Do No Harm

Interesting stuff is afoot in the homeland. I am being quite affected by the Ched Myers. Yesterday in a post I mentioned the Myers video titled Let Them Speak Many Languages. In the discussion, Myers brings up Mark 6, when Jesus sends out his disciples to carry out the "good news," in which Jesus' instructions for evangelism are very clear.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve

Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. 7Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits.

8These were his instructions: "Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 9Wear sandals but not an extra tunic. 10Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. 11And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them."

12They went out and preached that people should repent. 13They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

Mark 6:6-12

Myers brings up a couple of interesting points from this passage, namely the mandate to carry little or nothing with you and if you are not welcome in a place, then leave. He uses these as an argument against the advance of empire and the assimilation and oppression of "subject" populations. He points out that it is hard to subjugate people if you have nothing and rely on them for your sustenance.

Jesus also instructs that if you are welcomed, stay, if you are not, leave. Well put Jesus. Myers points out that he does not instruct the disciples to punish, enslave, kill or in any other way persuade dissidents. He doesn't instruct the disciples to set up schools, disrupt indigenous beliefs and practices, steal their land, build a town or mine their natural resources.

Where did we go wrong? Please forgive us.

Yes, I am a little excited about Ched Myers. I think it is neat-o that I learned of Myers shortly after I started reading all these Chinua Achebe books. At the moment I am reading one titled Arrow of God (watch that link, it may be a spoiler). In a nutshell, it is about the colonization and subjugation of the Ibo people of Nigeria by both the British government and Christian missionaries. Imagine how conflicting and confusing it would be to have your beliefs, language and way of life devalued and villainies and replaced with ones that offensive and disruptive to your entire being. Welcome to the plight of millions.

This is who we are, this is our cultural heritage. It is necessary and helpful as we go forward, to recognize this fact.

Be well.

The Empire Strikes Out

Hey, I watched this great video today of Ched Myers talking about multiculturalism. It is a very interesting and provocative discussion. He uses two stories from the Bible (the Tower of Babel and Pentecost) as evidence for God's dislike for centralized power and monoculture. He makes a pretty strong case against empire and using the Bible and/or Christianity to institute and advance empire and domination-of any sort. The stories in the Bible are the stories of oppressed minorities, Israelites and Christians, not the elite. As Myers says, good news for some, bad for other. It is definitely worth a listen.

The Pedal Brake That You Depended On

So, back to the Fruits. I don't know really. I feel so bad lately. I came home from work and lid down for a nap at 3:45. Sarah woke me up at 10:15, asking me to let her in bed. So odd, why couldn't she get in bed? Why was I sprawled like that? Why was it dark? I went back to sleep and woke up around 8 am. I guess the past couple of weeks finally caught up with me. My body aches and I just can't rustle up the gumption to do anything.

And I'm supposed to think about this? I am supposed to think about how I can be more loving? I asked Sarah last week about that, what being loving meat to her. In reply she stated that a way to love her more would be to take care of myself. Gee Whiz! Tall order there girl.

Well, I'll end like this:

That is my beautiful wife, Sarah, to the right, and our beautiful friend Mariko, to the left at some outside food function. One, I forgot to ask Mariko about that beautiful dress-shirt she is wearing (its origin and whatnot). Two, Sarah smiling at an outdoor food function.

The Fruits of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:19-23, New International Version)

Not a real whack at LOVE, we'll try again later. I have some Ideas they are just mired in upheaval and tumult at the moment.

Sayonara Dora

Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables

My little brother Tariq brought the "fruit" up on Sunday. He kind of jogged my memory about it. I mentioned , the fruit of the Spirit yesterday in reference to Stephanie. Thinking about it reminded me that trying to live out the fruit is probably a pretty good way to live. It could be thought of as a code even.

"Not many people got a code to live by anymore."

Sorry, I just had to. Anyway, I want to try to apply the Fruits of the Spirit to my life. I think it could be good. It might make me a better husband, employee, drummer, whatever. While in Georgia last week, Stanette mentioned that there were many qualities about Stephanie that she liked. I think these qualities may result from living out the Fruits of the Spirit every day.

But first off, I have to call them the "Fruits of the Spirit." There are nine (plural) of them, maybe they should all be one-a unit even, but naw, it sounds better.

So, what are the Fruits of the Spirit?

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:19-23, New International Version)

That is really only verses 22 and 23, but check out 19-21. It's pretty clear about what is not "fruitful" behavior. Hey man, you gotta be cooler than that. I am going to try to go through the fruits one at a time, think about how I currently live each fruit, and how I might live them a little better. Maybe I'll just talk about songs or old sitcoms that make me think about the fruits. I might even get kooky and mystical, talking about nine-pointed stars and the like, who knows.

Here they are again: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

One more picture for you; check out "joy," what is that a fried egg white? What about kindness? Haacha. Faithfulness looks like a pair of wax lips.

Feel well.

Set Your Mind

Hey, I want to introduce you to another sister of mine; her name is Stephanie. She is a really dynamite individual, and has touched a lot of people's lives, mine included. She is a very loving person, despite all of the tumult and strife she endured for a large portion of her life. Her faith in God has been at the center of her life for as long as I can remember. She does well living out the "fruit of the Spirit." She is also very funny and witty.

Stephanie is asleep right now, in a diprovan-induced sleep, and is being made to breathe with a ventilator. She is a very sick girl, but she looks very peaceful and restful. Her skin is as beautiful as ever, smooth, radiant and milky. She has been asleep June 9th. I was able to spend five days with her before the doctors decided to induce sleep. She was in a great deal of pain and discomfort all of those days, barely slept, and when she did, it was restless.

I hope and pray for her to recover from her maladies, but it is thought to be a long, long road. Please keep Stephanie in your thoughts and prayers, or when you are looking up, smelling flowers or whatever you do to generate positivity.

This bracelet belongs to Stephanie. She doesn't know I have it. I put it on the day she had her last surgery (when they decided to put her under). I was going to wear it until I see her healthy, or she asks me to return it.

Here is a picture of some of the things she is growing. While I was visiting, I was able to use some of her fresh basil in some beet salad and some parsley in a Lima bean salad I made.

Stephanie's mind is often set on "things above." Her mind is also often on the needs, desires and feelings of others. Even while she lay in a hospital bed, grimacing in pain, she managed to remain polite and thoughtful.