God Changes

The reading from the Hebrew Scriptures this morning is Ezekiel 18:5-18. It says that a son shall not be punished for the sins of his father, nor a father for the sins of his son. Aside from the very sexist nature of this idea (mothers and daughters, fathers and daughters, mothers and sons are all left out), this directly contradicts Exodus 20:5 (I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of their parents, to the third and fourth generations of those who reject me . . . ). So much for the idea that our God is an unchanging God.

This is Adam Farber and Sara Roizen, whose wedding I attended this weekend. There were three Israelis there who said the wedding was more Jewish than weddings they had attended in Israel. The wedding was really beautiful, as was the Shabbat service held on Saturday.

This is a picture of my college friend Steve Roizen. We have known each other for 40 years. We were both married and had two kids and came out in our fifties. I attended the wedding of his oldest daughter Sara this weekend.

Paul: Wrong on all authority from God

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This morning's reading from the Christian Scriptures is Romans 13:1-7. I imagine that the Republicans love this when they are in office and hate it when they are out. "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore, whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment." I have to say that I think Paul is just plain wrong. I don't believe George W. Bush was appointed by God. And in fact I think it is my duty as a Christian to resist the war in Iraq, instituted by Mr. Bush. And it is my duty as a Christian to advocate for a more equal distribution of resources, something Bush and his allies clearly oppose. I believe I have to oppose "don't ask, don't tell," another Bush policy.

The very next paragraph (verses 8 to 10) says that the commandments are summed up in "love your neighbor as yourself." Here I think Paul is almost right, and I think that he contradicts what he just said. The Iraq war isn't loving our neighbor. "Don't ask, don't tell" isn't a loving policy. And we don't love our neighbor when we allow the government's economic policies to put him or her out of work. In Matthew 22 Jesus has a slightly different take: 36 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37 Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

I don't think we love God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind when we support an unjust government.

God is Good

God is good, all the time.

Obviously, I wasn't feeling that on Monday, when I did my last post. But my psychiatrist made a brilliant choice in putting me on Namenda. I have had only two tablets and I feel better already! I have never had such a rapid turn around in my mood. Of course there is a small chance that this is only temporary, and I will go back to feeling like the world is collapsing around me. But I don't think so. This feels like it's the real thing. There is also a chance that I will go into mania, but I don't feel any of my usual manic urges, so I think this medicine is working for me. Praise God!

Susanna sent me Jeremiah 29:11 to meditate on. "I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out -- plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for" (The Message -- The Bible in Contemporary Language). So I will be strong and take courage, for God has already shown me goodness. And I will trust that God has put the right people in my life right now to help me make the right decisions.

Communion Blessing - August 31

This week's communion blessing, as always, reflected the sermon. The essence of the message, at least as I got it, was that God wants us to see Christ in everyone, friend and other-than-friend alike. So my blessing was:

The body and blood of Jesus the Christ, given for you. May you know this week and always that there is Christ in you, and may you see the Christ in all those you meet. This blessing I ask in the name of Jesus, the risen Christ. Amen.

What's Left to Learn?

In yesterday’s sermon, Rev. Pat quoted St. Teresa of Avila as saying to God, “If this is the way you treat your friends, it is no wonder you have so few.” That’s about the way I’m feeling right now. I’m depressed again, and don’t see what there is left for me to learn from it. I’ve learned some things. It’s okay to be gay. I’ve always done the best I could in my life, so I have nothing to be ashamed of. It’s okay to ask for help. It’s not just okay but necessary to take care of myself. It’s okay to be human instead of perfect. What’s left to learn? And if there is something left, can’t I learn it some other way?

I was listening to Simon and Garfunkel’s Patterns earlier. Here is the last verse:

"And the pattern still remains on the wall where darkness fell,
And it's fitting that it should, for in darkness I must dwell.
Like the color of my skin, or the day that I grow old,
My life is made of patterns that can scarcely be controlled."

I hope Paul Simon got it wrong in this song. First, I hope that the pattern of depressions that has ruled my life for the last fifteen years can somehow be controlled. Second, I hope that I don’t have to dwell in darkness. Some suffering is noble, but not this.