Author: rkcdlitt

  All are Welcome

One of my favorite Psalms (23) includes the line saying that God prepares His table (in the presence of enemies) and anoints us with oil. Our cups overflowing. My understanding is that God, in His, or Her, infinite wisdom, welcomes us regardless of who we are and what we are. All we need to do is show up.

Everyone is welcome at this table; I don’t care what others say, because if we exclude anyone for any reason, we are going against God’s will. A Black representative to congress in the 1960s and 1970s, Shirley Chisholm, added to this saying that if there is not a chair for you bring your own folding chair. She understood that all are welcome to God’s table.

To accept this basic tenant of faith, we must have peace in our hearts, not just on our tongues. If we do not work for this inner peace, or in this case inclusion, we are not at peace; we are not peacemakers and therefore are not children of God, the God of peace and love.

We are commanded by Jesus to love our enemies. He did not place any stipulations or reasons that allow us not to love our enemies. When we do love all, when we are honest peacemakers, accepting everyone as God made them, we open our hearts to true love for all mankind. This love allows us to heal from our own wounds and disappointments, and eventually, allows other to see how happy and content we are. My feelings are that given time, those who oppose accepting everyone will want to enjoy the freedom and happiness we have.

Wow, I sound like a preacher on a Sunday morning.

Fear of the other leads us into many dangerous areas. There are many things that I fear, especially in the social climate of the world today. I was born during World War Two, was in the Marine Corps during Vietnam, and had a son who was part of the invasion of Iraq earlier this century. These now are times just as frightening; can we again be going down the path to warfare, and will other young men and women have to sacrifice their lives to prevent all people from sitting at God’s table?

Are we faithful? Are we humble enough to be sincerely faithful? Ego and pride are great obstacles to being honest and faithful. One of my daily prayers is to ask God’s help in reminding me that everyone is my sibling. I try not to spew hateful language about those I disagree with. Most times, I am successful, but I still think and feel the hatred growing within me. I love all people, even when inside me, I question how I can love a certain individual because of all the things he does to hurt me. Outwardly, I can turn the other cheek; inwardly, Inwardly, I find this difficult.

The outcome is my turmoil, preventing me from realizing true inner peace with myself as a child of God. Each day I pray that God will renew my spirit again and again to stand firm in my Love for Him and all his children.  

Sacrifice

The dictionary defines sacrifice as something surrendered or destroyed for the sake of something considered having a higher or moral value.

Let’s examine what this means. In times long past, people sacrificed animals to their gods, believing that the sacrifice of something this special (i.e. food) was giving up something to please a higher authority. We Christians pray to the Son of God who was sacrificed for us on the cross. Jesus gave his life to show that death was not everlasting, and that when we die, we only pass from one existence to a much finer and more blessed state.

In both cases, sacrifice was made for a more defined good outcome.

In other cases, I consider that I sacrificed many hours and a lot of money pursuing my education, ending with teaching at both the secondary school and college levels. I pray that my sacrifice enabled many young students to find their way on their own paths of life. My wife sacrificed many hours of leisure with her husband to work to jobs to help put our children through college without the debt that so many suffer with now.

In these cases, sacrifice was made for a more defined good outcome.

Around the world, there are many people dying in useless wars; others are migrating away from the conflicts, moving into refugee camps where their lives are miserable. In other parts of the world, there are people suffering without sufficient food or water to live healthy lives. In some countries, such as the United States, there are people being incarcerated in tent cities, because they are not deemed good enough to immigrate into our beloved, but mistaken, country. There are also millions in prison, who, when their records are examined closely, do not deserve to be there. I had a student in one of my college classes, who spent several months in a Virginia jail because in his possession was too much marijuana. The police accused him of selling it; they refused to accept that it was all his. He went on to become a successful college student and then an advocate for human rights.

These people are sacrificed for something quite a bit less than a more defined good. To me, their lives are sacrificed because narrow-minded people feel that their opinions and needs are greater than those suffering.

One of the more disgraceful types of sacrifice is that experienced by our veterans. I know too many homeless veterans, who suffer daily from the psychological experiences faced in combat roles. These veterans are cast aside by people who feel that they are no longer worthy . . . of what?

Jesus preached about the poor and needy. He brought great comfort to many who suffered under the rule of both Rome and the self-aggrandized religious leaders of his times. He demonstrated to them that there is a greater voice than the selfish, egotistical rulers.

I was recently asked what my purpose in life is, now that I have retired from teaching. My only response is that through my writing, my prayer mentoring, my sitting by the bedside of a sick person, praying for their physical and spiritual recovery, I pray that I am doing something to relieve their sacrifices. I believe that is what God has prepared me for my entire life. All the failures and successes I have had were guided by His hand to prepare me to be a better prayer counselor to my brothers and sisters in distress.

May God continue to lead my path in the light of His love.   

  I’d Rather be Honest than Right!

The only thing I can say that I am usually right about is when it comes to writing an English sentence. After all, I did teach writing in English at the college level; so, I can safely say that I am usually right, when talking about writing or speaking in English.

In all other circumstances, I would rather be honest. Those who know me, know that I am not one to hold back my words. I will speak on many different issues. I don’t consider myself to be an expert on all things, but I do have opinions. I try my best not to make my opinion more important than others. I will never disrespect the opinions of others.

I think much of this stems from my belief to respect others. All too often, I observe that people, who try to impose their wills on others, do not respect others and have little patience to listen to what others say. Think about the person who is obviously thinking of their response to what someone is saying, instead of hearing what that other is saying. We all experience this in our daily lives. The person guilty of this does not respect what the other is say, only cares for his own opinion.

I just returned from a spiritual mediation period at church, called Lectio Divina; which is primarily a mediation on Bible verse and sharing with others. It is a great chance to share faith and support with and for others. I know there are some who look to me for guidance, but I will not interject my opinion into what their reflections are; what I will do is ask supporting questions to allow them to expand on their meditations.

The result is twofold. Primarily, they get to explore their beliefs deeper, and then I get to learn from them, which enhances my spiritual life. The questions I ask are spur-of-the-moment; I do not plan what I will as; I spend my time listening, listening to them out of respect for their sharing their innermost thoughts. My reflections, spoken or not, are honest. I will not judge what they are saying. I am truly interested in their views; they are important to them and important to me. I can learn from others; I cannot learn if I disrespect them by trying to be right rather than hones with them.

One of my spiritual goals is to understand my fellow man on a much deeper level, which enhances my understanding of God.

I realize that this is longer and more free-ranging than usual; it is a most difficult topic. What do you think? What are your views? Please share.  

 I always question why we are so interested in what other people do, or what others have. Jealousy may be a response; more often it is nosiness. We are so interested in others that we sometimes forget about ourselves. Some of the issues I question have to do with faith, ethnicity, and, of course, sexual identity. Personally, I do not care what faith a person follows, where a person’s family comes from, or whether he loves a man, or woman. His life is up to his own personal relationship with God. God does not ask my opinion; therefore, I offer none.

I have friends who are jealous of what others have. Why? Others’ lives are not different than ours; they still love, raise families, work hard for what they have. After years in my own business, I stepped into the role of a teacher; this is something God was telling me all my life, but I was not listening. As a teacher, I became the richest man I know. I had students who enlisted their parents’ help to enter my honors classes. I had students who took more than one course with me. I have students who this day still stay in touch with me. Being a swim coach, I had a student who just winning a major race, leaped from the water, jumped up and hugged me, soaking wet. I had another student race into my classroom, give me a big hug, thanking me for supporting her when she doubted whether she could get the lead in the school play. She did.

When a student gave a speech to her class, and thanked me for all my help, my wealth was enormous. And, when I was voted the most popular teacher in the high school two years, back to back, I was as thrilled as any teenager who realizes success. I may not get paid as much as a bank president, or a government contractor. But, when I retired from teaching college literature, I was given two plaques honoring my service; the standard one from the college, and a second from the English department thanking me for all the individual help I gave ALL my students; I will rephrase that – ALL students; I had many students who were not in my classes asking me for help in writing their papers.

I have nothing that I covet from another person.

As I look at those I have met in my life, the happiest are those who are comfortable in their own skin. On the reverse side, those who are always trying to be better than others are not happy. I know men who divorce because they cannot stand that their wives make more money than they do. I have had other friends who have switched roles, the wife the breadwinner and the husband to home keeper. Who cares!

We are all meant to do a certain job in this life; the main job is not to please others. We must be happy with whom we are, happy with whom God has blessed with certain talents. I cannot question what a person does; I can only question if that person is walking the path of light that God has laid before him or her. If the path is correct for that person, it correct in the world around us.

While teaching in college, I had many male students who were studying to be a nurse. Some people question why a man would be a nurse; why not? I myself have many female doctors; my male friends ask if I am uncomfortable being examined by a woman. Why not? When I need a doctor, I don’t care if the doctor is male, female, black, white, a US citizen or a visiting doctor from South Sudan. He or she is there to help me get back on my feet. Just as God ordained me to be a teacher, God has ordained them to be doctors.

Thank God for diversity; thank God for each of us.

   We are blessed

 God blesses us as we walk along our separate paths, usually under great duress and temptation; He holds us close, so we know that what we do is not in vain, bur will profit those we meet. Remember this; it is our lifeblood for a world of peace and thanksgiving. John 1 starts with the word is God; if we follow the word, we walk in a world of grace, justice, and truth.  

 Our hope for the future lies in the light of God’s path. This blesses us with the ability to greet all people as equals and all creatures as worthy of our love. When we treat God’s poor with dignity and respect, all welcomed and embraced. Anything less is against God’s will. When we tire, the Lord strengthens us with His Spirit to help us imagine what His world is truly like.

 As children, we make mistakes; but God forgives us, because we are His children. So, we must not fret about small mistakes we make or small indiscretions. God loves us, forgives us, and those who also walk in His path will do the same. All we need to do is show our sorrow for the error and gratitude for the forgiveness, from both God and others.

 The Qu’ran states that we are made in the best of statures; the Bible says we are made in His image and likeness. Different words have the same meaning. We are children of God and therefore, as created by Him, we are perfect. Let us treat each other this way and glorify God, as we are glad to do. There is no I; there is only we.

 In Christianity, we recite the Lord’s prayer, almost too automatically. These are not just words. They are meant to convey a message to our inner selves about who we truly are. Instead of just reciting this prayer and we must), we should also wrap our life around this prayer to live the life of pray pleasing to God, and to us. Comfort, tranquility, and inner happiness is the reward. I believe it is a just reward.

 We cannot ignore what others may say in meanness, but it is our lot to forgive them and not show anger, which only worsens the situation. As I have aged, I find it easier to forgive people who have (offended) me; I now forgive them for their small indiscretions. By not belaboring what they may have said, I can live in peace and not be consumed by how wrong the other is. The other is also a child of God, and also makes small mistakes, as I do. God forgives us both; I must do the same.

 Does this make us a servant to all? Perhaps; Jesus did say the first will be last, and the last shall be first. I think about this every day.

 Bless you brothers and sisters. I love you all.

 Feeling Loneliness

 There are times when I feel abandoned by everyone: I feel that I am walking through life in a bowl of Jell-o and looking at life through a piece of cellophane paper; then I remind myself that I am never truly alone. The path I walk is filled with the light of God.

This morning, the words of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from the musical Carousel, came to mind. So, I decided to look at the lyrics thoughtfully this morning.

When you walk through a storm

Hold your head up high

And don’t be afraid of the dark.

At the end of the storm

Is a golden sky

And the sweet silver song of a lark.

Walk on through the wind,

Walk on through the rain,

Tho’ your dreams be tossed and blown.

Walk on, walk on

With hope in your heart

And you’ll never walk alone,

You’ll never walk alone. 

By changing just a few words, such as: instead of storm, use illness, depression, or troubles; and the, change the words “song of a lark” to the Love of God, the song takes a whole new tone. I will agree, however, that when Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote this, they may have had this same idea in mind.

Meditate a while on the prayer that these words truly convey to us.

They are beautiful.

When you walk through trouble

Hold your head up high

And don’t be afraid of the dark.

At the end of the storm

Is a golden sky

And the sweet silver Love of God.

Walk on through the wind,

Walk on through the rain,

Tho’ your dreams be tossed and blown.

Walk on, walk on

With hope in your heart

And you’ll never walk alone,

You’ll never walk alone.

Eli, Eli, Lemana Shabakthani!

 This has been translated as “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me.” There are many Aramaic translators who will argue about the translation, but the message cannot be missed. Jesus in his time of personal sorry, anguish, and pain, cried out this call for God to comfort him. I cannot perceive the feeling of being nailed to a wooden cross and hung there while my body slowly dies. The human side of Jesus physically suffered greatly. The spiritual side of Jesus also suffered, as many have suffered since his death 2000 years ago.

I write this today in anguish, in 2018, when all seems to be well. After a full life of working, my wife and I are retired, not rich, but with some frugality, we will be able to live out our remaining years without too many problems . . . God willing. And this is where the reason I write today comes in. I am truly disturbed by the turmoil around me. And, there is little that I can do to change things. Being a retired history teacher and college literature professor, I am very attuned to how mankind has treated itself since God place us on Earth. We are not kind to our neighbors, as the Bible invites us to be. In most world religions, historically, the wanderer is welcomed as a stranger who is searching, for what, we do not know. But, God, whatever name we call Him, instructs us to open our hearts to the plight of these wayfarers and welcome them as part of our family. Historically, we have not done this, and we are not doing this today.

Political leaders around the world are again saber rattling. The words and actions of many leaders are less that reassuring to us sho lack any real voice in our societies. As I recall my discussions in my honors history classes when I taught in secondary school, I asked my students to place themselves in the rolls of the minority, who throughout history have been purged, many times violently, from society. It is happening again all throughout the world.

We are again turning our backs on God’s plans for us. What are we to do, as powerless individuals under state rule? Are we to sacrifice ourselves as Jesus did? Most of us are too scared to do this. I know I am, and I am a former Marine, who was trained to ignore fear and death. But that was over 50 years ago. I am a different person now.

What I do now is use prayer to bring comfort to those in need, and, to bring comfort to me. Being a realist, I know that physically, this may not be very affective. However, spiritually, prayer is very comforting. Knowing that God is walking with us is reassuring that no matter what happens to us, He will be with us, cradling our very souls in His loving arms.

So, I offer this prayer from Jesus: “Eli, Eli, Lemana Shabakthani!” God has not forsaken us; He walks with us as we navigate through these rough times. My brothers and sisters, who share a life on planet Earth, I wish you a very comforting day, knowing that the path you walk on is filled with the light of God.

Have a very blessed day.  

God loves us all . . . equally!!

God does not withhold anything that we need. We may not get what we want, but as long as we walk in His light, our needs are fulfilled. It is His, or Her, influence in our lives that both influence and fulfill us. We tend to hide ourselves from the Good, always searching for those elements in our lives that satisfy our lesser beings. It is no wonder that our world is so mixed up. I am trying to separate myself from the lesser things in this life and try to center on those that are most important, such as Love, friendship, hope, patience, charity. These are among the things that are truly important, that we tend to overlook in our daily, rushed lives.

Because of this impatience, we avoid God as much as possible, even if we think we are not. God offers us everything but builds no bridges for us to cross. We do this in our everyday life; it just depends on what kind of bridges we build. They can be harmful or beneficial. After a long life, I have finally realized that the bridges we build to attain a closer relationship with God are much more gratifying and fulfilling. This is one of the reasons I became a prayer minister. I feel closer to my fellow man and much closer with God when we share a prayer. I would rather build a bridge leading to the light, instead of building one that takes me into more darkness.

Sometimes, it is very difficult to hear God; she speaks in such a soft voice that we are forced to listen sharply. When we curse another, that is call them names, or degrade them for their personal views, or when we lose a friend over a silly argument, we end up estranging ourselves from those who love us, and we love; but we also separate ourselves from the Love that God offers. We lose the path of light that we so urgently need.

Just as a mirror reflects our face, our hearts can reflect the love in the hearts of others; if we allow them to. Those who try to belittle us because of our faith, our views, or our heritage, are not our true friends. All they desire is to uplift themselves by putting us down. They refuse, or are unable, to see the face of God in us. Our job is not to criticize or ostracize these friends; it is our job to keep our hearts open for them to re-enter, when they are ready. I have said this before, but I want to emphasize it again. I love all my friends, those I know and those I have yet to meet. I also love those unduly criticize me for my views on certain issues. When we truly believe that we are all of one family, it makes it a bit easier to love those brothers and sisters who are angry with us.

God loves us all . . . equally!!

We are Love

God is not just with us, not just beside us, not just under us, not just over us, but within us, at the deepest level, and, in our most being. This means that Love is also not just with us, beside us, under us, over us, but is within us, to the innermost depths. By just living and growing, we live and grow in Love.

There are many who try to reject this and try to refuse to see this in others. We cannot be these others. To do so is to reject and refuse to see this in ourselves. In our love for others, we must send goodness, especially if they are in sorrow, are weak or sick, or live in poverty.

Our objective is to be in union with all brothers and sisters to attain untethered unity with God. We fulfill our hearts when we are concerned with other people; we should not be at war with people; we should fight against infidelity and greed.

Our love cannot be left alone or else it will die. We must continually work to broaden our love.

I was in a diner this morning after delivering four crates of apples to church for our food pantry. As I looked around the diner, I saw people of all ages, all sizes, all ethnic backgrounds (not races – there is only the human race). It seems that all were talking at once, enjoying the company of their friends or family. All were having fun, except maybe the youngsters on their cells. The overwhelming picture was that we all are alike; we all share in love for one another. All we must do is expand that love to include all the people in the diner, not just at the table. I was not surprised when I realized that I do love them all – for their existence, for their humanity, for their sharing the life I live.

Love grows when you allow it. No matter what name you use, pray with God to help you broaden your love.

Walk in the light

 Most of our lives we walk in the darkness of our own existences. When we open ourselves to accept the love of God, we become filled with Her light. If we are all children of God, then we are Her fruit, and as with all fruit, we flourish and grow in the light. And, as with all fruit, we are good; we are true; and we are right.

What this means depends on our outlook and how we view our own lives. I was talking with an old classmate of mine who continually asked why she was becoming so old. She was very angry with herself, because she was aging, and her body was beginning to fail her. At one point, she said that her older sister died when she was on 65; she then said that she, her sister, was the lucky one. She didn’t have to suffer in old age. I pointed out that she may not have suffered old age, but she did not live to see her grandchildren grow. I asked if that was worth not living to old age. And, I am not talking about being 90 or 100; we are both in our mid-seventies.

I asked her if she enjoyed living in the darkenss of death. She asked what the alternative was. I then asked her if I could be philosophical and spiritual with her. Our conversation continued for several more minutes as we talked about walking in the light, God’s light. I explained that I was both a Stephen Minister and a prayer minister at church and apologized for being so “holy.”

I’m not, but I do believe that we have a lot to live for and appreciate. But I do believe that when we walk in His light, we are stronger for it. And, when we walk along our life-paths, we meet others walking on their life-paths. By recognizing this, we can share the beauty of the light we share, the light that makes us stronger. We must look for the face of God in all those we meet.

When I was attending the Christian Science church on Springfield Avenue in Summit, New Jersey, our senior high mentor asked us to select a special verse from the New Testament to make our own. Being a 17-year-old male child, I naturally waited until ten minutes before our session to select my verse. I quickly yanked a Bible from the bookcase and opened it to any old page. It fell open to the book of Matthew, chapter 5. Someone had circled line 16.

In my own words, it reads: let your inner light shine before men, allowing them to see your good works, and glorify your father in heaven.

As a young man and then a Marine, I did not always follow this. Today, however, I am sure that the Bible those many years ago opened to that page for a reason. Today I live my life by that code. I believe that if I walk in God’s light and share that light with those I meet, we are all much better for it. I explained this to my classmate.

After we ended our conversation, I did pray that she try to change her outlook on her own life.

Living in Virginia now, I have many friends who are older than I am. Many share this brighter view. Maybe it is age that lets us know that walking in the light is much more beneficial than living in darkness. I don’t know, but I am happier walking on a lighted path.

May God’s light shine on your every step.