cultural hypocrisy

Recently a friend of mine told me that she and her family watched Sweeny Todd, the latest film staring Johnny Depp. Her assessment, "a great disappointment. It was the most offensive movie
I've ever seen...I was disgusted by the movie. There was nothing redeeming about it. JD spent
the entire movie in rage and vengence, blindly slashing (very graphically) the throat of his enemies and anonomyous people. Gross."

So where is the public and media outcry against violent movies like Sweeny Todd that we heard a few years ago against Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of the Christ"? While I've not seen Sweeny Todd nor will I ever given its graphic nature, I think if the American public wouldn't complain about watching the beating of Christ and his crucifixion, they should also complain and have a movement against such movies like Sweeny Todd. There are others like it. Let's be a little more consistent, or be honest that the real reason we complained about the Passion is because it hit too close to home.

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Daddy!

One of the joys of being a dad is hearing my four year old son get excited when I come home. When I walked in the house yesterday afternoon my son cried out, "Daddy!" with a big smile on his face and arms open wide. I called back, "Ethan!"

Is this my experience with prayer? Do I show up for my quiet time in the morning with expectation that the living God, our Abba (Aramaic for Daddy), is there waiting for me? "Abba!" I might begin my prayer, and in divine graciousness our Abba calls back "Mike!" There is simple joy in just being together.

The Abba experience (no relation to a concert of the 70s musicians from Sweden Abba) defined Jesus' life. "The Father and I are one" Jesus declared, "When you see me you see my father." Jesus was Abba oriented. There were times when the disciples couldn't find Jesus because he was praying, spending time with his Abba.

Is this your experience with life and prayer? Would you and I be classified as people who can be defined by our relationship with our Abba through Jesus? Or, is there a polite distance between Abba and us?

Try this: Brennan Manning suggests that we pray without ceasing the simple prayer, "Abba I belong to you." This seven syllable prayer can be prayed while breathing in and out, and reminds us that God remains our hope and provider for all of time.

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Spiritual musings

"Muse" what a great and under used word. It's not one that I use often, but one that communicates so much. When we muse we pause and think intentionally about something or someone. It's a word I ran across this morning in Psalm 77, "I will muse on your [God] mighty deeds." Muse carries with it an earthiness, a common experience that we all engage in. We might muse when we are struck by the beauty of scenery, the miracle of life, or an idea that catches our attention. It's not spiritual like "meditate." Musing is an ordinary experience.

My hope is that we, like Asaph the author of the psalm, pause to muse about God. Join us in musing about the beauty, miracle, and blessing of God in the birth of Jesus.

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