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. 3.10.23 

1. “The prophetic tasks of the church are to tell the truth in a society that lives in an illusion, grieve in a society that practices denial, and express hope in a society that lives in despair.” ~ Walter Brueggemann

We, who call ourselves people of faith, are called to be truth tellers, mourners, and distillers of hope. The world yearns for us to do just that.

All of us need to consider who we are and where we stand amidst the struggles going on all over the world. Who do we represent? Where’s our loyalty? Do our political allegiances mean more to us than the prophet’s clarion call begging us to “do justice, love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God?”

 2.  “The problem is, many of the people in need of saving are in churches, and at least part of what they need saving from is the idea that God sees the world the same way they do.” ~ Barbara Brown Taylor

She is a wise woman. 

3. Conventional Christianity prefers to see Jesus as a directive or destination rather than this path [of love]; for them “way” is a noun, not a verb… ” ~ Diana Butler Bass

“The great traditions always call people on a journey of faith to keep changing. There’s no other way this human personality can open up to all that God is asking of us.” ~ Richard Rohr

I love the word ‘pilgrimage’. Our primary calling is to walk and talk with God. It leads us into a lifetime of purposeful and even accidental encounters with all kinds of people, places, and adventures. Often, it’s all quite delightful. Other times not so much. Delightful or not, the journey itself brings value to our lives. 

4. “Unfortunately, the Lenten season often gets reduced to the question, ‘What are you giving up for Lent?’ This is a fine question, but it can only take us so far. The real question of the Lenten season is, ‘How will I repent and return to God with all my heart?’ …Where in my life have I gotten away from God, and what are the disciplines that will enable me to find my way back?” ~ Ruth Haley Barton

Repent. Be honest. Deal with your sorrow. And your fears. Look for what  you think you need. Give as much as you know about yourself today to as much as you know of God. Do it again tomorrow. Delight in the baby steps you take and pay attention to the whisper of angels. 

5.  “… the universe did not appear as it is now. It began very small and literally blew up and is still expanding, growing, changing, developing. Like the Earth and life on it, the universe emerged a long time ago and continues to blossom. For those of us who believe that a Creator is responsible for all there is, that Creator seems to be in the habit of creating not once and done, not fixed permanence, but by constant emergence. This creates in me a sense of jaw-dropping, deer-in- the- headlights awe, where words are out of place. A changing, unfolding universe does not rob God of glory. It  declares it – though finding that space takes major adjustments in my thinking about God.” ~ Pete Enns,  “Curveball: How I  Stumbled and Tripped My Way Into Finding a Bigger God”  

People I admire make adjustments in their theological understandings. It’s an ongoing process that can involve stumbling, tripping and bumping into things. 

We’ve all sung Amazing Grace which is an autobiographical, confessional hymn. We’ve all lifted our voices to sing the haunting words “I once was lost but now I’m found, blind but now I see.” The composer was admitting that he once was broken and confused, but then, through God’s grace, something  happened (google the story) and it changed his understanding of himself and of God. 

Making adjustments in our thinking and behavior sends a clear signal that we’re alive and want to keep growing. 

6. God, 

Keep my anger from becoming meanness.

Keep my sorrow from collapsing into self-pity.

Keep my heart soft enough to keep breaking. 

Keep my anger turned towards justice, not cruelty.

Remind me that all of this, every bit of it, is for love.

Keep me fiercely kind.

Amen.” ~ Laura Jean Truman

7. Periodically, I send a short email to my elected representatives. I try to be both firm and kind. Does it do any good? After all, one  voice can be so easily dismissed. But my hope is that I’m not the only one who tries to hold elected reps to account. 

Last week I sent one of those emails. And for the first time I was a bit frightened. I actually hesitated before sending it. I live in a state where free speech is under attack by the Governor and the MAGA legislative supermajority. And people like me, who want to live in an awakened state of being, are considered to be the enemy by those in power.

I don’t say that lightly.  

I’m not trying to be melodramatic.

I’m not making these things up.

I’m not seeing things that aren’t really there.

And so, when I sent my inquiries to my State Senator and District Representative I did it with a minor sense of apprehension, wondering  about what could happen if I got on the wrong person’s radar. 

Such is the state of freedom of speech in Florida these days. 

And it’s not just Florida is it? 

Good people are getting jittery. Maybe even you. Some are choosing to just shut up and shut down. Perhaps it’s wise to consider something Plato once said: “The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men [and women].”  It behooves us to dare to challenge ourselves to speak bravely. ‘Cuz if we don’t, evil people will win by default.

8. Quote of he week. 

“I hate Trump passionately.” ~ Tucker Carlson, FOX News. 

This speaks volumes doesn’t it? And yet Carlson continues to defend and prop up who and what he detests. The whole FOX News Universe is in desperate need of a civics class, a confessional, and a moral compass. Their continued defense of what they know is indefensible continues to erode the very foundations of our Republic. 

9. “I have no special talent. I’m only passionately curious.” ~Albert Einstein

If we lived in a world filled with passionately curious people, life would be far more interesting.

10. “I lift up my eyes to the mountains.

Where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord,

the Maker of heaven and earth…” ~ Psalm 121

Yes. Absolutely yes.