This Sunday's sermon

This is a day given over to sermons and sermonizing, and I'm going to leap right in.

There are people in this world who pretend to be what they are not. They are called hypocrites, and they've been around since homo sapiens learned to talk. A bunch of them currently run this country, but we don't have space here for all that. A lot of people are talking religion these days, and many of them are hypocrites. A lot of people say they are so pure Jesus is going to come take them away to heaven any day now, and I wish he would. Then the rest of us could start cleaning up the mess they've made. I will be proud to remain with the "left behind."

This just in: Christians invade and loot Eden.

Christian troops continue to rampage in Eden, causing millions in damage and scores of deaths every day. Over 1,000,000 peaceful residents have been killed. They call it collateral damage, which means it is incidental to the goal of bringing democracy and Christianity to the heathen. 2,000,000 more citizens have been forced out of their homeland to become refugees in neighboring countries. Another 2,000,000 are homeless, living in ruins, tents, caves and fields.

The big news is no one seems to give a shit. In addition to hypocrites, we are surrounded by sleepwalkers. You know the people, who think they are getting the truth from network television. I don't see much difference in television news, with few exceptions. NBC did a pro-nuclear news piece, with no disclaimer pointing out that NBC is owned by GE, the world's largest developer of nuclear energy. Fox makes me sputter with their blatant neo-con propaganda and name-calling. As soon as Fox leaped past CNN, in the ratings, CNN began to copy Fox in fluffy, bombastic style.

When it comes to news, my heroes are Amy Goodwin, Bill Moyer, Bill Maher, Walter Cronkite and some others. Cronkite went to Vietnam to see what the hell was really going on over there. He came back and told most Americans the truth for the first time. The warmakers covered their bases better this time, taking almost complete control of the media, before starting their latest catastrophe.

Back to the key word we started with, hypocrites. The religious leaders of our time are every bit as corrupt as those Jesus dealt with. Jesus said they only pretended to be holy, while being consumed by base passions. He called the priests soul-eating wolves. He said they cared more about appearances than reality. He likened them to white-washed tombs full of dead bones and rotten meat.

Nothing has changed; progress is an illusion.

Sermonizing leads to guilt and shame, neither of which is a good thing. I want mine to lead to awakening. Wake up! Consider the beauty all around you. It reminds me of the 60s, full of hope, ingenious creativity everywhere and drop-dead gorgeous women.

Speaking of shame, if you live in Missoula and you are not a member or volunteer of MAM (Missoula Art Museum), shame on you.

Once again, shout out: live and local. Add a toast of local brew, and remember to give thanks for all you receive. That's today's sermon.