Are we worse off?

I have already cast my ballot, but here is a run-down of why I voted the way I did.

First, both Social Security and Pensions have increased nicely the past several years under Biden/Harris. DJT/JDV and the GOP want to eliminate or cut Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid, so forget them. Yes, life has been better under the Blue watch, so they got my vote. Also, Harris has a plan to continue funding Social Security for a number of decades. DJT's plan will make SS insolvent within 6 years (or sooner).

Secondly, our grocery bills are pretty much back to where they were when Biden/Harris came into office. Once they got the supply chain issues straightened up (which had been royally screwed by the previous administration (and Covid). Yes, they were higher at first, but are now back to where they were. Lumber prices were high, but are now back to normal. Whatever Biden/Harris have been doing has worked. Blue gets my vote on the basic economy (and I do note the records set by the various market indexes/indices).

Interest rates are coming down, making housing a bit more affordable. Harris/Walz have plans that appear to continue to build or create more affordable housing. DJT/JDV have word salads that don't even begin to resemble concepts of a plan, let alone an actual identified plan. Blues win here, too.

Biden/Harris have rebuilt our relationships with our allies and strengthened NATO. Our "spending" on Ukraine is helping them fight off the Russian invasion, and the money is actually being used to restock our own military inventories. In other words, Ukraine isn't getting our money; they're getting munitions and equipment that has reached their sell-by dates. This is further aiding our national economy. Blues win.

Biden/Harris have had an administration that has experienced no corruption or indictments. From top to bottom, they and their administration abides by the law of the land at every level. The other team has devoted many of their resources (i.e. money their followers have donated) to avoiding accountability for the greatest level of corruption since the days of the robber barons. I'll take law-abiding Harris/Walz over the twice impeached, convicted felon, rapist, etc. Team Blue by a landslide if one is interested in law and order.

Biden/Harris got us out of the longest war in our history with far fewer casualties than we might have endured, despite their predecessors negotiating with the terrorists (without Afghan government input), and releasing 5,000 Taliban fighters, while simultaneously drawing down US troop levels to a level that guaranteed problems with the Biden withdrawal (2,500 troops). Team red loses massively for their lack of integrity and dereliction of duty in this matter. Harris/Walz can be trusted to look out for our national interests and support our allies.

These past 2 summers, we have traveled by car from Washington State to Indiana, and along the Washington/Oregon coast. Our nation's infrastructure is being repaired and rebuilt. The joke that was DJT's "Infrastructure week" is the Biden/Harris reality. Kudos to the Democrats (for the GOP in both houses voted against all infrastructure funding).

Biden/Harris negotiated with big Pharma and have ensured that no one will be left out of the medical care they need. Insulin costs capped. Pre-existing conditions must be covered. Young people remain on parental policies. Medicare can negotiate prices. Affordable Care (Obamacare) continues to operate effectively and efficiently. The GOP wants to return people to being uninsured and/or uninsurable. They have tried to kill the Affordable Care Act countless times. The GOP makes me sick, so I'm voting for Team Blue.

The southern border has been a mess for decades, and the matter of immigration (legal and undocumented) continues to fester. The Democrats basically caved and gave the GOP the Border Bill they wanted (even calling it Bi-Partisan), only to have DJT direct the House GOP to kill the bill. They're obviously not interested in solutions, but keeping the chaos intact for their own benefit. Another reason to vote Blue (and I would suggest Dems hammer out the bill they really want in 2025, since the GOP has no backbone, integrity, or desire to fix anything).

As for Israel and Gaza, all I can say is the region has been a mess for millennia, and neither party has been successful in helping anyone reach a solution (two-state or otherwise). DJT has probably undermined recent efforts as he continues to violate the Hatch Act by negotiating with foreign leaders (Putin and Netanyahu (& others?)). I believe Harris will listen to both Jewish and Arab Americans and work in good faith with every party in the Middle East (and beyond). Blue gets my vote simply for the sake of stability.

Finally, the promise of the GOP for "small government" has been a big lie, big disappointment, and no surprise. The have irreparably messed up women's health care; they have rejected equal rights outright; and they have basically reduced women to about 3/5 personhood. The Democrats want to restore and repair all of the damage the GOP has done at state and federal level, so that's where my vote is going and has gone. I also endorse the John Lewis Voting Rights Act (and all voting right legislation).

Has the GOP done anything right? I've looked under many stones, and will continue to turn them over and let you know if I find anything worth reporting.

Peace.

We're All Heroes

We are all heroes in our own stories. I often wonder how people can think or act the way they do when their words and actions are so different from my own. My lazy ego simply assumes they are, on a positive note, MISTAKEN, or on a negative note, EVIL. Either way, my ego suggests I just dismiss them as I go about my business of being (obviously) RIGHT.

Sadly, I don't like operating from within my ego because, well, I'm not God. It isn't my place to judge another person's words or actions. I can say those aren't right for me, or aren't a good fit for me, but what if they truly believe what they say or do is correct? 

I'm not much of a musician or scientist, but I understand that when one plays chords on a piano or other instrument, that other things in the room will begin to vibrate with those notes or that chord. It is some sort of harmonic or sympathetic resonance at work. I think much the same sort of thing happens with politics. When we hold or have a certain world-view, there is a harmonic "thing" that resonates within us where-in we see, feel, or hear the evidence that supports that world-view. 

It's just as natural as when I clasp my hands together, left thumb on top. It just feels right because that's how I always clasp my hands. When I reverse my hands with the right thumb on top, it feels weird, it feels wrong, it feels uncomfortable, and so my inner voice simply tells me it's wrong to do it that way. There is no empirical reason for it to be "wrong," but it feels wrong for me. The problem arises when I presume to tell someone else it "must" feel wrong for them, too. We are free to clasp our hands however we wish, and there is no moral reason to impose compliance with my preference or yours.

Even freedom is subjective, but I'll save that topic for another time. My focus at the moment is the world of politics and my concern that just as I find DJT (and his ilk) to pose an existential threat to democracy (and can marshal a ton of evidence to support my view), my friends on the right feel just as strongly that Harris/Walz and the democrats are the real threat to democracy. I can (and do) argue that they have failed to identify any evidence to support their perspective, but I cannot change how they feel, for each of us is entitled to how we feel, what we think, and so on.

One thing I do know is that when I find myself to be wrong, when the evidence for my position is wrong (no matter what the subject is), there are two things I can do. One is to rationalize my behavior, blaming others or insisting the evidence of your eyes and ears is wrong. That's called "gaslighting" and I (sadly) confess I have done that in my life. I do it (knowingly and sometimes unknowingly) because my ego is too fragile to admit I was wrong. Over time I have learned to do that less and less.

The other option is to admit the mistake, error, or wrong (confess), apologize (by which I mean to say I will make every effort not to do that again), and make restitution or accept the consequence of my action(s). That's where I believe Jesus calls us to go when we harm ourselves or others.

What I would say to my friends on the Right in this current election cycle is this. Yes, it is possible that Harris/Walz and Democrats are an existential threat, and the price of bread, eggs, and milk may go up more than you would like. That truly affects all of us, and especially the poor. Please understand, though, that the existential threat that DJT/JDV and the GOP pose is just as evident to the rest of us. We simply don't see what you see, or feel what you feel.

Maybe you need to see yourselves as Freedom Fighters. Maybe you see yourselves as Protectors of Democracy. Maybe you see yourselves on the side of Luke Skywalker or the Hobbits. Just bear in mind that we do, too. We believe our evidence is crystal clear. If we are wrong, we can change course in two to four years. If you are wrong, we will be living under martial law with the constitution trampled underfoot. We know, because that is what DJT and MAGA have promised. As much and as often as "they" lie, we believe them when they say it.

That's why I am voting for Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, and all blue down-ballot as well. I ask you to consider doing so as well.

The devil, you say?

 

"Therefore, since we also have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let’s rid ourselves of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us …” Hebrews 12:1 (NASB)

We’re getting close to Halloween once again, and I can’t help but notice all the scary movies popping up all over the place on the various cable, satellite, and streaming services clogging what used to be called the airwaves. I’m not up enough on either technology or science to know how to describe what’s being clogged, but clogged is what it is.

I confess I feel sort of bad for the devil these days. It used to be you could just make fun of the guy in the red jammies, horned tail, and pitch fork. Somehow, the powers to be have put the poor old dufus on steroids in order to sell that hot, smelly mess that is supposed to pass for entertainment.

Yes, some people like to get their adrenaline rush that way, and that’s fine. It’s there for them, and I’m not into censorship. I really do try to mind my own business, because that’s how I was raised. MYOB was held right up there alongside the Golden Rule (Do unto others as you would have them do unto you). I think if people took those two points to heart, we would have much happier neighborhoods.

Getting back to the devil, I think he gets way too much credit for all the bad stuff that happens in our world. He, or his minions, don’t sit atop our shoulders whispering mischievous ideas into our ears. I believe each of us is quite capable of doing bad things on our own without any spiritual help from Old Scratch. He just makes a convenient scapegoat for us when we want to behave like idiots.

When I was a child (uh, oh … here comes the old “back in my day” yarn we old codgers spin as we sit in our rockers on the front porch, chew our ‘baccy, and reflect on current affairs) we kids dressed up, most often in home-made costumes, and made our rounds as cowboys, pirates, fairies, queens or princesses and, occasionally, ghosts and goblins. My grandparents handed out homemade popcorn balls (delicious!) while others handed out apples, walnuts, and (of course) the holy grail of Halloween treats: store-bought chocolates.

The point behind all the dressing up was not the devil, but the saints we’d be honoring on November 1 (the Feast of All Saints, AKA: All Hallows Day). Since we have separation of Church and State in this country (for which I give thanks to God!) most American kids don’t make the connection of Halloween with All Saints, having been indoctrinated with a lie: that the day is all about ghosts, goblins, and things that go bump in the night. 

As always, a day (and evening) that is all about God’s holy (and historical) people  has been turned upside down, twisted inside out, and converted into a day that’s about Bubba in the red pajamas. What balderdash!

There’s nothing I can say or do here that will send us back to the 1950s, convince parents to accept homemade sweets from strangers, or run our treats to the local fire station to have them checked out by metal detectors (like we did during the “razor blades hidden in apples” scare of the mid ‘60s). No, I just want folks to have fun, enjoy the candy holiday, and experience the pleasure of going around dressed up however we like, without being judged.

Our modern Halloween may no longer reflect the religious tradition from which it sprung, but rather than being a scary day, it can be a day wherein we explore tolerance and celebrate diversity. Beneath those costumes beat the hearts of children, not the devil. We deliver unto them good things to eat, not to avoid getting our houses vandalized, but to sweeten the lives of our neighbors.

For the rest of us, Halloween reminds us that, yes, we are dying, but we live; “[we] are reborn through death’s dark night to endless day” (James Quinn). The devil was conquered over twenty centuries ago (from a Christian perspective), so let’s forget the movies and just strive to be the treats God wants us to be. Now that (BOO!) is a scary thought here in this, our valley. 

Keith Axberg writes on matters concerning life and faith. Author of: Who the Blazes is Jesus? Good News for a Vulgar World (available through Amazon in Print and e-book)

Keep it simple, silly

Proper 23

Collect: Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us, that we may continually be given to good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

    Job 23:1-9, 16-17 “Oh that I knew where I might find (God)”

    Psalm 22:1-15 “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

  or

    Amos 5:6-7, 10-15 “Seek good and not evil, that you might live ...”

    Psalm 90:12-17 “Show your servants your works,  and your splendor to their children”

    Hebrews 4:12-16 “... let us hold fast to our confession …”

    Mark 10:17-31 “... What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Give ear O heavens, and I will speak; let the earth hear the words of my mouth, for I will proclaim the Name of the LORD, and ascribe greatness to our God. Dt. 32:1ff

I don’t generally title my sermons, but if I were going to put a title on today’s sermon (something a bit more descriptive than PROPER 23B, my title today would simply be: KEEP IT SIMPLE, SILLY.

And why not?

We humans do like to complicate things, don’t we? 

Is Jesus God or man? Yes. 

Is God one or three? Yes. 

Is this bread and wine or Body and Blood? Yes.

Are we saved or do we need to be saved? Yes.

We struggle in part, I think, because Jesus tended to keep things so simple, so real, that what we strive to do is tame the heck out of what Jesus said and did. We are threatened by his plain, simple, direct call to live differently.

Look at today’s Gospel, for instance. A young man runs up to Jesus, falls on his knees, and asks, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Jesus does what most Rabbis in his day would do. He stops, listens, and responds, not with an answer, but with a question of his own. “Why do you call me good?” he asks. “Only God is good.”

Jesus keeps it simple by keeping it real. Many of us would be caught up in the flattery of the moment. Who doesn’t like to be complimented? Who doesn’t like to be fawned over? Maybe not a lot, but a little. The down side of flattery, of course, is you wonder, What are they after? Is it real, or are they after something?

Jesus wants to keep it real. Jesus wants to keep it simple. If you want someone’s attention, we flatter them, so the Bible warns us to watch out for people with itching ears, eager to hear you tell them what they want to hear. They’re not interested in the truth, but in their own egos. (2 Tim. 4:3 paraphrased)

Jesus knows the human heart, so he says, “Let’s keep it simple; only God is good.”

“In the beginning when God was creating the heavens and the earth, it was God who identified what was good; God is the source of all that is good. So let’s start there.

“Let’s keep it simple, silly. Let’s dump the flattery and get back to your question: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Jesus answers that question with another question: “You know the Commands, don’t you, about lying, cheating, stealing, killing, adultery, and so on?”

Jesus knows this young man is a fellow Jew, a child of Abraham, a student of Torah, just like Jesus is and was, just like those who followed him, including his disciples. So it is a little strange that this young man would ask the question. If you know who you are, or who's you are, why would you ask?

It has always amazed me in my life and ministry just how often people will say things like, “I hope I’m going to heaven,” or “I hope I’ve been good enough,” or “I hope God will forgive me for things of which I am too ashamed to say.”

Like this young Jewish man, we are children of God, baptized, students of the Bible, children of Abraham through Christ, people who have received Jesus as Savior and Lord. We have everything this young man has, and yet, like him, perhaps we find ourselves wondering, too. Maybe not today, but sometimes. 

My faith comes and goes over time.  Sometimes I’m a Hobbit, sometimes an Orc. Sometimes an Elf; sometimes a Troll. Most of the time I am a mix of all things. So I’m glad to see this young man run up and ask the question I’m often too scared to ask: What must I do to inherit eternal life?

Again, Jesus keeps it simple, keeps it grounded in the faith: “You know the rules, don’t you?”

It’s a simple question; it’s the same question the Lawyer asked Jesus (in Luke), which gave us the Good Samaritan story. “What must I do?” 

“Jesus says, “What’s the Bible say? How do you read it?”

“Love God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind; and love neighbor as yourself.”

“Cool. Do that and you’ll be fine.”

So simple … at least until you ask, “Who is my neighbor?”

And Jesus keeps that simple, too, with the Priest, Levite, and Samaritan: “Love the one you’d rather be dead than have them touch you.” I mean, anyone can love the Priest and Levite. Even if they pass you by, they must have their reasons; that’s reasonable and forgivable. But the ICK FACTOR guy; him? Yes, him. Simple!

So Jesus asks the young man, and through him, Jesus asks us: “Do you know the rules?”

“Yes, of course,” he says. “I have followed them since the beginning; from the beginning I have lived by the rules.”

And here’s the Good News. Jesus looks at the young man, and Jesus looks at us, and “Jesus loved him; Jesus loves us.”

Jesus keeps it simple, silly. Jesus keeps it grounded, down to earth, as basic as that: I love you!

I should note here that when we see the word INHERIT, it doesn’t mean the future. It refers to having a share in what Jesus has. Like in the story of the Prodigal son, the young man wants his share of the estate. He doesn’t need his father to drop dead; he just wants an advance, which his father gives him.

So THIS young man is asking Jesus, not so much: How do I get to heaven? But how can I have a share in what you have?

He sees something in Jesus that he wants, and I think one reason we gather here week in and week out is because we, too, want to have what Jesus has. 

Church isn’t Fire Insurance, or even Life Insurance. Rather, “we believe that God is healing and restoring the world, and that we are recipients of and participants in that healing and restoration.” (Mission Statement, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Mount Vernon, WA)

So we want to have what Jesus has. Jesus loved the young man; Jesus loves us, and in answer to the question of the day, Jesus says, “Sell everything you’ve got; give to the poor, and then come follow me.”

We know how that went, don't we? His face fell off, and he went away, literally “grieving” (for he was very well-off). 

Now, I'm tempted to tame this passage. None of us here considers themselves rich. Rich is comparative. Rich is Elon Musk, or Jeff Bezos, or Bill Gates. That’s not us, but let’s not get lost in the weeds. Let’s keep it simple. In our world, in our time, amongst 7 billion people, we are rich, you and I. We are. It’s not a feeling; it’s an objective reality, so let’s not try to sugar-coat the Gospel.

Let’s be careful and let’s not try to tame this passage. God is not a Lion to be tamed.

We want to say Jesus didn’t mean it, or he was obviously exaggerating, or something like that. And certainly there is hyperbole involved. Yes, he may very well have been exaggerating, but we’ll never know, because the young man didn’t stick around to ask him: What on earth do you mean by that?

I think Jesus would have said, “It’s not a question of what you have, but what you do. Moses says (Dt. 15:7): “If there is among you anyone in need, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward your needy neighbor.” 

And Isaiah says, “Share your bread with the hungry, bring the homeless poor into your homes, and when you see someone naked, cover them up …” (58:7).

Are you nervous yet? 

Jesus says, “Keep it simple, silly. If you want your share of eternal life, let go of what’s got you stuck. 

Maybe you’re a tight-wad. Let it go. 

Maybe you’ve got resentments. Let them go. 

Maybe you hate the poor – you see them as a drain on society. So what? God sends us to help them.  We are God’s hands and feet and eyes and ears … and heart!

Maybe you're jealous of the rich and powerful! They’re easy to hate, but they answer to God, not to us, so ignore the Nimrods. 

Maybe you’re not feeling as loved as you need to feel? So get out there and find ways to love your neighbor! It really is as simple as that!”

Eternal life isn’t just pie in the sky in the great by and by. It’s right here, right now. Your job, my job, our job is to figure out for ourselves just what on earth is holding us back, and let it go.

You know, in AA and other 12 Step groups, they say there is only one thing one needs to do if they want to experience the life of freedom that those in recovery have discovered. There is only one thing folks need to change.

What is that one thing? Everything.

If we want life to change, just change everything, and it will be different.

“You can try threading a camel through the eye of a needle,” says Jesus, “but you’ll probably die laughing.” 

So keep it simple, silly. Let go, and let God – and eternal life will be yours, and ours, right here, right now. It really is that simple.

Sermon delivered to Christ Episcopal Church (Anacortes, WA) 10/13/2024 – The Rev. Keith Axberg, Ret.

Leaves of Gold, Joints of Rust

 

"Since there will never cease to be some in need on earth, I therefore command you, ‘Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in the land.’” Deuteronomy 15:11

The leaves are falling. Slowly, but surely, they’re making their descent from the limbs and branches of the trees and shrubs in our yard and in the world around us.

There’s a side of me that would like them all to drop before going out and doing my fall “cleanup,” but I am at the age where tackling life a day at a time is a bit easier and (possibly) wiser. So each day the little lady and I go out into the yard and scrape up a few leaves, digging them out of the cracks and crevasses of the walls that terrace our yard. We pull the weeds that dare to grow within an arm’s length of those retaining walls, and generally try to just keep the yard presentable for passers-by.

We don’t do as much yard-work as we would like to (using the term “we” quite loosely). Our property is fairly large, but the lingering effects of our bouts with Covid several years ago and the increasing numbers of trips around the sun have both taken their toll. That’s OK, though. We’re both ambulatory, for the most part. It just takes a little longer to do some things, and I still prefer weeds to grow knee high so I don’t have to reach down so far to pull them.

Fortunately, we have a couple of young lads that do the lion’s share of work around the yard. They’re young, strong, nimble, quick, alert, attentive to details, and dependable. On top of all that, they enjoy doing the work they do! Consequently, I find it a joy to pay them for their labor, and pay them well.

I don’t say that to brag or to boast. Paying people a decent wage is nothing to boast about. In fact, it is a pleasure, an honor, and a privilege to be able to share some of the shekels & ducats that have come our way over the years. 

“A laborer is worthy of his hire,” says the Bible (1 Tim 5:18). Elsewhere, Jesus tells the story of the landowner who makes sure everyone in the community has an opportunity to labor in his field, and he makes sure each receives a proper wage. I don’t usually do biblical exposition in these columns, but will say the point of that story is the welfare of the community. 

The laborers do their work and the landowner provides from out of his purse that which is needed to strengthen and support the community. The workers don’t have to pry the coins from his cold dead fingers. He opens his hands and freely shares with everyone, just like the Bible tells him to, just like his heart tells him to!

Jesus is also clear, of course, that we need to be careful about not parading our piety around to be seen by others, or to have our backs patted by others, so it is certainly with some fear and trepidation that I even tell you what I do. But I also think we each lead by example. It’s important to not just “talk the talk” but to “walk the walk,”  if you’ll pardon the cliche.

Amy-Jill Levine, in her book “short stories by jesus” [sic] reminds her readers (p. 236) that “Jesus is neither a Marxist nor a capitalist. Rather, he is both an idealist and a pragmatist. His focus is often less directly on ‘good news to the poor’ than on ‘responsibility of the rich.’”

Few of us feel “rich,” and yet in a world of seven or eight billion people, we Americans are very rich. We don’t need to squander what we have, but neither should we live in miserly fear.

“Thoughts and Prayers” for the world around us is just meaningless noise. “Strengthen the hands that are slack; make firm the tottering knees! Say to the anxious of heart, ‘Be strong, fear not; Behold your God!’” (Isaiah 35:3) Now THAT is a biblical prayer!

I believe those who are generous of heart have beheld God. More than that, they’ve given the poor a chance to see and know God through their actions, as well. God, as they say, loves a cheerful giver, so cheer up you here in this, our valley!

Keith Axberg writes on matters concerning life and faith. Author of: Who the Blazes is Jesus? Good News for a Vulgar World (available through Amazon in Print and e-book)