Mt. Moriah Reflections and Meditations

Mt. Moriah Reflections and Meditations

Periodically, God utilizes life’s circumstances to remind us of the first and second commandments.  “You shall have no other gods before me.  You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.  You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, …” (Exodus 20:3-5) God insists He is the number one priority in our lives.  His holy jealousy does not allow anyone or anything to displace Him in our affections and allegiances.

God’s test of Abraham in Genesis 22 vividly depicts this divine command.  After proving His faithfulness through the birth of Isaac, God requires Abraham to sacrifice Isaac on Mt. Moriah.  Perhaps, Abraham’s love for his son, Isaac, began to supersede Abraham’s love of God.  To ascertain the depth of Abraham’s love, God instructs Abraham to travel three days and three nights to Mt. Moriah.  Unequivocally, Abraham must demonstrate his love for Almighty God by sacrificing his son, Isaac, whom Abraham had waited for one hundred years.  To fulfill his providential role as the “knight of faith” and “father of many nations,” Abraham unquestionably devotes himself to the Lord. 

In Isaac, Abraham finally has an heir.  You can only imagine his excitement!  Abraham’s love for Isaac probably totally consumes his human heart.  It might surpass his love for Sarah.  However, if it exceeds Abraham’s love for God, it is problematic.  Although Abraham lives four hundred years before the Law is written, his experience of God necessitates he abides by the spirit of the previous commandments.  No one and nothing usurps the Lord.

As a consequence, Abraham travels to Mt. Moriah and demonstrates his undying love for God by offering his most prized earthly possession, Isaac.  Amazingly, Abraham does not question the Lord.  He incredibly renounces disobedience and recalcitrance lurking within his mind and heart.  Abraham shows his unconditional love for God.  Abraham prepares a sacrifice and obeys unto the point of lifting a knife to slay Isaac.  Then, the Lord intervenes and blesses Abraham because he does not withhold Isaac. 

Like Abraham, we occasionally journey to Mt. Moriah and offer our “Isaac” on the altar of holiness and divine love.  Is there anything we desire so greatly we disregard the will of God to obtain it?  Our love for others and devotion to causes cannot exceed our love for God.  Each desire of our hearts belongs on the altar of Mr. Moriah.  If we fall in love and discover true happiness, we put our love on the altar.  All prized possessions (talents, degrees, titles, social status, etc,) also belong on the altar of God’s countenance.  Every desire undergoes the test of determining whether it coheres with God’s “good, pleasing and perfect” will.  When God’s will does not correlate with our desires, we accept His will is best.  Often, we will not understand His will.  We feel God has made a mistake.  We want Him to bend His purposes to meet our wishes.  Yet, we trust Almighty God without reservation. 

I suspect God would have allowed Abraham’s disobedience.  Had Abraham not loved God enough to pass this test, he would have an average life with his wife and son.  We would never know about him.  God would find someone else whose love for God is unconditional.  Similarly, if we fail to love God with our whole hearts, we will miss His will for our lives.  The enduring truth of Genesis 22 confirms the test of loving God with our whole beings always provides “a ram in the bush.”  God’s will always yields something far greater than we imagine. 

An Authentic Apology - Part One

An Authentic Apology

One Friday night, I was struck with a bout of insomnia.  After having watched a C-SPAN recording of the funeral of U. S. Senator who had recently died unexpectedly in a plane crash while on vacation, I stumbled upon a listing of noted apologies officially offered by members of Congress.  For the next couple of hours, I entered an experiential classroom as I assumed the dissonance of an anthropologist.  I meticulously studied the length, approach, components, and mannerisms of each apology.  As a pastor, I gleaned some helpful insights as it relates to the spiritual principle of giving and receiving forgiveness.  A person seeking to emulate Christ's character needs willingness, genuineness and interpersonal skills in graciously practicing this spiritual discipline. 

First, I observed the briefest apologies seem more sincere.  The speakers simply stated the facts and immediately assumed responsibility for their actions.  Their words were profound because they were simplistic and straightforward.  I noted the absence of adjectives and adverbs.  There were hardly any clauses or conditions.  The speakers did not attempt to explain away their behavior.  Also, they did not juxtapose what they said or did with the actions of other people.  They forthrightly acknowledged the pain they caused.  They expressed sincerity in their heartfelt regret for the emotional and possibly financial harm they inflicted upon other people.   In listening to two speakers in particular, I reasoned I could accept their apologies as they were not formulaic but genuine.

A former Congresswoman from the Atlanta area caused a national uproar a few years ago.  She vociferously complained about being the victim of racial discrimination when a member of the Capitol Hill police force stopped her upon entering the floor of the U. S. House of Representatives. Although she failed to put her legislative identification lapel on her clothing, she proceeded to the House chamber.  Accordingly, he stopped her and would not listen to her insistence of being a Member of Congress.  Being an African-American woman, this former Congresswoman determined her race and gender explained the police officer's actions.  Quite possibly, the man is a racist who would not have subjected a White member of Congress, male or female, to the same scrutiny.  Equally plausible, he adheres unwaveringly to protocol and procedures.  Anyone without the official lapel or other identification would have been handled in the same manner.  Simply put, this man was simply doing his job. 

As this ordeal escalated in the subsequent weeks, many people who knew little if any actual details began to formulate hard assessments about the incident and participants.  Some media personalities from the breath of the ideological spectrum depicted the Congresswoman as small minded and short-sighted emphasizing "the bigness of small things." Members of her political party posited a personal incident had spiraled out of control.  It was now commanding precious time and resources needed for more important public policy issues.  As she would not receive sound counsel from colleague and constituents, this Congresswoman was forced ultimately to offer an apology on the floor of the House.  Surrounded by leaders of her party on live cable television, she briefly and humbly apologized; accepting her role in unnecessarily escalating the situation.

In retrospect, this Congresswoman probably concluded she should have responded differently.  One imagines the officer proffered an apology once he more fully understood his error.  Why didn't it suffice?  Did an exaggerated or perhaps an emaciated ego create a political and personal embarrassment?  Nonetheless, the pinnacle of self-righteousness soon gave way to a valley of humiliation where she had to apologize to her colleagues and residents of her congressional district.

A second political apology involved the then chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.  In what was characterized as an unprincipled partisan ploy, this influential member of Congress called the Capitol Hill Police on colleagues of the opposite party.  Initially, he asserted his right to do so to restore order in a Committee hearing that dissolved into chaos.  The rules of the House stipulate the Sergeant at Arms’ prerogative to handle any disruption.  The Chairman summons the Sergeant.  As he attributes the chaos to colleagues who ideologically opposes his views, the Chairman seeks to quiet and punish them.  Not surprisingly, his colleagues in both parties resoundingly condemn his actions as excessive and disrespectful.  None of them witness any actions deserving such an extreme response as to summon law enforcement to a standard congressional hearing.  This unthinkable offense unquestionably warrants an apology. 

An Authentic Apology - Part Two

An Authentic Apology – Part Two

With considerable contrition accompanied by stinging and sincere tears, this tall, statuesque and burly man stands in the well of the House floor to apologize.  He consumes eight of the ten minutes given by the Speaker.  The Chairman begins with specifying the circumstances that lead to his erroneous decision.  He then hastens to acknowledge the depth of the offense and harm he inflicted upon his fellow members of Congress.  He explains the origins of his principles and passion to be grounded in his childhood.  Yet, he soberly realizes that beliefs and emotions do not justify excesses at the expense of other persons' dignity.  He affirms his right to maintain order in a hearing.  But, that privilege does not offer a license to exceed one's authority.  With a tear drenched face and cracking voice, he asks his colleagues to forgive his insult.  Further, he expresses sincere remorse for the incident.  He completes his apology by pledging not to repeat the mistake while making a concerted effort to develop personally.  His genuineness results in a standing ovation from members belonging to both parties. 

I then found two of the most inane, arrogant and self-serving apologies I have ever heard.  First, a former Congressman from Ohio was headed to prison after recent convictions of multiple counts of fraud, racketeering and other abuses of official position.  Instead of apologizing, he proceeds at length in excess of an hour and a half to justify himself.  Without a doubt, he excoriates anyone and everyone whom he blames for his predicament.  This man steadfastly rants for ninety minutes in the most self-aggrandizing manner.

In addition to the Ohio congressman, another Member of Congress from California gave an apology that approximated two hours in length.  This apology was a bellicose diatribe. Not once did this congressman take any responsibility for anything he said or did notwithstanding multiple counts of a criminal indictment and an ethics investigation.  

There were a few common characteristics in the genuine apologies I watched.  In addition to their brevity, they were sincere in words, tone and demeanor.  Word usage was simplistic and thus more significant.  As a consequence, these apologies were not difficult to accept.  Acknowledging the pain of people who were harmed is vital to accomplishing healing.  A genuine apology eventuates in restoration of relationships.  When apologies are extended in good faith, the possibility of reconciliation exists.  In many instances, friendships and work relationships are stronger. 

The apologies which are difficult to accept were long and defensive.  The persons offering them spend time splitting hairs about facts.  Speakers are angry and resentful.  They insist they are misinterpreted.  Their spiteful attitude depicts them as defensive, self-serving and belligerent people who absolutely refuse to recognize any harm they cause.  These people totally blame others and assume no responsibility for their actions.   

The apology from the California Congressman who served as chairperson of The Ways and Means Committee includes the essential elements of a genuine apology.  He is succinct. He briefly details the essential facts.  He accepts his role in creating the disturbance.  Further, he assumes responsibility for the unnecessary pain he caused his congressional colleagues.  With genuine tears, he describes his character and his best intentions.  In so doing, he resists the natural tendency towards self-justification. His adherence to his principles however steadfast and correct cannot justify disrespect of other people who think differently.  Essentially, this congressman learns he must consider the emotional, practical and relational impact of his actions. 

The Bible contains many stories relating to apologies and forgiveness.  The father's forgiveness of the prodigal son demonstrates the spiritual maxim that love is the foundation of forgiveness.  In this story, the son returns home with requisite humility after squandering his money and totally debasing himself.  He genuinely apologizes to the father for his disrespect, wasting the family's resources and bringing disrepute upon Almighty God and them.  The son's apology conforms to the foregoing structure and elements of a sincere apology.  Brevity is primary.  Mention only the essential facts. The distance of time and differing interpretations about sequence of details relegates parsing facts as futile. Straightforwardly recognize any pain suffered by anyone. State a sincere intention to correct harmful actions.  Pledge to grow personally and develop spiritually by making adjustments in character.  Luke records this enduringly compelling story to remind disciples to cultivate Christ's character as it relates to humility, consideration, compassion and love. 

As it pertains to practical application of these spiritual principles, conceivably a man may find a former girlfriend and offer a genuine apology for growing up at her expense.  He could acknowledge he trampled upon her feelings and personhood.  He sincerely recognizes her investment of time, money and commitment to a person and relationship that would not reciprocate her feelings and hope.  He pledges to correct this fundamental character defect by respecting all other women.  He undertakes a lifelong process of acquiring spiritual principles and moral practices that enable him to commit faithfully in love. 

Humility in Everyday Life - Part One

Humility in Everyday Life

A few years ago, I participated in a clergy continuing education colloquium, the New York Sabbatical Institute, with pastoral colleagues throughout the nation.  We gathered quarterly over the course of three years to learn best professional practices.  “As iron sharpens iron,” we exchanged ideas, learning from each other’s mistakes and discussing possibilities for church growth.  We considered myriad means for success and excellence in ministry.  As a major component of our plenary sessions, we were led in formal Bible study by a Rabbi who had considerable professional achievement and personal respect within interfaith dialogue.  This national gathering of clergy was ecumenical as it included at least fifteen different Christian denominations.  Lecturers, staff and other participants included Protestants and Roman Catholics.  Impressively, this Rabbi captures the attention of this diverse group of ambitious pastors with monumental visions for their ministries.

One morning, when teaching on the nineteenth chapter of 1 Kings and Elijah's formidable ego, the rabbi shared a personal story about the likelihood of clergy egos to expand unnecessarily when doing God's work.  As he tells the story, he returned to New York City after attending high level conversations in Israel amongst the myriad branches of contemporary Judaism, the Israeli-Palestinian controversy, the Israeli and Arab cultural and political dissonance and Jewish and Catholic dialogue at the Vatican.  Upon turning the key, unlocking the door and entering his apartment, his wife greets him by saying "I need you to take the trash out." Without having a chance to savor the recent professional summits he ascended, this spousal and familial request careened him back into reality.  More significantly, it reminded him of the daily need for humility regardless of the heights of one's vocation.  

A Hollywood celebrity shares advice he received from a mentor about handling success and fame. This wisdom was given to help the protégé enjoy long-term wealth and happiness with purpose, joy and peace.  This rising star accepts these three activities as a foundation for maintaining humility each day.  First, always take out the trash.  Second, buy your groceries.  Third, pick up your own dry cleaning.  Average people cannot avoid these daily activities by paying someone else to perform them.  As a person of notoriety and financial means complete these tasks, he appreciates his commonality with average persons who may directly or indirectly supply his lifestyle. 

Mundane tasks in life keep leaders within the pull of gravity.  Another leader jokingly shares how his mother begins their phone conversations by asking "Are your feet on the ground?  I can't talk with you unless your feet are on the ground.  I don’t talk with people whose feet are not on the ground." The celebrity's mentor's advice and this leader's mother's wisdom combine to exhort people with superlative achievements in the arts, entertainment, education, politics and other walks of life to remain in touch with the daily challenges and existence of people whom they serve.

Taking out the trash in New York City is a ritual which may require as many as seven containers to avoid a citation from the Department of Sanitation.   Recycling is the law; it is not an option.  However, a rigid protocol exists as it relates to how you eliminate waste.  Newspapers, magazines and similar items are to be bundled together separate from card board boxes for pizza, paper towel rolls, and other dry goods.  Glass is packaged in its own clear bag.  Plastic which appears to have as many definitions as the millions of people recycling also require separate packing?  Incredibly, milk cartons and similar pieces must be put in a different clear bag.  Not surprisingly, the time and energy it consumes to discard the trash on a weekly basis is a most reliable ego-deflating experience.  The teaching Rabbi for the New York Sabbatical Institute after meeting with the Pope and other major international religious leaders directly experienced this spiritual discipline.  It is most interesting to think of taking out the garbage as a necessary spiritual discipline for clergy and celebrities.

Humility in Everyday Life - Part Two

Humility in Everyday Life – Part Two

Humility is the absolute opposite of grandiosity.  Possibly, people who fail to cultivate this personal attribute live as "egomaniacs with inferiority complexes." Leaders in any profession fall prey to demanding outward displays of their status.  Name plates, reserved parking spaces, corner offices and box seats in the theatre, opera house and professional athletic events combine to bestow the accoutrements of leadership.  Without question, these external fringe benefits cannot supply leaders with vision, confidence and ability.  If a leader questions himself at his core, he does not possess humility.  His uncertainty equals the unquestionable certitude of a colleague who knows everything and remains unreachable refusing to learn anything new.  In the former instance, the leader resembles Dickens' Uriah Heep in David Copperfield.  Heep constantly describes himself as a perpetually humble man.  Actually, Heep suffers with an immeasurable inferiority complex as he resents the "high society" and upper crust people he must serve.  Heep's disdain for them eventuates in moral, ethical and professional failure as he attempts to steal their wealth and property.  A leader of the latter ilk reminds me of a recent U. S. Secretary of Defense who pridefully ignored his administrative peers.  This man left to his personal resolve possibly would have engaged our country in potential nuclear war with a Middle Eastern rival.  Neither type of leader possesses humility. Both kinds have egos that fluctuate between a mountain summit and a deep valley. 

Life's mundane tasks force us to embrace daily living with average people.  Remembering the existential challenges normal people face is critical for any leader or celebrity.  Without remaining in touch with these realities, leaders may become hard hearted and indifferent to people whom they serve.  Chances are in taking out the trash a leader will encounter a homeless person who may be scavenging for food.  What an amazingly vivid picture that humankind has not yet learned how to distribute equitable resources.  Also, you will see people who pilfer everyone's trash to retrieve the recyclable pieces as a source of income.  The complexity of poverty creates a sub job market as these people gather and sell these redeemable items to subsist.  These visual lessons forcibly remind leaders their decisions fundamentally affect people’s practical lives.  Accordingly, leaders through mundane tasks learn to ask a vital question.  "How does this decision, policy or procedure directly affect the people whom I serve?" 

The grocery store is full of interesting, compelling and colorful conversations.  Some people gossip with neighbors and friends.  There are arguments which began as miscommunications but mushroomed into full blown verbal confrontations.  It is personally hurtful to overhear a mother explain to a child that they cannot afford a trinket because they barely have enough money to buy much needed food and dry goods.  It greatly pains me to listen to the hard reality in which many people live.  Seeing the direct poverty in which people live is very hard.  Grocery store conversations depict life's daily fragility for many people.  

If leaders and celebrities never shop for food, they become more and more distant from the hard choices constituents and fans face.  As I write, I recall an episode in which a grocery worker sent on a home delivery looked at the price of a bottle of wine.  Finding the amount unbelievable, he questioned the manager as to its accuracy.  Naturally, the manager reassures the delivery clerk about the correctness of the price.  In turn, the worker responds by stating that a family in his neighborhood would eat for a week for the cost of that bottle of wine. As leaders and celebrities overhear these kinds of conversations, they hopefully maintain focus upon the real purposes of elected office, possibilities of fame and potential to create a more just and equitable society.  The mentor's wise recommendations to his protégé enable him to remain in meaningful contact with average people. 

Humility in Everyday Life - Part Three

Humility in Everyday Life – Part Three

Who can afford an expensive bottle of wine with a price tag that potentially feeds a family for a week in another zip code?  Who can afford orchestra seats at a Broadway show?  Who sits in box seats, protected from the natural elements with wait service for food and drinks, at professional sporting events?  Who resides in public school districts with neighborhood schools that rival any qualitative private school elsewhere?  Is examining personal work ethic, ambitions and determination the only means of justifiably answering these questions?  Are there not systemic origins and causes that explain the vast inequity as it relates to the society’s distributions of resources?  Leaders have a responsibility to govern beyond the theories of text books and pervasive myths regarding the “American dream” and the alleged failure of millions of citizens to pursue it.  Humility reminds leader and celebrities of the incontrovertible fact that they could just as easily be the mother in the aisle of a grocery store telling her child that the family cannot afford an inexpensive trinket because they can barely buy basic necessities of life – food, clothing, shelter, utilities, transportation, healthcare, medicine and education.

In addition to taking out the trash and seeing an underground economy in which recycling may feed families and shopping for groceries with the visual and experiential lesson of the oceanic expanse of income in the United States, the mentors suggests his student always pick up his own dry cleaning.  Poor people rarely go to the dry cleaners.  As a normal practice to avoid this expense which equates with a luxury for them, working class citizens buy clothing that does not require dry cleaning.  Going to the dry cleaners pungently reminds a person of his commonality with average people.  Dirty rings solidify around the collars of even the most expensive shirts.  As everyone sweats, body odor fills the lobby despite the cleaning chemicals or customers’ cologne and perfume.  Regardless of a person's job or social and economic strata, he wants the workers to care especially for his clothes.  

When standing in line, you observe the complexity of many people's lives.  Some workers only use the dry cleaners because their companies reimburse them for uniform upkeep.  Some people have an image they must maintain at all cost. These types of people will bear the expense of dry cleaning their blue jeans.  Nonetheless, were a political leader or Hollywood celebrity to go to the neighbor dry cleaners, he would interact with constituents and fans on a very basic level.  It would be important for him to note who is absent.  There are times when silence and absence speak more loudly than their opposites.  Picking up dry cleaning enables us to see American classism while not a caste system as practiced elsewhere leaves room for a smidgen of social mobility.  The wise sage instructs his mentor to handle this personal chore in order that he maintains constant contact with average citizens.

Genuine humility which emerges when completing the foregoing tasks empowers a person to touch people’s lives in considerable and eloquent ways.  Watching someone doggedly dig through your neighborhood trash for the meager revenue that large plastic bags of recyclables will yield forcibly reminds you of how rudimentary life can be.  Observing the tough choices a mother makes between basic staples and diminishment in the eyes of her child in a grocery store creates a heart of compassion and gratitude as you realize your blessings and privilege.  

Albeit punctuated with trendy designer labels and purchased at flagship department stores, taking your sweaty, musty and wrinkled clothing to the dry cleaners puts you in contact with a certain segment of people.  Mostly, you see middle class professionals whose jobs require they maintain a particular image of prosperity.  Also, you cross paths with working-class people who receive reimbursement for their uniform upkeep.  Chances are you will not see countless minimum wage earners, unemployed or underemployed persons and homeless people.  Leaders and famous people have an obligation to consider everyone as they finalize decisions affecting average people's lives. To ensure they lead with wisdom and purpose, they will need humility to motivate them to imagine how differently their lives could be were they to switch with someone whom they encounter while taking out the trash, buying groceries and picking up dry cleaning. 

Saint Thomas Aquinas simply defines humility as the truth.  Apparently, we are as free as we are honest.  "You are as sick as your secrets." Hidden character defects imprison the person who holds them.  Honesty liberates an individual to enjoy unconditional self-acceptance without the compulsion to explain, defend, excuse or justify himself.  Humility and honesty combine to allow a person to extend the same freedom of self expression to everyone else.  A saying, "Live and Let Live" succinctly captures this dimension of humility.  Life's daily complexity reasonably means everyone suffers from some type of myopia as it relates to knowing and living "Truth." Accordingly, we offer the benefit of the doubt to our fellow members of the human family. Humility stipulates we allow the definitive possibility that we may be wrong as we affirm our distinct worldview arising from our prism of experience.

Days of Profound Gratitude - Thursday, 30 June 2011 - Part VII

Days of Profound Gratitude – Thursday, 30 June 2011 – Part VII

Before the hospital visit concluded, I received a greater blessing of seeing another nephew whom I had not seen in years.  Not surprisingly, I did not recognize him.  He graciously overlooked my obvious failure to acknowledge him.  This nephew anxiously and excitedly told me about his personal development during the intervening years.  To my great delight, he encouraged his cousin, my son, to avoid his mistakes when he learned of my son's maniacal passion for basketball in particular and all sports in general.  My second nephew asked my son, "What about your academic performance?  Sports are fine but you have to have your academics to go places in life.  Don't do what I did.  I am now working toward my education." Delightfully, I encouraged my son to listen to his cousin's words of wisdom acquired from life's school of hard knocks.  Sometimes, a distant relative or stranger's advice penetrates more deeply than a parent's directive.  My nephew's admonition to my son reinforced my position within a longstanding debate about priorities and use of time and resources.

In the mid-afternoon, we left the hospital making two right turns onto Highway 401 which connects Lee and Sumter counties and the two towns of origin of my family.  Mayesville, a village in Lee County, sprawls with soy bean, tobacco, cotton and corn fields.  Littered amongst this expanse of diverse agriculture, farming and livestock, mostly pigs and hogs of myriad breeds, are ranch houses and mobile homes.  Adjectives such as rural, rustic and sleepy adequately describe this ideally Southern and Carolinian setting.  The people, my family and neighbors, who bought and worked this land, refer to it as "the country." As there are not any street lights or any other signs of city living, this local description is rather apropos.

 "The country" holds a repository of experiential knowledge relating to farming, canning, recycling and living off the land.  Back yard gardens fed large families well into the last decade of the twentieth century.  Annual events such as May cucumber harvests, July peanuts, August canning of fruit and vegetables, and September hog slaughtering captured the cycle of interdependence between the people and the land.  Most regrettably, those cultural fixtures have become social, historical and anthropological relics.  The god of twenty-first century science and technology demands their sacrifice.  As a consequence, I could only recite stories from my childhood history.

However, I was able to connect my children with this past by introducing them to my maternal grandmother.  Almost a centenarian, she represents these traditions and cultural mores.  The progression of mental dementia and normal demise of physical health in old age prevents her from sharing any personal history.  Nonetheless, meeting her will remain memorable for my son and daughter.  For me, this introduction equates with a historical magnum opus.  Years will pass including the challenges and rewards of adolescence and early adulthood before my children will appreciate fully the wealth and worth of this visit. 

Additionally, my children met an uncle and two other aunts who regaled them with griot-like stories.  They learned of my maternal family's church, work history and large numbers.  Essentially, they learned a part of their own history.  As a student of history and religion, I am particularly grateful to witness this experiential lesson.  As this day of profound gratitude progressed toward early evening, I continually give thanks to Almighty God for His goodness as the multiple visits heretofore brought healing and inner peace.  My worst fears did not emerge and were not realized.