Waxing Gibbous Moon

Waxing gibbous moon
The words themselves a poem
Turning full moon soon

Grandmère Mimi - 2005

This is what I saw when I walked tonight.

A Word From Richard Rohr

"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth: it is not peace I have come to bring, but a sword" (Matthew 10:34). Wow! If Jesus said this, he was surely not expecting the religion of niceness, of pretty words and feel-good experiences that we have become. He knew that Big Truth always divides before it can unite a few at a deeper level. I think most of the thousands of sermons I've heard in my life have been about “being nice” in one way or another. That's how domesticated the gospel has become--as if Jesus were a Divine Miss Manners, and the Church existed to maintain proper social order and class. Yet many are entirely content at the level, and Church has not usually been a passionate search for God. The word nice isn't found anywhere in the Bible, to my knowledge.

There's nothing more dangerous to true religious thinking than conventional thinking, easy conformity, being like everybody else in our social group. There's no depth or power at that level. Mass consciousness is never going to be ready for anything that asks them to “die” or that does not make them feel secure and superior. So we have settled largely for civil religion and cultural Christianity. It's so much more comforting to be nice and “moral” at a small level--than to be faithful to Big Truth—which cuts us all open like a sword.

Adapted from Letting Go: A Spirituality of Subtraction

From Center For Action and Contemplation.

How Congressional Legislation Happens

From TPM:

As Senate leaders begin work on a Democrat-only health care bill, they're finding themselves confronted with an unexpected irony: Though the caucus has reached an uneasy consensus around a public option that's modeled in many ways after a private insurer, it may be necessary to make the public option more liberal, and thus, more politically radioactive, if it's to overcome a number of unique procedural hurdles.

This is the needle Democrats may have to thread if they want a public option, and at the same time, want to bypass a Republican filibuster. And the key for them will be keeping conservative Democrats on board.

"A very robust public option that scores significant savings would presumably be easy to justify doing through reconciliation," says a Senate Democratic aide. "But it is still being studied whether other, more moderate versions of a public option could pass parliamentary muster."

According to Martin Paone, a legislative expert who's helping Democrats map out legislative strategy, a more robust public option--one that sets low prices, and provides cheap, subsidized insurance to low- and middle-class consumers--would have an easier time surviving the procedural demands of the so-called reconciliation process. However, he cautions that the cost of subsidies "will have to be offset and if [the health care plan] loses money beyond 2014...it will have to be sunsetted."

And there the irony continues: Some experts, including on Capitol Hill, believe that a more robust public option will generate crucial savings needed to keep health care reform in the black--and thus prevent it from expiring. But though that may solve the procedural problems, conservative Democrats have balked at the idea creating such a momentous government program, and if they defected in great numbers, they could imperil the entire reform package.

Let's see if I have this straight. If Democrats choose the more robust public option, they are more likely to be able to overcome the procedural hurdles and pass the bill on 51 votes without the threat of filibuster by the Republicans. The bill would also save money and perhaps pay for itself.

But the conservative Democrats may not stay on board, because they don't like the idea of a "momentous government program"? On what grounds? Read on. Because the Republicans in their pushback say that the public option would have to be "very aggressive in setting rates, price controls and rationing,". Ah, those are scary words to conservative Democrats.

On the other hand, those with no health insurance know rationing quite well.

So. As the author of the article, Brian Beutler says:

The path of least political resistance is beset by procedural obstacles; and the path of least procedural resistance is beset by political ones.

Got that everyone?

"The Tears Of Our Children.... "

From Bishop Charles Jenkins of The Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana:

The generosity of our nation and the world in response to our time of having been brought so low is gratefully acknowledged. Like the Good Samaritan who left silver with the innkeeper to care for the man robbed and beaten on the Jericho Road, we have known the mercy of others in our time of need. Some would say the season for such generosity has passed. Indeed, many of us we are well on the way to recovery, and that which yet needs be healed will be done by God, perhaps through the hands of doctors and nurses. But I find in my own soul a wound so deep that healing seems possible only by grace.

However, not all are at the point where I am on the road to recovery. Demonstrated so plainly time and time again is the indisputable fact that the “least of these” are not able to stand without assistance. Surely, assistance is available for many, but the process to that assistance remains a moving target. Deadlines are arbitrarily set to meet the needs of bureaucracy rather than the needs of our fellow citizens whose lives remain in the roadside gutter.

I remind us that the Good Samaritan bound up the wounds of the man brutalized and then took him to the Inn. He did not simply give him silver coins and tell him to be on his way. As tired as we are, as deep as may be our compassion fatigue, like the Good Samaritan we must gird our loins and pick up the least of these and bring them with dignity to the place of healing. If we just toss a coin to the beggar alongside the path of life, the beggar will die in that spot.

The words of Dr. King must ring loudly in our ears. “A true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies. On the one hand, we are called to play the Good Samaritan on life's roadside, but that will be only an initial act. One day we must come to see that the whole Jericho Road must be transformed so that men and women will not be constantly beaten and robbed as they make their journey on life's highway. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.” (From “Beyond Vietnam”.)

We have engaged, in a direct and intentional manner, the work of challenging the edifice that produces beggars. I believe Dr. King to be correct when he calls this “true compassion.” Faith communities and people of good will are the standard bearers in this challenge. This challenge continues to be lived out in New Orleans where the façade of American progress has been washed away. Many would be happy if we could again apply “make-up” to the wound that affects us all, but this is no longer possible here. This wound is evident around our nation, but in New Orleans, it was exposed starkly when the flood washed away the veneer.

Living without this veneer can be trying. Compassion fatigue is a phenomenon I well understand. True compassion as defined by Dr. King seems to me so fundamental to being a person of faith, a Christian, and, in my case, a Bishop, that I think we must persist. When the wound in our society is healed by grace and compassion, the scar will not be an ugly reminder of what was, but a medal of honor reminding all of God’s healing.

Something else I find trying is wondering what our government’s intention is for this city. I do not know if there was a deliberate plan for the social engineering of New Orleans. I observe that, intentional or not, the city is a far different place today than it was four years ago. For some, life is better, while for others, life is at best unchanged or worse. I observe a shift in where political power is vested and a dramatic change in the role that New Orleans plays in state government. I see our schools improved for some but grossly neglected for others. I see children going without special education and the tools that will help those challenged to succeed. So many children remain estranged from their spiritual roots in New Orleans. They have no way to return home and little encouragement to do so. The tears of our children remain a scandal to this city.

The privatization of disaster response has made of us a means to profit. The revolution of values of which Dr. King wrote is a theological revolution. This theological shift has to do with our understanding of God and, thus, our understanding of humanity. Grace and blessing cannot be measured in the rich lifestyles of predatory preachers; rather God’s blessing is seen in the ministry of Jesus whereby dignity has been granted to all. The revolution of values must include recognition of the dignity of every human being. I think such dignity is incarnational and, thus, has to do with what we think of God.

On this fourth anniversary of Katrina, I find myself concerned that the work of the revolution of values is still in the beginning stages. What we do in Louisiana has an impact across the nation and the world. We have an opportunity to give the world a model of Christian compassion. I pray for the continuing generosity of Christian brothers and sisters and friends from around the world that we may continue the task that has been placed before us.

Until today, I missed these powerful and eloquent words from Bishop Jenkins. Thanks to Ann Fontaine at The Lead for directing me to them.

I'll miss Bishop Jenkins when he retires at the end of the year. I hope that he remains in our neighborhood after his retirement.

UPDATE: A more recent picture of Bishop Jenkins than the one above.

"Cure The Sick...."

Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.”

Luke 10:9

I suppose it's a really far-out and crazy idea to relate the passage above from the Gospel reading today on the feast of David Oakerhater to the health care debate, but I just can't help doing so. The passage seems to say that in the Kingdom of God, you cure the sick. It's the Christians against universal health care that I truly do not understand.

Myron's Daily Update

Evening all,

My brother had a very busy day today. He had the ventilator tube removed from his trachea, only to be replaced by a trach tube. (tracheotomy) While it is still something to aid his breathing it is not as restrictive. Then a peg tube(feeding tube) was inserted into his stomach, and finally the wound vac was removed from his left leg as the amount of fluid drained from the leg is now nil. He was sedated for it all and probably hasn't yet come to.

It's one day at a time on the long road to recovery for him.

I still am not allowed to see him. grrrrr

Thank you for your prayers.

Sue

Mary Landrieu's Town Hall Meeting

Well, here goes. Finally comes the post on the actual town meeting held by Mary Landrieu in Reserve, Louisiana, which I've been putting off for days, because, on the whole, the experience was most depressing, as you see if you read my initial post on the two hours waiting outside the door to get in. Part 2 is likely to be anticlimactic. This story has become what seems like a life's work for me, but it's been only a few days

What a relief at 1:00 PM, when the doors were opened, and we got inside the air-conditioned auditorium and off our feet into chairs. Of course, we were surrounded by anti-reform folks. The young woman sitting in front of us was a flight attendant for an airline on which I recently traveled. She said, "Hello," to me as though she knew me, and I responded. Although, she looked vaguely familiar to me, she lived in Baton Rouge, and I could not place her. I wondered if she had been an attendant on one of my flights in the last several months She was against health care reform, because, "I work hard for my money, and why should my tax money go to people who will not buy health insurance?" I asked about folks who couldn't buy health insurance, folks who were poor, folks who were sick and couldn't get insurance. She shrugged and said, "Well, I wouldn't want them to die on the street. They can to to the ER for free."

I asked her if she minded that trillions of her tax money went for a useless war in Irag. She said, "Oh, I love the Iraqi people. I love everyone in Iraq." One day, I will be found dead, and the cause of death should read (but won't), "Death by torture due to excessive exposure to non sequitur.

Once the man on my right learned that I was on the "wrong side" of the issue, he began to harangue me with his series of "facts" to attempt to turn me from my wicked ways. I pointed out that some of his "facts" were not true, and then, as he went on and on, I began to tire, and I said, "You will never convince me, and I will never convince you, so let's agree to disagree". He continued with his harangue, as though my words had never been said, with the folks nearby nodding their heads in agreement. Finally, I lost patience, and said, "Could you please stop. Just stop!" And he did.

The anti-reform folks took up their "Kill the bill! Kill the bill!" chant from time to time and shouted one-liners against reform. I thought to myself, "I'll be really angry if I stood outside in the heat for two hours to listen to folks chant".


A little after 2:00 PM, the meeting began. The man in the purple shirt in the picture is the Roman Catholic priest who gave the invocation and benediction. He's only a priest, mind you, and there he is wearing a bishop's purple shirt. Imagine! (An insider comment for Episcopalians) The MC was a lawyer from the area, Larry Aucoin, pictured above, who, before he introduced Sen. Landrieu, gave a very good pep talk on civility, and allowing folks to speak, and hearing people out. He said that Sen. Landrieu was there mainly to listen, which was indeed the case. After he introduced her, she made a few brief remarks, and then it was on to the questions from the attendees.


Sen. Landrieu, who shall be Mary from here on, said she hasn't made up her mind how she will vote. Mary often does this. I'm not sure if it's actually the truth, if she likes to be wooed, or if it's a defense against a long period of criticism, should she announce her position too early.

There was a bit of chanting, which died down rather quickly. I stood up and glared at a group of noisy standing-room-only folks, and I'm quite sure that my glare made them stop. Early on someone asked her a question about "the bill" that I didn't understand, and apparently Mary didn't either, because she said, "I'm not sure what you're referring to." Then the crowd started chanting, "Read the bill! Read the bill!" She told them, "There's more than one bill." And then to the questioner, "Which bill do you reference?" The 1000 page bill that came out of the House committee is the only bill the antis seem to reference. She, along with several other senators, is co-sponsor of a different health care bill in the Senate. I hand it to Mary. She really listened, and she repeatedly urged the rest of us to listen. She asked every questioner about their health care coverage to see where they were coming from, and she asked questions to gain a better understanding of the questioner's concerns.

There were a few questions about tort reform, which some folks seem to think would drastically reduce health care costs. Texas passed a law capping the amount that individuals can collect for personal injury lawsuits, but health care costs have not come down. That's not to deny that we are far too litigious in this country. Some amongst us want a perfect outcome from every medical treatment, and that's just not possible, however tort reform is not the panacea that some see it to be.

One woman asked her if she would give her word that she would never vote for a bill that included federal funding for abortion. Mary replied that she had never been in favor of federally funded abortions, but that according to the Constitution, women have a right to choose. That was a pretty deft, although cagey, answer. She promised nothing, stated that she was against federal funding for abortions, and reminded the audience about the right of women to choose.

Another questioner, with his copy of the Constitution in hand, asked where in the constitution does it say that the government has a right to legislate on health care. Oh my! I didn't even hear Mary's answer because I was so distracted by the stupidity of the question. Where does it say in the Constitution that the president can fly around in Air Force One? George Washington didn't.

I had my hand up, but I never was called on, however, it really didn't matter, because others mentioned my concerns, that a single-payer system would be best, and barring that, at the very least, a public option. Others told sad stories of being denied coverage by insurance companies because of pre-existing conditions and being thrown out by their company after a serious illness. A couple of people said that insurance companies would not say beforehand whether certain procedures were covered by their policy or not.


I came away with the sense that a great mass of the citizenry of the US have no care or concern for the common good. I've got mine, the hell with you. What's so sad about the knee-jerk opposition to health care reform is that a good many of the people against reform would probably benefit from it.

I have a lot more respect for Mary since the meeting. Considering the hostile crowd she faced and the anger and the ignorance, she was calm and poised and treated everyone with respect. Give her points for courage. She listened well, and, for the most part, answered the questions well. She stayed past the allotted time, thereby permitting more folks to have their say. I understand what she's up against as a Democratic senator in a conservative, Republican state. Although, she has voted in a way that I would not have wanted more times than I like, the one vote that I'm most distressed about is her vote against the anti-torture bill. It seemed to me that she could have voted for it without taking too much heat. Most people who were against the bill already didn't like her as their senator.

I may write the senator a letter thanking her for holding the meeting and complimenting her on the manner in which she conducted herself. Mary is likely as good as we will get here in Louisiana. We could do a lot worse.

UPDATE: Another photo showing the mix of ages in the crowd.

Pluralist - Out Of Bounds!

Adrian at Pluralist Speaks is incorrigible. See here and here. If he had not left Anglicanism of his own volition, surely we'd need to show him the door. I'm all for inclusion, but surely, there are boundaries....

And yet, and yet, I'd still share the table with Adrian, but - alas! - he won't share the table with me, more's the pity.

How To Dance In The Rain

From a surgical nurse.....

It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80's arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am.

I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.

While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor's appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer's Disease.

As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late...He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now. I was surprised, and asked him, 'And you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are?' He smiled as he patted my hand and said, 'She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is.'

I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought, That is the kind of love I want in my life. True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.

The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.

Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain.

What a beautiful story of unconditional love.

From Doug. He doesn't do only jokes.

Sprout May Be On The Way

If you could please keep me and (Mrs. H.) in your prayers today we would appreciate it. It looks like she is in the first stage of active labor, so we may have Sprout by the end of the day... Thank you all and I'll post to the blog and facebook as soon as I can on the progress.

Arkansas Hillbilly

UPDATE: It's a girl!!! Go see the little beauty at Hillbilly's blog.

Contratulations to Hillbilly and especially to Mrs. Hillbilly, who, after all, did the hard work, which turned out to be not so hard, because Sprout was kind enough to her mama to come quickly. Thanks be to God. Great news and great rejoicing all around! Welcome to our world, dear little Sprout.

Thanks, IT.