The Prophetic Tradition

I was never one who had a lot of beef with Jeremiah Wright. In fact, when I first heard his comments, I was glad that someone had the chutzpah to speak such poignant words to the rest of us. I look at the Old Testament prophets, John the Baptist, and Jesus, and am grateful for those who refuse to let us sit comfortably in our self-satisfying, conscience-appeasing illusions. I remember driving through a city and listening with amusement to a Christian talk show as the white hosts, who apparently had very little understanding of the life and plight of minorities in this country, evoked the name of Christ in condemning Obama for being associated with Pastor Wright. Though these thoughts are a little after the fact, I believe they remain pertinent, as the Church will forever need voices who are bold enough to challenge the powers and principalities, both inside and outside the Body. In the end, I'm sad that Obama had to leave his church because of politics. He made a dignified effort to try and remain true. Unfortunately, it will continue to be used against him. But I'm glad to know that his pastor wasn't afraid of pushing for change or speaking the truth, and that for so many years, Obama listened to him preach.

(Found on Rich Wu's Blog, for full version, see here.)

"It may surprise many in white America, for whom Martin Luther King, Jr. is the only black preacher of whom they have ever heard, to learn that there are a lot of Jeremiah Wrights out there who week after week give expression to that classic definition of prophetic preaching that is to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” What would one expect of a black preacher whose Christian name is Jeremiah?

While I could not possibly agree with everything that Jeremiah Wright says, I do know that when a preacher, especially a black urban preacher, fails to speak truth to power and refuses to speak of what is wrong in the ardent hope of making it right, that preacher is, in Milton’s words, a “blind mouth,” and a repudiation of God’s solemn call to him. Preachers, despite much evidence to the contrary, are not called to celebrate the status quo, even an American status quo, and when they do their job properly they call us all to a higher standard. Preachers are not perfect, nor are they the only people allowed to be credible critics of our time and place, but they are among the very few whose vocation it is to make us aspire to something other than the status quo. For too long we have made God an ally in the American way; the highest standards of preaching in America require that we should seek to be God’s ally, helping God and one another to create a world in which we seek to live as God would have us live. To criticize America is not a sin, but it is a sin to mistake America for God, and it is both sin and dereliction of duty to fail to note the difference."

Speaking about the the dangers of how our worship lies to God, Mark Labberton, a pastor in Berkeley and another modern day prophet, writes in his book, "The Dangerous Act of Worship":

"In another lie about God, we make the Lord of heaven and earth our tribal deity when we try to make him serve nationalistic ends. Whether we think of Constantine or the British Empire or American Manifest Destiny or more recent instances, religiously instigated nationalism diminishes God and subverts his mission. This is never how the Lord presents himself, but it is a frequent lie we tell others by our actions. We perpetuate this lie by making God out to be our nation's God, the One who has a preference toward us-- deservedly, some say! God can be represented as the servant of our wishes, a vending-machine-type fulfiller of the desires of our hearts (Psalm 37:4), which are sometimes little more than Christmas lists."

Preach!!

Hello, Memorial Day.

I find it a great irony to be sitting outside enjoying the sun around a place named “Patriot Lake” on Memorial Day writing this, given my disgust for blind nationalism and unaccountable patriotism on account of belonging to a different Kingdom. I question the premises and pride upon which patriotism and nationalism are based, which are often ones of superiority and exclusivity, ones that draw artificial lines between “us” and “them” and divide rather than unite.

Turning onto my street the other day, an oversized pickup truck drove in front of me with two boisterous American flags obnoxiously flapping themselves behind the cab. I about vomited in my car, as every negative association of American consumption, arrogance, and over-indulgence found itself carrying the official representation of what countless millions of people worldwide find oppressive.

I am irked by our tendencies to graft the Gospel into our pre-existing comfort zones and culture, affirming our complacency and status quos instead of overthrowing it. As I sat in my old church, I watched a video commemorating the fallen soldiers, hailed as those who died to “protect our freedoms,” wondering where the prophetic voice of the church was in saying, “No, most recently, they died to protect our oil. Our foreign interests. Our culturally insensitive and ethnocentric version of ‘freedom’.” The psychology behind war and the military is interesting. It takes a construct like honor and pride and convinces young men and women that such are things worth giving their lives for. It glorifies the flag and the country that it represents, so that any criticism of the country’s policies or actions becomes an indictment upon the sacrifice of the soldiers, lives taken by the very country they fought to defend, for reasons obscured by self-serving national interests and political games. Like dogs, we are so blind to it that any critiques will illicit a violently patriotic visceral response, as such conditioning is intended to do, since we are terrified of believing that the deaths of our friends and loved ones were inane. I listened to the pastor talk about the worries of life, listing not having a “Biblical candidate” this November as one of them, as if the Bible only ever talked about abortion, homosexuality and family values, and that the poor, justice, and being peacemakers weren’t topics Christians should trifle with in politics.

It’s ironic, because as I sit here criticizing such things, if I am to be fair and honest, I cannot deny that I would be unable to post this if it weren’t for the actual freedoms we do have. I know that in many ways, the church I critiqued is doing the work of God. I cannot say such things without offending those who really have served God and lost their lives in "legitimate" wars. I can’t say that America hasn’t done good in the world, or that there isn’t support for Just War theories. I wouldn’t be writing this on my Macbook if I didn’t participate in American consumerism, and I have to admit that the car I drive contributes to this country’s selfish quest for energy, magnifying the misery of those around the world affected by our greed, just as much as the pickup truck in front of me. I do not speak as one without blame, but as one who is trying to fight self-deception.

So, “happy” Memorial Day, for what it’s worth. Things just aren’t so Bible-thumping black and white.

Random Inflammatory Thoughts on a Sunny Thursday Morning

China is a product of its own propaganda... it has yet to see that the roots of their problems might actually be their own actions.

Is Rev. Wright really that outrageous? I seem to agree with most the things he says. The comments sound racist mostly because many white Americans have the privilege of being oblivious to the reality of those who are not like them, until it smacks them across the face, and it sounds foreign to their ears. Wrights sermons are not foreign to those whose legitimate anger and experiences have been ignored for so long. They are actually borderline prophetic.

I would really like a president with humility, honesty, and integrity like Obama, someone who recognizes limitations, values dialog, and holds personal conviction even at the the possible cost of his image.

America really needs to get its head out of its ass and get over itself. Stop thinking we're hot shit and start realizing that we've pissed a lot of people off, everywhere. Blind paternalistic patriotism that associates a certain ethnocentric lifestyle with "the right way" really has "brought the chickens home to roost."

I'm deeply grateful for professors who understand that mental and spiritual damage control is more important than studying for a test. Mercy is like a drink of cold water to a parched soul. Too bad it's seldom found in the "real world."

Good Friday and Easter Sunday. *I* should probably get my head out of my ass and get over myself.

Abrasive Thoughts, Minimally Filtered

I have a 15 page paper due in 2 days, and I haven't started it yet. I have half a sermon to prepare for about my "missionary endeavors" (cough) in China, but here I am, cursed with a need to write because I feel like I'm caged in this house.

It's the little things that start adding up but have nowhere to go. It's eating these bland tangerines, but having no street vendors outside to sell me sweet little ones. It's having a random spike of electricity in my brain strike the bubble tea neuron, only to realize I can't walk down the street and order at the hole in the wall by saying, "what I usually get, small." It's making lamb kabobs because I miss them so much, and having everyone at the party love them, except myself.

Having spent the last two days snowboarding, it's so strange to be a minority again. Being dropped in white youth culture... that's culture shock with 3 shots of expresso and an uppercut. And the Asians here, they all speak perfect English. Where are the Korean and Chinese accents? Where is the bad fashion sense and inability to apply makeup?? When I walked out the ski lodge and a punk made a racial comment, I wanted to physically relieve my frustration on his face.

I felt like a muzzled dog when I couldn't yell "fu wu yuan!" in the Chinese restaurant. (Why does the food just suck??)

Gah! Why is everything so damn expensive?!

It's strange to be a minority again. Self-consciousness is probably mostly internal, but it exists nonetheless. 

People, things, feel so myopic here. 

I said it before I went to China, and I'll say it again... I have no desire to stay here.... My heart has too much wanderlust.