substandard sardines and Jesus

During my trip to Tanzania last year I had to build an impromptu roof rack for the clinic truck to carry all of nets back from Arusha. I purchased the lumber from a local guy on the side of the road...after some negotiating I bought eight feet of rough-cut 2x6 for $5 US. I needed some tie downs to keep the huge bundles on top. Peter, one of the drivers for the diocese wanted to use the traditional long strips of black rubber that Tanzanians used to tie down everything...I swear they would use it to tie a wing back on an air plane! But to be fair, it's local, it's cheap, and it's functional. "Driver" doesn't begin to describe what these guys are...they are expert drivers, know everyone everywhere, can find everything, fix everything, and put their lives on the line for you...but I was on a hunt for some came straps as the drive was a few hundred miles on dirt "roads"...

Arusha is the hub of all the tourist traffic heading off on safari so it has an odd mix of traditional and "modern"...we found this supermarket in town that was just insane! You could buy anything you wanted, at a pretty reasonable price...of course most folks in this huge place were mzungu (whites)...and every accent could be heard in each isle...


I found my straps in the automotive isle (having one of those was nuts enough)...and we poked around buying things we didn't need but were craving anyway...broccoli, coffee, candy...canned fish for the ride back...so this can caught my eye...

have you ever wondered where the world's supplies of substandard sardines ends up? It's a dirty little secret i guess you don't see on the "deadliest catch"..sure those fish suck, but hey, let's send them to Tanzania and make some money!...

I kinda think that's how most of us life out lives of mercy to the hurting world...we keep the best and send the substandard stuff along...how can i say this? It's so rare that new clothes make it through the sorting bins at a local mission agency where I volunteer with a bunch of guys that when a piece of tagged clothing comes through you'd think we found a hundred dollar bill...

sure, when disaster hits we all jump on, but what happens when the dust settles...
i guess it's a gut check for me...am i keeping all the best and sending along the crappy sardines? If we have been truly transformed by Jesus, we'll give away the best...just like God did.
When we peer into the manger, the cross, the empty tomb...and realize the once-for-all-deal that we have been given....you just can't keep the good fish to yourselves...

Jesus, assault weapons, and reconcilliaiton

...This past weekend as I was instituted as the Rector of my church (formally recognized is all that means, with many prayers and praises) the local paper was there with us. The headline the next day read "Rebel Priest Ordained". Other than the editorial glitch (I was already ordained) I'm really glad that they see me as a rebel because I am doing all in my power to be part of the revolution..

I was a revolutionary in college when i hung out with folks who were into Earth First and spiked trees. I've lost count on how many times I've marched on DC to protest policies, I've picketed outside the UN, and even the US Embassy in Pannama...we actually closed the Pan-American Highway... I picked coffee for the Sandinista's in 1987 during the Contra War and hung out with 13 year-old kids with AK47's and US Grenade Bandoleer. Yep, I bit of a Rebel...

And now they say I'm a Rebel because I love Jesus, think He is who He said He was, believe God is tired of Christians sitting in their pews watching all Hell break loose, and want to empower Christians to live lives of love that will set the world upside-down just like God asked us to.

And the revolution was a blast last week as i called the local churches together to pray for a broken country and send some aid as well. So a friend and I went to local business putting up fliers to call people to prayer...we stuck them on gas pumps, auto vacuums, coffee shops...grocers put them in their customers bags, stacks were taken to be handed out...

and as I was out I bought some gas cards for some folks and there was a lady there with a sticker on her car that read "the more people i meet, the more i like my dog"...after a week of hearing people talking so much crap about such a tragic event i wanted to show her at least one person who might be acceptable so I turned back, bought an additional $25 card and gave it to her.

"no, no, no" she said "you don't have to do that"..."yeah I do"...handed it to her and left...

so let the revolution continue...and for God's sake, get out of your pew....see most people think God is as big as a jerk as many people who claim to be His followers....Gandhi was asked once why he wasn't a Christian and his reply was "because of Christians"....so let's try to bring reconciliation to the broken, and show people the revolution on God's terms, not ours
b

New Year Resolutions and Jesus....they don't mix

So it's been awhile since I had a chance to breath and type a bit but life hasn't stopped, nor our work...I've just been remiss. I really want to be more diligent about blogging this year. No, this is not a New Year's Resolution! As a matter of fact I can't stand them and I starting to think that Jesus thinks there nuts too!

The history behind them as most will attest to a time when people would return debts and start fresh. Before the New Year date was aligned with our calendar the day fell on the Spring Solstice, which makes a whole lot more sense, yeah? I used to celebrate the New Year by either spending the day surfing on the East End of Long Island in Monatuak in as many wetsuits as I owned or rock climbing in New Paltz, NY freezing parts of my body off but proving a point!
But what makes New Year's and the accompanying resolutions really "un-Jesus"?

1. We're called to live lives self-examination daily, not once a year
2. The top 10 list is self-centered. Most include loosing weight, not smoking etc...good things to do, but all about "me"
3. They fix the results of the root problem, not the root

So here's the deal...this year I resolve, by God's grace and power, to ask myself daily why i do what i do and what or who and i living for. i will seek to live my life for the sake of others and when my life drops out of balance i will look for the cause

It's not a "what would Jesus do" thing...it's a "do I look like Jesus" and if not ask Him to help me...

so the shot at the top of this post is of my friends in Tura, Tanzania....I'm gonna try and live for them this year
b