Sunday Musings – December 13, 2020
For many around the world on this planet earth December is a month for religious celebrations. In many of the Christian traditions this is the third Sunday of Advent. As the third symbolic advent candle is lit some will recite I Thessalonians 5:23 “ May the God of peace sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. “ Jewish people are celebrating Hanukkah commemorating the re-dedication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem following the Maccabean Revolt. As the next candle is lit with the ninth candle a prayer extoling God who performed miracles for their ancestors including the miracle of keeping the lamp burning for eight days even though there was enough oil for only one day.
Some Africans Americans will celebrate Kwanzaa or first fruit harvest and the seven principles or values or the African Culture.
Some in the world will celebrate boxing day during which the alms boxes are opened, and the contents distributed to those who need it. The Irish celebrate boxing day as St. Stephens Day.
The Japanese celebrate new year’s eve as Omisoka. Families gather for one last time in the old year to have a bowl of toshikoshi-soba or toshikoshi-udon, a tradition based on eating the long noodles to cross over from one year to the next.
Some will celebrate the miracle of inclusiveness because the god of their understanding welcomes all to the table. Others will theoretically welcome all to the table but with lots of preconditions for who they love, how they love, who they hurt and how they hurt them. Some radical scientists and others will claim that none of us are in a position to judge each other or hold each other accountable for how our brains make decisions and what consequent actions we take. Some will claim that one must worship a particular concept of god in a particular way or suffer eternal damnation. Some will use the word evil to describe others assured that they have failed the test of this life journey and need to be put to death by the state while others should be sentenced to prison for life or even many lifetimes.
Another possible truth is that that all of us humans at times act in ways which is hurtful to ourselves, other people and mother nature. Some of us overthink and have elaborate systems for deciding the “sin points” of ourselves and others. Some of us will not be welcomed unless we repent and promise to support one nation but not others; support one settlement and not others; support those labeled as criminals, but not those labels as sexual offenders. We may be sure that having sex in a loveless marriage so as to ensure financial status is moral while the person whose office does have a granite countered kitchen, but a street corner is less moral and deserves to be arrested. We may decide that the person whose, for some reason, is only attracted to one body shape and age is ,morally superior to the person who is sexually attracted to a teenager. We may assume one has a choice of preference while the other does not. We may decide that the depth of the color of one’s pigment determine one’s relative worth or the ability to use the legal loopholes to ensure that one amass great financial wealth is more moral than the person who works at a minimum wage job.
Other animals do not seem to think in terms of sin. They think in terms of survival and territory.. They may be programed to be attracted to a mate which is relatively healthy. They may have little shame about how, when and where they groom each other. I seriously doubt that they conceptualize a God who is jealous, easily offended and attached to the concept of punishment. .
As we prepare for our various human December celebrations we might allow our imaginations to think of the possibility science and common sense has a role In the design of the community we want to build and its relationship to mother nature. We might want to celebrate our humanness as part of a larger whole. We might want to be less quick to assume free will as we learn more about all the factors which affect how our brain functions. We might want to consider that no one decides to be addicted, to be attracted sexually to children, have a brain which is missing the part who allows for empathy, that all of us contribute to climate change and, thus, to the forced migration of people and other animals. We might want to think of a justice system which is focused on restoring harmony and not on creating or feeding disharmony. We might …
Written December 13, 2020
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
For many around the world on this planet earth December is a month for religious celebrations. In many of the Christian traditions this is the third Sunday of Advent. As the third symbolic advent candle is lit some will recite I Thessalonians 5:23 “ May the God of peace sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. “ Jewish people are celebrating Hanukkah commemorating the re-dedication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem following the Maccabean Revolt. As the next candle is lit with the ninth candle a prayer extoling God who performed miracles for their ancestors including the miracle of keeping the lamp burning for eight days even though there was enough oil for only one day.
Some Africans Americans will celebrate Kwanzaa or first fruit harvest and the seven principles or values or the African Culture.
Some in the world will celebrate boxing day during which the alms boxes are opened, and the contents distributed to those who need it. The Irish celebrate boxing day as St. Stephens Day.
The Japanese celebrate new year’s eve as Omisoka. Families gather for one last time in the old year to have a bowl of toshikoshi-soba or toshikoshi-udon, a tradition based on eating the long noodles to cross over from one year to the next.
Some will celebrate the miracle of inclusiveness because the god of their understanding welcomes all to the table. Others will theoretically welcome all to the table but with lots of preconditions for who they love, how they love, who they hurt and how they hurt them. Some radical scientists and others will claim that none of us are in a position to judge each other or hold each other accountable for how our brains make decisions and what consequent actions we take. Some will claim that one must worship a particular concept of god in a particular way or suffer eternal damnation. Some will use the word evil to describe others assured that they have failed the test of this life journey and need to be put to death by the state while others should be sentenced to prison for life or even many lifetimes.
Another possible truth is that that all of us humans at times act in ways which is hurtful to ourselves, other people and mother nature. Some of us overthink and have elaborate systems for deciding the “sin points” of ourselves and others. Some of us will not be welcomed unless we repent and promise to support one nation but not others; support one settlement and not others; support those labeled as criminals, but not those labels as sexual offenders. We may be sure that having sex in a loveless marriage so as to ensure financial status is moral while the person whose office does have a granite countered kitchen, but a street corner is less moral and deserves to be arrested. We may decide that the person whose, for some reason, is only attracted to one body shape and age is ,morally superior to the person who is sexually attracted to a teenager. We may assume one has a choice of preference while the other does not. We may decide that the depth of the color of one’s pigment determine one’s relative worth or the ability to use the legal loopholes to ensure that one amass great financial wealth is more moral than the person who works at a minimum wage job.
Other animals do not seem to think in terms of sin. They think in terms of survival and territory.. They may be programed to be attracted to a mate which is relatively healthy. They may have little shame about how, when and where they groom each other. I seriously doubt that they conceptualize a God who is jealous, easily offended and attached to the concept of punishment. .
As we prepare for our various human December celebrations we might allow our imaginations to think of the possibility science and common sense has a role In the design of the community we want to build and its relationship to mother nature. We might want to celebrate our humanness as part of a larger whole. We might want to be less quick to assume free will as we learn more about all the factors which affect how our brain functions. We might want to consider that no one decides to be addicted, to be attracted sexually to children, have a brain which is missing the part who allows for empathy, that all of us contribute to climate change and, thus, to the forced migration of people and other animals. We might want to think of a justice system which is focused on restoring harmony and not on creating or feeding disharmony. We might …
Written December 13, 2020
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
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