Poop

Disclaimer - this post is about poop.  If you are uncomfortable with the topic or if you have just eaten you have been warned.

Recently there was a Podcast from "Freakanomics Radio" entitled "The Power of Poop".

This bit of radio gold, expresses the "rediscovery" of what is being called at this point 'fecal matter transplant' (or less technically 'transpoosion').  It is the idea of taking bacterium from a healthy person's bowels and transplanting that bacterium into the bowels of a sick person.  It is the hope that the healthy bacterium will bring a balance to the sick person's bowels.  This transplant is still on the fringe of the medical/science community but is growing in support.

I have no idea if it "works" but it is having a wide range of success according to the podcast.

This got me thinking about God and how God works.

The Christian narrative is one that shouts are loudly as I know of, of a God who sees the beauty in all people and all things and all situations.  God is that source of life which is able to see and enemy and rather than push the enemy away or kill the enemy, God prays for the enemy and loves the enemy.

In fact, in the Gospel of John and in the writings of Paul, the word "flesh" is used to describe that which is opposed to God (see John 1:10-13 or Romans 7:5 or 1 Corinthians 3:2-3).  And yet, God uses that which is opposed to God, human "flesh", to reveal Godself and reconcile the world.  To say it another way, God came in the form of flesh, a enemy of God, in order to bring peace and reconciliation.

Can you do that?  Can you incorporate your enemy into yourself so that you can bring reconciliation?

I have yet to meet anyone who could do that sans the Holy Spirit of God in Christ.

God creates a world in which even that which is opposed to God becomes the source of healing and reconciliation.

Which brings us back to poop.

The world is set up so that even that which we recoil at and deem as "waste" can in fact bring healing.

*As a side note, when I shared this idea of fecal matter transplants with a church member, she pondered "if we would be more willing to accept other people's poop rather than being so full of our own poop, we could all be healed?"

Myth of "lazy jobless people" busted again...

There are a number of seemingly intuitive myths that operate in our culture.  One of those myths is that we give too much support to those who are unemployed.  The idea is that if you give someone an unemployment check for any period of time, then "those people" become addicted to the handouts and you remove the incentive for people to find a job.  So the policy becomes we ought to cut unemployment benefits because we are just 'enabling' people.  


Whelp, that is just crazy talk to me.  I sit and listen to people talk about being so depressed and at a low in their life when they are unemployed for long periods of time.  Depression sets in.  Suicide attempts increase.  People feel hopeless and helpless.  The only thing that is keeping them able to pay the bills, and thus focused on looking for work, is a meager unemployment check.  At least with that money that comes in through social services gives a sense that someone cares about them.  Society cares about you even if you are not in a position to "produce" at this time due to there being 5 people for every 1 job opening or the fact that some businesses are adopting a "do not hire the unemployed" policy.  


Then this little study comes across the interwebs:

Cutting Jobless Benefits Sees People Look for Work Less, Not More

It is this sort of counter-intuitive news that, in my understanding of the message of Jesus, is congruent with the Biblical witness.  Jesus is constantly sharing news with people (we call it Good News) that sounds like crazy talk.  

Equal wages for all.

Love the enemy.

Self-sacrifice is the way to life.

"Sinners" will see the Kingdom of God before the righteous.  

In order to lead we must serve. 

Give to Caesar what is Caesar and give to God what is Gods.

Leave 99 sheep to find 1.

Throw a party when you find all your coins.

Peacemakers are blessed.

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for the rich to enter into the Kingdom.

Care for another is care for God.

Sharing can create an abundance of bread and fish.

The king invites to the party those who society believes to be 'hell bound sinners'. 

Forgiveness of crushing debt.

Forgiveness to those who blow the inheritance.

Jesus is constantly proclaiming a counter-intuitive message.  Sharing with people that, that which they think is reality is in fact a myth that holds little water.  

Providing benefits to the unemployed sounds counter intuitive.  

Some say they are not comfortable giving people something they did not earn or work for.

Christianity calls that Grace.

Temptation of the Body of Christ

What if the temptation narrative of Jesus as found in the gospel of Matthew could be interpreted not just as a personal, one-on-one, face to face temptation of Jesus and Satan?


If we are the body of Christ then could the temptation narrative be interpreted as what the corporate body of Christ.  That is to say, can we read the scripture as what temptations does the culture face?  (This is not a unique interpretation by any stretch of the imagination, but sometimes we forget about reading the Bible as a community).


There are the three temptations:

1. Turning stones into bread
2. Throwing oneself off the top of the temple for angels to catch him
3. Global rule 

If these temptations are taken as things that temp American Christians then what would they look like?  I am sure there are many books on the subject (Godbearing by Dr. Elaine Robinson is one of these books), but I throw these ideas out there to consider.  


First we must notice that Satan offers seemingly reasonable solutions to the problems Jesus faced.  The same is true for today.  The Satanic force in the world is that force that offers "reasonable" solutions that are "logical" and even "common sense".  The hidden agenda of these solutions are that they always come at the destruction/explotation of something/someone else.  

The first temptation of turning stones into bread.  This is a "logical" solution to cure hunger, but it comes at the destruction of the rock.  While we cannot turn stones into personal fuel in the way of bread, we do look to the stones for collective energy - coal, oil, gas, etc.  At the writing of this post domestic oil production is at some of the highest levels it has even been at an yet the cost of oil is still very high.  We have an interconnected world and things in one part of the world affect other parts.  Thus to continue in with the "drill, baby, drill" doctrine, is not only misguided (as it has not lead to cheaper oil) but it also "fuels" a carbon addiction.  We are tempted to turn rocks into energy which is not evil, but one has to wonder at what cost do we keep drilling?  

In the second temptation, Satan offers Jesus a way to show people that he is the Son of God and should be followed by proving his connection to God.  Again, Satan offers a "logical" solution to Jesus seeking answer to how to get people to follow the Kingdom of God, but it comes at the exploitation of God.  When the director of the documentary "Inside Job" won the Oscar, he stood up and stated, "Forgive me, I must start by pointing out that three years after our horrific financial crisis caused by financial fraud, not a single financial executive has gone to jail, and that's wrong."  There were many people who were tempted like Jesus to stand at the top of the temple and act with reckless abandonment.  Some chose to throw themselves off the top of the temple and free fall for their own personal gain while expecting others to catch them so they would not die.  Acting in such a way so that one is not held accountable to one's actions is throwing yourself off the temple expecting others to take care of you as you fall.  Are we tempted to act in such a way that we do not hold people accountable to their actions? 


Finally, Jesus stood with Satan and was told that the entire world would be his if Jesus worship Satan.  Jesus can become wealthy in the world by following an ambition and drive.  Satan offers a "logical" solution but it comes at the destruction of God by following ambition and not God.  There is nothing inherently bad about ambition however it can lead to a blindness to the rest of the world.  For instance, it has been recently reported that just 400 Americans have more wealth that ½ of all Americans combined, 155 million people.  Michale Moore said, “America is not broke. Not by a long shot. The country is awash in wealth and cash. It's just that it's not in your hands. It has been transferred, in the greatest heist in history, from the workers and consumers to the banks and the portfolios of the uber-rich.”

Satan offers seemingly reasonable and logical solutions to problems but these solutions come with the destruction of something else or someone else.

What Christ comes to discover in the desert is that the way of God is offering seemingly unreasonable and illogical solutions to problems at the cost of your very self. 

Here is some of the logic of God:

Blessed are the meek, merciful and peacemakers

Workers are paid the same regardless their time in the field

Turn the other cheek.

Walk another mile.

Pray and love for your enemies.

Grace and forgiveness to all people

By denying himself and taking on the focused call of God, by following the logic of God:

Jesus becomes the bread of life.

Jesus becomes the temple we worship in.

Jesus becomes the King of creation.