davidleong.info

yesterday afternoon i had the opportunity to visit the chapel of st. ignatius at seattle university for the first time. while the award-winning architecture is impressive, i was most impacted by the tangible sanctity of the physical space there.

it was refreshing to experience god’s presence powerfully through the light, art, and inconography- even the silence felt strangely comforting and familiar. ignatius of loyola, who founded the jesuits, is well known as a ‘contemplative in action’ whose spiritual exercises have helped to revitalize the popularity of spiritual direction in the church, a prayerful partnership between someone seeking discernment and a spiritual director.

there is so much noise in our culture. the daily media|graphical avalanche combined with the complicated demands of our modern multifaceted society are enough to cause sensory overload for even the most comfortably inundated technophile. i’m convinced that we need more sabbath and less distractions in life- i long for more thin spaces amidst the mundane. but it requires time- particularly a routine cultivation of stillness in my interior life. i think i’ll be visiting the chapel of st. ignatius again soon… it is often only in silence that i hear the voice to which i should be listening more closely.

today’s seattle times highlights the latest conservative christian cultural battle on the hypocritical agenda: an allegedly gay-friendly starbucks vs. concerned women for america. here’s a breakdown of the matchup-

starbucks: mega-corporation resources, uber-deep pockets, a loyal caffeine-addicted clientele, and a retail location market penetration that rivals liquor stores in the ghetto.

cwfa: heavy WASP endorsement, an uncanny tolerance for hypocrisy, and self-induced disillusionment about how jesus was a republican.

shouldn’t christians be preoccupied with bigger concerns than ‘liberal quotes’ on coffee cups? every seemingly ‘immoral’ cause picked up by the [fill in the blank]coalition for ‘american’ values is just feeding the culture with ammo to blast away at the hypocrisy of the church. god forbid that we have a real conversation about something complicated and relational- it’s certainly much easier to forget about real issues in favor of endlessly ranting about the ‘homosexual agenda.’

i think starbucks should start a make-a-gay-friend campaign just for kicks. gay people drink coffee, too.

palestinian children sit in front of their house near the jewish settlement of katif, southern gaza strip, 8.21.05.

i’m not sure how i’d feel if foreign occupiers moved into my city, built a strategic wall around the best land resources, and then turned my neighborhood into a slum. i would imagine i’d be pretty upset. folks on the block might even get violent.

i’m fascinated by the scriptural passage in the gospel of matthew about the sheep and the goats- a frightening indictment of those who do not advocate on behalf of the ‘least of these.’ rarely does the condemnation of christ come down as harsh as it does on those who neglect the marginalized.

i’m often asked if we ought to feel guilty for the relative comfort we live in here in the west. well if guilt compels you advocacy, then i would say yes.

i hate computers. let’s go back to the stone age. smoke signals, cave drawings. or how about at least the victorian era. hand written letters, quill pens, couriers on horseback.

i spend so much time with computers that sometimes i fear i am becoming one. in my digital daydream i look down at my hand and it’s become an optical mouse attached to my arm with a little red LED glow instead of fingers. i am locutus of borg.

*images|text from sojo.net

Palestinian women and children walk past the remains of Palestinian homes facing Israeli settlements and military posts on the edge of Khan Younis, Gaza. Unlike Israeli settlers being evacuated this week, Palestinian residents received no advance warning or compensation and relocation offers from the Israeli government when their homes were destroyed.

Reflections from Gaza
by Philip Rizk

Today, much of Gaza lies in shambles.

The true fear that dwells in Gazan hearts today is the inability to provide for one’s family. The last thing the community in Gaza needs, now and post-disengagement, is an array of temporary aid in the form of Western handouts. Rather, this society needs to be empowered: The people of Gaza need their brothers and sisters around the world to come alongside them and build up their sense of dignity.

the gaza pullout has begun, but not without a few scuffles, or what some have perhaps more aptly described as a standoff.

the age old land dispute issue in jerusalem is so complicated and rife with misunderstanding, miscommunication, violence, religious fervor, and nationalism all thrown into a hotbed of refugee camps, abject poverty, and a bunch of zionists backed by gun toting americans who have been more than happy to arm the IDF to the teeth. i wonder how many american manufactured arms have killed innocent palestinian civilians over the last five decades.

most people don’t believe me when i tell them that a good chunk of our middle east foreign policy, particularly with relation to israel, is based on faulty theology developed in late nineteenth century america. it’s called dispensationalism and i wrote my masters thesis on it, but it’s hard to believe that some religious extremists might steer the course of nations over a century. or is it?

columbia city has arrived. i’m not sure what took me so long to find their wikipedia article, but i guess the rumors are true. according to the wiki-writers, “As of 2004, Columbia City is one of Seattle’s most diverse areas in terms of income and ethnicity.” practically speaking, it’s a ‘colorful’ neighborhood.

chris and i have met a couple of neighbors briefly, but have not yet had the chance to walk around and get to know our block a bit better. it’s hard to know exactly how the community will take shape over the next few years as the more recent ‘winds of change’ are evident in housing renovation and the influx of young families. though the neighborhood is extremely diverse, it also seems fairly segregated. there are pockets of mixing, but for the most part people seem to cluster together with their cultural counterparts.

i’m not sure which is more of a challenge- mixed income or mixed ethnicity- both are barriers that make bridge building difficult. i hope that we’ll learn to be good friends and neighbors first, and humble, empowering advocates second. i mostly just want to listen- who is crying out for justice in this community? when will we…

Learn to do right!
Seek justice,
encourage the oppressed.
Defend the cause of the fatherless,
plead the case of the widow.
Isaiah 1:17