The Last Supper

Maundy Thursday is one day away. The Last Supper, the night when Jesus celebrated his last meal with his disciples was intense and solemn for Jesus. The disciples, some of them still not quite dialed-in to Jesus course, munch away. One of Jesus' inner circle is about to sell him out. There are various ways Christians have tried to capture that moment. The video here takes you on a relaxed tour of some of the world's most celebrated artists' depiction of that night. Some are classic art. One is a comedy.

I in the Sky

This photo from the Hubble telescope is of the Helix Nebula, nicknamed by some astonomers as "The Eye of God." It does look like an eye deep in space, looking our direction. Some find eye contact uncomfortable. How long do you hold it? How long should it last? Do you look at the whites of their eyes, dead center at the pupil, or study the color? It's a question that many people wrestle with every hour of every day. An artist in New York has a new exhibit on Times Square. Actually, it's 48 stories above Times Square and is five stories tall itself. The art work is called "I in the Sky". It shows ordinary people looking right into the camera making eye contact with the viewers. It shows 30 frames in 30 seconds with one person. The artist says "We just need more eye contact; it's what makes us himan." The only reason for the art is to communicate to people the need for eye contact. Click the post title and read the article at WIRED.com. It's very interesting.
There are many many Bible verses that talk about look, see, eyes, etc. But my favorite is Psalm 13:3

“Take a good look at me, God, my God; I want to look life in the eye, So no enemy can get the best of me or laugh when I fall on my face.”(The Message translation)

Reading God's Mind?

National Geographic reports that a new brain scanning program has opened up the very real possibility that, one day, scientists will be able to develop a devise that allows them to read a person's mind. Click the post title for the full article. Many will react to the idea as ludicrous and just too science fiction-like. But...people have for a long time thought they could do a brain scan on God, by carefully studying the Bible, and read his mind. Many do this even, or especially, when it comes to time and predicting the end. Many of us have seen tabloid leads like the one pictured here with new hard evidence, or a new reading of God's mind, to predict the end. There are bunches of books out there with some well illustrated timelines. Please always remember and never forget that it is not bad or wrong to wonder about the end of all time. Jesus' first followers wondered out loud to Jesus about hte very end. And do you remember what he said to them? He said, "That's not for you to know." Read Matthew 24:31-41, Jesus says no one knows, not the angels, not Jesus at the time, only God the Father. That end time stuff is God's business. It's God's job to take care of that one. I think that's pretty good news. In a world where there is so much to know, so much to be aware of, so much to take into consideration, God takes this one off our shoulders: Time. It's just not something we should concern ourselves with. It's really none of our business. And it's really nothing to be afraid of. More on that later.

A Narrow Fellow in the Grass

I thought I'd follow the post on Norway's Noah's Ark with this image and poem by Emily Dickinson.

A narrow fellow in the grass
Occasionally rides;
You may have met him, -did you not?
His notice sudden is.

The grass divides as with a comb,
A spotted shaft is seen;
And then it closes at your feet
And opens further on.

He likes a boggy acre,
A floor too cool for corn.
Yet when a child, and barefoot,
I more than once, at morn,

Have passed, I thought, a whip-lash
Unbraiding in the sun, -
When, stooping to secure it,
It wrinkled, and was gone.

Several of nature's people
I know, and they know me;
I feel for them a transport
Of cordiality;

But never met this fellow,
Attended or alone,
Without a tighter breathing,
And zero at the bone.

Poem by Emily Dickinson

Norway's Noah's Ark

Many of you are, no doubt, aware of the many species of animals that are going extinct. If only there were a modern day Noah's ark, a real Evan Almighty, to help protect God's creatures from human made disasters. As it turns out there is, not for animals but for plants. Plants also become extinct. The nation of Norway has given the world a gift that amounts to a Noah's Ark for plant life on earth. Dug deep into the frozen tundra of Norway's coldest and most remote region is a massive vault that is free to the world. In it other nations store, free of charge, seeds from their countries that feed people, livestock, birds, bees, etc. Not just seeds for food, but seeds that supply entire ecosystems and continents with rich vegetation. Norway is a country that is 90% Lutheran and has a history of a being a progressive and peace loving nation, a good big brother/sister for us to look up to as North American Lutherans. Click the title for this post to get more information from National Geographic.

Three Cheers for Hair

This Presidents' Days week there is a special display of presidential hair by the Academy of Sciences of Philadelphia. It includes locks of hair from George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and more. The collection belongs to a lawyer from Philadelphia who received them from his family’s estate. The locks of hair are part of a display album with notes and historical contexts included. It sounds fascinating or maybe, a little odd for some. But remember, one of the most oft-told stories from the Bible is of a man’s hair: Samson.
He was said to have super human strength, killing thousands of Philistines with the jawbone of an ass. He had the strength of the Incredible Hulk and the hair of Fabio. His downfall came because of his cutting of the hair, or at least that’s how the story is often told.

Judges 16
17 So he told her everything. "No razor has ever been used on my head," he said, "because I have been a Nazirite set apart to God since birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man."

Was the secret of his strength in the length of his locks? Not so much. Not cutting his hair was part of a spiritual vow of living a pure and devoted life to God as a Nazarene. The vow also included avoiding wine and contact with dead bodies. As his life shows, Samson wasn’t a very good Nazarene. He liked to get buzzed and he regularly came into contact with the dead since he killed so many. He really didn’t walk the walk of his spiritual commitments to God. In the end he came public with his spiritual state by allowing his hair to be cut. Cutting his hair symbolized terminating his vow to God.
People of all walks of life go back and forth with God. They go through periods of ferver and commitment, then nothingness. You see it the lives of those Jesus chose to follow him. They all in one way or another walked away from him. They all in one way or another served him well. But in the end, their (our) future doesn’t depend on how the scales balance out. It doesn’t depend on whether we zig more than we zag. It depends on him. He is strong for us. He is right for us. He is consistent for us. He keeps his vow for us. He hangs on the cross for us. In our culture and cultures around the world, people think hair says something about a person. And as Christians we can agree. It tells us is that we are all human. One of the things a Sunday School teacher told a class I was in in High School is that we need to learn to laugh at ourselves more. Confession is good for the soul. Beating ourselves up is not. To encourage you to laugh at yourself a little, here's a classic Buggs Bunny cartoon "The Bunny of Seville."

Lutherans Stand with Africa

The ELCA has a longstanding and powerful relief program in Africa. Hit the post title and it will take you to the ELCA web page "Stand with Africa." The video is poetry recited by acclaimed African American poet Maya Angelou.

Hairspray - A Great Movie about Blacks & Whites

If you haven't seen the movie "Hairspray", you really should. It is a well thought-out musical that pushes the limits in an engaging way. John Travolta plays the lead actress's mother and is a scream. Michelle Pfifer is an awesome child-obsessed mother. Christopher Walken is John Travolta's husband. The dancing is exciting. The music is terrific. The message is right-on. And you leave the movie thinking that racial harmony really is a possibility. Hope you see it. If you already have, tell me what you thought of it.

Booker T. Washington

Booker T. Washington was born a slave. After he was freed, he became head of the Tuskegee Institute and became a leader in education. In his autobiography he writes,

"The most trying ordeal that I was forced to endure as a slave boy...was the wearing of a flax shirt. In that portion of Virginia where I lived, it was common to use flax as part of the clothing for slaves. That part of the flax from which our clothing was made was largely the refuse, which of course was the cheapest and roughest part.
I can scarcely imagine any torture, except, the pulling of a tooth, that is equal to that caused by putting on a new flax shirt for the first time. It is almost equal to the feeling that one would experience if he had a dozen or more chestnut burrs, or a hundred small pin-points, in contacat with his flesh....But I had no choice, I had to wear the flax shirt or none....
My brother John, who is several years older than I am, performed one of the most generous acts that i have ever heard of one slave relative doing for another. On several occassions when I was being forced to wear a new flax shirt, he generously agreed to put it on in my stead and wear it for several days, till it was 'broken in.'"

The Bible describes a similar kind of exchange between our brother Jesus (who is quite a bit older than we are)and us when it comes to our outer garment, our frail human and imperfect and prickly exterior. He took our flesh upon him: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” – John 1:14
And then he gave us his garment: “for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” -- Galatians 3:27

Color Your World with African American Art

Not many in the Anglo community have the opportunity to get close to premier African American artists. Now, some of the nation's finest paintings by African American artists are on exhibit by special arrangement with the National Museum of American Art (NMAA), of the Smithsonian Institution. These paintings are all in the permanent collection of NMAA. Visit the site. It is well worth the visit. African American art is some of the most intense, colorful, and moving art on the scene today. Click the title to this post and it will direct you to the NMAA site.

The Ancient Language of Love

It was just a year ago today that the National Geographic reported on what was called a Valentine's Day gift to Italy when archaeologists excavated two interlocked Stone Age skeletons—leaving their "eternal embrace" intact and making it easier to analyze the double burial. Discovered the week prior during construction not far from Verona, the setting of Romeo and Juliet, the roughly 5,000-year-old couple has already become an icon of enduring love to many. Like Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers, the prehistoric twosome appear to be young, as evidenced by the condition of their teeth. But that's about all that is known about them so far. Undoubtedly the most passionate and romantic writing in the Bible is found in the Song of Solomon. Here are the opening lines from chapter one:

1The Song—best of all songs—Solomon's song! The Woman
2-3 Kiss me—full on the mouth!
Yes! For your love is better than wine,
headier than your aromatic oils.
The syllables of your name murmur like a meadow brook.
No wonder everyone loves to say your name!

4 Take me away with you! Let's run off together!
An elopement with my King-Lover!
We'll celebrate, we'll sing,
we'll make great music.
Yes! For your love is better than vintage wine.
Everyone loves you—of course! And why not?

How Far Should We Go to Apologize?

As we continue the emphasis on forgiveness here, many of you may be aware how things get said that you wish you could take back. That happened this week on the Clinton campaig trail as a news anchor for MSNBC referred to Chelsea Clinton, the daughter of Hilary Clinton, as being "pimped out" by her mother's campaign. Pretty nasty words. You can play the anchor's apology here. What goes through your mind when you think of adults taking public aim at someone's kid? What do you think of his apology? Do you think he has done enough?

Join the March

February is National Black History Month and is a good time to look back at a great moment in our nation's history. What I refer to is Rev. Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speach. Powerful stuff! Wouldn't it be nice to sit in front of him Sunday after Sunday and hear the word of God. What I love about his messages is how he makes scripture come alive for today. You get the sense that God is moving and there are people moving along with God. Of all the gifts of the Civil Rights movement, the one that jumps out loud and clear to me is the power the churches have to transform society when they are a part of God's march through history. I think we are in a time of change as great, or greater, than the change of Rev. Martin Luther King's time. In fact, I believe that we are in a time of change as great, or greater, than the time of that great African-American's namesake, the reformer Martin Luther. I believe that we are in such a great time of change and God is on the move, inviting and calling us all to march for the transformation of our society. The only question we are left with is "Will you march?"

Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906)

Paul Laurence Dunbar was the first African-American poet to receive national acclaim. He had great versatility, producing poems in dialect and standard English. Here is a poem called "We Wear the Mask". I have quoted this poem in sermons over the years, because sometimes people go through life with their church faces on. "Hi Bob! How ya doing?" I'll ask. "Fine" comes the response, even though things are not fine. For some reason, there is a lie that people believe that we must always be "fine". Many live their spirituality as if they had to be perfect, had to have answers, had to be ...whatever. Try something today, leave your mask at home. Here is the poem:

We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,--
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.

Why should the world be overwise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.

We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the mask!

Is Forgiveness Possible?

While we were visiting my parents in Texas around Christmas, we went out to explore an Indian shelter near Iraan. It took some effort to get up to it, but once we got there it was amazing. It had quite a view. There were still artifacts to be found, although the site had been picked through by the local museum. We were able to come away with a lot of flint chips and a stone tool. The 81 year old woman who guided us up the brushy mountain, Skoots, gave us a wonderful history of how American Indians lived in those parts. She also shared her sense of sorrow at how the American Indians were treated. After returning to Odessa, I went to some local trader posts and junk stores with my son to see what other treasures I might find. In a junk store, I came across a work by the artist Paul Calle called "Breath of Friendship" (the picture above is a different Calle work), an oil painting of a fur trapper and Indian chief sitting enjoying a smoke on the ceremonial pipe. This custom often served as a gesture of peaceful intentions.
I suspect if Jesus was sitting down with us in such a culture, he would share in the pipe of peace, of forgiveness, of reconciliation. Forgiveness is an amazing thing to see, even more amazing to experience. You may remember the horrible tragedy among the Amish in 2006 when a gunman killed some young girls in a one room school house. The Amish actually forgave the gunman. Keith Olberman of MSNBC covered it in this spot:

Take a look at the books listed today and maybe the movies. Visit the Forgiveness Project site in the links section. These all have some powerfully inspiring things to share with us.