No Animals Were Harmed

The other day I was telling someone about a humorous memory from back in my college days at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC. There were several dogs who hung around campus with whom I became acquainted. I named one "Pharaoh" that showed up at my door irregularly, but when he did, he simply hopped onto my bed and fell fast asleep. I don’t know how that got started, but he was one tired canine. Pharaoh was of mixed breeding, possibly with some Lab, as he had a beautiful shiny black coat.

On his first or second visit I discovered he almost was impossible to wake up. I don’t have a clue as to what he had been up to that wore him out so much, but he was zonked! For some reason I got the idea it would be funny to dress him up as he was sleeping on the bed. First, I put a tennis visor on his head, and he just lay there, unmoved and unmoving. Then I put gloves on his front paws, laid a tennis ball on top of one and a racquet on the other. Next, I put athletic socks on his rear legs. The dog never stirred once! I finished the ensemble with tennis shoes on his rear paws, and a pair of glasses on his face. I barely could contain my amusement. Reaching for my camera, I saw I was out of film, so I got my bicycle and rode – in the rain – to a convenience store to buy more. When I returned, everything was just as I left it. I took photos of Pharaoh the tennis player, ignoring the adage about what to do with sleeping dogs.

On his next visit, Pharaoh jumped right onto the bed, and soon was in dreamland. I put gloves on his paws again, a scarf around his neck, and sunglasses over his eyes. I recalled that Joey in the next room had a red bowler hat. His room was unlocked, and I helped myself. It was a good fit.

Something was missing, I thought. I put shoes on Pharaoh again, but still needed more to complete the look. I went back into the next room and looked around. On the dresser was a box of cigars. “A nice touch,” I decided, and took one of the cigars. Placing it in front of Pharaoh’s mouth, I was startled that he actually opened his jaws slightly and clenched the cigar between his front teeth! Otherwise, he never moved. Then, I ducked back into Joey’s room for one more prop – an empty whiskey bottle I saw on my last visit. I placed the bottle carefully on one of the gloves covering a paw. Voila! I got the camera out again. Somewhere, William Wegman was doing the same thing!

Again, I was amazed by how Pharaoh slept through it all. When I was finished photographing this slumbering dog, I returned Joey’s belongings to his room. I recall carefully placing the cigar, which had been in the dog’s mouth, back into its box.

Underqualified

The Revised Common Lectionary gives us a gift just about any time a reading from The Acts of the Apostles is assigned for a given Sunday. Today we had Acts 17, which tells of the Apostle Paul visiting Athens.

Apparently, many of the fine citizens of Athens were on a head-trip, and held up for consideration and discussion ideas, philosophies, and religions the way a wine connoisseur examines a cherished vintage -- gazing at it from all angles, marveling at its hue and tint, savoring its scent. These were idea people, and after sipping on notions for a while, swishing them around on their palates, they set them aside and turned their attentions to others.

We read in Acts 17 of the numerous icons and monuments to various religions in Athens, including an altar inscribed, "To an unknown god." Paul noticed this one in particular and, in a meeting with local intellectuals, took the opportunity to make the case for God who created Heaven and Earth.

Frankly, I can't be too harsh with the Athens crowd, because it seems to me that even we post-modern 21st Century Christians have difficulty understanding God. While some folks make a caricature of our faith, sometimes saying things like, "You worship a pretend old man in the sky," we ourselves devalue God by creating him/her/it in our own image.

It might not be too far from the truth if we also were to admit that God is "unknown" to us.

Is God a spirit? A being? An intellectual notion? Well, it depends on who you ask. What does God look like? It depends on, again, to whom you talk. Even Moses couldn't get a straight answer at the burning bush. When God said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and tell him to let my people go," and Moses wondered, "Whom shall I say is sending me," God replied,"I AM WHO I AM," or "I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE."

Thankfully, we have Jesus to reveal God to us. His words, priorities, and actions give us a picture of God. Prophets from Old Testament days were clued in to God, as well, looking at the world with God's sensibilities as a frame of reference. But, prophets said things that weren't always polite or soothing. The problem, then, becomes that people who understood a lot about God had a way of getting themselves killed.

My sense is that we never can or will fully understand God, and maybe God doesn't want us to, anyway. As much as God loves us and desires to be in relationship with us, there still is a division of labor here. We get ourselves into difficulty when we try to climb the ladder. The higher we think we're ascending, the deeper we sink into trouble. There is room enough only for one God.

Perhaps rather than making a run at God's job, we might pay attention to Jesus and the prophets, learning how to be the people God had in mind when God dreamed us up in the first place.

Who's There?

My mother recently died following four months of hospital and nursing home stays. During those stressful days, and especially at the time of her passing, my family and I were overwhelmed with cards, prayers, flowers at the funeral, e-mails, and other expressions of concern from our church, colleagues, and friends. All were greatly appreciated.

Additionally, my parents’ church, St. Stephens United Methodist Church of Burke, Virginia, has shown tremendous care and love to my family during this time, as well. They brought many delicious meals to my dad over the months of my mother’s struggles. The funeral service and reception afterwards were wonderful, and they continue to surround my dad with care as some of the church folks now drive him to his various doctors’ appointments. Some still even bring food! Since I live 900 miles away, this is a great source of comfort to me.

It’s such a blessing to experience the presence of God through the hands, feet, and hearts of God’s people when we face difficulties and loss in our lives. We see in their loving faces and kind actions the embodiment of the Gospel, that God does not abandon us; that God continues to bless us; that healing can occur and life is made new.

During our church's Taize’(tuh-ZAY)worship service last month, as I was meditating in the time of silence, I had the sensation that someone walked down the aisle of the chapel and stood next to me, as if having something to tell me. I actually turned and looked, but no one was there. On the drive home, my wife Mary, who was sitting in the pew behind me during the service, mentioned that she prayed for God’s presence in our lives as we were facing the numerous difficulties and crises in our family. She said that after her prayer, she had the feeling that someone came and sat next to her in the pew. When she looked, no one was there. It was striking to us both, especially when I replied, “I had the same experience.”

Upon later reflection, Mary observed that when she felt that presence next to her, and opened her eyes to look, she actually did see someone – it was the other gathered people of faith who were there in the worship service. She realized that God’s presence was found in them.

I think that’s something for all people of faith to remember, to look for, and to be – for indeed, we are God’s people. We are here for one another and for those we encounter and know elsewhere, as well!

Once More, With Feeling: Still Here, Or Back Again?

After a couple of years of writing this blog, I ceased and desisted for a period of a year or two -- I'm not even sure how long it has been. In any case, I am giving it another go.

I expect the subjects mostly will relate to faith and religion, but I'm not going to strictly limit myself. So, if anyone ends up reading what I write, you may find some variety of topics.

It is difficult for me to resist making facetious remarks about the recent prediction of the Rapture, scheduled for last Saturday, but now revised to occur the day after my birthday in October. One more shot at yellow cake with chocolate frosting -- my favorite!

Of course, the Mayans also figured it to be December of next year, and when the movie 2012 hit the big screen I saw only previews. What I couldn't understand was why the stars of the film were attempting to escape via airplane. My questions were: "Where are they going, if the world is coming to an end?" and "Why are they flying so low, dodging collapsing buildings and bridges? Why not gain some altitude and fly over all the obstructions in their path?" Perhaps if I bothered to see the film, those questions would be answered. I guess I'll never know...

Years ago, when I was in seminary in Indianapolis, my friend Clark Shearer and I actually visited a "Christian" bookstore downtown. Much to our amusement, the store was selling postcards featuring an artist's depiction of the Rapture. Of course, it was a 20th Century vision, not a biblical one, although a scripture reference was cited. Clark and I each bought several copies of the postcard and enjoyed reminding each other of it occasionally through the years.

It's a little frightening to observe people taking seriously such specific predictions, which, of course, have littered the Christian landscape for many, many years. Why such matters capture the attention of believers when it's so difficult to get some church folks to make a priority of the teachings of Jesus, escapes me. It seems to me that we all could stand to work on how we might give expression to Jesus' answer to the question, "Which commandment is the greatest of them all?"

Loving God and loving our neighbor as ourselves would go a long way toward our living in the Realm of God here and now. And maybe the end of the world, Judgment Day, or the Rapture -- whatever you choose to call it -- wouldn't be such a pressing concern.

Besides, as I said to several people, I never got around to arranging with an atheist to take care of my dog...