One Sunny Sunday morning at Jimmy Claxton's Grave

When James E. Claxton was laid to rest in 1970, Oakwood Hill Cemetery had already been around for nearly 100 years. Baseball had been around for, well, who knows how long, but the professional game had been in existence since 1869. At least that is the official story; players we undoubtedly paid before the Cincinnati Red Stockings, the "official" first professional team, played 101 years before Mr. Claxton was laid to rest. Yet that year, 1970, was only a mere eight years after the Negro American League disbanded, the last vestige of Negro League Baseball. Following that, one remaining Negro League Independent team soldiered on until 1989, when the Indianapolis Clowns ceased operation. For the last number of years, the team was no longer playing competitive baseball, but rather traveled as a side-show attraction, much like the Harlem Globetrotters. I spent Memorial Day weekend in Tacoma, Washington, and that trip brought all of this history into sharp focus for me.
On Saturday night, May 23, 2026, I attended a Banana Ball Championship League game in Tacoma's Cheney Stadium (home of the AAA Tacoma Rainiers) with my wife Stacey, my daughter Emma, and her family (wife Kelsy, Son Luka, and Daughter Lyla). The game was between the Party Animals and the Indianapolis Clowns. The Clowns' name has been revived by the Banana Ball phenomenon (see: https://bananaball.com) in partnership with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum because, as head Banana Jesse Cole has stated, “They were the first baseball team to put entertainment first and would go to great lengths to bring their style of baseball to fans all over the country.” As a student of the game, and in particular the Negro Leagues, it was wonderful to see the Indianapolis Clowns back on the field, and that history remembered. 

Standing at the grave of James "Jimmy" Claxton, the next morning in one of Tacoma's oldest burial grounds, I recalled Claxton's life and paid my respects. Claxton is not a name known by many. Baseball

card collectors might know the story of how Claxton, by accident, became the first black baseball player to appear on a baseball card. (1) Others might look at baseball-reference.com and see a very short professional career listed. On that website, he is listed as playing three games for two teams (Pollock's Cuban Stars & the Washington Pilots) in 1932 in the Negro East-West League. It doesn't get much better if you click on his minor league stats. He is listed as playing in two minor league games in 1916 in the Pacific Coast League (viewed by some, like me, as the third Major League at that time), and his history tells us (see footnote 1) that both appearances for the Oakland Oaks were on the same day. On that single day, he appeared in two games, pitching in both sides of a doubleheader. He was the starter in game one and the closer in game two. Yet, that one-day minor league stop (though it yielded the famous baseball card), and the "cup-of-coffee" in the official Negro Leagues, belies the greatness of his career.

Claxton was born in Wellington, BC in 1892, but was largely raised in the coal mining towns of the Cascade Mountains in Washington state. He began playing semi-pro, industrial league baseball as a catcher as a teen, eventually playing for his hometown Roslyn Yippers an integrated team that played at a high level in semi-pro ball in Washington State for decades, including a stint in the Seattle City League. Claxton goes on to play for another 24 years on semi-pro, barnstorming, and industrial league teams. Teams like the Seattle Royal Giants (which he helped found), Shasta Limited, and the barnstorming Cuban House of David.  He integrates many of the teams he plays for. It is estimated he played for some 100 teams in a 40-year baseball career. According to his Negro League Legends baseball card, “Claxton preferred playing in integrated semi-pro leagues close to his West Coast home rather than the Negro Leagues.”

Claxton biographer Ty Pheland wrote, “To Claxton church, work, and baseball were twists of rope. On their own with little strength, but when intertwined, capable of lifting heavy loads.” I would argue that Claxton was practicing Public Theology by integrating baseball in many of the places he went. 

Due to being well-traveled and the poor record-keeping of games in this era, Claxton's stats are incomplete. From the stats we have, we know he was an excellent hitter and pitcher. He holds a lifetime Batting average of .350 and a pitching record of 138- 77 as a pitcher.  One former major league scout declared him “the greatest ball player to ever play the game.”

He pitched in his last game in 1956 at the age of 63 – an old-timers game between Tacoma City League and Valley League old-timers.  That same year, he retired from his work as a longshoreman, a job he used to help support his baseball career throughout his life.

On Sunday morning, the day before Memorial Day, I stood at the gravesite of James E. Claxton. Since reading his story in Ty Pheland's book, he has become one of my favorite players ever to play the game, despite never having seen him on the field. Claxton's story of early baseball integration, rooted in his faith, resonates as important and valuable to me. His excellence in obscurity is a trait, an experience, a history, I value. 

As the sunlight streamed through the trees of the cemetery, the silence was broken by the calling of a Northwest crow. It seemed fitting that a bird from the region Claxton loved and preferred to play in was providing a soundtrack for my visit to his grave. However, given the area's indigenous history, it is interesting to note that a crow symbolizes wisdom, intelligence, and adaptability. Those traits were present in Claxton. He had intelligence for the game of baseball, but also knew that barriers could be broken down. He was wise enough to know that his faith could be lived out, demonstrated in the world, not just in church spaces or the segregated spaces of the negro Leagues, but wherever he took his talents. And by playing for many teams, in many places, for many years, Jimmy Claxton made adaptation a way of life. The crow cawing away was speaking to the legacy of a man who was great before the world was ready for him, but who blazed the trail for the players that came after him. Claxton is also an example for all of us seeking to live out our faith in the world against overwhelming odds. His courage is enlivening, and his "do what you can where you are" approach is inspiring.

Until next time,
Joel Kiekintveld

NOTE:

I owe much in the post to the book Darkhorse: The Jimmy Claxton Story by Ty Phelan

(1) 

Claxton is on the roster for the Oakland Oaks of the PCL for no more than a couple of weeks in 1919. He was passing himself off as a Native American from Minnesota (since Indians were allowed to play in the PCL and Blacks were barred). During his stint with the Oaks, the photographer for the ZeeNut Candy Company took pictures of the team for that season's PCL baseball cards. Claxton was photographed and a card was issued with his likeness. This card becomes the first baseball card made in the United States to feature a black player. As noted above, Claxton plays in two games on the same day. He pitches in both games of a doubleheader and ends the day with a stat line of 2.1 innings pitched, 4 hits, 3 runs, 2 earned runs, and four walks. It was discovered that Claxton was black (he was also "French and Indian on his father’s side, and Irish and English on his mother’s." - https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/jimmy-claxton/) and released.

Deep In My Heart, I’m A Terrible Man: Thoughts On My Dark Heart, Racism & The 2024 Election

Deep In My Heart, I’m A Terrible Man: Thoughts On My Dark Heart, Racism & The 2024 Election

Deep in my heart
Deep in my heart
Deep in my heart
I'm a terrible man
Deep in my heart
Deep down in my heart
I know what I am

-       Deep Down, The Devil Makes Three

 

 

A number of years ago I was at a Benedictine retreat center for a training. During one of the sessions the speaker, one of the leaders of the retreat, began saying things that were stereotypes of the black community. I remember being unnerved by the words I was hearing and even labeled them as racist in my mind, but I didn’t say a word. I silently sat in the classroom and listen to the lecture. I never addressed it. I just let it happen. Later in the retreat the comments were addressed and an apology made but it was not because I had gone to the speaker or another leader and prompted a discussion. I did nothing.

 

Over the years I have reflected back on that moment with immense shame. That moment haunts me. I am embarrassed that I said nothing. It is something I carry. I vowed to never stand idly by and let a racist action or words go unchallenged. I thought I was doing pretty good with this vow until today.

 

Last week I was in a meeting where I could have spoken up about a racist reality and I didn’t. In that meeting a long discussion was had about a white male client departing. In contrast clients of color have departed many times without a discussion. The imbalance was clear and implicated the organization. The importance placed on a white man, when compared to BIPOC persons, exposed a white-dominate / racist way of being in the world. In this space I said nothing. I attended and departed without making a single comment.

 

In a follow-up meeting a colleague called me (and the rest of those in attendance) out for our behavior. As the reprimand was shared a feeling and a phrase welled up in me. I was frustrated that I had not said anything (again) and thought “Damn it, it happened again.”[1]

 

The band The Devil Makes Three has a song titled “Deep Down” where the lyrics say, “Deep in my heart, I'm a terrible man. Deep in my heart. Deep down in my heart, I know what I am.” Those that know me are aware that I often tie life to song s and song lyrics. As I sat with the reality that I had once again not stood against racism, and even failed to see it, the confession found in this lyric was resonating in me. My lack of action forced me to realize that deep down in my heart I am something I desire not to be - a racist.

 

Parker Palmer notes, “One of the things this society is most deficient in is safe spaces for truth-telling about the condition of our souls.”[2] He’s not wrong. We want to keep our deep dark thoughts to ourselves and out of the light. We desire to live in denial that deep in our hearts we are terrible people. Palmer’s observation is a statement on confession. We need more spaces to say the truth about what is happening deep in our hearts. In the case of race in America we need confessional spaces now more than ever.

 

If you were to ask me on any given day if I’m a racist I would answer no. Internally I might even answer in true Roy Kent mode “Fuck No!” On the outside I appear to be anti-racist or an ally. However, my inaction in the face of racist words or a white dominate system gets to the truth underneath. Raised in an America that gives preference to white, male, heterosexual, cis gender, Christian men I have a winning hand everywhere I go. The culture teaches me, and everyone, that I am the alpha and gives me privilege at every turn. I have so internalized this message that despite my best efforts, and heart felt desire to be otherwise, I still think and act in racist ways. I am ashamed of this, but “Deep down in my heart, I know what I am.”

 

As I write this we sit on the eve of the 2024 Presidential Election. This election cycle has exposed, yet again, the racist patterns in America. One candidate has gone out of the way to demonize and blame persons of color for every problem in the country. That same candidate has spread racist lies and perpetuated decades old white supremacist tropes. The other candidate has had to defend themselves repeatedly because their mere existence on a Presidential as a Black/Asian Woman irritates many in the dominate culture. Like it or not, race is a huge issue in this election and it will be in the weeks and months after the election.

 

No matter who wins the election there will be more moments for me to raise my voice in opposition to racism. There is fear that if Kamala Harris wins there will be backlash against black women and BIPOC people. There is the very real threat of racially based mass deportations if Trump is elected. I’m sure there are more racial reactions to the election than just those, but my point is that in the coming weeks I know I will be faced with another opportunity (or many) to voice my opposition to racism. Will I stand by and say nothing as I have before, or will I speak? I want to believe that I will speak out. It is my prayer that I will find the courage to resist the evil of the racism in front of me. What about you?

 

Joel K

"When you see the folly in something you've done. And you wish you had it to do over. But you know you can't because it's too late. So you pick that thing up and you carry it with you."

- Phil Cooper (Played by Danny DiVito) in the film The Big Kahuna

---

[1] I used the word Damn here not because of my normal potty-mouthed existence, but because if anything deserves to be sent to hell it is racism and my lack of action in the face of it.

[2] https://onbeing.org/programs/parker-palmer-courtney-martin-the-inner-life-of-rebellion/

Image by Krzysztof Dzwonek from Pixabay

A King Was Never The Goal: Responding To The Speech At The Believers Summit

Yesterday a host of news outlets reported the words of Former President Donald Trump at the Believers Summit in West Palm Beach, Florida where he spoke Friday night. During that speech he stated:

"Christians, get out and vote, just this time. You won't have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what, it will be fixed, it will be fine, you won't have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians... I love you Christians. I'm a Christian. I love you, get out, you gotta get out and vote. In four years, you don't have to vote again, we'll have it fixed so good you're not going to have to vote." (1)

If I understand Trump correctly (something I often find difficult), he is proposing a monarchy or dictatorship, as well as offering a version of political salvation. His statements, and my concerns, lead me to assert that there are three reasons Christians should reject these thoughts. The first reason comes from the Old Testament. The second, is rooted in the New Testament. And the final reason can be found in the founding of American Democracy. Let's take a look at each.


The Old Testament

One way to read the Old Testament is to look at it as a series of stories about the people of God making the wrong decision. While there are many poor choices made in the first 39 books of the Bible, the choice to be ruled by a king ranks right up at the top. I Samuel 8 records the account of Israel demanding a king to rule them and fight their battles for them. In the end, God tells Samuel to go against God’s desire and give them a king. Samuel anoints Saul and Israel's history with monarchy begins. It is not long before the king experiment goes exactly as Samuel predicts as the rulers usher in militarism, oppression, affluence and alliances with other kings. Walter Brueggemann calls this "Royal Consciousness." The royal consciousness stands in opposition to the vision for God's people given to the prophets (the Prophetic/Mosaic vision epitomized by Moses). Brueggemann posits that royal consciousness is marked by three things: affluence, oppressive social policy and static religion. Affluence keeps people happy and satisfied so they are unlikely to revolt. Oppressive social policy keeps those needed for labor, and those outside of the privialged ruling class, oppressed and kept in their place. Finally, a static religion is a stale and lifeless practice of religion that supports the king and his policies. This static religion is often dripping in language about God blessing the nation (as in Christian Nationalism) or is seen as a justification for the government and its actions. Brueggemann gives the example of Solomon as the height of royal consciousness. (2) Of Solomon Brueggemann writes,

"The entire program of Solomon now appears to have been a self-serving achievement with its sole purpose the self-securing of the king and dynasty. It consists of...a program of state- sponsored syncretism, which of course means the steady abandonment of the radicalness of the Mosaic vision." (3)

Rob Bell, makes a connection to our current moment, also citing Solomon,

"What's true of empire then is true of empires now. What we see in the Bible is that empires naturally accumulate wealth and resources. Solomon built terraces and stockpiled gold...At the height of Israel's power, while Solomon is reigning at the peak of his glory, we find the most incisive and honest critique of the empire itself. We're told the weight of his gold was 666 - which, remember, is a Jewish way of saying that somebody has so profoundly lost their way that they are now in opposition to God." (4)

It was always God that was supposed to fight Israel's battles. Starting at the Red Sea when Moses hears from God and tells the people, "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (Exodus 14:14) the arrangement was set - God was the one who was fighting for the people of Israel not a King. The Battle of Jericho is another example of God fighting a battle for the people (Joshua 6). God fighting was the plan. It was never supposed to be a king.

Fast forward to our current moment and Trump is offering (and being encouraged by his supporters) to fight the people's battles and be a king. He is saying, I (in god-like fashion) will solve all of the problems and you will never need to vote again. When does someone never need to vote again? In the case of a King (or dictator)! This recent speech by Trump places voters - and in particular Christians - in the United States in the same place as the people of Israel in I Samuel. The rhetoric coming from the former President offers a choice, do we desire a king to fight for us, or God? Be careful what you choose, there is book you might be familiar with that tells the tale of what happens if you pick a king.


The New Testament

There is a tension in the gospels that runs like an undercurrent below the story of Jesus' ministry. Once you see it you can't un-see it. The undercurrent is that the people, and even the disciples, are expecting Jesus to be a political savior and deliver them from Rome. In short the people expect Jesus to be a king.

There are moments when Jesus easily could have taken the turn toward being a king but did not. In fact when those opportunities presented themselves he side stepped them all. A good example is found in John 6 in the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000. After the crowd is fed John tells us,

"After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, 'Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.' Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself." (John 6:14-15)

In that story, Jesus, rather than seek political power, avoids becoming king by leaving the crowd behind. Another place we can see Jesus avoid being a King is when he is question by Pilate in John 18. In that passage he answers the question “Are you the king of the Jews?” by saying, “Is that your own idea, or did others talk to you about me?” (John 18:33-34). He also adds in that conversation, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place." (John 18:36).

Being a king, in the earthly sense marked by royal consciousness, was never on Jesus' radar. Jesus was not interested bringing an earthly kingdom this is why he kept telling parables about what the kingdom of God is like. Those parables are a stark contrast to affluence, oppressive social policy and static religion. In Jesus' kingdom everyone is welcome at the banquet table; weeds and wheat grow up together; and it grows like a weed called a mustard seed.

Jesus doesn't ever want to be king and doesn't see a king as a solution to the political problems presented by Rome. A king is not the answer for Jesus and it shouldn't be for us either. If to be a Christian is to be Christ-like (which is what the word means), we cannot want a king because Jesus never desired one. To desire an earthly king is anti-Christ in its orientation.


American Democracy

It should go without saying that the United States is a democracy (to be specific it is a representative republic). The founding fathers of our nation set the country up as a democracy because they did not want a king. This is a really simple argument. The United Sates was founded on the idea of not having a king and giving the power to the people. The core of any democracy is the right to vote. Asking someone to vote so that they "won't have to vote anymore" is asking someone to do something fundamentally un-American and anti-democratic.

For the above three reasons Trump's statements to those gathered at Believers Summit should be viewed as both anti-Christian and anti-democratic.

A king was never the goal.


Joel K




(1) https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-tells-christians-they-wont-have-vote-after-this-election-2024-07-27/#:~:text=Trump%20said%3A%20%22Christians%2C%20get,%3A%20%22I%20love%20you%20Christians


(2) I'm borrowing here liberally from Walter Brueggemann's excellent book The Prophetic Imagination. This book is a must read.


(3) Walter Brueggemann, The Prophetic Imagination, page 23.


(4) Rob Bell & Don Golden, Jesus Wants to Save Christians, pages 122 & 129-30. The reference here by Bell and Golden is to I Kings 10:14 and Revelation 13:18.

Retire Leyand's Number and put him on the wall...but add the other Stars (and Wolverines) too.

This past weekend Jim Leyland was inducted into Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. Leyland managed the Pittsburgh Pirates (1986-96), the Florida Marlins (1997-98), Colorado Rockies (1999), and Detroit Tigers (2006-2023). He is one of only eleven managers in MLB history to lead three different teams to the postseason (Pirates, Marlins & Tigers). He won the World Series in 1997 with the Marlins.

With his induction into the Hall of Fame the Tigers will retire Leyland's number (#10) and add his name to the wall in center field at Comerica Park. Leyalnd will join:

Charlie Gehringer, 2B: No. 2
Alan Trammell, SS: No. 3
Hank Greenberg, 1B: No. 5
Al Kaline, OF: No. 6
Sparky Anderson, MGR: No. 11
Hal Newhouser, P: No. 16
Willie Horton, OF: No. 23
Jack Morris, P: No. 47
along with No. 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson. which every team has retired.

Also on the wall are Tiger greats and Hall of Famers Ty Cobb, Sam Crawford, Mickey Cochrane, Harry Heilmann, Hughie Jennings and Heinie Manush - who all played in an era where players didn't wear numbers - as well as George Kell, who wore three different numbers while a Tiger, and longtime broadcaster Ernie Harwell. It will be exciting and well deserved to add Leyland's name and number to the wall, but the wall, in my opinion remains incomplete.

Back in the late 1800's the first Major League team to play in Detroit was the National League Detroit Wolverines (1881-1888). The team won the 1887 National League pennant and the World Series. On that team were four Hall of Famers: Deacon White (3B, C, RF), Ned Hanlon (CF - who, as a manager some say is the architect of modern baseball), Sam Thompson (RF - who ended his career with the Tigers in 1906) & Dan Brouthers (1B).

There is another professional team that also played in Detroit. That team is the Negro League Detroit Stars (1919 independent; 1920-31 & 1933 Negro National League; 1937 & 1954-61 Negro American League) . Four Stars greats are enshrined in the Hall of Fame: Andy Cooper (P), Pete Hill (OF, 1B), Cristóbal Torriente (OF, P) and the legendary Turkey Stearnes (CF).

In light of the long history of baseball in Detroit and with the legacy of Major League baseball in that city resting on the Tiger's and being housed in Comerica Park. I would like to see the outfield wall reflect the greats of both the Wolverines and the Stars. Come on Tigers add these great players from Detroit's past to the list of Tigers greats and let's celebrate all of Detroit's baseball history in one place.

Joel K

An Assassination Confession

                                                                                                       [Gene J Puskar/AP Photo] (1)

I've never been a fan of Donald Trump. I find him objectionable on many levels. My disdain for the man has gotten me into trouble rather often. In particular, I've drawn the ire of people in my life who see Christianity and conservative politics as two sides of the same coin, or who hold similar beliefs. I say all this to set the stage for what I'm going to say next.

When I heard the details of the assassination attempt on former President Trump on Saturday, my first thought was an echo of the old TV show Get Smart, "Missed it by that much." In other words, my first thought was that the assassin had failed, and I wished he hadn't. In my mirky sin filled heart there was a moment of disappointment that Trump lived. 

I'm not proud of that moment in any way. The taking of any human life by murder is never acceptable and something I do not support or endorse. However, I still had the thought. I still wished that Trump had met his earthly end.

Confession is not something we practice much in church anymore. If—and when—we do make space in a worship service for confession, it is done in silence so we don't embarrass ourselves. It seems that our desire to save face is much stronger than our desire to be honest.  The honest truth is we don’t really practice confession even though we are commanded to confess our sins to one another (James 5:16). Confession makes us feel uncomfortable, so we choose to ignore our dark impulses and shadowy thoughts—the worst of who we are—or at least we don't speak those thoughts out loud.

I'm here to speak one of my deep, dark sinful thoughts out loud. I wished that Donald Trump had died. This was my first reaction—the first impulse of my sin sick soul.

The Quaker thinker Parker Palmer has noted, "One of the things this society is most deficient in is safe spaces for truth-telling about the condition of our souls." (2) I think Palmer is right. We really have precious few spaces (if any) in the United States to tell the truth about what is happening in our souls. We don't often divulge to anyone (including ourselves) the truth of our inner life. Instead we choose to posture and virtue signal in public.

I was a bit shocked to see how dark my soul had become in this contemporary moment. I've allowed the partisan schism and self-righteous vitriol of our dysfunctional public discourse to worm its way into the core of my being. I've soaked up the poison of our putrid politics, and it has made me sick. I am infected and affected enough to wish death on another human being. King David, a man familiar with wishing death on his enemies (ex. Ps. 55:15), writes in Psalm 139:23-24,   

                    Search me, God, and know my heart;

                            test me and know my anxious thoughts.

                    See if there is any offensive way in me,

                            and lead me in the way everlasting. 

It seems to me that we are in a moment in the United States when this set of verses is needed. I know I need them. I know I need God to search me and show the truth to me about what is hiding in my soul. I've seen in there, and it's not a pretty sight.

 

What about you? 

What is hiding in your soul? 

What was your first thought when you heard about the assassination attempt on Donald Trump? 

If it had been President Biden that was nearly killed, where would your mind have gone?

How much have you allowed the rancorous rhetoric we are inundated with seep into your core?

 

“Open confession is good for the soul."

Scottish proverb

 

Joel K

(1) - https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2024/7/14/donald-trump-escapes-assassination-bid-at-us-campaign-rally

(2) - https://onbeing.org/programs/parker-palmer-courtney-martin-the-inner-life-of-rebellion/

Resonance On The Way To Warm Springs

Once upon a time I posted sermons here a lot. However, since I rarely preach anymore I haven't done that in a while.

Back in April I was asked to bring the message at the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance meeting in Anchorage. I chose to give a talk titled "Resonance On The Way To Warm Springs."

That talk was based on the research I have been doing this year. I have a grant from The Calvin Institute For Christian Worship to develop a case study of how one congregation (Crosspoint/Reclaim - my faith community) reimagined its worship from an attractional model of church to a member led approach. As part of that research I have been reading some literature regarding the church in a secular age. In particular I have been reading a lot of Andrew Roots work and he has in turn led me to the work of Charles Taylor and Hartmut Rosa.

For my talk back in April I drew on the work of German Sociologist Hartmut Rosa and his resonance theory (1) and Luke 24:13-35.

If you are interested in a little glimpse of what I am working on here is the talk. It is rough audio record on my cell phone.

https://www.facebook.com/1631971968/videos/1011194870559762/ 


Thanks for listening.

Joel K

(1) = Rosa, Hartmut. The Uncontrollability of the World. Polity Press, 2020.

At the Lord's Table

There are an enormous amount of empty ecclesial edifices in the city of Montreal, Quebec. These abandoned artifacts of church architecture are the flotsam left bobbing in the wake of the Quiet Revolution. The rapid escape from religious oppression (and other forms of oppression) in the mid-twentieth century left the churches, once overflowing with members, empty. Saint-Mathias-Apôtre church, in the Hochelaga neighborhood, is one of those buildings. Built in a mid-century style, it no longer offers religious services, or does it?

Churches, in particular liturgical churches, are designed to serve one meal. That meal goes by many names. To some it is Mass. To others it is the Eucharist, Communion or the Lord's Supper. In Jesus' final hours on earth he directed his disciples to eat bread and drink wine as a way to remember him. In liturgical churches this sacrament is practiced at each service. However, the Lord's Supper wasn't the only meal Jesus is known for. It has been said that Jesus eats and drinks his way through the gospels. He is criticized for eating with the wrong people. He miraculously feeds 5,000 people. Food is central to the story of Jesus.

When you walk through the doors of the former Saint-Mathias-Apôtre church food is still central. Now the home of Le Chic Resto Pop a "socio-professional integration, social economy and community action organization." (1) Le Chic Resto Pop is a low-cost ($3.67 US for an adult) "socially responsible restaurant, [serving] nutritious and quality meals at low prices to meet the needs of people with food insecurity." (2) Le Chic Resto Pop also provides unemployed persons the opportunity to gain valuable job skills and boasts a 78% placement rate. (3) Since 1984 they have trained over 1500 people and served over 4 million meals.

The building turned restaurant is still architecturally very much the way it was when it was built and perhaps it is still fulfilling its mission. In Matthew 28 we read Jesus' words, "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in..." The disciples ask, "When did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?" To which Jesus replies "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."

A belief I hold strongly is that the Holy Spirit is always at work. Saint-Mathias-Apôtre church was built to serve the Lord's Supper. Yet, when that meal became tainted by the oppressive and controlling way it was served people no longer came to the table. Still that building was clearly meant to feed the people. The Spirit was still at work. Here and there in the building you see hints of its past purpose in crosses on light fixtures and the mosaics on the door, but Jesus' mission is not obscured at all. The Spirit is still at work. Like the Parable of the Banquet (Matthew 22), Le Chic Resto Pop welcomes everyone to the table to be fed, and in that activity feeds Jesus himself.

Saint-Mathias-Apôtre was constructed to serve one meal, but now if serves millions. In both forms it bears witness to the kingdom of God.

Joel K

 

(1) https://chicrestopop.com/

(2) Ibid.

(3) Ibid.

How Many Countries Are In This Country? (Ted Lasso Advent - Part 6 - Epiphany Edition)

In the first episode of Ted Lasso (Pilot) the new coach and his righthand man Coach Beard (Brandon Hunt) walk out on the pitch for the first time to observe the team. Standing on the sidelines this conversation takes place:

Coach Lasso (Jason Sudeikis): "Holy smokes! Did you see that? That fella looked like a kitty cat when it gets spooked by a cucumber. Who the heck is that?

Coach Beard (Brandon Hunt): Jamie Tartt. Top scorer on the team.

Coach Lasso: Nate, what's he like?

Nate (Nick Mohammed): Who, Jamie? He's great. You know, at football.

Lasso: Yeah, I know fellas like that.

Beard: [That's] Sam Obisanya. He's a right back defender outta the Nigerian league.

Lasso: Nigeria? Like Africa? So these fellas are from all over the place?
(pointing at another player) I mean, he must be from England, yeah?

Beard: Wales.

Lasso: Is that another country?

Beard: Yes and no.

Lasso: How many countries are in this country?

Beard & Nate: Four.

Lasso: It's kinda like America these days.

Today, January 6, is Epiphany on the church calendar. (1) The Advent/Christmas season truly ends on with this celebration. Epiphany is the when the church remembers the arrival of the Magi. After seeing a new star rising at the time of Jesus' birth these foreigners travel to see the person whose birth triggered the star (Matthew 2). While the shepherds who visited the infant Christ were local, the wisemen travel a great distance to visit the toddler Jesus.

In a lecture back in 2011 Ray Bakke noted that the Wise Men, who traveled two years to bring their gifts to this new king, were likely from Babylon. In fact he referred to them as "the Babylonian worship team." He further noted that 600 years before Babylon carried off the Jewish royal family into exile, and now these men from that country where celebrating the arrival of a new King. In his book A Theology As Big As The City Bakke says of Babylon,

"Throughout the Bible, Babylon, is a symbol of the city which is anti-God. Literally the name means "gate to God." (p.184)

I believe that the arrival of the Magi at the end of the Christmas story is an answer to Lasso's question, "How many countries are in this country?" Throughout the Old Testament the primary vehicle of God's redemptive story was a single group of people - one particular country. Individuals from other nations were grafted in, but the main object of God's favor was Israel. Now as Jesus arrives something is shifting. The arrival of the Messiah was for Isreal, but it was also for this anti-God nation as well. No longer was the affection of God rather singular, but now the love extended to all - even those awful Babylonians.

The expansion of the good news from the one to the many is a theme in Jesus ministry, and is underscored in Pentecost. The Book of Acts records the good news extending further and further into the world. Paul writes that in this new reality, "[T]here is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all."

So, when it comes to Jesus, "How many countries are in this country?" The answer is all of them, and it all starts with the Magi.

Joel K


(1) Today also marks the two year anniversary of the insurrection at the United States Capitol. And this week is one in which the US House of Representatives has voted over a dozen times for a Speaker without seating anyone. Clearly the US has more than its own fair share of division (countries if you will). Lasso is right again.

Believe in Believe (Ted Lasso Advent - Part 5 - Christmas Edition)

A number of years ago I was telling the Christmas story to a group of youth in the drop-in center I worked. When I got to the part of the story where it said that Mary was pregnant but was a virgin one of the girls sitting up front said, "This story isn't even legit." My young friend's skepticism was not unfounded. The Christmas story with its virgin birth, Joseph's abstinence, angelic appearances of all kinds, and babies sleeping in livestock feeders, just to name a few things, is a strange story and can make one wonder if it's legit.

There are a number of leaps of faith that take place in the accounts of Jesus' birth. In Matthew we follow Joseph and see him decide to step out in faith and take Mary to be his wife, even though it would have been easier to just dismiss her. Later in the story Joseph has to again make a bold step by fleeing to Egypt based on a dream. In Luke, we first witness Zechariah and Elizabeth's faith in believing that they were finally having a baby in their old age and then we see Mary's leap into the unknown of having a baby via the Holy Spirit. As we read we see person after person put in the position of choosing to believe what they see, or responding "This isn't even legit." 

Something has occurred to me this Advent/Christmas. Did Matthew and Luke write their accounts of Jesus birth in such a way that we, like Mary and Joseph, must to step out in faith and choose to believe the story or not? Is the way the story is told inviting us to follow in the steps of Joseph and Mary and believe something that seems too strange to be real?

In the very first episode of Ted Lasso coach Lasso (Jason Sudeikis) hangs a sign above the office door that simply says "Believe." The sign stays in that place till the last episode of season two when it is torn down by Nate (Nick Mohammed). The sign itself becomes something of a character on the show as much as the message Ted is trying to get across to his team. As Lasso addresses his team in the locker room (season 1 episode 10 - The Hope That Kills You) the coach talks about belief,

"See, I believe in hope.
I believe in belief.
Now, where I'm from, we got a saying too, yeah?
A question, actually. "Do you believe in miracles?"
Now, I don't need y'all to answer that question for me... but I do want you to answer that question for yourselves. Right now. Do you believe in miracles?"

Is it possible that Matthew and Luke are asking the same question to us that Coach Lasso is asking his team? As we read the Christmas story are we being asked to believe? Do the accounts we have of the Messiah's birth confront us with our belief in belief itself? For me the answer is yes to all those questions.

Matthew and Luke tell a story that in someways doesn't even sound legit and as they do they invite you to make the same leap of faith Mary and Joseph did. On this Christmas Day, as you read and reflect on that first Christmas, do you believe?

The Great (Ted Lasso Advent - Part 4)

In the very first episode of Ted Lasso viewers meet locker room attendant Nathan Shelley (Nick Mohammed) who quickly develops the nick name "Nate the Great." Soon Nate is made a member of the coaching staff and even wins the team a game because of a bold strategy call. The viewer follows along as Nate's ego, fueled by social media, grows. In the final episode of season 2 (Inverting the Pyramid of Success) a conversation between Ted (Jason Sudeikis) and Nate reveals how Nate sees himself. Nate tells Lasso,

"Everybody loves you. The Great Ted Lasso. Well, I... I think you're a f***ing joke. Without me, you wouldn't have won a single match. They would've shipped your a** back to Kansas, where you belong. With your... With your son. 'Cause you... you sure as hell don't belong here. But I do. I belong here. This didn't just fall into my lap, all right? I... I earned this."

If the speech doesn't seal the deal on Nates inflated ego the final shot of the season does. Nate has become the head coach of West Ham United F.C. who has been recently purchased by ACF Richmond owner Rebecca Welton's (Hannah Waddingham) ex-husband, and show baddy, Rupert Mannion (Anthony Head). Nate's journey to the dark side is complete. One of the main plot points that runs through the first two seasons is that as Nate's ego grows exponentially he becomes a more treacherous, self-absorbed jerk who believes his nick name "Nate the Great."

There is a character in the Advent/Christmas story that also carried the moniker "The Great." In that story the specter hanging over the birth of Jesus is the King of the Judeans, Herod the Great. Like Nate, Herod sees himself as great and isn't a very nice guy. Herod, to defend his power and honor has his brother-in-law drowned in the family pool. The historian Josephus records that he has two of his sons brought in front of him on charges of treason. One son begs for his life from his father. In the the end he kills them both. Augustus Caesar was quoted as saying “it was better to be Herod’s pig than his son.” Herod wants so much to impress Rome and the Caesar that he builds a lot of things, including a city he names Caesarea.

Herod enters the Advent/Christmas story a bit late. Somewhere around two years after Jesus is born a group of "wise men" from the East arrive to pay homage to the new king. It makes sense that if they were looking for the King of the Judeans they would go to Jerusalem. In that city they find Herod, who is not too thrilled to discover a new challenger to the throne is out there. He tries to get Magi to come back to him to disclose the whereabouts of the new king, but they are warned by a dream to go another way home. As a response Herod has all the boy children two years old and younger in Bethlehem killed. Herod's message to those babies, and any would be new kings, is "you sure as hell don't belong here. But I do."

I suspect that your nativity scene has the Magi, but not the dead babies or Herod the Great. Over this Advent season I have been contemplating what it would look like to have a more complete or layered nativity. It seems to me that the backdrop against which the the birth of Jesus takes place is the reign of King Herod the Great. 

Looming over the manger is a maniacal ruler bent on power at all costs. King Herod wanted power so much he was willing to slaughter babies. Into this world a helpless baby was born. That baby had more power than Herod could ever muster or imagine. That baby ruled not just one tiny area of the Roman world, but the entire world itself. That baby gave up his throne to become less than great - a helpless infant. Herod was willing to do whatever it took to maintain power, but Jesus, he gave up power to do what ever it takes to bring peace. 

This advent we are invited to consider if we are part of the kingdom of the great - Nate and Herod doing whatever it takes to gain and hold power - or the kingdom that comes in the form of a baby that brings the promise of peace on earth. Which will you choose?

It's The Hope That (doesn't) Kill You. (Ted Lasso Advent - Part 3)

I watched it happen for years. Being in community with high risk and street-involved youth for nearly two decades gave me a front row seat to the annual cycle of holiday disappointment. Each December I'd watch as some of my young friends pinned all the hope they could muster on Christmas. Some, after suffering years of disappointment, hoped against hope that Christmas would be perfect. Others had good holiday memories, but recent years had gone wrong, and they carried a hope for returning to those better days from years ago. From Thanksgiving till Christmas Eve you could see the hope they carried.

After Christmas the story was different. For far too many of the youth I knew Christmas was one more tinsel coated gut punch. The hope they had carried all through the holiday season was rewarded with one more blast of disappointment wearing down any ability to hope at all.

In Season 1 episode 10 (The Hope That Kills You) of Ted Lasso the main character, coach Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis) is in the pub when a few fans come up to thank him for doing his best, even if it's not that good. They wish him a very low-key good luck on the upcoming match. Ted responds, "You're acting like we lost the game already, yeah? Why don't you have a little hope?." The owner of the pub, Mae (Annette Badland) has been listening in and says, "Aw, Ted. Haven't you lived here long enough to realize? It's the hope that kills you." This statement is something my young friends, disappointed one more time by Christmas, would identify with.

Hope is a word we throw around a lot this time of year. We have ornaments and other decorations that say hope. There are Christmas cards with hope printed on them. The first candle lit in the advent wreath is hope. That candle is sometimes called the prophecy candle. This seems fitting since the prophets were the voice speaking the hope that the Messiah, Jesus, was coming. But it took a long time for the Messiah to arrive. For how many people did it feel like "It's the hope that kills you" when year after year, decade after decade, generation after generation the Messiah didn't arrive.

Another aspect of Advent is that those of us who follow Jesus are encouraged to look for where Jesus is arriving in our lives. It's a wonderful encouragement, but I wonder for how many of us "It's the hope that kills you." If we have been waiting for Jesus to arrive in our lives in a certain way, maybe for a long time,  and he seemingly hasn't it can become harder to hope.

The third aspect of Advent may also lead to a hope that is killing us. In advent we look backward to see Jesus' arrival as a baby in the world; we look around the present for how Jesus is arriving in our world today; and we look forward to Jesus coming back to this world. That third aspect is something that we've been waiting a long time for. The early Jesus-followers thought he was coming back in their lifetime and he didn't. Now over 2000 years later we are still looking for the return of Jesus and perhaps the passing time has sucked our hope away.

In that episode of Ted Lasso, ACF Richmond loses the game. In a very disappointed locker room Coach Lasso speaks:

"So I've been hearing this phrase y'all got over here that I ain't too crazy about. 'It's the hope that kills you'. Y'all know that? I disagree, you know? I think it's the lack of hope that comes and gets you. See, I believe in hope. I believe in belief."

In this statement Ted buoys his team, but I think he offers us something as well. As we have seen it might be hard to find hope at Christmas. Jesus' arrival as a baby was a long time ago. We might struggle to see where the Messiah is breaking into our lives and world now. The prospect of Jesus coming again has maybe waned over time. However I think Ted is right, "I think it's the lack of hope that comes and gets you."

Yet, what do we do if we cannot seem to muster much hope? I think one answer comes to us from St. Ignatius who would often ask, “Do you have the desire for this desire?” Do you desire hope this season? Do you have the desire to desire hope this season? It all starts with wanting to have hope, or wanting the desire to want hope.

Paul tells us in Romans 5 that,

"we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces    character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us." 

Hope does not disappoint us when it is hope in the fact that God has poured his love on us in the past, is pouring his love on us in the present, and will pour his love on us in the future. Love is always arriving. It is always Advent. That hope doesn't kill us.

"I Love Meeting People's Moms" or Why Jesus is Nuts (Ted Lasso Advent - Part 2)

In season 2 episode 6 (The Signal) of Ted Lasso team owner Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham) yells down from her office to the practice field to see if Ted (Jason Sudeikis) has lunch plans. Rebecca is soon joined in the window by her mother Deborah (Harriet Walter). Deborah informs Lasso, the coaches and the team that she is "a work in progress, a voracious book on tape listener and a staunch believer that if you get dealt lemons in life, then you should make lemon lavender mojitos." After the exchange, Lasso turns to the other coaches and says, "I love meeting people’s moms. It’s like reading an instruction manual as to why they’re nuts." I love this little truth bomb, and so does Matthew.

The advent story recorded in the Gospel of Matthew begins with a genealogy. Let's be honest genealogies are among the most skipped sections of scripture. We've all fast forwarded over these lists of names looking for the next narrative. However, the genealogy that starts the New Testament is a little different. In the midst of all the men listed, five women are also name dropped. The mothers making the cut are: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, the wife of Uriah (aka Bathsheba), and Mary.

These mothers of advent are each famous, or rather infamous, in their own ways:

Tamar (Genesis 38) is the wife of Er, the oldest son of Judah. Tamar's first husband dies. As does her second husband Onan, Er's brother. As was the custom she asked her father-in-law for another brother for a husband, and Judah told her to wait, because he didn't want to lose another son. Judah was clearly under the impression that Tamar was a black widow of some type. After Judah's wife dies he goes on a trip and Tamar dresses as a prostitute and tricks Judah into getting her pregnant (finally). Judah doesn't have cash to pay for the prostitute's services so he gives her his ring, cord and staff. When It is discovered that Tamar is pregnant, and accused of being immoral, she reveals that Judah is the father by showing the items he left with her as payment.

Rahab (Joshua 2 & 6) is a resident of the city of Jericho and also a business owner. The business was a brothel. Once it is discovered that Israel has sent spies into the city, Rahab hides the men (who were customers?) and they escape before the King of Jericho could find them and kill them. In return the men promised to save Rahab when they took the city. The spies keep their promise and save Rahab and she becomes part of the Israelite nation.

Ruth (Book of Ruth), a non-Israelite from Moab, chooses to return to Israel with her mother-in-law after both of their husbands die. Living in poverty, the only hope for Ruth and her mother-in-law is for a family member (known as a kinsman redeemer) to marry Ruth. Naomi has just the person in mind, the wealthy Boaz. Naomi sends Ruth to glean in the field of Boaz hoping that she would catch the man's eye and the plan works! Then Naomi instructs Ruth to get herself dolled up and to go to Boaz in the night and "uncover his feet." Chapter 3 of the Book of Ruth uses a lot of coded language, but it appears to me that Ruth seduces Boaz and in the end he takes her to be his wife.

The next grandmother of Advent is part of the most famous scandal in the Old Testament. Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11) is the wife of Uriah a Hittite who is serving in the Israelite Army under King David. The King had chosen not to go off to war. One night David is taking a stroll on his roof when he sees Bathsheba taking a bath and is attracted to her. David has his servants bring Bathsheba to him and he sleeps with her. In an effort to cover up the scandal and to keep Bathsheba for his own David rigs a battle so that Uriah is killed.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, is the fifth woman mentioned. Mary is an unwed mother (at least initially) claiming that she has been made pregnant by God himself. Aside from the claim of who the father is, an unwed teenage girl may not be as scandalous as Tamar, Ruth, Rahab, or Bathsheba's stories, but having a baby outside of wedlock in Mary's era meant that the baby would be considered a mamzer. A mamzer was the child of a forbidden relationship and it was believed that these children defiled a bloodline for 400 years. Interestingly, if that was the belief perhaps Jesus' bloodline was continually contaminated throughout the history that Matthew records.

Imagine if we, instead of the standard crèche, created nativities filled with these grandmothers and their partners. Suddenly Advent and Christmas would be marked by the remembrance of deception, incest, prostitution, seduction, a King using his power like Harvey Weinstein to get the woman he's lusting after, murder, and an unwed mother pregnant by mysterious circumstances. It might seem a bit odd to us to think of adding Tamar and Judah, Rahab and the spies, Ruth and Boaz, King David, Bathsheba and Uriah to our collection of Christmas figurines, but this is exactly what Matthew is doing. But, why? I believe it is because knowing Jesus' grandmothers and mother give us an instruction manual as to why Jesus is nuts, or perhaps why he does what he does.

In a culture where women had very low status, Matthew is making sure the grandmothers and mother of Advent are highlighted. In a world where a female could not give testimony in court, Matthew is assuring that these five women are able to give a witness. This fact alone declares that what Jesus is going to do will be different. This alone was a transformational shift, but this list of Advent mother's also offers a key to how Jesus lived and explains the things he did that were seen as nuts in his day.

When Jesus ate at the table of sinners, perhaps he had in the back of his mind these five women and how his family looked a lot like those gathered at the meal.

Perhaps when he was talking to the Samaritan woman at the well, an outcast woman on her sixth husband/partner, grandmother Tamar and her multiple partners was on his mind.

Can you imagine that as Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you." (Matt. 21:31) that he was thinking of Grandmother Rahab?

What if the low status, unclean woman that boldly pushes her way to Jesus in the crowd and touches his clothes (Mark 5:21) reminded him of his grandmother Ruth who was also an outcast and boldly did what needed to be done.

Was the punchy exchange with the Canaanite Woman (Matt. 15:21-28) a time when Mary's son was thinking about all the strong, unflinching non-Isaelite women in his family tree that wove their way into the story?

Is it possible that when Jesus is hanging in on the cross and says to the man hanging next to him, a criminal with a repentant heart, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43), that he had in mind his criminal grandfather David?

I do not think that it is beyond belief that when the woman caught in adultery is thrown down in front of Jesus (John 8:1-11) that through his mind flashes the faces of the five mothers of advent. It is worthy of our speculation that perhaps what Jesus writes in the dirt are the names of these women, each with their own sexual scandal. Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary may very well be on the Lord's mind when he says, "Then neither do I condemn you."

Each of these actions, all seen as nuts in Jesus' day can be understood through the lens of Matthew chapter 1. So I invite you this advent to meet the grandmothers of Jesus and in meeting them come to understand why Jesus is nuts.

Joel K