Ted Kennedy, Madonna and Rob Bell

What the heck do these three have in common? Well, I was inspired by all three this morning. Really.

I was shocked to find out that the Lion in the Senate had passed away when I turned on my computer yesterday. I then spent time talking over his life with Hannah and realized that the first thing I thought of was Chappaquiddick. All these years later (I was only 10 when it happened) so I know it made a deep impression. I did some poking around on the computer and did find some references to the scandal that I remember: that he didn't talk to the police until 10 hours after it happened (and then only after they contacted him), that there were rumours that she was pregnant (unconfirmed because no autopsy was done). So much potential for wrong, for cover-up, for preferential treatment. It led to an interesting discussion with my daughter. So why am I inspired, you wonder? Because despite whatever happened (or maybe because of it) and the way it tainted his life, Ted went on to do amazing things for the underdog in our country. Redemption, a second chance, an ability to do good after doing incredible wrong. Isn't that what God offers us? Isn't that what Jesus' death and resurrection is all about?

Rob Bell is pastor and writer in Grand Rapids, Michigan and I've had the privilege of hearing him speak at my church - Vineyard Community Church in Shoreline. Just this morning I finished his book "Jesus Wants to Save Christians" and I wanted to do a cartwheel and shout "whoo - hoo" to what he had to say. I really loved the chapter entitled, "Swollen-Bellied Black Babies, Soccer Moms on Prozac, And The Mark of the Beast." If that doesn't pique your curiosity then don't read it because you probably won't have ears to hear (or, more accurately, eyes to read/comprehend). I do hope it does pique your interest enough to check it out and get an overview of the Bible in a whole new way. I gobbled it up. It gave me hope that the Church might actually be a force for good in our broken world.

So far so good. But Madonna? I'll admit that even I was surprised by this one (and reminded not to put up any walls that divide and create an Us vs Them). Madonna spoke out to an audience of 60,000 and told them that their treatment of the Roma or Gypsies was wrong. And thousands of them booed her. She spoke of equality and freedom for all and then went on with her concert. Just like that. Oh, and she included Roma dancers in her performance. I'm impressed that she took that stand, that she challenged the audience that supports her. I'm also inspired that she didn't defend or get angry but simply stated her view, took the criticism and then went back to doing what she does best. I think that took incredible courage and I'm hopeful that others will be inspired by her as well. Perhaps even some of those that booed her. Small acts of courage (as well as the big ones) do make a difference.

Thank you Madonna, Rob Bell and Ted Kennedy.

Hope

I was just finishing up my walk with Bentley this morning and found myself following a 30 something man. He'd just left the local 7-11 and was busy scratching his monthly (weekly, daily)??? lottery tickets. Since he didn't jump up and down, whoop and holler, I assumed he probably didn't win much, if anything. It made me ponder why so many people buy lottery tickets when the odds are stacked against them? And then it hit me - hope. There's always hope that some day they may hit the big one (even though all those $2-5 purchases add up and they'd really be better off putting them in a savings account.) Still, week after week, month after month, year after year, millions of people put their hope in someday hitting the big one. And lottery officials, casino managers, race track owners etc. all know just how much to pay out to keep the hope alive.

Heck, we have investments in stocks, so I guess we're also playing the odds. The white collar lottery. When I find myself paying too much attention to how much our investments are worth, I remind myself that they could all go down the tube in an instant. That reminder nearly became a reality this year as we all watched our economy tank. Hallack and I just told our financial manager not to worry about us because our security does not rest in our portfolio. A very good thing to remind myself from time to time,



Our hope, our security, our confidence all rest on something much more solid and satisfying - on Jesus Christ. I know that this isn't a popular claim these days. Faith in Christ is seen as too exclusive, limiting and not in keeping with a global world view. When I look at how the religious right beats people up with their morality (the so-called "moral majority"), I cringe. When I think of how Christianity has come to be associated with the republican party (when did Jesus ever take sides in politics?), I want to protest! When my next door neighbor tells me that Christianity doesn't "pass the sniff test," I have to agree. At least not the Christianity that gets flung in other peoples' faces. But that representation of the Son of God is not the Jesus I'm falling in love with. That's not the One who stood silently while the deeply religious people of His day had Him beaten and mocked, tortured and scorned and finally led to the cruelest form of death ever invented by humanity. That Jesus knew that only love can bring healing. The only human who could've brought all the powers of heaven down on humanity knew that what we really needed was a different way. He knew that in giving up His life for us was the only way to heal us. How could we have gotten so far from that Jesus? How did we get to where we are today? For me, the Jesus of the Bible is the only hope I'm counting on. The Jesus who calls to me in my dreams, who comforts me in my sorrow, who loves me regardless of what I do or say - that is the Jesus I put my hope in. He's real hope in a way that our stocks, our morality, our religious rules never will be. His love sustains me, calls out to me, and heals me when everything and everyone around me has let me down. That's true hope. That's worth living and dying for.