Christian? Revolutionary.

"There was a time when the church was very powerful. It was during that period when the early Christians rejoiced when they were deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; [The early Church] was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town the power structure got disturbed and immediately sought to convict them for being "disturbers of the peace" and "outside agitators." But they went on with the conviction that they were "a colony of heaven," and had to obey God rather than man. They were small in number but big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be "astronomically intimidated." They brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contest." Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"The "way of life" that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki (and is reported to have roasted alive up to a million people in Tokyo in a single night) is international, and dominates every nation of the world. But we live in the United States, so our struggle is here. With this "way of life" ("death" would be more appropriate) there can be no truce nor quarter. The prejudices of patriotism, the pressures of our friends, and the fear of unpopularity, imprisonment, or death should not hold us back any longer. It must be total war [totally nonviolent] against the infamous economic, political, and social system which is dominant in this country. The American system has been destroying human life in peace and in war, at home and abroad, for decades. Now it has produced the crowning infamy of atom bombing. Beside these brutal facts the tidbits of token democracy mean nothing. Henceforth no decent citizen owes one scrap of allegiance (if he ever did) to American law, American custom, or American institutions." David Dellinger

Not revolutionary? Not Christian.

Christian? Disturbing.

It troubles me, just a little, that my path is disturbing - to friends, bio-family, the activist community... just about anyone that knows me. I am glad that it troubles me, I will hope to avoid becoming too much more arogent, insensitive, blind, rigid, self-righteous than I already am.

But, Jesus was disturbing. I say "was" because we have so distorted who He was and what He STOOD for that He is now the opposite of disturbing. We use Jesus like we use bathroom deodorizer - so that the stink of our murderously selfish lives is not so disturbing as to make us change.

But in His days, to all but his Disciples, and even to them Jesus was hugely disturbing, wierd, crazy, disruptive, antisocial, dissident, outsider....

"I believe that for someone to be "Christian" they should resemble Christ," Teresa of Calcutta.

The people of Jesus day needed to be disturbed. A "brother" like Jesus would feel obliged to be disturbing.

The people of my day need to be disturbed, even more than Jesus day needed it. As a "brother" I feel entirely obliged to follow our Father's "call" as totally as I can, and this is disturbing.

Not disturbing? Not Christian.

You are Evidence. YOUR LIFE might convince/convict us of what?

Major insights into my behavior are occurring for me. These insights have implications for you too.

Why the Hell have I felt so compelled / drawn / obligated / required to:

* Sit in front of the White House 23 hours per day?!?!?!?!?!?
* Leave my $500,000 household to live in a car on a hunger strike for Children in Chester PA
* Withdraw so entirely from the safety and comforts of our US society?
* Etc, Etc....

This is a big part of what has been going on. Intuitively and unconsciously I have been realizing and reacting to the FACT that:

I AND YOU CANNOT ESCAPE THAT 24/7:

* I AM A WITNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SIMPLY BY HOW I LIVE MY LIFE I AM WORKING TO CONVICT / CONVINCE SOMEONE. THIS IS INESCAPABLE.

* YOU ARE A WITNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SIMPLY BY HOW YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE YOU ARE WORKING TO CONVICT / CONVINCE SOMEONE. THIS IS INESCAPABLE.

MY LIFE, the way I have lived has been a WITNESS that:

* There is not worldwide poverty.

* U.S. ACTUALLY STANDS FOR "liberty and justice for all."

* Capitalism is at worst value neutral.

* Capitalism is NOT sanctioned war on and exploitation of the weak in the U.S, around the globe.

* There was no genocide in Cambodia.

* There was no murderous neglect of children in Chester/Camden/Philadelphia/NYC....

* There was no genocide in Rwanda.

* Etc.

* Etc.

* Etc ....

NOW THAT I SEE WHAT I WAS DOING:

* I SEEM TO HAVE LOST THE ABILITY TO WITNESS TO THESE LIES.

* I CAN'T BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THESE ATROCITIES.

CAN YOU?

Dave Dellinger Quotations Blog

Dellinger is a Jesus of our day. Now deceased, this one time seminarian, life long nonviolent revolutionary hero must be studied and understood by any would-be champion of Love, Justice, Christianity, Brotherhood....

A new blog dedicated to the quotes and quotations of David Dellinger is beginning here:

David Dellinger Quotations

THE WORDS THAT COULD SAVE THE WORLD

Oh my, I've received the gift of reading some of the great books, some of the great authors of the world: Jesus, Tolstoy, Gandhi, Alfred Adler, Dr. King, Zinn, Barbara Demming, David Dellinger, Teresa of Calcutta, Pitirim Sorokin, Saul Alinsky, Ashley Montegue, Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi, Abraham Maslow....

The words I've quoted recently from David Dellinger strike me as the words that could save the world: "Very few people chose war. They chose selfishness and the result was war. Each of us, individually and nationally, must choose: total love or total war. "

Yes, absolutely these words stand on their own. They are a miracle of Truth, of insight, a Revelation.

But these words explode in my mind, and I hope that maybe they will explode in your mind. These words of Dellinger explode into the entire thing, they explode into a statement of the entire problem!

Every EVIL STEMS FROM some form of SELFISHNESS. Here are some examples; they are arbitrary; YOU CAN THINK OF BETTER ONES:

Very few people chose global warming. They chose capitalism and the result was....

Very few people chose 18,000 kids starving PER DAY. They chose Starbucks and the result was ....

Very few people chose divorce. They chose alcohol and the result was ....

Very few people chose Darfur Genocide. They chose a safe neighborhood and comfortable house for THEIR "family" and the result was ....

Very few people chose U.S. child health being ranked 19th among the richest nations. They chose "health" clubs and games and the result was ....


Very few people chose 80% of the world in abject poverty. They chose "normal" life style and the result was....


Very few people chose 650,000 murdered in Iraq. They chose "Christian" hypocrisy and the result was ....


Very few people chose 3-6 million slaughtered in Congo. They chose high tech electronics, the Internet and video games and the result was ....

Very few people chose...

Very few people chose...

Very few people chose...

Very few people chose...

Dellinger also told us the only solution: "Each of us, individually and nationally, must choose: total love or ... "

Dorothy Day told us, "The only solution is love."

Jesus told us, "Love as I have loved... Do unto others ALL that you would have them do unto you."

Dr. King told us, "We [will] be extremists for love or extremists for hate."

"The Golden Rule is to steadfastly refuse to have what millions cannot have," Gandhi.

Ignoring these words is murder.

"SELFISHNESS IS MURDER," brother jay.

"WAGE LOVE, OR YOU WILL WAGE MURDER," brother jay.

Home

Yes dear, I did speak of feeling as though I were "home." I meant, our Father's House. The best way I can explain my feeling is to say that I have returned to my Father's house, His "Path," His "Way." Why would I, why would anyone feel that they are There?

Our Father's House is where His will is done; where He is almost always on your mind; where His is the opinion you seek over all others. His House has no walls but it is like a warm hug. His house is at no address but it is always there. In His House you know what to do, kinda, what to say, kinda, where things are, what needs to be done, why you exist, what is needed from you, where you fit... kinda. Kinda, but more than in the man-made world of Idols. In His House you are always Loved for who you are as His child, as His servant, as His Brother, as His Partner. This is the best way I can explain what I meant when I said I felt like I was "home."

Am I just being poetic? Is today Sunday and am I sitting here typing a post? The only world you or I will ever know will be that which is on the inside of our minds. There is nothing in my world AS real as what I am describing right now. This makes sense. Why? Because the Home I describe is my deepest nature, my Humane nature, the one we are all born with.

I left Home and spent most of my life in a foreign land of man-made idols - superiority, stuff, systems/institutions. It never, never, never, never felt like home. It was pleasurable, very, very pleasurable. But it never, never, never felt like Home. It never, never, never was Home.

I'm Home now, everybody's Home. I'll do my best to yell loud enough and well enough that the rest of His family returns home. I'll try to be a bright "Lamp." I'll do my best.

"Be an Angel..."

It is shocking me more and more how phrases that we causally throw about are such profound key's to Heaven / Peace / Joy.... For example, the pieces posted recently about 'We are "ALL EVIDENCE TO THE CONTRARY" are extraordinarily meaningful to me.

My mom used to say to folks when she wanted something, "Be an angel. Will you please...."

Well, in the context of stuff I see in my life now that phrase just hit me like a ton of bricks.

Isn't that exactly what we are to do - "Be an angel?" Duh. Look at what Jesus told us: "Thy will be done... as it is in heaven." Jesus is telling us to do "like an Angel" would. Exactly.

"Be an Angel." Pray for me that I "be an Angel." I'll try. :-) No kidding.

Dear Family, heads up!

Hi!

Two "heads ups:"

1. I'll be really surprised if next time you see me I don't have a Cross tattooed on my forehead. [I always wondered what that massive expanse was for! :-) ] There are few nights when I don't dream about this. My life has been so totally possessed by Jesus, I am so possessed by the desire to be His Follower / Disciple / Friend / Brother / Agent. I am always trying to "be" His message; to do the work He was doing; to be His Partner. I just think the Cross makes sense. I think it would help me "be" his message to my brothers and sisters. It would help us stay on point. We'll see. Something like this maybe.

2. Prison. My guess is that I will spend a lot of time in Prison over the course of the rest of my life. Is that my goal? Of course not. But I am becoming so deeply about a different way of being together - Jesus way - One Family - that the current "way," the current system of "war" [capitalism is sanctioned all-0ut-war of a vile sort] / divorce-one-from-another / greed / separation... will find me so in the way, such an irritation, they will not be able to resist putting me in prison a lot. I wonder if I will be killed there; will suffer violence there from the guards, from the inmates. Good chance I think. No matter. It is all part of the "mop-up" operations that need to be done by thousands and millions of us if our Father's Kingdom is to come.

Love, your joyful brother, jay

No Suffering, NO BIRTH

Birthing something new ALWAYS includes suffering.

NO SUFFERING, NO IMPROVEMENT.

NO SUFFERING, NO HOPE.

NO SUFFERING, LIFE COMES TO AN END.

Suffering is not the intent. Life is the intent. Suffering ALWAYS attends life.

No suffering... DEATH.

"Each ... must choose ... total love or total war."

"Very few people chose war. They chose selfishness and the result was war. Each of us, individually and nationally, must choose: total love or total war. " David Dellinger

Dear Family,

Today I went with a group of 20 or so, mostly Marylanders, to Senator Barbara Mikulski's office as part of the Occupation Project to end the atrocities in Iraq by bringing home the troops. I went not intending to risk arrest but my resolve slipped away as the action got underway. :-)

As it turns out, none of us were arrested during the hour and a half that we peacefully and respectfully occupied her outer office, largely reading the names of people from Iraq and the US that have been killed by your war, and mine. (Our silence is complicity. OUR SILENCE KILLS PEOPLE. We are "ALL EVIDENCE TO THE CONTRARY.") Upon leaving I gave my commendations to the Senator and her staff for the civility they showed us. Their behavior was more than a tactic I think. Susan from the Jonah house during our preparation meeting spoke very, very highly of the love and support that Jonah House has received from the Senator over the years - support from the Senator for Jonah House and the members that have gone to prison so often Waging Peace.

While with these folks I had time to talk with Mary a with-it, late 60ish woman, well to do I'd guess. She has been arrested 10 times or so for anti-war actions and mentioned in a pensive sort of way that maybe she was getting tired of it, and "is it doing any good?" She was neither discouraged nor worn out. Pensive. Thoughtful. Tired. I told her that when I think of such things I realize that if I knew for certain that my actions would make no difference in the world, I would continue to do what I do. "Yes, we must do what is right," she instantly and cheerfully agreed.

Later, while napping today I thought further about this. :-) Actually, I know that my breathing every few seconds or so really will make no difference - I'm going to die some day. But I want to breathe just the same.

In fact, as I have realized, and realize all the more clearly in the light of David Dellinger's wisdom above, Life, to Live IS to be WAGING "TOTAL LOVE." If we are not WAGING "total love," CLINICALLY we are not fully aLive. I will stake my knowledge of this subject against anyone living or dead in the field of psychology, philosophy, religion, biology.... Further, I challenge anyone, any of you to think about this. I feel certain you will see in your heart that this is true.

I choose "total love" because I choose Life. I choose "total love" because it might spread "total love" and therefore total Life to those I love - you, and everyone else.

This is the ultimate selfish choice. This is the ultimate unselfish choice.

Love forever, your brother, jay

ps: In talking with Mary she also said when only three of us had shown up (we were early), "If it is just a few of us will it make any difference?" Also, "The Senator is only one person!" This stimulated a reply from me that I found quite helpful. I said, "If what we are trying to do is analogous to spreading a virus, then yes, even if we are few and she is just one, who knows, if we can infect her maybe she can carry it to millions."

"Who knows?"

pps: More on this from Dr. King and his miraculous Letter from Birmingham Jail (1963)

"Was not Jesus an extremist for love -- "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you." Was not Amos an extremist for justice -- "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream." Was not Paul an extremist for the gospel of Jesus Christ -- "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus." Was not Martin Luther an extremist -- "Here I stand; I can do none other so help me God." Was not John Bunyan an extremist -- "I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience." Was not Abraham Lincoln an extremist -- "This nation cannot survive half slave and half free." Was not Thomas Jefferson an extremist -- "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." So the question is not whether we will be extremist but what kind of extremist will we be. Will we be extremists for hate or will we be extremists for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice--or will we be extremists for the cause of justice? In that dramatic scene on Calvary's hill, three men were crucified. We must not forget that all three were crucified for the same crime--the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thusly fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment.

"There was a time when the church was very powerful. It was during that period when the early Christians rejoiced when they were deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town the power structure got disturbed and immediately sought to convict them for being "disturbers of the peace" and "outside agitators." But they went on with the conviction that they were "a colony of heaven," and had to obey God rather than man. They were small in number but big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be "astronomically intimidated." They brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contest."

Unsung Evangelical Heroes

Unsung Evangelical Heroes

By Geoff Tunnicliffe
Christian Post Contributor
Tue, Feb. 13 2007 06:47 PM ET

This is less than a brilliant article, but it is evidence of what Dellinger calls "the invisible Church." Dr. King, in a moment of shock and despair in seeing what he then called the Church, "a social club with a thin veneer of religiosity," talked further about needing to turn to the "ecclesia, the Church within the Church."

Funny, with the path I've turned onto fully in these recent months I catch rather frequent glimpses of that "hidden Church," by whatever name. Ahhhhh.

America is Spiritually on its Death Bed

"Christian" Nation? Ha! God save us from such "Christians."

Full Article: Children left in the shadows
Full UN REPORT: An Overview of Child-Wellbeing in Rich Countries

...The United Nations report, published today, reveals that the richest countries in the world are conversely some of the poorest when it comes to their treatment of children.

Joining the UK with the worst child welfare record is the US, the world's only superpower and considered to be the beating heart of the world's economy.

Both Britain and the US found themselves in the bottom third of the rankings for five of six areas of child welfare.

Many social studies experts say the only way to reverse the trend is to solve the root of the problem - public attitudes in Britain to children. Some say the modern way of life leaves little time for children, who are often seen in the rat-race culture as a pest.

"You have to sacrifice," Connie cheerfully chirped.

I don't know how old Connie is but "spring chicken" would not describe her body which she has punished with 25 years of day and night service to humanity in front of the White House. I am coming to the realization she may be a living Saint.

It is snowing today. As I was sitting in the living room blogging, Connie came in to suit up for her day in front of the White House. Pete, the new Washington Peace Center manager saw her sandals and said, "Connie, you need warm boots!" "These sandals are the only thing that fit my feet," she said. Her feet have paid a huge price. Currently only open sandals fit her due to painful deformations. "Wear warm socks at least," Pete pleaded. "They don't fit either," she said CHEERFULLY.

"You have to sacrifice," she happily and matter-of-factly chirped.

Someone should get her some warm boots that fit her. WARM BOOTS, for God's sake. Could you get ones that fit her? Would she take them if you did? G d knows.

"You have to sacrifice"... to Live, Connie teaches and Jesus taught. Yes, that is correct.

THE BOOK THAT COULD SAVE THE WORLD - Tolstoy's "Gospel in Brief"

The writing of the "Gospel in Brief" Saved Tolstoy's life Spiritually (and that of countless others including Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) and Literally in the case of Tolstoy himself. On the verge of suicide after achieving all the world's wealth and fame, and fiercely distrusting the "Church" teachings, he did his own translation of the original Greek texts of the bible - "The Gospel in Brief."

Tolstoy's "The Gospel in Brief" may be the single book that could save the world. It IS the Gospel, the Good news of G D.

Tolstoy's "The Gospel in Brief" created Gandhi by spawning Tolstoy's "The Kingdom of God is Within You," Gandhi's bible and that of his comrades from his Barrister days onward into South Africa and then India.

This book was a cause of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by spawning "The Law of Love and the Law of Violence," a book that mightily influenced Dr. King when a young man at Crozier Seminary in Chester PA.

This is Jesus as never so clearly seen. This is the Savior.

David Dellinger, a Saint in our Time

More than Dr. ML King except in his last few years, more than Gandhi, more than Teresa of Calcutta... David Dellinger is the most relevant Saint of our age, our greatest model, I think. His autobiography is one of the three most important books I have ever read: "From Yale to Jail." #1 for me is "The Gospel in Brief," Tolstoy; and #2. "The People's History of the United States," Howard Zinn.

Quotes:

"Very few people chose war. They chose selfishness and the result was war. Each of us, individually and nationally, must choose: total love or total war. "

"Our nonviolent activism would be more positive if we stressed reaching out with love for our fellow human beings--love not only for the victims, but also for those who defend the existing system, including those who think they benefit from it, even toward the police and other security forces. Love for those who defend the system, including the police who harass and arrest us? Is that unrealistic? Let me testify that this kind of love makes a difference. In 1987, twenty of us invaded the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, protesting against U.S. sponsorship of the terrorist Nicaraguan Contras. When we were arrested and taken downstairs to be fingerprinted, an officer recognized me and introduced me to the other officers. He said, "This is Dave Dellinger, who I want you to meet because his actions are based on love for everyone, including us." I also recognized him: The second time he had arrested me he had grabbed the arm of another officer, who was about to hit me on the head with a club, and said, "Stop. This is a good guy who doesn't need to be hit like that." Love for every human being is necessary for our individual growth and fulfillment. Those who practice this love benefit spiritually as they help others. While there are still badly needed changes in our anti-democratic society, I see positive signs that acting with love for other people and their needs does succeed."

"I see the illness when people take pleasure in beating out their fellow humans in the competitive pursuite of private success that produces winners and losers, victors and victims. So it is not just the suffering of the victims that upsets and moves me, but also the illness of the victors."

"There is nothing more fulfilling than to work in a Beloved Community of people who are laboring to cure that illness [striving for domination/exploitation], in ourselves and in the society, and do not demand a sterile conformity of ideology and action among those who share that goal. In such a community, the members are working, each in her or his own way, to create the "proper capability" of living a sisters and brothers in a world in which everyone will be equal - a world in which people are really born equal and will never cease to be treated as equal, whatever their individual diversities and failings; a world that will not make a mockery of the U.S. claims that we live "with liberty and justice for all."

"For a long time, the demonstrations played a crucial role, not just in showing the public, the traditional peace organizations, the government - and the Mobe (Mobilization) - how widespread and serious the oppositon was but also in giving heart to the demonstrators... When [the citizens] became so upset over teh war that they finally set aside this conditioning [that marching was making a spectacle of oneself] and marched in their first demonstration, it frequently led to a psychological breakthrough, one that I observed ina number of people... The main effect of participating was energizing and empowering. They went back to their local communities ready to play a more confident and active role... After a while, though, the demostrations tended less and less to work that way. Periodic demnstrations bagan to take on a life of their own as the be-all and end-all of the movement. The line got bluurred between participating to end the war and participating in order to enjoy the exhilirating experience of experessing one's antiwar views in solidarity with thousands of like-minded people. There were indications that some people were going to a demonstration much as some people go to a church, synagogue or meditation center. For them, the marches and rallies had become periodic self-satisfying rituals that weren't consistent enough in leading to follow-up activities elsewhere. Instead of helping people to gain new insights and energy to go home and express them in new relationships and practices, they [demonstrations] were becoming almost a substitute for doing so."

Dear Family, Wish you were here!

Dear Bev, Cap, Chris, Dave, Emily, Gerry, Jeremy, Laura, Marcia, Mary Rachel, Mohamed, Rosemary, Steve, Sue, et al...,

I don't have any stamps and remain without reliable email access. I've wanted to write you but I have no means (thank God! "The Golden Rule is to steadfastly refuse to have what millions cannot have," Gandhi, the only means of avoiding divorce from our brothers.)

But, I have been writing you and will continue to do so when I have access to the blogs. You can see them all by clicking my complete profile at left. Each post is with you in mind.

I love you and will always. You are my family and always will be in my heart.

Wish you were here! Why? Man, this is Living! No kidding! Imagine the most wonderful vacation you can. [These are just some of the ones I've taken: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I...]This is better! Perfect? No. There are still distractions and limitations from making the greatest possible contribution to the health of our death-bed human body. But I am freer of obstacles than ever before!

For the first several weeks of January it was 23hrs per day in front of the White House. Was falsely arrested for "camping" (I was not) and that court date is mid March. I face weeks or months in prison if convicted. No matter. However I can best serve. Time will tell.
Thrown in were two 3 day stints with Catholic Workers, risking arrest 3 times and getting arrested twice - one at the Pentagon exposing the workers to the faces of Iraq children, and one at the Federal Court House in DC standing in for Abdel Galib Amed Hakim, 27 of Ta'iz Yemen who has been kept at Guantanimo in illegal detention by the US Goverment that I have been funding. That court date is mid April.

Since Jan 19th, the day of my Pentagon court date (dismissed without prejudice) I have been contributing to two of today's living saints, Thomas and Connie and Ellen. They are renovating the basement of their base of operations so the Washington Peace Center can operate there, and so that there is in-floor heating for the main floor. By donating my time to the construction I thought I might contribute to their Spirit, and I think I have done so. The project has continued long past what I anticipated. Now my guess is that by week's end I will take my leave and return to the Darfur Vigil at the White House. Here I have had unexpected access to the internet and have created this blog - my most important ever. [and ESPECIALLY THIS POST >>>CLICK HERE!!!!]. I pray it is of help to you. It can be your transportation, in part, to this wonderful spot I've found!

Life does not get much better than this. Well, ok, it does. When one learns much more than I have about courage, giving, compassion, humanity... than I have, yes, it IS better. But I'm learning and making a way. The way? :-)

There is a whole world of room here if you ever know anyone that wants to come and visit or stay for a while, or even move in!

I miss you all dearly, but only because I love you so.

Wishing you great Joy and loving you forever, brother jay

Man must discover fire for the second time.

“The day will come when after harnessing the ether, the winds, the tides, gravitation, we shall harness for God the energies of love. And on that day for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire."
This is a quote of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

The notion of "fire" as an element of our Christian quest haunts me, in a very positive way. It will not leave me.

The Christian (always when I say this I mean in Jesus' eyes) may best understand her/himself as a flame, a Sacred bit of fire.
The Christian is charged with:
* Maintaining the flame - protecting it at the cost of one's life if necessary.
* Growing the flame as though the fate of the entire planet depends upon it, which it does.
* Spreading the flame to the soul of others with every bit of speed possible, at every conceivable opportunity, spending every second on this task as the only hope for humankind, which it is.

Spirit is Fire is Spirit is Fire....

Oh, there is much work to be done. Let's get on with it.

Our beloved Wiseguy left his body today

He was diagnosed yesterday with cancer. It was estimated he had one or two weeks to live.

He is a miraculous (sacred?) dog. Wiseguy was not in any pain, but he knew he was sick; for about a week now. A massive tumor in the stomach. You could almost literally see it grow in size.

I'm so sad. I'm so sad for Thomas; and Connie; and Ellen.

I've never seen such a one-person, totally committed and dedicated animal. Wiseguy is totally devoted to Thomas. He mourns when Thomas is out of his sight. Mourns! At the park when it is cold, and Thomas naps, Wiseguy lays down close to keep Thomas warm. For hours.

The tears. The sadness.

We've been so blessed by Wiseguy.

We all tried to make his last days with us a Joy.

Wiseguy made his exit while in Thomas's sleeping arms today. It was Divine. Wiseguy would follow Thomas EVERYWERE/ANYWHERE. But when Thomas invited him upstairs at about noon to nap with him, Wiseguy couldn't make it past the 3rd step. None of us could imagine he would go so quickly. So Thomas returned with him to the livingroom floor and took his nap with his arm wrapped around Wiseguy. I could see that Wiseguy didn't sleep. But he was completely at peace in his brother's arms, sharing with his partner Thomas some of the love he had so lavished on him every day. Seeing that everything was as it should be, and that there was no more for him to do to help us, Wiseguy quietly made his exit.

There is much for us to learn from Wiseguy and others of his higher species. They are higher than humans because they never learned not to care about the "other." They never learned to care more about themselves than about the other. They never suffered the "Fall." If we want to we can learn from them how to Love, how to Live.

Wiseguy exited his body but he can't exit this world. He has entered too many of our hearts/spirits/souls for that to happen. So actually, Wiseguy continues at his post showing us how to Live, how to Love. May we learn from Wiseguy. May we follow his lead. In time.

Thank you Wiseguy. Thank you.

Thank you. It has been an honor to know you.

Christian? Soldier. YOU take away the sins of the world.

Mop-up operations. Not in the usual military sense. But I can't escape the aptness of the term - MOP-UP OPERATIONS.

Jesus took away the sins of the world. "Love as I have loved." CHRISTIANS are to take away the sins of the world. We are to mop-up the sins with our bodies. Isn't that what Jesus did? He used his body to make visible, attract and absorb the sins of the world.

"The real food for the Spirit is the Flesh," said Jesus (Tolstoy translation of the Gospel.)

Jesus did it to spare us? Bull shit. Jesus MODELED it for us - HE SHOWED US WHAT TO DO, HOW TO LIVE AND LOVE IN A WORLD OF SUFFERING.
Christian? Soldier. YOU take away the sins of the world.

:-)

see also John Koffee in The Green Mile; Steve Beko in Cry Freedom....

Christian? Leader.

If you are Christian (in Jesus eyes) then you are a leader, by definition, by function. Christian and Leader are inseparable.

You cannot be Christian (in Jesus eyes) and NOT be a leader - actually and consciously. Like everything that matters - this is not a "rule," it is how things work.

"Give us [all] this day our daily bread." This is an exhortation from Jesus to each of us to leadership. The "daily bread" is our clear understanding, individually, today, this instant of what our Father's will is for each of us individually. "Give us [all] this day..." is a clear exhortation to each individual Christian to lead "us all" (her/his brothers) to see our daily bread. Gandhi - "you must be the change you wish to see."

Tolstoy's translation of Jesus (Gospel in Brief), "...the fulfillment of the Father's will depends on each man's effort and striving to make people see that life is given, not for oneself personally, but for the fulfillment of the Father's will, which alone saves from death and gives life." Leadership. Leadership is how we make people see.

For my entire adult life I have felt called to leadership. I'm just now, with today's insight, with this post, I am understanding why this call has been so deep and so urgent for me, for all these decades.

No, unfortunately the models that abound in this world of "leader" are absolutely not what Jesus calls us to. Francis of Asisi said, "We must preach the Gospel all day long, and occasionally use words to do so." This kind of leadership. BE Good. DO Good. THAT is the kind of Leadership Jesus calls for. Life service, not Lip service. "They will know you by how you love one another." "Do unto others ALL that you would have them do unto you." Living these commandments is the leadership, the ONLY leadership.

Wow. We've got a lot of work to do.

If you are not being crucified...

... by the world, you are not following Jesus.

Yes, the point is NOT to go seek crucifixion. No! It doesn't work like that!

But, I can't think of any exceptions in my life - if I am on or near the path I am being crucified:
* Isolation
* Disdain
* Solitude
* Hunger
* Poverty
* Imprisonment
* divorce by/separation from people I love and need
* Derision
* Slander
* etc
* etc
* etc

Did Jesus exist?

Did Jesus exist? Does it matter? Does it matter if he is a fiction? Does it matter if he lived? Does it matter if he was the son of God? Does it matter if there is a God in fact? WHAT MATTERS IS WHAT IS LEFT US DIRECTLY AS HIS. What matters is if we use it.

Did Einstein exist? Does it matter? Does it matter if he is a fiction? Does it matter if he lived? Does it matter if he was the son of God? Does it matter if there is a God in fact? WHAT MATTERS IS WHAT IS LEFT US DIRECTLY AS HIS.

Did Newton exist? Does it matter? Does it matter if he is a fiction? Does it matter if he lived? Does it matter if he was the son of God? Does it matter if there is a God in fact? WHAT MATTERS IS WHAT IS LEFT US DIRECTLY AS HIS.

Did Lister exist? Does it matter? Does it matter if he is a fiction? Does it matter if he lived? Does it matter if he was the son of God? Does it matter if there is a God in fact? WHAT MATTERS IS WHAT IS LEFT US DIRECTLY AS HIS.

Did Columbus exist? Does it matter? Does it matter if he is a fiction? Does it matter if he lived? Does it matter if he was the son of God? Does it matter if there is a God in fact? WHAT MATTERS IS WHAT IS LEFT US DIRECTLY AS HIS.

"This has to stop...." Rachel Corrie; Christian Soldier

"This has to stop. I think it is a good idea for us all to drop everything and devote our lives to making this stop. I don't think it's an extremist thing to do anymore." Rachel Corrie

What makes a Marine? I think it is debatable, but for me the answer is heart. It is a certain type of heart that make a Marine. Some are born with it. Some strive with their entire being to achieve it. But striving, wanting, imagining, wishing, praying, talking... do not make a Marine. Achieving/having the HEART of a Marine makes a Marine.

It is a certain type of heart/spirit/Soul that makes one a disciple of Jesus. Off hand I don't think of anything that better captures that heart/Spirit/Soul than Rachel's words above. I don't think one is Christian if / when their heart is anything less than that.; not in this world of almost total misery and death. Were not those same words everpresent in Jesus breast? "There is no greater love than to lay down your life...." "Love as I have loved...." "The Good Shepherd (Christian) lays down his life for his sheep...."

We are not Living (we are not a Disciple) if we spend minutes/hours/days/weeks/months/years/decades living divorceded/self-anesthetizeded/AMPUTATED from the agony of this world - Darfur, Manhattan, Congo, New Orleans, Hatai.... And if we are not amputated from, WE ARE SERVING THE NEED, "the least of these my family...."

Living = Christian. One body. ONE body, no amputation, no anesthesia.

Following Jesus: Judging is the hardest, most important part

No! Contrary to popular teaching by today's Scribes and Pharasese - the "Church" - Judging is not forbidden, it is Jesus greatest requirement of us if we are to follow him:
* "Love as I have loved."
* "Do unto others all that you would have them do unto you."
* "They will know you by how you love one another."
These are NOTHING if not exhortations to scrupulously judge/evaluate ourselves and others.

YES, WE MUST NEVER "JUDGE" IN THE WAY OF PLACING OURSELVES OR OTHERS ABOVE OR BELOW OURSELVES OR OTHERS! But as the MD (Dr.) must "diagnose/judge" the condition of the patient, the disciple of Jesus must judge matters of the Spirit/Soul as a absolute requisite to service. Come on now, let's stop the idiotic, heretical disparagement of all "judging."

The hardest thing I do as a would-be disciple of Jesus is my attempts to adhere to this requirement - this necessary task of Judging. It would have been so much easier in so many ways to avoid judging my own life and how best I could serve and to:
* Stay in my half million dollar house.
* Keep my 20 year career.
* Be a "normal" father.
* Be a "normal" person.
* Stay with my wonderful adopted family in West Chester.
* Keep my comfortable management job.
* Stay with my new Washington DC adopted community....

"If you do not hate family... you cannot love me."

The "good" is the enemy of the "great."

There is no success on my journey of discipleship that has come without my adherence to this requirement to JUDGE. It is way hard. It is indispensable. Want to be "Christian?" JUDGE yourself and others with TOUGH LOVE.

LIP SERVICE, Jesus taught, is the UNFORGIVABLE SIN

No? I just got this! I've hated lip service throughout my adult life, but just within the last 24 hours clarity has come to me that Jesus hated lip service the most! Why? Because when we engage in lip service we are the very least likely to get on the "path!" Why? Because with lip service we release the tension that conscience/good/Father/God exert within us, the TENSION that would otherwise save us!

Think about what He said about:
* The two sons. One said "I'll do it!" and DID NOT. LIP SERVICE. The other son said, "NO WAY!" and DID IT.
* The Unforgivable Sin is to deny the Spirit. LIP SERVICE! Yes, lip service acknowledges the Spirit, but TALK IS CHEAP. ACTION IS DEAR. LIP SERVICE, NON-ACTION IS TO DENY THE SPIRIT!
* Who did Jesus rail against?!??! THE HYPOCRITS! LIP SERVICE.

Lip service is the unforgivable sin, because it is the sin we are least likely to escape. Lip service will KEEP US OFF THE PATH.

THE ROAD TO HELL IS PAVED WITH GOOD INTENSIONS.
THE ROAD TO HELL IS PAVED WITH LIP SERVICE.

Jesus/God/Good DO NOT PUNISH US. EVER!

...They simply WARN US where the PUNISHING CONSEQUENCES OF ERROR ARE! Just like a loving human parent frantically warns a child that a finger in the flame will result in great pain!

Being on the "path" is to be pain free psychologically and in "Heaven" (full joy, peace, love, Life!), although physically crucified/persecuted. Think of the mother bleeding, broken and bruised from a car wreck, running with her injured child in her arms. Is she in pain? Physically, yes. Psychologically? NO!

Come on in!!!!! or don't :-(

In my youth I craved skiing. I almost always did so alone. With very little time on the slopes (I grew up in NJ!) I became very, very good. It was as though my entire being merged, or was trying to merge with the skis-boots-trails-mountains. It was day-long orgasm after day-long orgasm.... No, it was not specifically sexual in that sense, but it WAS that intense/overwhelming/awesome/excruciating/sacred. Pretty much.

Why did I ski alone? Hmmm. Well, it was not because I told others - GO AWAY! Oh, many moments/seconds I yearned so deeply for others to want to be with me in the experience.

Why did I ski alone? Because no one wanted to/could join me. Almost everyone else wanted to be with someone on the mountain. What I wanted was the reverse - I wanted to be with the mountain and have others experience that with me. No one else could imagine what I was experiencing - they couldn't see it for themselves; they couldn't see it in me. There were brief times when I was lonely, sometimes intensely lonely. But the loneliness never blurred the choice - or obscured the Pearl. No contest. Merging at the cellular level with the mountain - that always won out. Heavenly. Was God/Our Father/Humanity what I was merging with?

I wonder sometimes, idly, amusedly if anyone will be at my funeral (if there is one - CREMATION please, no plot!), whenever that happens in the next 50 years or so. My guess is, probably not. :-) Within any given week for this last month or so this realization comes to me - probably not. People don't stay with me, although they would say/perceive the reverse.

What I want to share this morning is - as absurd and contrary to how others would see it - I feel like my whole life I've been trying to be on or as close the "path" as I can. I've always been closer to the "path" than most. I really experience being ON the "path" now. Yes I am walking it ineptly. But I am walking it. IT IS HEAVEN.

What I want to share this morning is - COME ON IN, THE WATER IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But if you don't, I'm not coming out to be with you. The invitation will ALWAYS STAND, ALWAYS. I WILL ALWAYS MISS YOU, YEARN FOR YOU. But, if you won't come, I'm ok with that. Now, what I'll do is work as hard as I can to ENJOY the "path," THAT OTHERS MIGHT SEE. But if you don't choose to join, that is up to you. YES I CARE! I ACHE FOR YOU TO BE ON IT, AND WITH ME. But, if you don't, or, until you do, I'm staying in/on. This is a new sense of comfort for me. A new idea. I feel that everyway I can I've been an "invitation" and have spent great time and energy extending the invitation. I don't regret that, but I'm tired of doing it, and maybe it has been a disservice to you.

The Father of the prodigal son never left his estate. He stayed on the estate, building it, keeping it strong, maintianing the access roads so it would be ready! In God's time the son chose to return, and the Father was overjoyed!

The Cost of Grace

Dietrich Bonhoeffer -

"Through the call of God, men become individuals… Every man is called separately, and must follow alone. But men are frightened of solitude, and try to protect themselves from it by merging themselves in the society of their fellow-men and in their material environment. They become suddenly aware of their responsibilities and duties, and are loath to part with them. But all this is only a cloak to protect them from having to make a decision. They are unwilling to stand alone before Jesus and to be compelled to decide with their eyes fixed on Him alone…. It is Christ’s will that he should be thus isolated, and that he should fix his eyes solely upon him."

"Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the Cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.

"Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will gladly go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods.

"Costly grace is the Gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner.

“It is the characteristic excellence of the strong man that he can bring momentous issues to the fore and make a decision about them. The weak are always forced to decide between alternatives they have not chosen themselves.”

Question: What is the greatest gift we can ge given?
Answer: A relationship with Our Father/God - our "Daily Bread" - His "Will" for us.

Question: How many people, adults, have this gift available to them, really?
Answer: In my experience - very few; they/we just don't hear, are not aware of hearing even a murmer from Him.

Question: What is the greatest tragedy that could befall someone, and befall their loved ones?
Answer: That a person blessed with the ability to hear His Will, even very faintly at first, turn away instead. "But men are frightened of solitude, and try to protect themselves from it by merging themselves in the society of their fellow-men and in their material environment." Thereby they deprive themselves of Life, and deprive their loved ones of the greatest possible hope - Life. A candle goes out.

"If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple." (Luke 14:26)

[Yes, this one I wrote specifically with you in mind. :-) Love, Brother jay]

Action Springs from Readiness for Responsibility

“Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility.”

“To deny oneself is to be aware only of Christ and no more of self, to see only Him who goes before and no more the road which is too hard for us.”

“It is the nature, and the advantage, of strong people that they can bring out the crucial questions and form a clear opinion about them. The weak always have to decide between alternatives that are not their own.”

“One act of obedience is better than one hundred sermons.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"Father's Will" is a way of Life: Physical properties

Hmmm. This is a working piece for me - as I try to understand what I am learning through this recent walk / adventure.

Living "Our Father's Will"=God's Will=Goodness=Humanity (what through prayer/contemplation/meditation I IMAGINE it to be) has predictable properties / outcomes.

What do I mean? A few examples.
* David Dellinger is in Mid 1960's Fla talking at a church in a positive way about the Cuban revolution. Cubans hating the revolution swarm in threatening violence. One smashes Dellinger in the back of the head. He responds by turning to face the attacker and extending his hand in friendship. Instead of a fight, dialog ensues.
* jay 30 days ago left the US culture of competition, greed, stuff, addiction; left with what he had left after paying his last debts - nothing but bus fare and some clothes. Making not one request for help of anyone he has received:
- a donation of $200 beyond the price of a laptop he was selling [thought I didn't notice? :-) ]
- personally donated food all but two of those days
- Warm clothes and a sleeping bag
- A new warm jacket
- Offers of lodging on cold nights
- Encouragement from some of the Park Police and Secret service....

What is going on here? Our Father's Will/God/Goodness is predictably (there is NO CERTAINTY in ANYTHING in life) called forth in the face of extreme Humanity/Brotherhood. EXTREME Humanity/Brotherhood.

When we Heroically, Extremely exercise our own Humanity/Good/God/Brotherhood the odds increase from near zero that others will begin to exercise theirs.

Our religion in this society is to place as much insulation between us and God/Good as possible! WE DO NOT BELIEVE IN GOD/GOOD/OUR FATHER'S WILL. We do not trust in Good/God/OUR FATHER. "I'll take care of myself, of my own!" Thereby we kill Good/God/OUR FATHER through atrophy in ourselves and starve it in others.