Sticks, stones, and broken bones. The power of words and the power to change them.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="252"] Author: zalouk webdesign used under creative commons license[/caption]

Words and language are very much a part of our lives.  If we learn nothing else from our English Teachers, we should learn that words have power.  Whether our language is English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Farsi, Arabic, Norse, or even Sign Language.  The words we use are powerful.  Words can inspire us,  they can make us cry, make us laugh, they can be prophetic and passionate.  AND they can defeat us; they can be used to enslave ourselves and others leaving scars on our souls.

Gifts of Light and Life

The Year is 243 BCE .. King Seleucus II Callinicus  has gathered with the high priest in the Temple of Apollo with him are offerings to the gods:  Gold, Frankencense, Myrrh.  The Book of Isaiah, when describing Jerusalem’s glorious restoration, tells of nations and kings who will come and “bring gold and frankincense and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord” (Isaiah 60:6). Although Matthew’s gospel does not include the names or number of the Magi, many believe that the number of the gifts is what led to the tradition of the Three Wise Men.

January 6th, mark the feast of the Epiphany, a word that Webster defines as “to show forth, manifest” and “the revealing of Jesus as Christ to the Gentiles in the persons of the Magi”.  But when we more commonly hear that word, we hear "I just had an epiphany, or  “a moment of sudden intuitive understanding; flash of insight.”

Crones

I miss my crone.  Sadly still, my daughter will miss her too.  My maternal grandmother died in 2007, the same year my daughter was born.  She lived long enough to see her, though by that time, she was already in hospital near the end of her journey in this life.  

 Theresa Falk in her Blog post on maiden, mothers, and crones, breaks the triple goddess concept away from its neopaganist constructs and brings it into the realm of the practical. When it comes to women growing up, maiden, mother, and crone are not always and only about chonology, they are about a deep spiritual presence within.

 There have been proposals for the male equivalent: something on the order of stag, father, and sage.  I personally dont like these descriptions with connotaitons of a rutting buck, and wise grey beard at the beginning and the end of the life cycle.  Maybe there is middle ground, or maybe it's simply best to leave well enough alone.  I know much about the world but there is still so much i dont underatand. Is "Sage" something that comes about on its own or is it an honorific title bestowed on you by others?

In my house, I am outnumbered two to one.  I am surrounded by estrogen from a mother and a maiden, wife and daughter.  Deep within these relationships are the even deeper spiritual desire to pass on to our maiden the wisdom of mother, father, sage, and crone. Things as rudementary as the value of a good nights sleep and an afternoon nap; shopping the sale rack; the importance of sharing; thinking not just of ourselves but of others and the needs of the world;  building memories of moments shared as a family and those special mother-maiden and father-maiden times that involve giggles, tea parties,mand shave-ice.

There is much a maiden can learn from mother and crone- someigns are best left in the company of women. I say this not as a sexist, but as a father who cares deeply for the maiden in his life and has seen the deep spiritual connection shared among women.  There is also much she can learn from fathers and sages about what it means to be treated, loved, and respected by  men (and women) in her life.  The beauty of a sunset, of flowers and the smell of rain, That even though flawed, and born into a world not of her own choosing, and into a family that has its own level of disfunction (what family doesnt?), still there is much love to be found in is life.  There is hope and goodness amid cynicism and bigotry;  there is beauty in the setting sun, the smell of rain, and the laughter of rainbows; that life IS good and there is goodness (God) in everyone.

All that and the knowledge of cooking the perfect fried rice, what more could i ask?

Gaudete (Rejoice!)

The ancient word Gaudete means to "rejoice." and was written into a number of different Christian Hymns and polyphonic pieces in the Middle Ages.  One famous one: Gaudete Christus natus est  is likely a product of the 15th and 16th centuries, but its roots are certainly deeper.  I've loved this hymn and just thought I share a video post.

Latin	English
Gaudete, gaudete! Christus est natus Ex Maria virgine, gaudete!	Rejoice, rejoice! Christ is born (Out) Of the Virgin Mary — rejoice!
Tempus adest gratiæ Hoc quod optabamus, Carmina lætitiæ Devote reddamus.	The time of grace has come— what we have wished for, songs of joy Let us give back faithfully.
Deus homo factus est Natura mirante, Mundus renovatus est A Christo regnante.	God has become man, To the wonderment of Nature, The world has been renewed By the reigning Christ.
Ezechielis porta Clausa pertransitur, Unde lux est orta Salus invenitur.	The closed gate of Eziekiel Is passed through, Whence the light is born, Salvation is found.
Ergo nostra contio Psallat iam in lustro; Benedicat Domino: Salus Regi nostro.	Therefore let our gathering Now sing in brightness Let it give praise to the Lord: Greeting to our King.

 

Spiral Dynamics with Shane Hipps

Spiral Dynamics_Shane Hipps from Daniel Leatherman on Vimeo.

While at a chaplains conference in Northern California,  we were treated to a lecture by Shane Hipps, a teaching Pastor at Mars Hill Church in Grand Rapids, MI.  He speaks about Spiral Dynamics a social development theory introduced in the mid- 1990s by Don Beck and Chris Cowan.  For books on Spiral Dynamics see this link to Amazon.

How much of an issue do you make an "issue"?

On December 2, 2013, the Hawaii  Marriage Equality Act went into effect. Licenses were issued, and same-sex couples lined up at the courthouse and in some houses of worship to become legally married.  On our school campus, this event came and went with little fanfare.  There are no couples (as of yet) lining up to be married in our school's chapel.  Still, there is a strong conservative evangelical current within our community whose fear is that students at school will be "exposed" to gay marriage.

To quote, M*A*S*H's Col. Sherman T. Potter, "Horse hockey!"

Mālama- living sustainably.

[caption id="attachment_99" align="alignright" width="300"] A wee little friend at San Damiano, Danville, CA[/caption]

Mālama is a word we hear often in our island culture: Mālama I ke Kai (Protect the Sea), Mālama ʻAina (Protect the Land), Mālamalama (light of knowledge lit. protected light). Mālama is often translated as "to protect or care for" ; it implies maintaining a sense of sustainability when it comes to this protection or care.

Sustainability has become a key word in our cultural vocabulary and certainly a commercial buzz word. Often linked to words such as "green" or "renewable", "sustainability" has long been associated with a kind of "granola" movement- associated with a variety of efforts such as recycling and composting. Once the niche market of a few home gardens and local farmers, organic farming is now big business. As individuals and families, more and more look for organically grown fruits and vegetables, drink milk from organically fed (and purportedly happier) cows, buy eggs from cage-free, free range chickens, bake with organic flour and whole grains, get fish from sustainable hatcheries or fisheries.

Sustainability in these product areas implies a connection between the farmer and the field, the rancher and the herd, the fisherman and the sea. We have done much in the history of the human race to subdue the earth- we carved out of the earth fields with irrigation; that makes the dessert produce richly; cast nets large and small to reap the harvest of the sea; tamed beasts of the field and used them to tow the plow, hunted others and later raised them for food.

The Book of Genesis says that in the beginning that after God created the heavens and the earth and populated it with the creatures of the land, the sky and the sea, God created humankind “God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.’ “ (Gen 1:28) When it comes to the key words of “subdue” and “dominion” itʻs important to understand the context in which these two words exist. In Hebrew, the original language of the Old Testament, “kevash” means to subdue as in to literally place the foot not neck of your conquered enemy signifying the submission of the conquered enemy. “Radah” the Hebrew verb to “have dominion” or “rule” is a little different than the common understanding of ruling over a people. “Radah” is related to other words which have meanings to descend or to wander. The implication of this verb is to literally rule by wandering among the subjects as an equal.

What God commends to us then in “kavash” and “radah” is to rule over the earth and its creation not as a dictator, but as a benevolent leader- a steward and a caretaker leader who is in relationship with all of creation. Mālama.

We need to return to the heart of Mālama-to protect and to care for the relationships that allow us live and grow. It is a grave sin to continue to consume and consume with abandon simply thinking there will always be. We need to reduce, reuse, and recycle not because its a trendy slogan, but because it is the right thing But itʻs more than simply buying organic, or belonging to co-op, or joining a CSA. Mālama pono means to take care or be right. Most important is to protect and care for spiritual and the human connections in our lives. These last relationships are the ones that enable us to be resilient in the wake of loss, rejection, or hardship.

We are called to be sustainable people, to live not only with aloha, but also pono (moral right-ness). With Godʻs help, we will live in right relationships with the ʻaina, the land, with moana, the ocean, and kekahi i kekahi, with one another. Mālama pono.