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. 2.24.23. 

1.  The NY Times reported last week that “Newly disclosed messages and testimony from some of the biggest stars and most senior executives at Fox News revealed that they privately expressed disbelief about President Donald J. Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him, even though the network continued to promote many of those lies on the air.”

Ah, integrity. You can smell it in the air at FOX News. Ha. Actually, what’s in the air is the putrid smell of hypocrisy,  conspiracy, and greed.  

And to think Speaker McCarthy thought it was a great idea to hand over  the security videos of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol to FOX News, entrusting the footage to Tucker Carlson, who is the master of rumor, innuendo, and disinformation. It just boggles the mind and makes one wonder about the future of our democracy. 

2.   “ …I came upon the story that a Florida school board has removed a book about Puerto Rican baseball legend Roberto Clemente “to see if it complies with a new state law limiting discussions about race”.  Many other books (about Jackie Robinson, Jim Thorpe, Hank Aaron, etc) were removed also. This is in response to Gov. DeSantis’ culture-war crackdown on anything he deems “woke”…which often is code for “true, but inconvenient for the narrative I’m telling.”  ~ Aaron Niequist

Being  ‘woke’ is considered to be an egregious and dangerous way of being by the Florida Governor, who fashions himself to be  a culture warrior without peer. He is pushing a fear based narrative. And he knows anyone who is awakened is a threat to his finishing that story. There is no room for inconvenient truths, even though he knows full well that history doesn’t treat book banners well. 

So, he’s doubling down on his efforts . 

And he has allies.

A tweet by Congressperson Lauren Boebert said: “One thing you can be sure of – I’ll never go woke.” 

Gotta love the response by @Leslieoo7. 

“I’m sure of that. To be woke requires awareness, an enlightened mind, exposure to different cultures and different types of people. It requires maturity to realize that not everyone looks like you or thinks like you and that’s okay.”

Touche’.

I want to be ‘woke’. Hope you do too.

3. “ … In my Methodist home I was taught that all of us are God’s children, and are loved, and that love is the light that shines. Christianity has never been spoken with just one voice. Often the majority of voices express fear and an exaggerated need for power. That was evident in pre-World War II Germany, when a majority of Christians supported the rise to power of the Nazis.

There was, however, a minority voice of Christians called the Confessing Movement that let their light shine supporting the dignity and value of all human beings.

I believe that diversity, equity and inclusion are the heart of the Christian ethic of love. As a Christian, that is where I will let my light shine, regardless of who is currently in the majority.” ~ Rev. Stephen G. Hoffman, in a letter to the editor of the Sarasota Herald Tribune

4.”Do not let the wise boast of their wisdom. Do not let the mighty boast of their might. Do not let the wealthy boast of their wealth.Let those who boast, boast in this, that they understand and know me, that I am the Lord; I act with steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the Lord….” ~ Jeremiah, the Prophet

You know who has reflected steadfast love, justice, and righteousness? 

Jimmy Carter. 

He will soon go home to be with the God he has known and loved for a long, long, time. 

He once wrote: “We become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams.” 

He understood that the God he knew and loved was the one responsible for all those differences and that the Lord expects us to embrace them, not rail against them. 

5. Before you engage someone in what could be a heated conversation, make it a point to discern whether or not that person is mentally, morally, spiritually and emotionally mature enough to grasp the concept of different and nuanced perspectives.

Not everyone has that kind of maturity, right? My wife had a counselor who once cautioned her  “that you can’t reason with a crazy person” ( and no, that person wasn’t me).

Periodically, I have waged a war of words with individuals who lacked that kind of maturity.  Stupid me. What a waste of time and energy.  And how much hurt did I inflict in the process? 

6. “I am not losing my mind.

I’m not losing my faith.

I’m not failing or falling or backsliding.

I have simply outgrown much of American Christianity.

So has my God.” ~ Jon Pavlovitz

In  the midst of the ongoing, essential process of recalibrating our faith, there is a need to be careful, lest we throw out that which still makes our heart feel ‘strangely warmed’ (thank you John Wesley).  The essence of that warmth and the good memories it invokes are God’s gift to us. It’s good  to cherish those memories.

And what about those things that turn your heart cold? 

Some of it needs to be thrown away. 

The rest needs to be filed away. Filed away? Yes. A portion of our healing and/or someone else’s, down the road, might require some access to what’s in those files.   I know that I have grabbed for a file or two or three that contained things I once considered useless but actually were not and were worthy of a second look.  

7. Author and speaker John Maxwell was convinced that too many of us live with  “uphill hopes that will never be realized because we have cultivated downhill habits.” Ain’t that the truth. 

8. My Spiritual Director mentioned to me that a very respected monk, a man well versed in matters of intimacy with God through meditation and contemplation once said:  “My growth in the spiritual life is measured, in good part, by the knowledge that I’m screwed up and I need a savior.” 

9. I’ve seen it happen over and over again. Someone is given a challenging responsibility but then is not given the necessary authority and resources to succeed. 

10. For the great enemy of truth is very often not the lie–deliberate, contrived and dishonest–but the myth–persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. Too often we hold fast to the cliches of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.” ~ President  John F. Kennedy 

I’m all for myth busting and letting go of cliches that lack meaning. And “discomfort of thought” has helped me grow up. I want kids in our schools to be able, in age appropriate ways, to bust the myths and to enjoy the delight of grappling  with thoughts that can, at times, prove to be uncomfortable. 

For that matter I want that for their parents and grandparents cuz they’re  the ones up in arms and causing all the trouble.