Beauty in randomness

There's beauty in hidden places...scientists look at the inner workings of the universe, and find elegance in chaos theory. And, thanks to the random shuffle function on my iPod (and "smart playlists"), I rediscover beauty that I had long forgotten in a song by Tanita Tikaram.

Tell me if, you want to see
A world outside your window
A world outside your window isn't free
And tell me if you wanna catch that feeling of redemption
That feeling of redemption don't do much for me

What can you say
I'm hiding in the belfry
What can you say - I want to catch time
How can you say you know anything about me
Well I knew about you - but I won't care about you

Everyone has come to see. Well some things have to do
Flowers out for this photographic haunt, but they all pass me by
But the age is not a funny game, it don't give such a buzz
And when I winced with ignorance
I had to kiss this dust

(From "World Outside Your Window", 1989)

Friday Five: What are you...

(From the RevGals, a quick meme this week):

What are you...

1. Wearing
Glasses (you didn't really want to know, did you?)

2. Pondering
My navel, the sound of one hand clapping, what a woodchuck would chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood...that's about it.

3. Reading
The Year's Best Science Fiction, 20th Annual Collection.

4. Dreaming
Of a world where the house (yard included) repairs, maintains, and cleans itself

5. Eating
Nothing, at the moment, but it should soon be time for a fruit snack

The Secret

After a few reminders from D, I finally got around to watching The Secret. It wasn't much of a secret, to be honest: a combination of Norman Vincent Peale and the new-ageish metaphysics from What The Bleep Do We Know?!

Interestingly enough, if you replaced the word "universe" in The Secret with "God," you'd end up with...The Prosperity Gospel!

I do think there's some truth in the central message: positive outlook and emotions do tend to result in positive outcomes. But that's hardly a secret, and not a reason to indulge in materialistic excess. I did like the quote from Mother Teresa, though:

I was once asked why I don't participate in anti-war demonstrations. I said that I will never do that, but as soon as you have a pro-peace rally, I'll be there.

In that vein, I will try to focus on the positive in this blog :)

Earth Day every day

I used to have a T-shirt with that slogan. It was a powerful reminder that Earth Day is not just an isolated event, it's a lifestyle. And as Christians, I think we have an even greater obligation to protect this fragile planet. It begins with small steps, like placing a recycling paper receptacle in the church office, so that the copious quantities of waste paper generated each week don't get mixed in with trash. For ideas on how we can all make a difference, visit the Earthday Network.

Just look at all those hungry mouths we have to feed
Take a look at all the suffering we breed
So many lonely faces scattered all around
Searching for what they need

Is this the world we created?
What did we do it for?
Is this the world we invaded
Against the law.
So it seems in the end
Is this what we're all living for today?
The world that we created

You know that every day a helpless child is born
Who needs some loving care inside a happy home
Somewhere a wealthy man is sitting on his throne
Waiting for life to go by

Is this the world we created?
We made it on our own
Is this the world we devastated
Right to the bone?
If there's a God up in the sky looking down
What can he think of what we've done
To the world that He created?

(Queen, "Is this the world we created?" 1984)

Bits and pieces

We thought we were safe from the recent pet food recall. A couple of weeks ago, D happened (?) to check into a Yahoo group about a raw food diet, and this Sunday, we learned that F's dog food was also being recalled. This is not a generic brand; due to his food allergies, we've been progressively climbing the dog food quality (and expense) ladder. Apparently the manufacturer recently decided to change the formulation to include rice gluten, and found contamination with melamine (the same toxin implicated in the wheat gluten-based recalls a few weeks ago).

Today we tried switching him to another hypoallergenic food by the same manufacturer but he thre up right after eating it. We still don't know if it was a normal reaction to the transition, but we're not taking any more chances. From what I can tell, more and more pet owners online are just fed up with the whole issue and are switching to home-cooked food. That's our plan for now.

I know there's a lot of dog and cat owners on the blogrings to which I belong, so if any of you are interested in alternatives, check out this site.

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On a totally unrelated issue, I discovered that Blogger now has a feature for Hindi transliteration: I can type phonetic equivalents in English and have it converted to the correct Hindi typeface:
क्या बकवास है!
Hmmm...apparently it doesn't work on Macs. I should have known.

Responding to evil

Henry has a good post that discusses our response to today's tragic events at Virginia Tech. My instinctive response when I saw the news was not quite as rational. It's one I've struggled with on many other occasions.

There's evil in this world, a pervasive, destructive darkness, and it has nothing to do with God. I've heard many people debate the question of why God allows evil things to happen, but I think the answer lies in our own humanity rather than God's divinity.

Is it possible to acknowledge the existence of evil, yet forgive the cause? Jesus did this on the cross, and so did Stephen:

At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep.

(Acts 7:57-60)

I just don't know if I have the strength to forgive.

Friday Five: Dental edition

From the RevGals:

Cheesehead and I are both laid up this week with various tooth maladies. This one's in honor of us:

1. Are you a regular patron of dentists' offices? Or, do you go
a) faithfully, as long as you have insurance, or
b) every few years or so, whether you need it or not, or
c) dentist? what is this "dentist" thing you speak of?
I don't have insurance, but try to go in for a cleaning every 9 months or so. At my dentist, appointments typically need to be made 6 months or more in advance.

2. Whatever became of your wisdom teeth?
I still have them, grown in at various angles. My dentist said, "If they don't bother you, leave them in."

3. Favorite thing to eat that's BAAAAAD for your teeth.
Hmmm...this has gotten a lot easier since I discovered I'm allergic to dairy, but it probably would be caramel corn.

4. Ever had oral surgery? Commiserate with me.
Yes, after a root canal. Local anesthesia. Fun.

5. "I'd rather have a root canal than _________________."
...lose a limb? I've had two...the first one was when I was in grad school, and the insurance only covered work done at a dental school. That (and many other procedures) was a nightmare. The second one, at my current dentist, was much better (comparatively speaking).

Bonus: Does your dentist recommend Trident?
Not that I know, but I do get Oral-B toothbrushes!

Freedom of speech--at what price?

Henry has a thought-provoking post on hate speech that resonates with me today. I don't recall who said this originally, but remember it from Murphy Brown, "I disapprove of what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

The problem is, where do we draw the line? And is it "hate speech" when the same words are used casually by the same group of people who would be offended by an outsider saying it? Now that Don Imus' radio show is cancelled (justifiably so, at least in my opinion), the discussion may die down for a while. This TIME magazine essay, Who Can Say What sums it up pretty well.

Maybe it's as simple as WWJS--what would Jesus say?

The lost tomb?

This weekend, I managed to watch The Lost Tomb of Jesus (thanks to YouTube). I was fairly skeptical going in, and the documentary didn't do anything to change that. Yet I found myself enjoying some of the archaeological drama. The science and logic, however, was shaky at best, even to an armchair archaeologist like me.

What struck me the most about the documentary was something that wasn't even discussed. As I watched these tombs--over two thousand years old--being uncovered and partially destroyed by the relentless pace of residential development, I felt a strange sense of loss. Of course, there's no guarantee that our own final earthly resting places won't be similarly treated in a couple of millenia. But perhaps we're observing the command to "be fruitful and multiply" at the expense of stewardship of this fragile planet and all those who have gone before us.

If you haven't seen the documentary, it's worth watching purely from an entertainment standpoint. You can also read a fairly critical review at Wikipedia. There have also been many rebuttals, but I think this one by a Catholic priest sums it up pretty well:

Tomb of Jesus? Discovery Channel mistake
Uploaded by fatherjeffrey

Fear no more

The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."

(Mt 28: 5-10)

By conquering death, you taught us not to fear it. By rising from the grave, you changed the world forever. Today, as we remember that morning, may you change our hearts as well.

Interlude

Those closest to you had tasted defeat. They had watched you die, seen your body laid in the tomb. For some of them, their dreams and hopes of a powerful kingdom were dashed to the ground. It was all over.

Maybe they just didn't understand your promise. Maybe the burden of grief was too heavy, and sustaining any hope just seemed impossible. What did it all mean?

Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!"
(Mt 20:17-19)

Time

At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!"

(Mt 27:51-54)

You could have chosen any time in history to tear the curtain and set us free. Today, you would have instant access to a global audience through television, radio, and the Internet. Yet I wonder if the reaction would have been any different. Instead of a cross, you might have fallen to an assassin's bullet, or died in prison.

What would it take for us to say, "Surely he was the Son of God!"?

Gethsemane

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."

He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."

When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.

Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer!"

(Mt 26: 36-46)

You were, in the midst of divinity, fully human. You understood our weakness enough to share completely in our emotions. You prayed that the cup would pass, yet you surrendered to your Father's will. You were alone with no support, your friends asleep, yet you accepted the agony that was to come.

In your humanity, may we find strength.

Preface

This time of year is one of mixed emotions, polar opposites coming together in a series of events that culminate in a triumphant ending (or beginning). While I describe my reactions in the following posts, I'm aware of the discrepancy between historical chronology and the accounts of the gospels. If I could divorce my emotions from my intellect, I might even find the subject a fascinating one to study. For now, I'll just point to this discussion, although there are many others like it.

But this is one time when historical accuracy is not quite as relevant. The events of these few days changed the world forever, regardless of the precise order and timing. And that's what I look to and celebrate.