The Chocolate Heart

Don’t tell my husband’s mom, but I bought her one of those giant boxed hearts full of chocolates for Valentine’s Day.  I really can’t think of anyone who enjoys chocolates more than my mother-in-love.  She can detect chocolate in the house more accurately than a heat-seeking missile – after all, she’s had some eighty-plus years to refine her detection technology. Between her and my chocolate-loving husband, such treats don’t last long in our house, but I think I’ve successfully hidden the chocolate heart out of the range of her highly-refined cocoa-radar … so far.

Since the purchase, I’ve found myself reflecting on a poem from Langston Hughes that my mother-in-love would remember, having lived in New York during the Harlem Renaissance.  It echoes in my head every time I think about that chocolate heart, knowing that it contains a diverse selection of candies that will be received by a woman who’s learned to appreciate each one for what it may have to offer. 

Here’s an excerpt from that poem:

“Molasses taffy,

Coffee and cream,

Licorice, clove, cinnamon

To a honey brown dream.

Ginger, wine-gold,

Persimmon, blackberry –

All through the spectrum,

Harlem girls vary –

So if you want to know beauty’s

Rainbow sweet thrill,

Stroll down luscious,

Delicious, fine Sugar Hill.”1

Hughes has spelled out something that could take a lifetime for many of us of color to embrace – that everything about us can reflect God’s deliberate artistry and handiwork, down to the DNA that determines the way each of us is made.

The Brazen, Beautiful Humanity of Malala Yousafzai

Karen's latest blog post looks at Christ's approach to women living under the first century Roman Empire in light of children's rights, and the recent radical Islamic violence against fourteen-year-old activist Malala Yousafzai.

I'm so proud of my wife, and I'm pleased to encourage you to follow her on her new page for blog posts about theology, identity, dignity, women's consciousness, the unique value of redeemed women of color, and the global pursuit of human rights. - CE

Behold, The Man

By now, we’ve all seen this infamous tri-panel icon, an Ecce Homo that is Elías García Martínez’ fresco representation of the suffering Christ, crowned with thorns.  The three panels escort our eye from left to right; from the fresco in its younger days, to its time-weathered degeneration, ending finally with the well-intentioned yet botched efforts of an amateur restoration that holds only a shadow of the original.  This century-old Ecce Homo, housed in Spain’s Santuario de la Misericordia, was first created as an instrument to inspire worship.  After its unfortunate “restoration,” the community says it’s now valuable only in a far less lofty function – promoting tourism and stimulating pop-culture.  As t-shirts and other marketing items exploit its odd tale, experts now consider it ruined for its original purpose.

All is not lost; the incident brings out at least two valuable lessons that stand out in bold bas-relief. 

But God ... Reflections on Sleepless Nights

Battles are best waged 

under cover of darkness.

By day, a siege is easier to fend. 

Obstacles lie exposed, 

reinforcements stand ready, 

troops take action - quickly rallied.

But in the night ...

Lord, have mercy, in the night ... 

What's Your Basis for Justice?

Question:  What do you get when you cross one theological nerd who spends hours tweaking his keynote lecture presentations with another theological nerd who spent 8 years as a d.j., creating radio commercials?

Give up?

Answer: You get The Visual Reasoning Series, Episode 1 - Perspectives on Justice.

That's how nerds roll. Have a look. 

- The Ellises

Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Mire

Famished after a vigorous workout at the YMCA pool, we decided to momentarily break our regular eating habits and grab a quick bite – at Chick-fil-A.  We dined deliberately out of a sense of protest over municipal politicians’ reactions to Dan Cathy’s expression of free speech.  To our delight, the place was packed with people of all manner of unidentifiable persuasions.

That the other diners' beliefs were unknown to us is important to note, as we found later that we kept surprising company with the likes of New York City Mayor Bloomberg, the ACLU, the talk show The View, and more than a few news outlets who also cried ‘foul’ over responses to public denials of Cathy’s fundamental right to free speech and entrepreneurship in our country.

A Decent Proposal – An American Health Alternative

Much has been said about universal healthcare.  In my view, it is clearly in line with the theistic core values upon which this nation was founded.   However, though people insist that healthcare is a fundamental right, it is not listed in our constitutional Bill of Rights.  

The mistaken notion that healthcare is a right comes from the so-called “Economic Bill of Rights,” articulated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on January 11, 1944.

“ObamaCare” as it is currently constituted, depends on altruism to control costs.  Its major shortcoming is the lack of a mechanism to keep costs down. Healthcare must be tackled not only from the payer side, but also in its management and cost effectiveness to reflect global rates.  In order to do this, we must trim the associated bureaucratic bloat.  “ObamaCare” does not factor in the flaws in human nature, which certainly extend to the individuals who manage and run our healthcare corporations.  If we are honest with ourselves, we will admit that we are not naturally altruistic.  It is much more realistic to harness free market forces where appropriate and to encourage people – and corporations – to do right based on incentives.