Uno

Rosa Parks died the night before last. I think that what makes her so great in our minds is that she proves that one person can make a difference. One small person's seemingly small act can have great and lasting effects. I think she is great in our hearts because of her unique combination of gentleness and boldness.

Causing change, righting wrongs, speaking against injustice and making the world a better place does not have to be left up to politicians and preachers. Each individual can change the world in which she finds herself. If you want to be free, then be free. If you want to be loved, love. If you want the hurting to be helped, help the hurting.

Bono's face is on the cover of Rolling Stone. Even if you've never heard a U2 song, you might have heard of how this guy with sunglasses and stringy hair is trying to rid Africa of AIDS. He preaches to preachers about real love.

I used to go to Deep Ellum on Friday nights. A group of us trying to save Dallas one soul at a time. We formed an interesting relationship with the homeless people as a whole. In many ways we were similar. Out there with an agenda, if only we could get people to stop and listen to our story. But they wanted to get something from the people. We wanted to give something to the people. So we gave to them, they got from us. Sort of a codependant relationship. They got food, clothing, occasionaly money, and to be treated with a bit of dignity. We got to feel like we were helping out, we were appreciated, we got to pray with them. Many of us had our eyes opened to some the real world that is out there.

When that group becomes individuals what do we do? Are we still looking to give? Do I believe that I can make a difference? Do I have to wait for a leader to step up and show me where to go? Do I really love people?

I complain in my mind about the dumb customers at work. But when Messiah spoke about the least of these did he mean everybody? If I think evil about a person am I thinking evil about their creator? Find the Imago Dei in each person. There's always something to love.

Love for self flows into love for people like you into love for people other than you into love for those against you into love for those you are against into love for people you don't know into love for the God you can't see.

Lifehouse

I bought the new Lifehouse CD today, and I like it. Just thought I'd let y'all know.

This Sabbath I'm going to start teaching beggining Hebrew to people in the congregation.

Return

So we went to the Jewish synagogue on sabbath. It was close to what I expected. We entered the "foyer" and were directed to put on kippas (the little circular head coverings). before we entered the main room, I noticed the cabinets over to the side. One door was open revealing books. We went over and each got a siddur (book of prayers) and a chumash (first five books of the bible with commentary in hebrew and english). An older gentleman, whom we later learned was named Paul, came over to help us out. I knew where they would be reading in the chumash, but I asked him where we would be reading in the siddur. He eplained that they had a stand displaying the page numbers on the stage.

There were only a handful of people there at first. But slowly the room filled up. The moment the tenth man got there they finished up the prayer they were on and then said the mourners kaddish. I recognized the prayer, but couldn't find it in the book. Paul explained that they waited for the tenth person and then inserted it when he arrived. Paul sat near us and helped us out explaining various things throughout the service.

I knew what was going on most of the time because their service was similar to my dad's messianic congregation in Colorado. I was able to follow along with the Hebrew when they slowed down and everybody sang together. But for the majority of the prayers everybody prayed through at their own pace with the leader occasionally saying a line loudly so that everybody would know where he was.

They read from the torah scroll. That part was very much like at my dad's congregation except these guys were way faster and read through the whole torah portion. At dad's congregation they only read 21 to 40 or so verses.

Then a rabbi preached a sermon. Because they are in the period before Yom Kippur he preached about shuva (repentance). One part stuck out to me. Repentance means to return. When we repent we are returning to our origin which is good. This is totally opposite of the Catholic-Baptist theology that man is totally evil, or the general Christian idea that man starts out bad. But we are created in God's image. That is good. We start out good. Yesterday at work I was thinking about babies and kids (there's a lot of them with their moms at the grocery store) and I think it is true that our origin is goodness, the image of God in us, but as we go through life we mar that image and become more evil.

So on and so forth. What do y'all think?

Here we go

Not much exciting has happened with me. I've been working and haven't had much of a chance to blog.

Tommorrow, Ben and I are going to a Jewish synagogue. Ben has to go to a non-Christian monotheistic service for a class at Dallas Theomological Seminary. I'm just going along with him.