The Role of Clergy

What do we define "clergy" to be?  What is the role of clergy?  Have you ever asked this question as it pertains to the clergy of your own church or religious sect?  Not as easy as it seems.  Historically the roles are much different in some faiths than today, and even today we find rebellious factions looking for a more up-to-date definition, or a return to tradition.

What is clergy?  Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines clergy as "people (such as priests) who are the leaders of a religion and who perform religious services."  This is a fairly general definition for clergy as a whole.  Do you agree with it?  For Christianity, for instance, does this meet with the desires of Jesus for his disciples?  I missed the part of his teaching that lays out a program for leadership and a grand plan for ownership of billions upon billions of dollars' worth of cathedrals, gold, art, banks, and a city state in Italy.  Maybe it's just me.  They should spread the word of their faith; perform the ceremonies required by their faith, and...

"If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.  Then come, follow me."  -- Matthew 19:21

Have you seen the followers of Christ that wander the streets in robes and sandals, spreading the word of God while living off the charity of others?  I see expensive vestments, gold rings, palatial living quarters and first class accommodations.  At what point in Christian history did we lose our way, and what excuse did they use for doing it?

Let's look at some examples of clergy.

Oxford Biblical Studies Online addresses Priests and Priesthood in the Hebrew Bible this way:

Throughout the Hebrew Bible, the term priest (kōhēn) is commonly used to refer to an official who was set apart from the rest of the community in order to carry out certain duties associated with worship and sacrifice. As "ministers of the LORD" (Joel 1:9; 2:17), priests functioned as mediators of God's presence and were responsible for the day-to-day operation of cultic sites, whether the tabernacle, local shrines, or the Temple in Jerusalem.

Hey!  That's pretty simple, huh?  Let's take a peek at Christianity.  Which would you like, the Catholic version or the Protestant?  Either one will give you the flavor as they aren't all that different so let's go with the Protestant first so we can give the Catholics a break.

Protestant:  Priest, Pastor, Minister Chaplain Preacher, Reverend, Bishop, Apostle, Deacon, and Elder.

Catholic:  Priest, Vicar, Dean, Monsignor, Pastor, Minister, Chaplain, Preacher, Reverend, Deacon, Elder, Bishop, Pope, Primate, Archbishop, and Cardinal.

We actually see the term "Apostle" in the Protestant list.  On the Catholic list a bishop is considered the successor of the apostles.  The definition of duties is different.  On the Protestant side an apostle holds to the tradition as one sent out to spread the Word.  A Catholic bishop on the other hand is the overseer of the diocese or district.  These titles are not necessarily in any order and all of them have their own specific responsibilities.  Is this rank structure peculiar to Christianity?  No.  Christianity may have taken it to all new ridiculous levels, but all religions have some hierarchy which God whispered into one of the faithful's ears as the way to organize religion, fill the coffers, and maintain control of hearts and minds.  Was this the intent of Christ on Earth?  Do you honestly, really believe that?

What of Islam?  An imam is akin to a minister.  The imam guides and teaches about the faith and performs associated rituals.  Anyone one can become an imam as it requires no prerequisites!  Okay, this is going to jump up and bite me for the obvious reason that, when you allow insane imams into positions of responsibility where they can trick the faithful into believing bullshit about their own prophet, you risk the destruction of world peace which was not what Muhammad was all about.  Those that read my posts know I stand up for the true, peaceful, Islam; the Islam of the Qur'an, not that of the heretics that would excuse the killing of innocence for the sake of a misguided imam's interpretation of their Scripture.  Yet, their interpretation of what is required to be an imam is just what Christ envisioned.  We are all ministers.  All you have to do is believe, in something.

So, we have definitions, albeit a modern definition for some, of clergy.  Other than the roles just described, which is pretty accurate when you see that Pope Francis also recognizes the issues, give me another one.

Pope Francis has shown himself to be a rebel, an instrument for change on several levels.  He wants clergy to remember what was asked of them and to stop driving fancy cars and living expensive lifestyles.  He wants them to get back to serving humanity and bringing people to God.  His view on how to accomplish this means reevaluating old school thought on gays, abortion, and the outward appearance of the church to the people.  His ideas on how to bring people back into the church has stirred up a firestorm of controversy and, truth be told, we were sorely in need of it.  Controversy means people are thinking, and if they're thinking about the church, they're thinking about God.  Basically he wants the clergy to get out there among the people and do their job.  His own Vatican is fighting him on this.  Not the staus quo.

The Universal Life Church would define a minister thus:

The Universal Life Church (ULC) is the only religious and spiritual denomination in the world which opens its doors to all and welcomes all who ask to get ordained. The ULC Monastery grants ordination without regards to an individual's religious and spiritual beliefs." 

The Universal Life Church Monastery makes as its goal the promotion of interaction between various religions and the free exchange of ideas to the end that each faith tradition can benefit humankind.

All of the ideas and concepts expressed are debatable. The sections for individual faith traditions express the most common or popular beliefs of each faith’s practitioners. Anyone who disagrees with a claim set forth in this selection are welcome to take part in discussion on the forums of the Universal Life Church Monastery, where every opinion has a voice.

The Universal Life Church (ULC) is the only religious and spiritual denomination in the world which opens its doors to all and welcomes all who ask to get ordained. The ULC Monastery grants ordination without regards to an individual's religious and spiritual beliefs. 

Understanding the parallels between various religions might be the only way for one to learn what is unique about any one faith.  The Universal Life Church Monastery makes as its goal the promotion of interaction between various religions and the free exchange of ideas to the end that each faith tradition can benefit humankind.  All of the ideas and concepts expressed are debatable. The sections for individual faith traditions express the most common or popular beliefs of each faith’s practitioners. Anyone who disagrees with a claim set forth in this selection are welcome to take part in discussion on the forums of the Universal Life Church Monastery, where every opinion has a voice.  The Universal Life Church Monastery invites each of its ministers to define religious terms as they see fit.

Now, granted, you purchase your ordination.  For some this is a joke.  Some Catholic priests like to diddle little boys.  Everyone holds themselves to a certain standard.  Some ministers of the ULC are much more qualified to minister than those trained in seminary to do so.  

So what is the role of clergy?

Those ministers in my group don't know.  We are, all of us, searching for answers.  We do know that it isn't the abortion of Christ's words that organized religion says it is.  It isn't to bilk the faithful out of their life savings so we can live in luxury while they want.  We are, regardless of religious or spiritual affiliation, pastors.  We are shepherds for our individual faiths and beliefs.  We should hold no higher designation, title, or expectation of respect than that of a guide on a tour bus.  We are here to assist people along their path, in getting from point A to point B.  The rest is up to them.  We can't save them, any more than a pope.  They have to save themselves.  This is the true role of clergy.  

Aspiration

ASPIRATION: To have a great ambition or ultimate goal; desire strongly for something of high value as to aspire to fame; to yearn (for) or have a powerful or ambitious plan, desire, or hope (to do or be something): to aspire to be a great leader; to strive toward an end: aspiring to great knowledge; to rise up; to soar.

Aspiration was a discussion topic on the monastery site a few years back.  The introduction put forth by the discussion facilitator was this: This morning a young musician was being interviewed and she was asked, "What is your aspiration?" She replied, "To be happy."  Is it that simple?  We think we're so much better than the young, yet these young people are not jaded and beaten down by years of struggle.  Perhaps we simply forget what it is to aspire to something better.  Perhaps it really is that simple, and we lost this simplistic focus somewhere along our path.

Many of our group involved in the discussion chimed in with responses and comments, including yours truly.  It wasn't difficult for me to find answers or comments, but the discussion did make me think, and when I think, I usually screw myself into doing a post.  Well, let's get to it then.

Is the young musician's answer really that simple?  I remember she was very young.  I would love to know just how young, as her simple answer showed understanding beyond her years.

We can always take the copout of saying, as it relates to religion, to aspire is a sin unless it is for the greater glory of God, in which case almost everybody is going to hell. The argument can also be made, that any endeavor one aspires toward shows what we are capable of and this action of working toward our aspirations, in itself, demonstrates the greater glory of God. I like the latter argument, as it puts the onus back on us, without fear of judgment, to define and work toward our aspiration.

“Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.”

-- Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), poet, musician, artist

As I stated, for me this was a no brainer.  I spent years aspiring to be this or that.  In the military and the civilian business world, I aspired to get the highest ratings for the men and women who worked under me.  But I was making one large mistake.  The one thing I kept missing, what I kept forgetting, was to be me.  Sometimes our aspirations come at a cost when we forget to take some of the credit we so easily hand out to others, or when we work so hard for the few that we forget the many who love us.

I ended up giving so much of myself that I ended up with nothing left to give.  I couldn't even see that I was still giving even when I was in emotional debt.  It cost me many possible friendships, it cost me a marriage, and I discovered I was never really happy.

"Too much sanity may be madness. And maddest of all, to see life as it is and not as it should be!"

-- Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616), author

You can aspire to great heights, and this is can be a good thing.  It can be a better thing if you can take you with you on the journey.  There is nothing sadder, to me, than to see a Ph.D. blow twelve years on education and not be happy because they don't remember who they are, or never took the time for self-discovery.  If you aren't happy before the journey, you probably won't be happy during the journey, or at the end.

For me, and I think for this young musician, the initial definitions of who we are, are at least as important as the final definition of who we become.  The trick is not to forget where we came from as we journey to where we are going.  I would be willing to bet this young musician rises up each morning - and soars!  We need to learn to love ourselves early in our lives and let every morning become our aspiration, our happiness.  I really think, in this way, life becomes simple.

“To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but at what he aspires to.”

-- Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931), poet, writer, artist

Many of us spend our entire lives working, simply to survive.  Our only aspiration is to just get through another day.  If we really consider the definition of aspiration, I think we'd understand that this is not.  Aspiration isn't about just getting through another day; it is about making the next day better, and the day after that.  It is about soring!  It would be better if we made each day of our lives about the journey we are on and not settle for just sitting at the station, waiting for the impetus to move forward.  Carpe diem!  We must always seize the day!

Are aspirations a good thing, or should we just take what life deals us? Are we a bump on a log or a tree soring toward the light? Maybe we should take a moment and consider what we truly aspire toward, and then move toward it.

“Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp,

Or what's a heaven for?”

-- Robert Browning (1812-1889), poet, playwright

Editor's Note

(Re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card)

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider an alternate viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion, in an arena of mutual respect, concerning those opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with the premier, world renowned, Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved in pharmaceutical research. Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, and wages his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteers as lead Chaplain and Chaplain Program Liaison, at the regional medical center.

Sermon for Sunday - April 27, 2014: Is there no one left to speak out?

Martin Niemoller (1947)

Als die Nazis die Kommunisten holten,

habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Kommunist.

Als sie die Sozialdemokraten einsperrten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Sozialdemokrat.

Als sie die Gewerkschafter holten,
habe ich nicht protestiert;
ich war ja kein Gewerkschafter.

Als sie die Juden holten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Jude.

Als sie mich holten,
gab es keinen mehr,
der protestieren konnte.

When the Nazis came for the communists,

I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

--  Martin Niemoller

I'm still not so sure there's anything more you can add to this to understand the dangers we still face today.  We, all of us, have learned nothing from World War II except how to ignore the lesson of it.  We ignore this horror because it was so, well, horrible.  Some total loons deny it ever happened.  The memory of these events are not easy for those that endured them, why should it be easy for the next generations if we have not learned a thing from those that died.

"We have to remember, always, but it's never easy." 

-- Alberto Israel, Auschwitz survivor

There is no better way to remember than to constantly voice that which we know.  We have passed on our histories by word of mouth since the beginnings of speech, why do we find it so difficult to accurately pass down history now?  Political correctness?  PC is a way of twisting facts to meet what the people want to hear, not what they need to hear.  This is what facilitated the Holocaust, to begin with.  

We must listen to the survivors of horror.  We must listen to the words of those that fight and die, and the children that watched and survived.  We must document these facts for posterity before we lose these precious survivors to the march of time.  We must learn from them the lessons we need so desperately to move forward, find peace, and survive this new, ever-changing world.

"I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation.  We must always take sides.  Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.  Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.

-- Elie Wiesel, Auschwitz, Buna, and Buchenwald survivor.

We don't teach history today like we did when I was a child.  Even then the truth was tempered by politics and race.  When we don't teach our young we do them a devastating disservice.  We give them a ticking bomb and no tools to disarm it.  We try to convince ourselves that this is for the best, but then we look around and see what our ignorance has done to the world around us; to the country around us.

"Today I see that when there is a disaster, they send people to a psychiatrist or a psychologist.  We had to work out our own problems.  As parents we were overprotective to our children.  My eldest daughter was accepted at an Ivy League college, but I was afraid to let her go away from home to school.  We were afraid to let our children know too much about our past."

Eva Galler, death train escapee and survivor

We, America, are tired of being the "police force" for the world.  But we must ask ourselves, if not us, who?  Who will take over this thankless mantle of peacekeeper, the inept United Nations?  They play the game of our current president by drawing meaningless lines in the sand.  Today we see them sending relief to battle-torn areas only to find the relief went to the aggressor and not the hapless victims.  We are America, for better or worse, and we have nothing to be ashamed of as long as we are serious, and united, in our endeavors.  

"Some mornings I wake up and I am so worn out I cannot go to work.  I am free but I am still in the concentration camp.  You go through it again and again.  Whenever I hear singing, God Bless America, I have to repeat several times: God bless America.  That's freedom.  Nobody is going to bother me here anymore."

Joseph Sher, Cieszanow labor camp survivor

What we do should make us proud.  It is patriotism that is failing due to poor leadership, not because of who we are.  We will always be Americans, at least until we're not.  Makes you think.

God bless us all, and God bless the victims of the Holocaust.

Monday is "Holocaust Remebrance Day"

Note:  This is a re-post of a previous paper I did a few weeks ago.  I felt it was necessary.  The point being, EVERYONE should think it is necessary!  This wasn't just about atrocities visited upon the Jewish religion and the Hebrew people, this was about turning a blind eye to intolerance.  This is about ignoring an insane military machine bent on world domination.  This is about why we stand for those that can't stand for themselves.  

I will politicize this, though I hate doing it because I feel this isn't the forum, but there are those in this country that would see us weakened to the point of being a target.  They forget history and what happens to those that are weak.  It is happening in Syria, and we turn away.  It happened at our embassy in Libya, and we buy the bullshit.  The Russians are pressing the test in the Ukraine and even Europe seems to have forgotten the cost of looking away.  Wake-up America and never forget:  Freedom comes at a price! 

"There is a Christian morality, there is a human morality which imposes duties and recognizes rights. These duties and rights are derived from the nature of men. It is in the power of no mortal to suppress them. Women, men, fathers and mothers are treated like as vile herd, members of the same family are separated from each other and shipped off to an unknown destination; it has been reserved to our times to see these sad spectacles.

Jews are men and women. Foreigners are men and women. There is a limit to what can be permitted against them; against these men, these women, against these fathers and mothers. They belong to the human race. They are our brothers like so many others."

-- Father Jules-Gerard Saliege

Holocaust Remembrance Day Monday
(Yom HaShoah)
April 27-28, 2014

"Monsters exist, but they are too few in numbers to be truly dangerous.  More dangerous are...the functionaries ready to believe and act without asking questions."  

-- Primo Levi, chemist, author, Auschwitz survivor 

CAUTION:  I made this photo as small as possible to give you the choice of whether to enlarge it.  At full size it is a very disturbing reminder of absolute evil loosed upon the world.  A page of history some would rather forget.

We are supposed to remember history.  The reason we learn history is to try and head off the inevitability of bad history repeating itself.  History is supposed to teach us to learn from our mistakes, as well as our successes.  How are we to learn if we don't teach it?  How are we teach if we don't remember it.

With the state of our educational system in the U.S. today, it is a wonder our children learn anything, especially when there are those who would change history for "political correctness."  For instance, an African-American helping to raise the flag at Iwo Jima.  Never happened, but it is politically correct to include this segment of society in the historical moment.  I found it humorous when watching the latest remake of The Sound of Music to see the Mother Superior of the convent was a black woman.  Really?  This story was set in Austria in the late 1930's just prior to the annexation of Austria to Nazi Germany.  The premise of the Mother Superior of an Austrian convent being black during this time period would have been more interesting to follow than the novice Maria or the family Von Trapp.  Hell, Hitler would have had an aneurysm.  But I digress.

Yom HaShoah begins the evening of Sunday, April 27 and end the evening of Monday, April 28.  There are those who would have us believe the Holocaust never happened.  These are the same loons that claim the moon landing was filmed on a back lot in Hollywood.  We built phony showers in concentration camps and outfitted them with phony Zyklon-B gas canisters.  We dug phony mass graves and outfitted them with hundreds of phony emaciated corpses.  We built brick and concrete phony furnaces and reams of phony Nazi paperwork supporting the entire facade of a "Holocaust" because that's what we do in order to justify going to war against an insane dictator hell bent on world domination.  Some how I just don't think so.  All this kind of unreasonable talk does is prove to the rest of us there are still psychopathic "functionaries" in the world with way too much time on their hands.

"The sad and horrible conclusion is that no one cared that the Jews were being murdered.  This is the Jewish lesson of the Holocaust and this is the lesson which Auschwitz taught us."

-- Ariel Sharon

Simon Wiesenthal once said, "God must have been on leave during the Holocaust."  Many people have asked how God could allow such evil to happen.  Did we not eat of the apple?  Did we not disobey God and, in doing so, lose paradise?  Yet, we blame the evil that men do - on God!  How human of us.  We were told by Christ in John 16:13 that there would be evil, "In the world you will have tribulation;" and only in Christ will we find peace. 

"Therefore, we might best respond by saying that God does not Will "bad" things to happen in life. Rather, "bad" things happen in the freedom that comes with the gift of life. When "bad" things happen to any of God's children, God is grieved and suffers with us, experienced most vividly in the hurt and suffering of Jesus the Christ for all humanity. Any "bad" thing which happens is never the last word. Rather, God is the deepest and last word, and that word is love and eternal life with God.

-- The Rev. Dr. Douglass M. Bailey

What the Nazi regime did to the Jews during "medical experiments" was an atrocity unto itself and fairly well publicized.  But, while what happened to the Jews during WWII bears our continued attention, what is lesser known are the activities of the Japanese and their Unit 731.  Activities of this unit could teach Dr. Mengela a thing or two about sick and twisted.  Their work would make for a terriffic present day horror film.  I won't go into graphic description but will cite as an example the amputation of a limb without anesthesia, and reattachment to the other side of the body.  I try to imagine myself on an operating table, fully conscious and no pain killers or anesthesia, watching this happen.  For more information and specifics I would recommend wikipedia.com and search "Unit 731."  A Google search will enlighten you with much more information you probably will not want to know.

If you think giving Nazi rocket scientists a free pass into the U.S. to assist with our space program was questionable, check this out.  After Japan surrendered, General MacArthur secretly granted immunity to the physicians of Japan's Unit 731 in exchange for providing the allies with their biological research.  Somehow it seems to me the world became complicit in the atrocities at this point.  Basically, these horrors are excusable as long as you give us the data.  One wonders if they were given carte blanche to continue this research as a "black program" for our government at some secret location under a large city with a sizable homeless population.  Hollywood loves this stuff.

I have said this many times before.  God has given us the tools we need; it is up to us to use them.  If we don't learn from the horrors of the past we are surely doomed to repeat them.  Is this what we want?  Look at the recent torture in Syria of women and children, or the annexation of Crimea.  Our recent european history is rife with mass graves due to mad men looking for a final solution.  The horrors are still with us.  The evil still haunts us.  We repeat history by turning a blind eye and doing NOTHING!  My only response to those that think God doesn't care is, "Why should He?  We don't."

Elie Wiesel was a survivor of Auschwitz, Buna, and Buchenwald.  He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (yes, Obama, he actually did something to deserve his), the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Congressional Gold Medal, National Humanities Medal, Medal of Liberty, and many more.  I leave this post and my readers with a quote from Mr. Wiesel, and a hope that we never forget, or try to rewrite, our past.

"For the dead and the living, we must bear witness."

Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo is not a celebration of Mexico's independence, though it would seem to be the only day they don't celebrate independence from someone.  

When I was living in Mexico there was yet another parade in downtown Manzanillo.  I asked one of my Mexican acquaintances what the celebration was.  He told me it was for independence.  I told him we already celebrated that a couple of months back, in September.  He shrugged his shoulders, smiled, and told me that was celebrating independence from Spain.  I told him it seemed to me they have an awful lot of celebrations for independence.  He laughed and said, "Everybody wants us!  Can you blame them?"

So, it is no surprise that we confuse the 5th of May with an Independence Day celebration.  It is, in fact, a commemoration of an 1862 victory of the Mexican army over the French at the Battle of Puebla.  In Mexico the only people that hold this holiday in great esteem are the locals around Puebla.  Others across the country celebrate it, but Puebla holds it dear.  We, and our Mexican brethren here in the U.S., have turned this minor holiday into a time of festival and celebration of Mexican heritage and culture.  Somewhere along the line historical fact took a down day and the truth of Cinco de Mayo was blurred.

But, ya gotta love the Mexicans.  Anything for a party!

In the words of General Ignacio Zaragoza Sequin, in a single line letter to President Juarez after defeating the French at Puebla:

"Las armas nacionales se han cubierto de gloria"

("The national arms have been covered with glory.")

Consequences Unintended

“People like to say love is unconditional, but it's not, and even if it was unconditional, it's still never free. There's always an expectation attached. They always want something in return. Like they want you to be happy or whatever and that makes you automatically responsible for their happiness because they won't be happy unless you are ... I just don't want that responsibility.”

-- Katja Millay, author, educator

Every decision has a risk of unforeseen consequences. Every action we take runs the risk of unforeseen damage. The ripples we cause, during just one day, have the possibility of causing untold destruction. As is usual in life, the good and the beauty we create can be taken in stride, barely noticed, and unmentioned, but if you create just one turd watch how quickly people notice, loudly proclaim a foul, and take offense.

We travel through our lives like the little old lady that cuts you off in traffic.  Bless her pea-pickin' heart, she has no clue of the death and destruction she leaves in her wake.  So it is for many of us as we plow through the garden of our lives, not realizing when we cross the property line into our neighbor's yard.  These are unintended consequences and, often times, being unintended does nothing to ease the heartache or the anger.  Our desire for understanding comes later, if at all.

“Lots of things can be fixed. Things can be fixed. But many times, relationships between people cannot be fixed, because they should not be fixed. You're aboard a ship setting sail, and the other person has joined the inland circus or is boarding a different ship, and you just can't be with each other anymore. Because you shouldn't be.”

-- C. JoyBell C., author

When I was in high school I, like most young men, fell madly in love.  In reality, I didn't know love from the back seat of a Toyota, but it felt "madly" to me.  After a couple of years, she just walked away and wanted nothing to do with me; no explanation other than I saw her with someone else a few days after.  Thirty years later I finally, unexpectedly, catch up to her at a class reunion.  We danced and I was able to ask her why.  Someone told her I was seeing another girl behind her back.  What?  Who?  Rumors and propaganda ruled the day, yet no one bothered to fact check.

"Rumours should be juicy and gossips must be mouth-watering since they have to uplift and make people feel better. Tittle-tattle can have a swift ripple effect and when the ball is rolling very fast, it kick-starts a flood of moral destruction."

-- Erik Pevernagie, artist, writer

Turns out someone had seen me with this other girl, and don't I just wish there was merit to it.  But, there wasn't.  This other girl and I were just friends.  But, that didn't stop my "girlfriend" from taking the rumor as fact and running with it.  Of course, the fact she was with another guy just a couple of days later didn't escape my notice.

I thought about her for thirty years.  My first true love.

“When you don't talk, there's a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said.”

-- Catherine Gilbert Murdock, author

Unintended consequences of decisions and actions, taken with or without much thought and for all the right or wrong reasons, by you or by someone else, and without question or explanation, could probably be mitigated with just a smidgen of honest, upfront, communication.

I make such decisions myself, without much thought, as guilty as everyone else.  The difference for me is two-fold; my recognition of countless tsunami-sized ripples radiating from my mistake, and my sincere desire for damage control through opening up all lines of communication.  In the aftermath, it's always a good idea to wade into the damage and see if anyone is hurt and to, for God's sake, apologize for any misunderstanding.

Sometimes we just aren't paying attention.  My own attention span seems to suffer a deficit, from time to time.  I'm like the little old lady in traffic, or like the proverbial bull in a china shop.  I have instances where the first inkling I have that something has gone horribly wrong is when I realize I'm standing there like a deer in the headlights as someone's emotional Mack truck runs my ignorant ass over, backs up, and runs over me again.  I get an emotional butt whippin' all the time, and sometimes I think they're really targeting someone else, but I happen to be available.  When someone is pissed, it seems any stationary target will do.  I think I need remedial training in the art of bobbing, weaving, and just getting out of the way.

Maybe I should just learn to grow roses.

“And each ripple builds and builds into the tidal wave of anarchy to which we are now doomed.”

-- Brian Michael Bendis, comic book writer and artist

We all need to be cognizant of the ripples we cause that affect others around us. It would be even better if we could learn to think ahead before we make a decision, act upon the decision, or open our big mouths. My mouth is one of my biggest faults. Mom always said my mouth would get me into trouble, and I find a perverse need to masochistically keep proving her right.

We could all become hermits and grow roses, or we could grow thick skins and learn to communicate with one another.  We should learn not to judge until we have all the facts.  Besides, one wouldn't think giving fresh roses would help smooth things over with men, although, nowadays...

“Listen with curiosity. Speak with honesty. Act with integrity. The greatest problem with communication is we don’t listen to understand. We listen to reply. When we listen with curiosity, we don’t listen with the intent to reply. We listen for what’s behind the words.”

-- Roy T. Bennett (1939-2014) businessman, politician

Editor's Note

(Re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card)

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider an alternate viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion, in an arena of mutual respect, concerning those opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with the premier, world renowned, Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved in pharmaceutical research. Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, and wages his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteers as lead Chaplain and Chaplain Program Liaison, at the regional medical center.

An Easter Prayer

Jesus, you have overcome death

And conquered every fear I could imagine

Help me to live each day remembering that You are alive

That You are bigger than anything or any situation

And that Your power is real 

Jesus, you're my hero and I'm walking with you.

Amen.

God bless each and every one of us this day as we remember the sacrifice made on our behalf, the gift of forgiveness, and the promise of everlasting life in the Kingdom of Heaven.  I give thanks this day to our Lord Jesus Christ for suffering so much during those final hours in order to purchase for us this gift.  

I pray this, with all the humility of a sinner, in Christ's name. 
Amen

Sermon for Sunday - April 20, 2014: Going Home

“How often have I lain beneath rain on a strange roof, thinking of home.”  -- William Faulkner

“Home is the nicest word there is.”  -- Laura Ingalls Wilder

What makes a home?  When I grew up it was "My Three Sons,"  "Leave it to Beaver," "Father Knows Best," and "Lassie."  It was small town America where you grew up, worked, and retired.  A place where you knew everybody your entire life and you married the girl next door.  But, that was television, and this is reality.

Home is where your heart is.  Home is where you hang your hat.  You know who believes that?  People on the move, is who.  People going places, people who have forgotten what a home is, and people like me who never really forgot, but just didn't know how to get back.  It has taken me my entire life to find out how.

I was born in 1953 at Keesler Air Force Base Hospital, Biloxi, Mississippi.  I'm a native son of the South, or I was, for about a year.  Compton, Buena Park, Long Beach, Pacific Grove, Salinas, Victorville, and Sacramento wraps up my California history.  After a couple of tours overseas, I came to Washington State; Spokane and Olympia.  A couple of years in Mexico for some well-deserved attitude adjustment, then back to Olympia.  Is it any wonder I didn't want to drag my family all over the world.  I made a decision for my kids that they should have some stability, right or wrong it turns out they really didn't.  The marriage failed and my family was torn apart.

The Vietnam era draft put a voluntary end to my piece of the "Great American Dream."  I put several more nails in the coffin but, I would not trade a day of it.  I love my country.

What makes a home?  I think its roots, a place in the sun, and lifelong neighbors and friends.  A house you bought for $20,000 that in now worth $350,000.  It's a house with a white picket fence that you've painted every few years for the past fifty years.  The wood in it can't rot because it's hermetically sealed in paint!

What makes a home is something that has eluded me.  I have kids, grand kids, a failed marriage and the way to beat "you can never go home."  June of this year I am going home.  Granted its a few miles west of Keesler, but it's closer to the beach.  And, I will be there with my parents.  I will have come full circle.  This time I will have the honor of assisting them as they grow older, as they did for me when I was young.  I have never understood the term, "giddy with anticipation."  What I know of the south I have learned from my visits.  What I am beginning to realize is that this is where I have always belonged.  I am an example of my favorite saying, "American by birth, Southern by the grace of God."  I understand it now.

“Child, child, have patience and belief, for life is many days, and each present hour will pass away.  Son, son, you have been mad and drunken, furious and wild, filled with hatred and despair, and all the dark confusions of the soul - but so have we.  You found the earth too great for your one life, you found your brain and sinew smaller than the hunger and desire that fed on them - but it has been this way with all men.  You have stumbled on in darkness, you have been pulled in opposite directions, you have faltered, you have missed the way, but, child, this is the chronicle of the earth.  And now, because you have known madness and despair, and because you will grow desperate again before you come to evening, we who have stormed the ramparts of the furious earth and been hurled back, we who have been maddened by the unknowable and bitter mystery of love, we who have hungered after fame and savored all of life, the tumult, pain, and frenzy, and now sit quietly by our windows watching all that henceforth never more shall touch us - we call upon you to take heart, for we can swear to you that these things pass.”  -- Thomas Wolfe, "You Can't Go Home Again" 

------------------------------------------------------------------ 

"There is a popular slogan in the South today: AMERICAN BY BIRTH, SOUTHERN BY THE GRACE OF GOD. You'll see it on bumper stickers, car tags, T-shirts, baseball caps, and just about anything that lends itself to printing. It tells something about us- how we feel, how we think, how we perceive ourselves. Southerners, who enjoy a reputation for being the most patriotic people in America, consider their southern status as something special, something above and beyond the good fortune of being American. It's the icing on the cake. 

Yes, there is something about the South. Oh, yes, just say it: "The South". The words hang heavy with dewdrops, honeysuckle, and magnolia blossoms. Steamboat 'round the bend. Fields of snowy white cotton. Southern belles. Smiling faces. Laughter on the levee. It's a storied land of romance and chivalry, fabled in legend and song and unlike anything known upon this continent. When you speak of the north, the east, and the west, you are speaking of a direction; but, when you speak of the South, you are speaking of a country, a time, a place. The Old South. Margaret Mitchell told us it was "gone with the wind" and to "look for it only in books, for it is no more than a dream remembered". But we refused to let go of it, and today it lives not only in books, but in our souls as well." -- Michael Andrew Grissom

Tetelestai and Why "Good Friday" is Good

Tetelestai.  It is what Christ uttered as he drew his last breaths on the cross, according to John.  "It is finished."  Tetelestai.  John wrote this, the Greek translation of an Aramaic word.  It is an accounting term meaning "paid in full."  With His death, He wiped mankind's slate clean; the debt of sin was removed from the books completely and forever.

So it's called Good Friday because our debt was paid for us?  That's the simplified view.  Justin Holcomb, an Episcopal priest, author, and teacher, takes a short paragraph to explain it quite well.  I have included a link to his paper if you'd like to read the entire article.

"The cross is where we see the convergence of great suffering and God’s forgiveness. Psalms 85:10 sings of a day when “righteousness and peace” will “kiss each other.” The cross of Jesus is where that occurred, where God’s demands, his righteousness, coincided with his mercy. We receive divine forgiveness, mercy, and peace because Jesus willingly took our divine punishment, the result of God’s righteousness against sin. “For the joy set before him” (Hebrews 12:2) Jesus endured the cross on Good Friday, knowing it led to his resurrection, our salvation, and the beginning of God’s reign of righteousness and peace."

http://www.christianity.com/god/jesus-christ/what-s-so-good-about-good-friday.html

"Jesus endured the cross...knowing it led to his resurrection, our salvation, and the beginning of God's reign of righteousness and peace."  That's something good, isn't it?  Yet, many ask where this peace is hiding.  It certainly can't be found throughout this world today.  Everywhere you look there is civil war, rebellion, invasion, genocide, torture, murder, and much of it being done in the name of the one true God.  Where is this peace and righteousness?  Look to Luke 22:34 and see if you can identify with Peter:

"I say to you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know me."

Just as Peter denied Jesus three times, so do we continue to deny Him today?  Ask yourself, where is the pious man who lives his life in the service of others?  When was the last time you spoke to God?  Who among us can honestly say our soul is prepared for His kingdom?  Christ was tortured and crucified to buy us a second chance and still we deny Him.  When I see Christians condemning other Christians because they disagree; when I see Christians damning all followers of Islam for the actions of a few; when I see followers of Islam killing other followers of Islam and innocent women, and children; I have to ask myself, why?  Why do any of us feel we deserve the love of the Father?  Even Pope Francis declares, with all humility, that he is a sinner!  Do any of us dare to think we can put ourselves before the pope, that we are more righteous?  I think not.

So, why is Good Friday good?  Because we have been given the gift of divine forgiveness, mercy, and peace and that gift lay at the feet of all of us.  We have only to open the box to enjoy it.  But, before you open this gift, ask yourself one more question.  Do you remember guilt?

I am a firm believer that nothing in this life comes without a price, even a gift from God.  It isn't God's toll for the gift.  The gift is free, to all mankind.  The toll is the inner guilt you will carry forever by accepting this wonderful gift knowing you have done nothing to deserve it.  Guilt is a heavy burden, heavy enough to make us deny ourselves entry to the Kingdom.  I firmly believe we make our own hell and we wallow in it until we find the path out.

On this Good Friday praise God that you have been given this fine gift, but don't forget it came at great cost to the world.  Try to be worthy of it.

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider another viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 23 years with United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with an Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects in pharmaceutical research.  Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, to wage his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteers as Chaplain Program Liaison, at a regional medical center. 

The Peace of Islam

I have been posting my thoughts on Islam for almost a year now.  Not much has changed, unfortunately.  The Qur'an is still considered by most of the non-Islamic world to be a "how to" book for genocide; an excuse to murder innocent women and children of, not only the infidel, but those of their own faith as well.  The insanity of radical, heretical, Islam is as confusing as the fact no factions of "true" Islam, the Islam of peace and love, has come out as critical against them in any loud, meaningful, declaration.  Is it any wonder the entirety of Islam is included as guilty in the eyes of the world?

I came across an interesting short article entitled, The True, Peaceful Face of Islam.  I have included a link to it below.  I recommend anyone with an interest in the other face of Islam to give it a look.  This is the Islam I remember growing up with.  This would be the Islam prior to the proclamations of the lead heretic Ayatollah Khomeini in the 1970's and 80's.

There has been a video making the e-mail rounds about how Islam will be the dominant religion in the world in just a few more years.  It is a call to arms against the Islamic threat.  Is there really an Islamic threat to the free world?  Yes.  But, let's be clear as to which faction of Islam is the threat, and just whom they are a threat to.  I sincerely believe that peaceful Islam will have to choose sides in short order or find themselves victims of their own silence.  We should remember Nazi Germany:

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out--
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out--
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out--
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me--and there was no one left to speak for me.

Martin Niemoller, Protestant pastor speaking out against Nazi rule

I ask peaceful Islam to grow a set of balls and speak out.  If not now, when?  We are, all of us, running out of time.

The True, Peaceful Face Of Islam

http://content.time.com/time

The Scars We Wear

“Nobody should be judged on their looks. Beauty is not found on the body but in the soul. The only thing the media has done is change the definition of the word. I mean, being attractive may make it easier to catch someone but being kind and loving is how you keep someone. Also, with make up it's like putting on a mask; some masks are creative and fun, most others are just used to cover who you really are up. Be yourself.”

-- Danyon Guthrie-lewis

Many times I've heard a woman cringe over a small scar while proclaiming in a tearful voice, "I look like Frankenstein!"  Well, first of all, I think we finally understand that mistake:  She would look like Henry Frankenstein's monster, not the good doctor.  The actor, Colin Clive, was fairly handsome for his day.  He can rest easy... and in peace.

My mother went through a "scarring" episode when I was much younger, back in the days of the "safety razor."  Safety was all about the razor, not the double-edged blade.  There was nothing safe about the blade that went into the razor until it was actually in the razor.  It was a double-edged scalpel you held on the flat, between thumb and index finger, when loading and unloading the razor.  There were no other uses for this micro-thin blade other than to shave with it, perform surgery, or cut someone's throat.  Committing murder would probably result in your fingers getting sliced up worse than the victim.  

Mom, however, somehow saw this dangerous implement as a feathering tool for her hair, which worked if you didn't put cheekbone meat in the way of it.  A thin half-inch slice later, and the sky fell in.  Oh, the wailing and the crying.  She made such a commotion over how scarred up she was going to look my dad and I had to laugh at the absurdity of it, which didn't make the situation any better.  Women are so touchy, and Men don't take scars too seriously. 

“Scars have the strange power to remind us that our past is real.”

-- Cormac McCarthy, author, playwright, screenwriter

To most men, scars are proof of manhood, something to be shown off or compared sometime after the first six-pack.  For my mother, you'd think the world, as she knew it, was coming to an end.  Thankfully, her insignificant little scar faded to be almost unnoticeable with the help of a few surgical tape sutures used for superficial cuts.  This was a good thing, as she couldn't keep brushing her hair over that cheek forever.

As I've aged, I noticed women tend to take scars less seriously as they age.  Scars become more "proof of life" instead of hidden horrors.  Women also start comparing and showing off their scars to each other, especially when alcohol is involved, and depending on where the scar is located, men are content to sit, watch, smile and shake our heads at the humor of it.

“Children show scars like medals. Lovers use them as secrets to reveal. A scar is what happens when the word is made flesh.”

-- Leonard Cohen (1934-2016), singer-songwriter, poet, author

But still, we all tend to take scars much too seriously in this "open-minded" modern world.  As with Frankenstein's monster, we forget beauty is more than just skin deep.  Who we really are is found on the inside, and scars can be a way of bringing that out.  We find that Dr. Frankenstein is the true monster, and that monster which we fear may be more a part of us than we care to admit.  We see outward scars and turn away, many times not even looking past them for the beauty inside.  Sometimes we get so caught up in our lust for some outward beauty, we overlook the fact that this may simply a bandage hiding some hidden, inner scars cut into the psyche as deep by life as by the sharpest blade.  

Most scars can heal with proper treatment.  How we psychologically deal with scars is directly proportional to how ugly they can be.  As ugly as it looks on the outside, the pain on the inside can be many times worse and made more so if we are shunned by those around us who we looked to for fellowship and understanding.  By the same token, someone with great physical beauty can hide severe inner pain requiring as much tenderness and understanding as someone with the most horrific of scars.  Somewhere in-between the two are the rest of us, and perhaps we should count our blessings and learn to be more compassionate.

“I think perfection is ugly. Somewhere in the things humans make, I want to see scars, failure, disorder, distortion.”

-- Yohji Yamamoto, fashion designer

None of us are perfect, yet we are all children of God.  As such, we are all beautiful in our own special ways.  Who are we to judge another child of God?  To do so we question God's purpose, God's reason.  Perhaps scars are God's test.  

Perhaps the test is for all of us.

“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.”

-- Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931), writer, poet

Editor's Note

(Re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card)

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider an alternate viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion, in an arena of mutual respect, concerning those opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with the premier, world renowned, Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved in pharmaceutical research. Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, and wages his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteers as lead Chaplain and Chaplain Program Liaison, at the regional medical center.