“Dis-eased, hacking, reading Dietrich Bonhoeffer and sneezing at the truth about The Jewish Question.”

I wept. As I was reading, the tears burned while they filled the wound; a memory of terror, injustice and sorrow that never seems to fully heal. A scrapbook with rancid images that my Jewish relatives would share in hushed stories during my childhood visits to New York. How could a monster like Adolf Hitler happen? Why?

Lynn, Bentley and I recently escaped to one of Lynn’s favorite places for Spring Break; Green Turtle Bay in Kentucky. (NOTE: If you think teachers have it easy, go ahead and spend a week with eighteen 9-year-olds and let me know if (a) you are still speaking in multiple syllables and (b) you have not been cited for child abuse.) No television, phone calls, or the typical at-home distractions that keep us from using our address as an at-home attraction. She is recovering from a lousy bout of the croup; that nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever so you can’t rest crap…that she has lovingly decided to share with me. I awoke this morning with a full frontal hack attack, along with the commensurate etc, etc, etc.

I spent the better part of the day reading Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas. Not of the Vince Flynn political thriller variety, I was challenged and found it essential reading for this Israelite, Hebrew and Messianic Jew trying to make sense of our world; a world frantically struggling for its human and spiritual survival. The book’s subtitle, A Righteous Gentile vs. The Third Reich, captures the sobering and inspiring story of one man’s stand “for God’s sake.” Bonhoeffer is mostly recognized as a participant in the failed assassination plot of Adolph Hitler, the story captured in the 2008 film Valkyrie; this event would subsequently lead to his execution. The book is an in-depth account of Bonhoeffer’s journey of faith, as well as his search for the meaning of the church and justice during the most turbid days in modern times. His Germany would become the backdrop to a holocaust, the remnants of which are still felt and expressed today, like an appalling run-on sentence regarding man’s inhumanity to man.

It has now been two weeks since our Kentucky getaway, and the germs from Chapter 10 are still feeding my current dis-ease: The Church and the Jewish Question. The previous pages are filled with reflections of Bonhoeffer’s personal growth in faith and his sense of justice, juxtaposed against a setting of political upheaval for the rebirth of nationalism in Germany. From a family known for its fairly conservative worldview, Dietrich benefitted from the Bonhoeffers’ tendency toward exhaustive research, considering all aspects of an issue to discern its most virtuous implications. Dietrich was deeply troubled as to the role of the church in response to Hitler’s blossoming support; support that would eventually lead to the eradication of any spiritual thought or sociological perspective opposing his definition of “Aryan” German nationalism. The majority of Germany’s church leaders would eventually take the position of Hitler’s regime. The Jews were the ideal culprits to blame for all of Germany’s ailments and would become the target of Hitler’s insidious wrath; his ultimate solution to The Jewish Question. Bonhoeffer agonized over the deeper issue of how Hitler’s policies affected the meaning of “God’s people” and “God’s church”; the very core of what he had come to believe and teach throughout Europe, America and other parts of the world. Bonhoeffer finally came to realize he must risk everything, including his own life, to take a stand.

By April of 1933, Hitler’s edicts were widely implemented, orchestrated by the inflammatory misinformation of Joseph Goebbels, Reich Minister of Propaganda. Especially catalytic to the new breed of young German nationalists, the new rules removed Jews from every aspect of German society: government, medicine, law, arts, academia, business; even the German church became off limits. The following passage brought it home, beginning with this quote from Bonhoeffer about excluding Jews from German churches:

“A state which includes within itself a terrorized church has lost its most faithful servant.”

Bonhoeffer went on to say that to ‘confess Christ’ meant to do so to Jews as well as to Gentiles. He declared it vital for the church to bring the Messiah of the Jews to the Jewish people. If Hitler’s laws were adopted, this would be impossible. His dramatic and somewhat shocking conclusion was that not only should the church allow Jews to be a part of the church, but that this was precisely the church’s identity: the place where Jews and Germans stand together. “What is at stake,“ he said, ”is by no means the question whether our German members of congregations can still tolerate church fellowship with the Jews. It is rather the task of Christian preaching to say: here is the church, where Jew and German stand together under the Word of God; here is the proof whether a church is still the church or not.”

I came to know the calling towards my Hebraic + Messianic path in April of 2001. I like to think that, like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, my insatiable hunger for reading God’s Word, historical references, and other studies are about expressing my life in all the ways I can through righteousness, justice and faith in God: my Yahweh. In these short years, I have seen God’s glorious sheen in the reflection of like-minded men and women who are protagonists in the narrative; my heroes. And, just as it was a mere seventy-eight years ago, there are still dark ministers of propaganda all around us yearning to stockpile and burn the books of innovation, reason and diversity just like the Nazis in Berlin of 1933 in fear of the God of Israel. Just like the Babylonians who destroyed the temple in fear of the God of Israel. Just like the Pharisees and Saducees who crucified Jesus in fear of the God of Israel. Just like the false prophets who today, under the disguise of Christianity, righteously strive to rid their congregations of anyone who does not fit their “religious-tic” edict in fear of the God of Israel.

I have no idea how I would have responded to dilemmas of righteousness, justice and faith confronting so many people during Bonhoeffer’s times. And I struggle every day in a muddy hypocrisy of my own, trying to respond to the daily challenges to righteousness, justice and faith.

Ahhhhhhh….

I am dis-eased having witnessed an evangelical leader compare Presbyterians to Islamic terrorists.

Ahhhhhhh….

I am dis-eased having witnessed churches inviting everyone through their doors, and then suggesting to the homosexual couple that they might find another place of worship more welcoming.

Ahhhhhhh….

I am dis-eased having witnessed people arguing about what God’s Word says about this or that issue, when most Christians have never read God’s Word from cover to cover.

AhhhhhhhhCHTUNG!

God bless you.

In the embrace of the brackets – (b)

*If you want to learn more about my story and more stories between the brackets, visit the (b) in parenthesis column: click www.HImpact.me or www.binparenthesis.blogspot.com.

"It's unlikely that I will make apologetics for my actions."

What’s the chance that world hunger is erradicated by the end of the day? Unlikely.

What's the chance that world peace is realized by 2012? Unlikely.

What’s the chance that the Messiah has already arrived? Unlikely.

What’s the chance that millions of people are reading this right now? Unlikely.

We arguably live in a time when we allow things that can happen and that are happening to be defined by the most unlikely influences:

• Republican or Democrat
• Wikipedia or Wikileaks
• X, Y or Z blog
• Fox News or CNN
• Glenn Beck or Wolf Blitzer
• Old or New Testament
• Nachos or quinoa

So, whom should you believe? A little unlikely history might offer illumination to the “idiocy” we should assign to believing anyone. Imagine that:

You are a Jew living in Egypt under the harsh rule of Pharaoh during the 400^th year of enslavement. An old guy in a threadbare robe, carrying a gnarled wooden walking stick, sporting a white beard and stuttering, rumored to be a murderer, stumbles into the community. It’s the end of another typical day of molding and schlepping bricks, heat exhaustion, lashings and general humiliation. He delivers the following news, while a satisfying camel dung fire crackles in the distance.

“Here’s the deal: I just had a chat with a flaming shrub the other day that told me he was God, and I am glad to give you the good nnnnnnnews; I have been chosen tttttttto rescue you from captivity. That’s right, we’re going to walk out of here and take a long walk to our own land. Yyyyyyyep, being that we are God’s chosen people (something about a deal he made with some distant relative of mine, Abe something-or-other), he’s locked up some property on the other side of the desert and we’ll bbbbbbe manufacturing and distributing organic milk and honey products to make a living. So, I am going to ask Pharaoh to let you go, and he’ll gggggo for it.

Now for the bad news: as you can tell I have a bbbbbbbit of a speech impediment, I’m very old, can barely walk with these corns, I have no idea what I am going to say when I talk to Pharaoh, I’ll have to repeat my sales pitch numerous times, there’s going to be some really lousy plagues and I am cccccclueless as to why I have to carry this really heavy stick everywhere that I go.

Oh, and did I tell you that once we get to the new neighborhood, we’re going to have to defeat some really tttttall enemies and other tribes who currently own the land?”

If you were there at that time, would you have gleefully rushed to your tent to gather your matzos and get ready to hit the sand? Unlikely.

Now, fast forward +/- a few thousand years to somewhere in the “promised land” the Israelites would actually inherit. There’s a new rabbi in town that’s stirring up the dust, flipping over tables by the temple and breaking bread with hookers, thieves, lawyers and lepers. This rabbi-rouser named Jesus is from Nazareth, and we all know that there’s nothing good about anything that comes from that town. He’s claiming that he is God’s only son, performing some pretty cool tricks and is conducting free healing clinics with a dozen guys, most of whom smell like fish. Even though you’re convinced he’s been smoking too much myrrh, you have to admit that he’s gathering throngs of people everywhere he goes, AND there’s endless supplies of free bread and fish served for lunch.

The local Pharisees and Sadducees are up in robes about this guy who has the audacity to claim that you can experience all of God’s love and every blessing under the chuppah (a Hebrew canopy); all you have to do is accept that He is who He says He is, say you’re sorry for your donkey sack full of screw-up’s, love each other like he is loving you and follow him towards a new way of living by grace. You’ve just heard him describe this all in detail with some attitude from atop a beautiful mount. Even though you’ve heard that the other rabbis and “sees” were using every trick in the Torah to prove him a heretic, you have to admit you are stoked about what sounds like some really good news.

And then it happens. Jesus walks past your house and knocks at the front door. You answer, amazed to have the man of the hour himself address you with the following offer:

“If you will follow me, I promise you the boundless gifts of heaven here on earth, and then eternal life in the glory of God, my Father. All you have to do is give everything you own away to poor people and hungry little kids, forget your family, leave home without any food or provisions, walk endless miles to places in which you’d never be caught dead, share this good news about me and my Father. You need to love everyone you meet unconditionally while being scorned, chased, flogged, abandoned, shipwrecked, imprisoned, stoned and finally hanged, beheaded or crucified. And, you have to leave with me right now. Are you in?”

If you were there at that time, would you have gleefully rushed out the door and walked in the dust from his sandals? Unlikely.

What about today? Right now? Would you believe him? Would you go? Unlikely.

Here’s what’s likely:

• We go to work every day, many of us disliking what we do.
• We go to our places of worship, listen to gifted teachers, hurt when we hear stories of suffering, praise God for our blessings, tithe sometimes, and then walk past the destitute person asking for change or the man on the corner with a sign reading, “Fallen on hard times. Homeless. Needing any help. God bless.”
• We spend countless hours complaining and arguing about the political situation in Washington, contribute to the candidate du jour and say nothing to the young man or woman in uniform sitting next to you on the plane to thank them for fighting and dying for freedom in the world.
• We say that we believe in the gospels of the Old and New Testament, but 93% of us have never read the books from cover to cover.
• We are all broken, scared sinners and people who are starving to be seen, known and loved.

I make no apologies for the fact that I am no better than anyone else who is struggling with the ways to be the best version of myself. And, I have come to know for sure that I am desperately in need of grace and that I am the unlikeliest candidate to receive the gifts of love from a loving God who continues to love me just the way I am.

If the rabbi-rousing messiah knocked on my door today and made me the offer, I’d hesitate. And, I am glad that He keeps knocking. What about you?

Knock, knock.

In the embrace of the brackets – (b)

"We are saved, finally."

As testimonial to the positive impact of the Internet, and its invaluable re-shaping of many behaviors that (heretofore unknown to us due to our unconnected existence) will undoubtedly improve the human condition and extend our life span, I offer for your consideration (NOTE: sent to me by email today):

As we move into the last quarter of this year - I want to thank all of you for your educational e-mails over the past year. I am totally screwed up now and have little chance of recovery.

• I no longer open a bathroom door without using a paper towel, or have the waitress put lemon slices in my ice water without worrying about the bacteria on the lemon peel.
• Eating a little snack sends me on a guilt trip because I can only imagine how many gallons of trans fats I have consumed over the years.
• I can’t touch any woman’s purse for fear she has placed it on the floor of a public bathroom.
• I must also send my special thanks to whomever sent me the one about rat crap in the glue on envelopes because I now have to use a wet sponge with every envelope that needs sealing.
• ALSO, now I have to scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason.
• I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl (Penny Brown) who is about to die for the 1,387,258th time.
• I no longer have any money, but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Bill Gates/Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special e-mail program.
• I can’t have a drink in a bar because I’ll wake up in a bathtub full of ice with my kidneys gone.
• I can’t eat at KFC because their chickens are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes, feet or feathers.
• I can’t use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day.
• Thanks to all of you have learned that my prayers only get answered if I forward an e-mail to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.
• Because of your genuine concern, I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains.
• I no longer buy gas without taking someone along to watch the car so a serial killer doesn’t crawl in my back seat when I’m filling up.
  
• I no longer drink Pepsi or Fanta since the people who make these products are atheists who refuse to put ‘Under God’ on their cans.
• I no longer use Cling Wrap in the microwave because it causes seven different types of cancer.
• Thanks to you I can’t use anyone’s toilet but mine because a big black snake could be lurking under the seat and cause me instant death when it bites me.
• And thanks to your great advice, I can’t ever pick up a Penny dropped in the parking lot because it probably was placed there by a molester waiting to grab me as I bend down to pick it up.
• I no longer drive my car because buying gas from some companies supports Al Qaeda, and buying gas from all the others supports South American dictators.
• I can’t do any gardening because I’m afraid I’ll get bitten by the Violin Spider and my hand will fall off.
• If you don’t send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 70 minutes, a large dove with diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00 p.m. tomorrow afternoon, and the fleas from 120 camels will infest your back, causing you to grow a hairy hump. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of my next door neighbor’s ex-mother-in-law’s second husband’s cousin's best friend’s beautician . . .
  

Oh, by the way.....

A German scientist from Argentina , after a lengthy study, has discovered that people with insufficient brain activity read their e-mail with their hand on the mouse.

Don’t bother taking it off now, it’s too late.

In the embrace of the (sterilized) brackets - (b)

PS: I now keep my toothbrush in the living room, because I was told by e-mail that water splashes over 6 ft. out of the toilet.