I am becoming instinctively aware that there is a certain realm of the dignity of the human person that is graspable, but hasn't been grasped by me.
I could run to blame it on temperament or upbringing or other things, but maybe instead I should just look at it and see what there is to see.
(Geez, this is one of the things that zings me about November daily blogging, but then again it is one of the reasons I do it: it makes me vulnerable to my own thoughts.)
What conjures all this up in me is a certain event I'm watching develop which has reminded me of both a Scripture and a comment I once heard made that I think unintentionally quoted that same Scripture in a way I was able to recognize as unnecessarily sad. The said Scripture verse comes out of the mouth of Judas Iscariot, no less: "That could be sold and the money given to the poor." Scripture makes it clear that Judas had no real concern for the poor; he was a thief and was looking for a bigger treasury to steal from.
Now, before I go further, I wonder exactly how Judas stole. Did he take coins and deposit them in whatever banking system there was? Did he hand them off to his family? Did he make sure that he unevenly distributed whatever he bought for Jesus and the disciples, giving himself first and best dibs on food and supplies? When he was out to buy fish and bread did he pick up an extra chocolate bar, just for him? Whatever it was, somehow he took unto himself something that belonged to others.
And who were the poor, to Judas? Were they the unfortunate ones, people for whom he cared deeply? Was his heart filled with compassion? No, they were an excuse. He used other people's misery as an excuse to take stuff for himself. He may have even believed that the extra money he sought really was for them, because I'm sure some was indeed given to the poor. But in reality they were an excuse for him to pursue his comfort.
(Now here's a thought: was Jesus some kind of lame mismanager for not kicking Judas out of his position? Did Jesus not realize what Judas was doing?)
We have to remember what it was that prompted this comment: Mary was "wasting" expensive ointment on Jesus, expressing love in what Jesus saw as a prophetic and symbolic gesture: she was getting him ready for his burial. Jesus approved of her extravagant act of love. Was He somehow unmindful of the poor and starving? Such a thought should not even be articulated. As always, He values love above all things, and He knows that the sacrificial love involved in Mary's offering is worthy of acceptance and that His own offering of His life is the singlemost worthy act ever to be performed on earth. His death is worthy of all reverence.
Perhaps right here is the crux of the matter: why did Jesus offer His life? Because that singlemost worship-worthy act was for me. You. Him. Her. It was because human beings have immense dignity that Jesus gave His life. Because we are God's creatures, and the Blessed Trinity considers us worthy of Divine Blood as the price to pay for our ransom.
That's where I stagger and fall over and can't quite take it in.
That second time I mentioned, when I had heard words like this, was a few years ago when by odd circumstance a Protestant relative of mine happened to witness a May Crowning, with lots of children bringing flowers their families had purchased to lay before a statue of Mary. "They could have given that money to the poor!" was the almost knee-jerk response to witnessing this understandably difficult-to-digest event. What was really being said: Mary doesn't deserve that kind of honor. It's a waste to put flowers in front of a hunk of plaster!
Catholics understand (or at least are slightly more likely to understand) that teaching children to express love to God for the gift of our spiritual Mother is of great value. We understand what loving Mary means. She has immense dignity. Loving her is right.
Now I think of my own thoughts rumbling through me. My history of dealing with money, the poor, my own needs, and my own sense of dignity has not been without violence. The only natural virtues I learned to develop in this regard have been miserliness and suspicion. (Perhaps, deep down, Judas just couldn't trust in care for him coming from anyone but him. Maybe he stole because he couldn't entrust his dignity to anyone else. And so he lost it.)
For probably 15 years, the Lord has been enlarging my heart towards the poor to the point that I really long to effectively give more away. But giving things away, I realize, means nothing without love, as 1 Corinthians 13:3 makes clear. And love, if it is like God's love, is rooted in the reality of the incredible dignity of the human person -- that dignity that is worth dying for. We all possess a dignity which we need to learn to entrust to others, and we need to have the experience of it being honored and respected by them. And we need to extend that honor and respect to those, especially, who do not have it for themselves.
To really be able to look at another person and say, not "You're worth spending ten bucks on" but "You are worth dying for," especially with no personal gain to be necessarily had in return, well now, there's something worth opening myself to the Lord for.
Because that sounds Christ-like, doesn't it?
Showing posts with label Money. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Money. Show all posts
Monday, November 17, 2014
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
A Royal Throne and the Hundredfold
Some days I come home from Mass with a homily-redo running through my head. Today was one of those days. You know, you hear the readings, and your mind starts putting things together, and then the priest goes off in a completely different direction that leaves your thoughts like a pile of bricks begging to be reassembled properly. Tell me that happens to you, too. Right? Well, never mind, it is my blog, after all.
Here are those readings, by the way: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/082112.cfm
Basically, there's Ezekiel prophesying to an extremely wealthy and arrogant politician that all of his money and all of his supposed high-and-mightiness wasn't going to do him a whit of good when, shortly, he would face a bloodthirsty murder who would stick a sword through his belly. (This reading wasn't very familiar to me; I guess we skipped it in my Sunday School class when I was a kid.)
The psalmist actually was quoting arrogant people saying obnoxious things about how they don't need God, and the response was God saying "It is I who deal death and give life."
(I was the lector today, too, so I was really feeling the this-ain't-so-rosy-ness of these readings.)
Then there's the gospel of the rich young man who really wants to follow Jesus, says he's kept all the commandments (yawn), is there anything else Jesus can think of he might try as a spiritual exercise? And Jesus tells Him "sell what you have a give to the poor, then come, follow me." And the guy goes away, waiting, I guess, for another rabbi with better ideas to try.
But then, and I think this is the key, Jesus continues talking to his disciples about this. And here I'll quote:
What hit me as the key to understanding all this is that talk about thrones. Yes, in heaven, Jesus is depicted as seated on a throne (in Revelation, and therefore in art). But what is that royal throne as it appeared on earth, in Jesus' lifetime? Where was He high and lifted up to draw all men to Him? From whence comes Jesus' right from the Father to sit as judge of the world (Jn 5:22)? The answer to all three is the cross, of course. Jesus' throne in glory is the flip side of His cross on earth. And Jesus tells his disciples that they, too, will sit on thrones, and they will judge the twelve tribes of Israel, which is the new covenant people, the Church. The promise of real authority must have encouraged those men, after all they were always going off about who would get the prime positions in the kingdom. But what a blow that crucifixion was to them, completely and utterly messing with everything they had ever envisioned the kingdom to be. Still, I think Jesus planted these words in them so hope couldn't die and so that they wouldn't all go off like Judas and hang themselves on Good Friday. And so that after Pentecost they could look back and realize that the experience of the cross is necessary for every Christian.
So what about this wealth stuff that caused the prince of Tyre to be impervious to the doom before him, and that caused the young man to get turned off by Jesus, even though he was a "good person"? The key is that following Jesus means going to the cross with Him. It means dying to the idea that I'm all-powerful, that I need no other god but myself. Dying to self means to open myself totally to give and to love, as Jesus did. The basic truth of life on this fallen earth is that love has an enemy, but that we get victory over the enemy by dying with Jesus and rising again. That happens when we are baptized; and after we are baptized it happens when we repent and confess our sins and then live in the truth of that victory. That is why Jesus promises his followers the hundredfold in this life, and eternal life in the next. The hundredfold is the riches of the Christian life. Look at what it is, by the way: not money and power, but people, and a place. The apostles were to gain lots of people into their lives all over the then-known world.
There. Now that I've got my homily out, I feel much better.
Here are those readings, by the way: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/082112.cfm
Basically, there's Ezekiel prophesying to an extremely wealthy and arrogant politician that all of his money and all of his supposed high-and-mightiness wasn't going to do him a whit of good when, shortly, he would face a bloodthirsty murder who would stick a sword through his belly. (This reading wasn't very familiar to me; I guess we skipped it in my Sunday School class when I was a kid.)
The psalmist actually was quoting arrogant people saying obnoxious things about how they don't need God, and the response was God saying "It is I who deal death and give life."
(I was the lector today, too, so I was really feeling the this-ain't-so-rosy-ness of these readings.)
Then there's the gospel of the rich young man who really wants to follow Jesus, says he's kept all the commandments (yawn), is there anything else Jesus can think of he might try as a spiritual exercise? And Jesus tells Him "sell what you have a give to the poor, then come, follow me." And the guy goes away, waiting, I guess, for another rabbi with better ideas to try.
But then, and I think this is the key, Jesus continues talking to his disciples about this. And here I'll quote:
Then Peter said to him in reply,
"We have given up everything and followed you.
What will there be for us?"
Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you
that you who have followed me, in the new age,
when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory,
will yourselves sit on twelve thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters
or father or mother or children or lands
for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more,
and will inherit eternal life.
But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first."
What hit me as the key to understanding all this is that talk about thrones. Yes, in heaven, Jesus is depicted as seated on a throne (in Revelation, and therefore in art). But what is that royal throne as it appeared on earth, in Jesus' lifetime? Where was He high and lifted up to draw all men to Him? From whence comes Jesus' right from the Father to sit as judge of the world (Jn 5:22)? The answer to all three is the cross, of course. Jesus' throne in glory is the flip side of His cross on earth. And Jesus tells his disciples that they, too, will sit on thrones, and they will judge the twelve tribes of Israel, which is the new covenant people, the Church. The promise of real authority must have encouraged those men, after all they were always going off about who would get the prime positions in the kingdom. But what a blow that crucifixion was to them, completely and utterly messing with everything they had ever envisioned the kingdom to be. Still, I think Jesus planted these words in them so hope couldn't die and so that they wouldn't all go off like Judas and hang themselves on Good Friday. And so that after Pentecost they could look back and realize that the experience of the cross is necessary for every Christian.
So what about this wealth stuff that caused the prince of Tyre to be impervious to the doom before him, and that caused the young man to get turned off by Jesus, even though he was a "good person"? The key is that following Jesus means going to the cross with Him. It means dying to the idea that I'm all-powerful, that I need no other god but myself. Dying to self means to open myself totally to give and to love, as Jesus did. The basic truth of life on this fallen earth is that love has an enemy, but that we get victory over the enemy by dying with Jesus and rising again. That happens when we are baptized; and after we are baptized it happens when we repent and confess our sins and then live in the truth of that victory. That is why Jesus promises his followers the hundredfold in this life, and eternal life in the next. The hundredfold is the riches of the Christian life. Look at what it is, by the way: not money and power, but people, and a place. The apostles were to gain lots of people into their lives all over the then-known world.
There. Now that I've got my homily out, I feel much better.
Sunday, July 04, 2010
What Does "Poverty" Mean?
One of the things I love about social media like blogs and Facebook is coming across quotations that friends (or strangers) share. I come across several that I like, and every once in a while I come across a treasure that really lends itself to contemplation or further reading.
I came across one such quotation last week, from Lewis Mumford, a 20th century thinker of whom I'd never heard before:
Poverty.
I have thought about that word often, but never did so much before encountering the Catholic Church. It was something I noticed quickly when I started attending Mass in Milwaukee; there was much more use of this word poverty than in the churches I had belonged to previously. Regardless of how it was used, I had a hard time getting comfortable with the word, with figuring out how to incorporate this word into my new Catholic vocabulary. I got that there was a spiritual dimension to poverty. But mostly I observed middle class suburbanites talking about the terrible plight of other people -- those in poverty. Something in the equation seemed off. At the time, I was living in what a co-worker had described (with some shock when we had discussed my plans to move there) as poverty-level housing. And I guess it was. But I could afford it, and I loved it there. I've never cared what things look like.
In fact, my whole relationship to economic prosperity has always been rather indifferent. With the possible exception of my time in Japan, where I earned far more money than I was expecting to (I went with the understanding that I was a volunteer receiving room and board), I've never lived with lots of means. But I have felt oftentimes like a material glutton, that I have much more than I need. I spent a short time doing mission work in Jamaica in my young 20s and witnessed families who lived in tin shacks the size of a closet and who drew water whenever the pump happened to be working that week. It was laughable for me to think of my "poverty-level housing" as any sort of deprivation after that.
Again this idea of poverty comes to mind these days because we've been living without my husband having a job for a couple of months. Lots of families are in this boat right now. It has been useful for me to shift out what truly we need and what we do not. I have struggled in the past with simply shifting into a "get tough" mode where I refuse to need anything. This is a self-martyrdom problem where I think I will make everything better my killing myself off. I see that this stance does not demonstrate trust in God nor respect for His love for me.
So, what of this thing of poverty? Mumford strikes it on the head. Poverty consists in being deprived of the sight or sound of beauty. Poverty consists in forsaking the contemplation of mystery. Poverty consists in giving up the search for truth and perfection. Beauty, Goodness, Truth. The Catholic Catechism states: "God created the world to show forth and communicate his glory. That his creatures should share in his truth, goodness and beauty - this is the glory for which God created them" (CCC 319). Sharing in the glory of God is all the riches the soul actually needs and desires. A life spent in this pursuit is rich, it is pleasing, it is life-giving. If we lack these things, as Mumford points out, especially chronically, we risk a fatality, the demise of our humanity, our souls.
The deceiver of our souls would convince us that Beauty is ugly, or meaningless, or superfluous -- to be sacrificed. He would convince us that there is no Goodness, there is only expedience, there is only what makes the opportunity before worth grabbing, despite what it means for my own soul or for another. He would convince us that the only Truth is what brings me momentary satisfaction. Got my goodie, gonna get my next goodie; there ain't no more to it than that.
It truly doesn't matter whether we have lots of money or little; either way we can live in poverty. Ironically I think it can be dreadfully hard to alert those in affluent poverty to the state of their souls. It sounds like a bunch of hippie nonsense to tell people their souls are dead. So maybe that's not the approach. Perhaps the approach is to pray folks into a wrestling match. Truth? Beauty? Goodness? Does it matter which facet grabs us, which of our lacks, which of our longings stabs out of our hearts and refuses to shut up? God knows the embrace each of our souls most needs today. Let us pray for each other that we will not shout down God's approach, not drown it, not turn Him aside, not try to stay "comfortable". Not try to stay in poverty. Allow Him who became poor for our sakes to make us rich.
I came across one such quotation last week, from Lewis Mumford, a 20th century thinker of whom I'd never heard before:
A day spent without the sight or sound of beauty, the contemplation of mystery, or the search of truth or perfection is a poverty-stricken day; and a succession of such days is fatal to human life.I think this quote struck me for several reasons, but where I plunge my thought most deeply in this short sentence is into the phrase "poverty-stricken day."
Poverty.
I have thought about that word often, but never did so much before encountering the Catholic Church. It was something I noticed quickly when I started attending Mass in Milwaukee; there was much more use of this word poverty than in the churches I had belonged to previously. Regardless of how it was used, I had a hard time getting comfortable with the word, with figuring out how to incorporate this word into my new Catholic vocabulary. I got that there was a spiritual dimension to poverty. But mostly I observed middle class suburbanites talking about the terrible plight of other people -- those in poverty. Something in the equation seemed off. At the time, I was living in what a co-worker had described (with some shock when we had discussed my plans to move there) as poverty-level housing. And I guess it was. But I could afford it, and I loved it there. I've never cared what things look like.
In fact, my whole relationship to economic prosperity has always been rather indifferent. With the possible exception of my time in Japan, where I earned far more money than I was expecting to (I went with the understanding that I was a volunteer receiving room and board), I've never lived with lots of means. But I have felt oftentimes like a material glutton, that I have much more than I need. I spent a short time doing mission work in Jamaica in my young 20s and witnessed families who lived in tin shacks the size of a closet and who drew water whenever the pump happened to be working that week. It was laughable for me to think of my "poverty-level housing" as any sort of deprivation after that.
Again this idea of poverty comes to mind these days because we've been living without my husband having a job for a couple of months. Lots of families are in this boat right now. It has been useful for me to shift out what truly we need and what we do not. I have struggled in the past with simply shifting into a "get tough" mode where I refuse to need anything. This is a self-martyrdom problem where I think I will make everything better my killing myself off. I see that this stance does not demonstrate trust in God nor respect for His love for me.
So, what of this thing of poverty? Mumford strikes it on the head. Poverty consists in being deprived of the sight or sound of beauty. Poverty consists in forsaking the contemplation of mystery. Poverty consists in giving up the search for truth and perfection. Beauty, Goodness, Truth. The Catholic Catechism states: "God created the world to show forth and communicate his glory. That his creatures should share in his truth, goodness and beauty - this is the glory for which God created them" (CCC 319). Sharing in the glory of God is all the riches the soul actually needs and desires. A life spent in this pursuit is rich, it is pleasing, it is life-giving. If we lack these things, as Mumford points out, especially chronically, we risk a fatality, the demise of our humanity, our souls.
The deceiver of our souls would convince us that Beauty is ugly, or meaningless, or superfluous -- to be sacrificed. He would convince us that there is no Goodness, there is only expedience, there is only what makes the opportunity before worth grabbing, despite what it means for my own soul or for another. He would convince us that the only Truth is what brings me momentary satisfaction. Got my goodie, gonna get my next goodie; there ain't no more to it than that.
It truly doesn't matter whether we have lots of money or little; either way we can live in poverty. Ironically I think it can be dreadfully hard to alert those in affluent poverty to the state of their souls. It sounds like a bunch of hippie nonsense to tell people their souls are dead. So maybe that's not the approach. Perhaps the approach is to pray folks into a wrestling match. Truth? Beauty? Goodness? Does it matter which facet grabs us, which of our lacks, which of our longings stabs out of our hearts and refuses to shut up? God knows the embrace each of our souls most needs today. Let us pray for each other that we will not shout down God's approach, not drown it, not turn Him aside, not try to stay "comfortable". Not try to stay in poverty. Allow Him who became poor for our sakes to make us rich.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Maybe Congress Has Had Too Much Lead Exposure
Perhaps you've heard of the new law that has gotten a lot of press today.
In an attempt to protect children from lead exposure (thanks to all those toys from China with copious amounts of lead in them), a law was passed in August, 2008 that will require all children's products (toys, books, clothes, electronics, you name it) to be tested for lead content or be scrapped, beginning February 10. Items testing over a limit cannot be sold, even if they were produced before this law was drafted.
It sounds like a fine idea to protect our children from lead, doesn't it. But guess who will be able to afford the testing of these products, and who won't. Mega corporations can test one of their little products and sell their other hundreds of thousands of them. The mom corporation, selling books or fabric toys to help manage to stay home with her kids, will not be able to do so. Lots of small or medium sized companies are staring bankruptcy in the face.
Read all about it:
U. S. Consumer Protection Agency Statement
World Net Daily news story
Hearings on the implementation of this law have been "postponed"
By the way, I have to add that only one (1) member of the House of Representatives voted against this bill. Who was it? Of course, Ron Paul.
Updated:
Click here for the latest developments to help put sanity back into this picture.
In an attempt to protect children from lead exposure (thanks to all those toys from China with copious amounts of lead in them), a law was passed in August, 2008 that will require all children's products (toys, books, clothes, electronics, you name it) to be tested for lead content or be scrapped, beginning February 10. Items testing over a limit cannot be sold, even if they were produced before this law was drafted.
It sounds like a fine idea to protect our children from lead, doesn't it. But guess who will be able to afford the testing of these products, and who won't. Mega corporations can test one of their little products and sell their other hundreds of thousands of them. The mom corporation, selling books or fabric toys to help manage to stay home with her kids, will not be able to do so. Lots of small or medium sized companies are staring bankruptcy in the face.
Read all about it:
U. S. Consumer Protection Agency Statement
World Net Daily news story
Hearings on the implementation of this law have been "postponed"
By the way, I have to add that only one (1) member of the House of Representatives voted against this bill. Who was it? Of course, Ron Paul.
Updated:
Click here for the latest developments to help put sanity back into this picture.
Who Doesn't Love Mint?
Here's a chance for you help a Michigan family farm avoid mortgage foreclosure by buying a dram of essential peppermint or spearmint oil. They also sell candles and candy. In the spring, look for their soil rejuvenator! Check out www.getmint.com.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
And the next bailout is....
Looks like socialized medicine is right around the corner, whether we like it or not...
From Fox Business Report, October 24, 2008
From Fox Business Report, October 24, 2008
The Treasury Department is looking at ways to aid insurance companies as part of the rescue package announced earlier this month.
FOX Business Network’s Peter Barnes reported the Treasury has an internal task force looking at ways to help insurance companies. The assistance is expected to come as part of the economic stabilization legislation announced in October, since insurance companies are consider financial institutions and are thus covered under the package.
Sources told FOX Business Network that the assistance to insurance companies could be between $50 billion and $100 billion, and would be in the form of buying distressed assets. A formal announcement on the aid may not come until after the election on Nov. 4.
Like most financial institutions, insurance companies have been taking a hit on investment losses and because of their exposure to mortgages. In recent weeks, insurance companies including Hartford Financial Services (HIG: 24.30, +3.39, +16.21%) and MetLife (MET: 29.80, +1.96, +7.04%) has raised capital. Hartford raised $2.5 billion in capital from German insurer Allianz and MetLife raised $2 billion from a stock offering.
MetLife even approached Hartford about a merger, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal, though a person familiar with the matter told FOX Business that the report was incorrect and no contact between the companies regarding a merger had occurred. Both insurers declined to comment on the matter.
Separately the U.S. Department of Commerce announced Friday it launched a Web site, www.economicrecovery.gov , which is a resource for the latest information about economic issues and what the government is doing to improve the economy.
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Ron Paul and My Education
There is a certain aspect to my particular humanity that I have come to understand, and, after significant on-going internal debate, have an affection for. And that is that I come at the issues of life in an other-than-mainstream sort of way. One might say I tend to see what other people do and then do something quite the opposite. A bit of a contrarian, I am. I can accept that about myself, but I have to explain, even to myself, that I don't style myself as this, I don't try to be different; it emerges from me. It is part of me.
The image that comes to mind is being at a big party, a big family gathering. Upstairs is crowded with voices and faces and animated discussion, exchange, eating, greeting. After a short time, the crowd and the din threaten to suck off my face and render me numb, so for simple self-preservation I retreat to the basement, where I find some children playing, and there I engage in meaningful conversation with the eccentric uncle who for his own reasons also ends up there.
This is how I think about my political education these last many months. Upstairs, there's a lot of talk about McCain and Obama. I cannot help but hear all about it. But I have followed a way that has helped me glimpse Christ amidst all the political stuff. I've been learning "in the basement" in the company of Ron Paul.
I learned of him about a year ago, when he was a Presidential candidate. His position on health care attracted me first. Then I realized he was pro-life and anti-war. The whole idea that he called his campaign a revolution, with LOVE in it struck me as very catchy. More recently I've watched his economic views gain great respect, because the things he warned would happened actually did.
I am not generally interested in individual politicians. But here are some reasons why I can listen to Ron Paul and learn from what he has to say. First, I see humility in him. My brother has worked for state government, and I worked indirectly with lobbyists at the state level, and these experiences (plus the eyes in my head) tell me that humility in a politician is exceptional. I see that he desires that voters educate themselves, and thus I have really heard the call to take up that task. (Even though he is no longer a contender for the Presidency, he is leading a movement to essentially change the Republican party from the grassroots up, based on education and action.) One thing I admire about his call to education is the emphasis on the need for historical context to understand what is before us today. Although I can appreciate the need for knowing what is happening how, there is a certain addictive aspect to chasing the "absolute latest" and forming our opinions accordingly. We need more than news ticker headlines and soundbytes and instant-response polling to understand the meaning of the events of our time.
There is this other thing that appeals to me viscerally about his message, and I'm not sure if I'll put it into words adequately. His supporters have formed what is called the Campaign for Liberty. I'll step out and say I feel this move for Americans to understand and embrace liberty -- freedom -- is nearly a prophetic one. I am not about being a Libertarian, although I do lean more toward that direction than Socialism. But there is a specter that I do find worth fighting against, and it is not perhaps even so much a political reality right now as it is a societal reality, and that is the specter of totalitarianism. Here, I think of this definition: the character or quality of an autocratic or authoritarian individual, group, or government.
My journey of parenting, my journey of the education of my children, my own personal spiritual journey has been greatly marked, indelibly marked by a move away from the damage of an authoritarian model. So perhaps I am very sensitive to see acceptance, welcoming, of control in the movements of society in ways that crush the human spirit and essentially block its potential for movement toward God and the good. I taught in Japan and I saw how the human spirit was somehow almost systematically crushed out of children so that their lives could be brought into societal conformity. Japanese adults, who I think felt could only vent their pain to a foreigner, often told me of the desperation this brought to their own lives.
I believe there is a corollary in our political system. I see a "big picture" that involves much of the world scrambling for someone to take control for us to make things all better. That desire, I believe, can become dangerous for our nation and for our world. We cannot resign ourselves to operate as cogs in a machine. While we need not have as our model the rugged American individualist, we do need to have strength as individuals. Otherwise, banding together becomes not "for the common good," but to the benefit, or I should say to the advantage, of those who are given power by those who feel -- who have learned to believe -- that they cannot operate in power for their own selves.
For myself, my "naru hodo" moment in writing this is to realize that it really does make me just a tad weary to find myself always attracted off the beaten path. Part of me would like to just stay upstairs and join in what is "really" going on.
But I can't, and remain loyal to who I am. This is what is "really" going on for me.
The image that comes to mind is being at a big party, a big family gathering. Upstairs is crowded with voices and faces and animated discussion, exchange, eating, greeting. After a short time, the crowd and the din threaten to suck off my face and render me numb, so for simple self-preservation I retreat to the basement, where I find some children playing, and there I engage in meaningful conversation with the eccentric uncle who for his own reasons also ends up there.
This is how I think about my political education these last many months. Upstairs, there's a lot of talk about McCain and Obama. I cannot help but hear all about it. But I have followed a way that has helped me glimpse Christ amidst all the political stuff. I've been learning "in the basement" in the company of Ron Paul.
I learned of him about a year ago, when he was a Presidential candidate. His position on health care attracted me first. Then I realized he was pro-life and anti-war. The whole idea that he called his campaign a revolution, with LOVE in it struck me as very catchy. More recently I've watched his economic views gain great respect, because the things he warned would happened actually did.
I am not generally interested in individual politicians. But here are some reasons why I can listen to Ron Paul and learn from what he has to say. First, I see humility in him. My brother has worked for state government, and I worked indirectly with lobbyists at the state level, and these experiences (plus the eyes in my head) tell me that humility in a politician is exceptional. I see that he desires that voters educate themselves, and thus I have really heard the call to take up that task. (Even though he is no longer a contender for the Presidency, he is leading a movement to essentially change the Republican party from the grassroots up, based on education and action.) One thing I admire about his call to education is the emphasis on the need for historical context to understand what is before us today. Although I can appreciate the need for knowing what is happening how, there is a certain addictive aspect to chasing the "absolute latest" and forming our opinions accordingly. We need more than news ticker headlines and soundbytes and instant-response polling to understand the meaning of the events of our time.
There is this other thing that appeals to me viscerally about his message, and I'm not sure if I'll put it into words adequately. His supporters have formed what is called the Campaign for Liberty. I'll step out and say I feel this move for Americans to understand and embrace liberty -- freedom -- is nearly a prophetic one. I am not about being a Libertarian, although I do lean more toward that direction than Socialism. But there is a specter that I do find worth fighting against, and it is not perhaps even so much a political reality right now as it is a societal reality, and that is the specter of totalitarianism. Here, I think of this definition: the character or quality of an autocratic or authoritarian individual, group, or government.
My journey of parenting, my journey of the education of my children, my own personal spiritual journey has been greatly marked, indelibly marked by a move away from the damage of an authoritarian model. So perhaps I am very sensitive to see acceptance, welcoming, of control in the movements of society in ways that crush the human spirit and essentially block its potential for movement toward God and the good. I taught in Japan and I saw how the human spirit was somehow almost systematically crushed out of children so that their lives could be brought into societal conformity. Japanese adults, who I think felt could only vent their pain to a foreigner, often told me of the desperation this brought to their own lives.
I believe there is a corollary in our political system. I see a "big picture" that involves much of the world scrambling for someone to take control for us to make things all better. That desire, I believe, can become dangerous for our nation and for our world. We cannot resign ourselves to operate as cogs in a machine. While we need not have as our model the rugged American individualist, we do need to have strength as individuals. Otherwise, banding together becomes not "for the common good," but to the benefit, or I should say to the advantage, of those who are given power by those who feel -- who have learned to believe -- that they cannot operate in power for their own selves.
For myself, my "naru hodo" moment in writing this is to realize that it really does make me just a tad weary to find myself always attracted off the beaten path. Part of me would like to just stay upstairs and join in what is "really" going on.
But I can't, and remain loyal to who I am. This is what is "really" going on for me.
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Two Contacts and an Offer
Some time ago I signed up with Goodreads when Sharon mentioned it on her blog. It has proven a useful way for me to keep track of books I want to read to my son, and it keeps me aware of how I should not be randomly requesting books for myself from the library when I see how long it takes me to read them. It has a nifty social feature to it, so if you'd like to sign up, or if you already use it, and would like to "be my friend," go here and click "add as a friend."
I also got myself on Facebook of all things today. A friend of mine from college, one of the very few people from that era of my life who still makes an effort to stay in touch with me (from Europe, I might add!) held the pictures of her newborn son captive on Facebook, so of course I had to join. Not to mention there's this little Facebook boom among the UnschoolingCatholics group in the last day or two. What can I say; it was meant to be. If you know me well enough to know my surname without me telling you here, go ahead and look for me and add me as a friend. Heck, it's weird, but maybe I'll get used to it. (Facebook, I mean. I might get used to having you as a friend, too.)
And now, the offer. If you buy supplements and have never tried iherb.com before, I can save you $5. (It is a good company, by the way. Back in the days of our intense fertility pursuits I did lots of cost comparisons and found iherb to be one of the best values out there. They ship promptly, too, and without outrageous shipping charges.) Just visit www.iherb.com, make your first-time customer order, and plunk in this code: MOM624. Easy as that. You get $5 off, and I think after tons of people do that I get a certain percentage off my orders as well.
I also got myself on Facebook of all things today. A friend of mine from college, one of the very few people from that era of my life who still makes an effort to stay in touch with me (from Europe, I might add!) held the pictures of her newborn son captive on Facebook, so of course I had to join. Not to mention there's this little Facebook boom among the UnschoolingCatholics group in the last day or two. What can I say; it was meant to be. If you know me well enough to know my surname without me telling you here, go ahead and look for me and add me as a friend. Heck, it's weird, but maybe I'll get used to it. (Facebook, I mean. I might get used to having you as a friend, too.)
And now, the offer. If you buy supplements and have never tried iherb.com before, I can save you $5. (It is a good company, by the way. Back in the days of our intense fertility pursuits I did lots of cost comparisons and found iherb to be one of the best values out there. They ship promptly, too, and without outrageous shipping charges.) Just visit www.iherb.com, make your first-time customer order, and plunk in this code: MOM624. Easy as that. You get $5 off, and I think after tons of people do that I get a certain percentage off my orders as well.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Financial Crisis: The Sound of Two Brain Cells Rubbing
I have been thinking about political issues (as opposed to candidates, or races) quite a bit more than I have in other years. I am also (I admit) far more confused than I ever have been about good policy vs. bad policy than ever before.
I was a Ron Paul supporter in the primary. I was primarily and initially attracted to his campaign because of his "social" policies, particularly his strong pro-life stand, and his approach to education, health care, and his vision of reining in the reach of the federal government, per the Constitution. But many of his supporters have as their number one concern this whole financial crisis mess, the Federal Reserve, etc.
To be honest I don't have the most solid grasp on the history of the US economy or on the meaning of what has just happened this week on Wall Street. But it this little snippet does make sense to me. As a family, we discern what is reasonable for us to do, to endeavor, to spend, based on what income and savings we have. As a country, is it not reasonable for us to sometimes say "no" to meeting something someone feels is a need, simply because it is not financially feasible? This is something I have heard Ron Paul say over and over, and I think I finally get it. I see little difference between Democrat and Republican when it comes to the love of spending tax money, which may or may not actually exist.
I was a Ron Paul supporter in the primary. I was primarily and initially attracted to his campaign because of his "social" policies, particularly his strong pro-life stand, and his approach to education, health care, and his vision of reining in the reach of the federal government, per the Constitution. But many of his supporters have as their number one concern this whole financial crisis mess, the Federal Reserve, etc.
To be honest I don't have the most solid grasp on the history of the US economy or on the meaning of what has just happened this week on Wall Street. But it this little snippet does make sense to me. As a family, we discern what is reasonable for us to do, to endeavor, to spend, based on what income and savings we have. As a country, is it not reasonable for us to sometimes say "no" to meeting something someone feels is a need, simply because it is not financially feasible? This is something I have heard Ron Paul say over and over, and I think I finally get it. I see little difference between Democrat and Republican when it comes to the love of spending tax money, which may or may not actually exist.
Yet Another Serious Reason to Avoid Socialized Medicine
Baroness Warnock: Dementia sufferers may have a "duty to die"
The veteran Government adviser said pensioners in mental decline are "wasting people's lives" because of the care they require and should be allowed to opt for euthanasia even if they are not in pain.
The veteran Government adviser said pensioners in mental decline are "wasting people's lives" because of the care they require and should be allowed to opt for euthanasia even if they are not in pain.
She insisted there was "nothing wrong" with people being helped to die for the sake of their loved ones or society.
The 84-year-old added that she hoped people will soon be "licensed to put others down" if they are unable to look after themselves.
Read the rest hereWednesday, June 11, 2008
For the Love of Lady Poverty
Within the last few weeks I've been feeling a new attraction to, a new appreciation of, Lady Poverty. It could very well be linked to the psychological breaking point of having seen gas reach $4 a gallon. But there is something strangely joyful that I think I am discovering.
If I look objectively over my life, I have never been what one would call wealthy, although I have always felt rather well-off. There's an interesting story here. A few years back when my brother ran for his local Assembly seat, I read his campaign bio. He told the story of his origins -- our origins -- and it sounded to me a rather dismal, up-by-the-bootstraps type story of a poor, working family. Trying to figure out what he could possibly mean by it, I said to him, "I see you're trying to spin a certain image here." (He tends to fall off the left wing of the Democratic party.) He shook his head at me, equally incredulous, and said "No image..." I suddenly realized that while we grew up with roughly the same experiences, we had perceived and translated those experiences in vastly different ways.
Another memory: when I was 13 and was confirmed as a Lutheran I had the customary party where relatives gave me money. In 1981, $40 was quite a sum to me, and I spent it all on Beatles albums. To this day I feel twinges of regret for the frivolousness of this purchase, and never since have I purchased so many "goodies" for myself all at once.
But not even these things are what I'm driving at with what I feel burgeoning in my heart. Let me see if I can reach it.
When the price of gas spiked up, my family began walking more, and given our current gorgeous weather, I love it. Some years ago I started learning about edible wild plants, aka weeds, and so I just love to look at them all as we walk and wonder about what secrets they hold. My son and I have a chance to talk, as my daughter rides in a stroller and therefore has her connection with me differently during that time. I see tremendous value for my son as he sees me push the stroller up our hills here -- one hill being unpaved unless we can momentarily hoist the stroller onto the road -- on the way to and from Mass at Franciscan University. The first few walks we took as a family, he had some complaints. But watching the much harder time I have of it pushing his sister, he has actually begun to catch himself and to realize that perhaps he really doesn't have every justification in complaining. In these and other ways, the time we spend is far more precious that the time we'd save by driving.
On top of the price of gas and the price of food, we just had two huge car repair expenses that were mostly unexpected. So even though I don't typically buy lots of things for our family, I now have the realization that I pretty much shouldn't, for now. Last summer when my husband was laid off, I went through a season of buckling down and setting myself with fierce determination to "make do." The "do" I made turned out to be completely unnecessary, and my effort (aka stress) backfired on me. Now, thanks be to God, my husband's employment is secure, but like many others I look at the rising costs and realize life has to change for us. I had such a joyful moment at Mass the other day when I realized with a tremendous sense of balance that God truly gives us all we need. Now, I spent five years amidst folks who were affected by what John Michael Talbot calls the Great American Heresy of the prosperity gospel, which links financial prosperity with being saved and being blessed by God, and financial poverty with sin. What I saw at Mass is that God cares far too much for our real selves for that nonsense. He wants to give us the real good stuff -- Himself, His love, His grace, His wonder, His companionship, His secret embrace. Doesn't it run chills down your spine? Wouldn't you trade some fancy-schmancy object of yours for an embrace that says you are loved down to your very core, and beyond? If only there were some exchange counter set up for this! I think it would be packed.
But there is, isn't there. We meet Christ, and He bids us to leave all we have and follow him. The stuff. The worries. The plans, the stuff we think we can't live without, the stuff we think we won't be ourselves without. And I think He bids us just not to leave, but to pursue. We have basic needs, our brothers and sisters have basic needs, and we need to meet them. I believe it is our needs that God promises to care for. Ah, our needs. If we could but see our needs clearly! If we could truly see how much we need the core of our being touched and how some of the other stuff dulls and deadens our true sense of need.
Rich Mullins had a great song called Hard where he reminded us that when God promised to care for our needs, we was promising that we would "dress like flowers and eat like birds". Perhaps all this verbosity tonight boils down to catching a glimpse that one can eat like a bird with great, tremendous rejoicing when in the loving fellowship of God, the Maker of all, who is my Father.
Proverbs 17:1 -- Better a dry crust eaten in peace than a house filled with feasting -- and conflict.
If I look objectively over my life, I have never been what one would call wealthy, although I have always felt rather well-off. There's an interesting story here. A few years back when my brother ran for his local Assembly seat, I read his campaign bio. He told the story of his origins -- our origins -- and it sounded to me a rather dismal, up-by-the-bootstraps type story of a poor, working family. Trying to figure out what he could possibly mean by it, I said to him, "I see you're trying to spin a certain image here." (He tends to fall off the left wing of the Democratic party.) He shook his head at me, equally incredulous, and said "No image..." I suddenly realized that while we grew up with roughly the same experiences, we had perceived and translated those experiences in vastly different ways.
Another memory: when I was 13 and was confirmed as a Lutheran I had the customary party where relatives gave me money. In 1981, $40 was quite a sum to me, and I spent it all on Beatles albums. To this day I feel twinges of regret for the frivolousness of this purchase, and never since have I purchased so many "goodies" for myself all at once.
But not even these things are what I'm driving at with what I feel burgeoning in my heart. Let me see if I can reach it.
When the price of gas spiked up, my family began walking more, and given our current gorgeous weather, I love it. Some years ago I started learning about edible wild plants, aka weeds, and so I just love to look at them all as we walk and wonder about what secrets they hold. My son and I have a chance to talk, as my daughter rides in a stroller and therefore has her connection with me differently during that time. I see tremendous value for my son as he sees me push the stroller up our hills here -- one hill being unpaved unless we can momentarily hoist the stroller onto the road -- on the way to and from Mass at Franciscan University. The first few walks we took as a family, he had some complaints. But watching the much harder time I have of it pushing his sister, he has actually begun to catch himself and to realize that perhaps he really doesn't have every justification in complaining. In these and other ways, the time we spend is far more precious that the time we'd save by driving.
On top of the price of gas and the price of food, we just had two huge car repair expenses that were mostly unexpected. So even though I don't typically buy lots of things for our family, I now have the realization that I pretty much shouldn't, for now. Last summer when my husband was laid off, I went through a season of buckling down and setting myself with fierce determination to "make do." The "do" I made turned out to be completely unnecessary, and my effort (aka stress) backfired on me. Now, thanks be to God, my husband's employment is secure, but like many others I look at the rising costs and realize life has to change for us. I had such a joyful moment at Mass the other day when I realized with a tremendous sense of balance that God truly gives us all we need. Now, I spent five years amidst folks who were affected by what John Michael Talbot calls the Great American Heresy of the prosperity gospel, which links financial prosperity with being saved and being blessed by God, and financial poverty with sin. What I saw at Mass is that God cares far too much for our real selves for that nonsense. He wants to give us the real good stuff -- Himself, His love, His grace, His wonder, His companionship, His secret embrace. Doesn't it run chills down your spine? Wouldn't you trade some fancy-schmancy object of yours for an embrace that says you are loved down to your very core, and beyond? If only there were some exchange counter set up for this! I think it would be packed.
But there is, isn't there. We meet Christ, and He bids us to leave all we have and follow him. The stuff. The worries. The plans, the stuff we think we can't live without, the stuff we think we won't be ourselves without. And I think He bids us just not to leave, but to pursue. We have basic needs, our brothers and sisters have basic needs, and we need to meet them. I believe it is our needs that God promises to care for. Ah, our needs. If we could but see our needs clearly! If we could truly see how much we need the core of our being touched and how some of the other stuff dulls and deadens our true sense of need.
Rich Mullins had a great song called Hard where he reminded us that when God promised to care for our needs, we was promising that we would "dress like flowers and eat like birds". Perhaps all this verbosity tonight boils down to catching a glimpse that one can eat like a bird with great, tremendous rejoicing when in the loving fellowship of God, the Maker of all, who is my Father.
Proverbs 17:1 -- Better a dry crust eaten in peace than a house filled with feasting -- and conflict.
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