Living in coronavirusworld 205: Parable of the talents

 

11/10

and we did......

Walking through the neighborhood seeing the election signs.  The ATLAH Christians still seeming to back Trump and dis Biden.

 And ripping gentrification.  We are learning to breathe again but our struggle is far from over.

Tonight’s Bible study focuses on Matthew 25: 14-30. It’s the well known parable of the talents where a man goes away and gives each of his slaves a portion of his wealth. (Each according to their “ability.”) Two out fo the three double their money, the third keeps it safe. When the master (finally) comes back, the first two are rewarded and the third has his taken away and given to the one  who has the most. Not only that, he gets roundly derided and sent into the “outer darkness.” And  his one talent given to the one who had the most. Like the exact opposite of Acts 4: 32-35 where in the early Christian community , it was  from each according to their ability to each according to their need. On first hearing, Marsha responds, Sounds like the  Republican platform. Leila says it speaks to her of the problem of not having money. Russ responds that it is very expensive to be poor. That the “master” in the story sounds more like Gordon Gecko than Jesus. (Greed is good.)  Sherryl responds, God bless the child that’s got his own. And that the  whole thing sounds backwards. As for me, its the kind of passage the makes me want to say, OK, I’m done.I’m out. 

I explain that a talent was a large sum of money…as much as 20 years labor. Perhaps even 1.25 million dollars. And we note that each had been entrusted  according to their ability. So how to blame anyone for the outcome? Trade as an opportunity required risk. The word master is equivalent to Lord. The long time he was away like the delay of the parousia, the coming. 

The root of the word property refers to that which one has proper possession of. And a slave has no possession even of their own bodies

We also note how the phrase, Well done, good and faithful servant, so often used at funerals, has been taken completely out of context.  

Traditionally, this passage has been seen as one which encourages risk taking and  using what God has already given you. It is often seen as an endorsement of bankers and traders. And for liberals,  how important it is to take risks for the gospel. All right so far, but it still doesn’t feel good. 

Next to that as in opposition to Luke 19: 12-27,  we note that none were ordered to trade.  They  took their actions on  themselves. An  alternate reading would be that the one who buried his, as the Talmud instructs,  was the only one protecting his master’s money. Perhaps the only one, who like the wise virgins, (25: 1-13)  actually prepared for his master’s return.  That this parable is placed between the virgins and the sheep and goats. Even if the  other two failed, he master would  still have over a million to start over. The Master is exactly as his salve thought him to be, He seems to believe in living off the labor  of others asa  virtue.He basically says , I take, I steal.  His behavior in response proves the salve right. Faithful in a little? He says? (23) 6.25 million is hardly “a little.” Only the unduly wealthy could see all these talents as “a few things.” Who here Is truly wicked? Truly worthless? It could just as well be the master. 

Glen Gildemstre in Richard Samson’s running commentry Provoking the Gospel,  sees a parallel to Herod Archeleus going to Rome and leaving his brothers in charge of continuing to extract taxes and wealth from the masses. The Jews sent a delegation to Rome  to oppose his rule and when he returned  he slaughtered them. The word “ability” is actually dynamis, power. 

Perhaps the real  message is : Be ready. While you wait, the rich will continue get richer and the poor will be crushed. But there will be an accounting. 

The parable seen so often as defending the status quo is an accurate description of absentee landlords and predatory market capitalism  The one who resists, the third servant, pays a terrible price. 

food ...and community..for the people

Marsha sees the need of those with”little ability” (power) needing to pool their power to be able to resist. When you can’t organize money, organize people. 

Amber Lee still sees the call to utilize your talents, not walk away form them. Talents are not only money but  metaphorically …and literally….talents. And unity through unions., for example. 

Sherryl sees it like other Jesus commands like pick up your bed and walk,. Take responsibility. 

Marsha wonders if Jesus might be messing with them. But then says at end of the day he is inevitably on his way to the cross. And we need take his words in that context. 

We are left wondering who the unsung heroes of the story are. 

the strategy

11/10

The weather stays sunny. The President refuses to concede. I share my music with the Inspired Word virtual  gathering. And make it to the Cantina just before closing. The manager has been waiting for me wondering  where I was. Has my taco order ready to go and a margarita at happy hour prices just because I’m a regular. 

We do these things to order our lives in these unstrung times. 

Matthew 25:14-30

New Revised Standard Version

The Parable of the Talents

14 “For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; 15 to one he gave five talents,[a] to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. 17 In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. 18 But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20 Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. 29 For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 30 As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

)

Living in coronavirusworld 98: Come you who are weary

6/29

Come you who are weary

General Assembly is not over.  I begin to write my reports to those I feel responsible to, namely New York City Presbytery and the Presbyterian Heath Education and Welfare Association. I find myself struggling to hear the depth of pain experienced by my Black siblings.  Especially black women.  As the day goes on, I begin  to understand  the depth of their anger and concern. Was too caught  up in wanting to celebrate  my own work being approved that I could not hear their work being excluded. And their hurt. One of those over and over again hurts.Words I’d  rather not  hear. But words that needed to be heard. 

Our Bible Study tonight looks at Matthew  11:16-19, 25-36.  It’s part of  a longer section looking  at Jesus as Messiah, servant and son of man. The one who continues his mission to Israel even as opposition mounts. In 16-19, he denounces his generation as corrupt. Calling out the elitism of the Pharisees.”We piped and you would not dance, wailed and you would not  mourn.” Wedding imagery. Funeral imagery. Jesus’,ministry vs. John the Baptist. People want neither one.   As son of man, he’s referring  to the final judge, as in Daniel 7:13-14, the one who must suffer and/or using an Aramaic expression for simply referring to ones’ self as human. The reference to eating and drinking’s comes back to John  again.  John the ascetic, Jesus the one who embraces abundant life, turning water into  wine. People don’t want to accept either one.

There’s a section about Jesus as Wisdom, this is Sophia, a feminine entity . By tradition, almost powerful enough to be part of the Trinity . Or maybe a quad god squad. Sophia the most hidden female side of the tradition. Scary enough to have women  who tried to reawaken interest  in sophia  accused of being idolators and heretics in the’90’s.  West Park had a Sophia group that  went on for years…even after the women members left the church…..

The final part is what everyone’s been waiting  for…

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

What we need …we are weary. Need a place to lay down all kinds of burdens. And simply rest.

                                                   from the Messiah

Russ plays for us that section of the Messiah.  

And I play my own Rest awhile. 

 I go it to get sandwich. My trombone man is just panhandling. Behind my mask I look at him and mime a trombone.  Man I got jumped on 120th. Some guys stole my horn.”

 I know a policeman helped him  get his last one, it’s been a “story. ” (https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2017/12/21/nypd-sergeant-gives-new-trombone-to-homeless-man#:~:text=One%20month%20after%20his%20trombone,was%20sleeping%20on%20the%20train.).  It’s got to be hard. Tim’s been out there awhile. With the trombone, he’s someone special. Without it, just another homeless panhandler who no one sees. And that’s what happens when you are homeless, you become invisible. We need to get Tim a new trombone. 

The seven o’clock cheer sees to be no more.

Matthew 11

16 “To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:

17 

“‘We played the pipe for you,
    and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
    and you did not mourn.’

18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”

The Father Revealed in the Son

25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.

27 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Living in conavirusworld 51: Where there is no vision

5/12

Harlem Shake does its part

The sun is out and it's a good time for a  walk. Walking up Lennox, there’s a  pop up needle exchange and a steady line of customers.  

Further up the street, I notice for sth first time since I’ve been living in Harlem, there are no letters on the ATLAH (All the Land Anointed Holy) signboard. This signboard is famous for its almost always controversial proclamations. Among Pastor James David Manning’s favorite targets have been the LGBTQ community, President Obama (" a Taliban Muslim",)Ben Carson (" a pathetic nigga") and gentrifiers. My favorite was “white homos are going to take the black woman's man” He elaborated  on this claim by saying “ Well they’ll take you to Broadway shows and fine  dining at fancy restaurants, who can resist that?” To which I can only respond, “uh….uh…” and wonder exactly who was being tempted. Rev.Manning has quoted Proverbs 29:18”Where there is no vision, the people perish." 

The ATLAH Church

 

The Vision

He has define his vision as 

“50000 righteous men Living for the lord in the community formerly knew as Harlem.

All ATLAH men are homeowners, business owners, leaders in their homes, leaders in the church and leaders in the community” 14 September 1991. He’d also like to build an arch across 125th street to honor the Middle Passage, those who died  being transported across the Atlantic Ocean as slaves. I mean, most of that I can get behind. But the rest of it, no… (Some of it is truly off the wall, like Starbucks putting semen in lattes.) He seems  to have a redemptive vision for the Black man ala  Garvey or Elijah Muhammad. Does the blank  board mean Pastor Manning has lost his vision? Could this be a Covid 19 related issue? It is a mystery.

The Harlem Shake is doing a hot business.

The Shake is on the case

With typically funky signs in the windows and free toilet paper as a bonus. 

free tolet paper

Walking home, a man has fallen out on Adam Clayton Powell and 116, near the bus stop. A woman tries to raise him up, but he doesn't move. She kneels to help him. He starts get up, loses his mask as it blows away. He sinks back to the street . The woman gets another mask and puts it  on him as he lies back down. Though I’ve seen this before, the brokenness around me still gets to me sometimes. Especially as I pass through the gauntlet that’s always planted in front of  the liquor store. 

Every warm night the 115th street crapshooters are out.

I finish the night watching the last game of the 1979 World Series. Completing my run of championships  won by my hometown Pirates in my lifetime.(1960, 71 and 97) This broadcast is filled with PSA’s  on the inning breaks about social distancing and staying home, praises fo our medical workers and other essential workers and  poignant ad in which a Pirate hat is passed on from generation to generation.

genration to generation

It is so strange seeing this video from over 30 years ago when I was a young man in Tulsa interwoven with the realties of coronavirusworld today.

Thoughts on the Pennsylvania grand jury report on the Roman Catholic church

8/24



On my way to Pittsburgh for a performance, I'm trying to get my head around the recent grand jury report. Over decades in Pennsylvania, over 300 Roman Catholic  priests involved with the sexual abuse of over 1000 victims. They believe this is a conservative number. Think about that over 300 priests. Over 1000 victims. In just one state. It's almost incomprehensible.

Friends of mine post on Facebook. Wondering where they can go now. That they can't go back. Finding their old beloved parish priest on the list. Perhaps the one who married them. Reading the disturbing details. Even marking certain boys with special gold crosses. And me finding names of men I worked with in my Pittsburgh days. Colleagues. Some I always felt strange about but some I really liked. And Bishop, now Cardinal Wuerl who in protecting priests and the name of the church left countless children vulnerable. I remember his piercing blue eyes. He cold meet you once and always remember your name. His support of our interfaith Holocaust remembrance services. Today they removed his name from Pittsburgh's North Catholic High School.

I grew up here. In my neighborhood, we Protestants were the minority. There was a heavy "anti-papist" aspect to our culture. The one thing we knew about our Jewish neighbors is that they weren't Catholics. Our pastor kept us after church to warn us that if John F. Kennedy were elected, the Pope would control his decisions and actions. My first encounters with Catholic iconography were frightening, all the anguished bodies. The feelings ran deep.

Coming to appreciate Catholic spirituality was a journey for me. Some of it was encountering popular Catholic culture in Northern New Mexico. Or a girl friend who gave me San Antonio to look after me. I came to understand that the poor saw themselves in those icons. And a God who understood their suffering. Mary brought a feminine balance to a male theoecclesiastical praxis.

Later, it was Catholic existentialist writers who kept me in the broader Christian faith community. Shusaku Endo's Silence was a vitally important book to me.  And Miguel de Unamuno. And Ignacio Silone. I say all this to say that I had come to recognize that Catholic practice spoke to some very deep places in me. 

When I was Protestant Chaplain at the University of Bridgeport, the Jewish chaplain and the Roman Catholic sister who was the first woman to  be named  a chaplain and I were inseparable friends. As a young single guy, I struggled with my relationships and she helped me see that not loving anyone helped her stay available to everyone. 

For my Latino friends, it's often hard to separate what's Catholic and what's Latino. Friends who no longer can claim Christian faith remain cultural catholics. 

So I come to these thoughts with a sense of respect and some hesitation to speak of (to?)  a community that is not mine. Certainly, manipulative abuse of power is present in every faith community. But when I look at the width, breadth and depth of this abuse, I have to feel that something is seriously broken. That something near the center is just plain off. That it is time for a reboot.

First, there should be no confusion of issues here. Pedophilia is not an LGBTQ issue. It's roots are elsewhere. 

More deeply, I'm thinking that the very veneration of celibacy attracts profoundly disturbed individuals who feel that maybe this is a way out. Or an answer. Or worse, a cover. Certainly, there are many who have lived their ministry with integrity and honesty in a healthy caring way. But the sheer numbers in the grand jury report are just too overwhelming. 

Catholicism has had a major role in global social and cultural history. I pray that it can be capable of critical (self) analysis and the kind of radical reconstruction that seems so clearly to be needed. 

Above and beyond all else is the unanswered suffering of thousands of children. That suffering, beyond reparations, demands change at the deepest level. May my Catholic friends have the courage, wisdom and creativity to undertake this journey.