Wrong Headed Dogma

Bishops in Illinois have chosen to shut down a Catholic Charities program that refers foster children and assists with adoptions because in order to receive government money, they cannot discriminate against same sex couples. See the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/29/us/for-bishops-a-battle-over-whose-rights-prevail.html

It should be noted that the hands of the State of Illinois are tied. Now. I am nobody's constitutional scholar but it is my understanding that through precedent and case law, the 14th amendments protections have been extended to cover sexual preference. In other words, to discriminate against same sex couples in adoption services, by a government agency, is unconstitutional. Granted, Catholic Charities is not a government agency but the prohibition still applies to programs that utilize government funding. This is because if government funding is give to a discriminatory agency, it will be denied to a protected group. This same funding will be unavailable to organizations that operate within the law and serve all citizens without prejudice.

Nobody has forbidden Catholic Charities to operate in the manner that they say is in keeping with their interpretation of the faith. The Government simply refuses to support programs that operate outside of it's own laws. To deny these funds (which are involuntarily extracted from the tax payers) to same sex couples would constitute the state denying a class of citizens the "Blessings of Liberty" guaranteed in the preamble as well as "abridge privileges" specifically forbidden in the 14th amendment of the constitution.

The actions of the Bishops are clearly in conflict with the constitution but they are also theologically dubious.

In the New Testament, there is no reference to homosexuality in any of the Gospels so we can only assume that it wasn't an important issue to Jesus or the disciples. It is mentioned only three times by Paul: 1st Corinthians 6:9-10, 1st Timothy 1:8-11 and Romans 1:26-27. In all three of these passages it is mentioned almost just in passing among lists of other behaviors without any particular emphasis. These lists include trespasses such as idolatry and drunkenness, yet the Bishops single out this particular behavior and not the others in justifying the end of an important program that serves the children of the poor. If Jesus wasn't worried about it why are the Bishops so concerned?

There certainly are prohibitions against homosexuality, or rather homosexual behavior in some contexts, in the Old Testament. Genesis 19 springs immediately to mind. (Gn 19:5). The men of Sodom demand to have sexual relations with the angles under Lot's protection.

The legend of Sodom and Gomorrah is one of debauchery and deviancy in the ancient world. It would be quite a stretch to apply the same moral context to committed, loving couples who wish to raise children in the modern one.

The issue is raised in Leviticus as well.

"You shall not lie with a male as with a woman" Lv18:22

There is no escaping the fact that the passage is there nestled in a long list of other sexual prohibitions. Leviticus has many passages that are highly relevant to modern life. For instance there is an excellent treatise on the proper course of action to take if ones ox falls into a neighbors cistern. There is also excellent instruction on the proper method of smearing sacrificial blood on an alter.

The point here is that Leviticus is an extremely technical document written for a very specific time and situation. The Israelites were strangers in a strange land, constantly under attack with a brief from God to be prosperous and abundant. It stands to reason the child rearing would be a very high priority for the sake of survival. It is easy to see, and be sympathetic, to their reasoning. The simple fact is, given the technology of the time, same sex relationships were childless.

That having been said, the world has changed in the more then three thousand years that have elapsed since the time of Moses. We inhabit a planet with seven billion people. Reproduction has dropped in importance. Spiritual harmony and fulfillment are now what is needed. With spiritual wholeness comes joy. With joy comes peace. With peace comes prosperity. We simply cannot afford anything less. Like the smearing of blood on an alter, the prohibitions on same sex relationships simply are no longer valid. A committed and loving relationship between two consenting adults with a desire to raise a family cannot possibly be a sin.

This begs the question: Is the Bible a living document, that is to stay, relevant to the everyday life of human beings? Or is it to become just a dusty old book of superstition that is little more then a tool of repression? It is a matter of faith.

As a Catholic, I believe it is the duty of all Catholics to be of service to the poor. To deny the poor on the basis of vague scriptural dogma and declare that in so doing they are victims of a government "War on religion" is unconscionable and un-Christlike. It flies in the face of the Catholic tradition of service. It is yet another case where the Bishops lose their way in succumbing to reactionary dogma instead of glorifying the healing and forgiving nature of Christ.

I am a devout Catholic but I wish that the Bishops would at least once in a while just try to make it easy.

Canticle of a Lover

Alone with my thoughts
I contemplate a heart full of love
Love for no one person
But for all creation
I pledge my troth to the Giaa
My heart belongs to Terra
My affection I give to Sol
The origin of life.
I love the sick and dirty wretch
Crumpled in a subway entrance
I love the dying
Looking at mortality
I love the holy ones
And the whores
I love beasts of the field
The birds of the air
And every microscopic being
That are also a gift of the creator.
I love not one
But all
In so loving
My soul is a child of God

Blood Begets Blood

I am horrified by the Christmas bombings of Catholic Churches in Nigeria that have resulted in so much death and misery. I am angered that such a holy day was targeted and that such innocent people were destroyed. I am praying for the dead, the injured and the other survivors, but I am also praying for the perpetrators of this horror. I am praying that the pain of the victims is eased but I am also praying that the pain of the bombers is salved as well.

I find myself wondering what sort of pain and anger drives people to do commit such a heinous act in such a sacred place as a house of worship, all in the name of God. One does not just get up in the morning and decide to do something like this. There are many dynamics in play and all things are related. What caused this perfect storm of evil to happen in a people that are certainly no better or worse then anybody else all things being equal?

I am not a soldier or a policeman. I have the luxury of turning the other cheek. I do fervently hope that justice is done, whatever that may look like, but in my prayers I beg that that balance is restored and peace rules the hearts of all. I pray that justice comes in abundance to both sides of the conflict so that there ceases to be any "sides" at all. I pray for a time that everyone can worship as they please without fear of retribution or repression.

The Bible has many passages where Christ asks love and forgiveness of all especially when it isn't easy, and although my knowledge of the Qur'an is superficial at best, I would be willing to bet that similar messages are there too. How do people wander so far from scripture that it becomes an excuse for mayhem. Why are Christians and Muslims and others so quick to kill and terrorize in the name of God. We all pay lip service to the love of God yet when it comes to practical reality we pervert and bastardize the word to suit our own selfish ends. This is seen not only in the bombing of churches but in attacks on people for their race or sexual orientation and and even for differences of political opinion. Human beings have a habit of declaring that God is on their side whenever they use violence to achieve an earthly aim.

"Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt
and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance;
Who does not persist in anger forever
but delights rather in clemency,
And will again have compassion on us
treading underfoot our guilt?
You will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins;"
Micah 7:18-19

I am not ignorant of the ways of the world. I know that there are harsh realities. I know sometimes people must defend themselves if they are to live. It is only human nature. What I am saying is that although we may sometimes need to use force, we should always be looking for a Christlike solution, one that includes wisdom, love and compassion. Most of all. it must include understanding, We must respect the calling of God to a worship that may be different from our own even when those that hate us do not. We must understand that it is in Gods love that we forgive. When we act in self defense, we should do so not in anger or hatred and never ever in revenge. If God calls us to cast the sins of our fellows into the sea, shouldn't we at least try?

Mostly we must strive to eliminate the need for self defense. We must look at the causes of hatred and accept that all people, on a deep spiritual level, share the same wants and aspirations. We must realize that there is so much more that unites us as human beings then divides us as subscribers to one religious belief or another. It starts with respect and understanding and continues with compassion and love.

"Make justice your aim: redress the wronged,
hear the orphan's plea, defend the widow"
Isaiah 1:16

Fanatics have always been with us, but the root of their power is planted in the unfilled needs of the people. People become destitute and desperate in their earthly existence so they are duped into acts of carnage to gain favor in the afterlife. What if we sincerely worked to meet the basic needs of all? To "hear the orphan's plea and defend the widow". Maybe take a little less and give a little more? Where is it written that the we are entitled to such unneeded luxury and material excess while most of the planet starves? Perhaps if we lived simply so that others might live, the less fortunate among us would be less inclined to strap bombs on themselves, and their children, in a misguided belief that they will exchange an earthly Hell for a Heavenly paradise.

God knows our hearts. We have nothing to prove to her through acts of bloodshed. She knows when we love and when we hate. In Genesis 22, Abraham stood ready to sacrifice his only son, whom he loved, to the Lord. God seeing his devotion had compassion and stopped him.

God sees our devotion as well. God sees our every act of compassion as a sign of our love for her. Let us feel the hand of God upon our shoulders that stays our sword arm as we prepare to strike in vengeance for it is not Gods will that we do so but merely our own. Let us not shed blood and exalt ourselves as having done "Gods work" when we have done nothing more then satisfy our own base desires.

Gods work is mercy and compassion. Gods desire is forgiveness and healing. God loves all her children, all of them even the ones we brand "Terrorists". We should defend ourselves if necessary but let us never believe that the shedding of blood is a holy act. At best, it is a necessity brought about by the short sighted folly and uncaring greed of human kind.

"Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy"

Thoughts On Francis of Assisi

Saint Francis of Assisi is one of my greatest heroes. He was a soldier and a victim of war whose experience brought into sharp focus, Gods plan for him. While besieged by a fever as a prisoner of war, Francis had his first inkling that he should devote his life to God. Subsequently, some time later, he left well to do merchant family, taking nothing with him not even clothing, and set out on a life of Godly poverty and service. He devoted himself to service to the poor and peace on earth.

"Be praised my Lord, through those who forgive for the love of you, through those who endure sickness and trial. Happy those who endure peace for by you they will be crowned" -from "The Canticle of the Sun" written by Francis shortly before his death.

Francis not only wrote these words but lived them to the day he died. He happily wed the fair "Lady Poverty" and remained loyal to her all his days. He disdained wealth and traveled the land giving all he had, both materially and spiritually to the poor and to the outcast.

Once, during a group I was facilitating at the VA, a client who was drug addicted, depressed, recently homeless and had a chip on his shoulder like the Rock of Gibraltar asked me: "What Tenderloin doorway do you think Francis of Assisi would fall in today?"

I think he was inferring that good works and selfless acts were all well and good during the Middle Ages, but just do not happen today. I have to admit that I was at a loss for an answer as it is a tough and very legitimate question. I have spent quite a bit of time pondering it in the year that has gone by since it was asked.

Firstly, Francis and Clare are still very much with us through the orders that they founded that still exist today, but that is not the whole of the spirit of St Francis. In his desperation and frustration, that veteran didn't realize that Saint Francis is in every Tenderloin doorway where an act of kindness has ever been carried out.

I've seen Saint Francis on the "Thirty-eight Geary" bus at the VA hospital in San Francisco when a Fallujah veteran helps an Okinawa veteran into a seat. I've seen it when total stranger helps a lost child find her parents in a mall. I recently read of a woman, over one hundred years old, whose home was foreclosed on by a big bank and the movers and Sheriff's deputies assigned to evict her simply refused to do so. I have seen people just spontaneously buy a sandwich for a homeless person just out of God inspired impulse.

The point is this. Saint Francis and Clare live anywhere they are welcome. If you want to find Francis in a Tenderloin door way, then you have to take it upon yourself to put him there. We are all Saint Francis in our good works. When we strive to help others, or simply be kind, Then Francis is there with his hand on your shoulder smiling a gentle smile. It really doesn't take much, it only requires that you do what you can and we all know what that is for each of us. No grand gestures, nothing for show, just simple acts of kindness known only to you, Francis and God. That is how we make Saint Francis live. The bad news is that if we just wait around for somebody to step up and inspire us, it will never happen and the streets and the world will remain grim and heartless places. If we take it upon ourselves with Gods gift of generosity, then Saint Francis of Assisi comes alive and his good work continues. It is totally up to us. Not the Government, not the church, but us. We, as individuals, must take that first step on the pathway of Clare and Francis, in whatever way that is appropriate for each of us. Saint Francis lives in the heart, the trick is letting him out.

The Voice of God In The Songs of Birds

Save Now

"Why is the land ravaged, scorched like a wasteland un-traversed? The Lord answered: Because they have abandoned my law, which I have set before them and have not followed it or listened to my voice" Jeremiah 9:11-15

I can't help but reflect on the environmental calamities that beset the planet. The climate heats, crops fail, famine looms in more and more parts of the developing world. I truly believe that this is a sort of a divine retributions for our sins. I don't mean in the conventional sense, that is, lightning bolts tossed from heaven by an angry avenging God, but a retribution where human kind is the instrument of our own misery.

The planet is a complex organism that can take huge amounts of abuse and continue to live. but with each injury we inflict upon her, she grows weaker and less able to sustain us. When we slaughter her forests for timber and tar sands oil, she becomes less able to provide us with the oxygen we need to live. Terra's ability to cleanse the atmosphere of heat trapping gasses is eroded. These factors in turn impact soil and water and ultimately, food production. Storms increase in frequency and intensity causing widespread damage and death. Thousands die in floods and slides. Entire communities are buried alive.

The extraction/exploitation economy also produces huge amounts of waste, both solid and chemical. Water is fouled and huge tracts of ocean become little more then lifeless garbage piles. Combined with over fishing, a vital source of food is destroyed aggravating world hunger and killing the livelihoods of countless multitudes of human beings, not to mentioned the impact on animal and plant species.

We are witnessing a time of "Old Testament" wrath but it is not the wrath of an angry deity but the wrath of human folly. The good news is that the Lord is a forgiving God who loves her children. We can be forgiven and avert our deserved punishment if we repent. This repentance is more then a matter of fervent prayer (although that certainly would not hurt) it is more a matter of penance. We must live everyday as if it is Lent. To give up destructive luxury that deprives others of the basic necessities of life. To control our greed. To act with generosity not only to the other members of our human family but to the planet and her natural systems. To cease to rape and pillage our mother earth and start returning to her the health and beauty that was the gift of God to us for our enjoyment and survival. Our creed must be to give back, not continue to take. To live for life, not for profit. To live simply so that all, including the planet, might live.

The voice of God is in the clean wind rustling through the trees. The pounding ocean surf as it performs her creative dance upon beach and rock. The song of birds and the buzz of insects. The call of coyotes, the elephants trumpet and the roar of big cats. The miracle of photosynthesis and life down to the smallest level. These are all the voice of God that has become lost in our wanton greed and mindless materialism. Not until we once again hear this voice in the very depths of our souls will we ever prosper, or even survive.