So what do you think makes for a good leader?

A good friend once shared with me her experience as one of the first women ordained as a presbyter/priest in the Episcopal Church. At a reception for new clergy following their Diocesan Convention, she was asked by one of her male colleagues, “Do you feel your being a woman in any way compromises your ability to be a priest (to “hold such an office”)? Jeanette said she then paused and considered what it is a “priest” in our church typically does: “First they send out as many invitations as they can, inviting local families and friends to join a big dinner party. Then they put on their best dress. Then they set the table, make sure there's enough food for everyone. Sometimes they give comfort or a special blessing to children, the elderly, or others in need. Then they thank God, and everyone else, for coming, and make sure they take some of the leftovers home, or make up a care package for anyone who couldn't make it to the party, and who may still be hungry.”

After sharing this with her male colleague, Jeanette then asked him “Is there anything about doing what a priest does that you feel compromises your masculinity?” Thank you, Jeanette.

Now, in light of her deft reply, I will also try to follow her good lead:

Since the comments of Rudy Guliani and Sarah Palin at the Republican Convention, many are asking, what does a community organizer have to do with any real sense of responsibility for the common good, or for being able to get things done? Isn't being a Mayor, Governor, or CEO of a business really ACHIEVING something?

After hearing all the speeches, I thought about Jesus: you know, the guy everyone--especially those who make such arguments--claims to be following with such great devotion. What did he do? He gathered together, preached, and taught a lot of people in the streets, in local congregations, by the seaside, and on mountains and hillsides, but not in the corridors of power or the precincts of the temple, where he seemed to be quite unwelcome. His followers came to call this method "Evangelian", a Greek word which was normally used in those days to describe what was done by a traveling, political "town crier": announcing to the people that a new policy, a new politics, or a new ruler was in power, or was soon coming to town (most of our English Bibles simply call this "Evangelism" or "Good News". But the Greek term has very important linguistic, social, and political antecedents, and meaning. ).

Jesus always made sure everyone had enough to eat, to share what they had, and to put audacious hope in the ultimate justice of the Reign/Kingdom of God, long before they had the right to vote. He taught his disciples to organize those who attended his gatherings and feedings into groups (“of fifties", according to Mk. and Matt.) and to sit down on the grass before he made sure they were fed. He sent his disciples out, two by two, to heal, preach, and teach that "the kingdom of God is at hand", and always had a collaborative review session with them when they returned—to see how well this “Good News” was spreading. He listened, very carefully, to those who were labeled as "sinners" and outcasts. He also listened to those who were suffering--individually and collectively. He responded to their immediate needs for healing, for food, clothing, and a sense of belonging, and not to their political ideology, their party or religious affiliation, their ability to make a contribution to his campaign, or even their ability to "get out the vote", fill out a pledge card, or "fill up the pews". He spoke to them of vision and hope in a new order which was already breaking in upon them, and also upon the powers that be. This "Kingdom of God" was not about the politics of the status quo, or existing office, but was something much more deeply personal and spiritual, yet also cosmic and political. It was, in fact, truly revolutionary. He was never ordained a rabbi, elected mayor or governor, or even widely accepted in his lifetime as Israel's "Messiah”, yet Pilate himself called him “King of the Jews”. He and his disciples seemed to live hand-to-mouth, sometimes on the largess of others who wished to donate to their cause, and they seemed to have a good deal of trouble with their treasurer, Judas, who was known for using their donations for his own "pork barrel" spending, and even for taking bribes. Jesus never held any public office, either in government or in his religious denomination or faith tradition. When his disciples considered who among them might be most fit for such “election” he told them “the greatest among you must be the servant of all”. Instead of seizing office, or power, as “Messiah” or “King of the Jews”, He preferred to serve, heal, preach, teach, empower, and organize until his Father's Kingdom truly came, fully, upon the earth. And, remarkably, He continues to do so, through God's own Spirit, even today!

None of Jesus's followers, or virtually any member of the first 3 centuries of Christianity, held, or even sought, public office. In fact, although they tried to remain on good terms with the powers that be, they were often persecuted, banned, castigated, tortured, or executed--not for simply "doing good", but for proclaiming and living out the reality of a "kingdom" which was radically different than that of the existing order of the rich, the socially connected, and politically or religiously powerful, that it seemed to be a real threat.

As I reflect on the kind of leadership qualities that characterized this man and his "movement" of rag-tag fishermen, tax-collectors, prostitutes, and revolutionary Zealots, I've wondered myself, what kind of responsibility is that, compared to being Mayor of a small town, Governor, Senator, or even President of the United States? How does what Jesus, and his followers did compare, instead, to the work of a community organizer? --to what we have witnessed of people like Dorothy Day, Fred Shuttlesworth, Cesar Chavez, Fred Ross, Saul Alinsky, SCLC, ACORN, PICO, or our own ACT—Sacramento's Area Congregations Together, and our own local organizer, Alicia Ross?

Suddenly, the choice doesn't seem as obvious. Our conventional ways of judging who is a "true leader" seem incomplete: our criteria for judgement are not as easy as what any politics--left, right, or centrist--may lead us to think. Rather than judging anyone's sincerely held beliefs or performance in service to their community, their country, their people, or their God, it seems better to leave this for all of us to reflect prayerfully upon, to cast our vote as conscience, wisdom, and God's Spirit may lead, and, finally, for the voters to decide.

Memorial Day: "Do this, in remembrance of me."

As I finished dinner Sunday night, I tuned in late to "60 Minutes" just in time to hear the comments of Andy Rooney on the importance of continuing to remember American soldiers who died in wartime, and on a future Memorial Day worth celebrating. Some of Andy's words follow here (see the "60 minutes" CBS website for a video of his complete comments):

...the men--boys really--who died in our wars really deserve at least a few moments of reflection, during which we consider what they did for us: they died. We use the phrase "gave their lives", but they didn't give their lives, their lives were taken from them. There is more bravery at war than in peace and it seems wrong that we have so often saved this virtue to use for our least noble activity, war. The goal of war is to cause death to other people.
Because I was in the army during WWII, I have more to remember on Memorial Day than most of you. I had good friends who were killed.(Here Andy remembers three close friends who died in WWII, where he served in the Army). I won't think of them any more on Memorial Day (however) than I think of them on any other day of my life....
...I wish we could dedicate Memorial Day (itself) not to the memory of those who died at war, but to the idea of saving the lives of the young people who are going to die in the future, if we don't find some new way--some new religion, maybe, that takes war out of our lives. That would be a Memorial Day worth celebrating.
--Andy Rooney, "60 Minutes" May 25, 2008.

Fortunately, for Andy and the rest of us, we already have this "new way". Walter Wink, a New Testament theologian calls it "Gospel Nonviolence: Jesus's Third Way+. Gospel nonviolence is not only the way of Jesus himself, but a way he taught all of his disciples both during his life (the “way of the cross”) and in his own resurrection: ("Put your fingers in the prints of my hands, put your hand in my side. Do not be afraid, but believe”, he said to Thomas. “Then he breathed upon them, saying: 'Peace be with you.")
It is also the way which was recognized, taught, and practiced by all of the Apostles and most of the Early Church: what we now call "the Apostle's teaching and fellowship". This was a fellowship, a growing community of believers in the crucified and Risen Christ. The bible itself first calls them followers of “the way”: a way which included the nonviolence and peace of Jesus Christ as central to their own faith, teaching, and public witness: even to the point of martyrdom by stoning before the Jewish high court, the Sanhedrin (as with St. Stephen), and, later, in the Roman Coliseum (with the later martyrs). It is the teaching and fellowship of these Early Apostles which I pledge to follow every time we Episcopalians, among those Christians who hold to the “Apostolic succession”, recite at our oath of baptism. This oath also includes this pledge: "Will you strive for justice and peace, and respect the dignity of every human being?" "I will, with God's help".
Especially with God's help, then, we don't need a "new religion". We just need to follow faithfully, by God's amazing Grace, the religion we already proclaim to practice and uphold. Neither do we need a "new way", for "the way the truth and the life" of fidelity to God, and to true peace, has already been manifest in Jesus--a life lived not just for Christians, but for all people of every faith, culture, or creed. And, if that weren't enough upon which to base a new, "Third Way" (a way beyond fear or acquiescence on the one hand, and force of arms on the other), we have a cloud of countless witnesses to the way of peace through nonviolence: Isaiah of Jerusalem, A.J. Heschel, members of the Israeli peace movement and former military who have refused to defend by force the unjust occupation of Palestinian land, and countless members of the Jewish Peace Fellowship; Badshah Khan, countless Sufi Mystics and martyrs, and current members of the Muslim Peace Fellowship; St. Francis, St. Clare, the Quakers, Anabaptists, Mennonites, and Bretheren; David Oakerhater, Bp. Paul Jones, Evelyn Underhill, Martin Luther King, Jr., Cesar Chavez, Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton, Dan and Philip Berrigan, and countless other Christians; Mohandes Gandhi and the thousands of Hindu, Sikh, and Muslim Satyagrahis who liberated India from British rule without firing a single shot. Members of the Danish resistance: a widespread public movement of Danes who resisted, nonviolently, their Nazi occupiers, and managed to rescue thousands of Jews from deportation to death camps. Members of the White Rose, a brave group of young students who openly called upon their German brethren to resist and refuse allegiance to Hitler's warmaking. Historic and contemporary adherents to the Buddhist faith, including, today, Tich Nhat Hanh, who prayed, served, and stood against the terrible tides of war in both North and South Vietnam, and was nominated by Dr. King himself for a Nobel Prize, and the Dalai Lama, whose story is by now familiar to all.

All these persons, and many more, have witnessed to the way of peace, the way of nonviolence, the way wherein all outward warfare may, and--one day--truly will cease. We only have need to follow, more faithfully, in "the way" which Jesus, and these many witnesses, have already pioneered. The task is just that simple--exceedingly simple. And also just that difficult--enormously difficult. With God's help, however, all things are not only possible but, in Christ, the Victory over violence and war has already been won. We only have to bear witness to, and embody, His victory more fully on earth, as it already is—most gloriously--in heaven.
Perhaps we can start with our remembering Jesus himself (as we do regularly in the Comunion Service, the Eucharist: "in remembrance of me") on this Memorial Day. Perhaps we can also remember those who also gave their lives, or "laid down their lives for their friends" not only by carrying, bearing, or brandishing the sword, but also by putting up the sword (as Jesus told Peter), and nevertheless stood against the tide of war, the threats to civilians, or the absurd claims of unjust war by the leaders of our nation, and, indeed, many other nations. Perhaps if we remember them, along with Jesus himself, we might be moved to further consider, and even practice more deeply what Andy Rooney calls a "new way, some new religion...that takes war out of our lives."
Quaker founder, George Fox, put it this way, as he himself faced ostracism, persecution, belittlement, and banning from many Anglican and English churches of his day: "I went forth into the world seeking that of God in every human being; seeking the way that puts an end to all outward forms of warring."
This "new way" has, indeed, been with us at least since Jesus and the Early Apostles and, perhaps (according to Gandhi) for many millennia before them, at least in Vedic (Indian) tradition. It is a way which our own church, our society, and our world must long, like Andy Rooney, to embrace more fully, if we simply "have ears to hear". Given a new generation of Californians, many of whom have not been raised knowing much of the bible or the Christian faith, yet who, like Andy Rooney, are weary of war, the "harvest is plentiful" for the Good News of Jesus Christ, and his "new way" of the nonviolent cross: a "war which makes all for peace", in the words of an American Indian warrior-turned-saint (and Episcopal Deacon), David Pendleton Oakerhater.
I invite all of us at Trinity Cathedral to include nonviolence-- this important dimension of Jesus's own "Good News"-- in our preaching, teaching, learning, and daily practice as followers of the Prince of Peace. I invite us to include justice, peace, reconciliation, conflict resolution, mediation, and dialog with those we love, with those with whom we may disagree, and even with those we may consider “enemies”: in ALL aspects of our lives. And I offer myself, as a hospice chaplain, as one struggling to be a faithful peacemaker, and as a member of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship, and the (Interfaith) Fellowship of Reconciliation, to further contribute in this effort.
May we all this weekend remember those in the military who served and died in our nation's many wars (at least since the Civil War, when the first Memorial Day began), and find comfort in God's promise of eternal life for all: be they saints, sinners, or (like most of us) somewhere in between. May we also remember those who also gave their lives for peace, for justice, for nonviolence: to end slavery, to harbor and rescue slaves, Jews, refugees, and victims, to resist the Nazis, to ban the bomb, to stop an unjust war, and needless loss of both American and "enemy" lives, and for the Gospel of Jesus Christ: all those who believed it better and more faithful, at least for themselves, to do so without bearing arms. Those who, instead, both foolishly and faithfully, risked their lives to, instead, to brave the Cross.
And may we remember more clearly the person, the way, the truth, and the life of Jesus Christ and his nonviolent way of the Cross: the "new religion (actually, a restatement of a very old religion) that takes war out of our lives." May you, and Andy Rooney, truly have a Memorial Day worth celebrating.

+ For Wink, Jesus's “Third Way” involves his teachings in the Sermon on the Mount, Luke's “beatitudes”, and his teaching and references to bearing the Cross among his disciples: a way beyond fear or acquiescence on the one hand, and force of arms to secure God's Kingdom on the other. For those of us who saw the film “Gandhi”, or are familiar with the teaching and witness of Dr. King or the Dalai Lama, this “Third Way” may be more familiar). I am hoping to include Walter Wink's short but very powerful and insightful commentary on Jesus in a workshop and class at Trinity Cathedral this Fall. Keep your “eye on the Cross” (our newsletter), for further information, and call or Email me with your own questions, comments, or proposed topics for our discussion, reflection, and faithful practice. I would especially welcome anyone who has personally or professionally practiced nonviolence, conflict resolution, therapeutic treatment of persons with PTSD, reconciliation of estranged partners or adversaries, or participated in the peace, civil rights, or environmental “movements”. I also welcome anyone who has served our country in wartime: either as a soldier, a medic, a chaplain, a U.S. or U.N. Peacekeeper, or as a conscientious objector offering alternative service to those in need in our own country, or abroad.

"You are the Rainbow People of God!"--Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Welcome to my "blog"--a place for personal and community reflection on justice, peace, reconciliation, and healing: in light of the faith, hope, truth, and love which sustains us, and every creature under heaven. I have a few words to share, and much to learn. Your comments are always welcome. Stay tuned, & keep the faith. Peace+ Grant