Gentleman Agitator

Let the Zombies Sleep in Northern Ireland

“...It's the same old theme since 1916
. In your head,
 In your head they're still fightin'
. With their tanks
 in your head they are dying...In your head, in your head,
Zombie, zombie, zombie,
Hey, hey, hey. What's in your head,
In your head,
Zombie, zombie, zombie?
        -“Zombie”, The Cranberries, 1993

    Last evening, at midnight, saw the end of what the army of the United Kingdom called “Operation Banner”. As a Christian and as Britophile, I gave thanks that this tragic chapter in history has now seemed to pass.
    For thirty-eight years, the British army tried to keep at bay its own citizens from killing each other. According to the BBC, Operation Banner was, “…the Army's longest continuous campaign in its history with more than 300,000 personnel serving and 763 directly killed by paramilitaries…”
    For those years, the army was either welcomed or hated, trusted or feared, alternately from both sides. These were sides made up by people who claimed their God was the real God, their Jesus was the real Jesus, and their church was the real church. Throw in the bitter root of who was really British and who was really Irish being decided by the gun and the bomb, and it led to nothing but death and destruction.
    As a Christian, I always found this conflict pure insanity. Many people in Northern Ireland it seemed to me, never read scripture, never knew the Lord, and instead picked up the sword. If Christians cannot agree one thing, that Jesus is our savior, son of the living God, the prince of “peace”, what do we have? That one thing unites us. If we let anything else stand in the way of that, it’s time to turn in our vestments, our usher badges, put down the hymnals, empty the baptismal cistern of holy water and cancel the potluck next week. It is time to close the doors of the church and lock them. For if the Catholic and the Protestant cannot be brothers and sisters in Christ, we have turned our backs on Him.
    I always felt sorry for British troops in Northern Ireland and for the ordinary citizens who chose to try to live their lives in peace.
    The BBC report also said, “…The former Archbishop of the Church of Ireland, Lord Eames, said the sacrifice made by soldiers made possible a political settlement in Northern Ireland.
    He said: "History has now enveloped all that. Life has moved on but in ways which would not have been possible without the sacrifice, courage and devotion of those whose lives were taken. Let us remember with quiet pride and quiet admiration those who gave so much…”
    Yes, let us remember them and all innocent civilians that died. While even now, I cast a wary eye at the trustworthiness of Gerry Adams and Ian Paisley and their ilk, at least now there is a chance for peace. What about the rest of Christendom?
    Sadly, last month, Pope Benedict via a new Vatican document that everyone who is Protestant or Orthodox do not belong to “proper Churches”. Uh huh, as a Presbyterian, I guess I do not count.
    A Times of London article reports, “The document said that the Orthodox Church suffered from a “wound” because it did not recognize the primacy of the Pope. The wound was “still more profound” in Protestant denominations, it added.
    It was “difficult to see how the title of ‘Church’ could possibly be attributed to them”, said the statement from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Roman Catholicism was “the one true Church of Christ”.... The document said that the Second Vatican Council’s opening to other faiths – including “ecclesial communities originating with the Reformation” – had recognized there were “many elements of sanctification and truth” in other Christian denominations, but had also emphasized that only Catholicism was fully Christ’s Church…”
    Sad, all I can say is, sad. Let’s hope a little of the peace that has been found in Northern Ireland can spread to the rest of Christ’s disciples today. I pray so.

Happy Earth Day from the Moon

This Earth Day 2007 essay was written by me for the Sunday service at First Presbyterian Church, Bloomington, Indiana on April 22, 2007.

On Christmas Eve 1968 two brothers Jeff, ten years old and Tim, six years old, were captivated as the crew of Apollo 8 sent fuzzy television images from the Moon. The crew of Apollo 8 were the first three humans to look back at the Earth from so far away. That night, they read from the first book of Genesis as the crescent of the small, blue orb came into view above the lunar horizon. They started reading, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

These words took on a new clarity as the Earth was seen in the vast firmament of space. How small it seemed. How fragile it seemed. How special that God had created this home for us.

Jeff and I used to dream of what the future held. As children, we had such hopes, such dreams for the future fueled by the moon landings and science fiction. Through science fiction, we were usually presented with two futures. One future was a world devastated by war, pestilence, or pollution. The other was a future where we humans had overcome these obstacles and were living in peace and taking care of our world.

I must admit that now in our forties, my brother and I have become rather disillusioned. We never expected some of the bad things that fiction told us could happen, or really would happen. But they did and they are. Whether we want to believe it or not, the Earth is faced with serious changes to its air, land and water. It’s what is commonly known as “Global Warming.”

But what does this mean to Christians? In Genesis, God creates the Earth for mankind. Chapter 1, Verse 28 in one Bible translation reads, “Fill the earth and bring it under your control.”  Another translation reads it, “Fill the earth and govern it.” Yet another reads, “replenish the earth, and subdue it…” What is God charging us here? I think an old school interpretation would mean to, “use as we see fit, or use up as if there is an infinite amount of resources.”  I think its meaning is closer to this phrase in our church mission statement. It reads, "Be good stewards of God's creation."

Taking this statement and putting our faith into action, a small group ministry of a dozen people, including myself, has formed here at the church. We call ourselves, “Earth Stewards.”

As individuals and as a group we pledge to become better stewards of God’s creation, despite the rather daunting challenges ahead. And yes, they are daunting.

Now, I could stand up here for a long time and recite the facts and figures about carbon emissions, vanishing glaciers, polluted air, rising sea levels, rising temperatures, and how time is running out turn the tide.  It can all seem overwhelming.  I know it does to me at times. But that does not mean I am without hope. It does not mean I feel there is nothing we can do.  It does not mean I will sit by, live in fear, and do nothing. We must act, not only for ourselves in this generation, but for the next and future generations. And I know that God is with us in this work.

The Earth Stewards group was formed to come up with practical ways for each of us to make a difference. Not only are we seeking ways to make a difference in our personal lives, we are also making a difference right here with our church family. We are starting with action steps for Earth Day. These steps include:

1) Enhance and increase visibility of recycling efforts at the church by placing recycling bins in classrooms and common areas like Lyman Hall

2) To the extent possible, use recycled paper (post-consumer content) for printed items generated by the church, such as the Visitor and Sunday bulletins

3) Put the Visitor on the web site, and ask those who are willing to read it on-line to sign-up to be taken off that mailing list.

4) Continue efforts to carpool, bicycle or walk to church. This is what we’re calling the Car-less challenge.

Discussion has also begun in conjunction with the Property Committee on the possibilities of other such green improvements as low-flow toilets and on-demand water heating.

Want to know more? Read the May “Visitor” newsletter to find out how to access the Earth Stewards website. Also coming in May, we’ll have on both the website and in print form tips for simple strategies for one person or a whole family on :
Light Bulbs, Plastic Grocery Bags, Car-Pooling, Expanded Recycling Options and Trees & Gardens. But wait! There’s more! Speaking of trees and gardens, next month the Earth Stewards will offer a special program on landscaping. And if you check the insert in your bulletin this morning, you find that we’re going to have an Earth Stewards outing to the T.C. Steele Site, next Sunday, April the 29th.

I will leave you by paraphrasing the last words of that Christmas Eve message from space in 1968: "And from the Earth Stewards, we close with, Happy Earth Day, and God bless all of you - all of you on the good Earth."

Holy Week Meditation 2007

Why?
I, like many have often asked.
Why did you have to die?

You could have saved yourself.
Jesus save yourself!
Instead, for me, you saved yourself.

You were crowned with thorns.
You picked up a scepter of a wooden beam.
To the cheers of derisive scorn.

Long road, with each step is each sin.
You take everyone’s deadly ways upon your back.
I dare you, what did he take of yours hidden within?

The nails go in.
The metal rings against the metal.
Your human pain with each strike you bore more sin.
Now, I see you in my heart as I often do.
You are propped up on the cross.
I weep in shame, in humility, for you.

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,” you say, heart fading away.
Lord, I am guilty! I am not worthy!
Yet, you plead for me at the end of your day.

Condemn no one your state at death’s door.
To condemn, is not to understand you oh Jesus.
To condemn anyone, is to deny you once more.

Why did you have to die?
Soon, I will remember again.
I will then, with tears of joy cry.

“Jesus Christ lives today!”
Your mission truly revealed to me.
May I remember that in my heart, all my days.