The last gasp of Data--A Lenten Meditation

Nine years ago or so Star Trek: Nemesis, the last Star Trek: TNG movies, came out--to poor reception. Roger Ebert said that while he was watching the movie, he realized that the franchise had run out of gas. Rotten Tomatoes has only given it 37% positive rating. It only raked in $43,254,409 and was beaten in the box office by a J Lo movie (all according to Wikipedia that is)

Oddly enough, Nemesis is one of my favorite Star Trek movies. It is right behind Star Trek IV and First Contact. The reason why is because of the final scenes. It is the final scenes that stick so vividly in my mind.

Picard and Data have a bond. It stems back to the Battle of Wolf 359 where Data did not give up saving Picard after he was assimilated by the Borg. In First Contact, Data is captured by the Borg Queen and Picard stops at nothing to rescue Data.

So why is this all important?

In Nemesis, Picard willingly takes a one way trip to the Romulan War Bird housing his clone, Schizon, who is bent on killing Picard. Picard knows that he must do this to save his people, his ship, his friends. Data, the android who so desired to be human, learns of Picard's intentions. And so, in pure sci-fi-is-it-sentient-or-not fashion, Data proves his humanity in giving his life to save Picard's.

There is a scene at the end where Data leaves the safety of the Enterprise, flies through space itself and enters the chaotic world of the War Bird. He enters in and saves Picard, giving up his own life to do so. Data's first and last breathe as a person was to give his life for another.

Today is Good Friday, the day that Jesus hung upon the cross. Thinking of that scene from Nemesis, I keep thinking of Jesus here on earth.

Jesus proved his humanity by willing to give up his own life for ours. Jesus leaves the safety of being in perfect triune community with the Father and the Holy Spirit, enters into our chaotic world and gives his life to save ours.

It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. John 13:1

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. 1 John 3:16

I'm a spiritual musclehead and I am a geek. I find the touch of the divine in the attempt to look at the possible. The story of humanity is one reflected in battles of Yavin Prime, at the Battle of Wolf 359, along the Plains of Mordor and the halls of Hogwarts. They are mere reflects of the truth. The Truth incarnate, that Friday afternoon, breathed his last, said "it is finished" and gave up his Spirit so that we would be saved.

Today is Friday, but Sunday's coming soon.

All you need is love

"All you need is love." These words said by John and Paul. No, not the apostles but the Beatles. Their song speaks of the fact that there's nothing else you need in the world but love. Love is all you need. And why do I bring this up? Because today is Valentine's Day. And all the single people out there say "Yippee!" (some say it sarcastically...well, many single and those with significant others say it sarcastically).

Have you ever stopped and wondered why in the world would we celebrate love in a cold month? Well, maybe you have ideas of your own, but I'm not going there.

One of the stories I really like about Valentine's Day is in reference to a 3rd century priest who believed in love. Apparently, as the story goes, The Roman Emperor Claudius II felt that young men who were married mad for lousy fighters. They didn't want to die because they had families at home. They didn't want to go on long campaigns in far distant lands because they had families at home. And so, in short, they didn't have their heart in it. So, if someone had nothing to live for, they were more apt to fight with all they had. Valentine was a priest who didn't like this, so he secretly married young couples together. Claudius found out about it and had him arrested.

Now according to a 13th century book on the saints of the church called The Golden Legend, Valentine was executed on February 14. According to History.com, while in prison, young couples he had secretly married placed roses, thank you notes and gifts through his jail window. In a video from History.com (which can be seen here, but note, some other info as well is shown which some may not always agree with)it states that Valentine had fallen in love with his jailer's daughter and that, on the night before he was executed, he sent her a love note signed "from your Valentine." Hence the tradition to give notes to loved ones on February 14.

Now, that's sweet and all, but makes me want to gag sometimes.

Sorry, I'm a cynical Gen-Xer and I'm not always trusting on things that are all happy sappy. Sorry if I've offended.

True love, true unrequited amazing love, isn't about roses and notes and gifts and chocolate (but don't get me wrong..I love me some gooood chocolate) it is about our relationship with our God and with each other.

Paul writes in his famous passage on love that

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

The word for "love" here is agape (aw-gaw-pay). It means an unconditional amazing, one of a kind, I-love-you-because-of-no-other-reason-but-you-are-you type of love. One of the first phrases I learned in modern Greek was s'agga po (saw-gah-poh) which means "I love you." And this is the love we need to have for God, for each other, and most importantly ourselves.

Yeah, that's right, I'm getting all pop psychology here, but truly, we need to love our selves as God loves us. If we can't even do that, we're doomed. If, as Paul and John say, "all we need is love" then we need to start with ourselves and move outward, let it move outward in such away that you overflow with a love of God for yourself (not selflessness but a true understanding of God's love) and be passed on to others.

How can you show this type of love to someone today?

Okay, no more deep thoughts from this Spiritual Musclehead today.

The Joy of...Coffee

There's just something about coffee. I love it. I wonder if all the problems of the world could be settled if we just sat down around a table and drank coffee and relaxed. I've had coffee from Greece where it's so thick and rich that the grounds stick to the sides and they tell your fortune from them. I've had coffee in the Ukraine and Hungary where it makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up straight. They sip it from little cups savoring each drop wherein I took them like shots of whiskey one right after the other (not that I've ever had whiskey before...). I've had coffee with dignitaries and coffee with homeless people. Coffee is the great equalizer and coffee creates memories.

I have just as many memories in my coffee as I do non-dairy creamer. My first mug of klah came from my grandmother. I had a paper route when I was 13 and we were living with my grandparents. Each morning, I'd start my day with a mug of the warm delicious caffeine and she'd smoke her cigarette having the satisfaction of being the first person on the street to do the crossword puzzles.

There's something about coffee and spiritual health as well. As I dive into God's word each week, coffee is my constant companion. Always there as I struggle and wrestle with the word of God. It's with me as I pray. And it's with me after church when we're socializing and having the Adult Bible Study. And it's here with me now, cradled in a large green mug bearing the name of Michigan and decorated with evergreen trees and a full moon.

More and more coffee has been seen for its medicinal benefits as well. When drunk black, it helps with weight loss, athletic performance and even production of calcium(or so says Yahoo! Health). When diagnosed with ADD, my doc asked if I'd ever tried upping my caffeine intake. Generally when people are first diagnosed with ADD, they try caffeine because it in fact has a calming effect on people with ADD. After I explained my two pot a day habit, medication was instead prescribed. Apparently, I'd been self medicating all these years.

What about you? How has coffee been there for you?

The greatest gift of all

(Originally published in Corsica Globe 12/21/10)

In high school in southern California, I worked many odd jobs to make a buck. Somehow, through a variety of connections, I landed a gig with a strip mall playing characters during promotional events. For St. Patrick’s Day, I was a leprechaun (a 6 foot 5 leprechaun), in the summer, I was a cowboy, for Chinese New Year, I was a dragon (lack of peripheral vision and a long uncontrollable tail landed to many stores asking us not to return in costume). I even played Santa Clause. This was a fun gig, playing Santa. People respected Santa. Even though you knew that there was a regular Joe under that fake (and very scratchy) beard, you still treated him with respect. Why? Because, somehow deep down, you really didn’t want to get put on ANY naughty list. Yes, kids cried when they saw you, but people in general treated you nicely. I sat around all day ho-ho-hoing, promising things I never could keep and all in all making people happy.

I also played the Easter Bunny. Being the glutton for punishment that I am, I did so twice. Christmas time in Southern California is chilly, but nice. Think of it as how our November was this fall. That was winter. Spring on the other hand is a nice South Dakota summer. As the Easter Bunny, I was in a full polyester costume. Scratchy. Itchy. It didn’t breath. I so hoped that others didn’t realize just how ripe I thought I smelled. I had to wear a giant plastic bunny head, with a crown support that dug into my forehead. With the plastic bunny head in a hot sun it became a bunny head shaped oven set to 350. I was hot. I was tired. My feet hurt. My arms hurt from carrying that blasted basket filled with 700lbs of pathetic plastic eggs no one really wanted. To top it off, people didn’t treat me nicely. Unlike Santa, the Easter Bunny doesn’t have a naughty list (let alone a nice list). And so I was slapped, hit, tail pulled, kids ran away crying, and high school kids made fun of me. All the while being paid five bucks an hour. I hated it. I hated my life at that moment. But no one knew it. Because all they saw was the huge, gigantic moronic grin plastered on the face of the bunny. No matter what I was feeling inside the suit, everyone thought I was happy.

What does this have to do with Christmas? The gift of Christmas is fulfilled in Easter. Let me explain. Like that experience as the Easter bunny, there are many times when we’re hurting or cranky or upset or all the above. Everything’s a bubble off par. Our kids aren’t the least angelic, our marriage’s a wreck, the business is going down the tubes and no one knows. All they see is that grin on your face saying all’s okay in life. And then of course, you bump into someone who’s going through their own mess and they too have a big fake smile too plastered on their face. We’re all doing okay. No! That’s the problem. We’re not. As a human being, we do this, and sometimes we do it so well we believe ourselves that all’s okay.

This is the gift of Christmas fulfilled in Easter. On that first Christmas, Jesus was born. Why? The Christmas carols say it well “Hark! The Herald angels sing “Glory to the new born king; Peace on earth and mercy mild God and sinners reconciled." Jesus came to reconcile us with God. What does that mean? To tear down the walls we’ve built, to tear away the things we’ve hidden from each other, ourselves and even God. He came to restore relationships—our relationship with God, ourselves and each other. Jesus proclaimed peace, he cried when he was grieved, and he admitted to his closest circle when he was in need of praying to His Father in heaven.

So many times, we wear a mask like the Easter Bunny. We hide who we are. We hide our financial troubles; we hide how we feel about ourselves, about our family. We hide behind a gigantic fake grin. This Christmas, accept the greatest gift of all. It’s the gift of Christmas fulfilled Easter morning, when Jesus rose again from the grave, defeated death, and broke down the walls of sin, the walls that separated our relationship with God, and with one another. Take off the mask and accept the gift of love, of peace, of reconciliation, the freedom to be you before friends, loved ones and most importantly God Himself. This Christmas it is the best gift you can give yourself.