Today’s schedule;
Today the labyrinth will be in the fireplace lounge at MBSC, from 10 am to 4PM. Come for a walk of refreshment, Learning to take time for tactile meditation is a life skill.
Tonight, we’re viewing “A Time for Burning” 7:15 PM at Filmstreams, 13th & Webster (Nodo) tickets are $6 and Ben Gray of UNO will lead the discussion following. Don’t forget supper at Panera’s tonight will be early tonight: 6PM. Learning to reflect on racial tensions is a must.
Meditation on hurtling to the big finish
The excitement is building for the big finish of the semester. Professors are beginning the last of the follow-ups with students, making sure everyone is clear about the expectations of their courses. Students are waking up and realizing there is one more paper and one more group exercise and one more major lab and one more test. It feels like a hurtling rock toward the sun, increasing in speed as the rock gets closer to the center of gravity.
Isn’t this fun? You bet! It comes with passion for the work and passion for the work is infectious. When we’re with people who are rockets of energy around a project, we enjoy being part of it. When someone has drive, initiative and purpose, we respond. This is the time of the semester when we want to kick our lives into overdrive and fly for the finish.
Of course, there are a few derailments here and there. For example, on Saturday, while hosting relatives and friends for a time of Thanksgiving, we engaged in a three part “Great Race” event. First was golf (hitting closest to the turkey), and potato digging (finding the largest). The third event was canoeing across a pond to an island where a ceramic pumpkin awaited to be transported to a finish line. Three canoes took off. Three quarter of the way to the island, one canoe capsized. On the way from the island, another tipped over. That left only one of three canoes making it all the way. The water was really cold, and so the adventurers were surprised and wet, too. They were ushered to safety and warmth. After showers were had and warm clothes put on, we laughed and told stories of the debacle, while the clothes dryer worked overtime. Hot food tasted especially good.
We all learned: the overpowering desire to win can cause a wreck; that teamwork takes many forms; that water is cold this time of year and woolens are not great swim gear; and the main thing--that friends, family and warmth are worthy of celebration and gratefulness.
When you approach your “end of semester big finish” with initiative and purpose, people will marvel and you will do well. We all love those who keep the main thing the main thing and do not waver too much from that.
Jesus set his face to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51) and that decision determined everything he said and did. That was his big picture. We all need a big picture that’s worth it—for the end of the semester and even beyond (btw, have you thought of joining us in New Orleans during spring break?) What’s your big picture? Is what you’re doing in line with it? Who’s going with you?
Tuesday, November 27
Monday, November 26
meditation on exposure to compassion
“Exposure to compassion changes you from the inside out.”
On Thanksgiving Day, Carol and I, and two friends loaded ourselves into a van and drove to St. Margaret Mary’s Church and picked up a Thanksgiving meal for one. We also received a flower and a bag of candy. Our task was simple: deliver the meal, the flower and the candy to (let’s call her) E.
The group that headed up this event is the “Little Brothers—Friends of the Elderly.” They want every delivery person to deliver the goods for thanksgiving, but more importantly, to spend an hour in conversation with this person. We did. And that was the best part.
E is elderly and can’t make it on her own. She has no relatives or friends to speak of. She’s really alone. We talked about our families and asked about hers. Sometimes she shared, sometimes not. We tried a little Scrabble. That lasted about 2 minutes, even with teams. We identified our favorite candies. Mine is toffee. She said, “My middle name is candy!” We talked about places we’ve lived and roles we played. E agreed it was unfair for girls to do all the housework while the “men just sit there, waiting to be fed.” E gave us some stories to listen to! Even though we didn’t know her, she volunteered to be our friend for an hour.
We’re not sure she’ll remember we were there. That didn’t matter to us. What mattered was being with her for an hour. We left thinking Thanksgiving was a good thing after all. And that made our dinner later that afternoon all the more tasty.
A friend of mine put this in a sermon and then he sent it to me:
“I believe that serving another person – expecting nothing in return – changes you and changes them. I believe that you have to have experienced compassion and forgiveness and generosity in order to do them yourself. I believe that even the slightest exposure to compassion, forgiveness and generosity changes you from the inside out and you have to pass it on.”
Part of who we are as Christians is to serve and hope that model is seen and experienced by others. And part of who we are is experiencing the change “from the inside out.” That’s what E did for us, and for that we are thankful.
Matthew 5:14
“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
On Thanksgiving Day, Carol and I, and two friends loaded ourselves into a van and drove to St. Margaret Mary’s Church and picked up a Thanksgiving meal for one. We also received a flower and a bag of candy. Our task was simple: deliver the meal, the flower and the candy to (let’s call her) E.
The group that headed up this event is the “Little Brothers—Friends of the Elderly.” They want every delivery person to deliver the goods for thanksgiving, but more importantly, to spend an hour in conversation with this person. We did. And that was the best part.
E is elderly and can’t make it on her own. She has no relatives or friends to speak of. She’s really alone. We talked about our families and asked about hers. Sometimes she shared, sometimes not. We tried a little Scrabble. That lasted about 2 minutes, even with teams. We identified our favorite candies. Mine is toffee. She said, “My middle name is candy!” We talked about places we’ve lived and roles we played. E agreed it was unfair for girls to do all the housework while the “men just sit there, waiting to be fed.” E gave us some stories to listen to! Even though we didn’t know her, she volunteered to be our friend for an hour.
We’re not sure she’ll remember we were there. That didn’t matter to us. What mattered was being with her for an hour. We left thinking Thanksgiving was a good thing after all. And that made our dinner later that afternoon all the more tasty.
A friend of mine put this in a sermon and then he sent it to me:
“I believe that serving another person – expecting nothing in return – changes you and changes them. I believe that you have to have experienced compassion and forgiveness and generosity in order to do them yourself. I believe that even the slightest exposure to compassion, forgiveness and generosity changes you from the inside out and you have to pass it on.”
Part of who we are as Christians is to serve and hope that model is seen and experienced by others. And part of who we are is experiencing the change “from the inside out.” That’s what E did for us, and for that we are thankful.
Matthew 5:14
“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
Wednesday, November 21
medidtation on thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
In the next few days most of us will sit down to feast. It’s not exactly Ramadan, because we haven’t been fasting—that would hardly be the American way for us to eat. A recent TV article noted that we have found ways to make a 400 calorie salad into a 2,000 calorie event—and still call it healthy eating, because it’s a salad.
Anyway, we’ll feast with friends and relatives. We’ll look out over the expanse on the table (Norman Rockwell might live here) and give thanks. I just looked up the NYTimes webpage (nytimes.com) and there’s a nifty video on how to carve a turkey.
The idea of feasting is quite old. We put the our day-to-day existence out of sight for awhile and we celebrate. It’s something in the human nature to do so. Just look at the number of national holidays we have—New Year’s, Memorial Day, Labor Day, July 4th, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Yep, we want to regularize our feasts, and take opportunities to recognize the special times of life.
Thanksgiving, as the name implies, is about giving thanks. We have always used the Pilgrims first fall feast as the image we project—giving thanks for the harvest and thanks for their mentors, the Native Americans who helped out in a number of ways. As Christians, we give thanks to God for all this. Whether you think God created all this for you or whether you think God created the heavens and the earth and left it all up to us to be creative with it, we still are grateful for the centrality of God.
One time there was a king of Israel. Hezekiah was his name (715-687 BCE—see 2nd Chronicles 29-32. He was king after the bad boy Ahaz. To get the stink out of the holy places and the cities, Hezekiah proclaimed a time of worship, celebration and giving thanks to God. Though he wasn’t perfect, he got a head start on reforming the rituals of the life of the Hebrew nation and focusing on God instead of self. Hezekiah’s work lasted for a while.
When you think turkey, I invite you to think God, too, and creation, and work that lasts for a while.
In the next few days most of us will sit down to feast. It’s not exactly Ramadan, because we haven’t been fasting—that would hardly be the American way for us to eat. A recent TV article noted that we have found ways to make a 400 calorie salad into a 2,000 calorie event—and still call it healthy eating, because it’s a salad.
Anyway, we’ll feast with friends and relatives. We’ll look out over the expanse on the table (Norman Rockwell might live here) and give thanks. I just looked up the NYTimes webpage (nytimes.com) and there’s a nifty video on how to carve a turkey.
The idea of feasting is quite old. We put the our day-to-day existence out of sight for awhile and we celebrate. It’s something in the human nature to do so. Just look at the number of national holidays we have—New Year’s, Memorial Day, Labor Day, July 4th, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Yep, we want to regularize our feasts, and take opportunities to recognize the special times of life.
Thanksgiving, as the name implies, is about giving thanks. We have always used the Pilgrims first fall feast as the image we project—giving thanks for the harvest and thanks for their mentors, the Native Americans who helped out in a number of ways. As Christians, we give thanks to God for all this. Whether you think God created all this for you or whether you think God created the heavens and the earth and left it all up to us to be creative with it, we still are grateful for the centrality of God.
One time there was a king of Israel. Hezekiah was his name (715-687 BCE—see 2nd Chronicles 29-32. He was king after the bad boy Ahaz. To get the stink out of the holy places and the cities, Hezekiah proclaimed a time of worship, celebration and giving thanks to God. Though he wasn’t perfect, he got a head start on reforming the rituals of the life of the Hebrew nation and focusing on God instead of self. Hezekiah’s work lasted for a while.
When you think turkey, I invite you to think God, too, and creation, and work that lasts for a while.
Tuesday, November 20
Life after portal 25
Life after portal 25
The hunt for humility just gets harder. One would like to think being persistent for a day would be all that’s necessary. Not so. Banging on the door looking for help may just need more than one brief stop. It may require several stops. At least for me, humility needed a second round. Once again, I needed help. I couldn’t give help to myself.
Bill Coffin comments on the need for help. “I have always like the old fairy tales in which the one who has turned into a beast can only regain human form through someone else’s love. Here I think is the clue to love. Love is to make us more human, that demands that we care so much for each other that we have not to be nice but to be honest. We have to be honest, for most real faults are hidden and therefore demand an outside revealer.” (from Credo)
Portal 25 wasn’t working. Portal 25 is the default entry point for my laptop’s email and it was working fine. When I updated operating systems, it wasn’t fine. Then I asked for help and it was fine. Then, eight hours later, it wasn’t fine. So this time, instead of being totally annoyed, I had a much better attitude about investing time and energy into getting this computer operational. I was the widow banging on the door, asking for help. After being at the judge’s door a number of times, it wasn’t so bad. The door and I were gaining a little familiarity. The ritual of banging on the door and asking for help was not so bad the second and third time around. This is true even if the answer from the door was different at each knocking. “No, the answer to your problem is not portal 25, it’s portal 995 now, and select SSL.” “How come Cox didn’t tell me this?” “They’re in transition to a new system, too. They’re going to ‘spop.east.cox.net’” “You mean we’re all in transition?” “Yes, but not everybody knows it.” The answers were different yesterday, but I didn’t care, as long as they worked.
What would be the result, I wondered, if I had the same attitude about God in my life? What if I was demanding and persistent and wouldn’t let go until God gave me a blessing, even if the answer was different than I expected, or was used to? (am I coachable?) What would it take to be demanding and persistent and would I be willing to go further?
Another clue to understanding the word “God” is to substitute the word “relationship” or “vulnerability” or “courage” or even “single mindedness”. For example, read the statement, “What would be the result, I wondered, if I had the same attitude about God in my life?” with substitute words. What would be the result, I wondered, if I had the same attitude about relationship in my life? What would be the result, I wondered, if I had the same attitude about vulnerability in my life? What would be the result, I wondered, if I had the same attitude about courage in my life? What would be the result, I wondered, if I had the same attitude about single-mindedness in my life?
Substitution of words of your choosing is allowed. Play with it. What would change in life if we used “Thanksgiving” as the center, or “Christmas” or “grades” or “a weekend off,” or “intramural sports” or “a healthy lifestyle” or “shopping” or “Wii” or “winning a national championship” or “only what I can control”? Some folks would substitute “myself” as the designated center of life. Others might suggest “balance” or “knowing what I really believe.”
Lots to ponder. Let me know if something comes to mind. I’d love to hear from you.
Luke 18:9-14
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, “God, I think you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income. But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating this breast and saying, ‘God be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”
The hunt for humility just gets harder. One would like to think being persistent for a day would be all that’s necessary. Not so. Banging on the door looking for help may just need more than one brief stop. It may require several stops. At least for me, humility needed a second round. Once again, I needed help. I couldn’t give help to myself.
Bill Coffin comments on the need for help. “I have always like the old fairy tales in which the one who has turned into a beast can only regain human form through someone else’s love. Here I think is the clue to love. Love is to make us more human, that demands that we care so much for each other that we have not to be nice but to be honest. We have to be honest, for most real faults are hidden and therefore demand an outside revealer.” (from Credo)
Portal 25 wasn’t working. Portal 25 is the default entry point for my laptop’s email and it was working fine. When I updated operating systems, it wasn’t fine. Then I asked for help and it was fine. Then, eight hours later, it wasn’t fine. So this time, instead of being totally annoyed, I had a much better attitude about investing time and energy into getting this computer operational. I was the widow banging on the door, asking for help. After being at the judge’s door a number of times, it wasn’t so bad. The door and I were gaining a little familiarity. The ritual of banging on the door and asking for help was not so bad the second and third time around. This is true even if the answer from the door was different at each knocking. “No, the answer to your problem is not portal 25, it’s portal 995 now, and select SSL.” “How come Cox didn’t tell me this?” “They’re in transition to a new system, too. They’re going to ‘spop.east.cox.net’” “You mean we’re all in transition?” “Yes, but not everybody knows it.” The answers were different yesterday, but I didn’t care, as long as they worked.
What would be the result, I wondered, if I had the same attitude about God in my life? What if I was demanding and persistent and wouldn’t let go until God gave me a blessing, even if the answer was different than I expected, or was used to? (am I coachable?) What would it take to be demanding and persistent and would I be willing to go further?
Another clue to understanding the word “God” is to substitute the word “relationship” or “vulnerability” or “courage” or even “single mindedness”. For example, read the statement, “What would be the result, I wondered, if I had the same attitude about God in my life?” with substitute words. What would be the result, I wondered, if I had the same attitude about relationship in my life? What would be the result, I wondered, if I had the same attitude about vulnerability in my life? What would be the result, I wondered, if I had the same attitude about courage in my life? What would be the result, I wondered, if I had the same attitude about single-mindedness in my life?
Substitution of words of your choosing is allowed. Play with it. What would change in life if we used “Thanksgiving” as the center, or “Christmas” or “grades” or “a weekend off,” or “intramural sports” or “a healthy lifestyle” or “shopping” or “Wii” or “winning a national championship” or “only what I can control”? Some folks would substitute “myself” as the designated center of life. Others might suggest “balance” or “knowing what I really believe.”
Lots to ponder. Let me know if something comes to mind. I’d love to hear from you.
Luke 18:9-14
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, “God, I think you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income. But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating this breast and saying, ‘God be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Getting along without portal 25
Getting along without portal 25
I felt like I had been robbed. It all started innocently enough. My external hard drive was inadvertently disconnected at a totally inappropriate time. Or maybe it was something else. Who knows? Anyway, after six hours of working with experts, I determined to reorganize my data structure by upgrading to Leopard. I’d toyed with making that change anyway, but I didn’t want to spend the money. For a variety of reasons, though, it was the best option. The result was whizzbang, except for a few minor problems. Like, my computer could receive email, but not send it in the usual way. So I’d upgraded and gone backwards. I felt robbed.
Instead of the lovely and elegant email system, I was forced to use the internet version, which of course, is clumsy. And I could not use my address book. My address book has your email address in it along with others who get these devotions. That’s why nothing came to you last week. I could have entered your email into the internet version of Cox, but that would have taken time, and that was something not available at the time.
Finally, on my second try, a collaborator at Cox took me through a few steps, ending in the “advanced” area, and finally asked. “What portal is listed?”
““995” is what listed, and the SSL is checked”
“It shouldn’t be. It should be portal 25 and uncheck the SSL.”
That solved that problem. It just took persistence, the right person, the right knowledge, the right portal. And the whole thing was humbling. Hard on me, it was. I had to be persistent and ask for help.
Luke 18: 1
“Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, “grant me justice against my opponent. For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, “though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone. yet because I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
The widow was probably tired out, too. I wonder if she was humbled? Is that what Jesus was saying was important?
“At no time in the history of civilization is humility needed more than in this era of globalization and information technology. There is a need for new visionary leaders in this generation and the generation to come who can conduct themselves with humility even among members of their individual families, organizations, and civil society as a whole. Although using humility as a strategy in pursuit of life is no longer popular, humility is the only virtue that has proven to defeat the banal exploitative nature of some members of the Group of Eight nations, the architects and staunchest advocates of globalization; a 21st century version of colonialization.” Carlos Madrazo, development worker for the Christian Church and UCC, Indonesia. Read more at: http://www.globalministries.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1035&Itemid=140
I felt like I had been robbed. It all started innocently enough. My external hard drive was inadvertently disconnected at a totally inappropriate time. Or maybe it was something else. Who knows? Anyway, after six hours of working with experts, I determined to reorganize my data structure by upgrading to Leopard. I’d toyed with making that change anyway, but I didn’t want to spend the money. For a variety of reasons, though, it was the best option. The result was whizzbang, except for a few minor problems. Like, my computer could receive email, but not send it in the usual way. So I’d upgraded and gone backwards. I felt robbed.
Instead of the lovely and elegant email system, I was forced to use the internet version, which of course, is clumsy. And I could not use my address book. My address book has your email address in it along with others who get these devotions. That’s why nothing came to you last week. I could have entered your email into the internet version of Cox, but that would have taken time, and that was something not available at the time.
Finally, on my second try, a collaborator at Cox took me through a few steps, ending in the “advanced” area, and finally asked. “What portal is listed?”
““995” is what listed, and the SSL is checked”
“It shouldn’t be. It should be portal 25 and uncheck the SSL.”
That solved that problem. It just took persistence, the right person, the right knowledge, the right portal. And the whole thing was humbling. Hard on me, it was. I had to be persistent and ask for help.
Luke 18: 1
“Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, “grant me justice against my opponent. For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, “though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone. yet because I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
The widow was probably tired out, too. I wonder if she was humbled? Is that what Jesus was saying was important?
“At no time in the history of civilization is humility needed more than in this era of globalization and information technology. There is a need for new visionary leaders in this generation and the generation to come who can conduct themselves with humility even among members of their individual families, organizations, and civil society as a whole. Although using humility as a strategy in pursuit of life is no longer popular, humility is the only virtue that has proven to defeat the banal exploitative nature of some members of the Group of Eight nations, the architects and staunchest advocates of globalization; a 21st century version of colonialization.” Carlos Madrazo, development worker for the Christian Church and UCC, Indonesia. Read more at: http://www.globalministries.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1035&Itemid=140
Friday, November 9
Meditation on Spamalot
Skip this meditation if you cannot use your imagination today.
In a scene from the spoof Spamalot, King Arthur is looking for a Jew, to help him succeed in a musical production on Broadway. This musical, which will be produced a thousand years in the future, will break the curse made in the Very Expensive Forest and allow the King passage. Normally, we’d think the King of England could walk where he pleases. But this is not an ordinary situation. You see, no one really cares that King Arthur is King of England. He has no power other than the power of persuasion and his own dream.
The King is despondent, depressed and discouraged. He shoulders the world’s problems on his shoulders and can hardly walk. Patsy, the faithful servant of King Arthur, walked hesitantly down stage toward the towering and handsome Lord, and tentatively offered,
Patsy: “Sir, I’m Jewish on my mother’s side.”
King: “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”
Patsy: “Sir, in the middle ages, it would seem a bit dangerous to tell this to a heavily armed Christian King.”
And the audience bellowed its approval with laughter as the musical once again poked fun at how religion, Christianity in this particular case, has a tradition of creating conflict, scapegoats, and seeking power so everyone gets in a straight line behind the banner of right belief. While this scene is improbable, the notion it delivers is real.
This is a comedy musical analysis of “Us vs. Them.” “Us vs. Them” is a close relative of “Haves and Have Nots”, “Over 21 and Under”, “My Race and Yours” “My Current Majority Status and Your Minority Status” and so on.
Our response to these issues of division and separation needs serious as well as comic attention. To be faithful to Jesus, our response-ability might need to include creative ways of engaging the enemy, which of course, is us and our sense of self-importance and self-righteousness. In fact, it’s our sense of self (aka narcissism) that can be the culprit.
If you’d like to drop some of your narcissism join us at Caffeine Dreams tomorrow morning at 8:30 AM. We’ll then carpool to a Habitat for Humanity site and a morning of work for “we don’t know who but that doesn’t matter because it’s not about us anyway.” Dress for the weather and with luck, we’ll have lunch together--in some place other than the Very Expensive Forest”.
Messengers from John the Baptist
18The disciples of John reported all these things to him. So John summoned two of his disciples 19and sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” 20When the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’” 21Jesus had just then cured many people of diseases, plagues, and evil spirits, and had given sight to many who were blind. 22And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them. 23And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”
In a scene from the spoof Spamalot, King Arthur is looking for a Jew, to help him succeed in a musical production on Broadway. This musical, which will be produced a thousand years in the future, will break the curse made in the Very Expensive Forest and allow the King passage. Normally, we’d think the King of England could walk where he pleases. But this is not an ordinary situation. You see, no one really cares that King Arthur is King of England. He has no power other than the power of persuasion and his own dream.
The King is despondent, depressed and discouraged. He shoulders the world’s problems on his shoulders and can hardly walk. Patsy, the faithful servant of King Arthur, walked hesitantly down stage toward the towering and handsome Lord, and tentatively offered,
Patsy: “Sir, I’m Jewish on my mother’s side.”
King: “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”
Patsy: “Sir, in the middle ages, it would seem a bit dangerous to tell this to a heavily armed Christian King.”
And the audience bellowed its approval with laughter as the musical once again poked fun at how religion, Christianity in this particular case, has a tradition of creating conflict, scapegoats, and seeking power so everyone gets in a straight line behind the banner of right belief. While this scene is improbable, the notion it delivers is real.
This is a comedy musical analysis of “Us vs. Them.” “Us vs. Them” is a close relative of “Haves and Have Nots”, “Over 21 and Under”, “My Race and Yours” “My Current Majority Status and Your Minority Status” and so on.
Our response to these issues of division and separation needs serious as well as comic attention. To be faithful to Jesus, our response-ability might need to include creative ways of engaging the enemy, which of course, is us and our sense of self-importance and self-righteousness. In fact, it’s our sense of self (aka narcissism) that can be the culprit.
If you’d like to drop some of your narcissism join us at Caffeine Dreams tomorrow morning at 8:30 AM. We’ll then carpool to a Habitat for Humanity site and a morning of work for “we don’t know who but that doesn’t matter because it’s not about us anyway.” Dress for the weather and with luck, we’ll have lunch together--in some place other than the Very Expensive Forest”.
Messengers from John the Baptist
18The disciples of John reported all these things to him. So John summoned two of his disciples 19and sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” 20When the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’” 21Jesus had just then cured many people of diseases, plagues, and evil spirits, and had given sight to many who were blind. 22And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them. 23And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”
Thursday, November 8
meditation on breaking bread
Meditation on breaking bread.
I can see why some people want to go to college. From a pragmatic point of view college is worth considering. There’s money in it.
Yesterday’s World Herald revealed that in Omaha, a high school drop-out in 1962 earned more income in a year than someone with a high school diploma today. The only way out of that downward spiral is advanced education, luck, or being extraordinary. This financial fact is about the accelerating chasm in Omaha between wealthy and poor people. The article reports, not surprisingly, that people without money see the world differently than those with it. On balance, it seems a person is better off with enough money than to be without it. The world looks better and is more “approachable” that way. Without much money, sections of the Big O become farms for racism: people see the world in through the lenses of poverty and tiredness. And I know how well I function when I don’t get enough sleep!
A previous article in the OWH (10/29 you can log in at Omaha.com and do a search on “bread and barriers” in the e-edition) noted how groups of people are overcoming this poverty/isolation way of viewing life by having dinners in private homes where racism is the topic of conversation. Now, call me crazy, but I think this is church! Comments are just like I heard for years in churches I served, “”We’re all afraid of the unknown. But when someone is sitting at your dining room table and you get to know then, it’s hard to be afraid. Barriers break down.”
Jesus, the prophets and the patriarchs all had a thing for getting together to eat with people they knew and people they didn’t. Eating is a God thing:
Genesis 18:
1The LORD appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. 2He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground. 3He said, “My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. 4Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 5Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” 6And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.” 7Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. 8Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.
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.
Matthew 9
9As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.
10And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”
In fact, I think there are more stories about food and eating together in scripture than just about any other setting. It seems eating together—with friends and strangers—is a good and holy thing to do.
Sounds like a model for church to me! (and campus ministry for that matter).And oh yeah, how about a movie to go with it? the good folks in Omaha will watch “Crash” and talk about how race plays a part in our perceptions, what we do, and where we work.
Hmmm. Dinner, a movie, and discussion. Now that’s church. College students can do this, and it may just be as helpful to life than that best paying job you’re after.
I can see why some people want to go to college. From a pragmatic point of view college is worth considering. There’s money in it.
Yesterday’s World Herald revealed that in Omaha, a high school drop-out in 1962 earned more income in a year than someone with a high school diploma today. The only way out of that downward spiral is advanced education, luck, or being extraordinary. This financial fact is about the accelerating chasm in Omaha between wealthy and poor people. The article reports, not surprisingly, that people without money see the world differently than those with it. On balance, it seems a person is better off with enough money than to be without it. The world looks better and is more “approachable” that way. Without much money, sections of the Big O become farms for racism: people see the world in through the lenses of poverty and tiredness. And I know how well I function when I don’t get enough sleep!
A previous article in the OWH (10/29 you can log in at Omaha.com and do a search on “bread and barriers” in the e-edition) noted how groups of people are overcoming this poverty/isolation way of viewing life by having dinners in private homes where racism is the topic of conversation. Now, call me crazy, but I think this is church! Comments are just like I heard for years in churches I served, “”We’re all afraid of the unknown. But when someone is sitting at your dining room table and you get to know then, it’s hard to be afraid. Barriers break down.”
Jesus, the prophets and the patriarchs all had a thing for getting together to eat with people they knew and people they didn’t. Eating is a God thing:
Genesis 18:
1The LORD appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. 2He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground. 3He said, “My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. 4Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 5Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” 6And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.” 7Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. 8Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.
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.
Matthew 9
9As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.
10And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”
In fact, I think there are more stories about food and eating together in scripture than just about any other setting. It seems eating together—with friends and strangers—is a good and holy thing to do.
Sounds like a model for church to me! (and campus ministry for that matter).And oh yeah, how about a movie to go with it? the good folks in Omaha will watch “Crash” and talk about how race plays a part in our perceptions, what we do, and where we work.
Hmmm. Dinner, a movie, and discussion. Now that’s church. College students can do this, and it may just be as helpful to life than that best paying job you’re after.
Wednesday, November 7
meditation on Keith Aldrich, part 1
Meditation on Keith Aldrich 1
Last night at ISS (meets Tuesdays at 8PM, Tower Room, MBSC), we listened to part one of a life lived “way out loud,” and struggled with impressions of authenticity, rights to sanity and how one person’s lifestyle and decisions can place an effect on the lives of others. Of course, this meant we had to bring up to our own senses of self and personal decisions. What values do we live out?
From the written introduction:
“Over the course of his life, Keith Aldrich was a child of the Depression in Oklahoma; a preacher-in-training in booming California; an aspiring Hollywood actor; in the 1950s, a self-styled Beat writer, and then a man in a gray flannel suit; in the 1960s, a member of the New York literati, and then a hippie; in the 1970s, a denizen of the suburbs with a partying, Ice Storm kind of life; and a born-again Christian when the Moral Majority helped put Ronald Reagan in office.”
Mr. Aldrich lived a life of serial monogamy, whether out of a reaction to life in the Church of Christ and its restrictive theology, or to something else, we don’t really know. We do know from the first person accounts of his children that he married, had children, and divorced a number of times (5?). Sometimes, children from one nuclear family came to live with a later family. This left us scratching our heads and a trail of Aldrich relatives struggling to find a sense of place and connection. You can listen yourself by joining us next week for part 2 or going for the whole enchilada at: http://www.thislife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=121
This is exactly one of our adult issues in life: claiming a sense of place and connection. We are eternally trying to find our way, too. Mr. Aldrich was making serial decisions, which he has a right to do, but we all wondered, “is this a good way to go about life? And what was going on in the minds of his wives? What were they thinking? Didn’t they invite this abuse?”
I’m reminded of other folks, particularly in Genesis, who seem to be drawn to dysfunction:
Genesis 19
8The child grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 9But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. 10So she said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son Isaac.” 11The matter was very distressing to Abraham on account of his son. 12But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed because of the boy and because of your slave woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for it is through Isaac that offspring shall be named for you. 13As for the son of the slave woman, I will make a nation of him also, because he is your offspring.” 14So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered about in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.
As adults, how do our decisions reflect our history? Are we looking for an anticipated and desired future? Can we move on to a higher calling and lifestyle? Or are we stuck?
Age old problems revisited, I think. And we are blessed with the ability to choose. (Of course, the judgment hammer is always meant for others, and not ourselves.)
“To love life and men as God loves them—for the sake of their infinite possibilities,
To wait like Him,
to judge like Him
without passing judgment,
to obey the order when it is given
and never look back—
then He can use you—then perhaps, He will use you,
Every moment has it’s meaning, its greatness, its glory, its peace, it’s co-inherence.
For this perspective, to “believe in God” is to believe in yourself, as self-evident, as “illogical,” and as impossible to explain: if I can be, then God is.”
--Dag Hammerskjold (1st Secretary General of the UN, written, 4/22/1956)
Last night at ISS (meets Tuesdays at 8PM, Tower Room, MBSC), we listened to part one of a life lived “way out loud,” and struggled with impressions of authenticity, rights to sanity and how one person’s lifestyle and decisions can place an effect on the lives of others. Of course, this meant we had to bring up to our own senses of self and personal decisions. What values do we live out?
From the written introduction:
“Over the course of his life, Keith Aldrich was a child of the Depression in Oklahoma; a preacher-in-training in booming California; an aspiring Hollywood actor; in the 1950s, a self-styled Beat writer, and then a man in a gray flannel suit; in the 1960s, a member of the New York literati, and then a hippie; in the 1970s, a denizen of the suburbs with a partying, Ice Storm kind of life; and a born-again Christian when the Moral Majority helped put Ronald Reagan in office.”
Mr. Aldrich lived a life of serial monogamy, whether out of a reaction to life in the Church of Christ and its restrictive theology, or to something else, we don’t really know. We do know from the first person accounts of his children that he married, had children, and divorced a number of times (5?). Sometimes, children from one nuclear family came to live with a later family. This left us scratching our heads and a trail of Aldrich relatives struggling to find a sense of place and connection. You can listen yourself by joining us next week for part 2 or going for the whole enchilada at: http://www.thislife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=121
This is exactly one of our adult issues in life: claiming a sense of place and connection. We are eternally trying to find our way, too. Mr. Aldrich was making serial decisions, which he has a right to do, but we all wondered, “is this a good way to go about life? And what was going on in the minds of his wives? What were they thinking? Didn’t they invite this abuse?”
I’m reminded of other folks, particularly in Genesis, who seem to be drawn to dysfunction:
Genesis 19
8The child grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 9But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. 10So she said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son Isaac.” 11The matter was very distressing to Abraham on account of his son. 12But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed because of the boy and because of your slave woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for it is through Isaac that offspring shall be named for you. 13As for the son of the slave woman, I will make a nation of him also, because he is your offspring.” 14So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered about in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.
As adults, how do our decisions reflect our history? Are we looking for an anticipated and desired future? Can we move on to a higher calling and lifestyle? Or are we stuck?
Age old problems revisited, I think. And we are blessed with the ability to choose. (Of course, the judgment hammer is always meant for others, and not ourselves.)
“To love life and men as God loves them—for the sake of their infinite possibilities,
To wait like Him,
to judge like Him
without passing judgment,
to obey the order when it is given
and never look back—
then He can use you—then perhaps, He will use you,
Every moment has it’s meaning, its greatness, its glory, its peace, it’s co-inherence.
For this perspective, to “believe in God” is to believe in yourself, as self-evident, as “illogical,” and as impossible to explain: if I can be, then God is.”
--Dag Hammerskjold (1st Secretary General of the UN, written, 4/22/1956)
Monday, November 5
Meditation on who we are; and check out the updated website
Meditation on being who we are.
“The Wiz” is a grooved up version of the 1930’s musical “The Wizard of Oz”. You know the story—it starts out in Kansas and a tornado whisks an approximately 15 year old girl off to la la land. There she meets witches, a talking scarecrow, tin man, a lion, the fake wizard and, of course, her real self. The movie used go from black and white to color about halfway through. The whole thing was great: evil and good witches, flying monkeys, and a scary, if happy resolution. I loved the movie. But then, I liked “Amahl and the Night Visitors”, too.
The story line of the main characters is as close to real life as you can get. It’s all about the main characters looking for their “missing piece.” They all feel incomplete, and if they just get that one “thing.” They will be complete and everything will be fine. To get that missing piece, they must perform a certain task. In the movie, it’s not spelled out so clearly. In the Wiz, it is: Dorothy and her companions must kill the evil witch to get help from the Wizard. This puts a great ethical pressure on Dorothy. She doesn’t want to kill someone in order to be rid of her demons. She understands that disconnect. On the other hand she does want to move on with her life.
Well, anyway, she pulls it all off with a flourish and a few skirmishes. Only then does she realize she already has what she’s been looking for. The Wizard couldn’t give her self-understanding.
This is a God story of sorts. Popular theology understands God as the great giver of understanding and meaning. This keeps God God and people people. We don’t want to mix the two roles. Some feel more safe as an “I’m hopeless and God will save me” attitude. Less popular theology claims understanding the self as the work of what it means to be human: “God’s self-disclosure comes when I am clearly myself and I know and appreciate who I am.” When we make no excuses (mistakes, yes, excuses, no), we are God’s creatures claiming our inheritance.
Genesis 5
1This is the list of the descendants of Adam. When God created humankind, he made them in the likeness of God. 2Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them “Humankind” when they were created.
Yesterday, a colleague was ordained a minister into the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)—one of our sponsoring denominations. In this personal and powerful service at 1st Christian Church (66th and Dodge, across from UNO) the man who brought the message was a good friend of the man to be ordained (there were a number of robed women in the service, too). His message was clear and powerful, centering on our human role of carrying the holy in jars of clay. This did not mean useless jars of clay, it meant imperfect jars of clay. That’s a good thing to claim.
Like Dorothy and her friends, we are not yet perfect, but we are linked to God and extraordinarily useful in carrying the sacred in this world. As the preacher said yesterday, “The problem is not in being who we are, the problem is our never ending fight to be who are not.”
“The Wiz” is a grooved up version of the 1930’s musical “The Wizard of Oz”. You know the story—it starts out in Kansas and a tornado whisks an approximately 15 year old girl off to la la land. There she meets witches, a talking scarecrow, tin man, a lion, the fake wizard and, of course, her real self. The movie used go from black and white to color about halfway through. The whole thing was great: evil and good witches, flying monkeys, and a scary, if happy resolution. I loved the movie. But then, I liked “Amahl and the Night Visitors”, too.
The story line of the main characters is as close to real life as you can get. It’s all about the main characters looking for their “missing piece.” They all feel incomplete, and if they just get that one “thing.” They will be complete and everything will be fine. To get that missing piece, they must perform a certain task. In the movie, it’s not spelled out so clearly. In the Wiz, it is: Dorothy and her companions must kill the evil witch to get help from the Wizard. This puts a great ethical pressure on Dorothy. She doesn’t want to kill someone in order to be rid of her demons. She understands that disconnect. On the other hand she does want to move on with her life.
Well, anyway, she pulls it all off with a flourish and a few skirmishes. Only then does she realize she already has what she’s been looking for. The Wizard couldn’t give her self-understanding.
This is a God story of sorts. Popular theology understands God as the great giver of understanding and meaning. This keeps God God and people people. We don’t want to mix the two roles. Some feel more safe as an “I’m hopeless and God will save me” attitude. Less popular theology claims understanding the self as the work of what it means to be human: “God’s self-disclosure comes when I am clearly myself and I know and appreciate who I am.” When we make no excuses (mistakes, yes, excuses, no), we are God’s creatures claiming our inheritance.
Genesis 5
1This is the list of the descendants of Adam. When God created humankind, he made them in the likeness of God. 2Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them “Humankind” when they were created.
Yesterday, a colleague was ordained a minister into the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)—one of our sponsoring denominations. In this personal and powerful service at 1st Christian Church (66th and Dodge, across from UNO) the man who brought the message was a good friend of the man to be ordained (there were a number of robed women in the service, too). His message was clear and powerful, centering on our human role of carrying the holy in jars of clay. This did not mean useless jars of clay, it meant imperfect jars of clay. That’s a good thing to claim.
Like Dorothy and her friends, we are not yet perfect, but we are linked to God and extraordinarily useful in carrying the sacred in this world. As the preacher said yesterday, “The problem is not in being who we are, the problem is our never ending fight to be who are not.”
Friday, November 2
meditation on the day after All Saints Day
Meditation on the Day after all Saint’s Day
Yesterday’s meditation asked us all to look for those persons in our lives who have achieved a high stature. Who are the people we respect most? Who motivates us to do our best, to take the high road, to follow our calling for God? Whose life speaks to the world in its darkness? Who speaks to us in our darkness?
I jotted down a few names and gave homage to them. These were the saints I never new, or knew only slightly or by reputation. These people have a strength that transcends time and space. I appreciated them, and wanted to be like them. I hoped to least borrow their strength for a few minutes. Then I stopped working so hard and made a list of the people I know and like. That list was more fun, and just as telling. These are people I wanted to be with. Sometimes it was a list that included fun-lovers. But more often it was a list of people who have touched me somehow and even when I think about them today I feel their effect. Somehow it has lasted. It seems making a list of people around whom I feel delight also makes me sense a deeper side of life. Sometimes these people are folks with whom I’ve related for years. It also contained the six people I met yesterday—really!
I John 3
11”For this is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.”
This leads to another level of connection—people freely offer themselves to us strengthen us and give vibrancy to our lives. Do you suppose that’s a model worth considering? Shall we not do the same and offer ourselves to others? Is this not the heart of the gospel? Is this not creation? Is this not the beginning?
Yesterday’s meditation asked us all to look for those persons in our lives who have achieved a high stature. Who are the people we respect most? Who motivates us to do our best, to take the high road, to follow our calling for God? Whose life speaks to the world in its darkness? Who speaks to us in our darkness?
I jotted down a few names and gave homage to them. These were the saints I never new, or knew only slightly or by reputation. These people have a strength that transcends time and space. I appreciated them, and wanted to be like them. I hoped to least borrow their strength for a few minutes. Then I stopped working so hard and made a list of the people I know and like. That list was more fun, and just as telling. These are people I wanted to be with. Sometimes it was a list that included fun-lovers. But more often it was a list of people who have touched me somehow and even when I think about them today I feel their effect. Somehow it has lasted. It seems making a list of people around whom I feel delight also makes me sense a deeper side of life. Sometimes these people are folks with whom I’ve related for years. It also contained the six people I met yesterday—really!
I John 3
11”For this is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.”
This leads to another level of connection—people freely offer themselves to us strengthen us and give vibrancy to our lives. Do you suppose that’s a model worth considering? Shall we not do the same and offer ourselves to others? Is this not the heart of the gospel? Is this not creation? Is this not the beginning?
Thursday, November 1
Meditation on All Saints Day
A Meditation on All Saints Day
In the earliest years of the church, way back when it was illegal to be Christian, the faithful had their property and livelihood taken from them. This was to discourage worshipping any God but Caesar. In extreme circumstances, people were killed because of their Christian religious practices. These deaths were remembered once a year. Later on, this day became All Saints Day. This day, or All Saints Sunday, is still recognized in many church traditions. While martyrs are no longer the main focus, we do remember the faithful people we know who have died within the past year.
We remember people who have affected us with their attitude about life, those who overcame great obstacles during their lifespan, or those who inspired us at one time or another.
I encourage you today to remember people in your life who stood for something positive and hopeful, someone who believed in offering life more than death and destruction, hope more than retaliation. I encourage you to recall and claim for yourself the strength and power that comes from those around you who have overcome tremendous obstacles just to survive. Baseball player Kirby Puckett died last year. His quoted comment on life was simple: “It’s not where you came from that’s important. It’s how you play the game.”
Living legend Archbishop Desmond Tutu said recently in Omaha at a Girls, Inc luncheon that forgiveness is the only thing that matters. That’s how he plays the game of life—with forgiveness. “Forgiveness is not for sissies,” he said. In past decades he helped lead the overcoming of the effects of apartheid through the institutionalizing a forgiveness process across South Africa. Victims on all sides had an opportunity to tell their story and be offered or offer forgiveness. He was right about how much courage it takes to forgive because it takes confrontation, courage and a view of life larger than retribution to make forgiveness (not forgetfulness) a reality.
Today is a good day to think about your values and how you got them. And it’s a good day to put them into practice. It’s a good day to remember yourself. Think large.
Matthew 16
21From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” 23But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
Rev. William Sloane Coffin -- Peace activist who was a leader of the antiwar movement as the chaplain of the Yale University in the 1960.
"Oh God may we think for peace, struggle for peace, suffer for peace. And may we live as if the life of all mankind were at stake, as indeed it is. Amen."
In the earliest years of the church, way back when it was illegal to be Christian, the faithful had their property and livelihood taken from them. This was to discourage worshipping any God but Caesar. In extreme circumstances, people were killed because of their Christian religious practices. These deaths were remembered once a year. Later on, this day became All Saints Day. This day, or All Saints Sunday, is still recognized in many church traditions. While martyrs are no longer the main focus, we do remember the faithful people we know who have died within the past year.
We remember people who have affected us with their attitude about life, those who overcame great obstacles during their lifespan, or those who inspired us at one time or another.
I encourage you today to remember people in your life who stood for something positive and hopeful, someone who believed in offering life more than death and destruction, hope more than retaliation. I encourage you to recall and claim for yourself the strength and power that comes from those around you who have overcome tremendous obstacles just to survive. Baseball player Kirby Puckett died last year. His quoted comment on life was simple: “It’s not where you came from that’s important. It’s how you play the game.”
Living legend Archbishop Desmond Tutu said recently in Omaha at a Girls, Inc luncheon that forgiveness is the only thing that matters. That’s how he plays the game of life—with forgiveness. “Forgiveness is not for sissies,” he said. In past decades he helped lead the overcoming of the effects of apartheid through the institutionalizing a forgiveness process across South Africa. Victims on all sides had an opportunity to tell their story and be offered or offer forgiveness. He was right about how much courage it takes to forgive because it takes confrontation, courage and a view of life larger than retribution to make forgiveness (not forgetfulness) a reality.
Today is a good day to think about your values and how you got them. And it’s a good day to put them into practice. It’s a good day to remember yourself. Think large.
Matthew 16
21From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” 23But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
Rev. William Sloane Coffin -- Peace activist who was a leader of the antiwar movement as the chaplain of the Yale University in the 1960.
"Oh God may we think for peace, struggle for peace, suffer for peace. And may we live as if the life of all mankind were at stake, as indeed it is. Amen."
Wednesday, October 31
Meditation on Halloween #2
Meditation on Halloween #2
It’s a long established understanding that “the clothes make the man.” Increasing, men and women are judged by what they wear. Students often wear T-Shirts in a fashionably shabby layered look. Faculty wear casual dress: dresses, jackets, ties and the like. At the minimum, it’s a khaki world. Of course, corporate wears blue and black corporate.
Dress separates our lives and gives us easy understanding of who’s responsible for what. Just imagine what the world at UNO would look like if corporate wore T-shirts, faculty dress blues and blacks, and students wore khaki’s. That would be upside down. Even more upside down would be a life where students had more than enough income from the University and corporate people would wait tables to have enough money to pay bills. I would volunteer to take a photo of that!
Jesus was a beggar, you know. The guy the corporation was named after went through the countryside with an entourage of a few dozen (only 12 were notables) and they had to scrounge for food. Dumpster Divers maybe. It was common for that time that holy men and women were often beggars, living off the good graces of those who had enough to spare.
Matthew 12
1At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the sabbath; his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2When the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the sabbath.” 3He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4He entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him or his companions to eat, but only for the priests. 5Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath the priests in the temple break the sabbath and yet are guiltless? 6I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. 7But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8For the Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.”
In those days, life was immediate, death close at hand, and to survive, people learned to share. Jesus’ life was not pretty. He was a beggar. He had nothing, and what he had, he tended to give away.
It’s odd that Halloween has become a time of begging from door to door. Maybe we should try begging a little more often. At least we would learn, as individuals and in groups, that we have a connection with the destitute.
A fun thing to do today: stop by the Weber Arts Center and visit the Hispanic exhibit on the “Day of the Dead”: hilarious views of death and the dead.
It’s a long established understanding that “the clothes make the man.” Increasing, men and women are judged by what they wear. Students often wear T-Shirts in a fashionably shabby layered look. Faculty wear casual dress: dresses, jackets, ties and the like. At the minimum, it’s a khaki world. Of course, corporate wears blue and black corporate.
Dress separates our lives and gives us easy understanding of who’s responsible for what. Just imagine what the world at UNO would look like if corporate wore T-shirts, faculty dress blues and blacks, and students wore khaki’s. That would be upside down. Even more upside down would be a life where students had more than enough income from the University and corporate people would wait tables to have enough money to pay bills. I would volunteer to take a photo of that!
Jesus was a beggar, you know. The guy the corporation was named after went through the countryside with an entourage of a few dozen (only 12 were notables) and they had to scrounge for food. Dumpster Divers maybe. It was common for that time that holy men and women were often beggars, living off the good graces of those who had enough to spare.
Matthew 12
1At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the sabbath; his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2When the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the sabbath.” 3He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4He entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him or his companions to eat, but only for the priests. 5Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath the priests in the temple break the sabbath and yet are guiltless? 6I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. 7But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8For the Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.”
In those days, life was immediate, death close at hand, and to survive, people learned to share. Jesus’ life was not pretty. He was a beggar. He had nothing, and what he had, he tended to give away.
It’s odd that Halloween has become a time of begging from door to door. Maybe we should try begging a little more often. At least we would learn, as individuals and in groups, that we have a connection with the destitute.
A fun thing to do today: stop by the Weber Arts Center and visit the Hispanic exhibit on the “Day of the Dead”: hilarious views of death and the dead.
Tuesday, October 30
Meditation on Halloween #1
Campus Ministry Schedule:
5:45 PM In the library by the coffee bar; we’ll show a DVD of students in campus ministry
6:30 PM supper at Panera’s
8:00 PM Inclusive Spiritual Seekers, MBSC, Tower Room
Meditation on Halloween: Dressing up
On Saturday, a French Maid walked by arm in arm with a Vampire, meeting up with friends who were Headless, Famous, or abstract (one time I saw someone dressed as a plunger). A current TV commercial boasts Adam and Eve, a plug and socket, and more. Designed to make people laugh or be cute, people dress up as all types of folks for Halloween. What fun we have as we go door to door in search of sweets. However, this once a year event has become the Americanized to the point of turning an ancient tradition from an unnerving time of reflection upon that which is unknown (death and afterlife) into a whizzbang opportunity for free candy and that which is cute. We love our princesses and heroes, pretty much gender based. We have, in fact, made that which is edgy into something that is domesticated and safe.
That kind of thing happens with Bible interpretation and church life as well. We want our Jesus, but we want a Jesus who is white, safe, and someone who comes with a backpack full of safe, wise, and generally accepted sayings: kind of like a Santa Claus with a pack full of happiness with the good life.
I’m not suggesting Jesus isn’t Good News, but I am suggesting Jesus is not easy news. Try this clothing story on for size:
Matthew 5:
38“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; 40and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; 41and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. 42Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.”
Gandhi mentioned something about this passage when he said, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” We see every day the problems of putting retribution in the witch’s cauldron. What comes out of that mix is indeed “double double, toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble.” Doing the giving thing is a bit tougher than just dressing up and getting whatever candy you can.
For Halloween this year, dress up and be wonderfully fun. But also take a moment to look for opportunities to dress up by giving your coat and cloak to those who have none. What could be dressier than that?
-f
5:45 PM In the library by the coffee bar; we’ll show a DVD of students in campus ministry
6:30 PM supper at Panera’s
8:00 PM Inclusive Spiritual Seekers, MBSC, Tower Room
Meditation on Halloween: Dressing up
On Saturday, a French Maid walked by arm in arm with a Vampire, meeting up with friends who were Headless, Famous, or abstract (one time I saw someone dressed as a plunger). A current TV commercial boasts Adam and Eve, a plug and socket, and more. Designed to make people laugh or be cute, people dress up as all types of folks for Halloween. What fun we have as we go door to door in search of sweets. However, this once a year event has become the Americanized to the point of turning an ancient tradition from an unnerving time of reflection upon that which is unknown (death and afterlife) into a whizzbang opportunity for free candy and that which is cute. We love our princesses and heroes, pretty much gender based. We have, in fact, made that which is edgy into something that is domesticated and safe.
That kind of thing happens with Bible interpretation and church life as well. We want our Jesus, but we want a Jesus who is white, safe, and someone who comes with a backpack full of safe, wise, and generally accepted sayings: kind of like a Santa Claus with a pack full of happiness with the good life.
I’m not suggesting Jesus isn’t Good News, but I am suggesting Jesus is not easy news. Try this clothing story on for size:
Matthew 5:
38“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; 40and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; 41and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. 42Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.”
Gandhi mentioned something about this passage when he said, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” We see every day the problems of putting retribution in the witch’s cauldron. What comes out of that mix is indeed “double double, toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble.” Doing the giving thing is a bit tougher than just dressing up and getting whatever candy you can.
For Halloween this year, dress up and be wonderfully fun. But also take a moment to look for opportunities to dress up by giving your coat and cloak to those who have none. What could be dressier than that?
-f
Friday, October 19
meditation on mid-terms #5
Meditation on mid-terms #5
We’re tested on the Main things and what’s most recent. What we want to include as well is what we know and what is most recent and most exciting. Can they go together?
This is the last day for first semester mid-terms. Of course, we all know that’s not true. It may be the last day for the official calendar, but enough of you have commented to me about mid-terms coming next week or even the week after when there’s a more appropriate break for material to be assessed. One of two have even said last week was the big test. Whatever your specifics, there are some things we’ve learned about preparation.
The Main Things
First, be prepared to recall and assess the main things. An instructor will always want to know the material that forms the basis of the course. Whether muscles or formula, verbs or the key players and dates, we must always know the main things.
I had sort of a mi-term exam yesterday at the health fair in the MBSC ballroom. At lest forty groups were represented and students, faculty and staff were free to wander with bingo cards and learn. After setup, I approached or was approached about campus ministry for about 5 hours, non-stop. I needed to know the main things: our gatherings for food, our worship together, our justice issues and being useful. What most students wanted to hear about was the labyrinth, since that’s what they’d seen on the floor of the fireplace lounge. Folks often referred to it as “that round thing. I didn’t know what it was.” What I wanted to talk about was Tuesday night’s Inclusive Spiritual Seekers (see Wednesday’s meditation on our blog) and theeffects of tree climbing (at our retreat on Saturday).
Travel light
A pen, a clear head and #2 pencil are usually what is needed for most tests. That and a clear brain can do a great deal.
Taking only what was needed was a new event for me. For the past two years rolled into the health fair with gongs, TV set and DVD player. Last year I even brought an electric palm tree to draw attention to the site. I don’t know if this year’s display board and laptop was better, but it was surely more compact. Videos of our trips and work were shown directly from our website via my trusty laptop with attached speakers, and were easily referred to without being overwhelmed by “stuff”. The display board was put together by students in late spring, just prior to an annual church meeting. Student’s favorite pics and projects, with a few updates. I added “The Faith Club” to the books we read.
The “stuff” pack got lighter as the morning wore on. I gave away contact cards (designed by students, of course), bookmarks with ribbons (more contact info) and even a couple of our famous campus ministry T-shirts. A couple of blue shirted staff women wanted them “so they could work out.” After all, they have our blog on the back. More shameless marketing.
What to remember for your life today:
How would you market your test taking to an instructor with a display board? What’s the foundation of what you know?
On a “connect others with God” basis:
How would you market your faith to others? What is it’s foundation? Can you travel light, put the main markers on a display board and take it around with you? What pics and books and music and videos would you show?
Jesus gave a few instructions which are helpful and remind me of what we’re about:
Mark 6
6Then he went about among the villages teaching. 7He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; 9but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. 10He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. 11If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” 12So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. 13They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
We’re tested on the Main things and what’s most recent. What we want to include as well is what we know and what is most recent and most exciting. Can they go together?
This is the last day for first semester mid-terms. Of course, we all know that’s not true. It may be the last day for the official calendar, but enough of you have commented to me about mid-terms coming next week or even the week after when there’s a more appropriate break for material to be assessed. One of two have even said last week was the big test. Whatever your specifics, there are some things we’ve learned about preparation.
The Main Things
First, be prepared to recall and assess the main things. An instructor will always want to know the material that forms the basis of the course. Whether muscles or formula, verbs or the key players and dates, we must always know the main things.
I had sort of a mi-term exam yesterday at the health fair in the MBSC ballroom. At lest forty groups were represented and students, faculty and staff were free to wander with bingo cards and learn. After setup, I approached or was approached about campus ministry for about 5 hours, non-stop. I needed to know the main things: our gatherings for food, our worship together, our justice issues and being useful. What most students wanted to hear about was the labyrinth, since that’s what they’d seen on the floor of the fireplace lounge. Folks often referred to it as “that round thing. I didn’t know what it was.” What I wanted to talk about was Tuesday night’s Inclusive Spiritual Seekers (see Wednesday’s meditation on our blog) and theeffects of tree climbing (at our retreat on Saturday).
Travel light
A pen, a clear head and #2 pencil are usually what is needed for most tests. That and a clear brain can do a great deal.
Taking only what was needed was a new event for me. For the past two years rolled into the health fair with gongs, TV set and DVD player. Last year I even brought an electric palm tree to draw attention to the site. I don’t know if this year’s display board and laptop was better, but it was surely more compact. Videos of our trips and work were shown directly from our website via my trusty laptop with attached speakers, and were easily referred to without being overwhelmed by “stuff”. The display board was put together by students in late spring, just prior to an annual church meeting. Student’s favorite pics and projects, with a few updates. I added “The Faith Club” to the books we read.
The “stuff” pack got lighter as the morning wore on. I gave away contact cards (designed by students, of course), bookmarks with ribbons (more contact info) and even a couple of our famous campus ministry T-shirts. A couple of blue shirted staff women wanted them “so they could work out.” After all, they have our blog on the back. More shameless marketing.
What to remember for your life today:
How would you market your test taking to an instructor with a display board? What’s the foundation of what you know?
On a “connect others with God” basis:
How would you market your faith to others? What is it’s foundation? Can you travel light, put the main markers on a display board and take it around with you? What pics and books and music and videos would you show?
Jesus gave a few instructions which are helpful and remind me of what we’re about:
Mark 6
6Then he went about among the villages teaching. 7He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; 9but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. 10He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. 11If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” 12So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. 13They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
Thursday, October 18
meditation on mid-terms #4
Meditation on Mi-terms #4
Today I’ll be at the Health Fair in MBSC, talking with people about a healthy lifestyle that includes balance.
For students, and others, this includes breathing, eating, sleep, and paying attention to God’s presence, like we do in our ministry on campus: fellowship, justice seeking, being useful and progressive thinking about God. One of the things we do is meditate to help our sense of balance.
The yoga master used to say in response to the question: “What is meditation?” “Eat when hungry, sleep when tired.” While simple on the surface, the response is much deeper because most people in our circles eat and sleep on schedule. The problem is the schedule may not pay attention to when we’re hungry or tired.
Yesterday’s news contained a brief article on peoples’ perceived effective times for work. 55% said they were more effective in the morning, 20% felt more effective in the afternoon. On the surface, people are telling us we can’t really work effectively all day (but our schedules say we must). What’s a healthy response to that? The yoga master said, “sleep when tired”. When studying or taking exams, enough sleep is a must, naps are a good thing, too. And eat a little something when you’re tired instead of the gorging we are tempted to do.
Balance comes first when we breathe. There are various ways to breathe: deep breathing, meditating breathing, relaxed breathing, short breaths, all help us pay attention to the source of life. So I will encourage people to breathe—breathing is a good idea.
Today, pay attention to your balance and your ability to breathe, remembering that ‘nephesh’ (breath or wind) of God was there in the beginning, in the creation, in our fabric of being.
Genesis 1:1
1In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, 2the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. 3Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
Today I’ll be at the Health Fair in MBSC, talking with people about a healthy lifestyle that includes balance.
For students, and others, this includes breathing, eating, sleep, and paying attention to God’s presence, like we do in our ministry on campus: fellowship, justice seeking, being useful and progressive thinking about God. One of the things we do is meditate to help our sense of balance.
The yoga master used to say in response to the question: “What is meditation?” “Eat when hungry, sleep when tired.” While simple on the surface, the response is much deeper because most people in our circles eat and sleep on schedule. The problem is the schedule may not pay attention to when we’re hungry or tired.
Yesterday’s news contained a brief article on peoples’ perceived effective times for work. 55% said they were more effective in the morning, 20% felt more effective in the afternoon. On the surface, people are telling us we can’t really work effectively all day (but our schedules say we must). What’s a healthy response to that? The yoga master said, “sleep when tired”. When studying or taking exams, enough sleep is a must, naps are a good thing, too. And eat a little something when you’re tired instead of the gorging we are tempted to do.
Balance comes first when we breathe. There are various ways to breathe: deep breathing, meditating breathing, relaxed breathing, short breaths, all help us pay attention to the source of life. So I will encourage people to breathe—breathing is a good idea.
Today, pay attention to your balance and your ability to breathe, remembering that ‘nephesh’ (breath or wind) of God was there in the beginning, in the creation, in our fabric of being.
Genesis 1:1
1In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, 2the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. 3Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
Wednesday, October 17
meditation on mid-terms #3
Meditation on Mid-terms #3
Anyone can make a contribution. That’s true for charitable causes and it’s true for mutual support.
Last night’s Inclusive Spiritual Seekers brought together three songs of special spiritual value to our group: “Blackbird”, by Paul McCartney (of the Beatles); “When David Heard” by Eric Whitacre.” a modern classical group vocal piece on the story of David and the death of his son, Absalom (2 Samuel 18:33); and the suicide referencing “Poison Oak” by Bright Eyes. The three presenters did not know what the others were bringing, so it was just one of those God things. We listened and shared from our depths—nothing pushy or flagrant. Just the realities from life that cause what John of the Cross called, “the dark night of the soul.”
Many people would agree that dragging around in discouragement would end in nothing but a deep cesspool of hopelessness. Not so last night. Analysis of form, musicality and lyrics revealed a biblically true and faithful hope that comes from unhappiness when declared, claimed, and shared. We recalled stories of birds: from Noah and the bird with the Olive Branch, “Man of La Mancha” little bird in the cinnamon tree, a blackbird singing in darkness and light, and a yellow bird of love (even if alone). There were more bird songs in our heads and hearts. I forgot to mention John Prine’s famous bird, “the dove of love fell off the perch” in his song, “Jesus, the Missing Years.”
When we claimed our periods of no hope, the gathering gained strength and shared purpose—not just to wallow in problems, but to describe God’s love and hope.
Jesus was not afraid of the dragging the depths either. He noted in this story, that when we are surrounded with emptiness, we can make a contribution. Any contribution can be strengthening, even if we think it small:
Matthew 24
31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’
Anyone can make a contribution. That’s true for charitable causes and it’s true for mutual support.
Last night’s Inclusive Spiritual Seekers brought together three songs of special spiritual value to our group: “Blackbird”, by Paul McCartney (of the Beatles); “When David Heard” by Eric Whitacre.” a modern classical group vocal piece on the story of David and the death of his son, Absalom (2 Samuel 18:33); and the suicide referencing “Poison Oak” by Bright Eyes. The three presenters did not know what the others were bringing, so it was just one of those God things. We listened and shared from our depths—nothing pushy or flagrant. Just the realities from life that cause what John of the Cross called, “the dark night of the soul.”
Many people would agree that dragging around in discouragement would end in nothing but a deep cesspool of hopelessness. Not so last night. Analysis of form, musicality and lyrics revealed a biblically true and faithful hope that comes from unhappiness when declared, claimed, and shared. We recalled stories of birds: from Noah and the bird with the Olive Branch, “Man of La Mancha” little bird in the cinnamon tree, a blackbird singing in darkness and light, and a yellow bird of love (even if alone). There were more bird songs in our heads and hearts. I forgot to mention John Prine’s famous bird, “the dove of love fell off the perch” in his song, “Jesus, the Missing Years.”
When we claimed our periods of no hope, the gathering gained strength and shared purpose—not just to wallow in problems, but to describe God’s love and hope.
Jesus was not afraid of the dragging the depths either. He noted in this story, that when we are surrounded with emptiness, we can make a contribution. Any contribution can be strengthening, even if we think it small:
Matthew 24
31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’
Tuesday, October 16
meditation on mid-terms #2
Note: Today the labyrinth will be set up in the Fireplace lounge, MBSC. Please join us and take a walk and help yourself focus and gain a deeper spirituality.
Meditation on Mid terms #2
There’s a lot of admiration in our culture about people who are stars. We are a country of entertainment stars, athletic stars, and educational stars. People are picked out and adored by the masses. People stand in line to get tickets to appearances. That’s why we have the Qwest Center—so we can have space for the stars and their adoring folks. Hannah Montana is coming to Omaha! The Olympic swim trials are coming to Omaha! Warren Buffet is coming to Omaha! Gerald Ford was born in Omaha! Mrs. B built a store in Omaha! Success is running rampant! Stars are everywhere! Woohoo! People want to worship these stars, or they want to be the stars themselves.
Taking a difference view is the idea that individuals do not and cannot make the kind of impact groups of people can. In the video of how the Travelling Willbury’s made their album. George Harrison who commented toward the end of it: “It was just some friends coming together to make music who happen to be very good at what they do.”
In the end, it’s just some friends coming together.
There are a few Bible stories with heroes who act on their own (Samson and Jonah come to mind, along with Elijah under a broom tree I Kgs. 19.4)) but the vast majority of these hope bearing folks were part of a group. Even God is quoted as saying , “Let us make mankind in our image,” (Gen. 1:26).
The stronger and more lasting Biblical image, I think, is of groups of people of faith, not individuals with power. Certainly, there are individuals who lead, have prominent roles, and are more visible, but even they rely on being with others for strength and courage. While the individual’s heart and mind can be formidable, faith is not a strictly individual business. Jesus stood and knelt alone at times, but he always traveled in a group. The twelve disciples were part of the fabric of his life and the life of the early churches across the region. It’s hard to imagine the spread of Christianity in those without it being a group event.
It is well to rely on good friends who come together, whether for study for worship, or as George Harrison said, to make music (Or anything else, for that matter).
Mark 5
5They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion; and they were afraid. 16Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. 17Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood. 18As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. 19But Jesus refused, and said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.” 20And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.
Who are your friends? How do they strengthen you and you them? Do you study with them? Do they encourage you? How do they persuade you in your faith?
Meditation on Mid terms #2
There’s a lot of admiration in our culture about people who are stars. We are a country of entertainment stars, athletic stars, and educational stars. People are picked out and adored by the masses. People stand in line to get tickets to appearances. That’s why we have the Qwest Center—so we can have space for the stars and their adoring folks. Hannah Montana is coming to Omaha! The Olympic swim trials are coming to Omaha! Warren Buffet is coming to Omaha! Gerald Ford was born in Omaha! Mrs. B built a store in Omaha! Success is running rampant! Stars are everywhere! Woohoo! People want to worship these stars, or they want to be the stars themselves.
Taking a difference view is the idea that individuals do not and cannot make the kind of impact groups of people can. In the video of how the Travelling Willbury’s made their album. George Harrison who commented toward the end of it: “It was just some friends coming together to make music who happen to be very good at what they do.”
In the end, it’s just some friends coming together.
There are a few Bible stories with heroes who act on their own (Samson and Jonah come to mind, along with Elijah under a broom tree I Kgs. 19.4)) but the vast majority of these hope bearing folks were part of a group. Even God is quoted as saying , “Let us make mankind in our image,” (Gen. 1:26).
The stronger and more lasting Biblical image, I think, is of groups of people of faith, not individuals with power. Certainly, there are individuals who lead, have prominent roles, and are more visible, but even they rely on being with others for strength and courage. While the individual’s heart and mind can be formidable, faith is not a strictly individual business. Jesus stood and knelt alone at times, but he always traveled in a group. The twelve disciples were part of the fabric of his life and the life of the early churches across the region. It’s hard to imagine the spread of Christianity in those without it being a group event.
It is well to rely on good friends who come together, whether for study for worship, or as George Harrison said, to make music (Or anything else, for that matter).
Mark 5
5They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion; and they were afraid. 16Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. 17Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood. 18As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. 19But Jesus refused, and said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.” 20And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.
Who are your friends? How do they strengthen you and you them? Do you study with them? Do they encourage you? How do they persuade you in your faith?
Monday, October 15
meditation on mid-terms #1
Mid term week #1
Long wet grey days are great for growing grass and drinking hot tea by the window during studies. A professor long ago quipped during one of New England’s famous cold, grey and wet periods, “this is why there are no scholars from the south.” What he meant was, there were no distractions to go outside and play—life was all about putting a certain glue on a chair and sitting on it until the work was done.
For those students with ADHD, it probably doesn’t matter if the weather’s nice or not. Jumping from topic to topic will still be the norm, even during intense periods like mid-terms and finals. For those who are studying for midterms, this week is the first major culmination of work, and the first major time of introspection. The question is, “Is this worth it and am I on the right track?”
Those of you who read this who are already out of school still have ebbs and flows on the calendar: times in the schedule that are highly pressurized. Life can seem complex. Pulled in various directions and by various commitments, the question remains the same, “Is this worth it and am I on the right track?”
At out fun day away this past weekend, the concluding piece of fun was to create a personal life line. You can make one of these quite simply by drawing a horizontal line across a page and dividing it into halves and halves again. The line is now divided into even quarters. Place a zero on the left hand end, and your current age on the right, Divide your age by two and put that number in the center of the line, and similarly, put the half that number over the first quarter and add that to that halving number, and put that on the third quarter number. Using these numbers as a guide, place significant events along your life line, both those which seem to add positive or negative value to your spiritual or emotional life.
A sample looks like this for a twenty year old:
0 5 10 15 20
Just give it a try or email/call me for help. What we noticed on Saturday was this: what seemed like isolated events and how we felt about them were generally part of a longer pattern. Life didn’t just get great or terrible overnight. For some of us, it took a long time to get to a certain point.
This is helpful and hopeful information. It’s helpful because by analyzing and looking around at our lives, we learn about ourselves. It’s also helpful to do this as a group exercise—we find people who have similar and divergent patterns from our own, and we get a sense of “yeah, life is like that!” The project is hopeful because we always ask the question, “where did you see God in that?” The notion that God is among us at all times, whether perceived as good or bad, is wonderfully uplifting.
Here’s a Psalm for today:
Psalm 51
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.
14 Deliver me from bloodshed, O God,
O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 For you have no delight in sacrifice;
if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.
17 The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem,
19 then you will delight in right sacrifices,
in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.
In Hebrew poetry, a second line is often there to modify the first. For example, in vs. 17, The words “broken spirit” are modified by the next line’s “a broken and contrite heart.” This who phrase is about being pliable and seeking God’s presence. It’s not about being busted or broken into pieces. It really goes back to vs. 12—“sustain in me a willing spirit.” Skip the burnt offerings thing, it’s just not done anymore; the idea is to find ways to seek God’s presence in your life.
Use this as a mantra today: “Make me a willing spirit.” Or “Show me a sign I’m on the right track.” Let me or a friend know how it goes.
Long wet grey days are great for growing grass and drinking hot tea by the window during studies. A professor long ago quipped during one of New England’s famous cold, grey and wet periods, “this is why there are no scholars from the south.” What he meant was, there were no distractions to go outside and play—life was all about putting a certain glue on a chair and sitting on it until the work was done.
For those students with ADHD, it probably doesn’t matter if the weather’s nice or not. Jumping from topic to topic will still be the norm, even during intense periods like mid-terms and finals. For those who are studying for midterms, this week is the first major culmination of work, and the first major time of introspection. The question is, “Is this worth it and am I on the right track?”
Those of you who read this who are already out of school still have ebbs and flows on the calendar: times in the schedule that are highly pressurized. Life can seem complex. Pulled in various directions and by various commitments, the question remains the same, “Is this worth it and am I on the right track?”
At out fun day away this past weekend, the concluding piece of fun was to create a personal life line. You can make one of these quite simply by drawing a horizontal line across a page and dividing it into halves and halves again. The line is now divided into even quarters. Place a zero on the left hand end, and your current age on the right, Divide your age by two and put that number in the center of the line, and similarly, put the half that number over the first quarter and add that to that halving number, and put that on the third quarter number. Using these numbers as a guide, place significant events along your life line, both those which seem to add positive or negative value to your spiritual or emotional life.
A sample looks like this for a twenty year old:
0 5 10 15 20
Just give it a try or email/call me for help. What we noticed on Saturday was this: what seemed like isolated events and how we felt about them were generally part of a longer pattern. Life didn’t just get great or terrible overnight. For some of us, it took a long time to get to a certain point.
This is helpful and hopeful information. It’s helpful because by analyzing and looking around at our lives, we learn about ourselves. It’s also helpful to do this as a group exercise—we find people who have similar and divergent patterns from our own, and we get a sense of “yeah, life is like that!” The project is hopeful because we always ask the question, “where did you see God in that?” The notion that God is among us at all times, whether perceived as good or bad, is wonderfully uplifting.
Here’s a Psalm for today:
Psalm 51
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.
14 Deliver me from bloodshed, O God,
O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 For you have no delight in sacrifice;
if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.
17 The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem,
19 then you will delight in right sacrifices,
in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.
In Hebrew poetry, a second line is often there to modify the first. For example, in vs. 17, The words “broken spirit” are modified by the next line’s “a broken and contrite heart.” This who phrase is about being pliable and seeking God’s presence. It’s not about being busted or broken into pieces. It really goes back to vs. 12—“sustain in me a willing spirit.” Skip the burnt offerings thing, it’s just not done anymore; the idea is to find ways to seek God’s presence in your life.
Use this as a mantra today: “Make me a willing spirit.” Or “Show me a sign I’m on the right track.” Let me or a friend know how it goes.
Friday, October 12
Meditation on "It's Time" #5
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?
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?
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.
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