How, then, shall we live?

Nov. 9, 2016

This morning is the second time in a week I've awakened to a world that has looked different. The last one was just about baseball. This morning, as 44 times previously, we have awakened to a new president-elect.

Whether you got out of bed on the 'left" or the "right" today, I don't have to speak the obvious. You've lived and breathed it in your casual conversations, on television, on Facebook, at your Thanksgiving dinner tables, in your workplaces: We are a profoundly divided people. The conversations I've observed so far this morning convince me that won't change soon.

In a political sense, it's doubtful many are truly inclined to "come together," as is often spoken the day after an election. Yet Jesus calls us to be one.

How do we do that in a remarkably complex world amidst the divisiveness in which we live?

By remembering that when we look at "issues," we're looking at people. It's easy to dehumanize any argument, but whether it's taxes or the 2nd Amendment or streets & sanitation, what matters is how we as humans live together in God's created world.

By remembering that it's highly unlikely Jesus would have sided with one political party. He came to embody the kingdom of God, not partisanship. For the sake of our brothers and sisters in Christ, we do well to know we don't gain the inside track to God's favor by how we vote.

By remembering that in calling us to love and respect one another, Jesus didn't say, "Let's all just get along." Despite how we may think about the "issues" of the day, persons of faith claim these things matter and must be worked through: racism, sexism, poverty, war & peace, and all forms of hate.

Hate isn't just "out there." I have witnessed disparaging public conversations about issues close to home - such as Milton's school referendum - in which neighbors denigrate one another. Hurt and divisiveness will not go away once ballots are counted.

God gave us Jesus in order that we might be reconciled. God gave us the church so that we might be better together than alone. And God gave us the Holy Spirit for a time such as this.

As Christians, this we believe:

"He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
    and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
    and to walk humbly with your God?"
- Micah 6:8 [NRSV]

Time flies

Monday, Nov. 7, 12:47 p.m.

It's been 108 hours since the Chicago Cubs won a World Series.

There are no words

Nov. 3, 2016, 12:47 a.m. EDT

Perfect weather

Oct. 25, 2016

Montero for president!

Oct. 15, 2016

Miguel Montero’s grand slam to right field in the eighth inning of Saturday’s NLCS Game 1 gave the Cubs a 7–3 lead over the Dodgers. (SI)

Scott family clan

Circa 1985

Waterworks

Sunday, August 30, 2015 - The Cubs' Jake Arrieta and I shared one thing in common today. His was more historic. The 14th no-hitter in Cubs history. Mine raised money for Imagine No Malaria.

The self-aggrandizement of accusation

There's a narrative out there blaming our current president for the chaos unfolding in Baltimore, as well as the violence, racial and otherwise, visited upon our citizens in recent years.

I find it egregious we would make these social ills out to be a partisan issue. Racism is racism, no matter who's in the White House. And to think killings and riots are the result of an Obama presidency is to ignore history, whether it's Watts in '65, the Hundred Years War in the 14th century or gladiatorial Rome.

Evil, angst and lawlessness know no historical particularity. Whether we attribute grave injustice to the biblical assertion of humanity's fall, or xenophobia, or blatant racism, we are in need of prayer a lot more than political finger-pointing.

Lord have mercy.

Obama is no more responsible for Baltimore than Bush was for 9/11. Can public servants be part of the solution? Of course. But I can't bear another electoral season with the self-aggrandizement of accusation as the foundation for our public discourse.

If public servants weren't also public figures, the social-media invective hurled at both Democrats and Republicans would be prima facie libelous and slanderous, if not absurd. Heaven help us.

How to survive in the wilderness

Photo by Ann Scott

  I can’t lie and say that our recent vacation to Colorado was full of high-mountain adventure.
  Whether it was the thin air of high altitude or my lack of physical fitness, we didn't venture more than a mile or so beyond the well-driven path into the Rocky Mountains.
  We did see a black bear, but not in the deep woods. He was loping past the patio at a restaurant where we were having lunch.
  Nonetheless, the beauty of the mountain west was stunning. And, compared with the urban surroundings of much of southern Wisconsin, we did experience “getting away from it all.”
  I found a treasure in a small book shop called the Mossy Oak Trail Guide. It’s a combination outdoors guidebook and daily Bible devotional.
  The introduction was titled “Survival Philosophy,” which contained these tips for wilderness survival, from the Colorado Department of Natural Resources:

• Always maintain a positive attitude, reaffirming to yourself you will survive.
• Tell someone where you are going and when you will return.
• Take someone with you. Never go alone.
• Have a plan, and stick to it. Stay put if you are lost or stranded unless it becomes evident that self-rescue is the only option.
• Always carry a survival kit and first aid kit, and know how to use them.
• Dress for the weather, but be prepared for changes. 
• Always carry raingear. Protection from the elements must be your priority.
• Practice S.T.O.P.:

    S—Sit down and stay put until the fear and rush of emotions has subsided.

    T—Think through your situation. What do you have available? What needs to be done?

    O—Observe your surroundings. Where should you stay? Will someone know you are missing? How long before you will be missed? 

    P—Plan your action. Priorities might be: shelter, fire, signal, water, or find your way out to safety.

• Never quit!

It seems those tips are as spiritual as they are practical. How might you apply those survival tactics to your daily life?

Cousins 3.0

Photo by Ann Scott

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