tip of the day #7 - clap on, clap off - GOD!

Found this and thought some folks out there might find it interesting.
Kind of "The Office meets Genesis/Creation" thing.


Clap On...

blogging toward sunday - "which one of you?"

Our passage this week is Luke 15:1-10 (just click on this the underlined text to see the passage).

This is the passage about the lost sheep and the lost coin. They are wonderful stories of the passionate search for the lost. Great news if you have a sense of your lost-ness, otherwise...

I like how Jesus starts these parables; "Which one of you... would leave the 99 sheep and go on a dangerous search for that one little lost sheep?" I guess, during children's time, we would like to raise our hands to Jesus' question with "ME, ME!" but I wonder, as balance the checkbook adults, what our real response would be to Jesus? I am guessing their were few raised hands that warm summer day in Palestine.

The reality is the shepherd's action is just, as one commentator put it, loopy on the shepherd's part. This silly shepherd seems as misguided as that farmer who wastes the valuable seed on feeding the birds, the father who welcomes his ungrateful son home with no cost, or the rich man who commends his dishonest manager for cooking the books. Not only would we not raise our hands as ones who would act this way but we might find it hard to resist correcting Jesus or asking him to repeat himself - for we could not have heard what we thought I heard?

I had a chance to hear Garrison Keiller speak at the Art and Lectures Series on Tuesday night. As always he spoke many memorable lines. With this passage in mind one thing he said stood out for me.

"God writes comedies but we are not always the best audience. We don't always get the jokes."

In our passages from Luke's gospel the past couple of weeks Jesus is sharing parables with his would-be followers about the nature of the Kingdom of God to which he invites them to enter. It is an odd place of justice where the rules seems to be turned upside down, shook-up and laid waste.

It is not any easier today than it was in Jesus' day to enter into this world of God's way - of extravagant grace, love that does not count cost, and abundance beyond measure. We have lived so long in a world ruled by market driven scarcity that we hardly know what to make of a world where there is so much "cup overflowing" love that you can allow love to take you into the dangerous and unknown in search of a lost little lamb and still have enough love leftover for the pack of 99 who await (a bit begrudgingly) your return.

I think what Garrison was talking about was what happens when the lost sheep is found and at home at last. Jesus' picture of this homecoming includes of all things - rejoicing angels. It's the joke that the actions of an irresponsible, thoughtless, "someone could have gotten killed" little sheep is the very act that causes God to invite the angels - as well as all creation - (and you and me) to a huge banquet feast with great rejoicing! If you are the 99 it makes you laugh (or pisses you off) because you didn't see it coming, how could you? If your the lost one, it makes you cry - for joy.

Just some reflections as we make our way to Sunday...

songs as group therapy

We just started the fall singing program at Rockridge Little School last week. I try and report to the parents what is going on with music at the school on their blog. Here is my offering for this week.

Music with Karl -September 25, 2007

It was good to get back to singing with your children today. It is fun that we have so many songs we already know and a number of songs that have become favorites with the kids. I know our new friends will catch on quickly. It is so nice to be part of a program with such a rich and diverse program. Coming to Rockridge Little School is such an adventure. As I look around at all the projects going on I wish I could just hang out and create with them.

Today we added a couple of new songs to our mix.

One song is called “It hasn’t been a very good day”. Each morning, when I first step into the circle with the children, I am greeted with a litany of their cuts, scraps and recent (and not so recent) mishaps. These are real hurts for them and I know that many were accompanied with tears. The song is a cleave way of putting these hurts into a community song and recognizing life with its ups and downs, joys and sorrows.

Here’s how the song goes…
When I got up, I spilled my milk, spilled my milk, spilled my milk
When I got up, I spilled my milk, and it hasn’t been a very good day

Chorus (very upbeat and whimsical)
It hasn’t been a very good day so far. It hasn’t been a very good day.
It hasn’t been a very good day so far. It hasn’t been a very good day.

We added verses like…
“When I fell down, I skinned my knee” and “Playing with blocks I pinched my finger"

What I like about the song is that is recognizes that our hurts are real but when put into a song and shared them with the community it does not seem to hurt as much anymore.

Wouldn’t be great if we all learned this song and when your child (or you) are having just one of those “not very good days” you can break out this song and just maybe it would change the course of your day. That is really what our singing is about.

In Song, Karl

silence - prayer - finland - kindergardners - fasting - and a walk for Peace

I have 3 grandkids who think I am pretty special.

I am the grandpa who pulls them in his bike trailer, takes them on urban hikes, plays guitar - singing and dancing with them- and they believe I stand up for children and Peace. This is a specialness that I seek to live-into.

This Fall I am witnessing my stand for children and peace in a several ways.

On Sunday morning I participate with a group of folks who have chosen to set aside 5 minutes of silent prayer for peace each week. We pray silently in many languages and from many different points of view but we pray together. What a power I find in this time of community prayer.

In my weekly and daily prayers I feel called to stand with those who know that peacemaking is not forced on others but a gracious act of listening, learning, valuing others with all their hurts and fears and stories. From this dialog true peacemaking comes to fruition. My prayers are with those who bravely meet in Finland a few weeks ago to do this kind of peacemaking work.

Next week I will start singing with the 3 kindergarten class at Berkeley Arts Magnet School. The songs we will sing will give the kids the gift of songs that lift up; life, abundance, love, friendship, family, the earth and each and every person made by God. These are songs that build a foundation for peace.

On Monday, October 8, (following World Communion Sunday) many in the faith community, include some from Calvary, will be fasting for peace. If you want to join with a group on Monday night over soup and bread to break our fast let me know.

On Saturday, October 27, I am going to join with a group marching in San Francisco. We will be lifting up our voices in a call to ending the war in Iraq. I know I will not agree with everything said by those with whom I march but I feel it is time to stand up to end the craziness of this war in Iraq. I would love it if you would like to join me and my family in this 1 1/2 mile march.

Reporting from my small (but outward looking) place in the world... PEACE!

Tip of the Day #6b - Dial Directions - This is so cool

I just figured this out. You can go to "dialdirections.com" and added an event, any event.

Lets say you are having a birthday party. Go to "dialdirctions.com" and add your event. You can tell people (or put in the invitation) to call "Dir-rec-tion" and ask for directions to an event.

They say the name of the event. You might try, I don't know, maybe "karl's birthday party" (don't forget to bring a gift...) and you will get date, time and directions. The directions will be sent as a text message to their phone. How cool is that?

Reporting from my small (make a wish) place in the world...

Tip of the day #6 - Directions on your Phone

Getting around the Bay Area just got easier!

A new service from "www.dialdirections.com" just started this week and it is a killer direction getter app.

I just tried it out and I now feel sure I will be able to get home quickly and safely this afternoon. (that is if I don't run into a parked car trying to read text messages on my bike!)

Here is how it works...
Just call "Dir-ect-ions" or 347-328-4667 on your mobile phone. A vary nice computer voice will ask you a few questions about where you are, where you are going and where you are coming from. When you have answered the questions you will receive a text message (or a few messages) on your phone. I tried it with a few places, like from work to home, and it worked great.It works for addresses, cross streets, chain restaurants etc, and even some events (like the Autumn Moon Festival in SF China Town and possibly the Calvary Moon Festival if I did the posting correctly). And it is FREE.

Try it out. Along with Google 411 and Jott you will be armed with all the numbers to make your mobile devise a regular Swiss Army Phone.

Reporting from my small (now with directions) place in the world...

Food on the Berkeley San Pablo Coridor - Cafe Leila

This is my "Yelp" review of a new cafe near our home. I have enjoyed spending some time there reading and writing and Myrna and I enjoyed dinner there just a couple nights ago. Try it out and support a new local business. Tell Sam "the pastor" sent you.

Cafe Leila
1724 San Pablo Ave
Berkeley, CA 94702
***** 5 star rating

"How can you not love a restaurant named after the mother of the owner. Cafe Leila is a new little cafe that just opened on San Pablo one block north of University. Great place for breakfast, lunch or dinner as well as a little wifi and coffee in the afternoon. Spacious dinning areas with lots of windows, cozy coffee nook and a garden graced with many water fountains. This might be a new cafe but the owner and his family have been working in the restaurant business for over 20 years on the West Side of the bay. Most everything is made in house, organic and good. Though the cafe is presently open 7-7-7 the plan is to be open until 9pm with an expanded menu in the next few months. What a great addition to the growing multicultural food choices on San Pablo Ave in Berkeley."

Reporting from my small epicurean place in the world

Simpsonized

OK this is me Simpsonized. What I would look like if I was on the Simpsons. I tried to get a gray beard but no luck. What happens when you aren't interested in what you are watching on TV.

Try it yourself

PAVAROTTI - U2 - JAMES BROWN - AND WORSHIP

Myrna and I watched some specials celebrating the life of Luciano Pavarotti last night. What an incredibly talented man who made such good use of the gifts he was given.

One of the things that impressed me most was the talent he had for bringing other singers together to raise money for pressing international relief work. I have been listening to some of his collaborations with people as diverse as James Brown and Bono (singing Bono's song Miss Sarajevo), amazing!

Watching the videos done with Bono are really acts of worship for me. I was touched by the words of Ave Maria and the passion that both men brought to the song. They inspire me to move more deeply into the redemptive work that God has call us to in the world.

The third Bono and Pavarotti song is Miserere. This song was written by Italian rock star Zucchero Fornaciari with English verses written by Bono. (you can find the words here) This is just an amazing song with breath taking lyrics. Watch and pray!


Bono has written a tribute to his friend that says a lot about how he used his talents. May he rest in peace as he continues to inspire us with his songs...

Reporting from my small vantage point in the world...

Interfaith Call to "Fast for Peace" - October 8

Who says Sermons don't have an effect on people. Sermons and Blogs that I worked on this Summer caused me to make a renewed commitment to do something about all the children of God who seem to be dieing needlessly in our world everyday. Myrna (my wife) and I are going to join with other people of faith in this call to fast. I invite you to join with us. I would love to hear from you if you would like to participate.

Religious Leaders Call for Interfaith Fast

We call on all Americans to join in fasting from dawn to dusk on Monday, October 8, to call for an end to the Iraq War. On this day, people of faith in local communities across our nation will act as catalysts to transform the meaning of the day from one of conquest to community and from violence to reverence.

Just as Isaiah called the People Israel to hear the Yom Kippur fast as God’s call to feed the hungry, just as Jesus fasted in the wilderness, just as Christians through Lenten fasting and Muslims through Ramadan fasting have focused on spiritual transformation, just as Mohandas Gandhi, Cesar Chavez and others drew on fasting to change the course of history, so we call on all our communities of faith to draw now on fasting as a path toward inner spiritual transformation and outward social transformation.

Ending this war can become the first step toward a policy that embodies a deeper, broader sense of generosity and community at home and in the world.

Rev. Robert Edgar Former General Secretary National Council of Churches USA	Rabbi Arthur Waskow The Shalom Center
Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed National Director Islamic Society of North America	Rev. Michael Livingston President National Council of Churches USA
Rabbi Shirley Idelson Dean Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion	Mary Ellen McNish General Secretary American Friends Service Committee
Rev. William Sinkford Executive Director Unitarian Universalist Association	Dr. Tarunjit Singh Butalia Moderator Religions for Peace, USA
Nihad Awad Executive Director Council on American Islamic Relations	Rt. Rev. C. Christopher Epting Deputy for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations The Episcopal Church

Blogging Toward Sunday - "Why We Can't Call Ourselves Christians Anymore" - September 9 - Luke 14:25-33

"Why We Can't Call Ourselves Christians Anymore"

Our passage this week is Luke 14:25-33 .

As I begin reflecting on the passage today I am surprised at how concerned Jesus is about people looking foolish and doing really foolish things. He has been on this tack for much of Luke 13 & 14. It seems to me Jesus' real concern is what this foolishness will do to disgrace this new Christian community that is beginning to form.

In one instance Jesus tells a parable of a gardener who is not wise enough or diligent enough to cut down a non-producing fig tree in his garden after it has not produced in three years (Luke 13:6-7).

In the next story Luke tells how the leaders of the synagogue are so pathetically dense that they try to convince the people that the law of not working on the Sabbath should trump Jesus' compassionate healing of a poor woman that has been crippled for 18 years (Luke 13:14). How in the world did they think this argument would fly with people who had just seen a broken and useless life made whole? In a later story (Luke 14:3-4) Jesus heals again on the Sabbath and the leaders seem to have learned enough to keep quite though there disdain for him is still evident.

Luke adds a story about some people knocking on the Lord's door asking for safe refuge acting like they were old buddies (we ate and drank with you...) and how the Lord of the house called their bluff and left these phonies where they belong, weeping in the cold outside, when through the window they can see Abraham and the gang living it up around the banquet table. (Luke 13:25-28) Now these folks missed chance made them more than fools.

Last week I preached on a passage where those who push to the front tables at the banquet feast will be put to shame (disgraced) when they are escorted by the host to the back of the room where they belong. (Luke 14:8-9) Just because they think they were more important than everyone else does not mean they are.

Now this week's passage contains two examples of possible foolish moves that Jesus shares with the large crowd of possible disciples who have begun traveling with him.

Jesus' approach here it to say: "not even you are foolish enough to do this", are you?

The first example is of a farmer who starts to work on a tower to protect his land. Jesus reminds the people that if the builder can't finish what he started the unfinished tower will be a memorial to his foolishness for everyone to see.

The second example is of a King who, when he realizes his army is badly outnumbered by his enemy, seeks terms of peace rather than suffering by his people. This move assures he will be honored by the people who depend on him and so avoid the dishonor that would come from a misguided military decision. (acting on his ego and not the common good?)

I think that as Jesus speaks to the crowd of possible new disciples he is giving them/us a warning. Watch what you do because when you look foolish you make the Church of Jesus Christ look foolish as well. I have been using the word foolish but the examples Jesus uses are of a tragic foolishness that has profound ramifications for followers, for the helpless of society and the image of the Church of Jesus Christ in the world.

Let me give an example.

Our middle daughter is very active in world mission. She has had the opportunity to travel in African and China sharing the Good News by teaching, sharing music and prayer support. Not long ago she told me that she and her friends are no longer introducing themselves as Christians instead they are now saying they are "followers of Jesus." She says they are doing this because the word Christian has such a bad connotation in so much of the world. What a sad commentary. What Jesus was warning them about has happened. Our foolishness is proving tragic for the cause of Christ in the world.

For me these passages calls me to look more carefully at my own life. How is my life reflecting the goodness, justice and love of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? I am inclined to look at my life in a very individualist way. I think these passages call me to look more carefully at how my actions reflect on the greater community.

As I move toward Sunday I am taking a new look at my actions and how they reflect on the good name of Jesus the Christ in my family, my neighborhood and my world.

PS. I can't stand it. I didn't want to go here but the contrast of the good and wise king in our passage today and the missteps of our present US government seems so obvious to me. What a great warning to a (so called) Christian Nation.

Who ever thought we could beat an army of terrorist with a conventional military use of force? Yesterday I heard a report on NPR about a secret gathering of representatives from Northern Ireland and South Africa sharing the lessons they learned in the peace process with leading Sunnis and Shia from Iraq. They even signed a document they call the Helsinki Agreement, which they hope will be a first step toward ending the sectarian violence in Iraq.
Now that is move that would make a great parable for Jesus. I just hope some people in the church were responsible for this secret peacemaking gathering. We should be...

Reporting from this small place in a very big and complex world...