Cyprian's Weekly News - undomesticated & not so soft

These days there seems to be a nearly constant drum of anxiety and fear on the news --- this time focused on the very real struggles of our economy. There are places I go when I need to be reminded of the invitation, always there in good economic times & bad, to be shaped by a different story other than the dominant one. Most of the time all I need is a poem, song, or quote from someone I admire --- something simple to remind me that I'm part of a different story, an alternative way of life. Other times I need a bit more, in those cases I like to go to the bookshelf and find something from college or seminary. Today, I knew I needed the tough, challenging, wild and thoughtful voice of Walter Brueggemann, a professor of the Hebrew Bible. A few years ago he wrote out 19 thesis about the Bible & the church, you can read the whole thing here.

The gist of it is that all of us live by a script --- and that sacred scripture and the church, synagogue, mosque are there to help us become conscious of the failed dominant script, what Brueggemann calls "therapeutic, technological, consumerist, militarism", learn to let go of it & provide an alternative script. According to Brueggemann those of us hanging around the church are here to, "mediate irascible holiness, evoke consequent ambivalence, manage that ambivalence toward newness, and then wait."

One of the ways sacred scripture & religious communities remind us of our belonging to another reality, is by practicing abundance rather than scarcity. We are invited to share what we have, even when it feels like all we have is very little. Here's what the Bishop of Newark, The Rt. Rev. Mark M. Beckwith, recently wrote about the economic situation:

The scarcity is real. But so is the abundance. You just have to dig down a bit harder to find it; and a bit further to trust it. Jesus was no stranger to scarcity. In the economic system of his day, Jesus and his fellow Jews were no more than sharecroppers to Roman overlords. They had few rights, and fewer freedoms. Talk about scarcity.

And yet Jesus preached abundance. Over and over again. About mustard seeds, pearls of great price and demonstrating how a few table scraps can feed 5,000 people. He was not a first century Pollyanna, nor was he offering some sort of economic panacea. He was pointing people to another, more abundant reality than the scarce circumstances that surrounded them. It required -- and requires, faith to see the abundance.

If the stories of Jesus and the disciples don't work for you, witness the power of practicing abundance in the ancient folk story (of which there are many different versions) called "Stone Soup."

Stone Soup, or St. Bernard's Soup. A beggar asked alms at a lordly mansion but was told by the servants they had nothing to give him. "Sorry for it," said the man," but will you let me boil a little water to make some soup of this stone?" This was so novel a proceeding, that the curiosity of the servants was aroused, and the man was readily furnished with saucepan, water, and a spoon. In he popped the stone, and he begged for a little salt and pepper for flavouring. Stirring the water and tasting it, he said it would be the better for any fragments of meat and vegetables they might happen to have. These were supplied, and ultimately he asked for a little catsup or other sauce. When fully boiled and fit, each of the servants tasted it, and declared that stone soup was excellent"

from the Dictionary of Phrase and Fable

Stone Soup

St. Cyprian's practices abundance when we welcome new people, repair long time challenges like our leaky wall, take time to mourn the loss of a beloved member, and dream together about a vibrant future at Turk & Lyon. St. Cyprian's is a community well accustomed to challenging the dominant script, and embracing the alternative & hopeful story of Jesus & the prophets. Last Saturday night's Jug Band Festival reminded the crowd that even when all one may have is an empty jug or a comb, marvelous music can be made. Together lets continue to live out of abundance rather scarcity --- creativity instead of fear.

While the dominant script has failed us, alternative scripts invite us to another journey --- a different way to live. In a few weeks thousands of people, many from the Bay Area will head out to the desert to live "undomesticated" lives at Burning Man. Perhaps there's something to learn from this collective yearning for something different. Maybe our religious communities have something important to offer when we stop domesticating the gospel, and we remember that the ground of our being is not so soft. Stone Soup anyone?

See you soon at Turk & Lyon!