I spent this past week in New Orleans with 500 PICO clergy from around the country, talking about ways we can create change in our country that will benefit the majority of our neighbors who are being crushed by this current economic crisis. LA Voice is the local, Los Angeles affiliate of PICO (People Improving Communities through Organizing) which many of you have participated with to create social change in line with our values.

Last week I talked about the Parable of the Worthless Servant. It is a story of a man who is serving a system that benefits the wealthiest 1–2% of the community at the expense of the 99%. He decides he’s no longer willing to play this game that is bankrupting families and destroying individuals. As a result of opting out of the system that has also served him, to some degree, he is “cast out.” Today’s parable tells us unequivocally that Jesus is present—not even just among—but in the person of the “cast out.”

This week in New Orleans we started shaping a narrative that we call the Land of Opportunity. What I love about this expression, Land of Opportunity, is that it lifts up an often hidden reality that we don’t all have the same opportunities. One thing we will spend time doing in the coming months is sharing our stories of opportunity—and in some cases, lack of opportunity. As religious leaders, we have said with one voice this week that we believe in a society in which everyone—irrespective of race, gender, economic status and ethnic origin—has an opportunity to live an abundant life. We believe that scripture teaches us that Jesus was about these things and that we should be, too.

I hope you will take a few minutes today to reflect on your story of opportunity, especially as Thanksgiving approaches. Thinking about our opportunities will engender gratitude for the blessings God has brought into our lives. And if we listen carefully to each other, we will hear some stories of opportunity denied. These stories should make us upset—even angry—and move us to act. In this church we often talk about doing now what we anticipate God will one day do for all creation. Let us continue to work to that end!

—RYAN

This week I am once again keenly aware of how dependent I am on technology to survive an average day. On Saturday afternoon my computer began running very slowly. By Sunday morning, nothing was working at all. I shut it down completely and restarted it. Four hours later it still hadn’t completely booted. By that point I was in a state of panic. As pathetic and inhuman as this sounds, nearly everything I needed to do revolved around my computer. Then came a stroke of grace. When I took my computer to the “Genius Bar” at the Apple Store I discovered that I had 16 days left on the warranty. SIXTEEN DAYS! This sort of thing never happens to me. Typically I am informed that my warranty expired 16 days ago. I began to feel more hopeful. The young man behind the counter was very helpful but in the end he took my computer from me and said it would take 5–7 days to get it back. That sounded to me like 5–7 months!

As a result of this less-dramatic-than-I’m-making-it-sound series of events, I am further behind on my email than ever before, but I’ve discovered something else. In spending less time in front of a computer, I’ve done more reading, cleaned my office (partly), and focused on a few other tasks that were waiting for my attention.

As we’ll discover in our gospel lesson this Sabbath, sometimes the best thing we can do to change something for the better is to withdraw from it. To say no! To refuse to go along with the status quo. Most of the time I try to think of ways I can change things by doing something positive and new, but sometimes the clearer statement is made by refusing to do something that we typically do, For example, by withdrawing from the rat-race of life for a 24-hour Sabbath, we are saying a profound “No” to the powers that say we are only worth what we can produce. By stepping off the conveyor belt of consumerism and the capitalistic drive to maximize profit at all costs, we can make a profound statement about what is important in life.

As we head into the holidays we have important decisions in front of us about how we will spend our money and our time. I pray that God would help us understand how we can live for the kingdom of the heavens with every decision
we make.

—RYAN

Jesus told a parable about the an unforgiving servant. According to this story, which you can read in Matthew 18:21-35, a man owed the king an enormous sum of money and was thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the man begged for mercy the king had compassion on him and forgave his debt. However, upon being freed from prison this man found another man who owed him a tiny fraction of the amount he was just forgiven. As Jesus tells the story, “He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded,” and had the man thrown in prison. This is exactly what has happened in our country with large financial institutions. The federal government bailed the banks out—literally saved them from destruction. But after being saved, they have gone out to our communities and mercilessly choked homeowners and business owners.

This week I represented our church at a press action in downtown Los Angeles in front of the Bank of America building. We, along with four other congregations including two in Hollywood (Blessed Sacrament and St. Stephens) declared our divestment from Bank of America. What this means is that we will be moving our congregation’s banking to a community bank. The reason for this is simple. The big banks—Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and JP Morgan Chase in particular—orchestrated the largest economic downturn since the Great Depression through fraudulent activity and unchecked greed. Since that time they have not cooperated with homeowners who need mortgage modifications and business owners who need credit. Instead they have continued to amass immense wealth for their executives and shareholders at the expense of our communities. As I said on Tuesday morning at the press conference, we will no longer allow the financial institutions that are damaging our country and hurting our families to use our money to do it.

Elysabeth and I have also begun the process of moving our money to a community bank that believes in community investment. I want to encourage you to consider doing the same. Please visit www.moveyourmoneyproject.org and do the research in order to make wise decision.

If you want to read more about the event on Tuesday and listen to an interview I did with Which Way, LA? on KRCW visit this link.

I ran across this quote from one of my favorite Christian leaders and activists, Dorothy Day.

“What we would like to do is change the world—make it a little simpler for people to feed, clothe, and shelter themselves as God intended for them to do. And, by fighting for better conditions, by crying out unceasingly for the rights of the workers, of the poor, of the destitute…we can, to a certain extent, change the world; we can work for the oasis, the little cell of joy and peace in a harried world. We can throw our pebble in the pond and be confident that its ever widening circle will reach around the world. We repeat, there is nothing that we can do but love, and, dear God, please enlarge our hearts to love each other, to love our neighbor, to love our enemy as well as our friend.”

I love how she connects the fight for better living conditions for people to the single command to love. This is the kind of connection I was trying to make in last Sabbath’s message from Matthew 22 about the Great Commandment. Dorothy Day captures the heart of Jesus’ message when she says, “there is nothing that we can do but love.”

The work we are doing with our community garden, with LA Voice as we fight for a city that values and respects all its citizens and gives everyone a fair chance to live a healthy life. My hope is that all our work would be “nothing…but love;” That we would recognize that our our efforts as a “pebble in the pond” but that we would not be discouraged by this fact. All we can do is love. Our prayer should be the same as Dorothy Day’s,

Dear God, please enlarge our hearts to love each other, to love our neighbor, to love our enemy as well as our friend.

Amen!

Grace and Peace,
Ryan

It is such an interesting time in our nation’s life. There is deep pain and anger being expressed in our country about injustice and the lack of opportunity the vast majority have to participate in the “good life.” In the words of the Occupy Wall Street protestors, the 99% are tired of being exploited for the benefit of the 1%.

I have been puzzled about how to respond to this movement. I’ve wondered, what would Jesus say about Occupy Wall Street? There are aspects that make me uneasy. Rhetoric that easily objectifies the other side and fosters hate will not move us toward a better future; neither will apathy which regards any movement for change, which must necessarily challenge the status quo, sometimes vigorously, as too messy, inconvenient or irreverent. Let’s be clear. The lives of millions of people, and future generations, are on the line. The suffering are crying out for fundamental change in a system that favors the rich and powerful.

One of my favorite contemporary philosophers and social critics, Slavoj Žižek, spoke to the protesters at Occupy Wall Street this week. One section especially struck me,

“Remember that our basic message is ‘We are allowed to think about alternatives.’ If the rule is broken, we do not live in the best possible world…. Remember. The problem is not corruption or greed. The problem is the system. It forces you to be corrupt.”

What Žižek is saying is that our country is suffering from a profound lack of imagination and the will to actualize a different kind of social reality —a different system. At its core, I think this is what the Occupy movement is about. And it’s not that different from the kind of change God demanded through the ancient prophets (see Amos 9-10, Micah 6).

Žižek goes on to say,

“What is Christianity? It’s the holy spirit. What is the holy spirit? It’s an egalitarian community of believers who are linked by love for each other, and who only have their own freedom and responsibility to do it. In this sense, the holy spirit is here now. And down there on Wall Street, there are pagans who are worshipping blasphemous idols.” [1]

It is interesting to me that an atheist philosopher understands that this movement for freedom is spiritual at its core. It is about love and community. I’m still not sure what Jesus would say about Occupy Wall Street but I’m pretty sure he’d be engaging with the frustration expressed and saying something like, “God’s occupation has begun. Repent and walk a different path!”
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[1] “Slavoj Žižek speaks at Occupy Wall Street: Transcript.” http://www.imposemagazine.com/bytes/slavoj-zizek-at-occupy-wall-street-transcript

The psalm this week speaks in beautiful poetry about God’s glory and majesty and the honor that is due to him because of His unsurpassed goodness. Toward the end of the psalm is this curious line:

Say among the nations, “The Lord is king! The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved. He will judge the peoples with equity.”

Think about this for a moment. Imagine what this means in a world of runaway unemployment, global economic uncertainty, the frustration expressed by Occupy Wall Street and the whole Occupy movement to say nothing of our own personal storms—emotionally, mentally, physically as well as spiritually and materially. The world at time seems absolutely out of control, doesn’t it?

So what does it mean to “say among the nations, ‘The Lord is king! The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved?” The world is firmly established? Really? The Psalmist knows that if the Lord is king, the world will be firmly established. His world appears out of control, too, I’m sure. But he knows something—something vitally important. The Lord is king! Therefore, though it feels like everything is moving and the world is spinning wildly out-of-control, God is actually in control.

Furthermore, “God will judge the peoples with equity.” Our world is crying desperately for some equity! A little fairness! Some justice! It is the massive inequality in this country and around the world that is the spark that ignites so much anger and violence. Imagine if there was a king who could judge all the people’s with equity?

This is good news! This is news that deserves to be shared with anyone and everyone who will listen. Is this not the church’s mission and message, especially in a world of so much insecurity? To first of all believe for ourselves and live out of that belief, and then to proclaim to the world that God is king and as a result of that, the world is firmly established and that justice and fairness is available to everyone.

This week I had a unique opportunity to perform a memorial service for a man named Helmut. My friend, Kerry Morrison, met Helmut a year ago while doing a registry of the most vulnerable homeless people in Hollywood. Through the efforts of several groups that our congregation partners with, including Hollywood 4WRD, Gett Love, Blessed Sacrament Social Services and People Assisting the Homeless (PATH), Helmut was able to eventually get his own apartment. However, just two months ago, Helmut died at the age of 81. Kerry described him as a vibrant man with beautiful blue eyes and a lilting German accent.

A few members of the community, including Syd Shook and myself, gathered around the bus bench on Highland Avenue where Kerry first met Helmut and remembered his life. I shared that though the world may forget us, God remembers us. I read from Psalm 56 (The Message):

Take my side, God—
I’m getting kicked around,
stomped on every day.
Not a day goes by
but somebody beats me up;
They make it their duty
to beat me up.
When I get really afraid
I come to you in trust.
I’m proud to praise God;
fearless now, I trust in God.
What can mere mortals do?
You’ve kept track of my every toss and turn
through the sleepless nights,
Each tear entered in your ledger,
each ache written in your book.

To hear this text, on the street, in memory of a man who spent nine months on the street in the later years of his life was profound and humbling.

Our congregation had the privilege to bear witness to the God of mercy who remembers us. One of the outreach workers for PATH who knew Helmut well said, “Helmut said he didn’t believe in God, but it was obvious that God believed in him.” So true, and beautifully said!

—RYAN

Yesterday the Los Angeles Times reported that “After more than two days of deliberation, an Orange County jury…found 10 Muslim students guilty of two misdemeanors to conspire and then disrupt a February 2010 speech at UC Irvine last year by the Israeli ambassador to the United States.” This came on the same day that Palestinian leader, President Mahmoud Abbas, introduced the Palestinian bid for statehood by the United Nations. All indications are that this request will be denied. This strange coincidence leaves me feeling that the challenge of peace in our world is more fragile than my optimistic nature would like to believe.

For a year now, interfaith leaders have been advising restraint in this case. UC Irvine administered disciplinary actions against the 11 students for their behavior, but many have felt that the criminal prosecution of conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor was excessive and a political move on the part of the Orange County District Attorney.

In October of last year, the Abrahamic Faiths Peacemaking Initiative (of which I am honored to be a part) wrote a letter to the DA urging him to cease the criminal investigation and leave the disciplinary action to the University. Earlier today the University also agreed that the disciplinary actions meted out by the administration was “sufficient.” One of its law professors called the case “unnecessary” and “harmful.”

At stake in this debate is the question of free speech and the inflaming of Islamophobia, especially in Orange County. According to an LA Times report, “Shakeel Syed, executive director of the Islamic Shura Council, called the ‘Irvine 11’ guilty verdict the ‘death of democracy in our country.’ He said the verdict reflects a “growing malaise of Islamophobia” in the United States.

As a Christian, I find the conduct of the Orange County DA profoundly unhelpful. While the behavior of the Irvine 11 was unacceptable in that context, this kind of legal action will not build a more peaceable Orange County. A profound learning moment was missed here—and on a University campus where this kind of robust debate and exposure to differing ideas should be celebrated and protected.

In a community featuring some of the largest Christian churches in Southern California, Muslims have one again been declared as outsiders. In the words of Shakeel Syed, “I believe the heart of America has died today…. This is clearly an indication that Muslims are permanent foreigners, at least in Orange County.”

Christians are called to welcome—and even love—the stranger; those on the margins of society. There is nothing Christian whatsoever about cultivating xenophobic communities and nurturing fear and suspicion of the “other.” What our communities need are leaders—women and men who can stand between opposing sides and create a space of dialogue and understanding. When we have done this in our congregation on a range of topics, we have watched understanding erode fear. Unfortunately today, in Orange County, fear had the last word. This verdict is not quarantined, either. It will have repercussions around the country. People of faith and good will must stand against this kind of action and build enduring relationships, which will create pathways of peace and understanding.

Grace & Peace, Ryan

Where were you on September 11, 2001?

Many of you have heard me tell of my family’s experience of being right in the middle of the storm. It’s hard to believe it has been a decade. The new millennium was fresh and full of hope and promise. American exceptionalism was at a fever pitch. There was nothing that wasn’t possible. Like the maiden voyage of the Titanic before she found that fateful iceberg, nothing could sink America’s optimism. Then an event, which is not so rare in other parts of the world, touched us. Terrorism. Thousands of people died at the hands of a few extremists. Then began the search for a culprit. A war in Afghanistan. Another war in Iraq. And 10 years later, with tens of thousands more people dead, our world is as subject to violence as it ever was.

The day following the attacks my congregation in suburban Philadelphia gathered for prayer. We remembered the words of Jesus which invited us to love our enemies and pray for those those persecute us. It was a hard prayer for all of us. The wounds were open. We read these words: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also” (Matthew 5:38–39). Reflecting on this teaching of Jesus, Mohandas Ghandi quipped, “An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.”

Jesus’ way seems hopelessly naive! How will the world be healed of violence and war through prayer and forgiveness? Yet this is the way commended to us. How can we live as people of peace in our world? What is our part?

That is our focus today. I am delighted that my friend, Jihad Turk, has joined us to share from his Muslim perspective, what 9/11 means and the urgent call upon each of our lives. I hope you will give him your full attention. Today we get to hear a message from someone outside our Christian faith tradition, where God is also present and active. May God give us ears to hear his voice together today!

–Ryan