At a camp I worked at they had appropriated the traditional Hindu greeting, "Namaste" (Nah-mah-stay).  Which roughly translated means, "I greet the divine in you."  It was a nice way to remind one another that we believe God's Holy Spirit dwells within one another.  As Lutherans we believe that God promises the presence of His Holy Spirit in our baptism as an unearned gift.  Similarly, when we participate in Holy Communion, when we consume the bread and the wine, we believe we are taking in the body and blood of Jesus through, with, and under those earthly elements.  So we can say Jesus lives in us and we in Him.  I believe that since we believe in the Trinity there is no harm in using either phrase interchangeably, but I am sure someone can point out a heresy in that.  The point is, we as Christians, believe that God has oddly enough chosen to reside also within us.  The mere fleshy bags of meat and bone and organs that we are.  So we expect to see Him in ourselves, and in other Christians.  This is an understanding that the whole world actually pretty consistently adheres to, and therefore holds accountable to as well.  That is why it is so offensive even to non-Christians when Christians behave in ways that are not at all like Christ.  Ironically it is insulting to even non-Christians for someone to foist blatant sinfulness upon Jesus, which we all do every time any one of us sins.  We know that Jesus is big enough to take it, and loves us enough to not shut us out of living the better life he desires for us.  So this life we live in the divine, and with the divine, is what drives us and defines us as Christians.  So it is perfectly appropriate for us greet, seek, and lift up the divine we see in one another.

It's just that Jesus is never one for sticking to boundaries.  He is His Father's Son after all.  Keep God in an Ark, that won't do, keep him in a temple, that won't do either...  Jesus waltzed through the lines in the sand between Jews and Samaritans, Israelites and Romans, Hebrews and Tax Collectors, Woman and Man.  He defended adulterers, healed slaves and children of the enemy/occupying force/Romans, and fed people without checking their ID.  All people were valued and honored on no more merit than they simply existed.  It makes sense, if God created everything, everything is of God, and God loves it all.

So recently, I have seen Christ in some non-Christians.  They would probably balk at my saying that, and they are welcome to do so, it doesn't make it less true for me.  There is an atheist man in Colorado who has been guarding a local AME Church, so people can worship in peace.  It is noble for him to give his time to do so, he may see it as a patriotic duty or simply a duty to his fellow man, and it is.  I see it as greater still, because let's be honest, he is willing to put his life on the line, to put his body in front of bullets or bombs for others.  John 15:13 reads, "No one has greater love than this, to lay one's life down for one's friends."  We say God is love, love is what this man is doing, so I see God in him, even if does not.

During the Baltimore riots citizens lined up to protect the police. Admittedly some of these people probably are actually Christians, but some are not.  Once again these people are willing to put themselves in harms way, for the sake of other people they probably did not know.  I see Jesus in their willingness to protect those who some would view as an occupying force in these circumstances.

After the shooting in Charleston, several black churches were burned down.  A coalition of young Muslims raised  over $100,000 dollars to help rebuild the churches.  They would certainly site other inspiration for their action, even the simple statement that "All houses of worship are sanctuaries..." is a noble enough reason.  Yet I see Christ in their willingness to give of their own money to make better lives for people who believe in something different than they do themselves.

So for myself and my fellow Christians, I ask this, "How am I showing others Christ in who I am and what I do?"  For my fellow non-Christians, thank you for continually holding us accountable to and reminding us that we are called to live like the Jesus Christ that we say we live in and lives in us.

The Sunday following the shooting of 9 black church goers in Charleston, S.C., was hard for me to get through.  I am not sure which emotions that were running through me were throwing me off the most; the sadness for the families of these people who had just lost loved ones in senseless violence, the disappointment that there is still so much racial tension in my country, the anger that someone would do such a thing, the violation that a Bible study in a church was desecrated, the resignation that this was not the first and probably not the last we'll see of this sort of thing, or a myriad of other thoughts and emotions that were rolling inside me.  I was able to hold it enough at bay to function, but not far enough to be numb.  I didn't want to be numb to it, and I still don't.  I posted the sermon I preached that morning without even listening to it first, just unedited and raw.

What got me through the service was our liturgy, that's the church-y word for the form of our worship service.  (It has roots in laos - the people (also laity) and ergos - works, so worship is the work of the people.)  This congregation still uses the green Lutheran Book of Worship (aka LBW), which I grew up using.  I have used these same words over a thousand times in my life, but on this recent Father's day they spoke to me in ways I needed to hear.  The opening of our communion setting is a call and response between a minister and the congregation it goes as follows:
In peace let us pray to the Lord
Lord have mercy
For the peace from above and for our salvation let us pray to the Lord
Lord have mercy
For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the Church of God, and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord
Lord have mercy
For this holy house, and for all who offer here their worship and praise, let us pray to the Lord
Lord have mercy
Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord
Amen


I was having trouble finding words, and here we were with words of prayer for peace.  Week after week we acknowledge our need for God's intervention in our lives, for peace, for our well-being, with these words and it really hit home for me that Sunday.  I almost choked as I chanted out the last line, "Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord." because I, like many others, was reeling from this horrific event that happened in a sanctuary.  Where was their defense?  Why weren't they saved from this?  Where is the comfort for their families?  Where is the peace?

I realize any attempt I make to answer any of those questions will simply appear trite or defensive.  So I won't even try, I will only point you to the answers of the families.  The answer the families of the victims gave speak the truth in the face of insecurity, hatred, and violence.  They forgave the murderer of their loved ones, and prayed he may receive God's mercy.  That is where God is in the midst of all these terrible and tragic things we do to one another.

So we will continue to speak these words, or words like them.  They are the work of the people, and there is much work to be done as we wait for the kingdom of God, where we won't have to pray in hope of these things, but have them for all people.  Until then, we will continue to speak up, stand up, and do this work.  The work that has been God's mission for his church in all ages, and continues in our traditions today.  For peace.  Lord have mercy.

We didn't have a soccer program in my school growing up.  I knew that some of my cousins played it, but beyond the general idea, I had no clue.  Obviously you want to try and kick the ball into your opponent's goal, and you can't use your hands unless you are the goalie, but that's about what I know.  I went to soccer camp at Mowana for a couple years simply because it sounded fun, other than those two weeks, I never played on a team.  So my knowledge of the sport is still very limited.  In light of recent events one things that I learned and stuck with me has been on my mind a lot: the goalie's uniform.

After seeing some professional soccer, I wondered why the goalies wore outfits different than the rest of their team.  The reason I found out is rather simple.  It catches your eye.  So when an opponent is trying to kick the ball into the goal away from the goalie, their eyes are instead pulled to where the goalie is, and increases the chance they will kick towards the goalie.

The recent events I am referring to are not in fact the US Women's win in the World Cup. (But congratulations to them!)  I am referring instead to some of the big news after the shooting of 9 black church goers in Bible study at "Mother" AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina.  There has been a great deal of uproar about the confederate flag not being lowered at the memorial nearby, when the state flag and the American flag both were.

Since then major retailers have stopped selling it, as many view it as a symbol of racism.  Then there are others who claim it is a symbol of their heritage.  I will admit my bias, having grown up in Ohio, I connect it with the Civil War, and thereby the reason the southern states wanted to secede.  They wanted states' sovereignty to rule higher than federal sovereignty, and the primary reason that came into question was over slavery.  I think many take pride in our country's founding, which was rebellious itself, and see it as just a symbol of being a rebel.  While it was not the official flag of the Confederacy, it has become a shorthand symbol for its entirety.  Which seems to me would also include the assassination of the United States President Abraham Lincoln, by one John Wilkes Booth.  I would think that fact might cause some to reconsider using it as a symbol of being a rebellious American.

 Regardless, sometimes the meaning of words or symbols get so changed by their cultural use, there is no reclaiming them.  The swastika is an ancient symbol that was used in Buddhism and Hinduism as well as within other cultural movements that meant luck or success.  Nowadays it is tied with the Nazi regime of World War II and used by white supremacist groups to show hatred towards Jews, Blacks, and everyone different than themselves.  It is unlikely it will ever bear meaning beyond hate.  The same is true for the Confederate flag or rebel flag or stars and bars, however one wants to name it.

The whole argument over banning it though, which I agree with in most cases, has gotten a little out of hand.  I feel while there is reason to pull it down, that it has been a distraction from the real goal.  It is easy to attack a flag, it is much harder to attack the racism that is still a part of our society.  We cannot allow ourselves to feel like bringing down a flag is a success, when there is so much work that needs to be done.  So much so I honestly don't know really where to begin, other than to get our eyes off the bright colors of a flag and fix them more firmly on our goal, seeing all people as God's children.