Hangups and Hangings

One of my least enjoyable experiences is to get hung up on.  It has not happened often in my life, but those recalls are still vivid in my mind.  The fact that you remember those incidents, complete with conjured up emotion, suggests that these are indeed an aggressive form of communication - or perhaps non-communication.  The hang up is an occasion of desperation or at very least extreme irritation.  In my once-upon-a-time trucking world it was mainly dispatcher irritation at my nerve to refuse a certain load or too strong opinion from me regarding some office procedure.  Needless to say on those occasions it was an ace up his sleeve designed to humiliate, usually bringing on my reaction verbal or mental not worth typing here!  The workaday experience of my trucking years, however, pale in comparison to the several times I have encountered same among colleagues/fellow Christians within my community of faith!  Within this community I experience near despair if in conversation with one who apparently shares same faith as I - lives by the same principles - and yet chooses an action of the complete opposite; ie an act not only of irritation, but no further desire for communication.  Zilch. Nada.  There are so many scriptures which teach otherwise.  Colossians 3: ¹⁶ Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another, or Ephesians 4: ²⁵ Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.  No further communication needed?  Really?  

The intent here is not to get into a rant about this.  I must, however, present this cowardly act in some further context.  Yes, it gets worse especially if we stay with religion!  I have just completed reading Inside the Kingdom, by Robert Lacey (Penguin Group, 2009) detailing  common methods of discipline and enforcement in Saudi Arabia and  neighboring countries like Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan.  Public lashings, stonings, hangings and beheadings, those consequences are an ever present possibility for anyone whose behavior or even perceived belief does not conform to the norm.  Ironically the extreme 'faithful' are the ones with the least tolerance for deviants (eg Wahhabi, Sharia Law).  Also from the good old 'in-God-we-trust' U.S.A. award winning novelist John Grisham describes lynchings and vigilante acts in southern states like Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama; this continuing into the 20th century, well after 1861, end of Civil War and the Emancipation Act. Relational, political and racial examples of prejudicial sinful communications breakdowns often leading to warfare have been since the beginning of time, religion always near center of the action.

Jesus has been there done that. Even as he lived among us  (John 1:14) he met ridicule (Mark 14:63; 15:20), suspicion (Matthew 21:23), and even betrayal from his own followers (eg Peter in Luke 22:61). That very One who came to his own (that's us!) is still available to help us learn a new way.  The way of Jesus not just for little interpersonal grievances, but for international inter-religious skirmishes, but unavoidably involves interpersonal relationships.  Check out Richard Rohr, The Universal Christ (Penguin, 2019).  I do not fully subscribe to his theology, but his witness to the all-sufficiency of Jesus is convincing.

I posit here not just a gentle Jesus meek and mild absorbing the crappy behaviors around him, but a radical inter-faith action statement which I believe could be a game changer.  It begins with my belief in one big and almighty God, and three major world religions claiming allegiance to this One.  Almighty God, Yahweh, or Allah divided and splintered not only three ways but many ways. Muslims fight and kill each other regarding the correct representatives or lineage of The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), Jews continue in disagreement with their messianic cohorts and of course the literal Zionist claim to Palestine, and Christians splinter into endless denominational interpretations of the significance of Jesus Christ, Savior and/or Lord including agreement or disagreement with the Jewish claim to Jerusalem and surrounding Palestine.  History has factions and even wars regarding how to interpret God as three-in-one while Muslims mock that very Trinity while yet following the teachings of Jesus whom they revere as one of their prophets. 

These three monotheistic religions would be well served if there were a review of the teachings of Jesus, Son of God, Messiah, Savior, Lord, Prophet, especially as taught once upon a time to a hungry crowd and recorded in sacred writings, Matthew chapters 5 - 7. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, meek, merciful, etc.  This is wonderful required reading for anybody, even those who claim no faith, and even us faithful ones doing our jobs in churches and synagogues and mosques.  Yes, among the atrocities of enforced religion and among the carelessness with fellow Christians, there are new possibilities.  There is an invitation to study Jesus more.  I would love to have some conversation about this with anyone from within these religion groupings  AFTER reading this sermon on the mount together! 😊

Once upon a time while working as a chaplain in a large hospital I was addressing some thorny issues with the family of a patient. My partner in this pursuit was a Muslim social worker. I still recall a certain point in conversation with all concerned, he posited thoughtfully, "So what would Jesus do?"  I well remember this Christian chaplain and that nominal Christian family looking at each other as we recognized the wisdom coming from this gentle Muslim.  "What would Jesus do?"  I see here an invitation to a new way which comes from Jesus himself, including a good look at how we treat one another in our churches and families.  Perhaps a good sermon series about manners from a Muslim imam ... would serve us well.  

The Civilizing of Hockey

I have never thought of the hockey game as a place of profound life insights.  Not profound perhaps, but in my memory rather pervasive, early years almost exclusively on the 'ice surface of life'.  This sport has yielded hours and hours of fun, a slight twist to my nose and an irregularity in chest cavity, and fairly good sized young muscles - valuable markings for one growing up as a Saskatchewan farm boy.  It also yielded an awareness which I can only appreciate now in hindsight.  It became clear to me that I was not, nor ever would be, as good a hockey player as one of my younger brothers, who was superstar material.  Fortunately for my ego, I had an adequate number of siblings and neighborhood friends also not as good as he, so we all mostly had lots of fun!  It was fun to play with a superstar especially if he also was having fun among us mortals.  Yes, those farmyard games were fun and they were fast.

Perhaps this childhood awareness is what has led to my surprising enjoyment of this 2019-20 NHL almost-corona-aborted-and-then-recovered season.  How do I know this?  Let me count the ways.

Firstly, I thought I could not handle the initial prospect of games canceled due to coronavirus.  Then I made adjustments.  I learned to pray instead of play.  If I couldn't watch 'em play I would increase in church volunteer work, including hours of telephone and text and email conversations.  Busy, still adjusting to retirement I think, also add thousands of steps per day duly commandeered by iPhone to hold Type 2 at bay.  And no television in the evening.  Me not yet having learned to replace hockey games with anything else, that left considerable extra time for my daughter in front of the tube (or screen we might say today).

Then along came a second ingredient, work instead of play.  I built an addition to the front porch of our house, and then a large project.  My wife and daughter and a neighbor friend painted the house by hand - up and down ladders with roller and paintbrush and lots of verbal consultations! Good exercise and no collateral damage!  Although I am not an experienced carpenter or artisan, I do enjoy projects. Git 'er done.  This one turned out well.

             

Then, thirdly, and mercifully, the NHL came back!   Even as many of us had almost convinced ourselves that we could do without.  In the interest of corona prevention I might indeed pray or paint, but now quickly I resumed old habit, grabbed my chair in front of television and back to the 'good old hockey game' even if no fans in the seats anywhere! Did I fall off the wagon?  Not exactly.  You see, I became a new kind of hockey fan.  First my Edmonton Oilers fell to the Chicago Blackhawks, not even qualifying for playoff round 1. Neither did Toronto or Winnipeg. Then into the abbreviated playoffs Calgary and Montreal were unable to get past first round, leaving one Canadian team standing; Vancouver Canucks scared the Vegas Golden Knights but finally lost that series in game seven!  The new hockey fan?  I became gracious! Oh yes, I admired Travis Green and his fine coaching of his talented players including that dream kid Elias Petterson. Exit round 2; no more Canadian teams.

Now picture this.  No more Canadian teams; my WhatsApp comment to my kids went like this, "Now let the Americans kill each other!"  Ironically this hasty judgement also had to go by the wayside.  I was learning a new way - or perhaps relearning the old way!  Hockey became fantastic, a new game of finesse and skill!  Seemingly with new eyes, and with some old heroes also eliminated, like Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh) and Alex Ovechkin (Washington), and of course Conner McDavid (Edmonton), I thrilled at the quality of play and excellence of hockey by skilled, disciplined and well-coached hockey players.  Yes, the quality of game has been improving as the playoffs progressed.  Did I mention the coaches of these winning American teams are all Canadian?  In the Eastern Conference finals at one point where a scrum might have ensued  (New York Islanders vs Tampa Bay), commentators Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson opined that the players were unusually restrained.  Why?  Out of respect for one another and their coaches, Barry Trotz and Jon Cooper, close friends hailing from the arenas of Saskatchewan!  I thrilled at this passing commentary.  No Americans killing each other and me remembering some of my childhood hockey where fight was never ever considered part of the game - just shooting and passing and skating a hundred m.p.h!

Now, approaching the final series between Dallas (who nicely beat those big boys 😏 from Vegas who had beat our Vancouver), and Tampa Bay, I am expecting a relatively civilized series. There will be some drama around the possible return of Steven Stamkos (surgery during Corona break), the health of Braden Point (groin), the emotional grit of one ex-Oiler Patrick Maroon, and one of Dallas' tiring work horses named Cory Perry.  The two coaches Jon Cooper and Rick Bowness will juggle and scheme and challenge and face unknown obstacles and lead their highly skilled respective motivated teams until the final bell tolls and the winners bow before Lord Stanley.  This fan will cheer for the best team (and the second best) whichever that will be!

I do not envision bench-clearing brawls in this upcoming series. I stand corrected of my earlier cynical statement.  No more rabid drunk fans, because they're just not there!  The fans are social distancing somewhere.  Good riddance; now back to some excellent hockey.  Maybe Covid 19 has brought a degree of civilization to this important sport.

Consider the Bulldozer

 

Recently my brother and I were commiserating regarding present-day activities.  Both of us have lists of things to accomplish each day - so many that the occasional game of telephone tag will stretch up to three days!  Although we lament the busy-ness that keeps us from those quality conversations, we also acknowledge the value of meaningful healthy involvements.  In and among all these busy things we recognize a challenge facing both of us.  We both have been avid readers all our lives.  Reading always has and continues to inform us (A pattern obviously begun long before the present digital era).  Now each of us on the upper-side of our threescore and ten years, we were talking about those books.  We walk past our bookshelves, his built all over the living quarters and even some storage corners of his humble shack in Colorado Springs, and mine lining several walls of my daughter's bedroom!  Neither of our so-called offices would have room for these libraries. 

While talking about the worth and sentimental contribution to our great education (?) by these books, we also note that in the accumulation there is the occasional duplicate.  Only yesterday I happened upon two books of same title but with vastly different bindings - and also nestled on different shelves due to my simplistic cataloguing system!  I also note stretches of shelf space containing books on what now looks like a single theme - perhaps a stretch that could be considerably shortened.  Peter made a recent decision that whenever a new book comes along, he will dispose of one from somewhere in his collection.  At the moment he has 30 of such designation. Very impressive, but still contributing to the same dilemma.

Our book dilemma can be well compared with circumstance of many of my friends.  I tell him of these friends and colleagues also of similar or slightly older age than I, downsizing - systematically donating books to this book fair or thrift store, only to discover they are not necessarily valued, of similar ilk as other junk items in my garage.  Yikes, that moves us to the recycle theme.  Remove hard covers so the paper can be efficiently and conveniently (profitably?) recycled.  Oh but the humiliation of tearing covers off these valuable assets.  Both of us have spent the better part of our lifetimes self righteously quoting Bible passages like Luke 12:20 where God says to the rich man at the end of his days,  ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’  Both of us recognize our attachment to these earthly treasures.  Our books could qualify us for that judgment also.  

There is more to this conversation.  No we don't even hardly think about that end-of-life sermon theme we may have heard a time or two; what direction your soul, up or down, heaven or hell?  Nope, on to next theme with this good brother.  He has already consulted with a young friend of his who specializes in things like this, living wills we call them.  On that theme he says those words which to date I have not even wanted to think. When he thinks living will he thinks in terms of instruction to the bulldozer driver!  Very casually he blows me away with this another of his characteristic far-reaching thoughts.  He assumes a goodly portion of his accumulated material will get "pushed under".  Now there's a thought I have not yet pondered.  Although I have spent years of my professional life attempting to help people deal with both life and death realities, along with lots of questions and challenges often thinking survival, but never the bulldozer reality.

I must think about this a bit.  Pushed under? Demolished?  Now my mind turns directly to another brother.  This one of the miracle tongue, the one whom I blogged about this last spring ("Miracles", May 21), radical tongue cancer surgery followed by skin graft which at first seemed to be 'miraculously' successful but then graft had to be abandoned, removed and his life now happily resuming with half a tongue.  His life, characteristic story-telling and business acumen continues.  Often there are ironic twists to things.  His business, which includes tree cutting and stump grinding, and an interesting side-line, building demolition.  Yes, Philip of the new-lease-on-life persona has successfully contracted to demo the interior of a large hospital closed down, even as he has done several previous times.  Along with his tree cutting he is now becoming a demolitions expert (Remember I said business acumen).  Here there will be bulldozing along with a large-scale materials recovery, some of it yielding considerable profit for the one taking the time to remove and resell.

Interesting.  Just sitting on the sidelines here and by contact/conversations with two of my brothers, I have now repurposed 😜 the meaning and image of bulldozers - and added another bit of meaning to my days.  From book reducing to downsizing to recycling I now deem the bulldozer a spot in the circle of life.  Some of my life journey will appropriately, mercifully, get bulldozed under.  Some will be a part of a continuing legacy, contributing to the ongoing life of those who follow.  The Bible makes fine reference to this also, Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. (John 12:24).   As a Christian I am quite content to sweat not about it.  Actually there is even a hymn about that, "My Life Flows On" in endless song, number 580 in my blue hymnal.  Fancy what you can create in retirement, just thinking of many things!