Mike’s Rumblings – 11-03-23

This is an audio version of Mike Murphy‘s Friday rumblings. This is a regular post on Facebook that I’ve turned into a podcast. I decided Mike’s words needed a wider audience. You may agree or disagree with what he says, but there is certainly much food for thought contained here. You can friend Mike on Facebook for the printed version or read it below.

Rumblings. 11.3.23 

1. “On the edge of war, one foot already in,

I no longer pray for peace:

I pray for miracles.

I pray that stone hearts will turn

to tenderheartedness,

and evil intentions will turn

to mercifulness,

and all the soldiers already deployed

will be snatched out of harm’s way,

and the whole world will be

astounded onto its knees.

I pray that all the “God talk”

will take bones,

and stand up and shed

its cloak of faithlessness,

and walk again in its powerful truth.

I pray that the whole world might

sit down together and share

its bread and its wine.

Some say there is no hope,

but then I’ve always applauded the holy fools

who never seem to give up on

the scandalousness of our faith:

that we are loved by God……

that we can truly love one another.

I no longer pray for peace:

I pray for miracles.” ~ Ann Weems

2.  “We worshiped Jesus instead of following him on his same path. We made Jesus into a mere religion instead of a journey towards union with God  and everything else. This shift made us into a religion of belonging and believing instead of a religion of transformation … 

Jesus’ primary metaphor for the mystery of transformation is the sign of Jonah … Jesus knew well the graphic story of Jonah the prophet who ran from God and was used by God almost in spite of himself. Jonah was swallowed by a whale and taken where he would rather not go. This was Jesus’ metaphor for death and rebirth…Rather than look for impressive apparitions or miracles, Jesus said we must go inside the whale’s belly for a while. Then and only then will we be spit out on a new shore and understand our call, our place, and our purpose…” ~ Richard Rohr

Metaphorically speaking, have you ever been inside the whale’s belly and spit out on a new shore? Some of you have. If so, my guess is that there was  a renewed clarity of your place in the order of things, and perhaps a better understanding of your sense of purpose. Transformation is an ongoing process. It’s like being born again, again and again and again. Wowser. It’s a game changer isn’t it? 

3. Daily Prayer of C.S. Lewis.

“May it be the real I who speaks.

May it be the real Thou that I speak to.” Amen.

4. “Yes, it can be done (Si, se puede)”was the rallying cry used by Cesar Chavez as he organized migrant farm workers.

Barack Obama riffed off it and made  “Yes, we can”  his campaign slogan.

Call me crazy but I still believe that ‘we can’. 

5. “At the end of the day, the problem is the human heart. It’s not guns. It’s not the weapons. At the end of the day, we have to protect the right of the citizens to protect themselves, and that’s the Second Amendment.”

— House Speaker Mike Johnson

After researching the new Speaker this doesn’t come as a surprise. When push comes to shove he’s a MAGA guy, just a slicker, more pious version of one.

My take is that as long as the Speaker and the rest of the MAGA legislators insist on bowing down to the gun lobby and remain adamant in their resolve to not allow common sense gun legislation (which would need to contain money for mental health initiatives) to come to a vote, our country will continue to experience heartache many times over. 

As long as increasing the bottom line of gun manufacturers stays the priority and as long as those in Congress get their campaign contributions, nothing will change. And the next time a mass murderer kills our citizens, MAGA members of the House, will on cue, offer thoughts and prayers for the broken-hearted families of the victims. 

Miroslav Volf  once said: “There is something deeply hypocritical about praying for a problem you are unwilling to resolve.” 

I’m tired of the hypocrisy. 

6. “Let ignorance reproduce itself until it is weary of its own offspring.”~ Kahlil Gibron

7. It’s the fundamentalists. The purists. The ones filled with stubborn certitude. They are the problem. Whether it’s fundamentalist Baptists, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Mennonites, Presbyterians, Democrats, Republicans, Mormans, or Rotarians, the results are the same. They see a divide and make it wider and deeper all the while saying “it’s our way or the highway.” 

I find fundamentalists of any stripe to be trying and close minded.  

Fundamentalism creates a climate that nurtures  anti-semitism. And our Jewish friends are rightlfully fearful for crimes against Jews are multiplying. 

Fundamentalism also breathes life into Islamophobia, encouraging the haters to keep doing their thing, no matter what the cost. Our Muslim neighbors are rightfully afraid.

It’s all very scary these days. Our task is to both stand with the oppressed and examine our own lives to see whether or not there’s an inner fundie in us that needs to be expelled. 

8. Popeye said: “That’s all I can stands – I can’t stands no more!” 

I’m not at that point but there are moments when I feel like I’m close. Perhaps that’s why this piece touched my heart. 

“God of the weary
receive my tiredness
God of the hungry
know my emptiness
God of those in danger
hold my fear
God of the silenced
hear my despair
God of the heavy laden
give me rest
God of the hopeful
fill me again with longing.” ~ Janet Morley

9. Do you remember that time in scripture when Jesus walked along the seashore and he pointed at three separate groups of people -lepers, widows, and refugees- and then told his disciples that in the Kingdom of God “such people are of no importance whatsoever?” 

And then do you remember when he was on that big honkin’ yacht cruising on the Sea of Galilee and he uttered those famous words: “This  is what life is really all about. Forget all that first shall be last and last will be first nonsense.” 

Remember? Neither do I. But I know a fair amount of people who are acting in ways that indicate they actually believe Jesus said things like this. 

Willful moments of stupidity help people justify all kinds of things that give them permission to trample on all that is good, just, and holy. It’s a strategy that does great damage to both the perpetrator and the victim.

10. A friend had been going through some difficult familial moments. She said: “I found a working peace” with it all and that has enabled me to move forward. 

Sometimes that’s the best we can get – a working peace. 

…

One of our pastors prayed this last Sunday in response to the killings in Maine.  I found it to be meaningful. She said: “Soften the memories of those who were witnesses.”

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