Geography of Grace

Valley of Dry Bones

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 06:38:06 -0700

It was an unplanned, serendipitous thing, but on our recent trip to Guatemala we got a chance to visit the Guatemala Forensic Anthropology Foundation (FAFG). Joel Van Dyke, who directs the Strategy of Transformation, wrote about FAFG recently.FAFG is an organization that investigates human rights violations of the civil war in Guatemala through forensic examinations. Forensic anthropologists exhume mass graves, and identify the bodies and determine the cause of death to enable possibility for criminal prosecutions to be brought against the perpetrators. FAFG has currently exhumed more than 5,000 of the 200,000 skeletal remains. We met with the Rob, the photographer responsible for photographing all the skeletal remains and Jennifer, one of the forensic scientists responsible for assembling the skeletons and determining cause of death. There is a tremendous level of science and unbelievable tedium involved in all of this, including DNA testing. It is mindboggling. But there is also a human side that is hard to miss in all this.

Touching His Wounds

Thu, 21 May 2009 09:22:19 -0700

I’ve always been drawn to the brief story of Thomas “The Doubter” and the risen Christ (John 20:24-29). So one afternoon recently, among thousands of beautiful pieces in a religious art shop, my eyes finally fell on a small bronze rendition of the Apostle Thomas reaching his hand to the wound in Jesus’ side. Actually I had to rummage for it in a basket marked 40% off, so maybe Doubting Thomas isn’t the most popular gift idea. It became a gift to me from my friend Sam, though—I was redeeming a birthday certificate. Thomas is now parked on my desk and I’ve been reflecting on Jesus’ invitation to touch his wounds, and believe.

Dear Lord…

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:22:35 -0700

“When God must be praised at all times, prayer becomes a lie, a cover-up, and a warrant for the status quo.” Walter Brueggemann - The Costly Loss of Lament

I received this song [Download] as gift from Zach Hamilton, a faithful participant in the Street Psalms training series offered by Center for Transforming Mission. Zach lives and works in White Center, WA. He is a gifted youthworker and musician. He is also a street poet and a great example of a “grassroots theologian. “ Zach and his friends (along with Keilah Fanene who accompanies Zach on this piece) have been wrestling with what it means to teach and preach Good News in hard places, recognizing that a vital part of Good News includes the space and grace to give voice to pain. Kathleen O’Connor said, “The first condition of healing is to give voice to pain.” The ancient Hebrews understood this and apparently so did God when he made room in Scripture for the practice of lament. Laments are the “blue notes” of Scripture that give voice pain. Laments also give structure to pain. This is no easy task, especially because pain resists structure and is always unraveling us. Abraham Heschel described the prophetic voice that communicates such pain as an “octave too high.” It is a voice that is hard to hear and, more often than not, is systematically denied or muted by the dominant culture.

Something in Common with God: Hovering with Creative Teens

Sat, 04 Apr 2009 05:41:01 -0700

One of the great things about my job as director of the YES Foundation is that I am around a lot of talented young people and I often have the privilege of seeing people in the throes of their own creative process. For someone who doesn’t feel particularly creative, it’s an exciting thing to witness. Although it can be a little messy and feel a bit perilous at times, this place where someone brings into existence that which did not exist before feels holy to me. It has made me ponder God's creative process. I have been thinking about something a teenager said at DubCee (a program of YES Foundation) a few months ago. We got into this rather interesting conversation about Genesis 1: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. We were “hovering” around the idea of the Spirit of God hovered. Charlie, a 16-year-old who loves to draw and is pretty good at it, commented, "I get that 'cause when I am about to draw something, I sort of hover. I have to think about what I'm gonna do, what's gonna happen. Sometimes, I do that for a long time before I can start...sometimes it just comes to me." I was taken by the far away look in Charlie’s eyes…as if he suddenly realized that he and God had something in common.

Laughter Lives [Part 3]

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 05:23:12 -0700

“It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” (Matt. 15:26) If you are looking to cultivate spiritual levity, I suggest authors like G.K. Chesterton, specifically Orthodoxy and A Man Called Thursday and Frederick Beuchner’s The Son of Laughter. For something a bit more artistic try The Abosolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie or Not without Laughter by Langston Hughes. These author’s bear in their souls the laughter and levity of God better than most. I am particularly fond of Elton Trueblood’s The Humor of Christ. Trueblood interprets the passage of the Cannanite (black, gentile) woman (whom Jesus calls a “dog”) in light of Jesus’ wry sense of humor. This text is often used as a passage about the virtues of persistent prayer. Trueblood sees the text as a redemptive passage about the inclusive nature of God’s Kingdom. Trueblood suggests that Jesus was not seriously calling the Cannanite woman a “dog,” but rather he was poking fun, and therefore, challenging the very system that denigrates this woman, curses her and labels her an outsider. Trueblood suggest that we need a sense of humor to interpret this passage. Jesus was sharing an inside joke with a woman who is seen as a dog by the spiritual elite.

Laughter Lives [Part 2]

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 07:13:11 -0700

Any spirituality that forces us to take ourselves too seriously or not seriously enough is dangerous. We are both saint and sinner. Not one or the other, but both. To see both clearly requires a sense of humor. In an attempt to plumb the depths of this tension Ernest Becker, in his book Denial of Death, says it this way: “Man is a god who shits.” The Psalmist said the same thing with a little more tact.

“What are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor.” Ps. 8:4-5

Laughter Lives [Part 1]

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 07:37:13 -0700

Part I - A three part series on spirituality and humor I don’t have much in common with Chris Rock. He is a rich, famous, African American comedian who is known for his laser-like wit and politically incorrect humor. I am not rich, famous, black, nor am I very funny. However, I get a lot of attention because we share the same name. I like being associated with somebody who makes people laugh, even if his humor can be irreverent and crude. Humor is risky, precisely because it leans towards irreverence. That’s its nature. Perhaps that is why I trust it so much. It is really hard to be pretentious and funny at the same time. Pretentiousness leads to spiritual death. A good sense of humor signals a certain kind of humility, which is the basis of all good spirituality.

Listening to Difficult Speech

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 09:00:46 -0700

A couple of years ago, my friend Penny loaned me a beautiful book called Imaging the Word, full of poetry and art to inspire prayers throughout the liturgical year. Of all the entries in the book, one that stood out for me is called “Beatitudes for Friends and Family,” by an unknown author with cerebral palsy. It reminded me so much of our dear friend Carolyn Finnell, who passed away a couple of years ago.

Obama: A View from Kenya

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 17:55:23 -0700

Barack Obama’s victory was received here in Kenya with both jubilation and great shock. It was like when the foundation of the temple was completed: “The joyful shouting and weeping mingled together in a loud commotion that could be heard far in the distance” (Ezra 3: 13, NLT) Why would this be so? I think at the bottom of this is the issue of identity. Kenyans and Africans in general are happy that their own is becoming president in the most powerful country in the world today. However, they also recognize that he is an American. We feel a sense of pride and importance as a result. My sisters and brothers in the Lord, this leads me to explore with you Joel 2:28-29. I personally believe that God is at work in history and that the Spirit of God is unbounded. Among the things the Spirit has come to do is to help us cross the dividing walls that separate us in order to make us one. The four major walls include nation (all people/ all flesh), gender (sons and daughters), generation (old men and young men), and class (male and female slaves). You will agree with me that the struggles in the world today revolve around these things. It is all a question of power between men and women, the rich and the poor, the blacks and the whites, natives and foreigners, this tribe and that tribe. Who wants to give away power?

In Praise of Little Things

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 12:31:20 -0700

“In the Beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God…and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…” John 1:1&14 The early Church discovered that when they wanted to see Jesus in all his deified bigness they had to accept him first in all of his human smallness. This is the mystery of the Incarnation. Apparently “less is more” when it comes to God.

Word On The Street

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 06:59:06 -0700

Each Sunday for the last year or so I have been attending a breakfast for low income and homeless residents of Tacoma at our church, Urban Grace where I serve as a parish associate. One of the great saints of Tacoma and a member of our congregation, Willie Stewart, has coordinated this breakfast now for more than five years. Anywhere from 150 to 300 people attend the breakfast. The tables are clean, the place is safe and warm, the volunteers are great and the food ain’t bad either. Recently a few of us started a conversation called “Word On The Street” (after a great book with the same title) for those who attend the breakfast. Our conversation is not a “best practice” by any means. In fact, sometimes it’s more like a bad skit than a real conversation. Two weeks ago a guy wandered into the middle of the circle wearing a fake leopard skin coat announcing all of his addictions to the group. We were grateful that that’s all he announced. That same week a lady abruptly left the circle in a huff, clearly preoccupied with another conversation happening somewhere in her head. With a few of these colorful exceptions noted, most participants come to the conversation remarkably engaged and respectful of each other. It is really quite amazing.

Passing the Plate

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 09:55:16 -0700

I’m reading a disturbing book called “Passing the Plate: Why American Christians Don’t Give Away More Money.” It’s by Michael Emerson and Christian Smith, co-authors of “Divided by Faith” – one of the most thoughtful and provocative books I have read on the subject of race and religion. These two scholars (and brothers in Christ) have a knack for getting us to honestly face uncomfortable truths about the church.

Blueprint or Conversation

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 09:30:11 -0700

I recently read Barack Obama’s Audacity of Hope. If he is half as good a president as he is a writer then we are in good hands. I was intrigued by his use of metaphors as he described the Constitution of the United States. He offered two ways of seeing the Constitution. One way to see the Constitution is to see it as a blueprint. The blueprint metaphor suggests that the Constitution sets forth clear instructions on how to build a democracy and if we simply follow the plan we will succeed. Another way to see the Constitution is to see it as a conversation. This metaphor is an invitation to dialogue about how to promote, protect, and insure our most cherished rights and values.

With the Poor: Three Conversions

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 07:10:14 -0700

Though I hardly grew up rich, my own story involves moving from the world of the nonpoor to the poor—a movement that continues to shape me deeply. So deeply, the shaping could be called a conversion, or a process of conversions. I know I’m not alone; this movement is an invitation Jesus extends to all who would “go through the eye of a needle.” Theodore Wiesner identifies three conversions for a follower of Christ among the poor:

The Kiss of God

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 15:42:19 -0700

“In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” After Jesus is raised from the watery grave of his baptism, the heavens are opened and the Spirit descends with the blessing of the Father. I am struck by three things in this scene. First, Mark begins his version of the Gospel with Jesus submitting to death. Whatever else baptism is, it is a call to die. Baptism is the watery grave where we die to self (the false-self) and become alive to all that is real (the true-self). Perhaps Mark is suggesting that the Gospel journey is always a baptismal journey – “For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life…will save it. (Mark 8:35) The baptism of Jesus is the cross before the Cross.