Advent 1
November 27, 2022
Hell No, We won't go
These words were often chanted at sit-ins and other demonstrations against the Vietnam War during the 1960s. It is certainly one that I have heard more often than "Draft beer, not boys." It expresses a firmness of position that many other slogans in this book would oppose as they suggest suppleness and open mindedness when dealing with others. I have heard a playful modern updating of this chant used by those opposed to increased taxation, "Hell No, That's My Dough!"
Isaiah 2:4
He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
There are many images of peace throughout the Bible and peace is often described as much more than the absence of war. The fullness of the Hebrew word, Shalom, simply doesn't translate into any one English word. Those who opposed the Vietnam War or those who oppose any war do so with a variety of motivations. Yet, one can easily see that if you accept God's vision that "Nation will not take up a sword against nation" then it is an easy next step to say that comes down to individual and one cannot both participate in war and follow God's will. There are times and places to "go to the wall", "be inflexible" and "hold fast." The reason I am a Quaker is that I feel no option but to worship with people who share this conviction.
Advent 2
December 4, 2022
Explore every avenue
The words to Climb Every Mountain in The Sound of Music are pretty straight forward. Here is the last verse.
Climb every mountain,
Ford every stream,
Follow every rainbow,
Till you find your dream.
The song is sung at the end of the first act when Maria must decide to follow her religious vows or to follow Captain Von Trapp. When the show ends and the Von Trapps depart, the Nuns sing the song again. Expressions like this or "leave no stone unturned" speak of thoroughness but not just being measured in quantity but also by honesty and depth which could be understood as quality. Exploring every avenue expresses the same principle as that expressed in Step 4 of the Twelve Steps with the words "a searching and fearless moral inventory."
Matthew 3:2
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."
I had a drug overdose experience where I spent many hours wandering a huge festival site with only a loose grasp on what was real and what was hallucination. I decided to approach an evangelist for help. We spoke for a while. The conversation made sense and if wasn't for all the photographers dressed up like 1950s journalists who kept snapping pictures as we spoke I could trust my recollection of the conversation. I do remember his most important words, “Don't mess with repentance.” Was I completely hallucinating and were these biblically inspired words just something I grabbed from my subconscious? Are hallucinogenic drug experiences the only way to die to our ego so we can hear the truth of God more clearly? Did God lead me to choose the right guy who knew the right thing to say? All of the above! I can't let these questions matter. What matters is that my heart was drawn to Matthew 3:2 and has stayed there. Repentance is to be serious and thorough. It should climb every mountain, ford every stream, follow every rainbow and more.
Advent 3
December 11, 2019
Hope springs eternal
While I cannot imagine he was the first person to use the phrase, Alexander Pope is most commonly connected with it, in his Essay on Man of 1733. “Hope springs eternal in the human breast: Man never is, but always to be blest: the soul, uneasy and confined from home, / Rests and expatriates in a life to come.” Pope appears to be offering this as the nature of the human, rather than a prescription for behaviour.
Isaiah 35:1-2a
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,
the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly,
and rejoice with joy and singing.
These words begin an extended set of images where nature is reframed as a place with no more threats and with abundant sustenance. This passage is not good news for jackals, lions and other predators as their way of life is over! If we acknowledge the human species as predatory, this passage is a warning rather than a comfort. If hope springs eternal, we need to ensure we are not on the opposite side of hope!
Advent 4
December 18, 2022
There are no coincidences
I've heard it said, "talk to God and you are pious, hear God respond and you are psychotic." In the same way one can be seen as insightful, intuitive and spiritually alive when the recognize and interpret coincidences but the same characteristics can be seen as signs of psychosis. Overvaluing connections and fixating on coincidences are at the heart of many delusional beliefs.
Isaiah 7:10-12
Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying,
Ask a sign of the Lord your God;
let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.
But Ahaz said, I will not ask,
and I will not put the Lord to the test.
Ahaz may be quite genuine in offering God respect in not wanting to make demands. In fact, Jesus himself quotes from Deuteronomy (6:16) when he says "we should not put God to the test." (Luke 4:12) God responds to Ahaz by giving Ahaz a sign and sparing the dance of whether it is polite or respectful to ask. Not only does God give signs, God, in this case, insists upon it. It does not follow that God is always giving signs. It does not follow that everything is a direct and unique communique from God. In fact, the word co-incidence, understood literally, just means that two incidents happen simultaneously. Some might have great meaning that we are foolish to ignore, but we soon look foolish if we demand from God that every coincidental act be profound. I can only attempt to resolve these understandings with some phrases that occur elsewhere in this book. Different strokes for different folks, No harm, no foul and It's all good could be invoked. It does not strike me as something worth arguing about. We can never know for sure and to simply celebrate and give God thanks when we receive a coincidence as a gift makes more sense than trying to win a debate as to how two things happened to co-occur.
November 27, 2022
Hell No, We won't go
These words were often chanted at sit-ins and other demonstrations against the Vietnam War during the 1960s. It is certainly one that I have heard more often than "Draft beer, not boys." It expresses a firmness of position that many other slogans in this book would oppose as they suggest suppleness and open mindedness when dealing with others. I have heard a playful modern updating of this chant used by those opposed to increased taxation, "Hell No, That's My Dough!"
Isaiah 2:4
He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
There are many images of peace throughout the Bible and peace is often described as much more than the absence of war. The fullness of the Hebrew word, Shalom, simply doesn't translate into any one English word. Those who opposed the Vietnam War or those who oppose any war do so with a variety of motivations. Yet, one can easily see that if you accept God's vision that "Nation will not take up a sword against nation" then it is an easy next step to say that comes down to individual and one cannot both participate in war and follow God's will. There are times and places to "go to the wall", "be inflexible" and "hold fast." The reason I am a Quaker is that I feel no option but to worship with people who share this conviction.
Advent 2
December 4, 2022
Explore every avenue
The words to Climb Every Mountain in The Sound of Music are pretty straight forward. Here is the last verse.
Climb every mountain,
Ford every stream,
Follow every rainbow,
Till you find your dream.
The song is sung at the end of the first act when Maria must decide to follow her religious vows or to follow Captain Von Trapp. When the show ends and the Von Trapps depart, the Nuns sing the song again. Expressions like this or "leave no stone unturned" speak of thoroughness but not just being measured in quantity but also by honesty and depth which could be understood as quality. Exploring every avenue expresses the same principle as that expressed in Step 4 of the Twelve Steps with the words "a searching and fearless moral inventory."
Matthew 3:2
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."
I had a drug overdose experience where I spent many hours wandering a huge festival site with only a loose grasp on what was real and what was hallucination. I decided to approach an evangelist for help. We spoke for a while. The conversation made sense and if wasn't for all the photographers dressed up like 1950s journalists who kept snapping pictures as we spoke I could trust my recollection of the conversation. I do remember his most important words, “Don't mess with repentance.” Was I completely hallucinating and were these biblically inspired words just something I grabbed from my subconscious? Are hallucinogenic drug experiences the only way to die to our ego so we can hear the truth of God more clearly? Did God lead me to choose the right guy who knew the right thing to say? All of the above! I can't let these questions matter. What matters is that my heart was drawn to Matthew 3:2 and has stayed there. Repentance is to be serious and thorough. It should climb every mountain, ford every stream, follow every rainbow and more.
Advent 3
December 11, 2019
Hope springs eternal
While I cannot imagine he was the first person to use the phrase, Alexander Pope is most commonly connected with it, in his Essay on Man of 1733. “Hope springs eternal in the human breast: Man never is, but always to be blest: the soul, uneasy and confined from home, / Rests and expatriates in a life to come.” Pope appears to be offering this as the nature of the human, rather than a prescription for behaviour.
Isaiah 35:1-2a
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,
the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly,
and rejoice with joy and singing.
These words begin an extended set of images where nature is reframed as a place with no more threats and with abundant sustenance. This passage is not good news for jackals, lions and other predators as their way of life is over! If we acknowledge the human species as predatory, this passage is a warning rather than a comfort. If hope springs eternal, we need to ensure we are not on the opposite side of hope!
Advent 4
December 18, 2022
There are no coincidences
I've heard it said, "talk to God and you are pious, hear God respond and you are psychotic." In the same way one can be seen as insightful, intuitive and spiritually alive when the recognize and interpret coincidences but the same characteristics can be seen as signs of psychosis. Overvaluing connections and fixating on coincidences are at the heart of many delusional beliefs.
Isaiah 7:10-12
Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying,
Ask a sign of the Lord your God;
let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.
But Ahaz said, I will not ask,
and I will not put the Lord to the test.
Ahaz may be quite genuine in offering God respect in not wanting to make demands. In fact, Jesus himself quotes from Deuteronomy (6:16) when he says "we should not put God to the test." (Luke 4:12) God responds to Ahaz by giving Ahaz a sign and sparing the dance of whether it is polite or respectful to ask. Not only does God give signs, God, in this case, insists upon it. It does not follow that God is always giving signs. It does not follow that everything is a direct and unique communique from God. In fact, the word co-incidence, understood literally, just means that two incidents happen simultaneously. Some might have great meaning that we are foolish to ignore, but we soon look foolish if we demand from God that every coincidental act be profound. I can only attempt to resolve these understandings with some phrases that occur elsewhere in this book. Different strokes for different folks, No harm, no foul and It's all good could be invoked. It does not strike me as something worth arguing about. We can never know for sure and to simply celebrate and give God thanks when we receive a coincidence as a gift makes more sense than trying to win a debate as to how two things happened to co-occur.