Stay Awake!

When I was in college I had a roommate who studied pre-med. In order to stay up late to cram for his exams he longed for the benefits of caffeine, but, however, hated coffee. To assuage his taste buds he came up with a solution: a coffee sandwich. That's right, he would take a piece of white bread and pour a small mountain of granulated, instant coffee atop it, then sandwich it with a second slice of bread. Just as leaves bring fall and Advent brings Christmas, when we noticed a new jar of Folger's Instant in the dorm room we knew final exams were just around the corner.



Stay awake! is the theme of Advent I's Scripture reading, albeit laden with all sorts of apocalyptic imagery, as you and I are adjured to prepare for a second coming that has taken two thousand plus years and counting. Stay Awake! we're told, and we contemplate such a warning is the pinnacle of crying wolf. When will he come? What must we do to prepare?

As we know Advent is the beginning of the Christian year, and New Year's is always an appropriate time to make resolutions - it's a way to prepare ourselves. So here are some suggested resolutions you may want to make, or at least talk about, in the week ahead.

This holiday season:

1. I will spend more money on _____________ and less money on ____________.

2. I will spend more time on ___________ and less time on _________.

3. I will spend more time reading _______________ and less time reading ____________.

4. I will eat more __________________ and I will eat less _______________.

5. I will be nicer to ______________ and I will help _____________ without being asked.

What are some of your Advent resolutions?

A Friendly Letter to Bill Maher

Dear Bill:

Thanks for your new film, Religulous, I am looking forward to seeing it at my local theater. You and I share a strong interest in spirituality and the way humans live out and express their religious inclinations.



People follow religions for a number of reasons. I assume your film will touch on some of them, such as societal, political and familial influences, which often take precedence over critical thinking. We are creatures of habit and routine in most areas of our lives and it is no surprise that this would persuade our religious choices as well. But one of the more important reasons people follow religion, which critics rarely address, is well past due for fair consideration. It is an aspect of each one of us that constantly yearns for expression and development.

It is love.

For those of us who wake up in the morning to idyllic settings, be they cityscapes or more pastoral surroundings, and share an awe for the created world around us, who, as the day progresses may pause to consider the beauty of music, art, and the touch of a friend in times of joy or sadness, who amidst a world of fear, anger and terror – much of it unexplained - many of us routinely long for, experience, and seek to perpetuate, love.

Some of the best frameworks for developing and sharing love are religious. As a Christian I find that the story of a God who created the world and said it was good, delivered a band of followers from slavery into freedom, and loved a human world enough to leave heaven and take on human form, speaks of a perfection of love that all humanity is seeking. For what better love is there than for a person to give his life for another? It is the desire to embrace and model this love, for myself, my loved ones and for all of humanity, that motivates me to follow a religion where the overarching theme is to help me see the world through eyes of love.

Rabbi Harold Kushner writes in his book, Who Needs God: "Religion is not primarily a set of beliefs, a collection of prayers or a series of rituals. Religion is first and foremost a way of seeing. It can't change the facts about the world we live in, but it can change the way we see those facts, and that in itself can often make a differences."

I am not bothered by critical examination of religion – in fact, I would hope to welcome it as it broadens our understandings. But as a critic, please understand that the motivation for following religion isn’t in every instance laziness, stupidity, tradition or an absence of critical thinking, it is quite often an active quest to become our best selves- beings who desire most of all to walk in love.