Eulogy...

The passing of a President of the United States is always a gripping, and sad event. George Herbert Walker Bush's passing at age 94 elicited quite a series of editorial cartoons and Facebook memes about how wonderful it was that he was reunited with his wife, Barbara, and daughter, Robin, in heaven, and these are certainly nice sentiments. We are comforted by such thoughts, not just for our former Chief Executive and family, but for our own loved ones and friends at the time of a death. Our faith "kicks in" strongly when a dear one passes, helping us imagine them being "welcomed home" by Jesus or greeting family who have gone before, at the "Pearly Gates." Given that scripture doesn't really give us much of a picture of the afterlife, we are free to let our imaginations run wild, and the fact that we have such imaginations, and the desire to use them to picture a loving, receiving realm like heaven--even heaven of the movies--complete with a cast of loved ones on the welcoming committee, certainly must be a gift from God. Maybe this "tendency" we have is actually a kind of backdoor "proof" of there even being a God?

We bid you "adieu," President George H.W. Bush, or as we have come to know you after your son ascended the throne, too--"Bush 41." And, while, as a person of faith, I DO hope we get to see you again, I would be even happier if we could see "your kind" return to the seat of power here in the U.S.A. While neither you nor your son, Bush 43, were any kind of orator, I can still see you saying--quite decisively to a gaggle of reporters asking you about Iraq's invasion of Kuwait--"This WILL NOT STAND!" Years later, I saw an interview with Colin Powell, who was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs when you made that pronouncement. Powell said he saw the report on TV, and immediately called the rest of the military brass to let them know that we were going to war with the Iraq and their Republican Guard. There was no doubt, because he knew you always meant what you said. Period. Oh, and Bush 43? When the attacks of September 11 happened, he spoke very plainly and forcefully when he condemned ANY violence against American Muslims and mosques, saying they were peaceful people, and should not be punished for the actions of a few foreign extremists. AND, any of us who were here at that time remember him standing with the first responders at the ruins of the Twin Towers in New York, and speaking words of gratitude to them. And when one of them shouted out, "We can't hear you!" over the din of bulldozers in the background, Bush 43, extemporaneously shouted back,"I can hear you! The rest of the world hears you! And the people – and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon." These two responses were the kind of leadership we expect and hope for in a President, regardless of how you feel the later war with Iraq unfolded.

Eulogies often focus on the "goods" of a person's life, and that's not a bad thing. The "fits" and failures of a departed friend or loved one don't need punctuated, as, if we knew them and loved them, we know these full well. The best eulogies point out the celebratory successes of the departed, and/or tells of some little known, or even unknown, stories or events of that person's life that brought inspiration, blessing, or resolve to another in their orbit. Eulogies of heads of state may seek to make the leader "bigger than life," although I'm not sure that is possible, considering that, as a head of state, they had at least one major success--they won a national election. Even our current President has that as a legacy, regardless of how hard he may be working to undo it, at least in many people's view. Both Bush 43 and "Poppy" faced crises of aggression and responded with strong resolve. I give 41 credit for building a great multi-nation coalition, forcing Iraq out of Kuwait, and then coming home. 43 spoke for a hurting nation when he stood on the pile of rubble next to an improvised shrine in New York City. As history rolls on, they will be remembered for these good words and acts of courage. Much of the folly that also crept into their terms (especially with the mire of the Iraq war under 43) will fall away. The current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue would do well to go to school on these ideas, if he hopes to have a nice eulogy spoken of himself some day.

We're not heads of state, though, are we? What of our legacies? What of our own eulogies we are still either providing fodder for, or putting up so badly that our survivors will have to make up a lot of stuff to be able to say something nice about us? This is where we have one advantage over the dead--we are still "writing" our eulogies! Bush 43 did a lot this week to bare his heart to America and show us something. How about you? When I officiate at funeral or memorial services, I take stock of my own life, knowing that my turn at the stile may be sooner than I think. I don't want my family to have to make up stories to convince anyone that I wasn't just a waste of 98 cents worth of chemicals and a few quarts of water. And I also say a prayer to God, asking for a fresh positioning of myself under the redeeming, inclusive, and forgiving grace God has offered me through my faith in Christ. By the way, I will not apologize to anyone that I believe God is working in people's hearts of every faith that leads them to seek God's favor and motivates them to love their neighbor as themselves. This is why I am proud that part of my faith legacy is the interfaith relationships I have sought to form as I have matured. These, too, are children of the Most High God.

A few weeks ago, I wrote my own obituary. Try it, and be honest about yourself. Then, from time to time, look at it. How are you doing, keeping up with how you want to be remembered? It's a sobering exercise, believe me. I have learned, though, that I would rather fix my life than re-edit my obit, so that's something. 

One more thing: when the great people--the luminaries--pass, pause, stop what you are doing, and listen to the words said about them. Listen to their "familiars" and the platitudes they offer, but also listen for the honest assessments of those in the "other camp"--those who had reasons to dislike or be hostile toward them. It's also an education. I will never forget that awe-inspiring scene of former Senator Robert Dole fighting to his feet to offer a salute to a deceased contemporary, an adversary, and one who sent him to political defeat. Through personal tears, I could hear John Mellencamp's lyrics, "Ain't that America!"

A Flash from Thanksgiving Past...

During my first year in seminary, I wrote this little piece, which was printed in the February 1985 edition of Monday Morning, a devotional for Presbyterian pastors:

ON BEING THANKFUL...

Every Sunday morning, when I lead the pastoral prayer in our church, I tack on a list of things for which we can be thankful to God. I try to be creative with the list of "thank yous," but often I find that I quickly run out of things for which to praise the Lord. That is until recently.

During a field education banquet at our seminary, a woman told about her experiences working in a center for the handicapped and disabled. She told of a time when she had some disabled children make a litany of thanksgiving--things for which they are thankful to God. A tear of revelation and joy came to my eye as she read a list that included things like "Thank you, God, for being able to stand up." And "Thank you, God, that Aaron (presumably a brother or friend) is alive." Wow! How do we miss such precious things? Things like "Thank you, God, that Jesus is alive," or "Thank you, God, for the gift of speech." How about "Thank you, God, for giving such powerful insight to these 'handicapped' little ones"? They have given me a new outlook on praise and thanksgiving!

This past week, when many of us were inconvenienced by being without power for a day or two, I thought about those folks in California who left everything behind to be consumed by fire, or those families who lost loved ones in the wildfires. How fortunate we were that our "suffering" was so minor and so temporary. I guess being thankful is a relative thing.

As we approach another national day of Thanksgiving, may we say a prayer not just for our own "thanksgivings," but for those who are caught up in a seemingly endless loop of challenge or tragedy. May we pray that they, too, soon will be able to give thanks for their deliverance.

Be safe, Beloved. Be well. And be thankful. Shalom!

Solidarity...

Last Friday evening, October 26, I spoke at the 7:00PM Shabbat Service at Temple Ohav Shalom here in Allison Park. As part of establishing a kind of partnership between St. Paul's and TOS, Rabbi Jeremy Weisblatt spoke at all of our Sunday services here at St. Paul's, and we scheduled my reciprocal speaking engagement for 10/26 shortly after. We had just finished a six-week worship theme on "Under the Tree of Life," examining the "other" tree God planted in the Garden of Eden in Genesis. We Christians have been preoccupied with the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the story, with beaucoup theology being produced on the resulting subject of sin and redemption. It was enlightening to spend some time talking about the Tree of Life in the center of the mythical garden, a tree that shows up again in the final chapter of the Bible when the vision turns to the "new heavens and the new earth." So, I spoke about this Tree of Life, which we share, and can live under together. Truth-be-told, our Jewish friends have always focused on THIS tree more, even as we fretted over the other. Little did I know...

The next morning, as I was driving to complete a few chores, the story of the horrible hate crime at, of all places, the Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill. Like so many of you, I went home and sat riveted to the TV, watching this tragedy unfold. All I could think about was how joyous and hopeful we all were over the Tree of Life the night before, and how ironic that now, that name would forever be linked to sadness and grief, at least to some extent. I reached out to Rabbi Jeremy, to see if there was anything we could do to support him and Temple Ohav Shalom. He said his board was having an emergency meeting that night, and that he would get back to me.

The result of that meeting was an invitation from the people of Temple Ohav Shalom to the churches and faith organizations of both our social justice group, NORTH (Neighboring Organizations Responding Together for Hope), and our local ministerial association, to join them for their Friday Shabbat Service on Friday, November 2. This, they suggested, would serve as a show of support and solidarity, and might help calm the fears of the TOS congregation about coming to synagogue for the first time after what happened at Tree of Life. As I write this, we have 25 faith communities and ministerial organizations which will be represented at the service, as well as at least 25 clergy and faith leaders, including Christian (Protestant and Roman Catholic), Muslim, Buddhist, Unitarian Universalist, and Mormon.

The gratification in this show of solidarity is that it truly is an "under the Tree of Life" moment. As you have read in countless stories in the aftermath of this horror in Squirrel Hill, the broad display of love, empathy, and "we stand with you" solidarity may be one of the biggest "God moments" I have seen in my life. Add to that the fact that the Pittsburgh Muslim community raised enough money to pay for all of the funerals of the JEWISH victims, and what we see is a true picture of what the Realm of God will someday look like, when we are ALL living under this great tree at the center of "the garden." This, above all, gives me hope in a time when I find it hard to muster much of it.

I'm looking forward to tonight's Shabbat Service. In this miraculous time of these faith groups coming together in solidarity, I think I shall always think of our weekly services as Shabbat Services! Please join us in continuing to uplift and support the Jewish community and all of their faith communities in prayer. Shalom Shabbat!

Election...

Nationally, the mid-term elections are just around the corner. Please vote, people. If you can't get to the polls, reach out to the many organizations that will give you a ride, provided you haven't already made provisions to file an absentee ballot. Anyone who declares themselves a patriotic American, and who doesn't vote in every election is lying to her or himself. The one thing that keeps the American "experiment" going is that its people vote. Did you ever stop to think that the myriad problems we face as a people may be directly linked to the increasing decline in the voting ranks? In this past presidential election, about half of eligible voters actually voted. Only half of this democratic republic have raised a voice. Vote! Vote! Vote! I'll make you a deal: if you promise to vote, I'll promise to not rag on you for how you voted. Even if "my" candidates don't win, I'd still feel better--we should all feel better--if at least a majority of voters in the country actually voted. If you know someone who doesn't vote, hound them--nicely, but hound them. Better yet, bribe them. Offer to take them to breakfast, lunch, or dinner after they have voted. Something's got to wake this nation up. Maybe it'll be a stop at Bob Evans or a Big Mac, or something.

Speaking of election, did you know that some famous theologians in the history of the Christian faith believed in it? John Calvin is often labeled as the "father" of the doctrine of election, but many others down through the centuries, including more contemporary writers such as R.C. Sproul, believed in it and promoted it. In its simplest form, it is the idea--mostly gleaned from the Apostle Paul, with some padding from Hebrew Bible poets--that because God is omniscient (all-knowing) and omnipotent (all-powerful), God already knows who will be "saved" (redeemed from the ash-heap of condemnation) and who will be "lost" (dispatched to the ash-heap of condemnation). Hence, if God already fore-knows, then God must necessarily fore-ordain this reality. The end result is that some will be of God's "elect" and some will lose the "election" without the privilege of a consolation speech. I could never get my head around this. I'm guessing it goes to one's idea of the nature of God. If you are one who believes God's justice means the "good" get rewarded and the "bad" get punished, then you could be attracted to this theological model. Of course most of the proponents of this theology don't believe that our actions can have this effect, only God's "choice" of who's good, and who's bad. They also tend to believe that God's "choice" in the matter is affected by "salvation by faith." It seems this means for them, though, that "salvation by faith" is what happens when God chooses you; it's not something you can choose to receive. Those who really push this "election" model would say that "evangelism" is just calling out the elect. Again, as a life-long Methodist, this gets weird for me.

That's because Methodists--adherents to the theology of John Wesley--are "free will" folk (again, an oversimplification). Generally, we believe that God puts before humanity the option to make choices as to how one will live (either "good" or "bad") and whether one chooses to respond to the grace of God, which we believe God offers to all persons. Our view is that just because God may be omniscient (all-knowing), it doesn't mean God is therefore fore-ordaining. The prophets of Israel most often highlighted two potential pathways for God's people, one of which would lead them to ruin, or at least some really bad real estate, and other to prosperity and full bellies. The prophets preached a choice of these paths as being up to the community as to which they would take. The better path, of course, required keeping God's commandments and being nice to each other and the "strangers" in their midst. The undesired path was the "default," if the people only cared about their OWN real estate or how full their OWN bellies were. I guess I find it hard to see any "election" in the Hebrew Bible, which becomes the basis for the New Testament and the teachings of Jesus.

Why am I putting these two "elections" together? Maybe you should ask my therapist. Seriously, though, here is my "thought for the day" thesis: If we tend to believe in "fate" (a type of election) or that nothing we do makes much of a difference, we probably lean toward not voting in elections, and toward just trying to carve out a decent life for ourselves and our own family. If we believe that we are charged with making choices that will seriously impact the course of our lives and possibly even the broader course of our community, our nation--or even our church--then we will probably vote in elections, volunteer in community-building or benevolent organizations bent on improving everyone's quality of life, and advocate for equality, inclusion, and justice.

Thankfully, in the world of theology, hardly anyone goes to either of the extremes of "election" (which some call predestination) or "free will." The Calvins knew and wrote that we do have important choices, although none of them can trump the sovereignty of God, and the Wesley's agreed that "free will" still functions within a big, divinely-crafted picture that moves toward redemption and wholeness for the creation. Of course we grassroots theologians (pastors) can argue these points--and do--just as a kind members of spiritual fantasy league.

Unfortunately, our national voting record has, most recently, belied a brand of American fatalism that is far more dangerous than the Wesley/Calvin theological chess match. To reiterate: the American "experiment" is based on the people having a voice and a vote. When the "journalist" in me spars with "friends" on Facebook, I often wonder if the people taking the other side of the political argument are actual voters. I suppose I could start asking that of them: "Do you vote?" And, if the answer is one of these fatalistic cop outs, "No, because what difference does it make?" I should immediately abandon the repartee.

So, what am I really saying here? Come November 6, drop the theological clap, lose the "que sera sera" fatalism and vote...vote...vote...VOTE!!!

Kavanaugh Fallout...

I don't know how many churches are standing for women and their general opinion that, in confirming Brett Kavanaugh, and even celebrating this "victory," the Senate has thumbed its nose at them and the whole issue of sexual assault. Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C., led by their lead pastor and staff, read in worship and released the following statement:

Hear my prayer, O LORD;
let my cry come to you.
Do not hide your face from me
in the day of my distress.
- Psalm 201:1-2a

Over these past days, we have witnessed what many have called one of the ugliest and most painful moments of political theater in memory. Through the confirmation hearings for the most recent addition to the Supreme Court, not only has our brutal and near absolute tribalism been on display—both within the government and in response to it—but, through the courageous testimony of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, we as a nation have been forced to confront yet another unacknowledged epidemic in our society: sexual harassment and assault.

As the former president of the United Methodist Council of Bishops and resident bishop of the Dakotas-Minnesota Area, Bruce Ough wrote,

"It felt as if the very soul of our country was being laid bare. Thousands, more likely millions (statistical studies indicate that one of every three women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime) of women and girls relived the pain of their own sexual harassment, assault, abuse or rape. It was a powerful, indelible teaching moment for millions of people and, indeed, a nation too long in denial of our epidemic of sexual assault and abuse. No matter what one's political position is regarding Judge Kavanaugh's [confirmation as] a Supreme Court justice, we, as followers of Jesus, can no longer remain silent about the sin of sexual assault and abuse or tolerate 'boys will be boys' excuses."

Not only women and girls but also many men have been re-traumatized through this process. Today, we as your pastors want to say to all of you: We see you. We believe you. We honor you as a beloved child of God. We are here to be present with you and to listen, to connect you with supportive resources, and to pray with you.

We give thanks for Dr. Ford and for all who dare to break the silence about what they've experienced. We stand in solidarity with all those who risk so much by speaking up and sharing their story.

Today we reaffirm the dignity and worth of every person and recommit to working for the common good, for the values of love, mercy, and justice embodied by Jesus, and for the health, agency, and safety of all God's beloved children—God's female and male children, God's transgender children, God's black and brown children, God's lesbian, gay, bisexual and queer children, God's children of all abilities and ages and nationalities and religions.

We call on the highest court in our land to do the same.

We call upon all people of faith and conscience to practice compassionate listening and measured speech in this age of bruising political divide, to pray without ceasing, and to be guided through your prayer into action.

We add our resolve to that voiced by our colleague and friend, Episcopal Bishop of Washington, Mariann Budde:

"For the sake of our daughters and sons we will exercise every means available to us to help make for them a better world: through prayer and spiritual support; education and community engagement; witness and protest when necessary; legal action and advocacy; and exercising our most basic civic duty of voting in every election. For those of us who follow the Way of Jesus, this is not merely a civic imperative, but a calling to bring this world closer to what Jesus called the Kingdom of God, where 'mourning and crying and pain will be no more' (Revelation 21:4), and where love will triumph over hate."

Your pastors and co-laborers in Sacred Resistance, 

Ginger E. Gaines-Cirelli, Senior Pastor 

Malcolm Frazier, Associate Pastor, Director Hospitality and Care

Will Green, Associate Pastor, Director of Discipleship Ministries

Julie Hansen, Director of Finance

Ben Roberts, Associate Pastor, Director of Social Justice Ministries

Lani Willbanks, Business Administrator

It would have been one thing for the Senate to have allowed a full FBI investigation of the testimony of Dr. Christine Blasey-Ford, which, had it cleared Mr. Kavanaugh, could have confirmed him AND released a statement that they took such charges very seriously. They then could have said that this full investigation resulted in no corroborating testimony or evidence for the accusations, while still acknowledging that a terrible thing had happened to Dr. Ford, but that there just wasn't clear evidence that Mr. Kavanaugh was the perpetrator. But that's not what happened.

A greatly truncated "investigation," apparently limited by the White House, and rushed to allow for a quick confirmation by the Senate well before mid-term elections, "vindicated" Judge Kavanaugh, and a gloating Judiciary Committee--and then the full Senate by the narrowest of margins--voted to confirm him and verbally "slam dunk" this travesty as a "great victory." There was no victory. Women lost again. There was no compassion shown to Dr. Ford, nor any of the other women who made accusations. And, due to the reigned-in investigation, the reputation of the FBI was again besmirched.

Senators Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham went full "old white guy" postal against Blasey-Ford, the process, and of course, the Democrats. There is evidence that Kavanaugh, himself, had crafted a better legal rebuttal for his response to Blasey-Ford the day of that hearing, but that he was "coached" by the White House to tear it up and come out swinging. He made a fool of himself, and demonstrated the kind of "attack dog" demeanor that would lead a sane person to believe he was capable of a violent assault against a vulnerable, female minor. His display caused a majority of Americans polled to believe he would be unfit to mount the bench of the Supreme Court of the land.

This one was a tough call for yours truly. I strive to keep "politics" out of the pulpit, but certainly HAVE tackled justice issues in accordance with the biblical witness and the teachings of Jesus and the prophets. Pastor Gaines-Cirelli and her team spoke out boldly, not really caring whether this strong statement crossed "political" lines, but standing courageously with women. I applaud them.

I have shared this statement because I think it is important. I agree with its context and content. I just can't state with integrity, and without several more conversations, if it represents the wider body of the church I serve. I do believe it would most likely be affirmed by a majority of our people. Still, I thought you should read it, and know where I stand, since you have obviously been reading my blogs.

I would like to believe that this horrible experience has quickened our nation to the realities and scope of sexual assault and the violence committed against children of God based on sexuality, gender, and/or sexual orientation. I fear that the present state of human evolution does not have us there yet, but maybe the needle has moved a little? Meanwhile, those who rushed Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation onto the fast track before the elections (incidentally, the same ones who refused to give Merrick Garland a hearing "until the people had a voice in the next election") celebrated the event like a Super Bowl touchdown. Even the President turned Justice Kavanaugh's swearing-in into a media circus, claiming his full exoneration.

I pray our new Supreme Court Justice takes the pain this event has caused so many to heart. I pray it makes him a better jurist on the high bench. I guess we'll see. I do know that the women I have talked to come out of this with greater fear, more doubt, and a stronger feeling that they are not being listened to. How sad. How very sad.

Spectacle...

I'll keep this short, for if I don't, I could get angrier and angrier. What transpired in the "hearings" for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh should have every American embarrassed. Embarrassed to the core. It was an awful spectacle.

Dr. Christine Blasey Ford was a genuine, credible witness of the assault she experienced, allegedly at the hands of a young man who would go on to become a nominee for the Supreme Court of the United States. That she was assaulted came through clearly, and her therapists, a polygraph test, and witnesses could provide conclusive proof by whom. The witnesses were not subpoenaed, and were thus suppressed as evidence. An FBI investigation—which has now been advocated by the American Bar Association and Mr. Kavanaugh's Alma Mater, Yale University—has been ruled out by the President and the majority members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Mr. Kavanaugh, in his defense, was belligerent, condescending to his questioners, obfuscated answers  and rejected measures--such as the aforementioned FBI investigation--that could find clear evidence of his professed innocence. There is something wrong with a person who proclaims innocence, exhibits bullying anger, but refuses to advocate for an investigative process that could produce exonerating evidence--especially when that person is a Federal District judge and a candidate for the highest court in the land.

The whole country believes Dr. Ford was assaulted. There are legal ways to find out by whom, whether it was by the man she has accused, or by someone else, as at least one of the "alternative" facts has suggested.

Mr. Kavanaugh's innocence could be proved by the same investigation. By denying it, or in the case of the Judiciary Committee, by not asking the President to convene one, the accused parties are either hiding something or just trying to ramrod their choice for the high court.

All parties lose. Ford has blown open her life because of testifying to what she believes is a disqualifying event for a supreme court nominee. In his own defense, Judge Kavanaugh demonstrated a temperament that does not belong on the Supreme Court--an angry and deeply partisan temperament. Even if, before the final Senate vote, an FBI investigation was convened, and even if it exonerated him, Kavanaugh's tactics at the hearing this week should exclude him from the high court, in my opinion.

No one gets out of this mess unscathed. It appears that Judge Kavanaugh will be confirmed by a majority with a specific agenda--pack the court with conservatives at all costs. He will serve not as a distinguished jurist, but as an "asterisked" caucasian version of Clarence Thomas.

Dr. Christine Blasey Ford will pick up the pieces of her life, knowing that when she answered the very difficult call to serve and inform her country of what she saw as a gross injustice, those leading her country right now said, "Don't call us, we'll call you."

Let us pray for both of these families to find redemption, for our nation to find a way out of this hyper-partisanship that is tearing us apart, and for women who have suffered the same kind of assault as Dr. Ford to be emboldened to speak out against their abusers and attackers.

I also pray we will never see another spectacle like that again, but the results of the Mueller investigation is yet before us. Lord, have mercy.

[NOTE: A Senate vote delay was called and an additional FBI background investigation ordered,  after the time this blog was posted.]

A Creation Story like no other...

At St. Paul's, we are spending a few weeks examining the great "forgotten tree" of the Bible, at least as far as Christians are concerned. Genesis chapter one says that when God created the garden, God placed in the center of the garden, "...the Tree of Life, and there was also the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil." As I said in my introductory sermon two weeks ago, Christianity has been preoccupied with the other tree, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This tree is blamed in the great faith fable for the "fall" of humanity, by yielding a forbidden fruit that, when eaten, stripped away human innocence and set in motion a cascade of events that left us out, looking in. In the Christian narrative, Jesus Christ comes to redeem humankind from the sin that separates us from God. Thanks to this central story of the Christian faith, we have mostly forgotten about the other tree in the garden.

The Tree of Life is a nurturing tree! It is a tree under which we can live out our faith and our lives, a tree that provides shelter and shade, and is large enough to beckon all to come thrive under its branches. It is a tree that shows up in the apocalyptic literature in the last chapter of the Bible, where it is said, "...and its leaves are for the healing of the nations." That, my friends, is about as inclusive as it gets--the healing of the nations!

I don't think I am alone in believing that the "fruit" of this tree is not reserved for the end of days. Through the love of God, particularly for us as demonstrated in Jesus Christ, this delectable fruit is available now and for all and forever. If one reads the Gospels with this tree in mind, one can imagine Jesus saying from the cross, "OK, you are forgiven. Now get over it and start living under the Tree of Life!" Jesus' teachings and parables clearly are a primer for what life looks like under this tree--in the goofy parlance of our day, the alternative tree.

Life under the Tree of Life is inclusive, loving, peace-giving, forgiving, transforming, uplifting, edifying, encouraging, motivating, and has an extreme "love thy neighbor as thyself" quality to it. It isn't racist, sexist, or disparaging of other faiths seeking God's truth. No one starves under this tree, for there is no end to the nourishing fruit. This tree is NOT a "zero sum game" whereby if I get what I need or want, you can't have what you need or want. This tree provides shelter for everyone who seeks shelter. And its roots go to the very foundation of the creation.

Genesis begins by saying "God created," moves to "let the earth bring forth," and finally to "let US create," wherein humanity is made in the "image of God." I don't think this means we look like God, but maybe more that we can behave like God (or like Jesus, for the Christian)--loving, accepting, creating, always hopeful, and working for a victorious "allee, allee, in-free" ending.

Is there a catch? Yes. We have to cultivate the ground under the Tree of Life. We have to make sure we don't poison its soil, and assure that it is amply watered, and not with acid rain or suffocated with carbon monoxide. The Genesis text literally says that we are to "master" the earth (not "subdue" it, like some bad translations have it). "Mastering" it is more like what a master gardener does, or a master plumber, or someone who wins "The Masters' Tournament" in golf. Mastering the earth means being the best stewards of it we possibly can, and helping it thrive and grow, co-creating with God and the earth to continue to bring forth life. If the Tree of Life dies, guess who else does?

Why have Christians been so hung up on the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil? Why have we so "missed" or neglected the Tree of Life, which is at the beginning in the Genesis narrative, and which will be at the center of the garden in the "new heavens and new earth" of Revelation? If these are scriptural bookends, might we not be better off living between them, and under God's great Tree of Life? Shalom, Dear Ones...