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Which Way?    September 17, 2016

9/19/2016

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​Teach me Your way, O LORD  Psalm 27:11
Listen to:
Love and the Outcome:  "The God I Know"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Px_aCjR5ZFA



It’s back to school time.  


Classes have resumed for my course in Spiritual Direction.  Only the class is at a new location, at a slightly further distance.  Here on Long Island, a typical 45 minute drive can easily turn into 1 ½ even 2 hours, if you hit the traffic at its worst.   I discovered, in examining driving routes, there were several different ways to get to my class.   All of them seemed to involve complicated twists and turns that only a super-maneuverable motorist can accomplish.


A confession:  I am both directionally-challenged and gadget/app challenged.  I can’t get “Siri” (the name of the virtual assistant on most cell phones) to navigate me out of my house let alone get me to my desk 40 miles away.  So what is there to do?  I need to get to my class.  So I do what I can: I take the old-fashioned directions that are longer but I know them.   Maybe someday I’ll figure out a short cut.  For now the important thing is to keep moving. To get where I need to go.


In my spiritual life I see Jesus like that  --- the road to follow -- for he said “I am the way.”  So I have come to see that his actions and teachings will guide where I need to go, even when other roads seem to be popping up all over the place.   It is not surprising that the early followers of Jesus called themselves “the Way,” in imitation of Jesus.  In a world as confusing as ours, it is comforting to know there are tried and true spiritual paths to follow.   We are surrounded by so many paths; materialism, consumerism, nationalism, capitalism, among so many others, it’s hard to figure out the path to go.  When we are confused, it helps to remember that the Bible, prayer, and other spiritual practices are like a “Saintly Siri,” there to give us directions to get to God.


 So for now I’ll take my old-fashioned way to get to school.  It works after all.  In the meantime, I’ll continue to use the my other “Siri,” the Bible and prayers to talk to God.   Try it, and see if it doesn’t get you connected.


God of the Way:   Be with us whenever we feel lost or confused.  Show us the path we need to be on and keep us close to you.
 
 

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Remembering 9/11

9/15/2016

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​Black 47:   "A Tribute to Fr. Mychal"   
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVDTfMvgF9g
 
This Sunday we will commemorate the 15th Anniversary of 9/11.   Those of us who were alive at that time remember so clearly where we were when we heard that airplanes hit the towers and then when the towers fell.  9/11 and the subsequent wars have left a deep scar in our country’s psyche.   We cannot forget, nor shouldn’t we.   We should not forget the attack, nor forget all the outpouring of acts of kindness and bravery of first responders, people at the scene, and other ordinary citizens that 9/11 prompted.  

One example is that of Fr. Mychal Judge, who was a chaplain of the New York City Fire Department.  Although off duty, he ran to the stricken site.  It is said he removed his protective gear to pray better with a dying firefighter and he too, was struck by falling debris.  He is the first officially recorded fatality of 9/11.  When he was eulogized, his friend said the reason for this is that it was Fr. Mychal’s nature to want to be there, with the Lord, greeting everyone to heaven and making them welcome.

We all remember stories, good and bad, from 9/11.  We all have our scars from that day and the days that follow.  We remember too that Jesus had scars from his crucifixion, and it was through these scars that the disciple Thomas recognized him.  Moreover, Jesus chose to be identified thorough the scars of his suffering.  In his glorified body, he did not miraculously make them vanish.  He kept his scars as a reminder of the price he paid for us and of his great love for us. 

The task for us is to allow our scars to be transformative for healing and growth. Fr. Mychal would not want us to be trapped in anger or fear.   “His whole ministry was about love” it was said about him.  So as we tend our scars from 9/11, let us put them in the scarred hands of Jesus, and pray they we might be transformed according to the will of God, to be just, loving, righteous, merciful instruments of grace in our world.

Let us make our life a ministry of love.

Prayer:   God of Justice and Love, we place the scarring events of 9/11 in your scarred hands.   Guide us to use our scars and pain to heal others in your name. Amen.



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Divine Sweetness

9/3/2016

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"And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.'
The second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' No other commandment is greater than these."  Mark 12:30-31




"The Candyman"  from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgbdVihagWg


Earlier this past week the actor, writer and director Gene Wilder died at the age of 83.  Loved for his comedic performances, we will always remember him for the classic children's movie, "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory."    Based in humor, some of it a little dark, the story is really a morality tale based on the book "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" by Roald Dahl.  Five children get the opportunity to visit the reclusive candy factory that hasn't been open in years.  Yet one by one the children cannot resist what they see, and one by one they fall to to their temptations - and their parents, it is noted, are no help.  In the end, even the poor boy, Charlie Bucket, fell into temptation.  In the end  Charlie is redeemed  because he returns the candy given to him earlier -- candy he could easily give to Mr. Wonka's competitor, Mr Slugworth (who had offered a substantial bribe to Charlie earlier). 


While not quite a Judeo-Christian tale, "Willy Wonka"  reminds us that the things that are sweetest to us and attract us the most can be our downfall.  One child loves chocolate and falls into the chocolate river:  another child can't stop chewing gum and snatches a pieces of untested gum and turns round like a blueberry.  So it goes for each child.   They encounter something they cannot resist and it becomes their downfall.  The movie asks us to examine what our downfalls are, where are we most tempted?   Not by chocolate or gum, but perhaps by money, power, control -- by an image of success. All these things can cause us to become blinded to what is important in life:  to love God and our neighbor.


The difference for us is that while we too often fall down, we can get up again and start over.   We get a sense of this at the end of the story that hopefully the children have leaned their lesson.   God in Christ forgives us and is there to pick us up again.   God would "tempt" us differently:  to find sweetness in serving our neighbor.  There is nothing more scrumpdillyicious than the concoction of love, forgiveness, mercy and kindness. The best thing is that we can make it more delicious by the good things we add:  patience, forbearance, joy.   It's what makes the world taste good -- and we are called to be helpers in this masterpiece.  Let us each add the ingredients God has uniquely give us to make our world a more delectable place.  


We can even lick the spoon too.


 Prayer:   God of  Divine Sweetness,  show us that love what we are all searching for and what satisfies most.  Teach us to create love and pass on your love throughout our day.  

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    Moirajo is a minister, social worker, wife, mother, writer and animal lover. That's just for starters. Join the story, there's so much we can share together! 

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