This is an audio version of Mike Murphy‘s Friday rumblings. This is a regular post on Facebook that I’ve turned into a podcast. I decided Mike’s words needed a wider audience. You may agree or disagree with what he says, but there is certainly much food for thought contained here. You can friend Mike on Facebook for the printed version or read it below

Rumblings. 1.5.24  

1. 2024. Will this be the year that ends up haunting us? It appears there’s peril at every turn, in every country in the world, not just ours, and in every referendum. What do we do? Which way do we turn? 

Above all else, I need the optimism that faith offers me. Thus, I turn my attention and affection  to the Lord God Almighty.  What is God saying?  

“Christianity can be confusing, but the way of Jesus is  pretty clear

Move toward the poor

Empower women

Throw parties

Poke holes in oppressive systems

Forgive your enemy

Don’t store up wealth

Be present w/ people

Push back darkness

Heal

Announce

Love well

The kingdom is near” ~ Dan Sadlier, Pastor, NYC

I can do this.  As my baseball coach told me a long time ago: “As long as you keep your eye on the ball, you’ll be OK.”

2. Autobiography

 in Five Short Chapters

by Portia Nelson

Chapter One

I walk down the street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I fall in.

I am lost 

I am helpless.

It isn’t my fault.

Chapter Two

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I pretend I don’t see it.

I fall in again.

I can’t believe I am in the same place, but it isn’t my fault.

It still takes a long time to get out.

Chapter Three

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I see it is there.

I still fall in.

It’s a habit.

My eyes are open.

I know where I am.

It is my fault.

I get out immediately.

Chapter Four

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I walk around it.

Chapter Five

I walk down another street.

3. “I told him to preach the Gospel. That’s our calling. I want to preserve the purity of the Gospel and the freedom of religion in America. I don’t want to see religious bigotry in any form …  it would disturb me if there was a wedding between the religious fundamentalists and the political right. The hard right has no interest in religion except to manipulate it. “ ~ Billy Graham recalling  a conversation with Jerry Falwell in Parade Magazine, February, 1981

What happened?  It was advice unheeded. Falwell and Co. were hell bent on politicizing the faith and they did it with great ferocity and ingenuity.  And the hard core, political right exploited it. 

And voila, we now have the culture wars, driven by a warped version of the Christian faith and supported by mean spirited, authoritarian political values. The result is a nation at war with itself.   

If you want to know more about how this ‘mess’ came to be, check out the book “Jesus and John Wayne” by Kristin Kobes Du Mez. 

And then grab some friends and sort it out together.

4. Pope Francis said: “Think of a single mother who goes to the Church or the Parish, and tells the secretary: “I want  to baptize my son.” And the attendant says: “No, you can’t, because you’re not married.” 

Let’s keep in mind that this mother had the courage to continue with a pregnancy, and what is she facing? A closed door.  And so, if we continue on this path and with this attitude, we are not doing the people, God’s People right… Those who approach the Church should find the doors open and not find people who want to control the faith.”

When rule keepers and the guardians of orthodoxy call the shots, they all too often succeed in keeping  people away from the  real Jesus. 

An alcoholic friend of author Philip Yancey once said to him:

“When I’m late to church, people turn around and stare at me with frowns of disapproval. I get the clear message that I’m not as responsible as they are.

When I’m late to AA, the meeting comes to a halt and everyone jumps up to hug and welcome me. They realize that my lateness may be a sign that I almost didn’t make it. When I show up, it proves that my desperate need for them won out over my desperate need for alcohol.”

That should be the church. In many ways and places it is. Ragamuffins are welcomed with open arms, not clenched fists and scowls. 

But in many other places, the orthodoxy police have a variety of litmus tests available to determine who’s in and who’s out. 

5. Travis Kelce’s college football coach impacted him greatly when he said to his star player: “Everybody you meet in this world is either a fountain or a drain.”  The coach went on to say that what he needed “was a fountain,” and that Kelce was being “a very big drain.”

Friends of Kelce said that woke him up. He had to deal with a pretty basic question. “How then shall I live, as a fountain or drain?” 

It’s a good question for us all to ask. 

6.“The day the child realizes that all adults are imperfect, he becomes an adolescent; the day he forgives them, he becomes an adult; the day he forgives himself, he becomes wise.~ Alden Nowlan

Forgiveness. Of others. Of yourself. That’s the smart play.  

7. I’m reminded that I can know a lot about God and still manage to ignore the heart of God. That heart asks me to love those I’d rather dismiss and compels me to speak when I’d rather remain quiet. To be honest, these days I find myself struggling with loving and I’m tired of speaking out. I sense that in some of you too. But what’s our option? To remain silent? To dismiss what we sense the Spirit is urging us to do? No, that’s not the way to go.

The good news is that God meets us even amidst the struggle and tiredness and bouts of cowardice. He might remind us to take a wee bit of a break for the sake of those who love us and for our own well being, but will never ask us to cease loving nor to remain quiet in the face of injustice. 

8. “It is said that before entering the sea
a river trembles with fear.

She looks back at the path she has traveled,
from the peaks of the mountains,
the long winding road crossing forests and villages.

And in front of her,
she sees an ocean so vast,
that to enter
there seems nothing more than to disappear forever.

But there is no other way.
The river can not go back.

Nobody can go back.
To go back is impossible in existence.

The river needs to take the risk
of entering the ocean
because only then will fear disappear,
because that’s where the river will know
it’s not about disappearing into the ocean,
but of becoming the ocean.” ~ Khalil Gibran 

9. “Opinion is really the lowest form of human knowledge. It requires no accountability, no understanding. The highest form of knowledge… is empathy, for it requires us to suspend our egos and live in another’s world. It requires a profound purpose larger than the self … ” ~ Bill Bullard

I am increasingly annoyed with those who spout  opinions that are really not their own and have never been carefully and thoughtfully examined. There’s no depth or breadth to what they are saying. So when I ask a substantive question I don’t get a substantive answer back, only a sound byte. It’s nigh unto impossible to have a real  conversation. All I hear is noise and there is rarely a question put to me. 

It’s quite sad really. I am so grateful to all those in my life who are truly empathetic and thoughtful. Your considered opinions lead to delightful conversations and your insights help me to reconsider ideas and to even change my mind.

10. “Where, O where, are the prophets, when we need them, O Lord?

Where are these  brave ones who will speak truth to power?

Where are the anointed women and men who will refuse weapons of war?

Where are the women who stand at the cross in silent resistance against the systems that execute and crucify?

Where, O where, are the prophets?

We bring this entreaty to you today because you are our God. Help us to become prophetic in action, prophetic in witness, prophetic in love.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.” ~ Barbara Holmes, Center for Action and Contemplation. 

May we all have a prophet or two  in our life. May we be that for others.