HOMEPAGE MY PROFILE ESSAY ARCHIVE MESSAGE BOARDS CALENDAR
"Mezuzah the $#!t Out of It"
Rev. David M. Felten
I’m often inspired by the spiritual practices and traditions of faiths other than my own. Many of them come in handy as suggestions I can make to members of my congregation. With the exasperation many are feeling over our current political reality, I’ve had my mind on practices that could potentially help people push back the darkness and ground themselves in simple, life-affirming actions.
To that end, I bring your attention to the small wooden, metal, stone, or ceramic decoration nailed on the doorpost of many Jewish homes. Rolled up inside is a small piece of parchment on which is written several passages from Deuteronomy called the Shema, one of the definitive statements of Jewish identity. In Hebrew, Shema literally means, “hear!” or “Listen up!” and states: “Hear, O Israel: the LORD (is) our God, the LORD is one” and “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.” Together, the decorative case and the parchment are called a “mezuzah” (“doorpost” in Hebrew). On passing through a doorway with a mezuzah, observant Jews will touch the mezuzah – some to remind themselves of the passages on the parchment, some to remind themselves of their Jewish identity, and some simply out of habit.
The ideal is expressed by the Jewish teacher Maimonides, who wrote: “By the commandment of the mezuzah, one is reminded, when entering or departing, of God’s Unity – and is stirred into love for God. One is awakened from their slumber and from vain and worldly thoughts… This brings one back to oneself and leads us on the right path.”
So, even as simple a task as coming into or going out of the house becomes an opportunity to remind oneself of the presence of the divine and the many blessings in one’s life. That may sound a bit strange to some – until you consider the habit among Christians of “crossing themselves.” Same idea. As Tertullian wrote, “Whatever we find ourselves doing, we mark ourselves with the sign of the cross.”
In that way, both Judaism and Christianity are “sign languages,” using simple common actions or elements to remind us of something “more.” For both Jews and Christians, wine, bread, water are all common elements that, through communal use for thousands of years, have been infused with symbolism.
But why be limited to the old stand-bys? The sacred is everywhere for us to see and experience. The challenge is to pay attention enough to recognize common circumstances and events as steeped in the “more.”
Back before the first temple was built, the Jews carried the ark of the covenant with them and set up a tent-like tabernacle in which to place it whenever they stopped along the way. Eventually, the ark was placed in the holy of holies in the Jerusalem temple and people started to think that it was only there, at the temple, where they could get close to or experience the divine. When the Babylonians destroyed the first temple, one of the greatest fears was that the ark – and therefore God – would be captured. But no one ever found it (until, of course, Indiana Jones. A lot of good that did!).
Our culture has fallen into the same trap. It used to be that people associated the church with a kind of residence of the Spirit, but no more (and it wasn’t the Babylonians fault this time). Clergy were just being honest: “No, God isn’t keeping track of how many times you show up in church.” “Really? You mean I can make my hiking trip into a spiritual experience? Great!” And so for more and more folks, church just isn’t a thing – no guilt attached. The growing demographics of “Spiritual but not Religious” and what Jack Spong calls “Church Alumni/ae” have found that they simply don’t need church to experience the Divine.
So, in the highly mobile, digitized, and de-churched society in which we live, is there still even an interest in “sacramentalizing” our every day, everywhere lives?
It’s not news to say that people are feeling stressed by the rubble of our political process and all the ugly rhetoric everywhere we look. Some of us are feeling mystified, some despondent, and others wonder (sometimes with good reason) if we’re going to survive. What to do?
I think 2015’s movie, The Martian may have a suggestion. Matt Damon plays the role of marooned astronaut Mark Watney, stuck on Mars. He looks around at his slim resources and his need to survive until a rescue party arrives and says, “In the face of overwhelming odds, I’m left with only one option: I’m going to have to science the shit out of this.”
So let me suggest that as WE look around at what seems like slim resources and our desire to survive, we would do well to say, “In the face of overwhelming odds, we’re left with only one option: we’re going to have to mezuzah the shit out of this.”
Mezuzah?! Seriously? What does an obscure Jewish tradition of adorning doorposts have to do with anything? Don’t go getting all literal on me here. Mezuzahs are reminders – and there are all kinds of ways we can be reminded to reclaim the good, the meaningful, and the important in our lives.
Author and theologian Leonard Sweet suggests a number of specific and practical ways to mezuzah our everyday lives:
1. Mezuzah your artifacts.
In the movie, Princess Ka’iulani, the young heir to the throne of Hawai’i is taken away to boarding school in England. There she’s shown pouring out a collection of seashells from a velvet bag and examining each one. When asked why, she tells her companion that they’re “Ola shells. Ola means ‘life’ in Hawai’ian. She tells her companion, “You collect them, then attach memories to each one so you don’t ever forget. This one’s for a day I spent at the ocean with my mother and Aunt Lydia. This one’s when my mother died.” “And the other shells?” her friend asks. “They don’t have memories yet – they’re the future.”
We can mezuzah all kinds of artifacts in our lives – transforming them from trinkets to Ola, to life. When you’re vacuuming the rug you inherited from your grandmother or opening a book that has notes in the margins from a mentor – take a moment to be grateful for the influence of those people in your life.
2. Mezuzah your calendar.
Begin each day with an acknowledgement of the day’s possibilities. Whether it’s the “Good Morning, God” of a more conventional Christian or the “Good God, it’s morning,” of the more jaded among us, do something. Just take a moment to consider one thing, one person, one situation in your life with gratitude.
And what about mealtime grace? Polls say that the number of people who say grace before meals has actually increased over the last 50 years (I actually think the number of people who lie about saying grace has increased over the last 50 years). Either way, to eat is to kill. Carnivore or vegan, eating entails taking life. Why not take a moment to be grateful for the particular energy-source that makes your life possible.
You can mezuzah every aspect of your calendar. G.K. Chesterton wrote,
You say grace before meals, All right,
But I say grace before the play and opera,
And grace before the concert or pantomine,
And grace before I open a book,
And grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing;
And grace before I dip the pen in the ink
3. Mezuzah your transitions:
Think birthdays. How about making a list of questions you try to answer every year on your birthday – or on New Year’s (instead of those pesky resolutions). Write your responses down in your journal for review in the coming years:
1. What was one of the funniest things that happened to you all year?
2. What was one of the scariest?
3. To whom did you grow closer? From whom did you drift?
4. What’s the most important thing you learned this year?
4. Mezuzah your community
Every year, the Islamic Speaker’s Bureau of Arizona sponsors an awards banquet. In 2016, we were honored to hear from keynote speaker Usama Canon, founder of the Ta’leef Collective. Canon talked about the benefit of creating micro-communities of understanding and respect among people of differing faiths, ideas, and backgrounds. What is that if not mezuzah-ing our community? It may seem like a small thing, but if there are enough of us building these micro communities, mezuzah-ing our relationships, we can turn the tide of the increasingly ugly reality of the macro community, our culture at large.
Sweet suggests that we can mezuzah our relationships, mezuzah strangers, even mezuzah (*gulp*) meetings. When we mezuzah our daily lives, we’re unleashing an appreciation for the smallest, sometimes overlooked moments, artifacts, or relationships. We’re intentionally embedding daily life with meaning beyond the superficial, hum-drum routine in which so many of us find ourselves. We intentionally infuse our world with an awareness that doesn’t leave room for the fear, anxiety, and ugliness to get a foothold. Reclaim the good. Acknowledge the meaningful. Take note of what’s truly important.
So listen up! Shema! Make room for the Divine in your life. Acknowledge it with your whole heart: love the Mystery that is in you, around you, and the source of all that is.
About twenty years ago, I had the chance to go on retreat in Albuquerque with Fr. Richard Rohr. I was the only Methodist in a cohort of 125 Catholics. At each meal, about half a dozen of us were assigned to eat at Fr. Richard’s table. I got a lunch date. As a pious young Methodist, I was anticipating sitting down together and saying grace (and oh what a grace I was expecting! Richard Rohr! C’mon!) But there was nothing. Zip. Nada. Father Richard just sat down, said hi, and tucked into his meal. Later, I complained to the members of my small group: “I thought such a holy man would knock out a profound and inspiring blessing of the meal!” They laughed. “You don’t make a very good Franciscan,” they said. Why? Because ideally, for Franciscans, ALL of life is sacred. All of life is sacrament. Why set aside one segment of life (like lunch) for more acknowledgement than all the rest?
All these years later, I’m still a pitiful closet Franciscan. I still haven’t achieved that lofty level of awareness. So, I have to start with small bits, mezuzah-ing meaning into work, family, faith community, politics.
In this age of what for many of us is an endurance test of stress and uncertainty, remember: all of life can be used by the divine to reconnect us with one another, creation, and the deepest part of who we are. So, “In the face of overwhelming odds, we’re left with only one option: we’re going to have to mezuzah the shit out of this.” Get to it.
~ Rev. David M. Felten
Read the essay online here.
About the Author
Rev. David Felten is a full-time pastor at The Fountains, a United Methodist Church in Fountain Hills, Arizona. David and fellow United Methodist Pastor, Jeff Procter-Murphy, are the creators of the DVD-based discussion series for Progressive Christians, “Living the Questions”.
A co-founder of the Arizona Foundation for Contemporary Theology and also a founding member of No Longer Silent: Clergy for Justice, David is an outspoken voice for LGBTQ rights both in the church and in the community at large. David is active in the Desert Southwest Conference of the United Methodist Church and tries to stay connected to his roots as a musician. You’ll find him playing saxophones in a variety of settings, including appearances with the Fountain Hills Saxophone Quartet.
David and his wife Laura, an administrator for a large Arizona public school district, live in Phoenix with their three often adorable children.
Question & Answer
Chris from Nigeria, asks:
Question:
I want you to clarify for me certain issues that seem to me to impact our common existence. Are you in support of gay marriages and abortions? Do you think we have the antichrist and the Dragon in our midst today?
Answer: Rev. Matthew Fox
Dear Chris,
Thank you for your questions. I agree that they do impact on our common existence and our common humanity. I will try my best to respond to them.
The antichrist and the Dragon are metaphors found in apocalyptic literature. They speak to the gut and to the imagination but it would be very ill-advised to take them literally. (One should never take metaphors literally, as Paul says, “the letter kills but the Spirit gives life.”) As metaphor, one can no doubt find many applications. They are indirect ways to talk about Evil and talk about evil we should be doing; there is plenty of it to talk about in today’s world. And Evil, being spiritual, is all around and within—it is not just “out there” in others. Thus the need to be alert as all warriors need to be. The antichrist and the Dragon represent the places where injustice (and therefore Evil) reign.(1)
Regarding abortion, let me say this. I am against it in principle as I think we should always be conservative about the gift of life and seek to conserve it. At the same time I am not against people who have abortions—I have never known anyone who took the decision lightly but very often there are solid reasons to not feeling one is capable of a 20 year commitment and responsibility for a new person in one’s life. This is especially true as we have wandered as a species from extended families to more and more singular households. Of course rape and incest as well as the threat to a mother’s life may also convince someone not to bring a child to term. Though against abortion in principle, I am even more against others (invariably men and male-dominated institutions) telling a woman what to do with her body.
Is there common ground between a “freedom to choose” position and a so-called “pro-life” position? Yes, there is. (I say “so-called ‘pro-life’ because many of those who are most zealous about condemning abortion barely make any noise at all about the killing of life that happens after birth such as issues of injustice toward children as regards proper education, health care, etc.) Sometimes people forget that to have a law that allows abortion does not require anyone to have an abortion. Such a law only makes it safe for those who feel an abortion is necessary. Why is that a bad or immoral thing? People will have abortions—it has always been so. So why not make it as safe as possible? Such a law is the lesser of two evils; it saves lives.
Of course a lot of the need for abortion could be alleviated by smart birth control. To forbid both abortion and birth control makes no sense whatsoever in my opinion and the entire ideology is based on false teaching from St Augustine in the fourth century, a sexual neurotic if there ever was one. He taught that all sex was sinful because one “loses control” and must be justified by having a baby. Why? Clearly he never understood the relationship between sex and love; and sex and play; or mysticism and sex, i.e. “love without a why.”
As for gay marriage, yes, I am in favor. Love is love. My Bible says “God is love,” not “God is heterosexual love exclusively.” Why not give gay partners the same rights and responsibilities as heterosexual partners, wouldn’t that make for a healthy society? Science has spoken on homosexuality as it spoke 400 years ago about the Earth going around the sun. Homosexuality is the Copernican Revolution debate of our time. The answers are not found in the Bible but in nature, therefore in science whose job it is to study nature. (St Thomas Aquinas warned that “a mistake about nature results in a mistake about God.”)
Science has spoken: About 8% of any given human population anywhere is going to be gay or lesbian. Why should they not enjoy the stability and privileges of marriage? We have counted over 484 other species with gay and lesbian populations so homosexuality is found in nature, it is a minority, but it is not “unnatural” (except for heterosexuals and heterosexuality is unnatural to homosexuals). Creation is very diverse. Clearly God wanted it that way. Vive la difference!
In addition, indigenous peoples in America have told me that the spiritual directors over the ages to the great chiefs here were homosexual. Why? Because homosexuals bring spiritual depth to a community. The same truth is found in Celtic tribes and in African traditions as well. To worship a homophobic deity then is to deprive self and society of spiritual energy. Why do that?
~ Rev. Matthew Fox
Read and share online here
About the Author
Rev. Matthew Fox holds a doctorate in spirituality from the Institut Catholique de Paris and has authored 32 books on spirituality and contemporary culture that have been translated into 69 languages. Fox has devoted 45 years to developing and teaching the tradition of Creation Spirituality and in doing so has reinvented forms of education and worship. His work is inclusive of today’s science and world spiritual traditions and has awakened millions to the much neglected earth-based mystical tradition of the West. He has helped to rediscover Hildegard of Bingen, Meister Eckhart, Thomas Aquinas. Among his books are Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the FleshTransforming Evil in Soul and Society, The Pope’s War: Why Ratzinger’s Secret Crusade Has Imperiled the Church and How It Can Be Saved and Confessions: The Making of a Postdenominational Priest
A new school, adopting the pedagogy Fox created and practiced for over 35 years, is opening in Boulder, Colorado this September. Called the Fox Institute for Creation Spirituality it is being run by graduates of his doctoral program and will offer MA, D Min and Doctor of Spirituality degrees. With young leaders he is launching a new spiritual (not religious) "order" called the Order of the Sacred Earth (OSE) that is welcoming to people of all faith traditions and none and whose 'glue' is a common vow: "I promise to be the best lover of Mother Earth and the best defender of Mother Earth that I can be."
(1) For an in-depth discussion on Evil you might want to see my book, Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh, where I take the 7 chakras of the East and compare them to the 7 capital sins of the West to develop a fresh language about evil. Too often religion has oversold “sin” and in doing so shuts down discussion and debate about Evil—as if evil did not exist (evil is far bigger than sin).
__________________________________________________
Bishop John Shelby Spong Revisited
Leading a Conference for Black, Pentecostal, Gay Clergy
Sometimes, my wife Christine and I have the privilege of entering into an experience that is unexpected, but so moving and profound that it opens doors to new understandings.
Normally we do not schedule lectures or interviews during December. That month is dedicated to our family and to the sheer joy of being disengaged. Despite that commitment, this year I received an invitation that was so compellingly unique that we broke our rule and in mid December flew to Phoenix, to address a conference of ordained people. That in itself is not unusual. However, these clergy were first, members of the Pentecostal tradition, which is not part of my background. Second, they were African-American Pentecostals, an audience that would not normally read my books or invite me to speak. Finally they were gay clergy.
This invitation developed when a member of this group was present at some lectures I gave in Portland, Oregon. At that gathering, this young man shared with me the isolation he felt with his multiple minority statuses. As an African-American he was separated from the predominantly white churches among which he lived; his Pentecostal tradition put him into a narrowly defined part of Christianity, and his gay sexual orientation alienated him from most of the Pentecostal movement in which he had been raised. He asked if I would be available to address a national group of black Pentecostal clergy who were homosexual. I felt like Paul must have when, in the Book of Acts, he had a dream about a person from Macedonia saying to him, "Come over and help us." Paul answered that invitation positively and so did I. I am so very glad I did.
Let me say quickly that this was not an easy conference for me. My body is not trained to sway in worship. My arms do not know how to wave in prayer. Ecstatic sounds do not normally come from my mouth in church settings. I told them they needed to understand that the Jews were known as God's Chosen people, the Episcopalians were known as God's frozen people. I tried, however, to participate as best I could. I suspect I looked a bit like Al Gore in the campaign of 2000. I never did manage to clap my hands in synch with everyone else!
There were about 100 people at this conference and most of them appeared to know each other. They called their movement "The City of Refuge," a reference from the Hebrew tradition in which certain cities were set aside for those who, no matter what they had done elsewhere, were always granted welcome. These clergy, while all Pentecostal in their worship style, were members of various denominations. They used many ecclesiastical titles: archbishop, bishop, apostle, evangelist and pastor. Some had forged a relationship with the United Church of Christ, a generally liberal, congregational form of Christianity that frequently provides structure for independent congregations and community churches. Under the umbrella of the United Church of Christ, churches that almost always fail in the second generation following their charismatic founders, have a chance at longevity by finding a pool from which to choose successive leaders.
During this conference, I listened to the message of each speaker. One evangelist preached with intense fervor and personal illustrations as she worked over obscure texts from the Bible with relentless passion. She knew how to communicate with her audience and the group responded emotionally and attentively. Her themes were belonging, forgiving, and rejoicing in the Grace of God that "saved a wretch" like you and me. Some in the audience leaped to their feet to affirm a word here or a phrase there. Others uttered constant verbal acclamations. Homosexuality was not mentioned publicly but many of the participants were same gender couples and signs of their physical affection, while not ostentatious, were clearly present. Privately when they talked to me or to one another, their sexual orientation was shared. "Same gender loving couples" was a popular phrase among the delegates.
I did not come early in the agenda. I was to be a change of pace, separating those aspects of their conference with which they were quite familiar. I have no anxiety about speaking publicly since I do so much of it, but as the time for my presentation drew nearer and nearer, I felt less and less confident that I would be able to communicate with this audience. My over developed left brain and underdeveloped right brain did not seem to fit this setting. I wondered what expectations they had when they invited me and whether or not I had any ability whatsoever to fulfill those expectations. As the time approached for me to step up front, I found myself lecturing myself silently: "You cannot be what you are not. Do not try! Just be yourself. Be open, be honest, be accepting. Do what you are capable of doing. Teach, illumine, explore and stay in dialogue." The lecture must have worked for peace descended on my soul.
I was introduced with incredible grace by the conference leader, Bishop Yvette A. Flunder, a gifted female pastor, who had been chosen and consecrated as bishop of 'Fellowship 2000.' Dr. Flunder, an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, was the founder of something called "Refuge Ministries and City of Refuge UCC." In her introduction she stressed the need for more education, more understanding. She spoke of the loneliness that comes with alienation. She explained something about my role in helping the Episcopal Church come to terms with the issue of homosexuality. She asked them to listen openly and not be afraid to ask questions. Then she asked the group to welcome me. They responded enthusiastically.
I decided to approach this subject autobiographically, believing that people can hear a personal story more readily than they can absorb facts. Besides, my journey was not unlike theirs. I was raised in an evangelical, fundamentalist Episcopal Church in the south. I did not know what a homosexual was. I cannot recall even hearing the word until I was 18 years old. Apparently, we did not have homosexuals in the south or perhaps it was that they were not allowed to be visible. When I finally opened my mind to that word and its meaning, I accepted the definition so prevalent in both my church and my region: If one were "liberal and kind," one viewed homosexuality as a mental illness that elicited pity and the hope of a cure. If one were "conservative and rejecting," one viewed homosexuality as an example of moral depravity deemed worthy only of conversion or punishment. I accepted those definitions for years as the boundaries inside which the debate on this subject would be conducted. In time, however, my life experiences caused me to challenge my stereotypes. I told them of the gay and lesbian people who had forced me to look again. These exemplary people lived their lives with such integrity that no one could say they were either mentally sick or morally depraved. I related to them the circumstances in which the first gay clergyperson had shared with me, the new bishop, his sexual identity; only to be told by me that he must keep it quiet as the price of his continued work in my diocese. I developed an ecclesiastical version of "don't ask, don't tell," which served well to keep my discomfort in check and to allow me to function without compromising my uninformed ignorance. Then I shared with them my study with a doctor at the Cornell Medical Center in New York where I first began to grasp a new reality that was ultimately undebatable. I learned that sexual orientation is not something one chooses, it is something one is. Sexual orientation is thus in the same category as left-handedness, hair and skin color and even gender. I learned that homosexuality constitutes a stable percentage of the human population at all times and in all places. External events or evil people do not cause it. Since it is present in the animal world one can hardly call it unnatural. My audience listened attentively and appreciatively. I closed with a simple assertion. If the words attributed to Jesus in John's Gospel are accurate, then the purpose of Christ was that all "might have life and have it abundantly." This means that anybody or anything that diminishes the life of any child of God must be declared to be evil. It is so clear to me. Racism, sexism, homophobia or any other prejudice that diminishes the life of any person, violates the deepest meaning of Jesus. One cannot be prejudiced and still be a follower of Jesus. My words were warmly received with much applause. The question period after the lecture was genuine, probing and revealing of great pain.
I heard them searching the Bible for ways to remove their sense of rejection. One could see their inner tension. They wanted to be part of the Pentecostal Christian tradition in which their lives had been nurtured. They wanted to be openly and lovingly what they knew they were. They absorbed this weekend like thirsty people who had discovered an oasis in the wilderness. Both Christine and I were embraced in their love, which melted all of the boundaries.
At the closing event of the conference, Bishop Flunder asked Christine and me if we would allow them to pray for us in their worship style. Of course we would. We were seated on two chairs and the conference delegates surrounded us, laying their hands on us wherever they could. They then blessed us verbally and at great length. Each person prayed aloud and all together. They gave thanks, asking God to be with us in all we do. They spoke in words and phrases common to Pentecostalism. Thank you Jesus! Thank you, Thank you. Thank you Jesus! Hallelujah, Amen. Praise God. Thank you Jesus. It was for us a new experience but we both felt touched by God. We might experience God differently from the members of this conference but their faith was real and their spirits were loving. When we left for the airport I found myself saying, Thank you Jesus! Thank you, thank you, Jesus.
~ John Shelby Spong
Originally published January 26, 2005
Announcements
Congratulations to the following winners of a free copy of Bishop John Shelby Spong's latest and final book Unbelievable: Why Neither Ancient Creeds Nor the Reformation Can Produce a Living Faith Today
Ruth P from Hays, KS
Nina C from Altoona, IA
Jo L from Lancaster, PA
Nancy P from Clinton, NC
Marily P from Halifax, ON
John M from Watkinsville, GA
In this final book of his storied career, Spong continues to integrate a rigorous scholarly tradition with the Christian faith and so offers a new approach, one that challenges Christians to explore their beliefs in new and meaningful ways.
Click here to pre-order John Shelby Spong’s final book, "Unbelievable" (available for purchase February 13th)
