Dancing Men

Every once in a while I come across a story and just say….WHAAAA!

Well this is one of those times. The short version is this.

The Florida Marlins, a baseball team (I only clarify this because the story comes out of attendance problems so maybe you haven’t heard of them), have decided to hire (or at least provide free tickets to) a squad of overweight male dancers.

Audition Video for Marlins Manatees

I have to say that none of the elements of this story are new.

Baseball is not new...
“In 1866, Charles A. Peverelly wrote, "The game of base ball has now become beyond question the leading feature of the outdoor sports of the United States ... It is a game which is peculiarly suited to the American temperament and disposition; ... in short, the pastime suits the people, and the people suit the pastime."
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/

Dancing men are not new...

(Content Advisory - the first clip below is from the stage show, The Full Monty. Nothing is really visible, due to careful hat placement, but it is about a group of men who decide to do a strip tease show.)


Tony Awards - The Full Monty

Men dancing at a sports event is not new...


Clip from a Basketball Court

Men from a sports team dancing (in jail) is not new...

(Language Advisory)

Jail scene from "The Replacements"

Even attendance problems are not new...
A quick search on Google….
Results 1 - 10 of about 799,000 for low attendance hockey
Results 1 - 10 of about 1,320,000 for low attendance baseball
Results 1 - 10 of about 57,400 for low attendance Canadian football
Results 1 - 10 of about 78,000 for low attendance orchestra
Results 1 - 10 of about 245,000 for low attendance art
Results 1 - 10 of about 1,950,000 for low attendance church

But who says new is the only important thing….

No, I was thinking about my reaction to the story and the way it has been reported. Mostly there is just a lot of giggling about men dancing.

But then I started to reflect on why the appeal is there.

Dancing is something that requires us to let go of our inhibitions a little. We talk about the idea of not having rhythm. But really it means that a person is not feeling the music. And in our culture, still, the idea that men give in to an all "feeling" moment is uncomfortable (notice the reaction of the team in jail when the coach shows up). But there is something delightful, and appealing, and infectious, about giving in to joy. This is the angle that the Christian Science Monitor focused on when they reported this story.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0331/p20s01-ussc.html?page=1

Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:10) and sometimes it seems that nothing is more full of life than dancing. Or from the ether of oft quoted wisdom....

Work like you don't need money,

Love like you've never been hurt,

And dance like no one's watching.

As for the Manatees, they are on soon...
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami_dade/story/476498.html

And to all of you, Happy Dancing!

K

Talking to "the others"

Over the weekend the Globe and Mail began a series of articles based on interviews with over 40 "Taliban" fighters in Afghanistan. They have a multimedia web site with additional features and the complete interviews (with translation.) It is worth a look. The reporter points to several key patterns in the responses. There are written and video essays on a variety of topics as well.

Recently I read Barbara Coloroso's book on Genocide, in which she proposes that genocide contains essential elements of bullying including isolation and contempt for the victims. Dehumanization. She clearly states that genocide is not conflict. That conflict can be fixed by negotiation.

As I listened to the responses of the Taliban fighters I thought about the first video essay on the website about negotiations and the possibility of peace through talking. I also thought about the variety of viewer responses on the websites, some who applauded the reporting and others who couldn't understand why we would even talk with these people.

Clearly I fall on the side of talking and understanding. Unless we are willing to simply kill everyone who opposes our view or we percieve as less than human (genocide) we eventually have to negotiate (conflict). Knowing who we are talking to, what their motivations are, and what they want, is critical to success in this.



One of the claims of Christianity is that Jesus came for all people. Jesus himself showed us how to cross ethnic, cultural, and gender boundaries. In the story of Jesus talking to a Samaritan Woman at a well we can see all three things at work in one. When he talks to her, Jesus is talking to someone who is not from his ethnic group (Jesus is Jewish - she is Samaritan), a person who has violated cultural taboos (she is divorced probably - certainly married many times and living with a new person), and a woman (men usually didn't talk to women). There are many such instances reported in the New Testament. But more than any particular story the very presence of Jesus is a manifestation of God's will to talk to us, to help us understand God, to reach across boundaries.

So the challenge then is to reach beyond borders, beyond tradition, beyond fear and reach out for the human heart that beats in all of us. One such incident has been captured in song.



So where now? How do we move forward towards understanding and peace? In Afghanistan, I confess I don't know. The soldiers on the ground have been trying to figure it out for years. But we here in Canada and other places still are confused. I suggest that an important first step has been taken. Let those with ears to hear, listen.

Shalom
K

The World

Ok - I promised fun. I saw a reference to this project somewhere and couldn't believe it so I looked into it. Apparently they are now building designer islands for the very wealthy near Dubai. They have even made them in the shape of a map of the world. Check it out.


Dubai World


Now I don't really know how to respond spiritually. I am still reeling from the sheer scale and silliness of it. But then I realized I don't need to respond. Someone already has. Douglas Adams, science fiction writer, and all around good tea drinking guy has got it covered. You can follow the links below.

magrathea
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/hitchhikers/guide/magrathea.shtml

http://hk.youtube.com/watch?v=ygart5W0feo


nuff said.
K

The Prophetic Voice

I had another blog planned for today: a light-hearted one. But this screamed out for comment. Or at least it has been all over the airwaves and many hold opinions. So here is my two cents.
This whole incident started when Barack Obama began his bid for the presidency in the US. Since then, despite many protestations that his candidacy has nothing to do with race, it has been shown again and again that this campaign does have something to do with race. Someone has gone back and picked up the words of Obama's former pastor, Jeremiah Wright. To see a clip of what has everyone so up in arms you can watch below. I have also included Barack Obama's wonderful response.

My concern here is the prophetic voice with which Jeremiah Wright, and all preachers (including myself) claim to speak when we dare to stand in front of a group of people to speak a sermon, whether it begins with those ancient words, "may the words of my mouth, and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight O God, my Rock and my Redeemer" or not. I don't know about other preachers, but for me that is often the most heartfelt prayer I speak on any given Sunday. I have never worried about people falling asleep during my sermon, about babies crying, or people not paying attention. I worry that someone might actually listen to me. That when I talk about God, and what God wants for us and of us, people will believe me. I worry about being right. I worry about missing the mark. And I worry about being wrong. I have learned that often my words are sometimes not that important: that people often hear the message they need to hear. That God is actually working in the church too and I need to relax and get over myself. But, sometimes a preachers words do matter.

So I feel a lot of sympathy with many of the prophets in the Bible who, in spite of the fact that they are standing in the presence of God, in the most personal and vivid spiritual moment in their lives, when they are asked to go out and speak the first reaction is, "who me?" And they had some good reasons to be afraid too. Because sometimes the truth can hurt. As Christians, many of the prophets we revere (Jeremiah, Ezekial, Elijah, and Micah to name but a few) said and did some very outrageous things.

I feel a great deal of sympathy for Jeremiah Wright, who feels a genuine call from God to preach, who speaks truth, but imperfectly. But words can matter. And his rhetoric has inflamed or alienated people who need to hear his deeper message the most. The problem is that many people of colour quietly agree with the fact that there is systemic discrimination. The fact is that many people of all colours know that racist taunts are still used. The fact is that many people know that DWB is not just a late night TV joke, but a humiliating reality for many ordinary people. And these things cause pain, and anger. These are the issues that Barack Obama went head to head with in his response.

In Canada we have our own race issues. They vary by community and province but they are there. In the United Church we have our own unique past to deal with because our involvement in the terrible residential school system. We will be hearing from many survivors in the coming months as part of a "Truth and Reconciliation" process. Will we have the courage to look behind any hurt feelings or hard words at the truth that lies there, that we must acknowledge and respond to? It will be difficult but easy is not always the right way to go.

Meanwhile I leave you with the words of one of our the most quoted prophets in the United Church, Micah, who told us that we are, "to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?" A wonderful phrase, but I encourage you to go and check out his complete message in which this phrase is embedded.

Any of us can be called upon to speak God’s truth. And God’s truth is sometimes hard and challenging. We can also be called upon to listen. Sometimes we have to do both.

Shalom
K


Sen. Barack Obama’s response in full.


News Clip about Rev. Wright – includes the now famous clip of his incendiary sermon.

Questioning Faith

Today I am concerned about the idea of questioning. Specifically I am interested in “Questioning Faith.”

This has become especially important to me in part because of all the great questions that have come up during a recent book study at Minesing United Church based on Marcus Borg’s, Reading the Bible Again for the First Time. Also (as a self confessed political junky) I have been watching with disgust how thoughtful public discussion has degenerated into sound bites and carefully considered changes on positions (in the light of new information) has become weak “flip flopping.”

“The charge [of flip flopping] has more recently been used to attack politicians and in some cases other public figures for any change of policy for any reason whatsoever, including new information becoming available or a change in circumstances. Such changes in policy are considered evidence of a lack of political conviction.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flip-flop_(politics)

My thesis is that asking questions is important and changing ones mind after careful study is a good thing rather than a sign of lazy thinking. In fact, I would go further and argue that unless a person is continually questioning things that are important to them (or issues that they are working on) then that person doesn’t really care. And if all that work and all of those questions don’t lead to some change, small or large, then the person asking all the questions didn’t learn anything.

It seems like a harsh position, but think on the opposing alternative. If we are not engaged and growing then we must be rigid and separate. And that is the path to fundamentalism and tyranny.

I remember an incident from my childhood involving a triangle. It was grade 5 or 6 and we were learning about geometry (coincidentally exactly what my daughter was working on this morning – I love last minute homework ). We were told that a triangle can only have one right angle (an angle of 90). So I went home and told my Dad all I had learned, including this revelation about the triangle. At which point my mathematician father told me this wasn’t quite true and that he could draw a triangle with three right angles. I stood up to this nonsense and told my Dad that my teacher had told me this, so it must be true. He said, “bring me that ball, a ruler and a pen.” He then proceeded to draw something that looked like a triangle, with three right angles, on the ball. (Go ahead and try it at home – just make sure you ask your kids before you start drawing all over their toys.) “Wow” I thought “this is amazing!” And I couldn’t wait to tell my teacher. Predictably my teacher was unimpressed. He looked for one second and said, “that isn’t a triangle now go sit down.”

I am, at this point, forced to admit that my teacher was right. The shape drawn on the ball was not, by definition, a triangle. However, I had to wait to go home and talk it over with my Dad before I got a chance to consider questions like 2D space, curved space, and 3D space. It was a hint that behind the lowly shape of a triangle scratched on paper was a whole universe of interesting things. This I learned from my Dad, who asked questions, pushed boundaries and encouraged creativity. Of course all I could focus on at that moment was my teachers dismissive reaction. I only learned from this incident years later. At the time all I learned was from my teacher, namely, I didn’t like math because it was boring.

On that I was wrong (and by extension so was my teacher) and my Dad was right. Math is interesting and creative.

And so is faith: Christianity in particular. As we have been engaging with the idea of what our Bible is and what it means I am reminded of the words of the newest incarnation of a statement of faith in the United Church and the preamble to it.

Preamble:
This statement of faith seeks to provide a verbal picture of what The United Church of Canada understands its faith to be in its current historical, political, social, and theological context at the beginning of the 21st century. It is also a means of ongoing reflection and an invitation for the church to live out its convictions in relation to the world in which we live.
The church’s faith is grounded in truths that are timeless. These truths, however, must be embraced anew by Christians of each generation and stated “in terms of the thoughts of their own age and with the emphasis their age needs” (Statement of Faith, 1940).
This is not the first time the United Church has formally expressed its collective faith. In the Basis of Union (1925), in the Statement of Faith (1940), and in A New Creed (1968), the United Church stated its faith in words appropriate to its time. This current statement of faith is offered within that tradition, and in response to the request of the 37th General Council (2000) for a “timely and contextual statement of faith” that especially engages “the church in conversation on the nature of the church (ecclesiology), ministry and the sacraments.”
This statement of faith attempts to reflect the spirit of The United Church of Canada and to respond to various defining elements in our social, political, and historical context, including the place of the church in society, the cultural and intellectual setting in which we find ourselves, the meaning of “truth,” the impact of the market economy on our daily lives, and the growing issue of the meaning of “security.” These contextual elements are further explored in the appendices to this document.
This is not a statement for all time but for our time. In as much as the Spirit keeps faith with us, we can express our understanding of the Holy with confidence. And in as much as the Spirit is vast and wild, we recognize that our understanding of the Holy is always partial and limited. Nonetheless we have faith, and this statement collects the meaning of our song.

Scripture is our song for the journey, the living word
passed on from generation to generation
to guide and inspire,
that we might wrestle a holy revelation for our time and place
from the human experiences
and cultural assumptions of another era.
God calls us to be doers of the word and not hearers only.

The Spirit breathes revelatory power into scripture,
bestowing upon it a unique and normative place
in the life of the community.
The Spirit judges us critically when we abuse scripture
by interpreting it narrow-mindedly,
using it as a tool of oppression, exclusion, or hatred.

The wholeness of scripture testifies
to the oneness and faithfulness of God.
The multiplicity of scripture testifies to its depth:
two testaments, four gospels,
contrasting points of view held in tension—
all a faithful witness to the One and Triune God,
the Holy Mystery that is Wholly Love.


Questioning faith is not about doubt. Questioning faith is about exploration.

Seen and Unseen

The theme of many recent movies has been the idea of seen and unseen. What is real, and what isn't. These are fantasy movies that embed an unseen world into a known world.

There have been movies for children, (Horton Hears a Who) OK this one is a bit of a stretch but the idea is there.


Movies for families (any of the Harry Potters, Spiderwick Chronicles, Chronicles of Narnia to name a few.)


Movies for adults (Pan's Labyrinth)


I think that the interesting things about these movies is the idea that finding out about an unseen world, a magic world, doesn't solve all your problems. In fact most of the time it creates new problems.

One of the ongoing questions about faith in God is a selfish one, "What does this do for me?" Like a Santa Claus that brings presents if only you will believe. But the reality of faith is that it means entering into a new way of living, a new way of seeing the world which brings new questions, new problems, new challenges.

Unlike the magic of the movies, where all questions are resolved (one way or another) by the end of the film (or series of films), the challenges and questions of faith are unresolvable.

We struggle in our world today with fundamentalism and rigidity because we want a resolution, instead of engaging in the messy and dangerous world of options, questions, unsettling moments, and unresolved arguments which faith inhabits.

When we open ourselves to faith we need to read the warning label first....

"Open only if you mean it. Nothing will be the same again."

Is Second Life, Life?

Today, a reflection on another kind of pioneer, a man named Gary Gygax who died yesterday at 69. Many people will have no idea who he is, unless they happen to be one of millions of closet "gamers," or dabblers in the game Dungeons and Dragons. Gary Gygax was one of two guys who co-created Dungeons and Dragons and the whole idea of role-playing games.
When the games first came out there was a lot of worry. What about the fantasy elements, are they appropriate? Christian groups especially worried about what they saw as occult elements in the game. The height of panic was reached when reports started coming out about people who became too wrapped up in their game characters. They even made a TV movie about it, Mazes and Monsters, starring a very young Tom Hanks.
Mazes and Monsters
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFIWUYr0n10

But gradually the panic faded and the game Dungeons and Dragons went on to inspire a whole industry. Online gaming, Second Life (secondlife.com) and other virtual worlds, even most console video games owe their inspiration partly to the fantasy gaming world created by Gary Gygax. Now people argue over whether all of those things are good or not. But it cannot be denied that this influence was/is far reaching. Gary Gygax himself was heard to muse about the phenomenon he, in part, started.

"There is no intimacy; it’s not live," he said of online games. "It’s being translated through a computer, and your imagination is not there the same way it is when you’re actually together with a group of people. It reminds me of one time where I saw some children talking about whether they liked radio or television, and I asked one little boy why he preferred radio, and he said, ‘Because the pictures are so much better.’ "
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/05/arts/05gygax.html?ref=arts

So what does Gary Gygax, and online gaming have to do with Christian spirituality?

The question that comes up more and more now is, what is the value of online communities of all kinds, not just gaming? What about the virtual church? The United Church has one http://www.wondercafe.ca/. Personally, like Gary Gygax, I feel that there is no substitute for actual human contact. Online stuff is a good supplement, but physical community is important. In the Bible, Jesus is shown again and again sitting with people and sharing food, touching people to heal them, and visiting in houses. Many people nowadays are disconnected from a spiritual community. They have spiritual beliefs, spiritual longings, and even an active spiritual life. But there is something important about that physical spiritual community. We all need a little help from our friends sometimes.
So find a community where you are comfortable and can grow in your faith. Even if everyone doesn’t think the same way (I actually think that’s better in many ways). Such a community can be a wonderful place to bring your questions, seek solace, and grow. Just as Gygax pointed out, "your imagination is not there the same way it is when you’re actually together with a group of people." In a similar way, our spiritual growth is not nurtured in the same way it is when you are actually with a group of people.
Check out the description of the early Christian community. Acts 2:42-47 and then find someone to go out for coffee with and talk spiritual stuff with. Enjoy.

Life is Life

The news came out across the wires. Jeff Healey dead at 41. His name was usually prefaced with phrases like (Canadian) Legend… or Guitar Legend…
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iCoD11PSfR-HSsvGt1Dl2AFB-pGgD8V5UPI00

According to PBS "The blues is one of America's greatest musical treasures. A roots music form that evolved out of African-American work songs, field hollers, spirituals, and country string ballads more than a century ago, the blues is the foundation of virtually every major American music form born in the 20th century, including jazz, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and hip hop." When it began it was/is "Rural music that captured the suffering, anguish-and hopes-of 300 years of slavery and tenant farming, the blues was typically played by roaming solo musicians on acoustic guitar, piano, or harmonica at weekend parties, picnics, and juke joints. Their audience was primarily made up of agricultural labourers, who danced to the propulsive rhythms, moans, and slide guitar."

It is, in other words essential, the essence of much the music we love today. Myself, I think Jeff Healey and I think Blues. They are interwoven. The heart of the Blues is its grounding in the certain knowledge that life is life. The heart of Jeff Healey and his music was his pure love of music and his desire to play in the face of any obstacle. The essential truth of Jeff Healey’s music, not just words, but just its very presence that life is life.

Life is short
Life is hard
Life is wonderful
Life is to be deeply lived
Life is Life.

For myself I see this reflected in the heart of faith, whatever particular derivative we gravitate to, it beats with the sure knowledge that life (in all its messiness) is love. The best faith, like the best music, comes out of suffering but doesn’t focus there.

Can you see the light?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBBCJ68mC4c
Will you turn your angel eyes on me?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYz_LHKrgDY
Little Sister?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqU9RZqvFKY
At a roadhouse.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIZywo3PBTE
Sometimes you just get stuck.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtailKBfvyY