quiero amnestía pa' tu tía y la mía*

English, Spanish, Polish. Did you know Chicago has the second largest population of Polish people in the world, second only to Warsaw?

Galatians 3:28

"There is no longer Jew or Greek,

there is no longer slave or free,

there is no longer male and female;

for all of you are one in Christ Jesus."

[Luisa and me. Luisa of writing so funny you'll die laughing.]

* "I want amnesty for your aunt and mine" ... It's funny, but that was what someone got us shouting today. I'm not even that liberal. I'm not even that interested in politics. I am, however, interested in the wellness of human beings. And families. And equality for all. And an intolerance for political bigotry. "Cuando? Ahora. Ahora-hora-hora!"

My, O, my

[This picture of Olivia and I is loaded with glorious memories of a gray day at the beach, bikes and gyros, too. Circa summer 06, I think?]


AND! I am so romanced by this Flickr set ... someone who thinks my neighborhood is as photographic as I do! In the last census, we were the most diverse neighborhood in the country! I think he perfectly captures the eclectic quirks that tell me "home."

Remembrance

I once asked a very scholarly theologian why Christians often disagree about the Communion elements. (The bread and wine used in the Lord’s Supper or the Eucharist.)

To be honest, three years ago I was an ignorant Evangelical when it came to anything liturgical or even historical about the church. I was just young.

Should it ever be possible to figure things out, I know I’ve got a long way to go. But I’ve grown so much, thanks to my relationship with Jake and thanks to many, many smart individuals in my life.

Anyway, that scholar, I loved what he said,

“Things would be a lot easier if Jesus said this is a symbol of my body, wouldn’t it?”

But Jesus did not say that. He said the elements are His blood and body … a very squirmy idea for non-Christians, and even some Christians. The truth is, this, what is supposed to be the most-unifying tradition, is often the basis for fundamental disagreements. It breaks my heart to no end. This may honestly be the single enduring struggle in my faith. Why can’t we break bread together?

Plenty of theologians possess theories about the words of the institution. And I’ve read a lot of them. I’m just not there, yet. I’m not yet ready to adopt someone else’s doctrine. I’ve asked God for answers and I think I am destined to learn this for myself.

So I am starting from the beginning, the gospel by Luke:

“And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.’”

That word remembrance is most important to me. It also seems to be where a lot of different Christians develop their ideas about what exactly the function of the Eucharist is. So I scanned the Bible for wherever else the word appears.

This is my favorite, it’s from Exodus:

“During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God.
And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.”

Because I know God could never forget his covenant, it appears on His part that remembrance denotes action.

And that’s where I am.

[praying over Jackson St. this morning at 4 a.m.]

They needed me to pray. Everyone else asleep, but Keith at the door. I prayed until I was relieved.

"Maybe truth is not something I can possess. Maybe truth is something which possesses me."

- Jon Foreman

Every time I'm in the library at school, I think of my great friend Kristy. Kristy, remember how often we saw each other there? You worked at the library and I loved to visit you.

Remember the first time I saw you when I came back from Mexico and we whispered for a half hour about traveling? You had recently been in London and Prague. Now you're gone again.

You're in Paris, just being and writing as wonderfully as ever. I wish I could leave a comment for you, but since I cannot, you get an entire post. (Others: do yourself a favor and spend some time reading that tumblr.)

Kristy, as happy as I am for you (and for Paris who has you), I am jealous and selfish and I want you home! It's time to make dill hummus with the windows open and have picnics and peel huge pieces of wax candle off your table in our long skirts.

I was reading in the library this week and each creak of the floor had my eyes jotting up, looking for you. Remember how I used to scare you between the aisles?

Some places will indefinitely be host to the trail of memories we leave behind.

-In other news, 24 hours of prayer for this city begin at 2 today. Together, professional artists and art students will keep vigil, Jake and I will be spending the night on site. I'm really hoping to find some revelation in regards to that post below.