Mike’s Rumblings 03-08-24

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. 3.8.24

1. I’ve been thinking about Christian Nationalism. Here’s my current best shot at explaining/reacting to it.

“Christian Nationalism is a conservative political/religious movement that weds MAGA to Evangelicalism. It is a movement of mostly grievance laden. white people who are distrustful of diversity, who believe America would be better as a theocracy, admires authoritarian leaders and thinks we should have one as President. Its adherents basically think that the Sermon on the Mount is more than a bit too touchy-feely and that perhaps Jesus should have thought twice before rejecting Satan’s temptations. Stoking fear and telling lies keeps the movement moving forward. I agree with Rob Reiner who said “This idea of Christian nationalism is not only a danger to democracy, but it’s a danger to Christianity itself.””

That this movement is being rightfully put under the microscope and critiqued is a very good thing. Contrary to what you hear and read, they are not under attack nor are they being persecuted. They’re just being held accountable. And that movement hates being held accountable. That’s why it’s so dangerous.

2. “We should measure the prosperity of a nation not by the number of millionaires, but by the absence of poverty, the prevalence of health, the efficiency of the public schools, and the number of people who can [and] do read worthwhile books.” ~ W. E. B. Du Bois

Our measurement of prosperity says a whole lot about who we are as a people and a nation.

3. “… As we approach the critical decisions this nation faces this year, ask yourself who is asking you to listen to your best self, to support positive, loving, helpful and hopeful solutions to national and international problems. Ask yourself who is asking you to decide based on your fear of one another, prejudices, anger, lies, and baseless propositions. Just ask yourself what is right and fair and never let your fear decide for you.” ~ Charles Emery, Attorney, Methodist Pastor, and Friend

“Never let your fear decide for you.” Amen.

4. Biden spoke directly to his opponent: “Instead of playing politics with the issue, instead of telling members of Congress to block this legislation, join me, or I’ll join you, in telling the Congress to pass this bipartisan border security bill. We can do it together….Let’s remember who the heck we work for. We work for the American people, not the Democratic Party or the Republican Party. We work for the American people.”

Biden was being gracious in offering his rival an opportunity to do something righteous. Of course, the silence is deafening over in that political camp. I think there’s some confusion and they’re desperately trying to find someone in their circle who can explain to them what working together and passing bills for the common good actually looks like. It might take awhile.

5. Erin Sanzero, writing in Oneing asks an interesting, thought provoking question:

“Can I walk a spiritual path that encompasses both the vitality and enthusiasm of youth and the wisdom and depth of maturity, marrying what is mystical and meditative while also being intensely practical and pragmatic?”

6. If Trump is as innocent as he says he is he’d prove it by insisting his trials move along quickly.

But he knows he’s not innocent. So, he’s playing a bit of a shell game and hoping that before it all caves in on him that he’ll win the election and then use the power of the Presidency to make everything go away.

And if that happens, we’ll have our very own version of Putin.

Seriously, it’s no joke.

I don’t want this next election to be our last one.

7. Last week the Center for Action and Contemplation provided some thoughts to help us think about exploring a theology of anger.

“Faced with outrage, anger is the price we pay for paying attention. It is the rage that ought to come out, because, when faced with an outrage, it is a sin not to be angry.” ~Allen Dwight Callahan

“The trick with anger is to let it inform us, maybe even to let it warm us if we have become too cold with indifference or apathy, but not to let the fire control or consume us.” ~ Sara Jolena Wolcott

“Embrace your anger with a lot of tenderness. Your anger is not your enemy, your anger is your baby. It’s like your stomach or your lungs. Every time you have some trouble in your lungs or your stomach, you don’t think of throwing them away. The same is true with your anger. You accept your anger because you know you can take care of it; you can transform it into positive energy.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

There is a way to be angry and to express anger that can be quite redemptive. Of course, there are quite ‘hellish’ ways to be ticked off. We’ve all been on the receiving end of ugly anger. Perhaps we still carry the wounds and grimace at the memories of cruel anger unleashed in our direction. That grimace and those wounds should remind us of some interior healing that still needs to be done.

If truth be told, most of us have also lashed out inappropriately sometime during our lifetimes, causing hurt and pain. And if we allowed God to do his work in our life, we probably experienced a deep sense of remorse, followed by repentance, and then awkward repair attempts that may or may not have been received well.

8. A woman at Navalny’s funeral compared him to Putin saying: “One sacrificed himself to save the country, the other one sacrificed the country to save himself.”

Thousands gathered to honor Navalny. Each of them is a portrait of courage. To speak out the way this woman did could very well end up costing her both freedom and her life.

9. Mahatma Gandhi famously said: ‘I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.’

I get it. Changing that perception isn’t easy. But here’s a way forward.

“Jesus never says to the poor: ‘come find the church’, but he says to those of us in the church: ‘go into the world and find the poor, hungry, homeless, imprisoned.” ~ Tony Campolo

We will be known scripture tells us “by our love.” Then we will walk in the footsteps of Jesus. And Gandhi will smile.

10. Cataract surgery last year gave me two new lenses for my eyes, tucked into my chest is a defibrillator, and by the time most of you read this (surgery today in the early morning) I will be the recipient of a brand new knee. I’m well on the way to becoming bionic.

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