What About The Rest Who Need More? 11-11-9

Anderson, South Carolina

There are those really intelligent people who seek answers to the fundamental nature of the universe, most notably high energy particle physicists. A primary tool in their quest for knowledge are vast multi-billion dollar machines that throw inconceivable amounts of energy at very tiny targets, obliterating them. The detritus from these high-energy encounters is instructive to them

As it happens, on a recent overseas journey I met one of these very smart physicists who seems to be probing something besides the world of quarks, neutrinos, muons, and other nuclear tidbits of the inner universe. She has projected a high energy beam of questions my way from her lab in Geneva and I am now scrambling to find out if her experimental results are going to find my theology for life wanting. It is amazing how a simple seven word sentence can set of a cascade in my experience, challenging me to probe deeply into my personal motivations and behaviors. She simply asked, “What about the rest who need more?” in response to my speaking of recent epic blessings in my life, severely challenging my life theology, which will most likely be found tainted with materialism and prosperity thinking. As an experimental physicist, rather than a theoretical one, she is not going to let me get out of this easily. That Geneva lab she works in can keep up high energy beams for a long time.

My first defense to her:

There most certainly is a powerful responsibility that comes with ‘being looked out for’ by God if that is, in fact, what is happening. I hesitate to say that is what is happening because to do so is too close to the American prosperity gospel, which I detest. If I am given anything extra or come into abundance in any fashion whatever, I have a great responsibility to ask exactly your question, “What about the rest who need more?” If I am honest, at least a partial answer to that question is always immediately before me. Something always presents itself that enables me to do something about the rest who need more.

If I have extra food, which I always seem to, then do I find disabled people or addicts who need it, families that are out of work? If I have extra money, even if only inconsistently, do I use this to buy rice for one hundred and five street orphans in India every month? Do I use my physical abilities to build houses for poor people in the ghetto? To go work in a community kitchen and pack seven hundred meals, for people that will never see the outside of their prisons of disability and poverty again? Do I use my knowledge of sound engineering to create inspiring music for Haitian people in the poorest land in the western hemisphere? Do I try to write things that will uplift those who are in poverty of spirit? Do I take the abundance of flowers I always seem to have to those who don’t have the first petal and live in a bleak prison of disability? I attempt to live the entirety of my life always asking your very question, “What about the rest who need more?” If you are happy that “God has chosen to look out for me”, be so simply because it allows me to pass things through.

There was a magnificent book written some years ago called Pay it Forward, putting forth the idea that the way to produce world transformation and equity is to gift the disenfranchised with things for which there is no possibility of payback. When we gift someone with something and there is no possibility of repayment, we simply ask them to pass the favor on to someone else who will never be able to repay either. We create a dynamic in the world that is hospitable to community building.

You may recall that my first real dilemma about winning two first class tickets on British Airways was finding someone to gift the other ticket to. In the most profound way I wanted to give that journey to someone who would never ever have a possibility of such an experience. It was beyond frustrating to leave that $15,000 ticket on the table when no one was forthcoming. It was a bit surreal to realize that many people felt they did not deserve to have such an experience and backed off from it. Sadly, most simply felt it was too good to be true.

What is absolutely clear is there is simply no place for hoarding of any kind. Things grow hideously stagnant when confined. If I horde my money, my larder, my talents, I will most certainly become a prisoner in a type of poverty of soul that reaches to the core of my being. This kind of poverty has become endemic in our secular material culture. The Dead Sea is dead precisely because it has no outlet whatever. My goal is to be as the grand waterfalls I recently visited, fresh, abundant and generous of substance, giving away all that passes through me.

If I am granted to live in a gilded mansion, do I leave the gates forever open and invite others to come in and enjoy the experience of five courses on crystal and sterling? If granted a wondrous piece of German engineering to drive, do I invite others along for the ride so I can see the sense of wonder in their faces, and make sure they see no smugness or haughtiness in my own? Do I keep the Old Masters to myself or make sure they speak across the centuries to thousands? Do I make sure the struggling art student on the pavements of Trafalgar knows she is right for following her dream to challenge Botticelli?

I can easily see why you “wouldn't like it if God chose to do that for me”. If honest, we are then compelled to keep asking the hard questions you pose. Even harder, is having the integrity to pay attention to the answers. Your severely challenging questions are most helpful. If I cannot answer them or at least try to come to terms with them, then it is time for me to take time out and make an honest assessment of what kind of journey I really am on. I might be headed nowhere at all.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.'

Communion - A Cosmic Event 11-8-9

Anderson, South Carolina

The first meal ever shared on another heavenly body was the sacrament of Holy Communion. For decades this reality was classified by the United States government. On the surface of the moon Sunday, July 20th, 1969 Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong shared the bread and wine that are taken by millions of Christians each Sunday in remembrance of one of the most profound acts of love ever recorded in human history. Buzz Aldrin prepared the consecrated sacraments provided by his church, pouring the wine into a chalice, also given by his local church. He describes how in the low gravity of the moon, the wine curled gracefully up the side of the chalice. Aldrin later mused on how the first liquid ever poured on the moon, perhaps on any world, was that of the Lord’s Sacrament, how the first food eaten on the moon, perhaps on any world was the bread of Heaven, given for us.

Each time before I take communion out from my church to our home-bound, I and all those present in the service recite together, “We who are many are one, because we all share one bread and one cup.” This simply must be one of the grandest expressions of community in this world, perhaps on any world. How amazing to think that this applies equally across the vast cold expanses of deep space and time. Forty years and two hundred and fifty five thousand miles mean nothing in the quantum realm of heaven.

I’ve just returned from another experience of this heavenly meal, a mere half mile away. While working in a friend’s yard, raking leaves and performing other unskilled labors I was invited to an evening healing service in her church, this neighborhood church being within easy walking distance of my house. There I found a small group assembled who were as serious about the business at hand as were Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong forty years ago. Unknown to me, it was planned for us to share that meal that makes us one, even with those on another world.

With two ministers officiating in a casual comfortable manner, the fourteen of us present first entered into a season of hands-on-prayer, anointing each other with oil and administering the laying on of hands. There were no unspoken needs here. People were honest and spoke their needs out loud as they sat on the front pew while others gathered round and prayed out loud for their serious needs, emotional, physical, material. Everyone participated. No one was left out. What a profoundly satisfying and enriching time it was to have warm loving hands reach across space and touch those in need of a miracle. I have had some grand experiences at the hands of well-trained massage therapists but they simply don’t compare to the deep satisfaction and comfort of being the recipient of a loving laying on of hands by a cloud of people, people who take their faith journey as seriously as did two astronauts in the previous century.

There is a delicious element of surprise that derives from an unexpected extra. A lengthy encore by one’s favorite music performers often gives life this sense of generosity. My recent experience of having an airline desk attendant suddenly offer me an upgrade to first class for a long-haul flight after sitting on the floor of a distant airport all night certainly was powerful evidence of generosity, proof the world is friendly. A substantial transaction with a fellow several weeks ago developed a major unpleasant financial surprise a few days ago. His recent phone call confirmed that the friendliness of the universe is more powerful than profit. He said he would bring me a check to fill in the fiscal pothole that had opened up in my pavement.

Thinking the healing service concluded, I was pleasantly surprised when we were asked to assemble to share the same menu that Buzz and Neil had shared on a dry dusty world in a prior century. I had the same feeling wash over me that was present when I heard the word ‘upgrade’ or when my favorite band sat back down and picked up their instruments. I had again won ‘bonus play’ in the game of life. So it was just now - a fine meal with fourteen delightful people who mean the world to me. We had a meal made in Heaven and I didn’t have to do the dishes. I have always thought that one could find the best stuff to eat at churches. The food is out of this world.

“And when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

The Color Purple 11-2-9

My Old House, South Carolina

A curious phenomenon in human experience is the ever changing perception of those colors which are de rigueur and those which are dated and passé. In the late sixties and early seventies rust, orange, gold, yellow, in fact, all of the autumn colors were highly sought after for interior design applications and to be certified fashion chic. Yet, in the late twentieth century the surest way to date oneself and demonstrate a complete lack of style was to wear these same colors and worse yet was to have harvest gold appliances and fixtures in one’s house.

Many a perfectly good refrigerator, sink, and oven were discarded simply because they were gold. Avocado green was close behind. Placing my social standing in jeopardy, I still have an avocado green wall oven in my kitchen and one of my bathrooms is fitted in harvest gold. Say what you wish. The last time the oven was used to make six loaves of banana nut bread; the door color was not an impediment to the final golden brown result. My last lingering hot shower was in no way compromised by harvest gold walls.

During a recent visit to London, I observed many businessmen on the street wearing dark suits with lavender or purple shirts and purple ties. This proved especially common in the more fashionable parts of town. It became a curiosity to me that so many men are wearing these unusual colors. Several months ago during the summer I first noticed this fashion trend among the gallery guards in the national museums. Now in the fall businessmen are wearing them many places. I wonder what these guards were privy to that those businessmen in purple are now just catching on about.

Last month while waiting for a train in Waterloo Station, a large LCD display board was extolling the life-changing virtues of a purple cell phone. My phone is a non-descript gray one and it works just fine. I never was able to determine from the intense animated advertising in front of me what a purple plastic case on my phone would do for my telecommunications infrastructure or my life in general. Perhaps, the same mystical benefits that derive from purple shirts and purple ties also accrue to users of purple cell phones.

Colors have powerful influence on mood and behavior; the discipline known as chromatherapy is devoted to studies evaluating the influence of color on affective states. Well-designed experiments proved that seeing red produces the powerful response associated with the phrase ‘seeing red’ - increased blood pressure, muscle strength, hyper-arousal, even aggression. Red is a color denoting power and danger in many cultures. Men often wear a power tie, a red one meant to clarify authority. Studies at two British universities in Plymouth and Durham suggest athletic teams wearing red will have more success on the field. Green is often perceived as a soothing calming color, one that reminds us of the natural world with its exuberant life. Perhaps, the touted mystical powers of purple will be found to influence cell-phone use and the outcomes of power luncheons in London.

Associations tend to be made in all cultures with specific colors. Response to color is complex, being an admixture of neurophysiology and cultural entrainment. Colors often are assigned important moral and religious values. These vary greatly by culture. Why men in London now wear purple or why people would trash perfectly good cell phones because they are not purple is beyond my analytical skills. Perhaps, there is something about this admixture of color response that is only known to the gurus who hock purple shirts and cell phones.

What is clear is that people in many cultures derive an inordinate sense of self-worth and esteem from being in conformity to current declarations of which is fashionable. Being ‘first on the block’ to have something new is part of being ‘with it.’ We not only need to have the right color we need to be the first to do so, be it on our cars, our dining room walls, or our shirts. Our sense of esteem is often little thicker than the film of latex paint on the wall.

Twenty years ago when I bought my house I decided to paint the front rooms a deep burgundy, because I like the color and it makes a very good background for the assorted Old Master paintings and prints I have collected overseas. What I did not expect to see was a number of other living rooms on my street turn red within the next year or two. Twenty years later the red craze seems to have long passed, yet I still have my red rooms and enjoy them as much as I did twenty years ago. All of the people around me with red rooms have long since changed colors, houses, or spouses in the intervening years.

I can’t but wonder if color preference is not a powerful metaphor for how our lives are progressing, or so often, regressing. When we feel stalled out or discontent we simply go buy another can of paint, find another spouse, or build another house, all decidedly expensive options in the long run. Becoming familiar and bored with our circumstances leads to an ingratitude in our hearts. Unwittingly, we launch ourselves on a trajectory towards a complex set of addictions that cannot be satisfied.

Changing interior colors and décor frequently fuels an ongoing appetite for something new and different in our surroundings, putting us at undue financial and relational risk. After a divorce a friend spent a large chunk of her inheritance to redo her kitchen that had been renovated just three years earlier. It is now harvest gold.

Changing spouses is catastrophic to all parties involved, especially children. We think that someone new and different is going to fix the angst in the interiors of our soul. Hundreds of Internet dating services bank on that widespread belief in the culture. With divorce, houses are sold and countless relationship disrupted. We shop for spouses like we do for paint. A lot of paint gets put out on the curb for the trash haulers. Friends of mine are now on six or more marriages and no happier for their many “I dos.”

Changing neighborhoods for a bigger house on a bigger plot further out only disrupts the social fabric of local community and has lead to the literal abandonment of some of America’s biggest cities. It has lead to unmanageable traffic congestion and air pollution throughout the world.

Changing cars every eighteen months has led to the rise and fall of the greatest industrial empire in the world. It has also lead to the financial ruin of millions of people.

According to one on-line purveyor of purple pigments, the color purple can symbolize nobility, envy, sensuality, spirituality, creativity, wealth, royalty, nostalgia, ceremony, mystery, wisdom, enlightenment, arrogance, flamboyance, gaudiness, mourning, exaggeration, and the list goes on. An on-line seller of amethyst describes the powerful influence of the color purple. “Purple is the color of good judgment. It is the color of people seeking spiritual fulfillment. It is said if you surround yourself with purple you will have peace of mind. Purple is a good color to use in meditation. Purple has been used to symbolize magic and mystery, as well as royalty. Being the combination of red and blue, the warmest and coolest colors, purple is believed to be the ideal color. Most children love the color purple. Purple is the color most favored by artists.”

Perhaps, the men in purple dress shirts are privy to something that really matters. Perhaps, the Man in a purple robe who died on Calvary has the answers you really want, answers far more important than what color dress shirt you should be seen in or what color cell phone you should use. Perhaps, the Man in a purple robe even knows more than which house or spouse is going to satisfy the deepest itches of your soul.

Give Him a call any time. There is no roaming charge, even if your phone is the wrong color.