Living in coronavirusworld 240: Shabbat and Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr.

1/15

My friend Rabbi Steve asked me to preach his shabbat service the Friday night before the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. Here's what I had to say:

So this is the shabbat before our annual commemoration of the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. And this year, this shabbat finds us midway between impeachment and inauguration. The start of 2021 has not been, well, exactly smooth. (The other day I was walking in Central Park beside the Harlem Meer. I saw a goose land on the wet ice and its webbed feet immediately started scrambling and he was flapping his wings, trying to find balance and I thought, dude, I feel you…)

It’s interesting that tonight’s Torah portion is Va-ay-rah…"God appeared"…Exodus 6:2-9: 35.  It’s your basic passover story. With Moses singing that spiritual ‘Let my people go” and all these plagues coming. Believe me….we know from plagues. And like the Israelites were in oppressive exile in Egypt, we have been in “internal” exile oppressed by a virus that has walled in our life, taken loved ones from us and separated us one from another. If anyone thinks this is a hoax, I lost three close friends in three weeks last year.  Thing is, in the Bible God sent those plagues. And in no way do I believe God sends this plague. But I will say this, I believe that if we work in partnership with God, good can come out of even the worst of times. Which is where we come back to Dr. King.

What made up Dr. King’s witness?

* First, his witness was faith rooted. His faith inspired him, sustained him and gave him a language. His was the voice of “Let my people go.” And his Black church tradition had a long time connection to the Jewish tradition because his faith community saw in the origin story of the Jewish people, their “passover” from slavery to freedom, a story that could inspire  their own journey to freedom. In his “I have a dream" speech,  he quoted the prophet Amos’ stirring words, “let justice flow down like water and righteousness like an overflowing stream.” 

* That connection meant Dr.King’s movement was inclusive, interracial and interfaith because that was his vision of a beloved community. One of his closest supporters was Abraham Joshua Heschel who said of marching with Dr.King, “I felt like my feet were praying.”

* Third, and this is very important, Dr. King’s witness was an American witness. It is so ironic. We all know how J.Edgar Hoover used the FBI resources against Dr.King because he believed he was a dangerous subversive. The fact is, no one believed in America more than Dr.King. Dr.King took America at its word, that it truly wanted to be what it said in its founding documents and sacred songs. Of course, the events of last summer and the attention brought by Black Lives Matter has reminded us that much was wrong from the very start. But the thing is, ideas, ideals have more power, more truth than the flawed human beings who create them.  Dr. King created that cognitive dissonance between what we said and what was and asked us, which is it? And the arc of history bent just a little more towards justice, 

One more thing…Dr.King had come to realize that it’s more than prejudice, that the economic situation needs to change as well.  And that is equally true for Americans of all colors.

SO what does this say to us on this shabbat, January 15, 2021?

* We need to reclaim the tradition of the prophets as an important part of our heritage…understanding as Heschel said that a prophet comes from a people and speaks to a people and the primary motive of a prophet must always be love..too many people who criticize think  that somehow  they are separate from what they criticize…we are in this together…the US is us...

* We need to renew our belief in America. In  what is best about who we have been, who we are and who we can yet be, ever striving to bring our reality closer to our ideals.

And finally this…this has been the most divisive time in our country’s life that I have lived through. We have to find our way past the division. I think of these words of Dr.King as my closing:

“Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.”

Shabbat shalom. 

Living in coronavirus world 197: We don't roll that way

 

10/28

Keep on voting

Pittsburgh strong

Today is a day for Pittsburgh. The hat is a Steeler hat, perhaps the most widely held Pittsburgh icon. The logo originally was from the Iron and Steel Institute. The three hypocycloids (curved diamond shapes— alternative name, asteroids— I love that). One for coal, another for ore and the third for scrap steel. Th elements of industrial steel. Adopted by the Steelers in 1964 at the urging of Republic Steel. (Ironically from Cleveland!) The black and gold also represents coal and ore. As well as the colors of William Pitt, for whom the city is named.) Pittsburgh is the only city where all the teams…baseball football, hockey and soccer…all wear the same colors. Black and gold is Pittsburgh. A Chilean soccer team, los Arcereros de Huachipato /Talacahuano, inspired by the Steelers, have borrowed the same logo. 

los arcereros

Romemu

The real reason though is that the symbol was repurposed in  response to the Tree of Life shootings two years ago where a white nationalist opened fire in the synagogue killing 11 and wounding another 7. The adapted symbol became the image for the city’s resistance to hatred. I remain somewhat annoyed that an Upper West Side synagogue, Romemu, has borrowed the symbol for its own messaging. Taken apart form its Pittsburgh context, it loses its poignancy, and in fact, meaning. 

Russ is wearing a hat from Table Mountain, Johannesburg, South Africa. Steve H who lived there’s says the legend is that is where God and the devil sat down to play cards to decide the country’s fate.

Sam tells a story of being inspired by Stephen P’s story in the Yale Divinity School’s Reflection magazine about hope. About being willing to step into the darkness. And embrace it. How she got trapped driving at night when she can’t see and found her way home by following the tail lights of the car right tin front. Hope beyond our power is prayer. 

I quote form the Dead, (New Speedway Boogie)

Now I don't know, but I been told

If the horse don't pull you got to carry the load

I don't know whose back's that strong

Maybe find out before too long

One way or another, one way or another

One way or another, this darkness got to give

We follow the lights in front of us…

We talk about Marilynne Robinson’s New York Time’s op ed on what it means to love a country, especially in our current context. (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/09/opinion/sunday/america-patriotism.html) It’s a clarion call to not give up on America. To see ourselves as a family. And have the courage to see the importance of not failing   democracy. 

I see her as perhaps the most articulate interpreter of  Calvinist thought writing  today. Beauty and grace in our inevitable imperfection.

Dre suggest that in our confusion, perhaps the best thing to do is to just set a direction and go. Define a problem and get to work. Knowing we are allowed to question and allowed to explore.

I recall how my mentor Philip Newell, describing his work as a church bureaucrat, said that if God wants something to be done in the world, it is already being done. It is our work to find it, support it and connect others with the same vision. Steve P reminds us that the root of the word organization has to do with bringing together different organs, like Paul’s analogy of the body. (1 Corinthians 12: 1-31.)

And Dre opens  up forgiveness again. And we talk about the difference between shame and guilt, As I’ve been learning, guilt is acknowledgment of something you did, shame is a state of being, I consider it harmful, although Stephen P speaks of the danger of having a shameless President and a shameless Republican Party. How in this country, we began with the concept of correctional facilities, where someone be might be corrected. Penitentiaries  where they might  be reflective and repent, penitent.  Reform schools for troubled children. To be reformed. They all were based on a concept of penitence, remorse, compassion and restoration.  Instead what we have is a system of punishment and social control. 

And in countries, like South Africa with its truth and reconciliation  committees. Peoples’ stories being told is absolutely essential in healing a country. In places like Chile and Argentina where amnesty was declared, the wounds remain unhealed and open years later.

It begins in your family. As my boys said, the way we as parents would say, “We don’t do that in our family.” And by extension, the power of churches that can say, “We don’t do that in our church.”

As I said in my song:

We don’t roll that way.

Chi sis not what we believe, not the way we were raised.

I feel like it’s dar and getting dark every day

All I can say is 

We don’t roll that way.

bienvenidos al barrio

Timmy plays the trombone

saints

I walk to East Harlem to get a free taco. ( A World Series based Taco Bell promotion.) I consider the irony of a Taco Bell in an el Barrio filled with real Mexican restaurants and food trucks. As I reenter my part of Harlem, I see the political street signs. And in anticipation of All Saints Day,  portraits of John Lewis and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And as I near home Timmy is playing the trombone to welcome me back. 

10/28

A wet and cold rainy day. The  early voting continues. People are so anxious to have it count.  There is another Peoples Music Network "song swap,"  primarily North Americans but two UK friends join us. I share my song "Listen" and it's well received.

...and all the people of the earth will hear the birds sing again..

This darkness has to give. 

Living in cornavirusworld 189: Siblings all....

 10/14

.....as you love your neighbor

Today I’m wearing my VOTE shirt and a Brooklyn Cyclones “Dead” hat….

Vote...

Someone suggests that to understand the conflict going on in the gospels, the Pharisees were the Democrats, the Sadducees the Republicans and Jesus AOC. (Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez)

Our main topic of discussion is Fratelli tutti, which is not as Clyde joked a pasta dish but Pope Francis’ latest encyclical. Its topic is active brotherhood.(sic) That we are all siblings and need to live that out. Through action. And celebration.

Steve H talks about the issue of passing the peace in socially distanced worship services When we’re wearing masks. The importance of eye contact. Instead of handshakes or embraces, everyone looking into the eyes of everyone else round the circle. In the midst of the lock down, I remember my nurse organizer friend Tracy recognizing me by my eyes at the health workers demonstration at Harlem Hospital. You can see smiles, even when wearing a mask.

The pandemic has brought to light the basic conflict Francis explores, between individualism and community, a theme we have been exploring for some time. Institutions, by their very nature seem to run counter to the witness of Jesus. Institutions are of necessity focused on long term survival while the mission of Jesus is to live the day. The pandemic has revealed greater emphasis and expressions of people committed to both individualism and community. They each make their own demands and we live in the midst of that conflict.

We reflected on Fratelli’s treatment of war. Nationalism as a highest value seems to lead inevitably to war. Joe points out the since the time of Augustine, Christianity has lived with an ethic of just war. But in our time, the consequences of war are so devastating, especially for the innocent, so generally destructive, that the conditions, the limits of a just war are simply no longer possible. Thus the statement is of historic significance.

It leads to a discussion of what constitutes violence in defense of the innocent or even public order. Especially when confronted by someone who is severely disturbed. Violently disturbed. I remembered when a crazy person took over our worship service and began approaching me as I preached. Rafael, an Occupy Wall Street security person, approached him and offered a hug. When the person hugged him, Rafael wrapped his arms around him and simply carried him outside and remained with him until the ambulance arrived. Andre, who had been afraid the situation would trigger another brain aneurism, said it was the most loving use of physical restraint he had ever seen. Is any use of physical force inherently violent?   A lot of edges too that conversation. 

We talked about compassion, sympathy and empathy. Feeling with, feeling for, and feeling into, a sifters another’s feelings were one’s own. Empathy means you have the same feelings. Sympathy mean you can feel for. Understand the feelings. Compassion means you feel with and take action. Small groups can be capable of this. We can sit shiva (mourning ) with each other. We can gather for 8 day of novenas. 

Our feelings are clearly with Norm, famed Biblical scholar, currently in residence at the Community of Living Faith at Stony Point. At 92 and with doctors in New York, he’s got to think about returning to Berkeley either now or March. Institutional lack of vision. 

The discussion of Fratelli Tutti will continue next week. 

The Presbyterian Health Educational and Welfare Association board is filled with anxiety on the Supreme Court appointment hearings. Especially our  Reproductive Options network. And even more so the election that looms ever closer. As Covid not only doesn’t go away but is spiking in many states, networks like HIV and Disabilities and Domestic Violence feel ever more pressure. 

We are nowhere near the end.....

Living in coronavirusworld 175: So much evil in the world

 9/24

Black lives matter 5K

For the second day in a row, drama on 115th street. Again, the sounds of commotion through my window. I go outside to see a city garbage truck stopped. There’s a large bag on the street in back of the truck. The bag is moving. And a pool of blood growing. A circle of neighbors watching. My neighbor who spends her days sitting outside, watching, one of those, as Jane Jacobs puts it, eyes on the street, is staring. I ask her what’s up. Turns out someone had put their dog in a garbage bag. When the workers hit the compactor function, and heard pained sounds, they realized there was something moving  in the bag, The semicrushed dog was still alive. They removed the bag and lay it in the street. 911 was called. The animal ambulance is on the way. My neighbor is starting to tear up.  I just can’t believe it she says. How could  anybody be that cruel? So sad.That poor dog. Dying a slow death. So sad. The ambulance arrives, the dog gently, lifted up, put in the back. Lights flashing, the ambulance  takes off. Accompanied  by a two police car escort with flashing lights and sirens. My neighbor says, There is so much evil in the world these days. So much evil. Thank God there are still people with good hearts…so sad..so much evil…I watch the police cars clearing the way for  the ambulance. I want to believe they would do the same for my neighbor. I hope he makes it, but I don’t know...I just don’t know…she’s says.

Hari Krishna

I do the Black Lives Matter (virtual) 5k down the west side of the park. At least two jazz ensembles out on this beautiful day. 

Jazz in the park

And at the circle, I see the Hari Krishna people are back. Sigh, I have not missed them,

I stop at the Gate on my way home. A TV news reporter is interviewing co-owner Siobhan about the struggles of trying to survive the covid crisis. Limited capacity (25%) occupancy can begin next week, But no bar. With 12 tables ,that means only 3 available. The city just announced that outdoor dining can continue through the winter. Siobhan is not sure they can afford the tents. It’s a tough go for sure.

                                                                  at the Gate

 I tell my dog story to my old friend RL. He thinks a minute, You know, someone’s poor. Got a sick dog.Can’t afford ASPCA. Don’t know what to do…maybe they’re not cruel, just overwhelmed. I think about this But am still haunted by the dog.

Less than 24 hours after our meeting to organize support for the residents of the Lucerne the Mayor announces once again he is moving them out, This time to a downtown Radisson. A neighborhood vigil is being organized.

I head home to watch my actor  friend in an online benefit for Emily’s List, for the support of  women candidates. There will be  ZOOM plays and a spoken word artist, And of course I will end the night with our open mic. 

Thank God there are still people with good hearts…so sad..so much evil…

Living in coronaviruswolrd 173: Hope and hot water

 

9/23

Bears on Columbus

“Boil the frog”

Joel tells us that’s the song he’s working on. Referring of course to the old story about how if you turn up the heat a degree at time, the frog won’t jump out of the water until it’s too late. And it feels like that’s where we’re headed.

We're talking today about James Cone and Cornell West. We remember the many Wednesdays we met at Tom’s restaurant and James Cone would be in the back booth waiting for Cornell West and Dr. West would stop on the way back to talk with us awhile. For both of them, blackness is a concept bigger than skin color. Dr. West talks for example about “..brown and white sisters and brothers discovering their inner blackness.”  I remember teaching Dr. Cone’s Black Theology to my theology students in Newark and how hard it was for many white and even some Black students to come to terms with a “Black Jesus.”

Dr. Cone was one of the first to challenge the idea there was anything like a pure  theology. What we were taught was a theology that was always a culture informed Western European white theology. I worked hard to teach  students that all theology is contextual and that they need to be able to identify and understand their own culture (in the broadest sense)  and context to be able to create their own theology. We see theology through our lens of American individualism. The Old Testament prophets, on the other hand, critiqued the religion of  seeing God only within their own group. In scripture, there is alway a tension between the individual and the group.

Joel grew up with what he referred to as “trickle down theology,” that is if you save individual souls,   they’ll do the right thing and all society will benefit.  A spiritual version of Reaganomics. Steve P reminds us of Jesus’ blood trickling down. And then reminds us of Erich Fromm’s concept of social narcissism where the self disappears into the mob which it sees as its greater self. For Dr. Cone, blackness is a mentality. A way of living in an oppressive society. And the essence of Black theology is to  allow the brokenness of the body of the Black Jesus to be our inspiration.  Brokenness can be the pathway to healing for both individual and society.

(As to what is seen, Archbishop Tutu reportedly said “if you were arrested for being a Christian, would  there be enough evidence to convict you?”)

There seems to be a sense that self-hatred plays a role in the attraction of the mob, or authoritarian leaders. How will we behave under dictatorship? Clyde recalls Vaclav Havel in Czechoslovakia and theatre. I think of the role of the church in East Germany during the DDR days. 

(How do you sing the Lord’s song in a strange land? Rehearse.)

Joel likes the wheat and tares parable.That we are all both. And that relationship means valuing the relationship over being right. 

Steve P reminds us that the two great commandments go together. Love your neighbor as your self. And that only those who  love themselves can truly love their neighbor. People who love themselves don’t join mobs or follow dictators. We speak of Martha and Mary and Jesus saying that Mary had chosen the better part when Martha complained. Steve P argues that Martha should have come to sit and  study as a student as well. I agree, but Jesus should have said, Let's all do the dishes so Martha can join us.  (All tautologies are useless. By definition, he says.) Then repeats that we need hope, and that if hope has an object, it is not absolute.  He sees the story of the father and son in Cormac McCarthy’s post-apocalyoyic speculative fiction novel The Road as dramatic example of the kind of  hope he is talking about.

As the water gets ever hotter, our weekly conversations nurture the hope within us. 

open fridge

As  I walk the Upper West Side, I see another Open Fridge for free food. 

Joel and Carrie’s weekly Wednesday night Gluey Zoomy Show in its own whimsical way brings its own rays of hope as it reminds us that we are the glue that keeps each other together through these times.

Living in coronavirusworld 168 : It continues to shape our lives

9/15

a gathering of turtles

 The biggest issue facing the Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and. Housing right now is the ongoing controversy over people who were homeless taken from covid dangerous overcrowded shelters and placed in unused boutique hotels in the traditionally liberal elite Upper West Side. Aggressive backlash from entitled neighbors, even when countered by good hearted groups like Open Heart UWS, bolstered by hiring a former deputy mayor as their attack dog attorney, was enough to push a lame duck vanishing mayor into declaring their removal. This unfortunately meant setting off a domino effect, forcing people with disabilities from housing specially designed for them and then scattering them throughout the boroughs disrupting others’ lives. Thankfully, the Legal Aid Society stepped in. The exodus was halted. To date, 40 persons have been removed for the Lucerne Hotel and 240 still remain. Even though homeless advocates have raised owe $200000 to provide services for the hotel residents, the city will be spending over $100000 to litigate to get them out. This is happening when there was a record nearly 70000 homeless persons in New York City. And now there are already 14000 pending evictions in the system with another flood to come in 4-5 months. Yet another crisis brought on by the virus. We’ve got to try and rally a scattered faith community to try and bring more support for the hotel residents and their advocates over against those who just want then out. Sometimes in a crisis, in this city, we don’t take care of each other. 

New York City Presbytery, the governing body for Presbyterians in the city, is wrestling with the pressure for churches to reopen. To allow those renters to reenter because so many depend on the rental income for survival. Presbytery only has 40% of the income it did a year ago, Staff cuts would seem to be imminent, but those who would be most likely to be terminated are the BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color) employees. Personnel committee recommends status quo, even without sufficient funds. The next Presbytery meeting is set to be all virtual. All on ZOOM. But the Black Presbyterian Caucus maintains this will disenfranchise people of color and low income persons who are less likely to be computer owners or tach savvy. That makes for the longest debate of the evening, We know from experience that phones just don't provide an adequate participatory experience , voting is not possible in ZOOM with a dial in phone. So many issues and conflict of values to sort this one out. Eventually, we decide that we  will seek to secure smart phones for those without computers and teach them how to use them. Easier said than done. 

 Taco Tuesday. The owner of Cantina tells me already 10 percent of restaurants have permanently closed. Even with limited capacity reopening scheduled for September 29, it still looks like 40% of our owners will go out of business. Two exhausting ZOOM meetings and even my dinner, all controlled or impacted by the virus. It continues to shape our lives.We step towards normal, but it’s way beyond what we can see.

Living in coronavirusworld 154: Wherever two or three...

8/31

What the world needs now is love

Appolo marquee

ATLAH speaks

Weighing in on gentrification

Walking along 125th, I look at the marquee of the famed Apollo Theatre. Like every other entertainment venue, looks like they’re just trying to figure out how to survive. And that they’ve got a virtual fall season lined up. Walking south on Malcolm X, I stop to see the latest comments from the infamous ATLAH  (All the Land Anointed Holy) church. I share them without comment. 

Tonight in Bible study we are looking at Matthew 18: 15-20. In this section, Jesus addresses the issue of how to deal with conflict within the church. The whole process of going one to one, and if that doesn’t work, 2 to 3 witnesses, and if that doesn’t work, the whole church. And then if the person does not respond, that them as a “gentile or tax collector.” Then it talks about “binding” and “ loosing” on earth and heaven and wherever  “2 or 3” are gathered together, Jesus is there in the midst. 

On first reflection, Marsha says “what you say has staying power. Jesus is saying, don’t forget, I am there too.”  Later Leila will say “ a grudge gives you purpose, people want to hold on.”

It’s easy to miss that Jesus is about more than conflict resolution here. As much as those processes can help one resolve a hurt or complaint, the real focus here is what it takes to build community. Russ points out that the “you” to whom the instructions are directed is plural. Enabling  people to have “hard conversations” with each other strengthens a community. Enables a community to hang tough when tough things happen.  ( I remember my friend Kristen Leigh saying that there are all kinds of communities, but a church needs to be the place you can go to when “the shit hits the fan.” We are reminded how rare that is. 

Russ reminds us that when we talk about treating that person as a tax collector or gentile we have to rememeber that Jesus ate and drank with them.  What he appears to be saying is that hen a person has essentially removed themselves from community, you have  to start all over agin from the beginning. 

We talked about whiter it might actually be possible. In my experience as a pastor, when 2 people came into conflict both expected me to set the other person straight and ultimately both would get  angry and leave. I never figured out how to deal with  triangulation.  If I could make one requirement for joining a church it would be a commitment to resolving any conflict as community. To not break community solidarity . When Jesus is saying wherever 2 or 3 are gathered together, there he is, I believe this is  what he is talking about. That oft quoted verse is really in  the context of a dispute resolution community building process.  In the end, even 2 to 3 people committed to resolving differences in community are a beginning. 6 to 8 can be a true and strong cell.  And a dozen, well , can change the world. 

Living in coronavirusworld 143: the fruit of the prayer is not in the prayer

8/19

...and it does.....

Our Underground group gathers from New York City, the Berkshires, Catskills, Maine and the Jersey Coast.  Any of us who can be away are away. Typical New York August stretched out over months. 

A lot of time is spent today talking about contemplation and….like say action. How the depths of contemplation can lead to action. 

We talk about prayer. How true prayer is more listening than speaking.  How Jesus learned things through listening. To others. And to God. That the fruit of the prayer is not in the prayer. We talked about Thomas Merton. How through prayer we find ourselves, love ourselves. How he said the one who begins in contemplation will end in revolution.  And that prayer unleashes our power. Compassion and empathy as the fruits of prayer.

We talked about the difference between chanters and shouters. 

We talked about hope. How it is not objective, it has no object, it just is. And it is, as the Bible says, not seen. (Hebrews 11:1) 

Joel says we are living in a time of cold civil war. I describe my emotional state as quiet anxiety, not helped by our current system,  our crazy electoral system in which a voter on Wyoming has 4 times the voting power as one voter in California.  Hold onto hope.

We speak of the difference between meditation, emptying of all thought,  and contemplation, single minded reflection.  And what each leads to . And commit to following up on this conversation, deeper,  next week.

a reminder

trees

Walking through Central Park, there’s a new set of banners affirming the Park’s role in  our lives.

The Presbyterian Health Education and Welfare Association continues to explore the potential collaboration between our Disabilities Network and the Black Women and Girls working  group.  Our Reproductive Options group also sees collaboration as helping to move us past pro-choice, to reproductive justice, a perspective that explores the social economic and bias pressures that push abortion rates in communities of color. 

Tonight at the Democratic Convention is Kamala Harris’ night.  Fine points of ideology and change theory aside, her story is a quintessentially American story.  Immigrant parents from Jamaica and South Asia. Meeting in a march for justice. An extended family of various colors, cultures snd spices. An American story. Our story. That alone counts for something.  As does a Presidential candidate's wife who is a teacher and believes in public education, not ending it. People who know us. Yes, that counts.