tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-372358172024-03-14T01:18:30.473-05:00Feathers and FaithBarbi Clickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15850017543275895154noreply@blogger.comBlogger298125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37235817.post-25528878391365751112024-01-24T16:43:00.006-06:002024-01-24T17:01:36.051-06:00The Unexpectedness of God<p> Sermon offered at Trinity Episcopal - St Louis, January 14, 2024: Second Sunday after the Epiphany</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">It has been too long since I
last stood before you. August 2022 to be precise. I often feel like Paul with
his epistles, reaching out to you in the E-times, hoping you read the words I
write, hoping to elicit a deep longing within you by sharing the sacred stories
of the people who come to Pantry & Hot Lunch. Writing is good but it is
better to be here in person with you. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">For those who do not know, I
am Barbi Click, Deacon, Diocesan Missioner of Jubilee Ministry, and Manager of
Trinity Food Ministry. My primary focus as deacon, as Missioner, <u>and</u> as
Manager of TFM is to bring the concerns of this world to you while enticing you
to become engaged, to “Come and see” what new things God is making for us and
with us in this ministry that is such a vital part of this parish. It may be a 50-year-old
ministry, yet every week brings a newness to this place. It is not what it was
just as it is not what it will be. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">As a Jubilee Ministry Center, we
are a place where mutual ministry happens. We are not alone. TFM thrives
because it is an inter-religious, inter-relational ministry. There are 6
Episcopal parishes, 3 other denominations, 1 non-denomination, a synagogue, a
construction company, and several local businesses, not to forget all the
individuals near and far who volunteer, contribute money or material donations
each month. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">In addition to all of this,
and more importantly, the people who allow us to help – they offer us their
trust, their fellowship. We could not do this without them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Can you imagine what you might
have to set aside to ask strangers for help? I clearly remember one woman years
ago. She was so arrogant and demanding that she set the volunteers in a frenzy
each time she came to the Pantry. One day, I happened to glance up and to see
her outside the glass doors. She stood there for a few seconds, pulled her
shoulders back, raised her head, and she walked in as if she owned the place. At
that moment, I did not see her arrogance. I saw a proud woman who set aside her
pride as she prepared to enter into that place filled (at the time) with a
bunch of privileged white women as she, a Black Woman, came seeking their
assistance for her most basic human need. Can you imagine what she had to set
aside to walk through those doors? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Each event in our lives – whether
it is a difficult or easy moment, offers an opportunity for an unexpected
encounter with the Divine. In those few seconds before she walked in, I had a
very unexpected encounter with the Divine. I saw this woman as I had never seen
her before. It changed me; therefore, it changed our relationship for the
better. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">It isn’t always easy yet … the
willingness to be present in the moment offers unexpected opportunities to see
what we might not otherwise see. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Samuel is just a boy, he expects
little. Maybe approval from Eli, enough food to eat, a place to sleep. Yet he is
alert. He hears a voice. Thinking Eli is calling him, Samuel responds to him. Even
as he does not yet know God, God knows him … Eli tells Samuel to wait, to
listen, and to respond when he next hears the voice. “Speak Lord for your
servant is listening.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Nathanael expects nothing or
even less – after all, what prophet much less a messiah had ever come from Nazareth?
Philip invites him to “Come and see.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Jesus greets Nathanael by exclaiming
“Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” And he questions
Jesus, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus says, <u>I saw you</u> under the
fig tree, the tree of abundance. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">I have found no theological explanation
that adequately satisfies my questions as to why Nathanael suddenly realizes that
Jesus is the Son of God, the King of Israel simply because Jesus sees him and
makes a character assessment. Regardless of my lack, Jesus’ word let Nathanael know
that he was indeed known, understood, and seen. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">To be known – to be understood
– to be seen. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">How often do you feel
invisible or misunderstood, even as you may feel righteous in your stance? Have
you diverted your eyes from looking at a person directly when you were mad at
them? Or do you throw up a firewall to keep others out of your heart and head? Or
have you diverted your eyes so as not to acknowledge another’s existence? – We
all have at one point.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">As a society, we are quite
awful about ignoring those things that make us uncomfortable, or that we do not
wish to see, or know, or understand. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">In Divinity School I took a
Womanist Theology class, and without a doubt, it was THE most challenging and life-changing
course I ever took. In the first week of class, the professor paired us, had us
stand about a foot apart, face to face. The task was to look into each other’s
eyes for a set number of minutes. I stood in front of a woman I didn’t know. Surely
we were both a little bit defiant as if it was a staring contest and whoever
blinked first lost. I assume this because that was how I felt. We glared/stared
at one another for a bit and then … something changed. I realized the color of
her eyes was a very dark rich brown, so dark I could hardly see her pupils. Yet
within her eyes, I could see my reflection. Suddenly, the glaring was replaced
by what felt like a deep look of longing, as if I was invited in, fully welcomed
or not, inviting me into her soul. I can only assume that she saw the same in
me. Suddenly our time was up, and it felt almost embarrassing how close we had
been for those few moments. As if we knew each other in an intimate and
personal way, as if we had been what Julian of Norwich and theologian Richard
Rohr called “Oneing.” While it was uncomfortable, this life lesson taught me
that the eyes are indeed the pathway to understanding, to knowing. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><i><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Yada</span></i><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> is
the Hebrew word to know, to be known. It is intimate and personal. To be known
by God is an intimate experience. To be known, to know others is just as
intimate and personal.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">We see what we want to see.
Sometimes we are surprised by seeing what we never expected. That is an
unexpected encounter with the divine. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">In my letters to the parish in
the E-times, I often use the phrase “Come and see” as a way to invite you to be
more personally involved in the life of TFM. In particular, the Wednesday Cafe.
I must admit, it is not what most would call a very exciting encounter. Regardless,
it is engaging. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">On Wednesday, those of us who
are “regulars” have come to know that George, aka “Woody” will come and
sometimes share his newest art that he makes from scrap wood he finds. Or that
Susie will arrive 30 minutes before it’s time to close, that she loves the
desserts that Cathy Tierney makes, and always wants to take an extra cup of
Lisa Carpenter’s soup home with her. And if it isn’t raining, Mike will show
up. We never know when Phil will be there until we see him, yet we do know that
he loves food – any food, all food. And he loves to converse!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">This is just a snapshot of
those who stop by to sit a little while, enjoy a little food and fellowship. It
is an ordinary time full of extraordinary moment. Little is expected of anyone
yet we all receive so much. Sometimes, there is an unexpectedness moment that
reminds us that a precious bit of insight into someone’s personal life has been
shared. It might never have been had we not been present, simply there,
together. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Eli told Samuel to listen, to
be present, to respond. To be ready to say, Here I am. I am listening. For me,
that is Wednesday Café – we offer our presence, our willingness to listen. And
then we wait just in case. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">As followers of Jesus, we are
called into his beloved community. It isn’t always comfortable and can be quite
difficult. It may feel like a burden or a challenge. Yet, within every burden
there is a gift. Within every challenge there is a treasure. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">In one of Richard Rohr’s Daily
Meditations. He notes that Jesus “<u>focuses on the way we do life AND do life
with and for our neighbor</u>.” It is not enough to just show up on Sunday. Life
happens all week long. Rohr continues, “The soul is refined in engagement, in
relationship, in doing, in connecting.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">It is ALWAYS about
relationship. We cannot connect with people we don’t know or understand if we are
not present, or if we do not allow them into our presence. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Offering a ministry for those
who are classified as “the working poor” can be seen as requiring little. Give
food; it’s done. It’s rather easy to be engaged in works of charity without
understanding the reasons why the charity is needed. Yet what about those who
are more clearly “the least of these?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Can anything good come from
people who are homeless, have felony records, have trauma induced substance
abuse disorders, who no place to lay their heads, or are freezing to death as I
speak? I say yes. A great deal of good is present within those who suffer from
these conditions. A great deal of good can be available for us if we recognize
the unexpected goodness of God. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">A bigger question is: Can
anything good come from me and you if we lower our eyes, turn away from or ignore
the needs of those who lack the basic human needs of clean water, air, good
food, safety, shelter, sleep? If we care more for stray animals than we do for
our siblings who have strayed or been cast out?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">To know is to love. To love is
to know. We will never know nor love fully if we are not willing to be present.
While we cannot help but be in this world, we, as followers of Jesus, cannot be
OF this world. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">It is easy to shuffle Paul off
to the side, to ignore what may seem like his fornication rantings. Yet what he
is saying is that as we strive for a deeper spiritual life with God, there is
an intimacy that unites us with the Holy Spirit, therefore we are a temple, a
sacred space. We may be IN this capitalism-run-amok, Love deprived, fear-filled
world yet we must KNOW that we cannot be OF this world as long as God is with
us, and in us. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The sacred stories of this
food ministry matter – not just in bragging rights to share for the next rector
and the world to see. These matter because these are the sacred stories of
people just like you and me yet whose lives are confounded by incredible traumas
and injustices, whose basic needs are denied and whose human rights are
constantly obstructed. They are fellow siblings in Christ, and we, as their
siblings, can do something about the world we live in. It is not enough that
TFM is there; we must know <u>why</u> there is a need for the work.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">As a Jubilee Ministry Center, meeting
the basic human needs of people is only one part of our purposes. Relationship
is another. And out of that relationship, our understanding that advocacy is vital.
The mandate of Jubilee Ministry is to act as a network to engage with joint
discipleship in Christ with and for poor and oppressed people, wherever they
are found, to meet basic human needs, and to build a just society.
Relationship. Charity. Advocacy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">It means that Jesus is always
there and so are we – whether it is in sharing a meal, offering groceries, or using
our privilege to speak out in our City, our State to demand basic human needs
be met for all of our brothers and sisters, our siblings. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">There is much work to do, both
in that South Parish Hall, in City Hall, and in the halls of our state
government. It takes all of us and it demands that we remember, to know or be
known takes a willingness to see and love beyond our understanding, even beyond
our human frailties and limitations. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">I invite you to Come and See
what good and new things God is making with us and for us. Come and see and
let’s change the world, one love at a time. Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Barbi Clickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15850017543275895154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37235817.post-17306028062042425012023-07-17T15:08:00.001-05:002023-07-17T15:08:03.564-05:00Fertile Ground<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">It is my great privilege to be
Diocesan Missioner of Jubilee Ministry. I am invited to preach and sometimes be
deacon at different parishes throughout this diocese. Last Sunday my wife and I
were in Lake St. Louis at Transfiguration. Two weeks before that, St. John
& St. James in Sullivan. Most of the time, if we are absent from St.
Paul’s, it is because I am sharing the good news of Jubilee Ministry with one
parish or another. It is amazing to see what all these parishes, from tiny ones
to larger ones, are doing in their communities. It is my prayer that I am
sowing good seeds on good soil, sharing the message of the Gospel of Jesus – If
we Love God most, we will Love all others more. We know that this Gospel is the
good seed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Yet what is fertile ground? The
Gospel notes that some seeds are scattered and are eaten by the birds. Well, we
know what happens to those seeds, don’t we? Others fall on rocky ground or in
the thorns. The seeds/the Word may grow for a little while but are scorched by
the sun/fear/hardship because the roots are not deep enough. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">What <u>is</u> fertile ground? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Who has not seen a beautiful
flowering plant rise up between the cracks in a pavement? Who has not seen the
bloom of a thistle along the roadways? Chickweed, wild violets, dandelions, clover
are considered weeds by many who strive for green grass to cover their lawns.
Yet each one of these is a beneficial plant, offering healing for the body and
for the soil. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I am not a good farmer or
landscaper, really. All I can say is that I am a front row witness to the wideness
and the wildness of God. As a friend of mine recently wrote: Things happen
“mostly despite me rather than because of me.” I just try to be aware of what
is happening around me. Sometimes that is a gift of its own. Sometimes it feels
like less than a gift. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I have tried time and again to
compost. It is good for the earth and keeps organic material out of the
landfills. A proper compost should be hot enough to turn the seeds, peelings,
all non-animal products, even brown paper into a beautiful dark nutrient-rich soil
within a short amount of time. Yet. I can never get it right. It is either too
wet or too dry, too green or too brown. I end up with yucky muck OR roly poly
bugs, spiders, and even once, a little family of mice hunkered down inside the
compost all warm, dry, and well-fed. <u>And</u> there are seeds that do not
turn into soil; rather, they begin to geminate and are found with yellow leaves
reaching up, searching for the sunshine. While that does not make for a
successful compost, it does tell me that the soil is fertile even if it is not
an ideal place for it to grow. I like to think that these little offerings are seeds
planted by God for some good, maybe just for me to notice. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">And I think that is the
message – for me/us to understand that God can grow goodness in the darkest
corners, in the midst of spiders, bugs, in a compost gone wrong. If God can do
that, imagine what God can do with this world.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">That is the wildness of God.
The goodness of God. The power of God. That even when things feel hopeless,
when errors are made, in the midst of tragedies in our neighborhood and
record-high summer temperatures, when tempers are short and fears are great,
God can grow something good. Even as our judges take away our rights, gun and
drug violence steal our children, even as our elected officials deny food and
healthcare for our neighbors, we know the goodness of God. We, as humans, may
need fertile soil and perfect conditions to plant our seeds so that these grow
to benefit our eyes, our sense of well being, our need to do something good.
Yet, God can take a small thing like a wrongly ordered compost or a bigger
thing such as a city in decline, the fears of those living there, the violence,
the trauma, the poverty, and turn it into something which is not just surviving
but thriving. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Had I not turned aside to see
that little plant growing in the compost; had I not noticed that it was a sickly
little yellow plant lacking chlorophyll, still struggling for life from half of
an avocado seed, what might have happened to it? Did I have anything to do with
its survival? I saw it, nurtured it, and watched as it grew. Will it continue to
survive, to thrive? Will it be able to overcome the obstacles this world throws
at it? God alone knows. But it is my desire to see and to try.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">There is so much to fear in
this world. There is so much which can make us frustrated and angry. There
seems to be so many enemies, people who are actively working to destroy God’s
goodness and mercy. Yet, what are we called to do? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Love them. Regardless.
Steadfastly. Unconditionally. There are no scriptures that state we are to like
our neighbor or even enemies. But there are scriptures that tell us we must –
not should or ought to – but that we must love them. It is a commandment. Jesus
said so. But how do we do that??<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">In his book <i>The Growing
Edge, </i>Howard Thurman writes about loving those who are declared enemies and
how difficult this idea is. (Please excuse the gendered language)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Can it be that God does not
know how terrible my enemy is? No, God knows them as well as he knows himself
and much better than I know them. It must be true, then, that there is
something in every human that remains intact, inviolate, regardless of what he
[or she] does. I wonder! Is this true? Is there an integrity of the person, so
intrinsic in its value and significance that no deed, however evil, can
ultimately undermine this given thing? If a person is of infinite worth in the
sight of God, whether they are saint or sinner, whether they are a good person
or a bad person, evil or not, if that is true, then I am never relieved of my responsibility
for trying to make contact with this worthy thing in them.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Once upon a time, a very long
time ago, I had a crystal-clear revelation. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">It happened at a funeral
service for a friend, Bud, who had died. Bud and his wife attended the same
parish as Debbie and I did and we loved them. The man offering the homily,
Jack, was a man that I did not like because of his condemnation of women and
queer people. At that time, he was bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort
Worth. This was the time when Gene Robinson was a hot topic in the Episcopal
Church, and whether or not we would allow an openly gay man in a partnership to
be a bishop. Jack and I were regular rivals in any articles or news events
reporting on the state of affairs in that diocese. It was easy to feel that we
were enemies.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">However, as Jack talked about
Bud, it became apparent that he too loved Bud. Suddenly, without warning, I
clearly saw the Oneness of God’s love. I loved Bud. Jack loved Bud. God loved
Bud. God loved all three of us. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Think of a triangle. Bud is at
the top. Jack at one corner, me at another. God is the center. If God loves all
three of us, and Jack and I both loved Bud, then Jack and I loved one another
whether we accepted it or knew it or even wanted it. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">This was a profound moment in
my life, and I can honestly say that it altered every fiber of my being and
understanding. Did I like Jack any more than I had before? Absolutely not. But
I respected him as a beloved child of God, and I loved him for that alone. I
still love him. I also still do not like him but that is not the point. My
dislike is much less and God’s love is bigger than any of my likes or dislikes.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">A seed of understanding was
planted within my being, inside my heart hardened by disagreement. I would have
thought that love was impossible to grow there. Sometimes we do not understand
where the fertile soil may be found. Sometimes it is there in front of us, <u>in
us</u>, so near as to be invisible. God alone knows. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I was asked if there was a
song that I would like today, one that might fit my sermon. My mind went
totally blank. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Well, typical of my sermons, it
is just as well because this one did not end as it began. Somewhere at some
point, I was led from what I would have said to what I heard I should say. And Now,
I have a song! <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">1 There’s a wideness in God’s
mercy,<br />
like the wideness of the sea.<br />
There’s a kindness in God’s justice,<br />
which is more than liberty.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">2 There is welcome for the
sinner,<br />
and more graces for the good.<br />
There is mercy with the Savior,<br />
there is healing in his blood.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">3 <a name="_Hlk140222678">But
we make God’s love too narrow<br />
by false limits of our own,<br />
and we magnify its strictness<br />
with a zeal God will not own.</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">4 For the love of God is
broader<br />
than the measures of the mind,<br />
and the heart of the Eternal<br />
is most wonderfully kind.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">5 If our love were but more
simple,<br />
we should rest upon God’s word,<br />
and our lives would be illumined<br />
by the presence of our Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Most often in our lives we
look at the world from a right-side up viewpoint. That seems a normal way to see
things. Yet, Richard Rohr tells us that there is an “upside-downness” at the
heart of the message and that it always urges us to look more deeply and widely
at things. He goes on to say, “This opens our eyes to recognize God’s
self-giving at the far edges where most of us cannot or will not see God. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“But we make God’s love too
narrow, by false limits of our own,<br />
and we magnify its strictness with a zeal God will not own.’<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">God can plant seeds in the
darkest of places, in the hardest of hearts, in the leanest of times, in the
midst of all that seems wrong and lacking. It is ours to claim the birthright
that is our own by being children loved beyond all imagining by God, living out
of faith and not into fear, out of our abundance rather than into our scarcity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">We are the fertile ground
whether we can see that or not. “For the love of God is broader” than we can
imagine. And from that seed in a hard human heart, Love can grow. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Love. Love beyond our imagining
or understanding. Love whether we are worthy or not, whether we know it or not.
Love because that is why we are here – made to be loved, for love, to love.
Love is the seed that can make all things grow for the good. Love can change
this world.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">It is simple. Love God most.
Love our neighbor as ourselves. Love one another as we want to be loved, AS we
are loved. Love others as God loves all. Love. Simply Love. Profoundly Love. Always
Love.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">What might we see and do if we
took on the wideness of God’s love and mercy? Where are the seeds being planted
in us and around us right now?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">May we see our lives are
illumined by the presence of our God. May we be the fertile ground from which
good things grow. May we bear fruit and yield more time and time again all to
the Glory of God. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">amen<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">*Howard Thurman: <a name="_Hlk140224181"><i>The Growing Edge
</i></a>(New York: Harper & Brothers, 1956), 17–18.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">**<i>There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy</i> by Frederick
William Faber<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Barbi Clickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15850017543275895154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37235817.post-65816761338577137222023-05-01T10:33:00.003-05:002023-05-01T10:33:26.730-05:00Good Shepherds and Midwives<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">In the work I do, I live for
the moments which offer me hope. Thankfully, tiny glimmers of hope are offered
frequently. The past month or more, it has been difficult simply because there
is so much anxiety. Whether it is caused by food insecurity, violence, drugs,
politics – everyone seems to be on a razor-sharp edge. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">But then this week, this happened.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">A young man came into Pantry.
I remembered him because he has an unusual name. The odd thing was that he gave
another name to the registrar. He said his name was William Thomas. I called
him by his real name and asked him if he needed emergency food because he had
just been in a few days before. We worked out the details of what he needed and
went our separate ways. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Later, I saw him outside, so I
went to talk to him. We started talking about the current drug scene, relapses,
chances of recovery or dying. We shared a few sad stories. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Unfortunately, it is a story that
many have told. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is addicted to fentanyl;
his life has blown up, and he wants to quit. He asked me to pray for him, so I
did. The good news is that he has a May 5th date to enter rehab. The scary news
is that between now and May 5th could be a lifetime. It is so easy to die. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">It happened that at the next
Pantry two days later, Tony, a guy who works with a Harm Reduction group, unexpectedly
came in. I told him about the young man and asked if he could offer any help.
And because this is just how the Holy Spirit works, in walks the young man. I
introduced him to Tony, and they talked for a while and made some plans. As the
young man was leaving, he hugged me and said, “I don’t know why you love me,
but I know you do.” He then said, “I won’t let you down.” I reminded him that
this isn’t about me; rather, this is all about him. He agreed and gave me another
big hug and said, “I won’t let ME down.” I don’t know if he will keep the
appointment with Tony but the desire to do so is where the hope lives.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Later a friend of mine posted a
quote on Facebook that resonated with the way I felt about this moment: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“As followers of Christ, <a name="_Hlk133589175">we are called to be midwives of the new creation, </a>not
gatekeepers of the old one.” To act as a midwife is to be the intermediary that
waits and watches as another labors, to hold onto hope as it is born and then
to share in the excitement as hope is being realized. I know that this young
man has a very hard and dangerous road ahead of him, but I must say, this
encounter left me feeling as though I had helped midwife a new birth of hope,
both in him and in me. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">He trusted me with his story because
I listened, because I shared with him my own sacred story, and because he
believed my love. He trusted that love.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Lately I've been thinking a lot
about trust. Individually and culturally, we are taught not to trust others. We
are taught that others must earn our trust and they do this by doing what we
believe is the right thing to do. It recently occurred to me that is not the way
that Jesus did it. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Trust is a funny thing. I
remember too clearly telling one or more of the many children I helped raise
that they had broken my rule (aka my trust) and that they would have to earn it
back. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">How many times have you heard
someone say or maybe you even said, “I should never have trusted them.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">When we say that we trust
someone, it means that we believe they will not hurt us. If they do hurt us, we
withdraw our emotions to protect ourselves from being hurt again. There are
moments of broken trust even in good relationships. Recovery of that brokenness
is based upon how much we open ourselves to forgiving, to working through the
hurt, to being vulnerable, or trusting ourselves not to inflict hurt upon
another again. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">If we attempt to BE
trustworthy rather than thinking we need to trust someone, what difference
would that make? If there was no level of reciprocity, that our desire was only
to be trusted, what might that change? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I think that being a midwife
must be a bit like being a good shepherd. At least, in watching <i>Call the
Midwife</i>, the midwives are more concerned for the well-being of their
patients, both the mother and the new baby. They are that calm presence.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The sheep hear their
shepherd's voice. They know that voice. They trust the shepherd because she takes
care of them, being there when they need her, making sure they have food and
water, that they are as safe as possible.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The shepherd carries a crook
because sheep do not always do as the shepherd wants. The crook is used to help
the wayward sheep back into the fold, to rescue a sheep that has fallen, or
even to ward off predators. The shepherd cares for them steadfastly,
unconditionally with no judgment for the one that strays off.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">A shepherd puts the needs of
the flock before self. The shepherd’s interest is only for the safety and well
being of the sheep. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">We do not need to be the
Gatekeeper. That job is already taken and it is not ours. Yet, what if we become a good shepherd in our
own lives? What if our purpose is the wellbeing and safety of others rather
than expecting them to earn our trust or to live up to our expectations of how
they should act?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Our world today is packed with thieves and bandits – false leaders – in corporations, in politics, in government, in our churches,
all causing us to distrust. Too many are there for profits first and collateral
damage does not matter. The collateral damage equals all those whose lives have
been altered due to gun or drug violence, environmental injustice, poverty, and
all the “isms” used by oppressive factions to control the majority. The whims
of a few determine the fate of many.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">In the Acts of the Apostles it
is written, “All who believed were together and had all things in common; they
would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as
any had need.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">We are called into community, into
like minds, with our hearts set on God, caring for all whatever the need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just like the Apostles – <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">– Spending time together
praying, breaking bread together, in all things possessing glad and generous
hearts, always praising God, and having the goodwill of all the people as our work.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">And as they did these things,
“ … day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Jesus “came that they may have
life, and have it abundantly.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Abundant Life is the opposite
of society’s status quo. When the status quo supports oppression, the
peacemaker is called to challenge it. Jesus challenges the status quo
continually as should we as followers of Jesus. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">We as a people born into a
capitalistic nation have forgotten that we are a part of God’s creation. In
this greedy dog eat dog, I-me-mine world where to win is profit and to profit
is to win, competition is about being better, smarter, faster than the others
in the contest. Theologically, we focus on what we perceive to be another
person’s sin or lack more than we do the abundance of God’s love for all, for
any who have need.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">As a result, we treat the
gifts of one another and this earth as less than sacred. We do not trust one
another to love the way God loves us. ... For God so loved the world … In fact,
most of us are quite certain that the fellow next to us does not care at all
about us much less love us. Truth be told, most of us probably feel the same. I
doubt that people in Jesus’ time trusted one another anymore than we do. Yet,
that has always been Jesus’ message. Love.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Jesus didn’t ask people to
trust him. He didn’t tell people that he trusted them. He simply trusted and shared God’s
love and continued to talk about that love. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Jesus did not come to set
rules and regulations for us to follow or else be thrown into hell fire. Jesus
came to show us how to be liberated, how to free ourselves from the oppression,
and that to trust in the love and faith of God alone is the only thing
necessary. With this, all other things fall into place.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Faith is our spiritual
understanding that God exists and is with us always. Faith leads to Trust. It
is in God’s love that trust is born. If we believe that God’s love is
steadfast, unconditional, always with us, all that matters is that love. It is
not something we earn; it is through God’s grace that Love is always there. We
don’t earn love and we don’t earn trust. We simply love and we simply trust.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">We do not have to know or
understand why God loves us. We just need to know that God does love us, each
of us, everyone of us, steadfastly, unconditionally, just because that is why
we are here. Love. It is all there is.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">It is in that love that we
become midwives or good shepherds of a new creation born in love to be loved
and to love in turn.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Amen. <o:p></o:p></span></p>Barbi Clickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15850017543275895154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37235817.post-18073617090970767832022-10-27T16:09:00.003-05:002022-10-27T18:57:26.738-05:00Can you see me now?<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Why did Zacchaeus wish to see Jesus? Possibly one of the
most hated men in Jericho, chief tax collector for the Romans, his spoils taken
from the labor of his own people, a tool of the oppressor Empire – he wants to
see this man Jesus, so much so that he climbs into a tree to get a good look. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Jesus sees him, calls him down, and says, Hurry for I must
stay at your house today! <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Zacchaeus hurries down and immediately welcomes Jesus. Soon
after he declares that he will give half of his possessions to those who are
poor and repay four-fold all acts of fraud. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Augustine of Hippo in his Sermon 63 writes about this
encounter. Jesus saw Zacchaeus and after telling him to come down, he says,
“You are hanging there, but I will not keep you in suspense. I will not, that
is, put you off. You wished to see Me as I passed by, today shall you find Me
dwelling at your house.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Zacchaeus in Hebrew means Pure or Innocent. Jesus said Blessed
are the pure of heart for they shall see God. Jesus saw into Zacchaeus’ heart and
called to him. And Zacchaeus was ready, and he followed. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Evelyn Underhill in her book Mysticism writes: To be a
spectator of Reality is not enough. The awakened subject is not merely to
perceive transcendent life, but to participate therein; and for this, a drastic
and costly life-changing is required.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Zacchaeus had an awakening, a conversion from his reality
into a new life. Prior to this moment, we do not know his emotional or mental
state; however, we know that this was a transcendent moment. From it came Jesus’
pronouncement of not only the sins of Zacchaeus but for his entire household.
And Zacchaeus became a disciple of Jesus. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Zacchaeus acted impulsively, following blindly a yearning
to see. Instead, not only did he see but he was seen. The material cost may
have seemed great to some. To Zacchaeus the loss of his material wealth was the
profit of his life. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I wrote this reflection for a Deacon gathering this past
Monday. Instead of sharing this, I asked to talk about the shooting on that same day, October 24, 2022, at Central
Visual and Performing Arts high school in Saint Louis, MO and the resulting deaths. My son
graduated from there and my youngest grandson attended there for 1 ½ years as a
freshman and sophomore. I found out later that my grandson knew the young man
who killed and was killed. They were friends at that time. Both my boys knew and loved the teacher. My neighbor
across the street works with the mom of the young woman who was killed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">As my heart ached with the sorrow of the whole of these
lives lost, it further broke when I read Orlando’s note, what the police called
his “manifesto”. I attempted to unveil the sorrow in my heart for this lonely,
lost boy on social media. Some rallied with me; some railed against me. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I felt shaken to see
how many did not see the connection between <u>Hunger </u>(lack of food, love, mental
health care, etc) and <u>violence</u>; how so few comprehended that while all could feel
the overall horror of the event some could also see clearly the mental anguish that caused it or at least contributed to the event; and to see how
others simply could not connect the idea of love or lack of love to the cause of
the event. And very few indeed seem to see that there was most likely a long
simmering anger and the part that plays in violence.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I wonder if Orlando simply wanted to be seen. I wonder how
long he had wanted to be seen and understood. A friend of mine suggested that
in his anguished state, he returned to the only place he had felt seen and
safe. Strange thinking yet so is killing with purpose.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Some say that he should have sought help yet how easy it is
for those of us on this side of that loneliness to make that statement. It is too
simplistic to state that others have felt the same way and didn’t kill anyone
(boots and bootstraps ideology). There is such an absence of unconditional love
for this young man, this 19-year-old boy. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I do not understand the lack of love, the lack of mercy,
the lack of forgiveness. Maybe it will come. The pain is so fresh, the
disbelief that it could happen here too new.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">As for me, I cannot help but wallow in my own pity, my own
knowing that it could have been one of my boys that did the shooting. Not that
I think they would or could but does anyone every think that??? Both of them lived with trauma and it formed their young years. For even in the
knowing that one is loved, one can still feel unseen and misunderstood. That,
in addition to post or ongoing trauma plus the ability to obtain a weapon of
mass destruction are equations for terror and horror. If mental health concerns
are also there (and aren’t these often where there is trauma?) that only adds
more to the total. It is not simply a young man went crazy, grabbed a gun and killed a bunch of people.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Are we so disconnected from the Gospel of Jesus that we
cannot see how important it is for us to <u>see</u> those who feel themselves
to be invisible? To listen to the person? That a person is often unable to seek
the help they need, that we are to be there regardless of how difficult it may
be or how many times that person may have said no thanks?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Had there been one person in his past who was able to say
that they had tried to help him, and he turned them away, then that person may
feel justified. As for the rest, someone should have seen him. Someone should
have heard him. Someone should have cared. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">The NRA and the politicians owned by
the gun lobby are a big problem but not the only problem. They may not even be
the biggest problem. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Augustine & Underhill quotes from http://edgeofenclosure.org/proper26c.html</span></p>Barbi Clickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15850017543275895154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37235817.post-82099566267037562292022-04-16T10:23:00.004-05:002022-04-16T10:23:52.321-05:00Holy Saturday, Praying and Waiting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SJfvgYBSJ3U" width="320" youtube-src-id="SJfvgYBSJ3U"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p>Barbi Clickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15850017543275895154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37235817.post-60421207363653914372022-04-15T10:11:00.001-05:002022-04-15T10:11:18.122-05:00Reflection of Jesus Dying and Mary Magdalene Watching<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="background: white; color: #010000; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">They
wouldn’t let us be close to you. They kept us at a distance. All we could do
was wail and lament. Still, even in the distance, even though it was difficult
to see, the other Mary, the mother of James and Joseph, Salome, the mother of
the sons of Zebedee, and I all knew the exact moment it happened. As soon as
the earth began to rumble and the rocks split apart, we knew. You had breathed
your last breath. It was done. We heard later that the veil covering the holy
of holies had ripped in two. That is the way I also felt. Ripped in two. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="background: white; color: #010000; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I
remember just a few days ago, looking into your eyes after I anointed your feet
with the nard and wiped it with my hair. I could see that you knew that I
understood … that you knew I knew you were going to die. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="background: white; color: #010000; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I
also remember that you said that you would return in three days.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="background: white; color: #010000; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But
right now? It doesn’t matter. Just as we watched from afar as you breathed your
last breath, now we watch just as helplessly as Joseph of Arimathea carries
your body wrapped in clean linens, lays you in his tomb and rolls the rock into
place. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="background: white; color: #010000; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">All
I can do now is to watch with you … watch for you. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="background: white; color: #010000; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="background: white; color: #010000; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Offered by The
Rev. Deacon Barbi Click at St Paul’s StL Wednesday in Holy Week, <br />
April 13, 2022<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>Barbi Clickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15850017543275895154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37235817.post-18765106282247368072022-04-15T10:09:00.004-05:002022-04-15T10:19:02.604-05:00MAUNDY THURSDAY John 13:1-17, 31b-35 Take off your shoes <p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">My daddy’s mother was one of
the most giving people I have ever known. She was the epitome of the woman
standing at the back door holding a plate out to the Big Depression “hobo” who
knocked and asked for a few scraps of food. Not a scrap giver, she offered full
plates. I remember the meals she cooked for all who came to help with whatever
yearly event was happening on the ranch. I recall the Sunday-Go-to-Meeting and
church picnic dishes she prepared. I remember fried chicken, fresh biscuits,
and every family member scrambling to get the biggest piece of her “butter roll”
dessert. To the age of 90, she cooked meals for her rural Meals on Wheels AND
delivered the meals. She was wonderfully gifted at giving. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Receiving, not so much. When
we tried to give her a present she would say, “Pshaw” in a self-deprecating way
followed by “you should not have done this!” and she meant it. It was not a
sentiment of humility. It was an admonishment. One time, I gave her something
that was a very special gift from me to her. I wanted her to really like it. Immediately,
out came that offhand response. It hurt my feelings. As a know-it-all young
adult who believed I could speak up to authority, I boldly told her, “Grandma. You
are always giving other people things, but you never let us give to you. Sometimes
the biggest gift you can give is to take their gift for you.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">You want to hear that it made
a difference, don’t you? Well, maybe. But I know Pshaw was a part of the
response. Regardless, she did accept the gift and told me she loved it. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">I used to look at Maundy
Thursday with a feeling of Pshaw! And a sigh at the thought of having to take
off my shoes and have my feet washed. Or to wash the feet of others. I would
guess that there are many people here who agree. I do not know what causes foot
shame but so many of us have it. Other than the sweet little feet of a baby, I’ve
heard few people express delight with feet. I was no different.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">And then. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">One Maundy Thursday I was
kneeling at the bare feet of a St. Paul’s parishioner and as I held her foot
and began to run the water over it, I was overwhelmed with love. Tears welled
up and began to fall and one dropped onto her foot. I felt the urge to kiss the
foot in my hand. Now, that might seem a bit creepy. Even now, I can imagine
what her face might have expressed had I followed my urge. Still, it was a
mighty moment where I realized that it was not me giving; rather, I was receiving
a gift of love. She allowed me to wash her feet, to love her. It remains one of
the most precious gifts I ever received. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Peter is where we might have
been. He is shocked to think Jesus would stoop to wash his dirty feet. Oh, No
you won’t, he exclaims! Jesus is adamant, Oh yes, I will and if you don’t let
me, you will have nothing to do with me. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">I can imagine Peter’s tears
welling up as he concedes. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">To wash someone’s feet, a
person must kneel low in front of that individual. To kneel before someone is a
vulnerable action. And then, imagine the feet. The roads are dirt. The shoes
are sandals. The feet are coated in layers of dust. To kneel before a person
and wash their feet is a humbling thing, servant’s work. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Jesus asks, “Do you know what
I have done to you? … I have set for you an example.” If he, as their Lord and
Teacher, can do this thing, then so shall they do it for others. He loves them so
much … so much that he kneels before them to wash their dirty feet. It is a gift,
and he gives and he receives.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">This is a gift that is ours to
receive. This act of foot washing is a humbling experience, not just for the
one who bares their feet but for the one washing. The foot is an offering in
trust that you will take it and feel the love of that person as you cradle this
gift in your hand and let the water wash over it. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">We are told to love one
another yet it is not simply the idea that we give love. Love is a two-way
street, meant to be shared. It is humbling, it is surrender, it causes us to be
vulnerable. It requires us to receive the love offered to us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">It is the way that God loves
us. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Take off your shoes. Let down
the walls that protect you. Can you receive the love? <o:p></o:p></span></p>Barbi Clickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15850017543275895154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37235817.post-6653254039673212612022-02-02T17:31:00.007-06:002022-02-02T17:32:46.311-06:00 The Prophet Anna Luke 2:22-38<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Sometimes I get so tired and
hungry, fasting and praying night and day. It has been decades since I first
came into this temple seeking your will for me. But what choice did I have? You
were my only hope. My husband was gone. I had no sons to care for me. This
temple was my only solace, being in this sacred space set aside for the Holy of
Holies. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Every day, all through the
night, my life is a prayer, seeking that which is unknown, understanding only
that it is yet to be. So many years I have been doing this, calling out to you,
my Lord God, to hear my prayer. In a moment of weakness. I fell to my knees
thinking that it was my end time, asking one more time for you to bring me into
the understanding of what it is that I seek, what it is that I know you wish me
to see. Open my ears, that I might hear. Open my eyes and help me to see. One
last prayer … <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">And then … suddenly, I hear
Simeon’s voice exclaiming wonder and glory. I see a light shining around him as
he cradles something in his arms. He joyfully exclaims, “My eyes have seen your
salvation, Lord God! Right here in my arms I hold the light of revelation for
all the people of the earth, all to your glory, Lord God.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">What was I to do but turn
aside to see this strange thing, this light shining for all with eyes to see?
And see I did! And I knew! In his arms he held the wonder of the world! That
for which I had been longing was revealed to me in the flesh of this tiny babe,
in the light that shone around him, in the glory of all that he was and is and
is to be. Before me, the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings and the Glory of all
Creation!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Praise God from whom all
blessings flow! Praise God that I have seen this pure and precious sight!
Praise God that I may now rest in that peace which passes all understanding,
knowing that our Savior has come into the world! Praise God! Praise God! Praise
God!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The Rev. Deacon Barbi Click<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">October 22, 2019<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Barbi Clickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15850017543275895154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37235817.post-78274525779986795262021-12-01T14:09:00.007-06:002021-12-01T14:26:47.595-06:00This Land is NOT "our" Land<p>Offered at St. Paul's Episcopal Church St Louis on the 25<sup>th</sup> Sunday after Pentecost November 14, 2021 </p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In 1990 President George H. W. Bush
declared November as Native American Heritage Month. Just like Women’s History,
Black History, Pride, and many more, these designations are meant to bring
attention to those groups of people who have suffered from indignities and
prejudices. It is to offer us a new perspective. So it is today an opportunity to
see from a different view. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The way Indigenous people have been
and are treated is the first of many United States of America horror stories that
show how race determines who is considered less human and therefore expendable.
The transgressions against the native people who first lived with the lands and
the settlers who took the land is just beginning to be truthfully explored. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Richard Rohr's Meditation “Living
with the Land” speaks to the differences in how the Settlers and the Indigenous
people saw the land. I am paraphrasing some of his words today.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Most Christians in the Western World
have been shaped by a culture and faith that tells us that land acquisition is
a normal thing regardless of the cost to others, ourselves, or to the land
itself. God made humans stewards of creation therefore it is ours to use. Rohr
writes “… our lack of attention to the Christ Mystery can be seen in the way we
continue to pollute and ravage Planet Earth, the very thing we all stand on and
live from.” Our relationship with the land is in direct correlation to our lack
of respect for one other.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Theologian, scholar, and Cherokee
descendant Randy Woodley points out that the land itself meant something quite
different to those who settled it than it did to those who first lived here.
The failure of the settlers to tread lightly, with humility and respect, for
the land was the problem. The settlers lived <u>on</u> the land, taking what
they wanted when they wanted it regardless of what might be needed in the
future. The native people lived <u>with</u> the land, always respecting the
natural balance, never taking more than was necessary. It was a sacred
understanding.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This is important because t<span style="color: #231f20;">his land we are on – actually, not only the land that
Saint Louis is on but the broad expanse of land from the Ohio River Valley west
to the Red River – is the ancestral lands of the Osage Nation. The Osage
history is important to the history of Missouri.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In a 2014 PBS special, Osage Elder Eddy Red Eagle Jr., Drum
Keeper and Osage history, cultural, and spirituality expert talked about when
the French and French-Canadians arrived in this area of Saint Louis. They “had
very little money but they had intelligence, and a strong family life, communal
life.” This meant a good deal to the Osage because they had common intentions. Not
only did they trade together, but old Cathedral records show that there was
intermarriage and that leaders of both groups supported their mutual
grandchildren. They were community.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Louisiana Purchase in 1803 changed everything. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 15.0pt;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">As we all know,
the US government regarded Native Americans as “savages”, fully expendable, and
moved them from their ancestral homelands whenever more land was wanted. In
addition to the forced migration, epidemics of European illnesses ravaged
Native American populations. In 1808, to maintain peace and care for their
people, Osage leaders handed over their Missouri lands and hunting grounds to
the U.S. government at the Fort Osage Treaty. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A little bit of history: We all know of Cahokia Mounds in
Illinois. Yet, did you know that the area of St Louis was home to at least 25
mounds, 14 of which were in the area we know as the Great Basin? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The purpose of these mounds is varied yet all were considered
sacred. Many tribes consider the mounds as symbols of Mother Earth, the giver
of life, the womb from which humanity emerged and was formed. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A November 8 article in the St Louis Post Dispatch gives a history
of the mounds. There were 25 mounds from Biddle Street to Mound Street east of
Broadway and north of today’s Laclede Landing. Big Mound was the largest. It
was north of downtown on the rise overlooking the Mississippi River. It was 319
feet long, 158 feet wide, and 34 feet high. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Although archaeologists determined that these mounds were built
between 1000 and 1450 AD, between 1830 and 1869, all those north of downtown were
removed. Any evidence of previous lives inside of the mounds were unceremoniously
discarded. A quote as Big Mound was being destroyed: “Men are digging on every
side. And what should have been purchased by the city and preserved inviolate will
soon be known only in location tradition.” While there were some objectors,
they were overwhelmed by what the St Louis Dispatch called “the grasping
money-making spirit of our age.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sugar Loaf Mound, which stands at 4420 Ohio Avenue less than two
miles from St. Paul’s, is the last sacred mound. The Osage Nation was able to
purchase the top half of the mound a few years ago. The bottom portion of the
mound is owned by someone who is still living in the home that sits at the base
of the mound. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Due to misinformation, false histories, and glorified tales
meant to embellish the idea of Americana, we are woefully ignorant of what has
been. Were it not for the recent discovery of unmarked graves of native
children in Catholic and Anglican Indian Boarding Schools in Canada, the traumas
endured by indigenous people of North America might remain unknown. Presiding
Bishop Curry and House of Deputies President Jennings have called for a full
understanding of what happened in the Episcopal Indian Boarding Schools. There
remains much to be learned both in Canada and those US schools. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The discovery and opening of the graves in Canada are ongoing
tragedies, a catastrophic loss of a generation of children who were removed
from their families, mistreated by the Church, traumatized and abused by those
who were in charge, and then, too many, dying and hidden in unmarked graves. Those
families who lost these children or those who survived the trauma of the
schools and deculturation of indigenous traits continue to feel the pain today.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania
opened in 1879 as the first government run boarding school for Native American
children. They had a motto – Kill the Indian Save the Man; meaning, strip the
native children from their culture and language, replace it with “Christian”
values and they stood a possible chance of become good American citizens.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The values that the Catholic, Anglican, and Episcopal schools
were attempting to erase from the Indigenous children are those same values
that will save this creation – living with the land in respect, humility and
using only what is necessary, understanding that all of these speak to the
sacred nature of God’s Creation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How do we begin to talk about reparations for these sins?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Stolen lands and children, genocide, desecrated graves,
ancestral bones placed in museums, sacred lands turned into golf courses and
pathways for oil and gas pipelines, water poisoned, mounds destroyed — these
are just some of the sins committed, not only by the settlers of North America
but continuing today. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">These sins belong to each one of us, just as the sins against
those African peoples who were stolen from their countries and enslaved for
labor and used as a resource for future labor. It does not matter that none of
us here today were there. We would love to tell ourselves that we would be
different, do differently. Yet, today, in this world where we decry such sins,
how do we contribute to the existing empire and that dominate culture that makes
poverty a crime and rewards the richest? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">At all Diocesan events, it is now proclaimed:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“We respectfully recognize and acknowledge that we are on
traditional, ancestral lands of the Osage Nation. The process of acknowledging
the land we stand on is a way of accepting our complicity in a process of
colonization that removed the Osage people from their ancestral lands. We also
make this acknowledgment to affirm our commitment to stand with indigenous
communities today as they seek justice and resist continued threats to their
sovereignty and humanity.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This is an important statement because first and foremost, statements
such as this were requested by Native American tribes as an acknowledgment of
stolen lands. Secondly, this diocesan statement goes beyond acknowledgement and
calls for more action.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I recently read John Philip Newell’s book <i>Sacred Earth Sacred
Soul</i> and it lays out so clearly so many instances when the Church has
contributed to the empire. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Nadia Bolz-Weber said, “People don’t leave Christianity because
they stop believing in the teachings of Jesus … [they] leave … because they
believe in the teachings of Jesus so much, they can’t stomach being part of an
institution that claims to be about that and clearly isn’t.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The idea that one race of people could envision themselves as being
chosen by God to expand across North America, converting or killing anyone who stood
in the way is an extreme example of egoism – their self-interest was the foundation
of their morality. That is a flawed ideology that continues today.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We cannot talk about the sins against humanity without
understanding the scope of the damage to not just those who were first on this
land 400 plus years ago but those who exist in our nation and throughout the
world today whose lives are being destroyed by human caused climate disaster<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">not just those who were kidnapped and sold into slavery but
those who continue to suffer from environmental racism here in this city,
state, and nation. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">These sins continue. And we cannot talk about the sins of
humanity without trying to understand what this means to this creation –
Creation meaning the WHOLE of us – ALL things that God created.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This is a much bigger conversation than can be had in this short
space. Yet it must happen. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesus said, “This is but the beginnings of the birth pangs”. — What
new thing will come from truth? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Truths:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 150%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Our differences do not make us less than; rather, it enhances
the indescribability of God’s diverse creation. Can we imagine only one type of
bird? Only one type of tree?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: 150%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It doesn’t matter how much the stories of the wounded hurt us;
we must hear these stories. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We are at a time in our lives where it feels that we are awaiting
the Great Apocalypse. Some interpretations of the Revelation and by Hollywood tell
us that an apocalypse means the end of time is near and it is the final
destruction, a catastrophic event. Yet, theologically, in Greek, apocalypse
means to uncover, disclose, reveal. What does our past reveal to us? What is
being uncovered? What truth is there to learn?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That is what Jesus is doing today in Mark’s Gospel. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesus is unveiling a truth — once again he is telling us to pay
attention. Do not be led astray by false prophets or fake news. None of it is
important. Remember what we already know. Don’t worry about when all the great
buildings will be thrown down or of earthquakes. God is making everything new,
offering us new chances to be part of the renewal of all things. God did not
make this mess we are now in but there is hope because we know God is always
with us. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And what do we know about these sins of humanity against
humanity? We know that loving God and loving our neighbor is not a rote saying.
<u>It is a life-line, a way of living</u>. This is what First Nations people
understand so clearly. It means respecting one another and all aspects of
creation. It means that we take care of one another, not in spite of our
differences but because of these. Diversity is a rule of creation. We need
diversity. Living <u>for</u> one another is a rule of nature. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #141414; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There must be acknowledgement and confession that a sin against
one part of humanity happened because of another part. There must be
conversation about reparation – WITH the people whose truths we need to hear. And
it is only then that there can be reconciliation. And yes. There will be
birthpangs yet what do we anticipate when a mother and child are feeling the
pains of birth? We anticipate new life! God is still making all things new,
just as in the beginning, is now and always will be. We are a part of that new
thing – all of us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #141414; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Stay alert. Remember what we already know. Let go of false
prophets and flawed ideologies. This is not about self – one very small part.
It is about the whole of us – all that God created. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #141414; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Live in the hope that God offers us in the making of all things
new. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #141414; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Amen.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #141414; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #141414; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #141414; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/American_Indian_Heritage_Month.htm#:~:text=In%201990%20Congress%20passed%20and,as%20Native%20American%20Indian%20Month).</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #141414; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">https://cac.org/living-with-the-land-2021-10-20/</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #141414; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">https://news.stlpublicradio.org/arts/2014-03-31/osage-nation-leaders-help-explain-st-louis-earliest-days</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #141414; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">https://carlisleindianschoolproject.com/#:~:text=Carlisle%20Indian%20Industrial%20School%20in,Indian%2C%20Save%20the%20Man.%E2%80%9D</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">https://theblackwallsttimes.com/2020/09/15/the-black-church-a-day-late-and-a-dollar-short/</span><p></p>Barbi Clickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15850017543275895154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37235817.post-26087849619178575152021-09-27T08:12:00.001-05:002021-09-27T08:12:38.257-05:00Opportunities<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> I woke up with the song "Humble Thyself in the Sight of the Lord" in my heart and on my lips. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I am amazed at how often I am offered the opportunity to humble myself after the oh, so many mistakes I make. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Here is the song, just in case you might need it. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SxWKuaCeNiY" width="320" youtube-src-id="SxWKuaCeNiY"></iframe></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p>Barbi Clickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15850017543275895154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37235817.post-84132109122025454322021-09-27T08:05:00.007-05:002021-10-06T08:06:58.508-05:0018th Sunday After Pentecost Year B September 26, 2021 Offered to St. Paul’s Carondelet<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtDFIixhNHYz9Q_7EfuOBxePQ7F9t2HVbzFUyP8BJ5Qm445oGuCmfWoMSdAKHqs6h_x9M44bvRToudm07qoFbRbbvUUYOckd2_b1NwHImJbt6kuLnt6Wa7vLF6TULocgQmWzHkgw/s271/st-paul-s-yard_orig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="186" data-original-width="271" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtDFIixhNHYz9Q_7EfuOBxePQ7F9t2HVbzFUyP8BJ5Qm445oGuCmfWoMSdAKHqs6h_x9M44bvRToudm07qoFbRbbvUUYOckd2_b1NwHImJbt6kuLnt6Wa7vLF6TULocgQmWzHkgw/s0/st-paul-s-yard_orig.jpg" width="271" /></a></div><p></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; text-align: left;">Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Joshua to Moses: Stop them!
They are doing our job!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Moses to Joshua: Are you
jealous for my sake? If only all God’s people were prophets and God’s spirit
would come upon them!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">John to Jesus: Stop them! They
are doing our job!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Jesus to John: Don’t worry
about it! No one who does a deed of power in my name can speak evil of me. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Do not be distracted. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Do not be a distraction. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Our egos cause us to think we
must have an answer. And then, when we believe we have the right answer, we
believe it is THE answer. If we have THE answer, then all answers that differ with
us must be wrong. Right?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">One important lesson I have
learned is that I do not know the answer. In truth, I do not <u>need</u> to
know the answer. Most times, we are not even asking the right question.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">If we set aside our yearning
to know and our desire to <u>control</u> any situation, the Holy Spirit has
room to move about without knocking our world asunder. Because you know she
will keep on until we finally understand. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">When we let go of that desire
to control/know, we stop being that stumbling block, for ourselves and for
others.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Do not be distracted. Do not
be a distraction.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Some may ask the question ‘Why
did Eldad and Medad stay in the camp? Maybe when Moses called 70 elders, these
two were left over. Maybe they weren’t elders. Maybe they were afraid they didn’t
have the gift of prophesy. Who knows? It doesn’t matter why they stayed, only
that they did. It matters that the spirit rested upon them, and when it did, they
prophesied right where they were. And they kept on doing so even as the 70 who
were called did once but not again. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Joshua is distracted by his
desire to be in control. He becomes the distraction when he tries to stop Eldad
and Medad as they are inspired by the spirit to prophesy. Meanwhile, they were
not distracted, and ready or not, they willingly did as the Spirit led them. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">John has the same problem in
the Gospel. He gets distracted by his ego. He becomes the distraction when he
tries to stop someone who, he believes, has the audacity to cast out demons in
the name of Jesus yet does not follow Jesus and the disciples. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">In the verse before this one,
several of the disciples are arguing about who amongst them is the greatest.
Jesus quickly puts a stop to that by reminding them that “whoever wants to be
first must be last and servant of all.” He tells them that “whoever welcomes
one little child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not
me but the one who sent me.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Jesus tells them Do not be a
distraction. Pay attention.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">If anyone puts a stumbling
block before one of these little ones who believe in him, it would be better
for those if a great millstone were hung around their neck, and they were
thrown into the sea. His warnings get even more dire.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Yet it isn’t about self-mutilation
by cutting off offending body parts or plucking out eyes because we do
something wrong; … it is about letting go of those things that distract us from
following Jesus fully. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">How often are we distracted? So
many ways and so many opportunities. Life is a distraction. This world is a
huge distraction. News reports demand that we shatter our focus and pay
attention to all that is wrong with this world. I often hear the quote by the
ancient Chinese general Sun Tzu who said to keep your friends close and your
enemies closer. When we buy into that, we become the distraction. When we follow
this, we are ready to fight. The quote tells us to pay attention to our
enemies. Jesus says pay attention to Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">And what does Jesus say about
our enemies? Love your neighbor, regardless of friend or foe. The authors of
Matthew and Luke tell us that Jesus says to love your enemies, do good to them,
and pray for those who do you wrong. Nothing about trying to control them or
stop them or fight them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Following Jesus is difficult,
and Jesus knows that. It requires a great deal of intention and sacrifice. Jesus
is warning the disciples and us that there is trouble ahead if we do not
understand. He tells us that our culture will distract us from following his
way of peace and love. Theologian Walter Brueggemann has said it often and
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry said it recently, we must stop colluding with
the Empire. Curry said that the church cannot be formed in the way of the world
but must be formed in the way of Jesus and his love.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Something important is
happening, both with the Israelites and with the Disciples. Moses and Jesus are
preparing them for something new. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Salt is used to purify just as
is fire. Jesus tells his disciples that they are called to be the salt of the
earth yet, remember, even salt can lose its flavor if there are impurities
mixed with it. If they are to follow Jesus and his way of peace, they must know
the peace is within themselves. To be distracted by the ways of others or of
the Empire is to lose sight of what is most important – Understanding that way
of peace and love IS the way of Jesus. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The Rev. Suzanne Guthrie,
noted author and spiritual guide, in her Edge of Enclosure blog writes,
“There's no room for ego-inflation on the mystical journey.” And surely, we are
all are on a mystical journey. Why else would we be here? We are searching for
a better way, a higher power, that peace which passes all understanding. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">We cannot allow our egos, our
need to control, or that lost feeling of trying to “FIX” things, to distract
us. We do not need to know the question or the answer. We have only to know
that Jesus is love. In love, there is no war or hate, jealousy or greed. We
need to know that the Spirit is ready and so should we be.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Moses and Jesus both knew what
Joshua and John did not yet know or had forgotten – That the spirit of God
cannot be controlled. It is always there regardless of what stumbling blocks distract
us. Or what stumbling block we happen to be. What we need is to be in the right
place and ready. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">And pay attention. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Something really important is going
on. We have everything we need. Do not be distracted. <o:p></o:p></span></p>Barbi Clickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15850017543275895154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37235817.post-70371848567349679112021-09-13T12:32:00.008-05:002021-09-13T13:43:29.322-05:00Be Open<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Be
Open. Jesus told the deaf man to be opened. </span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">In
2007, Debbie and I sold or gave away most of what we owned. We stuffed the
remainder in a storage unit, the little we could into a 27 ft. old motorhome,
grabbed up the two dogs and the boy and set out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were following what we perceived to be a
call to go out and speak to those who wanted to know why 2 moms and a boy would
stay in the Episcopal Church with so much disharmony happening. </span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">We
began a cross country pilgrimage, speaking at those places we were invited.
Yet, our friend Pepper Marts (may God bless him forever and always) told us
that we were not on a pilgrimage because we did not know where we were going.
Rather, we were on a peregrination, a search for new understanding and a
radical new beginning. </span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Although that journey ended with us settling in Saint Louis
(a very radical new beginning for this country girl), now after Tucker’s death,
I find myself nurturing another new thing, a small ember that feels like a pregnant expectation. I have not yet felt the heartbeat but I do feel the flutter.
Something new is growing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">What new understanding and radical new beginning is happening? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">In John Philip Newell’s <i>Sacred Earth Sacred Soul</i>, he
writes about the Celtic poet Kenneth White. He states that a pilgrimage becomes
peregrination when the destination is unknown. It is a journey of “seeking one’s
place of resurrection, setting sail into the unknown in search of new
beginnings.” White writes about Brendan the Navigator of Clonfert (6<sup>th</sup>
CE Celtic Monk and Irish Saint) who did just that:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">“When the boat was ready, firm
and true<br />
he gathered men about him saying:<br />
“this will be no pleasure cruise<br />
rather the wildest of wild goose chases<br />
around the rim of the world and farther<br />
a peregrination in the name of God …” </span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">(pg 241)</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">It is a sacred journey.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Be open. <o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Barbi Clickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15850017543275895154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37235817.post-65172686252183593532021-06-25T11:18:00.005-05:002021-06-25T12:33:56.497-05:00empathy or equity? Both.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt;">Over the past year or so, I
have learned more about empathy, what it means to be an empath, and how that
all fits in with the ministry I do.</span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">I have also learned that while
I am very empathetic to the emotional and physical troubles of other people, and
while I have many empath tendencies, more than empathy, I understand that
everyone walks a path, and each path is full of obstacles that only that person
will understand. My job is not to “walk a mile in their shoes” nor is it to
feel empathy for their troubles. My job is to understand that while everyone
has obstacles to overcome, some obstacles are set in place by our culture, our
society, our racist, self-concerned elected officials, all of which makes the obstacles
of some far greater than the obstacles of others. My job is to walk with them
as I can as they come to these obstacles. It doesn't hurt to empathize; in fact, it is good. Yet empathy by itself does little. It is like faith without works. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">As an example: a loved one has
an accident or illness and ends up in the hospital. After a long while, many expensive
different tests and procedures, that loved one dies or is severely disabled.
This happens to many people and is very relatable. We can all truthfully state
how sorry we are for this happening.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">However, depending upon where
one lives, grief can be compounded by extreme debt which can result in any
number of calamities. As an example, when the loved one is in the hospital, the
employment status of the parent/spouse/partner can be in danger as that
caregiver is by the side of the patient. If there is family or compassionate
leave in one’s employment package, all is well. However, if one holds a job
with no such thing, that person may find themselves without employment on top
of the other concerns. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Those miracle tests and
procedures that often save lives but sometimes cannot in the long run are
expensive and may become the mountain that comes tumbling down. This is the
difference between states that have Expanded Medicaid and those states which
carelessly, selfishly, even sadistically do not. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Those medical bills and the
loss of job due to family crisis can result in homelessness and full disruption
of family life. Suddenly, families – minus one loved one, or with a medically
compromised life – are not only mired in grief but also impossible debt,
jobless, evicted, hopeless, homeless.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Only a part of this happened
to my family. Two months of extremely expensive medical care would have been
far different had our precious boy lived in Missouri rather than Oregon. Oregon
has expanded Medicare. The governor of Missouri, kowtowing to the ignorance and
self-concern of lobbyists and conservative politicians, deemed it prudent for
his political life to ignore the demands of Missouri voters and deny the voice
of the people to enact expanded Medicaid in this state. Had our loved one lived
in Missouri, he would have first had to be approved for disability before he
would become eligible for Medicaid. Even though he lay basically comatose for
two months, who knows how long it would have taken to get him declared disabled?
All this means is that his medical bills would have begun to pile, higher, and
deeper. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Another important part that
makes our situation different from those of too many is that our jobs are
stable and while there was not an official compassionate leave aspect, the employers
we work for are indeed compassionate. Our income continued even as we were
debilitated with concern and grief. Our home and our dogs welcomed us as we
returned. No bills went unpaid. Only the mountain of grief towers over us. From
that, even if it threatens to crush us on some days, we will arise.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">What has this to do with empathy?
While the reader may be able (or not) to fully empathize with this situation, one
does not have to have a heart moment to see the differences that exist for too
many. How many families in Saint Louis City alone have lost all they have – ON TOP
OF THE GRIEF – because the system proves daily that it does not care about
them? This is not a matter of heart, of empathy. This is not an urban vs rural
thing, conservative vs liberal. It happens to people across the geographical
and political spectrum. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Grief is difficult enough to experience.
No one should have to be concerned about healthcare, job security, or unpaid
bills on top of grief. Our political system is corrupt and immoral. We have the
power to change that. It is our job to make certain it happens. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><br /></p>Barbi Clickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15850017543275895154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37235817.post-73329471814267629992020-12-09T18:08:00.005-06:002021-02-03T10:54:20.024-06:00The Prophetess Anna, an Interpretation<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Luke 2:22-38<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Sometimes I get so tired and
hungry, fasting and praying night and day. It has been decades since I first
came into this temple seeking your will for me. But what choice did I have? You
were my only hope. My husband was gone. I had no sons to care for me. This
temple was my only solace, being in this sacred space set aside for the Holy of
Holies. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Every day, all through the
night, my life is a prayer, seeking that which is unknown, understanding only
that it is yet to be. So many years I have been doing this, calling out to you,
my Lord God, to hear my prayer. In a moment of weakness. I fell to my knees
thinking that it was my end time, asking one more time for you to bring me into
the understanding of what it is that I seek, what it is that I know you wish me
to see. Open my ears, that I might hear. Open my eyes and help me to see. One
last prayer … <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">And then … suddenly, I hear
Simeon’s voice exclaiming wonder and glory. I see a light shining around him as
he cradles something in his arms. He joyfully exclaims, “My eyes have seen your
salvation, Lord God! Right here in my arms I hold the light of revelation for
all the people of the earth, all to your glory, Lord God.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">What was I to do but turn
aside to see this strange thing, this light shining for all with eyes to see?
And see I did! And I knew! In his arms he held the wonder of the world! That
for which I had been longing was revealed to me in the flesh of this tiny babe,
in the light that shone around him, in the glory of all that he was and is and
is to be. Before me, the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings and the Glory of all
Creation!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Praise God from whom all
blessings flow! Praise God that I have seen this pure and precious sight!
Praise God that I may now rest in that peace which passes all understanding,
knowing that our Savior has come into the world! Praise God! Praise God! Praise
God!<o:p></o:p></span></p>Barbi Clickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15850017543275895154noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37235817.post-18982806293737750542020-05-06T16:04:00.002-05:002020-05-06T16:04:58.033-05:00We are Not "Normal" People.<br />
<div class="CitationList">
Offered for Christ Church Cathedral, St. Louis, MO, April 26, 2020 COVID-19 Time</div>
<div class="CitationList">
<br /></div>
<div class="CitationList">
Acts 2:14a,36-41, 1 Peter 1:17-23, Luke 24:13-35, Psalm
116:1-3, 10-17<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">As I read the Gospel for today, I thought of
the collect in Evening Prayer. It asks Jesus to stay with us, because night is near
and the day is past, to be our companion in the way, to kindle our hearts and
awaken hope that we might know him both as revealed in Scripture and in the
breaking of the bread. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">This is a time when many of us are afraid and
lonely. We miss the people we love, both near and far. Our hearts ache for community
and our arms for physical hugs. We want to know we will soon be close again. We
strive to remember that Jesus is with us even as we feel alone. We yearn for those
moments when Jesus is known to us in the breaking of the bread as we gather again,
in the communion of all the saints. We hope that time will come soon. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Surely, the apostles felt that same way. All
that was known to them was suddenly gone. One moment, Jesus is with them,
telling them that the bread is his body, and the wine is his blood and they are
to remember that each time they eat or drink. They hardly have time to consider
that before everything changes, and he is gone. This anxiety keeps them from
fully remembering that he told them that the Son of Man would suffer many
things, be killed and then on the third day, rise again. Or that he promised
that he would be with them always. We can empathize them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Right now, we are hearing a lot about
Traumatic Stress and how we are being affected in this unprecedented time. I
wonder about the disciples. Can we imagine the trauma of loving Jesus, giving
up everything to follow him, going with him everywhere; suddenly he is taken
away, arrested, tried, lashed, humiliated, and nailed to a cross? He dies in
agony. The grief. Oh my God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">And then, Mary Magdalene and the other women
telling them the astounding news that the tomb is empty, Angels saying he is
still alive! How can that be! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I can imagine the emotional whiplash they
experience as the sensations flash through them. And now, here they are walking
with this stranger, telling him of the past few days. It is the third day – What
was so different about his physical self now, that they did not know him? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Perhaps they are so caught up in their own shock
that they could not recognize him in that place and time. He seems amazed that
they do not understand or remember the things they had been taught, so, he begins
to teach them. And they listen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Because night is near, the two disciples
invite the stranger to stay with them. So, he does. At supper, the man they
still did not recognize takes the bread, blesses it, and breaks it, then he gives
it to them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">And they know. “Were not our hearts burning
within us while he was talking to us?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The collect for today says: “Open the eyes of
our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The eyes of their faith are opened. Even
though he is now gone, they know! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Talking with a friend this week about the
Gospel and these times, we lamented the idea that we feel as though we are on a
rollercoaster with no buffers. Everything seems fine and suddenly with little warning;
we plummet into a new low. Those buffers that might ordinarily soften the
impact of the unexpected are missing right now. We are extremely vulnerable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Surely, this must be the way the disciples felt.
The highs, the lows, the shock, the grief, the hope, the joy. And all the
points in between. Sometimes the memory of the promise of resurrection is lost
in the middle of the moment’s anxiety. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Resurrection is a very big deal to believe. Our
bodies dying, rising from the dead, life made new, eternally. Forever. It is a
promise. Believing in resurrection is THE thing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">We are not “normal” people. We are Easter
people. Even in our busiest times, we continue to be an Easter people because
we believe in the Resurrection, daring to imagine what our lives in Christ are
about. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Resurrection is so much more than we can dare
to imagine. Yet we do dare, every time we pray. We remember that to love God,
to love one another, to allow ourselves to be born anew again and again by that
imperishable word of God. Are not our hearts always burning with that understanding?
Even if the disciples were not able to recognize him with their eyes, they surely
knew that Jesus was with them. They knew in their hearts, in the eyes of their
faith. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Easter is about Transformation. Surely, we
are in times of transformation in the midst of this pandemic. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">This threat came into our lives, untamed in
its potential, unbound within our understanding of normal. This tiny virus
disrupted our world. Unwanted, unheralded, what is this tiny thing opening
before us? Maybe, even in its chaos and damage, this is an opportunity for us
to see with new eyes things that were always before us. `<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">One of the special things to come from this
pandemic is the opportunity to pray with others the Daily Office throughout the
week. The number of people who are now praying in this new way is amazing! In
our physical separation, still, we can pray with one another any time of day.
The same is true for Sundays as we worship with people we love -- online. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Perhaps, this time is an opportunity for us
to use what Walter Brueggemann calls the “Prophetic Imagination”, looking more
deeply into those things which we often take for granted. Prophetic Imagination
asks us to <u>know</u> through faith beyond our fear and anxiety. That does not
mean that these fears or anxieties are not real nor that we can make these go
away. Simply, it asks us to remember that God is with us always, regardless.
That even during the most frightening times, there is something new that God is
doing in our lives, with our lives, for us and for this world and that we are a
major part of that. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">These are anxious times for many who are
concerned about housing costs, job losses, grief, or health concerns. For
others, it has offered moments of reflection, rest, and possibly boredom. Then
there are those in between. We know there are great discrepancies in our
societies’ economic levels. What helps the least of these, helps all of us. Thinking
about it economically or spiritually, when all have equal access to food,
water, housing, education, and healthcare, society as a whole benefits. This is
an opportunity to see more clearly the injustices in our society. The prospect
of intentionally working towards righting that which is unjust awaits us as we
come out of this.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">As we look toward to what Dean Kathie Adam-Shepherd calls “re-membering”
our parish communities and our society, of once again being with each other
physically, hopefully, we will remember the discoveries that we are making. Whether
these are the injustices that beset so many, or the amazing awareness of the
new spring growth, or the long walks, the moments spent playing or new ways of praying
– hopefully, we will hold onto these. We can forget these moments when we are
rushed. We do what needs to be done as the demand arises. Yet, if we can hold
on to the new awareness, to see with the eyes of our faith, to cling to the
knowing that Easter is here, this can carry us into whatever new thing God is
doing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Lord Jesus, stay with us; be our companion
in the way, kindle our hearts, and awaken hope, that we may know you as you are
revealed in Scripture and the breaking of bread. Grant this for the sake of
your love. Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F9F9F9; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri light" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-color-alt: windowtext; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“The
OnBeing Project: Walter Brueggemann – The Prophetic Imagination”</span><span style="font-family: "calibri light" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5417vgJ44RI"><span style="color: blue;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5417vgJ44RI</span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Found on April 24, 2020<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Barbi Clickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15850017543275895154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37235817.post-66882657297364091712019-09-30T12:56:00.001-05:002019-09-30T12:57:34.180-05:00For Dennis Kinealy Who Left This Life on September 16, 2019<i><span style="background: white; color: #010000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">“In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so,
would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?”</span></i><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<i><span style="background: white; color: #010000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="color: #010000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 18px;">I am the Rev. Barbi Click, Deacon and Manager of Trinity Food Ministry. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="color: #010000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I had not been Manager of the
Trinity Food Ministry very long when Dennis came up to me with his hand outstretched
for a shake. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“You don’t know me, but I know
you. My name is Dennis and I used to be somebody.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">His statement stunned me,
shaking many preconceived notions. It also humbled me and taught me a valuable
lesson. New to the ministry of working with people who were unhoused, it had never
occurred to me that losing one’s sense of identity was even a possibility. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">This incident was simply one
of the many times that I learned from Dennis in the six years that I knew him.
He taught me that being homeless was only one small aspect of who he was as a
child of God. A bigger lesson, I came to understand that love and addiction
will always be at war, but that love will win eventually, no matter how long it
takes. My job was simply to be there and offer my love.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Dennis helped substantiate what
I had already begun to learn. Everyone has a story; some people have many; some
of those stories are tragic. He could not be identified simply as “The homeless”.
He was Dennis Kinealy who was so much more than what his current condition
implied. Through him, I came to understand the profound depth of what community
means. Sharing our stories is vital to building relationships. These stories
lead us past the exterior into the real life, opening a new understanding that
we are all connected, that we are one in the body of Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">And Dennis did love
sharing his stories <u>and</u> the pictures he carried with him! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Las
Vegas cab driver, farmer, urban mountain man, adventurer, teller of tales, son,
brother, uncle, father, Trinitarian, Episcopalian and a member of our Beloved
Community – these were just a few of the terms that described Dennis. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">He loved being called Dennis
the Menace. His grin just got bigger when he heard that term. He loved being
funny, cute, even coy. He loved people loving him. Of course, for many of us,
loving him was easy because it required little of us, we had no expectations of
him and his power to hurt us was very limited. He came and went as he pleased, with
very few demands. We at the Pantry met him where he was and walked with him for
a little while. We were often his audience as he played the stage. Yet love is
complicated. The toll of worry and concern on those who loved him longer was much
heavier, more broken and far more painful to them and for him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">He was a proud man, pleased with
some of the things he had done, proud of his family, of being a part of
Trinity. He was proud to have had the actor Debbie Reynolds as a passenger in
his cab. He had a pride in having owned a bit of land at one time. He was honored
to be the father of his two sons. He almost burst with pride when Debbie, his
sister and her family came with him to the Trinity Art Club.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">However, he was a man of many
sorrows. Some of these things that made him the most proud also were the source
of his guilt which brought him such disappointment in himself. He was unable to
forgive himself for not being the son, the brother, the uncle, or the father
that he wanted to be. He knew that he had a lot of grief for people he loved. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">He knew that his addiction
drove a wedge between them and himself. But that is what addiction does. It
burns bridges with no regard for love. The addict becomes a passenger in a
runaway vehicle. Being out of control is a very lonely place to be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I don’t know the back story of
what brought Dennis to this place in life. There were times when his sorrow
rushed out of him in a torrent of tears. His pain and guilt were so evident, so
real. I and others reminded him that we are called to forgive, not only others
but ourselves. He simply could not see, on this side of the veil, that we all
fall short of the glory of God. Yet, that is God’s promise – forgiveness,
regardless of our lack. He did not see himself as worthy. That is the wonder of
all of this – he was and has been and is now forgiven, just as we all have been
for whatever we lack.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Most times, he was happy. He
loved to talk, especially about being an “urban mountain man.” He was one of
the most resourceful people I ever knew. I would introduce him to people new to
the streets so that he could give them pointers on how to survive. He helped a
lot of people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I teased him that he was like
a cat with nine lives. Something was always happening to him that would have
laid out a lesser man. <span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">I cannot
count the number of times that Dennis would burst through the doors and head
straight for me. His hello would always be sidelined by, </span>“You won’t
believe what just happened to me!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Dennis used a few of those
lives after he was hit by a vehicle in December 2016. I think he coded once at
the scene and twice in the ambulance ride to Barnes. Many broken bones and a
brain injury laid him up in intensive care for a while. He was totally amazed
when Fritzi Baker and I visited him. After his long rehab, St. Patrick’s Center
connected him with a group that got him permanent housing. Fr. Jon offered to
bless his new home so Jon, Debbie Wheeler and I attended the blessing of his
new space. He never forgot that day. He never forgot anything anyone ever did
for him. It always amazed him that someone would do things for him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Dennis is an example of how
having a house is simply not enough in this world. Home is where community is, and
a place to share our joys and the sorrows. God calls us into community because
we need one another. Dennis was proud of his confirmation as an Episcopalian.
To him, that was proof that he belonged, Trinity was his space, this was his
community. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Dennis looked at small things
as great blessings. Every ask might not be met with a stated thank you;
however, every offering was accepted with a great deal of thanksgiving. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">He told me a few weeks ago
that he didn’t know if he could go through another winter like last year, that
maybe Maddie from the City would be able to help him find a place. Dennis had
burned many bridges with help organizations – they wanted to help him, but they
had exhausted their resources for him unless he was willing to make some
dramatic changes. I reminded him of what he had to do to get help – go into
long term rehab. As he turned to walk out, with a wave of his hand, he said,
“yeah, I know.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Dennis left this world in a
flight of freedom. The prison gates of addiction broke open. He was rid of all
the guilt and all the sorrow. He finally understood that he was forgiven.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I know that Dennis was not
alone at the end. I know that “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth,
and the life.” Take my hand and come with me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I can hear him saying the same
words he told me when I first met him:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“You don’t know me but I know
you. My name is Dennis and I used to be somebody.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">However, I also know that God immediately
told him, “I do know you. I know every hair on your head, I have known you
since before you were formed in your mother’s womb. You are somebody because
you are mine. I have a perfect place already prepared for you. Come and see.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<o:p> </o:p>Memorial Service for Dennis Kinealy <br />
John
14:1-6</div>
Trinity Church, September 28, 2019 <br />
<div class="MsoHeader">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoHeader">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoHeader">
<br /></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
<br />Barbi Clickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15850017543275895154noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37235817.post-12821478801420793282019-03-10T09:55:00.002-05:002019-03-10T09:56:07.626-05:00Joy Comes in the Morning<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Swirling
through life,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> pulled
between yin and yang with no clear connection between the two,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> occasionally
joined together to make a whole,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> the
only surety is that chaos exists above all things.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">My
soul longs for rejoicing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">My
body aches for warmth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">My
heart wants not to be broken.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">My
mind wants only to rest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">In
You alone my soul in silence rests,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> yet
… there is never silence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Where
is the One who out of chaos created order?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Where
is the Spirit that comforts the afflicted, the disordered? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I
fear the silence will not come until to ashes I return.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I
know that joy comes in the morning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I
hold onto that while I weep through the night.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> bgclick</span></div>
<br />
<br />Barbi Clickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15850017543275895154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37235817.post-89313433260326149162018-08-24T17:10:00.003-05:002018-08-24T17:10:42.971-05:00REAL Reality TV World, Thursday Food Pantry<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #080808; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 18px; text-align: center;">
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<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #080808; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 18px;">
On Thursdays a group of people gather at the Pantry. They gather there on other days as well but the later pantry time (<span class="aBn" data-term="goog_468673069" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">4-5:30</span></span>) offers a time for more socializing, I suppose. The traffic at Pantry slows down and they rev up. On that day, everything is much livelier at closing than on others.<br /><br />Several of the people help with the cleanup. Volunteers begin taking down chairs and tables after <strong>C</strong>, a tiny woman, maybe 100 lbs, wipes them down. She tells people to finish up with their dishes “so Miss Barbi can close this place up on time.” <strong>T</strong>, aka Dogg, sits in his place and watches everyone as he sips his coffee. <strong>Miss H</strong> directs others as to what they should be doing. <strong>P</strong>follows <strong>M</strong> around as he gathers up all the trash. Reta, the Deaconess Nurse, finishes with her last patient. On the days that he is there, <strong>A</strong> finishes cleaning up the kitchen. At this point, most of the volunteers have left the building. A couple of volunteers never leave until I give them the go ahead. They are just making sure I am ok. This particular group is always ok.<br /><br />I wonder if the group of people remaining wait until the other volunteers are gone to be their crazy funny selves. Or maybe it is because I can finally pay attention to them that I actually see how they are. All the drama of the day is over, and the comedy begins.<br /><br />During the pantry, the drama comes in many forms. From people needing someone to pray for them, right then, right there; to someone bumping into another’s elbow and spilling coffee, threatening the start of World War III; to <strong>Mr. W</strong> talking non-stop to everyone, to someone, to no one, in his sometimes staccato, sometimes jabberwocky style; to our garden lady (she sleeps there), getting mad and calling everyone the “n” word – most especially black men who happen to get in her way (although I have been called that by her on numerous occasions); to another demanding attention, good or bad; to others wanting me to hurry because they are going to miss their bus. Everyone poking me in the shoulder, calling my name (most calling me “Barb”, some call me Mama), pulling at my elbow, asking for this, asking for that. The need is constant, and one need is always more important than the next.<br /><br />It is <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_468673070" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">5:40 p.m.</span></span> and the doors are locked, the lights are dimmed, the kitchen is closed, the trash is out, the tables are wiped clean and put up. I start singing my closing song that none of them recognize – “Turn out the lights, the party’s over. All good things must come to an end. Turn out the lights, the party’s over and <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_468673071" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">tomorrow</span></span> starts the same old thing again.” That’s Willie Nelson, y’all. Whatever.<br /><br /><strong>Miss H</strong> always says, “The fat lady’s singing.” <strong>M</strong> says, “Ok, Barb, it’s time for us to go.” <strong>P</strong> always says, “You’re right, <strong>M</strong>. It’s time for us to go.”<br />Then, <strong>Miss H</strong> says, “Before I go, I need to go to the little girls’ room.” <strong>C</strong> replies (always), “<strong>Miss H</strong> can’t ever go before closing time. She has to wait. Now we have to wait on her because she needs help carrying her bags to the car.”<br /><br />One after another says, well, it’s time to go, but <strong>C</strong> reminds everyone that they are ‘waiting on <strong>Miss H</strong> to come out of the bathroom because she can’t ever go before it’s time to leave.’ I remind them that they could just carry the bags outside and wait on her there, to which no one pays me any mind.<br /><br /><strong>P</strong> sees a bag sitting on one of the chairs and wonders aloud as to whose it is. One or more of us always tells him that it belongs to <strong>M</strong>(we know this because it is where he was sitting). <strong>P</strong> says, “Oh. Oh. This must be <strong>M’</strong>s.” To which we all agree ... yep, yep, it must be …<br /><br />Reta and I look at each other and can’t keep from grinning. No one wants to leave. Reta says that someone ought to film this and put it on TV. We are watching some real reality comedy. It’s called community. And it is beautiful.<br /><br />Finally, they are all on their way. Reta stays for a minute and we talk about the day. Then she is gone, and I am alone, not only in the South Parish Hall but in the entire building. I soak in the quiet and marvel at what has gone on in that space in the past week. God is present always, even when I get rushed and forget. Moments like these remind me that God is also good, always with me.</div>
Barbi Clickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15850017543275895154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37235817.post-29171423418456878292018-06-15T09:23:00.000-05:002018-06-15T12:42:48.255-05:00On Becoming Beloved Community<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
One day this week, Wayne clapped me on one shoulder and loudly
claimed, “You should have run for mayor!” I laughed, and he then proclaimed, “No
one can steal a stove!” To which I replied, “Or a refrigerator!” He clapped me
on the shoulder again and said, “Exactly!” Last week, he had told me that he
had been accused of stealing the refrigerator where he was staying.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have known Wayne for most of the almost five years I have
been working at Trinity Food Ministry in Saint Louis. Our relationship began as
reactionary and tended to escalate quickly. He would come to the Pantry for groceries
at least twice a month. The regulation is that a guest may get groceries once
per calendar month. To get around that, he would claim that it wasn’t him who
came the first time; it was his brother. I was fairly naive so it was allowed
for a couple of months.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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But then he became more belligerent and irritating, so I
shut it down. I told him he had to prove who he was each time he came. I didn’t
care who he was, but he had to show me <u>if</u> he wanted groceries. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In that he rarely had his ID, this caused him to be even
more aggressive in his attitude. His eyes would narrow, he would “get his face
on” and he would ready himself to scare me into backing down. I didn’t. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This went on for at least a couple of years. We had several
shouting matches and stare-downs. Then, Wayne didn’t show up for a long while. As
is the case on a normal basis, I wondered a few times about him but was too
busy to search out an answer. Plus, the Pantry was quieter when he wasn’t
there. It was easier.<o:p></o:p></div>
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By the time he returned, I was different. In that period where
he was gone, I learned that a big problem with many people is that they do
not know they are loved. Or they do not believe themselves lovable. When I saw
Wayne return, I greeted him with an exclamation of not only surprise but of
joy. I said, “Where have you been? I have missed you! I am glad to see you!” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He looked at me as if I was crazy. Yet his response was a
smile. While it took him a few visits to believe me, he came to understand that
things were different. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wayne had not changed much in that time he was away. He still
aggravated the bejeesus out of people. He continues to do so. But I have
learned that when he narrows his eyes and his face appears to be
confrontational, often, he is trying to figure out how to respond to the one causing
his confusion. He can be lead away from confrontation by redirecting his
attention. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I don’t kid myself. I know that out on the street he has a
tough time. He has been put out of more places than I go into. He is classified
as a problem and treated as such by most people who do not have the time or the
desire to meet him where he is. His life is difficult.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I have watched his mental health decline over this past
year. Most conversations are like the one with which I began this. His main themes
include his father whom he loved, his high school years, and whether I have Spam
or sardines to give him. Interspersed between these themes, a strange statement
about refrigerators or stoves or me being mayor will be tossed in. For the most
part, he knows he is safe at the Pantry and that I will listen to him for a
little while. Somewhere during the conversation, we will laugh. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I would like to say that Wayne is the biggest problem at
Pantry but he isn’t even close. But I have found the key to getting along with
Wayne. It is to let him know he is loved and that he is worth my time. He knows
this because I call him by name and tell him so. He is fed in body and in spirit.
For a minute, it is enough. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I try to use that key with others but for some, addiction or
mental health problems are just too much of a barrier. These problems filter
out love.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yet life continues. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are so many things about each of us by which we can be
judged daily, moment to moment. Too often, we judge in a flash, mistaking
confusion for arrogance, taking one instance and identifying a person by that forever.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We are always beloved, regardless of our knowing this or not.
When we get to know one another, when we listen to one another, when we see one
another, and, in those actions, we learn that we are loveable and that we are
loved. When we set aside our judgmental nature, we enter what Gregory Boyle
says is God’s “jurisdiction.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Within that God-place, we become Beloved Community. This is Jubilee.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Are we there yet? Are we even close? Maybe so, maybe not.
For certain, we are closer than we have been. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Barbi Clickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15850017543275895154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37235817.post-7088135782953392342018-03-30T09:53:00.001-05:002018-08-30T12:14:03.859-05:00"Left foot, left foot Right foot, right. Feet in the morning Feet at night." Thank you, Dr. Seuss<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am thinking about feet. My feet often demand that I think
of them. Short wide feet with high insteps and high arches, my feet often scream
for attention. But it’s not my feet that I am thinking about. I am thinking of
the feet I washed last night. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSep89Yz3VBg952WNgugb8zHAbJ7f6D_D29aydT-DP95bF8-Mr8klRRnJCF_gkpChETS8oGTyeE6mUweBHHRoRbmB-XgCcU3Q6Ne43hA0aKqHNj7l69axziakKuPoPgTBMEvD1Uw/s1600/foot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="749" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSep89Yz3VBg952WNgugb8zHAbJ7f6D_D29aydT-DP95bF8-Mr8klRRnJCF_gkpChETS8oGTyeE6mUweBHHRoRbmB-XgCcU3Q6Ne43hA0aKqHNj7l69axziakKuPoPgTBMEvD1Uw/s200/foot.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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I can’t tell you if the feet were in good condition or if
these feet hurt. I can’t even tell you if the nails were painted. I know the
feet were soft. I knew that I had to treat those feet as though they were beloved.
Because those feet were beloved. Because those feet reminded me of other feet.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Blistered. Callused. Feet used for transporting a body
everywhere that body needs to go. Feet that do not have clean socks every day.
Feet that are covered in shoes that do not necessarily fit properly. Feet that
are wet in rain, cold in winter, sweaty in summer. Imagine. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I go to Sedona AZ, I walk a great deal. I hike to the vortexes,
along the red dusty paths that lead to big red rocks. My black sandals are no
longer black; my feet no longer tan. Both are covered in a fine red dust that
does not brush away easily. This makes me think of what feet must have looked
like in Jesus’ time. Dusty. Dirty. Tired. Responsible for carrying the weight
of a person’s life upon them. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Feet are important. Between Tuesday and Thursday of this
past week, I walked 25,935 steps, an average of 8,645 steps on each day. That
was simply to and fro, back and forth, going nowhere but doing many things. (one
of many privileges, my iPhone health app)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
How many steps did Jesus walk between the beginning of his
ministry in Galilee and that cross at Golgotha? Approximately 106 miles if one
walks straight from Capernaum to Jerusalem, but he didn’t. He went into Samaria
and crossed over into Judea beyond the Jordan and other points between here and there<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfqG-lJiL5mRyez4UuLrvsW_CGn1aZiMt4b4BwAZcW4mq_KMvDx9Dfgs4hHu8XALArgq-9j50g89aUxfnFOcZBBkdg7GZhW4Je-Qtsf0lCD_xR5rve4ttvtTc0JJGOnFeq9jOHdw/s1600/jesus%2527+route+from+galilee+to+golgotha.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="736" data-original-width="534" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfqG-lJiL5mRyez4UuLrvsW_CGn1aZiMt4b4BwAZcW4mq_KMvDx9Dfgs4hHu8XALArgq-9j50g89aUxfnFOcZBBkdg7GZhW4Je-Qtsf0lCD_xR5rve4ttvtTc0JJGOnFeq9jOHdw/s320/jesus%2527+route+from+galilee+to+golgotha.JPG" width="232" /></a></div>
. <br />
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Thinking of Jesus walking makes me think of some of the guys from the pantry I know who walk everywhere. Often they are walking to and fro, between one meal
and the next, into one area and crossing over into and beyond another. I have
seen their feet. I have given out a pair of socks and bandaids in a too meager attempt
to ease the burden of those poor, sore feet. Swollen, red, painful. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I wished I had thought of these feet sooner. I wish I had
washed these feet on Maundy Thursday. I wish I had warm water and soft towels,
clean socks and more bandaids, lotion and soothing balms. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Barbi Clickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15850017543275895154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37235817.post-20337803872987788052018-01-12T11:51:00.001-06:002018-01-12T11:52:43.784-06:00New Eyes<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<i><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“To
begin to see with new eyes, we must observe—and usually be humiliated by—the
habitual way we encounter each and every moment. It is humiliating because we
will see that we are well-practiced in just a few predictable responses. Not
many of our responses are original, fresh, or naturally respectful of what is
right in front of us. The most common human responses to a new moment are
mistrust, cynicism, fear, defensiveness, dismissal, and judgmentalism. These
are the common ways the ego tries to be in control of
the data instead of allowing the moment to get some control over us—and teach
us something new!</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_Hlk503519202">”</a></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_Hlk503519202"><br /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">These words of Richard Rohr’s offer
me a lesson I have opportunity to learn each day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Recently, an incident reminded
me that regardless of the job that I do, there is always so much more to alter
in my own actions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There is a guy who comes in to
the pantry and hot lunch. He has no concern for anyone but himself. He pushes
to the front of the line, demands attention regardless of whatever else is
going on. He has no idea whatsoever that there are other people in the world
with needs. His are his only concern. If I give him one pair of socks, he wants
two. He always lifts his pants leg to show me he has no socks on, to prove his
need. He doesn’t like the individual size toothpastes or deodorants. Nor the
small hotel size soaps. He wants full size. And t-shirts. Always t-shirts. No
matter how many belts I have given him over the past year, he always has a
request for another. These requests come at least two days per week. He is
pushy and demanding, cajoling and pleading, dependent upon how receptive I am
to his requests. He tries to be charming by complimenting me in hopes that he
can sway me. It is like dealing with a difficult child. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When he comes into the pantry,
he leaves behind a mess.... dirty dishes, food crumbs/spills. He is a mess. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One Sunday, he came to the Hot
Lunch...35 minutes after the official closing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If we run out of food prior to
that official closing, I open the pantry and retrieve Vienna sausages and any
fruit or crackers we might have. It is not a fit meal but it fills the stomach
for a while. However, when food is gone after the closing time, it is gone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is easy to understand that
people who do not have watches or phones do not always know what time it is. It
is just as easy to realize that bus schedules do not always fit into our
timelines conveniently. I understand that some people are going to be late. It
isn’t on purpose or because they are lazy or doing something more interesting.
It just happens. Also, from 2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. is not a very large window of
time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So, when he came in so late
this day, he was already irritated. Who knows why he was late. It didn’t matter.
There was no prepared food left. As a result, I had to tell him he was too
late. He knows that we have a full pantry and there is plenty of food in the
building. He wanted me to get something for him. By that time, he was on my
last nerve because he was demanding and rude. Actually, there are several
people who can get on my last nerve rather quickly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The thing is, regardless of
how much he asks for, I always give him something. I try to err on the side of
good. Maybe he sells the stuff; maybe he just likes what he likes. Who knows? I
give if I have it to give with only an occasional exception. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">However, when he is rude,
demanding, and acting like a super spoiled brat, the mom in me comes out and I
send him out of the room. So, this day he left angry. As he left, his bag
caught on the door handle and that really ticked him off. He turned around and
kicked the door. With all his irritation and his blustery bravado, he knew that
he was past getting anything. He left, angry, frustrated, cold, and hungry. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It made me feel the same as when
a situation sort of spun out of control for my kids or grand kids. I would be
irritated and angry as they would escalate but later I would begin to think
about how that particular child was feeling or what might have been the source
of the outburst. The situation we witness is rarely the cause of the escalation.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I could have made one more
exception for him. I could have opened the pantry and given him a couple of
cans of ravioli. I could have, but I didn’t. I stood on my principle that he knows
the routine, he was late, and I wasn’t budging. I am not looking for kudos for
my “tough love.” I am exploring how I might have done this better, how I may
have missed an opportunity to seek the divine. Rather, I judged harshly and most
likely cast out a hungry person. I feel a bit of humiliation at understanding
this. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Rohr finishes his meditation
by writing that the “way to any universal idea is to proceed through a concrete
encounter.” I am always seeking universal ideas. Rohr continues with “The one
is the way to the many; the specific is the way to the spacious; the now is the
way to the always, the here is the way to everywhere; the material is the way
to the spiritual; the visible is the way to the invisible.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I appeased my conscious a
little bit the next time he came in by simply giving him a little more than he
asked. It had been almost a week since he had tossed his tantrum and I pulled
the mom card. I had what he requested so I gave. He, in turn, was appreciative.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But
here is the rub. Do I, as manager of the Food Ministry, have a right to let my “mom”
come out in me? How does that offer respect or dignity to an adult (or child,
for that matter) if I pull a superior tone and/or condescending or give and
take action? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I
would rather be judged for giving too much than too little. What is given to
the ministry is given with the idea that it will be available to those who need
it. Is it mine to determine need? I know the answer to that is basically that
all who come in are in need. So, yes, I do determine that there is need.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">However,
should the concern of having someone taking advantage of me weigh into the equation
when a person is obviously in need. ‘In need of what’ is a question that I am
not sure I have a right to ask. I cannot spend my time wondering if someone is
trying to rip off the pantry. If someone does choose to sell the food they get,
then perhaps that little bit of money was what he needed. It is not mine to
determine what a person needs most.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">What
I seek is to make certain that my ego does not get in the way or try to be in
control, mainly, that the moment does not control me. None of this is about me,
should not be about me. It is about offering sustenance to those who come
seeking nourishment. While limits must always be in place to ensure that there
is enough for others also, when there is abundance, a portion of that abundance
should be share. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Life
is too short and hard to live out of our fears of scarcity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It
is important to see our habits and how these cause us to act in each moment. These
concrete moments, the one, the specific, the now, the here, the material, the
visible, offer insight into something so much larger than the me, the ego, the knee-jerk
reaction. It offers an opportunity to open ourselves up to what Rohr calls “a
fully sacramental universe where everything is an epiphany.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I
cannot live with the idea of being dismissive, judgmental, cynical, defensive,
or fearful. These things make us mistrust the idea that Love is supreme and the
only way to respond. These actions give us cause to justify our own reactions.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I want love to be my first response, and then every
response following that. If someone takes advantage of my love, well, then, so
be it. Love has the power to win over all else. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Quotes
from “Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation” <i>Contemplative
Consciousness, Awe and Surrender, January 12, 2018.</i> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Barbi Clickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15850017543275895154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37235817.post-6296548642705544152017-12-01T14:22:00.003-06:002017-12-01T18:18:04.911-06:00Blessings in Woundedness<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I can’t tell you how many
times I ask the question “How are you?” and receive the reply, “I am blest.”
Often it is a woman who answers that way. Sometimes the men do. I have heard it
said as in thanksgiving, as a reminder that within all the worry and sorrow,
there are blessings. But sometimes, it is offered more as a challenge, almost
as a dare to dispute it. I hear within that dare a pronouncement of “<b>I AM WORTHY AND YOU BEST KNOW IT NOW</b>.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That most recent statement was
declared by a man. He said, “I am blest by the grace of God who makes me whole.”
It came with a sideways glance to see how I took the statement. There was a
look of something that could not be noted as love on his face. There he was, a
black man, taking what he considered to be charity from me, a white woman. He
seemed belligerent, not angry, but definitely tired of the abuse of power,
tired of the foot on his neck. I saw all of this in a short few seconds. I held
out my hand to him and I said the first thing that came out of my mouth, “Thanks
be to God” and I smiled. He shook my hand and nodded his head, keeping eye
contact with me for the full shake. His eyes softened. I knew that the Spirit
had given me the right words to say. She always does that, if I let her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Being a healer doesn’t mean
that a person can make a physical or mental sickness be gone. Poverty and all
the things that go with it are still there in the morning. Yet, in the words
of Becca Stevens, “Answering the call to become a healer means you are willing
to experience empathetic pain and feel others’ brokenness.”</span> <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I saw the phoenix within that
man. He was broken. He was wounded and tired. Yet he stood up by calling on
the grace of God. He knew he was worthy because God told him so and that gave him
the power to stand tall. Just because we are broken does not mean that we
cannot rise up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I am reading Becca Steven’s
newest book, <i>Snake Oil</i>. Her writing
always has a powerful effect on me but this one is touching the core of my
being. It helped me understand a lot of my feelings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There are some days when I am
so exhausted, my heart hurts. I want to curl up and cry. I am so tired that I
don’t even have the energy to question why God led me into this place. Yet, I
wake up in the morning and I head out into a new day, not always totally refreshed
but enough so that I am able to move back into the midst of the people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The thing is this – woundedness
is not something held aside just for people living in the struggle of poverty.
It is something that can happen to all of us. Woundedness often is a part of an
unconscious condition, an unresolved trauma that we thought we shook off. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Many people think that money
is the answer. If I get enough money, all my worries will go away. Money can
sometimes glitz up the cracks of brokenness yet the pain seeps through those crevices
no matter how well concealed. Arrogance, belligerence, hatefulness, bullying, violence,
fear, intimidation, even greed – all these acts can be the effects of
woundedness. In this world of provocative language and actions, it is difficult
to look for the provocateur’s pain. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Yet if we were able, if it
became imperative for each of us to see, hear, taste, feel the pain behind the
dare, behind the power, behind the false bravado, would we view the arrogant or
belligerent person differently? Rather than reacting in anger, would it be
easier for us to speak peace in the face of challenge? Would we be able to hear
the Spirit as she gave us the words to heal the woundedness? Would that person
be able to hear or feel the peace?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I often wonder how long I can
continue to stretch the limits of my physical self. Yet, there is no time nor
even the desire to ask whether I should continue. That is never the question.
The real questions are how could I not continue? How could I live a life outside
of that brokenness? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My own self has healed or at
least, is in the process of healing. I rise up, just like that phoenix, just
like that man, because I know that this is what God has told me to do. This thing
I do is the way I offer myself, my story, my own wounded heart. It is this
offering that people recognize and respond. What difference does it make in the
long run? I don’t know. I only know that I recognize the recognition when I see
it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I will never stop asking
people, “How are you?” I hope they never stop answering, “I am blest.” It tells
me so much about the person. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Barbi Clickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15850017543275895154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37235817.post-41377235190577296212017-10-23T16:20:00.001-05:002017-10-23T16:20:39.050-05:0020th Sunday After Pentecost, Proper 24 October 22, 2017<div class="MsoHeader">
<a href="http://www.lectionarypage.net/YearA_RCL/Pentecost/AProp24_RCL.html#ot1"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Exodus 33:12-23 </span></a> </div>
<div class="MsoHeader">
<a href="http://www.lectionarypage.net/YearA_RCL/Pentecost/AProp24_RCL.html#gsp1"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Matthew 22:15-22</span></a></div>
<div class="MsoHeader">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Last week God was very angry
with Aaron and the people for making the golden calf to worship while Moses was
on the mountain with God. The people were impatient. Maybe Moses had forgotten
them. Or maybe God had. We do have a tendency to think that sort of thing when
our prayers are not immediately answered in the way we want.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">But they did it this time. God
was ready to consume them all. Although Moses talked God out of destroying them,
God was obviously still very irritated. In the passages between last Sunday and
this one, God tells Moses to tell the people that a safe passage will be made
for them to pass into the promised land but God will not go up among them,
“lest I consume you in the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">But Moses, always willing to
talk with God, to argue with God, to even calm God’s anger continues in today’s
passage. “If you won’t go with me, who will you send?” God tells him that God’s
presence will go with him. But Moses persists: “If your presence will not go
with me, do not carry us up from here. For how will the people know that I and
your people have found favor in your sight if you are not there?” Moses demands
that God show him God’s glory. = not just the presence, but the glory – the
visible radiance and majesty of the Godhead.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">God tells Moses that not only
will the Radiance of the Divine Majesty be shown to Moses but God will proclaim
the name “The LORD”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“I Am Who I Am” was the name
revealed to Moses at the Burning Bush when he asked “Who shall I tell them you
are?” The actual name of God was so holy that it was not to be said. YHWH was too Holy; rather, the word </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Adonai (lord or master) or the
words LORD or GOD was substituted.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Moses asked for a declaration
of God’s presence and God responded not only by showing God’s glory but also proclaiming
the name of God. To see God, even if only the back of God, to have the Holy
Name proclaimed was an affirmation of Moses belonging to God, doing God’s will.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The Pharisees are a good example
of a “stiff-necked people”. They were persistent in trying to entrap Jesus. Today,
they ask, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Jesus’ answer? Give to Caesar
what is his. Give to God what is God’s. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">But did that answer anything? We
are today still asking the questions:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">What belongs to Caesar? What
belongs to God? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Do we live in a world where
our spiritual and secular lives are divided? To many, that answer is yes, yes
we do. We have our church life and then we have the rest of our life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">It reminds me of the
Prosperity Theology. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">The idea is that financial
blessing/physical well being are the will of God for </span><u style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">some</u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> people. If we
do good, we are given good. Sickness and poverty are caused by lack of faith.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Are you sick? Are you poor? Obviously,
your faith is lacking. The result of this thinking is that it keeps people from
feeling empathy or compassion for those they do not know who are sick or poor –
especially those who live in poverty. Any support offered is for the benefit of
the giver more than the one receiving. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Prosperity Theology is a good
example of the division between our spiritual and secular lives. God and Scriptures
are used to get what the person wants, not spiritually but materially. That
idea is the exact opposite of all the teachings of the Gospel, the Epistles,
and the Hebrew texts. Scripture points to the idea that God uses the believer,
not the other way around. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">We can see that the Pharisees
question is a political one meant to separate rather than to unite. They were
trying to trap Jesus by his own words. His answer would either violate Jewish
law or Roman law. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The Roman tax was one imposed
upon all the Jews in Jerusalem. But on the coin of Rome was the head of the
Emperor of Rome. The denarius had Caesar’s image on it and it also had an
inscription calling the emperor the son of god. For a good Jew to carry this
coin would have been idolatrous. But the tax had to be paid.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">For most of us, if we don’t
pay taxes, we can wind up following Jesus from a prison cell. It’s just reality,
at least for those of us who can’t afford the loopholes. The same was true
then. It was the law of the land. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">But is that the main idea of
this passage? Give to Caesar’s what belongs to Caesar? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Perhaps Jesus was saying give
back to Caesars what is his. The NIV uses the term “give back” rather than
simply give. Return it. You don’t need it. Give it back. That is a difficult
idea for us to contemplate. How would we exist in a consumer market if we gave
back all our money to our government? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Or is the second part more
important? What does belong to God? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">As I was reading and preparing
for this sermon, I ran across an article from 2004 by Rabbi Arthur Waskow from
the Shalom Center and he wrote about this passage from a Jewish point of view. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">He told this story from the
teachings of rabbis who were in the same time frame: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Our
Rabbis taught: Adam, the first human being, was created as a single person to
show forth the greatness of the Ruler Who is beyond all Rulers, the Blessed
Holy One. For if a human ruler [like Caesar] makes many coins from one mold,
they all carry the same image, they all look the same. But the Blessed Holy One
shaped all human beings in the Divine Image, as Adam was shaped in the Divine
Image … "in the Image of God." And yet not one of them resembles
another.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
very diversity of human faces shows forth the Unity and Infinity of God,
whereas the uniformity of imperial coins makes clear the limitations on the
power of an emperor.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">He said to read the Gospel
story as it is written in Matthew. But then he retold the story adding one line
and a simple gesture. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">"Whose
image is on this coin?" asks Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">His
questioner answers, "Caesar’s!"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Then
Jesus puts his arm on the troublemaker’s shoulder and asks, "And Whose
Image is on this coin?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Perhaps
the troublemaker mutters an answer; perhaps he does not need to. Not till after
this exchange does Jesus say, "Give to Caesar what is Caesars and to God
what is Gods."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Jesus purpose was not to
divide the material and spiritual. He was simply saying look at the coin. Does
it reflect the image of God? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">What then, if we remember that
the first human – <i>adam</i> – was made in
the image of God and as a result, we all are made in that image of God? How does that affect our understanding of
“Give to God what is God’s?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">What if Jesus is calling us to
be active in our understanding of our sacred diversity, of the many ways in
which God’s image is offered to us? What if, as the Rabbi suggests, that we are
being called to not only look at but affirm our differences even as Caesar
“tries to reduce us to uniformity?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">“The very diversity of human faces shows forth the
Unity and Infinity of God...”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Look at one another. Look
around the room. See the diversity of our faces. Understand it is the divine
diversity of the image of God. In that image, there is a Oneness, in spite of
the diversity, simply because we all are in that image of God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">What if Jesus is calling us to
a deeper understanding that we are called to a more profound commitment to
follow God? A radical understanding of belonging to God? Like Moses. What about
an even more radical understanding that we belong to one another simply because
we love God, God loves us, therefore we love one another with all our
differences? Not in spite of but because of those differences?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Giving to Caesar’s what is his
suggests that we all act the same as Caesar, think the same, even in our
religious practices. But, giving to God what is God’s is understanding that
there are many differences with only one sameness – and that is, God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">When we expect all to conform
to an idea, a belief, a practice we hold as our own, or a race we are, we open
the room to division, not unity. Because that division makes it into Us and
Them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">To be divided because of
differences is more closely in line with following Caesar as if Caesar was truly
the son of god. And that is a total subversion of Jesus’ intention. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">To fear another because we do
not recognize our own self within that other one is to fully profane the idea
of God. It is not our own likeness that we should seek. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">It is no wonder that God was
so angry and put out with the people of Israel that the only thought was to
consume them. How many times throughout history has God wanted to consume the
human race, even as it is made in God’s own image? We are a stiff-necked
people, prone to our projections of grandeur, our sense of self-righteousness,
our pronouncements of superiority. We are stubborn and selfish, greedy and
impatient. We are weak and yes, we are stupid. Too often we practice our
religion as though we think that if we pray enough or give enough or give a
little to the poor that we will be rewarded with wealth and good things. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">There is a major faultline in
that thinking. It threatens to destroy all for which we yearn. That Peace which
passes all understanding does not come to us through material wealth. Peace as
we desire it – that is, trouble leaving us – does not belong to those of us in
this Christian faith. Wealth does not either, for that matter. Moses certainly
had little peace or wealth. Neither did Jesus. We are not told to go and reap
the harvest and save it for ourselves in case we need it later. We are told to
give, then give more. We are told to love, and then love more. And then we are
told to love even more. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Some might call it
irresponsible to preach these words. What if someone gives all that they have
to poor Joe standing by the highway and then that person has nothing left to
live on? Should we do that? I cannot
say. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I obviously have not. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">But I pray for those who have
no home, or are underhoused. I pray for those who are hungry. I work towards
righting those injustices that cause people to be without their basic needs
being met. I try to remember that words and actions matter. I know we can’t
just show up. We have to DO. So I do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Most of all, I remember that
today, I am living in the kingdom of God. Now. Right now. I belong to God, I
yearn for God. All I am is for God. Therefore, all my actions have to reflect
that. I don’t always succeed but I try. Is that enough? I hope so.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">As we gather at this table, to
be One in the body of Christ, we do so as individuals made in the image of God
called into being with one another and with God. And then we will go out in the name of the
Most High and Holy One into the world, as individuals made in the image of God
to be with others made in that Divine Image to do the work of that Divine One. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Give to God what is God’s.
Remember that we are to love God above all other things, first and foremost and
lastly. Remember that we are to love one another as God loves us. And just as
importantly, remember that you are loved by the One in whose image you are
created. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Give to God what is God’s. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<a href="https://theshalomcenter.org/content/god-caesar-image-coin"><b><span style="color: #e12678; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">God & Caesar: The
Image on the Coin</span></b></a><b><span style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">, </span></b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode", sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Rabbi Arthur
Waskow, 10/6/2004</span><b><span style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoFooter">
<a href="https://theshalomcenter.org/content/god-caesar-image-coin">https://theshalomcenter.org/content/god-caesar-image-coin</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
Barbi Clickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15850017543275895154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37235817.post-2854682516312593472017-10-07T18:12:00.002-05:002021-06-25T11:37:23.513-05:00If I Were Preaching Tomorrow...<h4 class="moreInfo" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", Palatino, "Palatino Linotype", "Century Schoolbook L", Baskerville, serif; text-align: center; width: 798px;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
Year A</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Proper 22</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
RCL</div>
</h4>
<a href="http://www.lectionarypage.net/YearA_RCL/Pentecost/AProp22_RCL.html#ot1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", Palatino, "Palatino Linotype", "Century Schoolbook L", Baskerville, serif; text-align: -webkit-center;">Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20</a> <a href="http://www.lectionarypage.net/YearA_RCL/Pentecost/AProp22_RCL.html#ps1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", Palatino, "Palatino Linotype", "Century Schoolbook L", Baskerville, serif; text-align: -webkit-center;">Psalm 19</a> <a href="http://www.lectionarypage.net/YearA_RCL/Pentecost/AProp22_RCL.html#nt1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", Palatino, "Palatino Linotype", "Century Schoolbook L", Baskerville, serif; text-align: -webkit-center;">Philippians 3:4b-14</a> <a href="http://www.lectionarypage.net/YearA_RCL/Pentecost/AProp22_RCL.html#gsp1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", Palatino, "Palatino Linotype", "Century Schoolbook L", Baskerville, serif; text-align: -webkit-center;">Matthew 21:33-46</a><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">If I were preaching tomorrow then I would have to say that last
Sunday, the Ten Commandments were violently violated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">We have taken the 2<sup>nd</sup> Amendment which states: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #222222; line-height: 107%;">A
well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the
right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.</span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;"> and made it into a
god. It has become more important than the lives that are destroyed by one who
has been given the right “to keep and bear arms.” That right is more important
than people gathered in a movie theatre, than children in a high school, than
children in an elementary school, than people gathered in a church for bible
study, than people at a night club, than people at a concert…that right for a
few has become more important than the lives of innocent people doing nothing
but studying, praying, singing, dancing, enjoying life. That right shall not be infringed by the rights of others to live, love, and pursue happiness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">These weapons have become idols, false idols that have
directed attention away from God alone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">In my wrath, I have used God’s name to curse those who hold
the power to do something yet do nothing to save us from this violent
onslaught. I am sure I am not alone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">This most recent tragedy happened on a day we set aside as
a day of worship. Yes, I know that many of us are no longer thinking of church
or God by the time of day that this happened, nonetheless, it was Sunday.
Regardless, this was an unholy act. God created all the days. Each one is holy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">Mothers and fathers were not honored. They were
slaughtered. Their children were cut down. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">Murder was committed. Mass murder. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">Perhaps there was no adultery committed. But if we think in
terms of cheating, unfaithfulness, there were those things committed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">Lives were drained. The future was stolen. Health was robbed.
Innocence was stripped away. The illusion of peace was shattered. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">Lies have been told about the necessity for weapons.
Falsehoods have been propagated to make people think they have a right to carry
a semi-automatic weapon. False witness has been borne against all the victims
of violent weapons allowing too many to think they are safe in a culture that
worships rapid-fire weapons capable of mutilating almost 600 people in under
ten minutes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">Lives were coveted so much so that one person took 58 of
them, 59 when we remember he took his own. Many of those lives were lived in
love. Perhaps it was the love he coveted. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">Is God testing us, attempting to stop our idolatry by
scaring the sin out of us? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">If I were preaching tomorrow, I would have to wonder about
the Gospel of Matthew. Not about tenants necessarily but about the idea that once
again we have rejected the stone that should be our cornerstone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">It is easy to say that this is not about ME. I am not for
irresponsible gun ownership. I am not for all who wish to have an assault
rifle. I am not rejecting the cornerstone! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">But I wonder…am I producing fruit of the kingdom? Am I likely
to fall on this stone and be broken into pieces? Will I be crushed by it or
cause another to be so? What can I do to change the culture? How can I, little
old me, do anything that will change this culture of violence that we worship
as if it has known us since before we were born; while we were in our mother’s
womb, as if it knew the number of hairs on our heads, as if it loved us as only
God can? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I think I am glad I am not preaching tomorrow. </span><o:p style="font-size: 12pt;"></o:p></span></div>
Barbi Clickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15850017543275895154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37235817.post-66881205472408898752017-08-21T08:44:00.000-05:002017-08-21T08:57:00.128-05:00Sermon offered at St. Paul's Carondelet, Proper 15, Year A<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Can you begin to imagine being
despised so much that your own brothers would throw you into a pit with the
thought of killing you? Or that you could be sold into slavery because of that
fear, jealousy, hatred? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Joseph was obviously a very
special person because throughout his ordeal, he kept his faith, his belief that
all things would be well, eventually. Regardless of how dire the immediate
moment appeared, there remained a faith that God was always with him. And he,
of course, was right. Joseph’s dreams had shown him the bigger picture. Anger or
retaliation against his brothers had no place in the end. His brothers were
simply a vehicle to get him started on his journey. He had a job to do and
those things he went through were simply a part of it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Matthew’s gospel reading has the
Pharisees and scribes criticizing the disciples because they did not wash their
hands before they ate. This was not because they were concerned about germs; it
was about the purity laws. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Purity symbolizes holiness.
The Jews believed that God was holy and pure and people were not naturally so. The
purpose for the laws was to give them a starting point, a way to learn how to
be pure for God, a rule book, if you will. It was to guide them, to get them
started on their journey towards God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Jesus said that it is not what
goes into the mouth that makes a person unclean. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Jesus told the critics that
they were hypocrites, honoring God with their lips but their hearts were far
away. Their actions and their words did not match. Jesus was trying to tell
them that they were too focused on human rules. Human rules/laws are often
tools used for exclusion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Jesus said what comes out of
the mouth comes from the heart. The words we use are important. These tell
others what kind of a person we are – through and through. As people speak,
they give hints into their inner most thoughts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">We know the big things that
make us unclean – murder, violence, and all crimes against other humans. We
know the rules. Break these rules and we can go to prison – some of us far
easier than others. However, just because we don’t kill or maim others does not
mean that our hearts are pure. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">It is not what we eat or unwashed
hands that makes us unclean. Our words…our actions defile us. Words of hate,
actions of violence…these things make us unclean.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">There has been an urgency in
the gospel parables over the past few weeks. Jesus is on a mission, trying to
help the Jews and the disciples understand that life as they know it is about
to change dramatically. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">His message is about Transformation.
The way of life as they know it being turned upside down and all around. Sowing
seeds of the kingdom so that it grows and flourishes. Hiding yeast in the midst
of life so that there is disruption of all that is known. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Human rules trap us into
thinking that change is not a good thing. And that causes fear. Fear causes us
to hold on tight to those things we know. Love is sacrificed for the sake of
remaining the same.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">There is an urgency in our
lives today as well. I believe that is what happened this past week in
Charlottesville. The White Supremists do not understand that God’s love is big
enough for all of us, that the Word is for all of us, regardless of how we
worship, the color of our skin, our gender identity, our marriages. God’s love
is bigger than our human imaginations. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Jesus is the change. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Jesus is the remedy to the
ills that inflict humans. His death, resurrection and gift of the Spirit deals
with the wickedness that taints humans. Purity laws are unnecessary. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Jesus as the remedy has to be
applied to the dis-ease deep inside us so that we can understand the idea of
being pure in God – through and through. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">There is an ugly stain that
runs throughout the history of humans. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Babylonians, Greeks, Romans. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Native Americans. Slavery of
Africans. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Turkish massacre of Armenians. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Nazis and Jews. Japanese
Americans. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">South Africa and apartheid. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Rwanda. Bosnia and Croatia. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Mexicans/South Americans,
Muslims, the Sudan. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Ethnic Cleansing -- a term
that is relatively new although the practice is old. The definition is this: an
attempt by one ethnic group to get rid of members of an unwanted ethnic group
by deportation, displacement or mass killing. What is going on now in the US is
Ethnic Cleansing. Do not be fooled. The deportation of those considered unworthy of being in the
US. Families being split apart. Children brought to the US as babies yet deported
to Mexico as young adults. I know people who have generations of family born in
the US but carry their passports with them to prove their citizenship out of
fear of being stopped and deported. The new rule is deport first, ask question
later.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The White Nationalists hatred
of Jews, Blacks, LGBT people – mainly, anyone different than how they perceive
themselves to be. They see no humanity in those who are different from
themselves – mainly white males. All others are just that – “Other”. Less than.
Not worthy. Unwanted. Unnecessary. Violence is one answer to the elimination of
these. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Our Presiding Bishop, Michael
Curry, calls it the “stain of bigotry.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Marian Wright Edelman of the
Children’s Defense Fund writes: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 31.5pt;">
<i><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">There
are <em>not</em> two
sides to Nazism. There are <em>not</em> two
sides to White supremacism, bigotry, and racial and religious hatred and
intolerance. Heather Heyer – a nonviolent protester against racial intolerance
– is <em>not</em> as
much at fault as the man who violently and deliberately hit and killed her with
his car on a Charlottesville street.</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 31.5pt;">
<i><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The Jews considered Canaanites
unclean. They did not observe the same rites. And here was this unclean woman
chasing after Jesus, calling out to him, demanding that he do something for
her. The disciples knew the rules. They wanted Jesus to tell her to go away. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">But he didn’t. He stopped to
listen. She came to him, begging him, calling him the Son of David, and saying,
“my daughter is tormented by a demon.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Jesus knew his mission. To help
the Jews understand that God was in the midst of fulfilling a promise. The
Kingdom of Heaven was beginning and they needed to understand quickly that
Jesus was that kingdom. It was important that the Jews hear this message first.
So, Jesus tells the woman, “I am sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” The
people of Israel were supposed to be the ones sharing the message…after they
understood it. But she continued, believing so strongly that she knelt in front
of him and said, “Lord, help me.” Jesus told her that it would not be fair to
take the food from the children and give it to the dogs. Nevertheless, she persisted. She
said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their
masters’ table.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">She understood so much more
than the disciples or the people of Israel. She knew that Jesus was the
messiah, the Son of David, the one that was promised was here. She already
understood the Easter message and it had not even happened yet. This unclean
woman knew. And Jesus recognized that. Great is your faith! He said. And her
daughter was healed. He could have walked away. But he didn’t. Not only did he
listen but he realized that she was right. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">We get so caught up in rules –
it is difficult for us to realize that the Kingdom of heaven has only two
rules. Love God. Love one another. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Once upon a time, about 20
years ago, I was like this woman. I was at my wit’s end. I had nowhere to turn.
In my office at work, I could not concentrate. I could not work. I could not
even pray, at least not in the way I thought of prayer. In reality, my mind was
desperately ranting at God, begging for help. My daughter was in trouble and I
had no way of helping her. I did not even realize the extent of the problems
that had hold of her. I knew only that she was in trouble. I picked up a little
green Gideon’s Bible – I had no idea where it had come from but it was there. I
randomly opened the little bible and it fell on this passage. Actually it could
have been the Mark version, I don’t remember. Regardless, I realized as I read
this random passage that I was being offered a vision into the future. A
glimpse into the kingdom of heaven. I had no idea of what was to come or when
it was coming but I knew that something had shifted just a little bit and I
realized that there was change coming. And I also knew that it was good. Where
there had been a hopelessness, a ray of hope had been illuminated. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I would like to tell of a
miracle that happened that day and all manner of things were made well
immediately but that, of course, reminds us that our time is not God’s time. It
is a long journey from woundedness to healing and the scars run deep. But on that
day, I saw something more than I had seen before. And I held on tightly to that
vision. And the good news today is that my daughter is healing. And I am so
proud of her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I wonder if the Pharisees and
disciples perceived a slight twist – a glimpse into the kingdom of heaven, a
vision of things to come when Jesus talked about rules? or when the woman was
talking? It was made more real in the Caananite woman’s life because she
believed so strongly in that kingdom regardless of whether she had heard the
message or not. She knew it in her heart and it came out in her words. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The theologian NT Wright writes:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Being a Christian in the
world today often focuses on the faith that badgers and harries God in prayer
to do, now, already, what others are content to wait for in the future.” We
cannot be content to wait. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">We must continue to pray for a
stop to the injustices of the world, the bigotry, the hatred because of “Otherness”
- the color of skin or ethnicity or gender or religion, the wars, the violence.
We pray that those who are afraid will be made well in their affliction. We
pray that we will understand that Jesus came to change things, to disrupt our
understanding of the here and now and to lead us into the kingdom of heaven. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">We pray that we will claim
God’s promises today with a faith that will not be put off.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">What little shift or twist do
we feel in our lives that lead us to a new understanding that the Kingdom is
here, now, today. We have a role to play
today in the midst of this unrest and dis-ease. The time for standing on the
sidelines as spectators – if there was ever a time – is past. We are players in
this kingdom of heaven. We are the hands and feet of Christ and there is a
message to be delivered and love to share. We are being made new every day. We
have all that we need to move forward. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I read a post on Facebook
yesterday. It is actually a dismissal prayer; however, I think it fits as a
beginning for this new day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">May God bless us with
discomfort. Discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial
relationships, so that we may live deep within our heart. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">May God bless us with anger.
Anger at injustice, oppression and exploitation of people, so that we may work
for justice, freedom and peace. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">May God bless us with tears.
Tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war, so
that we may reach out our hand to comfort them and turn their pain into joy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">May God bless us with
foolishness. Enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in
this world, so that we can do what others claim cannot be done. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">As we gather at that table,
ponder this: what new thing is God making for us and through us…and how will we
respond? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Amen<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://www.lectionarypage.net/YearA_RCL/Pentecost/AProp15_RCL.html#ot1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", Palatino, "Palatino Linotype", "Century Schoolbook L", Baskerville, serif; font-size: medium; text-align: -webkit-center;">Genesis 45:1-15</a><a href="http://www.lectionarypage.net/YearA_RCL/Pentecost/AProp15_RCL.html#ps1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", Palatino, "Palatino Linotype", "Century Schoolbook L", Baskerville, serif; font-size: medium; text-align: -webkit-center;">Psalm 133</a><a href="http://www.lectionarypage.net/YearA_RCL/Pentecost/AProp15_RCL.html#nt1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", Palatino, "Palatino Linotype", "Century Schoolbook L", Baskerville, serif; font-size: medium; text-align: -webkit-center;">Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32</a><a href="http://www.lectionarypage.net/YearA_RCL/Pentecost/AProp15_RCL.html#gsp1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", Palatino, "Palatino Linotype", "Century Schoolbook L", Baskerville, serif; font-size: medium; text-align: -webkit-center;">Matthew 15: (10-20), 21-28</a></span></div>
Barbi Clickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15850017543275895154noreply@blogger.com0