Mike’s Rumblings 05-03-24

Faith Conversations

This is an audio version of Mike Murphy‘s Friday rumblings. This is a regular post on Facebook that I’ve turned into a podcast. I decided Mike’s words needed a wider audience. You may agree or disagree with what he says, but there is certainly much food for thought contained here. You can friend Mike on Facebook for the printed version or read it below

Rumblings. 5.3.24.

1. “Can we just acknowledge how refreshing it is to see a president of the United States at an event that doesn’t begin with a bailiff saying ‘all rise’?” ~ Colin Jost, White House Correspondents Dinner

Our previous president hated this event and stayed far away from it. He couldn’t handle the thought that people would have a little fun at his expense. He also lacked the requisite skills to do any kind of smart and clever humor sparring.

2. How then shall we live as people of faith in a troubling political climate? I recently attended a program at our church featuring NY Times Opinion Columnist, David French, who addressed this question. He suggested taking a long hard look at Micah 6:8.

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.

And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy

and to walk humbly with your God.”

Good advice. But then he suggested that we flip it upside down and start with learning how to “walk humbly with our God.” From his vantage point ‘humility’ in Christian circles has gone into hiding.

He’s spot on. If we prioritize walking humbly with God perhaps loving mercy and acting justly will become second nature to us. Wouldn’t that be nice?

“Step out of the traffic!

Take a long, loving look at me,

your High God,

above politics,

above everything.” ~ Psalm 46:10 MSG

3. “Christian spirituality is a spirituality of descent. It invites us to follow Jesus on a journey of self-emptying surrender.” David Benner

And through that descent and surrender we don’t necessarily get to the place we aspire to be but we will find ourselves in the place God intends us to be.

4. “I might believe in the Redeemer if his followers look more redeemed.” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

‘Christians behaving badly’ is far too common. They make Jesus look a little suspect. But there’s still a whole lot of true Christ followers who exhibit the fruit of the Spirit. They don’t flaunt their Christianity. They don’t politicize their Christianity. They just try to live it out fully. We dare not forget about them. They are the church.

Author David Gushee challenges us by saying:

“Better is one day in the company of those bullied by Christians but loved by Jesus than thousands in the company of those wielding scripture to harm the weak and defenseless.”

5. “Franciscan spirituality asks us to let go, to recognize that there is enough to go around to meet everyone’s need but not everyone’s greed. A worldview of enoughness will predictably emerge in us as we realize our naked being in God instead of thinking that more of anything or more frenetic doing can fill up our infinite longing and restlessness. Francis did not just tolerate or endure simplicity; he loved it and called it poverty. Francis dove into simplicity and found his freedom there. This is hard for most of us to even comprehend.

Francis knew that climbing ladders to nowhere would never make us happy nor create peace and justice on this earth. Too many have to stay at the bottom of the ladder so some can be at the top. Living simply helps level the playing field and offers abundance and enoughness to all, regardless of our status or state of belonging to religion or group.” ~ Richard Rohr

“There is enough to go around to meet everyone’s need but not everyone’s greed.” Yes, that’s true.

6. “It’s OK to be heartbroken for more than one group of people at the same time.’ – Source unknown

I can weep with the Jews and mourn with the Palestinians.

I can weep for the people of Ukraine and still mourn for the citizens of Russia who are oppressed.

7. “…Native people are listening to the wind to see if there’s a song in it for us. It might sound esoteric, but we’re listening to the way that we “spin in silence” by hearing what I believe is perhaps Creator’s most communicative means on earth—which is creation.  

I think of that when I read Luke chapter 4, the story where Jesus goes out into the wilderness for forty days. The idea we’ve been taught is that he is tempted for forty days, but everybody knows that you can’t be tempted for forty days. Let’s say the temptations took up ten days—well, what about the other thirty? What was he doing? Jesus was watching creation. He was observing what was going on around him. He was listening. The reason that we know that is because when he comes back, he talks about creation for the rest of his life. He talks about flowers and birds and trees and seeds and crops and the earth, and the soil. He could have talked about all kinds of things—Roman chariots and their power and aqueducts and the ingenuity involved—but that’s not what we have a record of. What we have a record of is someone who seemed to be at peace with the quietness of creation.…” ~ The Center for Action and Contemplation, Randy Woodley

Creation speaks. Just go to a sunset.

8. “Any message that is not related to the liberation of the poor in a society is not Christ’s message. Any theology that is indifferent to the theme of liberation is not Christian theology.” ~ James Cone

Check your personal and your church’s messaging and theology. If it doesn’t contain the language of liberation I’d start asking questions.

9. “Take Jesus out of the box you’ve put him in and he’ll help you get out of that box you created for yourself.” ~ Source unknown

There are boxes everywhere and they all need to be opened and then possibly destroyed lest we cave into the temptation to use them again.

10. The brilliant comedian and movie actor W. C. Fields was not known as a religious man, but as his death approached he began to look through the Bible. When a friend asked him about this behavior he humorously explained that he was just “looking for loopholes.”

In one way or another, we all do that don’t we?

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