forgive

New York Times gets Senate prayer wrong

Unless you have been sleeping under a rock, our government is at a budget impasse and everyone is mad as hell. Senate Chaplain Rev. Barry Black, a retired Navy rear admiral, gave a Senate prayer that the New York Times reported as “scolding”:

The disapproval comes from angry constituents, baffled party elders and colleagues on the other side of the Capitol. But nowhere have senators found criticism more personal or immediate than right inside their own chamber every morning when the chaplain delivers the opening prayer.

The New York Times entitled the article, “Give Us This Day, Our Daily Senate Scolding” – written by Jeremy W. Peters – highlighted Rev. Black’s prayer as some sort of religious finger shaking. When you read and watch the prayer, one immediately can connect to the honesty of the situation:

afeature, Lance Armstrong

Lance Armstrong and confession

After years of doping allegations, Lance Armstrong finally came clean… or mostly.

After denying that he cheated, the famed cyclist admitted to using blood transfusions and a cocktail of drugs to cheat. Armstrong admitted to lying as millions tuned in to watch Oprah asked all the questions we wanted to ask. For months, shock and anger have been the reaction of choice to the man who founded an organization to “Live Strong” but cheated. In the end, Armstrong paid a price by losing endorsement deals, stepping down from his charity, and facing humiliation.

Coming clean with a confession is no easy task. Especially when you are a celebrity and you do it on national television. Or, is it?

Armstrong told Oprah things like:

I didn’t invent the culture, but I didn’t try to stop the culture.

I will spend the rest of my life trying to earn back trust and apologize to people.

I lied.

With critics saying that this interview was not enough, how does one really confess wrong doing? With news media asking if Armstrong is the “biggest liar”, how does one go about sharing the truth?

In a world where CEOs who wrongly milked millions out of companies only to retire comfortable while workers lose their 401k’s, the public’s strong reaction against people like Armstrong is reasonable. Celebrities, politicians, and the wealthy seem to get a break that most of us don’t receive.

When most people confess, it is hard and ugly. They have to face the people who they have wronged. When Lance Armstrong wants to confess, he goes on Oprah. He doesn’t face his fans, teammates, or those who he lied to. Instead, he gets a mega celebrity who wants to ride on the notoriety.

Is that a real confession?

I serve in a Christian tradition where there isn’t a standard of private confession to a priest. However, wrong doers must face the people that they have wronged and there must be an effort for reconciliation by both parties (James 5:16). If we want to be forgiven of any wrong we have done, then we must forgive others (John 20:23). Forgiveness is a two way street.

Confession of wrong doing isn’t only about coming clean. It is about restoration. It looks something like this:

Wrong doing -> Confessing of wrong doing -> Forgiveness -> Restoration of relationship -> Healing

Let’s be real about this. This process doesn’t happen in an instant. It may take days, weeks, months, and maybe years. God forgives easily but humans take longer.

For most of us, we can’t go on television and confess. We can’t have a one sided conversation of confession. We face the ugly and messy task of owning up to our mistakes and facing those who we have wrong. That’s not easy but it is the right thing to do.

John Edwards

John Edwards’ sins: can you forgive?

Which of these news stories is unbelievable: A cannibal zombie high on bath salts killed a man in Miami, Mayor Bloomberg wants to ban large sugary drinks, and a politician admitted to his ‘sins’? If you said politician admitting to ‘sins’, you are correct!

On Thursday, former Senator John Edwards was acquitted on one federal charge and a mistrial was declared. Edwards has been through a tabloid scandal of cheating on his wife while she had cancer, fathered a child with his mistress, and proved to be an all around creep of a guy. Upon the mistrial, the former vice-presidential candidate declared:

I did an awful, awful lot that was wrong, and there is no one else responsible for my sins. None of the people who came to court and testified are responsible. Nobody working for the government is responsible. I am responsible, and if I want to find the person who should be held accountable for my sins, honestly, I don’t have to go any further than the mirror.

The trial proved everything we know about Edwards. He did some horrible things and unfortunately, based on legal scholars, he did not break any federal election laws. However, he did break some major moral laws. He committed an affair and lied to the world about his affair. He tried to cover it all up with money and the truth came out.

In his speech to the public after his mistrial he said, “I don’t think God is through with me…” That sounded disingenuous. If you watch his speech he starts to confess and seem contrite, and as his parents look on with an exhausted look on their faces, Edwards turns his confession into a public relations campaign to prove he is a good guy. Yuck.

Based on his “confession” can you forgive Edwards? Continue Reading…

Good Friday, Holy Week

Prayer for Good Friday

O Christ, your life was no triumph, you carried a cross; may we walk along the same road as you.

O Christ, by your suffering you learned faithfulness; you became a source of eternal salvation for the whole human race.

O Christ, when threatened you did not retaliate; enable us to forgive to the very end.

O Christ, you see the pain of those who are exiled and abandoned; take their suffering upon yourself.

O Christ, when lies and worries try to separate us from you, your Holy Spirit is always with us.

O Christ, you are the happiness of those who follow you: enable us to live by your trust.

O Christ, our life is hidden with you in God; that is a joy that touches the depths of the soul.

Strengthen us, Eternal God, and we will wait in silence and peace until the light of the Resurrection rises upon us. Amen.

Prayer from Taize

Ash Wednesday

A Baptist Who Celebrates Ash Wednesday?

Huh? A Baptist who celebrates Ash Wednesday? That’s like an American celebrating Boxing Day. The two just don’t go together.

Despite the misnomer, Baptists do celebrate Ash Wednesday and Lent, especially this Baptist. Two of the classic Baptist distinctives is local autonomy and soul liberty. Each Baptist church has the freedom to worship however the church sees fit. Since we Baptists do not have a book of worship or order, like other denominations, Baptists are free to worship as they feel led. This, of course, does not happen in a vacuum. I have always believed that Baptists must be led by scripture, reason, tradition, and experience (the Wesleyan Quadrilateral) with scripture being the final authority.

Ash Wednesday marks the first day of Lent. The goal of Ash Wednesday is to reflect upon our humanness, our need for forgiveness, and our connection to Christ’s last days. These themes are symbolized by the imposition of ashes on the forehead, with the words, “You are dust and to dust you shall return…” during the worship service. In the Old Testament, ashes were a sign of penitence and mourning. Job was known for placing ashes upon his head to mourn the loss of his family.

Sure, Catholics do it, but that does not mean that we become Catholic if we receive ashes. We are merely participating in the greater historical liturgical practices of Christians. There is nothing magical about the ashes. You are not any more holy for participating in Ash Wednesday, but it is just another way to experience the presence of God in our lives in a symbolic way.

But, where did this act of worship and repentance on Ash Wednesday come from? Christianity Today provides some insight: