Dropping Ashes on the Cross

A Zen koan is a story or riddle used to make you think and hopefully enlighten those who meditates on it. One we all know is "What is the sound of one hand clapping?"

Whenever a disagreement comes about with regard to faith, orthodoxy (right belief), orthopraxy (right action) or when the charge of heretic is thrown around I often think of another koan. It is Zen Master Seung Sahn's most famous koan . It goes like this -

Sixth Gate: Seung Sahn's Dropping Ashes on the Buddha

A man came into the Zen Center smoking a cigarette, blowing smoke in the Buddha-statue's face and dropping ashes on its lap. The abbot came in, saw the man, and said, "Are you crazy? Why are you dropping ashes on the Buddha?"
The man answered, "Buddha is everything. Why not?"
The abbot couldn't answer and went away.

1. "Buddha is everything." What does that mean?

2. Why did the man drop ashes on the Buddha?

3. If you had been the abbot, how could you have fixed this man's mind?

Commentary: How do you meet the Buddha? Where do you throw away ashes? Its all very clear. Your correct function is always in front of you.

NOTE: There is an important factor in this case that has apparently never been explicitly included in its print versions. Zen Master Seung Sahn has always told his students that the man with the cigarette is also very strong and that he will hit you if he doesn't approve of your response to his actions.

I think this can be transferred to the Christian faith. This is the way I would re-envision it:

A man walks into a church, snuffs his cigar out on the cross, breaks open the poor box, and takes all the money out. The pastor see this and confronts the man. He tells the pastor that this is not a proper church and says he is going to use the money for the good of God. His theft is forgiven so what's the problem? The pastor is speechless. If you are the pastor how do you correct this man's understanding?

If God has forgiven us through Christ then does it matter what we do? Can we go about sinning knowing that all is forgiven? If our sin is for what we believe to be the greater good does that excuse harming others? If we see someone else sinning is it our job to correct them? If so, how do we correct them? Since there are many different ideas as to what constitutes a sin where do we draw the line? Who gets to draw that line? When we feel that someone has crossed that line what is the best way to correct them? Lecture? Physical means? Excommunication? Ignore it? Is it OK to bully and badger someone until they agree with your interpretation?

These questions and this koan have been on my mind as I have been watching an online debate recently.

There is a group of people on Twitter who post comments using the common hashtag #Outlawpreachers. (a hashtag makes it easier sort Tweets when there are multiple people involved in a conversation). The "Outlaw Preachers" are an eclectic bunch of folks that may or may not be ordained, come from many different denominations (or none at all), and for one reason or another consider themselves to be outside of the norm. There is no initiation, there is no "membership." It is a completely open way to share ideas. Anyone who is on Twitter can type "#outlawpreachers" in a tweet and it will show up in the thread. There are often theological debates and for the most part it is done with respect and civility.

Recently though there have been some heated exchanges in large part due to one individual's very strong opinions on homosexuality and his less than subtle way of expressing them. People have tried lots of different ways of engaging him. Some have stopped following the hashtag because they can't stand the discourse any more. Some have tried to reason with him. Some have resorted to fighting back and it has deteriorated to name calling. Nothing seems to have worked thus far.

I happen to be a straight ally of the homosexuals. I do not view it as a sin. I believe in the radical grace of God and its availability to all that seek it. Personally I don't agree with this individual's point of view or his tactics. But he is my brother, as a human being and as a Christian, so I want to love him, find common ground and remain open to his point of view. Frankly, he is making it difficult for anyone who doesn't agree with him to do so.

On both sides of this disagreement each thinks the other has a mistaken understanding of the gospel. I'm sure that both think that the other is dropping ashes on the cross and using the church's "treasure" for the wrong things.

We think he is using scripture and the gospel to condemn and alienate children of God. He thinks we are too liberal with God's atonement and what he perceives as our acceptance of sinful behavior.

Someone is dropping ashes on the cross. How do we respond and stay true to our faith?

Seminary Decision

After my visits and much consideration I have decided that I will be attending Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary to pursue a Masters of Divinity (MDiv). I will be starting in the Fall and plan on relocating to Texas sometime in August so that I have a little bit of time to get settled in before new student orientation September 1 - 3. Classes begin the following week.
I really loved the school, the faculty and staff, the students that I met and the other prospective students that were there with me for Discovery Weekend.

When I let the school know that I was accepting their offer of admission I received multiple messages of cheer and welcome from staff and I was warmly welcomed by alumni on Twitter as one of their own. It was quite an instant affirmation of my decision.

The campus is fairly compact and really pretty. They have a really cool Gothic chapel and a selection of different on campus housing options for students and their families within easy walking distance (even for me) to classrooms, administration offices, and dining/fellowship hall. The seminary campus is across the street from the northern most part of the University of Texas campus.

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The warmer temperatures should be somewhat easier on my leg and the city of Austin was by far my favorite of the locations of the Presbyterian Seminaries. From the school's web site -

In recent studies Austin has ranked first as the “best city for relocating families,” second among “top creative cities,” third “best city for singles,” and the fourth most “wireless” city in America. Home to one of the nation’s largest universities as well as the seat of state government, Austin is a welcoming community whose cultural diversity and tolerant attitude make it easy to fit in. We delight in our claim as the “Live Music Capital of the World,” where you can hear the symphony perform on the banks of Lady Bird Lake just steps from a statue commemorating Austin blues legend Stevie Ray Vaughn. More than 150 restaurants and clubs within ten minutes of campus offer a smorgasbord of culinary and musical fare. Life in Austin is largely lived outdoors in the city’s parks, trails, spring-fed pools, and lakes. Chances are you’ll fall in love with Austin as you discover that our unofficial slogan, “Keep Austin Weird,” is as much about cherishing our natural resources, homegrown businesses, and authentic Tex-Mex cuisine as it is about birthday celebrations for Eeyore, a city-wide love affair with the Mexican freetail bat, and an annual party for a much-maligned canned meat product.

They have offered me a generous grant to cover the bulk of tuition so I will basically need to cover my living expenses. Since the housing is owned by the seminary the monthly rent is well under market rates. I am in the process of applying for scholarships and loans in order to cover my living expenses.

I have been thinking about this for years. Then after deciding to move forward I had to put things on hold to recover from my accident and deal with the end of my marriage. Once I felt I was ready to move forward, having the support of my congregation and the Presbytery of Baltimore gave me the green light to start checking out and apply to schools. So after many months of completing applications, writing essays and trying to decide where to study it certainly is nice to know where I'm going and to be working on the final details to make this a reality.

Census Day

Today is Census Day. It's also April Fool's Day, but this is no joke. Please complete your form and mail it back in order to save the government money. Otherwise they will have to pay folks to call and visit homes in an attempt to count everyone. Counting everyone will ensure that we have proper representation in the government and that there are enough resources allocated based on the actual population. It's simple and takes only a few minutes...you don't even need a stamp. For more information about why it is important or to get help with your form visit 2010Census.gov

While we are on the subject of how important it is to count EVERYONE there is a movement this year called Queer the Census that is lobbying to have a question added to the next census regarding sexual orientation. Should you wish to support the movement to have lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered citizens counted, visit queerthecensus.org and sign their petition. Its too late to order a free sticker, but you can print out your own and seal your envelope with the following image to let them know if you are LGBT or a straight ally of the community.