Learn to do Good! Seek Justice! (Isaiah)

     iPhone photograph, Charles Leck, 30 April 2013

As I get older, moving into my mid-seventies, I find I need to create some disciplines for myself in order to keep my mind alert and to continue acquiring understand. Having daily readings from certain books or writings helps. So does keeping  a daily journal in which I record activities of the day or thoughts I’m having. Another discipline is to read scripture at least every few days. I didn’t think it would amount to much but it’s having a major impact on me – and my mind – and my attitudes.
by Charlie Leck

Does anyone out there read the Bible anymore? Or is it passé? Sometimes I find a little scripture can go a long way.

Some people in my life, when I was young, innocent and not very adventurous, convinced me that reading the Bible was very important. Preachers and sunday-school-teachers – and even kin – sold me a bill of goods that, even in my current freethinking days, somehow sticks with me. Whatever it was that was implanted in me, it still causes me to reach regularly for one of the various translations of scripture that sits on the shelf just to my left. Not daily, but regularly, I read “the word” and contemplate its significance and relevance to life in the twenty-first century. Has it any? I refuse unthoughtful, reflexive replies! As much as Shakespeare, certainly! In many cases, it seems, I am certain, more.

So today, the Sojourners organization sent me some scripture (from Isaiah) to contemplate…

“Learn to do good;
seek justice,
rescue the oppressed,
defend the orphan,
plead for the widow.”

I sit quietly after reading it. What thoughts come to mine?

Learn to do good!
Learning to do good is like exercise.
It has no benefit unless we do it habitually and dedicate ourselves to it.
And, like playing the piano, we need to practice it in order to do it well.

Must we seek justice?
Is it not apparent? Obvious? At hand?
Is it difficult to discover? Does it avoid us?
Is it also like exercise? Must we practice it and do it regularly?

What happens, when we seek justice,
if we find unfairness, transgression and villainy?
We were not searching for such; therefore, shall we simply move on?

We find the oppressed.
We discover uncared for orphans.
Widows abound. They, unsupported, have been left to care for a family.
How, in God’s name (I mean it!), do we rescue them?

Liberty and justice for all!
Really? Here? All around us? Really?

Scripture often tires me. There are simpler things to read. Less challenging! Less threatening!

I shall relax and read some Kirkegaard!

"… so the only thing that can save him is the absurd, and this he grasps by faith. So he recognizes the impossibility, and that very instant he believes the absurd; for if, without recognizing the impossibility with all the passion of his soul and with all his heart, he should wish to imagine that he has faith, he deceives himself, and his testimony has no bearing, since he has not even reached the infinite resignation.

Faith therefore is not an aesthetic emotion but something far higher, precisely because it has resignation as its presupposition; it is not an immediate instinct of the heart, but is the paradox of life and existence."

This absurdity? It makes me wonder!

Can we avoid sin? Escape injustice?
Is sinfulness a natural part of existence,
confronting us wherever we turn? Abundant? Dominant?”

I intend to play golf today, among the 15 percent. I have no time to seek justice. I simply wouldn’t know where to search for it. And, if I found it, then what? Why am I not commanded to seek injustice? Is it because such an assignment is not a challenge?

Am I being too pessimistic? This infinite resignation of which Kirkegaard writes? Is he on to something? Is it resignation that is at the heart of faith?

Daily Rilke Reading…

“Impermanence plunges us into the depth of all Being …in a sheer earthly, deep earthly, sacred earthly consciousness: that what we see here and now is to bring us into a wider – indeed, the very widest, – dimension. Not in an afterlife whose shadow darkens the earth, but in a whole that is the whole.”
                                               Rainer Maria Rilke in a letter to Witold Hulewicz, 1925

NEWS NOTE
(from this morning’s local newspaper):
It is estimated that the 2011 famine in Somali killed a quarter of a million people and that approximately half of those were aged five or under. This is according to a report, heavily funded by Great Britain and the United States, which will be published within a day or two. Contrary to the report, it will be argued by some that less than two-hundred thousand were killed.

Oh, absurdity!

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By the Sea!

The sea can roar and pound and swish and splash, but it leaves us quiet and in wonder!
by Charlie Leck

I’m a member of Sojourners, a Christian organization that tempers all that bogus stuff that comes out of the Christian fundamentalist and far-right movement. If you’re looking for a reasonable, rational and intellectual way to get in touch with your spiritual side and express your Christian faith, Sojourners might make sense for you. A drop in visit to their web site certainly wouldn’t hurt.

About once a week I get interesting email from the organization and occasional emergency notices that alert me to disturbing national and/or international events – things to which I should be alert and about which I should, perhaps, take action. I also subscribe to their monthly magazine.

In today’s general email, as the voice of the day, came a simple quotation about which I’ve been thinking a lot this morning:

“Sit with God as you might with the ocean. You bring nothing to the ocean, yet it changes you.”
[Sean Caulfield, from The Experience of Praying]

This has given me something to think about this morning. Have you ever sat quietly by the ocean and watched it and listened to it? It’s amazing what the ocean does to one. It kind of empties one out, makes one feel at peace and refreshes one’s spirit. I like the analogy to prayer.

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If you read my blog regularly, why not become a follower? All you have to do is click in the upper right hand corner and establish a simple means of communication. Then you'll be informed every time a new blog is posted here. If all that's confusing, here's Google's explanation of how to do it! If you don’t want to post comments on the blog, but would like to communicate with me about it, send me an email if you’d like.

a fronte praecipitium a tergo lupi

Thoughts from up near Lake Wobegon
by Charlie Leck

I’m sitting in my lovely tree-loft study, letting a multiplicity of random thoughts play around in the various recesses and accesses of my limited mind.

(1) I fall asleep evenings listening to the public radio. With its range of mono-tones and monotony it is perfect for putting one to sleep. My wife arranged this little speaker that is actually imbedded in my pillow, so I can listen and yet not disturb her. It’s a clever invention. A fellow last night was rambling on about what motivates writers to keep working and producing when they don’t really sell or get read by vast audiences. He thought it was a fear of death – the desire to be as immortal as possible – to leave something of oneself behind. I wondered if it couldn’t just be the sheer love of doing it; yet, I’m aware that I do want my grandchildren to have some sense of who I was and what made me like I am (to mix tenses a bit).

(2) Years ago, perhaps 20 or 25 years ago, a friend gave me a little sculpture that he had created. I keep it proudly near me here in this private place where I write. It’s only about 6 inches high and a few inches across. The base is a piece of roughly hewn hardwood. A thin piece of steel protrudes from it and rises to about 6 inches. Slender tongs at the end of the piece form a resting place for a smooth, egg-shaped rock or stone. He called it: “Between a rock and a hard place!” We were in business together at the time and that’s where we were.

(3) I’m trying to get a closet-full of old photographs – prints and slides – organized, cataloged and, in some cases, digitized to archival quality disks, so, when I shed this mortal coil, there won’t be such a mess for those who will need to go through these things. I find that I pause most often over photographs I took here and there of my wife. They remind me of one of the reasons I fell in love with her and they often take my breath away. They also remind me of the very good times we’ve had together. The photograph that introduces this blog is one of those that I found wasting away on a slide that had never been printed. I took the photograph with a wonderful old Minolta camera that served us well for many years. We were traveling in Germany and on our way to Stockholm for the 1990 World Equestrian Games. Anyway, it brought a smile to my face and a tear to my eye. I love traveling with her and wish we’d do more of it. A farm and its animals is not conducive to long get-aways.

(4) Van Peebles Land is a blog -- The Shambolic Postings of an Irishman Living in Wales – that I enjoy reading. It’s written and maintained by David Williamson. I want so much to respond to some of David’s meandering thoughts, but he has a complicated defense against anonymous scammers and I can’t leave my compliments without having his email address. David, if you are out there, give me some assistance! I’m one of your fans.

Now this Irishman’s blog isn’t something I’d necessarily recommend to everyone. It just happens to be one of those places I enjoy going for a change of pace and scenery. David seems a solid guy and a clear, uncomplicated thinker. Pay his blog a visit if you want a breath of fresh, Welsh air.

For instance, a few days ago he wrote about the visit of the French President, Nocolass Sarkozy, to England.

“The sharpest knives may have been locked away when French president Nicolas Sarkozy dined with the Queen yesterday.”

(5) I do nearly all the cooking around our house these days and not because I must, but because I enjoy it. I’ve resolved to get much better at it, too, and I’m getting hooked on the concept of better, fresher and more local foods – foods that we know about and whose life-histories we can nearly document. I’m bitten by a blog by Mark Bittman. He calls it Bitten. He also does a weekly column, The Minimalist, in the dining section of the NY Times and regularly produces marvelous videos. I’ve tried his recipes enough times that I know they work extremely well. To accomplish them, however, I find myself having to find new sources for various foods, herbs and spices. So, I’ve discovered the Asian and Hispanic markets in town. What a neat adventure! Next I’ll try one or two of Bittman’s cookbooks.

This resolution about my food in the future led me to discover Moonstone Farm. My, what a lovely place! It’s down in the Minnesota River Valley. Pay them, at least, an on-line visit.

“River-friendly meats...local artisan foods...guest cottage...handthrown pottery...all from the gently rolling bluffland of the Minnesota River Valley. Our 240 acres offers a varied landscape, plenty of trees, and a home to humans and cattle, corn and alfalfa, beaver and coyote, coneflowers and big bluestem. Meander through our site, get to know a bit about us and Moonstone grass-based beef. Be assured that customer visits, electronic or in person, are always welcome.”

The farm has been in the Handeen family since 1872. It’s a joy to feel the deep respect this couple has for the land and what it produces. One can visit their farm store and have a very nice time.

(6) I’m thinking a lot about the Sojourners movement these days. I’ve been so disappointed with the Christian Church in America during my life time –the traditional Protestant Church, the Roman Catholic Church and the fundamentalist, evangelical churches. There’s too much division, finger pointing, claims to exclusive understanding. Scripture has also been badly misunderstood and brutally used as claims to universal and exclusive truth.

Now I’m going to a blog by Jim Wallis, called God’s Politics, and I find it refreshing and hopeful. There’s no finger pointing and no claims to exclusive possession of truth and no guarantees of salvation. Wallis’ latest blog about Pastor Jeremiah Wright and Barack Obama gave me some hope. The perspective of Jim Wallis on this incident is unique and strikes to the heart of what’s going on.

I’ll watch this organization (or movement) for a while yet; however, I think I’ve found a vehicle for religious and faith expression. I’m probably going to get involved.

(7) Freakonomics is one of the most delightfully amusing, entertaining and enjoyable books I’ve read in a long time. My discovery of Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt is one of the best things that’s happened to me in a while. I’m not at all an economics or finance guy, but they made economics come alive for me. They have extraordinary senses of humor. Read their terrific book and also visit their blog of the same name.

(8) Just a few last thoughts about books and then I’ll close. I’m a bit of a John Grisham fan. He’s published 20 books and I’ve read all of them. I just finished his most recent work, The Appeal. It wasn’t too appealing and it was very predictible. I’d put it down near the bottom of my list of his books. My two favorite of his books are A Painted House and The Innocent Man.

I also just finished Bill Bryson’s book about Shakespeare. Bryson has a very readable writing style and his sense of humor makes his books marvelous to read. I’ve never been disappointed with any of them and I think I’ve read them all. If you’re a Shakespeare fan, or if you’d just like to know more about good old Will, this would be a suitable title to pick up from your local library. Here’s a tidy review of the book by the London Times.

I’ve rambled on long enough. I’m off to the Asian market in search of some baby bak-choy.