Clarion: Journal of Spirituality and Justice

The Onion: a Parable - Brian Zahnd

THE ONION

“Once upon a time there was a woman, and she was wicked as wicked could be, and she died. And not one good deed was left behind her. The devils took her and threw her into the lake of fire. And her guardian angel stood thinking: what good deed of hers can I remember to tell God? Then he remembered and said to God: once she pulled up an onion and gave it to a beggar woman. And God answered: take now that same onion, hold it out to her in the lake, let her take hold of it and pull, and if you pull her out of the lake, she can go to paradise. The angel ran to the woman and held out the onion to her: here, woman, he said, take hold of it and I’ll pull. And he began pulling carefully, and had almost pulled her all of the way out, when other sinners in the lake saw her being pulled out and all began holding on to her so as to be pulled out with her. But the woman was wicked as wicked could be, and she began to kick them with her feet: ‘It’s me who’s getting pulled out, not you; it’s my onion, not yours.’ No sooner did she say it than the onion broke. And the woman fell back into the lake and is burning there to this day. And the angel wept and went away.”

(From The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky)

Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Let’s think about this onion in Dostoevsky’s parable.

Belong (Antidote for Gnosticism) - Brian Zahnd

Belong
(Antidote for Gnosticism)

Let Christ inform all of life
Don’t be a religious cliché
Be a real human being
Belong to the human race
Belong to the woods
Belong to the city
Go for long walks
Learn to appreciate art
Take up the violin
Cultivate culinary skills
Read War and Peace
Laugh more than you do
Weep now and then
Listen to live jazz
Pray
Eat a peach
Do something ridiculous
Go dancing
Stop judging
Start loving
Plant a garden
Climb a mountain
Memorize a long poem
Learn some astronomy
Become a bee-keeper
Go back to college
Take up a new hobby
Make some new friends
Read the Bible
In a new translation
Get rid of bumper stickers
Learn a foreign language
Watch a foreign film
Change your mind
Drink only good coffee
Trust the sommelier
Talk to your neighbor
Not about religion
Go to church
Go to the circus
Don’t confuse them
Be human
Belong

BZ

 

God and Genocide - Brian Zahnd

God and Genocide Posted: 22 Apr 2013 12:35 PM PDT Let’s play a little game. I’ll ask some questions and you answer them. OK? First question: Did God tell Abraham to kill his son? You say, yes? (Adding that God didn’t actually require Abraham to go through with it.) Next question: Did God tell Joshua and Saul to kill children as part of the “ethnic cleansing” of Canaan? Is that a hesitant yes I hear — like walking in untied shoes? My next question is simple and straightforward: Does God change? No? Well then, since God doesn’t change — and you have already acknowledged that in times past God has sanctioned the killing of children — is it possible that God would require you to kill children? You say you don’t like this game? I understand. I don’t really like it either. But stick with me, I have one more question. If God told you to kill children, would you do so? I know, I know, I know! Calm down. Of course you answer without hesitation that under no circumstance would you participate in the killing of children! Yet in answering with an unequivocal no to the question of whether or not you would kill children are you claiming a moral superiority to the God depicted in parts of the Old Testament? After all, God commanded the Israelites to exterminate the Canaanites, including children…didn’t he? Yet you obviously find the very suggestion of participating in genocide morally repugnant. So what is going on here? Is genocide something God used to do, but now he’s changed? But you already told me God doesn’t change. God is immutable. God doesn’t mutate. So if God used to sanction genocide and God doesn’t change… Aauugghh!!!! Yes, you’ve been painted into a corner. And something has to give! So where do we go from here?

The Radical Alternative of the Gospel of Peace by Brian Zahnd

The Radical Alternative of the Gospel of Peace
by Brian Zahnd

Christians call Jesus the “Prince of Peace.” But what does that mean? Is it just a Christmas card cliché? Does it merely mean some peace of mind in an anxiety-ridden world? Or might it mean something more substantial? Perhaps much more substantial. Might it mean that Jesus offers the world an alternative arrangement that could best be described as peace? This is what I have come to believe. Jesus is the savior of the world in a real, wonderful, and urgent way — the Prince of Peace who can lead humanity out of the madness of arranging our world around power, violence and war.

I have my own story of how I moved beyond a misguided allegiance to that tired paradigm of violence by discovering the radical alternative of the gospel of peace. This was not an easy move, but it was worth it. And it’s a story worth telling.

Narrative Arcs and Jumping Sharks
A Lenten Meditation
by Brian Zahnd

What I am doing you do not understand now. -Jesus

.
.
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We all wear the same thorny crown. -Dylan

The call of Christ is simple, primal even: “Follow me.”

Either we do or we don’t. Either we will or we won’t.

It takes real faith to believe in Jesus enough to actually make your way through the darkness of this world illuminated by the light of Christ.

As we believe the gospel and begin to follow Jesus, our story becomes enfolded into Jesus’ story. There is a merging of stories. Our life becomes an original adaptation of the Passion Play.

Lenten Scripture Reading Guide - Brian Zahnd

Lent is a time for us to revisit, recall, retell, relive Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem and especially his suffering and death. I would like to share with you the scripture reading guide I’ll be following during Lent. Read it slow and in a contemplative manner; try to fall into the story. Be there with Jesus. I pray this Lenten journey through the second half of the Gospel story will help you to encounter Jesus in fresh new ways.

(As you will notice the Sunday readings depart from the narrative course to recall the resurrection.)

BZ

(The artwork is The Procession to Calvary by Pieter Brueghel The Younger)

Lenten Scripture Reading Guide

Why I don't own a gun - Brian Zahnd

Why I Don’t Own A Gun
by Brian Zahnd

I don’t own a gun. I never have. Why?

First of all I don’t hunt. I have nothing against hunting. (After all, I’m not a vegetarian.) I don’t hunt like I don’t golf—it’s just something I never took up. So I don’t own a shotgun or a hunting rifle for the same reason I don’t own golf clubs. And for the same reason you probably don’t own crampons and an ice axe. Since I don’t hunt, I don’t need the equipment.

Secondly, I don’t own a gun because I don’t want to shoot anyone. Shotguns and hunting rifles are designed for the purpose of shooting game. Handguns and assault rifles are designed for the purpose of shooting people. But I don’t want to shoot anyone. So, once again, I don’t need the equipment. I’m perfectly content to allow a trained and authorized police force to handle this equipment on behalf of society. I think that’s a good idea. (If you don’t think that’s a good idea, well, then we just disagree. Don’t shoot me.) I’m not a police officer, so I don’t need police equipment. I don’t own surgical equipment either, because…well, you get my point.

The Magi and I - by Brian Zahnd

T.S. Eliot’s poem Journey of the Magi with my quasi-interpretation of it.

(Which is more than an interpretation — it’s also a kind of autobiographical confession;
for I too have had a hard time of it. And like Eliot’s Magi I would do it all over again.)

Journey of the Magi
by T.S. Eliot

A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.
And the camels galled, sore-footed, refractory,
Lying down in the melting snow.
There were times when we regretted
The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces,
And the silken girls bringing sherbet.
Then the camel men cursing and grumbling
And running away, and wanting their liquor and women,
And the night-fires going out, and the lack of shelters,
And the cities dirty and the towns unfriendly
And the villages dirty and charging high prices:
A hard time we had of it.
At the end we preferred to travel all night,
Sleeping in snatches,
With the voices singing in our ears, saying
That this was all folly.

Then at dawn we came down to a temperate valley,
Wet, below the snow line, smelling of vegetation;
With a running stream and a water mill beating the darkness,
And three trees on the low sky,
And an old white horse galloped away in the meadow.
Then we came to a tavern with vine-leaves over the lintel,
Six hands at an open door dicing for pieces of silver,
And feet kicking the empty wineskins.
But there was no information, and so we continued
And arrived at evening, not a moment too soon
Finding the place; it was (you may say) satisfactory.

All this was a long time ago, I remember,
And I would do it again, but set down
This set down
This: were we led all that way for
Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly,
We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.
We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death.

God Doesn't Build His House on Violence - by Brian Zahnd

God Doesn’t Build His House By Violence
Brian Zahnd

The New Testament begins with these words: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” Or more literally: “The bible of the genesis of Jesus…”

Jesus doesn’t just pop into history out of nowhere—he arrives as the Seed of Abraham and the Son of David. He has a genealogy and that genealogy matters. The genealogy of Jesus is an essential part of the Big Story of the Gospel. If we don’t see how Jesus fits into the Big Story the Bible is telling we invariably reduce the gospel to postmortem hell avoidance. So how can we tell the Big Story of the Bible? It might go like this:

With Adam and Eve expelled from Eden’s paradise and Cain founding human civilization with bloody hands, humankind was set on a self-destructive trajectory away from God. In the generations to follow the migration away from God gained momentum and was marked by an exponential increase in violence. The corrupting violence of the days of Noah unleashed a flood of judgment.

Eventually God initiated his rescue mission by calling a man through whom he would begin to save the world. His name was Abraham. Abraham’s task was to leave the city of Ur founded on the Cain model and become the father of the family of faith. This faith family would be the chosen seed that would bless all the families of the earth. So the family of faith begins.

Re-Membering the Body of Christ - by Brian Zahnd

Re-Membering the Dismembered Body of Christ
by Brian Zahnd

That they may all be one…that the world may believe.
—Jesus (John 17:21)

I’m kind of depressed.
Or at least a little bit sad.
Politics is the pathogen of my mental malady.
Every election cycle it gets worse—
Like an unholy Civil War re-enactment.
Brother against brother.

The American presidential election is dividing the Body of Christ.
“I am of Obama!”
“I am of Romney!”
Is Christ divided?
Was Obama crucified for you?
Were you baptized in the name of Romney?

A Liturgy for Morning Prayer - Brian Zahnd

A Liturgy for Morning Prayer

Address

Father God, creator of heaven and earth,

God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,

God of Israel,

God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,

True and Living God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

Have mercy and hear our prayer.

First Prayers

O Lord, open our lips.

And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

            Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:

            as it was in the beginning is now, and will be forever. Amen.

O God, make speed to save us.

O Lord, make haste to help us.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:

            as it was in the beginning is now, and will be forever. Amen.

 

Jesus Prayer (Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.)

A Christian Voter's Guide - by Brian Zahnd

A Christian Voter’s Guide

by Brian Zahnd on September 4, 2012

A Christian Voter’s Guide

Praise be to Nero’s Neptune
The Titanic sails at dawn
And everybody’s shouting
“Which Side Are You On?”

I am fine with a Christian voting for Mitt Romney if they feel that action best reflects their commitment to follow Jesus Christ. I know sincere Christians who will do this.

I am fine with a Christian voting for Barack Obama if they feel that action best reflects their commitment to follow Jesus Christ. I know sincere Christians who will do this.

I am fine with a Christian voting for someone else (Green Party, write-in, etc.) if they feel that action best reflects their commitment to follow Jesus Christ. I know sincere Christians who will do this.

I am fine with a Christian choosing not to vote because they don’t like any of the options and view it as inconsistent with truly believing that Jesus is Lord. I know sincere Christians who will do this.

I am not fine with a Christian who insists that their particular way of voting is the only faithful Christian response. Such Christians are narrow-minded partisans who divide the body of Christ over politics. This is a grievous sin.

“This is my commandment: That you love one another.” -Jesus

BZ

(The artwork is Puritan Place by Harold Town. The quote is from Bob Dylan’s Desolation Row.)

Oh Mercy! by Brian Zahnd

Oh Mercy Posted: 12 Jul 2012 06:57 PM PDT   OH MERCY by Brian Zahnd Be perfect as your Father is perfect. —Jesus (Matthew 5:48) Be merciful as your Father is merciful. —Jesus (Luke 6:36) Let’s keep this short and sweet. To the point. The Gospel writers Matthew and Luke give us two different accounts of the Sermon on the Mount. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says his disciples are to turn the other cheek, go the second mile, and love their enemies, and they are to do so for this reason: So they can be like their Father who is perfect/merciful. The Gospel writers use different words. What Jesus in Matthew calls perfection, Jesus in Luke calls mercy.

Eye-Deep in Lies -- Brian Zahnd

Eye-Deep In Lies
by Blindman At The Gate

Why is it that if we dare to envision a world without war
(A hope offered humanity by the prophet Isaiah bar Amoz)
We’re considered hopelessly naïve or even treasonous?

Why is it that everyone knows Jesus taught the way of nonviolence
(Just read the Sermon on the Mount and you’ll see what I mean)
Except those who most vociferously call themselves Christians?

Why is it that a clear renunciation of war is called cowardly
(Suggest killing enemies is not the way and see what happens)
When following the crowd has never required any courage?

Why is it we’re suspicious of those called peacemakers
(Ask brave Daniel Ellsberg, he’ll tell you all about it)
When the One we worship is called the Prince of Peace?

Why is it we believe the coming of Christ will bring the reign of peace
(For we do confess that someday the lion will lay down with the lamb)
But in the mean time act as if we must preserve war as long as possible?

Why are those who renounce war and embrace peace called stupid
(“The poor dolts don’t have enough sense to come in out of the rain”)
When Einstein said, “I’m not only a pacifist, but a militant pacifist”?

Why am I even bothering to talk about the topic of peace
(“Shouldn’t he be preaching the gospel or something?”)
When I know good and well it will only cause me grief?

A fellow who goes by the weird name Blindman at the Gate composed this brief meditation after learning that the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs reports that 18 combat veterans commit suicide every day.

(The painting is Isaiah by Marc Chagall)

 

A Great than Solomon -- compiled by Brian Zahnd

A Greater Than Solomon - Matthew 12:42

Ecclesiastes is a divine revelation of the vanity, futility, emptiness and absurdity of life apart from a relationship with the living God. Ecclesiastes it is the natural, earthly wisdom of the sages and the philosophers—(Solomon, Socrates, Siddhartha and Schopenhauer)—it is not the greater wisdom of the Son of God.

Question # 1: Is life meaningless or is there a purpose?

Solomon (Ecclesiastes 1:2)

Vanity of vanities, all is vanity

Everything is meaningless, says the Teacher

Jesus (John 18:37)

You say that I am a king and you are right.

I was born for this purpose.

I came to bring truth into the world.

Everyone who loves truth hears my voice.

Resurrection Here and Now by Brian Zahnds

Resurrection Here and Now

Resurrection Here and Now

An Easter Monday Meditation

On that first Easter morning God’s new world began. The old world is still with us, still dying, but the new world is here too; the age to come has already begun!

Or as G.K. Chesterton put it…

On the third day the friends of Christ coming at daybreak to the place found the grave empty and the stone rolled away. In varying ways they realized the new wonder; the world had died in the night. What they were looking at was the first day of a new creation, with a new heaven and a new earth; and in a semblance of a gardener God walked again in the garden, in the cool not of the evening but the dawn.

But what of it? Or as Francis Schaeffer might put the question, how should we then live?

To Mend the World by Brian Zahnd

To Mend the World
by Brian Zahnd

November 9, 1938 resides in the catalog of human crimes as Kristallnacht—The Night of Broken Glass. On that dreadful night when Nazi storm troopers smashed, ransacked, burned, and destroyed Jewish homes, synagogues, and businesses throughout Germany, Emil Fackenheim was among the thirty thousand Jewish men arrested and taken to concentration camps. Through an improbable twist of fate the twenty-two year old Fackenheim managed to escape the Sachenhausen concentration camp and was eventually able to get out of Nazi Germany. Following the war he made his way to Canada where he became a prominent Jewish philosopher and Reform rabbi. In 1982 Fackenheim wrote To Mend the World, an influential book on post Holocaust Jewish thought. The title comes from the Jewish theological concept of tikkun olam—“repairing the world.” Tikkun olam is the idea that though the world is broken, it is not beyond repair—that it’s God’s intention to work through humanity in order to repair his creation.

Satan and Empire -- by Brian Zahnd

by BRIAN ZAHND on JANUARY 25, 2012

Satan and Empire

When asked to identify the origin of Satan we are commonly directed to Isaiah 14. This is the passage where the King of Babylon is called Lucifer (Day Star) and described as “fallen from heaven” after coveting the throne of God.  But what should be readily apparent is that Isaiah is giving us a prophetic critique of empire by using the king of Babylon as a personification for the whole imperial project. This is quite clear from a simple reading of the text. Throughout Scripture (and especially in the book of Revelation) Babylon remains a prophetic symbol of empire and the kingdom of Satan.

Here are a few thoughts from Isaiah 14…

The Advent of Imagination -- by Brian Zahnd

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The Advent of Imagination
by Brian Zahnd

Are we lacking in imagination, we children of Cain
We of the ancient, worn-out myopic Idea
(Long since unworthy of that noble name)
The horrid idea born a bastard east of Eden—
Kill Abel and pretend we don’t know he’s our brother
Kill Abel and pretend we don’t know better?

Are we so appallingly lacking in imagination
That we have no freedom because we have no choices?
That which has been is what will be
That which is done is what will be done
There is nothing new under the sun
Thus spake the Preacher who lost his imagination
Thus chanted the Preacher in his mantra of despair.
(What we need is a greater than Solomon to arrive on the scene!)

Rhythm (Redo) - Brian Zahnd

Rhythm (Redo) Posted: 21 Nov 2011 01:14 PM PST I’ve been thinking about Advent today. It starts Sunday, you know. (For those of us at Word of Life it really starts Friday night with our Thanksgiving Communion Service and Christmas Tree Lighting.) Anyway, alert reader Gerald Lewis reminded me of this four and half year old post and it seems apropos. So with a few alterations, here is Rhythm (Redo). RHYTHM Life is full of rhythm. The daily rhythm of sunrise and sunset. The seasonal rhythm of winter, spring, summer, fall. The lunar rhythm seen in the cycles of the moon. When we consider the human body we can say life is rhythm. The steady rhythm of breathing. The syncopated rhythm of the heart. The many rhythms of a healthy body. When your body is out of rhythm you are sick. If the rhythm is not restored you are dead.