Wednesday, April 12, 2023

The Last Kingdom

I am a huge fan of Steve Berry’s Cotton Malone series.  Over the years I am always started by not only the twists that take place, but also by the skilled way in which Berry weaves together the story in a plausible and compelling way.


First, let me say that I thoroughly enjoyed Berry’s latest offering in the Malone series: The Last Kingdom. Berry is always able to weave tidbits of historical facts in his fiction which makes the story.


The story centers around the enigmatic King Ludwig II of Bavaria, from the house of Wittelsbach, who because of eccentricity was deposed in 1886 and three days later was found mysteriously dead from drowning.  Despite his massive building campaigns; Neuschwanstein Castle, Linderhof Palace, and Herrenchiemsee and his devotion to the composer Richard Wagner, he is remembered for his desire to find a last kingdom. Hence the title and premise of the book.


I enjoyed following Cotton through the great castles that Ludwig built as he chases the secret of the Last Kingdom to find the deed before the bad guys do.  To read a book of this nature one must suspend some logical belief, but I have always enjoyed that Berry is able to keep that to a minimum.  For whatever reason, he seemed to push the envelope a bit farther this time and there were a couple of incidents where one just had to throw up their hands.


Overall it was a very satisfying book, but definitely not one of the best in the series.  I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes historical fiction and mystery.


Sunday, March 19, 2023

Opening One's Eyes

For the second Sunday since arriving in Tiberias, we attended St. Andrew’s Church, a part of the Church of Scotland in the Holy Land.  Last week, Rev. Muriel Pearson preached a wonderful sermon based on the woman at the well in John’s Gospel.  Fifteen or so, many visitors like us, were present to share in the worship and gather together around the table.  Today, the Rev. Dr. Steward Gillan preached and presided over the table.  Again, there may have been 15 of us in attendance.

What was special about today, is that Nancy, Sara and I were invited to share the Gospel reading.  It came from John’s Gospel, the entire 9th chapter.  It was the first time I participated in worship since retiring.  Rev. Gillan reminded us that we don’t all see the same way — and that sometimes when we think we see, we are really blind (see the end of the story).  I loved how he tied it all together.  The theme is something that I struggle with because most people prefer certainty (particularly their own understanding of certainty) to living in the gray.  The older I get, I have come to realize that none of us have it completely figured out.  And asking the questions is not anathema to faith, but instead is honoring God.


It also brought into clearer focus the difference between pilgrims and tourists.  Richard Rohr’s devotion the first week of March was all about pilgrimage.  As I prayed through those devotions, I found myself wanting to be an even better guide to those who are here on a pilgrimage.  Tourism is not a bad thing, and I will admit, that while in Israel I am often a tourist — but there is something powerful about seeking God in the moment that one finds oneself (and isn’t that what being a pilgrim is all about?)  I am seeking to listen more and talk less.  Hear where the spirit is moving in people’s lives and do my best to open them up to that opportunity.


I am thankful that Matt Landry opened me up to Richard Rohr years ago.  Rohr’s understanding of the universal christ (finding the christ in every thing) has been life changing for me.  It has helped me to be a better pilgrim for God’s love.


Wednesday, February 22, 2023

Happy birthday Dad

Today would have been my father’s 90th birthday.  Even to write that seems strange, for to me he will perpetually be a man in his 50’s or 60’s (which is weird because I am 62 and he was definitely older than me). Even as he declined rapidly the last couple years of his life, I would catch glimmers of the father that I knew and will always love.  He was, and always will be my hero.  


I am the man that I am today, because of his influence.  Even though my temperament is more like my mom, I followed the path that I followed, because of my dad.  Like so many others, I followed my father into the ministry.  And yes, I had a very personal call to go into ministry.  Yet, I often wonder if my father made me more likely to hear, and have the tools to respond to that call.


For most of my ministry, every Sunday afternoon, I would call and we would talk about church.  I sometimes ponder if that didn’t add to his longing to be young again and back in the trenches.  The hardest thing for me, in my last few years in active ministry was not to have him to talk to on a regular basis.


As I enter into my sunset years, I am forced to contemplate the what if’s of my life.  How different it would have been if things had happened differently.  I was on a dangerous path when we lived in Roselle, and was given a new chance when we moved to Glenview in 1972.  If that had not happened — I cannot even imagine where my life would have ended up.  What if my dad decided to risk everything and move to Florida like he really wanted?  What if the bishop had forced my dad to move to Court Street in Elgin in the mid 70’s while I would have been in High School?


When I look back, I see the wisdom that my father possessed in navigating the treacherous waters of the UMC.  Maybe that is why, when I decided to answer my call to ministry, he strongly encouraged me to leave the UMC and find a home in a different denomination.  Obviously I didn’t, but 40 years later, I can acknowledge his wisdom.


I went to Duke Divinity School because I wanted to reclaim my southern roots.  Instead I found a life partner in Nancy.


I miss my dad every day.  He was (is) my rock.  But one of the blessings that has happened since his death is how close I have become with my mother.  When I would call when my dad was alive, my mother and I had only brief conversations on the phone.  And when I would visit, my father enjoyed being the center of attention.  But now, my mom and I have really grown.  Nancy and I moved back to the Chicagoland area to be closer to her.  I try to visit every week, and we chat regularly.  And the biggest bonus has been getting to know her life story more closely.  My dad wrote out his story, and I am working on putting it into a shareable form for the family.  But my mom didn’t have the opportunity to share her story as much.  Now I am learning it.


Saturday, we drove out to Rockford to spend some time with her sister, my Aunt Doris.  On Sunday, February 19th she celebrated her 102!! Birthday.  She cannot get around much, but her mind is sharp and I love listening to my mom and her tell stories.  My cousin Jerry was also there with his wife Joan, and his son Josh and his wife Kelli.  It was so much fun.


Happy Birthday Doris and Fred

Tuesday, February 21, 2023

Africatown, a story that needs to be told

Wow, I am not even sure where to start.  Africatown is a well written, disturbing book that reminds us that we still have a long way to go.  The story of the shipmates and how they were captured in Africa and brought to Alabama despite the illegality of importing slaves is a sad chapter in our history.  I was reminded again and again that slavery, discrimination and bigotry did not end with the Civil War.  


While the story of their journey on the Clotilda was  heartbreaking, it was the resilience of the shipmates that is the real story.  Despite the continued marginalization of the residence of Plateau and Magazine, Alabama the story has remained to be told.  I think what struck me the most was the reluctance of the Reagan Administration (Particularly Secretary of the Interior James Watt) to recognize the importance of Africatown, and how this was not a unique story.


in 1972, the National Park Service gave a private group, the Afro-American Bicentennial Corporation, the funding to carry out a sweeping survey of these landmarks. An early ABC report made a stinging critique of the park system’s criteria for designating historic sites. “It is organized to cover American history from a white American’s perspective,” the group wrote in 1973. “There appears to be a marked reluctance on the part of NPS to openly deal with some of the less appealing aspects of American history, especially slavery … Although the past cannot be changed, it can be honestly faced, and the future can be made differently.”


It is not an easy, or light read, but I highly recommend Nick Taylor’s book Africatown, and as a result I am sure I will do more reading on the last slave ship that came to the USA.


My only complaint about this edition of the book (uncorrected digital copy) is the failure to link footnotes and the occasional need for editing.  I received this book for free for an unbiased review.

#Africatown
#NickTabor

Friday, January 27, 2023

International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, in which we remember and honor those that were murdered by the Nazis in the concentration camps.  This date was chosen because it is the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.  I have not had the privilege of visiting any of the former concentration camp sites, but I have visited Yad Vashem in Jerusalem on multiple occasions.  This picture is one of my favorites that I took on one of the visits, it is taken of a train cattle-car that was used to haul innocent people to their deaths.  Most people see this from eye level, but I walked around and took this from below, it is appropriately called – train car to oblivion.


On this remembrance day, I hope you will take time to pause and remember.  But don’t stop there — look for ways that you can bring peace.  Peace to your family, peace to your community, peace to the world.


I am almost finished with one of the most disturbing books that I have read in a long time.  It is Assassins by Mike Bond.  My high school English teachers would have a field day with the writing style and syntax, but it was the themes that disturbed me the most.


The story begins in Afghanistan, as the US takes the decision to use the local Afghanis to bottle up the Soviet Union who had invaded the country.  The main protagonist is Jack, and the book tells snippets of his life story, as we learn he is a paramilitary commando hired by (I assume) the CIA. I found the beginning of the book fascinating.  As the story continues we move from the 1982 all the way to 2015 with “Jack” involved in all kinds of undercover operations from Iraq to Pakistan.  There were two things that I found disconcerting.  First, he touched on my deep and hidden Islamophobia.  Time and time again, he made my prejudices come to the surface.  Sometimes he challenged that phobia, other times he massaged it and made it more comfortable.  The second issue was with his take on the history of the period.  I found myself going back and forth, looking up claims that he made about the US government and its role in events from US funding of the Mujahedeen and Taliban, to the knowledge and role that Bush played in 9/11.  Did the US government know about the potential attack on the twin towers beforehand?  Did Bush know that there were no WMDs in Iraq?  Did we have opportunities to eliminate Osama Bin Laden earlier and intentionally let them pass?  All those and other perplexing questions are left for you to wrestle with.


In the second half of the book, the story gets lost in all of these questions, and at times I am not sure of the point he is trying to make.  But clearly the overall thrust is found when he quotes Longfellow about ⅔’s of the way through the book.

If we could read the secret history of our enemies we should find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.


In the end, I think Bond is trying to remind us that violence is a vicious circle and the more we use violence to quash our enemies, the more enemies we make.  His storytelling is okay, but it gets lost in his trying to outline what went wrong with US policy in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Not sure I would read another one of his books.


Sunday, January 15, 2023

Cancel Culture and Dr King

One of my traditions over the years was to preach on, or about Dr. Martin Luther King on his birthday weekend. One year, the weather was horrible and very few people came to church, so at the last minute we decided to invite random parishioners to read selections from King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail.  It was one of the most powerful Sunday worship services that I have been a part of. If you have never read it, I highly suggest you take the time.  But be warned, it is a damning letter to those of us in the white Christian privileged community.  His words ring true today as much as they did when he wrote them in April of 1963.  Today at church, the pastor shared a sermon that was centered around Martin, and I appreciated being reminded of another great speech of his that is often forgotten: The Drum Major Instinct.  Martin invites us to ponder and ruminate over what we want to be remembered for.  He gave that sermon in February of 1968, we all know what happened just a few months later in Memphis.


Right now, we are on another one of our “cancel culture” silliness campaigns.  A while ago, it was reported in the media that gas stoves are dangerous and there might (and I emphasize that it is only a MIGHT) be a plan of banning gas stoves in the future.  OMG you would have thought the world was coming to an end for some people.  It brought out all those who screamed about a private company coming to the realization that their brand was racist (which it was) and they needed to change their image.  Can you imagine if they decided to try pass seat belt laws today??  Or stop cigarette ads?  We would all go crazy and lose our minds.  Or if they decided to ban regular gas because it was more harmful to the environment, oh wait, they did..  I love gas stoves, I prefer a gas stove, but recognizing that most houses do not have adequate ventilation (or we don’t use it) is a good thing to be reminded how potentially dangerous they can be.  I am thankful that there are people out there who are trying to make our lives safer (and also trying to save us from destroying our planet).


A number of times when I have preached about MLK I have quoted from his sermons.  When I quote from someone's material I try not to change it, although if I am honest, sometimes I do.  But this particular time I quoted Martin using the n-word.  For me, it seemed important to acknowledge that once upon a time it was a common word to use, and that we have moved beyond it.  But hearing that word, I think, in context, can help us understand better how powerfully negative it could be.  


Following the service, I got reamed out by a young person.  They were offended that I used that particular word.  I tried to explain that I didn’t use the word, but that Martin did and he was trying to show how disgusting it is.  It didn't matter, in their mind I needed to be canceled.  I took their concern seriously, and I don’t know what I would do in the future, but I certainly don’t want the word canceled from the historical record.  It is a reminder of how thoroughly we denigrate our brothers and sisters.


A lot has changed since 1968, but a lot has stayed the same.  We still tend to put people into boxes to identify them.  We still tend to try and better ourselves, at the expense of others.  I am grateful for Dr. Martin Luther King: he set a model for me to attempt to follow in my life.  One of the most humbling experiences  of my life happened after the floods that devastated Northwest Indiana in 2008.  At a North District United Methodist meeting, the district superintendent singled me out for my role in LARRI (you can learn about it here), the flood recovery group I was a part of from 2008-2011.  She called me the Martin Luther King of the area, because we were seeking justice for our neighbors who were devastated by the floods.  I am no MLK, but to be even mentioned in the same breath reminds me of my Drum Major Instinct.  My prayer is that Dr. King will continue to influence each of us to strive to become our best self.   Peace my friends.


Abraham, Martin & John by Dion 

This is a great version by Tom Clay


Sunday, January 08, 2023

You Are Loved

On this Sunday in which we celebrate and remember the Baptism of Jesus, I wanted to take a moment and share some thoughts. It is fascinating experiencing church from the other side.  Having now had seven months to deprogram the way that I have always experienced church, I am beginning to see things with different eyes. One of the things that has come into clearer focus is the language that we use to describe our relationship with God.  How do we understand the relationship between us and God?  

Of course this can go a number of ways.  When we describe God — what are the words that we use?  Male pronouns, father, neutral terms, or even as mother?  Is God angry, vengeful, full of wrath, or compassionate and loving?  The funny thing that I have noticed is that often we describe God in multiple, often contradicting ways.  God is a God of love, but God also needs to have us confess our failures (to earn that love?).   It doesn't always make sense and it can cause mental whiplash, or at least some deft mental gymnastics.  My guess is that most of us don’t even notice because we have become accustomed to the verbal descriptions. 

But the biggest thing we often do (and I hope it is subconsciously and not intentionally) is use God to shame us.  Shame is an interesting thing, and from what I have heard, one of the biggest reasons young people don’t go to church.  They want to be challenged, but they don’t want (or need) to be shamed. And there is a huge difference in inviting someone to grow without telling them how bad they are.


I am sure that you can all point to times when I used shame — and for that I am extremely sorry.  It unfortunately, is such a big part of religion that at times we don’t even realize that we (me) are doing it. There has always been in the back of my head a saying my mother taught me: “You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.”  I am not sure why the church hasn’t understood that principle.


Too often our prayers are ones of shaming us about the things we are not doing, instead of encouraging the strides we are making.  No, I don’t think we should hide our failures, but instead of rubbing our noses in them, we need to use them to “fail forward.”  Richard Rohr has been influential in helping me to stop making everything transactional — to recognize that life isn’t about winning.  It's about relationship with God and each other, even when those relationships are not perfect.


If you have never read Nadia Bolz-Weber’s book Shameless, I recommend it to you.  I guarantee that she will make you feel uncomfortable, and challenge some closely held beliefs, but she also will help free you to see yourself (and the people around you) in a new way.


On this day of remembering the baptism of Jesus, let us also remember our own baptism.  Feel the waters that mark you as a follower of Jesus.  We are baptized not because we are evil or bad, but because we have chosen to follow the way of Jesus.  We are saved not from the fires of hell, but into a new way to see each other and all of God’s creation.  You are loved — a beloved child of God!


Sunday, November 06, 2022

So What?

My last Sunday preaching was June 5th of this past year. It has been enlightening to visit a number of churches to see how others do worship.  A number of things have become evident, the biggest being we seem to have lost the art of hospitality (if we ever had it) but that is a topic for another day.  One of the biggest realizations is that many pastors have no idea what the purpose of a sermon is.

I am sure I had this same problem, but somewhere along the line I decided I needed to ask myself a question each week as I prepared my sermon.  “So What?”  So what if I preach this message — or of course, another way to say that is, what is it I am trying to accomplish with this message. Yet I will be the first to admit, sometimes I forgot this important question.


Too often it feels like a pastor has an idea, but doesn’t know what to do with it; or maybe more importantly, what I (as listener) am to do with it.  A sermon should do a couple of things.  First it should inspire.  Inspire awe in God, inspire awe in creation, inspire awe in humanity, inspire awe in possibilities.  Most of the sermons I have heard do a decent job of doing that.  Secondly, and relatedly, a sermon should teach.  It should illuminate the text (inspire awe in the text) that makes me want to learn more about the situation in which they are placing the sermon.  I want to feel like I learned something about the biblical story that is the core of the sermon.  Again, at least with the majority of the sermons we have heard, the preacher has done a good job at that.  As one woman said today, she really likes her pastor because he is such a good teacher.  


It is the final part that often seems to be missing.  WHAT IS THE POINT?  What is the takeaway for me to chew on this afternoon and week?  What is it that God is calling me to do?  The SO WHAT question.  How is this sermon causing me to grow, change, or at least challenge some of my encultured assumptions.  Rare is the sermon that seems to do that.  Often I leave feeling like the pastor was unsure, or timid to share what the message is calling me to do.  Maybe they are hoping that I will get there on my own, but really??


This really hit me when a church we were visiting had a lay person preaching.  He was very knowledgeable about the text, but seemed afraid to share what the text was inviting us to do.  I don't think this was just his problem. Unfortunately, I have encountered some level of this many of the Sunday’s we have attended church.  


Of course there is always the other extreme --- a sermon that is all about the how you are to live, but very little to do with the actual understanding of the biblical story. I am not sure that is helpful either because at least in my experience, the biblical exegesis that is done is rather shoddy and fixed to the point being made (proof texting anyone . . .). Somehow we need to develop balance. Quality scholarship, along with a message that has real and practical impact on my life and the betterment of society.


Don’t get me wrong, I am happy to be sitting on the sidelines.  I am thankful for having had amazing mentors, teachers, and colleagues who helped me grow as a preacher/teacher.  I hope and pray that I can do the same for others.


Thursday, September 22, 2022

Well done, good and faithful servant

Yesterday Nancy and I made the 7+ hour roundtrip to Indianapolis to attend the funeral of Jim Baize. Jim's wife was one of my last funerals before I retired. Jim was a unique guy. His storytelling style reminded me a lot of my father. And more than anything he was a good friend. He is one of the last survivors from the Iwa Jima campaign. This is my homily from the service. One thing that I shared at the graveside but not in the service is that Jim had given me some sand from Iwa Jima on one of my many visits. I saved that sand and poured it into his grave.


Eugene Peterson in his translation/interpretation of the Bible known as the message gives us this passage from the Second Letter of Timothy, the 4th Chapter, with a few minor modifications by me.


You take over. I’m about to die, my life an offering on God’s altar. This is the only race worth running. I’ve run hard right to the finish, believed all the way. All that’s left now is the shouting—God’s applause! Depend on it, (God’s) an honest judge. (God will) do right not only by me, but by everyone eager for (God’s) coming.

My name is Steven Conger, and I am a retired pastor from here at Meridian Street United Methodist Church.  I am humbled that we can share in this service remembering and celebrating Jim with you.  Jim loved this church, and touched many, many peoples lives.  Nancy and I loved Jim and Jo, they were an important part of our lives and we are thankful that we could call both of them friends! 

We grieve today at Jim’s death, but we grieve --- as people of hope. 

Richard Rohr in his book, Quest for the Grail writes:

What the spiritual journey teaches us is that in the end there is only love. And the foundation of everything . . . is finally love. . . .We’re standing on love.


Jim stood on love — the love of his family and friends — the love of God.


Jim, as you have already heard, was ready.  He never expected to outlive Jo. And when she died, a piece of him died. 


Jim has experienced a lot of death in his life.

Jo last spring

His beloved daughters Karen & Denise


But Jim also saw too much death during World War II

As he was bringing troops ashore during the landing on Iwa Jima his landing craft was destroyed and all the troops on board were killed — except for Jim.

Jim, as you know, once he found himself ashore, joined the fight for control of the Island, getting wounded in the process.  A marine by the name of Jack made Jim an honorary Marine that day.


Every time Jim told me that story you could feel the conflict in his soul.  He was proud in the roll that he played in helping to end the war against fascism — but the lives lost — the brutality of it all seared a hole in him.


When sharing with our men’s group he said that it was in remembering — and telling the story that he found peace.  An uneasy peace — but peace nevertheless.


I am convinced that his experience in World War II is what drove him to the high level of success that he gained.

Those lives lost in that Higgins LCVP boat #13 never left him

And they helped him to become all that he was


But another big part of his healing and success, I am certain was a divorcee that he met by the name of Lora Jo.


Together they build a life of compassion and love.


I could have easily have used the scripture that I chose for Jo’s service today — 1 Corinthians 13 

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable; it keeps no record of wrongs; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.


Love never ends.


Can you think of better words to be said about you at your funeral?

 

For both Jim and Jo — those words ring true.

      

Paul reminds us that love is not only the greatest gift --- but it is also a gift that never ends.

Even death cannot take away the love that has influenced each of your lives.


I know that each of us here today have been blessed because our lives crossed paths with Jim’s.


A friend of mine shared this story with me years ago.


One evening during World War II a father and his young daughter were out in a part of London that they were not all that familiar with.


While they were walking — the heard the sirens begin to go off — signaling that the German planes were on their way to bomb the city.


They continued on their way — but soon added to the blare of the sirens was the report of anti-aircraft fire.


The father began to look around for a safe place for shelter — since he was unfamiliar with that part of the city.


As he could see the planes getting closer — he scrambled over to the side of a building that had been destroyed in an earlier raid.  


He encouraged his daughter to jump into the basement of this bombed out building — but his daughter said — I can’t — I am afraid.


The planes were getting closer and he could see the bombs falling from the sky.  So he once again begged his daughter to jump into the basement and have some protection from the coming storm.


Once again she said: I can’t — I am afraid.


The father — seeing that the bombs would soon be upon them did something that I am not sure I could do.  He left his daughter on the ledge and jumped into the dark hole below.


From there he called to his daughter:  Sweetheart — you must jump — the bombs are getting close.


She replied: I can’t — I am afraid — I can’t see you.


And her father said — that’s OK, I can see you.

And she jumped into the loving arms of her father.


None of us can fully SEE

Paul called in a dark mirror

But God can see us


Jim has made the leap into the loving arms of our God — and has been welcomed home.


Sunday, August 21, 2022

Kindling a Light in the Darkness


When I retired, Nancy and I knew that it would be a while before we found our way back into the institutional church.  First off, we were busy moving, getting settled, traveling and then making room for Jessica, Sam, Hattie and Jude.  We still haven’t found our routine, but I know that it will come.  Second, we needed some time and space.  We (well at least me) felt betrayed by the institution, and even though I would not go back, I wasn’t completely ready for this next phase.  But what has been most challenging, has been finding a church.


Yes, we live in suburbia and we are surrounded by churches.  But I am unwilling to go to a church that thinks it has all the answers.  Or worse yet, that the Bible has all the answers.  So any church that says: 

We believe that both the Old and New Testaments are literally God's own words, recorded for us through the words of human authors. We believe that the Bible is without error in its original writings . The Bible is complete, and is not to be "added to or subtracted from." 

Is not for me.  Nor do I want to attend a church that is promoting (often subtly) white supremacy, replacement theory, or any form of homophobia.  Nor one that is still wrapped up in the culture wars of the UMC.  Get over it.


So what am I looking for?  A church that shares the love of Jesus Christ, is engaged actively in social justice, and full of hospitality for all.


Pipe dream?  I sure hope not.


We have attended two churches that we have some historical connection with.  One the church that I attended through seventh grade and was confirmed at (a picture of my confirmation class is on the wall).  And also the church that a friend was pastor at, and retired from.  In both cases, we made sure that the church had our contact information.  At one of them we spoke with the pastor and at the other we spoke with the person in charge of new members.  Have we heard from either one since?  Nope.  Not a thing.


We wonder why the church is dying across the land and fewer and fewer people are willing to call themselves followers of Jesus?  Young people have no interest in a church that is judgmental or self-centered.  Both of those qualities do not represent the Jesus I have come to know.  


It breaks my heart to watch the self-destruction of “United Methodism”.  Much like our current political climate, there are no “winners” as we try to destroy each other.  Any church that engages in the back and forth that has been going on, does not represent the love of Jesus.


Will we find a church?  To be honest, I do not know.  The local church has been central to my 62 years of life.  Yes I have seen many changes in that institution, some good and some, well, some not so good.  But it truly feels weird being on the outside.


Until we (you know that royal “we”) stop putting our own priorities ahead of Jesus.  Whatever, and however good intentioned those priorities may be; there will not be a church.  At least not a church that is in harmony with Jesus.   Carl Jung once said: “As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being.”