I Can Ride My Bike With No Handlebars

I've listened to the radio more this past year than I have in a long time thanks to the addition of Philly's Radio 104.5. Among getting to hear new music from Social Distortion or Weezer along with pre-Nickleback alt-rock, they also play exciting new music from bands like Vampire Weekend. It's surprisingly refreshing (although it comes from the evil of Clear Channels). OK, end of commercial.

They've started playing this hypnotic song that begins with plucked violin strings and the words "I can ride my bike with no handlebars...no handlebars...no handlebars". If you've heard this song, I know you're with me. Turns out the song is performed by Denver natives FLOBOTS.

I found their new CD at Borders for a low price tonight and I was in the mood to hear something new. I was interested by the fact that this band--a multiracial hip-hop group with a viola, trumpet and generally live instruments throughout--had started a non-profit organization committed to organizing people around social change through the arts. But honestly speaking: I was itching for some new music, the CD was cheap, the band was interesting, and there was at least one song I knew I would enjoy.

At the cash register, there was a young guy who told me that he had just bought the CD himself and informed me that it was full of "sick beats". As I walked to the car, I was a little bit worried. I'm just old and white enough to know what "sick beats" are, but generally steer clear of any rhythms that might be ill. I'm a guitar guy.

What an interesting CD. I wanted to drive around all night and see how it sounded different after the sun went down. Early in the CD, they describe themselves as "somewhere between prayer and revolution, between Jesus and Huey P. Newton". Sometimes there's a little bit of sloganeering going on...but just a little bit.

The first tune that really got me was "Stand Up", a lament and call to action written in the shadows of Katrina, 9/11, and current wars:

Under God...but we kill like the son of Sam
but if you fell like I feel about the son of Man
we will overcome...we shall not be moved
except by a child with no socks and shoes
except by a woman dying from a loss of food
except by a freedom fighter bleeding on a cross for you

A few tracks later, there's "Anne Braden", a tribute to the white Episcopalian woman who raised holy hell in the segregated south. It begins by describing how she came to realize the evil around her as a child:

She knew there was something wrong
because the song said "yellow, red, black, white"
everyone precious in the path of Christ
but what about the daughter of the woman cleaning their house?
Wasn't she a child they were singing about?
And if Jesus loves us black or white skin
Why didn't her white mother invite them in?
When did it become a room for no blacks to step in?
How did she already know not to ask the question?

As she grew older and became an activist for equality (even mentioned by name in MLK's letter from Birmingham Jail), she struggled with not meeting hatred with hatred:

she faced it every day
people she saw on a regular basis
people she loved in several cases
people she knew were incredibly racist
It was painful but she never stopped loving them
Never stopped calling their name
And she never stopped being a southern woman
And she never stopped calling for change

The CD ends with the song "Rise". The final words of the song (and therefore the whole disc) are:

The answer's obvious
we switch the consanants
Change the Sword to wordS
and lift continents

And then the refrain repeats off into the sunset "We rise together...we rise together...we rise together" In the end, they add the words "If you believe in redemption coming to you from another dimension".

I believe in redemption coming from another dimension. Let's rise together! God is at work in this world trying to move us to action: to love and serve. It falls somewhere between prayer and revolution...or maybe it's both?

In the end, I'm still hypnotized by "No Handlebars".

Some of these songs can be heard at the FLOBOTS myspace page.

And for the record...the kid was right: the beats are sick!

Fear Muddles the Work of Peace

Sermon - Easter 2A - March 30, 2008
John 20:19-31
Temple Lutheran Church

“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."

These are the words that greet us as our Easter celebration continues--the words the disciples heard on the evening after the resurrection: “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."

As word of the Resurrection begins to circulate, we find the disciples locked in a room paralyzed by fear. Fear will make you do strange things sometimes. Fear changes the way you think, behave and relate to others. Fear can cause us to lose regard for the rest of the world and be concerned only about our own safety in the face of what we fear.

Fear is an important recurring theme in scripture. 365 times in scripture we hear the words “Fear not…be not afraid, do not fear”. 365 times. That's enough times to reflect upon one of them every day of the year. Over and over, the testimony of scripture includes being set free from fear.

Since this is a leap year, we’ll make today’s passage number 366. We don’t hear the words “Fear not”, but we do witness the risen Jesus coming right into the presence of fear and proclaiming peace… “Peace be with you.”

There’s an important connection to make here. Fear is the biggest barrier to peace in the world and in our lives. Fear muddles the work of peace. Fear leads to suffering. Fear leads to violence.

I learned something this past week, quite by accident. Hopefully some of us knew this (I sure didn’t know), but we are nearing the end of a ten-year worldwide focus on non-violence. In 1998, The United Nations instituted “The decade for a culture of non-violence” to occur from 2001 until 2010. In 1999, our church body, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America pledged to be a part of this decade of promoting peace.

2001-2010. So here we are in 2008, and, well…I don’t know if it’s gone so well thus far.

I imagine that it probably played out a bit like this: plans were probably laid out for the whole ten years. I would guess these plans are probably still in motion today. The decade began in 2001. And then…then came September the 11th. Unthinkable, unacceptable, and unforgettable violence reared its head. Our nation, and much of the world, got into that room with the disciples and locked the doors out of fear.

Fear will make you do strange things sometimes. Fear changes the way you think, behave and relate to others. Fear muddles the work of peace.

The risen Jesus walks right into the middle of that very real fear. This isn’t hypothetical fear. This isn’t the “idea” or “concept” of fear. Jesus walks into a locked room full of people that were convinced that they were the next ones to be dragged out, beaten & crucified. Jesus walks right into the reality of fear and reasserts once again what God is all about: "Peace be with you.”

Jesus…who fulfills God’s promises to the world. Jesus…rejected by humans, but confirmed by God who raised him from the dead in the power of the Holy Spirit so that on earth there might be peace. Jesus…who taught love for one's enemies. Jesus…who reached out to the oppressed, downtrodden, and rejected. Jesus…who prayed for his enemies, even as they tortured him on the cross. Jesus…who reconciled us with God, even when we were enemies of God. Jesus…whose reconciling love of enemy shows us how deeply peace is rooted in who God is. It’s Jesus…who says “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you”

“As the Father has sent me, so I send You."

As followers of Jesus, we are called to continue the work of peace. To build the kingdom Jesus came to commence “on earth as in heaven.” Through the Gospel, the Holy Spirit calls and gathers people from all nations to worship and witness to the God of peace. A people who know Christ, sent into the world to make Christ known.

We make Christ known…
…as we publicly gather to proclaim and celebrate God’s Gospel of peace.
…as we keep alive the news of God’s resolve for peace.
…as we declare that everyone is responsible before God to create peace.
…as we equip ourselves to act for peace in our communities & the world.
…as we sing “Let there be peace on earth…and let it begin…with me.”

We are called to be a movement. We are called to be a community of peace. We are the Body of Christ sent in the world. We are God’s presence in the world…a presence that wages peace.

A faithful presence that at times can disturb the status quo. Especially if the status quo is looking to false sources for peace or security. Or if the status quo forgets that “Loving your enemies” includes not killing them. Or if the status quo confuses loving your country with turning your country into a false god. If your definition of peace is a not rooted in the peace that Jesus announces, the mission of God’s church might disturb your peace.

So if any of you are planning to run for president some day, be warned: it doesn’t take a pastor like Jeremiah Wright to get you in trouble. If the church is living out it’s mission, it’s going to be counter-cultural. It will even be seen as subversive and radical. It will be radical about peace, radical about forgiveness, radical about reconciliation. It will be radical about telling the truth.

The heart of who we are called to be as Christians can be heard in these words of the risen Jesus: “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” We are sent to be a movement of forgiveness. A community of peace creating bonds among people who are different. A community of peace where we can talk to one another, respect one another, share ideas, hopes, dreams, and values. The Church is a setting of freedom and respect where believers with different perspectives can learn from one another in the unity of faith. No topic should be too controversial or too contentious to discuss as a church. Where better have such discussions?

We live in fearful times during this decade that was intended for non-violence. In the next three weeks in Pennsylvania, and throughout this election year, we will again see and hear those fears used to motivate us. Fear of a recession. Fear of terrorism. Fear of immigrants. Fear of people who are different than me. Fear of a candidate whose race or gender is not the same as presidents 1-43. Once again the candidates and the strategists and the political parties will lick their fingers & hold them up to see which way the winds are blowing. Those winds can be driven by all of these fears, or the church can be the movement that changes the wind. As followers of Jesus, we can walk right into the reality of fear and reassert once again what God is all about. We can wage peace. We can be the body of Christ in the world today.

Jesus sends us into the world. Following Jesus is not a private affair. Personal, yes, but never private. “For God so loved the world” is quite the public statement.

Hear the words of the risen Jesus. Hear the invitation to risk, to an adventure of faith, to being a disciple. Hear the invitation to new birth into a living hope through the resurrection.

“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."

AMEN.

I owe much of this sermon's inspiration to the ELCA Social Statement on Peace.