That the Whole World Might Be Saved

That the Whole World Might Be Saved 

John 3:1-17: There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God." Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above." Nicodemus said to him, "How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, 'You must be born from above.' The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?" Jesus answered him, "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? 

"Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. 

"Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." 

John 3:16,  which we see on signs at sporting events and hear preached to assure us that only we who believe in Jesus will be the only ones who have eternal life, does not exist in a vacuum.  It is a part of the story of a Pharisee named Nicodemus who senses something special about Jesus and his relationship with God.  He comes to Jesus by night looking for the secret to life.  The short version of the story is that Jesus lets Nicodemus know that it is through the power of the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, by which one enters the Kingdom of God (a better phrase in my opinion than verse 16’s “eternal life”). 

John 3:16 then assures us that “all who believe in Jesus will have eternal life.”  Verse 17 then expands the possibilities of who can be saved.  "Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him."  adding to our confusion, especially if we add verse 18 that tells us that “those who do not believe in him are condemned already because they do not believe in the Son of God.” 

Can the “whole world,” all people, be saved?  Even those who do not believe Jesus is the Son of God?  Why the possible confusion in the middle of this passage.  I give my answer, which is not the only answer, and with which many Christians will disagree.  First, I believe that it is the power of the Spirit that brings Salvation, that brings people into the Kingdom of God.  For Christians at the end of the first Century when the Gospel of John was written, it was important to “know” that in a pluralistic world that their relationship with Jesus was salvific, that Jesus was for them the way the truth and the life.  It was also important for them to know that those who did not agree with them, who did not accept Jesus as the only Son of God, “the Jews” of John’s Gospel would not be saved.   

While it may not be the intention of the writer of the Gospel, I believe that the statement that “the whole world might be saved through him” is the key to this passage.  That it was through Jesus, empowered by the spirit and sent by God the creator, that the whole world, not just the Christians or Israel, would be saved.  That is, all the people of the world have the possibility of being part of the Kingdom of God on Earth.  For those of us “who believe,” who are Christians, we see the Spirit in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.  Others may well see the Spirit in other manifestations, religious or otherwise. 

The world can be saved through Jesus whether I, or anyone else, believes in him as the Son of God or not.  Salvation would thus be a sacrament like Baptism or Eucharistic.  A Sacrament depends not on our action, but on God’s action. So the key point for me is that the world is saved through Jesus, and that this is the case, whether one believes in him as the Son of God or not. 

"Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him."

No Divisions Among Us! What?

No Divisions Among Us! What? 

I have been thinking a great deal about the Church, the People of God and our Country.  There are overlaps between these three groups but they are not necessarily the same.  In preparing to preach on the Third Sunday of the Epiphany I spent some time wandering around in 1 Corinthians 1 and in Matthew 4.  I want to use these two scriptures from the Christian Bible as a foundation for my reflections on “life as we know it,” in the church and in our nation. 

“Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters,^* by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you should be in agreement and that there should be no divisions among you, but that you should be united in the same mind and the same purpose”(1 Cor. 1:10).  St. Paul is kidding, right?  After spending more time with this passage I concluded that what he is talking about is not the details of our faith, or even the details of the political reality of his time or ours.  What Paul is talking about is that we be united in “the same mind and purpose.”   

That purpose is not to think the same theologically or politically, to be baptized in the same way with the same amount of water, or to agree as to whether the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father only or from the Father and the Son.  No, that purpose is to be united in bringing the good news of Jesus and of God’s Kingdom to the world.  

But, what does this mean?  Does it mean that all of God’s children have to “accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior?  Does it mean that we have to understand the Bible, or even Jesus in the same way as every other Christian?  Perhaps, looking at Matthew 4:12-23 will shed some light on these questions.   It may even broaden the possibilities of just who might be included in the Kingdom of God.

“12 Now when Jesus^* heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. ¹³He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the lake, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, ¹⁴so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: ¹⁵ ‘Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—¹⁶ the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.’ ¹⁷From that time Jesus began to proclaim, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’^*” 

Apparently Jesus began to move around in areas that were not all Jewish, that included “the Gentiles.”  Perhaps this is Matthew’s way of saying the same thing John wrote in Chapter 3 of that Gospel: 17 ‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”  Jesus appears to be proclaiming a message of the Kingdom of God to Jews and Gentiles alike.  Jesus goes on to proclaim that “the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light.”  We all sit in darkness on occasion.   This may be the darkness of lack of opportunity, or inability to see the Kingdom of God in the world or in our lives, the darkness of depression, confusion, frustration or anger.  The light brought to the world by God’s Kingdom shines on all of these as well as on the darkness of sin.  We in the church sometimes forget this. 

Jesus goes on to call the four fishermen: Peter and Andrew, James and John to help him proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God, the good news of health and healing and justice and light in the darkness to all the people they meet.  The Collect for the Third Sunday of Epiphany in the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer echoes this call and extends it to us in our day.  “Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ to proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, that we and the whole world my perceive His glory in His Marvelous works”(BCP, p. 215). 

It is my sense that this Gospel from Matthew at least opens up the possibility of the Universality of God’s Kingdom.  That the light is intended for all people and that perhaps this understanding can get us past the “unhappy divisions St. Paul talks about.  What really matters to most of us is the way we treat people.   

“Sadly, within Christendom, many are taught the exact opposite: that doctrines, traditions, theologies, and distinct beliefs are the only things that do matter.  This is what separates churches, denominations, theologians and those who are saved or unsaved.  Historically Christians have been tempted to categorize the Bible into various beliefs that are either, inspired or heretical, good or bad, right or wrong, with no room for doubt or questions or uncertainty. What matters to me is: when I am sick you bring me a meal, I don’t care whether you are Calvinist or Arian; when you help my grandmother carry heavy load of groceries, I don’t care what you believe about evolution.  (Feel free to add your own issues here.)  What matters to me is that you love me and others in deep and meaningful and authentic ways.  Nothing else really matters” (from a Facebook Post) 

I suspect this just might be the reason God sent Jesus into the World.

Hope and Promise

Hope and Promise 

For those of us who are people of faith, people who believe that God, or a Higher Power, cares about what happens in this world and inspires us to do something about it, hope and promise are a key to our existence and to our relationships with all people.  We live in a world in which “bad things happen to good people,” and just as certainly, “good things happen to bad people.”  At the same time we see and experience a life that is also filled with joy, love, and life giving relationships.  In short, we have faith that life is a journey filled with hope and promise for all. 

The fifth century BCE Hebrew Prophet, Isaiah proclaimed this hope to the people of Israel at a time of exile when they saw and experienced very little hope or even the promise of hope. 

“A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. . . .The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. . . . He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. . . .

The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. “(Isaiah 11:1-9) 

The first time I heard this scripture, I was around six years old, standing on my front porch with my mother and father, listening to a nice man share with us what the Kingdom of God could and would look like.  I found out later that the man was a Jehovah’s Witness and that they, in fact, spent a lot of time knocking on doors and sharing their message.  God uses us all to touch people in ways we may never know or recognize.  My Dad had served in the Second World War and we were in the middle of “The Cold War,” and for a six year old, this message of peace, promise and hope was nothing less than a miracle. 

Sixty years later (as of this past Tuesday, but who’s counting), the world is still torn by “wars and rumors of wars.”   With politics and civil debate in this country more hostile than ever, with everyone believing their side is right and the other wrong, it is time to open our eyes and ears, to hear and see this message again and to hear and see others, all others, whether we agree with them or not, and for us to find this long awaited hope and promise.  Righteousness wins! 

Several years ago, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa wrote a book, No Hope Without Forgiveness, in which he described his work with the “Truth and Reconciliation Commission” after the end of Apartheid in that country.  Apologies for horrendous acts were made by the perpetrators and accepted by the victims or by their families in the case of the many murders that had taken place.  Very few people in the world gave this effort much hope for success. Thankfully most of the world was to be proven wrong.  This may well be one of the greatest examples of hope and promise that has taken place in our world to date.  “The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.” 

If this can happen in South Africa, it can happen in nuclear negations between the West and Iran.  It can happen in negations with Israel and Palestine, and it can even happen in negations between Democrats and Republicans in Congress.  After all, as Jim Wallis of Sojourners Magazines states, “God is not a Democrat or a Republican.”  Some may suggest that this is naïve, but lots of people suggested that Desmond Tutu was naïve as well.   

What can you and I do to help bring about this hope and promise?  We can read, study and stay informed about history as well as current events.  We can assume, rightly or wrongly, that those with whom we disagree are as diligent as we in staying informed.  We can acknowledge that we do not have all the truth or all the answers and admit that we may even be wrong, and we can engage in dialogue with others, preferable in conversation rather than on social media.  I have discovered, the hard way, that throwing Facebook posts at each other is not really a conversation, changes no one, and often passes on opinion, incorrect information and closes down any real, and dare I say, intelligent conversation.  And just as an aside, it would probably be good to refrain from calling any of our nation’s leaders Fascists or Communists or Satan or Idiots (feel free to add your own list of unhelpful epithets. 

So; hope, promise, new beginnings, knowledge and honest, open conversation.  Do we believe this? Do we believe it will bring about change in our world?  Isaiah did, Desmond Tutu certainly did.  This might just be a time for us to join with all that is Holy and bring about “Peace on Earth and good will to those whom God favors.”

 

 

 

2014, A Vision Of Hope

2014, A Vision Of Hope 

My birthday, actually the day after, seems to be a good time to look at the New Year from the perspective of a member of the human race, the people of God.  As 2013 came to an end I reflected on the joy brought to me by my relationships with others, on the good things that happened to me and to others in our country and the world, and on the horrors that still continue to plague a world and a nation in which many of us have recently celebrated the birth of the One we call the “Prince of Peace.”   

Most frustrating for me has been the postings of internet “sound bites” which may are may not be true, and the angry responses of those who take exception with the postings, myself included.  What is sad and damaging about this is that most of the people who post and respond are “people whom God favors” and loves.  Friendships have been destroyed, communication has been broken, and the ability to hear the truth in the words and beliefs of another no longer exists for many people in our nation.  Therefore, before we look at hopes for the New Year, I want to suggest a way in which this might be done that is more productive than what we have been doing. 

How fortunate, then, that Fr. Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation for my birth day, January 7, gives us a place to begin. 

"What the. . . .Yes, And approach allows you to do, quite frankly, is to be non-reactionary and non-rebellious.  You do not need to prove that your statement is the last and finalstatement, which is what the ego always wants to do.  Rather, you just ask others to consider it.  

Abelard and Lombard laid the foundations for what we call Scholastic philosophy. When Scholastic philosophy was at its best (in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries), the development of an idea proceeded by what the great teachers called the questio (Latin, “to seek”).  Our English word “quest” may come from that understanding.  The systematic asking of questions opened up wonder and encouraged spiritual curiosity

by drawing out pros and cons for answers to the question, thus refining the question itself instead of just looking for the perfect answer.  

Unfortunately, in later centuries this practice degenerated to needing answers, and preferably certain answers.  We moved from wondering to answering, which has not served us well at all.  This need to be right reached its nadir in what we today call fundamentalism, common in almost all religions, and in most political discourse today." (Richard Rohr, January 7 Meditation) 

With these reflections from Richard Rohr as a foundation, I invite you to walk with me into the New Year, with all its hopes, dreams, dangers and opportunities.  Can we hope that our political system will magically correct itself and that everyone will “love one another?”  No, but we can hope and pray that our representatives can learn the lessons that Rohr shared with us in today’s meditation, and listen and look for truth where it might be found, and learn from each other.  And we can definitely not follow in their footsteps if they do not change.  We can treat one another and one another’s beliefs with respect and honor.  I would suggest that part of this will mean being very, very careful about things we post on Facebook or the internet.  We must research the “sound bites” we post to make sure they are true, and when we do post something, make sure that it is something that can be read and discussed and thought about, and not just a “sound bite.”  I will go as far as to suggest, even as much as I love Rachael Maddow, that we refrain from watching cable news and talk radio, that we read more and talk to one another more with the purpose of learning rather than “being right.” 

We live in an exciting and very complicated world.  The world economy will continue to become more and more globalized, regardless of which Party is in congress or the White House.  Factors such as cost of labor, technology, lobbyists and lots and lots of money floating around will continue to affect our lives and our economy just as much and sometimes more than our government and political parties do. 

What is important in the New Year?  Certainly Health Care and the high cost of health care will continue to affect us all.  I believe that health care costs will continue to rise whether “Obamacare” is successful or not.  I recommend: that we strive to make it successful, keeping the parts that work and changing or doing away with the parts that do not.  This will have to be a bi-partisans effort,  looking to define the question and find the answer rather than trying to be right or get re-elected. 

The deficit and continuing to reduce it is important, believe it or not, to both parties.  As this is done, it will be by establishing just taxes for all and fair and meaningful budget cuts, while maintaining appropriate social safety nets to protect the elderly, the poor, the unemployed and the truly disabled.  One obvious part of deficit reduction is the creation of new jobs to replace those lost to the recession of 2008, technology and the global economy. 

Lastly, for the purposes of this essay, is Immigration Reform.  The Senate has reached what appears to be a good compromise, not perfect, as no compromise can be, but a beginning.  It is up to the House now, to work with the Senate to make this happen.  Again, if we who are not in Washington can respect one another and hear one another, then perhaps we can encourage our representatives to do the same.  Two points to consider: one, we are a nation of Immigrants, and two, immigration today is very much a result of the global economy. 

Living on a planet of seven billion people is complicated, especially when the natural resources of that planet have been shrinking at the same time as the population continues to grow, and more nations are using them in greater amounts.  But, we have a nation and a world filled with very intelligent and creative people who have the ability to Look at the world and say, as Bobby Kennedy did forty years ago, “there are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why...I dream of things that never were, and ask why not? 

I invite all of you to join me in this Vision of Hope

 

Putting Christ Back In Christians

The Incarnation As The Good News Of God’s Reign 

The Incarnation is not just about the birth of Jesus, rather, it is a celebration of the entire Christ Event, it is a celebration of God’s Self-communion with the world, with all humankind.  It is a time in which I think about, not “putting Christ back in Christmas, but about putting Christ back in Christians.  It is a time to see and rejoice in the new light coming into the world.   “Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our hearts may shine forth in our lives.” (Collect for Christmas 1, BCP, page 213) 

The Prologue to the Gospel of John in chapter one echoes this sense of the entire Christ Event, Jesus’ birth, life, mission, ministry, death and resurrection as well as the vision of light coming into the darkness. 

"In the beginning was the word and the word was God and the word was with God. . . what came into being in him was life and the life was the light of allPeople. . .The light shines
in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. . .The word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory,that of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth."
(John 1)
 

“And to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God.” (John 1) 

So, what does it mean to be children of God, what does it mean to “put Christ back in Christians?”  I believe it means to work for justice, freedom and Peace, to feed the hungry, cloth the naked, to comfort the lonely and to fight oppression.  We see Jesus set this example for us in the fourth Chapter of the Gospel of Luke: “the spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor, he has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. . .today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 

This is what I believe it means to put Christ back in Christians.  It is not about a “birthday party for Jesus,” but about the light of God coming into the world to banish the darkness.  And if Jesus is the light of all people, then I believe that that means All People.  If this relationship makes us children of God, then we are called to share the light with all people:  Red and Yellow, Black and White, Christian, Jew, Muslim and Atheist, Gay and Straight, Conservative and Liberal. 

To quote an old song, “they will know we are Christians by our love, by our love, they will know that we are Christians by our love.”  There are, unfortunately, some Christians who are better known by their hate and judgment and anger toward those who differ from them than they are by their love.  Rather than judge and hate, the light of Christ calls us to engage those with whom we disagree, and to communicate with them.  Our faith demands that we speak the truth as we know it to those with opinions and actions that we believe are hurting some of God’s precious children.  This is important whether we disagree with President Obama or Speaker Boehner, or Phil Robertson, or even The Episcopal Church.  After all, this is exactly what Jesus did.  I hasten to add, that this also got Jesus killed. 

I believe we must trust and speak the grace and truth of God as we find it in Jesus:  even if people disagree with us?  Yes.  even if the slander us?  Yes.  even if we lose our jobs?  Yes!  We do this because we have been entrusted with the light of the world which the darkness can never extinguish by the one who is called “wonderful Counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, prince of Peace.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Justice for God’s People

Justice for God’s People 

Luke 18:1-8: Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.'" And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them.  

As God’s people in the world we have received God’s Law in many ways.  It the Biblical books of Exodus and Deuteronomy we have received God’s Law written on stone (the Ten Commandments).  As Christians we believe the Bible contains God’s law. It also contains lots of other things; poems, hymns, history, legend, foundational stories of our faith and life.  In fact, story and myth communicate more to many of us than do laws.  They even help us to understand law in ways that often make more sense than codes and codicils. 

I believe that was the goal of God’s communication through the Prophet Jeremiah during the exile in Babylon.  It is just possible that this message will serve us well on our journey of life and faith. 

Jeremiah 31:27-34: The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make

a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like

the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to

bring them out of the land of Egypt-- a covenant that they broke, though I was

their husband, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the

 house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and

I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 

Jeremiah is proclaiming that God is putting the divine law on human flesh, not just any flesh, but the heart, the traditional source of life, thus proclaiming that life in this world is important to

God.  That what happens in this world is important.  That God desires justice for all people. 

Franciscan Friar and Roman Catholic Priest, Richard Rohr believes that when we pray for others, that what we are doing is bringing thinking down from our head to our hearts.  Rohr suggests that:  

next time resentment, negativity and irritation come to our minds, that we move

that thought or that person into our heart space.”  The heart, according to Rohr is

surrounded with silence, surrounded with blood which is warm and life giving.  In

this place it is impossible to comment, judge, create story lines and remain antagonistic.  In this place we do not create or feed on contraries, but on life, embodiment and love.  Love lives and thrives in heart space.  It has kept me from wanting to hurt people who have hurt me.  Could this be what we are really doing when we say we are praying for someone?  That we are holding them in our heart. (Immortal Diamond, Richard Rohr) 

The Law written on the heart makes our faith real.  Faith becomes about flesh and blood, new life; “the word became flesh and dwelt among us,”(John 1:14)  and it becomes dangerous! 

When God’s Law is written on our hearts, we are able to find God within us as well as beyond us.  This is an exquisite balance that I believe religion is able to achieve.  People who find this balance that both Jeremiah and Jesus had, find a wholeness and tend to blossom and flourish.  As we flourish in our faith we move beyond being mere conformists or mere rebels who just take sides on everything—no wisdom required.  Sounds like a pretty good place for Christians to hang out. 

When we live into this Law Written on the Heart, this law of flesh and blood, we have nothing to prove.  We only need say with Mary, “the almighty has done great things for me and Holy is His Name.”(Luke 1:49)   We can also say, must also say, the Almighty has done great things for all of God’s children, not just those of us who know God through Jesus. 

Those of us who are God’s Children, those with God’s Law written on our hearts, might just become co-creators with God, might just become the people who can help God put back together our sometimes sad and fragmented country and world.  Not lording it over others, but welcoming them, even those who are different, into this place, this world God has given us as home.

(A WRITER’S CREDO)

(A WRITER’S CREDO)

Reflections on an Essay by Edward Abbey 

“It is my belief that the writer, the free-lance author, should be and must be the critic of the society in which he lives.  It is easy enough, and always profitable, to rile away at national enemies beyond the sea, at foreign powers beyond our borders, and at those within our borders  who question the prevailing order.” (Edward Abbey) 

Abbey believes that if a writer is not willing to take on this responsibility that he or she should become a surgeon or a truck driver or a cowboy or a nuclear physicist.  Writers, particularly free lance writers, are in a position to serve as the conscience of our nation, to speak truth to power.  So many Americans are in positions in which speaking out can put ones employment, and thus one’s ability to feed self and family in danger.  This does not mean that writers will not pay for their comments, but that they will have a forum through which to communicate with the public. 

According to Abbey, the writer as critic is able to point out those decisions and policies from government and business alike that support the status quo to the detriment of all the citizens of this country.  “Far better to remain silent than to use the written word to shore up the wrong, the false, the ugly, the evil.”   

I gather from reading Abbey that writing matters, that what writers do actually makes a difference in the world. Whether poetry, essays, or novels, writing makes a difference. Writers must, in fact, become political.  That is, they must become involved, responsible and committed.  The writers’ duty according to Abbey is “to speak the truth, especially unpopular truth, especially truth that offends the powerful, the rich, the well-established, the traditional, the mythic, the sentimental.” 

A writer can do these things when others cannot because they have the freedom to do research, to not lose their jobs, though of course, people can refuse to by their books or their writings.  As an aside, we priests and preachers should be able to speak the truth as well, but unfortunately the church is often the last bastion of the status quo and truth can be a real threat to that status quo; whether the truth is theological, political or anthropological.  And this is true even when we preachers make a point that what is being asked of people is not to agree with us, but to reflect on what we say or write through the lens of their faith and their life experience.  I am sure this is true for teachers and others in our world as well. 

Nothing should be sacred or spared from the writers work, whether it be Health Care, Immigration, Greed, In-effective Government, Homosexuality, Racism, or any other issue.  And writers do not have to be of one mind in what they write.  The must however speak the truth as the see it and understand it.  Writers may be one of the few forces in our world that enable civilized dialogue, a quality quite rare in our day. 

To become a bit more personal, Abbey’s essay inspires me to remember that I have been given the gift of writing, and as a retired priest, the freedom to speak the truth as I understand it and the responsibility to share this truth with the world.  As a priest I have been blessed to struggle with life and faith with “all sorts and conditions of people,” those who are likeable and those who are unlikeable, those who seek a newer and in their minds a better world, and those who are quite content with the past.  I have learned to see the world through the eyes of people who are in a different place in life than am I and therefore to see the world through many different lenses. 

One person does not possess all truth, but many people together sharing their portions of the truth can bring us much closer to “the truth” than simply trusting our own favorite sources of truth and the institutions which provide them. 

Abbey ends the first part one of this essay: “Since we cannot expect much truth from our institutions, we must expect it from our writers.  Tolstoy said: ‘The hero of my work, in all of his naked unadorned glory is truth. . .Thoreau said: The one great rule of composition is to speak the truth.  And that other trouble maker said, Ye shall hear the truth and the truth shall make you free.”