day 28
On Sat, Jan 6, 2018 at 9:20 AM, Eric Bowman <revolutionethicsproject@gmail.com> wrote:
#Agape, Day 28: In Buddhism, the Four Abodes or the Brahmavihara include loving kindness to all, compassion for others, taking joy in others’ joy, and treating all people impartially. That sounds like agape to me!
Eric Bowman | Revolution Ethics Project | revolutionethics.org
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On Sat, Jan 6, 2018 at 4:14 PM, Rev. Mark Koyama <pastorucj@gmail.com> wrote:
There is the story of how the Buddha stopped a raging elephant in its tracks by stunning it with metta (loving-kindness). Here is a link to the story
Today, by the way, is the feast of Epiphany. This tradition celebrates the visit of the wise men to the infant Jesus. Tradition emphasizes that this was the first moment that Gentiles (people who were not Jews) encountered Jesus — prefiguring Christianity’s position as a religion that would appeal to people from all parts of the world. “Epiphany” which comes from the Greek word epiphaneia (epi = “onto” and phaneia = “to show.”) has come to refer to the “appearance” or a “showing” of the divine. Later the word came to be used as a literary term (popularized by the work of James Joyce) to refer to experiences in which a character comes to a meaningful understanding of a larger truth, through a fortuitous observation of some small, seemingly normal thing.
Rev. Mark Koyama | The United Church of Jaffrey, Jaffrey, NH
day 27
On Fri, Jan 5, 2018 at 11:54 AM, Eric Bowman <revolutionethicsproject@gmail.com> wrote:
#Agape, Day 27: Instead of using social media to share a selfie, or to make a political comment, or to be sarcastic, we could use it to reach out to someone we have lost touch with, to show how much we love them, without qualification, without stipulations, without regard for their accomplishments or failures. That would be really challenging. But I’ll bet it would make more of an impact on the world than your tweet about how horrible Trump is.
Eric Bowman | Revolution Ethics Project | revolutionethics.org
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On Sat, Jan 6, 2018 at 4:01 PM, Rev. Mark Koyama <pastorucj@gmail.com> wrote:
Surely part of the problem with social media is the way that it is packaged. I don’t know very much about this because I choose to not take part in it. I do not do facebook or snapchat or twitter. I only use email, and I maintain the website for the church. So I must plead ignorance to the specific qualities of these tools, but it does seem to me, from what I have heard — that a great deal of what social media is about, is kind of show-offy. Everyone wants to show the world that they are having a great time. Either that, or they use the medium to show their superiority by putting someone else down. All this occurs with the implicit agreement that no one get too “heavy” about anything. The result is a vast stream of banality. Its unfortunate that such a powerful tool should be used in this way. This exacerbates the fractured dysfunction of our culture rather than alleviate it. I hope that someday, when our technological infancy is past, we can come to a more nuanced and meaningful relationship with the internet. We need to be a part of this change. Perhaps the first stage is discovering that this media must be more then just “social.”
Rev. Mark Koyama | The United Church of Jaffrey, Jaffrey, NH
day 26
On Thu, Jan 4, 2018 at 8:55 AM, Eric Bowman <revolutionethicsproject@gmail.com> wrote:
#Agape, Day 26: The great challenge in sharing ideas, especially ideas about agape—which is about human connectivity and love—is that the ideas are being shared digitally. You never see my face. We don’t share in a vulnerable moment. There is no natural give and take that comes with a conversation. So promise me: remember that I am a person. Remember that I value your thoughts, and I care. I will try to make myself vulnerable at times, online, when expressing my thoughts. Picture my face. I will picture yours.
Eric Bowman | Revolution Ethics Project | revolutionethics.org
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On Thu, Jan 4, 2018 at 10:30 PM, Rev. Mark Koyama <pastorucj@gmail.com> wrote:
I am deeply suspicious of digital spirituality. If my son’s avatar in a video game falls and scrapes his knee, is it the same as my son falling and scraping his knee? Worship requires a community that is, at its essence, real — not virtual, because human life is real, and this is a profoundly religious truth. Virtual worship is a conundrum — the two words cancel each other out. . However, I also believe that it is critically important to introduce real, textured and thought provoking discourse to all digital media. We must not surrender to the temptation to allow the flaccid and banal pablum of social media define our experience of the world. Speak and write about truth with guts.
Rev. Mark Koyama | The United Church of Jaffrey, Jaffrey, NH
day 25
On Wed, Jan 3, 2018 at 9:30 PM, Eric Bowman <revolutionethicsproject@gmail.com> wrote:
#Agape, Day 25: It is incumbent upon us as a culture to change or dispose of our notion that “success” or “failure” is something merely achieved on the individual basis. Our successes, failures, and sins all require community. We truly share in—have a role in—each others’ sins and successes, which makes it all the more important to be there for each other, to support each other, to take joy in each others’ joy, to mourn when others mourn, and to work for justice for all.
Eric Bowman | Revolution Ethics Project | revolutionethics.org
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Photo credit: WildWise Studio
On Thu, Jan 4, 2018 at 10:21 PM, Rev. Mark Koyama <pastorucj@gmail.com> wrote:
#Agape 25.5: In his Epistle to the Romans (12:9-10) that Paul comforts us, saying “love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor.” In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus offers a more challenging message: “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:24-25).
These two passages seemed to be at counter purposes. One comforts, the other challenges. Church, though, at its best, is an institution that can offer both comfort and challenge. Each Sunday, we share “Joys and Concerns” and then we pray. This part of the service teeter totters back and forth, satisfying one need, and then the other. The communal ritual of prayer recognizes, in an elegant way, that our lives are difficult and at times painful — but it does so in a way that offers support. In a divided world, this solace is real, and important.
Rev. Mark Koyama | The United Church of Jaffrey, Jaffrey, NH
day 24
On Tue, Jan 2, 2018 at 9:10 PM, Eric Bowman <revolutionethicsproject@gmail.com> wrote:
#Agape, Day 24: with love comes self-esteem. When one is loved, unconditionally, one is free to become exactly the person they were meant to be. When people are frantically trying to do things to earn others’ acceptance and praise, they can’t be themselves. Their sense of self is contingent on other people. And they can never satisfy everyone, so they are locked in a never-ending struggle. If we would all start from a place of unconditional love, then our brothers and sisters can focus on being themselves, knowing they are loved no matter what.
Eric Bowman | Revolution Ethics Project | revolutionethics.org
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On Tue, Jan 2, 2018 at 10:52 PM, Rev. Mark Koyama <pastorucj@gmail.com> wrote:
I was once in a relationship in which I felt that no matter what I did, it met with a fundamental disapproval. No relationship can last if fundamental disapproval is at its core. No matter how hard you try, you lack confidence, and find yourself incapable of doing things. You become less of yourself. Today, I am happy to say, I am married to a person who approves of who I am. This is not to suggest that I can do no wrong, or that we do not have arguments. Of course, I make mistakes. Of course we have arguments. But behind those arguments, I feel a fundamental approval. With this feeling, at the core of our relationship, I feel confident, and I am capable of doing many things. Sometimes I wonder if “unconditional love” may be a phrase that daunts people with its almost superhuman demand. I wonder if “fundamental approval” may be another, more helpful way of thinking about agapé?
Rev. Mark Koyama | The United Church of Jaffrey, Jaffrey, NH
day 23
On Mon, Jan 1, 2018 at 9:31 AM, Eric Bowman <revolutionethicsproject@gmail.com> wrote: #Agape, Day 23: Everywhere we look the world is telling you who to be. Everywhere I look, I see people who fail to meet the world’s expectations. We simply can’t meet them. By our cultural calculus, there are only a chosen few who are truly successful because there are only a chosen few who are wealthy, who are famous, who receive awards. I refuse to believe we live on a planet of failures. I believe we need to scrap the cultural calculus and remind our neighbor how much she is loved, regardless of accomplishments. Remind her that the world is incomplete without her and that there will never be another person like her.
Eric Bowman | Revolution Ethics Project | revolutionethics.org
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On Tue, Jan 2, 2018 at 10:31 PM, Rev. Mark Koyama <pastorucj@gmail.com> wrote: The “cultural calculus” is made up of assumptions. An assumption is a cultural reflex that we accept without bothering to ask whether or not it is true or good. Such as: “wealth is success” or “crime must be punished” or “new is good.” The more the assumption is accepted without question, the more that assumption needs to be questioned. Archbishop Bishop Desmond Tutu, for example, questioned the assumption that crime must be punished, when he set up the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to deal with the many atrocities that took place during the apartheid era. Perpetrators had to sit in a room with the mothers and wives of the men they murdered, tell the story and ask for forgiveness.
Rev. Mark Koyama | The United Church of Jaffrey, Jaffrey, NH