Vasquez Rocks

The day after Thanksgiving found my family and my sister's family climbing around at Vasquez Rocks. Does it look familiar? You've probably seen this place before even if you've never been here, as numerous movies and TV shows have been filmed here. Often it is used to portray another planet (as in Star Trek), and there are many camera angles that do not include green foliage as in my photo above, giving the rocks a desolate, other-worldly appearance.  (Look closely, and you can see someone standing near the top of the rock formation.)

Thinking About Christmas

A few weeks ago, I started to write a post about how I have decided to let Santa bring my family a new TV for Christmas this year.  But before I say any more, here's an assignment:  Grab a pencil or pen (go on), and write down a list of your ten favorite things.  And by ten favorite things, I mean, if you were moving to a new city and were only allowed to take ten things with you, what would you take?  What ten things that you own would you not be able to live without?

OK, put that list aside for a moment.  Grab a new sheet of paper, and describe the one or two or three happiest places you've ever been; places where your soul was at rest, where you felt free and alive and peaceful.

Now take both lists and put them side by side.  How many of the things on your first list did you have when you were in the places you listed on your 2nd list?  How many of those things are what made those places so special to you?  Was it those things that put your soul at rest, that made you feel free and alive and peaceful?

Now, about that TV...

There's just, oh, one or two of fifteen problems.  One, Christmas is still three and a half months away.  Well, it was when I first started writing this.  Now it's only two and a half months away.  A month ago, I was finding it hard to wait for a new TV, because I saw all those beautiful, large screen TVs in the stores, and I wanted one NOW.
After all, compared to our giant box of a TV with its cathode-ray tubes and un-sharp picture and off-color images and permanently-on captioning (the color and the captioning the result of having broken the remote which is the only way to adjust such things), the wall of new TVs at the Big Store down the street sure do look cool.  "Let's go get our TV!" My wife said to me.  "Yeah, but then what will Santa bring us?" 

"Oh yeah."

I went to the public library the other day, intending to return a giant monster of a novel that took me all summer to read.  (I mean that literally.  I renewed it once, then tried to renew it again but was told someone else had placed a hold on it.  So I turned it in and immediately placed a hold on it myself, so that I could get it back and finish it.)  I didn't intend to check any new books out, but on the shelf I saw "The 100-thing Challenge." 

Perhaps it goes without saying, but it's about a man who decided to live a whole year with only 100 "things" in his possession.

Reading the book reminded me of the lists I've made for myself, the same lists I assigned you at the beginning of this essay.  And I remembered then that none of my "happy places" made my list #2 because of anything that was on my list #1.

Not even a fancy TV or any other electronic device.

In fact, at the top of the list of happy places is a cabin with a bare plywood floor and a canvas roof - more of a tent, really than a cabin - where I spent several summers while counseling summer camp back when I was in college.  Everything I had with me while I lived in that tent-cabin came with me in a duffel bag. 

In the month since I first started writing this, it has dawned on me that we don't really watch TV all that much.  At this moment, I can't even remember the last show I watched on the TV.  I think it was some DVD movie from Netflix that none of us remembers requesting and which was incredibly boring, despite having some big name actors in it.  (Incidentally, it is also the last DVD movie we'll be watching from Netflix, since we, like so many others, have cancelled that service.)

I mentioned this to my wife.  Together, we then decided that Santa could bring us something else for Christmas, something that isn't really a "thing," but more of an event, an activity that our family can do together.  Santa has already paid for this, in fact, and it's just waiting for Christmas day.  And, unlike the TV, this gift might actually make our family happy.

Be Nice

I watched the evening news the other night.  This is not something I normally do, but it's election season, and I wanted to see what everyone has been talking about.  that included the ads, which I had been mostly spared from.

Well.  The news had the usual election coverage.  One story in particular focused on negative ads, and highlighted California's governor and senate races.  The story played clips of some of the ads, but since I happen to live in California, I got to see the same ads in their entirety when the news broke for commercials.

My, what a bunch of name-calling!  Defaming your opponents character seems to be the primary qualification to run for office these days.

The news program returned, and described a scufle among supporters that took place outside a building where two candidates were debating.  One supporter -- a member of one of the candidate's campaign team, I believe -- actually stomped on the head of one of the other candidate's supporters.

Another commercial break.  More name-calling, put-downs, and downright nastiness.

Back to the news program, for the final story of the broadcast.  It described the findings of a new study which showed that a surprisingly high number of our nation's youth have bullied others or have been the victims of bullying.

Gee, I wonder where they learned how to behave like that....

---

Be nice.  It sounds so trite, so hackneyes, to say that.  English teachers tell their students to avoid using the word "nice."  They say that it's so overused and non-specific that it doesn't mean anything.

OK.  Here are some alternative ways to say it:  Be curteous.  Be friendly.  Be civil.  Be respectful.

Those of us in the church might even say:  Be loving.  Be a good neighbor.

Why?  Because our bullying and rudeness are killing people.  Teen suicides in the news have been described as the result of bullying.  (Many of these suicides were committed by youth who were gay or perceived to be gay.)  And weren't many of those who have carried out school shootings, like the one at Columbine High School, picked on and made to feel as outcasts?

I say it again:  be nice.

Positive Energy

I had to do it.  I had to "hide" you on my facebook page.  You're still my "friend," both on facebook and in real life.  After all, we've known each other almost twenty years, and some of the conversations we've had have helped shape the way I think. 

So my decision to "hide" you was made reluctantly.  However, it was a decision I had to make.  By "hiding" you, I no longer have to see your frequent updates, which consistently spread negative energy.  I no longer have to read about (for example) the annoying children you saw at the restaurant, or the rude person who rang up your groceries, or the flight that was delayed only because the airline was intent on ruining your life.

Everyone has a bad day now and then, but I wonder:  do you ever meet children who aren't annoying?  Do you ever have a friendly conversation in the checkout line?  Do you ever give thanks to God that your flight was on time, or even for the fact that a many-ton aircraft full of people is able to get off the ground at all, and arrive safely at its destination?

Don't get me wrong; I do understand that life can be stressful.  However, that just means that it's all that much more important to seek out positive energy, to pay attention to the blessings of life, and to tune out, as much as possible, the negative energy.  This is why I turn off the TV news.  This is why I avoid movies with violence or lots of yelling.  This is why I walk or ride my bike to work along tree-lined streets, rather than commute by freeway.  Freeways are full of negative energy, especially in southern California during rush hour.

As you know, I am a preacher.  I've preached nearly every Sunday for the past thirteen years.  I'm still figuring out what kind of preacher I want to be.  I'm still trying to decide what my "preaching style" is.

One thing I do know, though, is that I want my preaching to be filled with positive energy.  Yes, the gospel calls me to point out the injustice in the world, but there is always good news to share.  Sometimes it's the good news that God shares in the suffering of the people.  Sometimes it's the good news that, as people of faith, we are called to work for justice and an end to suffering.  But always, there is good news.

Mother Teresa once said that she would never attend an anti-war rally, but that if you were to have a peace rally, be sure to invite her.  That's the kind of message I need to hear.  That's the type of positive energy I need more of, if I am to avoid becoming a bitter man.  So please forgive me for "hiding" your updates on my facebook page.

In the meantime (and I say this with all sincerity):  Have a nice day.

Not Playing the Game

This week, another season of Survivor came to a close.  At least, that's what I heard; I've not seen an episode of Survivor in many years.  Early on in the series, I did watch the show, for two or maybe three seasons; but after that, I lost interest.

Survivor is, of course, a game show, in which contestants vote one another off the island (or wherever they're located) as they compete to be the last one standing:  the sole survivor.  Each season, there is some variation: the challenges are different, the teams are mixed up, etc., but for the most part, the game remains the same.

I guess I got tired of the game.

I remember that, when Survivor premiered, it was seen by some as representing life in general:  it's a dog-eat-dog, survival-of-the-fittest world, in which everyone struggles to climb to the top and be the sole Survivor.

I'm tired of that game, too.

This week, I wondered what would happen if, on one Survivor episode, the contestants refused to play the game.  What if one of the contestants did everything he or she could to help one of the other contestants win?  What if each contestant agreed to vote for themselves at tribal council?  I do seem to remember something about a rule prohibiting that, so what if, from day one, the players planned their votes so that, when the votes were counted, every person had one vote?  If they continued that practice, then by a team's fifth tribal council, every contestant would have received five votes total over the course of the season: an unbreakable tie.  What if the contestants stuck to this strategy, no matter how many re-votes took place?

Having not watched the show in some time, I don't know if a situation like this has ever happened.  If it has, then my guess is that the producers figured out a way to overcome it, a way to force the contestants to continue playing the game the way it is supposed to be played.

I wonder, though:  in the game of life, who is forcing me to play?  If I refuse to play, what will happen?

Last weekend I took my sons to see the movie How to Train Your Dragon.  The main character - a boy named Hiccup - lives in a Viking village where the "game" is fighting and killing the dragons who ravage the village and steal livestock.  This "game" is the game.  It defines all of life.  It defines who the people are.  The people of the village can't even imagine living by any other rules.

Except Hiccup.  He discovers, by chance, that there is a life outside this game.  This is something that no one else could possibly understand, since the rules of the game are the only rules they know how to live by.  So Hiccup keeps his discovery a secret.  He doesn't see how he can open the eyes of the villagers to the truth he has found, that there is a life outside the game, a life that is more liberating in so many ways than he could have imagined, a life of understanding and peace.  He wants to share this with the people of his village, but he doesn't know how; so he keeps it secret.

The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that "not playing the game" is a metaphor for living in the kingdom of God.  I won't say any more about that now.  But I invite you to re-read the parables of Jesus, and see if you don't agree.

Pictures from CBS & Dreamworks. 
If you've seen the movie, does it seem that there's a mistake in the image of Hiccup & Toothless? 
See if you can see what I see...