Forgiveness or Revenge?

Greetings to you at Rosh Hashanah. For Jews this is the “head of the year,” the Festival of Trumpets, a new year for people and legal contracts, and it leads to a time of seeking forgiveness.

During the Days of Awe – the time between Rosh Hashanah, September 29, and Yom Kippur, October 7 this year -- a Jew “tries to amend his or her behavior and seek forgiveness for wrongs done against God and against other human beings. The evening and day of Yom Kippur are set aside for public and private petitions and confessions of guilt.” Yom Kippur is the most holy time for Jews.

Forgiving is very nearly a holy act. Those raised in the Christian trahttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifdition are taught to forgive. Jesus had instructed his disciple Peter that we are to forgive many times, seventy seven times (or “seventy times seven” times). (See Matthew 18:22) In fact, the story tells us that we can never stop forgiving others who sin against us. Nor should we shy away from seeking others' forgiveness. We pray that God will “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive others...”

On August 26, during the last days of Ramadan this year, the New York Times published an article entitled, “As Qaddafi Forces Retreat, a Newly Freed Imam Encourages Forgiveness.”3 David D. Kirkpatrick wrote about Sheik Abdul Ghani Aboughreis, an Imam who had called his congregation to participate in the Libyan uprising. He was soon imprisoned by the loyalists to Gaddafi. Now that he's been released, he's calling for Libyans “to forgive each other, to make sure to leave it to the law and not take revenge on each other.”

To repeat: This Imam is telling his fellow citizens to forgive and not seek revenge.

Will his call be heard? We can hope that it will, and we can look around us and see what our neighbors in this country might do if called upon to “forgive” those who attack/attacked us. In fact, we saw some of those neighbors on September 11, the 10th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade center and the Pentagon, come together in volunteer efforts to assist fellow citizens who need some help. But we saw or heard of others decrying that behavior, demanding more militaristic demonstrations and actions. Those demands hardly look to me like forgiving behavior. They look (or sound) to me more like desire for the revenge the Imam urged his followers to eschew.

Again: What are we children of Abraham taught? In chapter 32 of Deuteronomy, (“The Song of Moses”) at verse 35 God says, “Vengeance is mine, and recompense...” And Paul repeats this message in Romans 12:19.; and in Romans 12:20, Paul restates Proverbs 25:21: “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.” In chapter 42, verse 43, of the Holy Qur'an it is written, “To endure with fortitude and to forgive is a duty incumbent on all.”

So let's leave revenge to God. Let's learn from those teachings, and focus on forgiveness.

Serving Other Gods?

I keep on my bedside table a little book of daily devotions called, WISDOM OF THE CARPENTER.2 For July 2, the reading (on page 201) is a sentence from the Gospel of Q: “Worship the Lord your God, serving God alone.” The Gospel of Q is thought to have come from an oral tradition of the teachings of Jesus, which evolved into a source for the Gospel of Matthew. This is all discussed in THE LOST GOSPEL3 and other books.

These words are attributed to Jesus as he resists the devil's temptations, notably in Matthew 4:10 and Luke 4:8. He is quoting the law, specifically Deuteronomy 6:13: “You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve him only [emphasis mine]...”

Devout Orthodox Jews recite every morning and evening the Shema, the verses of Deuteronomy 6:4-9. Verse 4 reminds them of the unity of God: “Hear O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One.” And part of the text of the first of the ten commandments, found in Deuteronomy 5:7 says, “You shall have no other gods before me [emphasis mine].”

Included in the Muslim call to prayer, and in the declaration which Muslims make each time they end their five daily prayers, are the words of the Shahada, “There is no god but Allah..." [emphasis mine] Reciting these words reminds them of the supremacy and singularity of God. Moreover, in the Qur'an's first sura (chapter) are the words, “You alone [emphasis mine] we worship, and to You alone [emphasis mine] we turn for help.”

“...serve him only...” “...no other gods...” “...no god but...” “...You alone...” These words demand total allegiance to God, don't they. We spiritual children of Abraham are strictly forbidden to worship any other things. Now, what are examples of other “things” which might be forbidden? Last month, I mentioned money as a possible other master (“You cannot serve two masters...”) or other god. Wealth seems to be a principal goal for many of us in this world, whether we're trying to make ends meet, or trying to accumulate enough for a comfortable retirement. We can easily find ourselves consumed in the struggle to gain wealth, and we usually think we're doing it for the best of reasons.

Power too seems a major goal in our lives, whether we're lifting weights and training to win a competition, or capturing the “right” assets or developing the “right” skills to lead a family or a team, or a community, or a nation. (Recall that in Matthew 4:10 and Luke 4:8, Jesus was resisting the devil's temptations to power.)

What other “gods” might we be setting up? Youth? Some of us try endless strategies to stay young, or to look younger than we are. Staying physically fit is a “good” goal, but we may have to question cosmetic approaches to appearing different that we are, especially if we're acting out of a “covetous” desire to look younger just to get something.

That devotion for July 2 ends with this little prayer: “Don't let me put anything or anyone ahead of Your will today.” I'll try to remember that loving God and our neighbors, and doing good for them, comes ahead of making more money or gaining more power. Hard as it is, I hope you'll try too.

Serving God or Mammon?

I recently spent some time on the east coast. In one place, I saw two flags on the front of a house, draped over the banister of a second floor deck. The Stars and Stripes displayed in appropriate vertical fashion didn’t surprise me. But right next to it (on the right when viewed from the street) at the same elevation, was the flag of Israel. Seeing those flags, I started thinking about having dual citizenship, and how one might be “loyal” to two countries.


The question is: Can one/Should one divide his/her loyalty? Or must he/she choose one and leave the other? This divided loyalty question brought to mind Jesus’ teaching, not about choosing between two countries, but that we can not serve two Gods.


In Matthew 6:24, Jesus says, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."


By the way, the Revised Standard Version says, “You cannot serve God and mammon.” Mammon: “god of wealth, regarded as evil or immoral.”(For more on this term, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammon)


"You cannot serve both God and Money.” Pretty clear, isn’t it. You can only be loyal to one. We all probably know how to serve Mammon, and chances are we might be serving too well. Then how can we serve God? We can serve God by doing his commands. In Matthew 22:37, Jesus tells us to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” And similarly, according to Luke 10:28, he tells the lawyer, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, [emphasis mine] and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” See also Leviticus 19:18 (Contemporary English Version), “...I command you to love others as much as you love yourself.”


But can we Americans really serve – be loyal to -- God and not Mammon? Well, some of our citizens will tell you we’re a Christian nation. If that were true, you’d probably be right to expect that this nation would follow Jesus’ teaching and not serve wealth but serve God. We’d be loving and taking care of our neighbors. We’d be honoring our elders, and we would not be stealing, or killing, or coveting what others have.


However, other American citizens will remind you that we’re first a nation devoted to capitalism and free enterprise. Mammon. Elections are often won and lost based on how well the economy is doing, and not on how well our neighbors are faring. In fact, some would say that caring for the free market economy is much more important that caring for our neighbors; and that we can’t “afford” to be caring for our neighbors. That sounds to me suspiciously like serving Money.


Does serving God here in the USA truly mean loving God and our neighbors, and serving both though our national programs? Or are we serving money and wealth first? Do you/we divide your/our loyalty between God and wealth? Is it possible to serve both Gods? Are we trying?

Surrender

The fundamentalists and extremists of whatever tradition often seem to be saying, “I’m right, and anyone who disagrees with me is wrong.” These folks point to a particular passage(s) in their particular scripture(s) as evidence or justification for their perspective. Moreover, those folks accept that printed (or recited) word as authority to act.

These same folks might also point to another group’s scripture to show how “wrong” that group is. For example, some who call themselves Christian may point to a passage in the Holy Qur’an which (they say) calls for war. See, for example, Sura 8:40: “Make war on them [unbelievers] until idolatry shall cease and God’s religion shall reign supreme." (Dawood, N.J., translator, THE KORAN. London 1956, Penguin Books. P 129.) And the “faithful” Christians will use that passage to justify hating Islam, and to claim that Islam is not a religion of peace.

Psalm 137:8-9 also seems to support violent action: “Babylon [or name your favorite enemy here], you are doomed! I pray the Lord’s blessings on anyone who punishes you for what you did to us. May the Lord bless everyone who beats your children against the rocks!” (HOLY BIBLE, Contemporary English Version. New York: 1995, American Bible Society. P. 639) And the faithful may start a war to do the punishing on the Lord’s behalf.

Scriptures can be confusing or ambiguous. Perhaps their most frustrating characteristic is that they can be contradictory. Look again at Psalms, only this time, consider Psalm 46. Verse 9: “[The Lord] makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire.” (THE NEW STUDENT BIBLE, New International Version. Grand Rapids, 1986, Zondervan Publishing, P. 517) Here we have a text which reports what God does, not what God wants us to do. In this passage, God actually stops violent behaviors! In this passage, we are not urged to go out and take revenge, nor to begin a war.

In fact, in the very next verse, we’re told to relax, chill out. “Be still, and know that I am God.” The words “be still” come from the Hebrew word rapha which can be translated as “be weak” or “surrender.” (See http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Meditations/Be_Still/be_still.html. Also see http://www.christiancourier.com/articles/1245-be-still-and-know-that-i-am-god) I take this to mean that God is instructing us to do exactly the meaning of the Arabic word Islam: Surrender, or submit. We are to know that God is God, and we’re to remember that we’re not God!

You might think that we can’t always be passive, and just let things happen. Many of us raised in the Abrahamic traditions have been taught that we must act, to do God’s will and bring justice. Still, I think it’s good for us to acknowledge that there’s an alternative behavior: It’s always acceptable to act from the Golden Rule, doing unto others what we’d want them to do unto us. And usually that’s NOT starting a war, or doing the vengeful punishing. When we’ve surrendered and let God be God, it’s just easier to treat others well.

(first published May 2011)

It’s May, the month of flowers which result from April Showers. It’s also the month in which Mother’s Day occurs in the US. I’m sitting in my mother’s home, thinking about how lucky I’ve been to have her for my mother. Now, I’m sure that about 99% of all my friends, and of those people I don’t know, feel the same about their mothers. Maybe more than 99%.

Mothers have been recognized by special celebrations since ancient times. Beginning with the ancient Greeks and Romans festivals were kept for Cybele, a mother of Greek gods; and for Juno on the Roman holiday Matronalia.

“One of the early calls to celebrate Mother's Day in the United States was the "Mother's Day Proclamation" by Julia Ward Howe. Written in 1870, it was a pacifist reaction to the carnage of the American Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War. The Proclamation was tied to Howe's feminist belief that women had a responsibility to shape their societies at the political level.” (https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Mother’s_Day)

Anna Marie Jarvis (May 1, 1864, Webster, West Virginia — November 24, 1948, West Chester, Pennsylvania) is the founder of the Mother's Day holiday in the United States. Mother’s Day became a national holiday in the United States in 1914, just a few years after being first celebrated officially in West Virginia, thanks to Jarvis’ efforts. As the US holiday was adopted by other countries and cultures, the date was changed to fit already existing celebrations honoring motherhood, like Mothering Sunday in the UK, or the Orthodox celebration of Jesus in the temple in Greece. In some countries it was changed to dates that were significant to the majority religion, like the Virgin Mary day in Catholic countries, or the birthday of the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad in Islamic countries.

How important is Mother in your life? From Islam comes this teaching: (http://www.articlesbase.com/ezines-and-newsletters-articles/muhammad-paradise-lies-at-the-feet-of-mothers-2836850.html)

A man came to the Prophet Muhammad and asked him, "Who amongst my near ones has the greatest right over me?" Muhammad replied, "Your mother".

The man then asked, "Who after that?" The Prophet replied again, "Your mother".

The man then asked, who is next, and the Prophet again replied, "Your mother".

The man then asked, who after that, and then the Prophet said, "Your father".

According to the website, this Hadith (teaching) illustrates that a mother deserves service, love, submission, obedience and gratitude from the children...a mother generally makes more sacrifices and endures greater hardships than a father while bringing up the children. She feeds them and takes care of them by sacrificing her comforts in the day and her sleep in the night without any greed or compulsion but only out of sheer love and affection...she renders three important services to her children which cannot be done by the father. The mother bears the burden of the child during pregnancy, stands the pains of delivery, and then feeds the child from her breasts. (http://www.articlesbase.com/ezines-and-newsletters-articles/muhammad-paradise-lies-at-the-feet-of-mothers-2836850.html)

May you celebrate your mother every day, not just on Mother’s Day, and be thankful for her.

Worship and Business

It’s Lent. I am reminded of an event from 2,000 years ago. You know the story. It was the season of Passover. It seems that merchants and bankers had set up shop in the courtyards adjacent to the Temple in Jerusalem. There, foreign travelers could exchange their coins for local currency and they could buy animals – cattle, sheep and doves – to offer as sacrifices in the temple. These sacrifices were needed so that the worshipers might properly express their obedience and thanks to their God. Read Leviticus, especially the first 8 chapters for more descriptions about what is to be done, and how. The Temple was the only place where sacrifices could be offered.

Jesus arrived at the Temple, and seeing the selling going on, chased the merchants out, together with their animals. And he overturned the tables of the money changers. Apparently he also overturned the accepted order of things.

I take the point of this story to be that we need to separate the place of worship from the place of commercial activities. But this can also mean separating the acts and times of worship for the acts and times of doing business. This separation would be in keeping with the commandment to keep the Sabbath holy. And almost certainly Jesus was acting on Isaiah's message in chapter 56:7, “...for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” That’s the reference in the passage. (Mark 11:15-19; Matthew 21:12-17; Luke 19:45-48; and John 2:13-16)

According to Willis Barnstone, “Market merchants would have been outside the restricted Temple, in the adjacent courtyards where the sacrificial animals were taken to be sold in specific areas reserved for commerce and where non-Jews were permitted to buy and sell. Since commerce was restricted to courtyards, it casts doubt on the location of Jesus' house cleaning as within the Temple itself.” (See Barnstone, Willis, translator, THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT. New York, W.W. Norton & Co. 2009. P. 185) I assume the priests condoned the selling.

The story is told in all four of the Gospels so it must be important in Christian history and theology. Various interpretations can be taken. In John's Gospel, the point seems to be to underscore Jesus' divinity. (When questioned by the Jewish leaders about his authority for doing what he did, he says he will rebuild the destroyed temple in three days, foreshadowing his resurrection.) In the three synoptic gospels, Jesus is challenged to tell by what authority he performs his miracles. Still, I think the Gospel writers shared the notion that business should not be done in the sacred space.

Many of us would frown on conducting business in any sanctuary. E.g., several online sources comment on Prophet Muhammad's position on selling things in the Mosque. According to tradition and Islamic law, the Prophet said that, when selling in a Mosque is confronted, one should say, “May Allah not make your business profitable.” So, conducting business there is disliked but a sale conducted there is still valid. (http://en.islamtoday.net/node/1659)

There could be here introduced a whole discussion of selling of indulgences by the Roman Catholic church, and related “money for salvation” activities in the Eastern Orthodox church. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indulgence) Recall that when Martin Luther wrote his 95 theses against the church, “....condemning what he saw as purchase and sale of salvation,” he set down the basis for the Protestant Revolution. However the topic is well beyond this column, and selling indulgences ceased in 1567, in the Roman church . (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/nyregion/10indulgence.html) Still, I would be suspicious of those who profit by selling things that are allegedly required to properly worship God.

What're your thoughts? Should churches sell things? What things? When is it OK? Where? When is it not?

Living Compassionate Lives

You probably know Karen Armstrong's name. She's the religious historian. She's recently published TWELVE STEPS TO A COMPASSIONATE LIFE. (New York. Alfred A. Knopf, 2011.) What is compassion? Why would we want to live a compassionate life?

According to one on-line dictionary, compassion is, “Deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it.” (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/compassion , retrieved January 29, 2011) One way to relieve suffering is to reduce causes of suffering. Armstrong tells us that the central tenant of each of the world's major religions is what we know as the “golden rule.” She traces the emergence of the golden rule from Confucius's teaching, saying, “Compassion, therefore, was inseparable from humanity; instead of being motivated by self-interest, a truly humane person was consistently oriented toward others.” (Op. Cit., p. 10)

As restated by Muhammad: "No man is a true believer unless he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself.” http://www.freewebs.com/muslims_unite/sayingoftheprophetm.htm (Attributed to Muhammad). Retrieved Jan. 29, 2011

She asserts that what has made compassionate thinking (and living) possible was the development of the modern human brain. She says that we humans inherited our survival drives from our reptilian forbears, and those are centered in the hypothalamus, at the base of our brains. But we also evolved “new brains,” the neocortex, where we reason. And humans learned to look out for one another as we learned to live in groups or tribes.

As people began to live in cities, some had the leisure to think, and to understand how the species must go forward. It was during this time that the Israelites began to unify and codify their values and beliefs, and from these arose the modern monotheistic faith traditions. Following the Mosaic Law – honor your parents, don't kill and don't steal or covet – the prophets began to clarify and modernize. Hosea says God wants us to be merciful to others, rather than just following the rituals:

“For I desire mercy, not sacrifice...” Hosea 6:6

About mercy: Mohammed is said to have rebuked his followers for failing to show compassion. "But we do show compassion," they responded, "to our wives, children and relatives." The Prophet insisted, "It is not this to which I refer. I am speaking of universal mercy." http://www.all-creatures.org/murti/tsnhod-11.html. Retrieved January 29, 2011.

Amos decries the oppression of the poor and calls for justice: “You trample on the poor and force him to give you grain...and you deprive the poor of justice in the courts...” (Amos 5: 11-12)

Jesus teaches us to love our neighbors as ourselves, and this teaching restates the golden rule. And the Qur'an repeats this:

“Show kindness to parents and kindred, to orphans and to the helpless, to near and distant neighbors, to those that keep company with you, to the traveler in need, and to the slaves you own.” Qur'an 4:36 (Translated by N.J. Dawood. Penguin Books 1990)

Mercy, justice, love and kindness are conditions which all of us desire for ourselves. They each represent different faces of compassion. So: Why would we want to live compassionate lives? Because, by living with compassion, we act on our words. We are doing to others what we would want them to do to/for/with us.