Saturday Night Theologian
21 August 2011

1 Kings 19:9-18

Texas, New Mexico, California, and Hawaii are all majority-minority states, states where the majority of the population is something other than non-Hispanic white (Hawaii has always been majority-minority). In nine other states less than 60% of the population is white. Washington, DC, is majority Black. All U.S. territories, including Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, are likewise majority-minority. Clearly the demographics of the U.S. are changing, and this fact scares some people. Arizona, Georgia, and a few other states, particularly where the non-Hispanic white majority is below 60%, have passed laws that mandate police discrimination against members or apparent members of erstwhile minorities. Although all of these laws are under legal challenge and are not currently in force, it is clear that the shrinking majority of the population in these states feels threatened by shifts in the demographic makeup of their states. Why is this? States in the southwest U.S., plus Florida, were populated first by native Americans, then by Spaniards, so the first European language spoken in these areas was Spanish, not English. The majority language eventually became English, but the cultural and linguistic majority was tenuous at its peak, and it has now become threatened. Is this a problem? Not for most people, but there are those who see it as one. Those who have traditionally held power sometimes feel threatened when things change around them and the hegemony of their ethnic group is challenged by growth in other ethnic groups. The king of Egypt in today's reading from Exodus felt the same way. Egyptians in the region of the Nile Delta were in danger of being overwhelmed demographically by the Hebrews, who had a greater birthrate, so the pharaoh took steps to limit their growth. The steps he took were draconian--killing infant males--but the Hebrew midwives refused to cooperate in this slow-motion genocide, and eventually a savior was born: Moses. God saw the suffering of the oppressed people and brought them deliverance, and God continues today to bring deliverance to the poor and oppressed. There is always a problem when people look to group identity--be it ethnic, linguistic, or religious--rather than geographic identity. Yes, there are cultural and socioeconomic differences between people, and these differences correlate to some extent with ethnic differences, for example, but when we see ourselves as a united people, emphasizing what we have in common rather than the differences that divide us, we have the potential to strengthen our society. The white population is not threatened by Hispanics or Blacks, and U.S. citizens are not threatened by those who were born in other countries. We are all God's children, loved by God, and we all deserve an equal chance at happiness and success.

Psalm 85:8-13 (first published 21 August 2005)

The U.S. spends more on its military, including personnel, weapons systems, intelligence gathering, and arming allies, than the combined spending of every other nation on the planet. We do so in the hope that it will make us safe, among other reasons. However, a look at recent history demonstrates that such measures do not bring complete safety. Excessive military spending did not stop the events of 9/11, nor has it brought total victory in Iraq or Afghanistan. Intercontinental ballistic missiles are impressive weapons, but they do little to protect us against terrorist attacks. In fact, many argue that U.S. military spending, coupled with U.S. military policy and practice, actually makes the U.S. less safe than many other countries. How many terrorist bombings were reported in Switzerland or New Zealand last year? From a Christian perspective, the problem we have is that, despite the fact that the vast majority of the population considers itself Christian, and despite the fact that the nation's highest-ranking leaders frequently assert their allegiance to God, the nation conspicuously relies on weapons rather than God for protection. Psalm 124 is a national song of thanksgiving for deliverance in battle. Against seemingly overwhelming odds, Israel prevailed against its enemies, and it gave God the credit for the victory. Too often the god that we credit with our victories is our military strength. If we are a God-fearing nation, for the most part, our reliance should be on God rather than arms. I'm not talking about a naïaut;ve assumption that God will save us because we are God's chosen people. As the nation of Judah discovered in the 6th century B.C.E., the doctrine of the inviolability of Zion doesn't hold water. I'm talking about a reliance on God that recognizes that if we as a nation will act in ways that are consonant with the will of God, God will protect us, whether or not we have huge arsenals of weapons. How is that possible? Consider this scenario. Let's say that the U.S. were to reduce its military spending to a figure that was 10% of the current amount. Let's also assume that we redirected the lion's share of that money to international development projects led primarily by people indigenous to the areas served. At the same time, we would stop supporting repressive regimes that we mistakenly assume act in our best interest while oppressing their own people. The result would be a world with less poverty, more socioeconomic development, more freedom, and less violence, including terrorism. Current U.S. military policy resembles a man standing in a fire ant bed with a huge magnifying glass trying to burn the ants that are crawling on his feet and legs. No matter how big the magnifying glass, the fire ants will still bite him, and in fact the magnifying glass only serves to rile up the ants. The psalmist understood something that most Americans, and many people around the world as well, do not: "Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth."

Romans 10:5-15 (first published 21 August 2005)

Richard Niebuhr said that the goal of Christians was to follow Christ's example and transform culture. Before we can do that, however, we must first be transformed ourselves. Being born into a Christian family, passing through the baptismal waters, or partaking of communion does not necessarily indicate that transformation has taken place. The word for transformation that Paul uses in Romans 12 is the word from which we get the word "metamorphosis" in English. The picture is of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly: that is the magnitude of the transformation necessary in our lives. Several years ago I wrote a little piece on the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly, and it seems appropriate to include it at this point in the discussion.

What makes a caterpillar decide to become a butterfly? His early days are happy and contented, spent munching leaves with his fellow caterpillars. Does he look at the passing butterflies and wonder how anyone could ever want to become a butterfly, or does he secretly admire them, even though they are extravagant? Does he even realize that deep inside himself is the potential for becoming the same thing? One day the caterpillar gets tired of the same old leaves--surely there is something better! His discontentedness causes him to do things he had never thought of doing before. He attaches himself to a branch for firm support and slowly encases himself in a translucent shell. Does he think about his old life inside the chrysalis? Does he sometimes long to return, knowing all the while that he never can? After some time he breaks through the chrysalis and discards it, emerging a new creature, not totally unlike his former self, but filled with potential he never had before. His first few flaps of the wings are unsuccessful, but before too long he is soaring over his former haunts, no longer constrained by the limitations of caterpillars, able to enjoy sweet nectar instead of the same old leaves, and in the process cross-pollinating the flowers and enabling more to grow. That is one difference between caterpillars and butterflies: caterpillars, in their ignorance, actually destroy the plants they eat, while butterflies help them to thrive. How many caterpillars are born, live, and die without ever becoming butterflies, without ever realizing their own God-given potential to soar above the ground, bringing life and beauty to the world?
As progressive Christians, we have been transformed, or perhaps more accurately, we are in the process of being transformed. We have left the chains of fundamentalism behind, with its destructive habits and attitudes, and we are in a position to soar, to bring joy and beauty and peace and justice to the world, if we don't develop destructive habits of our own (e.g., arrogance, pride, apathy). May the truths of Christianity and, even more, our encounter with God in Christ lead us to a higher plane of living and serving.

Matthew 14:22-33 (first published 21 August 2005)

Many Christians, including me, see much value and truth in many religious traditions. We have a lot to learn from our encounter with people of other faiths. Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists can teach us about the importance of tradition, the uniqueness of God, the pervasiveness of God, and the value of contemplation, among many other things. Why, then, do we remain Christian? We do so because we agree with Peter's confession at Caesarea Philippi. When Jesus asked his disciples who people said he was, they answered that people said he was John the Baptist, or Elijah, or Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. "So who do you think I am?" Jesus asked. "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God," Peter replied. The word Christ is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew messiah, which means God's anointed. The people recognized something great in Jesus, hence their attribution to him of the characteristics of many of the heroes of Israel's faith. John the Baptist was a prophet of recent vintage who spoke powerfully to lowly and great alike. Elijah confronted seemingly impossible odds in the name of Yahweh. Jeremiah preached a message of repentance to a people he knew wouldn't repent. The prophets spoke boldly the word of the Lord. But while the people saw in Jesus something great, Peter and the disciples saw something unique. Yes, Jesus was God's anointed, but so were Israel's kings, who were also deemed "sons of God," a common title for kings in the ancient Near East. In the years that had passed since Israel's last kings (both Davidic and Hasmonean), the term messiah had undergone a transformation. No longer was it used to refer to an ordinary king. The Messiah par excellence was someone who was uniquely related to God, who would bring deliverance and hope. Today's Christians follow Peter in seeing in Jesus something truly unique, someone whose relationship with God and teaching and example have never been, and will never be, equaled. We have wasted much energy debating the exact relationship of Jesus to God, and ironically the debate itself has brought a great deal of harm to the cause of Christ. Our friends of other faiths don't view Jesus in the same light as we do, and that's their prerogative, but the cornerstone of the Christian faith is Peter's confession, for "upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it."