It’s been a fun week. As far as weeks go. Here on the North Coast we joined with millions of other cold Americans to dig out of a larger-than-usual snowstorm. I say larger-than-usual because I was in that Blizzard of ’78. THAT was a big snowstorm. The one last weekend was, meh, ok I guess.
The hours of daylight are increasing. That’s good news to all of us who suffer from seasonal head issues. Am still using my happy light, though. In Northern Ohio we’re in Cloud Season. Even with the sun showing itself more, it’s still dark and depressing. C’mon June!
I’m starting a new position at the local Giant Eagle. After a year and a little bit in the bakery as a clerk I’m moving to the meat department. So rather than spending my time slicing bread and packing cookies I’ll be packing meat and tending the meat display. Oh, fun.
I’ve spent the last couple months leading a study of the Book of Revelation from the Bible. It’s been interesting. Especially when you get out of the LaHaye and Lindsey wet dream about ‘Us’ being whisked away to some heavenly dream while everyone, EVERYONE, else burns in some eternal, conscious torment. That worn out dispensational idea well and truly sucks. It reveals how much people who don’t think can cause so much chaos and false narratives. I know. I was one of them once. We were, and some still are, wrong.
I recently finished a book by one of my Old Testament professors from seminary. It’s entitled “Undoing Manifest Destiny” by L. Daniel Hawk. Dr. Hawk taught Deuteronomic History when I had him. His views on books like Joshua and Judges were life changing. The image of King David turning into the Godfather in his old age sticks in my brain like a beacon to illuminate the humanity of the scriptures. While I have studied a bit about the relationships of settler/colonists and indigenous people, Hawk’s words revealed even more about the duplicity and horrors that guide these relationships to this day. He also suggests ways that we can begin healing by shining light on what white settlers inflicted on native people. It’s worth the read if you’re interested in justice.
I’ve seen a lot in my many years dancing on this big rock. For most of it I was happily oblivious to things going on around me. I was an aspiring young freak at on time. Invested in playing rock and roll I didn’t pay close attention to the civil rights struggle or the anti-war folks laying their lives on the line for some kind of justice. I was a middle-class 60s kid who played in the woods and went to the local country club pool in the summer. I listened to music because the sound moved me. Lyrics were unimportant. The ‘groove’ was all that mattered. In junior high I took part in what folks were calling a “moratorium.” Whatever that was. I was a rock and roller who liked psychedelic posters and clothes. So I was automatically slotted into the hippie anti-war box. I never really knew why. But, it was cool. The stuff I missed has come back round again. While it’s wearing different clothing, the injustices that are a feature, not a bug, of the Human Condition are flaming brightly. Just as they did 60 odd years ago. This time, however, my eyes are open. Perhaps not looking at things the same way as some progressives. Certainly not like most conservatives. I have a different lens that focuses our reality. (We all have a world view lens that we look at reality through.) I’ve shared some of the images that steal through that lens to my heart and mind. I’ll share more. For now I simply want to describe my position as similar to that of the captain of host of the Lord when the community of Israel crossed the Jordan River into their “promised” land. Joshua turned and saw a man with a sword in his hand. Joshua asked the man, “Are you for us or our adversaries.” The man simply replied, “No.” Take that as you will.
See ya next time!
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