Ireland: A Story...

Ireland holds a certain kind of fascination for me. Like a lot of my friends, it's one of those countries on my list I want to journey through someday. Plus, it's the homeland of U2! With an interest in the nation, I read the novel Trinity by Leon Uris about Ireland's struggle for freedom in the years leading up to 1916.

It's not a short novel - 894 pages; and it doesn't read quickly - because it so thought-provoking and disturbing. It's taken about nine months to work my way through the story. I doubt I'll look at politics, religion, economics, war, and poverty in the same way again.

Some thoughts:

The British disdain for the Irish is indefensible.

The hatred fueled by the religious fervor of Protestants and Catholics was disillusioning.

The capitulation of Catholic hierarchy to the unjust policies of the Protestant British politicians was disgraceful.

The poverty of Ireland - a situation sustained by the calculating policies of entrenched British Protestant industrialists was demeaning.

With the failure of peaceful political process, with the irrelevance of religious authority, with the lack of profitable labor, what other recourse was there than violence?

Conservative politics was leveraged to protect the interests of those already in power, of the industrialists, those with land and titles, those with military and government authority.

Liberal politics was resistance to the abuse of conservative politics, it was insistence on justice and freedom for all people - especially the poor, the disenfranchised, the abused, the neglected, the oppressed.

And the Church was often a defender of conservative politics.

Without the Church insisting and working to work out a way for peace to prevail, the myth of redemptive violence gains strength.

U2's yearning for peace in Ireland, so hauntingly captured in Sunday Bloody Sunday came to my mind many times as I worked my way through this story of Ireland. And "40".

U2 TnT Chicago Friends

Saturday morning Reena and Phil drove over to our place around 10amish, Tara and I said goodbyes to the boys (and a tearful farewell from Emma...), and we were off for Chicago! We checked into our Hyatt hotel and admired our view of the Chicago lakeside.

Here you can see Soldier Field - the orange pointy thing sticking up is part of the stage for the concert. From this perspective it's hard to imagine what kind of stage we're looking at.

After we finished admiring our view, the four of us headed out for a loooooooong walk down Michigan Avenue. It was a beautiful day...we decided to not let it get away!. Our hotel was by the McCormick Center, and our goal was to walk to the Hancock Tower.

We had miles to go in our sandals. Tara - God bless her - wanted to find a Starbucks. Somehow I got photographed in front of the store!

Reena, Tara and me - Phil is the photographer!

We were getting very hungry - and we wanted to find a local restaurant. No national-chain restaurants. Being adventurous, we wanted to find something interesting. We saw a sign for some Louisiana fare - and went for it.

Always cool when you have to ride an escalator up to the restaurant.

Phil and Reena are famous for their affection of habaneros. Here's one stuffed with cheese, deep fried and served with a dare: no customer has ever finished one! Not being ones to pass on a dare, our neighbors carefully dived in. Alas, the habanero won! Reena explained about the membranes of the pepper being the source of their evilness (I mean hotness...). Tara and I stuck to something safe - crabcakes. Not picture worthy, but yummy.

After our fantastic bayou-feast, we waddled over to a shopping center. Then a tour of the John Hancock Building - what a view...of the Lake! Stupid clouds hovered right around the windows facing the city and all the cool stuff. What a gip. Oh well, it was neat being 91 stories up above the earth! After our descent we stuffed ourselves into a taxi - no way we were walking back to the hotel. We relaxed for a bit, put our feet up, watched some football, and then walked over to the stadium. My oh my - what a place! Soldier Field is impressive. And so were the U2 wares being hawked. Of course I had to get a program, both Tara and I got some sweet shirts!

Snow Patrol opened for U2. They were okay. For whatever reason, we sat around for almost an hour (or so it seemed...) for the stage to get resent. Lots of time to be over-awed by the stage. And to take pictures of ourselves waiting. And smiling!

The show is finally getting ready to start! First smoke, then the showmen, and then the music! Interestingly, they started off with Breathe. No Line on the Horizon followed. What great stuff!

Tara and I were particularly thrilled by their rousing concert version

of Get On Your Boots and Magnificent.

For the song Unknown Caller, they were nice enough to put words up on the screen to sing along with. Of course this was overkill, since most people were singing along to all the songs anyway. But it was a nice touch. Except for me - I've listened to U2's songs hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of times...and I still don't know many of their lyrics. I'm terrible at remembering those kinds of things.

Bono insisted I shout, which I enthusiastically complied. Oh the joy...

By my face I'm guessing we were singing It's a Beautiful Day (I know part of the chorus...), or we were singing Elevation (again, a bit more of the chorus on that one), or maybe it was Vertigo (ummm...no ability to sing along on that song...). However, I can sing along to almost all the words to I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - my favorite one of them all.

Adam Clayton driving the songs forward with his brilliant bass playing.

Larry Mullen Jr on the big screen.

Bono.

The Edge.

Did you notice the screen - the impression is that it's not that good of the screen 'cause you can see all these lines throughout the images. Well, later on they do something amazing with the screen... these guys are so impressive!

The expanding screen.

Look at that screen all stretched out! How cool is that?

The concert is winding down - I have no idea what song is being performed here - maybe it was With or Without You - which he ended by tagging on a few lines of 40. Or maybe this was the acoustic set of Stuck in a Moment (a beautiful song done live acoustic).

What? All done? Already? Please...keep singing...

No? Alas, I guess I'll just have to come back another time!

Hanging out after the concert - enjoying the moment.

Phil and me marveling at how amazing these Irishmen are when it comes to performance and music and inspiring...

Reena and Tara were movin' and a groovin' to the music all night! And why not, U2 music was made to get your hands up and your feet jumping!

Four very happy friends. One joy-full show!

3 Days Until U2 in Chicago!

Only three more days! U2 in their first concert on American soil for the 360 tour!!! I'm listening to only U2 songs for the next couple of days...oh wait, that's what I do anyway.

Here's a list of songs that they've been including in the concerts. Everyone is wondering which songs they'll include Saturday night... will they pick some new ones? If I could pick a song for them to do that's not on the list, I'd suggest: All Along the Watchtower OR All Because of You.

Angel Of Harlem
Bad
Breathe
Beautiful Day
City Of Blinding Lights
Desire
Electrical Storm
Elevation
Get On Your Boots
I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight
In A Little While
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Magnificent
MLK
Moment Of Surrender
Mysterious Ways
No Line On The Horizon
New Year's Day
One
Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Party Girl
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out of
Stay (Far Away so Close)
The Unforgettable Fire
Unknown Caller
Ultraviolet (Light My Way)
Until The End of the World
Vertigo
Walk On
Where The Streets Have No Name
With Or Without You

Why U2 is the greatest rock band in the world

Reason number one: Bono's real name is Paul, and my name is Timothy

Reason number two: Hewson and Hallman 

- last name starts with "H" and ends with "n"

....it's something... right?

Reason number three: my wife's name is of Irish origins (Tara means "king")

Reason number four: the four guys have been together since 1976. and they're still friends.

Reason number five: the themes they sing about are connected with the biggest themes of life - some of it playful, some of it serious, some of it probing.

Reason number six: their name, U2, is brilliant for it's simplicity and it's layers of meaning

Reason number seven: U2 is a bunch of rebels....against the typical, predictable rock-n-roll scene

Reason number eight: they have an intriguing way of infusing Christian themes into their art and life.

Reason number nine: inspiring songs like...

* Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

* 40

* Magnificent

* Beautiful Day

* Mysterious Ways

* Pride

* Where the Streets Have No Name

* Wake Up Dead Man

* All Along The Watchtower.

Reason number ten: because that's just what I think.

Sunday Sermon Notes 6.07.09

God is... Magnificent!

At Anchor we've started off June by joining in the OnePrayer series - over 1,600 churches around the world!  OnePrayer is a movement of churches coming together to serve, share and give as part of the Church.  Anchor is all about that!

Last year for the preaching themes, we prayed: God, make us...

This year, the preaching theme centers on: God is...

One of the ways that the OnePrayer series connects churches is through video-sermons.  Preachers from all over the world videorecord a sermon and submit it to the website.  Then other churches can download it and show a video-sermon of a preacher from some other part of the nation or world.  Cool idea.  We did three of them last year, and it went over okay.  The upside is that it's a neat way to connect the congregation to other good teachers.  The downside is that the preacher goes on for more than thirty minutes on the video - you've got to be really really, really good to do that.  Unfortunately the ones I previewed for this year didn't pass the test.  Maybe we'll find some that do, yet.

The first sermon was inspired by U2's masterpiece Magnificent.  Haven't heard it yet? Check it out at YouTube.  Great song about worship - about how a husband and wife want their life together to be one of worship of The Magnificent.  The song inspired me...and it prompted me to develop a sermon about God being The Magnificent.

The obvious text was Mary's Song - traditionally titled the Magnificant (because in Latin the first word is magnificant).  Interestingly, Psalm 34, in my opinion, is a foundational song for what Mary created.  I read through both songs for clues for why David and Mary magnified the LORD.  

Here's my summary: 

God is...Magnificent because he is 

Beauty-Full, Strength-Full, Mercy-Full, and Remember-Full.

God is Magnificent when he is Beauty-Full.  What are the times when you walk outside into Creation and gasp - when you sigh in relief, when you stare in wonder, when you soak up the sunrise or sunset -and then you breath out a prayer of praise and thanks to God?  It's in moments when we notice the world saturated in magnificent beauty that we see the magnificence of God.  

Sure enough it is easy to see what is ugly and defiled in the world.  Rivers polluted and forests hacked, mountains stripped and fields gouged.  It's easy to see what's wrong in the world, to miss the beauty because of what's been battered.  And yet what is most beautiful in the world is not seen in Creation alone, but within each Human.  God made us Imago Dei - in his image. We are made in is magnificent image - to look into the eyes of another man or woman is to look upon beauty-fullness.  Except that most women and men I know refuse to look in the mirror and see beauty.  They keep choosing to see what is wrong.  But if we are crafted in Imago Dei, then we have the option of seeing in ourselves and one another The Magnificent.

God is...Magnificent when he is Strength-full, Mighty-Full, when he is Capable.  When God comes through, when he helps us turn a corner, nail down a victory, start again, push through to the other side - then we praise God, thank him, and magnify Him.  How many times have you needed help from the outside - when you were too tired or confused to do the next right thing.  And so God comes to you - in the guise of a friend or stranger - and makes possible a new way forward.  When we go over these moments, we see the magnificence of God - we don't deserve those miracles, and we can't barter for them - they are gifts that God loves to give.

Scriptures repeatedly refer to the power of a seed as a picture for the power of God.  Take whatever seed you want - a peach core, a wheat grain, a mustard seed.  There is latent power and capability in that tiny little pod.  It gets put in the ground, it gets watered, it gets fueled, and then out if sprouts a seedling, and then it stretches high, it bends with the wind, and then it increases in firmness and height and it's leaves soak up sunshine; some power is at work bringing out of that seed something that is new and yet natural.  And at the right time a harvest is made possible - all from that little seed.  And so God's power is at work in you - you are the seed, your deeds are the seeds, your attitude and choices are seeds from which God will take and plant and fuel and bring forth from it more than we could possibly imagine or hope for.  

God is Magnificent when he is Mercy-Full.  When God gives you a break, when he helps you let go of your sins, when he helps you replace despair with hope, when he helps you yank out the root of bitterness and fill the space with shalom - that is worth uttering prayers of praise.  When God brings people into your life who forgive you, who make amends to you, who guide you into freedom from past guilt and shame, when you find opportunities to give mercy - when we think about it - that's a beautiful moment to magnify the Lord.  God is merciful to us, and we best value that mercy when we give out mercy to others in response.  To those who see this at work in their homes and schools, in churches and workplaces - it's magnificent!

God is...Magnificent because he is Remember-full.  God never forgets us, never abandons us, never leaves us alone.  God is loyal, he is faithful, he is persevering, he is patient, he endures.  God thinks of you - a citizen of the world he created and loves - and continues to work to help you receive mercy and give it.  He remembers you - and for those of you who have chosen to follow the way of Jesus - he remembers your sins no more.  When he remembers you - and he does it very often - he does not remember someone who is a failure, prone to mistakes, a flop - he remembers you as one made in his Imago Dei - every deed and word a seed for his work as the Great Farmer!

When God thinks of you, he thinks of you as you are according to his reality, his perspective on the world.  He remembers you according to his great mercy and might - he seeks to redeem and restore all people - his interest is not in reminding you of your sins, but of reminding you of his gifts of grace and new opportunities.  When God thinks of you, he is interested in helping you work through the consequences of your actions, which are seeds for him to do a new thing.  How magnificent is that?

Psalm 34 has become a central song for me - in where I am at in my journey.  Maybe it can be for you also - a song inspired by a Magnificent God at work in his Magnificent World.

U2 & Letterman - a Top Ten that is actually funny

Tara and I used to watch Letterman's Top Ten all the time when the boys were babies - their feeding time was right around 11:30pm.  About eight out of ten times the Top Ten wasn't that funny.  Maybe four out of ten of the actual Top Ten items was funny, and the Number One was almost never funny.

Anyway, I didn't see any of the shows when Letterman hosted U2 for a week.  I'm sorry I missed it.  So lucky for me I found some clips of when they were on CBS.  Here's the link to U2 doing the countdown of the Top Ten with too-tall Dave. I laughed at nine out of the ten items.  The comment about cheese wasn't that funny.

The Teacher's Note

On Monday one of the preschool teachers for Levi and Isaac sent home another teacher's note. Usually getting a teacher's note indicates there is a problem, or that some issue needs to be resolved. Lucky for us, the Monday note made us laugh!

"Today at circle, a girl exclaimed, 'It's a beautiful day!"

In response, Levi burst into song in front of the whole class: 'It's a
beautiful daaaaaaay! That's a song by U2. My daddy has the CD!'

Isaac added: 'Don't let it get away!'"

Ah yes....I'm very proud of my boys!

Hey Emma- Get On Your Boots!

We've had a great time listening to the new U2 album!  When I drive Emma to school we listen to the catchy and inspiring song Get On Your Boots.  It's also the same phrase I repeat a dozen times to Emma in the kitchen so we're not late for school - "Hey Emma, for the third time, get on your boots!"

The boys are getting into the song too.  If I don't play it loud enough in the van, Eli yells and jerks his thumb up in the air!  Levi likes to bob his head along with the thumping bass, and Isaac grins real big when I turn it up!

The other night Emma asked me what the song was about...she wanted to know why Bono was singing about a submarine and gasoline.  I think she understood my answer.  I think...

The next song I'll get them hooked on is Magnificent.  The boys kind of like Stand Up Comedy - mostly because I have to tell them constantly to stand up and get their coats on, or stand up and put your shoes away, or stand up and quit sitting on your brother...you know, stuff like that.

Yeah for U2!

U2's album is coming in March! Yes! And there are five versions to pick from...and one of them is a vinyl lp...how cool is that?




No Line on the Horizon - I can't wait...

NOU23D

Arrgh...

No U23D...

Tara and I showed up at the Rave, 9:30pm ready to pick up our pre-ordered tickets. Tara is gifted with intuition - as we walk up to the theatre, she notes that there are alot of cars waiting to pick people up...which doesn't make sense if the other U23D show ended an hour ago. Something was not right. We walk into the theatre and nowhere does it have a sign up for our show. Nothing!

I go to the teller to pick up my ticket and I ask her if the U23D is showing tonight.

Ummm...no. Hannah Montana is showing instead.

What????!!!???

Well, I paid online, can I get my money back?

Ummmm...I'll have to talk to a manager.

[Static] "We have another one here for the U23D, can you meet him in the lobby"

Tara and I meet the manager who hurriedly and apologetically explains what happened: Disney and National Geographic had a scheduling conflict. Since so many pre-teens were being herded to Hannah Montana by parents in minivans, Disney decided to extend the show another week. So too bad National Geographic and U2. Down with Disney!

Supposedly U23D is rescheduled for next Friday, the 22. But if Hannah Montana does well again, Disney might just extend it another week.

Argh.

U23D

Have you heard?

U2 is coming to Fort Wayne!

Tara and I are going to see them in concert at the Rave next Friday!

Woohoo!

Bono...almost a Jedi Knight

Read this on CNN.com the other night, I laughed when it wrote that Bono is a Knight! Enjoy...

***********************
Bono a British knight; Don't call him 'sir'
POSTED: 9:26 a.m. EDT, March 30, 2007

DUBLIN, Ireland (AP) -- Irish rock star and global humanitarian Bono became a knight of the British empire Thursday -- and joked that his youngest son thought he was about to join the Jedi order instead.

"You have permission to call me anything you want -- except sir, all right? Lord of lords, your demigodness, that'll do," Bono, 46, told reporters after he was crowned a "Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire" in an informal, laugh-filled ceremony in the Dublin home of British Ambassador David Reddaway.

Reddaway paid tribute to Bono's work as a campaigner against poverty and disease in Africa -- but first asked whether Bono was disappointed that becoming a knight no longer involved a sword or kneeling.

"Please, I wasn't expecting you to kneel," Bono said, his hand on the ambassador's shoulder.

Accompanying Bono were his wife, Ali, their four children -- Jordan, 17; Eve, 15; Elijah, 7, and John, 5 -- and two of his U2 bandmates: guitarist The Edge and bassist Adam Clayton, both of whom were English-born and retain British citizenship.

Bono's two boys sat cross-legged on the floor throughout the ceremony. Bono said John was disappointed that his dad was not presented with a Star Wars light saber.

"He thought I was becoming a Jedi," Bono said.

Because he is an Irish citizen, Bono is not entitled to be called "Sir." That honor is reserved for citizens of the United Kingdom or British Commonwealth countries. Ireland left the Commonwealth when it became a republic in 1949.

Bono has been criticized in some Irish nationalist quarters for accepting a British honor at all.

But the Dublin-born singer, whose real name is Paul Hewson, dismissed this as ridiculous, given the unprecedentedly warm relations today between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom.

"I think Great Britain is great," Bono said. "And Irish people support British football teams. And Irish bands sign British record labels. And Irish people speak English.

"And we even have one (Englishman) in our band," Bono said, referring to Clayton, who came to Ireland at age 5 but retains something close to an English accent. The Edge, real name Dave Evans, came to Dublin from London at age 1.

Bono -- who sported lapel pins for two of his previous European government awards, the Legion d'Honneur from France and the Order of Liberty from Portugal -- said such official accolades "really help me get through a few doors I wouldn't get through. And that's the truth; that's the way the world is."

Bono said he originally was not planning anything special for the day he received the knighthood. But he said Monday's surprise power-sharing deal in Northern Ireland between Democratic Unionist leader Ian Paisley and Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams had inspired him to throw a party at his billionaire's-row home in Killiney, south Dublin.

"I wasn't going to have even a bit of a do. I was going to slip in, keep it very quiet," he said. "But when I saw big Ian sitting down there with Gerry Adams I just thought: This is the end of an era but the beginning of a much better one."

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

So You Want to Hear a Prophet?

A blog entry by the same name at a blogsite I frequently visit posted a YouTube video of Bono's speech at the NAACP awards the other night.

Visit the site and watch the ten minute prophetic call...

http://www.samandress.blogspot.com

While there may be stuff to quibble over in regard to Bono's theology...he's making the call for true religion (aka James).