A unique moment

An historic day as the first African American is sworn in as President of the United States. But this is not the unique moment I am referring to. Before he spoke, before he was sworn in, Pastor Rick Warren began the ceremony with a prayer – a great prayer reminding us of God’s actions throughout history. A cracking prayer:

Then he led the world in saying the words of the prayer that Jesus prayed, and the words he taught us to pray. The Lord’s prayer which acknowledges God’s Sovereignty, asks for His kingdom to come into the world, and calls  for each person to recognise their place in that by turning away from evil, asking for forgiveness and offering it to others.

As Rick Warren led this prayer at the beginning of the ceremony which was being beamed around the world watched by probably hundreds of millions of people, many of them praying along with him, I wondered, was this the moment in history when more people were praying this for God’s Kingdom at the same time than at any other moment in history. Powerful stuff.

Poverty and contentment

Some things have struck me recently about poverty.

1. In Barack Obama’s book, Dreams from my Father, towards the end he recounts his visit to Kenya for the first time, the nation of his heritage. Although his father and grandfather are both dead, he meets many other relatives including his grandmother, some aunts, half-brothers and sisters, and many other more distant relatives. Some are doing well, others are struggling to make ends meet.

On one of his visits, travelling with his half-sister Auma, he came through a town when his uncle lived. She was surprised at what she saw.

“What’s happened here, Sayid?” Auma said after we were out of earshot. “There never used to be such begging”

Sayid leaned down  and cleared away a few fallen branches from between the rows of corn. “you are right,” he said” I believe they have learned this thing from those in the city. People come back from Nairobi or Kisimu and tell them, ‘You are poor.’  So now we have this idea of poverty. We didn’t have this idea before. You look at my mother. She will never ask for anything. She has always something that she is doing. None of it brings her much money, but it is something, you see. It gives her price. Anyone could do the same, but many people here, they prefer to give up”…

I thought about what Sayid had said as we continued to walk. Perhaps he was right; perhaps the idea of poverty had been imported to this place. a new standard of need and want that was carried like measles, by me, by Auma, and Yusuf’s archaic radio. To say that poverty was just an idea wasn’t to sat that it wasn’t real; the people we’d just met couldn’t ignore the fact that some people had indoor toilets ot ate meat every day, any more than the children of Altgeld [a deprived area of Chicago] could ignore the fast cars and lavish homes that flashed across their television sets.

This is not to say that poverty didn’t exist, but the idea of poverty – having less than others, has destroyed their sense that they can live on their own. Suddenly, there were new things that they needed, which they had been living without for years, without which they now considered themselves poor.

2. I was reading that book whilst on holiday in Spain, visiting friends. Since we last saw them, they have bought a new car. Their old one had literally packed in (couldn’t even part-exchange it), and they wanted to start a family, so they invested in a new car. It was a comfortable, spacious, shiny family car. I found myself looking at it, comparing it to our smaller car, and wondering whether we should upgrade. Of course, there is really nothing wrong with the car we currently own, and there is no good reason to exchange it. It was simply being seduced by a bigger, newer thing.

3. The tenth commandment talks about this desire to continually want the new thing. It says

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land, his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” (Deut 5:21).

Perhaps this commandment was not put there for God’s own amusement, but for our benefit. God knows what we need, and by not desiring or coveting things that other people have, we are saving ourselves a lot of worry and heartache, we resent our own situation less, and we will be happier in the present.

The apostle Paul says:

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” (Phil 4:12)

– he wrote these words from a prison cell. Perhaps part of the secret to his contentment was a lack of covetousness. By not dwelling on his situation when compared to others, and by living in the real present rather than the possible future, he found contentment. He realised that in God he has everything he needs. “Thou shalt not covet” and we’ll be happier for it.

What makes a good speech

As someone who speaks regularly, I found this article interesting which looks at Barack Obamas speeches and askes what makes them successful.

They basically claim that it is a combination of evoking history and a sense that we are greater than ourselves. This is done through words and phrases that echo former great leaders. It is also down to his manner, calmness and self-assuredness when speaking. And also the range of delivery, speed, pitch and phrasing.

“His style of delivery is basically churchy, it’s religious: the way he slides down some words and hits others – the intonation, the emphasis, the pauses and the silences. He is close to singing, just as preaching is close to singing. All writing is a rhythm of kinds and he brings it out, hits the tune. It’s about the tune, not the lyrics, with Obama.” Philip Collins, former speech writer for Tony Blair, quoted in the same article.

Evangelistic talk on hope

The following is a sermon I’m going to preach tomorrow at a small service where I know there will be a group of non-Christians there. I have about 10 minutes. I decided to base the talk on some thoughts I was having about the sense of hopefulness that has followed Obama’s election victory last week. I’d appreciate any thoughts.

—————

“Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.”

Quotes from Barack Obama’s victory speech in Chicago a few days ago. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one to be inspired by the vision that he cast. He talked about people coming together, to right the wrongs of society, to bring nations together in peace, to provide opportunities for those usually at the bottom of the pile. He talked about old divides being overcome, and looked to a new a bright future. Through determination, humility, service and Self-sacrifice.

In his victory, past battles have come to fruition. The spectre of racism is put behind them. The struggles of previous generations have paved the way for a moment like this, and now it is the turn of a new generation. There is hope!

I don’t know if you watched any of it, or saw the news coverage, but there seemed to be a new era of hope, not just in America, but throughout the world. He was the candidate the world had wanted to win.

Hope is a funny thing. Only one night has passed, but suddenly for many, the world seems a lot brighter, the future a bit more bearable, people are walking taller. There is a spring in the step. But what is hope? Simply an attitude change as we work together to achieve our common goals? I am hopeful for this president, that he pursues peace over war, and values listening and understanding.  But in four years time a lot might have happened, and then we will do election night all over again.

Human Desire

Why is the world so excited? Well, it seems that the vision that Obama is casting taps into a fundamental desire within us.

We want a world that is peaceful, where nations don’t need to fight each other.

We want to see justice – we love watching films where evil is defeated and good wins out. We want to see those on the margins of society have a opportunity to be better.

We want a relationships that a real, deep and long lasting. It is an innate, built in human desire.

That’s future that I yearn for, peace, security, justice, love and close-knit relationship. We hope for it, we long for it. These hopes seem to be a fundamental part of being human.

But why, in the 21st century is it still eluding us.

You’d have thought that with all the progress in technology, the medical advances made throughout the last century, that we’d be approaching this vision of love, peace and security that we long for. But we seem to  be further away from it than ever. Why is this hope so difficult to achieve?

Deeper Problem

This problem is summed up in this verse from the Bible that we heard earlier:

Rom 8:22 “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time”

Creation is groaning – the world doesn’t work as it should. We have glimpses of what it could be like – we can look around us at the beauty – but then creation seems to work against us in the form of hurricanes, earthquakes tsunamis, floods. It’s groaning, it’s broken.

And we, as humans are groaning. We experience the wonder of human relationships, of being with other people in close community. And there’s nothing better than being in love. But then with so many people we fall out, have arguments, say things we don’t mean… We’re generally selfish – and our relationships fail.

We experience the joy, and sense of achievement of doing something well, whether it’s writing, building or sport – but then in so many other things we fail. We’re groaning, we’re broken.

All of this groaning I’m going to call “Sin”. Sin isn’t just the fact that we do some things wrong, it’s our inability to become who we want to be.

We’re made for so much better than we’re capable of.

That’s why we have grand dreams – these hopes of a better world, better communities, and better selves, because we are made to be better.

But sin stops us from doing it. How can this be fixed?

The Solution

The only way that this can be fixed, is not from inside, but from outside.

Computers are useful objects but when our computers break, very rarely can they fix themselves. We have to get a man in toe re-programme certain things, or to taken the whole thing apart and replace a bit of hardware. They cannot fix themselves.

Similarly, the solution for a broken humanity has to come form outside of ourselves.

We’ve tried so many times through technology, politics, medical advances to fix ourselves, but ultimately we don’t get very far. The help needs to come from outside of ourselves.

And this is what God did. He entered into our humanity to fix it.

We hear the Christmas story of Jesus being born, and one of the names Jesus is given is Emmanuel – which means God with us. In Jesus, God entered into the human condition to fix us, because the only way for humanity to be fixed was for God to become human.

So what did Jesus do? He showed us that a life lived with God results in a life with joy, purpose and hope. He lives the perfect life and brought God to humanity. He helps us become the people we want to be

As we read the accounts of Jesus life, we see him, fixing – improving people’s situations – helping them to live, to love, to forgive, and in some cases, healing them from their diseases – showing that a better life was possible with God’s help. He gave people who had no hope, hope.

And fundamentally, he tackled this problem of sin.

We all know that Jesus was put to death on the cross, and that he was an innocent man. But the point is that he didn’t have to be put to death. He had plenty of opportunities to get out of it. But he chose not to. He chose to go through with it for the benefit of all humans. Why? Because by going through death he took all the failures and wrongs and the inadequacy of humanity upon himself. And God showed that all of those things were capable of being beaten by raising Jesus to life again on Easter Day.

Sin and death overcome. The longings we have for ourselves and the world can be met, with God.

So, where is hope, long lasting real hope? When we listen to inspirational visions of hope, like that we heard from Barack Obama on election night 10 days ago, we recognise the longing that God has put inside us that the world needs to be, can be better.

But we also recognise that these hopes are unfounded if we try to do it ourselves.

The longing that we have for a better world and a better life – those longings are all fulfilled in the person of Jesus, and what he has done for us on the cross.

Where is hope?  Hope comes from Jesus, Emmanuel – God with Us.

Hope

“Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.”

“This is our time – to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth – that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope”

Quotes from Barack Obama’s victory speech last night. He is an inspirational speaker, casting a vision for what could be and pulling people together. Hope. Service. Self-sacrifice. Determination. Brick by brick. Humility. Healing the divides.

Hope is a funny thing. Only one night has passed, but suddenly for many, the world seems a lot brighter, the future a bit more bearable, there is a spring in the step. Past battles come to fruition. Past wrongs seem to have been fully redressed. There is hope that the struggles of previous generations have paved the way for a moment like this, and now it is our turn to move it forward.

But what is hope? Simply an attitude change as we work together to achieve our common goals? I am hopeful for this president, that he pursues peace over war, and values listening and understanding. But in four years time a lot might have happened, and then we will do election night all over again. I am still hopeful.

The future that I yearn for, peace, security, love and close-knit relationship is possible. That is hope. And it is possible. Obama may get one nation a step closer to this hope, he may enable people and nations to live in greater peace with each other, but a fundamental problem remains and will always remain which he cannot fix. Us. Humanity. We hope for the future, but hang on too tightly to the present. We talk and occasionally act on self-sacrifice, but quickly resort to self-first. We try to be humble, but cannot help our pride.

Where is hope, long lasting real hope? Emmanuel. God with us. Embodying humility, self-sacrifice and service. Living for others. And fixing Us.

Vote

Vote on the issues. Vote because it’s your democratic right. Vote to cancel out your neighbours. For whatever reason, vote.

Can you be a Christian and a Democrat?

James Dobson of Focus on the Family thinks not, and he tries to push his point by misrepresenting Obama’s views and comments on lots of things. Scott McKnight does a good job of detangling some of Dobsons misrepresentations, as does St Benedict.

The website has a recording of the radio broadcast in question, although I could only find one half of the interview. They also conveniently have a video link to Obama’s speech in question, so you can judge for yourself.

The bulk of the interview is found here – first bit:

second bit:

It is interesting to see how Dobson is picking individual sentences of Obama and taking them out of context, rather than listen to the grand flow of what Obama was actually saying. Almost every clip of Obama that Dobson played was follower by Dobson reintepreting his words. Dobson frequently began ‘What the senator was saying was…” and then proceeded to give his own interpretation of Obama’s words. The most clear example is when Obama says “Whose form of Christianity shall we teach, James Dobsons or Al Sharptons?”, which Dobson took as equating the two, when he was quite clearly contrasting the two.

Dobson is quoted on his website as saying:

[Obama] went so far as to equate Dr. James Dobson with the far-Left Rev. Al Sharpton

This is to deliberately misquote what Obama said. Now it’s fine if Dobson of anyone else wants to disagree with what Obama was saying – I don’t agree with it all, what isn’t fine is to deliberately distort what someone is saying in order to back up what you believe.

From yahoo news, Dobson was quoted as saying.

Am I required in a democracy to conform my efforts in the political arena to his bloody notion of what is right with regard to the lives of tiny babies?” Dobson said. “What he’s trying to say here is unless everybody agrees, we have no right to fight for what we believe.”

Listen to the speech and you’ll find that that is not what Obama was saying at all. Why might he do this in the first place? Is he genuinely so afraid of what Obama represents as to lie about it? And why is Christianity so keenly tied up with the Republican party in the United States?

Have we created a substanceless world?

A few months ago, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, got into a bit of a media tangle over comments about making arrangements for religious law systems to be accommodated within UK law. His comments were quite detailed and in depth, and took a bit of listening to, had to be heard in context, and took some work to understand exactly what he was meaning. Unfortunately much of the media didn’t get that far. They heard one word. Sharia. And the media frenzy that followed seemed to focus on this word and soundbites.

Now, was Rowan right or wrong to say what he said? Perhaps using the word ‘sharia’ was unwise – he might have forseen the difficulties it would cause. Perhaps Rowan might learn to communicate in shorter sentences. But either way, my point is that the media at large did not take the time to understand what he was trying to say, but instead opted in favour of a sensationalist headline. Bound to get attention, but not necessarily reflect Rowan’s opinions.

Alex Kirby of the BBC wrote this about him, a few days afterwards:

“The first is his inability, or refusal, to say everything in the neatly-packaged soundbite most of the media now demand. It’s hard work understanding an archiepiscopal speech or sermon these days. But it’s always worth the effort, which has certainly not been the case with all his recent predecessors.” (from an article by Alex Kirby on the BBC website)

More recently, Barack Obama has been in the news. This time, not over things he said, but over things his pastor said. Pastor Jeremiah Wright was accused of being unpatriotic in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, that “America’s chickens are coming home to roost”. This quote was used as an example of what a bad pastor he must be, and hence what a bad President one of his congregations will make. However, once again, the soundbite does not do justice to the context. Without looking deeper, the intent of the quote is mistaken, and his real meaning is missed.

Anderson Cooper of CNN has quoted the relevant parts of the sermon here, and the youtube of the actual sermon can be found here. (The gist of the sermon was a call to social transformation and to examine your own life and society)

It takes time and investigation to discover the context of peoples’ statements. Life cannot be summed up in media soundbites or editorial comments. In trying to do that, we lose a lot of the depth, insight, and subtlety that is essential in thoughtful comment. We lose a lot of life’s substance and we are reduced to sensationalism

Barack Obama on funding faith based initiatives

Barack Obama has been quoted in an interview on saying this about if/whether/how he will support faith based initiatives if he gets elected:

“You know, what I’d like to do is I’d like to see how [the faith based initiatives have] been operating. One of the things that I think churches have to be mindful of is that if the federal government starts paying the piper, then they get to call the tune. It can, over the long term, be an encroachment on religious freedom. So, I want to see how moneys have been allocated through that office before I make a firm commitment in terms of sustaining practices that may not have worked as well as they should have.”(from an interview with Christianity today http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/januaryweb-only/104-32.0.html?start=2)

I think he is right on this – Christians are first and foremost citizens of God’s kingdom, over and obove allegiance to any national government or group. Our task it to demonstrate God’s kingdom to the world through acts and words of love. Nothing should hinder this. This does not mean Christians should not get involved in politics or whatever, but should be very aware that the priorities of politics, government, and nation are often very different from the priorities of God. A look at how Jesus reacts to these questions can tell us a lot. For example, (see Matt 22:15-22, Luke 12:13-21) he refuses to accept the basis of human, political, and legal questions in order to point his hearers to the characteristics that are in line with his kingdom. This his just an example of how different governmental and political concerns can be to those which Christians should be concerned about.

Sure, take the money and use it for good, but don’t let government call the tune.