with cane syrup. This mixture was then placed in the refrigerator where it stiffened into a sticky mass. The application was to take a spoon and cut a lozenge size dose and then slowly suck on it to relive throat irritation and thereby end the constant cough.

And you know what? It worked. In fact it worked so well that after that first and only time I ever put that ‘medicine’ in my mouth…my mom never heard me cough again.

So today when I go to the doctor if he happens to mix me a drink of lemon, honey, and whiskey, I’ll lift the glass. If he wants to apply some concoction on my chest, I will happily remove my shirt. But if I catch the aroma of sickeningly sweet onion…I’m outta there.  

Have Yourself a Merry Christmas

I just got Jeffery Meyers’ commentary on Ecclesiastes in the mail and found it interesting that he introduces the reader to this book with observations from the Christmas Season:

        

Families are gathering for annual feasts. Dazzling decorations have been strewn over buildings, homes, and even doghouses. Bright lights, evergreen boughs, multi-colored bulbous ornaments, and glittering silver strands of garland garnish windows and doorways all up and down the street. It would seem from all outward appearances, that everything is right in the world, that peace and joy reign supreme.

         But as everyone knows, colorful Christmas decorations often mask dark depression for many people. Even though the feast of Christmas ought to be a time when even those who have much to be troubled about experience a ray of divine joy and happiness around the table with relatives and friends, oftentimes the season itself exacerbates people’s problems. How can this be?

         The Christmas holiday season has been increasingly cut loose from its foundation in the Bible and Christian tradition. Modern Christmas seasons provide us with little more than sentimental, syrupy niceness and nice thoughts about a mistily-glowing baby Jesus. All we are left with is the commoditization of vague religious sentimentalism. There is no spiritual power in this. What’s worse, because of this the Christian faith seems, to many in our culture, little more than an attempt to stir up comforting religious feelings to mask one’s real troubles with the world. But this is so far removed from the Bible and genuine Christian tradition that it has to be considered another religion, one that plays make-believe with the dirty realities of this life.

This is a deep application of how the significance of what Christmas means, and needs to mean, can be lost.

As I read this I immediately felt—Yes, Jesus has come and all is well! Of course that is easy for me to say. I am happily married; my wife and I have five great children. I have a good job. We have food, clothing, shelter, and friends.

But I wasn’t thinking of myself when I was overcome with this joy and gladness. I was thinking of those who I know, and know of, who are alone or sick or poor. I was, pardon me, speaking for them, smiling for them.

I was happy for them. I am happy for us all. 

Isn’t that what the coming of Jesus is suppose to accomplish? After all, we don't live 'under the sun' but in the glow of that star that was shining over Bethlehem.