Lamed Vavnik Convention

Now that the political parties have finished their conventions, I would like to propose a different kind of nominating convention. In Jewish legends Lamed Vaviniks (hidden righteous ones) are  36 people of great humility, piety, righteousness, and compassion who keep the world (some of the legends focus on the Jewish diaspora) from falling into chaos at any given time. They don’t know who each other are and usually don’t know they are one either. When one dies, God appoints a replacement. Considering that you may be a Lamed Vivnik is an incentive for upright living, knowing that the welfare and maybe even the survival of the community or even the world depends on you. The forces of chaos, of course, are looking to remove or disqualify Lamed Vavniks. The concept comes from Genesis 18:26 in which Abraham appeals to God to spare Sodom if even ten righteous people can be found there. I am not an expert in Jewish mysticism or legends, so will not go into any further detail, but I think this gives you the idea.

When I did youth ministry, a Lamed Vavnik Nominating Convention was an exercise we used to prompt young people to consider the qualities of people they respected and to prompt them to aspire to for themselves. After explaining the Lamed Vavnik concept, each one was asked to think of someone they know personally they would nominate. Then they were each to give a brief nominating speech explaining why they considered this person as a candidate. After all the speeches, we had a discussion about why we respect certain people and how to cultivate such qualities in ourselves. 

I would venture to suggest that no Lamed Vavniks spoke at either political party's convention. The very public nature of politics is contrary to their essential hiddenness. And political dependence on self-promotion is contrary to their humility. Perhaps this year more than usual, the rhetoric of both parties warns that a victory for the other side bodes chaos for the nation and maybe the world. I know people in my circle of friends and family who are reading this believe that, some for one party and some for the other. My only observation is that whichever one you see as the threat, your party is not the protection against chaos. Neither party has the necessary virtues of Lamed Vavniks. 

That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t matter which party wins, or that I don’t care which party wins. The two parties are presenting sharply contrasting visions for the country. I am reminded of Goldwater’s ‘64 slogan that he used in a different way: “A choice not an echo.” My advice is to pay more attention to what each party and candidate presents as their vision than their critique of a caricature of their opponents. That doesn’t preclude vigorous debate and even criticism, but not with juvenile ridicule and name-calling. No matter which party wins, we must look elsewhere for protection from chaos. 

For years I have taught that when we make decisions based on fear, we almost always make the wrong decision. When 1 John 4:18 says, “perfect love casts out fear,” I believe it suggests that the opposite of fear is not courage but love, and the opposite of love is not hate but fear.  I’ll just let you ponder that for a bit. I believe Lamed Vavnik character affirms that love is more effective against chaos than fear.  I intend to decide how I will vote this year based on love rather than fear and urge you to do the same.

Regardless of how the election turns out, I encourage you to be alert for potential Lamed Vavniks whose hidden humility, piety, righteousness, and compassion keep the world from falling into chaos. Perhaps this is akin to how Fred Rogers’ mother told him to watch for the helpers in tragic, troubled times. Perhaps you could even write a brief nomination of someone and post it to encourage others, but I suggest not naming your nominee, after all Lamed Vavniks are the hidden righteous ones.

Vote by Mail

Some states have been voting by mail for over twenty years without incident, so the concept is not about covid-19 or the impending presidential election. Debilitating the United States Postal Service that so many American people and businesses depend on for everything from delivery of medications to paying bills strikes me as counter-productive if not disingenuous. My hope is for such an unprecedented, massive voter turnout that no speculations about voter suppression, voter fraud, or foreign interference could cast any doubt on the results, whatever they turn out to be.

Sexual History Politics

Apparently Kamala Harris has been criticized for her sexual history. I have not seen or read the accusation nor her response, if any. My comments here have nothing to do with her or her critics. However, I had had and expressed opinions on the sexual history of those who seek public office in the past, and this prompts me to clarify my own thinking. Whether I post it beyond my Writing Workshop blog remains to be seen, perhaps depending on how things unfold with Kamala Harris.

 Based on sexual history, in my personal opinion, neither Bill Clinton nor Donald Trump (and several others in this and other positions of public responsibility) should have been allowed anywhere near the White House (or any public trust). For me this is not a question of individual morality but a matter of trustworthiness of character, a track record of honoring sacred commitments (marriage vows, oaths of office).

 Having said that, I recognize and accept that we human beings have the capacity to grow and change, leaving behind errant paths of the past and embracing new and more wholesome journeys. While not necessarily expressed in specifically Christian language, this would be akin to what John the Baptist called “fruit worthy of repentance” (Matthew 3:8; Luke 3:8).

 That sort of transformation is rare in our culture that accepts and sometimes even celebrates sexual conquest as intrinsic to the expectations of men in positions of power. (Recent developments such as “Me Too” seem to be making some headway in challenging that sort of thinking.) That some women also exploit sexual power is as old as Potiphar’s wife in Genesis 39:6b-20, but it is suspect (and probably more rare) in our culture in which sexual power is such a male domain.

Deciding How to Vote

Psalm 72 is rooted in the monarchy of ancient Israel with clear messianic overtones. It is the most comprehensive prayer for the king in all of Scripture. It appeals to God for values that I believe we can pray will be manifest in all human governments. Of course, the ancient Israelites didn’t get to vote for their king, nor did Jesus or Paul get to vote for the Roman Emperor, yet, I believe Psalm 72 suggests content for the prayers for those in positions of authority as the apostles encouraged.

 

We who follow Jesus in the US do have the opportunity to not only pray for those in government but also to vote. I have expressed many times that in our properly pluralistic, secular culture I do not expect those in government to be my brand of Christian or even to identify themselves as Christians. Not only does the US Constitution forbid religious tests for holding public office, I am convinced the community of we who aspire to follow Jesus is stronger without legal and cultural crutches. I look for integrity, transparency, competence, and highly value trustworthiness in the pursuit of justice and peace, ethics and compassion.

 

In my pastoral career I never wanted to tell people what to think but how to think like Jesus from an overflow of internalized Scripture. One implication of that is that this far supersedes loyalty to a political party or identity with a political philosophy. This brings me back to Psalm 72 (from my monthly prayer journey through the Psalms for the past 50 years). I commend prayerful, contemplative reading of the entire Psalm, but I have excerpted the lines that are informing, and I believe determining, how I will vote in this election cycle, knowing any choice will be an approximation at best.

 

Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king’s son. May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice. May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness. May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor.

 

In his days may righteousness flourish and peace abound.

 

He delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence he redeems their life; and precious is their blood in his sight.

 

May prayer be made for him continually, and blessings invoked for him all day long. May there be abundance of grain in the land; may it wave on the tops of the mountains; may its fruit be like Lebanon; and may people blossom in the cities like the grass of the field.

 

May all nations be blessed in him.

 

 

In Praise of Old Lovers

© 2020 Norman Stolpe

I wish for all you young lovers

Fruitful passion, mature and ripe.

The welcome wine of old lovers

Whose  arms wrapped round ages of grief.

Refrain

Sing, yes sing, of old lovers - 

Radiant stars shine in the world.

I wish for all you young lovers

Serendipities outstriping your dreams

Love grown old enough for savoring

Abundant feast from Delight Mountain.

Refrain

Sing, yes sing, of old lovers -

Radiant stars shine in the world.

I wish for all of us old lovers

To treasure all the twists and turns

Adventures that we could neither

Prepare for nor even imagine.

Refrain

Sing, yes sing, of old lovers - 

Radiant stars shine in the world.

I wish for all us old lovers

As we are walking hand in hand

To nourish and sustain each other

On our last journey in this land.

Bridge

Lovers together young and old

Shine as radiant stars in the world.

Lovers together, old  and young

With arms and hearts linked together

So none of us will walk alone,

But singing and dancing together. 

Refrain

Sing, yes sing, of old lovers - 

Radiant stars shine in the world.

Questions I have About the Deployment of Federal Agents/Troops to US Cities

Once again I am posting something to my Writing Workshop blog and not posting to social media (yet), but I want to get this up today (July 23, 2020) before it becomes “old news” or a foregone conclusion. But I am not interested in the typical social media fracas. 

Questions I have About the Deployment of Federal Agents/Troops to US Cities

1.      Is this a prelude (intentional or unintentional) to an “emergency” declaration of martial law and the suspending of the November election?

2.      Who are these agents/troops? Under whose command or jurisdiction? Law enforcement or military?

3.      Any or all recruited just for this purpose? If so from what population?

4.      Do they believe in what they are doing or are the “just following orders?” The Nuremburg Trials clearly established that “following orders” does not excuse immoral or illegal acts.

5.      If, after the fact, these actions were officially found to be illegal or immoral, would those who carried them out on the ground be held accountable as well as those who gave the orders?
6.  If the rationale for sending these agents/troops is to deal with street violence in these cities, how does detaining peaceful demonstrators help with that?

The Lure of a Mess of Pottage

This week I have been reflecting on the birth and growth of Esau and Jacob in Genesis 25:19-34. I recognize that numbers and time lapses, as with plenty of other things in the Bible, convey metaphorical and symbolic significance. I am also aware that both in the text and culturally, ages were viewed differently than we view them today. I have no interest in delving into any of that, though it can be fascinating. Without insisting on post-Enlightenment literalism, just taking the story at face value has prompted some observations in my mind that probably don't have much significance beyond that.

I am also aware that the story is stripped down and spare. It does not include the sorts of details our curiosity craves. Filling in those gaps is hazardous at best, yet a couple of questions come to mind.

Verse 20 says Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah and 60 years old when Esau and Jacob were born. Rebekah was repeatedly referred to as a girl in Genesis 24 when Abraham's servant secures her to be Isaac's wife. (vv. 14, 16, 28, 55, 57) If Rebekah was still considered to be in good child bearing years when Isaac prayed for her to be able to have a child, it would be reasonable to presume that she was a teen when she was married to 40 year old Isaac. While she consented (24:58), the text is clear that the arrangements were made by her father and brother. Her consent may have just been a matter of timing.

Genesis 24:67 says that Isaac loved Rebekah. No details of a love story are included (though the Hebrew Scriptures do report some wonderful love stories). Perhaps that love is part of what prompted Isaac to appeal to God for her to have a child (25:21). The text says nothing about expectation of the covenant with Abraham that his descendants would come through Isaac, though there does seem to be some echo of that in the oracle Rebekah received (25:23). Pure speculation, of course, but I easily imagine 20 years of marital joy for a couple without children, but still the longing for children leaves a vacancy.

The NRSV sets Rebekah's oracle (you can choose a different word if you like) in 25:23 as poetry - twin couplets. I am not equipped to comment on the poetic use of Hebrew here, only suggesting that this rises from a deep reality in how God works with people - pretty consistently working with the unlikely as instruments of redemption and grace. It is part of the great reversal that Jesus expressed so eloquently in the beatitudes (that permeated his life and teaching).

At a very human level, the arrival of children upsets the marital equilibrium. In part this is a cautionary tale about parents playing favorites with their children. But it is also a window into how children bring more change to married couples than getting married did.

Then comes the vignette between Esau and Jacob and the "mess of pottage." I can't help but wonder if we have not been given a glimpse of sibling rivalry and how banter between them can get out of hand. Sure, Esau was famished, but I doubt at risk of starvation. Jacob taunts him about the birthright. To be sure, "Esau despising his birthright" (25:34) may suggest not that he thought he was trading it for the lentil stew, but that he allowed it to become trivialized in brotherly banter. Again, I don't know that. In Genesis 27, Esau and Isaac both think the birthright is going to Esau. It take deception on the part of Rebekah and Jacob to pull it off.

Rebekah's role suggests to me just how far the marriage has deteriorated since the obvious joy and love of Genesis 24:67.

Trading the birthright for a mess of pottage has become a metaphor for loosing sight of something of enduring value and trading it for something appealing but transitory. In my pastoral experience with marriages damaged and destroyed by adultery, it seems one spouse is lured away by the excitement of a fling and looses the value of the marriage. Yes, there may have been deterioration in the relationship, but that too seems to me to often be part of treating something as "banter" that should have been protected and treasured..

I must say that as I have watched the interaction between religion and politics in my time, I sense that a depth of integrity and vitality has been traded in the banter for the lure of the mess of pottage of immediate power and influence. This is hardly the only example, but I have pondered how "evangelical Christians" let themselves be lured into becoming identified as a political voter block.