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Overcome Evil with Good (September 30, 2015)

9/30/2015

“Bless those who persecute you; bless and curse not. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.”    Romans 12:14-16

LISTEN TO:   Josh Wilson w/Matthew West “Pushing Back the Dark”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmyTvpe6Afc

Diane H. stood in line at the local donut shop holding her squirming 22-month-old sick child, hoping a treat would brighten her spirits. Suddenly Diane was thrust back into middle school. Two women were laughing and whispering behind her. They were talking about Diane. Apparently not realizing, or not caring that Diane could hear, they commented about how her hair was badly overdue for recoloring because her roots were showing. Next they fat-shamed Diane, referred to her as a “whale” and “retarded lard “expletive.”

Holding back tears, Diane placed her order. Then she did one more thing. She ordered coffee for the women who humiliated her.   She then went to her car and cried. Later she composed herself, wrote a Facebook post about her experience. Although she is still overweight, she has lost 177 pounds in 22 months. She rarely treats herself so that day, getting coffee and a snack for her sick child, who kept her up all night, was a real treat. Diane had a choice. Would she let these women ruin her experience or would she overcome it? My mother taught me better, she said.

Her message hit a chord and spread wide. Local and national news sources picked up her story.

Most hurts aren’t so overt. Perhaps it can be simple benign neglect. A compliment we meant to share but it just slipped our mind. The lack of building each other up is as much as serious a problem as the cascade of criticisms that shower down, eroding confidence and self-esteem.

In Diane’s situation, most of us probably would be quick to respond with a sarcastic comment, a nasty look or ready to escalate the fight. It takes a spiritually mature person, especially when one is sleep-deprived, just trying get a cup of coffee and some donut holes for their teething baby, to minister to people who are obviously walking in darkness.

Jesus, in his teachings, makes it clear that the mastery of trials are part of the spiritual life: "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me” (Matthew 5:10-11).    The parable of the Sower and the Seed (Matthew 13:1-8, Mark 4:1-9 and Luke 8:4-8) is a delightful story Jesus tells how the pressures of the world, the attacks, the lack of nourishment and the hostility  can eat away at our heart and impede and even destroy growth.

God wants us to be a seed of hope and good news that grows abundantly in this world. So we place ourselves in soil of Christ, who trains us up to love our neighbor. Not just our friendly neighbor. Not just the neighbor who brings us tomatoes. Not just the neighbor with whom we shoot the breeze about sports or latest gardening tips. We must learn to love  the obnoxious neighbor who leaves garbage in your driveway. Your noisy neighbor whose music keeps you awake at 2:00am in the morning. Your rude neighbor who picks a fight over every petty incident that comes up. This is the one to pray for, Jesus says, if we truly want to have peace (cf. 1 Peter 3:8-12; 4:7-12; James 3, Romans 14:19, Psalm 34:14 Hebrews 12:14 Philippians 1:29).

I don’t know if I would have the grace Diane had to buy those bullying women coffees. However I pray for the day when I am in a similar situation, that I will see not just mean, gossipy women, but lost misguided women. That I will understand they had been hurt and misled to become so mean. I pray I will see an opportunity to shed light and to love.  So I pray I will put my wounded feelings aside. I pray I will not only buy the coffee, but have the strength to say to them, “this is for you. I want you to know that God loves you. Have a wonderful, day.”

I hope to get there someday.

Prayer: “God Who Transforms: Help us when we are hurt, attacked, or in conflict to step back and to discern how to bless in situations when we want to lash back. Give us courage and strength to act like Jesus. Amen.
http://www.inquisitr.com/2447046/mom-buys-coffee-for-women-who-insulted-her-killing-them-with-kindness/

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JESUS TAKE THE WHEEL!! September 23, 2015

9/23/2015

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But now, this is what the LORD says-- he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.   Isaiah 43:1

Listen to:  Carrie Underwood: "Jesus, Take the Wheel"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lydBPm2KRaU

Rush hour on the Long Island Expressway (LIE) is your typical bumper to bumper grind. Unhappy motorists inch along, scowl at vehicles that snake in and out of lanes, lay on the horn at the cheeky SUVs that muscle their way ahead of the line, with not even the courtesy of a blinker. I had settled in the far left lane.   At the rate I was going, I wouldn’t reach my destination, my class in spiritual direction, for at least 1 ½ hours.

It turns out I didn’t reach it at all.

I accelerated as the car ahead of me moved. Then my car stopped. I mean stopped. No cough, cough, phizzzzzzzzzz.   It was “good night, folks,” the curtains were drawn, and a red battery volt light to tell me something very, very wrong had just happened.   Fortunately, in heavy rush hour on the LIE, ten miles an hour is speeding. So I wasn’t in immediate danger of being hit. However, the pileup effect was instantaneous. A serenade of horns and disgruntled faces greeted me as I sat there, stuck in the far left lane, blocking traffic.

As I called 911, a police cruiser came from behind. The policeman gave me instructions. “Put car in neutral.” OK. Next he gave a big push. Over his bullhorn, instructions were repeated, “Now steer to the right!”

Steer to the right?

You mean go right into all that moving traffic?

Trust they will stop in time so I can make it to the right shoulder?

Oh no!

However, I had no choice. I had to trust.

So I crossed three lanes of flowing traffic and watch helplessly as cars veered helter-skelter. Time slowed down. I could see every startled and panicked face that swerved out of my way. Yet I made it finally to the shoulder and to safety. If I weren’t so terrified and trembling I would have jumped out and kissed the guardrail. I eventually got towed to my mechanic. Six days later, the car is still at the mechanic. Although I missed my class and it’s been an inconvenience, that is nothing compared to the realization that no one was hurt, there’s no scratch on the car and everyone eventually got home safe and sound that night.

I’ve had a few days to calm down and reflect on what happened. It occurred to me that one time or another we have had or know someone who has had “the stalled in the fast lane” situation. We go happily along juggling five or six projects, existing on emotional steam it seems. Sooner or later something gives. It can be a health problem. An emotional or mental crisis. Maybe a spiritual awakening. Or perhaps something changes at work, or our relationships are responding like they used to. The bottom line is that the electrical wiring which charges our life and gives us purpose and energy gives out. It just stops.

The kicker is, to get to safety we have to cross all that ongoing traffic. There’s no other way to the shoulder. We have to trust that a way will be made.

It’s hard to trust that the cars are going to stop. It’s almost easier to stay stuck in the fast lane, letting cars go around, risking a greater accident.   Healing, however, starts when we get that push and we steer the car into the traffic trusting we’ll get to the shoulder in one piece.

It’s called radical trust.   God called Abram and Sarai (Gen. 12) out in their old age promising them a child, a land and to make them a nation. God promised to deliver the people of Israel out of slavery (Ex. 3). God promised David a throne and kingdom that would last forever (2 Sam. 7). Responding to God’s call takes trust, reorientation of our lives and time. Plenty of time. This is because our lives need to be rewired to the blessing and hope God wants to place in our hearts.

So where is your “stuck in the fast lane” moment? Do you need help being moved to safety? Do you need help with renewal? How is God rewiring your life so it runs better?

I’ve had time to think. I am definitely recharging my gratitude battery. My prayer hour is slowly getting back in alignment.   I see the areas of trust that are lacking. They go straight to Jesus, the Divine Mechanic for help.

So if you get stuck in the fast lane, don’t forget 911. Don’t forget your triple A membership card. Most of all, don’t forget to call on Jesus. My new prayer: “Jesus, take the wheel!”

Prayer: God, “Divine Mechanic, our lives need rewiring. Wire your love to our hearts so your holy energy may flow through us, heal us, change us and charge those who are downtrodden around us. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.”

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A New Song, A New Destiny

9/16/2015

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“Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.   Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord’   Ephesians 5:19

Listen to:Tina Campbell: “Destiny” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-MoDDdIsDg

Twenty years ago I worked in a ministry of recovery from substance abuse, at a Manhattan Church. It was there that I discovered the power of gospel music to heal, inspire and to transform. The women in the program introduced me to a group called Mary Mary, and these following songs in particular:

“Shackles,”https://www.youtube.com/watchv=V7eZD3TKn_M
and
”Can’t Give Up Now”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmQBshQ11uo

These songs spoke to the profound pain and the hardship and yet pointed to healing and hope. As I listened to these songs I found my life cracked opened, a layer exposed that I had not seen before. We sang these songs over and over. God connected us all through the powerful gift of Erica and Tina Campbell’s ministry of music. Their vulnerability in their strength, their reliance on God through the dark times, their own acknowledgement of pain and willingness to change was a gift to our recovery ministry as well as being a positive testimony to us today.

Presently we are in a Bible study on the Book of Psalms, the song book of the Bible. David knew what those women fighting for recovery knew: music is healing and transformational. Music connects us back to David in the past and to our heritage, it ties us to all those around us, and binds us to God who is Eternal. Because of this music opens our spirits us to answers and possibilities we might not have considered. Music gives us God-given strength, new vision for the journey, perhaps even a new destiny.

No wonder Mary, the Mother of Jesus, burst into song with the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55), just as the angels sang when Jesus was born. No wonder Moses and Miriam lead the Israelites in song when safely crossing the Red Sea (Exodus 15).   All throughout Scripture there are love songs, laments, songs of protest to praise and worship songs. It is said that Philippians 2 contains the earliest fragment of a Christian hymn:  “who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,but emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, and being made in the likeness of men.Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.…”   There are 12 songs in the Book of Revelation that chronicle final transformation of the new heavens and the new earth.

Today I listened to Tina Campbell of Mary Mary once more. I heard her courageous journey, and she gives me encouragement to continue on. She reminds me to listen to the music God has placed in my life to support the Message.   Each of us has a God-given destiny to fulfill. Each of us has songs that resonate with our life journey, as well as verses and quotes that inspire us and keep us pushing on.   To hear Tina Campbell out of the blue today reminded me of my past and my future:   God is there.    So keep the focus on the song. There are so many. In turn, God will transform the spiritual energy into progress toward your divine destiny.

Prayer: God of Destiny: You are our destiny. Fill our hearts with a new song that each note will be a story of service, a message of love to you and all of creation. May our lives turn into a song of love and gratitude. Amen.

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"Welcoming the Stranger in Our Midst" September 9, 2015

9/10/2015

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“The LORD protects the foreigners among us. He cares for the orphans and widows…” Psalm 146:9
  “…I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” Matthew 25:31-46

Listen to: John Denver, Falling Leaves (The Refugees)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OkhzGtgFH0

Last week the world was galvanized at the image of the lifeless body of three - year-old Aylan Kurdi washed up on the Turkish shoreline. Whatever the truth behind little Aylan’s death is, Syria is facing the greatest refugee crisis since World War II. As a human community, we face moral questions about how to respond to the needs of refugees. The statistics of the United Nation are sobering: there are 19.5 million refugees in 2014; over half are under 18 years old.

There probably has never been a time in human history when human beings haven’t been on the move, either seeking a better life or seeking safety. In the scriptures we have the story of Adam and Eve’s expulsion from Paradise. At the very end of the Bible in the book of Revelation we find the disciple John exiled to the island of Patmos where he received his famous visions. Even Jesus’ family had to flee to Egypt from King  Herod who planned to murder to him (Matt.2). The f undamental stories of the Christian faith describe a God who calls his people out to a new land, to a new place, who calls us from slavery to freedom, to hope and blessing.

God also insists that his people do not forget where his people came from. When they offer their first fruits, they are to recite, “A wandering Aramean was my ancestor…” (Deut. 26:5). They are to remember that God commands: …You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” (Deut. 10:18-19). The prophets reinforce this. It is a key pillar of Christian practice. The "mark of the true Christian” Paul writes is to“…extend hospitality to the stranger.” Romans 12:13.

We live in a very mobile time. We still have a God who calls us out to freedom, hope and blessing. Most of us are fortunate that we can move for better opportunities, for education to secure better healthcare or the job of our dreams. We have opportunities to travel and vacation in lands that would have been unheard of a century ago. Even if we live hundreds of miles of away from loved ones, technology makes it possible to be in touch instantly and to arrive within hours.   All these gifts are part of the blessings God promised way back to Abram, when he promised to bless all the nations through him.

Still God reminds us. Do not forget where you have come from. Do not forget the stranger.    Out of our great blessing let us help those who are seeking a better life.  It is a privileged part of the spiritual life to give back: so let us give to those families displaced by war, conflict, famine or disease. By doing so we extend the blessing.   We have been given so much, so let us bless another’s another.   Who knows?   As it is written in Hebrews:    “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it (13:1-2).

Looking for a good charity to donate to that works with refugees? Here are some top-rated ones:   https://www.charitywatch.org/charitywatch-hot-topic/iraq-crisis-support/17

Pray:  God Who Is Refuge, thank you for the care you give us. May we in turn care for those who need help; a home, shelter, food, clothing, safety. Show us how to be your compassionate presence in our world today.

http://www.unhcr.org.uk/about-us/key-facts-and-figures.html

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"Learning from Jesus" September 2

9/2/2015

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"Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance,” Proverbs 1:5

LISTENTO:   Anthony Brown & group therAPy "Worth"   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX59fjowutw

September is my favorite month.   Labor Day Week End, which falls at the beginning of September,   is forever etched in my mind with  preparations to   go back to school: buying new clothes and school supplies, doctor visits, forms to fill ou t and  readjusting schedules to get up in time for the school bus. Some kids dislike returning to the classroom and the tediousness of studying. Others look forward to it. I did, even with facing the typical challenges of “nerdy students”: always the last chosen for team sports in gym, being an easy prey for bullies, and typically eating alone the lunchroom.   Still, I loved school. Or, I should say, I loved learning. I loved to master new skills whether it was using a dictionary or conjugating verbs. I reveled in new insights about history, geology or biology. I appreciated the struggle to master a subject – usually mathematics. To me , teachers were mystical beings who knew how to unlock mysteries, inspire curiosity and an awareness of the grandeur of the world.

As I opened my first assigned book in a course on spiritual direction this week, I appreciated once more that Jesus was a teacher. Yes, he was called Lord, Son of God, Son of Man, Messiah, Master, but he was also called, Rabbi, teacher.  Out of the 90 times Jesus is addressed in the Gospels, 60 times he is addressed as “teacher.” We are told that “the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law” (Mt. 7:28-29). This is because Jesus taught with stories and parables, with images and themes that people could relate to. He addressed the needs of the people as he taught – so he often fed them, cared for them, went directly  into their homes, and he often healed in the course of a lesson. We learn best through a personal encounter built on trust.   So Jesus engaged people in the learning process about the Kingdom of God and the principles of a loving life.   Great teachers are learners themselves . As such,  Jesus  invited people, even women, to dialogue and discipleship.

We are created to be  learners. It is at the center of our faith and our spiritual practice. That means God is always showing us a new thing . God is daily  te aching us .  He sends us lessons through people and challeges,  so that we can learn more deeply what it means to love sacrificially, to care, to be kind, to forgive, to show forbearance and tolerance. Teaching is also part of the task given by Jesus in his final instructions to his disciples in Matt. 28:18-20:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.   19  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,   20  and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Jesus sets the standard in teaching.   So we simultaneously learn and  teach the gospel through our living, our actio ns, and the choices we make. Jesus is not an ancient academic topic relegated to libraries and college seminars. Jesus is the divine living teacher,   who today is capable of transforming our lives through his love and lessons.

What do we need to learn? Patience?   Boldness?   Self-control?Humility? Let us ask for the learning, and t rust that  Jesus will instruct us and in turn make us the teachers of the way of Love.

Prayer:  “Divine teacher, open me to learn. Help me see that the lessons you place in my life are there for spiritual growth and progress. Bless all teachers and students. Guide us all in the journey of learning through the days of our life. Amen.”

  HAVE A BLESSED WEEK!

http://www.jesus.org/is-jesus-god/names-of-jesus/why-was-jesus-called-teacher.html
http://rabbimichaelsamuel.com/2009/03/what-does-%E2%80%9Crabbi%E2%80%9D-mean-and-when-the-title-%E2%80%9Crabbi%E2%80%9D-was-first-introduced/
http://www.wlsessays.net/files/KurtzahnMatthew.pdf

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Overcome Evil with Good (September 30, 2015)

JESUS TAKE THE WHEEL!! September 23, 2015

A New Song, A New Destiny

"Welcoming the Stranger in Our Midst" September 9, 2015

"Learning from Jesus" September 2

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