new favorite song

Lyrics:
No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one's laughing at God when they're starving or freezing or so very poor

No one laughs at God when the doctor calls after some routine tests
No one's laughing at God when it's gotten real late and their kid's not back from that party yet

No one laughs at God when their airplane starts to uncontrollably shake
No one's laughing at God when they see the one they love hand in hand with someone else and they hope that they're mistaken
No one laughs at God when the cops knock on their door and they say "We've got some bad new, sir,"
No one's laughing at God when there's a famine, fire or flood

But God can be funny
At a cocktail party while listening to a good God-themed joke or
Or when the crazies say he hates us and they get so red in the head you think that they're about to choke

God can be funny
When told he'll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie
Who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus

God can be so hilarious
Ha ha
Ha ha

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one's laughing at God when they've lost all they got and they don't know what for

No one laughs at God on the day they realize that the last sight they'll ever see is a pair of hateful eyes
No one's laughing at God when they're saying their goodbyes

But God can be funny
At a cocktail party while listening to a good God-themed joke or
Or when the crazies say he hates us and they get so red in the head you think that they're about to choke

God can be funny
When told he'll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie
Who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus

God can be so hilarious

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war

No one's laughing at God in a hospital
No one's laughing at God in a war

No one's laughing at God when they're starving or freezing or so very poor

No one's laughing at God
No one's laughing at God
No one's laughing at God
We're all laughing with God

Laughing With by Regina Spektor from the album Far

Consistent ethic of life.

Today the Senate is entering debates on the issue of abortion within Health care reform. Why do religious folks care so much about tax dollars going toward this type of death but then have no problem with tax dollars going to the guns and bombs of our military?

Let's face it, those unborn babies are so much easier to sentimentalize than those we label "enemy." Plus, no one cries foul if the Church says "no!" to killing babies, but the Church saying "no!" to war would cross the line. That is unpatriotic, insurrectionist. That is dangerous.

I am tired of playing safe, pretending that my counter-cultural stances excuse my contradictions everywhere else. I cannot name Death in the pregnant patient's hospital room without also naming Death on the other side of a machine gun.

Both break the heart of God.

Both break us apart.

my first sermon

The teaching is on Luke 1.5-25 for the first Sunday of Advent. It was delivered at The Gathering Church.

We are lucky enough to be a part of this new church start. Come join us. (Click picture to enlarge, or get out magnifying glass)

our confession

Confession from John Jay Alvaro on Vimeo.

implicit metaphors set within a bass riff

Derek Webb has been one of my favorite musicians for a while, and his latest offering (Stockholm Syndrome) is no exception. Here is a song off that album titled, "Jena & Jimmy." My assumption is that it is an extended metaphor for the co-opting of the Church. When heard as such, it is a powerful indictment on the Church's proclivity to embrace distractions.

cut cut, snip snip! Pretty me.

There is little I can say about our culture of plastic surgery and dangerous dieting to achieve the ideal look. After all, my gender has certainly helped propagate those ideals, smiling right along as the norm shifted to boob jobs and puffy lips. Everyone is doing it, therefore the women who don't consent see the ideal moving farther and farther away. It is a risky shift when women opt for painful surgery and the denial of age.

But I am a male, and we are often culpable for this shift. Who do you think is buying all the porn? Who do you think is pressuring the women to look younger? Who do we stare at the longest and with the most attention? Who puts those naked women on a stage with bad lighting and asks them to dance? Who fills up the crowd at said dancing?

My wife has been thinking hard about these issues, and she is kind enough to let me in on her thoughts. I just read this article and sent it to her for her reaction. Warning: it is somewhat graphic as it involves plastic surgery for a woman's vagina.

As a man, all I can say right now is that I am sorry for what I have done in my life to keep these lies alive. A woman who ages gracefully is becoming a rare find. One day we will wake up and wonder where all the grandmothers are because they will all look like 25 year old celebrities. Some will argue that is progress. I disagree.