Author: mike

  • Administrative note

    I know I’m way behind again on getting a regular posting out. Hopefully that will be corrected sometime this week.

    One quick note I wanted to share – a few friends have asked about getting notified when I do add a new post. I have twitter and facebook set up to provide notifications, but sometimes those get lost in the mix. If you’d like to have new posts e-mailed to you, or if you want to subscribe in your favorite feed reader, those options should now be easily available. Just click/fill out the appropriate information in one of the boxes to the right of this post.

    Hope that helps!

  • Make Good Art

    Great commencement address by Neil Gaiman (via Tim Ferriss)

  • DAC Poem

    As part of the Detroit Annual Conference Eric Kieb, Jeff Nelson, Jeremy Peters and I were asked to write a group piece based on Mark 5 – the story of Jesus encountering the Gerasene demoniac. Here’s what we came up with…

    The waves were pounding
    thunder resounding
    While the wind was hounding
    And darkness surrounding

    On a mission – confounding

    The boat sides were creakin’
    The water was seepin’
    The fishermen were weepin’
    And Jesus was sleepin’

    Jesus was sleeping?

    Then who has been keeping
    An eye on this trip,
    Crossing over the sea, crossing over the border
    Facing the chaos, facing disorder

    Can’t we go back just like every other
    Group that has ever tried to cross before

    No hope is ahead,
    nothing in store
    But more wind and more rain and more terrible storm
    It’s easier to complain and conform

    One word
    Stills the rain
    Stills the wind
    Stills the pain

    “Peace”
    Calls the rabbi, calls the Nazarene

    After 50 long years they say this boat’s a sinkin’
    Some chalk it up to cynical thinkin’
    50 long years of desperation, decline
    “What’s all the fuss, aren’t we just fine?”

    “Peace” he calls out
    After a year of baptisms and weddings
    and attempted beheadings
    from bridezillas who stalk and they squalk
    as they threaten to outline our bodies in chalk
    if the dog can’t be the one to bring down the rings
    and if her little sister isn’t allowed to sing
    “The first time ever I saw your face…”

    “Peace”
    After mission trips and bring-a-dish dinners
    “Green-bean casserole – now there’s a winner”
    And vain attempts to reach and to preach,
    invite and incite, proclaim and teach
    After all of the fighting’s without and the fears within
    I’m not even sure where to begin

    “Peace”
    He calls out
    After ten days of Tampa high-drama
    It’s not a period, we’ll call it a comma.
    Unsettling storms seem to dampen the Spirit
    Of unity and pride, but we cannot hide

    The disciples they arrived on the other side of the sea,
    And here today we gather both lay and clergy
    At Adrian College or in the country of the Gerasenes
    We come seeking Jesus always ready to seek the lost and unclean

    And just as Jesus stepped out of the boat
    A man came up not wearing a coat
    Disheveled, delusional and demon possessed
    Coming to Jesus beating his breast

    Stuck outside living among the tombs
    No hope no cure, everyone presumes

    Today they like to say that our church is dead
    Easier to blame than fix problems instead
    Fighting constraints, restraints,
    Chained down with no one to hear his complaints

    Locked up with lanyards and empty platitudes
    A landslide of legislation and bad attitudes
    Robbed by Roberts and his Rules of Order
    Stuck in the past like some kind of hoarder

    “You’re out of order!”
    “No you’re out of order!”
    “This whole place is out of order!”

    Shattering shackles, breaking the chains,
    Is there’s no balm in Gilead to heal this man’s pain?

    Should we skip the plenary to go see the Avengers?
    No, the Hulk is right here, among the Amen-ers
    A chain-snapping giant with incredible hope
    That’ll make us feel like inevitable dopes
    When they tie us down with inflexible rope
    Wondering why we just keep trying to cope
    “Wouldn’t it be easier to become Presbyterian”
    “I’m finding a place with an infallible pope!”

    Living night and day in the cemetery
    Dawson Auditorium and Shipman Library
    Howling and growling, bruising himself with stones
    Marginalized madman left all alone

    And his fist said to face I don’t need you
    And arm said to chest, I think we are through
    And his feet they said to his padded posterior
    In this body, I am superior

    And he deployed the Discipline, like a back-alley razor
    Cut himself to pieces like black eye-lined teenager

    Running to Jesus he got on his knees,
    Listen to me Jesus, listen to me please
    Don’t you torment me, don’t make me leave.

    He bowed before the cross,
    she put her hand in the air
    They broke bread with Bishop,
    sang hymns with flair

    Praying so hard with all of their heart
    “Lord, please go away…” don’t mess up our part
    We’ve become accustomed to our messes
    Our routines and our tombs
    Our beautiful colored glass
    And Sunday costumes
    Leave us to sit in our comfortable pew
    We’ll just sit and complain how “the workers are few…”

    When Jesus asks,

    “What is your name?”

    Are we so honest that we proclaim:
    My name is anger, resentment and hypocrisy.
    My name is faction and fear. My name is pulpit envy.
    My name is naked ambition, pride mixed with doubt.
    My name’s in incomprehensible acronym, the meaning we’ve forgotten about.”
    My name is bumper sticker theology,
    my name is Pharisee,
    My name is intolerance and ignorance,
    and ‘Hey! Look at me!’”

    “My name is Legion; for we are many.”

    They begged him earnestly not to send them away
    Please not to Marquette, that’s all I can say.

    Don’t send us a pastor too young or old
    Not sure we’re quite ready for a woman or theology too bold.

    Don’t send me to the dirty
    the downtrodden,
    the drop outs and delinquents.
    Don’t send me to the queers
    to the ones baptized with tears
    to those assaulted by fears.
    Don’t send me to the
    dis-respectable
    dis-illusioned
    dis-infranchied
    or distraught
    I don’t wanna be reminded
    that there’s little that separates me
    from them
    from you
    from me
    from us.

    Lord, heal our church.
    Cast out our demons.

    Imagine a church united
    Imagine a people clothed in mercy.
    Imagine a crew willing to engage broken people in broken places.
    Imagine setting sail through torrents and storms.
    Imagine getting out of the boat and getting the world right
    The gates of Hell themselves would tremble at the sight.
    After the storm
    ministry happens.
    On the other side
    demons are defeated.
    Lives are changed
    Grace happens… even in graveyards…
    especially in graveyards.

    Get out of the boat
    Cast out the demons
    The world is our parish.
    Michigan is our mission.

  • Book Review: Love Does by Bob Goff

      As part of Thomas Nelson’s Book Sneeze program, I’ve had the chance to read and review the book Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World by Bob Goff. If you are familiar with Donald Miller’s book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years (affiliate links), you might recognize Bob and parts of his story – Don talks about Bob as the guy who is engaged in writing down all his memories (chapter 1) and who he meets while kayaking in British Columbia (chapter 24).

     Without a doubt Bob Goff has lived a remarkable life – he’s a successful lawyer, the founder of Restore International, which is a ministry focused on restoring justice to children in India and Uganda, and serves as Honorary Consul for the Republic of Uganda. This book, in part tells some of Bob’s story, highlighting memorable moments in his life, connects it with his faith, and builds the argument that faith and love isn’t about intellectual conviction as much as it is about revealed action.

     Overall, it’s a great book. The stories Bob shares are inspirational, engaging, and memorable. The way he speaks of faith, likewise, is in a very straight-forward, accessible way; it feels like you are having a conversation with a friend, instead of someone trying to convert you with a theological worldview. Likewise, the chapters are relatively short and clear to the point – making this both a fairly quick, but also an addictive read. This is one of those books, where you start reading, and the next thing you know it’s 2 hours later and you are almost at the end of the book. (For any preachers who might be reading this review, this book is also a great source for some solid illustrations, if you, like me, are always in search of a good story that help show a Biblical truth in a practical way).

     My only criticisms of the book are that towards the middle of the book, the structure of each chapter starts to feel a little formulaic – Bob shares a personal story, relates it to a passage from the Bible, offers some brief concluding words tying it all together, and then moves on to the next chapter. Towards the end of the book, he breaks this routine and more naturally integrates his life story into his theological understanding. My only other complaint would be that I wish Bob would tell more of his life story in a more chronological fashion – I felt like the moments he used were a little too random, and too safe; he never really delves into serious struggles he has faced along the way or how he had ever honestly wrestled with faith. I would guess that’s because he wants to keep this book optimistic, focused on the grace in our midst, but I think grace becomes more real when we confess to our brokenness as well – as Donald Miller says in A Million Miles – there needs to be conflict for a story to really work, and I feel Bob shielded us from some of the conflict. Alongside that, at several different points in the book, Bob tries to admit that he is just an “ordinary guy.” I know he’s making an effort to relate to the average reader, and help us to know we all have the opportunity to do extraordinary things, which I would agree with, but the fact is most “ordinary guys” I know don’t have the ability to take our daughters to London for their birthdays, or are asked to be the consul for Uganda. Through, what I’m sure, is a combination of hard work, dedication, and opportunity, Bob has built a life that is anything but ordinary, and I just wish he could acknowledge that and share the story, more fully, of how that happened. Guess I’ll just have to wait for “Part 2” of the story to be told.

     As I said before though, I really do feel that overall this is a great book; one that you’ll want to read and pass on to your friends. If you are looking for some inspiration in your life, please go and grab a copy. There’s the added bonus that all the proceeds from the book go to support The Mentoring Project and Restore International’s Leadership Academy.

     (Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book for the purposes of review. The free book didn’t influence my review in any way).

  • they don’t, they don’t speak for us…

    Seth Godin (via Domino Project): Piracy? You Wish. Great reminder it’s the ideas and the art that matter, not the sales. Also from Godin: Tracts, Manifestos and Books.

    Jen Lemen: How to be Happy (Part 6).

    Bread for the World: Congress Wants Your Church to Spend $50,000 (via Fred Clark). While I sort of “get” the attempt to argue that feeding the hungry should be the work of the churches, it conveniently seems to forget that many of the church pantries I know are already stretched pretty thin even as donor generosity has increased, and it is VERY unlikely that people will turn their personal tax savings into charitable contributions (certainly not at a 1:1 ratio). It also fails to acknowledge the economics of scale – government programs can simply get much more value for each dollar, rather than a bunch of different churches working independently.

    I’m pretty sure that when Jesus said to “pray for those who harass you” (Matthew 5:44), this is NOT what he meant. (also via Fred Clark)

    Mark Engler: Tax Day Doesn’t Belong to the Tea Party Anymore.

    My main focus this past week has been the General Conference of the United Methodist Church. Some of the key posts that have caught my eye:

    Andrew Conrad developed a #gc2012 Twitter Word Cloud Project.

    From Dan Dick: April 25 Reflections; Same Language, Different Meanings; Specific Conference; Value-Addled; and Safety in Numbness.

    Rev. Momma on Guaranteed Appointments. (I’m hoping to get a post with my own thoughts on this soon).

    Lovett Weems: The Tussle Over Metrics.

    And while this post on God’s Different Kind of Arithmetic wasn’t necessarily General Conference related, it certainly fits some of the main concerns and themes of the week.

    Found myself in the mood to listen, once again to the amazing Radiohead album OK Computer this morning…

  • On the blogs and in my brain…

    Fred Clark on Evangelical TribalismDe-legitimizing Christians Outside the Evangelical Tribe, and Kirk Cameron, Tim Tebow and Contemporary Christian Tribalism.

    Semi-related: Derek Webb on The Marketing of Jesus.

    My friend Sherry Parker is at the United Methodist General Conference, and she promises updates from the conference on her blog; UMC peeps should check it out. Other General Conference bloggers to check out include:
    Becca Clark
    Dan Dick
    and the Methoblog which will gather together a number of different news reports, blog posts and highlights.

    Seth Godin (via the Domino Project), reminds of just a few of the people who were Self Published.

    Lifehacker: DIY Natural Garden Pesticides.

    Jeff Goins: One Sure Sign You’re a Professional.

    Andrew Sullivan: Christianity in Crisis.

    Nerd Porn: Tiny Printer Projects.

    Good Magazine: Spring Cleaning – Get a Green Thumb.

    Geek Dad: 67 Books Every Geek Should Read to Their Kids Before Age 10.

    Also from Wired/Geek Dad: An Adventure in Cable Cutting. I’m moving in this direction, I just need to find a good way to install an attic antenna and run a few feet of co-ax into the family room.

    Britni Danielle: Why I’m Proud to be Part of ‘Generation Job-Hop’.

    Music from the Soweto Gospel Choir (via NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts):

  • I don’t need answers, I just need you…

    33 Animals Who Are Extremely Disappointed in You.

    Barry Hill, Jr.: What I Learned About To-Do Lists From My 8 Year Old Son. (via Michael Hyatt’s blog)

    Becca Clark: What’s Wrong With This Picture? Some more interesting thoughts on the Call to Action. I suspect is it a little unfair picking apart a picture when we don’t know the full context, but I think Becca continues to raise important questions around the Call to Action. Also from Becca: Diary of a Delegate: in Opposition to Disaffiliation.

    Love this quote from Virgilio Elizondo (via Inward/Outward):

    “Protest without fiesta is empty.”

    From the Church Marketing Sucks blog: Steve Jobs – Church Communication Hero.

    Shawn Lovejoy: Why I Resigned (And You Should Too).

    Is your computer desktop feeling a little stale? Check out these wallpapers (via Lifehacker).

    Busting Bike Myths. All of them are good, the helmet one is a particular pet peeve of my, and one I was keenly aware of last week on a ride when I saw a number of children and adults without helmets. I fear my upcoming mid-life crisis could turn into a crusade to get helmets on every Clarkston-area cyclist.

    Related: Want to bike from Detroit to Windsor? Good luck; a 2 mile trip turns into 127 when you burn fat and not gas.

    Jordon Cooper: Treat Employees Well & Make Money.

    FastCompany: Generation Flux – Adapting to Succeed in the New Economy and Unlimited Vacation Boosts Productivity. I especially like that second article; within the life of the church I think we try to emulate the administrative and managerial aspects of secular business sometimes to our detriment, when a measure of simple trust and grace might simply work better. (At the same time I know that especially within the church some employees abuse the language of grace and lack of accountability so that even the basic elements of the job don’t get done, without any consequences to the individual’s bad behavior). 

    Big bird with big teeth?

    Texts from Dog. Some language and subject matter that might be offensive to some, but I still think it’s pretty funny.

    Matthew Paul Turner looks at a video by Bob Larson and raises questions about demonic possession. I used to listen to Bob Larson on the radio as a kid; had no idea he was even still around doing this sort of thing.

    New music this week from The Welcome Wagon. Vito serves Resurrection Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn, NY, but he is originally from Tecumseh, MI. The new album comes out in June. If you like what you hear, you can download a copy of this track for free here.

    The Welcome Wagon- Would You Come and See Me in New York from Asthmatic Kitty on Vimeo.

  • We almost lost Detroit…

    On the blogs and in my brain this week…

    I try not to get too “political” but this is an important read: The Supreme Court orders a 5-4 decision on where to order lunch (I’ll have to side with Justice Scalia on this one).

    Dan Dick reviews George Hunter’s book,The Recovery of a Contagious Methodist Movement (Amazon affiliate link), giving it very high marks. I haven’t had the chance (or the money) to check out the “recommended” books for this year’s General Conference, but it sounds like this is one to get.

    Stop Throwing Starfish.

    Donald Miller: How to Know if You Are a Controlling Person. Also from Miller: Want to Do Meaningful Work? Keep Reading. Literally.

    April 1 Fun: Google Voice for Pets; Seth Godin fights for restrictive control of intellectual property by trademarking the terms “Purple” and “Cow”; and Rachel Held Evans offers an incredible news round up, including the fact that Rob Bell’s Lasik Surgery Will Cost Christian Hipsters Millions.

    Lifehacker: Get Your Bike in Shape for Spring. I splurged for a real tune-up at a local bike shop just because it has been 15 years since any professional has touched it, but this guide will be a helpful place to start for basic maintenance.

    Jeremy Smith: No Southern Church Left Behind interesting analysis of the potential geographic bias that surrounds the support of Call to Action in the United Methodist Church.

    Fred Clark: Friday the 13th – A Ghost Story. Oh, how I wish this were true, the idea of the ghost of Frederick Douglas haunting racists, preaching, and kicking butt is an awesome movie begging to be made.

    When I worked overnights as a radio DJ, I could pretty easily get lost in just studying the weather radar feed, especially when I storm was coming in. This real time wind map feeds that same weather nerdiness.

    The New Red Scare: Why Muslims Aren’t Republican Anymore. Fascinating article that talks about how in the 2000 Presidential Election 78% of Muslims supported Republicans because of their emphasis on moral values, fiscal conservatism, and “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” mentality, but since then support has dropped to 11%. In order to satisfy one political base they’ve alienated another who were sympathetic to their basic values.

    The Atlantic: How Copyright Makes Books Disappear. Here’s where intellectual property law is “broken”- it creates an undeniable gap in access to creative work. Want to find a new book originally published before 1910 – no problem. Want to find a new book originally published between 1920 and 1980 – good luck.

    My inner 14-year-old self rejoices: There is a Kickstarter campaign to revive Leisure Suit Larry.

    Music this week from Detroit’s own Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. – “We Almost Lost Detroit”:

  • Sermon: Palm Sunday/April 1, 2012

    “Journey to Hope: Celebration and Sorrow”
    Mark 11:1-11
    Michael Mayo-Moyle
    Byron First United Methodist Church
    April 1, 2012
                One Sunday a pastor told his congregation that the church needed some extra money and asked the people to prayerfully consider giving a little extra in the offering plate. He said that whoever gave the most would be able to pick out three hymns.
    After the offering plates were passed, the pastor glanced down and noticed that someone had placed 3 $100 bills in offering. He was so excited that he immediately shared his joy with his congregation and said he’d like to personally thank the person who placed the money in the plate.
    A very quiet, elderly, saintly lady all the way in the back shyly raised her hand. The pastor asked her to come to the front. Slowly she made her way to the pastor. He told her how wonderful it was that she gave so much and in thanksgiving asked her to pick out three hymns.
    Her eyes brightened as she looked over the congregation, pointed to the three best looking men in the building and said, “I’ll take him and him and him.”
    Today is sort of a strange Sunday in the life of the church where one major religious day, Palm Sunday, falls on a significant secular one, April Fool’s Day. What I didn’t realize until this week is that the celebration of April Fool’s is almost as old as Palm Sunday, and possibly even older. There is a tradition in ancient Persian history of a day devoted to pranks and jokes celebrated around this time of year that dates back to 536 B.C. In Rome, they celebrated the festival day of Halaria – a day of laughter and joy – on March 25, and in the book Canterbury Tales, which dates back to the 1300s, there is a possible reference to April Fool’s day, and there are fake tickets inviting people to come and see the “washing of the Lions” at the Tower of London that date back to April 1, 1686.
    And while a couple months ago I had no plans to even refer to this being April Fool’s Day – my plan was to keep this day “dignified” and “serious” since it is the beginning of Holy Week, by the end of this past week I’ve come to realize that there is no real way to avoid it. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 4:10, “we are fools for the sake of Christ,” and as Christians I think it is good to embrace that foolishness.
    I’ve never been one who has really gotten into April Fool’s Day – I’ve never been one who got into putting salt into the sugar bowl, or Saran Wrap on the toilet, and most of the time I’m not even that good at remembering jokes… but I think there is something important, maybe even holy in laughter. Because, humor, when it is done well has the ability to speak truth to power, in ways that sometimes aren’t always possible directly; it also has the ability to humble us, remind us that we aren’t perfect, and helps us acknowledge our faulty assumptions and the mistakes we make. Humor, at it’s very best, is about challenging our expectations and the very way we see the world around us.
    And, really, I think that is what is happening in today’s Scripture. Think about what really in happening here. First, Jesus tells two disciples to go into a village and ‘borrow’ a colt that has never been ridden, and in case anyone questions why they are taking the animal, all they need to say is, “The master needs it, and he will send it back right away.”
    Think about that for a moment. As Leonard Sweet notes, “Borrowing” a valuable animal, a pristine, unbroken young colt, was frowned upon and punished in first century Palestine as seriously as horse-thieving was in the Old West. If you were in the disciples’ position, even if you knew and loved Jesus and had seen the miracles, how would you react if he told you to go into town – you’ll find a 2012 Ford Mustang there with the keys in the ignition, bring it to me and if anyone asks just say, “The Master needs it.” Would you do it, or would you think, maybe just a little, that this sounds like a crazy request – would you expect Jesus to say, “Just kidding!” or “April Fool!”
    It seems unbelievable, but the disciples do as Jesus requests – they go into town, find the colt, are questioned by some people, offer their explanation, and bring the colt to Jesus.
    Then listen to what happens next. Verses 7 and 8 say, “They brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes upon it, and he sat upon it. Many people spread out their clothes on the road while others spread branches cut from the fields.”
    Now often we think of this act of people removing their cloaks as a sign of honor and respect, which is it. But think of what is happening in a more practical and person sense – these people are removing their outer garments of clothing to welcome Jesus. Listen to how Leonard Sweet explains it. He says, “To remove one’s cloak in public was a more revealing, humbling action than simply taking off a coat. A cloak, whether fine or simple, revealed much about one’s social status and wealth. Among the poor a cloak was a daytime garment and a nighttime bedroll.” In Exodus 22 it talks about a person’s cloak as being acceptable collateral for a loan. So a cloak is valuable, it protects, it tells who we are, and for people to remove their cloaks when Jesus comes into Jerusalem is probably a much bigger deal than we realize. This didn’t leave the people naked, but close to it. Going back to Sweet, he says, “The garments worn under one’s cloak were simple and unadorned, skimpy even. In effect those who spread their cloaks on the road before Jesus were more or less standing around in their underwear.”
    Do you get what’s happening here? It’s almost a reversal of that old story of “The Emperor’s New Clothes” – the people welcome Jesus by taking off their symbols of status and wealth, and come close to “bearing it all” – being completely vulnerable, standing outside in their underwear, to honor him. It seems so foolish, but at the same time it is so beautiful. Such a powerful witness to who Jesus was, and is, when you really stop to consider it.
    Today when a politician or church leader comes into town we’re more likely to complain about how they are stealing the shirts off our backs through taxes and apportionments and policies we don’t like; only a crazy person would actually take their sweater or shirt off and stand around in their underwear to welcome someone like that. But with Jesus, maybe it’s different. Maybe we need to be a little crazy, maybe we need to be a little vulnerable to welcome him into our lives. Maybe we will look foolish, but I know it will be worth it. (Now having said all that, I am speaking metaphorically and I do expect everyone to keep all their clothes on this morning, you can welcome Jesus in your underwear, but I don’t need to see it).
    The Scripture goes on to tell us that “Those in front of him and those following were shouting ‘Hosanna! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessings on the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest!”
    The people are quoting, in part, Psalm 118, verse 25, and that Hebrew word, “Hosanna!” literally means “save, now” or “save, I pray” – they are calling out to Jesus for salvation, for the healing of the nation and the restoration of the kingdom.
    Again, really try to get this picture in your mind, this group of people have stripped down to their undergarments, they are now wearing the simplest, humblest, of clothes – some are ahead, some are behind, and right in the middle is Jesus, an ordinary looking, humble, carpenter, riding in on a young donkey. Lemar Williamson writes in his commentary, “Jesus enters as the lowly one, hero only to a motley rabble, but ironically more of a king than they think.”
    The scholar Marcus Borg speculates that this entry of Jesus into Jerusalem would have been in sharp contrast to another that would have been happening on the opposite side of the city around the same time. He says, “The meaning of Jesus’ mode of entry is amplified by the realization that two processions entered Jerusalem that Passover. The other procession was an imperial one. On or about that same day, the Roman governor Pontius Pilate rode into the city from the opposite side, the west, at the head of a very different kind of procession: imperial cavalry and foot soldiers arriving to reinforce the garrison on the Temple Mount. They did so each year at Passover, coming to Jerusalem from Caesarea Maritima, the city on the Mediterranean coast from which the Roman governor administered Judea and Samaria.
    He says, “Imagine the scene as Pilate’s procession entered the city, a panoply of imperial power. Weapons, helmets, golden eagles mounted on poles, sun glinting on metal and gold. The pounding of horse hooves, the clinking of bridles, the marching of feet, the creaking of leather, the beating of drums, the swirling of dust. The eyes of the silent onlookers, some curious, some awed, some resentful.
    “Jesus (as well as the authors of the gospels) would have known about Rome’s policy of sending reinforcements to the city at Passover. His decision to enter the city as he did was what we would call a planned political demonstration, a counterdemonstration. The juxtaposition of these two processions embodies the central conflict of Jesus’ last week: the kingdom of God or the kingdom of imperial domination. What Christians have often spoken of as Jesus’ triumphal entry was really an anti-imperial entry. What we call Palm Sunday featured a choice of two kingdoms, two visions of life on earth.” (From Marcus Borg Jesus: Uncovering the Life, Teachings, and Relevance of a Religious Revolutionary pg. 232)
    Now sometimes I think Marcus Borg takes things a little too far, and turns Jesus into too much of a political radical, but I do think there might be something about this picture of vivid contrast Borg paints here. Two very distinct parades, happening at around the same time, maybe a day or two apart – one filled with might and wealth, weapons of destruction and all the markings of earthly power, and one filled with humility, simplicity, a guy on a donkey surrounded by a bunch of half-naked people, it’s such the opposite of what we expect it ought to make us laugh… and the joke is, we know who the real king is, we know which one really holds the power that matters. It’s foolish by all the world’s standards, but we know it to be true.
    Verse 11 of today’s text ends simply with the declaration that “Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. After he looked around at everything, because it was already late in the evening, he returned to Bethany with the Twelve.”
    Of course, we know that’s not the end of the story. In the verses and chapters that follow, Jesus overturns the tables of the moneychangers, he teaches and gets into arguments with the religious leaders, he eats with a leper, is blessed by a woman who washes his feet with costly perfume, and celebrates the Passover with his friends. But then, he is betrayed by Judas, slandered by the religious scholars and leaders, denied by Peter, handed over to the Roman authorities, mocked, beaten and hung on a cross. See, even in the joy of this day, we must acknowledge the pain that is to come. And I’d strongly encourage you to read those sections of the Bible this week, and invite you to join us for the Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services.
    There is such a fine line between laughing and crying… and I’m sure you’ve experience both those tears of joy and tears of sorrow; maybe even times when your sorrow has turned into laughter, or your laughter has triggered some deep sorrow or pain. It’s part of what makes us human. If you’ve ever heard interviews with famous funny people, famous comics you’ll quickly learn that many of them came from very hard lives, and turning their pain and anger into laughter was a coping mechanism for them.
    We need to acknowledge both those feelings and live into the whole range of feelings that are presented in the Gospel. So we move from the joy of this day into the darkness of Good Friday, until we at last arrive into the even greater joy, beauty and victory of Easter.
    There is an old ancient custom, in the Orthodox Church, and even some of the Catholic churches from the middle ages where in the evening of Easter Sunday, or on the Monday after Easter, everyone would gather at the church to tell jokes and funny stories. And they did this to celebrate the fact that Lent was now over; that the time of fasting and repentance had come to an end, but they also did it, it is said, for a deeply theological reason. That in Jesus’ victory over the forces of wickedness and death, God played the greatest prank on the devil that has ever been accomplished. The resurrection is the celebration that God has the last laugh. St. Thomas More once said that “The devil… the proud spirit… can’t endure being mocked.” And so the people laugh because of the great reversal, because everything isn’t what it appear, because we are humbled and joy-filled in all that Christ is done.
    Brothers and sisters, may you know this joy in your hearts, and on this Palm Sunday, may we all be fools for Christ. Amen.

  • Christ as a Leadership Crisis

    I don’t really fall into the UMC’s “Good News” camp, but in this month’s Good News Magazine there is a great article from Will Willimon on “Christ as Leadership Crisis” (I’ll try to link to the electronic version of the article when it becomes available. Here’s a couple highlights:

    “As bishop I am frequently reminded by the Holy Spirit that Jesus was crucified through the leadership of people like me, persons in positions of spiritual authority over others. As bishop, I’m closer to Caiaphas thank to Saint Paul. Therefore I have found it a salubrious practice to have close by me King’s ‘Letter from a Birmingham Jail,’ written by King to someone just like me.”

    And:

    “According to Matthew 25, there will be surprises for all of us at the Great Assize. (In my worst nightmare it’s me before the throne of Judgement asking, ‘Lord, when did I see you?’ and the King looking down at me saying, ‘Surprise. Inasmuch as you smart-mouthed, castigated and ridiculed the Institute on Religion and Democracy, you did it unto me.’)”