Getting sick watching TV and the Tea Party Debate

I gave up on TV a few years ago. I can't remember what I was watching at the time, I just remember getting up off the couch and fetching a book while I announced to everyone in the room that I was sick of it.

I haven't stopped watching it all together, but I'm down to 3 shows, Amazing Race, Deadliest Catch and Survivor. I realize it's a strange mix, but I've pretty much given up on everything else. This annoys my wife at times, especially when she's watching something she likes and I make some snarky comment over-top of my current read.

So why I had the TV on the other night I can't say...maybe it was curiosity or maybe it was a mix of concern about the future of the Republic and what life will be like for my kids some day, but I watched a little of the Tea Party Debate. Just a little. Enough to make me get sick at my stomach. Seriously!

I don't even know where to begin. I guess the most obvious moment was when Ron Paul, who is a Physician, was asked about what he would do for a man who was dying and needed hospital care but had no health insurance. Actually I was not so troubled by Dr. Paul's answer as I was by the response of the crowd. As the moderator said, "should society just let him die," the crowd jeered, "Yes, Yes," and applauded.

At that moment I was caught up in the spirit. I was no longer watching TV, I was in first century Palestine standing with the crowd as Pilate brought Jesus out....

So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, ‘Here is the man!’ When the chief priests and the police saw him, they shouted, ‘Crucify him! Crucify him!’

The next moment I found myself sitting with the disciples days before the crucifixion as Jesus was teaching the parable of the King separating the sheep from the goats. He said...

‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that 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 something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”



Another moment in the debate that wreaked havoc on my upper GI track came in the moment when a young man asked the question, "Out of every dollar that I earn, how much do you think I deserve to keep?"

Again, I was caught up in the spirit and found myself standing in the crowd as Jesus was interacting with the rich young man...

The young man said to him, ‘I have kept all these; what do I still lack?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions.




I am concerned about the future of our republic...not about the economy, not about jobs...but about the soul of a people who have forgotten that we are our brothers keepers. We are called to help those in need, not just as Christians but as citizens of this great nation. How quickly some forget the very Constitution they claim to uphold...

I can't forget...and those words should be forever etched into the lives and actions of those who take their faith and their citizenship seriously...

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

At one time, the people of this country believed that freedom and liberty were wrapped up in the general welfare of all its citizens. Now it seems these things should only be made available for those who can afford it...

What are we becoming as a nation...

I worry about the future my children will have and can't help but remember that line from Proverbs...

Those who trust in their riches will wither,
but the righteous will flourish like green leaves.
Those who trouble their households will inherit wind,
and the fool will be servant to the wise.

Remembering September 11th

Some have forgotten or did not realize that Rowan Williams, current Archbishop of Canterbury, was a block away from the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001 recording a church video series at Trinity Wall Street. Here he is in 2010, reflecting on his experiences of that day.

Boring Sermons...

Thomas Long, professor of preaching at Candler School of Theology, wrote a blog entry about boring sermons the other day. He gives some good food for thought. Here is a little taste...

The intriguing puzzle to me is not why centuries of churchgoers have carped about boring sermons, but why it is that sermons often seem so much more boring than they really are, objectively measured. It's been said that 99 out of 100 people are interesting once you get to know them, and the one who's not is interesting by virtue of being the exception. So it is for sermons. It is actually rare to find a sermon completely devoid of inspiration or creativity, yet sermon has become a word like politics, a noble term with a tarnished reputation. People who remain alert through an NPR report on agricultural reforms in the Sudan or who are all eyes and ears for a half-hour pitch on QVC for zircon earrings become testy the moment a sermon overflows the banks of their endurance.

Read the entire article here...