It’s Time #5
Most cell phones allow us to text message each other. Some of us are more used to that than others. Some of us are resisting this persistent march of technology into our lives, thinking perhaps our privacy is even more violated. Others are all over texting, framing this issue not as privacy, but of connection. And we know we need and deserve more connection.
In Japan, the culture has already shifted as e mailing is considered old style and “so last year.” Email is used only for long and wordy documents. Business is conducted in text messaging. Letters are written in it. And the code is catching on. LOL and BFF are recognized the world over. Think of it—it’s quicker, simpler, and except for contracts and books, highly functional.
This weekend, several of the UNO Campus Ministry Team will spend a very long day at Camp Fontanelle. We determined we need a day of fun and appreciating each other. We will walk the maze and labyrinth, work on team building on a low ropes course, spend time meditating and relaxing in a gazebo, hike, climb trees (a’la rock wall climbing to a 30’) and find cerebral and spiritual ways to deepen our connections. Texting will not give us that connection, being together, holding our lives in common, will. Those who developed conflicts have asked for photos. I plan to take a camera, of course, and we’ll post good photos on our website. And of course, we’ll eat together, and that will be fabulous.
The need and responsibility of community is to build up. Building up is a characteristic of all communities and is well recognized. For example, yesterday’s Service Learning Academy 101 class contained a list of ways to reinforce learning. Contained in the highest category was celebration and honoring around the project. Building up is an intentional way to expand connections and create long lasting impact. This is a clear message of scripture. The New Testament calls it “edify” or “build up.”
I Corinthians 10:
23“All things are lawful,” but not all things are beneficial. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. 24Do not seek your own advantage, but that of the other.
This idea is mirrored in letters often attributed to Paul and the author of Acts (probably Luke’s author) in a number of other places (1 Cor. 14.4; Galatians 2:18 and 1 Thessalonians 5:11 Acts 20:32)
Building up is needed and we’re off to do it. We expect forge some kind of tighter, more permanent bonds with memories. We will gain enjoyment. Those really are the goals.
If you’ve been hiding in a cave or searching through unhealthy relationships, I commend the idea of “building up” to you. Who and how will you do that today? Can you expand your usually list of folks who need it?
And, of course, can you text it?
Friday, October 12
Thursday, October 11
meditation on "It's Time" #4
It’s Time #4
Early mornings are the best. Well, of course, not every day, but today for sure. But today, the early morning was a gift.
The sunrise creates an extravaganza of colors and freshness. The last few cloudless days after the rain have been sparkling.
The UNO band is splashing across the turf with tuned instruments and verve. The song I heard best was “the Music of the Night” from Phantom of the Opera. Love that sound.
The fall colors are most intense late in the day and in early morning. There was some fog clinging to low lying valleys and waters. The lack of wind gave it a sense of “the forest primeval.”
In the Dustin Hoffman movie, “Little Big Man”, the wise chief greets such day with the iconic: “Today is a good day to die.” Pilots of small aircraft love this time of year, as well, to rephrase that line and get into the sky, I’d say, “Today is a good day to fly.” Bikers would say, “Today is a good day to bike.” Walkers would say, “Today is a good day to stroll..“Lovers would say, “Today is a good day to share.” Protestors would say, “Today is a good day to rid the world of injustice”. Programmers might say, “Today is a good day to write some awesome code.”
You might have a phrase that works equally well. Fill in this blank: “Today is a good day to _______.
And to top it all off, Fair Trade coffee is available at the food court Starbucks Kiosk. (for more information, go to: http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/fairtrade/coffee/background.html
Through intentional question asking (“do you serve fair trade coffee?), it has become available at UNO. If it’s not ready—just ask and they’ll brew a pot. This week, it seems to be “Mexican shade”—not as dark as Verona, but with a clean finish and no bitter taste).
All of this is real—and it’s all here. It’s time to take advantage.
The Bible story of Jacob tells about how he got real physical one morning. Someone in the night said, “Ready? Wrestle.”
The sun came up for Jacob too. Here’s his story.
Genesis 32
22The same night he got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. 24Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. 25When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.” 27So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28Then the man said, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.” 29Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. 30So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.” 31The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. 32Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the thigh muscle that is on the hip socket, because he struck Jacob on the hip socket at the thigh muscle.
You might want to take a few deep breaths and pay attention to the sun rising, and see God face to face (or at least see that the sun is up.
With rapt attention, and even with our limping, it’s possible to be awed of God in your midst.
Tuesday, October 9
It's time #2
It’s time #2
Yesterday must have been a Monday. I’ve not had such a day before when so many cranky people were in the food court. Conversations careened off the walls: pooped out from partying and working all weekend, lack of money, broken cars, dying relatives, impending papers, poor grades, imploding dreams. I was exhaustedly loony by the time I finished my fried rice lunch. I wanted to make it all better by handing out pillows, checks, understanding, mufflers, experience with death issues, time for exhausted and note taking study. And grand dreams that were big enough and important enough to change the world. After I was finished with my Bruce Almighty, “If I were God I’d fix all this” act, I began to realize the miracle may be that we survive on campus at all.
You might be feeling stuck between wanting to have a value added life and being stuck in a prison. We’ve all developed wishes and dream lists which would, if we had them, cause us to aim high and succeed. We’ve also been handed or developed prisons of being stuck where we are. We want something better. “What is better and where is it?” we wonder.
We need a new perspective.
Yesterday, late afternoon, was gorgeous and the tree in the front yard has been shaggy and full of droopers—a deadly convergence of bad feng shui. Grabbing the tallest ladder we own, a tree saw, loppers and safety glasses, I readied myself for the onslaught of tree trimming destruction. First came the slow walk around the perimeter from the neighbors’ view, then closer examination at the drip line, and finally decisions concerning the excess branches. And now, onto the ladder.
The view from inside a tree when 10 feet in the air gave great pause. Everything looked different. Not to mention the queasy feeling of feeling every real and imagined wobble of the ladder. Gutsy grabs and tired arms later, the shabby lengths of green flooring were gathered on the ground. My grumpy neighbor came over and offered the use of two garbage cans for the limbs. I was so surprised I respectfully declined. While I thought I was creating space for new light and cheerful openness in the tree, Truth be told, I was unwilling to let a man out of his grumpy prison by accepting his offer of help. It’s one thing to want to change one’s self. It’s another to accept and encourage change in others. It’s called homeostasis, wanting nothing to change, or “I’d rather live with the devil I know than with the angel who will ask me to be new. “ On a deeper level, I’d rather lie to myself.
Rats, foiled again.
So here’s a job for the day: Spend five minutes today welcoming the gifts and abilities of someone else, and make it random, so it’s not just a mutual admiration society. Jesus did. One morning Jesus accepted the gift of someone who believed himself unworthy and one evening a similar styled gift of a woman. We can be more accepting of the gifts others bring if we reduce our narcissism by 5%--that’s not much, but we’ve all got the power!
The two stories:
Luke 5
1Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, 2he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. 4When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” 5Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” 6When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. 7So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. 8But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” 9For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; 10and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” 11When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
Luke 7
36One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table. 37And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. 38She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment. 39Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him—that she is a sinner.” 40Jesus spoke up and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” “Teacher,” he replied, “speak.” 41“A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?” 43Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.” And Jesus said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. 45You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.”
Yesterday must have been a Monday. I’ve not had such a day before when so many cranky people were in the food court. Conversations careened off the walls: pooped out from partying and working all weekend, lack of money, broken cars, dying relatives, impending papers, poor grades, imploding dreams. I was exhaustedly loony by the time I finished my fried rice lunch. I wanted to make it all better by handing out pillows, checks, understanding, mufflers, experience with death issues, time for exhausted and note taking study. And grand dreams that were big enough and important enough to change the world. After I was finished with my Bruce Almighty, “If I were God I’d fix all this” act, I began to realize the miracle may be that we survive on campus at all.
You might be feeling stuck between wanting to have a value added life and being stuck in a prison. We’ve all developed wishes and dream lists which would, if we had them, cause us to aim high and succeed. We’ve also been handed or developed prisons of being stuck where we are. We want something better. “What is better and where is it?” we wonder.
We need a new perspective.
Yesterday, late afternoon, was gorgeous and the tree in the front yard has been shaggy and full of droopers—a deadly convergence of bad feng shui. Grabbing the tallest ladder we own, a tree saw, loppers and safety glasses, I readied myself for the onslaught of tree trimming destruction. First came the slow walk around the perimeter from the neighbors’ view, then closer examination at the drip line, and finally decisions concerning the excess branches. And now, onto the ladder.
The view from inside a tree when 10 feet in the air gave great pause. Everything looked different. Not to mention the queasy feeling of feeling every real and imagined wobble of the ladder. Gutsy grabs and tired arms later, the shabby lengths of green flooring were gathered on the ground. My grumpy neighbor came over and offered the use of two garbage cans for the limbs. I was so surprised I respectfully declined. While I thought I was creating space for new light and cheerful openness in the tree, Truth be told, I was unwilling to let a man out of his grumpy prison by accepting his offer of help. It’s one thing to want to change one’s self. It’s another to accept and encourage change in others. It’s called homeostasis, wanting nothing to change, or “I’d rather live with the devil I know than with the angel who will ask me to be new. “ On a deeper level, I’d rather lie to myself.
Rats, foiled again.
So here’s a job for the day: Spend five minutes today welcoming the gifts and abilities of someone else, and make it random, so it’s not just a mutual admiration society. Jesus did. One morning Jesus accepted the gift of someone who believed himself unworthy and one evening a similar styled gift of a woman. We can be more accepting of the gifts others bring if we reduce our narcissism by 5%--that’s not much, but we’ve all got the power!
The two stories:
Luke 5
1Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, 2he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. 4When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” 5Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” 6When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. 7So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. 8But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” 9For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; 10and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” 11When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
Luke 7
36One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table. 37And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. 38She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment. 39Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him—that she is a sinner.” 40Jesus spoke up and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” “Teacher,” he replied, “speak.” 41“A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?” 43Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.” And Jesus said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. 45You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.”
Monday, October 8
It's time #1
It’s time
In Boston, starting tomorrow, is a Microsoft webdesign event. You can check it out at http://www.remix07boston.com/Default.aspx. What’s unique about it is that it sports not only new software, but notes the need for interactivity as developers. Of course, you can keep up with it all on Facebook (remix07). And there are funky presenters. One is “President and Chief Experience Officer of Experience Engineering, Inc.,” (that reminds me of Luckenback Texas, where Hondo Crouch, the Grand Imagineer once lived) Another, is all about “creating highly sustainable, maintainable, accessible, interactive and beautiful Web sites for the global community.” My nephew is leading this breakout: “Go below the surface of ASP.NET AJAX and see how the Microsoft AJAX Library and the ASP.NET AJAX server controls come together to create a rich platform for developing more immersive, responsive and interactive Web applications.”
This group is techno-value added and future oriented. There is nothing holding them back. Their big problems are flight connections and delays, and figuring out how to publicize and sell. So they focus on words that appeal and gatherings that tantalize (tonight there’s a special gathering with food, drinks and a view of the River Charles.
Another I recently spotted has a different sense of time and a different reality with limited hope;
Last night the white noise in my office was the Discovery Channel’s story about the California Prison System. It seems the idea of “three strikes and you’re out” (2nd felony doubles the sentence and the third felony means life) has caused an over crowded prison, gang control within the walls. One inmate commented, “When you come in here, you need to learn to do jail.” That means, an inmate has to learn all the details and desires of gangs, groups and the man. People look at time differently in prison—it’s all about surviving until you get out. About 1% of the inmates gain a GED while doing time.
Lots of folks feel stuck. You might feel stuck right now. Are you wanting something better?
It’s true that if you open you life to God, God will respond. But it’s also true, I think, that God is looking for us with an open hearted welcome. You might read about Zacchaues.
There once was a man named Zacchaeus who combined these two worlds—wanting a value added life while being stuck in survival mode. The tension in his life was palpable. So he climbed a tree to get a view of the newest traveling healers coming to town. He thought, “It’s time to see this Jesus.”
Luke 19
1He entered Jericho and was passing through it. 2A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. 4So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. 5When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” 6So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. 7All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” 8Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” 9Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. 10For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”
In Boston, starting tomorrow, is a Microsoft webdesign event. You can check it out at http://www.remix07boston.com/Default.aspx. What’s unique about it is that it sports not only new software, but notes the need for interactivity as developers. Of course, you can keep up with it all on Facebook (remix07). And there are funky presenters. One is “President and Chief Experience Officer of Experience Engineering, Inc.,” (that reminds me of Luckenback Texas, where Hondo Crouch, the Grand Imagineer once lived) Another, is all about “creating highly sustainable, maintainable, accessible, interactive and beautiful Web sites for the global community.” My nephew is leading this breakout: “Go below the surface of ASP.NET AJAX and see how the Microsoft AJAX Library and the ASP.NET AJAX server controls come together to create a rich platform for developing more immersive, responsive and interactive Web applications.”
This group is techno-value added and future oriented. There is nothing holding them back. Their big problems are flight connections and delays, and figuring out how to publicize and sell. So they focus on words that appeal and gatherings that tantalize (tonight there’s a special gathering with food, drinks and a view of the River Charles.
Another I recently spotted has a different sense of time and a different reality with limited hope;
Last night the white noise in my office was the Discovery Channel’s story about the California Prison System. It seems the idea of “three strikes and you’re out” (2nd felony doubles the sentence and the third felony means life) has caused an over crowded prison, gang control within the walls. One inmate commented, “When you come in here, you need to learn to do jail.” That means, an inmate has to learn all the details and desires of gangs, groups and the man. People look at time differently in prison—it’s all about surviving until you get out. About 1% of the inmates gain a GED while doing time.
Lots of folks feel stuck. You might feel stuck right now. Are you wanting something better?
It’s true that if you open you life to God, God will respond. But it’s also true, I think, that God is looking for us with an open hearted welcome. You might read about Zacchaues.
There once was a man named Zacchaeus who combined these two worlds—wanting a value added life while being stuck in survival mode. The tension in his life was palpable. So he climbed a tree to get a view of the newest traveling healers coming to town. He thought, “It’s time to see this Jesus.”
Luke 19
1He entered Jericho and was passing through it. 2A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. 4So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. 5When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” 6So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. 7All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” 8Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” 9Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. 10For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”
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